Chapter 34: A Crystal Ball

Credence and Professor Dear

The Wampuses hoped that their new class, Divination, might be able to help them find out who would make it onto the Quidditch team before the tryouts. That was before any of them actually tried Divination, or met Professor Dear.

"She takes it way too seriously," Dibon said after their first day. The experience echoed of their first Transfiguration class with Ro.

Professor Dear was like Professor Tsalagi: native. Her tribe, though, called the Cayugas, apparently lived far away in Pennsylvania. Professor Dear had a long forehead, though it was usually covered by a witch's hat. Her slightly plump figure was nothing like Professor Eructo's. It more seemed to magnify her, like the high ceiling in her second-floor classroom served to magnify her voice. Being the only professor to teach this subject might have been taxing for someone else, but not for Professor Dear. She had Divination down to an exact science; something that could be measured with a burette or a ruler.

"Most teachers begin with palm reading," she told the Wampuses and Puckwudgies on the first day of class – her voice really did echo like it was coming from all directions. "That is because they underestimate the effect of the Inner Eye. Palm reading is an introductory course that works the muscles of Divination. It prepares those who have genetic inclination for greater success in future study. But if you don't have the Eye, then there is no use wasting your time on this class. We are going to jump straight into Crystal Balls. If you cannot read a crystal ball in the slightest, you are not cut out for Divination."

"No pressure," Percy grumbled. He spent most of the rest of the class staring out the window at the mizzle that was fogging the outside air. Not ideal weather for flying the next day.

Professor Dear liked to look over people's shoulders, as if standing close enough might sagaciously allow her to see what they were seeing. She stood now behind Credence's chair. He was having a hard time focusing his orb as the sound of breathing and the tickle of her long hair on his shoulder kept him still as a stone.

"What if we don't see nothin'?" Percy groaned. His head was supported by both palms, which were pushing at his cheekbones.

"I am not requiring that you See anything for at least a couple weeks, maybe more. If there are no results by then, I will start eliminating the students who should not continue," Professor Dear answered, saying it the same matter-of-fact tone that she said everything. "But bear in mind that that it takes many hours for even talented individuals to open their mind to this medium. You'll just have to be patient."

Percy waited until she was out of earshot before whispering to Credence. "I think Professor Ro takes every patient bone outa my body. Remember on our first class when she said it would take us all a week to change the match, and then you did it in thirty minutes flat? I betcha you could pull off this Seein' thing even faster."

"I think this is different," Credence answered, "Divination isn't about magical power. I've read about it. You need to have an extra sense or…"

"Hello?" Percy said when his friend's voice stopped. The intense stare Credence was giving the ball really brought him to attention, "Credence? Do you actually see somethin'?"

While Percy was speaking, Credence had watched the fog turn black. All crystal balls were filled with what looked like a cloud, something that could form into anything. The cloud in his orb had darkened. It was moving; swirling and splitting and contracting like a tornado of tar and sand. He had seen it before. Percy's voice was right next to his ear but for some reason his mind couldn't distinguish the words. He was focused on staring, gazing. If he looked hard enough, he thought he could see something inside the blackness. Was that… a face? It was hardly more than an outline, but the more he let the world around him fade to a muted blur, the clearer he could see it. Dark hair, angled features. It looked like his face, but much older; a young man. It was hard to know, but Credence felt like it had to be him. And the face in the globe looked absolutely terrified, a fear mixed with a sort of grief and longing that made the Obscurus inside him shiver. Credence tried to pull away from the ball. He hadn't felt the Obscurus active since he had seen it in Percy's house. But he was stuck. His eyes were tied to the image playing out before him.

The boy's face – his face – got swallowed up in the black cloud and suddenly Credence could see the fullness of its mass. Bigger than a Model T car, almost as big as an entire room, it seemed. Credence's mind fought his eyes. This couldn't be right. In the newspaper, in people's descriptions, the Obscurus had never been bigger than a carriage. When he had seen it last, it was shrunken down even smaller. But this thing that he saw was an army's worth of magic pounded into his grown-up body. Was he grown-up in the image? The Obscurus was the only thing he could see now. It was slowing, shrinking slightly. The part of Credence's mind that was still in the present wondered if the vision was almost over.

He wished later that he could have torn himself away right then. It would have been so much better.

Whiteness suddenly entered the crystal ball again; little balls of bright white light. It hurt. Jolts of pain emanated from the sides of the globe which Credence was touching and stung him. He tried to pull his hands away once again, but his present-body was as limp and unresponsive as if he were trapped in sleep.

And anyway, this was nothing to what his future-self was experiencing.

Each of Credence's tiny stings was the boy in the globe getting branded by fire. They kept coming, dozens and dozens of those little, white lights. One replaced another before it even had a chance to go out, so that it formed a great white ball in the center of the Obscurus. A magical bomb. He could see the outline of himself again. He could see his whole body, bursting at the seams with pain. The image was screaming, a scream that wisped through his brain, fainter before the actual sound, like an echo in reverse. The vibrations shook the ball. Credence's eyes watered with the strain. He couldn't stand that phantom sound. And then, with an explosion that seemed to push against the barriers of the crystal ball, his future-self was gone. The white light was gone. The Obscurus – gone. Little wisps of Obscurus feathers floated down the crystal ball, like falling ash from a volcano. Then it disappeared, and the globe was full of fog again.

Percy and Professor Dear were on either side of Credence again when his hands were finally able to disconnect from the crystal ball. Most of the class was peering his way too, glad for some distraction, and eager to hear about what their classmate had seen. A couple handed sickles over to smug-looking students.

"You actually saw somethin', didn't you?" Percy breathed, his eyes wide, not noticing that his friend was trembling from fingers to toes, "I knew it! I told yous, right? What was it?"

Professor Dear actually looked impressed for the first time since they had known her, but her dark eyebrows were creased, "I think you have defied probability again, Credence Barebone. What did you see?"

Credence swallowed, trying to control his shaking fingers. It felt like his very heart was vibrating in time with the rest of him. And oh, he was so tired. "I… saw myself die."

A/N: I want to make one thing very clear: I am not meaning to imply that I think that Credence is a Seer; this version of him, or the canon version. This may seem like a paradox, but let me explain. This story is an alternate universe, right? Basically, Credence got a glimpse of the original universe through the medium of a crystal ball, which provides so many images that defy the laws of physics anyway. Basically, it was the ball that gave Credence the ability to see his own death from FBAWTFT, not a power that he had. Yes, this chapter breaks the fourth wall a little, but I thought the idea was too cool to miss out on. I really like the idea of students betting on Credence's magical ability. His reputation for going above and beyond professors' expectations has probably become established by now. I would love to hear what you think about this chapter concept!