The Little Lightning Girl

17-Historical Precedent Tells Me To Shut My Face

Kaley's grip on my hand tightened. I looked up to meet her eyes and found... an emotion I didn't recognize. I'd always been good at reading people, this was the first time in a while that I couldn't tell what was going on in someone's head.

"What are you... thinking?" I prodded carefully.

"I'm thinking how glad I am that you and Alana had each other, how sad I am that you had to go through that, and how amazed I am that you came out of it a stronger person."

That's what I didn't recognize. There was no sympathy on her face. Ever since I woke up in that hospital, everyone had looked at me like I was broken, like I was an abused puppy that needed around-the-clock monitoring. They didn't mean to make me feel that way, but the constant sympathy got old. And here this girl was, sitting next to me and holding my hand, with kindness and curiosity on her face, but not an ounce of sympathy.

"I understand how you feel," she said quietly, "part of my abilities is that sometimes, I can feel the emotions of the people in my vision. I know how scared you and Alana were, and I know how much pain you were in when they hurt you. It must be very hard to explain what you were feeling in that dungeon, to explain how much you were feeling."

I almost sobbed then and there. As it was, a shuddering breath still escaped me as my chin dipped. The fear that had accompanied me in that place all day and all night, that was one of the things I hadn't been able to talk about. If I had talked about it, I wouldn't have been able to express it properly. The magnitude of the situation couldn't be relayed after the fact. That she already knew how I felt, and that I didn't have to explain, meant the task of telling my story was much easier.

"I was terrified. I thought that I'd been terrified plenty of times before but... waiting on exam results is nothing compared to that feeling. I wish I could tell everyone that I was brave and that I never screamed and that I never did what they told me do, but... I did what I had to so I could survive. I'm not ashamed of that, I just don't want other people to see me differently."

She moved closer to me until our thighs were pressed together and she grabbed my other hand, "James Sirius Potter, you have nothing to be ashamed of and your friends won't be ashamed of you either. I watched you this summer. You are strong, and you are brave. Survival is another kind of bravery, and you are a survivor. You are still dashingly handsome, and annoyingly smart, and wonderfully kind. We all have scars, yours are just closer to the surface than some."

She was far too wise to be only fourteen years old. My heart felt lighter, and I poked her in the leg, "What are your scars, then?"

She smiled sadly, "Mine aren't visible. In second year, I discovered I was a seer. I also discovered, during that time, that my father is not a muggle, he's a squib. His father was a wizard, and a seer, one of the most powerful known to wizardkind. And my great grandmother was a witch and a seer as well. I have blood running through me from the two most powerful families of seers in history."

"Is one of them named Jorges? I've read about them."

She nodded, "Yes"

"What's the other family?"

"They changed their name over the years to avoid recognition, but it was Blue. Not only is being a seer a horrible burden to bear... my grandfather, and his mother, and her mother before her, they were all murdered in cold blood, they were hunted like wild animals. Dark wizards have existed long before Voldemort was born. And each time a powerful seer was born, the dark wizards want them to turn the tide of war, to tell the future, and to spill secrets that no one else knows. Each time they were hunted, the members of my family refused to help the dark wizards and either killed themselves, or were killed for their refusal. I'm proud that they never joined the dark wizards but they were killed like beasts, not people."

I understood the power of seers. They could indeed turn the tide of a war, in many ways. This girl before me was a full-powered seer, and with that came danger by the bucket load. I understood why, even if she'd found out in second year what she was, she still told everyone she was a muggle-born witch. Ironically, being a muggleborn was safer than being a seer. And being a muggle born was almost never the safer option, if history ever said anything.

Kaley continued, "So, with the rising of the Death Eaters, I am threatened. No one but Alana, Rose, and Professor McGonagall know what I am. Now you know. If the Death Eaters find out who my ancestors were and that I have the same gift, I will be hunted just as my grandfather and his family were."

"I give you my word that I won't tell anyone. And I know you didn't ask for it, but I will do everything in my power to protect you, if they come for you."

She smiled sadly, "I'm afraid that my future is as grim as your past, James. Which, I think, and I have thought about it a lot, is all the more reason to be happy while we can."

I was amazed by this girl. I raised my hand to push a strand of her golden hair behind her ear, "Krasivaya Devushka."

She blushed, but then her eyebrows furrowed, "What did you say? I know a lot of languages and I didn't know what that was."

I smiled at her confusion and at her red cheeks, "I don't know if I want to tell you, it'll ruin my fun."

She slapped my shoulder lightly, "James Potter! What did you say?"

I shrugged, "It's just a term- a nickname of sorts."

"In what language?" She pressed on.

I laughed, "If I tell you, will you promise to not try and find out what I said?"

She rolled her ocean eyes, "Sure, fine. I promise."

I grinned at her reluctance, "It's Russian."

She leaned backward in shock, "Russian? When did you have time to learn Russian?"

I almost started to make up a lie, but then I remembered that this was the girl who'd just told me her biggest secret. I owed her a little bit of truth.

I shrugged, knowing I probably conveyed everything but nonchalance, "One of the death eaters, he was recruited by force, branded with the dark mark while under the imperious curse. He helped us. Not by getting us out, as that would have gotten him killed. He was our friend, and snuck us books and talked to us in the late hours. He was from Russia, and as we had nothing else to do, he taught Alana and I his native language. He eventually got killed for helping us. He's also the one who taught me some tricks to nonverbal and wandless magic."

Kaley nodded, "What was his name?"

"Pietro. He was a good man."

"It sounds like he was."

Kaley and I talked for hours, trading stories and trading scars. Most of my story I didn't have to explain to her, because she'd seen it, had been there with me. I didn't get through everything, and there were some parts that I left out, but it was still more than I'd told anyone since our escape. And as I walked back to my dorm later, I realized that Fred, Frank, and Louis had been right. I did feel better.