Book Three-The White Haired Prophecy
By Fuujin Kushikaze, Death's Angel
Beta Read by Katameran
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Disclaimers: I do not own Harry Potter.
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Maia sat near the window, her cat in her lap, staring out the window. Who'd have guessed she was a witch? There she was, in an orphanage for most of her life, and she was a witch? She scratched the cat behind its ears. Not to mention she was now a Slytherin. Slytherin... even the name sounded slimy.
She looked up at the sound of the door to the car opening. It was a pale skinned boy flanked by two much larger, though stupid looking, guys. She rolled her eyes. What a welcoming committee.
"What house are you in?" His voice drawled and she resisted the urge to slap him. Everything about him got on her nerves.
"Slytherin." She looked back out the window.
"What a coincidence, so are we. I guess we're all part of one big happy family..." She didn't like that glare he had in his eyes. He obviously didn't like her showing up as a third year without offering some sort of explanation.
"Yes, isn't it? I thought though, that Slytherins were a proud group... I guess whoever told me that was wrong. You can't be that proud if you have those two goons everywhere you go." She rolled her eyes again and smiled when the train stopped. "Now, if you'll excuse me, you're in my way." She shoved past them and off the train not really caring what he had to say to her.
A sneer found its way to Severus Snape's gnarled features as he moved with almost unnatural grace towards Platform 9 and 3/4. He had been asked to go pick up the third year students, making sure they didn't use any of the magic they had learned in their two years at the magical school against one another. And while the dark-haired Potions Master knew exactly what he had to do, he didn't understand why; since when did faculty at Hogwarts get reduced to such menial tasks?
Pushing briskly past a pack of first years that were looking around like frightened puppies, Snape offered each one of them a furious glance. If there was one thing he hated more than what he was currently assigned to, it was first years - they always managed to botch things in his class. At least third years knew better then that... Though as his cold gaze caught sight of Draco Malfoy, he quickly reminded himself that most of them were above that, but not all.
"Mr. Malfoy," Snape said, his voice without emotion, "I'm glad to see you back with us."
A forced smile from the blonde-haired boy. "Glad to be back professor."
For a moment, the Potions Master was silent as he regarded Malfoy and his companions with something that was near disdain. But when he caught sight of Maia - who happened to be standing near Malfoy, only because he had followed her in an attempt to say something nasty to her in return - he froze. Who was she? Another one of the Slytherin boy's companions? No…she didn't look nearly stupid enough.
"Care to introduce me to your new companion, Mr. Malfoy?"
"Huh?" It was then that Draco realized that the head of the Slytherin house meant Maia. "Oh, her? She's um..."
"It's Maia, Malfoy." Her tone was nasty to Draco, then she growled. "And I most certainly not am one of his new companions. I wouldn't be in his presence now except for the fact that he seemed to be jealous that my cat was the only one getting my attention." At the mention of it, the cat jumped onto her shoulder, just below her left ear and made a little swipe at Draco.
Malfoy avoided the cat's swipe, but barely. And when he had regained his composure, he offered Maia a sneer. Then, turning his attention back to Snape, the blonde-haired man replied, "Maia, Professor."
"I can hear, Mr. Malfoy," Snape responded, a smirk settling on his face - he enjoyed watching the son of his Death-Eater companion put in his place. "And do you have a last name? Or is your future Potions Professor going to be required to call you by your first?"
Maia smiled sweetly at the Professor. "I would prefer it if you called me by my first, but if you must know, it's Maia Cooper." She glared at Malfoy, "But let me warn you now, if you so much as ever bother me again, Mr. Malfoy, I'll have to show you just how wicked I can be." She smirked at him, then reached up to touch the cat on her shoulder. "If I may leave now, Professor?"
"I'm afraid not, Ms. Cooper. You see, I've been sent down here to take the third years to Hogwarts. So I suppose you'll be required to follow me, hmm?" Snape asked, looking rather annoyed that he had been forced into this job. Then, raising his voice above the din of the crowd, he shouted, "Third years, please follow me... and keep your spells to yourself."
Then turning, Snape slid away as gracefully as he had come, not bothering to see if any of the third years were following.
She glared at him briefly, then pulled her extremely light trunk along as she followed him.
"You know, Crabbe or Goyle would carry that for you..." Malfoy slid up next to her and she glared at him.
"I'd prefer it if they kept their grubby hands to themselves and if you would learn to hold your tongue." She stomped on his foot then, and walked on, a trace of a smile on her face.
Malfoy cried out in pain and when he had composed himself Maia was far away, swept up in the crowd of third years that had followed Snape. But far from her or not, the blonde-haired boy was still furious. Calling after her as loud as he could, he said, "You'll pay for that Cooper! You've just made a powerful enemy!"
Maia heard him and she snickered. "No, Malfoy, you've just met your worst nightmare, that's all," she whispered. She glanced up and smiled at the sight of Hogwarts. She would be here for how long? Another four years not counting her summer vacations? "Wow..." It was magnificent. She stopped walking for a moment, then realized she was getting closer to Malfoy and she took off at a fast walk to catch up with Snape.
Malfoy glared at where he suspected she was. He couldn't see her at all, but he knew he hated her. From her white hair down to the hem of her robes, every bone in his body hated her. He didn't have much time to ponder this however, because the entire group had stopped at the front door.
Pushing the front doors open effortlessly, Snape turned to the crowed and sneered. "Welcome back third years. You know the general idea of what happens next, though if you don't... or have chosen to forget, allow me to refresh your memory. We will enter the castle, and you will immediately take your places at your house table, then the Sorting Ceremony will begin. Do not worry about your luggage, it will be taken to your rooms by house-elves. And do not use any magic during the Ceremony. It'd be best to leave your childish pranks to later this year, if not at all."
Then entering the hall, the black-clad Potions Master immediately took his place at the faculty table, and offered anyone who looked in his direction a disheartening, sardonic smile.
Maia let one of the house-elves take her trunk, but her cat wouldn't go. She tried for a few moments, then Malfoy came up. He 'accidentally' pushed her into one of the trunks while she worked on getting the cat off of her shoulder. She jumped up immediately and glared at him. The smile on his face made her uneasy, but she wasn't about to let him know that. Her cat flew off of her shoulder and began to attack Malfoy, and she called it off after a second of 'shock'.
She took the cat and moved to the Slytherin table. Unfortunately, she was forced to sit between Malfoy and the Bloody Baron. She let the cat back on her shoulder, this time where it could glare and Malfoy and she snickered at the slightly nervous expression he wore.
And as Snape had predicted, the Sorting Ceremony took place only moments later, starting with the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, announcing what parts of the school were off limits. Like most years, the forest outside the school was forbidden, though this year the curfew had been lengthened from nine to ten for most students, and midnight for prefects. Then Dumbledore offered the student body a selection of nonsense words, which he had done every year, and which the Potions Master had failed to find a point in. Finally Minerva McGonagall stepped up, with a scroll, an ancient looking hat, and a stern glance that rivaled Snape's sneer in the power to silence students. The Professor of Transfiguration went through the yearly lecture about the importance of the ceremony, and then she got it underway by calling out each student's names one by one.
Within a half an hour, the entire first year population had been sorted, and Snape was looking rather unhappy with the group he had ended up with this year - they all looked incredibly slow-witted. Oh, well. It wasn't like he had much of a choice in the matter... and if he had, Draco Malfoy certainly wouldn't have been in his house. Frowning deeply, the dark-haired male reached for a roll that had just appeared on a platter near him, and thus the feast started.
Maia studied him briefly, then glanced around the table. Why did everyone look so frickin' stupid? She sighed slightly, then shot a glance over to the Gryffindor table where a red haired boy was staring at her. As soon as her eyes met his however, he ducked down, his entire face turning as red as his hair. She chuckled, and piled her plate with food. She'd not gotten anything from the witch with the cart, and now she was starving.
"You amaze me. If I were you, making enemies as fast as you do, I'd be almost afraid to eat that food."
She rolled her eyes at Malfoy's comment, then said softly, "I'm not surprised, but if you were me, you'd notice that you only made enemies with the slow witches and wizards of the world. Pass the butter."
Glancing over to Maia and Malfoy, Snape attempted not to smile bitterly. Well, it looked as though two more of his students were getting along famously... not that this sort of thing was surprising in Slytherin.
"I'm glad you and Mr. Malfoy are getting along so well, Ms. Cooper. Though I'd ask you to keep your petty quarrel to yourselves right now... unless you're looking to get detention from Professor McGonagall." And that was a very real possibility, because the gray-haired Transfiguration Professor was casting a very stern glance in the two Slytherins' direction, obviously furious that there could be trouble so soon in the school year.
"Of course, sir." Maia flashed a perfect smile to Professor McGonagall, then turned her smile to Malfoy, "The butter?"
Malfoy glanced at Professor Snape, then handed her the butter. "Here," he sneered.
"Thank you." She passed it along the table to another of the Slytherins.
Content that the two Slytherins were not going to fight, McGonagall returned to the conversation she had been having with Dumbledore.
Snape, on the other hand, was not so convinced. "It may take little more than a smile to get Professor McGonagall's scrutiny to cease, but it will take more than that to stop me. I'm no fool Ms. Cooper, Mr. Malfoy... no matter what Mr. Potter might have suggested." And then he too resumed his conversation with another teacher though his black, glittering eyes never left Maia and Draco. Luckily, the feast was over quickly, and soon the students were being escorted to their rooms by their house prefects.
Maia awoke the next morning and began to get dressed. She wished she hadn't been put into the Slytherin house. Malfoy was not her cup of tea and she wanted nothing else to do with him. After glancing over her schedule she frowned. Double potions with Gryffindors? Wonderful. She finished dressing, grabbed her books, and darted outside to the dining hall for breakfast, her cat on her heels.
When she reached the dining hall, she found that most of the school was yet to arrive, but students from all years and houses were slowly filling the room just as she had. Though unfortunately for her, both Snape and Malfoy were already there when she arrived. And the blonde-haired Slytherin sneered at her appearance.
"Morning, Cooper. Ready for potions? They say it's the hardest class... especially for new arrivals."
"Morning, Malfoy. I know what they say, but then again... I always heard that for those who had no brain it was hard to breathe." She held a hand up experimentally to his nose, "But they must have been wrong about that, you're doing quite fine. Now if I have your pardon, I'm going to eat breakfast." Then she slipped beside him and began to pile her plate.
Malfoy's eyes narrowed. "You know one day - a day like today - you're going to regret making fun of me. Especially since I'm one of the most influential people in this school, and," he paused, adding some eggs to his plate, "since you're no better than a squib." Then, without giving Maia time to comment, he slid off further down the table to sit with Crabbe and Goyle.
She snickered softly, then went and sat off by herself and pulled a book from her bag to begin reading. She ate while she read, then pulled a notebook from her bag and began to scribble stuff into it as she read.
Breakfast was uneventful after Malfoy's threat of revenge, and soon enough it was time for potions. Snape was there before any of the class arrived, glaring at every student who entered over a book with a faded cover. Apparently he was as thrilled about having a double of Gryffindors as they were about having him for two periods. And as most of the students found their seats, the dark-haired Potions Master lost his, standing sharply as he prepared to address the class.
"For the smarter half of this class, I will warn you that this year you will not merely coast by as you have in the past. And for the more dunderheaded half, I pray you find your brains this year, or you'll find yourselves falling behind faster then you have in years previous. This year will be devastating to those who are not prepared to work, and this year I will not tolerate troublemakers." For a moment Snape paused, his gaze lingering on a certain redheaded Gryffindor in the front of his class.
"Now, we'll start by reviewing what I covered last year, so you all have a chance to humiliate yourselves. Who, other than Ms. Granger, can tell me what adonis is? Mr. Malfoy perhaps?"
Malfoy stammered slightly, not being used to being called on first, "I-it's a uh... a...."
A sneer greeted Malfoy's answer. "A pity you don't know, Mr. Malfoy... I had hoped you did, since you seem to like this class so much. See that you know the answer to the next question, hmm?" Then turning to the only hand in the air - Hermione Granger's to be exact - Snape sighed faintly.
"Perhaps you can tell us, Ms. Granger?"
Returning her hand to her desk as she was called on, Hermione cleared her throat. "Adonis is used to treat irregular heart beats, though it has been used on virtually every heart condition. It's also know as Ox Eye or Pheasant's Eye and can be found in Russia, Bulgaria, or Hungary," she recited as though she had swallowed last year's potions text book.
"Very good, I'm glad to see someone had done something rather than procrastinate over the holiday. And perhaps Mr. Potter can tell me what results when you mix adonis and black root together?"
"Well..." He bit his lip thoughtfully, but it was obviously very distracting with Hermione's hand waving in the air like a bloody surrender flag. "It uh... creates... It creates a... er...."
This time the Potion Master's twisted gaze was turned on Harry. "No surprise that you don't know Potter. A combination of adonis and black root puts the person who's unfortunate enough to drink the resulting mix into a sleep that eventually stops that heart if the victim cannot wake up from. And mind you, that's not an easy thing to do."
Turning towards his desk, Snape motioned to a stack of papers there. "I want everyone to take one of these. We're done reviewing, and I'd like to get started making potions... Oh, and that's five points off of Gryffindor, Mr. Potter."
Maia bit her lip as she took a paper, potions was not her best subject. She'd found that out over the summer when a few of the teachers had been catching her up to the rest of the class. Glancing over the paper she bit her lip a little harder, not noticing as a small amount of blood began to flow. Everything she probably didn't remember was on that paper.
Harry was in an outrage. Five points from Gryffindor because he didn't know the answer? Malfoy hadn't known the answer and the Slytherin house hadn't lost points! He'd opened his mouth to announce this, but Ron's foot stomping his made him snap it shut and snatch a paper. Snape was the nastiest teacher in the school if you asked him.
So the potion brewing began, much to Malfoy's delight. Why? Because as he glanced over the paper Snape had demanded they all pick up, he noticed something very interesting. Dragon's blood was one of the ingredients... and as everyone knew unless you were working with very small quantities, or added dried fairy wing to anything containing dragon's blood, it was very combustible. And made a perfect revenge component, as well as a potion ingredient.
Reaching for the small vial of dragon's blood that awaited Malfoy at his workstation, he unstopped it and moved towards Maia slowly. If he could get close enough to her, he could pour the blood on her... and then set her robes on fire. A smile lit Draco's lips. This would be wonderful and to make it all better there was only a few more feet between him and her... and Snape wasn't looking...
Maia froze under the feeling of being stared at, and she spun around quickly, to almost bump noses with Malfoy. The vial flew and time seemed to slow down as it landed on his robes instead of hers. It burst on contact and Malfoy was engulfed in flames.
Malfoy screeched, both in terror at being suddenly covered in flames and at having his plan foiled. And at that moment Snape looked up, cursing himself silently for not keeping a closer watch on Draco and Maia. After all, he knew that those two were bound to make trouble in his class, and that Neville didn't need as much attention as he was paying to the Gryffindor boy.
Withdrawing a wand made of the blackest wood anyone in the class had ever seen, he swiftly pointed it at Malfoy and shouted, "Ignis sicco," and immediately the flames died. Then, slipping the wand back into the folds of his robe, Snape turned to one of the other Slytherins who had turned to see what was the matter and commanded them to take Draco to the hospital wing. The Slytherin girl immediately complied, ushering Malfoy away from the dungeons.
Then, Snape turned unbridled anger on Maia. "I will see you after class."
"Very well, sir." Her voice was quavering with a touch of shock, and her hands shook as she worked to finish the potion she had started. She chewed her lip thoughtlessly as she finished up, trying to keep herself from shaking. After a moment, she stopped and stared into the cauldron. The look of terror at first on Malfoy's face had shaken her from her calm exterior. Maia shook her head slightly at the feel of people watching her as she resumed work on her potion.
Somewhere behin her, Maia could hear snickering. "Oh, c'mmon Harry... I think Malfoy deserved it. After all the rotten things he's done to us, what's the problem with smiling a little when he gets his just desserts?"
Potter frowned. "I dunno, Ron. I mean, I know he deserved it... but isn't getting set on fire a little much?"
The redheaded Weasley matched his friend's frown. "You're no fun. What's a little much is Snape wanting to see the girl that did it. Bet she's in for it, cause everyone knows Snape's partial to Malfoy."
"Yeah," Harry responded, turning an absent jade-eyed gaze in Maia's direction.
Maia growled softly and made sure to turn around completely to face Harry and Ron so she could shoot them her most famous death glare.
"If you must know," she hissed between clenched teeth, "I did not try to set him on fire. He tried to set me on fire and it backfired on him. And I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't talk about me behind my back." She spun around again, shaking once more, this time with as-of-now-uncontrolled fury.
Ron blushed, turning almost as bright as his hair and turned back to his potion. He hadn't meant to be mean, nor had he realized that he was 'talking behind her back'. It was just a pointless conversation he had been having with his best friend, and now he was feeling bad. Harry on the other hand, didn't seem as though he did, as he just continued to watch her for a moment before turning back to the work at hand.
For the rest of the double period, the class was silent. And all too soon, it was time for Maia to see Snape.
Maia approached his desk, "Sir? You wished to see me?"
Snape's cold gaze shot over her shoulder, as he watched the last of the potions students disappear before he spoke... and it was only then that he did. "Ms. Cooper," he began, his voice low, and silky - a tone known all too well by his regular students as one he used when threatening or reprimanding - "need I remind you that using potion components, especially flammable ones, on your fellow students is a punishable offense?"
"No sir." She bit her lip, how in the world was she going to tell him she didn't do it?
"Good. Then would you like to tell me why you decided Mr. Malfoy needed to be set on fire? I realize you two disliked each other, but that is no excuse for your behavior."
Maia shook her head. "I don't doubt that he deserved it, if you'll please forgive me for saying so, sir, but I didn't decide to catch him afire. He was going to use the vial, I assume, to put on my robes and I turned as he got too close, thus resulting in him getting a shock and him throwing the vial and it landed on him. Believe me or not sir, that's what happened," her tone of voice was one that Hermione might've used to answer a question, respectful, but at the same time demanding to be heard.
For a moment the Potions Master's black gaze was on her, searching for a sign of falsehood in what Maia said. Finding none, Snape spoke again, this time his voice in its normal tone... not the low, threatening one. "I believe you Ms. Cooper, though if Mr. Malfoy tries something like that again, try not to be so clumsy when you turn to see what he's up to. My wrath is bad enough, but I wouldn't want his father's upon you." Raising both his eyebrows to see if she had anything else to say Snape was silent.
"Thank you, sir, I appreciate it. If there isn't anything else you needed me for, I'm planning on leaving now." She picked up her bag and met his eyes. "Is there, sir?"
"No," he responded, "you can go." Waving a hand towards the door, the dark-haired Professor's robe slid down his arm slightly and if Maia was looking, she could see a skull with a serpent running out of its mouth there. And, if the white-haired student didn't notice it, Snape certainly did, because he pulled his robe back over the odd tattoo and looked slightly shaken.
Maia's eyes landed on it briefly, then she looked back up to meet his gaze. "Thank you, sir." Then she left.
As she left, she ran right into Ron Weasley. "Hey, sorry, here lemme help you up." He held a hand out to her and she glared at it as though it was rabid. Knocking it out of her way, she helped herself up and shoved all of her books back into her bag.
"I don't accept help from anyone. Especially not someone who talks behind other's backs."
"I wanted to apologize..."
"Well you have, so I'm leaving now." She spun on her heel and stormed off to her next class.
And that next class happened to be divinations. Their professor - who was supposed to be Professor Trelawney - hadn't arrived yet, though the weird crimson glow the entire room possessed, down to the pink-rimmed teacups managed to keep the class silent enough. Well... except for three loud Slytherins in the back, which happened to be Malfoy - apparently cured of all his injuries from the class before - and his goons.
"You know Crabbe, I hear the teacher predicts that one student in one of her classes per year is going to die. I do hope it's not perfect little Ms. Cooper. No, it couldn't be her, could it?" Goyle and Crabbe shook their heads at their leader's verbal prompting, and then Malfoy continued, "But then again, bad things happen to people who set their classmates on fire, right?" This time the pair of Slytherin goons nodded.
"Well, at least some of us are lucky enough to survive nasty pranks like that..."
Maia seated herself away from everyone else and the teacher suddenly stepped forward from the shadows.
"How nice it is to see you in the real world for a change my class..." Her voice was faraway and misty, like everything else about her, it seemed to be preoccupied. She motioned around toward the tables. "Sit, my children, sit..."
Maia studied her, then caught the wicked glint in Malfoy's eyes. It bothered her slightly, but she wasn't going to let him, or anyone else know that.
"Welcome to divinations," she said softly, taking a seat at the huge, winged armchair that sat at the head of the room. "For those of you who don't know me, I am Professor Trelawney. And if you do know me, I am surprised... because I tend to keep out of the normal hustle and bustle of every day life, because I find it clouds my inner eye." The wiry woman paused here, hoping for a reaction to her statement, and when she got none, she continued.
"So you have chosen to study divinations, the most difficult of magical arts. I must warn you that if you do not have the Sight, there is very little I will be able to teach you. But if you do, I will help you pierce the veil that clouds the future." Again, she paused, this time to look over the class from behind her huge glasses, and her gaze stopped on Maia. "You there, do you plan to go home for the Holidays?"
Maia stifled a giggle, some Divinations teachers. "What home? I don't have one."
"Ah," Trelawney responded, "I figured as much... but had you said yes, I would have warned you that great, and terrible things await you here during the Holidays." Then, she returned to addressing the entire class instead of just Maia. "We will be covering the basic methods of divination this year. The first term will be devoted to reading tea leaves, and the second shall be devoted to crystal balls... assuming that we finish our unit on pyromancy of course. And for the first time in years, this class won't be delayed by the flu... but one among the faculty will leave us in early January... A pity too."
Another lengthy pause, and then she said, "I want you all to divide into pairs. Collect a teacup from the shelf, come to me, and I shall fill it. Then sit down and drink until only the dregs remain. Swill these around the cup three times, and then turn the cup upside down unto the saucer. Then give them to your partner to read. You will interpret what you see using pages five and six of Unfogging the Future, while I move about the room to help you. Now, if someone will bring me that teapot, we'll begin."
Maia stood to get a cup, when suddenly a red-haired boy showed up beside her.
He held a blue cup out to her and smiled slightly. "If you aren't too angry with me, would you partner with me?"
She blinked. This was the first time she'd ever had someone offer to be her partner in anything. Slowly she nodded, still a little numb in shock. She sat back down, and Professor Trelawney began to pour the hot liquid in her cup. She did as told, then switched saucers with him.
"Hey," she suddenly realized, "I don't know your name..."
"Ron... Ron Weasley." He blushed when he said his last name and she grinned.
"I'm not mad at you... I just was in shock over nearly getting set on fire by Malfoy earlier. I'm Maia Cooper." She extended her hand, then set to work on deciphering the soggy tea leaves.
The redheaded Weasley offered her a smile and took her hand in his for a firm handshake. "S'no problem. I think anyone would be a little upset if Malfoy had tried to set them on fire. So you're new here, right?" he asked, as he leaned over the cup, to try to get a good idea of what it meant.
"Yeah. Brand new. Unfortunately, I got stuck in Slytherin. The only good thing about that is that Professor Snape is the head of the house. He's a genius." She smiled, then pointed. "Alright, this here means you'll be finding unexpected wealth, mind you it may not be money, and here it says you'll be content, but then it's interrupted by this sign here, which means sudden departure, so whatever made you happy shall leave... And that's all I see in this cup." She looked up to meet his amazed expression.
"You didn't use the book to decode them..."
"The women at the orphanage I live in were fond of Divination, they taught me how to read palms, read tea leaves, and interpret dreams. But I failed when it came to crystal gazing."
"Wow. That's more then I know, and my father's part of the Ministry of Magic." Grinning sheepishly, he looked over the book that was required for the class and then back at Maia's tea leaves. "I think I'd better stick to the book. So," he began, pointing at the largest collection of leaves on the saucer, "this one means good fortune coming your way, I think. But then this shows that something bad's going to come along to take it away."
Ron frowned. "That doesn't sound very good."
"That's because it isn't correct, Mr. Weasley." And suddenly, Professor Trelawney was standing behind them. "This one here is the falcon, it means that she's going to make herself a powerful enemy. But this one here," a long finger pointed at a sword-shaped mound, "means she's going to have a couple of strong people to back her up if and when she's destine to face him. And this one means that one of those friends is going to lose his or her life along the way."
Trelawney's expression matched Ron's. "Well, your future doesn't seem to be very happy, Ms. Cooper. Let's hope I've read them wrong, hmm?"
"I most certainly hope so too, which you must have, all respect due, Professor, because I don't plan on making any friends. Anyone who gets close to me dies, everyone who knows me knows that." Her voice was matter of fact.
"Why don't you read it?" Ron suggested, but was silenced at the look of pure horror crossing both Maia and the professor's face.
"Nonsense, Weasley. If one tries to interpret one's own cup... Who knows what may befall them..." Maia's voice was strangely not her own, then she slipped back into suit. "Sorry, but you must know no one can ever read their own cup...." She trailed off, then the crash off china and Professor Trelawney moved away, to help Neville clean up his broken cup.
Ron shrugged. "I wouldn't know - I've never been good at this sort of stuff. But do you think Trelawney was right? I mean your fate sounds more like Harry's than something that could happen to you..."
Maia giggled softly. "I'm used to it. It's no big deal." Her tone of voice indicated she clearly didn't want to be speaking of that incident any more and suddenly, they heard Professor Trelawney's gasp.
"My dear boy... You have the Grim!"
"The what?"
"The Grim, my boy, the Grim! The sign of utmost death!" Maia frowned, then stood to walk over where the group was gathering. Leaning over she looked at the saucer, but said nothing.
Malfoy rolled his eyes. "And I'm supposed to believe that? Someone told me that you predict the death of a student a year, and so far no one's died." And although the young Slytherin attempted to sound brave there was definite fear in his voice.
Trelawney, however, seemed unconvinced. "I have more ability to See then you do, boy. If I see the Grim, I'd fear for your life."
"It doesn't look like a full Grim to me. It only looks like a brush with death. You know, the Dark God tapping him on his shoulder... Sorry, Harry, you won't get out of homework anytime soon." Maia straightened her robes, and smiled warmly, "Though I doubt you've had enough with death encounters, eh?"
Harry smiled faintly, but said nothing. It was true that he had almost lost his life several times at the magical school - all due to Lord Voldemort - but he wasn't looking to brush with death again any time soon. Though apparently fate wanted him to, and at that thought he felt extremely uneasy.
Maia gave him a light, teasing slap on the back, "Buck up, Harry. I'm sure that if you do get killed that you won't have to worry about your homework."
"Yeah," the jade-eyed thirteen-year old muttered. Before he could ponder his death... or not quite death any further, the bell rang signifying the end of the period. And as everyone shuffled out of the room, she called to Harry and Maia telling them to mind the warnings in their tea cups.
Maia rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, Harry. Ron swears up and down I have a Grim too, so at least you won't be the only one to die this year." She snickered. "Maybe we could both try to set fire to Malfoy again, the look on his face was priceless, right? I love to see revenges gone bad." She walked off at a much quicker pace and soon left them behind as she headed for lunch.
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By Fuujin Kushikaze, Death's Angel
Beta Read by Katameran
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Disclaimers: I do not own Harry Potter.
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Maia sat near the window, her cat in her lap, staring out the window. Who'd have guessed she was a witch? There she was, in an orphanage for most of her life, and she was a witch? She scratched the cat behind its ears. Not to mention she was now a Slytherin. Slytherin... even the name sounded slimy.
She looked up at the sound of the door to the car opening. It was a pale skinned boy flanked by two much larger, though stupid looking, guys. She rolled her eyes. What a welcoming committee.
"What house are you in?" His voice drawled and she resisted the urge to slap him. Everything about him got on her nerves.
"Slytherin." She looked back out the window.
"What a coincidence, so are we. I guess we're all part of one big happy family..." She didn't like that glare he had in his eyes. He obviously didn't like her showing up as a third year without offering some sort of explanation.
"Yes, isn't it? I thought though, that Slytherins were a proud group... I guess whoever told me that was wrong. You can't be that proud if you have those two goons everywhere you go." She rolled her eyes again and smiled when the train stopped. "Now, if you'll excuse me, you're in my way." She shoved past them and off the train not really caring what he had to say to her.
A sneer found its way to Severus Snape's gnarled features as he moved with almost unnatural grace towards Platform 9 and 3/4. He had been asked to go pick up the third year students, making sure they didn't use any of the magic they had learned in their two years at the magical school against one another. And while the dark-haired Potions Master knew exactly what he had to do, he didn't understand why; since when did faculty at Hogwarts get reduced to such menial tasks?
Pushing briskly past a pack of first years that were looking around like frightened puppies, Snape offered each one of them a furious glance. If there was one thing he hated more than what he was currently assigned to, it was first years - they always managed to botch things in his class. At least third years knew better then that... Though as his cold gaze caught sight of Draco Malfoy, he quickly reminded himself that most of them were above that, but not all.
"Mr. Malfoy," Snape said, his voice without emotion, "I'm glad to see you back with us."
A forced smile from the blonde-haired boy. "Glad to be back professor."
For a moment, the Potions Master was silent as he regarded Malfoy and his companions with something that was near disdain. But when he caught sight of Maia - who happened to be standing near Malfoy, only because he had followed her in an attempt to say something nasty to her in return - he froze. Who was she? Another one of the Slytherin boy's companions? No…she didn't look nearly stupid enough.
"Care to introduce me to your new companion, Mr. Malfoy?"
"Huh?" It was then that Draco realized that the head of the Slytherin house meant Maia. "Oh, her? She's um..."
"It's Maia, Malfoy." Her tone was nasty to Draco, then she growled. "And I most certainly not am one of his new companions. I wouldn't be in his presence now except for the fact that he seemed to be jealous that my cat was the only one getting my attention." At the mention of it, the cat jumped onto her shoulder, just below her left ear and made a little swipe at Draco.
Malfoy avoided the cat's swipe, but barely. And when he had regained his composure, he offered Maia a sneer. Then, turning his attention back to Snape, the blonde-haired man replied, "Maia, Professor."
"I can hear, Mr. Malfoy," Snape responded, a smirk settling on his face - he enjoyed watching the son of his Death-Eater companion put in his place. "And do you have a last name? Or is your future Potions Professor going to be required to call you by your first?"
Maia smiled sweetly at the Professor. "I would prefer it if you called me by my first, but if you must know, it's Maia Cooper." She glared at Malfoy, "But let me warn you now, if you so much as ever bother me again, Mr. Malfoy, I'll have to show you just how wicked I can be." She smirked at him, then reached up to touch the cat on her shoulder. "If I may leave now, Professor?"
"I'm afraid not, Ms. Cooper. You see, I've been sent down here to take the third years to Hogwarts. So I suppose you'll be required to follow me, hmm?" Snape asked, looking rather annoyed that he had been forced into this job. Then, raising his voice above the din of the crowd, he shouted, "Third years, please follow me... and keep your spells to yourself."
Then turning, Snape slid away as gracefully as he had come, not bothering to see if any of the third years were following.
She glared at him briefly, then pulled her extremely light trunk along as she followed him.
"You know, Crabbe or Goyle would carry that for you..." Malfoy slid up next to her and she glared at him.
"I'd prefer it if they kept their grubby hands to themselves and if you would learn to hold your tongue." She stomped on his foot then, and walked on, a trace of a smile on her face.
Malfoy cried out in pain and when he had composed himself Maia was far away, swept up in the crowd of third years that had followed Snape. But far from her or not, the blonde-haired boy was still furious. Calling after her as loud as he could, he said, "You'll pay for that Cooper! You've just made a powerful enemy!"
Maia heard him and she snickered. "No, Malfoy, you've just met your worst nightmare, that's all," she whispered. She glanced up and smiled at the sight of Hogwarts. She would be here for how long? Another four years not counting her summer vacations? "Wow..." It was magnificent. She stopped walking for a moment, then realized she was getting closer to Malfoy and she took off at a fast walk to catch up with Snape.
Malfoy glared at where he suspected she was. He couldn't see her at all, but he knew he hated her. From her white hair down to the hem of her robes, every bone in his body hated her. He didn't have much time to ponder this however, because the entire group had stopped at the front door.
Pushing the front doors open effortlessly, Snape turned to the crowed and sneered. "Welcome back third years. You know the general idea of what happens next, though if you don't... or have chosen to forget, allow me to refresh your memory. We will enter the castle, and you will immediately take your places at your house table, then the Sorting Ceremony will begin. Do not worry about your luggage, it will be taken to your rooms by house-elves. And do not use any magic during the Ceremony. It'd be best to leave your childish pranks to later this year, if not at all."
Then entering the hall, the black-clad Potions Master immediately took his place at the faculty table, and offered anyone who looked in his direction a disheartening, sardonic smile.
Maia let one of the house-elves take her trunk, but her cat wouldn't go. She tried for a few moments, then Malfoy came up. He 'accidentally' pushed her into one of the trunks while she worked on getting the cat off of her shoulder. She jumped up immediately and glared at him. The smile on his face made her uneasy, but she wasn't about to let him know that. Her cat flew off of her shoulder and began to attack Malfoy, and she called it off after a second of 'shock'.
She took the cat and moved to the Slytherin table. Unfortunately, she was forced to sit between Malfoy and the Bloody Baron. She let the cat back on her shoulder, this time where it could glare and Malfoy and she snickered at the slightly nervous expression he wore.
And as Snape had predicted, the Sorting Ceremony took place only moments later, starting with the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, announcing what parts of the school were off limits. Like most years, the forest outside the school was forbidden, though this year the curfew had been lengthened from nine to ten for most students, and midnight for prefects. Then Dumbledore offered the student body a selection of nonsense words, which he had done every year, and which the Potions Master had failed to find a point in. Finally Minerva McGonagall stepped up, with a scroll, an ancient looking hat, and a stern glance that rivaled Snape's sneer in the power to silence students. The Professor of Transfiguration went through the yearly lecture about the importance of the ceremony, and then she got it underway by calling out each student's names one by one.
Within a half an hour, the entire first year population had been sorted, and Snape was looking rather unhappy with the group he had ended up with this year - they all looked incredibly slow-witted. Oh, well. It wasn't like he had much of a choice in the matter... and if he had, Draco Malfoy certainly wouldn't have been in his house. Frowning deeply, the dark-haired male reached for a roll that had just appeared on a platter near him, and thus the feast started.
Maia studied him briefly, then glanced around the table. Why did everyone look so frickin' stupid? She sighed slightly, then shot a glance over to the Gryffindor table where a red haired boy was staring at her. As soon as her eyes met his however, he ducked down, his entire face turning as red as his hair. She chuckled, and piled her plate with food. She'd not gotten anything from the witch with the cart, and now she was starving.
"You amaze me. If I were you, making enemies as fast as you do, I'd be almost afraid to eat that food."
She rolled her eyes at Malfoy's comment, then said softly, "I'm not surprised, but if you were me, you'd notice that you only made enemies with the slow witches and wizards of the world. Pass the butter."
Glancing over to Maia and Malfoy, Snape attempted not to smile bitterly. Well, it looked as though two more of his students were getting along famously... not that this sort of thing was surprising in Slytherin.
"I'm glad you and Mr. Malfoy are getting along so well, Ms. Cooper. Though I'd ask you to keep your petty quarrel to yourselves right now... unless you're looking to get detention from Professor McGonagall." And that was a very real possibility, because the gray-haired Transfiguration Professor was casting a very stern glance in the two Slytherins' direction, obviously furious that there could be trouble so soon in the school year.
"Of course, sir." Maia flashed a perfect smile to Professor McGonagall, then turned her smile to Malfoy, "The butter?"
Malfoy glanced at Professor Snape, then handed her the butter. "Here," he sneered.
"Thank you." She passed it along the table to another of the Slytherins.
Content that the two Slytherins were not going to fight, McGonagall returned to the conversation she had been having with Dumbledore.
Snape, on the other hand, was not so convinced. "It may take little more than a smile to get Professor McGonagall's scrutiny to cease, but it will take more than that to stop me. I'm no fool Ms. Cooper, Mr. Malfoy... no matter what Mr. Potter might have suggested." And then he too resumed his conversation with another teacher though his black, glittering eyes never left Maia and Draco. Luckily, the feast was over quickly, and soon the students were being escorted to their rooms by their house prefects.
Maia awoke the next morning and began to get dressed. She wished she hadn't been put into the Slytherin house. Malfoy was not her cup of tea and she wanted nothing else to do with him. After glancing over her schedule she frowned. Double potions with Gryffindors? Wonderful. She finished dressing, grabbed her books, and darted outside to the dining hall for breakfast, her cat on her heels.
When she reached the dining hall, she found that most of the school was yet to arrive, but students from all years and houses were slowly filling the room just as she had. Though unfortunately for her, both Snape and Malfoy were already there when she arrived. And the blonde-haired Slytherin sneered at her appearance.
"Morning, Cooper. Ready for potions? They say it's the hardest class... especially for new arrivals."
"Morning, Malfoy. I know what they say, but then again... I always heard that for those who had no brain it was hard to breathe." She held a hand up experimentally to his nose, "But they must have been wrong about that, you're doing quite fine. Now if I have your pardon, I'm going to eat breakfast." Then she slipped beside him and began to pile her plate.
Malfoy's eyes narrowed. "You know one day - a day like today - you're going to regret making fun of me. Especially since I'm one of the most influential people in this school, and," he paused, adding some eggs to his plate, "since you're no better than a squib." Then, without giving Maia time to comment, he slid off further down the table to sit with Crabbe and Goyle.
She snickered softly, then went and sat off by herself and pulled a book from her bag to begin reading. She ate while she read, then pulled a notebook from her bag and began to scribble stuff into it as she read.
Breakfast was uneventful after Malfoy's threat of revenge, and soon enough it was time for potions. Snape was there before any of the class arrived, glaring at every student who entered over a book with a faded cover. Apparently he was as thrilled about having a double of Gryffindors as they were about having him for two periods. And as most of the students found their seats, the dark-haired Potions Master lost his, standing sharply as he prepared to address the class.
"For the smarter half of this class, I will warn you that this year you will not merely coast by as you have in the past. And for the more dunderheaded half, I pray you find your brains this year, or you'll find yourselves falling behind faster then you have in years previous. This year will be devastating to those who are not prepared to work, and this year I will not tolerate troublemakers." For a moment Snape paused, his gaze lingering on a certain redheaded Gryffindor in the front of his class.
"Now, we'll start by reviewing what I covered last year, so you all have a chance to humiliate yourselves. Who, other than Ms. Granger, can tell me what adonis is? Mr. Malfoy perhaps?"
Malfoy stammered slightly, not being used to being called on first, "I-it's a uh... a...."
A sneer greeted Malfoy's answer. "A pity you don't know, Mr. Malfoy... I had hoped you did, since you seem to like this class so much. See that you know the answer to the next question, hmm?" Then turning to the only hand in the air - Hermione Granger's to be exact - Snape sighed faintly.
"Perhaps you can tell us, Ms. Granger?"
Returning her hand to her desk as she was called on, Hermione cleared her throat. "Adonis is used to treat irregular heart beats, though it has been used on virtually every heart condition. It's also know as Ox Eye or Pheasant's Eye and can be found in Russia, Bulgaria, or Hungary," she recited as though she had swallowed last year's potions text book.
"Very good, I'm glad to see someone had done something rather than procrastinate over the holiday. And perhaps Mr. Potter can tell me what results when you mix adonis and black root together?"
"Well..." He bit his lip thoughtfully, but it was obviously very distracting with Hermione's hand waving in the air like a bloody surrender flag. "It uh... creates... It creates a... er...."
This time the Potion Master's twisted gaze was turned on Harry. "No surprise that you don't know Potter. A combination of adonis and black root puts the person who's unfortunate enough to drink the resulting mix into a sleep that eventually stops that heart if the victim cannot wake up from. And mind you, that's not an easy thing to do."
Turning towards his desk, Snape motioned to a stack of papers there. "I want everyone to take one of these. We're done reviewing, and I'd like to get started making potions... Oh, and that's five points off of Gryffindor, Mr. Potter."
Maia bit her lip as she took a paper, potions was not her best subject. She'd found that out over the summer when a few of the teachers had been catching her up to the rest of the class. Glancing over the paper she bit her lip a little harder, not noticing as a small amount of blood began to flow. Everything she probably didn't remember was on that paper.
Harry was in an outrage. Five points from Gryffindor because he didn't know the answer? Malfoy hadn't known the answer and the Slytherin house hadn't lost points! He'd opened his mouth to announce this, but Ron's foot stomping his made him snap it shut and snatch a paper. Snape was the nastiest teacher in the school if you asked him.
So the potion brewing began, much to Malfoy's delight. Why? Because as he glanced over the paper Snape had demanded they all pick up, he noticed something very interesting. Dragon's blood was one of the ingredients... and as everyone knew unless you were working with very small quantities, or added dried fairy wing to anything containing dragon's blood, it was very combustible. And made a perfect revenge component, as well as a potion ingredient.
Reaching for the small vial of dragon's blood that awaited Malfoy at his workstation, he unstopped it and moved towards Maia slowly. If he could get close enough to her, he could pour the blood on her... and then set her robes on fire. A smile lit Draco's lips. This would be wonderful and to make it all better there was only a few more feet between him and her... and Snape wasn't looking...
Maia froze under the feeling of being stared at, and she spun around quickly, to almost bump noses with Malfoy. The vial flew and time seemed to slow down as it landed on his robes instead of hers. It burst on contact and Malfoy was engulfed in flames.
Malfoy screeched, both in terror at being suddenly covered in flames and at having his plan foiled. And at that moment Snape looked up, cursing himself silently for not keeping a closer watch on Draco and Maia. After all, he knew that those two were bound to make trouble in his class, and that Neville didn't need as much attention as he was paying to the Gryffindor boy.
Withdrawing a wand made of the blackest wood anyone in the class had ever seen, he swiftly pointed it at Malfoy and shouted, "Ignis sicco," and immediately the flames died. Then, slipping the wand back into the folds of his robe, Snape turned to one of the other Slytherins who had turned to see what was the matter and commanded them to take Draco to the hospital wing. The Slytherin girl immediately complied, ushering Malfoy away from the dungeons.
Then, Snape turned unbridled anger on Maia. "I will see you after class."
"Very well, sir." Her voice was quavering with a touch of shock, and her hands shook as she worked to finish the potion she had started. She chewed her lip thoughtlessly as she finished up, trying to keep herself from shaking. After a moment, she stopped and stared into the cauldron. The look of terror at first on Malfoy's face had shaken her from her calm exterior. Maia shook her head slightly at the feel of people watching her as she resumed work on her potion.
Somewhere behin her, Maia could hear snickering. "Oh, c'mmon Harry... I think Malfoy deserved it. After all the rotten things he's done to us, what's the problem with smiling a little when he gets his just desserts?"
Potter frowned. "I dunno, Ron. I mean, I know he deserved it... but isn't getting set on fire a little much?"
The redheaded Weasley matched his friend's frown. "You're no fun. What's a little much is Snape wanting to see the girl that did it. Bet she's in for it, cause everyone knows Snape's partial to Malfoy."
"Yeah," Harry responded, turning an absent jade-eyed gaze in Maia's direction.
Maia growled softly and made sure to turn around completely to face Harry and Ron so she could shoot them her most famous death glare.
"If you must know," she hissed between clenched teeth, "I did not try to set him on fire. He tried to set me on fire and it backfired on him. And I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't talk about me behind my back." She spun around again, shaking once more, this time with as-of-now-uncontrolled fury.
Ron blushed, turning almost as bright as his hair and turned back to his potion. He hadn't meant to be mean, nor had he realized that he was 'talking behind her back'. It was just a pointless conversation he had been having with his best friend, and now he was feeling bad. Harry on the other hand, didn't seem as though he did, as he just continued to watch her for a moment before turning back to the work at hand.
For the rest of the double period, the class was silent. And all too soon, it was time for Maia to see Snape.
Maia approached his desk, "Sir? You wished to see me?"
Snape's cold gaze shot over her shoulder, as he watched the last of the potions students disappear before he spoke... and it was only then that he did. "Ms. Cooper," he began, his voice low, and silky - a tone known all too well by his regular students as one he used when threatening or reprimanding - "need I remind you that using potion components, especially flammable ones, on your fellow students is a punishable offense?"
"No sir." She bit her lip, how in the world was she going to tell him she didn't do it?
"Good. Then would you like to tell me why you decided Mr. Malfoy needed to be set on fire? I realize you two disliked each other, but that is no excuse for your behavior."
Maia shook her head. "I don't doubt that he deserved it, if you'll please forgive me for saying so, sir, but I didn't decide to catch him afire. He was going to use the vial, I assume, to put on my robes and I turned as he got too close, thus resulting in him getting a shock and him throwing the vial and it landed on him. Believe me or not sir, that's what happened," her tone of voice was one that Hermione might've used to answer a question, respectful, but at the same time demanding to be heard.
For a moment the Potions Master's black gaze was on her, searching for a sign of falsehood in what Maia said. Finding none, Snape spoke again, this time his voice in its normal tone... not the low, threatening one. "I believe you Ms. Cooper, though if Mr. Malfoy tries something like that again, try not to be so clumsy when you turn to see what he's up to. My wrath is bad enough, but I wouldn't want his father's upon you." Raising both his eyebrows to see if she had anything else to say Snape was silent.
"Thank you, sir, I appreciate it. If there isn't anything else you needed me for, I'm planning on leaving now." She picked up her bag and met his eyes. "Is there, sir?"
"No," he responded, "you can go." Waving a hand towards the door, the dark-haired Professor's robe slid down his arm slightly and if Maia was looking, she could see a skull with a serpent running out of its mouth there. And, if the white-haired student didn't notice it, Snape certainly did, because he pulled his robe back over the odd tattoo and looked slightly shaken.
Maia's eyes landed on it briefly, then she looked back up to meet his gaze. "Thank you, sir." Then she left.
As she left, she ran right into Ron Weasley. "Hey, sorry, here lemme help you up." He held a hand out to her and she glared at it as though it was rabid. Knocking it out of her way, she helped herself up and shoved all of her books back into her bag.
"I don't accept help from anyone. Especially not someone who talks behind other's backs."
"I wanted to apologize..."
"Well you have, so I'm leaving now." She spun on her heel and stormed off to her next class.
And that next class happened to be divinations. Their professor - who was supposed to be Professor Trelawney - hadn't arrived yet, though the weird crimson glow the entire room possessed, down to the pink-rimmed teacups managed to keep the class silent enough. Well... except for three loud Slytherins in the back, which happened to be Malfoy - apparently cured of all his injuries from the class before - and his goons.
"You know Crabbe, I hear the teacher predicts that one student in one of her classes per year is going to die. I do hope it's not perfect little Ms. Cooper. No, it couldn't be her, could it?" Goyle and Crabbe shook their heads at their leader's verbal prompting, and then Malfoy continued, "But then again, bad things happen to people who set their classmates on fire, right?" This time the pair of Slytherin goons nodded.
"Well, at least some of us are lucky enough to survive nasty pranks like that..."
Maia seated herself away from everyone else and the teacher suddenly stepped forward from the shadows.
"How nice it is to see you in the real world for a change my class..." Her voice was faraway and misty, like everything else about her, it seemed to be preoccupied. She motioned around toward the tables. "Sit, my children, sit..."
Maia studied her, then caught the wicked glint in Malfoy's eyes. It bothered her slightly, but she wasn't going to let him, or anyone else know that.
"Welcome to divinations," she said softly, taking a seat at the huge, winged armchair that sat at the head of the room. "For those of you who don't know me, I am Professor Trelawney. And if you do know me, I am surprised... because I tend to keep out of the normal hustle and bustle of every day life, because I find it clouds my inner eye." The wiry woman paused here, hoping for a reaction to her statement, and when she got none, she continued.
"So you have chosen to study divinations, the most difficult of magical arts. I must warn you that if you do not have the Sight, there is very little I will be able to teach you. But if you do, I will help you pierce the veil that clouds the future." Again, she paused, this time to look over the class from behind her huge glasses, and her gaze stopped on Maia. "You there, do you plan to go home for the Holidays?"
Maia stifled a giggle, some Divinations teachers. "What home? I don't have one."
"Ah," Trelawney responded, "I figured as much... but had you said yes, I would have warned you that great, and terrible things await you here during the Holidays." Then, she returned to addressing the entire class instead of just Maia. "We will be covering the basic methods of divination this year. The first term will be devoted to reading tea leaves, and the second shall be devoted to crystal balls... assuming that we finish our unit on pyromancy of course. And for the first time in years, this class won't be delayed by the flu... but one among the faculty will leave us in early January... A pity too."
Another lengthy pause, and then she said, "I want you all to divide into pairs. Collect a teacup from the shelf, come to me, and I shall fill it. Then sit down and drink until only the dregs remain. Swill these around the cup three times, and then turn the cup upside down unto the saucer. Then give them to your partner to read. You will interpret what you see using pages five and six of Unfogging the Future, while I move about the room to help you. Now, if someone will bring me that teapot, we'll begin."
Maia stood to get a cup, when suddenly a red-haired boy showed up beside her.
He held a blue cup out to her and smiled slightly. "If you aren't too angry with me, would you partner with me?"
She blinked. This was the first time she'd ever had someone offer to be her partner in anything. Slowly she nodded, still a little numb in shock. She sat back down, and Professor Trelawney began to pour the hot liquid in her cup. She did as told, then switched saucers with him.
"Hey," she suddenly realized, "I don't know your name..."
"Ron... Ron Weasley." He blushed when he said his last name and she grinned.
"I'm not mad at you... I just was in shock over nearly getting set on fire by Malfoy earlier. I'm Maia Cooper." She extended her hand, then set to work on deciphering the soggy tea leaves.
The redheaded Weasley offered her a smile and took her hand in his for a firm handshake. "S'no problem. I think anyone would be a little upset if Malfoy had tried to set them on fire. So you're new here, right?" he asked, as he leaned over the cup, to try to get a good idea of what it meant.
"Yeah. Brand new. Unfortunately, I got stuck in Slytherin. The only good thing about that is that Professor Snape is the head of the house. He's a genius." She smiled, then pointed. "Alright, this here means you'll be finding unexpected wealth, mind you it may not be money, and here it says you'll be content, but then it's interrupted by this sign here, which means sudden departure, so whatever made you happy shall leave... And that's all I see in this cup." She looked up to meet his amazed expression.
"You didn't use the book to decode them..."
"The women at the orphanage I live in were fond of Divination, they taught me how to read palms, read tea leaves, and interpret dreams. But I failed when it came to crystal gazing."
"Wow. That's more then I know, and my father's part of the Ministry of Magic." Grinning sheepishly, he looked over the book that was required for the class and then back at Maia's tea leaves. "I think I'd better stick to the book. So," he began, pointing at the largest collection of leaves on the saucer, "this one means good fortune coming your way, I think. But then this shows that something bad's going to come along to take it away."
Ron frowned. "That doesn't sound very good."
"That's because it isn't correct, Mr. Weasley." And suddenly, Professor Trelawney was standing behind them. "This one here is the falcon, it means that she's going to make herself a powerful enemy. But this one here," a long finger pointed at a sword-shaped mound, "means she's going to have a couple of strong people to back her up if and when she's destine to face him. And this one means that one of those friends is going to lose his or her life along the way."
Trelawney's expression matched Ron's. "Well, your future doesn't seem to be very happy, Ms. Cooper. Let's hope I've read them wrong, hmm?"
"I most certainly hope so too, which you must have, all respect due, Professor, because I don't plan on making any friends. Anyone who gets close to me dies, everyone who knows me knows that." Her voice was matter of fact.
"Why don't you read it?" Ron suggested, but was silenced at the look of pure horror crossing both Maia and the professor's face.
"Nonsense, Weasley. If one tries to interpret one's own cup... Who knows what may befall them..." Maia's voice was strangely not her own, then she slipped back into suit. "Sorry, but you must know no one can ever read their own cup...." She trailed off, then the crash off china and Professor Trelawney moved away, to help Neville clean up his broken cup.
Ron shrugged. "I wouldn't know - I've never been good at this sort of stuff. But do you think Trelawney was right? I mean your fate sounds more like Harry's than something that could happen to you..."
Maia giggled softly. "I'm used to it. It's no big deal." Her tone of voice indicated she clearly didn't want to be speaking of that incident any more and suddenly, they heard Professor Trelawney's gasp.
"My dear boy... You have the Grim!"
"The what?"
"The Grim, my boy, the Grim! The sign of utmost death!" Maia frowned, then stood to walk over where the group was gathering. Leaning over she looked at the saucer, but said nothing.
Malfoy rolled his eyes. "And I'm supposed to believe that? Someone told me that you predict the death of a student a year, and so far no one's died." And although the young Slytherin attempted to sound brave there was definite fear in his voice.
Trelawney, however, seemed unconvinced. "I have more ability to See then you do, boy. If I see the Grim, I'd fear for your life."
"It doesn't look like a full Grim to me. It only looks like a brush with death. You know, the Dark God tapping him on his shoulder... Sorry, Harry, you won't get out of homework anytime soon." Maia straightened her robes, and smiled warmly, "Though I doubt you've had enough with death encounters, eh?"
Harry smiled faintly, but said nothing. It was true that he had almost lost his life several times at the magical school - all due to Lord Voldemort - but he wasn't looking to brush with death again any time soon. Though apparently fate wanted him to, and at that thought he felt extremely uneasy.
Maia gave him a light, teasing slap on the back, "Buck up, Harry. I'm sure that if you do get killed that you won't have to worry about your homework."
"Yeah," the jade-eyed thirteen-year old muttered. Before he could ponder his death... or not quite death any further, the bell rang signifying the end of the period. And as everyone shuffled out of the room, she called to Harry and Maia telling them to mind the warnings in their tea cups.
Maia rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, Harry. Ron swears up and down I have a Grim too, so at least you won't be the only one to die this year." She snickered. "Maybe we could both try to set fire to Malfoy again, the look on his face was priceless, right? I love to see revenges gone bad." She walked off at a much quicker pace and soon left them behind as she headed for lunch.
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