Chapter 67: The Vision

Harry, as well as the rest of us Gryffindor's elation at finally winning the Quidditch Cup lasted at least a week. Even the weather seemed to be celebrating. As June approached, the days became cloudless and all anybody felt like doing was strolling onto the grounds and flopping down on the grass with drinks and games, relaxing by the lake and watching the giant squid eave its tentacles around.

But alas, we couldn't. Exams were nearly upon us, and instead of lazing around outside, us students were forced to remain inside the castle, forcing ourselves to concentrate while the summer air drifted in through the windows and into our nostrils. Even Fred and George was actually taking their work seriously. They were about to take their O.W.L.s (Ordinary Wizarding Levels). Percy was getting ready to take his N.E.W.T.s (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests), the highest qualification Hogwarts offered. As Percy hoped to enter the Ministry of Magic, he needed top grades. He was becoming increasingly edgy, and a pain in the ass, and gave very severe punishments to anybody who disturbed the quiet of the common room in the evenings. In fact, the only person who seemed more anxious than Percy was Hermione.

Harry and I had given up asking her how she was managing to attend several classes at once, but when I saw her exam schedule, I was floored. The first column read:

Monday

9 o'clock, Arithmancy

9 o'clock, Transfiguration

Lunch

1 o'clock, Charms

1 o'clock, Ancient Runes

"Hermione?" I said hesitantly, because she was what muggles called a ticking time bomb when interrupted these days. "Are you sure you've copied down these times right?"

"What?" snapped Hermione, picking up the exam schedule and examining it. "Yes, of course I have."

"Is there any point asking how you're going to sit for two exams at once?" said Harry.

"No," said Hermione shortly. "Have either of you seen my copy of Numerology and Gramatica?"

"Oh, yeah, I borrowed it for a bit of bedtime reading." I said very quietly. Hermione started shifting heaps of parchment.

We had plenty of opportunity to speak to Hagrid.

"Beaky's gettin' a bit depressed," Hagrid told us, bending low to check if Harry's flobberworm was still alive. "Bin cooped up too long. But still...we'll know day after tomorrow - one way or the other -"

We had Potions that afternoon, which was a disaster. Try as Harry might, he couldn't get his Confusing Concoction to thicken, and Snape, standing watch, looking like the vindictive tripe he was, scribbled something that looked suspiciously like a zero onto his notes before moving away.

Then came Astronomy at midnight, up on the tallest tower and History of Magic on Wednesday morning, in which I just scribbled a lot of nonsense. Wednesday afternoon was Herbology, in the greenhouses under a baking-hot sun; then back to the common room once more, with sunburnt necks, thinking longingly of this time next day, when it would all be over.

Our second to last exam, on Thursday morning, was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Professor Lupin had compiled the most unusual exam any of us had ever taken; a sort of obstacle course outside in the sun, where we had to wade across a deep paddling pool containing a Grindylow, cross a series of potholes full of Red Caps, squish their way across a patch of marsh while ignoring misleading directions from a Hinkypunk, then climb into an old trunk and battle with a new Boggart.

I had done very well until and would have probably gotten full marks like Harry, if that fucking hinkypunk hadn't confused me and had me almost sink into the fake marsh. Hermione did everything perfectly, until she reached the trunk with the Boggart in it. After about a minute inside it, she burst out again, screaming.

"Hermione!" said Lupin, startled. "What's the matter?"

"P-P-Professor McGonagall!" Hermione gasped, pointing into the trunk. "Sh-she said I'd failed everything!"

Guess that meant her Boggart had changed.

It took a little while to calm her down. When she had finally gotten a grip on herself, we went back to the castle. I was just about to take the mickey out on Hermione for her Boggart, but the thought left my mind when we were stopped on the steps by Cornelius Fudge.

"Hello there, Harry!" he said. "Just had an exam, I expect? Nearly finished?"

"Yes." said all three of us at the same time, not wanting to say a word to the man. Not a kind word at least.

"Lovely day," said Fudge, casting an eye over the lake.

"Pity...pity..."

He sighed deeply and looked down at Harry.

"I'm here on an unpleasant mission, Harry. The Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures required a witness to the execution of a mad Hippogriff. As I needed to visit Hogwarts to check on the Black situation, I was asked to step in."

"Does that mean the appeal's already happened?" I interrupted, stepping forward.

"No, no, it's scheduled for this afternoon," said Fudge, looking curiously at me.

"Then you might not have to witness an execution at all!" I said, stoutly. "The Hippogriff might get off!"

Before Fudge could answer, two wizards came through the castle doors behind him. One was so ancient he looked as if he would kill over at any given moment. The other was tall with a thin back mustache.

"Dear, dear, I'm getting too old for this...Two o'clock, isn't it, Fudge?" said one of them, as if they were bored already.

The black-mustached man was fingering something in his belt. He was running one broad thumb along the blade of a shining axe. I opened my mouth to say something, but Hermione nudged me hard in the ribs and jerked her head toward the entrance hall.

"Why'd you stop me?" I snapped angrily at her as we entered the Great Hall for lunch. "Did you see them? They've even got the axe ready! This isn't justice!"

"Ron, your dad works for the Ministry, you can't go saying things like that to his boss!" said Hermione, but she too looked very upset. "As long as Hagrid keeps his head this time, and argues his case properly, they can't possibly execute Buckbeak."

Harry's and I's last exam was Divination, while Hermione had Muggle Studies. We walked up the marble staircase together; Hermione left us on the first floor and Harry and I went all the way up to the seventh, where many of our class were sitting on the spiral staircase to Professor Trelawney's classroom, trying to cram in a bit of last-minute studying.

"She's seeing us all separately." Neville informed us as they went to sit down next to him. He had his copy of Unfogging the Future open on his lap at the pages devoted to crystal gazing. "Have either of you ever seen anything in a crystal ball?" he asked them unhappily.

"Nope." I said, not the least bit concerned with the stupid exam. I kept checking my watch, counting down the time until Buckbeak's appeal started.

The line of people outside the classroom shortened very slowly. As each person climbed back down the silver ladder, the rest of the class hissed, "What did she ask? Was it okay?"

But they all refused to say.

"She says the crystal ball's told her that if I tell you, I'll have a horrible accident!" squeaked Neville as he climbed back down the ladder toward Harry and I, who had now reached the landing.

"That's convenient." I snorted. "You know, I'm starting to think Hermione was right about her. She's a right old fraud."

"Yeah," said Harry, looking at his own watch. It was now two o'clock. "Wish she'd hurry up."

Parvati came back down the ladder with a big stupid grin plastered on her face.

"She says I've got all the makings of a true Seer," she informed Harry and I. "I saw loads of stuff...Well, good luck!"

She hurried off down the spiral staircase toward Lavender.

"Ronald Weasley," said the familiar, misty voice from over their heads. I grimaced at Harry and climbed up the ladder.

The tower room was hotter than ever before; the curtains were closed, the fire was alight, and the usual sickly scent made me cough as I stumbled through the clutter of chairs and table to where Professor Trelawney sat waiting for me before a large crystal ball.

She ushered me to sit down.

"Now my dear," she said in her airy. voice. "Take your time, and look carefully into the ball."

I groaned and looked into the foggy glass. As first, I didn't see a thing.

Then suddenly, I saw what I thought to be the back of my head. I looked taller. I had turned around, my face looking much older than it did now, but still plenty youthful. I seemed to be laughing while looking down.

I gazed closer into the ball as my older self started to smile the most ridiculous smile I had ever seen. Then, my face was blocked by a mass of brown curls.

I had picked up the person with the curls and spun her around, laughing as I had did so. It looked like I was having the time of my life. I had to stop the grin that was threatening the corner of my mouth to form.

"See something interesting, dear?' came Trelawney's voice out of nowhere, breaking my stare.

"No." I lied as I cleared my throat.

"Try again, only this time, look deeper. Let your inner eye shine through."

I rolled my eyes, but looked intently into the crystal ball again. This time, it looks as if I was at the park. I looked even older. I seemed to be pushing a child on a swing. A little girl.

I couldn't help but think that she was the most adorable little girl that I had ever seen. She looked as if she was enjoying herself as I pushed her. She had the same hair color as me, only her hair was curly, and flowing through the wind as she swung back and forth. She looked very much like me, only her eyes. Her eyes were a familiar brown that I knew I had seen somewhere before, I just couldn't place it.

I must have had my name called because I turned around, looked down, bent over, and came back up with a small boy. He was as tan as the little girl, with a reddish, brown tint to his wild curls in his hair. His eyes were the same brown as the little girl's eyes.

Then, I seen a woman, the same woman I had swung around in the earlier vision, step up to me and kiss me. She actually kissed me. I gazed harder to try to get a good look at her face.

"What do you see?" said Trelawney, once again breaking my bloody concentration.

I didn't want to tell her a thing I saw in the ball, so I quickly told her what I had seen my first year in the Mirror of Erised, just to shut her up. She didn't seem to buy it, but she still sent me on my way.

"How'd it go?" Harry asked me, as I climbed down the ladder.

I paused for a second. I didn't really want to tell Harry either. At least, not until I processed everything for myself.

"Rubbish." I lied. "Couldn't see a thing, so I made some stuff up. Don't think she was convinced, though."

"Meet you in the common room," Harry muttered as Professor Trelawney's voice called, "Harry Potter!"

I made my way down the stairs, my mind trying to work out what it has seen as if I were playing chess.

The first vision was of me and some girl. She must have been very important to me, because I looked like some sappy lovesick git, like I had seen Bill, Charlie, and now Percy, look like over some girl.

The second vision with the kids really threw me. Despite coming from a huge family, being the youngest boy in my family, having to share everything and wear hand me downs, and totally hating that life sometimes, I still wanted a family of my own. Maybe not seven kids, but two or three seemed pretty reasonable to me. And here I was playing with two children who looked a lot like me in the park. And it looked like I was still with that same woman from the first vision.

The whole scene felt completely right to me. I was actually enjoying what the ball was showing me, felt deep inside that it was everything that I wanted in life.

It was those eyes that ultimately threw me off. I had seen that shade of brown almost every day, I just couldn't recall it to save my life. It was a wonderful shade of brown to me. Dark enough to almost be considered black from afar, but light enough to see yourself in it. That shade of brown was fun, yet intense. Soft, yet strong. Out made all the sense in the world, but was still complicated.

I shook my head as I made out to the floor that would take me to Gryffindor tower. I was thinking way too deep into this.

When I got to the common room, hardly anyone was in it. Everyone else war enjoying their freedom from exams outside. The only person slumped on the couch was Hermione.

I walked over to the couch and plopped down beside her, causing her to open her eyes. "Where's Harry?" she asked.

"Doing his exam. He said he would come back here when he was done. All finished?"

Hermione let out a satisfied sigh. "Yes. Muggle Studies was the last exam, you know. How was Divination?"

"Barmy." I said. "We had to look inside of a crystal ball and tell her what we saw."

"And what did you see?" asked Hermione in her "this is rubbish, but I'll humor you" voice.

"I haven't the foggiest idea." I joked, not sure if I wanted to tell her what I had seen just yet.

Suddenly, a small school owl flew in with a bit of parchment in its beak. It dropped the paper onto my lap, and took off back out the window.

I picked up the parchment and unfolded it. Hermione sat up to read it with me. I could already tell it was from Hagrid, but his hand must have been shaking all over the place because the entire thing looked wobbly.

Lost appeal.

They're going to execute at sunset. Nothing you can do.

Don't come down, I don't want you to see it.

Hagrid

I dropped the letter onto the floor as Hermione let out a huge and tearful gasp. At that same time, Harry had came running through the portrait hole.

"Professor Trelawney," Harry panted, "just told me -"

But he stopped abruptly at the sight of our grief stricken faces.

"Buckbeak lost. Hagrid's just sent this."I said weakly as I handed him the note.