The Rest of First Year
Freya woke up in the hospital wing. As she started to sit up, she was suddenly struck with a blinding headache and dropped back with a groan.
“Well, Miss Gardner. You ought to expect a headache after the stunt you pulled. That spell was far above first year level.”
As the headache slowly ebbed, Freya was able to slightly turn her head to see Madam Pomfrey.
“How long was I out?”
Madam Pomfrey crossed her arms. “Only a day, though you’ll need to keep resting for at least the next week to allow your magic to recharge. Your professors have been informed that you are not to perform practical magic for classes.”
Freya started to nod, but winced, “How’s Hermione?”
“Miss Granger is fine, as are Misters Weasley and Potter, who were apparently coming to rescue you. By some miracle, you managed to kill the troll and get away with no injuries other than a case of magical exhaustion.”
“Oh, by the way, is it too late to claim the troll’s corpse so I can sell it? Like a right of conquest thing or something?”
Madam Pomfrey frowned, “I will ask Professor Flitwick if he might look into it for you. I am not aware of whatever nonsense laws govern such things.”
“Thanks, Madam Pomfrey. I think I’ll rest now.”
Freya let herself drift back to sleep.
The next time she opened her eyes, it was later in the afternoon. The first thing Freya felt was hunger. She cautiously opened her eyes and tried to lift her head. The headache was significantly less severe.
“Oof.”
“Freya!” Freya’s vision was suddenly blocked by bushy brown hair and she was pushed back into the bed.
“Oof! Hello, Hermione. How are you?”
Hermione pulled away frowning, “I am fine. You are the one in the hospital wing.”
“Yeah, which means I haven’t been awake and able to spend time with my friend for over a day. So, how are things going? Ron and Harry give you any more trouble?”
Hermione huffed, “Things are fine. Ron apologized and he and Harry have been civil since Halloween. Are you sure you’re okay?”
Freya smiled, “I’ll be fine, Hermione. Madam Pomfrey knows what she’s doing. I just need to take it easy for the next week or two. Thanks for worrying about me, though.”
The pair spent the next several minutes talking about the classes Freya missed and Hermione offered to walk Freya through her notes. Finally, Freya’s stomach interrupted them with a loud growl.
“Oops. Guess I need some food.”
Madam Pomfrey agreed to allow Freya to head down for dinner once she promised to take the next week easy.
When they reached the Great Hall, several heads turned toward them, and whispering broke out from every table.
“Well, not many first years could take down a troll, I guess.” Freya shrugged as she headed to the Ravenclaw table to sit in an open spot.
As promised, Freya took the next week easy, focusing primarily on theory. The whispers eventually died down and school resumed as normal. Professor Flitwick let her know that he had looked into it, and learned that there was in fact a law that would allow her to claim the troll’s corpse. He offered to use some of his contacts at Gringotts to help her sell the corpse, but informed her that while she could claim the corpse, hunting trolls was definitely not a career he advised. Freya gladly agreed and informed him that she hoped her troll hunting days were over. She returned to her old pattern of spending most of her time outside classes in the library.
It was on one such day in early November that she found herself once again sitting next to Hermione. Freya was reading a book on ancient magical artifacts, and Hermione was reading a book on recent magical discoveries.
“Figure out Flamel, yet, or did Harry and Ron completely forget our meeting on the train?”
Hermione turned slowly to Freya, “Are you spying on me?”
Freya turned and raised an eyebrow, “I would never spy on you without your permission, Hermione. It isn’t that hard to figure things out, though. Hagrid is a good guy, but he is terrible at keeping secrets.”
Hermione narrowed her eyes, “Alright, then. Who is Nicolas Flamel?”
Freya smiled and turned back to her book, but leaned over to whisper, “Nicolas Flamel is a 665 year old alchemist. He is the owner of the only Philosopher’s Stone in existence. The Stone, of course, is guarded by more than just Fluffy.”
Freya pulled back away before Hermione asked anything else. Hermione frowned and looked at her for a few seconds. Freya jotted down ‘Mirror of Erised, tall armor near library’ on her scroll and decided to add one more thing to Hermione’s thoughts.
“Oh, and Professor Snape is not the one trying to take it.”
She snapped her book closed quietly and got up to put it away on its shelf before leaving the library. She gave Hermione a wave as she passed. Hermione was distracted packing her things away and didn’t notice.
The next time they were alone in the library, Hermione started in on the questions.
“How do you know all these things about the third floor?”
Freya sighed, “Um, I’m not actually sure how or even why I know everything that I know. I don’t know if it’s safe to reveal things too quickly, and what the consequences might be. I’m sorry, Hermione, I don’t want to put anyone in danger by telling too much too soon.”
Hermione frowned, “But, you already told me a lot, are you not already putting me in danger?”
Freya shrugged, “What little I have told you, you would have found out pretty soon either way. I will say that the one trying to steal the stone doesn’t know how to get past Fluffy yet, nor does he have the power to get it even when he does get past the Cerberus…”
“You just said ‘when’,” Hermione’s eyes were wide.
Freya bit her lip, “Did I? I am sorry for not telling you more right now. I promise I will tell you the short version of everything on the day he gets past Fluffy. The long version will probably have to wait until the day after.”
Christmas time approached quickly. Freya signed up to stay at Hogwarts, of course, and sent a few packages a few days before: one each to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Dumbledore.
On Christmas morning, Freya was surprised to see a gift at the foot of her bed. She hadn’t really expected anything, honestly. The gift was a box of chocolate frogs from Hermione. Freya smiled and opened one of them carefully right away. After catching the frog and biting off its head, Freya checked the card: Morgan le Faye, not bad.
When Freya got down to breakfast she joined the general holiday festivities. Harry gave her an odd look when he arrived, but followed Ron to their table to start on their own Christmas meals. Freya gave them both a wave.
After she finished her meal, she walked over to the Gryffindor Table.
“Merry Christmas Ron; Harry!”
“Merry Christmas.” They echoed back.
“So, Ron, let me know when you want to play. I should be free for a game or two before classes start up again.”
Ron looked excited at first, but then horrified, “What d’you mean, you ‘should be free’? It’s the holidays. Are you wasting them studying or something?”
Freya shrugged, “Some studying, a few personal projects, y’know.”
Freya did end up playing a game of chess against Ron that evening just after dinner. Ron easily beat her.
“Thank you for the game, Ron. As I said, I’d be happy to play again another time.”
Ron looked surprised, “Really? You don’t care that you lost?”
“I’m not that petty, Ron.”
Freya left Harry and Ron as she headed back up to her dorm.
The next morning, Freya approached Harry at breakfast.
“How was your evening, Harry?”
Harry eyed her suspiciously, “Fine. How was yours?”
“Decent. I turned in early so I’d have plenty of energy for today. Were you planning on going again tonight?”
Harry nodded slowly. Ron butted in, “Wait, why does -”
Freya held a hand up, “Not here, Ron. Meet in the library after lunch?”
Harry and Ron agreed and Freya spent most of the morning in the library, but wandered around the halls nearby for a bit before getting lunch.
After lunch, Harry and Ron met her in the library and she led them down the hallway she had scouted earlier. As expected, it appeared abandoned.
“Harry,” she asked quietly as they stood next to the tall suit of armor, “Which room is it in?”
Harry pointed to a nearby door, “In there. Should we be doing this during daytime?”
Freya smiled, “It’s alright, Harry. The Headmaster is already aware that you know about it. No, I didn’t tell him.”
“Then how -”
“I’ll show you.” Freya entered the classroom. Like the hallway, it appeared empty.
“Hello, Headmaster. If you’re being invisible, please show yourself so you might help with explanations.”
Albus Dumbledore did in fact appear, like the turning of a page, in a back corner of the room. “Ah. Miss Gardner. Mister Weasley. Harry. I see you’ve returned. Quite bold to do so during the day.”
Harry and Ron stared at Dumbledore with shocked looks on their faces. Freya rolled her eyes and shook her head, “Yes, Headmaster. I wouldn’t do so if I had seen any other professors guarding it. I know what it does, but perhaps you could explain the Mirror of Erised to the boys?”
As Dumbledore began an explanation of the mirror for the two boys, Freya stepped forward to look into the mirror. At first, it seemed to be a completely normal mirror, but the next moment, it shifted and Freya found herself looking at a reflection of the classroom, except she wasn’t visible anymore.
She frowned and stepped back. Once she was further from the mirror, it shifted back to show her as normal. Dumbledore had finished speaking and was eying her curiously.
“I will not ask you to share whatever you saw, Miss Gardner. The Mirror often shows things that are very personal.”
Freya nodded, “Thank you, Professor. Did you enjoy my present?”
Dumbledore smiled with a twinkle in his eye, “I did, in fact, Miss Gardner. You would not believe how many people send me nothing but books on Christmas. The stockings were a welcome change of pace.”
Freya smiled and turned to watch Ron approach the mirror. As he reached the mirror, it shifted. Freya saw an older version of Ron with both a Head Boy badge and the Quidditch Captain badge. She frowned.
Ron decided to share what he saw, and Harry took another turn. Freya watched as the mirror shifted to show him surrounded by family, but something else was different. Freya’s eyes widened. That wasn’t included in what I knew! Where Harry would have been standing was a slightly older version of him, with long hair and a decidedly feminine appearance.
“Um… Headmaster Dumbledore, Do you know how someone would be able to see what others see in the mirror?”
Dumbledore tilted his head to the side and eyed her curiously, “Not directly, though there are somewhat invasive methods to read the thoughts that may spring forward from being confronted by one’s deepest desires.”
Freya frowned and bit her lip. Should I tell Dumbledore? It feels like it would be wrong. Do I ask Harry about it, then? Maybe not yet.
“Headmaster, will you be back here this evening? I’d like to ask you a bit more about what I see in the mirror. Alone, please.”
Dumbledore nodded, “I would be happy to discuss it with you. For now, though, you should all be returning to your holidays. It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that.”
He ushered the students out of the room. That evening, after dinner, Freya returned to the classroom to speak to Dumbledore. She spared the mirror a single glance before taking a seat at an empty desk. Dumbledore materialized soon after.
Freya repeated the script she had been planning all afternoon, “Thank you, Headmaster. My experiences with the mirror were not what I expected. First, when I looked into the mirror, I disappeared. Nothing but the classroom and people behind me were visible. I do not have any desire to stop existing. Secondly, when the others looked into the mirror, I saw it shift, and based on Ron’s explanation, I was seeing the same thing he saw.”
Dumbledore patiently waited as she spoke, raising an eyebrow by the end.
“Interesting. Do you have any magical creature ancestry, Miss Gardner?”
Freya frowned, “I don’t know.”
“The answer to your surprising ability may lie there. I believe some intelligent creatures have the ability to see through various illusions. Perhaps a very old bloodline has manifested itself in you.”
Freya nodded, “One more thing, Professor?”
Dumbledore looked at her expectantly.
“I know that it’s personal, but what if something I saw in the mirror makes me worried about the one who saw it?”
“Would this be connected to what Harry Potter saw?”
Freya nodded, “Not his family, though. I expected that. It was something else.”
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, “As you said, Miss Gardner, it is personal. If you trust Mister Potter, you could perhaps reveal to him that you were able to see what he saw in the mirror, and if he trusts you, he may be willing to discuss it further. For now, it is getting late, and you should get to bed before curfew.”
Freya smiled a little, “Thank you, Professor. And I hope the other part of my present is as helpful as the stockings.”
“Good night, Miss Gardner.”
Freya was indecisive. Obviously, things had changed from her expectations. Was it safe to change things more? Would talking to Harry about the mirror change things too much? There were too many questions she was scared to find the answers to. Her fear kept her from talking to Harry about it for the rest of the holidays.
Once classes started again, she was kept busy with schoolwork, as the professors doubled down on the workload leading up to exams. Freya was so busy with classes and worrying that she completely forgot about another major event until she heard about the detentions Harry, Hermione, Neville, and Draco were going to have that evening. She caught Hermione in the library that afternoon.
“Be extremely careful in the forest tonight. I know what’s killing the Unicorns.”
“What? Forest? Unicorns?” Hermione stared wide-eyed at Freya.
“Yes, Hermione. Your detention will be in the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid trying to find what’s been killing the unicorns. A ridiculous task for first years, and I’m sorry I didn’t remember it earlier.”
Hermione frowned, “What’s killing the unicorns?”
“Voldemort.”
Hermione tensed. She seemed lost for words.
“It’s alright, Hermione. The centaurs will be watching you and Voldemort is in a weakened state, especially while he drinks the blood of the unicorns. No one should get hurt.”
Hermione swallowed, “Have you told a teacher?”
Freya cringed, “No. It might change things too much. I still plan to tell you everything after. I’ve already seen things changing from what I knew. I don’t want anyone getting hurt.”
Hermione clenched her jaw, “Fine. Extremely careful. Weakened Voldemort in the forest. Centaurs watching. I expect your explanation to be good.”
Hermione didn’t bother asking Freya about the detention the next day, but Freya could see that she, Harry and Ron were paler than usual. Exams came far too quickly, but Freya felt like she did well enough.
The day after exams were finished for the first years, Hermione approached Freya in the library. Freya looked over her book and met the other girl’s eyes.
“Tonight?”
Hermione nodded. Freya returned the nod. “Have Harry pass me the cloak and I’ll join you in the Gryffindor Common Room after dinner.”
Hermione nodded again. Freya passed a slip of parchment to Hermione with the words ‘Fluffy-music. Devil’s Snare-fire (magic). Winged Keys (Flying). Chess-Ron. Troll-done. Logic Puzzle-Hermione. Last-Harry.’ written on it.
“In case I can’t make it.”
Hermione frowned and pocketed the parchment. Freya sat with the three Gryffindors for dinner that evening. Hermione quietly passed her the cloak, and she quickly deposited it into her bag. After dinner, she and Hermione went to the bathroom. Freya hid under the cloak and followed Hermione to Gryffindor Tower. She waited there with the others until the room appeared abandoned.
Of course, Neville confronted them when they started to get up. Freya pulled out her wand slowly from under the cloak and muttered, “Petrificus Totalus”, trapping the boy in a Full Body-Bind.
“Sorry, Neville. Let’s go.”
The Gryffindors squeezed under the cloak and the group made their way down to the third floor. With Freya’s preparations, they were able to get through most of the challenges without too much difficulty. Unfortunately, Ron still sacrificed himself in the chess game, and Freya stayed behind with him while Hermione and Harry went ahead to get through the last parts.
As expected, Hermione returned after Harry had continued forward. Freya picked up the cloak and threw it over her shoulders.
“Get Ron out of here, Hermione. I’ll try to get ahead to help Harry.”
Hermione frowned at her, but nodded, “Smallest blue vial had the right potion. Round bottle at the end to come back.. I expect the full explanation soon.”
Freya nodded and stepped into the next room. Without bothering to read the clue, she picked up the blue potion, which had just enough for one dose, and drank it. Feeling the icy sensation wash over her, she pulled the cloak the rest of the way over her head. She quickly stepped through the flames.
It was hard to watch the full confrontation between Harry and Quirrell/Voldemort. Freya did her best to stand still and out of the way, her wand gripped tightly in her hand. When Quirrell had Harry step in front of the mirror, the girl in the mirror put a red stone in her pocket.
Finally, Harry ended up wrestling Quirrell and burning him wherever he touched. As Harry pressed his hands into Quirrell’s face, Freya leapt into action, throwing off the cloak. She grabbed Harry’s arm and pulled him back, shouting “Petrificus Totalus!” at the dying Quirrell. Harry sat breathing heavily on the floor staring at Quirrell as he died and was suddenly limp, no longer affected by the Body-Bind.
“Rest, Harry. Dumbledore will be here soon.”
Harry nodded and stopped fighting to stay conscious, collapsing himself onto the floor. A moment later, Dumbledore appeared in a burst of flame next to her. He quickly surveyed the scene.
“Miss Gardner? I see you’ve already helped Harry quite a bit. Perhaps we should move to the hospital wing.”
Freya smiled, “Of course, Headmaster.”
Dumbledore reached a hand out for her and gently grabbed Harry’s arm with the other. As Freya grabbed his hand, they were enveloped in flame for a moment before appearing in the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey began her care for Harry immediately. Hermione and Ron arrived a few moments later. They were also both put into beds and checked over by the nurse.
Once everything calmed down a bit, Freya approached Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey.
“Excuse me, if they’re okay for a minute, I’d like to speak to you both privately. I don’t mind if Hermione joins us. I’ll be telling her everything either way.”
Hermione, who was in the best shape of the students other than Freya, was allowed to join them in Madam Pomfrey’s office. Freya took a deep breath and began.
“Please let me finish talking before responding. Before the beginning of term, I woke up on the train knowing about many of the events that would be happening this year…”
Freya went on to explain everything that had happened. After she wrapped up with the events of the evening, she turned to Dumbledore.
“Finally, Professor, I know what life was like for Harry with Harry’s aunt and uncle. I know it was the blood wards that protected Harry from Quirrell, but Harry’s relatives are abusing Harry. I don’t think it’s a good idea to send Harry back there.”
The adults frowned, for different reasons, and Hermione gasped. Dumbledore asked, “Do you have examples of the types of abuse he has suffered?”
Freya clenched her jaw and nodded, “I’m sorry, Hermione. I don’t know if you should be here for this without Harry’s permission. It’s already too much that I know about it.”
Hermione nodded and excused herself. Once the door was closed, Freya turned back to the adults, “Harry’s relatives kept Harry in a cupboard under the stairs up until the first Hogwarts letter was delivered. Harry was routinely locked in the cupboard for extended periods of time and deprived of food. Harry’s relatives also regularly employed physical abuse, and refused to use Harry’s name to refer to Harry, preferring ‘boy’ and ‘freak’. Harry never received any real Christmas or Birthday presents until starting at Hogwarts. Also, professor, I know that you are the one who put Harry there after Hagrid delivered Harry to you that night, despite Professor McGonagall’s protests.”
Madam Pomfrey looked livid. Dumbledore looked sad. “I had hoped… hoped that Lily’s sister would… but no. I am sorry.”
Freya frowned at Dumbledore, “I am not the one who needs an apology, Professor. Is it possible that the protection from Harry’s mother might be based on something other than physical blood? Maybe love is more important?”
Dumbledore pondered her words for a moment, “Thank you, Miss Gardner. For showing this old man the error of his ways once more. I will look into alternative arrangements for the boy, for Harry. Poppy, please do what you can for him for now. As his current magical guardian, you have my permission to begin any treatment for malnourishment and any previous injury you may find. Miss Gardner, could you join me in my office?”
Freya followed Dumbledore to his office. He conjured a comfortable chair for her to sit and pulled out the stone Harry had retrieved from the mirror. He then also produced a bit of parchment Freya recognized.
“Thank you for your suggestion, Miss Gardner. Placing a fake stone in the mirror was indeed a clever contingency.”
Freya smiled, “Thank you, Professor. I assume you’ll be suggesting that Mr. Flamel destroy the real one?”
Dumbledore’s eyes sparkled, “Miss Gardner, do you perhaps know more of what is to come?”
Freya tilted her head to the side, “At most, I know what will happen up until the Hogwarts Express reaches King’s Cross, assuming I haven’t changed too much.”
“The ability to see the future is a rare gift, Miss Gardner. Would you possibly be interested in taking Divination classes next year?”
Freya frowned, “I thought electives were only open to third years and older, Professor?”
Dumbledore smiled, “While that is normally the case, as Headmaster, I have the power to make exceptions, especially for a student with excellent grades such as yourself.”
“Hmm. Divination was not really my top choice. It’s stressful, knowing things about the future.”
“Yes, but you may be able to relieve some of the stress by learning to use it effectively. I believe you handled your knowledge admirably thus far, revealing very little and avoiding changing too much. If you wish, I will speak with Professor Flitwick and Professor Trelawney about including you in her third year class starting next year.”
Freya bit her lip, “Okay. I think it’s worth trying.”
Dumbledore nodded, “Well. I have to send a few owls and prepare for the feast. You should return to your dormitory and get some rest. I shouldn’t be surprised if you receive a number of questions from curious classmates in the next few days.”
Freya smiled, “Thank you, Professor.”
The next few days, Freya did indeed find herself retelling a simplified version of the story to other students several times. Hermione and Ron were similarly inundated with questions.
Freya visited Harry once he was awake.
“Hello, Harry.”
“Hi, Freya. Er - thanks for helping with the stone.”
Freya smiled, “Of course, Harry. Um, I wanted to talk about something else… about what you saw in the mirror.”
“Oh, yeah. Dumbledore said that he set it up so that the only way to get the stone was to want it but not use it.”
Freya shook her head, “That’s not what I mean, Harry.”
He frowned and looked at her.
Freya took a deep breath, “I don’t know why, but I can see what other people see when they look in the mirror. I wanted to tell you that if you ever want to talk about what you saw, I won’t judge and will keep it secret. I didn’t even tell Dumbledore.”
Harry’s eyes widened, “Er - so - you saw… her?”
The last word was barely a whisper. Freya smiled and placed a hand on Harry’s shoulder.
“Yes, Harry. I want to be your friend and you can talk to me about it any time. There’s nothing wrong with wanting whatever it is you want.”
Harry swallowed and shrank in on himself, “I - I can’t.”
Freya dropped her smile slightly, “Because of your relatives?”
Harry frowned and snapped to look at her, “How do you…”
Freya reinforced her smile, “I don’t know how I know. I just do. Dumbledore is looking into it for me. Your relatives can’t control who you are, Harry. I will always do what I can to help you and listen to you, okay? Can we be friends?”
Harry smiled a small smile, “Before Hogwarts I didn’t have any friends. Thank you for being one of my first friends, Freya.”
At this point, Madam Pomfrey shooed Freya out of the room.
The ending feast was just as dramatic as Freya expected. Gryffindor ended up winning the House Cup, though Ravenclaw ended up in a close second after Dumbledore gave Freya some extra points.
Freya was pleased to see that she had scored well in her exams, with all Os except for History of Magic, in which she got an A. I’m certainly no Hermione Granger.
Finally, it was time to head home. The train ride back was decent. Freya managed to get a compartment with Hermione, Harry, and Ron. As the countryside passed by, Freya found herself drifting off to sleep.
She dreamed of a House Elf and a Basilisk. A fraud and a diary. A flying car and a huge spider.
She was shaken awake by Hermione as they arrived at King’s Cross. As she woke up, her mind was filled with the dream but it felt all too familiar.
“Oh, no!”