Foreshadowing the Unexpected

Chapter Sixteen - New Lessons

When you can't have what you want, it's time to start wanting what you have.--Kathleen A. Sutton

Connor stood just inside the portrait hole of the Gryffindor common room, grinning at the sight in front of him. Surrounded by a crowd of older boys (and a few girls), Zack stood in the centre of the room, holding Quentin in a dancing pose in the centre of the room, counting out steps to the music that was playing on an old phonograph, "one, two, three, one, two, three, one, two, three..."

"See how I'm sliding my foot back a bit here?" Zack asked the gathered boys as he guided Quentin. "You want to take the opportunity here to turn your partner a quarter turn, and..."

Connor waited until Zack's eyes met his and asked, "Is there something you two want to tell me?"

Quentin jumped as though he'd been scalded and Zack let go of him at once.

"You're back!" Zack said, clapping Connor on the shoulder.

"Are you all better now?" Quentin asked, anxiously.

"I'm fine," Connor said with a smile, "What's all this about?"

"Connor!" Rachel's cry could be heard from across the crowded room, and Connor looked up just in time to see her hurtling toward him.

"Take it easy, brat," Connor said as she launched herself at him and hugged him tightly.

"We were so worried!" Rachel said. "I have to go tell Ivy you're back!"

As quickly as she had appeared, she was gone again, hurrying up the steps to the girls' dormitories.

"So," Connor tried again, "want to tell me why I leave for a couple of days, and I come back to find my two best mates doing the tango?"

"It was a waltz," Quentin said with as much dignity as possible.

"Dance lessons," Zack said with a smirk. He gestured to the waiting crowd "These guys want to learn in time for the ball."

Connor knew that the Yule Ball opened and closed with traditional waltzes, with popular music played in between. A couple of the older boys looked embarrassed when Connor surveyed them, but for the most part, they didn't seem to care.

"Are we going to finish here or not?" Drew Hatcher asked irritably.

"Connor!" Ivy's screech preceded her by mere seconds as she threw her arms around Connor's neck and squeezed. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Come on, guys, looks like the lesson's over for now," Drew said to the others.

"Sorry," Zack muttered. "Tomorrow night, for sure."

"Ivy, I can't breathe!" Connor complained, prying her arms from his neck.

"Come sit down and tell us everything," Rachel demanded, pulling Connor over to a free table. "All they would tell us was that you'd had an accident and had been taken to St Mungo's."

Connor sat down and told them his prepared story. "There's not much to tell. I left you all in Hogsmeade, and by the time I got back to the castle my head was killing me. I saw McGonagall and had a vision about her getting hit by some falling icicles, and apparently the vision was the last straw. After I warned her, I just passed out. My brain got all weird and decided to try to shut itself down because of all of the stuff trying to get into my head."

"Oh, my goodness!" Ivy said, holding a hand over her mouth in shock. "What did they do?"

"McGonagall was right there, and Snape happened to be nearby, so they got me to the hospital wing, and then sent me on to St Mungo's, just to make sure I was okay," Connor said, mostly truthfully. "I pretty much slept the whole time."

"You were gone for almost six days!" Quentin said.

"Yeah," Connor said with a shrug. "Like I said: my brain tried to shut down. I guess that takes a while to recover from."

"But you're all right now?" Zack asked worriedly.

"Yes," Connor said. "But I'm going to have to take Occlumency lessons again. When I was at St Mungo's, they said I need to learn how to Occlude all the time, and not just build up walls in my mind and then wait for them to crumble before building them up again."

"So is your Occlumency teacher going to be coming here?" Rachel asked.

"No," Connor said, still feeling disappointed over it. "Clive is under contract for another six months where he's teaching now. Professor Snape recommended Professor Lyra for my new Occlumency teacher."

"The Divination professor?" Rachel asked.

"That's her," Connor confirmed. "She's supposed to be a really good Occlumens. Being a seer and all, she kind of needs to be, I guess."

"Is that all?" Rachel asked shrewdly.

"Pretty much," Connor said. "I'll have to go and see Madam Cosgrove a couple of times a week to get checked over for a while. My parents were pretty shaken up by what happened and want her to make sure it won't happen again."

"I'm glad you're back, mate," Zack said, and everyone else nodded.

"Me too," Connor said with a smile. "So, tell me what's been going on while I was gone."

Seemingly satisfied with Connor's account of his absence, Ivy, Rachel, Quentin and Zack filled Connor in on what he had missed in classes and gossip for the past few days.

"Oh!" Rachel said happily. "Ivy's going to the ball!"

"Who're you going with?" Connor asked curiously.

Circe leapt up onto the table and greeted Connor with a meow and by butting his hands with her head, demanding to be petted.

"Aiden," Quentin answered before Ivy could. He reached across the table to scratch Circe's ears, and grinned at Ivy's scowl. "He asked her yesterday after he broke up with Christa Belmuth."

"Why'd they break up?" Connor asked, surprised. He hadn't forgotten catching them in the greenhouses, kissing. Connor kind of thought that if Ivy and Rachel's merciless teasing hadn't scared Aiden off, nothing would. But then, Aiden never took teasing very seriously, anyway.

"Dunno," Ivy said. "He just asked if I wanted to go, because he thought we could have fun without me getting any wrong ideas."

"That's nice," Rachel said sarcastically.

"I don't mind," Ivy said. "At least I'll get the chance to go."

"What about you, Rachel?" Connor asked.

"Oh, yes, Connor," Rachel answered mockingly. "There are so many boys above fourth year just dying to ask out a second year girl."

"Why not?" Connor asked. "You're pretty enough, and you can dance."

Rachel looked pleased by this, though she merely answered, "You're not really that clueless, are you? You're saying that because you're my cousin, right?"

"Whatever," Connor said with a sigh. He just didn't understand girls, and it was no use trying.

"Zack's going, too," Quentin volunteered, "with Victoria."

"You fancy Victoria?" Connor asked Zack with surprise.

"No," Zack said, blushing. "She 's trying to make some Ravenclaw bloke jealous. She asked me as a favour."

"You're nuts," Connor proclaimed, "both of you. What about you, Quentin?"

"Nope!" he answered cheerfully. "Not going."

"So what's with the dance lessons?" Connor asked with a smirk.

"Hey, they asked to learn, and offered to pay," Zack said in his defence.

"How much?" Connor demanded.

"Each of them is giving us a galleon," Zack said. "We reckon there's about twenty who want to learn. We've been trying to convince more of the girls to join in, but so far, only a few are willing. We've still got a couple of weeks, though."

Connor finally began to tire, and Rachel demanded that he go to bed so that he'd be rested for classes in the morning.

It was nice to be back in his own bed, and Connor did his Occlumency and fell asleep with a smile on his face.

#*#*#*#*#*#

The next day after Divination, Professor Lyra held Connor back and told him that their first lesson would be at eight o'clock that evening. She told him to bring the Animus Orb with him and not to practice any Occlumency for the rest of the day if he could help it.

In Defence Against the Dark Arts, Professor Lupin was absent. Connor realised that the previous night had been a full moon, though Ms. Grayson insisted that Professor Lupin was abroad for the rest of the week. Ms. Grayson said that she was glad to have Connor back in class, and then gave him the assignments he had missed on Monday and Wednesday. Fortunately for Connor, today's class was little more than a revision of the material they had covered earlier that week, so all he had to do was to take notes.

At lunchtime, Connor caught sight of Rupert. Wondering if the Slytherin boy had been punished at all for being in Hogsmeade the previous Saturday, Connor was surprised to find that he didn't really care all that much anymore. What difference did Rupert's stupid stunts make to Connor now that he had so many other things to deal with?

Connor finished out his school day with Transfiguration. He had fallen behind again in his absence, and cringed at the length of the essay that had been assigned on Tuesday, in addition to the chapter summaries that were assigned today. Maybe Quentin would take pity on him, and help him make up the work.

It was going to take him a couple of days to get caught up, and that was on top of lessons with Professor Lyra and Madam Cosgrove.

"Hey, Connor," Whitney said when she spotted him the common room after classes. "Are you going to be able to join us for Quidditch practice tonight?"

Connor tried not to groan as he mentally kissed his weekend goodbye.

#*#*#*#*#*#*#

At eight o'clock that evening, Connor hurried up the stairs to the Divination tower, still wearing his Quidditch robes, groping through his bag for the Animus Orb. Whitney had not been pleased that he'd had to leave practice early and had made him promise to try to arrange a better time for his extra lessons.

He arrived for his lesson out of breath and knocked on Professor Lyra's office door, not really sure what to expect.

"Come in, Connor," Professor Lyra called.

Connor pushed open the door with an apology ready on his lips, but stopped when he saw his professor. She was sat cross-legged on the floor with a silver plate of smoking herbs in front of her. Sniffing the air experimentally, Connor decided that she was burning sage and mallow sweet. She wore her normal teaching robes, but her feet were bare, her hair down, hanging like a dark curtain down her back.

"Have a seat," Professor Lyra said with a gesture when Connor stepped inside.

Connor didn't see any chairs nearby, so he sat down on the floor across from her with the plate of smouldering sage between them.

"Quidditch?" she asked once he was settled.

"Yes," Connor said, catching his breath. "I had to leave practice early to make it here in time."

Professor Lyra lifted an eyebrow as if to say that he wasn't on time, but simply nodded and asked, "Did you bring your Animus Orb with you?"

Connor produced the orb and handed it over to her.

"I haven't had much time," Professor Lyra said as she watched the orb turn blank and then begin to fill with smoke, "to really give a lot of thought to how we're going to proceed."

Connor didn't know if he was supposed to offer suggestions, or just sit there while she thought about it.

"Professor Snape had some suggestions, but his style of teaching is a bit more...forceful than mine," Professor Lyra said. "I know that you've studied with Clive Sharpe, so why don't we start off with you telling me what you already know about Occlumency?"

"Well he started off by having me do breathing exercises," Connor began. He went through everything he could remember about what Clive had taught him of the theory behind Occlumency and how he had chosen the sky as a focal point and used visualisation to help him clear his mind.

"Clive, that is to say, Mr. Sharpe--is a good teacher, and you seem to understand the basics of Occlumency very well," Professor Lyra acknowledged. "However, he only taught you the basics, because that was all that you appeared to need at the time. I believe that your parents were hoping that your lack of success in controlling the sudden increase in your visions was something of a temporary matter that would resolve itself as your mind learned focus and gained strength."

"But it's not," Connor said, understanding what she was saying, but curious as to how much more there was to know about Occlumency.

"No," she confirmed. "I'm sorry, but in light of the recent discoveries about your talents, I can only envision things getting worse unless we get them under control as quickly as possible."

"How do we do that?" Connor asked, eager to start.

"The first thing I think you need to do," she said, "is to lose your temporal focus as it relates to your Occlumency."

"Lose my what?" Connor asked, completely confused.

"Your temporal focus," she repeated calmly. "You are too focused on the time surrounding your Occlumency."

"What does that mean?" Connor asked feeling increasingly confused.

"You practice your Occlumency every morning before classes, correct?" she asked.

Connor nodded.

"On a normal day, without any distractions," Professor Lyra asked, "about what time would you feel the need to renew your Occlumency practice?"

"About four o'clock," Connor answered. "On a good day."

Professor Lyra nodded. "You see? You've trained your mind to hold out until the end of classes each day, at which point it needs a rest. By practicing so often, you're telling your mind that you don't need those shield at all times."

Connor only vaguely understood what she was saying, but dutifully paid close attention. He knew that she was trying to help him in the best way the she knew how. "So what should I be doing about it?"

"Ideally, your mind would have adjusted to the amount of students and mental distractions around Hogwarts within a couple of months," Professor Lyra said thoughtfully. "You might liken it to building up a resistance to it. Your mind would have eventually been able to lengthen the time between Occlumency practices until you weren't even conscious that you were Occluding constantly."

"But that didn't happen," Connor observed.

"No," she agreed, "but I'm sure that's what Mr. Sharpe had in mind by the time your lessons with him were over. He really didn't have sufficient time to teach you everything you needed to know, but it probably would have been adequate if the problem had simply been blocking out precognitive visions."

"But it's more than that," Connor said, finally understanding. "I can't build up a resistance to all of the distractions because my healing talents are growing stronger."

"Yes," Professor Lyra said, staring into the smoke from the still-smouldering sage for a moment. "So, the main things we must teach you are to Occlude constantly, as a second nature, and to strengthen your defences against outside forces."

"Okay," Connor said. "What do I need to do?"

"First of all, we're going to have to break your habit of Occluding in the middle of the day," she said with a sound of grim determination in her voice. "It will probably give you no end of headaches for the first few days, but it has to be done."

"But," Connor began, feeling the first pangs of panic skate up and down his spine, "what if I get overwhelmed?"

"You might," she said bluntly. "I'm going to recommend to Professor McGonagall that you be excused from dining in the Great Hall for the next week, or that you only take your meals there when there are a minimum of students present. The fewer people there are in close proximity to you, the fewer distractions you'll have to deal with."

"I can't eat with my friends?" Connor asked with disbelief.

"Not until we've got you past the stage where you need afternoon Occlumency," she answered firmly. "We're going to force your mind to toughen up a bit, and you can't afford to be using crutches like mid-afternoon Occlumency and your Animus Orb."

Professor Lyra held up the orb that was still in her hand, to show Connor that it was now in her possession, then dropped it into the pocket of her robes.

"But what if I--" Connor began, feeling slightly sick. He wasn't at all sure he trusted Professor Lyra now that he had heard her plan for him. She didn't seem to be overly concerned with his personal comfort or feelings.

"Also," she said over his protest, "I intend to send a message to each of your Professors saying that due to your recent stay in St. Mungo's you will need to leave each class five minutes early, so that you are not exposed to all of the distractions in the crowded corridors. I don't want you to have to deal with any groups larger than the size of an average class."

"I thought that this was all supposed to be a secret," Connor said sulkily.

"And it will be," Professor Lyra said, sounding unmoved by his petulant attitude. "No one will question the need to isolate yourself a bit after suffering an injury due to your precognition. There's no reason for anyone to suspect that it has anything at all to do with a healing ability. Why would they?"

"But," Connor said, "what do I do if I run into problems at other times?"

"Well, I don't want you to injure yourself again, Connor," she said. "That's why I want you to go to such lengths right now to avoid being in large groups. The less strain on your mental defences, the better. If you have serious problems, then ask to go to the hospital wing, and get a calming draught. I want you to try to avoid doing Occlumency at all during the day--just in the morning before class, and at night before bed."

"Then what?" Connor asked, not liking what he was hearing, but seeing the logic in her plan.

"Once you're okay without your mid-day Occlumency, then we'll work on eliminating your night time practice as well," she said simply. "And after that, we'll tackle the morning practice session as well, until you're strong enough to Occlude constantly. That is still months away, though."

"Are you sure this will work?" Connor asked sceptically.

"As sure as I can be," she said. "I've never worked with anyone of your talents before. In fact, I've never tried to teach Occlumency before."

"So, what about my Animus Orb?" Connor asked. "Will I ever get it back?"

"I think so, yes," she said confidently. "Only instead of using it as a crutch, you'll end up using it as a kind of emotional barometer, to gauge how your mental defences are holding up. There will be times where you will need to fortify your mental defences, if I'm not mistaken. When you learn to use your healing gift, you are most likely going to need to lower your mental defences to let that magic take over, and then you'll have to build them back up afterward."

Connor said nothing. He had a lot of thoughts swirling around in his head at the moment, and found himself gazing unseeingly at the curls and tendrils of smoke drifting up lazily from the plate between them.

"It's getting late," Professor Lyra said, looking at her watch. "I'd like you to go through your Occlumency with me before you head back to Gryffindor Tower. I'd like to observe your technique."

Connor nodded. It was almost as if her announcement that it was getting late triggered a response in him that made him immediately sleepy.

Professor Lyra smiled at him and said, "Whenever you're ready, Connor."

"But what about your wand?" Connor asked when he didn't see one in evidence.

"I don't need one to follow along with you," she said matter-of-factly. "As long as you don't fight my presence in your mind too strongly, all I'll need to do is lower my own defences and seek you, or your mind, out. I would only ever do this with your permission," she added, seeming to sense Connor's alarm.

Connor finally nodded his assent and saw that Professor Lyra had closed her eyes and seemed to be waiting for him. He closed his eyes and started.

When Connor opened his eyes next, the first thing he saw was Professor Lyra beaming at him. "Excellent work. You've got a fairly well organized mind, and that will be helpful to you as we go along."

Connor wasn't sure why he felt a blush heating his cheeks, but fought it down and said, "Thanks, I guess."

"There's a lot I could teach you about the precognitive side of your abilities, Connor," Professor Lyra said. "Perhaps once you have your Occlumency mastered, you'll want to explore some other avenues."

Connor wasn't sure what to say to that, but he sensed that he was free to go. He stood up and grabbed his bag. "Thank you for the lesson, Professor," he said politely.

"You're welcome, Connor," she answered with real warmth, surprising him after her earlier pragmatic attitude. "I'll want to see you here again briefly tomorrow night to hear about your first day without mid-day Occlumency. I'll leave it up to you whether or not you'd like to take your breakfast early, before the other students are up, or if you'd like for Professor McGonagall to arrange for the House Elves to send something to you in your dorm or common room."

"For the weekend," Connor said after a moment's consideration, "I'll make plans to eat when there's not a lot of people around."

"That's good enough for now," Professor Lyra said. "Remember that you're not to be around large groups of people. If your common room even gets crowded, you should retreat to your room or the library or someplace less populated."

"I will," Connor promised as she walked him to the door of her office.

"And under no circumstance are you to allow yourself to be near obviously ill or injured people," she said sternly.

He assured her again that he would be very careful, and went back to Gryffindor Tower thinking over everything that he and Professor Lyra had discussed.

It was ten o'clock by the time he gave the Fat Lady the password and climbed through the portrait hole.

No sooner had he gotten inside the common room, than Whitney was striding forward asking, "Did you tell her that you had to leave Quidditch early?"

"I told her, but she didn't say anything about it," Connor admitted. He didn't want to tell his captain that he'd forgotten to ask Professor Lyra if they could meet at a more convenient time. "I have to go again tomorrow night, so I'll ask her about changing times then."

"See that you do," Whitney said before stalking off.

"How'd it go?" Rachel asked when Connor dropped wearily into a chair at her table. Quentin, Ivy and Zack were sitting there too, and looked up from their schoolwork with interested expressions.

"All right, I reckon," Connor said. "I just won't be able to eat my meals in the Great Hall for a week or so, and I get to leave my classes early, too." He explained how Professor Lyra planned to train him to Occlude, glad that he could tell them something of all of the extraordinary things going on with him lately.

"You look tired, Con," Rachel said, using the nickname she only used when she was really worried about him. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I am tired," Connor said. "You'd think sleeping for four or five days would be enough."

"Don't even joke about that!" Rachel scolded him. "Why don't you go take a shower and turn in?"

"That sounds like the best plan I've heard all day," Connor said, yawning widely. He grabbed his bag from the floor, and headed up the stairs.

--------------------0---------------------

"So, Zack," Connor said with a mouth full of scrambled eggs, "do you think your parents will let you come to my place for Christmas again this year?"

Connor, Zack and Quentin had woken late on Saturday morning, and had decided to eat their breakfast in the Hogwarts kitchens.

Professor McGonagall had given special permission when she heard about Professor Lyra's plan for Connor's lessons. She had only pursed her lips a little when she learned that they already knew where the entrance to the kitchens was.

"No," Zack said, sounding disappointed. "My parents have decided we're going on a cruise for Christmas."

"What's a cruise?" Quentin asked curiously.

"It's a holiday on a big ship," Zack said. "My mum says it's almost like a floating city with lots of restaurants, shops, swimming pools and the like."

"On a boat?" Connor asked with a chuckle. The idea seemed strange to him. "You already live in a city, why bother going to one that could sink?"

Zack laughed and tried to explain about seeing different Mediterranean ports and visiting a warmer climate for a while, but Connor and Quentin refused to see the point in it.

Finally, Connor gave up trying to fathom what Muggles would want to float around on the ocean for and excused himself to go to see Madam Cosgrove for a "check up".

When he approached the hospital wing, however, he was met by Professor Snape.

"I'm afraid it's an inconvenient time for you to visit the hospital wing, Mr Potter," he said. "Madam Cosgrove is currently treating an injured student. I was asked to meet with you, instead."

Connor realized that the staff must have been informed of Professor Lyra's orders for him not to come into contact with anyone with injuries. Snape was obviously doing his part to see that he followed orders.

"Yes, sir," Connor said.

"My office, then," Snape directed. He turned on his heel and led the way, not looking back to see if Connor was following.

Connor hurried along behind Snape and followed him down to the dungeons, neither of them speaking, until they arrived at Snape's office. Connor took the chair that Snape pointed to and waited to see what Snape would have to say.

"You will need to read this," Professor Snape said without preamble. He sat down behind his desk, and slid a book across to Connor.

"A History of Magic in America," Connor read from the cover. "Why?"

"The cover is simply to misdirect anyone who might observe you reading this book," Snape said. "Inside you will find a basic guide to healing charms, including incantations, wand technique, and theory. You will not be so foolish as to attempt anything you read without direct supervision and permission."

"Yes, sir," Connor said, opening the book to a random page and glancing at the moving illustrations.

"Madam Cosgrove will be questioning you on the first chapter on Tuesday, so be prepared," Snape advised. "You will not waste anyone's time by not doing your absolute best in your extra lessons."

"I understand, sir," Connor agreed warily.

"You will be joining your new Potions class in one week's time," Snape continued. "You will be joining the advanced fourth year students, so I expect you to be prepared and up to speed when you do. I will not tolerate excuses. Their current assignment is a sixteen-inch essay on the uses of a Bezoar as it pertains to potion making. You will find the information you need in chapter thirty-one of your text book, and be ready to hand in the assignment with the rest of your new classmates next Monday."

"Does that mean I am excused from any further homework assignments in my current Potions class?" Connor asked hopefully.

"As everyone has gone to great lengths to assure me," Snape said silkily, "you are both bright and capable. You will do any assignments I assign the third year class until you are formally switched to the fourth year class."

"Yes, sir," Connor answered unenthusiastically. Arguing would only earn him scorn and lose Gryffindor points. "When does the fourth year class meet?"

"Your schedule will be modified beginning next Monday," Snape said, handing a new schedule card over to Connor. "Advanced fourth year Potions meets on Mondays and Wednesdays at the time you would normally have attended Care of Magical Creatures class. You will now take Care of Magical Creatures with the Slytherin/Hufflepuff class at the time you used to have Potions."

Connor stared down at his new schedule gloomily, but didn't protest.

"You will also, as time permits, have extra lessons with me regarding the concoction of various healing potions," Snape said. "But those will wait until you have had time to adjust to your new schedule."

Connor was beginning to wonder if he would ever have any free time again.

"I would suggest you get started, Mr Potter," Snape said by way of dismissal. "You have a lot of homework to catch up on."

With a sigh, Connor picked up his new book and headed back to Gryffindor Tower.