I See You

9:13am ~ 8 Days Later

“This is so BORING!” My inmate screamed, throwing the puzzle (complete with small plastic table) across the room. I sighed; I always enjoyed it when we were given puzzles. It helped relieve the crushing monotony.

The girl I shared a room with began mumbling to herself, hugging her cardigan closer as she crossed the room to her bed. As I watched her go, I felt little sympathy. I kept telling her not to take the pills they gave us, but she never listened.

As usual, Nurse Brown came at the noise, knocking once before entering. But she hadn’t come to clean up the mess and give Jess her pills like I’d thought.

“Mona? There’s someone here to see you, dear,” I felt my heart lift; this was what I’d been waiting for. It had to be. “Jess,” She continued. “Come with me, please. Let’s give Mona some privacy.” After much grumbling and cursing, Jess shuffled out of the room, though only with the promise of an early lunch and a glass of warm chocolate milk.

“Professor? You’re free to go in now,” the nurse said to somebody outside the cell as she left. All over my body, gooseflesh rippled. It was the lady with the emerald dress.

I couldn’t help but stare as she crossed the room and arranged herself on the edge of the plastic chair which was bolted to the floor in the corner.

Though her face was aged, and she was obviously old enough to be my great grandmother, she sat with excellent posture, and she wasn’t lumpy like most of the old people I’d seen. She was still slim and willowy, and seemed young but for her face and hair. Her eyes sparkled in the dull light.

“Hello.” She nodded, watching me every bit as intently as I watched her.

“Hello, Mona. My name is Professor Minerva McGonagall.” She hesitated for a bare second. “Do you have a surname?”

“No.” Her brow creased momentarily, but then smoothed out just as quickly. She folded her hands in her lap and leaned her walking cane next to her chair, just watching me. Assessing, I think.

“I’m sorry, but who are you? What are you a Professor of, exactly?” She smiled slightly, and I couldn’t help but smile back.

“Well, I’m actually a Headmistress. A Headmistress of a very special school. I’ve come to see if you would like to attend.” My stomach sank. ‘Special School’? I could guess what that meant.

“No, thank you,” Somehow, I managed to sound polite through my distaste. Six months ago, a girl down the hall had gone to a ‘special school’, and nobody had ever heard from her again.

“But you don’t know what we teach.”

“I’ll live.” I turned away from her abruptly and began picking up the scattered puzzle pieces. I was so disappointed - I’d really thought this meant something for me.

I watched her as she stood and made her way to the door. She didn’t slow as she left the room.

Suddenly, as I watched the tail of her long black cloak disappear around the doorframe, I was gripped by the realisation that I was missing something, something important. I had to know. I rushed to the door just as it snapped closed.

“Professor? PROFESSOR!” I pounded on the glass pane on the door, standing on my tiptoes as I tried to peer out. I jumped back as she was suddenly in front of me, lips pursed around a tiny smile. She knew something I didn’t.

“Yes?”

“What do you teach? I was just, uh, wondering.” She opened the latch and stepped inside once more, waiting till I was seated before speaking. She didn’t sit down.

“Magic.” My eyes flicked between hers as if I thought I could catch one of them lying, or laughing at me.

“Magic.” I stated, gritting my teeth. Who was this woman? But there was a tiny, tiny voice inside me that said, So what? You might not be crazy. Maybe you do see the future. Maybe you did do magic last summer when you turned Lucy Messenger’s hair green. I told it to shut up.

“I’m the Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and I am here to offer you a place, Mona.”

“Go on then. Show me. Do magic,” I demanded. Was this some new form of therapy? I wondered. She gave me one longsuffering look, and then pulled a length of wood from inside her cloak. She held my gaze as she gave it a complicated little flick.

The room was suddenly filled with tiny, jewel-bright birds.

I stood slowly, and they moved to swirl around me, chirping in high, sweet voices. Apart from people, it had been months since I’d seen anything larger than a spider.

I gaped at them and blinked hard, but they looked as real as anything I’d ever seen. As I watched, open-mouthed, one of them alighted on my shoulder, studying me with a small black eye. Before I could do more than stare, it took off with a quick ruffle of its golden feathers.

In another moment, they were gone. And I couldn’t help but believe.

“One more time: are you coming, Mona?”

“Yeah,” I breathed, stunned. My heart sank then as I came back to reality. “But I don’t have any money, Professor. I can’t come.”

“That won’t be a problem. We have a fund for this very purpose. Come, Mona. We don’t have much time. I will take you to buy your materials now.” She held out her hand to me. I paused, uncertain.

“What’s the date?”

But I already knew. It was the 1st of September.