Ms. Clandestine, Scorpia

Hogwarts Wizardry School

Sixth Year

Schedule

~~~~ Breakfast in the Great Hall

~~~~ Herbology- Professor Sprout N.E.W.T.

~~~~ Break

~~~~ Transfiguration- Professor McGonagall N.E.W.T.

~~~~ Lunch in the Great Hall

~~~~ Break

~~~~ Defense Against the Dark Arts- Professor Snape N.E.W.T.

~~~~ Charms- Professor Flitwick N.E.W.T.

~~~~ Divination- Professor Trelawney N.E.W.T.

~~~~ Dinner in the Great Hall

* The day begins at 7:30 a.m. with breakfast in the Great Hall. During breakfast, the mail arrives in a flurry of hundreds of owls. A bell chime signals the start of the first class at 9 a.m. The bell chimes again in one hour to signal the start of the next class.

* Supper is served in the Great Hall towards evening, after which the students are expected to be in their House common rooms for studying and socialising.

* There is an Astronomy class at night on Wednesday every week (usually midnight).

* The students must be in bed or in the common rooms by a certain time, after which is called after hours. The times are different for different years.

Chapter Three: The difference between dreams and reality

Home; I have found it.

My whole life has been a huge game of hide-and-seek; so after coming across the place I call home, it is as if I was there all my life. I have never set foot in Hogwarts, yet I am surrounded by feelings of welcoming and familiarity. I blend in here like the last jigsaw-piece fits a puzzle- it's a perfect fit. It's just the first day of school here at Hogwarts, yet I already know that this is what I was looking for. The school robes add a flourish to my concealed identity, making me feel like one of the witches attending here.

But, I have to give credit to my sister: we managed to remain as polar opposites ever since we arrived. While I am giddy and carefree, she is stone-hard on rules, schedules, and the mission. I was a bit surprised by her snap yesterday at the missing password, and I think she may be taking this quest a tad bit too seriously. She is the eldest of us, after all. I can't blame her though, this is the biggest and most important pursuit of our lives; which is why we can only confide everything and trust only each other. She feels as comfortable here as I do, because my nightmares turned into playful fantasies and her paranoia about our father is lessening. We can only take each others' word. All I have to do is take her alpha lead, and trail behind as beta.

Harry Potter.

Those are the two most known words of the entire wizarding world. He is the Chosen One because of Father's actions, and he used to spend more time plotting against Harry than paying attention to us. Which is why, I built this hatred force against him with my father, only I hated him for the attention he took away from my father. Sure, my father killed his family, but with the direction my father was headed about this revenge, it was like Harry was the missing son in our family.

But when I set eyes on him today in Herbology, all those negative feelings dissolved instantly. I didn't even think about my sister and her approval; I just plunged into a puddle of diverse emotions for Harry. I have never seen him in my life because Daddy always tabooed anything that had to do with him when we grew up, so I felt like Harry was like the husband of Aphrodite- the god of beauty and love, and I nearly passed out with being so close with someone much more powerful than almost Daddy.

But something peculiar about him stood out more than his appearance; there was something familiar about him in my past visions and dreams. I couldn't quite detect which one and when, but all I knew is that in one of my delusions was that he was there and he was standing right next to my father's dead body and the Elder Wand. When my sister read into that a long time ago, she just punished me for seeing such an impossible picture by telling Nagini, but we all agreed to never ever reveal that secret to my dad, because all of my visions always come true. From then on, I have lived in a blanket of fear for the death of someone much stronger than me.

I very much liked my new friend Draco Malfoy. He was very charming and clever, but I acted like an older sister around him for the mission Daddy gave us, even though he was a bit older than both Calypso and I. Something was going on between them, but I can't quite sense much there. Blaise, well not so much, because I barely have any classes with him except Potions and homeroom. He is overall a quiet and nice gentleman. But Pansy; she just makes my stomach churn. Her overall personality is full of criticism and false romantic hopes with Draco. I can tell you right off the bat that even if they were going out, they would not last very long. The only purpose Pansy probably has to me is her funny jokes and observations about other people. You can count on her for the latest gossip going around Hogwarts; she will most likely end up as one of those Rita-Skeeter wannabes in the future. But back to earlier today, a vibe came across Calypso and Draco that I couldn't pass up the opportunity to bring up.

Subsequent to Herbology, I tagged along my sister, attempting to ask about her daze during the lesson, even though I secretly know the answer. "So you like him...?" I asked innocently, once we stepped in to hallways of Hogwarts for passing period, behind all the other students.

"Who are you talking about?" she retorted, keeping a careful eye for everyone within earshot.

"Oh, I just thought you fancied Malfoy back in Herbology, when you made it sort of evident." I continued with my light tone. Immediately, Calypso turned pink, and had her wand out in a flash underneath her robe sleeve so only I could see. In one swift move, she had me cornered against the nearest wall, pulling us out of sight from our class and her violet eyes were zeroing into mine angrily.

"Listen, you. We are not here to play fun games of crushes and romances. We are here for a specific reason." she hissed. "We cannot be distracted and careless, like you modeled yesterday." She shook her head in disappointment and I held my head down, ashamed of what that event.

"I understand," she whispered in a gentler voice. "I understand completely how happy you are about finding home; believe me, I am as ecstatic as you are. But we can't let Father down and fail this mission. We only have one shot." She held me glance and continued staring at me until I broke it and looked away. In the corner of my eyes, I saw her violet eyes become cold again as she proceeded to lecture me. "So what is this between you and Potter?" she spat the last name as if it was scum.

I blushed at the spot. I hinted that that if I didn't speak soon, she would read my mind forcefully and find out the truth in a much worse way. But I knew she was going to anyways, so I acted quickly. "Well, he looks more different than I expected. We were blinded by hatred towards him as we grew up; I was astonished to see his face," I semi-explained, leaving the rest for her to read.

In my head, I was thinking about what it would be like if Harry and I would be if we together, and how I would experience my first love. I grimaced as Calypso clicked through the thoughts in my mind. The more she read, the more furious she got. She balled her fists and I saw her wand raise a millimeter, so I snatched it before she noticed. She may be older than me by a couple of minutes, but I had faster reflexes than she did. I foreshadowed what would have happened if Calypso had her wand if I hadn't taken it away.

Her eyes widened in astonishment at her own acts and my reaction and I kept the wand behind my back, alongside with mine.

"Now it's time to my question," I spoke aloud, breaking the cold tension between us. She retreated and impatiently waited, knowing that if she tried to fight me right now, the odds would be against her. The question that scorched my tongue formed in my mind, as I asked it to her wordlessly.

Why do you hate Mudbloods and Half Bloods so much? I'm not sure if you recall, but Father himself is a Half-Blood. Besides, it's just a blood line. Calypso just narrowed her eyes and spoke aloud through clenched teeth.

"I will answer the first question when you answer something that has been bothering me. I sense a change in you since we left the meeting Dumbledore's office. I can only soak up so much from your thoughts, but there is something that doesn't quite match your attitude overall regarding this task Daddy sent us. I'd like to know whose side are you really on."

Tears formed in my eyes, as I furiously trusted her wand back at her. "Also, I don't have anything against every Mudblood or Half-Blood, just certain ones. I simply believe that Pure-Bloods are more superior to any other bloodline, other than Father, you, and me of course. You should really think about who you are fighting against, Scorpia. If you betray us, then it won't be my funeral."

With that, Calypso set off to her next class, leaving me drenched in tears and fuming thoughts behind the wall.

How dare she think I am a backstabber? Where in the right mind did she ever believe I would actually deceive my own family? I bet Draco had something to do with this! He had to have messed up with Calypso's brain, because the sister I knew would never say such a thing!

In the midst of my heated thoughts, a new idea popped into my head. I have been studying a subject secretly that is my sister's one weapon against her in confidential terms: Occlumency. It is Occlumency that is the act of magically closing one's mind against Legilimency. It can prevent a Legilimens from accessing one's thoughts and feelings, or influencing them, which is precisely what Calypso does.

She doesn't know this, so it will be a great surprise when she figures out she can't rely on my thoughts anymore to know how I am truly feeling. I checked the grand clock across the hall and see that I have two minutes to spare. I clear my mind, concentrate my fullest on the Occlumency techniques, and hope it works. Once I feel satisfied with my skills, I brush myself off, wipe my face from evidence of my breakdown, and walk towards class with a clear and cool head; textbooks and wand ready in hand.

The next class that I arrived to just in punctuality for was Transfiguration. Transfiguration is a subject taught about the art of changing of the form and appearance of an object. The Classroom 1B is where Transfiguration class was taught; located in the Transfiguration Courtyard. The classroom itself was big, surrounded by high windows, has four rows of three desks, and still has enough room for several cages and bookshelves, two chalkboards, and a desk for Professor McGonagall.

Several candlesticks stand lit behind McGonagall's desk. Without my sister here in my second class right by my side, I felt kind of left out. In the corner of my eye I saw her giggling next to Draco, looking like Pansy for a second. A smug look came across Pansy's face as she saw Calypso and I separated and she motioned for me to sit with her. I knew my sister was watching this all lay out, so this was the perfect chance to either apologize and move on with life or use revenge.

The expression on her face must have priceless as I sat down next to Pansy across three entire rows from Calypso. She understood our shared loathing for Pansy, so I hope this will make her even more perplexed about everything. Pansy may be like a second-hand wand, but this is way better than nothing.

The whole class, I felt Calypso's burning eyes drilled into my head, but I didn't care. We learned with Professor McGonagall about the limits to transfiguration, which are governed by Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration, the many branches of Transfiguration, including Self-Transfiguration and Cross-Species Transfiguration. I also realized that this was a bit like Charm work, because Transfiguration is achieved through concentration, precise wand movements, and the proper pronunciation of an incantation. However it is generally more difficult than Charms and it requires great effort.

Shared work with Pansy was painless, I just listened to her ramble on about her every move on Draco and blah blah blah. I made sure to nod and comment at appropriate places to make it look like I was listening while I completed our work silently. The bell thankfully rang, interrupting Pansy in mid-sentence. She took a breath, thanked me for my help and kindness, and made her way to motor-mouth with her other Slytherin friends.

I just chuckled at myself softly, and headed toward the Slytherin common room. Right now was my free period, where I would spend an hour surrounded by my simple homework and the silent treatment from my sister.

Potions was the class before lunch, and I was amazed and tempted to congratulate my sister for being able to not speak to me for a record of 135 minutes in counting. I only minded the slightest bit, but every time I felt a pang of remorse I would remind myself of my sister's hurting words at me and get mad again.

I headed toward the Hogwarts' freezing dungeons and smiled as Draco headed my way, and sat by me in Professor Slughorn's room. I think he was trying to be equal and not get in between my sister's and my feud, which was quite thoughtful. Calypso was fuming before sitting next to Pansy, who squealed in delight by sitting next to both sisters in one day. We got out our standard potions kit that included plant ingredients such as Belladonna and supplies such as glass phials and weighing scales.

Professor Slughorn also rang a bell in my head because I recall his name being once by Nagini when she was telling us a story about Father, but I don't remember. A small part of me was a little homesick for Nagini and Daddy, but I had to be strong and get through this year for Father- it was my mantra. Slughorn was talking about the Amortentia, Draught of the Living Dead, and Felix Felicis Potions until Harry and his friend Ron Weasley with the noticeable fire-red hair walked in. Apparently, they were going to start class here too! This was too good to be true, I had two known classes with Harry Potter, and who knew what was left.

At the end of the class period, I flubbed brewing my Draught of the Living Dead potion purposely, even though it was so easy I saw others having a hard time with it- I had to fail along with them in order to not look suspicious, and so did my sister. The only person who could "successfully" complete it was Harry Potter. Hmm, this is a bit strange, because I could tell even his friends Hermione Granger and Ron were surprised.

The prize for this task was Felix Felicis, otherwise known as liquid luck. I could care less, but I saw many eyes wander and faces wish they could be the one accepting Felix. My intuition raged that the Advanced Copy of Potions book was rigged because I knew it gave wrong directions, so how could he have gotten it all correct successfully? Unless he knew also? Plus, Slughorn seemed very pleased generous to Harry and Ron; perhaps they knew each other beforehand? This was my first time meeting Slughorn, so there is something fishy about this all. But nevertheless, I have no homework left, so lunch ought to be interesting.

Lunch was being served at the Great Hall, which I had no difficulty locating. The entire first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh years all gathered together at the same time to dine with fine cuisine. The food aroma smelled mouth-watering and I was eager to sit down and eat. There was one problem though about lunch itself; where was I going to sit? Pansy, Draco, and Blaise, along with my sister had settled down at the far end of the Slytherin table and all except Calypso were beckoning for me to sit with them.

I gave them a nervous smile, and walked for what seemed like forever before placing my stuff across from my sister and next to Blaise. I think I may have passed some sort of wordless test from my sister, because she just merely gave me the once-over before turning her attention to Draco's latest fiasco. Our lunch appeared in front of our faces and a cluster of wonderful smells and sights filled the room; even the teachers were enjoying their lunch. Dumbledore wasn't in, his grand seat was empty and untouched by everyone; not that anyone noticed though except for when I saw my sister's eyes wandering over there too, and I left the topic unmentioned.

After the last of the nice dishes were cleared, owls came pouring in the windows with parcels and packages of all kind. Calypso's and my pre-ordered female owls arrived alas for the first time; I had a tree-bark colored elf owl and she picked out a tan barn owl. I knew that there wasn't going to be any mail for us like there were for our classmates with caring parents and pleasant gifts. The only other person without any possession from the owls was Harry, who sat with a pained smile on his face like Calypso and I for fake happiness; to convince others that we don't care about not having these trinkets like they do. But inside, I really do care.

Immediately after lunch and my peaceful time spent at the library- away from drama and the whole world, the bell signals it's time for class again. According to my schedule, I have Professor Snape (Defense Against the Dark Arts) in Classroom 3C in the third floor. Defense Against the Dark Arts, also known as D.A.D.A., is my next class. Supposedly, as a sixth year, we focusing on defensive techniques to block spells, charms, curses, hexes, and jinxes cast by other wizards and witches, counteract the Dark Arts, and to protect from dark magical beasts and creatures such as the Boggart.

I walked in early, and the first thing I noticed was an iron chandelier hung from the ceiling, as well as a dragon's skeleton. On one end of the classroom stands a projector that is activated by magic. Several desks and tables were spaced out in the classroom as well as some sets of large windows. But, when I sat in my seat and patiently waited for the period to begin, Snape was staring at me. It was uncomfortable and I don't I have ever seen him before in my life, so what was the reason?

I just sat there in the front row, first seat, fiddling with my stuff until Calypso, Draco, Blaise, and Pansy all clambered in noisily; earning a not-so-nice look form Professor Snape. All I can say about that class once it was over is that it is going to be fun when learning stuff but homework sucks. But at least I can sit all by myself, partner-less, and try to avoid the strange stares from Snape.

Charms is my second to last class, luckily! I am getting a bit bored from all the lectures and homework and not enough independent work and self-creativity. I was placed in Classroom 2E, once again on the third floor, which had four long, large desks that are built like stairs, and are located on both sides of the classroom. There was also a large fireplace in the room, as well as several books stacked on top of each other, where Professor Flitwick stood because of his size, to instruct us. He talked on and on about general spells and wandwork, including such spells as Wingardium Leviosa, Accio and Aguamenti.

My mind kept drifting off to what a crazy day today was and the way my sister was treating me like I was invisible. We had all the same classes today, yet she was able to stay mad all throughout them. The bell, which was now my new best friend, rang once again, and I trudged on to my last period of the day, Divination.

I arrived only a few minutes after my sister did, and just in time for Divination (my last class of this endless day) in the Divination Classroom in the North Tower. It was accessible through a circular trapdoor and was looking like a cross between somebody's attic and an old-fashioned teashop. I sat down in the seat with my name exploding in fireworks above it - Man, what was with this school and fancy magic? - and patiently waited for my first day of N.E.W.T. required class of Divination.

I had my needed supplies and textbooks neatly in front of me, and the rest of the semi-vacant room was quiet. The warning bell rang, and a bustle of more students strided along the hallways, rushing into classrooms. The door flew open, numerous footsteps clattered inside, and seats were scraping under the marble floor. The chair left of me quickly became occupied be Draco Malfoy, who flashed me a distracted smile before resuming rummaging through his bag.

To my right side, none other than Harry Potter sat himself down, and sighed deeply before looking through his belongings also. My insides warmed at the fortunate position I was in, sitting in between of a guy I am spying stealthily and another guy that I liked. My sister would be obviously jealous when she found what lucky seat I was in for Draco (even though she would never admit it). But, since my desk was smack-dab in the middle, I was within peeping distance of Calypso, who was claiming a spot towards the right; near to the front. I was also in between the silent rage with Harry and Draco, the tension was cold and hushed over our heads. Calypso was still holding her mute, fuming grudge against what happened, but oh well; all is well for this class I guess.

Suddenly, our Professor Trelawney peered back at us through her magnified, thick rimmed glasses and untamed, frizzled out hair as the room noise level dropped to an eerie silence.

"So you have chosen to study Divination, the most difficult of all magical arts. I must warn you at the outset that if you do not have the Sight, there is very little I will be able to teach you. Books can take you only so far in this field..." She spoke in a low, mystical voice that echoed the walls. Trelawney explained that we would be reading tea leaves today as an easy start for the year. All the terminology that she used clicked on in my brain- thank goodness for my constant studying of Divination!

"Broaden your minds, my dears, and allow your eyes to see past the mundane!" With that, she told us to flip to page 10 in our required textbooks, and waved her wand. Our desks were swerved around, creating tables of five for each group of students. Tea cups of different colors and shapes, honey dishes, lemon wedges, tea packets of a rainbow of flavors, and kettles of steaming water appeared and collaborated on the nicely decorated surfaces right before our eyes.

By pure randomness, I was stuck again with Draco and Harry, but only of course the other two people were my sister and Pansy. Harry scowled at being trapped in a crowd entirely of Slytherins and not with his friends, but Calypso looked a bit pleased with Draco and doubtful at Pansy and I near her. Pansy of course was thrilled to be next to her "man" and tweaked his cheek in sheer delight, as Draco shrugged it off.

This period should be rather interesting, I thought as our expressions were displayed on all of our faces about this arrangement. The other tables seemed to be faring well, considering that there was a soft chatter in the atmosphere in comparison to our uncomfortable silence. No one made a move in our table, except for glaring at each other, each wondering what we were doing there.

To break the ice, I decided to being serving my tea, added some honey clumps, and raised the green, floral print china to a toast. I received four pairs of bewildered glances shift to my direction for my act of decision as I toasted,

"To Hogwarts and six-years!" I announced. Harry surprisingly was the first to respond by preparing his tea and raising his cup wordlessly; seconding the

toast. Nobody else in the room noticed the slight change in our table; all the other students were scattered about, chatting about the first day and laughing about things while Professor Trelawney sipped her tea delicately while flipping through pages of her Merrythought's Guide to Future Psychic book.

But I felt when Harry decided to follow like he asked me to marry him- that he actually followed me even though he knew nothing about me. We both held our tea cups in the air proudly, and patiently waited for the rest of our table to follow pursuit.

Finally, Draco, Pansy, and Calypso raised their glasses also, and we just all mumbled "To Hogwarts" and drank; skipping the clinking ordeal altogether. The hot water burned my mouth, but I was getting anxious for seeing what waited in my future in the bottom of my cup. No communication was heard from any of us, we just hastily drank until kingdom come, our multitude of feelings played across the table, knowing the avoiding conversation was the best way to get around disputes. The tea time was enjoyable for everyone else but us. Alas, I finished the remains of my teacup and peered inside to investigate the contents of my tea leaves.

Professor Trelawney, who had now been walking around to help read the signs and futures, noticed I was finished and headed my direction. The next thing I knew, Trelawney was looking down behind my shoulder and remarked on what she saw, "Ah very interesting, very interesting indeed." her voice was low enough for only me to hear, but I could sense the smile in her words. The rest of my table pretended to ignore me and each other.

"Your tea leaves left only distinguishable figures behind. In fact, their prints look like common based animals." she continued brightly. "I see a stag, and I-" she gasped and I heard the happiness from her grin break into two. "You see what?" I asked nervously, my heart already picking up pace. Trelawney didn't answer, and when I faced my body to her, her fidgety eyes didn't meet mine. She just wrung her hands, and blinked repeatedly behind her humongous glasses.

By now, the whole class noise level just dropped to silence, and everyone was glaring at me. I blushed, my heart proceeded to quicken, and I clumsily took the cup to my own hands and eyes. All I could see in the bottom was a stag and a dog- both were as dark as midnight. My mind was out of control for what could possibly be wrong in this picture.

"A stag and a dog are in my cup," I croaked as Professor Trelawney was ushered to a nearest seat by a couple of classmates, looking like she was about to faint with all the color drained form her face. But true to her word, she never quite finished the sentence that would explain why my cup was so despicable. Calypso chose this time to frantically search through her textbook for answers, as the rest of the class waited for my next move.

But before I could react, I was sucked into the darkness tunnel once again. It could only mean that I was seeing through time. A gust of memories flooded through my eyes, and I was taken back to the same classroom as I was sitting in, only as an omniscient eye. Harry Potter, as a third year was sitting in a desk in the Divination room, like I was previously doing. Professor Trelawney three years younger was instructing the class with a familiar lesson,

"Together we shall cast ourselves into the future. This term, we'll focus on Tasseomancy, the art of reading tea leaves. So please, take the cup of the person sitting opposite you. What do you see? The truth lies buried like a sentence deep within a book, waiting to be read. But first, you must broaden your minds. First, you must look beyond." She instructed the class, like she did this year for our class, except apparently our class was more advanced and received less teaching.

"What a load of rubbish," I heard Ron Weasley side-whisper Harry, who sat right next to him. Trelawney was so worked up about the tea leaves and future foreshadowing, she didn't notice.

"Broaden your minds." she repeated as students curiously examined their drinks before drinking them with calamity and a relaxed attitude. Professor was checking other students like she did to us, making sure they were trading leaves as an observation, and she stopped by Harry and Ron. "Your aura is pulsing, dear. Are you in the beyond? I think you are."

Ron answered sarcastically, "Sure."

"Look at the cup. Tell me what you see." Ron examined Harry's cup with furrowed eyebrows and thorough concentration before referring to his textbook for signs of tea leaves.

"Harry's got sort of a wonky cross. That's trials and suffering. And that there could be the sun and that's happiness. So you're gonna suffer, but you're gonna be happy about it." he concluded. Professor Trelawney frowned in disapproval as Harry looked confused. She asked Ron for the cup, and scrutinized it quizzically. Professor Trelawney then gasped loudly and the room activity stopped reputedly.

"My dear", Professor Trelawney's huge eyes opened dramatically, "You have the Grim."

"The what?" said Harry? He could tell that he wasn't the only one who didn't understand; his nearby classmates Dean Thomas shrugged at him and Lavender Brown looked puzzled, but nearly everybody else clapped their hands to their mouths in horror.

"The Grim, my dear, the Grim!" cried Professor Trelawney, who looked shocked that Harry hadn't understood. "The giant, spectral dog that haunts churchyards! It's among the darkest omens in our world. My dear boy, it is an omen ... the worst omen ... of death!"

The room, Harry, the students, Trelawney all disappeared, surfacing me back to the black.

Then, another scene dissolved into view, playing another figment a time of the past. I could only see a much younger Trelawney talking to a youthful Dumbledore, but his back and her face were only visible, sitting at a pub in Hog's Head. Trelawney and Dumbledore were speaking with hushed tones and I could swear I heard a figure in the distance trying to eavesdrop, but I couldn't tell from how dark the lighting was in the pub.

" 'IT WILL HAPPEN TONIGHT." ... ... Professor Trelawney spoke in the same harsh voice, quite unlike her own, in which I only caught the last snippet of: "'THE DARK LORD LIES ALONE AND FRIENDLESS, ABANDONED BY HIS FOLLOWERS. HIS SERVANT HAS BEEN CHAINED THESE TWELVE YEARS. TONIGHT, BEFORE MIDNIGHT... THE SERVANT WILL BREAK FREE AND SET OUT TO REJOIN HIS MASTER. THE DARK LORD WILL RISE AGAIN WITH HIS SERVANTS' AID; GREATER AND MORE TERRIBLE THAN EVER HE WAS. TONIGHT... BEFORE MIDNIGHT... THE SERVANT... WILL SET OUT... TO REJOIN... HIS MASTER..."

Then, the scene morphed into darkness before I could hear the responses. It all clicked into my brain as I stepped into the light; about the mark, Harry's past, and the way Trelawney was acting. But I was still scared about the mark and what would happen to me. When my current vision refocused, and I was back in Divination. Calypso had somehow moved when I was in my trance and now by my side. Professor Trelawney was still in the corner, composing herself about the scare.

My mind was in a worried frantic as I linked vision and I nervously looked down at my cup again, only to see the two animals staring right back up to me. The class was quiet, occasional snickers and whispers arose, but everyone on my table already left to join other students. My sister and I sat alone in the table, with cold tea and broken spirits as our only company. I closed my eyes again, and reversed the Occlumency to open only my vision to my sister.

She graciously took the invite into my mind without even realizing that I had blocked her out previously and submerged waist-deep in my thoughts and visions, but I still had the Occlumency secret stored deep enough so she couldn't find the reason. When she figured out the visions, she pulled me in for an embrace and talked into my ear so only I would hear,

"I am so sorry, this mess was mostly my fault. You had me scared about this and my sisterly instincts took over naturally. But we still have to talk tonight- you have some explaining to do. And something is wrong; I've been able to hear your thoughts ever since we were born and suddenly its like the radio connection between us has gone bad..." she pondered in thought for any reasonable explanation.

I just shrugged my shoulders, took her hand into mine, and said, "Fights never come between us, sis. I knew you'd come to your senses and apologize." Calypso just stuck out her tongue and nudged the Divination's Tasseomancy Textbook toward my direction.

"Read it," Calypso instructed and guided me to the page bookmarked. It was a chart on a page that gave the different tea leaves shapes and their meanings. Only two were underlined heavily; a stag and the grim that I learned about.

The stag meant "one who is a lover of harmony and indicates a person who foresees opportunities well. In the latter case it is a symbol used for one who is unwilling to assail enemies rashly, who would rather stand his own ground than harm another wrongfully, and one who will not fight unless provoked."

The Grim was of course symbolizing death, but it went on about the star Sirius of a black dog and the stories that involve a dark dog figure. Then reality sunk into my head- it was really happening. Someone (most likely innocent) was going to die that was close to me according to the Grim. I still had no clue about the stag. It was that, or I was going to die, really soon. Tears brimmed my eyes and rolled down for the second time today.

Why were all the bad signs pointing towards me?

"Please give me a moment," I mumbled to my sister as the room became dizzy and out of focus. She gave me a reassuring nod, and went to find Draco. I pushed back my chair, left all my stuff behind, got up, and walked to the door; not caring about what my public image looked like or anything. I took one glance back at the room I was leaving, and saw Professor Trelawney meditating on her desk, and the rest of the class in clusters of chattering and laughing- forgetting just about everything that had just happened. No one really cares.

The door swung back, closing off the world I was escaping of social status and happy lives of witches and wizards and faced my new best friend, isolation. I leaned against the cold marble wall, and slowly slid down until my chin was resting on my knees, right near the staircase and the classroom door. Then I just let my new fears of Death coming so near to me out through sobs. I lost all track of time and the rest of the world. In what seemed like everlasting eternity, I heard the door open beside me afar in the distance.

"I told you to leave me alone," I growled to the shadow of a pair of feet beside me; I didn't bother looking up from the curtain of my face covering my emotions.

"I am not going to leave. I have something I need to tell you," spoke a determined voice so familiar to my mind, but not to my ears.

I raised my head only to come face-to-face to Harry Potter.

His breath-taking emerald eyes shone under the low lighting and his mused hair fell into natural waves, and his tall, lean figure completed his beauty perfection. The lightning scar on his forehead boldly told the story that changed his and my father's lives forever. I was in a love struck spell from just looking at his perceptual attractiveness until his voice broke the daze.

"You mind?" Harry asked in that oh-so wonderful voice of his, gesturing to sit right next to me. I nodded and quickly wiped my face from any stray tears with my sleeve before I arranged myself so that I was sitting cross-legged directly across from him. The warning bells went off in me and everything in my body screamed 'sit closer to him!', but my mind managed to overcome that command and I made sure that nothing of mine was touching his.

Harry didn't seem to mind as he talked: "I saw your tea cup and all, and I just wanted to reassure you that those things aren't always correct. According to legend, anyone who encounters a Grim dies a short while after, but I'm still alive because I got the Grim Sign too in my third year. Death didn't take someone close to me until like, last year." He recalled with a faraway look in his eyes.

I think it was his godfather, Sirius Black, who he was talking about, because like me; he doesn't have a close family. It was that so-called closest servant to Father, Bellatrix Lastrange who did the deed.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, sneaking a glance of his eyes before shifting direction and absent-mindedly picking on the hem of my robe. He didn't answer, but I felt good knowing that he could actually rely on me with his personal information. If I could only finish that sentence though... I yearned to speak the forbidden aloud, but once something is illicit, it stays that way.

I'm sorry that it's my father who killed your family and destroyed your whole life so that you can suffer like the way you are right now and I'm sorry you have fought against my greater judgment, my family's expectation, the inferiority of your birth, my rank and circumstance, all these things, and you are willing to put them aside to end my agony.

Instead of the gap of where my silent words stood, an awkward moment just passed time when Harry and I just sat there looking at everywhere in sight but each others' eyes for different reasons. I was too embarrassed to say something stupid when I saw him that would blow off my cover, so I had to put an umbrella between Harry's dark storms and my safe rain jacket. Harry then cleared his throat, mumbled something about getting back to class, got up, and held out his hand so I could stand alongside him.

I reached out, and trusted him; something I've never done to anyone outside of my family circle. My insides fluttered with flurry like the speed of a butterfly's wings ready to set free and fly after being caged up so long. My internal heart metronome shot up to about a million beats per second as my hand almost went limp once it was in contact with his warm, electrifying hand.

Some sort of connection was going on between us, something that felt as strong as the waves being powered by lightning. He must have felt it too, or else he would have let go of his grip already.

As I gracefully was pulled back onto my feet, I felt very intoxicated by Harry's very presence. Our smiling faces were only inches apart and I was still hand-in-hand with him. 'This must be what true love must be! Thank you gods of love for giving me a chance!' I thought as I neared my face towards him.

Suddenly golden sparks erupted by both of us and Harry pulled away like I was some sort of alien; breaking the fragile moment with his hurtful action. The sparks disappeared as quickly as they came, leaving me as confused as Harry. All I saw before they left were like many gold fireworks by our heads, breaking the noise in our ears with no distinct shape.

Harry was frowning and he briskly stepped out of the hallway and I felt like our portrait of our was-to-be love being smashed into a million spiked pieces of glass all aimed for my heart. I just stood there moments after he left gaping with expression like someone just slapped me.

I know my sister just saw what was going on now that she had total control of my mind again unknowingly. I'll just let her find me this time, and see what wonders she can do to for my aid. She better hurry up because this is the last period of the day, even though homework is not a priority anymore to me. But all I wanted to do for the rest of the evening was curl up and wonder what was wrong with me and how to play the game of love.

What is in store for me in the future?