Foreshadowing the Past

Chapter One

The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.
--Abraham Lincoln

About six years later...

Connor grabbed his school bag and prepared to exit through the portrait hole when Ivy Longbottom and Zack Ellis joined him. They were all glad it was finally Friday, and were looking forward to the first weekend break after their first week back at Hogwarts. They were heading down to the Great Hall for breakfast, and then they were due in potions - their least favorite class. Professor Snape was unbearably unfair to them, and seemed to relish taking points from Connor for doing things like "breathing too loudly." It was a good thing that Connor actually had a talent for the subject, or he would probably be picked on even more.

"Oh," Connor said casually to his companions as the approached the Gryffindor table. "Don't get stuck sharing a cauldron with Quentin today."

"How come?" Zack asked, spotting the subject of the warning already sitting in their usual spot and scribbling furiously on some parchment. His dark brown hair was stuck up at odd angles as if he had neglected to comb it before going to breakfast.

"He's going to get sick all over one of the work tables." Connor grinned.

"Shouldn't we tell him?" Ivy asked, quirking her brow at the two boys.

"What for?" Zack asked. "If he's gonna puke, he's gonna puke. Why make him dread it the whole time until it happens?"

"Maybe he could go to Madam Pomfrey and get a potion or something," she suggested with distaste. She pulled a hairbrush from her bag and expertly gathered her thick shoulder length hair into a more manageable twist, securing it with an enormous toothy clip that somehow held it all securely to the back of her pale head.

"Hey Quint," Connor greeted the ill-fated boy as they all took seats near him. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," he said, looking up from the potions essay he was trying to finish before class. When he noticed his friends were all staring at him, he became suspicious and said, "Why?"

"Connor says you're going to get sick in potions." Ivy said, wrinkling her nose and helping herself to some toast.

"Why would I do that?" He ruffled he silver-blond hair as he looked at Connor. "I feel great!"

Connor just shrugged and answered, "I don't explain 'em."

"Well if you do puke, try to do it on Snape, will you?" Zack asked with a grin.

"Yeah, and give him an excuse to take even more points from Gryffindor. That would be great!" Quentin said sarcastically. He turned back to his almost completed essay and scribbled a few more lines before setting down his quill and capping his ink.

"Hey guys!" Rachel Weasley joined the group of second years at the table, slightly out of breath. "I can't believe I got lost again! I think I turned the wrong way at the suit of armor on the third floor."

"You've been at Hogwarts a week, and you still can't find your way to the great hall?" Connor sneered at his favorite cousin.

"Hey," she defended, grabbing some toast and bacon. "You've had a whole year to get to know the castle; I just got here. Give me a break!"

They were interrupted from their customary arguing by the arrival of the post owls, and grinned when a large tawny one dropped a parcel that bore the label of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes landed between them on the table.

"Excellent!" Rachel said, seeing that it was addressed to both her and Connor. She opened the bright yellow box and found two smaller ones inside. "Skiving Snackboxes!"

"Remind me to hug Uncle Fred next time we see him. I told him that I was going to need this," Connor said, tucking his box into his schoolbag. He looked down the table and saw that several of his cousins were also tucking the familiar boxes into pockets and bags. "Just remember that McGonagall can spot these things a mile away, so be careful."

"After sitting through a double History of Magic yesterday," Rachel said, "I think I'll be saving the fever fudge for that class."

Zack nodded in agreement as he ate his bowl of porridge, and Quentin sighed. "My dad said that he was going to send my winter cloak to me, since it wouldn't fit in my trunk. I've been freezing in astronomy class!"

At that moment, a fifth year Slytherin girl with long silvery hair and steely gray eyes approached Quentin with a package in her hands and dropped it right on top of his breakfast plate. "Dad sent this with my mail, Leo."

"Go away Vanessa," Quentin said with a scowl.

She surveyed the others sitting around her brother and said nastily, "Gladly."

"That is your sister?" Rachel asked in disbelief.

Quentin scowled and nodded. "She's always like that, but it's worse since last year when I didn't get sorted into Slytherin. It wouldn't have been too bad if I'd gone into Ravenclaw like Mum, but I think Gryffindor as been a bitter pill for them to swallow." Everyone gave him a sympathetic look. "At least I got my cloak! Now I won't freeze to death on Monday night."

"We'd better get going, or we'll be late for class," Zack said, picking up his bag, and an extra piece of toast to eat on the way.

They said goodbye to Rachel and hurried down to the dungeons. Ivy kept eyeing Quentin, as if expecting him to break out in a fever at any moment, and stood well away from him in the line outside of the potions classroom. They had potions with the Hufflepuffs this year, and so the class was a large one. Connor and Rachel had a hard time believing the stories their parents had told them about Gryffindor only having about ten students per year back in their day. With the Hufflepuff second years sharing their potions class, there were thirty-two students in all; a fact that made the Potions Master very unhappy.

The door to the class room opened, and they all filed in, intending to choose partners, since they noted that the room was set up for a practical lesson instead of a lecture.

"Choose a partner from a house that is not your own!" Professor Snape commanded them in his gravelly voice, before they could divide themselves up.

This caused a moment's confusion, but the problem about trying not to get partnered with Quentin was solved. Connor chose a seat beside one of the only Hufflepuffs he recognized, a pretty blonde with blue eyes names Jeanette Fisher. She smiled shyly at him, and he smiled back, but they didn't have a chance to speak before the professor began to give them their instructions. He set them their most difficult potion so far, but Connor wasn't worried. His father would be mortified to know that he actually sort of enjoyed Potions class, but that didn't matter. His grandmother was the best cook he knew, and he had learned under her watchful eye how to measure ingredients properly at a young age. A potions list wasn't that much different than cooking recipe, though Snape was a far cry from his loving Grandmother.

Jeanette went about finely dicing the ginger root they needed, while Connor counted out exactly twenty-seven black beetle eyes. They worked in companionable silence until Snape called out.

"Malfoy!"

"Yes, Professor?" Quentin answered carefully. He had almost sliced his finger when the professor had startled him by calling his name. He looked up to see Snape regarding him coolly, his dark hair was pulled back onto the nape of his neck so that the silver streaks at his temples stood out in sharp relief. His eyes glittered, but no reprimands or scathing comments were issued.

"You will retrieve eight pomegranates from the crate on my desk and see to it that each pair of students gets one quarter."

With a sigh of relief, he stood and left his partner to work on their potions while he went to follow instructions. It was hard to tell sometimes whether or not Snape disliked him, and so Quentin was always on guard in this class. He took the deep red exotic fruit from the crate, and carefully washed them in the sink before slicing them into four equal pieces. As he traveled around the room, passing out the seed filled sections, he heard the professor issuing more instructions to the class.

"Each pair of students is to take precisely fifty three unbroken seeds from their section of pomegranate and grind them into a pulp with mortar and pestle. Add the pulp to the potion only after you have added the powdered bicorn horn and brought the solution to a rolling boil."

It happened so quickly, that Quentin never saw it coming. He was standing in front of the next to last pair of students, and the person standing behind him stood up and knocked into him from behind. Quentin dropped the remaining pomegranate sections into the incomplete potion in front of him, and it splashed up into his face, dripping into his mouth.

Connor barely had time to utter a soft, "uh-oh' before his earlier prediction came true. Several students jumped out of the way of the mess, and Snape took twenty points from Gryffindor before clearing everything up with a wave of his wand.

After class, Quentin looked slightly green, and told him he would catch up with them after he went to rinse his mouth. Ivy, Zack and Connor walked toward the Charms classroom, discussing what had happened. They were still chuckling when they passed Rachel in the hallway and Connor called out after her, "You forgot your Herbology book!"

"That really kind of creeps me out," Ivy said conversationally as they turned a corner.

"You'll get used to it." Connor said. "Besides, she didn't forget her book, I'm just messing with her a bit."

Zack laughed and Ivy rolled her eyes. Her life hadn't been dull since meeting her classmates. Her father had told her stories of his own classmates and adventures at Hogwarts, and she was looking forward to having a few of her own. It was fun having so many Weasley's around Gryffindor Tower, and the celebrity of having a famous father that had followed Connor around for the first few months of the previous school year seemed to have virtually vanished. Now they were free to blend in with the rest of the students, and didn't attract too much attention. Most of their classmates were still unaware of Connor's precognitive talents, though she wasn't so sure about the teachers, but they hadn't run into any trouble so far.

They found seats near the back of the room, and saved one for Quentin. Zack got out his wand and his Charms book, and prepared to take notes. Charms was his favorite class, and he didn't mind the double period. He also liked tiny Professor Flitwick. It was rumored that the professor was to be retiring at the end of this year, and Zack would be sorry to see him go. Ever since his first day at Hogwarts last year, Zack had been intrigued by the fact that he could make objects levitate, move, and come when he called - all with the aid of a slender piece of wood with a Unicorn hair inside. His parents were thoroughly non-magical, and had thought that his invitation to attend a school for wizards was an insane joke. It wasn't until a representative of the Muggle Relations department of the Ministry of Magic had arrived and explained things that his parents had begun to understand what it all meant. After a trip to Diagon Alley, they had agreed to a trial year at Hogwarts, and had (luckily for him, since he wasn't allowed to show them the magic he was learning) agreed to let him attend again this year, since his grades had been very good. He had met Connor and some of the Weasleys on the train his first year, and Ivy and Quentin after the sorting; they had all been fast friends since. He missed certain aspects of the Muggle world, but found that the magical one more than made up for it.

Connor was idly flipping through a copy of 'Which Broomstick?' when Quentin slid into the seat next to him, still looking a bit ill.

"I hate you," he whispered to Connor as he dug out his book.

Connor merely chuckled and said, "Ivy did warn you."

"I'll never doubt again," he swore. "That had to be the foulest substance in the world."

Just then, Professor Flitwick entered the room from his office and climbed up onto his customary stack of books to begin his lesson on Freezing Charms.

At lunch, they were all eating thick sandwiches and discussing what they would do for their upcoming weekend. It was nearly time for them to leave for Transfiguration when Connor suddenly jumped up from his seat and sprinted for the Head Table. He jumped it in one giant hurdle, and grabbed Professor McGonagall, pulling her back from the table just as she was about to take her seat. They both stumbled and nearly fell, but were steadied by Professor Lupin, who had been entering behind McGonagall.

"Mr. Potter!" the Headmistress exclaimed. "Explain yourself!"

Connor released her, and lifted the long table cloth that covered the table she where she had been about to sit, revealing the remains of an Ashwinder, and four glowing red eggs in a cluster, the ground beneath them scorched from the intense heat they were giving off. In fact, the tablecloth was beginning to smolder right in front of the chair that the Headmistress always sat in. Professor Lupin immediately withdrew his wand and performed a Freezing Charm on the eggs.

"I, er, smelled smoke?" Connor said lamely.

"It's a good thing you did," Professor Lupin said cheerfully, "Professor McGonagall's robes would surely have caught fire if they had brushed those eggs. He bent and carefully collected them saying, "Professor Snape will undoubtedly find these useful. I believe they are highly prized potion ingredients."

"Indeed," she agreed. "Fifty points to Gryffindor, Mr. Potter. Now I believe you are due in Transfiguration?"

"Yes, ma'am," Connor answered, and walked back to his friends, not looking at anyone else, though he knew that almost everyone as staring at him. He gathered his school bag and gestured for the others to follow him without speaking.

Once they were in the corridor, Rachel demanded, "What was that all about?"

"Ashwinder eggs under the table," he answered tersely. "I can't believe I was so stupid!"

A group of Slytherins passed just then, whispering and staring at Connor as they went. Connor knew that by dinnertime, there would be one or two wild rumors floating around the castle about the incident. Rachel patted his arm sympathetically, and headed off to her own class (going the wrong way), and Ivy, Quentin and Zack walked closely together as they made their way to Transfiguration.

"What's the matter Connor? You just earned us fifty points, and saved McGonagall from some nasty burns!" Ivy tried to keep a cheerful note in her voice.

"And practically shouted out to everyone in the whole of Hogwarts that I knew what was going to happen before it actually did." Connor said angrily. "I jumped over a table, for Merlin's sake!

"What else could you have done?" Zack asked practically. "You couldn't just let her get hurt."

"I know," Connor said. It didn't make him feel any better about it though. He knew that McGonagall and Lupin, both being friends of his parents, were aware of his 'talents' and would be careful not to advertise it to the student body, but today he had done just that all by himself. "But now everyone is going to start thinking I'm a freak."

"I wouldn't worry about it too much," Quentin comforted. "By dinner there will be about fifty different versions of what happened floating around. No one will know the real story unless we tell them, and we aren't going to do that."

"I hope you're right," Connor said, and led the way into the Transfiguration room.

They took their seats and waited for Professor Thompson to arrive. Quentin seemed to be deep in thought for a moment, and then leaned toward Connor and said, "You know, if you want, I can spread a rumor myself. You might come out looking like an idiot, but no one will suspect anything else. All it would take is a word to my sister."

Connor considered this for a moment, and thought that Quentin's plan had merit. He could withstand looking stupid for a while if the alternative was that everyone would learn about his clairvoyance. "Quint," he said with a smile. "You just might be onto something there."

During the afternoon break, Quentin made sure that he was separated from his friends in the courtyard. It only took a few moments before Vanessa swooped down on him and smiled her familiar 'I want something' smile. When she finally wheedled the story out of him, she left to spread the news that Connor had planted the eggs under the Staff Table on a dare, but had gotten cold feet at the last minute and ruined the joke. With his typical Gryffindor luck, he had managed to convince the teachers that he had actually saved the Headmistress from the potentially harmful stunt of another student.

They had quietly discussed it during History of Magic, while Binns droned on about Goblins. By dinnertime the story that Quentin, Zack and Ivy had devised was all over the castle. Connor found that many boys, especially Slytherins, were scornful of his inability to pull a prank that could have proved to be very entertaining. They would almost certainly be calling him some stupid name before morning, but it didn't matter. Most girls thought that he had been cruel to try and pull such a dangerous stunt in the first place, even on a dare, and glared at him as he finished dinner and headed back to the common room, trying to hold back his smile. He knew that he would have to write to his parents about it, since he knew that the professors undoubtedly would. He would have to be more careful in the future, but for now, his secret was safe.