Augury [Harry Potter Fanfic]

b. two

When Sawyer's left the Hospital Wing, she blinked against the blazing sun, unused to the light. She fell to the grass as something tackled her.

"Sawyer!" a voice cheered happily, squeezing tightly. Surprised and unused to attention, Sawyer patted the girl's back, confused. The wild haired girl gave her a brilliant smile as she stepped back, large teeth not as white as before. "I was so worried when you didn't wake up with the rest of us!"

"Hermione?" was all Sawyer managed, uncertain of the girl's name all of a sudden. 

"Everyone were worried, not just me!" she waved off. "Harry visited you yesterday, and Ron-- well, he hasn't been eating as much... And the twins, the Weasley twins, you know, they were pretty worried too! And Ginny-- oh she feels awful! And Dumbledore and even Snape and..." Hermione blabbered on and on, leaving Sawyer confused.

"Excuse me," Sawyer said after a moment. Hermione stopped talking for a moment, "I'm in a hurry, to be honest."  Hermione nodded, and Sawyer walked off. She made sure no one was watching as she slipped into the Forbidden Forest.

A howl made her stop in her tracks. "Agambir?" she called, uncertainly. 

A smaller wolf walked closer, and she recognized it as the wolf pup, that's grown quite a bit. In its tracks was Agambir, and--

"Meeko!" Sawyer smiled, and the cat meowed, jumping towards his friend and- as much as he hated it- owner. Sawyer scooped her cat in a hug- and he clawed at her- slightly upset but mostly trying to get her to hug him tighter. "Ew, Meeko!" she suddenly called, smelling his fur. "How long has it been since you've had a shower?!"

Meeko's green eyes widened, and he started to claw his way out of her arms, only for her to ignore his fatal attempts, holding him away from her. 

"I thank you sincerely, Agambir. I will see you soon again, dear friend."

Agambir bowed his head as a gesture of acceptance to her thank, making the girl smile at him warmly. 

The forest would held secrets for the girl, he knew. He only didn't know whether or not those secrets will be told to her.

►

Then,  almost too quickly, it was time for the journey home on the Hogwarts Express. Sawyer went on the train by herself, Meeko following, still gruff about the shower Sawyer put him through. She was still concerned about her bizarre vision and she couldn't help but mull over Riddle's words, and more importantly... her own.

She was sitting peacefully in her compartment by herself, as she was used to, Meeko licking his paws. Sawyer read through the book of her Divination's class, reading about the Grim,  more than anything.

She ran her fingers over the black dog's drawing, and she could have sworn that the dog turned to look at her.

  The Grim is an omen of death, which is reputed to bring about the demise of the person who encounters it. The Grim takes the shape of a large, black, spectral dog. Perhaps the most well-known of omens, the Grim has earned infamy throughout the and is considered to be one of the worst, if not the worst, omens around.  

[More information about the Grim, unrelated to the subject, could be found at pages 457 to 461].

Intrigued, Sawyer quickly closed the book, opening it again at the very end. 

The last page was numbered 468 so she only had to look for short moments to find the information she was looking for.

The grim is similar to a few characters of different folklores, all evident to bring death and demise to those who see them. 

There is also a church Grim, which is a protecting spirit created by burying a living black dog when a church is founded. 

At the Spanish Folklore, the grim is called Cadejo Negro, and instead of being an omen, is the bringer of death. Opposite to it, stands the Cadejo Blanco that protects the travelers.

It is unknown if the Grim is a Hellhound and brings death upon the seer, an animal's ghost, or an omen. All are possibilities that are being argued about for centuries, and it seems like no answer would ever be given.

In most folktales, the grim shows with fiery red eyes that glow, but it's been reported by some as a golden, green and even blue eyes. Some believe that the grim represents your fate or past, and such people who see it with red eyes, might be doomed to Hell, and golden eyes to Heaven, while green and blue are for people whose fate isn't sealed, or hasn't done anything drastic enough to belong in either, and are to be placed in Paradise.

Spotting the black dog has been told to be; "once, it shall be for joy; if twice, it shall be for sorrow; and the third time shall bring death."

 Many believe the Grim is an evil sorcerer under disguise, or the devil itself.

Some believe that the grim acts as the collector of souls, and some people has described it as completely white, except for the ears, that are blood red. His white eyes are said to show the death-way of the person in front of him, but not to always bring death. 

Reports of the dog in some places has been told to be accompanied by a fine young woman, dark haired and bright eyed.

"Sawyer!" a voice called and the girl turned to look at the people who has entered the compartment. "Hi!"

"Hi," she mumbled, not understanding the visions of herself walking through the hills as fog surrounded herself and a black dog that has suddenly taken over her mind. "M-Meeko?" she called, and when her cat turned to her, she could've sworn his eyes shone. "What is it that you know?"

Meeko meowed, almost a knowing smirk on his feline lips, before he stood up and went to rub against Hermione's leg.

Sawyer turned to the group that's entered.

  Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Ginny stood at the door, luggage carried after them. "Mind if we sit here?" George questioned, making Sawyer shrug.

They all noisily took their place, and started chattering as Sawyer wondered about the black dog. She suddenly could not recall when her and Meeko met; she knew Remus told her that Meeko's met her one day at the streets, but when was it and how could Meeko still look the same? 

She was certain that it's been over twelve years since she's met her friend, but she couldn't spot even a white hair on his fur, or any sign of him growing older.

Was there really something fishy about the way she lived and who she was? Or was she just imagining this whole conspiracy?

The group, aside from Sawyer, made the most of the last few hours in which they were allowed to do magic before the holidays. They played Exploding Snap, set off the very last of Fred and George's Filibuster fireworks, and practiced disarming each other by magic.   

When the Hogwarts Express slowed and finally stopped, it couldn't be soon enough, and Sawyer practically shot out of her seat, Meeko chasing after her as she carried the suitcase in rush.

The sooner she'd catch the Knight Bus, the faster she could get to Lupin's house, and the faster she could begin searching through the many books Remus owned.

Was she actually more than a seer? Was she less than Death? She couldn't even begin to wrap her head around any of these things, but she knew that nothing's changed, yet, everything has.