#susanbones

.❤️.

𝕴 𝖜𝖔𝖐𝖊 𝖚𝖕 early the next day and snuck out of the common room to the great hall. There weren't many people there, mostly teachers and a few early bird first-years. I grabbed a piece of bacon and carried it up to the Owlery.

I fed Sadie the piece of bacon and tied the letter to her legs. I kissed the top of her head, carrying her over to the window. "Safe flight." I murmured to her. She hooted softly, nibbled my ear, and then took off into the early dawn.

Then, I hurried back to the Great Hall for my own breakfast. I ate as Professor Sprout started to hand out Hufflepuff schedules.

Monday: Herbology and Charms Tuesday: Defense against the dark arts, double Potions and Transfiguration Wednesday: astronomy at midnight, History of magic and Herbology in the afternoon Thursday: Transfiguration, double Charms, and Defense Against the Dark arts Friday: double History of Magic, Potions, astronomy at midnight, and Herbology with a free period in the afternoon. Saturdays and Sundays were days off to work on other things, although teachers could hold bonus classes on those days if need be.

So, I hurried back to my dormitory to grab my Herbology and Charms textbooks, wand, and dragonhide gloves. I put all of them in a new leather bag that I had bought in Diagon Alley this summer. I slung it over my shoulder and checked my appearance in the small mirror.

I hesitated, looking at how childish my face looked with the round glasses on. Granted, I was eleven but. . .it also made my cheeks look rather round- and I wasn't fat. I took them off, putting them in the glasses case, putting it in the bottom drawer of the bedside dresser. Only if I really needed them would I wear them.

I walked down with the other first-year Hufflepuffs down to the greenhouses where we were naturally paired with the house I was trying to avoid: Gryffindor. Hermione waved and came over to join me, leaving Ronald and Harry to talk amongst their selves.

"It's so exciting, isn't it?" She asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

I nodded glumly. "Extremely."

I avoided looking at Harry and kept opening my Herbology textbook to random pages, reading the information on them. We were going to be in Greenhouse 1 which was the Greenhouse with the least dangerous plants.

Hermione was describing the Gryffindor common room and I blocked out the information. Knowing that I would've been in Gryffindor was still a little to fresh to think about it nonchalantly.

I described the Hufflepuff common room to her when she was done, going into great detail about the furniture and the types of wood that were used. We walked into the Greenhouse where Professor Sprout was waiting for us.

Hermione and I stood next to each other, the dividing line between the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors who had clustered comfortably with their houses.

We went over the beginning stuff first: safety, rules, and basic planting techniques. Hermione and I constantly kept answering Professor Sprout's questions. We seemed to be the only ones who knew anything. Ronald just stared at us with open mouths. It was like a competition between the two of us, who could get more house points. I was glad to finally have an equal. It would've been somewhat awkward if I was the only one who could answer questions.

After Herbology, we went our separate ways.

The next day at breakfast, Sadie came back with a letter in her beak. I offered her a plate of my food and she helped herself to some bacon again. I stroked her head while reading the letter, and then let her fly off to the owlery when she was done.

Dear Elizabeth, Congratulations on making Hufflepuff. Honestly, I couldn't care less what house you're in as long as you keep your grades up. But let us talk about the more serious things. These futuristic visions your having could potentially be useful, but I don't want you to get distracted by them. Obviously, if the sorting hat thinks that being in any other house is dangerous, you should keep your head down. Blend in with the crowd, don't draw attention to yourself. I can't imagine that you could be in any danger at Hogwarts but if there is some sort of danger, stay away from it. (Though, you're a good girl so I doubt you'll get into any danger or trouble). I'm sorry that you made the decision not to tell Harry who you are, but I suppose for now, it really is the correct decision. Perhaps once you understand more about what is happening, you'll be able to tell him. I don't particularly know why you are having visions of Severus in general. I will say that we went to school together. He was good friends with your mum, but she broke off their friendship in their sixth year. Snape and James hated each other with a passion since they met on the train. When he went to school with us, he was well known for hanging out with friends who became Death Eaters and also had a knack for the Dark Arts. But don't worry, he's not a danger. Dumbledore trusts him and so it's rational to trust anyone Dumbledore trusts. He doesn't make mistakes. Remember that if you are ever in any trouble. I'm proud of you, I hope you know that. I wouldn't worry too much either about anything. You can always write to me about your problems- and I want to know about them too. Remember, keep your head down and stay quiet about these visions until you know more. Much love, Dad

I read over the section about Professor Snape multiple times. He had been 'great friends' with my mum. That could explain the vision that I'd seen of them getting married. But if they weren't friends when they left school and mum had married dad instead...then when had they gotten married? Had they divorced? Had it been over something about the Dark Arts? But surely dad would've told me if something like that had happened.

I stuffed the letter in my bag and hurried to Defense Against the Dark Arts. This class was taken with the Slytherins and we mostly left each other alone. Professor Quirrell knew what he was talking about most of the time but I would've liked a better teacher. He had a horrible stutter and the classroom smelled disgusting.

I often held a cloth up to my nose discreetly, pretending to be leaning on my arm while writing, to block out the smell.

Of course, I paid attention. As the days went on, I grew more and more wary of Professor Quirrell and took up a liking with Professor Snape. Actually, I liked nearly all of my teachers and classes. The only class I didn't particularly like was Astronomy. Actually, if it wasn't for the fact that I wanted top grades in every class, I wouldn't have paid attention in the class.

But honestly! Try keeping track of planets and their moons and their moons moons. Not to mention when they collided and what happens when they collided or rotated or whatever the hell the other terms were! It was a horrible class. Not to mention that it would dip into other topics. Moon phases reacting with different potion cauldrons. Different plants. Sun and silver, moon and gold. It was way to confusing and complicated and should not have been a bloody required class. Should've been optional. But maybe they thought no one would take it. . .they'd probably be right.

History of magic was one of my favorite classes, although the teacher could've been more interesting. But Goblin rebellions and the creation of Wizarding Villages and different magical schools in every country were fascinating to learn about. I mostly read out of my textbook to understand what Professor Binns was talking about. Even I found it hard to pay attention when everything was read in a monotone voice.

Hermione and I studied together a lot. She was also finding that making friends was much harder than she had thought. This, I couldn't comment on as I was on good terms with all the Hufflepuffs my age. Though, admittedly, I wasn't sure I could call any of them 'friends'. Acquaintances was more accurate.

"They think I'm a know it all." Hermione said sadly in the library one afternoon as we worked on easy History of Magic homework. She'd paused, her quill hesitating over a finishing sentence for her seventh paragraph. "All I want to do is get grades, why is that such a bad thing?"

"You're not in the right house." I said matter of factly, though her words resonated with me. I too paused, looking over my sixth paragraph's details. "Didn't you say that the sorting hat was thinking about putting you in Ravenclaw?"

"Yes." Hermione said, writing the sentence with a flourish. "Do you think I would've done better there?"

"Perhaps." I said, not looking at her. "They would've all been eager to learn, just like you. But I think you're being to hard on yourself. I'd say sometime after Halloween, you're going to make some really good friends."

Indeed, I had seen a flash of Hermione solidifying a friendship with Harry and Ronald, I just wasn't sure how yet. I wish I could be just as sure about whether or not I was going to make friends with them as well.

"What a strange prediction." Hermione said, more to herself than to me. I flushed, bending my head over my essay. We spent the rest of the afternoon working on our homework in silence unless we wanted to comment on something that had to do with the essay.

When I wasn't in class or the library, I was outside on the grounds. I had made good friends with Hagrid and I helped him out with this work. He was the gamekeeper and he took care of the grounds (obviously). There were lots of magical creatures that he cared for in the Forbidden forest, and I liked to help him with such things.

Hagrid also introduced me to the centaurs, kind, but strange beasts. Sometimes I went into the forest on my own and the centaurs would talk to me. If I went at night, something I did at least twice a week, they would show me the stars and planets and tell me what they meant. It helped me understand Astronomy more in any case.

My favorite centaur's name was Firenze (but of course, I never said he was my favorite because then it would be like picking out your favorite horse or rabbit or owl, and centaurs were not animals). He was the kindest one though, and was more than willing to share with me the secrets of the planets. He was a very good teacher.

Really, the forest wasn't really as dangerous as people said. Sure, there were dangerous creatures in there, but I didn't bother them, and they didn't bother me, and I was sure that as long as I stayed with the Centaurs or high up in the trees I'd be fine. And that's what I did.

Everyone says that the forest is dark and scary with the trees growing close together until you feel that you're suffocating. Well, maybe in some parts of the forest. But in the places I travel, there trees are tall and beautiful. There are small and large clearings filled with flowers of every species and color. There are rivers and streams in there, though almost no one knows where they are except Hagrid and the Centaurs. It was the Centaurs who showed me the streams in the first place. In other words, the forest wasn't scary at all but rather, it was beautiful and unique.

Between the centaurs, Hagrid, doing extra things for my classes outside of my classes, and studying the library, I didn't have time for normal things like eating or talking to friends. Hermione was the only person that I talked to, unless I said hello to the Hufflepuffs in the morning before running down to the Great Hall.

There were so many things to do to make sure that I understood every subject. Even though Herbology was three times a week, you still had to come down almost every day to check on the plants we'd planted, and make sure they were surviving. There was research to do for History of Magic that wasn't always in the textbooks. I'd asked Professor Flitwick for extra tutoring lessons on harder spells. I'd asked Professor McGonagall as well but she claimed I had enough on my plate and that I could certainly work at the pace of the other students.

I also asked Professor Snape for extra lessons which he said I didn't need. Apparently, I was his best potioneer in his class. This surprised me as the only people he'd ever given compliments to were the Slytherins. Perhaps he only complimented me to avoid giving me lessons. But that didn't really seem like a Snape tactic. Rudeness was more of his thing.

I also started writing to dad less and less. I just couldn't find the time. I think I worried him because he started writing to me twice as much. To make up for all the time I'd missed, I stayed up late after a night in the forest to write him an extremely long letter about everything I had been doing.

The visions were also distracting, popping up at random moments. I tried not to pay to much attention to them. But there was this mirror that kept popping up a lot in my visions, and I decided that I was going to have to try and find it. Maybe finding what my visions were showing me would help stop the visions from appearing.

We reached October 13 and I went looking for the mirror instead of going to dinner. I tried to tap into the memories and see if I could find a direct path to the room where the mirror was situated. It worked for a little bit but I ended getting lost when I couldn't hold onto the memory anymore.

Professor Flitwick found me wandering around and helped me back to the great hall where everyone had just started dessert. I thanked him before going to sit next to Susan and ate some dessert while drawing the mirror absentmindedly on a piece of spare parchment.

"That's pretty." Susan commented and I looked up.

"Hmm?" I asked stupidly, lowering my spoon with brownie and vanilla ice cream on it.

Susan jabbed her pointer finger at the parchment. "That's a pretty mirror."

"Oh!" I said, blushing. "Thank you."

Susan grinned at me and then turned to talk to Hannah again. I stared down at the detailed mirror and then folded the parchment up, stuffing it under a napkin. I finished the brownie and ice-cream and went back to the library to finish some Potions homework.

Looking for the mirror became something new to add to my already full to-do list. Then, once flying lessons started, I had a completely different vision- Thank Merlin.

I was eating breakfast in the Great Hall and my vision went black. I could tell I was still sitting up and I could hear everyone talking. I sat perfectly still as I watched Draco pick something off the ground and Harry confronted him. They flew up on their brooms.

"Give it here," Harry called angrily, gripping the broomstick tightly between his hands, "or I'll knock you off that broom!"

"Oh, yeah?" Draco sneered, though he looked worried.

Harry shot forward , towards him, and Draco made a sharp turn, narrowly avoiding Harry's arms. Harry made a sharp turn as well. People were clapping below them. Slytherins and Gryffindors. Hermione had a haughty look on her face, her arms crossed.

The vision jumped and I saw Harry diving on the broom and caught the thing Draco had taken in his hand.

Professor McGonagall was leading him through a corridor now. Oh, he had made the Quidditch team, he was going to be playing seeker.

The vision faded and I was back in the Great Hall. I looked over at the Gryffindor table. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle were standing around Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville. A Remembrall, that's what Draco had taken from Neville. I stood up and walked over to the table. The smoke in the ball was red.

"Hello Elizabeth." Hermione beamed up at me. "Neville's got a Remembrall."

I smiled back at her and turned my attention to Neville. He was frowning at the Remembrall, trying to remember what he had forgotten. "Neville, you've forgotten to put on your robes." I said, pointing out the fact he was only wearing his vest and white shirt.

He looked down and gave me a quick thanks before he headed out of the Great Hall. Presumably to the Gryffindor common room where he would get his robes.

"Are you flying today?" Harry asked me, looking up from his plate of bacon and eggs. We were on a first-name basis, but not friends yet. I was going to take it slow, I wasn't going to force my friendship on him. Still, it rather hurt that we weren't as close as I would've liked. I forced myself to smile gently.

"No, tomorrow." I said promptly. "Also, good luck on flying today, I know you'll do wonderfully."

I walked away to head to the Transfiguration classroom. I'd look for the mirror again during lunch. In Transfiguration, we were turning smoke into daggers, something that very difficult because smoke and daggers were two different states of matter.

Magic is much harder than people realize, even magical children. You don't just wave a wand and say words. There's other components like willpower and concentration. Both of these characteristics are extremely important as you can't cast a proper spell without them. Willpower was how badly you wanted the wand to happen but only in correlation with concentration. You couldn't think of other things or be distracted while trying to cast a spell.

There were four different types of Transfiguration- in Transformations at least: Inanimate to inanimate (matchstick to needle), Inanimate to animate (teapot into a turtle), animate to inanimate (beetle into button), and animate to animate (frog into a porcupine). Needless to say, inanimate to animate and animate to animate were the hardest types of Transfiguration.

The actual four categories under Transfiguration were: Vanishment, Transformation, Conjurations, and Untransfiguration.

At the moment, Professor McGonagall was looking out the window, taking a pause from grading homework papers on her desk.

Here it comes, I thought randomly. I leaned my head to left and watched Harry dive downwards, but he was soon out of sight. Professor McGonagall quickly got to her feet, peering out of the window.

A moment later, Professor McGonagall told the rest of us to stop our transformations and that she would be right back. She rushed from the room. I sighed, laying aside my wand and pulling out my Transfiguration textbook to read for fun.

There was another flash in my head. "Wood, I've found you a seeker."

I sighed again, and Ernie sent me a patronizing look. I set the book aside and laid my head down on the desk. Everything was happening so fast. So much homework, so much studying. What was I going to cut out? The Centaurs were so interesting, Hagrid was so incredibly nice. If I could just find the bloody mirror, that would be something to check off my list. At least Hermione was my only friend- I didn't have to try and spend time with anyone else.

But I liked spending time alone- I had found that out. I had more time to draw, read, study, explore, do magic, and learn. Sometimes, I thought I was better off without friends because I seemed to get some much more downtime without them. But there were other times that I did wish there was someone that I could share my experiences with.

I'd have loved to have explored the Forbidden Forest with someone, to share the experience with someone, but Hermione didn't like breaking the rules- at all. I had mentioned going into the forest once and she had given me a twenty minute lecture about what would happen if we were killed, or worse- expelled.

I concentrated, tracing a route from the library until finally, I found the passageway that led me to the mirror. The bell rang and I jumped up from my seat, dashing out of the classroom. I hurried down the hallway to the library and then, pulling up the image in my head again, traced my way down stairs and around corners until I reached a large, closed door.

I pushed it open and shut it behind me. The room was vacant. Unused desks were pushed up against the walls, collecting dust. There was a chalkboard in the front of the room and in the back, was the mirror.

I dropped my bag by the door and walked towards the mirror slowly. Before I reached it, I saw multiple images.

Harry was standing before it, seeing generations of family members. Our parents, a baby girl in our parents arms, our grandparents, our great-grandparents, our aunts, our uncles, and so on. I realized with a jolt that the baby girl was probably me.

Ron was standing in front of the mirror. He was Quidditch Captain, Prefect, and Head boy. Everything he could be to outshine his brothers.

Dumbledore was standing in front of the mirror. His arm was around a young girl and a boy- his brother- was standing next to him.

A younger Snape was standing in front of the mirror, seeing himself marrying Lily. But there was something different about her eyes than the other vision I had seen.

Now an older Snape was standing in the mirror. He was watching Lily and James and baby Harry sitting on a floor, laughing and playing. He was kneeling by the mirror, his legs sprawled out to the sides, resting his forehead and his hand on the mirror. His forehead rested about the babies head. His hand rested where Lily's hand was.

Tears welled up in my eyes, and not because I wasn't in the picture. He had loved mum so much that after she died, he wished that even his enemy, James, was still alive so that she could be alive too.

The visions slowly dissipated and I wiped my eyes, and continued forward. I wondered what I would see in the Mirror of Erised. But I almost knew what I was going to see. After all, it was what I had desired for years and years.

Standing in the direct middle, I expected to see myself creating a werewolf cure potion. Instead, Harry was in the mirror, his arm slung over my shoulder. Sirius was standing behind the two of us, one hand on both of our shoulders. Lupin stood to the side, smiling. He didn't look sick anymore. Mum and Dad were standing to the left, holding hands.

I closed my eyes. Why had I come seeking this mirror? It did not show what I wanted it to show and it had served no purpose except bringing more visions and more questions. What was the purpose of standing here before this mirror?

I looked into Mum's green eyes. They were Harry's eyes. Or maybe it was that Harry's eyes were her eyes. And Lupin was right too, my eyes were the same shade as James'. But looking at the mirror now, I did not think that I looked like Lily, no. My hair was not as vibrant red as hers, but rather more like Lupins'- red-brown.

But really, wasn't it what I wanted to see after all? Lupin didn't look sick anymore and his hair was fuller and he wasn't as thin as he had been- though he was still no where near close to fat. Just fit. And that was what I wanted, wasn't it?

I heard words in my ears. "Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible."

I turned my back on the Mirror and walked away. It was not possible. There were simply facts in life. My parents were dead, Sirius was in Azkaban, my father would never be healthy, and Harry would never know that I was his sister.