I made sure to keep a close eye on my guest as we appeared back at my rooms, curtsey of my fateful manservant. She took the transport well. And as I'd half expected she only gave Paddy a small polite nod, apparently not at all surprised by his odd appearance. I also noted that she only took a curtsey look around the room without really seeing what was there, like she'd seen it all before. Even Slughorn had rubbernecked a bit. Nel, however, looked entirely comfortable in a place that should have been completely new to her.
Well, that does it. Enough is enough.
"So…" I began, attracting her attention to me. "You're a Seer."
"I'm not." Nel denied flatly.
I laughed humorlessly. "Yeah see, I don't buy that. You've been dropping cryptic comments around me like they are going out of style ever since we first met five years ago. If it'd happened once or twice I might have dismissed it as coincidence. But you're so consistent in it that not only do I think you want me to know, but you also enjoy screwing with me."
"You may believe what you want, that does not make me a Seer." She replied indifferently.
"No, being a Seer makes you a Seer." I retorted. "I don't know why you bother to deny it; you wouldn't have been this persistent if you didn't want me to notice."
She crossed her arms over her chest, drawing my eyes there for a moment before I caught myself. Damn hormones, I can't wait to be twenty-five so I don't have to deal with it anymore. "Perhaps. That does not mean you are correct, however."
"Oh come on!" I complained loudly, throwing my hands up in the air in frustration. "You didn't even blink when you saw Paddy, and you haven't even shown the tiniest bit of curiosity about all the weird stuff I have lying about in here. Even the teachers look!"
Nel just looked away without answering.
I sighed in frustration and dragged my hand through my hair. "Look, I'm not gonna blab about it to anyone else if that's what's bothering you. Since you obviously know what I'm up to and since the Ministry, or less savory characters, aren't breaking down my door, that means you haven't talked about it." I told her seriously before adding. "Which I really appreciate by the by, I like to keep what I steal, thank you were much."
Nel snorted, which might have been an aborted laugh, it almost sounded like it. She didn't turn around though.
"What I'm getting at is that you obviously know how to keep your mouth shut; I'm pretty good at the whole keeping stuff a secret deal to," I told her earnestly. "I even learned to shield my mind so no one would try to take a walk through my head."
Nel gave me an unimpressed look, or at least I assumed it was unimpressed, it was hard to tell with her."And because of that, I should just trust you?"
I snorted. "You obviously already do to some degree, at least enough to needle me with hints constantly."
Nel didn't answer immediately, clearly thinking it over, before sighing quietly. "I'm not a Seer." She stated again. I was just about to protest when she continued. "I can't see the future, I see the past."
I didn't have anything to say to that because my mind is the equivalent of a mass car pileup as her statement completely derailed what I was about to say. The past? I quickly dug around in my memory for relevant information. The past. That was Postcognition, or more commonly Retrocognition; it was an ability that was actually far rarer than the more valued gift of Precognition.
That was because unlike Precognition Retrocognition wasn't tested for in the Wizarding World.
That had been an interesting discovery, way back when I'd read about it. I'd always wondered what use Divinations classes served when Precognition wasn't something you could actually learn, you either had the talent for it or you didn't. And no amount of training would change that. To be fair, there were certain divination techniques that could be taught, but that revolved entirely around Clairvoyance, and you needed a focus for that, a crystal ball to be exact. But as I'd found out trough my studies the teaching methods used in the class could trigger the emergence of a Precog should the student actually have that talent, which was the main reason the class was actually thought in the first place. It was a case of Wizards actually pulling their heads out of their asses for once. I just wish they would do so for all other stuff.
"Retrocognition… alright… that's… that's pretty unexpected." I decided after some thought. "That doesn't explain how you knew I was coming through.
"The past is a second ago." She stated and the side of her mouth twitched up slightly, making her look almost smug.
It took a moment for me to connect the dot, and when I did I couldn't help but chuckle. Clever girl. "So you have effectively leveraged your Retrocognition into active Clairvoyance. That's pretty impressive. Still… that doesn't explain how you knew I'd come that way."
Nel huffed irritably, well, irritable for her anyhow. "I get… hunches… sometimes."
"Hunches?"
"I have no better way to describe it. A vague feeling that something is going to happen. it's not always, or even mostly, right. But it's enough that I tend to heed it."
"Oh?"
She gave me a pointed look. "Of course. Can you reach the Hufflepuff common room the way I was going?"
"How would I know where you were going?" I asked with an indifferent shrug. She was right of course, to get to the intersection where I had encountered her she would have to have walked almost in the opposite direction to the one she would have to go to reach the Hufflepuff commons. There wasn't really any reason for her to go that way.
Nel didn't rise to my bait and just gave me a flat look to which I responded with an irreverent grin and another shrug of my shoulders. It didn't hurt to try.
"So, Retrocognition. Not a bad talent to possess. How strong is it?" I asked.
Nel raised a single eyebrow. "What would I have to compare it to?"
"Ah… fair point." I allowed after a moment of thought. "How does it work then? How far back can you look? Do you need to be in contact with a person or object? Do you get a whole scene like in a Pensive, or just bits and pieces?" I rattled off quickly in succession.
"It just does. It depends. It's easier with an object or a person, but I don't need it. Again, it depends." Nel answered in the same way as she'd been asked.
"What do you mean it depends? In both cases, I mean." I wondered.
"I can look far into the past, however, past a certain point the language change to the point that I don't understand what I'm seeing. Even just five hundred years ago is hard to understand." She told me slowly, thoughtfully. "And I suppose it is much like a Pensive, only in my mind. It can be overwhelming at times, particularly if I try to view it as a whole instead of following the line of a single person or object."
I whistled slowly. "Wow… that's one powerful ability you have there. Holy crap!"
"It's not as grand as you might believe."
I laughed quietly. "Is that so? Alright, let's have a chat about it. We'll see who's right."
I gestured to one of the nearby tables before telling Paddy to prepare some refreshments before I launched into the girl. We ended up talking and snaking for about an hour about various uses of her gift and things she had seen and experienced through it. It was fascinating to hear her talk about some of the things she had seen, even if she couldn't give context in many cases due to the language barrier.
She knew even more about Hogwarts then I did and I made a note to pick her brains about it later. I might have access to the designers of this place, but by this time there were so many additions added to the castle that it was almost an entirely different place from back then. That was another thing that was never mentioned in either the books or in fan fiction. With all the abilities of magicals, it didn't seem to occur to many how easy it was to modify and add to the structure without it actually showing.
I could pick loose a stone in the wall and use space expansion charms to create a whole new room without anyone being the wiser. I knew because I'd done it in preparation for one of my big projects. For now, it stood empty, but once I felt that Lys was in big enough debt to me, not to mention adequately educated by her illustrious ancestors, I'd give her some work to do.
I was jolted out of my musings by a knock on my door. Ah, time to face the music then. I caused the door to swing open with a thought, revealing none other than Albus Dumbledore standing there.
"Mr. Ahlgren…" He said then paused to take in my company. "…and Miss Vablatsky, I trust you are both well this fine day."
"As well as can be expected, Headmaster," I answered for us. "Won't you come on and join us? I assume this is about Janus Thickey and his two friends."
"Indeed so, the school is abuzz with rumors of a great duel and a display of magic unrivaled in recent memory," Dumbledore said as he entered and moved over to where me and Nel were sitting. I took some pride in seeing the old man's eyes wander surreptitiously through the room, taking in the sights and lingering on particular items, particularly my giant microscope. I'd wondered if he'd snuck in here at some point, clearly not, going by his poorly hidden curiosity. Well, poorly hidden to me anyway.
"More proof that one shouldn't put too much trust in rumors," I said and waved a hand and transfigured a free chair into a more comfortable recliner, causing a raised eyebrow from the headmaster who still accepted the offered seat. Another little wave summoned a plate of lemon cakes that Paddy had prepared for just this occasion. My mother's own recipe, extra tart.
"Mr. Ahlgren, I don't believe I've seen such casual use of wandless magic since my last visit to Uagadou, that was over a decade ago. I see you have made more than ample use of the book you borrowed from me. And nonverbally as well. Quite the accomplishment." He told me conversationally. It wasn't praise exactly, mealy an observation.
I nodded with a smile. "Yes, I found I preferred it to waving a wand around, more… tactile, lets say. Lemon cake?" I asked and pushed the plate towards him.
"Oh, thank you, don't mind if I do." He said and picked up one of the cakes and took a bite. I smiled as his eyes widened slightly. I'd made a point to have a taste of those sherbet lemon drops he liked so much and had been reminded of my mother's cakes. "Delightful." He judged before stuffing the rest of the cake into his mouth and wiping his hands on his robes before speaking again.
"As you surmised, this is indeed about Mr. Thickey and his friends, though Mr. Horton and Mr. Dicky seemed to have weathered their ordeal well enough to be released from the tender mercies of Madam Pomfrey without much fuss. Not so with Mr. Thickey however. That was quite the inventive little curse you placed on him Mr. Ahlgren, a Malificus variation if I don't miss my guess. Pomfrey caused the poor boy quite a bit of pain trying to lift it. She was quite distraught by it, Mr. Ahlgren."
I shrugged and gave him an irreverent smirk. "Well, I couldn't have him reversing it, now could I? What kind of lesson would that teach? I'll apologize to Madam Pomfrey at the earliest opportunity. It was thoughtless of me not to take into account how it might affect her."
"Hmm, I see." He said, stroking his long beard thoughtfully. "And if I were to tell you to lift this curse?"
"Then I'd respectfully decline to do so, for the moment." i told him frankly.
"For the moment." Dumbeldore repeated absently.
"I might have a change of heart in a week or so," I told him shamelessly.
Dumbledore gave me a look that was both parts considering and thoughtful. "I see. Might I ask what caused this altercation between you and Mr. Thickey."
I let my eyes linger over to Nel or a moment; she merely closed her eyes or a moment and erected a disinterested air. I turned back to the headmaster. "He… applied his... charm... where it wasn't desired, or asked for." I told him. "I had a little scuffle with him and thought him a lesson in proper manners."
Dumbledore's rested on Nel for a few moments and while his expression didn't change it despite that seemed more… solid, denser even. "I see… Mr. Thickey failed to mention the presence of Miss Vablatsky in your altercation."
"Dear me, I wonder why that might be?" I said mockingly.
"I think I will endeavor to ask him when next we meet," Dumbledore stated in a way that made it clear that said meeting was going to occur in the very near future. With that Dumbledore rose to his feet again and moved towards the door. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Ahlgren. It's been enlightening." He said. "I believe we will need to speak further later, you as well Miss. Vablatsky. But for now, I have other things that demand my time. Thank you for the cake, it was delicious."
"My mom would have been glad to hear that," I told him.
Dumbledore paused for a moment before nodding. And then he was gone.
"Well," I said at length. "That was a good start."
"Indeed." I was pleaased to see a ghost of a smile lurking around her mouth when she said that.