None of the characters in this story (except for Kathy Weasley and Rosemary Brooks) belong to me. They are the property
of someone else. I assume JK Rowling, but who knows? Well, heck, she wrote them, anyway, even if WB has nicked them.
Joking, joking. I'm sure they bought them fair and... okay, I'll just shut up now. On with the story!
When Harry entered the common room, everyone was very quiet. Hermione had obviously just told the Gryffindors
what had happened to Hannah Abbott, and they were sitting in small groups, whispering. Harry still felt numb inside. He
had betrayed Cho... and she had attacked someone. But no... it couldn't be true... it just couldn't. Harry felt as if his world
was coming to an end. It had been his cup, after all. Had Cho tried to attack him?
"Harry? Are you okay? What did Dumbledore say?" It was Hermione.
"He said... he said... Oh, God, Hermione!" Harry said, as quietly as he could manage. Luckily the other Gryffindors
were too caught up in their own conversations to pay him any attention.
"What is it Harry?" said Hermione, with real concern in her voice. "What's going on?"
So Harry told her. Hermione gasped when she realized that, yes, it had been Hannah who had drunk that orange
juice, and yes, Cho Chang had poured it. When Harry reached the end of his story, Hermione said,
"Well, Harry, she is a year older than you. And she's not in your house or anything. You don't really know her."
"Hermione!" said Harry in disbelief. "You really think she poisoned someone? She's a prefect for crying out loud!"
"I know, I know she's a prefect..." said Hermione, obviously struggling with the idea that a prefect might hurt
another pupil, "but I don't really know her either. I know you really... like her, but we don't know! She's very pretty, and
popular, and clever, and a good Seeker, but we don't really know what she's like, do we?"
"I can't believe you're saying this to me," said Harry quietly, shaking his head. "I can't bloody believe it!" He
stormed off towards his dormitory. He heard Hermione shout after him, but he didn't care. How could she say such awful
things? How could she?
***
The next day in Divination they started a new topic. Professor Trelawney did not seem very enthusiastic about it,
since apparently it did not allow her to predict Harry's death. "This term we will be using a type of Divination that Muggles
often make fun of and abuse." She sniffed. "Unfortunately, it does not really apply as Divination because it is not possible to
see the future using this method. Only the present and past.
"I will give each one of you a pack of ordinary playing cards. Please do not, at any point, substitute them with
Exploding Snap cards."
"The twins must have done this, then," Harry whispered to Ron and Rosemary. Ron nodded fervently and Rosemary
giggled.
"This is a method which allows you to contact dead relatives. You will work in pairs. If, by any chance, you are
related to someone in the room," she looked pointedly at Harry and Rosemary, "I suggest you work with them as to not
confuse the spirits. Now, first you must tap the top of the pack three times and ask, 'Is the gate open?' This refers to the
gate between this world and the one beyond. Then turn over the first card. If it is red, the spirit is saying 'yes', if it is black
the spirit is saying 'no'. Continue to ask yes-or-no questions until the pack runs out or the lesson ends. With your last card
you must politely ask the spirit if you may leave. DO NOT," she said loudly, "ask the same question more than once. That is
called cheating. Now, you may begin."
Ron paired up with Seamus Finnigan and went to another table. Harry and Rosemary looked at each other.
"Well, this'll be interesting," said Rosemary, trying to keep her face straight.
"Quite," said Harry. He was really doubting that this would work, but was willing to try it for the sake of a laugh.
"Be grateful. She'll have a job thinking up homework for us on this." He tapped the deck three times, and, feeling a bit
stupid, said, "Is the gate open?" He turned over the card.
YES
"Umm...right. What shall we do next?" said Harry.
"Ask who it is!" said Rosemary, sounding much more eager than Harry felt.
"Oh, okay... who are y- no, I can't do that. Yes-or-no questions only." Harry felt like giving up on the whole thing,
but Rosemary said,
"So ask if they are male or female."
"Yeah, good idea... are you female?"
YES
"Fair enough," said Harry. He was starting to feel a little bit freaked out by this, but he couldn't place why. It was
just a load of playing cards, after all.
An idea hit him. "Does your name begin with the letter 'a'?"
NO
"Okay, 'b'?"
NO
Harry went through letters for ages, and the pack kept saying NO. "These aren't shuffled very well, eh?" he said to
Rosemary, smiling. "All the blacks are together. Okay, does your name begin with 'l'?"
YES
"Finally," grinned Harry, but Rosemary looked grave.
"Are you Harry's mum?" she asked, her voice quivering.
"Rosemary, that's impossible!" said Harry, trying to reassure his cousin. "Rosemary -"
She turned over the card.
YES
Rosemary turned to look at Harry. She was as pale as if she had seen a ghost. In fact, Harry thought, see probably
thinks she has. "Rosemary, this is just a coincidence. It's not really my mum!" But Rosemary didn't look convinced.
"It's her, Harry. I'm sure it is."
"You've never even met her!" said Harry, exasperated that she would actually believe this Divination rubbish.
"It's her, I'll prove it!" she cried. "Are you Lily Potter, nee Evans?"
YES
"Was your husband's name George?"
NO
"Was it James?"
YES
"Am I your niece?"
YES
"Were you in Ravenclaw?"
NO
"Hufflepuff?"
NO
"Gryffindor?"
YES
"You see, Harry," said Rosemary, triumphantly. "How could anything that wasn't your mum answer all those
questions correctly? It must be her!"
Doubt was creeping into Harry's mind. It was odd that a pack of ordinary cards could answer all of those questions
accurately. It should have got at least some of them wrong. After all, it only had a 50-50 chance... But no, it wasn't his
mum... it couldn't be... could it?
"Please say you believe me," said Rosemary quietly. "It is her, I know it."
Harry paused before saying, "Ask her some more questions."
Rosemary smiled and said, "Did Cho Chang poison Hannah Abbott?"
NO
Hope and relief filled Harry's heart. But it wasn't really his mum. Why was he trusting a pack of cards to decide
Cho's guilt. He was being ridiculous...
"Is someone trying to poison Harry?"
YES
"Who is it? I mean... oh, god, how can I ask this? Umm... is it a Gryffindor?"
NO
"Please pack away now, students -"
"No!" shouted Rosemary and Harry at the same time, and then looked embarrassed as they realized what they had
done. Everyone was staring at them.
"Excuse me Mr Potter, Miss Brooks, but I believe I am the teacher here," said Professor Trelawney sounding more
icy than usual. "There is no homework -" everyone cheered "- because you have all worked very well today. I will see you
next week. I look forward to the next time we peer into the mists of the unknown together." Ron tried to conceal his
laughter, but didn't quite manage it.
"Harry -" Rosemary began as they climbed down the ladder out of Professor Trelawney's room.
"I don't want to hear it, Rosemary. It was just a pack of cards. That's all," said Harry as he hurried to catch up with
Ron.
"But Harry -" she protested.
"That's all!" he shouted, breaking into a run. In fact, he wasn't all that sure. His mum - but no, it wasn't his mum
really, was it? - had answered every question correctly and reasonably. It just didn't make any sense. He wanted to forget it
all... but she - it - had said that someone was trying to poison him... he just couldn't put it to the back of his mind.
Author's Note: Thank you so much to all those who reviewed the last chapter (and there were quite a few). I was literally
swamped with the emails, thanks so much! I was also interested to hear your ideas on who had done the poisoning and
why. Keep those ideas coming in, it's very amusing. Does the fact that Lily Potter doesn't think it's Cho change your opinion
at all? Do you think it really was Lily? Oh, yes and about the Lily thing -
One reviewer spotted a mistake I made and left her email, and I rewarded her for her helpfulness by letting her
choose any character to be in the next chapter. This is an idea I got off Sky Sorceress. Anyway, she chose Lily Potter,
hence the whole Divination thingy.
Another reviewer spotted a mistake but didn't leave her email. If you want your prize for being observant, you must
leave your email (unless it's a signed review).
One thing I need to clarify about chapter 5: it was Cho Chang who poured Harry a drink. Sorry, my use of pronouns was
unclear, some people thought it was Hermione, and I have fixed it (I think). Just wanted to clear that up.
And also, I just wanted to explain my name. Hermione is because I act like her (ie- too clever by half) and Chang is
because people at school call me Cho Chang. It would take too long to explain why, but I just wanted you to know that it's
not that I really like her or anything, now that I've got her (apparently) poisoning people.
This is a long author's note, isn't it? Well, never mind, please review!
of someone else. I assume JK Rowling, but who knows? Well, heck, she wrote them, anyway, even if WB has nicked them.
Joking, joking. I'm sure they bought them fair and... okay, I'll just shut up now. On with the story!
When Harry entered the common room, everyone was very quiet. Hermione had obviously just told the Gryffindors
what had happened to Hannah Abbott, and they were sitting in small groups, whispering. Harry still felt numb inside. He
had betrayed Cho... and she had attacked someone. But no... it couldn't be true... it just couldn't. Harry felt as if his world
was coming to an end. It had been his cup, after all. Had Cho tried to attack him?
"Harry? Are you okay? What did Dumbledore say?" It was Hermione.
"He said... he said... Oh, God, Hermione!" Harry said, as quietly as he could manage. Luckily the other Gryffindors
were too caught up in their own conversations to pay him any attention.
"What is it Harry?" said Hermione, with real concern in her voice. "What's going on?"
So Harry told her. Hermione gasped when she realized that, yes, it had been Hannah who had drunk that orange
juice, and yes, Cho Chang had poured it. When Harry reached the end of his story, Hermione said,
"Well, Harry, she is a year older than you. And she's not in your house or anything. You don't really know her."
"Hermione!" said Harry in disbelief. "You really think she poisoned someone? She's a prefect for crying out loud!"
"I know, I know she's a prefect..." said Hermione, obviously struggling with the idea that a prefect might hurt
another pupil, "but I don't really know her either. I know you really... like her, but we don't know! She's very pretty, and
popular, and clever, and a good Seeker, but we don't really know what she's like, do we?"
"I can't believe you're saying this to me," said Harry quietly, shaking his head. "I can't bloody believe it!" He
stormed off towards his dormitory. He heard Hermione shout after him, but he didn't care. How could she say such awful
things? How could she?
***
The next day in Divination they started a new topic. Professor Trelawney did not seem very enthusiastic about it,
since apparently it did not allow her to predict Harry's death. "This term we will be using a type of Divination that Muggles
often make fun of and abuse." She sniffed. "Unfortunately, it does not really apply as Divination because it is not possible to
see the future using this method. Only the present and past.
"I will give each one of you a pack of ordinary playing cards. Please do not, at any point, substitute them with
Exploding Snap cards."
"The twins must have done this, then," Harry whispered to Ron and Rosemary. Ron nodded fervently and Rosemary
giggled.
"This is a method which allows you to contact dead relatives. You will work in pairs. If, by any chance, you are
related to someone in the room," she looked pointedly at Harry and Rosemary, "I suggest you work with them as to not
confuse the spirits. Now, first you must tap the top of the pack three times and ask, 'Is the gate open?' This refers to the
gate between this world and the one beyond. Then turn over the first card. If it is red, the spirit is saying 'yes', if it is black
the spirit is saying 'no'. Continue to ask yes-or-no questions until the pack runs out or the lesson ends. With your last card
you must politely ask the spirit if you may leave. DO NOT," she said loudly, "ask the same question more than once. That is
called cheating. Now, you may begin."
Ron paired up with Seamus Finnigan and went to another table. Harry and Rosemary looked at each other.
"Well, this'll be interesting," said Rosemary, trying to keep her face straight.
"Quite," said Harry. He was really doubting that this would work, but was willing to try it for the sake of a laugh.
"Be grateful. She'll have a job thinking up homework for us on this." He tapped the deck three times, and, feeling a bit
stupid, said, "Is the gate open?" He turned over the card.
YES
"Umm...right. What shall we do next?" said Harry.
"Ask who it is!" said Rosemary, sounding much more eager than Harry felt.
"Oh, okay... who are y- no, I can't do that. Yes-or-no questions only." Harry felt like giving up on the whole thing,
but Rosemary said,
"So ask if they are male or female."
"Yeah, good idea... are you female?"
YES
"Fair enough," said Harry. He was starting to feel a little bit freaked out by this, but he couldn't place why. It was
just a load of playing cards, after all.
An idea hit him. "Does your name begin with the letter 'a'?"
NO
"Okay, 'b'?"
NO
Harry went through letters for ages, and the pack kept saying NO. "These aren't shuffled very well, eh?" he said to
Rosemary, smiling. "All the blacks are together. Okay, does your name begin with 'l'?"
YES
"Finally," grinned Harry, but Rosemary looked grave.
"Are you Harry's mum?" she asked, her voice quivering.
"Rosemary, that's impossible!" said Harry, trying to reassure his cousin. "Rosemary -"
She turned over the card.
YES
Rosemary turned to look at Harry. She was as pale as if she had seen a ghost. In fact, Harry thought, see probably
thinks she has. "Rosemary, this is just a coincidence. It's not really my mum!" But Rosemary didn't look convinced.
"It's her, Harry. I'm sure it is."
"You've never even met her!" said Harry, exasperated that she would actually believe this Divination rubbish.
"It's her, I'll prove it!" she cried. "Are you Lily Potter, nee Evans?"
YES
"Was your husband's name George?"
NO
"Was it James?"
YES
"Am I your niece?"
YES
"Were you in Ravenclaw?"
NO
"Hufflepuff?"
NO
"Gryffindor?"
YES
"You see, Harry," said Rosemary, triumphantly. "How could anything that wasn't your mum answer all those
questions correctly? It must be her!"
Doubt was creeping into Harry's mind. It was odd that a pack of ordinary cards could answer all of those questions
accurately. It should have got at least some of them wrong. After all, it only had a 50-50 chance... But no, it wasn't his
mum... it couldn't be... could it?
"Please say you believe me," said Rosemary quietly. "It is her, I know it."
Harry paused before saying, "Ask her some more questions."
Rosemary smiled and said, "Did Cho Chang poison Hannah Abbott?"
NO
Hope and relief filled Harry's heart. But it wasn't really his mum. Why was he trusting a pack of cards to decide
Cho's guilt. He was being ridiculous...
"Is someone trying to poison Harry?"
YES
"Who is it? I mean... oh, god, how can I ask this? Umm... is it a Gryffindor?"
NO
"Please pack away now, students -"
"No!" shouted Rosemary and Harry at the same time, and then looked embarrassed as they realized what they had
done. Everyone was staring at them.
"Excuse me Mr Potter, Miss Brooks, but I believe I am the teacher here," said Professor Trelawney sounding more
icy than usual. "There is no homework -" everyone cheered "- because you have all worked very well today. I will see you
next week. I look forward to the next time we peer into the mists of the unknown together." Ron tried to conceal his
laughter, but didn't quite manage it.
"Harry -" Rosemary began as they climbed down the ladder out of Professor Trelawney's room.
"I don't want to hear it, Rosemary. It was just a pack of cards. That's all," said Harry as he hurried to catch up with
Ron.
"But Harry -" she protested.
"That's all!" he shouted, breaking into a run. In fact, he wasn't all that sure. His mum - but no, it wasn't his mum
really, was it? - had answered every question correctly and reasonably. It just didn't make any sense. He wanted to forget it
all... but she - it - had said that someone was trying to poison him... he just couldn't put it to the back of his mind.
Author's Note: Thank you so much to all those who reviewed the last chapter (and there were quite a few). I was literally
swamped with the emails, thanks so much! I was also interested to hear your ideas on who had done the poisoning and
why. Keep those ideas coming in, it's very amusing. Does the fact that Lily Potter doesn't think it's Cho change your opinion
at all? Do you think it really was Lily? Oh, yes and about the Lily thing -
One reviewer spotted a mistake I made and left her email, and I rewarded her for her helpfulness by letting her
choose any character to be in the next chapter. This is an idea I got off Sky Sorceress. Anyway, she chose Lily Potter,
hence the whole Divination thingy.
Another reviewer spotted a mistake but didn't leave her email. If you want your prize for being observant, you must
leave your email (unless it's a signed review).
One thing I need to clarify about chapter 5: it was Cho Chang who poured Harry a drink. Sorry, my use of pronouns was
unclear, some people thought it was Hermione, and I have fixed it (I think). Just wanted to clear that up.
And also, I just wanted to explain my name. Hermione is because I act like her (ie- too clever by half) and Chang is
because people at school call me Cho Chang. It would take too long to explain why, but I just wanted you to know that it's
not that I really like her or anything, now that I've got her (apparently) poisoning people.
This is a long author's note, isn't it? Well, never mind, please review!
