Alethia Jaynard choked slightly as she tried to inhale the heavily scented air of the Divination room. Alethia hated the Divination classroom, and she had long suspected that she had an allergy to incense, but she couldn't bring herself to drop the class. It had helped her fix problems more than once in the past, and Professor Trelawney had told Alethia that she had the makings of a true Seer. Nevertheless, Alethia's external eyes were often too busy noting problems in the present to allow her Inner Eye to unravel the troubles of the future.
Today, Alethia's external eyes were particularly busy with the matter of Remus Lupin. She and Remus had been best friends since they were children, and she could always tell when something was bothering him. Alethia hadn't seen Remus at breakfast, and at first she had attributed this to the lunar cycle. She hadn't remembered until later, when Remus had arrived late to Potions class, that the full moon had been barely a week ago. She had thought this very odd, and had studied Remus very carefully. He seemed exhausted and troubled, and Alethia couldn't help noticing that the shadows under his eyes were much darker than usual.
Alethia's train of thought abruptly derailed, plummeted off of a bridge, and burst into flame when Professor Trelawney emerged from the shadows.
"Welcome, children," she said in her soft, mystical voice. "Today we will be revisiting our lessons from last year on crystal gazing." She waved her wand, and crystal balls appeared in front of each student. "For those of you who were not with us last year, or who didn't feel the need to pay attention," she said, staring pointedly at Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter, "I will be giving a brief review of crystal balls."
Alethia sighed heavily as Trelawney launched into what promised to be a very boring lecture on the divining arts. She turned her attention to her crystal ball, and was surprised to see that the normally white fog inside it was swirling and turning a stormy gray. She stared deep into the fog, squinting slightly, trying to see what the crystal was saying...
I am reaching for something I cannot grasp. The force against which I am attempting to work is a far greater power than I can even imagine, to say nothing of the fact that I haven't a clue as to what I'm dealing with. Whatever it is, it's driving us all mad...
"...and then we gaze into the ball, concentrating with all our might..."
Alethia groaned softly. Stupid Professor Trelawney, she thought. I'm trying to crystal-gaze, if you don't mind. She looked back into the orb, breathing deeply.
We've come to a room with no doors and no windows, but I know if someone can find a pickaxe, a wand—anything—then there'll be a way out. But someone is in the room with us, and we can't search for exits without them noticing...
"Some people see images from the future. Others hear voices. Still more see symbols..."
Alethia nearly screamed. She hated losing her concentration.
There is a great eye in the center of all that we see and do. It watches us following our every move. If something is amiss, the great eye will see. But if the great eye is blinded, then nothing can save us...
"For example, the club may represent an attack..."
"Like the one I'm planning now," Alethia muttered.
Ember's hands, stained with blood that only she can see...
"Since you seem so fascinated, Mr. Lupin, why don't you display your knowledge of divination to the class? Let's see if you can read the crystal."
Remus, who had been trying to sleep with his head on the table, sat up quickly. "I—I can't, Professor."
Alethia dug her nails into the palms of her hands to keep from digging them into Trelawney's skin. The anger she had already been feeling because of her broken concentration only made Trelawney's harsh treatment of Remus seem much worse.
"You can't read your crystal? Then let's see if I can." Trelawney walked over to Remus's table and gazed into his crystal ball. "Let's see...oh, my goodness." Trelawney's eyebrows flew up in a hugely exaggerated show of surprise. "Danger lies ahead, and there will be many, many attacks—some from enemies, and some—oh, dear—from friends. And there will be great sadness—"
There was a loud clunking noise, a shattering of glass, and a sharp scream from Professor Trelawney as a spherical glass object flew across the room and landed at Trelawney's feet.
Alethia jumped up from her seat. "Oh, Professor, let me help you clean that up!" she cried, sounding genuinely concerned. She gathered up the shattered pieces of glass. "Oh—by the way, Professor," she added, "I'll be needing a new crystal ball."
Author's note: Guys, this'll be the last one for a while. I need some time to figure out where I'm going with this story. Chances are that I'll eventually rewrite the entire thing. I want to finish it before I start posting chapters, because I don't have the discipline to post as I write. Oh, and if you like Alethia, I'm currently working on a story about her. TTFN—ta-ta for now!