The Cursed Child

With a soft buzz, the little toy in Henry's hand began to move.

It looked exquisite, covered in numbers that resembled some kind of date, precise down to the year, month, day, hour, and minute. Henry stared at it as if bewitched, unable to look away. Pomona thought he loved the device more than he loved his wife.

"It'll work, darling. What do you think?" Henry asked Pomona softly.

"Is it for me, Grandpa?" she asked innocently, gazing at him with wide aqua-blue eyes.

"One day, it will be." Henry set the little thing back on his workbench. "But before that, I need to conduct some experiments."

Pomona was disappointed. Unlike the distant Madam Sprout, Henry liked children very much. Though she rarely went out, whenever she saw a magical toy she wanted in a wizarding magazine, Henry would find a way to make one for her. Some were even better than what she had seen in the photographs.

"How do you use it?"

"First, you must have the desire to seek something." Henry slumped in his chair, staring at the device just as he had the last time Pomona found him. "As for what other taboos there are, we'll only know after experimenting."

"What does it do?" Pomona leaned over the edge of the table, looking at the gleaming crystal on the device. It seemed as if golden magical runes were drifting inside it.

"One day, I'll tell you, child." Henry stroked Pomona's hair. "But I hope you remember this: no matter what something was originally invented for, if we misuse it, even a good thing can become a bad one. You may only use it when there is no other choice."

"What counts as having no other choice?"

"When it is a matter of life and death." Henry paused. "When you feel that you cannot go on living without it. I hope you will always be happy, my dear."

"Pomona? Pomona!"

Mary's shout pulled her back from her memories.

"Honestly, your sleeping face is ugly enough already. Can you stop being so slow to react?" Mary frowned tightly, as though she truly hated being associated with her.

"Sorry. What were you saying?"

"We have Astronomy tomorrow night. Are you coming?" Jane filled her in on their earlier conversation.

"What date is it today?"

"September 2nd, 1971," Mary said expressionlessly.

It had only been two days since term began. Why did she feel as though so much time had already passed?

Remus Lupin would transform in two more days. Perhaps she should visit that house tonight.

"Hey, look, it's Malfoy and Narcissa Black." As they passed through the courtyard, Susan was the first to spot Slytherin's golden boy. His hair was like platinum, while the girl beside him had black hair. She looked very shy, constantly gazing at Lucius Malfoy with admiration. She was nothing like her flamboyant sister, Bellatrix Black.

She was one of the Hufflepuff girls whose face had to be remembered. She was Bellatrix's direct blood relative, and picking a fight with her was practically asking for trouble. But no matter how frightening Bellatrix was, she could not stop people from gossiping behind her back.

"Like two peacocks strutting around," Mary said with utter disgust.

Peacocks were beautiful, but they were stupid birds. The comparison suited someone as all show and no substance as Malfoy perfectly. Yet no one laughed at Mary's metaphor. A handsome, wealthy boy was highly attractive to inexperienced young girls. Who would not want a boyfriend who made others jealous?

"Miss Pomona Martin."

She heard someone call her name and followed the gaze. An unfamiliar man was approaching with Professor McGonagall.

"I suppose you've got something else to do again," Mary said sarcastically. She was not a bad person by nature, merely blunt. She also liked being the center of attention, but Pomona always seemed to be stealing her thunder.

"He's an Auror." Jane studied the unfamiliar man's face. "I saw him at Bill's baptism."

"Why would an Auror be at Hogwarts?" Mary asked in confusion.

"Isn't it obvious?" Susan's face darkened. "Pomona saved a House-elf. It was nearly tortured to death by the Unforgivable Curses."

Even Mary stopped gossiping after that.

"We'll head to the dining hall for dinner first," Jane said gently. "See you tonight."

It seemed she had already expected that Pomona would not be joining them for dinner. Watching their retreating backs, Pomona felt that her situation was not all that different from Lily's. She only hoped things would change once this busy period was over.

"This gentleman is an Auror from the Ministry of Magic, Mr. Longbottom." McGonagall introduced them. "And this is Miss Martin, who found that House-elf."

"Pleased to meet you."

Pomona had thought he would shake her hand, but Longbottom instead took it and kissed the back of it with impeccable aristocratic manners. Professor McGonagall looked at him with undisguised admiration.

"Don't worry, Pomona. He's one of us," Professor McGonagall said. "You can safely tell him what you saw today."

Pomona did not know what McGonagall meant by "one of us," but she still had no intention of telling him the whole truth.

"I saw two adults infiltrate the school," she said quietly. "One of them was called Evan."

Neither Professor McGonagall nor Mr. Longbottom looked surprised. It seemed they had already known.

"Torturing a House-elf will not lead to a trial," Longbottom said. "He only needs to pay a fine before he can leave. Taking the opportunity to arrest him would not be a good idea. It might even put Miss Martin in danger."

"That is not why I asked you to come to the school." McGonagall turned her gaze back to Pomona. "You may go now, Miss Martin. Your friends have not gone far."

"Minerva, I recall that just yesterday, you offered me a job at Hogwarts," Pomona said coldly. "Or is my performance not satisfactory enough for you and Dumbledore?"

McGonagall lowered her eyes to look at her again, then smiled. "My apologies, Professor Martin. It is simply that your appearance makes me think of the students currently attending the school. I am pleased that you are able to begin working so early. Thanks to your help, Robby is no longer in serious danger. He only needs some time to recover before he can return to work."

"It was nothing," she said coolly. "May I stay and listen? Why did you invite an Auror to the school?"

"I heard from Wilhelmina that there has recently been a werewolf in the Forbidden Forest." McGonagall looked deeply worried. "It injured a centaur foal. I am concerned that students might be attacked while near the Forbidden Forest, so I asked Longbottom to assist in dealing with it."

"Could it be Fenrir?" Pomona asked. McGonagall and Longbottom both turned their attention to her.

"Why would you think that, Pomona?" Longbottom addressed her by her first name as well.

"Ordinary werewolves only transform on the night of a full moon, and it is not the full moon yet." There were still two days until the full moon, but not being the day meant it was not the day.

That werewolf Greyback, who called himself Fenrir, was a notorious madman. He liked biting people, but when had he started liking to bite children?

"Professor McGonagall, I remember that House-elves cannot leave the house freely unless ordered by their masters. Why did Robby leave Hogwarts Castle?"

"I believe that is something you will need to investigate, Professor." Minerva lowered the brim of her witch's hat toward her. "There will be a meeting in my office at eight tonight. I hope you will be there."

"All right." Pomona's heart pounded. Whose first days at school could possibly be more exciting than hers? She had barely started studying and had already become a teacher.

She did not go to the dining hall. Instead, she turned toward the kitchens. Only when Longbottom asked her had she remembered that, in her haste after picking up Robby, she had not replanted those Mandrakes in their pots. Even magical plants should have died after being out of the soil for so long. Yet when she and Lily visited the greenhouse that afternoon, they had all been properly replanted. If someone had not helped, she would not only have failed to earn money for the school, she would have caused it a considerable loss.

"They say that sometimes, you can hear voices."

In one of Hogwarts' long, dark corridors, she heard that weary man again.

"Can you hear me now?"

She felt a warm force enveloping her. Even as the mountain wind blowing through the corridor made the torches on the stone walls sway wildly, she could not feel the slightest chill.

"I think that snake egg worked. You want to see him, don't you? If so, give me some response, like you did just now."

Luckily, Sinistra was a tolerant teacher. If it had been some strict old bat instead...

"You'd give me detention," she murmured, and then she heard the man laugh.

"Wonderful, Professor." It was still that woman's voice, though she spoke through sobs. What was there to cry about?

"Why would I give you detention?" he asked.

"Sleeping in class," she answered vaguely. "Don't even think about making me touch those leeches!"

Come to think of it, how had Slughorn collected leech mucus in the past?

"You're at Hogwarts?"

"My first year as a new student," she answered honestly.

"What date is it today?"

"September 2nd, 1971. There are two days until Remus transforms." She groped around blindly as if she could not see at all. At last, she found a hand. She felt less afraid of what would happen next.

"Why choose that day?"

"Lily is still alive," she said softly. "She danced with me in the greenhouse."

The man fell silent.

"Do you want to see her?"

"Not that much," he replied in a heavy voice.

"Why?"

"When you open your eyes, I'll tell you."

Slytherin cunning. Pomona was a little angry. She did not want to speak to him anymore.

Then she returned to that corridor. Places that were too empty easily created echoes, and she could always hear some noisy voices.

"Are you going to tell him?" Two girls were whispering around the corner. One of them had red, swollen eyes from crying, but the worst of it had passed, and she was no longer weeping.

"Tell him what?"

"That you're pregnant?"

The crying girl did not answer.

"This is a mistake," she said after a long while. "I won't let it be born."

"Are you worried about money?" the unexpectedly pregnant girl's friend asked.

"No!" The crying girl touched her stomach. "It needs a complete family, and that's something Pete can't give me!"

Oh, Pete. Pete again!

Pomona was furious. Could it be that the Pete she knew was responsible for this?

"Aren't you afraid she'll wake up and blame you?" It was that woman again. Pomona was growing unbearably irritated by them. Why could they not just let her go?

"I don't care," the man said coldly. "That child has nothing to do with me."

"You mean..." The woman hesitated for a long time before speaking.

"Oh, of course he is my child." The man smiled smugly. "But I expect he'll turn out just like Neville Longbottom. You and he deceived me together. The prophecy said only one of the two could live, didn't it? Now both of them are alive. Want to make a bet, Pomona? This time, will Harry Potter die, or Neville?"

She wanted to make a sound, but it felt as though a piece of candy were lodged in her throat. She could not force out a single meaningful syllable.

"I will not protect Neville Longbottom. That is your task, Professor Sprout," the man said slowly, drawing out every word. "Complete the task Dumbledore gave you. Protect the chosen boy."

That strange hissing began echoing through the corridor again. She quickly covered her ears with her hands.

"I can't do it alone, you know that!" he roared at her. "This is not the time for you to keep pretending to sleep. Wake up, now!"

The Dark Lord was already gone. What danger could there possibly be left?

Pomona got to her feet, covered her ears, and ran forward as fast as she could. She did not care where she was running. She only wanted to escape this damned school.