Tales of Futures Past
Living without Danger
By Anne B. Walsh
From Living without Danger, Chapter 17:
This coming night, be wakeful all
And ready for the silent call;
Do not sleep tonight, but be ready for your pendants to activate. (And why we didn't think to simply head for the castle immediately and inform the cubs that whatever they were planning on for tonight, no dice... see last chapter with regards to human fallibility.)
The moon speaks truly, warrior maid,
So to her word heed must be paid.
Luna's words to Danger will be both true and important. (She said something along the lines of "You can have too much control", which meant Danger had to allow her wild magic to burn the hell out of a certain host of a certain evil wizard. Which I do wish I could have seen... oh wait, I can. Never mind.)
The pearl in this game plays no part,
But praise deserves for willing heart,
Meghan must not accompany her parents, but should be praised for wanting to help. (There are times I can tell a certain person had a headstrong little girl of his own once upon a time.)
And honor is returners' due
As much as they who see it through.
Whoever has to escort Hermione, Draco, and Ron safely out of the labyrinth rather than going to confront Voldemort and rescue Harry (myself and my lady, as it happened) should not feel cheated or try to argue about it. (I could be perturbed that Alex thought it was necessary to enshrine this little bit of advice in a prophecy, but what can I say? The man knows his honorary Heirs.)
So thread the maze with stealth and guile,
The matriarch to reconcile,
Molly Weasley will befriend the Pack again once they get back from this little trip. (Nobody's ever tried to claim the lady's perfect, but she's definitely the kind of friend worth putting up with a few foibles for. Even if she does dole out the smackage rather freely.)
And once again play out the game
With skill of song and wand and flame.
(Put simply: We are awesome.)
From Living without Danger, Chapter 21:
Unusually for the rhymed prophecies in the Dangerverse, this one was spoken by Luna Lovegood. (Probably because Danger wasn't around. Do I have to think of everything?)
Cat and dragon, phoenix bright,
And raven, once redeemed from night,
McGonagall, Hagrid, Dumbledore, and Snape: the Pack-friends. (I think certain people are still under the impression I never figured out who that raven on the pendants stands for. Come on, really? I know I can be thick sometimes, but even I couldn't miss that forever. Though I'm not telling how long it actually did take me. You don't need that kind of ammunition.)
Twin and warrior, star and truth,
Shall guard the Pride through days of youth.
Remus, Danger, Sirius, and Aletha: the Pack-parents. (Well hi there. How're you doing this fine day?)
Silver pearl and silent snow
Shall help to make the darkness go,
Neville (for his form's fur), Meghan (for her name), Luna (for her flight), and Draco (for his form name) will play an important role in defeating Voldemort. (Um, yeah. Can't get into too much detail, for obvious reasons, but some of it about bowled me over when I found it out. It's not all what you're thinking, either... our Chronicler is a sneaky little Bastet, yes she is! Er... I mean... excuse me, I have to run away from an angry panther now.)
But black to red and red to brown
Shall truly bring the darkness down.
Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione (by their hair colors) will be instrumental in defeating Voldemort. (Maybe not quite the way you're thinking, but definitely yes!)
From Living without Danger, Chapter 35:
O warrior woman, speak to she
Whose name is stars and royalty,
Of those whose minds and souls are caught
In pain-made traps of bodies wrought.
Danger must speak to Andromeda (What is it with my family and the celestial object names?) about the Longbottoms. (One of the nastier twists of the ridge, and thus of our series in general. And these are meant to be kids' books...)
Her thoughts are right, and good her goal,
But she has not the answer whole.
Andromeda is on the right track, but cannot complete the cure by herself. (Because my little Pearl had to be a part of it. Honestly, it's a good thing that girl's got her Captain, or her head would be the size of our whole domain by now...)
The badger's son, his lady bright,
Both wander now in endless night,
And from that night they must be freed.
Frank and Alice Longbottom (incidentally, naming Frank as an Heir) must be restored. (Maybe not for any particular purpose, but how about because it's the right thing to do? And also because it helped a certain aforementioned son-in-law of mine grow up a whole lot sooner, and better, than he otherwise might have.)
The eagle's daughter help shall need;
From badger's younger son, whose heart
From hers shall ne'er be torn apart;
Meghan will need Neville's help in this effort. (Also reconfirming both of them as Heirs, and that they're in love. Which was honestly a bit scary, as young as they both were when it got started. Still, it only ever worked out as good stuff... mostly. I'm still not quite speaking to Danger for that bit after Christmas of Pearl's first year. "I personally see no problems with a little kissing" indeed! I personally see quite a lot of problems with a little kissing when it's my daughter involved!)
And from the other lions young,
The help of hand and voice and tongue.
The Pride will also need to help, with some form of oral magic. (Music, as it turned out. Good thing our cubs can all sing.)
And this I tell you now as well;
The lion's son, with whom you dwell,
Calls eagle's daughter "sister"; yet
Their blood is nothing like.
The Heir of Gryffindor, who lives in the Pack's household, has a fraternal relationship with the Heir of Ravenclaw. (And please don't read too much into the way I phrased that. It's the literal meaning of the line, and remember, this is from the end of the older cubs' second year. We didn't find out about Wolf until midway through his fourth.)
But let
That pass for now, it matters not.
Your task must never be forgot;
Don't get distracted by questions of lineage, but focus on the important stuff. (One could wish a certain Dark Snarker had taken that advice.)
For Pack and Pride, to great renown,
Must one day bring the darkness down.
(As I have already mentioned. We are awesome. And I think I'll take the other two completed stories in a big lump, so only three chapters for now. After that... well, who knows when the last chapter will be out, or what it'll say? Only our Chronicler. And me. But I'm not telling, and neither is she. See you next time!)
Author Notes:
I think Patrick said it all. Cheers, everybody. Currently final chapter up probably sometime tomorrow.