The Touch Of Prometheus

THE TOUCH OF PROMETHEUS

Written originally in Portuguese, english version: Fabianna Bluhn

Thanks to my beta readers: Silvia Rodrigues and Audrey Fischer.

Chapter 8 - The Visit

Harry, Ron and Hermione were present at another boring History of Magic class with Professor Binns. Harry made an effort to pay attention to the history of how the gargoyles' had become extinct; of how the gargoyles, stoned magical creatures, had turned so unbearable at the 1000s that they had been fenced in a cave that was lost under the place that now was called London. After a ruthless wrestling, at the edge of a precipice in the cave, which was known as "Gargoyles' Flaw", the gargoyles were massacred and reduced to dust. The few remaining gargoyles were subdued, paralysed and distributed around the world. Most of them were now on the churches. "But one of them guards Dumbledore's office," thought Harry.

Madam Pomfrey showed up to notify the Divination students that they would have their afternoon period free, since Professor Trelawney was ill and could not teach at the moment. Then, she told Harry he had a visitor waiting for him at the Great Hall.

When the class was over, Harry went downstairs along with Ron and Hermione to find out who was waiting for him. It was Sheeba and Harry noticed she was not wearing her gloves.

"Harry!," she said cheerfully, kissing Harry on the cheek (it was way better than the kiss his cousin Dudley Dursley got from his chubby godmother, of course, but that made him deeply embarrassed). Sheeba utilized the kiss to whisper, "Don't be afraid, Harry, I'm here because of my job."

At this time, dull-looking Ron and Hermione were staring at her blankly, "Hey, kids! How are you? I'll lunch with you, if I can?"

"At Gryffindor's table?" Hermione made a harsh face.

"Why not? I'm a privileged ex-student! Hello, Minerva!" she said to Professor McGonagall, who walked past them.

"Sheeba," said a familiar voice and Harry, Ron and Hermione turned around just to see Professor Snape's strangely flabbergasted face.

"Hallo, Severus!" every student from Slytherin who followed him passed before them stretching out their necks to know who that woman was and muttering a lot.

"Are you going to sit with us at the staff table?" Snape wore the most cretin face Harry had ever thought he could manage to wear.

"Oh, no. I'll sit with my godson. You know him, don't you? Harry Potter!"

"Oh, yes, of course," Snape was deeply embarrassed, mainly when Harry smiled sweetly and innocently at him.

"He's an excellent student, isn't he, Severus? And so are his friends Ron and Hermione. She's the cleverest girl I've ever met... do you know anybody who's cleverer than her?"

"Well, no... I mean, they're all very hard-working..."

"Oh, that's so nice of you. Thank you to recognize this! I'll see you later!"

Sheeba stretched each of her hands to Harry and Ron and walked towards Gryffindor's table, leaving behind an astonished Severus Snape (who was wondering what he had done wrong). Half way to the table, Sheeba embraced Rubeus Hagrid tightly, and he practically threw her to the ceiling as he said, "Girl! Where have you been?"

"I've been around here, Hagrid. I see you're still raising nasty monsters as if they were little rabbits, aren't you?"

He grinned, "Well, you should be a teacher here."

"Maybe when the current Divination teacher retires?"

No matter how much Hermione tried to dislike Sheeba, she could not help but liked her. What she had just done with Snape had cleansed her soul, who had already been called an "irritable know-it-all" by the teacher more than once. Among the Gryffindors, Sheeba definitely did not resemble a grown-up, nor did she resemble a woman who worked for the Ministry's Police. In less than five minutes of chatting, it seemed she was a student like the others... Ron, who was at her left, kept treating Sheeba as if she was a Veela, and Harry, well, after the initial embarrassment, he was feeling home next to his godmother, mainly when he looked at Slytherin's table and saw Draco Malfoy's fool face. In a moment, Sheeba whispered just to him and Hermione (who was at Harry's right), "Don't be duped, this isn't an usual visit, I'm touching everybody and everything to know who has a Confusion Charm."

When they had finished lunching, Harry and Ron took advantage of the free time (Hermione had Arithmancy) to pick up their broomsticks and practice Quidditch. Harry was trying to teach Ron so that he would be able to play keeper, since the last one to play this position, Oliver Wood, had already graduated from Hogwarts. Actually, the two boys wanted to show off for Sheeba. When Harry went upstairs to pick up his Firebolt, he had an idea and put on the garment Sheeba had given him. In a couple of minutes, he was at Quidditch's pitch, on his Firebolt, spinning through loop the loops.

Ron was using Fred's broomstick. Some other students helped them; two playing Beaters, and another one helping Ron at his position.

Harry approached Sheeba and asked, "Would it be very dishonest to use this garment to play Quidditch?"

"I wouldn't do it if I were you..."

"Why not?"

"I cast some spells on this garment, so then it would only be used to honest purposes, but if you really want to try..."

"Okay," Harry went very high on his broomstick and asked somebody to throw a Bludger on him. The Bludger came very quickly. Harry thought it was just going to touch him and change its way, however it just knocked him down the broomstick. It is true it was just like being hit by a foam ball, he did not feel pain, but Harry simply started falling. All the boys at the Quidditch Pitch shouted as they saw Harry fall off from his broomstick. Sheeba just raised her wand and said, in an impressively calm tone, "Accio!"

Nothing happened with Harry, who was still falling, but his Firebolt, that was nearly disappearing from sight, came in her direction. Harry thought he would break all his bones, however, a second before he hit the floor, he shook in the air as if he were hanging in a bungee jump's elastic. He hung in the air for some more moments, and then, he fell on the floor with a "bang". Everybody ran after him, expect Sheeba, who came walking calmly, holding his broomstick in her right hand. Harry had already got up when she handed him his Firebolt and asked, "Did it hurt?"

"Nope... but the Bludger knocked me down anyway."

"This will make you understand that this garment is perfectly useful for letting you stay safe and sound, but it won't ever help you win a Quidditch Match. Use your skills instead..."

Harry rolled his eyes grimly as he saw three figures walking across the pitch. As usual, Draco Malfoy and his bodyguards were laughing, ready to take advantage of what, unfortunately, they had already witnessed. "It seems you've just done bad to your godmother... shame on you!" Draco begun in his habitual drawl.

"Not exactly," said Sheeba, who was grinning from ear to ear, "I was teaching Harry how to fall from his broomstick without getting hurt, and it seems he learned it very well... If you want to try too...," Draco stepped back; his notable cowardice was visible on his face. Sheeba looked at him with her big brown eyes, and then, looked at Crabbe, getting closer to him and touching the tip of his nose... he was way taller than her.

"This wardrobe is a Crabbe! You inherited the elephant shape and worm brain from your family... should I tell you that your destiny is working as an old broomsticks repairer?" she turned around to face Goyle, who did not lose to Crabbe in the height query and was currently laughing, "What are you laughing about, Goyle?" she said as she touched the boy's chest, "Dearest gorilla, you're the same kind of almost-squib as your father were... poor you...I think that working as a latrine cleaner is indeed a very bad destiny..."

Draco was glaring at Sheeba in disdain when she smiled and approached him. Differently from Crabbe and Goyle, Malfoy was almost as short as Sheeba, and she got so close to him that she almost leaned on his nose. She twinkled at him, which nearly made him jump... then, she ran a finger across his face, from his forehead to his chin, touching his lips (it visibly disturbed him). She started, "Draco Malfoy, the son of Lucius and Narcissa... they're still conceited, snobbish, intolerable and mediocre as they were when I met them at school... hum... it seems your father hasn't solved the problem all the Malfoys have that gives sexual impotence to all the men in your family at the age of thirty, but you're not going to live enough to care about it, therefore, don't give a darn to it, okay? But if I were you," she almost whispered this bit, "I wouldn't get any closer to the Whomping Willow... at least not while you're like this... you know, a virgin..."

"What kind of madwoman is your godmother, Potter?" Draco was as red as a tomato, all the boys around him, including Crabbe and Goyle, were rolling over with laughter.

"She's a clairvoyant," said Harry as soon as he could manage to stop laughing, "she has the Touch of Prometheus."

"I don't believe those things..."

"If I were you, I would," added Ron, "she's one of the good ones, she's never made a wrong foreboding," faster than a Bludger, Draco and his bodyguards left the pitch.

Ron was on the fall, nearly crying of laughter. Sheeba said to Harry, "You owe me... now I'll meet Hermione at the library, I'll see you before I go home."

"Hermione may be at Arithmancy class," said Harry.

"No, she isn't. Her class ended early..." Sheeba shouted from a good distance away; she was nearly entering the castle.

"Seriously," said Ron, who was wiping off his tears of laughter, "wouldn't it be amusing to see Malfoy lacking in sexual power at the age of thirty? Pity it may be just a joke."

"It might be not," said Harry, "Did you notice she wasn't wearing her gloves?"

Chapter 9 - The Eye of the Tiger

Hermione was at the library, standing behind a closed book: "IDENTIFYING PREMONITORY GIFTS", that she finally managed to find there. Something made her not wish even a bit to open it... at this moment, something she was already expecting happened. Sheeba entered the library and sat opposite to her at her table. "Hello, Hermione."

"Er... hi, Sheeba."

"I think, and it isn't a foreboding, that you have a silly jealousy of me."

"Jealousy? No, I..."

"You don't know if you like me or not, isn't it?"

"Actually, I like you, but you disturb me... ever since you arrived here, you're doing your best to touch the greater number of people and discover something about who cast that spell at Harry..."

"Even though you think it's strange, since whoever cast this spell won't let me touch him or her without an identical Confusion Spell. And you are right. I didn't come here just for this."

"Didn't you?"

"Nope. I've come here to give you this," Sheeba took of her wrist a jewel, which had two huge yellow gems with a black center, that resembled eyes, and those gems were joined by two rows of thick silver chains. Sheeba separated those eyes and now she had in her hands two identical bracelets. She put one of them her the top of her own wrist, and put the other on Hermione's wrist (the eye was turned to the inferior part of her forearm), "Look into the gem, Hermione."

Hermione looked at the gem, fascinated... she saw herself, but from another angle... Sheeba was at the first level, as if she could only see what the gem could reflect.

"Using this jewel, Hermione, you'll always know where I am and what I am doing. When my reflection isn't visible, it will be because I'm doing something that doesn't concern you, and I have turned off my gem. To turn off your own gem, you just need to turn it like this," Sheeba turned it to the mounting's right, "and then, I won't be able to see you."

"Why are you giving me this? Harry is your godson, shouldn't you give this jewel to him?"

"I could say that I'm not giving it to him because he already has many things to worry about, which isn't a lie. Or maybe, I'm doing this because I want to conquer your friendship, which is true too... or that I'm giving this jewel to you because you're a girl, and girls get mature before boys do... you aren't a little girl anymore, are you? But actually, Hermione, I choose you to give this gem as I received it from Viviane Lake when I was exactly your age because I know you were the first one to realize Sirius wasn't guilty, as you looked at him, even though you were struggling against what your sense was telling you. Do you remember you were the first one to notice that Sybil Trelawney was a fake?... when Harry got that Firebolt for his birthday, you knew it was from Sirius, and you also saw in Lupin's eyes that he was hiding something, and you found out what it was... people say you're clever... and you are. But you know there's something else, don't you? When you look into one's eyes, you know, and you're exactly in the age when this gift shows up..."

Hermione looked into Sheeba's eyes and realized. Looking serious, she waited for Sheeba to say what she already knew, "Hermione, you're a Truth Sniffer."

Hermione glared at Sheeba with big brown eyes. The worst thing was that, everything made so much sense, it was not just intelligence. Hermione really knew she had the gift.

"Sheeba, what about when I thought Professor Snape was trying to kill Harry?"

"Actually, you still didn't know how to use this gift, but you knew Snape was trying to hide something, didn't you?"

"I think I knew, but... now I don't know what to do about it."

"Hermione, I'm at Hogwarts to tell you what you'll do about this gift. I'll be your mentor."

"Are you going to teach here?"

"Actually no. You're going to have particular classes with me. Your gift isn't like mine. In a few lessons, I believe it'll be totally developed and then you'll be ready. For now, I want to ask you something: open this book that is just in front of you. Search for the chapter 'Seers by Categories', and then, go to 'Sniffers', letter 'G'".

Hermione shrieked. 'Granger, Hermione', her name, had just sprung up on the book.

"Since I'm going to give you some lessons, I need to give you my home's key," said Sheeba, handing Hermione an identical key as the one she had, "All the Saturdays, at half past eight, whirl this key at the lock, and you'll be transported. Obviously, you have to leave Hogwarts to do this, you've read 'Hogwarts, a history', and you know you can't leave this school using an artifact such as this one. Ask Hagrid to escort you out of the grounds, okay? I've already talked to him, and when it's time for you to go back, he'll be waiting for you. We can start this weekend. Now, let's get out of here. I need to meet Harry."

"Have you read 'Hogwarts, a history' too, Sheeba?"

"Yep, I have. Ron has too, but he pretends he hasn't just to annoys you."

"I'd like to know why does he do those things..."

"Are you sure you don't know, Hermione?"

They went quickly downstairs to meet Ron and Harry, who were going upstairs to the library.

"Harry, we need to talk," Sheeba was serious now, as Sirius always was when he needed to say something important, "Hermione and Ron, you may come too. Let's go to that empty room there."

They entered a room at the Great Hall's left side. Sheeba started telling them what she had just found out, "Some students are under Confusion Spells, as one could have expected: Crabbe, Goyle, Malfoy..."

"So Malfoy won't be impotent at the age of thirty?," Ron looked disappointed, Sheeba laughed and went on, "So are some people from the staff who I really didn't expect; McGonagall, Sprout, Madam Pomfrey... and even Hagrid! I guess nobody here really trusts me..."

"What about Snape?" asked Harry.

"He's also under the spell. I honestly didn't expect it from him. I think he's going to London, that's the only thing I could perceive..."

"So it was him the one who was at the Pensieve!" Hermione pointed out.

"I don't know. I'll tell my bosses that the investigation isn't accomplished. Meanwhile, stay here and keep watching... just one more thing... Harry, where do you cut your hair?"

"Here at Hogwarts, Madam Pomfrey does it. Why?"

"Do you know where your hair goes after it's cut?"

"To the waste bin, I guess."

"Ron, Hermione... have you been getting your hair cut here?"

"Well, it's been more than two months since I last cut my hair... it doesn't grow as Harry's does... what about you, Hermione?"

"I want my hair longer, so it's been a while since I last cut it. What's the matter with haircuts, Sheeba?"

"That's what need to be watched: to prepare a Confusion Spell, one needs a lock of hair, not just a strand, like in a Polyjuice Potion."

"This makes Madam Pomfrey our suspect number one," said Ron, "How's a Confusion Spell prepared, Sheeba?"

"Do you remember when I said it has some durability? The Spell basically consists in freezing a lock of hair into a special potion. This ice isn't like normal ice; it takes much longer to defrost, and depending on the size of the spell, it can take even ten years, in atmosphere temperature. When the ice finishes melting, the Spell is over."

"If it's like you're saying, where's the Spell with my hair?"

"It can be anywhere, but I believe it's here, Harry. I'm going home, anything you want, just ask Hermione; she knows where to find me, okay?"

Harry and Ron looked suspiciously at Hermione, who looked back in a new way.

When they bade farewell to Sheeba at the Great Hall, she kissed the trio on the cheek, and, at the very moment she was kissing Harry, Cho Chang passed before them, and Harry noticed grimly that she was the only girl at Hogwarts who did not take notice of Sheeba's presence.

"Take care, and don't get into trouble!"

"You aren't the best person to give this sort of advice, Sheeba," said Hermione without noticing.

Sheeba grinned and turned on her heels to go, her cloak flitted behind her shadow. A group of Slytherins afforded her passage the moment she passed past them.

"Well," said Harry, "I guess Malfoy has already talked about her to his mates at Slytherin... let's wave goodbye to my godmother's good popularity..."

"What a woman," said Ron, just in time to be shoved by Hermione.

When Sheeba arrived at the castle's gateway, she met Albus Dumbledore, who had just arrived from London. Harry, Ron and Hermione watched from afar as he and Sheeba talked for a couple of minutes, and then, as Sheeba ran hastily towards somewhere out of Hogwarts.

To be continued...