Scars of the Future

First Impressions

September 5, 1971

The first two days of classes were quite normal– boring, even, to Mia, who had yet to experience a quiet year at Hogwarts. It was almost a relief, really, to have such uneventful classes. There was no gossip over grand entrances, no groundbreaking news, no Ministry oversight, no Death Eaters, no Voldemort. There was a new defense professor, of course, but that was hardly any point of notice. Mia's classes were just that: classes.

While her classes were exceptionally ordinary, Mia felt that the past couple days were anything but. After destroying the diadem, Mia had stayed up into the small hours of the morning talking to Tinky. Admittedly, it felt nice to have someone solidly on her side to be let into her secret. She felt lighter– like she could breathe a little easier.

She knew it was necessary to let Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Pomfrey know her circumstances, but she didn't trust that Dumbledore would keep her best interests at heart. He was more concerned with the well-being of the "Greater Good." She knew how he worked. Dumbledore was willing to sacrifice individuals as long as the overall end point was what was best for the majority. He saw the forest, not the trees. McGonagall and Pomfrey would treat her like they would any other student, and that was just who they were, but Tinky– Mia knew that Tinky would always be by her side, swinging in her corner.

Tinky had insisted on helping Mia with her plans to save her brothers, family, friends, and the entire world; and had even gone so far as to make Mia promise that she wouldn't "do anything stupid" without calling for her first. Tinky was a great help to Mia– one that she hadn't seen coming, and in the short few months she had spent in this timeline, Tinky had quickly become a dear friend.

When not actively working, Tinky had taken to following Mia around unseen. Although Mia knew she was there– her war-honed instincts too sharp for the little elf to go unnoticed– she thought it best not to bring it up, knowing that Tinky was purely doing so out of a fierce, protective need to keep her safe. With the extent that Dobby had gone to keep Harry safe in their second year, Mia considered herself lucky.

It seemed, however, that the one thing Tinky could not protect Mia from was her nightmares, which had steadily grown worse since being back in the castle. At Mia's request, Tinky had not dismantled the silencing charm she had put up around her bed that first night, so while Mia would consistently wake up to the sound of her own screams, her roommates were left undisturbed and none the wiser.

Tinky was always there when she woke, and Mia- still a bit uncomfortable giving orders to her elf- would beg Tinky not to wake Jamie. Mia knew he would be upset if he found out, but not only did she not wish to accidentally wake the rest of his roommates; she didn't want her brother worrying about how bad her nightmares had become. It was one thing to be at Potter Manor– a place free from memories of the future, a place she had come to view as comforting– safe– home. But Hogwarts, as much as she loved the castle, would always be a reminder of war, fear, and everything she had lost. Tinky always stayed after Mia would wake, even though it was very rare that she would actually fall back to sleep.

It was the quiet sound of Tinky popping away to Potter Manor that persuaded Mia to finally leave her dormitory and face the day, regardless of the fact that she had already been awake for hours. Judging by the amount of noise coming from other Gryffindor students, breakfast was well underway. Doing a quick Tempus charm, she found herself proven correct as the results announced the time as eight fifty-seven in the morning.

After dressing and preparing for the day, she headed directly to the Great Hall, knowing her brother would already be there. No matter how much Jamie liked to sleep in, she knew he could never resist the lure of food. She smiled sadly– he was much like Ron in that regard, though at least Jamie had some semblance of table manners. As she had predicted, the second she had stepped into the Great Hall, she was flagged over by her brother, who seemed to already be on his second helping of food– if the uneaten toast crusts on his plate were anything to go by. Taking a seat next to Jamie, she smiled at him in thanks as he passed her a cup of tea– earl grey with a splash of milk, just how she liked it.