The Things I've Seen (Finley)

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Important, this was important, Naomi could feel the need to protect someone, but it wasn't her own feeling.

Sudden movement, lights flashing everywhere, a shadowy figure in front of her, fighting, fighting, but there were too many lights, too many...

He was hit, falling to the ground. As he fell, Naomi caught a glimpse of his face, all too familiar from flying lessons and Defense. Then he was just one more shadowy figure among many, but Naomi's mouth was still open in a silent scream as more shadows moved in, closing in on Professor Newbury...

Naomi woke with the scream still on her lips, though she quickly muffled it. She sprinted out of her room as some of the other girls stirred, not wanting to face their questions. She flew down the stairs, but she couldn't be alone right now, had to tell someone...

Before her thoughts caught up with her feet, she was shooting up the stairs to the boys' rooms. She stopped in front of the door to the third years' room, opening it as quietly as she could with shaking hands. In fact, her whole body was shaking as she moved to the bed where she could see Finley sleeping, a book resting next to his hand.

"Finley," she hissed frantically, shaking his shoulder. She could feel silent tears streaking down her face. "Finley, wake up!"

Guest

Finley had said good night to Naomi a couple hours ago after they finished their usual studying and had climbed the stairs to his dorms. Once there he had showered and changed in to his pyjamas before heading back to his bed. It was the usual routine at Hogwarts because he didn't like anyone seeing him in just his boxers. But when he got in to bed, and he'd closed the curtains on the four poster, Finley always took them off and put them at the end of his bed.

Folded, neatly.

From there he'd settled with his book - currently he was on Discworld, and he'd come to the Hogfather. He'd fallen asleep reading at some point, his dreams flowing in and out of the many worlds he'd become privy to from his reading. Usually, he didn't wake until the alarm went off the next morning, but tonight was not a usual night.

He didn't know what time it was when he felt someone touching his skin, and at the touch had jolted him awake almost instantly. "What's going-" Finley started, not awake enough for his mind to remember to be nervous and form the stutter everyone was used to. But as his eyes focused, his brain kicked in to focus and he sat up, worry etching his features almost instantly.

"N-Naomi?" He asked, moving over so she could sit down on his bed. "What's w-wrong?" Finley asked, not sure what to do in that situation. Was she... oh no... there were tears in her eyes, and Finley's worry grew. Swallowing softly, Finley waited holding his breath and just looking at the witch before him.

Guest

Naomi crawled onto Finley's bed, closing the curtains behind her. She didn't want any of the other boys to wake up and see her like this. "L-Lumos," she whispered, lighting her wand tip so they could see each other.

"Finley, I Saw Professor Newbury and he was in a fight and he was getting all beaten up by some bad men, but I couldn't really see their faces and I didn't really know who else to tell because I'm not sure anyone will believe me, but I'm really, really scared that he's going to get hurt and if I don't tell anyone, won't it partially be my fault, but no one really knows that I See anyway, so they might just laugh, but I just really don't want anyone to get hurt!" At the end of her long, run on sentence that probably confused Finley more than it helped him, Naomi threw herself at her best friend in a hug.

"I just don't know what to do Finley and I'm really scared. I've never Seen that clearly before."

Guest

As light entered the curtains, Finley closed his eyes, one hand moving up to shield them. He wasn't ready for that, and he was still a little groggy, trying to make sense of Naomi's presence. But his discomfort was forgotten as Naomi began to talk and he focused on her instead of the light, trying to comprehend what she was saying.

"If y-you saw him g-getting hurt..." Finley started, but this didn't make sense. Why would she come here if she had just seen this, and not gone to a teacher? Finley was still trying to pull the pieces together as she spoke, trying not to frown because he knew that wouldn't be helpful. The comment about her seeing though, pulled the conversations they'd been having in the last few days come together quite quickly though. "You.... y-you Saw?" Finley asked, but the moment he asked she threw herself in to him.

Finley had to use his hands to steady himself from falling backwards, but the moment he had, he tenderly put his arms around his best friend. Physical contact made Finley very nervous, but this was Naomi, she needed him in that moment. "W-What else did you S-see? Any sp-specifics?" Finley asked softly, trying to coax more information. "W-Where was P-Professor Newbury?" He asked. Finley didn't question her ability in the slightest, he was new to the magical world, but he most certainly wasn't prejudice against any of the smaller branches, and Naomi needed him right now.

Guest

Naomi pulled back slightly, though she was still sitting with her side pressed against Finley's, and nodded, staring at the bedsheets, too ashamed to look up at Finley. "Y-yeah. I can... I See things, sometimes. Mostly, it happens when I'm asleep, but sometimes it's when I'm awake too. I actually had one right before we met for the first time, but nothing... never like this. I've never seen faces before. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before."

Taking a deep breath, Naomi tried, for the first time in her life, to remember a vision. "I- no, there was nothing really. I'm surprised I Saw a face at all; that's never happened before. I know that he was doing something important, that he was protecting someone, but I don't know who and I couldn't See much of his surroundings. Just shadowy figures, moving in to-" Her breath hitched, and she didn't finish her sentence.

Guest

As Naomi moved away, Finley realised something. Something that made him tense up completely. It wasn't his covers that were touching his skin. Oh no... Trying to be subtle, though his cheeks were flushing, along with every inch of skin visible, Finley tried to pull the covers up over his chest, holding them in place with his hands so tightly his knuckles were going white.

Did he say sorry? Did he move for his pyjamas? No the latter would mean she would know he was only wearing his boxers and that would make him look even worse.

As she apologised, Finley's thoughts snapped back to the witch beside him. "It's o-okay." Finley assured her, his voice a little tighter than he'd have liked in that moment. "I-It's d-difficult to... to t-talk about these... these t-things." He continued, trying to keep his voice from shaking more than necessary.

None of this was something he'd dealt with before, but he knew from now on he would not be sleeping in just his boxers if Naomi was going to burst in in the middle of the night.

But as Naomi insisted she couldn't remember much more, Finley frowned, mostly to himself, trying to work out what to say. He didn't know enough about Seers to know the right answer. "I... I'm n-not saying your p-power isn't g-good, b-but how many t-times have you been w-wrong?" Finley asked, really hoping it was more than once. Because the alternative... the alternative was terrifying, and would leave them both with absolutely no choice.

Guest

As Finley moved to pull the covers over his chest, Naomi suddenly remembered that she had woken Finley up, so obviously he wasn't fully dressed. "OH! Um..." She moved back, embarrassed at putting her friend in this situation. "I can, uh, shut my eyes or something if you want to put more clothes on," she mumbled. "Sorry, I didn't really realize..."

It wasn't that it bothered her because she didn't think of Finley like that, but it was obviously bothering him, so Naomi thought it was better to offer him the choice.

Naomi accepted his reassurance. "Thanks. I'm glad you're not mad." That had been her biggest fear: that knowing would drive him away. She didn't want to lose the first friend she had over something she couldn't control.

Dropping her head into her hands, Naomi groaned. "I don't know, that's the problem! My visions are almost never clear enough to get anything definitive. They're mostly colors and sound, emotions and movement. All of them could have come true, or none of them. Sometimes, I think about them later, well after whatever-it-is has happened and I think that they fit, but I can't be sure. I could be wrong. It could be nothing..." I hope it's nothing... she added to herself.

Guest

As Naomi noted his moves, Finley's cheeks grew warmer. But her offer to closer her eyes... Finley nodded eagerly, waiting until she'd closed her eyes and moving very, very quickly to pull his pyjamas on, before moving back beside her. "S-sorry." Finley whispered, and he meant it. "Y-you can open... open y-your eyes." He added, forcing a smile on to his lips when she did to show everything was okay.

"Not m-mad." Finley assured her, his smile becoming more genuine. "It... m-makes sense. F-from your letters." Finley added, shaking his head, more to himself because he hadn't pieced that together sooner than he had. It was cool, his best friend having such an awesome power... was it a power? If you were to ask a Muggle they would probably say it was a power, but he didn't know whether Naomi would like that line of thought. She was special, yes, that was what it was.

But the information that came next didn't help to settle Finley at all. They could brush it off in the hope that it was just a mistake. But... if Professor Newbury got hurt... "M-maybe you should t-tell Professor N-Newbury?" Finley suggested, at least that way Professor Newbury might be able to reassure Naomi that nothing was going to happen.

Or something.

"B-but, he's only in t-the castle... M-Monday and F-Friday..." Finley added, shooting a glance to Naomi. "I d-don't know what to d-do..."

Guest

Naomi closed her eyes quickly when Finley asked, only opening them when he said it was alright. "It's not your fault, I'm the one that burst in here in the middle of the night," she whispered back.

When Finley assured her again that he wasn't mad, Naomi let out the breath she had been holding. "Thanks," she told him. "I'm glad you're not mad. And yeah, I couldn't really think of a subtle way to ask you about Seers without completely giving myself away." She grinned sheepishly. "Given a few more days, you would have probably figured it out."

Taking a deep breath, Naomi nodded. "I- yes, I should probably go to Professor Newbury the next time he's in the castle. I don't think I can do much else. I don't really know what else I can do besides wait. I don't- I don't think it's going to happen in the next couple days, so I think it's safe to wait."

Guest

When Naomi insisted that with a couple more days he would have figured her gift out without her telling him, Finley simply shrugged. He wasn't sure if he would have guessed, after all, Naomi had never shown signs of actually being a Seer. But, if she'd have let it slip... Who knew.

Their agreement to tell Professor Newbury was one that made Finley a little relieved. He didn't want the professor to get hurt, but he didn't want Naomi to feel like she had to tell him either. He was just thankful she'd agreed. "I c-can come with y-you, if you w-want." Finley suggested, though he wouldn't insist on being there is Naomi didn't want him to be. It was, after all, a personal matter.

As a silence spread around, Finley wondered what to do next, this wasn't a situation he'd been in before, and he'd never had a friend he needed to comfort. "D-do you want to..." Finley paused, trying to work out what he was about to say, but he pressed on, because he didn't see a problem with it. "D-do you want t-to stay here? T-tonight?" He asked, because he didn't want his best friend to be scared on her own. "I-in case... you S-See something else?" He added, not meeting Naomi's eye because he wasn't sure whether he was supposed to say such things.

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