Here we are, chapter twenty-one! Enjoy!

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Chapter Twenty-One

Harry sighed as he climbed the stairs that led to Trelawney's classroom, muttering quietly to himself about the injustice of having Divination first after such an awful night.

'Someone definitely doesn't like me,' He thought to himself wryly as he climbed up the ladder and pushed the trapdoor open. Most of the class was already there, and Ron waved him over.

"Thank goodness, I was beginning to think that I might have to work with Neville," Ron whispered to him as he sat down. Harry smiled weakly, and Ron frowned.

"Are you okay, Harry? You don't look too good."

Harry shook his head. "No Ron, I'm not okay. There's nothing that can be done about it though, and I'd rather not talk about it, if that's okay."

Ron frowned and anger showed in his eyes for a brief moment before disappearing.

"If you say so."

Harry was saved from having to go into any more detail by the appearance of Trelawney. Her robes floated about her in a mysterious way – Harry was certain that she had spent ages choosing them for that effect – as she peered through her large glasses at the assembled group.

"Good morning, children. Today we shall be starting a new unit of work…the tarot cards," She informed them, smiling mistily at Lavender and Pavarti. Harry groaned quietly.

"I want you all to take a pack of cards…don't choose just any pack, the cards should call out to you. I think it would be best if you closed your eyes so that your mind's eye can see the cards clearly," She instructed them, laying out several packs of cards on the table. Harry watched as Pavarti and Lavender both reached out and picked up a deck of cards immediately, then the rest of the class excluding Harry reached out reluctantly and picked up a deck. Harry reached out, hand hovering uncertainly over the packs. He closed his eyes, and his hand shot out and grabbed a deck. He slowly opened them to find a gorgeous black and white deck in his hand.

"A wise decision, Harry…those cards have always been useful to people born under the influence of Neptune…I'm glad you took the time to make a proper decision," Trelawney smiled at Harry softly, causing Lavender and Pavarti to blush and glare at him. Harry snorted, knowing that he was definitely not born under Neptune's influence.

"We will be starting with the simplest layout at first…a three-card spread. The left card represents the past, the middle the present and the right card is the future. You will pair off, and do one reading today. Begin," The misty-eyed Professor said, walking around the class slowly.

Ron attempted to do Harry's reading first, using the cards that he had picked up.

"Okay…you have the High Priestess as your past card…that means intuition and awareness because of the upright position," Ron said, flipping through the pages of his Divination book. The picture on the card was of a woman in long, flowing garments holding a book in her left hand, and a crystal ball with dark and light radiating from it in her right hand.

"It says people who come up with this card are sensitives and adepts…people keeping a secret…Luke Skywalker? Who's that? He's listed in the muggle section," Ron said, looking up.

Harry frowned. "I think he's from a movie…"

Ron nodded. "Ah. A movie," He said in a knowledgable tone. He had forced Hermione to tell him all about that muggle world so that his father would stop ringing her up on the telephone and telling her all about his new spark plug.

"Okay. The next card is the Eight of Swords, and it's upright as well. Basically it's supposed to represent a feeling of entrapment, and it normally comes up with someone who is feeling…well, trapped and restrained. Nothing unusual there, what with You-Know-Who and all that," Ron said dismissively. He turned to the next card he had dealt. Harry was still staring at the other card. It was of a woman tied to a chair and blindfolded with eight swords surrounding her. He had been sure that he had seen her struggling for a moment.

"The next card is the King of Swords…Harry, are you listening?" Ron said, waving a hand in front of Harry's eyes.

"Hmmm? Yes…I'm listening…" Harry said, tearing his gaze away from the card.

"Okay. It's the King of Swords, and it's supposed to mean rationality, or sound advice, or a keen intellect. It says that the people it represents are leaders, and people who enjoy learning. It also says that it represents unemotional, aloof, intelligent, independent and analytical men who have good judgement and give sound advice, but we all know that isn't you at all," Ron said, grinning at Harry.

"It's a load of hosh-posh."

"Maybe," Harry said, staring at the cards. Ron picked up the King of Swords and stared at it, before dropping it.

"It moved!" He said, startled. "It nodded its head at me!" He handed the card to Harry, and watched the card over his shoulder. The king looked at Harry gravely for a moment before kneeling and touching the blade of his sword to his forehead. Harry dropped the card, face pale. Ron didn't seem to notice.

"It only nodded at me," He said, disappointed.

"Maybe it was because it was from my reading," Harry suggested. Ron seemed to like the idea.

"That must be it," He said, picking up the card and studying it again. It was still, and Ron put the card down disappointedly.

"Oh well," He said. "The lesson's almost over, so I don't have time to do another and see if they do the same thing…"

Just as Ron finished his sentence Trelawney informed them that it was time to move on to their next class.

"You may keep your decks with you so that you can gain a better understanding of them. If you do not treat the cards well they will be unresponsive next time you use them," She said, smiling at Lavender and Pavarti as they both began to chatter on about trying another reading tonight. Harry and Ron packed up their Divination equipment and began to head down out of the tower. Harry pulled out his timetable and examined it, before giving a groan.
"What's wrong?" Ron said, although he looked like he had already guessed the reason for the sudden dip in Harry's already gloomy mood. Harry turned to him, despair in his eyes.

"Potions is next," He said dully.

Ron groaned. "Great. Just what we need. A lesson with Snape and the Slytherins, right after Divination. At least things can't get any – "

Harry clapped a hand on Ron's mouth, stopping him from finishing the sentence. Ron looked at him, surprised.

"What's wrong, Harry? Besides the obvious I mean," He asked after he had pulled Harry's hand from his mouth.

"You were going to jinx it," Harry said solemnly.

"What?"

"Everyone knows that when something bad happens and someone says what you were going to say that things always get worse," Harry told him.

"Oh. Lucky you stopped me then," Ron grinned, trying to lighten the mood that they had fallen into.

"Yeah. We'd better get to Potions though, or Snape will give us detention for being late," Harry said, and led the way towards the dungeons.