The Dark Lord's Seer

Tom Riddle

Don't we so often look back after the fact and realise we should have been more wary at the time? Perhaps more conscious of how unusual someone behaved, or - god forbid if we were truly in danger - that there were clear signs?

You'd think a seer of all people would be able to sense something amiss.

But I didn't. At least not immediately.

I suppose, on some level, I was subconsciously aware just how odd that meeting had been. After walking Mr. Burke to the lift, I returned to my empty office, shaking my head as I slid into the chair behind my desk. And I sat there for a few moments: just sat in the silence, my head tipped back and upwards at the ceiling as I replayed our entire conversation.

"Now I know you."

Dark brown eyes, staring at me with unapologetic intensity.

"I - know - you."

I allowed a few more moments to pass before I shook myself out of my reverie. Leaning forward in my seat, I pressed my palms flat against the desk. I knew exactly what to do. Time to invoke a vision. Something very problematic had just happened, and I wasn't going to stop until I figured out exactly what it was.

I didn't bother going to the Hall of Prophecy, though my failure to do so was a break in protocol. I didn't want whatever I saw on record. No, I'd do it here, in private.

I closed my eyes and relaxed my body. I was one - the only one I'd ever heard of - who could invoke visions at will. According to everything I'd read and encountered, all other seers had little to no control over when their visions came to them - though some could drastically swing the odds in their favour through meditation and the like.

But to just slip away from our reality and into the realm of prophecy in a matter of mere seconds? Completely unheard of. Except for me. For me, it was second nature. I never really thought about it: just set the intent and it happened. Though of course I couldn't know precisely what sort of vision I'd have. That was beyond my control.

Breathe in, and breathe out.

Be here, and yet prepare to travel far, far, away:

Go further than one can properly comprehend.

I knew it was beginning when I could see myself in two places at once: my physical body, still seated in the chair, and my mind, floating up and away.

Stay, and yet go.

Don't worry about the destination, just drift.

I felt myself being carried further and further away.

And then, just like always, I was there. That other place: the special place. A different reality, or plane. Empty of beings like myself, though not devoid of life entirely. There was always some sort of presence here, though I honestly don't know what, or how to properly describe it.

I was in a forest. It was always the same forest: an incredibly calm and peaceful place. A quiet, heavenly refuge, completely different than anything I knew in the waking world. Sometimes when I travel here, it takes time for the celestial presence to arrive. Today, it was waiting for me. And it came in the form of sparkling sunlight, bouncing and playing off the tree leaves. The light whispered to me softly,

"Right on time as always."

"Don't suppose there's any surprising you, huh?"

The light flickered and glistened, "Not often. Though sometimes, rarely."

Interesting. I made silent note of this as I moved closer to the nearest tree, my fingertips lightly grazing the trunk.

"Go on. Ask."