Mannequins: Heroes and Prodigies

I shook the thoughts from my head and held fast to what Shaine had wisely said about the time we have now, being all we'll have and all we ever had. Once my golden brown hair was in right order I held it from my face with a simple white headband. I was satisfied with my appearance so I exited the lonely space and descended the stairs into the common room. It was nearly empty, but most people were at class this early too. Myself having passed a few extra courses such as Defence Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration and Charms, meant that I had a few empty slots in my time table. Luckily, those were the two slots before lunch in the morning, and the last one of the day. I still had to write the exam with the components of the classes at the end of the year for my N.E.W.T.S. but I was sure I would remember everything.
In the back of my mind I thought about who might my lover be. Did I already know him? And when was this war to take place? I'll assume that it will be soon, and start my preparations tonight in my dorm. I could well use a few new spells and charms anyway.
Right when I stepped out of the frame the classes emptied and students from all over started to make their way to the Great Hall for lunch. Quickly blending in with all my fellow classmates, I too made my way for a hot meal.
The day passed on all too quickly and soon enough I found myself wandering the late alls again. Now that I was hearing of a curfew time I would have to conjure myself up a spell for invisibility. Yes, I do realise that there is probably one out there already, but I really much rather have my own version that only I can use and can't be identified by the ministry of magic. You'd think that if they'd caught on by now that I was really always using magic that they'd have said something or done something about it, but they haven't so I am forced to assume they are still none the wiser.
As I entered back into the common room that night I saw people mainly working on homework from their classes so that they would have it done for the next day. In a corner at a small table I saw Harry, Hermione and Ron sitting with rolls of parchment, pots of ink and quills in front of them. Hermione was heatedly explaining to Ron and Harry that if she started doing their homework for them this early in the year that they would absolutely get no where in life. I had to agree slightly with her rant, but at the same time, the classes here were full of non sense and really could have had about half of what they did taking out of the course as most of it was completely unnecesary. I had already finished my homework for the next day and figured Hermione could use some help getting through their thick skulls. After all, whatever she had tried for the past how many years clearly wasn't working.
Harry's back was toward me as I walked up to the table. When I reached it I placed my hands on his shoulders and greeted them.
"So, what's the problem here guys?" I asked with a kind, but faked smile upon my lips. They had no idea.
"I'm trying to explain to these fickle boys that if I do their work for them they'll get no reward from it!" Hermione bursted, exasperated.
"Such a lie!" Ron protested, "We'll get good marks, and if that isn't reward, what is?"
I sighed and rested my forehead on the top of Harry's. "Okay, you know what? The classes here are rubbish. But you're not going to get out of them. You may as well just get past and hope that they gave your enough skills to get on with your life."
"What about your homework Esie, haven't you got some for class tomorrow?" Harry asked me.
"Silly Harry, I'm already done it. Just a few essays, nothing that can't be concured in the time I have between my last class and dinner." I replied effortlessly, not giving them any hint I'd charmed a quil of mine with a small replica of my personality to write my essays and homework for me. I mean, it really was me doing the work, I just told it what to write. The personality fragment only made the writting style identical to my own. It's not like it was a big deal, it wasn't anything that they really needed to know. If anything, I might tell Harry about it if I should really need to do so. I would never tell Hermione though. We all need to cover our rumps, and by keeping her well out of my loop, I was covering mine. Plus, these contraptions are a common device found in a Merlin student's work chamber. It's not like they were illegal or anything, just not understood.
They didn't know what to expect of me as they'd never seen my work ethic before, and had no idea what it was like in Merlin's, so they over looked how unrealistic it must have seemed.
I was just about to leave them to their work when Harry's hand grasped my wrist, making me turn back in inquisition. "We haven't talked since before we got to Hogwarts, Esie. I was wondering if you'd like to hang out tomorrow after dinner?" he asked casually.
"Sure Harry. I'm going to bed now though, I'll see you then" I said lightly, tugging my wrist from his now soft grasp. I knew I felt something for him, but I couldn't let it get any worse. What if he was the one I would hurt after the war? No, there had to be another way. I've changed the future before, and I'll do it again before I'm out of this life yet.
As I walked up the stairs to the girl's dormatory I took one last, pained look at Harry. He looked so happy now, I couldn't chance breaking his heart by getting any closer to him. No, it just wasn't going to be me that would cause him such pain.
As I laid myself down to bed that night I thought of the ways I could stop mine and Harry's relationship from going in the direction anywhere near love. The only thing I could think of was to either push him away from myself, or to push him towards other girls discretely. I'm just not sure I could see myself being able to bare either of those options though. Maybe I should ask Sirius, he'd probably be able to help me.

The next morning I awoke and had tidied my quarters before dawn. Pyro was out hunting and I was labouring over a boiling cauldron concocting a spell. Once the brew was ready, I swallowed down a pint of it, and said clearly, "Sirius Black." In was seemed like an instant I was inside of Sirius' mind looking at his inner self.
"Sirius, it is I, Estika Lynn Tonks. Will you allow me to ask you a few things?"
"Of course Esie, please, take a seat." he said to me, gesturing to a chair that materialized behind me, with a kind smile. "Now, what is it you had on your mind, Dear?"
"A prophecy has been stated that a war is upon us. Nymphadora among many other people are going to die. Due to unforseen circumstances, I will have to leave a lover, regretably. At the moment, I am in the begining stages of developing feelings for Harry Potter, your godson, and I couldn't bare for he to be the one I hurt by leaving so abruptly. Do you know of anything I can do to prevent, if anything, hurting him, or not hurting anyone that way."
"Now, Esie, you and I both know that trying to change a forseen prophecy is no easy task. Though, I must say, it can be done. The only advice I can give you, is to follow your heart. Do what feels best, what feels right. The Dark Lord is not active right now, he's laying dorment, you have plenty of time to find loop holes in the future."
"Thank you Sirius, I do hope we can meet again soon, but I must be off for now. Farewell." I said to him as the black void and his face disolved from my sight, leaving behind my dorm. With that in mind, I grabbed what I would need for the day ahead of me, and left for my first class, having purposefully skipped lunch, just like I planned to do with dinner tonight.