The Marauders: Year Four

Crystal Balls

"When bringing your crystals out, you'll carefully wrap them in a dark cloth - a velvet, preferably, and lay them in the direct moonlight. They much not touch any unclean surface, and no man or woman besides yourself may touch your balls, or else the energy of your balls will simply not be as it should," Mopsus was continuing.

"He's got to hear it when he says it, right? He can't possibly not hear that," Sirius murmured, looking about at the others.

James laughed, "Maybe he just likes saying it to test who the dirty minded people are?"

"Probably the only test I could score a hundred on," Sirius murmured.

Somebody across the room asked, "When will we get to look in the crystal and actually see stuff?"

"That is quite a ways off yet," replied Mopsus, "First and foremost, we must charge the ball. Another distinction that I must make absolutely clear is that you will not see images in the ball, you'll see the images... in your mind..."

"Like imagination?" a Hufflepuff girl asked.

"Not a thing like imagination," Mopsus replied. "It is far deeper than imagination. A true seer will gaze into the crystal and the forces of the Other Side shall project images from deep in his subconscious mind into the reflection of the crystal... symbols, pictures, glimpses of things known and unknown. Not all images found in the crystal are of the future, many see memories of the past in vivid realism. Others receive communication from passed friends and relatives. Some see their own futures, some see the future of others... Mopsus sees all."

"He's like a broken record player with that line," muttered Sirius.

"Can you see what we see?" asked a Ravenclaw girl.

"Mopsus... sees... all," he repeated steadily.

Peter jumped suddenly, knocking the orb off its plinth. It rolled and he dove for it, catching it just before it went over the edge of the table, but in the process, he knocked loose Remus and Sirius's balls as well and the two orbs rolled off their plinths. Sirius caught his quickly, but Remus's slipped off the table and hit the floor with a thunk.

"I'm sorry," Peter wailed, "I'm sorry!"

"Nothing even happened, why'd you jump like that for?" Sirius demanded.

Peter turned red, "Nothing, just - I - I thought I heard - nevermind."

Remus held up his ball, it was grey and cloudy. "What's it doing that for?"

"Oh no, did I break it?"

"I dunno... Professor, my ball's gone funny," Remus announced.

Sirius covered his mouth and James snickered, taking off his glasses to rub his eyes while shaking his head. "Bloody hell," he whispered, "This will never not be funny again."

"What's it doing?" asked Mopsus.

"It's gone grey and cloudy," Remus replied. "Peter... I mean... I dropped it off the side of the table here."

Mopsus seemed surprised. "Odd."

"What?" Remus didn't like it when people said things like odd or looked surprised over things that happened only to him. He was always afraid it had something to do with his... condition... and that they'd find out somehow...

Mopsus sat very still a moment... then a smile crossed his face. "You must have the energy of the moon within you."

Silence fell over the room.

Remus felt like he might be sick as people looked at him with curiosity in their eyes. Mopsus opened his mouth to say something more and Sirius suddenly leaped to his feet. "PROFESSOR," he said loudly, trying to draw attention to himself, rather than Remus's full-moon-energy, "You ever heard of the muggle who threw a clock out the window?"

Everyone looked at Sirius.

"He wanted to see time fly," Sirius said.

A few nervous chuckles echoed through the classroom.

Mopsus stared up at Sirius with his milky, empty eyes and a smile spread across his mouth. "Ahh... Sirius Black. Always the one ready to sacrifice himself for his friends, aren't you?"

Sirius shrugged, "What good's a friend if he won't save your arse now and again?"

Remus clutched his hazy orb and stared up at Sirius.

"It'll cost you dearly if you aren't careful, my boy," Mopsus replied.

Sirius laughed, "Yeah, I know, if that's your way of sayin' I've got a big mouth and it'll get me detention, -- trust me, I've been there. Loads of detention. Filch's file basically looks like my greatest hits list." He grinned and James high-fived him.

Mopsus replied, "No, Mr. Black, there are things far darker than detention in your future."

"Bloody blind old man... nearly giving out your secret like it's free knowledge like that... then practically calling me a delinquent for trying to stop him from it..." Sirius dragged his wand along the rungs of the stairs as they moved up to Gryffindor Tower after Divination had ended, the wand clunk-clunk-clunking along over the wood. "Bloody stupid old man."

Remus was still carrying his orb, staring down into it. The smoky haze within it seemed to spin like a particularly terrible storm, getting worse and worse the longer he held it.

James jumped in front of Sirius and waved his fingers menacingly, "Dark things are in your future Black... I know for I am Mopsus and Mopsus sees all! WhoooOOOoOOoOOooo.."

Sirius laughed, "Oh I'm so afraid of the bloody dark! Take it back Mr. Mopsus, take it back!" Sirius mocked. "Potter, you'll eat a pickle on Wednesday. Mopsus sees all."

"And you'll get a paper cut on February the 27th of 1980, mate. I'm sorry you have to know. But Mopsus sees all."

"Mopsus seeeees aaaaaaaalllllllllll," Sirius droned, and the pair of them played at pretending they were holding wobbling cane as they walked, hunched over and snickering.