"Are you sure Professor? Harry's voiced could barely contain his excitement at the confirmation that what he had seen was actually true.
"Yes Harry, the map is working just fine" Remus replied looking up from the Marauder's map he had spent the last 5 minutes examining. "But" he continued quickly before Harry could get too carried away "That does not mean that there were two Draco's in the corridor. The proximity of the two opposing wards means that it was more than likely some form of a magical echo. Hogwarts wards are very powerful, and butted up against the Malfoy wards placed on Draco's quarters… well there are reasons that magical dwellings are usually built apart from each other."
"But what about places like Diagon Alley?" Daphne asked, her curiosity piqued.
Remus laughed "I don't know if you had noticed or not, but Diagon Alley is not very well protected. You can cast any spell you want in the alley up to and including unforgivables. Oh, the Ministry has muggle repelling and notice me not wards around the perimeter for secrecy, but the alley itself is pretty much a free for all."
"Take Gringotts for example. It stands alone on a corner for a reason, their powerful wards would interfere with any around them. But even then, they have to rely on physical protections on the perimeter. You've seen the armed guards at the door."
"But what about the other shops?" Harry asked, thoughts of Malfoy nefarious deeds momentarily set aside.
"They would have anti-theft and various other wards no doubt, but all the wards would need to be contained within the actual shop to avoid conflict with neighbouring shops, to avoid any overlap" Remus stopped and pondered that "So if you were looking at doing a bit of shoplifting, maybe something from the wall displays where the wards may be less effective" he said thoughtfully before focussing again on the subject at hand. "Therefore, it is very unlikely that there were two Draco's"
"But he is up to something" Harry said voicing his disappointment.
"Oh, there is no doubt about that, Harry" Remus assured him. "The dramatic and sudden changes to his physical condition so far this year have been noted by all the professors."
"And what does our illustrious headmaster say about it" Daphne asked, already knowing the answer.
"Dumbledore just waves them off, citing the pressures of Draco taking on the lordship" Remus said reading her face correctly.
Harry sighed "Well I guess we will just have to keep watching him"
"Have a chat to Professor Snape" Remus suggested "He does not seem overly happy whenever the subject is raised in the staff meetings. Perhaps he will be willing to offer some insight into the matter. He speaks very highly of you two, which I have to say came as a shock to me. He has obviously gotten over his animosity he felt towards your dad. I thought he would have carried it over to you, but I was wrong. That is what you get for prejudging someone" he added with a laugh.
"It will have to be this evening" Daphne said "We need to get to breakfast. I don't think I could face Divination on an empty stomach"
"Yes" Harry said "I have been looking forward to this class"
Remus raised an eyebrow towards Harry "Do I want to know?"
"Not really Professor" Harry replied with a wry smile "Just more questions without answers"
Remus felt a pang of sadness towards the son of his best friend who seemed to have the weight of the world on his shoulders. Remus had not yet been let into the inner circle surrounding Harry, but had garnered a lot about Harry's situation from what he had been told and what he had observed. He was slowly putting the pieces together.
Then again, maybe Harry did have the weight of the world on him, well the magical world. It would certainly explain the all the training that he had been doing. It was obvious that Harry and Daphne were well advanced with their magic and had been training together for years despite their tender age. And they were doing everything they could to see that their extremely motivated friends had the same opportunity to learn.
Then it hit him. Divination! Not the weight of the magical world, the fate of the magical world. Whilst not a big believer in the art of divination, his intensive study of magic had shown him not to dismiss anything as being possible. He rocked back on his heals and stared at the young couple in front of him, his brain working overtime. He was just about to say something when Harry interrupted him.
"Can we have the map back please Professor?" Harry asked. He had watched the expressions roll across Remus' face, not surprised he was putting it together.
Remus blinked a couple of times before gathering himself. He looked down at the map in his hand, just about to wipe it clean when something caught his eye. Enlarging the section, he quickly showed the map to Daphne and Harry. There was Draco heading into his quarters. But it was not Draco that caught their attention, it was the person with him.
"What the hell is Seamus doing?" Harry asked.
Sybill Trelawney was standing in a field looking at the burning remains of the wizarding world. Everything had been destroyed and what was left was in flames. The demolished buildings, the bodies of the fallen that littered ground, even the sky was ablaze. It was total devastation without a single living creature left alive.
She held her breath, the feeling of dread sending chills up her spine. There! Through the flames strode a wizard, the smoke from the fires swirling around him. He approached with a slow purposeful stride, radiating immense power, his face hidden in the shadows of the robe's hood, showing only in the briefest of glimpses. He advanced relentlessly, ignoring the death and destruction around him, advancing as if nothing could stop him. The wizard reached up to lower his hood. Just as it seemed that his face would be revealed, there was movement off to her left. Sybill's head swung around towards the movement, regretting the act instantly as there was nothing there. She tried to turn her head back towards the wizard, it felt like she was moving in slow motion.
Time stood still as the green death spell from the wizard's wand raced towards her.
She awoke with a start, forced awake just as the spell hit her. Her heart was racing in her chest as she gasped for air. She shut her eyes again, desperately trying to calm herself enough to focus on the details. She knew that she had had this nightmare before, but she could never manage to remember anything meaningful about it. Even as she had that thought, the memories of the nightmare were fading away.
Taking a slightly shaky breath, she sat up on the edge of her bed. It was the same every time, the more she tried to hold on to the memory, the quicker it faded.
She was not sure how long she sat on her bed but eventually the whole episode was forgotten, leaving only a vague recollection of the terror she had felt.
Sighing, she looked at the timetable stuck to the wall to see what her morning held. Ahh third years, she thought, their first class this year. She forced herself to rise, she would need to get to class a little earlier than normal to prepare the teacups for their first lesson.
The group of students gathered at the top of the North Tower was what could kindly be described as eclectic. Divination was the catchall for the lazy and non-academically inclined, with a simple curriculum and a high pass percentage at OWL level.
So, amongst this backdrop Padma and Parvati Patil stood out, Padma as she was one of the better students in their year from Ravenclaw, and Parvati who was equally as intelligent, but more outgoing than her twin.
"Are you sure Daphne and Harry are taking this class" Padma asked, looking around and not seeing the Slytherin pair. "I didn't think it would be their thing. I mean it is more suited to the likes of them" Padma pointed towards the latecomers, Ron and Seamus, and turned her nose up.
Parvati laughed at her sisters' disdain for anyone she thought was not as smart as she was, she could be a real intellectual snob at times.
"Hey! What are you laughing at?" Ron asked his house mate indignantly. The friction in the common room between Ron/Seamus and the Parvati/Dean/Lavender trio had gotten worse this year. Partly because they were Daphne and Harry's friends, partly due to Daphne's demolition of Ron in their duel, but an awful lot due to reports that Dean kept disappearing into various broom cupboards with Lavender and Parvati. Neither Ron nor Seamus would admit however that jealousy was a large part of their animosity.
"I am laughing at the lazy gits who shame our house by being at the bottom of every class" Parvati replied. She took a step towards Ron, her eyes slitting as she got really close to him before whispering in his ear "And if I hear you spreading any more rumours about Lavender, Dean, and me, I am going to tie you up and feed you to Daphne's acromantulas."
Ron's face went white "You wouldn't dare" he whispered in horror before trying to bluff his way out "Anyway, I don't know what you are talking about" he spluttered.
Parvati took a step back towards her sister. "Watch your back, Weasley"
"Well now that that is sorted, how do we get up there?" Padma asked staring at the circular trap door in the ceiling near the top of the North Tower.
As she said the words, the trapdoor opened and a very rickety looking ladder descended from the wide opening answering her question. The twins looked up and the trapdoor and at the ladder doubtfully.
"Ladies first" Seamus said with uncharacteristically chivalry standing at the base of the ladder holding it steady.
"I think not" Parvati replied seeing the gleam in Seamus' eye.
"Yeah, you perve" Padma added "I'm not having you looking up my robes while I climb the ladder"
The other girls in the class all voiced similar opinions, it appeared Seamus' reputation preceded him.
"What say you go first, Finnigan" Harry said emerging from where he and Daphne had been observing the byplay from the shadows of the corridor. They joined the group at the base of the ladder.
"What say you shut your mouth, Potter" Seamus replied, stepping towards Harry as Ron grabbed his arm to stop him.
"Are you nuts?" Ron whispered frantically in Seamus' ear
"I'm not scared of Potter" Seamus said loudly shaking off Ron's arm.
Harry studied Seamus and discovered with surprise that it was true, he wasn't scared. What the hell had Malfoy done to him.
"Yeah, but if we go up first, we get the best seats" Ron tried to reason with Seamus. He had no desire to antagonise Harry, and he had seen Daphne's wand quietly appear in her hand that was hanging by her side, partially concealed by her robes. Her willingness to fight was something that had always disconcerted Ron, no preamble of swapping insults, just straight into firing spells. And since their duel he had gone out of his way not antagonise her.
Seamus stared at Harry for a long time "You'll keep, Potter" he finally said before turning towards the ladder and started climbing.
Sybill stood in doorway of her darkened office, the door barely ajar. She was watching the students emerge from the trapdoor in the floor, confident in the knowledge that they couldn't see her. The classroom itself was dark, the only light in the room coming from strategically placed candles on the individual tables. The air was hazy from the special blend of herbs she had burning to help open the mind.
Observing the students like this gave her valuable insight, she was a particularly sharp judge of character and could pick the lazy ones, the trouble makers, and the ones desperate to be special and have "the sight". She made a note of anything she could use.
A lanky red head boy and a short scruffy boy were the first two through the trapdoor and headed straight towards one of the tables in an alcove off to one side of the room. This was where she had set up a few tables for students who had no interest in learning and were only taking her class as the easy option out of the available electives. The tables were out of the way, warm and cosy so those sitting at these tables were overcome by a sense of drowsiness and were therefore less disruptive.
She continued to watch the students emerge. At first it appeared as if the class consisted of only boys, and the usual disappointing selection at that. That was until the last boy climbed through the trapdoor.
She could see by his robes that he was a Slytherin which surprised her, not many from that house took her class. She watched as he regained his feet, looking around the dark shadows that filled the classroom, taking note of everything as he stood tall and proud. He wore amused smile on his face that did not match the intensity in his eyes as he studied every inch of the classroom. Those eyes piercing the muted light and smoke haze until they found her hiding place. His smile disappeared as he stared at the office door. She didn't dare move, such was the power of his gaze. Surely, he could not see her?
And then the moment was over as the boy smiled again, a real smile this time as he turned his head to look at the girl who was standing next to him. Where did she come from? She had not even seen her come through the trapdoor. She looked at the beautiful blonde girl, another Slytherin, and noted that they were now holding hands. The Slytherin boy indicated towards where she was hiding and the girl stared at her as well.
Taking a step backwards, and wrapping her shawl tightly around her shoulder as she felt the chill of foreboding engulf her. Who are these two? Trelawney wondered. Was this what the signs were warning her about?
By the time she had regathered her wits, the remaining students had entered the classroom and everyone had taken their seats. The Slytherin couple sat right at the very front on a table with twin Indian girls.
It was time for her grand entrance.
Harry listened as Professor Trelawney's soft and misty voice floated in the thick air above the him.
"Welcome to 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..."
Harry couldn't help but agree with these sentiments, the divination subject was not a hard subject as the methodology itself was easy to learn. Tea leaves, cards, crystal balls, dreams, the movement of planets were all theory based allowing even the laziest of students to pass their OWLs. But if you did not have the "gift", the subject was pretty well useless.
Professor Trelawney suddenly appeared out of the darkness and haze allowing them to see her properly for the first time. Harry looked at Daphne and raised his eyebrows, it was an impressive performance he had to admit, even if Trelawney herself wasn't as impressive to look at. Harry watched as she took a seat in the winged armchair in front of the fire.
Sybill took her chair in front of the fire. She had positioned it just right so the glow from the fire behind her cast a flickering light over her face.
"I am Professor Trelawney" she started her usual third year opening speech "You probably won't have seen me before as I tend not to go down into chaos of the main school. One needs to keep one's inner eye clear, you understand."
She looked to the students at the front tables, expecting to see them nod in agreement, but instead she just received impassive stares from the quartet sitting in table right in front of her. She pushed on.
"This year we will be covering the basic methods of Divination. The first term will be devoted to reading the tea leaves. Next term we shall progress to palmistry."
She paused and looked suddenly at one of the twin girls "Beware a red-headed man, my dear"
The response she got was not what she expected.
"He should beware of me" the girl said giving gave the lanky redheaded boy sat at one of the side tables a fierce stare. The class erupted in laughter.
'Yes, well" she paused regathering the thread of her prepared speech, usually the ones who sat on the front table hung on her every word, and she had especially picked the gormless looking redheaded boy as an object of one of her premonitions.
"Tea leaves to begin with" she said "I want you all to divide into pairs. One of you go and get a teacup and fill it from that large silver teapot then return to your seats." she waved her hand towards the large silver teapot sitting on the table on the other side of the fireplace. "The other one, start reading pages five and six of Unfogging the Future.
She watched as the students got up and started to select tea cups from the shelf, the specially prepared ones were at the back waiting for the cautious and nervous student who was always the last to ones to select a cup. It was all about timing.
It appeared that it would be the Slytherin boy who would be the one this time. She was not sure if that would be a good thing or not, but the cups were prepared so events would unfold regardless.
Just as the boy reached for the cup…
"You, boy" she said loudly "after you have broken that cup, could you please be so kind as to pick one of the green ones from the other cupboard. I don't have many of the pink ones left"
Sure enough, her loud exclamation combined with the slippery charm she had cast on the cup caused it to fall from the boy's hand and drop towards the ground.
She had already picked up the dustpan and brush from beside her seat and was just about to rise and make her way across the room when the cup stopped about half a foot from the ground, then slowly started to rise.
Harry had waited for everyone else to select a teacup as manners dictated. It didn't leave much of a choice, just a couple of pink ones. Reaching for the teacup he felt a strange sensation. The cup is charmed he realised. Sensing magic on charmed objects was something he had worked on over the summer break, an interesting experience in a magical manor where just about every object had some form of charm on it. Croaker had insisted he learn how to do this as a way of developing his wandless magic.
He had gotten to the point where if he tried hard, he could sense when an object was charmed. Well about fifty percent of the time. But this teacup was different, he got a strong feeling from it without even trying. He wasn't at the stage where he could tell what the charm on an object was, just a general feeling. The charm on this cup seemed benign, probably a permanent cleaning charm he reasoned which would make sense in a class like this.
He had just picked up the teacup when Trelawney called out loudly to him from across the room making him start. The teacup slipped from his hand and fell towards the ground. Harry reacted without thinking. "Arresto Momentum" he cast silently forcing the spell through his hand that now had the palm facing down towards the falling teacup. The teacup stopped just above the ground. Increasing the magic he was forcing through his hand, he changed the spell into a levitation spell with the teacup slowly rising back towards his right hand. He flicked his thestral wand into his left hand. This was the tricky bit, something he had not yet managed successfully. Maintaining the levitation spell with his right hand, he then tried to focus some of his magical intent on another silent spell. "Finite Incantatem" he cast, cancelling all the charms on the teacup, pouring more magic into the spell than was probably necessary, but he wasn't taking any chances.
By the time the teacup had risen back to his hand, he could tell that the spell had worked and whatever the charm was that caused it to fall was gone. He grabbed hold of the teacup feeling pretty pleased with himself. He looked around to see if anyone had witnessed any of this, but it appeared the other students were more concerned about getting back to their seats without spilling the hot tea or reading their text book.
Except for Daphne. She was staring at him with wide eyed wonder until she saw him look and quickly schooled her features to one of disinterest. Harry winked at her and flashed a smug smile. Daphne couldn't help herself and smiled back giving him a reluctant silent clap for a wonderful feat of magic.
He looked at Trelawney who seemed to be rising out of her armchair with dustpan and brush in hand, thus confirming that the teacup incident was no accident. They had heard of the tricks that Trelawney played on students in order to elevate her "seer" credentials.
Filling the teacup from the now nearly empty teapot, he returned to his seat next to Daphne feeling the professor's eyes on him every step of the way. Taking his seat next to Daphne, he returned Trelawney's stare, their eyes locking.
"You can't see the eyes of the demon, until him come callin" Sybill whispered to herself, recalling the warnings of her youth. She reeled back in her seat breaking the eye contact. Wandless and silent magic from a third year! Just a child. Then, if you could believe it, he used a wand in his off hand at the same time.
No, no, no, she shook her head trying to clear her mind, this is all wrong.
"Are you alright Professor" one of her students asked bringing her back to senses.
She realised that everyone was watching her, the four at the front table wearing that strange expression people reserved for those they think are simple or otherwise have pity for.
"Sorry, one cannot control the inner eye" she answered adding what she hoped sounded like an air of mystery to her voice. "For those with the gift, sometimes you descend into the beyond without warning"
She heard a snort of derision come from somewhere in the class. She glared at the culprit.
"Many witches and wizards, talented though they are in the area of bright flashes and sudden vanishings, are yet unable to penetrate the veiled mysteries of the future." She responded haughtily. "Broaden your minds, my dears, and allow your eyes to see past the mundane!"
"Or at least see if you can read what is right in front of you at the bottom of your teacups" She chuckled to herself. Let's see how they handle her next surprise.
She watched as the students' focussed switched from her to their teacups. Most blankly staring at the tea leaves and consulting their books trying to find something that matched the clumped mess in the bottom of their cups.
The blonde Slytherin girl whispered something into the Slytherin boy's ear causing him to laugh as he swirled his cup three times with his left hand. He turned it upside down on the saucer and handed the cup to the girl to read.
The girl gasped loudly at what she saw in the bottom of the cup.
Sybill smiled, it was time for the grim.
Daphne leaned over and whispered in Harry's ear "Can you imagine Hermione's reaction to this?" Despite himself, Harry let out a snort of laughter at the image of Hermione and Trelawney in the same classroom.
Harry swirled the dregs of his tea around in the cup three time. He was not the least bit surprised to feel the faint traces of magic. Were the tea leaves charmed as well? A quick glance at the anticipation on Trelawney's face answered that question. Well, she was not the only one who could perform magic tricks, but what to do?
Looking at Daphne gave him all the inspiration he needed. Harry focused on her as he cast some more wandless magic just as he tipped the cup over on the saucer. He wasn't completely sure it had worked.
"For you" he said as he handed the cup over to Daphne.
Her response was enough to let him know that it had, as she let out an audible gasp.
Parvati had heard Daphne's reaction and leaned across for a look into the bottom of the cup Harry had presented to Daphne. She covered her mouth as she let out a small squeal which got Padma's attention away from the tea leaves she was studying.
Leaning across her twin she peered into the teacup, her eyes going wide.
In swooped Trelawney, practically snatching the teacup out of Daphne's hand.
"The Grim!" she exclaimed dramatically as she hurriedly placed the cup on the table and backed away from it. This got the attention of the whole class "My dear boy" she turned her sad eyes onto Harry.
"I don't understand Professor" Harry said with a slightly bemused expression on his face.
"The Grim!" Trelawney repeated "The giant spectral dog that haunts graveyards"
Harry debated drawing it out, but in reality, had endured enough of Trelawney's nonsense and was eager for the class to end. He wanted a private word with her.
"I know what a grim is, Professor" he replied "It's just that the tea leaves do not look like a grim"
Harry watched as Trelawney blinked a couple of times then approached the table and actually looked into the teacup, something she hadn't done up to this point.
What is the boy going on about? Sybill thought as he denied the tea leaves were shaped like the grim. She knew the last to draw tea from her teapot always got the grim. She had charmed the teapot herself and it never failed. But the confidence of the boy concerned her.
She stepped forward and took a quick glance at the tea leaves in the cup. She drew a sharp breath and stared. Her hand reaching for the cup, but she couldn't bring herself to pick it up. Far from being an omen of death it was something else. Something quite beautiful and touching.
At the bottom of the cup was a perfectly formed love heart, the edges clearly defined and the shape so perfect that Sybill could not bring herself to declare it as something else.
She looked at the boy who just smiled back at her before he picked up the cup and presented it to the girl again. The young couple shared a look that had her heart melting.
She took a couple of steps backwards, stumbling as she tripped on the rug that her armchair was sitting on. She turned and started to walk slowly back towards her office, muttering to herself as she replayed in her head everything that had happened this morning, trying to make sense of it. So many signs. So little understanding.
She heard a polite cough from one of the students that stopped her progress.
"That is all for today" she said without turning around.
"Read the first three chapters of your text book before next week" she added as she reached her office and disappeared into it.
"Professor Trelawney, can we have a word please?" Harry called out as he knocked on the partially open office door at the back of the classroom. There was no response, although they could hear Professor Trelawney talking to herself.
Harry and Daphne had hung back as the rest of the students had disappeared down through the trap door, the boys happy at the premature end to the class meaning some free time, the girls talking about the tea leaves in Daphne's cup.
"Should we go in?" Harry asked Daphne
"We should at least see if she is ok" Daphne answered him.
As they stepped into the room the saw Trelawney sitting in a simple wooden straight back chair at a small table in the far corner, lit by what must have been a hundred candles. They watched as she took a small pouch from around her neck and placed it on the table in front of her.
Sybill sat at the small table in her office, the flickering candles casting patterns on the table in front of her. She shook her head angrily as she studied the intricate patterns, she hated how they promised so much but always refused to deliver answers. Reading the candle flames was a skill she had never mastered, her training cut short by the untimely death of her mother.
Sighing, she took the small moke skin pouch that she wore around her neck, opened it and reached inside. Withdrawing the cloth parcel that was the pouch's only contents, she placed it on the table in front of her. Gently unfolding the cloth, she lay it flat, smoothing out the creases, almost like a caress. The cloth was a piece of her Great Grandmother's shawl.
She lovingly picked up the small pile of objects that lay in the centre of the cloth, cupping them in her hands. She brought her cupped hands to her mouth and whispered quietly to them, part incantation, part question, part prayer.
Holding her breath, she cast the objects onto cloth, dreading what they foretold but already knowing.
"You see" Sybill said sadly to herself as she examined the bones "Always the same"
It didn't matter if it was the tea leaves, the tarot, the orb, the planets, or the bones. And her dreams, her inner voice teasing her to remember that morning's nightmare. All the signs foretold of an imminent cataclysmic event in the wizarding world.
She felt the presence of someone in the room with her. Looking up she saw him standing in the doorway.
Everything went black as she fell forward into the abyss.
"Professor! Are you ok?" Harry started forward as Trelawney slumped across the table. Before he could reach her, she suddenly sat up straight, her body stiff and her eyes unseeing, stopping Harry in his tracks. She spoke in a strong and deep voice, contrasting greatly with her usual thin and reedy voice.
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…"
Her body relaxed, losing all rigidity as she fell out of her chair.
Reacting without thinking, Harry leapt forward and caught her before she hit the ground. As his arms wrapped around her frail body there was a bright flare of magic that surrounded them both.
As the magic faded away, Harry straightened up with Trelawney limp body in his arms.
"Harry" Daphne exclaimed "What have you done?"