The Seer on the Train

"Nelson, I never expected you to be a Seer!"

On the train back to school, Alphard eagerly pushed open the compartment door, waking Nelson, who had fallen asleep against the window.

"Why do you look so exhausted? It's the first day of the new term. You should be happy." Alphard looked full of energy as he plopped down beside Nelson and spread the newspaper in his hand across the little table.

"Am I not awake yet?" Nelson rubbed his forehead, opened his slightly swollen eyes, glanced at Alphard squeezing in beside him, then turned back toward the window. "What are you trying to do this time? Kill the Seer again?"

"What are you talking about? Are you still half asleep?" Alphard shifted closer to make room for his sister, who had entered behind him, then looked at Tom across from them. "What's wrong with him? Why does he look so listless?"

"No idea. Maybe he's getting over jet lag." Tom closed the book in his hands and placed it on Christian's lap beside him. "I'm really jealous. You're full of energy every day."

"How could there be jet lag from the Czech Republic to the United Kingdom?" Christian hugged Tom's book to her chest and laughed behind her hand.

It had been a full year since they had last boarded this train specially meant to carry Hogwarts freshmen. Unlike the undercurrents churning through the wizarding world, their year at Hogwarts could even be called peaceful. Headmaster Armando Dippet was still nowhere to be seen, and the school's affairs were handled by the three Heads of House assisting Dumbledore, who was being impersonated by Aberforth. Yet his performance in Dumbledore's place had been unexpectedly good. Not only had he kept the school in perfect order, but his teaching had not suffered either. As the students put it, Professor Dumbledore this year felt more approachable than before. Even in his lessons on conduct, compared to his brother, Aberforth's sense of justice seemed closer to the ordinary people filling these train carriages, easier for common folk like them to understand and accept.

Just as Tom had said, their group had only just returned from the Czech Republic. In fact, Jonas had begun preparing for this summer trip as soon as he received Nelson's letter last year. When the two boys came home for the holidays and took out their report cards, Jonas had beaten them to it by laying five tickets on the coffee table.

"There's no need to look at the report cards. I trust that, under my guidance, your grades could not possibly be anything less than excellent." Jonas helped Tom and Nelson take off their coats, smiling carelessly. "Honestly, if either of you failed, that would be the real surprise to me."

"What are you talking about? When have you ever guided them? Can you even cast spells?" Bella flicked her husband on the forehead, then smiled at the two boys. "The report cards were mailed home ages ago. Jonas was so happy after seeing them that he couldn't sleep for two days. He even went to the West City Orphanage to treat Mrs. Cole to dinner. When she refused, he dragged me to pace outside her office every day."

"Pfft—" A long-haired girl came down from upstairs. Her black hair fell to her waist, and her black eyes sparkled brightly.

"Christian?" Nelson studied the girl approaching them and spoke uncertainly. Compared to last Christmas, she had changed a great deal. Perhaps stable life had given her time to take care of herself. She looked much cleaner and prettier now, wearing a simple but well-fitting linen dress, more like a girl than ever. "How did your hair grow so fast?"

"Maybe that's magic?" Christian raised a hand, caught a lock of hair hanging over her chest, and wound it around her little finger. Nelson blinked. Perhaps because she had some inexplicable fondness for Tom, she even looked rather like him now—as though she were a female Tom Riddle with long hair, a dress, and softer features.

Nelson blinked, and that sense of incongruity quickly vanished. It was a terrifying illusion.

"I may not be able to cast spells, but I can take care of witches." Jonas took Bella's hand and enclosed it in both of his, blinking. "I heard you say Chris is a little witch and will be starting school this year. Mrs. Cole also said she likes you two very much, so whenever I had time, I brought her home to play for a few days and let her read the books on Nelson's shelves."

Christian came downstairs, with none of the feral irritability and sharpness she had shown when they first met. She smiled and nodded to the two boys. "Big Brother Tom, Big Brother Nelson."

Nelson leaned forward and patted her head. Tom, who had been standing stiffly beside them like a statue, could no longer bear Christian and Nelson staring at him. Reluctantly, he reached out and lightly tapped her bangs, considering that a greeting.

"Doesn't she look like a proper little English lady now? That's the result of my excellent guidance." Jonas smugly lifted Bella's hand to his lips and kissed it lightly, making the blushing Bella pull her hand free and pound hard on his back. He raised one hand to block her while wrapping the other around her waist, flashing Nelson and Tom a wide grin. "You don't need to unpack your suitcases. Just carry them along. The five of us are going to the Czech Republic for a holiday this summer."

"Nal." Bella suddenly pressed down on Nelson's hand as it reached for his suitcase. "You didn't bring your clothes back without washing them, did you? You weren't planning to make your middle-aged aunt wash them for you, were you?"

"How could I? And how could you call yourself middle-aged?" Nelson tightly gripped the suitcase handle and put on a dazzling smile that showed eight teeth. "You may be my aunt, but you don't look much older than I am."

"Teaching them nothing but bad habits!" Bella began slapping Jonas's back again, muttering as she did so, "Smooth talkers! Nothing but smooth talkers!"

The cruise ship departed from London's harbor, steaming into the North Sea. It passed through the Baltic Sea, docked in Poland, and then they traveled overland from Poland to the Czech Republic.

Though the United Kingdom was a European country, it was ultimately far from the continental shelf. The storms swirling across continental Europe seemed unlikely to cross the English Channel and reach it. Only by truly setting foot in the heartland could one smell the tense air hanging over Europe. On this journey, Poland was filled with a strange sense of jubilation and optimism. Its army had even stationed itself deep within the Czech Republic, lording it over the Czech people. Officially, it was there to protect Polish citizens traveling to Prague, but in truth, it had already occupied vast stretches of its neighbor's territory.

"Uncle, do they really have more than a hundred German-equipped armored divisions?" On the train to Prague, Nelson looked at the Polish soldiers around them, drinking and boasting and seeming utterly incapable of fighting, then asked in a lowered voice, "They're not quite what I imagined."

"Only Poles believe what their newspapers say." Jonas rested his head on Bella's shoulder and sipped vodka from one of the small metal bottles sold on the train. "If they really had a hundred German-equipped armored divisions, they wouldn't have ambushed the Czech Republic. They should have gone and occupied Germany and the Soviet Union at the same time."

"There won't be this many Polish soldiers in Prague too, will there?" Christian asked worriedly from the row behind them.

"Let's hope not." Tom narrowed his eyes as he surveyed the drunks around them. "What kind of holiday would that be? They really are disgusting."

"Oh, after half a year, you're finally disgusted by something again." Nelson handed Christian a newspaper. "There probably won't be. Look at what their newspaper says: 'For the sake of a lasting and great friendship with our neighbor, we promise not to interfere in its internal affairs after reclaiming the Cieszyn Region.'"

"Who cares? No matter who occupies the Czech Republic, what does it have to do with tourists like us?"

"Exactly. If you ask me, Poland will be next."

"Don't forget, you made a prophecy last year."

"So, Nelson, can you really make prophecies?" Walburga sat primly beside her younger brother, hands folded over her knees like a true lady. There was no trace of the urgency with which she had just searched the entire carriage for Tom. She secretly rolled her neck, raised her chin, and looked at Tom. "Tom, has Nelson ever made any prophecies before?"

"No. I only know that he was very good at predicting the ways he would die in Divination class, and he had quite an imagination. Other than that, there was only that one time." Tom lifted his foot and lightly kicked Nelson, who sat across from him staring out the window, his thoughts already far away. "They're asking you. Are you still not awake?"

"Huh?" Nelson's mind had been muddled by several dreams, leaving him a little disoriented. He opened his mouth, unsure what to say, so he simply lay down on the table and buried his face in his arms, muttering in a muffled voice, "I'll give you another demonstration. Alphard, look at the headlines in that Daily Prophet you're holding. Listen carefully."

Alphard sorted through the stack of newspapers and laid them one by one across the little table, placing the relevant news pages face-up. Everyone around him leaned closer to look at the headlines. Unable to hide her curiosity, Christian put Tom's book on the seat and stood up as well.

"Ready? Listen closely." Nelson's distorted voice squeezed out from beneath his arms, still weak and listless. "Germany launches a blitzkrieg against Poland; Poland's defenses collapse completely the next day. The German Muggle army's new weapons are capable of killing wizards; citizens living in Europe should return to the United Kingdom as soon as possible. Poland has broken France's record and become the fastest-defeated country in the world..."

"It's real! It's exactly like that!" Alphard waved his arms excitedly. "You really are a Seer, Nelson! You really are a Seer!"

"Did you read the newspaper before this?" Tom was equally shocked. He had thought last Christmas's wager was only a joke. Even if Germany really did attack Poland, as Nelson had said, it would merely mean he had guessed right—he had simply stood out among another three hundred and sixty-four people... Who would have thought Nelson could truly make prophecies? He looked at the note at the bottom of the newspaper page, shook his head, and answered his own question. "No. This is the first batch of special editions printed today. Nal couldn't possibly have seen it before."