Research
"Grey! Are you alright?"
Madame Lovegood made an aggressive shushing motion at Richard who grimaced but hurried over to Grey nonetheless. Derric was hot on his tail.
"Fine. Sullivan sorted me out." He lied with a shrug.
"Oh, good," Whispered Derric, leading him over to their chosen booth.
Grey didn't fail to notice Richard's unconvinced look. Sitting down, he instinctually reached for his bag, only to remember he had left it in that empty classroom.
"Lost something?" Richard questioned knowingly. There was no malice in his tone, only an edge of distrust.
"Must have left my bag in the hospital wing." Grey mumbled hastily, "It's fine, I'll grab it later. I have some Divination reading I want to do."
He rose to his feet, wondering where the Divination section actually was in the library.
"Since when did you like Divination?" Derric snorted, head buried in his Charms homework.
Grey ignored him and began strolling down the many isles of books. It took him a good while to find the right section, he had to retrace his steps twice. Finally, tucked in a particularly dusty corner of the library, he found the shockingly small Divination section. It barely filled a single shelf. Scanning the very clearly untouched volumes, Grey found one that immediately looked helpful. The title was printed in a modest silver font and read: 'A study of the manifestations of seers.' By Percival Rhackam.
Grey tucked the book under his arm and was about to return to his seat when a tiny volume caught his eye. It had previously been hidden behind the book he had just picked, but now its gold title was on full display - 'The Predictions of Tycho Dodonus'.
It unsettled him that it actually existed for he had been hoping his visions were purely fictional delusions. But it couldn't hurt to read it. The book itself was barely the size of his fist and a brief glance told him each page only held roughly four lines. At least it would be a quick study, he thought as he made his way back to the other two.
Planting himself back in his chair, he tried to ignore Richard's frequent analytical glances. He decided to read the larger book first, hoping its contents might contradict his apparent condition. So, he flipped to the first chapter, 'The manifestation of visions'. Scanning the page he found a passage that seemed relevant. It read:
'As a seer, I have found that the onset of visions occurs in an almost identical fashion. First, I begin to experience drowsiness which sends me into a trance-like state. Then concrete images fill my mind. I've been informed that I recite these as prophecies.'
Grey almost sighed with relief, it was nothing like what he experienced. Therefore it must be induced by his headaches. Slightly more at ease, he read on:
'I have also been told my eyes take on an iris-less state, devoid of any colour. Of course, the manifestations of visions are likely to vary for each person. The number of true seer bloodlines is so few, it is increasingly difficult to collect accurate data...'
Grey slammed the book shut, no longer feeling reassured. He tried to reason that the book was written in the 1400s so probably wasn't that accurate but he couldn't shake the gnawing feeling in his stomach.
"Are you alright?" Richard asked suddenly.
Grey took notice of his slumped shoulders. His dark hair fell untidily round his face and dark bags were visible around his eyes.
"Fine. Are you?" Grey queried in a hushed tone.
Richard surveyed him with tired eyes. He seemed to be hesitating. Derric glanced up at the Slytherin and his face took on a concerned expression.
"Look it's nothing." Richard huffed.
"You're lying."
Richard looked as if he wanted to spit something back at Grey but instead, he just sighed.
"Fifth year is just a lot tougher. It feels like we have ten times more homework than last year. I'm exhausted." He finally admitted.
Grey felt sad for his friend. Richard hardly ever complained about anything and there were so many things he could complain about. Grey always admired him for his integrity but now he just wished his friend wasn't struggling. It hurt him to see Richard sad.
He pocketed the small book he'd also taken and shifted his chair closer to Richard's.
"Right. We're going to structure our studies from now on. But we're going to take regular breaks too. I can bring my wizard's chess set so we can play in between." As he spoke he made a note of everything on the back of Richard's timetable. The Slytherin smiled softly at him as he finished.
"Thanks, Grey."
Grey returned his smile, glad he remembered how much Richard liked chess. It was handy he had stolen his own set last year.
"I've always got your back," Grey assured, laying a hand on Richard's shoulder.
As he turned back to his book, he felt Richard grasp his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. Glancing, their eyes met and the Slytherin gave him an imploring look.
"And I've always got yours."
With another squeeze, he released Grey's hand, returning to his essay. Unbeknownst to the two boys, Derric was grinning knowingly at both of them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Returning to his dorm that evening felt very bittersweet to Grey. He wished Richard and Derric were both in Ravenclaw so he could spend more time with them. But on the other hand, he was glad to get to read the predictions on his own. Thankfully, he had remembered to check it out of the library, or else a nasty jinx would have befallen him by now.
He ignored the whispers as he entered his little dorm. Of course, by now all the new students know the truth about him, he was just waiting for the first confrontation. Grey was surprised to find his forgotten belongings placed neatly on his bed. Atop them was a folded note. Picking it up he read the wispy handwriting:
"My door is always open if you need anything. I hope you decide to trust me. ~ AD"
Grey scoffed, screwing up the note and shoving his bag off the bed. Reluctantly, he pulled the predictions of Tycho Dodonus out of his pocket, sitting in his window seat. He thought back to the 'vision'. One about the dark-haired boy, one about him. Time to see if it was true.
As he flipped through the small book, he noted that most of the predictions were nonsense ramblings about regular things like the weather and livestock. However, he quickly came across one that held a darker tone:
'A son cruelly banished, despair of the daughter. Return great avenger, with wings from the water."
Grey swallowed thickly. It didn't sound like it was about him. But he certainly had been banished. Yet that dark-haired boy had an air of abandonment around him too.
Gritting his teeth, he continued reading. There was more drivel about storms and crop failures but on the last page, Grey found something that made his heart stop. He reread it over and over just to check what he saw was right. To make matters worse, it was the only prediction with more than four lines. It read:
'In tones of grey, with monochrome wings, he lies yet he sees, such inconceivable things. Like the avenger - lost, and the deceiver - with sight, and the fathers found when eyes twist white. Nothing but everything, yet all may still fall. If the Willow's child denies it all.'
Grey thought he might throw up or cry all at the same time. Didn't anyone realize that he didn't want this? All he wanted was to finish school and get a job and finally leave the orphanage. He caught sight of his reflection in the window. Hollow cheeks on chalky skin, grey eyes set in sunken sockets, and an awkwardly angled nose. His grey hair was the color of thick dust and the white streak at the front was glaringly out of place. His robes were patched and faded yet he was skinny enough that it didn't matter that they were two sizes too small. And beneath them, his ribs ached from constant binding. Hardly a child of destiny. If it weren't for the many anti-vandalism charms on the Hogwarts library books, Grey would have chucked Tycho Dodonus' so-called predictions out of his window.
Instead, he stuffed it unceremoniously back into his bag. They were just the ramblings of a mad old man, he tried to desperately reassure himself. They didn't mean anything.
As he tried to sleep that night, Grey made a promise to himself. These visions, or hallucinations, delusions - whatever they were, he was going to try his hardest to suppress them, anyway he could. Screw prophecy.
Grey dreamed of the dark-haired boy that night. Just fleeting scenes of his life in the secluded castle. He seemed to have two names in these dreams, Credence and Aurelius. He didn't seem to know which was right.
When Grey awoke the next morning, much to his surprise and anxiety, he remembered all of his dreams.