The Way things Were 8
Snape sat in his bedroom , thinking . James Potter was alive ... It didn't
make sense ! Of course he wasn't alive. He must have heard Dumbledore
wrong. James Potter was dead. He died 16 years ago. And so had Lily ...
now , Snape wouldn't mind if Lily was alive. This time , he would make her
understand ... He would make her see ... That he was so much better than
Potter... This time around ...
*
When Harry and Ron reached Divination the next day , they were sick and
tired of it already , and Harry certainly didn't want to go in. He hadn't told
Ron yet about what happened , and Ron had stopped asking . Maybe he
realized that it just wasn't worth it ; Harry always told him eventually . As
the silver stairs descended ( geez , what was Trelawny thinking ? Trying to
make it like the stair way to heaven or something ?) , Harry sighed deeply ,
and prepared to brave yet another day of death predictions and hazy
memories. The Same old thing , incessantly . Well , at least she was
consistent . Ron groaned loudly at the stifling heat in the class room ,
which was always there .
"Ugh . I hate it in here !"
"So do I ."
'Harry , can we quit this course ?"
"I wish . But , sadly , no ."
"Hermione did !"
"Hermione was talking 20 courses ."
"Your point ?"
"Never mind. Let's just go in ."
"Alright ..."
Harry sat , waiting , for Professor Trelawny . He sighed deeply , looking around the class room.
Parvati and Lavender were already examining their crystal balls , exclaiming to each other . Ron
was sniggering with Dean and Seamus , looking at Parvati . Everything seemed to normal ... so
perfect. But it wasn't . Somewhere in here , some one was always hating someone. And
somewhere , there was an evil so great , it was impossible to fathom. Somewhere , Voldemort
was planning something. He was always planning ; and he always got what he wanted . But he
hadn't gotten Hogwarts. And he hadn't gotten Harry . The 2 things he wanted most . There was
some weird power Voldemort had over people . And it wasn't in the form of a curse . People who
wanted power , people who liked big friends , people who wanted it all , they all flocked to him .
Everyone did in a way . Everyone went to the dark side in their own way . And Voldemort knew
that . And he used it to his advantage . He was smart , Voldemort . He was very smart . Harry's
thoughts were suddenly jerked back to the class room , however , when Trelawny walked in .
"Good evening , my pets . I have a treat for you today ."
On the other side of Harry , Ron was muttering .
"What ? You're dying ?"
"We are doing crystal gazing today ."
"WOW !"
"Yes , my pets , we are going to be freeing our minds , and gazing into the foggy depths of the
orb . For , the fates have informed me that it will be very useful later in the year. They have not
informed me why , but we must look to them for guidance ."
Ron snickered. "Honestly woman , you say that every time !"
Professor Trelawny picked up a match , and began to light the incense that surrounded the class
room .
Harry and Ron each pulled their orbs in front of them , and began to look.
'See anything yet ?"
"Do I ever see anything ?"
"Point taken ."
Harry sighed . It just looked like loads of fog. Just like it always did . For a few seconds , he
thought he could see something , but ... then it was gone. Gone with the wind. Or , more in this
case , gone with the fog. He snickered , and Ron looked up .
"What ?"
"Nothing."
Harry went back to peering into the timeless depths . Then , there was a dark shadow. He glanced
further into the crystal ball . It was becoming clearer now . There was a place before him , that
looked familiar, but he was sure he hadn't seen it before . Everything was black. Flames were
leaping in the background , casting shadows on a group of figures . Harry recognized them . It
was he , Hermione and Ron . They were all crying , looking up at the castle. The castle ? Why
would they be crying ? Surely , this wasn't - Hogwarts ...? But before he had a chance to ponder
this , more appeared . There was an army , a sea of black cloaks . They were swarming around
every where . A tall black cloaked man , stepped up , looking around. Harry could see the three
friends run up and hide , where , he didn't know. And then the tall cloaked man pulled a couple
out of the rows , and up beside him . He said something to the couple , and they turned to face the
castle . They took of their cloaks in the heat , revealing them to be a man and a girl . The man had
black hair , and the woman - well , it was hard to tell in the light . They turned around to face the
tall , cloaked man , and Harry found himself looking to the blank eyes of - his parents .
Snape sat in his bedroom , thinking . James Potter was alive ... It didn't
make sense ! Of course he wasn't alive. He must have heard Dumbledore
wrong. James Potter was dead. He died 16 years ago. And so had Lily ...
now , Snape wouldn't mind if Lily was alive. This time , he would make her
understand ... He would make her see ... That he was so much better than
Potter... This time around ...
*
When Harry and Ron reached Divination the next day , they were sick and
tired of it already , and Harry certainly didn't want to go in. He hadn't told
Ron yet about what happened , and Ron had stopped asking . Maybe he
realized that it just wasn't worth it ; Harry always told him eventually . As
the silver stairs descended ( geez , what was Trelawny thinking ? Trying to
make it like the stair way to heaven or something ?) , Harry sighed deeply ,
and prepared to brave yet another day of death predictions and hazy
memories. The Same old thing , incessantly . Well , at least she was
consistent . Ron groaned loudly at the stifling heat in the class room ,
which was always there .
"Ugh . I hate it in here !"
"So do I ."
'Harry , can we quit this course ?"
"I wish . But , sadly , no ."
"Hermione did !"
"Hermione was talking 20 courses ."
"Your point ?"
"Never mind. Let's just go in ."
"Alright ..."
Harry sat , waiting , for Professor Trelawny . He sighed deeply , looking around the class room.
Parvati and Lavender were already examining their crystal balls , exclaiming to each other . Ron
was sniggering with Dean and Seamus , looking at Parvati . Everything seemed to normal ... so
perfect. But it wasn't . Somewhere in here , some one was always hating someone. And
somewhere , there was an evil so great , it was impossible to fathom. Somewhere , Voldemort
was planning something. He was always planning ; and he always got what he wanted . But he
hadn't gotten Hogwarts. And he hadn't gotten Harry . The 2 things he wanted most . There was
some weird power Voldemort had over people . And it wasn't in the form of a curse . People who
wanted power , people who liked big friends , people who wanted it all , they all flocked to him .
Everyone did in a way . Everyone went to the dark side in their own way . And Voldemort knew
that . And he used it to his advantage . He was smart , Voldemort . He was very smart . Harry's
thoughts were suddenly jerked back to the class room , however , when Trelawny walked in .
"Good evening , my pets . I have a treat for you today ."
On the other side of Harry , Ron was muttering .
"What ? You're dying ?"
"We are doing crystal gazing today ."
"WOW !"
"Yes , my pets , we are going to be freeing our minds , and gazing into the foggy depths of the
orb . For , the fates have informed me that it will be very useful later in the year. They have not
informed me why , but we must look to them for guidance ."
Ron snickered. "Honestly woman , you say that every time !"
Professor Trelawny picked up a match , and began to light the incense that surrounded the class
room .
Harry and Ron each pulled their orbs in front of them , and began to look.
'See anything yet ?"
"Do I ever see anything ?"
"Point taken ."
Harry sighed . It just looked like loads of fog. Just like it always did . For a few seconds , he
thought he could see something , but ... then it was gone. Gone with the wind. Or , more in this
case , gone with the fog. He snickered , and Ron looked up .
"What ?"
"Nothing."
Harry went back to peering into the timeless depths . Then , there was a dark shadow. He glanced
further into the crystal ball . It was becoming clearer now . There was a place before him , that
looked familiar, but he was sure he hadn't seen it before . Everything was black. Flames were
leaping in the background , casting shadows on a group of figures . Harry recognized them . It
was he , Hermione and Ron . They were all crying , looking up at the castle. The castle ? Why
would they be crying ? Surely , this wasn't - Hogwarts ...? But before he had a chance to ponder
this , more appeared . There was an army , a sea of black cloaks . They were swarming around
every where . A tall black cloaked man , stepped up , looking around. Harry could see the three
friends run up and hide , where , he didn't know. And then the tall cloaked man pulled a couple
out of the rows , and up beside him . He said something to the couple , and they turned to face the
castle . They took of their cloaks in the heat , revealing them to be a man and a girl . The man had
black hair , and the woman - well , it was hard to tell in the light . They turned around to face the
tall , cloaked man , and Harry found himself looking to the blank eyes of - his parents .