Eyes of the Past
The beginning of November brought the start of the Quidditch season at Kootenay and as a result, the castle was booming with the excitement of the upcoming first match between Talos and Athos. House rivalries were high and it was a rare day when a member of either team could walk down the corridors between classes without finding themselves the subject of a well-timed jinx by their opponents.
After breakfast on the day of the match, Leah, Gwen, Cory and Sean joined the rest of the school who were congregating in the stands around the Quidditch Pitch and found seats with the other Talos supporters. This was Leah’s first match, and although Gwen and Cory had explained the rules and intricate plays of the game to her several times over, she was still anxious to see the real thing for herself.
They pulled their cloaks and scarves tight around them in defence of the vicious wind. Below, Madam Hooch (who was refereeing) blew her whistle and the players “ Talos in red, Athos in yellow “ mounted their brooms and took their positions. The tiny fluttering Snitch was released; the heavy, black Bludgers were set free; the large, red Quaffle was tossed, and then the game was on!
They all flew so fast and Leah found it hard to keep her focus. She listened to the commentating happily and let it fill in the gaps she missed, and tried to keep her eye trained on the Chasers as they juggled the Quaffle between them.
“The Quaffle is taken immediately by Talos Chaser Amanda Orion,” said the amplified voice of the commentator. “And she is just weaving through the defence, folks, man that girl can fly!
“It looks like no one can stop her! A good pass to Martin Bletchley; now he’s a solid player, not usually the build for a Chaser “ more of a Beater “ back to Orion and she’s going for it, folks “ no, intercepted in the last minute by Athos Keeper, Randy Pearson. And Athos takes the Quaffle “ that’s Chaser Annemarie Smith up there, with a neat swerve around Talos Beater Scott Bratwurst’s Bludger “ she’s almost there “ no, she drops the Quaffle “ it’s picked up by Felix Lewis of Talos, and “ OHHH “ that must’ve hurt, hit in the gut by a Bludger, sent his way by Lorcan Scamander “ nice play by the Athos Beater. Now Orion back in possession of the Quaffle, a clear field ahead and off she goes “ she’s flying fast “ she dodges another Bludger “ the goal posts are ahead “ Keeper Pearson goes for it “ misses “ TALOS SCORES!”
Cheers erupted from the Talos stands into the cold air, drowning out boos and moans from the Athos supporters, and the game continued on for a long time before they heard a gruff voice calling out over the racket.
“Budge up there, make room.” Hagrid was making his way through the stands towards them, huge binoculars swinging from his neck. “Cory, Leah, Gwen …” he greeted them.
“Hi, Hagrid,” said Leah as Gwen moved over to allow him to squish in beside her.
“I was watchin’ from down below,” he said. “This yer first game, Leah? How’re yeh likin’ it?”
She grinned. “It’s great!”
“Yeah, it’s really sumthin’, isn’t it? Look, even the teachers have come out ter watch.”
He pointed one of his dustbin-sized hands towards where a cluster of the teachers were sitting; Leah saw McGonagall, Thomas, and even Professor Masen watching the game attentively.
“I don’t like Masen,” said Cory quietly.
Hagrid stared at him, shocked. “What are yeh talkin’ about, Cory; what’s there not ter like about Masen?”
Now Leah and Gwen joined Cory in staring right back at the half-giant gamekeeper, ignoring the game as it played out below.
“What’s there not to like?” exclaimed Gwen. “The man is mad, Hagrid!”
“Sure, he may be a bit different, but he’s nice enough,” Hagrid replied loudly. “Why, jus’ last week he helped me replant some o’ me pumpkin patch: darn dog chased a rabbit righ’ through there and near tore it all up.”
They must have looked unconvinced because he added, “I’ve heard some o’ the rumours ‘round the school, yeah, but that’s all codswallop as far as I’m concerned. I won’ hear a word against him, yeh hear? An’ neither will the other teachers.”
They were saved from answering by Athos Chaser, Chelsea Thomas, scoring the Quaffle through the middle hoop. Around them, students were moaning as Athos evened up the score and beside Leah, Sean bellowed as loud as he could, “OPEN YOUR EYES, BROOKS!" at the Talos Keeper.
Talos scored another goal not five minutes later and by then the conversation was forgotten in favour of watching the game.
“Magnificent goal by Lewis just now,” the commentator was saying. “Now Athos is in possession “ Cook dives around a Bludger “ she’s approaching the posts, she’s going for it “ Brooks catches it “ but, wait “!
“I think our Seekers have spotted the Snitch, folks!” the commentator screamed into the microphone. “They’re certainly battling it out down there. Oh, look, Athos Seeker Zack Graves didn’t pull out in time “ he’s smashed into the stands “ did Talos make it?” A blur of red and gold shot up into the air, arm extended, waving a tiny, winged ball in its fist. “And she did! Seeker Vanessa Hayes has the Snitch! This game is over: TALOS WINS! ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY TO THIRTY!”
The game had lasted all morning and most of lunch. The crowd went wild as the Talos team did a victory lap around the stadium, and the audience exited the stands: Talos in high spirits and Athos to much grumbling and complaints. Sean, swallowed by the oncoming crowd, had gone to go congratulate his brother on the win and Cory was saying goodbye before they separated for the afternoon: him to detention with Masen, and Leah and Gwen to do some homework in the common room before dinner.
Cory did not come to dinner or join them in the common room at all that night. He wasn’t at breakfast the next day either. Sean said that he’d come in extremely late the night before, shaking badly, and had fallen, exhausted, upon his bed and was still sleeping soundly when he had left for the Great Hall that morning.
They did not see him at all, in fact, until after breakfast, when they were waiting outside the Potions’ dungeons before class began. When he did arrive, it was immediately apparent that something had happened in the hours he’d been with the Defence professor, for his eyes were red like he hadn’t slept in weeks and he was shaking violently. He didn’t say a word and when they tried to force it out of him with shameless begging, he only said, “Not now.”
Professor Kettlewell opened the door and the class streamed in behind her. They started their boil cure potion, lighting the fire and readying ingredients without incident. Leah crushed the snake fangs into a fine powder while Cory stewed the horned slugs and Gwen, easily the worst at potions, was in charge of the simple job of adding the porcupine quills to the cauldron at the appropriate time.
When their potion was successfully bubbling, Gwen asked impatiently, “So, Cory, what in Merlin’s name happened at that detention?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” he mumbled.
“Nuh uh, no way, you are not getting out of this!”
The ladle he was stirring with dropped with a clunk onto the table as he faced her. “Just stop it, Gwen.”
Seeing where this was inevitably going, Leah interjected, “Cory, please. We’re your friends. We want to help.”
“Well you can’t,” he fumed, picking up the ladle again and viciously circling it through the potion.
“What do you think will happen if you tell us? That we’ll laugh; that we won’t like you anymore? We’re bigger than that and I thought you knew it.” She gave him a pointed look, trying to convey what she knew about his family and that she didn’t care about that either.
He sighed. Choosing some dried nettles from the pile and the rest of Leah’s snake fangs, he added those into the now murky brown liquid. “If I tell you, you’ll believe me, no matter how crazy?”
“Of course,” said Leah. Gwen nodded.
He lowered his voice until it was just below than a whisper. “When I was with Masen,” he breathed, “I messed up … again.” He averted his gaze, ashamed. “I was wiping the classroom desks clean, by hand, and I knocked the bucket of water with my elbow, right onto Masen’s shoes … his very expensive shoes, as he made sure to point out. Anyways, he got really mad “ too mad for something so small “ and I looked at him, meaning to apologize. But, when I saw his eyes …”
His voice faded until they couldn’t hear it at all. He shivered, and maybe the cool draft coming through the window into the dank dungeon could be blamed if he hadn’t been wearing his thick winter cloak overtop of his normal school robes like everybody else.
“His e-eyes …” Cory stammered. “When I looked at him, they t-turned … red.”
“What?” Gwen said.
“His eyes, they turned red,” he repeated more insistently.
Gwen’s sharp bark of laughter echoed throughout the silent classroom and Professor Kettlewell shushed her crossly. Adopting a quieter tone at once, she whispered, “Don’t joke, Cory. Nobody has red eyes, except for albinos, and Masen is many things but albino isn’t one of them.”
He glared at Gwen but beseeched Leah. “I’m not. Honestly.”
“But, Cory,” answered Leah slowly, “you know that’s not possible, right? Professor Masen has black eyes.”
“I knew you wouldn’t believe me,” he huffed.
“Cory …” said Leah. “It’s not that we don’t want to believe you, but think about what you’re saying! Masen’s eyes changing colours? It’s impossible.”
“I’m telling you, one minute they were as black as night and the next they were bright red! Just “ just never mind, all right? Gwen, add the porcupine quills.”
Gwen grabbed the quills and was holding them over the cauldron, which was still on the fire, when Leah saw and yelled, “NO!” She was just in time. Leah had grabbed Gwen’s arm to pull her back and Gwen’s hand automatically closed tighter around the porcupine quills as Cory quickly lifted the cauldron. Once their potion was safe Gwen dropped in the quills, and as soon as the proper shade of clear white steam was billowing happily from the top, the three of them let out a collective sigh of relief.
Cory and Leah shook their heads and Gwen, smilingly sheepishly, just said, “Oops,” and muffled her laughter behind the palm of her hand.
When they left the classroom twenty minutes later, Cory was disgruntled and Gwen was mad. It was up to Leah, walking between them, to intercept glares and swatting hands as they made the journey to Hagrid’s hut by the black lake.
“If you had just waited “” Cory was accusing. He seemed incapable of forming a complete sentence. “If Leah had been a bit slower “”
“Well, if you hadn’t told me to add the porcupine quills yet, or had taken it off the fire quicker; you know I suck at potions “ ” Gwen was replying just as viciously.
Hagrid’s hut was located in a small valley just off of the main school grounds, surrounded by the Rockies and accompanied on one side by the black lake. As the three approached they could make out the hulking shadow of the half-giant and his large boarhound dog, Fang, as the gamekeeper tended to his beloved pumpkin patch, and when he spotted them and waved his large beefy hand, Cory and Gwen miraculously stopped their bickering just long enough to wave cheerily back.
“Hi, Hagrid,” said Leah when they came within hearing distance.
He led them into the log hut (it was too small to be called a cabin) and started the kettle over the fire for tea. Leah, Cory and Gwen took seats at the round, wobbly table, Fang drooling on their shoes. Hagrid sat down in the corner in a cosy armchair that groaned grumpily under his weight, and smiled at them. “So, Gwen, how’s yer Dad doin’?”
“Oh, he’s fine,” said Gwen.
“An’ yer studies? The three o’ yeh are keepin’ up all righ’?”
“Everything’s good,” she replied.
“Actually,” interrupted Cory loudly, cutting across Gwen’s soft voice, “Everything’s not. I wanted to talk to you about something, Hagrid.”
“Eh, an’ what might that be, Cory?” The kettle started whistling and Hagrid heaved himself up to retrieve it from the fire. When Cory said, “Voldemort,” stridently, as if setting himself up for a blow, with his eyes once more blazing and his jaw set, the gamekeeper nearly dropped it, boiled water and all, onto his dolphin-sized feet.
“Don’ say tha’ name!” Hagrid roared. “Who d’yeh think yeh are “ Dumbledore?”
“My dad said that fear of a name “”
“Only increases fear of the thing itself; yeah, I know tha’ rubbish. And rubbish is what it is. Who do yeh think told yer dad that, eh? It was all Dumbledore. An’ I don’ want ter hear yeh callin’ him that: bad things used ter happen ter wizards who said the name.”
“But, that’s just it,” whispered Gwen, “it’s just a name. Why be scared of it?”
Hagrid poured them all tea before carefully setting the kettle on the table with shaking hands. “Yeh youngsters can’t understand what it was like in England before he won. Yeh jus’ can’t, and that makes yeh naïve, or stupid. How can yeh know whether he’s put the taboo back on his name until yeh’ve got Death Eaters poundin’ at yer door? Yeh can’t, so it’s better ter jus’ keep good an’ quiet.
“Now, Cory,” said Hagrid. “Yer family are some of the bravest bunch o’ wizards an’ witches I know, those ones alive an’ not, an’ I can see yer jus’ like ‘em, but it does yeh no good ter be reckless an’ yer dad would say the same.”
“Yeah, fine, whatever,” said Cory. He took a bite of one of Hagrid’s rock cakes from the plate in the center of the table, gagged, and spit it out into his hand again while Hagrid wasn’t looking. “But you can’t run from him forever, Hagrid. Things are happening at this school “ strange things “ you must’ve noticed. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Gryffindor’s sword suddenly shows up here of all places, shoved through the guts of a snake “ His symbol “ after years of being lost. And then there’s the writing on the wall … the letters: H “ A. You know that he hasn’t given up, Hagrid: there are still people that he wants dead after twelve years.”
“Longer then tha’,” grumbled Hagrid.
Cory had stood up to pace in front of the fireplace and Leah leaned forward in her seat to better see his darkened face. “That painting you showed us … the one with the snake and the boy … that has something to do with this, you think? With him?” asked Leah.
“I’m sure of it,” Cory replied.
“But what’s so special about that painting? Is it like the other one … is it “?”
“Another memoir,” said Cory quietly. “Yes.”
“What’s this?” Hagrid asked, but they ignored him.
“Who?” Leah whispered.
“My aunt, and “”
Gwen’s open palm all of a sudden flew to cover her mouth. “Harry Potter!” she gasped.
Cory nodded and resumed his seat. Nobody breathed for a long moment; even Fang had gone still. Then, Cory said, “My dad told my mom a story once, about his sister “ my Aunt Ginny. I wasn’t supposed to hear, but I was listening through the door and I caught every word.
“In her first year at Hogwarts, she found this old diary; she didn’t know what it could do at first, how evil it was, until it was nearly too late. She was lonely, didn’t have many friends, only this diary, and so like any other lonely, homesick eleven-year-old girl, she wrote in it. The amazing thing was it could write back! She spilled all of her secrets, hopes, fears into this diary; it was her confidant, her best friend.
“During this time, awful things started to happen at the school. People were being petrified “ they later discovered it was a basilisk, a huge snake that could travel through the pipes to get where it wanted to go “ and the school was in danger of being shut down. One day, my uncle and his two best friends discovered writing on the wall written in blood and the caretaker’s cat, petrified, hanging on a torch bracket. The writing said that a girl had been taken someplace hidden in the school and would be killed.
“Well, my uncle and his friend (the second had been petrified not long after) knew that it was Ginny who’d been taken. They found where she was hidden. The friend, he went down there and he found her; she was dying, the diary had drawn her in until her actual soul was very nearly lost. An image of a boy “ the boy Voldemort “ came out of the diary and the friend defeated him by piercing the diary with one of the basilisk’s teeth, and then defeated the basilisk … with a sword: the Sword of Gryffindor.”
“You think that the same thing is happening again?” asked Leah quietly. “That there’s like ... a ghost or something of You-Know-Who that’s doing these things?”
“No ... I don’t know. Not the same thing, exactly, but I think the two are related somehow.”
Cory slumped against the back of his seat and Leah rubbed his shoulder gently. Hagrid had flinched at the sound of Voldemort’s name and now he stared directly into the fire, tears trickling down and through his thick beard.
Gwen, meanwhile, was shaking with anger. “I knew it!” she raged at Cory, shooting to her feet. “I knew you were one of the famous Weasleys!”
“Yeah?” he retorted. “So what? I admit it. What are you gonna do about it?”
“Yeh shouldn’t tell stories like that, Cory,” said Hagrid, disregarding the brewing storm between the two. “Yeh hear me? Those were dark times.”
“They’re still dark, or have you forgotten what’s going on in Europe?” He stood up and gestured wildly at the thin air.
“Now, Cory, yer family wouldn't've wanted “”
“I don't care about what they would have wanted! They're not here to tell me what they would have wanted!”
“What’s this?” demanded Hagrid, his chest puffing out and for once looking just like the half-giant he was. “Yeh ashamed? Why, yer should be proud o’ yer family! Look at what they’ve done for the Wizarding world!”
“Stop talking about them like they’re heroes, like they’re still alive!”
“They did great things in their day “”
“AND LOOK AT WHERE THAT GOT THEM! DEAD AND BURIED IN THE GROUND!” And then he seemed to deflate like a balloon that’s lost all of its gas. Cory looked from Hagrid to Gwen, the latter cowering under his glare.
Their tea was cold and long since forgotten, but either none of them noticed or just didn’t care.
“You really want to be a Weasley, Gwen?” asked Cory in a deadly voice. “Or you want to know why I didn’t tell you sooner?” She didn’t answer. “It was because of this! When people find out, they don’t see me as me anymore; they just see them or try to see them in me. My dad is the only one of that side of my family that survived Voldemort … and I hate it, I goddamn hate it.
“You mark my words, something is going on at Kootenay and it has to do with him, the sword, and the snake on that tree, but if you don’t believe me, well, that’s your own problem.”
With one final glower he pushed past them and stormed out the door. Gwen stood, frozen in place, confused and angry; she rushed out after a moment too, hurrying in the opposite direction as Cory. Only Leah was left alone with Hagrid, in the middle of a battlefield with no blood or bodies, but which seemed to have killed something all the same.
“They’re always fighting,” Leah groaned. “I never have any peace when they’re together.”
Hagrid chuckled, but it sounded hollow and sad. “Jus’ like his uncle, tha’ one. But give it a few years, Leah, an’ yeh won’ be able ter separate them. Like Ron an’ Hermione, Harry didn’t know what ter do wit’ those two either.”
When she left to hunt down her friends, he stood in the doorway and solemnly watched her go.
Later, when Leah stepped through the statue hole, Gwen trailing behind her, it was only to have to stop short the next minute in fear of slamming into her other best friend. Cory was standing stock still in front of her, his eyes locked onto a small gaggle of boys by the window. One of them, a tall brown-haired fourth year, was talking rapidly, his arms tossing in haphazard circles. His voice sounded loud and clear across the room and it was clearly this conversation that had Cory so shocked dumb. Subconsciously, Leah thought she felt Gwen collide into her back behind her, but she didn’t move out of her way.
The one that was causing all of the commotion suddenly exclaimed in an excited voice, “And then I looked up, and they were black again!”
This seemingly simple statement had a profound effect on Cory. Desperately, he strode forward until he was nearly banging chests with the boy, and he demanded, “You’ve seen them too? You’ve seen Masen’s eyes change from black to red?”
Realizing what this must be about, Leah started to move forward, only to be pulled back again by Gwen.
The boy was confused. He screwed up his eyes and shook his head. “No. No, they changed to green, not red. Bright green.”
Cory opened his mouth, shut it, and opened it again, clearly at a lost for words. “Green? You’re sure?”
“One hundred percent. Why?”
But he didn’t seem to hear. He gazed off into space and mumbled to himself, “That doesn’t make sense. Why doesn’t it make sense?”
Bored with Cory’s muttering, the boy turned back to his friends and they walked away, talking in anxious whispers and repeatedly glancing back over their shoulders at Cory. He stood in the middle of the common room, not moving, and Leah finally dragged Gwen over to him so that they could force him into sitting down. He continued his far away solitary mutterings and took no notice of anything else the rest of the night.
“What do you think it means?” asked Leah later after Cory had climbed the stairs to bed. “The eye-changing thing, I mean.”
“I have no idea,” Gwen said. “Professors’ eyes just don’t change colour randomly on their own. How could they both have thought they saw the same thing?”
“Maybe he’s using Muggle contacts?”
“A charm or something would be more likely.”
“That what, wears off and then reapplies itself all on its own? I doubt it.”
Gwen shrugged, getting bored with the subject. “Stranger things have happened.”
“Maybe so,” said Leah, “but I’m going to find out what’s happening now. First that snake, and then this … It’s too weird.”
“Mmm,” agreed Gwen vaguely and then they drifted off into silence, thinking their own thoughts, before climbing the stairs to bed.