Cards of Change

I looked down at the deck of cards in my hands. They felt oddly heavily, and they didn't fit neatly into the palms of my hands, making them awkward to hold. Slowly, I shuffled them, and then carefully laid the top three out onto the table in front of me.

"Well? What does it say?" Sam asked eagerly, sitting across from me. Between us at the table was Harry Potter, also looking curious.

"I have no idea," I admitted after a bit of staring at the tarot cards I'd laid out. "I think this configuration means great changes are coming for me, but it's really vague. I much prefer using the rune bones to tarot cards."

Divination. Something of a joke discipline, even in the magical world. Prophecies absolutely existed, no one denied that, and Seers did exist, but the natural talent for it was rare, and as such most of the time, trying to scry the future failed. There were ways to predict things like future events using Arithmancy, the magical art of numbers, but it was closer to how muggle systems worked, by analyzing and predicting trends.

Still, there were methods to trick fate into giving up its secrets. The method I preferred the most was rune bones, which were the knuckle bones of sheep, carved into dice and engraved with runes. Depending on the way they fell, information could be gleaned from them. You were supposed to soak them in Felix Felis, or Liquid Luck potion, for best results, but there was no way I could afford to brew it or buy a vial of my own. So I made do with regular ones I'd hand-carved myself.

'Plus, if I practice Divination now, I can use that as an excuse for my future meta-knowledge,' I mused to myself. 'You're a genius, Edward!'

"Well, we can't use those anymore. Not at school, at least. Apparently playing with dice is 'gambling' and thus 'morally reprehensible,'" Sam said, using air quotes to get across how dumb he thought it was.

"Yeah, bunch of hypocrites," I grunted. "I know for a fact eight of the staff here in Woolingsby gamble. And at least two of them are addicted to it!"

"Maybe that's why they're telling us not to gamble, then?" Harry suggested meekly.

"Maybe. Doesn't make it any less dumb," I grumbled. I then shot Harry a stern look. "And drink your medicine, Harry. You need it."

Ever since I'd told Harry about magic, I'd done a few things for him. First was teach him all about magical society. I was not going to let him run into Hogwarts ignorant of how things worked over there.

Secondly, I'd taught him and Sam about Occlumency. It didn't need magic to work, after all, and Harry needed every advantage. A sharper memory and superior control over his emotions would do wonders in the long term. And I didn't want Snape or Dumbles to probe his young mind and find out about me. Sam just enjoyed the fact he could memorize the lessons easier.

The third and final thing I'd done was start dosing the boy with potions. Mainly Nourishment potions, to repair the decade's worth of damage living with the Dursley's had done to him. He was way too skinny, far too short and weak, and his eyes were absolutely crap. Though the latter may have simply been genetics. Regardless, a few months of these potions slipped into his breakfast in the form of milkshakes and he wouldn't be a twig when he got to Hogwarts.

Harry just nodded and grabbed onto the thermos I'd brought for him, slurping down the Nourishment potion laced milkshake inside. Today's flavor was chocolate.

I glanced out the window out at the icy cold morning beyond. Weeks had passed since the Halloween incident, and it was now the middle of December. Things were frigid, and snow was threatening to fall soon if the thick grey clouds were any indicator.

"Any plans for Christmas, Ed?" Sam asked me, stirring me from my thoughts.

"Gonna spend some of it with the Weasleys," I replied as I packed away the tarot cards. I'd told the two about my circle of friends from the magical side, and naturally Harry and Sam had expressed interest in meeting them. That was something for another day, though.

"Not your mother?" Harry asked softly.

"I'll probably say 'Hi' to her, and give her the gift I made, but no. I won't be spending much time at Lumpkin's Patch this year," I said, a note of bitterness creeping in. "My brother is spending this Winter Break at home instead of Hogwarts."

"Ah. I see," Sam said slowly, and Harry winced in sympathy for me. Being more open with the two of them had its downsides. Namely them learning about Rudy and the crap he and his father had put me through.

I didn't let it get to me, however, and shrugged. "It's fine, guys. Anyways, speaking of gifts, I hope you two are excited for what I've got for you."

"We sure are!" Sam said excitedly. "What'd you make? Come on, give us a hint!"

"You'll see," I told them with a smug smile.

"Ugh, tease," Sam groaned, and Harry laughed softly at our interactions.

The bell rang before anything else could be discussed, and I escorted Harry to his classroom. Dudley, the little devil-brat, had been trying to ambush his cousin in the hallways ever since Halloween, and to prevent this, I'd started taking Harry to his classes whenever I could. It made me late sometimes, but I didn't care, and the teachers could glare at me all they wanted whenever I came in late and interrupted their classes, but it wouldn't stop me.

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