''What's up with Hermione?'' Emmeline asked, putting her quill down and rolling her parchment away. Professor Snape had assigned a two feet long essay of how to make an Antidote to Uncommon Poisons... detailed. Very detailed. Katie, who sat at the end of the table, was still submerged between books she had borrowed for research, quill, and parchment. Harry had dragged a chair to sit next to Emmeline and talk to her while she did her essay. Ron had also dragged a chair. Hermione sat by the fireplace with a frown on her forehead while she read Quidditch Through the Ages with utter concentration.
''Flying lessons are coming up tomorrow afternoon. You know how she is, always thinking books are the answer for everything'' sighed Ron shaking his head. Harry grinned.
''And is it necessary for me to ask why Neville is by her side trying to read too?''
''He's also nervous. His grandmother has never let him near a broomstick'' said Harry.
''No wonder why'' chuckled Ron. Harry laughed a bit too and Emmeline slapped both of their arms.
''He must be miserable having so many accidents all the time'' she said defending the boy.
''I would if I were him,'' said Ron.
''Hey, did I tell you about the whole vault thing in Gringotts?'' Harry asked Emmeline.
''Harry!'' Ron said in a warning tone. Emmeline frowned.
''We can trust her, Ron'' defended Harry.
''You don't trust me?'' she asked Ron and watched curiously as blood ran all the way up to his cheek and look down.
''Fred and George say that-''
''Oh, Ron, You know your brothers hate my guts!'' chuckled Emmeline. She smiled wider when Ron got surprisingly redder.
''They're my brothers, shouldn't I listen to them?''
''Well- yeah, you should, but never do so when it's about me, alright? You can trust me, really'' she said hopefully. Relief spread over her when Ron looked up at her and grinned sheepishly as he nodded. ''What Gringotts thing, Harry?'' She said turning back to him.
''So, when I went to Gringotts for the first time with Hagrid on my birthday,'' started Harry. ''We went into this vault... I can't remember which one it was, but he told the Goblin it had been Professor Dumbledore that sent him to pick up something from it. But later that same day there was a break-in at Gringotts into the same vault''
''A break-in? At Gringotts?'' asked Emmeline surprised.
''I know! That's what I thought too!'' commented Ron. ''What we think is that maybe whatever Hagrid got from there is really important for Professor Dumbledore and it's something important that someone would try and steal it''
''Makes sense'' nodded Emmeline. ''Do you have any idea of what it may be?''
Ron opened his mouth to answer but sighed in defeat when he remembered he had no idea what it was.
... ... ... ...
Thursday morning had risen and everyone had gone to the Great Hall for good breakfast before their classes. Emmeline hadn't even sipped her orange juice when she had stood up between Neville and Harry, and Malfoy when he took Neville's Rememberall. It took her one stern look and, ''Give it back, Draco'' in an authoritarian tone for Malfoy to scowl and slam it back down to the table and leave. Neville blushed and grinned at her shyly muttering a low 'Thanks'. Fred and George had taken care of making her push away her plate when they started making fun of her motherly ways when it came to the first years. She had snatched a toast from George's plate and stuck her tongue out at him before making her way to her first class of the day: Divination.
It was when the students had started to arrive that she realized she chose the wrong elective class. Fred and George took a table right next to hers while Angelina sat down next to her grinning sympathetically at her. She groaned and slammed her head against the table.
''This is going to be so much fun,'' mumbled Emmeline, leaning back against her chair when Professor Trelawney entered the classroom and the low laughter and whispering began.
''Welcome! Welcome, my children, to Divination! My name is Professor Trelawney. You may have never seen me before. I find that descending too often into the hustle and bustle of the main school clouds my Inner Eye.''
''If by Inner Eye she means her sanity, then I agree'' Emmeline whispered to Angelina, who snorted a bit too loud and covered her mouth before laughing out loud too. Emmeline bit her lip and laughed silently at Angelina.
''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... Many witches and wizards, talented though they are in the area of loud bangs and smells and sudden disappearing, are yet unable to penetrate the veiled mysteries of the future...''
As she went on, Emmeline kept yawning, rolling her eyes, looking up at the ceiling, glancing around in the room... She did anything but pay attention to what the Professor kept on going about. She felt like a whole minute had passed in the slowest of ways when she stopped her rambling and turned to Kenneth Towler and said, ''Is your uncle well?''
''Here we go...'' sighed Emmeline, crossing her arms on the table and pressing her chin against them, looking up boringly.
''I guess, yeah'' said Kenneth confused.
''Never guess! She might just not be,'' said Professor Trelawney. ''Next term we'll progress to palmistry, whilst this year we will be devoted entirely to reading the tea leaves. By the way, dear,'' she turned to Emmeline, who raised an eyebrow at her lazily. ''beware of a red-haired man''
She was decent enough to fake fear and nod, but once Professor Trelawney turned Emmeline did so too and glanced at Fred and George. ''I'm watching you'' she whispered to them.
''Boo!'' they chorused making her laugh. It took another long rambling about what they'd do the next term for Professor Trelawney to finally start the lesson.
''Now, I want you all to divide into pairs. Collect a teacup from the shelf, come to me, and I will fill it. Then sit down, and drink, drink until only the dregs remain. Swill these around the cup three times with the left hand, then turn the cup upside down on its saucer, wait for the last of the tea to drain away, then give your cup to our partner to read. You will interpret the patterns using pages five and six of Unfogging the Future. I shall move among you, helping and instructing...''
''How adorable, a tea party for us! Oh, she shouldn't have'' mocked Angelina. Emmeline laughed and took her cup from the shelf as everybody else had.
''This is rubbish'' sighed George once he took his.
''Couldn't agree more'' commented Fred when in line for his tea.
''This is better than to be stuck in Ancient Runes like Lee, Kate, and Ali, don't you think?'' said Emmeline after getting her cup filled by Professor Trelawney, who gave her a rather odd look. She simply grinned at her and went back to her seat. Angelina joined her just a moment later with Fred and George by her tail.
''She's right, you know. This will be easy for our O.W.L.s in fifth year'' said Angelina, taking a sip of her tea.
''You're already thinking of those?'' George widened his eyes.
''Merlin, Angie, you're sounding more and more like Alicia'' chuckled Fred.
''The O.W.L.s are nothing, a piece of cake'' Emmeline rolled her eyes, taking the last sip from her tea.
''And how do you know?'' Angelina raised an eyebrow at her. Emmeline didn't look up or answer. She pretended to keep on drinking her tea and then followed instruction swilling the dregs around the cup three times with her left hand. After everyone was done, she handed her cup to Angelina, who handed hers to Emmeline.
''What the bloody hell is that, Fred?'' George asked from behind with widened eyes while he looked down at Fred's cup.
''Let me see,'' Emmeline reached up for the cup and looked down at it quickly. ''That's a Club'' she handed it back to George, who took a moment and started nodding.
''Yeah, it is''
''What does it mean?'' asked Fred. He hadn't even glanced down at his brother's. Not that George had given him time, anyway.
''An attack or something like that'' shrugged Emmeline, looking down at Angelina's.
''I thought you hated Divination'' Angelina said, glancing up at Emmeline.
''I don't hate it. I just think it's useless. Though I did take some time to read the whole book''
''You're mad'' George said, shaking his head.
''George you have a... duck?'' said Fred with a frown on his forehead. Angelina and Emmeline turned to frown at him just like George had.
''What does that mean?'' George turned to Emmeline.
''Never heard of someone having a duck'' she said, snatching the cup from Fred's hands and looking down at it. She sighed and started laughing. ''Weasley, you idiot! That's a cross!''
''How could you possibly ever confuse those two?'' chuckled Angelina.
''What does a cross mean?'' asked George.
''Trials, suffering... Things like that,'' said Emmeline. She widened her eyes when George had turned a bit pale and said, ''Don't take it so seriously! This is all lies, I promise you''
''You know it all, don't you, Warmsley? What did Angie get?'' said Fred taking George's cup back. Emmeline looked down at the cup for a moment and bit her lower lip, feeling Angelina's eyes boring into her face.
''A sun''
''Great happiness!'' smiled Angelina reading it from the book.
''Let me see that, dear'' Professor Trelawney had come by to their table and took Emmeline's cup from Angelina and looked at them. ''You must rotate it in order to see what must be seen''
''Right, forgot that part'' mumbled Emmeline. She sighed and leaned back against her chair with crossed arms, looking at Professor Trelawney challengingly. Everyone started at her in silent, waiting.
''The falcon... but yours is not common, oh no, it is not. You have a deadly enemy, but this enemy is somehow unknown to you'' It surprised Emmeline herself when she sat straight and glared up at Professor Trelawney. ''There's a cross, very marked. You will suffer greatly. And there's-'' Professor Trelawney let the cup land on the table and walked backwards, a hand on her heart as she said, ''Oh, dear, my poor little girl... so young... and you have the- The grim''
''What does that mean?'' asked Patricia Simpson from the table next to them.
''Death. It's the worst omen there is'' answered Emmeline, calmer than she should've been.
Everyone stayed frozen on their seats, looking horrified at Emmeline while she simply looked down at her cup curiously, yet serene. Professor Trelawney announced the end of the lesson and everyone packed their things away. ''Are you not coming, Warmsley? Transfiguration is not so close from here, you know?'' Fred called after her when she stayed just where she had sat.
She looked up and realized she hadn't moved. ''Yeah'' Taking her things, Emmeline walked outside of the classroom, glancing once over her shoulder to Professor Trelawney, who stood next to her desk staring at her with confusion.