Cillian sat at a table away from his usual spot at the bar within the Leaky Cauldron. He was making a habit of coming here after work to unwind before he had to make his way back home. The Three Broomsticks was still his usual haunt but lately he was keeping away, it was just too close to home and his home life was a whole different set of issues he didn't even want to start thinking about. His chestnut hair was slightly disheveled and there was a thin beard cresting his chin, the dark circles under his eyes suggested that he was losing sleep. Then again anyone that knew Cillian knew exactly why he would be looking this way and it had nothing to do with putting extra hours in at work. Cillian was a Seer and had been haunted with visions most of his life. His current appearance was enough to signify that he was currently being haunted.

He tapped his fingernails on his pint glass, his leg shaking as his foot rested on the ball of his sole. He was anxious and nervous and waiting. He was afraid his guest wasn't going to show which was only going to make his restless nights worse. He had always hated his visions, the constant stream of nightmare that foretold of something sinister that was lurking in the shadows of time. The visions were hard enough to take all on their own but even harder when they showed people he actually knew. Which was why he was currently waiting.

Sidney Dirvish had been one of the few people CIllian had counted as a friend in Hogwarts. A year young than him, Sidney had become close with him after his coma when he had been held back a year to make up for the year he had lost.  He hadn't really spoken to the man since they had both graduated even though they were both now working within the Ministry of Magic. However as soon as Cillian started to see his old friend within his dreams he Owled him right away. Now he only hoped Sid would actually show.

Having gotten a summons from his old school mate Cillian, Sid was excited but also apprehensive. Cillian, who had been geeky and awkward around the same time Sid was, had been one of Sids few and closest mates back in Hogwarts. They hadn't reconnected in many years, despite working at the same place, mostly because of differences in shifts and the fact that Sid had tried, until recently, to avoid the Department of Mysteries. Now that he had met and fallen for Una, however, Sid was more welcome to going down there more often. For this fact, he was excited.

But Cillian's request didn't seem all that joyful, hence the apprehension. Sid knew about Cillian's 'gift' and he respected it, but also feared it because its past effects on Cillian's health. The sudden "I need to see you" seemed reminiscent to the after effects of Cillian's prophetic nightmares and Sid worried that it had something to do with him this time. Or worse, Una. He didn't know what he would do if Cil started talking about something bad happening to her; he simply couldn't stand the idea.

His stomach churning with trepidation, Sid broke into a lumbering job down the dreary London street, an eye on the overcast sky, towards the Leaky Cauldron. Sneaking a look down the street, lest a muggle see him enter the dilapidated building,  Sid slipped into the warmth of the pub and glanced around the dim room before his dark eyes focused on the nervously twitching form of his friend. Well that probably wasn't a good sign.

"Hey mate..." Sid said with a broad, toothy smile, slapping Cillian lightly on the shoulder "How are you? Need a refill?" He glanced up at the bartender and mouthed 'beer' before turning back to Cillian "I invited my girlfriend to join us... if you don't mind. I figured this might be important..."

(( I dunno if Sid inviting Una was the plan, so let me know if I need to change that ))

_{(Assuming Sid invited Una, if it had to be changed I will)}

It wasn’t really a beautiful day to be out, heading to the Leaking Cauldron. Actually, it was a beautiful day for only one thing: work. And that’s what she leaved behind to be there for her boyfriend’s request. It wasn’t a sacrifice, not at all, Sid deserved that and she wouldn’t deny a little time in his company. Even with a stranger along with them. Though, maybe on that occasion, she was going to be the stranger one.

Una knew Sid wanted her to have more friends and often arranged that kind of brief meetings so she could know some of his own. At first she thought he was planning only to introduce her to his old mate Cillian, but then she found out it was Cillian who had invited him. And his tone when asking her to go with him wasn’t as cheerful as usual for Sid. So it all was as cloudy as the sky was that day.

Avoiding any more precipitate guesses that wouldn’t be helpful at all, Una entered at the pub aware she was a little late. But she rushed only when she felt awkward for being alone in the midle of so many strange people. Ok, how could she miss her giant boyfriend there? She had to walk a little on the place to find the table where a not so strange man was sit with Sidney. It took a moment for her to remember Cillian worked at the same place as her and even never being introduced to him before, she should probably had seen him walking on the halls or something. But that would still be a little uncomfortable, she thought, before finally approaching.

“Hey… hi!” She greeted her boyfriend first, giving him just a little kiss on the cheek, sheepishly, not knowing exactly what would be proper without looking distant. That whole dating thing, socially speaking, was still a little hard for her. “You must be Cillian…” she turned to the other man, offering her hand, also sheepishly. But that was just normal. “Nice to meet you, I’m Una, I… ” hope I’m not interrupting what supposed to be a private meeting? But Sid was the one who invited her. “I…” remember your face, we work at the same place, so I might be also familiar to you? Ahn… unnecessary, right? Una gave up trying, sitting next to Sid and deciding to go simpler: “Ah... so, how have you been?”

Cillian's expression lightened a decent amount when Sid arrived. He hadn't realized until that point how much he had missed him. After having spent so many years travelling, tutoring at the Inner Eye and his short tenure as Divinations Professor, Cillian had pretty much cut out all of his social life. He could see the apprehension in his friend's body language, perhaps if he had been in touch more often a meeting like this wouldn't have felt so awkward for them. He wished he was only there to catch up with an old friend and a couple dozen pints but he also knew he wasn't going to be able to hide the truth much longer.

He thanked Sid for the refill and simply nodded when Sid mentioned having invited his girlfriend. He wasn't sure if it was going to make the news easier to take or not having a significant other along for the ride. He hoped Sid's girlfriend was nothing like his own, Penelope would never had agreed to come along to a meeting like this. Although she had never admitted it to him, he knew his girlfriend had been one of those girls in Hogwarts who thought he had been making it all up to get attention.

Cillian lifted his hazel eyes to the blonde that was heading straight for them and all colour drained from his face. He had recognized Sidney in his visions but there had been plenty of others within the nightmares he had been having. He dismissed the faces he didn't know but he hadn't been expecting one of those faces to come to him, "This'll be import'nt fer both o' ye." He added in a whisper before Una made her introduction.

Cillian shook the woman's hand and attempted a smile. He hoped she didn't think his sudden lack of colour and wide eyed expression had to do with not wanting her there but that couldn't have been further from the truth, "Honestly me dear I 'aven't bin too goode." He glanced from boyfriend to girlfriend, "Not sure if Sid told ye, I'mma Seer." He flicked his eyes to Sid having a feeling he had just confirmed his old friends suspicions about why he had called this meeting, "An I've bin havin' these visions lately," He took a deep breath and a long swig of his beer, "Yer both in 'em."

Una appeared a moment later, looking uncomfortable enough to make Sid regret the tone he used when inviting her. He hadn't intended for her to worry. "Hey..." He gave her a broad, reassuring smile as his large hand grasped her elbow lightly. She leaned up for a kiss and Sid went to provide one, only to have her switch paths and press a chaste peck to his cheek while his own lips kissed air. Befuddled at the lack of passion, Sid pulled away and stood off to the side awkwardly as she introduced herself to Cillian.

She seemed nervous, which could have explained the peck on the cheek, but it didn't compare to the look of shock that crossed Cill's face the moment he saw her. Sids brow furrowed, his previous concern over whether or not her kiss meant she was upset quickly replaced by a more pressing issue. Why was Cillian so pale and frightened? It couldn't mean anything pleasant, considering the reason for their meeting.

“Ah... so, how have you been?”

"Honestly me dear I 'aven't bin too goode. Not sure if Sid told ye, I'mma Seer."

"The prophetic kind... not the kind that cooks meat..." Sid interjected for no other reason than to feel like he was contributing something. It was a rather stupid comment though and he shrunk back a little in embarrassment "I mean... yeah... you probably knew what he meant..." The last part came out a mumble as he fell quiet and returned to listening to Cill. The mention of him being a seer meant that Sid was right about this meeting and how for boding the dreams must have been. Not good. Not good at all.

"An I've bin havin' these visions lately, Yer both in 'em."

Sid's brows lifted in surprise before furrowing in confusion "Wait... both of us?" He echoed. That explained why Cillian looked so shocked when Una appeared, but it caused more new confusion then it relieved. What did it all mean? Was something horrible going to happen to him or Una? Or both? Suddenly his throat felt tight and he drank a mouthful of his beer to loosen it, staring at Cillian expectantly over the top of the mug.

"Honestly me dear I 'aven't bin too goode. Not sure if Sid told ye, I'mma Seer."

"The prophetic kind... not the kind that cooks meat... I mean... yeah... you probably knew what he meant..."

Una sat beside Sid, bashfully looking from one to another without understanding. That was getting stranger and stranger. She could notice how Cillian looked at her, even not knowing exactly how to interpret that since she doesn’t know him. That wasn’t a good expression anyway. He seemed to be suffering from some sickness, and Una almost believed she was there to help him at the beginning of his sentence. But then that Seer thing came to left her clueless.

And as it all wasn’t enough, Sid was acting weird as well. What was all that about? She was naturally shy enough to be nervous in front of anyone new, something that passes with time; but on that case nothing was concurring to make her feel comfortable. She knew what a Seer was, her father studied them when he was an Unspeakable, but obviously that wasn’t something he could share with her. The only thing he told her was that some Seers were absolutely trustworthy, others not so much. Una could only expect Cillian to be the first kind, since he was Sid’s mate. And in any case, another thing her father taught her about Seers was never panic when dealing with a prophecy. Fear was already highly incapacitating, if she let it take over she wouldn’t be able to get up from bed by the morning.

"An I've bin havin' these visions lately, Yer both in 'em."

"Wait... both of us?"

Una tried to smile, but a strange expression came instead. As she was almost sure Sid would panic in any time, she felt the need of staying… not calm, for she was already nervous, but cool. As much as possible. Her hand rested over Sid’s thigh under the table, unusually firming, reassuring. “Ah… ok. Was that… really really bad? Or manageable bad? What did you see?”

Cillian ran his hands through his chestnut hair causing it to become even more dishevelled than it already was. As much as he was grateful for having identified one of the nameless faces in his vision he was beginning to feel that perhaps it would have been easier talking to them one on one. Then again he couldn't just walk away from the minor blessing. After all he would have never connected the dots with Una in his vision if she hadn't been dating Sidney.

He let out a long sigh wondering where to begin. His visions had always been rather hard to understand, they were usually just glimpses into the future, sights, sounds, faces, noises, a jumble of flashes that usually took him several nights to decifer. He wished he had one of his prophecy balls, it would make the meeting much easier if he could simply show them the vision rather than trying to explain it. Unfortunately since he had yet to decifer the vision himself he had neglected to report it and so he was forced to go through the unpleasant process of speaking the details out loud.

"Now unfortunately thee visions aren't all cut an dry," He spoke slowly trying to cull as much of his accent as possible. He knew that most Londoners weren't used his Ulster English dialect and found it hard to understand, "Flashes mostly, I cin tell ye tha I say both ye though, know tha fer sure." He took a long swig of his beer, "There's plenty othas too, whateva this is, gonna be a biggun. There's a lab, I guess, an Mungo's. sparks, wild magic, lotta peoples are hurt. It all seems ta focus on ye mate. Dunno if tha's cos I knew ye or not though."

“Ah… ok. Was that… really really bad? Or manageable bad? What did you see?”

Of course it's bad. Why would it be good? Sids inner mind snapped, panic beginning to wear away at his sanity. Everytime something good happens to me, this sort of shit happens. Oh nooo, Sid can't have a great girlfriend and be happy at his job, of course the universe just has to stab him in the back... and twist the knife like yeah... yeeeeaaaah...  Not that he said any of this out load, since he didn't want to alarm or worry either of them. Outer Sid just sat motionless, beer clenched in a white-knuckled hand and lips in a drawn, apprehensive line.

"Now unfortunately thee visions aren't all cut an dry, Flashes mostly, I cin tell ye tha I say both ye though, know tha fer sure."

Thank Merlin the beer was encased in enchanted glass rather than aluminum, like a muggle beer, otherwise Sid might have cracked it with the force of his grip. He wasn't normally an impatient man and he didn't want to stress his old pal out by being one, but it was getting increasingly harder to not snap at him and demand that he get to the damn point already. Couldn't Cil see he was stressing Una out? Sliding his hand under the table, he clasped the smaller and softer one that was resting on his thigh, squeezing it reassuringly, despite the fact he felt anything but.

"There's plenty othas too, whateva this is, gonna be a biggun. There's a lab, I guess, an Mungo's. sparks, wild magic, lotta peoples are hurt. It all seems ta focus on ye mate. Dunno if tha's cos I knew ye or not though."

Sid's dusky cheeks lightened considerably and the reassuring grip on Una's hand became harder and more desperate. "M...Me? Why me?" Sid finally managed to stutter after a couple of seconds of stunned silence. His thick brows crinkled inwardly as his forehead wrinkled in confused concern "I... I would never hurt anyone... I mean, not intentionally..." His gaze switched to Una with almost a pleading expression, worried that she might be rethinking their relationship "... I swear... I'm not that kind of guy"


((Sorry it took so long guys... and it's kinda crappy T^T...))

“This doesn’t make sense to me, sorry Cillian,” Una stated, shaking her head slightly. The look in her eyes stating the opposite. Yes, it made sense at some point. She was working on some dangerous projects right now, things able to go that wrong if a tiny little grain of dust were in the wrong place while brewing. Yes, she was working at a St. Mungo’s lab with Vivienne, and for as much as she trusted completely the Healer and everything there was working just fine, the nature of their work was extremely delicate as well. And Una, insecure and susceptible, obviously started thinking about anything she could have done wrong. That would clearly be her fault.

But there was a hint of sincerity on her statement. Everything could make sense except Sid being part of it. Worst, being at the center of the whole thing. She looked at him, he was so forlorn her heart ached, and she remembered why she should avoid all her horrible thoughts of things going wrong because of her. If she starts feeling bad for herself she wouldn’t be much helpful to him.  Her gloved hand caressed briefly his cheek as she murmured a reassuring “I believe you…”

“Cillian, I’m sorry, I know you can only… see it and tell us what you saw,” she turned to her boyfriend’s mate softer now, her right hand resting over Sid’s and her left hand inside his grip. “I believe you know I can’t talk much about this, but I’m working right now with Mungo’s Healers,” her voice fainting so much at this part it sounded lower than a whisper. She didn’t want to compromise Vivienne, she hoped a vague ‘Mungo’s Healers’ were safe enough, not being sure of it though. “I’m… working at their labs sometimes. And I can’t say that everything I do is perfectly harmless and safe,” not to mention how she felt sometimes dealing with magic itself. What came next was in a clearer tone, “But I can assure you, if anything goes wrong it would be my responsibility. I don’t share my work with Sid, I can’t share it with him. And even if something goes terribly wrong he would stay out of it.” She hoped, at least, and it was her time to give Sid a pleading look.

“So… so sorry,” she said a little confused to both of them. That apology could fit almost anything there. If the whole situation was about to be caused by her, and Cillian was having uncomfortable visions about that, and if Sid was feeling bad, and if his involvement became her fault – but, mostly, she had just questioned a Seer, knowing his prophecies weren’t his fault, and asked subtly to her boyfriend keep out of her business. Yes, she felt sorry for all that, and she didn’t want to hear or think any more than she had already heard and thought, but still she stayed with both her hands attached to Sid’s and her eyes fixed on Cillian, unsure about what could come next.

Cillian looked from one apprehensive face to the next and suddenly regretted having told them at all. He could have just dealt with the restless nights and waited for something more clear to present itself. Though he couldn't ignore all the connections that were being made. Sid with his girlfriend, the lab in Mungo's, the fact that she was an Unspeakable. Something very bad and very big was going to happen and for whatever reason these two were right in the middle of it.

"I appreciate that yer careful an ye don' involve Sid but I cannae ignore this. Somethin' will happen in yer lab an' it will affect Sid an it's gonna affect a whole lotta othas as well." He rubbed at his darkened eyes and downed what was left of his pint waving at the bar keep to bring him another.

"What Immafraid of is tha' . . . this may have already happened." He looked from one to the other then focused on Sid, "Have ye eva bin to thee Mungo's lab? Or even bin within thee Department o' Mysteries? I know wit yer job ye git clearance ta pretty much anywhere." He hoped he was wrong, he wished that for once in his life his visions didn't come true but for all his wishing and hoping he couldn't help but think of the attacks back in March. He had waited too long, he could have done something, could have stopped some of it but he had kept it quiet. So many people had been turned, so many had lost their lives. He wasn't going to let something like that happen again.