The Boy Who Could See

Once upon a time there was a boy who could See. He lived in a huge house, its walls covered with portraits of his ancestors who would smile at him when he walked the halls at night. His ancestors loved him because his parents loved him; he was their only child and thus their favorite. He got the best presents on his birthday and at Christmas because his parents wanted to be sure he was always happy.

Now, he couldn't always See, you know. He was not blind, do not misunderstand, he simply could not see until his sixteenth birthday. On this particular birthday, he was away at school. During his first class of the day, he developed a painful headache and was about to ask to be excused when he collapsed. He Spoke in a Voice that was not his own; the words hurt to say, but he knew he could not stop. When there were no more Words, his classmates and teacher were looking at him strangely and he could not remember what he had Said. He was sent to the Hospital Wing, where he was kept overnight for observation.

The next day, he had another vision in the middle of his favorite class. When he came back to himself, his teacher was waving a vial of something under his nose and a boy with green eyes was watching him with an expression he couldn't figure out. They sent him to the hospital wing again, only this time the Headmaster came and spoke to him about being able to See. The boy nodded and understood, though a part of him was afraid.

They tried to give the boy potions to slow down his visions, but nothing helped. Finally, they decided it was best to send him home and have him complete his education there; they simply could not have students burst into prophecies in the middle of class. So the boy packed his things and went home. His father hired tutors for him and he became used to the new routine, but he still missed his friends at school so he sent them letters everyday. At night he dreamed about a boy with green eyes.

One day, his father came up to his room and told him he had a visitor. A man with red eyes came into the boy's room and the boy was afraid. The man smiled and the boy was even more afraid. The man said he'd heard of the boy's visions and that he had been looking for someone just like the boy. He said that the boy was to be sure someone wrote down everything he Saw. The boy nodded and the man went away. Afterwards, the boy's father hugged him and told him he was very proud of him. The boy was now eaten alive by fear; his father had not hugged him in years.

And so someone followed the boy around all day to write down any visions he might have. The boy found this very annoying and called it stupid. The man with red eyes agreed with him and came up with a better idea. He took a slim silver dagger and cut out the boy's wide silver eyes. He said that all truly great Seers were blind. Then he had the boy confined to his bedroom, where a scribe would sit in the corner all day and all night in case of a vision.

The boy's mother cried for days. She offered to bring her son poison in his tea, but he told her no. She smiled very sadly and kissed his cheek and went away.

For months and months, the boy stayed in his room and visions fell from his mouth almost every time he opened it. His father would come to visit him and praise him; sometimes he would even hug him. On those days, the boy would cry as soon as his father left, not caring if the scribe told anyone.

One day, there was a lot of shouting in the house and people running up and down the corridors. The boy heard the scribe leave and waited for him to come back so he could ask what was going on. The boy waited for hours and hours, but the scribe didn't come back. The boy thought about going to find out himself, but he was afraid of the man with red eyes and stayed in his room.

Finally, the boy heard footsteps and voices in the hall. He sat up in bed, hoping it was his mother or father. He heard the door open and turned his head in the direction of the sound, smiling. There were several gasps and he felt the world fall out from under him. Whoever had come was not anyone he knew. Gathering his courage, he asked who was there.

Someone crossed the bedroom floor and sat on the edge of his bed. The stranger spoke his name, but the boy could hear others muttering in the background about Seers and prophecies and the name of the man with red eyes. The stranger said the boy's name again and the boy realized he had heard this voice before. The last time he heard it, however, it had been angry; now it was tired and full of compassion and pity and other things. The boy asked what color the stranger's eyes were. The stranger made a noise like a sob and told the boy they were green.

The boy smiled and the stranger who was not began to cry. The boy's mother, who had been standing in the doorway the entire time, seeing that her son was taken care of, went downstairs for a cup of tea.

***********

Okay, first off, don't ask me where this came from. I had the first line turning in my head for a couple days and was really bored while I was waiting for my train yesterday. Also, I'm thinking about writing a companion piece to this from a more Harry-centric point of view, maybe fill things in a little bit. What do you guys think?

Thanks to everyone who read "Easy as Life," especially my reviewers: Lark57, CapriciousSylph, elethoniel, her_xcelncy, icecream_cone and Al Riddle. To anybody who reviewed who I didn't name, these are the names I had written down before I went out of town last week. I'll be sure to thank you in my next story post.

As to the status of Shatter: like I said, I was out of town for a week at this leadership thing and was deprived of my laptop. Don't worry, the editing on chapter four is going well and I am going to try and get it finished and posted THIS WEEK. I will be going out of town again for most of the month of July. I'll be taking the laptop, but I make no promises as to my ability to access the internet, so DA may get flooded with stuff on my return.

Other projects: working on my first Astronomy Tower piece (gasp!!). Looks to be cute and fluffy and funny. Still have my neglected matchbox twenty inspired piece and another little thing I'm working on. No hints yet, I'll let you know when it gets more off the ground.

Last but not least: I'd like to congratulate the almighty J.K. for writing an excellent pissedoff!Harry in OotP and...SPOILER SPACE, PEOPLE!!! GET OUT WHILE YOU STILL CAN!!!

LAST WARNING!

...I'd like to take a fanfic moment of silence for Sirius Black. He was a great character and he will be missed.

~Kat