Trelawny's Unicorns
The silver ladder stood gleaming in the dusty hallway, as if trying to fool them into thinking that maybe this time, Divination might not be so bad. They didn't get their hopes up. Harry and Ron took the rungs two at a time and, as usual, the moment their heads reached the threshold of the trapdoor they were bathed in the unbearable heat that was emanating from the enormous hearth. The only substantial light, other than the shawl covered lamps, was also being thrown from the flames. Through the heady fumes that also invaded their nostrils and watered their eyes, Harry and Ron could just make out Hermione already sitting down waiting for them.
Harry's hopes of finally finding a table that was a safe distance from the front of the room were immediately dashed. They were a lot later than they had thought, but at least Parvati and Lavender had taken the table closest to Professor Trelawny's, so there was still the slimmest chance that they might make it through today's lesson without her predicting his imminent death.
But there was still the fact that he, Harry, had seen the same Grim that Professor Trelawny claimed to see every day; not only down the alleyway back in Mangolia Cresent but now he'd caught a glimpse of it in the grounds too. Harry's stomach gave an uncomfortable twist. Did it really mean that Sirius Black was out to kill him? Or even worse, did seeing the Grim mean that Black was going to succeed? Harry's musings were interrupted by Professor Trelawny's sudden arrival from the shadows, her enormous eyes falling instantly upon Harry.
Parvati and Lavender gave their usual shrieks of excitement while Hermione sighed, rolling her eyes at Harry and Ron. "How does she get here so fast?" Ron whispered quietly so that she couldn't hear, while staring at her in disbelief at the same time. Harry shrugged.
"My dears" cried Professor Trelawny, holding her arms out and looking at them as if they were all terminally ill, "we are going to halt our expeditions into the mystic realm of tea leaves-"
"Thank God," muttered Ron contemptuously, his eyes flicking to the pink and blue patterned cups that stood on the shelves at the side of the room. "I doubt I'll even be able to look at a tea bag after a term of those things."
"-for we now begin the long and perilous journey into the world of the Spirit!" There was a wave of "ooh's" from the rest of the class, and a tut of disapproval from Hermione which Professor Trelawny had obviously heard, as her misty gaze never reached their side of the room.
"Put away your books!" Professor Trelawny shrieked suddenly, causing Neville to fall off his pouffe, tearing a page out of his copy in the process. "For if we use them" she continued, staring around at the class, "I fear that one of our number will suffer injury before day's end." Parvati thrust the book back into her bag as though it had stung her and the rest of the room followed suit. Harry distinctly heard Hermione mutter something about getting paper cuts all the time and he couldn't help smiling.
"Well done my child, you show promise" Professor Trelawny muttered to Parvati, as she swept into her winged armchair. "As I have told you, on the first day of our meeting my dears, books will do little to help you here. The Sight is a much more powerful and elusive tool than mere ink and parchment, that can only be discovered through it's extensive use- I said books away dear child!" she repeated, staring at Hermione with a look of shock and anxiety, "you may now have cursed yourself to fatal injury later today!" As Hermione took the book out from under the table while muttering profusely and Ron remained shocked that Hermione had actually disobeyed a teacher, Professor Trelawny adopted her most tragic voice. "It is a poor and closed mind that, when given a clear warning by the trained Inner Eye, allows it to pass unnoticed. It is you that I pray the Spirits can help the most my child."
Lavender nodded gravely, before adopting a confused look and placing her hand in the air. Professor Trelawny looked like she was about to ignore her hand completely and continue with her tirade, but Lavender started waving frantically until she had no choice but to acknowledge her. "Yes dear child?" Trelawny asked, fighting to keep her voice mystic and dreamlike.
"Um... Professor? I'm sure there's no mention of Spirits in Unfogging the Future at all. Why isn't it in there?" Hermione chanced showing Harry and Ron her book, while whispering "I knew it! I could have sworn I hadn't seen it in there! Don't know why I even read it ... no concrete evidence for any of the weird, stupid -" She descended into quiet mutterings, pushing the offending book back into her bag.
"Well," Professor Trelawny began, the mystic edge to her voice slipping slightly as her face hardened and her breathing grew heavier, "the educated magical community seems not to See the Spirits as I do. For you see I am truly Blessed dear childs-" Harry and Ron attempted to control a snort of laughter, but ended up muffling it in the sleeves of their robes. Professor Trelawny continued blissfully unaware the half the class were barely controlling themselves. Seamus Finnigan was biting his knuckles and his partner, Dean Thomas, was clutching his table for support. "They seem to think that Spirits are simply 'creations of a troubled mind' or a 'Seer's granddaughter attempting to gain the same stead' but trust me my dears..." her voice lowered now, back to it's usual mystic self, although her breathing was still quite heavy "they exist." Lavender shuddered with excitement, as did Neville, although that could just have been because Trevor had just left his hiding place in Neville's bag and was now proceeding to crawl up his robes.
"Tell us about the Spirits Professor!" Lavender cried, one which was echoed by most of the class although Harry, Ron, Dean and Seamus were all still too engrossed in their laughter to breathe, let alone talk and Hermione, Harry noticed through his watery eyes, was attempting to read a rather complicated looking book under the table, having completely lost interest in the subject at hand.
Professor Trelawny looked at Lavender, seeming genuinely touched that someone had asked her to tell them about the Spirits. Harry stopped struggling for breath, she looked so truly thankful it was really hard to laugh at her anymore. She moved out of her chair, animated like Harry had never seen her as she began to talk about the Spirits.
"Well my dears," she cried, staring at the class as a whole, "the first, and only mind you, mention of the Spirits, was in early wizarding times, before even this school was built." She allowed this fact to sink in before continuing. "We all know the bigger names of the time, the easy to find ones, but there is one name that almost no-one remembers. The most gifted witch and Seer ever to be seen. Cliona Beaufont." Parvati and Lavender giggled with excitement.
Professor Trelawny's hands shook with glee as she swept forwards, continuing her story as she swept about the class. "Cliona was seen by many as the Founder of the art of Seeing and –" Hermione, despite hating every aspect of the subject, just couldn't allow a false truth like that to go unchallenged and so threw her hand up in protest. Professor Trelawny completely ignored it, far too engrossed in her own telling of history. "And it was to her, the first ever Seer, that the very first Spirits... appeared."
It was obvious to Harry that Professor Trelawny had practiced this speech thoroughly, probably for some sort of interview on the subject. Maybe, he thought to himself, this will have more merit than the other stories she's told us, so he sat up and really began processing what was being said. At his side, Ron did too.
"Cliona was travelling in Albania, when she came upon an old and frail woman what was asking, begging for any money. Cliona had already seen many people go past without even glancing at the poor woman, so Cliona tranfigurated a nearby rock into some muggle money and handed it to her. Immediately, the woman revealed herself to be a much younger, and much more beautiful, witch. She presented Cliona with something in return for her kindness, saying that she had been waiting for a kind person such as her to trust with it."
Lavender and Parvarti were leaning so far over their table that it's spindly legs were groaning in protest, while Dean and Seamus were still not listening to a word, but now they were watching Neville still struggling with his toad in fits of silent giggles. Professor Trelawny was focused only on Parvati's table, as they were showing the most interest in the class, and was still completely oblivious to anything other than her tale.
"Ethaun presented Cliona with an ancient spell which would allow her the ability to be transported through Astro travels into the Etheric land of the Unicorns. However, Cliona was required to commit the spell to memory and was not allowed to write it down or share it with anyone as a part of her vow that she took to Ethaun never to reveal it." She left a dramatic pause hang around the room, where Neville had, luckily, got Trevor back into his bag. Happy that all faces were turned her way, she continued.
"Ethaun was very protective of the Unicorns my dears, and was adamant that only the worthy should be allowed to visit their true realm. The realm where a Unicorn's spirit is allowed to roam free." Suddenly, Professor Trelawny clapped her hands together and the entire class jerked violently. "We all have a Spirit my dears. Every one of us. They are the life force of those mythical beasts who have passed on yet wished to remain to help the living."
"So they're like... a Guardian Angel?" Parvarti wondered aloud. Lavender visibly swooned beside her.
"How do you find out if we have one Professor?" She asked eagerly, clapping her hands together like a baby seal. Professor Trelawny smiled widely and then launched into a surprising routine of what looked to Harry like a mixture of yoga, heavy breathing, strange mumbling and a crystal ball and then it got a whole lot worse.
"Okay children. Now I want you to get into pairs and try for yourselves!" She seemed rather excited but when only Lavender's table seemed to want to do it, her face fell. There was a tangible uneasiness that swept across the room, bringing all of them, even Hermione, out of their seats to join in.
"What was the point in that?" Ron asked as they descended the spiral staircase of the tower an hour later, his ears burning red. "I mean come on! Spirits? Really? A whole hour we did that and I never even saw one." He placed a hand gingerly on his head. While attempting to summon his Spirit, Ron had fallen into some spectacular tangles to the general amusement of the class and the final time his head had taken quite a whack.
"But wait think about it though" Ron muttered, suddenly excited "our own Spirit! I wonder what mine would be? A dragon! Yes it has got to be a dragon!" Hermione laughed and Ron threw her a reproachful look.
"Honestly Ron, even if they did exist what makes you think yours would be a dragon?"
"Well they're, strong and fierce aren't they?" He muttered, twiddling his thumbs and wincing again. Hermione giggled and Ron turned desperately to Harry. "You think it would be a dragon too right?"
But Harry didn't answer. He was thinking about the Grim. Could it be a Spirit? It had appeared only to him and it was certainly mythological and if it was already dead then that would explain the was one thing for sure though, if the Grim was his Spirit, then things were not looking good at all.