The Great War ✸ Harry Potter

02 | cruel summer

Magdalena does not See that mysterious room Professor Dumbledore is interested in this time. Instead, she Sees Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived takes centre stage in her vision, taking part in a role he has no idea he has stepped into.

The room is unfamiliar. Warmth seeps through every corner, bleeding through all four walls. Warmth settles deep in the cartilage of Magdalena's bones. Voices sound all around her, but that has been reduced to white noise as Harry Potter stands in front of her, green eyes hidden behind round glasses. There's a tiny smile tugging on his lips, characterised only by familiarity. How can that be, when Magdalena has never spoken to Harry? Nevertheless, that smile is on his face, and it is directed at Magdalena as he gestures to her wand in her hand.

"You have to be more confident with it," Harry Potter tells her. "Say it like you mean it. You might actually find that you do mean it."

Magdalena opens her mouth to reply and the scene ends.

Magdalena won't find out what she says to Harry Potter until the vision comes true, however long that takes. She doesn't dwell on the finer details like the timing of this vision, not when she is sitting with Professor Dumbledore in the kitchen of her family home. She doesn't tell her Headmaster about this particular vision. This one she keeps close to her chest ⏤ it's not really important, is it? How will her Headmaster knowing that she and Harry share a conversation sometime in the future vital in stopping a dark wizard? This particular scene feels personal, intimate and something she shouldn't share with anybody else.

So instead she talks about one of her other visions, the ones where she sees this unfamiliar and mysterious room that Professor Dumbledore is interested in. Magdalena isn't excited when she experiences a vision, but Seeing this cold room leaves her more unsettled than usual. She wakes up in a cold sweat, her bed sheets soaked through and her body shaking as she comes to. Her hands continue to shake as she wraps them around a warm cup of tea and stares out the window as the grey of the early morning light bleeds across the horizon and through the kitchen window.

Unlike a nightmare, she cannot tell herself that it was a dream and isn't true. She Sees the truth, the good and the bad that comes with this ability. She doesn't refer to it as a gift. The Sight is a burden that weighs heavily on her shoulders and they concave further in the more she Sees.

Unlike all the other times they have met over the summer, her parents are present. They sit on either side of her, walling in her. Shielding her from something she doesn't know what. Across from them, Professor Dumbledore is pensive, his fingers interlocked and resting on the table. "I believe there is something you should know, Miss Valor, about this room you are Seeing." He falls silent, gauging Magdalena's reaction. She swallows and keeps quiet. He takes this as a sign to continue. "The truth is, we believe Lord Voldemort is searching for something."

All three Valors flinch at the use of the dark wizard's name. It is a name that has never been uttered in these four walls and yet it spills from Dumbledore's lips with ease. Magdalena takes note of her Headmaster using the word "we". He is careful with his words and always reveals information with a purpose in mind. He wants her to know he isn't working alone. He wants her to know that she isn't alone, and what she Sees is important information to be passed on to people who can use it for good.

"What he is searching for," Professor Dumbledore continues, "is in the room Magdalena has been Seeing."

"Why are you telling us this?" Magdalena's mother asks. The same question rests on Magdalena's tongue; why is he telling her this? What is Dumbledore planning and where does she fit into his plans?

"I think it would be wise for Miss Valor here to meet a certain someone. To formally meet Harry Potter," Professor Dumbledore answers. His eyes flick to Magdalena, a hint of mirth behind his half-moon glasses. Her cheeks flush in embarrassment; somehow her Headmaster knows she has Seen Harry, despite her not uttering a word.