Who Penelope Clearwater, Lavender Brown, and a guest appearence from Professor McGonnagall Where Head Mistress' Office When Afternoon, 15 January 1998 Synopsis Lavender reports her vision to the Department of Mysteries Rating PG
A vision. A vision at Hogwarts. Penelope shook her head as she climbed the steps to the Head Mistresses office, nodding greetings to the few students who still remembered her as she passed. It wasn't unheard of for someone so young to have a prophetic vision, but it was certainly uncommon. She couldn't even imagine what it would be like, or how you'd sort it out in your mind. As many of these as reports as she'd taken, it still just seemed so odd.
Professor McGonagall had been kind enough to send along the password she'd need - James the Sixth - which Penelope repeated quietly and then continued her climb, coming at last to her destination. "Professor," she greeted the older woman, then looked to Lavender and gave an encouraging smile.
"Miss Brown, I don't know if you remember Penelope Clearwater? She's here representing the Ministry of Magic, and needs to speak to you about your vision," Professor McGonagall said, nodding to Penelope and then retreating away from the two to give them some privacy.
In terms of sorting it out in her head, Lavender hadn't. She had been silent and confused for a week now, trying to come to grips with what had happened to her. At first she had only needed to get over the sick feeling of losing control of her body, battling the terrible vulnerability that had come hand in hand with it. After the initial shock was over, it had just gotten worse, with constant repetitions of what she had said and questions about the future. Finally, she had given in and gone to Professor McGonagall, though she had been terrified at first that she would think that it was all made up.
She remembered Penelope from second year, how she had been attacked by the monster loose in the school, and gave her a timid little smile of greeting, standing with her hand out. "Hello, Miss Clearwater." She said quietly.
"Penny is fine," came the reply and a returned handshake. "Not to worry, I'm not here for any bad reasons. The Ministry has a department that keeps track of all prophecies it hears of, and I work for that department. I'm just here to talk to you about what you saw and make an official recording of it." She motioned to the chairs. "Why don't we sit down and get comfortable, and you can ask me whatever questions you'd like or just starting telling me what you remember - whichever you'd prefer."
She sat back down and crossed her legs, resisting the urge to pull them to her chest protectively. She didn't know where to begin, and so was silent for several long moments as she looked around the room, willing her mind to form a coherent thought. "This is very unusual, isn't it?"
Penelope sat down once Lavender did, and put her small leather satchel at her feet. "Well, it is and it isn't. It is uncommon for someone your age to have a vision, but it does happen and I wouldn't call it rare. Visions themselves are rather like...well, like people, really. They come in all shapes and sizes. There's no way to tell which will actually come true, or how deeply someone tapped into what I think Professor Trelawny calls "the great beyond."
She nodded, letting out a sigh and running a hand through her hair. "I haven't told anyone, not even my parents. Lord, my mum's a Muggle. she's not going to know how to deal with this." She shook her head, smiling a bit at the thought of having to explain what was going on to her poor mum.
"Having two muggle parents, I'm always surprised what they're able to handle," Penelope chuckled, taking out a notepad and quill and scribbling down a few things quickly. "Even muggles have tales of prophesies, though for your mum I think the biggest surprise is that it's her daughter who has had one. If you'd like, I can send them some pamphlets about it that the Ministry made up for just these cases."
"That would be very helpful." She said, grateful that Penny didn't seem inclined to treat her like she was a freak or some big discovery. That would be annoying. "When...when you report this, are people going to know about it?"
Folding her hands over her notebook, Penny shook her head. "The prophecies we collect are kept inside the department of mysteries, and are very secure - even more so over the last couple of years. Other employees of the department will know, but there is a reason we're called Unspeakables." She smirked. "If we find anything in your vision to be very important then we may have to report it to the Minister's office, but it won't be going to the Daily Prophet or anything of that nature. We're rather tight-lipped with our secrets."
She nodded, fingers trailing over the hem of her skirt nervously. "So, no one will know unless I let it be public, like Professor Trelawny?" She asked, feeling a bit more reassured. Her biggest fear of having this secret revealed was that everyone would think she was making it up for attention; it was enough that people thought she was strange for love Diviniations.
"Unless you or someone you've told makes it public, then it stays private," Penelope assured her.
She smiled then, ready to talk. "Okay. So what do I have to tell you?" She asked, sitting up a little straighter in her chair.
This was usually where first-timers got nervous. Penny carefully reached into her bag, pulling out a small glass orb which she held at eye level and then released. Instead of dropping it hung there in mid-air. "It's really quite easy. You just relax and think back to what you were doing when the vision came, then tell me. I'll do the rest. Try to remember as accurately as possible, but don't worry too much about it - if you miss something the sphere will probably pick up on it."
She nodded again, willing herself to relax and thought back to the day in the library. "I was in the Library, with Susan, and I offered to do a tarot spread for her..." she began
The orb between them began to glow a faint silvery color.
She tried her best to ignore it, not wanting to get distracted by her nerves. "I was doing a four card spread, for simplicity, because i'd been doing them all day and I was getting tired. The first card was the Hermit, representing the questioner. The second, the four of cups, reversed. The third was the nine of cups, and after I drew it, I felt like I had been hit by a wave, that knocked me off my feet and pushed me underwater. I was inside myself, but I couldn't do or say anything. I lost control of my body."
Penelope nodded for her to continue, taking down a few notes.
"And I said 'Nine of Pentacles standing upright in cupping hands. They are protecting the Nine of Pentacles, shielding it from harm. The Ten of Cups is there, but it is smeared with blood you can't wipe off. The next is obscured, I rub my eyes but I can't make it out, the Seven of Wands hung upside down. I have to focus. The fourth is right before me, encased in glass. It is inches away but it is shining so bright I can't tell what it is.'" She repeated it verbatim, having gone through it in her head ad infinitum this week.
Penelope listened to the words very carefully, watching Lavender as she recounted the tale incase she became scared and checking the orb to make sure it was still recording. "That's very good, Lavender. Was there anything else? Could you actually see these things yourself, or were the words just there?"
"I could actually see them. It was like the rest of the world wasn't there except for what I was seeing."
"And that was all of it?" Penelope asked again, wanting to make sure before she stopped recording.
She nodded. "Yes. Right after that I came back to myself, like shaking off sleep."
Reaching out, Penelope touched the orb and let it fall into her hand, placing it back into her bag. "There - all done. That wasn't so difficult, was it?"
A little smile. "No, it wasn't." She uncrossed her legs, feeling more comfortable now that it was over.
"Well I can't tell you what it means, or if anything you saw will come true - these interpretive visions are the hardest of all, really, because they could mean something different to every person." Notebook stashed back into her bag, Penny zipped it shut. "I'd suggest not dwelling on it too much. It could be the universe trying to tell you something, or it could have been an astral hiccup - no way to tell for sure."
"That's true." She agreed, but didn't really sound as if she believed it. It had felt too right, despite of all of the strangeness and fear, to be a hiccup. She was sure of it.
"Besides, you're a seventh year, aren't you?" Penny thought for sure she remembered reading something about Lavender and Ron and Hermione a while back, so it was a good guess that they were in the same year. "You've got NEWTs to worry about in less than five months."
She groaned. Why must she be constantly reminded of that fact? "Well, maybe I'll have a vision and the answers will come to me."
Penelope laughed at that, getting to her feet. "I work in the Department of Mysteries, but I'd still bet ten quid on hard studying anyday. If you feel like you're not ready, study groups are a great help, because what you don't know someone else in your year is sure to, and you can all help each other."
"I plan on not studying at all, staying up all night the night before partying, and possibly drinking heavily." She teased, a little smirk on her lips.
Penny blinked, then shook her head. "As former Head Girl, I cannot condone that," she chuckled. "I'll see that those brochures get sent out to your mum and dad tomorrow."
"Thank you." She said, standing and picking up the bag that lay beside her chair. "It was very nice to speak to you, Penny."
"It was good to see you again, Lavender," Penelope replied. "Professor McGonagall," she called to the Head Mistress. "You can send in the paperwork whenever you're able - there's really not a huge rush, once we've gotten this," she patted her bag, "though I'm certain Percy would tell you otherwise."
"Yes, of course. Good day, Penelope. I'll send it along soon."
Penny nodded to Lavender and made her way back to the staircase and out of the office.