Grief and Grievance
Exhausted, Grey chose to skip breakfast the next morning, instead, going straight to Dumbledore's office. His eyes felt sore and a lump still remained in his throat.
All night, he'd been haunted by images of the tragedy, replaying over and over in his head. And now, his arms were lined with small burns to match his ruined palms.
Upon entering Dumbledore's office, Grey was thoroughly unnerved to find all his teachers and the headmaster milling around the space. His arrival caused them all to stop and stare sympathetically at him. Sickness swelled in his stomach.
"Ah, Grey, perfect timing. Come in." Dumbledore breached the silence, ushering him to a free seat.
While passing a tearful Professor Merrythought, Grey received gentle pats on the shoulder which made him want to disappear altogether. When everyone was settled somewhat tightly in the space, Headmaster Dippet spoke.
"Mr Willow, Albus has informed all of us what the state of things is. Now given our recent discussion on the matter, I have my reservations. So I will ask you plainly. Are you a seer?"
His tone was stern which made Grey even tenser than he already was.
With a tremor in his voice, he replied, "Yes, sir."
A collective stir of discontentment echoed around the ensemble.
"And you confess to lying during our previous conversation?" Dippet pressed.
"Yes sir," Grey muttered, averting his gaze down so as not to see the looks of disappointment.
"It doesn't matter that Grey lied," Dumbledore spoke up suddenly.
The noise of disapproval from Dippet didn't sway him.
"He is only young and these things are overwhelming and frightening even to those trained in them."
Grey sent Dumbledore a grateful look. He was feeling very guilty for the way he had treated the professor.
"Is it true you saw Mr Diggory's accident before it occurred?" Elks interjected.
Grey nodded solemnly.
There was a sniffle from Professor Bovin, the Hufflepuff head of house. But it was clear not all the staff mirrored her sadness. Prendergast had Grey fixed with a cold, calculating look.
"Why didn't you try to stop it then boy?" He hissed over Bovin's quiet cries.
Anger flashed in Grey towards the teacher who had caused Derric so much grief.
"I did." He spat back venomously.
Prendergast scoffed.
"Really, because my students informed me that Diggory only fell because you -"
"That's enough Marin." Dippet interrupted.
It was good he did because Grey had been reaching for his wand.
"The whole incident was a tragic accident, but it is not what we are here to discuss." He continued. "These developments put Mr Willow in a lot of danger."
Grey tensed.
"As you know, Grindelwald has been free for some months now and rumours state he found the obscurial from the prophecy."
So Credence was an obscurial, Grey noted silently. Given the flashes he'd seen that made a lot of sense.
"But there are other whispers that speak of him searching for seers. I'm sure you've all seen the article in The Prophet about the murder of Casper Trelawney."
There were several nods and murmurs. However, Grey, who did not regularly read the news, stared blankly around at his teachers. Dumbledore noticed his confusion and lent in.
"Trelawney is a known seer bloodline." He whispered.
Ignoring his comment, Dippet continued,
"It is merely a matter of time before he makes the connection between the power he seeks and the final prediction of Tycho Dodonus, which will, as we now realize, undoubtedly lead him to Mr Willow."
Something unpleasant stirred in Grey as he remembered his second vision.
"He already is aware of the prediction, sir." He mumbled.
Everyone's eyes snapped to Grey in shock.
"What? How can you know?"
Grey gave his head of house an incredulous look.
Dippet released an irritated sigh, placing his hands on his brow.
"Thus proving the value of honesty," He said disdainfully.
"Well, the matter now stands of how we keep Grey out of his sights most efficiently." Dumbledore prompted.
Grey made a mental note to speak to Dumbledore after this uncomfortable affair and thank him for having his back, and thoroughly apologize for the last months.
"Yes," Dippet continued testily, "I suggest we remove Mr Willow from Divination classes."
Professor Fallow, the divination teacher, made a face of indignation.
"The first true seer at Hogwarts in half a century and you would deny me the privilege of teaching him?" He ranted.
"We cannot draw attention to him in any way."
That would be easy, Grey thought at the headmaster's words. Half the school disliked him and the other half already pretended he didn't exist.
"Is anyone beyond this room aware that you foresaw Derric's demise?" The headmaster asked.
Grey winced at his question, resisting the urge to undertake his usual subtle self-injury.
"Possibly Richard? I dragged him with me." He tried not to focus on the scene replaying in his head, "Aside from that, no."
Dippet looked grave at his words.
"Marin, I think it best you obliviate Mr Myers."
There was a cry of shock and outrage from several staff members and Grey shot to his feet, no longer able to contain his feelings.
"That's ridiculous!" He shouted over the uproar, "You'd have to remove Derric's death and that's beyond disgusting."
The words flew from his mouth, laced with venom. But he didn't care about the consequences, Grey would not allow them to alter his best friend.
"Mr Willow's right - that's cruel!" Professor Merrythought echoed angrily which was copied with exclamations of agreement.
Prendergast was not one of them. Over the arguing, Dumbledore rose also and being closest to Dippet, barely had to raise his voice.
"You cannot do such a thing, Armando," He implored, "We aren't even sure if Richard knows."
A very disgruntled Dippet drew silence from the room with his wand. Everyone retook their seats.
"Alright, alright. Marin, instead would you ascertain if your student is aware of Mr Willow's predicament? If he is we will discuss the appropriate steps."
"Of course headmaster." Prendergast leered.
After his outburst, it was even harder for Grey not to glare at the man. His burns were itching so Grey subtly scratched the wounds to ground himself. Meanwhile, Dippet proceeded.
"Now, the matter stands that all seers are supposed to be registered with the ministry."
There were a few murmurs of protest at his statement to which he merely raised a hand.
"I am not suggesting we immediately register Mr Willow. Such an action would undoubtedly reveal him to Grindelwald. I am merely reminding you all that harbouring the boy from the ministry will have consequences if we are discovered."
Such a thing hadn't even occurred to Grey. Sure, he had no issue with breaking a few rules now and again, not to mention his failure to register himself as an animagus, but expecting others to put their jobs and reputations on the line was a step too far for him.
He was about to protest when Elks spoke up.
"I for one would rather focus on a student's protection than jeopardize the current state of control the world has on Grindelwald." He stated with confidence.
"Speak for yourself, Wilford."
"So you'd rather Grindelwald could predict all our efforts to stop him. Although, I suppose he aligns with your beliefs Marin." Elks shot back at Prendergast.
"I don't know what you're suggesting but I warn-"
Grey took the opportunity to glance at Dumbledore. His professor was watching the exchange with that sad distant look Grey had witnessed before. It puzzled him, and he wondered what caused it.
After a tense minute of arguing, Dippet finally seemed fed up, yelling-
"Enough!"
Both professors sat down, glaring at each other.
"We shall vote on it. All in favour of keeping Mr Willow hidden from the ministry?"
All but two hands were raised with the exceptions being Prendergast and the elderly Professor Binns, who had dozed off in his chair.
"It's settled then. The ministry shall not be told." Dippet concluded.
Grey's insides were squirming uncomfortably. He hated the thought of them risking their jobs for him. But he daren't protest. He'd already lost his temper one too many times today.
"We want to keep Mr Willow's abilities as veiled as possible however it is important we record his visions so another incident like yesterday does not occur." Proceeded Dippet.
"A simple memory extraction charm should do the trick," Elks suggested, "All you need is a Pensieve which Albus has and a few spare crystal vials."
Dippet nodded thoughtfully but Grey felt stumped. Despite his advanced magical ability, memory extraction charms were not part of his repertoire.
"I'm sorry, "Grey began awkwardly, "But I don't know how to do memory extractions and I get very disoriented after visions."
While speaking, he kept his eyes firmly on the floor. He was getting sick of all the sympathetic looks.
"No matter Mr Willow," Dippet dismissed tiredly, "I was about to suggest that we assign a member of staff to assist you with your visions." He explained.
"I should do that headmaster," Dumbledore spoke for the first time in a while, "I have been keeping up with Grey's condition and I believe I have the most experience with seers."
He gave Dippet a knowing look.
"Of course, Albus." The headmaster agreed.
Grey was grateful it was to be Dumbledore. At this point, anyone else would just feel awkward but one question did stick out in his mind.
"How is Professor Dumbledore supposed to know when I'm having a vision if I'm not in his class at the time?" He inquired quietly.
There was a moment of silence.
"We could transfigure coins to alert us?" Dumbledore suggested calmly as if it were the most simple thing in the world. "The protean charm should do the trick and a simple incantation to make them heat up when it's changed. As long as we keep them on us at all times, I can be alerted. All we need is to agree on a fairly secluded place to go when a vision occurs."
Dippet seemed satisfied with his suggestion when a thought struck Grey.
"What about the vanishing room on the seventh floor? He pointed out.
Several teachers raised their eyebrows and Grey heard Dumbledore chuckle beside him.
"I wasn't aware you knew about the room of requirements Grey." He mused.
Grey cursed internally. "Sorry sir," He muttered.
"No need to apologize, Grey, it's an excellent suggestion." The professor said reassuringly.
"Yes, it will do." Dippet seconded. "It's settled then. Albus, you will oversee and record the visions. As for the rest of us, I suggest we discuss this as little as possible. The less is spoken on the matter, the safer Mr Willow is."
Murmurs of agreement echoed around the room.
"Hogwarts has suffered a tragic loss. One that will forever be remembered, however, at least a fraction of hope has been found because of it. I have cancelled classes for today and this evening there will be a feast in memorial of Mr Diggory. I will see you all there."
And with that, many teachers began to rise and start to mill out of the room. Both Elks and Merrythought passed grey, giving him more sympathetic pats on the shoulder.
Grey just sat in overwhelmed silence until the office was empty bar Dumbledore and himself. He was glad there were no lessons to attend but the thought of being alone with his grief was unpleasant.
After closing the door behind an oblivious Binns, Dumbledore returned to his seat beside Grey. Neither of them spoke for a moment but Grey suddenly remembered his thought from earlier. He was not a person of many words, but this was important.
"Professor," He began hesitantly, "I wanted to thank you for everything you've been doing for me."
He diligently avoided Dumbledore's eyes as he paused.
"You know it's no trouble, Grey," Dumbledore stated kindly.
Grey twisted his hands uncomfortably.
"I also wanted to apologize. I have treated you very harshly over the last months when you were only trying to help and I am very sorry."
He ventured to glance at Dumbledore. His professor wore a gentle smile.
"Thank you for saying that, but know you are already forgiven." He said softly.
But Grey didn't feel reassured.
"If you don't mind me asking, why didn't the staff at the orphanage notice your frequent migraines?" He inquired.
Every muscle in Grey tensed at his words as his brain began to list all his normal false responses. But he owed Dumbledore and he was free of that place now. They didn't want him so they couldn't punish him anymore. That was what Grey told himself as he tried to form a response.
"They weren't very attentive," He muttered stiffly, "And they already disliked me for being the way I am."
He prayed the explanation would satisfy Dumbledore.
"Unnatentive enough to not catch you becoming an animagus apparently." Dumbledore chuckled, but Grey noticed an indefinable edge to his voice.
"They mostly ignored me."
Unless they were punishing me.
But he didn't add that last part.
Dumbledore sighed, his face once again melding to that distant look.
Grey chewed his cheek. "How do you know so much about seers professor?" He asked cautiously.
Dumbledore glanced back at him with a sad smile.
"An old friend of mine possessed elements of prophetic abilities. Not a true seer but close enough."
Something shifted around Dumbledore's neck. Grey watched with curiosity as a silver chain attached to a peculiar silver trinket rose from beneath the professor's collar. The chain seemed to almost melt from his neck and hover between them. The thing that hung from it looked more like a vial, now that Grey could see it better. Something red was swirling within it.
With a jolt, Grey realized it was the same trinket he'd seen Dumbledore holding during his first nighttime flight at the beginning of term. And once again he felt a strange pull towards it.
"Curious," Dumbledore whispered, observing it closely.
"What is it, sir?" Grey asked, half distracted as the necklace drifted closer to him.
"A powerful piece of magic which has never acted like this before." The professor confessed in confusion.
But Grey was hardly listening. The object was floating closer and closer to his face and he had a strange feeling of familiarity towards it. The pointed end twisted toward his forehead.
He held his breath.
But Dumbledore reached out, grabbing it and placing it back around his neck. A sense of disappointment washed over Grey. He was about to question Dumbledore further when the man rose suddenly, moving to his desk.
"Did you know, your raven form has grey eyes and a white patch of feathers above its beak?" He exclaimed, rummaging in his desk drawer.
"I did not, sir," Grey replied, bewildered by the sudden change of subject.
The professor smiled slightly, taking two galleons from the draw.
"Fascinating how animagi all have such individual markings."
Grey merely nodded as Dumbledore came back over to him. His mind was still on the necklace. While he wondered, Dumbledore performed a spell on the coins, and then handed one to Grey.
"All you need to do is tap it with your wand three times and it will alert me." He explained.
Grey nodded again, his mind swiftly returning to the present. A pang of grief racked through him as he thought of the assembly later.
"Now, you're welcome to stay here if you wish," Dumbledore added.
But the offer was not appealing. Grey wanted to find Richard. They needed to talk, about everything. They needed to find a way to go on without Derric. The boy had become such a fundamental part of their lives.
"Thank you for the offer, sir, but I should go." He stated, getting to his feet.
"Of course, but remember, my door is always open."
Grey muttered his thanks before exiting the office. Sadness ached inside him but he pushed it down.
He needed to find Richard.