Raven (Fred x oc)

47. Psychometry

The warm air of May reached me as I walked along the corridor towards the common room. As I was walking, Harry barreled past me, rushing off without a word. Curiously, I changed course and followed after him. 

"Lem - Lemon Drop!" Harry shouted, reaching the opening of Dumbledore's office. Nothing happened. "Move! Come on!" 

"Harry, what's wrong?" I asked, stepping towards him. 

"Valerie!" he cried. "I need to get Professor Dumbledore! Where is he?" 

"I'd assume in there, but he might be in the staff room," I replied, brows furrowed. The next moment, the gargoyle opened and Snape appeared. 

"POTTER! BLACK!" he called. "What are you doing here?" 

"I need to see Professor Dumbledore," Harry shouted. "It's Mr. Crouch...he's just turned up...he's in the forest...he's asking-" 

"What is this rubbish?" Snape snapped, looking between the two of us as I stared at Harry. This was certainly strange. Mr. Couch has, allegedly, been ill for months. "What are you talking about."

"Mr. Crouch!" Harry shouted earnestly. "From the Ministry! He's ill or something - he's in the forest, he wanted to see Dumbledore! Just give me the password up to-" 

"The headmaster is busy, Potter," Snape retorted. 

"Snape, there could actually be something wrong here," I snapped. "Are you really so incapable of setting aside your childish hatred for Harry for two seconds?" 

"What was that Black?" he glowered. 

"You are a child," I retorted. 

"Is there a problem?" Dumbledore asked, appearing out of his office. 

Before Snape could get a word in, Harry exclaimed, "Professor! Mr. Crouch is here - he's down in the forest, he wants to speak to you!" 

"Lead the way," he replied. Harry set off, Dumbledore behind him and I, not wanting to deal with Snape, followed as well. 

"He said he wanted to warn you," Harry said, "said he's done something terrible and he mentioned his son and Bertha Jorkins and, and Voldemort something about Voldemort getting stronger." 

"Indeed," Dumbledore replied. 

"Over here," Harry said, coming to the edge of the forest. "Viktor?" Harry called. "They were here." 

I drew in a deep breath, the faint crackling of a twig under my foot as my eyes widened and glowed a bright purple. "He's right," I said, looking around. A strange veil seemed to have been lowered around the area and it seemed to be half an hour or so before. "I can see them." 

"What's that, Miss Black?" Dumbledore said, turning to look at me. 

"I see them," I said quietly, looking around. With a small cry of surprise, I jolted back and the veil was gone. It was all darkness again. 

"Lumos," Dumbledore muttered. By the light of his wand, we saw the feet of Viktor Krum. He was lying unconscious. I drew in another deep breath and the veil appeared again. 

"He was stunned," I said. 

"Valerie, focus, can you see by who?" Dumbledore asked. 

Brows furrowed, I tried to see. "No," I said finally. The veil disappeared again. 

Dumbledore shot something off towards Hagrid's cabin and crouched down by Viktor and muttered, "Rennervate." Krum opened his eyes ad tried to sit up, but Dumbledore forced him back down. 

"He attacked me," Krum said. "The old madman attacked me! I vos looking around to see vare Potter had gone and he attacked me from behind!" 

"Lie still a moment," Dumbledore ordered. 

Standing, I said, "I should go back to the castle." 

"Ms. Black, please go and wait in my office," he requested. 

"Yes sir," I replied. 

"Chocolate Frog," he added as I walked away. I nodded and headed inside. It became darker as I headed into the castle. The corridors were also growing darker, the faint light affecting the dim light. 

Once I reached Dumbledore'd office, I said, "Chocolate frog." When I made it up the staircase, I walked inside and moved over to one of the chairs. Laying my hand on the armrest, I moved to sit down. 

The moment my hand touched the wood, the veil appeared again. Dumbledore was pacing in front of Snape who was sitting stock-still. I began to remove my hand from the wood, but everything became fuzzy again so I placed it back. 

Dumbledore was talking, but I couldn't hear any sound. In a faint hope, I pressed my other palm on the chair and moved so I was on my knees on the seat of the chair with both hands on the armrests. 

Their voices came into focus. 

"He is coming, Severus," Dumbledore was saying. "Both you and Karkaroff have felt it. It is only a matter of when. Have you made any progress figuring out who put Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire?" 

"None yet," Snape admitted begrudgingly. 

Before I could hear more, the door opened and I ripped my hands from the wood and the veil disappeared so quickly I had to blink to get used to the sudden darkness. Dumbledore stood in the doorway and in the dark, the shadows of his face were more pronounced, momentarily giving him a creepy effect. 

Standing, I looked at him. 

"Where did you come upon that ring?" he asked, pointing to the one on my finger. 

"My father gave it to me," I admitted. "In a box of my mother's things." 

"And what does it do?" Dumbledore asked. 

"I-I don't really know," I admitted. "Although I...I can see that past with it. Here, I don't know if this will work, but..." I held out my hand and after a moment, he grabbed my wrist. I lay both my palms on the wood of the chair and again the veil appeared and Dumbledore from a few hours before was pacing in his office. Snape was nowhere in sight. 

"Remarkable," he said, looking around. 

"You can see it?" I asked. 

"It is blurred, but yes," he said. He let go and I moved my hands. 

"It's stronger when I touch something directly," I said. 

"And this ring, have you told anyone about it?" he asked. 

"I sort of told Fred and Dad, but otherwise...no," I said. 

"I'd suggest you keep it that way," he replied. I nodded. "I believe this is just the beginning. What you have now discovered is called Psychometry, or the ability to relate details about the past or future condition of an object or location by being in close contact with it."