the girl who sees all

liberté perdue

the scent of tea was what awoke vanessa auclair. the bed, to the left of the window, was directly diagonal to a small, rickety wooden table. she didn't even have to open her eyes to know the energy of the man who had joined her in the room.

initially it was panic that entered her, unsure of how her intruder had entered. however, with who it was, he was hardly an intruder, and it really didn't matter.

"good morning, professor dumbledore," vanessa finally had given up on the illusion of being asleep still.

"ah, miss auclair! i was wondering when you were going to join me for tea! i had worried it would get cold." the headmaster smiled at the young woman, as though this was old hat. vanessa had hoped he didn't commonly find his students in pub rooms, asleep. she was sure house calls really weren't that common.

vanessa had wrapped a long cardigan sweater around herself before walking over to dumbledore at the small, worn and warped table. a porcelain tea set with fresh smelling cream and small sugar cubes sat front and center. unknown to the young seer before, breakfast biscuits were there as well, presumably for her.

"you must be wondering why i'm here, miss auclair." dumbledore looked at vanessa and she shrugged.

"i'm assuming my parents spoke to you. however you reached out to them first, not the other way around." vanessa spoke knowingly, reaching over and indicating to the tea, "may i?"

"it would be my pleasure, vanessa," albus smiled at the young, brilliant witch. although albus was vanessa's headmaster, this woman was much more his equal than either of them ever chose to acknowledge. it was a spoken understanding of mutual respect. "that's correct. i reached out to daphne and augustus, and they told me you were gone."

"i'm on a personal leave," vanessa had fixed herself a cup of hot tea. "i assume my parents informed you of the same thing."

"precisely, miss auclair." vanessa smiled at her headmaster. "they told me you'd be perfect for-"

"if you believe i'm returning to hogwarts you're foolish, professor. voldemort's return isn't being taken seriously by anyone other than you, and potter himself." vanessa toyed with a breakfast biscuit in her fingers before her wide eyes drifted to the professor. "fudge and the ministry are as useful as a wet napkin,"

albus dumbledore assessed the young woman. he knew getting her to come back and work with the order of the phoenix would be a task fit for someone powerful. however, he forgot how difficult working with someone like her. witches and wizards like vanessa auclair were the closest anyone could get to omniscient.

"you do understand why i'm asking this, on behalf of the order of the phoenix." albus began, hoping to catch the young woman with a fact she didn't know.

"i understand. and i wish you the best. however i don't know if i'm the one for the job, i'm not in the prophecy," vanessa winked at the older man.

"your auclairs and your prophecies," dumbledore tutted on his tongue, understanding the game the young sorceress was playing. "you know well you seers all have your own prophecies, vanessa. you also know just as well that powerful seers never overlap with prophecies."

"i really enjoy you telling me how right i am, professor," vanessa smiled. she was having her fun with the old man. after a moment, the smile faded from her face. she knew this was no laughing matter. "i'm here, professor dumbledore. and i do want to help. but i am not centered. what i've seen from voldemort... it's broken me down. i want to be the prophet that sees potter to the promise land," the small witch looked at the older wizard with tears in her eyes, "but he's tortured me with moments from the past, the innocent souls he's killed have come back and i've had to help them pass on. it's absolutely beaten me down."

this is the moment that the raw stone freed the young woman from her emotional prison. the walls she needed to keep up at all time to protect herself from the spirits, and energy. "my father gave his everything to the cause, to our gift. he's a shell of the man he was even ten years ago. i'm old enough to remember that. all the times mother has had to pick him up from sobbing on the floor, or a hallucination, or a flashback, they torment us, professor. he's only truly my father on days after we cleanse, which aren't as often as we'd like."

the headmaster set a hand on vanessa's. "i know the weight of what i'm asking. you will have our protection, both physically, but magically. severus is willing to teach you ways to keep voldemort's dark forces from your mind. you are not witnessing these treasons out of luck, miss auclair. if you are worried about evil forces, the protection you could be receiving at hogwarts would protect you until you can protect yourself."

"please tell me you understand my hesitation to jump headfirst," a single tear left the empty eyes of the young seer, and dumbledore nodded. "please understand that i am so tired of seeing everyone die, every day. it truly tears away from the soul, professor. my father has to drink to sleep most nights. mother is never home, she's always delivering babies."

"i know, miss auclair, i know. but you and mister harry potter, you two combined may be our only hopes." the young woman's eyes flickered up to her headmaster. she feared he would say something like that.

"how am i supposed to practice my battle magic? i will need space, privacy, if not a sparring partner." the grey cardigan was used to blot the hot tears that at once streamed from the young witch's face. "i won't be at my best if i'm supposed to just fit in and be a student, you know that, professor. especially if i'm a bodyguard detail to harry, which we both know he will never approve of."

"minerva and severus have both volunteered, as members of the order. you'd be receiving the best tutoring a student could receive." the young girl began to feel optimistic about the situation she so feared moments before.

maybe the headmaster was right, maybe i could really do this.

"i have a feeling my parents already know i'll have said yes, won't they."

"your father truly is a brilliant man, one of the brightest auclairs i taught at hogwarts. one of the most powerful, as well. you took after him greatly, vanessa." dumbledore looked at the young girl.

"does this mean i leave here with you?" vanessa asked, sniffling for the last time, before crossing her sweater-clad arms at her hips, locking her fingers.

"your room has already been paid. we will leave once you pack, and prepare yourself." albus said to the young woman.

pushing a piece of hair behind her ear, the raven haired witch let out a huff of a breath before looking at the headmaster. "i'll only need but a moment, professor, where shall i meet you?"

the professor looked at the young woman excitedly. "i'm quite intruiged by the confusion on the seers' faces as they all loose at muggle card games! i will go watch."