Harry Potter and the Prophet's Curse
Author's Note: I do not own Harry Potter, or any of the characters or
places described in this work, except for ones which I will make note of as
they come. So far, my only original work here is my own plot, but at least
2 original characters will be introduced later on, so keep reading. Also,
descriptions of the characters are reflective of J.K Rowling's
descriptions, not the people who play the characters in the movies.
Chapter Four: A Week with the Weasleys
pHarry arrived at the Weasley's home in a rush of soot, which he
instantly regretted creating, as it looked like Mrs Weasley had just been
scrubbing the floors.
p "Sorry, Mrs Weasley, I can help you clea."
pShaking her head, Molly Weasley hugged Harry, and gestured for him to
sit down at the table, with the rest of the family. She was not the sort of
woman who would allow a guest in her house to clean the Floo soot off the
floor the moment he arrived.
pLooking around the table, Harry recognized 3 faces he had not already
seen that day; all redheaded. Fred and George Weasley, identical twins from
their stocky stature to their freckle on their forehead, and long-haired,
smiling Ginny, who was going into her 4th year at Hogwarts.
pThe rest of the family had not, evidently, waited for any new arrivals
before starting their dinner, so Harry grinned and began filling his own
plate with shepherd's pie and salad.
pAlmost as soon as Harry has his first mouthful en route, the dinnertime
chatter erupted again. Mr and Mrs Weasley were discussing Percy's work
schedule.
p "I know he works late a lot, Molly dear, but shouldn't we just be
grateful he is motivated enough to work?"
p "Arthur, I am glad that Percy enjoys his work, but he needs to come
home sometime."
pMeanwhile, Ron turned to Harry.
p "I got a letter from Hermione, almost right after I got yours, Harry.
Her aunt there fell ill while they were visiting, and her parents want to
stay and take care of her, but there isn't a flight back to England between
next week and September the 2nd, so she needs to come back by herself, and
she will be staying with us!"
pEverything seemed perfect that night, with the cheerful family chatter,
warm food, and crackling fire. Harry couldn't remember a dinner he had
enjoyed more since Gryffindor had last won the House Cup. Ron, Harry and
the twins kept up an animated conversation, predominantly about Quidditch,
long after the table had been cleared of dishes by a pair of levitating
dish gloves.
pAround midnight, all four boys plodded quietly upstairs, and fell
silently into their beds, asleep on contact. Harry rolled over on his
sleeping bag, and time only to acknowledge how happy he was to be where he
was, before he too, fell asleep.
*
pThe next week past faster than any had before, the days full of
Quidditch games on the hill, the evenings full of dinners in the garden,
and gnome tossing. Ron and the twins always grumbled a bit when they were
asked to de-gnome the garden, but they seemed to rather enjoy it once they
got started.
pFinally, after an entire week at the Burrow, Hermione arrived. Not
in a rush of black Floo dust, but in a small cloud of brown dust from the
road, did she show up at the Weasley's front door, somewhat winded, and
holding the handle of her own Hogwarts trunk.
p "It was so frustrating, having to drag that thing all the way
from the bus station, when I could have easily used magic to do it." Apart
from being one of the top students at Hogwarts, Hermione was sometimes a
stickler for rules, though not so much as she had once been. Still, she
would have probably dragged three trunks from Ottery St. Catchpole to the
Burrow, before she knowingly broke the Restriction for Underage Wizardry,
the law that prohibited students from using magic away from school.
pAll the same, she was in good spirits as she ducked into the
Weasley's front room, propped her trunk up against a bright orange chair,
and sat down. Ron, Harry and Ginny joined her, as she described visiting
Salem, Massachusetts, where her aunt lives.
p "Mum and dad really wanted to come see me onto the train, but
Aunt Ingrid looked really horrid, so they figured they had best stay for a
bit. Anyhow, they knew I wanted to see you lot."
pEveryone grinned, and then Ginny leaned towards Hermione, with a
curious expression on her face.
"So Hermione, have you heard about the new class at Hogwarts? Its about the
History of Divination, or something."
pWith inward groans, both Harry and Ron sank back into their
chairs. They had better get comfortable. Without even speaking of it
beforehand, they had carefully avoiding mentioning the new course to
Hermione, because she hated Divination. They were happy to see her, of
course, but Fred and George were still waiting, mid-Quidditch, by the apple
tree. Once Hermione got started in on the new course, they would be stuck
indoors all afternoon!
pBracing themselves for the dullest two-hour rant ever, Ron and
Harry looked over to Hermione, expecting to see an expression of
indignation and annoyance.
pBut, it never came. Instead, she smiled, and nodded to Ginny.
p "Yes, I know, doesn't it sound interesting? I read about it in
the Daily Prophet, and then did some research myself, while I was in Salem.
Apparently, prophecy doesn't really have anything to do with Divination.
Trelawney won't be teaching it, and we won't actually be learning it."
pConfused, Harry opened his mouth to ask why they wouldn't be
learning it, if it were one of their classes, but Hermione just kept
talking.
p "Prophecy isn't like Potions of Transfiguration, in that not any
witch or wizard can do it. Completely aside from the ability for magic all
Hogwarts students possess, a separate ability is required, if one were to
become a prophet. Diviners, like Professor Trelawney, can sometimes go into
genuine trances" (although Hermione looked very sceptical of this) "but
trances and prophecy aren't the same thing. Prophecy isn't just telling the
future, its."
pSmiling knowingly, Hermione stopped for breath. "Anyhow, it is all
very interesting, and I am sure you two will like the class better than you
do Divination. Want to go outside?"
pCaught midway between surprise and exasperation, Ron told Hermione about
their half-done Quidditch game, and the three of them went outside to
finish it.
Author's Note: I do not own Harry Potter, or any of the characters or
places described in this work, except for ones which I will make note of as
they come. So far, my only original work here is my own plot, but at least
2 original characters will be introduced later on, so keep reading. Also,
descriptions of the characters are reflective of J.K Rowling's
descriptions, not the people who play the characters in the movies.
Chapter Four: A Week with the Weasleys
pHarry arrived at the Weasley's home in a rush of soot, which he
instantly regretted creating, as it looked like Mrs Weasley had just been
scrubbing the floors.
p "Sorry, Mrs Weasley, I can help you clea."
pShaking her head, Molly Weasley hugged Harry, and gestured for him to
sit down at the table, with the rest of the family. She was not the sort of
woman who would allow a guest in her house to clean the Floo soot off the
floor the moment he arrived.
pLooking around the table, Harry recognized 3 faces he had not already
seen that day; all redheaded. Fred and George Weasley, identical twins from
their stocky stature to their freckle on their forehead, and long-haired,
smiling Ginny, who was going into her 4th year at Hogwarts.
pThe rest of the family had not, evidently, waited for any new arrivals
before starting their dinner, so Harry grinned and began filling his own
plate with shepherd's pie and salad.
pAlmost as soon as Harry has his first mouthful en route, the dinnertime
chatter erupted again. Mr and Mrs Weasley were discussing Percy's work
schedule.
p "I know he works late a lot, Molly dear, but shouldn't we just be
grateful he is motivated enough to work?"
p "Arthur, I am glad that Percy enjoys his work, but he needs to come
home sometime."
pMeanwhile, Ron turned to Harry.
p "I got a letter from Hermione, almost right after I got yours, Harry.
Her aunt there fell ill while they were visiting, and her parents want to
stay and take care of her, but there isn't a flight back to England between
next week and September the 2nd, so she needs to come back by herself, and
she will be staying with us!"
pEverything seemed perfect that night, with the cheerful family chatter,
warm food, and crackling fire. Harry couldn't remember a dinner he had
enjoyed more since Gryffindor had last won the House Cup. Ron, Harry and
the twins kept up an animated conversation, predominantly about Quidditch,
long after the table had been cleared of dishes by a pair of levitating
dish gloves.
pAround midnight, all four boys plodded quietly upstairs, and fell
silently into their beds, asleep on contact. Harry rolled over on his
sleeping bag, and time only to acknowledge how happy he was to be where he
was, before he too, fell asleep.
*
pThe next week past faster than any had before, the days full of
Quidditch games on the hill, the evenings full of dinners in the garden,
and gnome tossing. Ron and the twins always grumbled a bit when they were
asked to de-gnome the garden, but they seemed to rather enjoy it once they
got started.
pFinally, after an entire week at the Burrow, Hermione arrived. Not
in a rush of black Floo dust, but in a small cloud of brown dust from the
road, did she show up at the Weasley's front door, somewhat winded, and
holding the handle of her own Hogwarts trunk.
p "It was so frustrating, having to drag that thing all the way
from the bus station, when I could have easily used magic to do it." Apart
from being one of the top students at Hogwarts, Hermione was sometimes a
stickler for rules, though not so much as she had once been. Still, she
would have probably dragged three trunks from Ottery St. Catchpole to the
Burrow, before she knowingly broke the Restriction for Underage Wizardry,
the law that prohibited students from using magic away from school.
pAll the same, she was in good spirits as she ducked into the
Weasley's front room, propped her trunk up against a bright orange chair,
and sat down. Ron, Harry and Ginny joined her, as she described visiting
Salem, Massachusetts, where her aunt lives.
p "Mum and dad really wanted to come see me onto the train, but
Aunt Ingrid looked really horrid, so they figured they had best stay for a
bit. Anyhow, they knew I wanted to see you lot."
pEveryone grinned, and then Ginny leaned towards Hermione, with a
curious expression on her face.
"So Hermione, have you heard about the new class at Hogwarts? Its about the
History of Divination, or something."
pWith inward groans, both Harry and Ron sank back into their
chairs. They had better get comfortable. Without even speaking of it
beforehand, they had carefully avoiding mentioning the new course to
Hermione, because she hated Divination. They were happy to see her, of
course, but Fred and George were still waiting, mid-Quidditch, by the apple
tree. Once Hermione got started in on the new course, they would be stuck
indoors all afternoon!
pBracing themselves for the dullest two-hour rant ever, Ron and
Harry looked over to Hermione, expecting to see an expression of
indignation and annoyance.
pBut, it never came. Instead, she smiled, and nodded to Ginny.
p "Yes, I know, doesn't it sound interesting? I read about it in
the Daily Prophet, and then did some research myself, while I was in Salem.
Apparently, prophecy doesn't really have anything to do with Divination.
Trelawney won't be teaching it, and we won't actually be learning it."
pConfused, Harry opened his mouth to ask why they wouldn't be
learning it, if it were one of their classes, but Hermione just kept
talking.
p "Prophecy isn't like Potions of Transfiguration, in that not any
witch or wizard can do it. Completely aside from the ability for magic all
Hogwarts students possess, a separate ability is required, if one were to
become a prophet. Diviners, like Professor Trelawney, can sometimes go into
genuine trances" (although Hermione looked very sceptical of this) "but
trances and prophecy aren't the same thing. Prophecy isn't just telling the
future, its."
pSmiling knowingly, Hermione stopped for breath. "Anyhow, it is all
very interesting, and I am sure you two will like the class better than you
do Divination. Want to go outside?"
pCaught midway between surprise and exasperation, Ron told Hermione about
their half-done Quidditch game, and the three of them went outside to
finish it.