She sat staring at the offending bit of parchment for a few moments. Unsure
of how to proceed. She needed a waste paper basket. A dumpster. A
garbage disposal. Anything that might permanently remove it from her desk
and from her life. Unfortunately none of the above options were available
at the moment. The only thing large enough to rid her of her torment was
the abnormally large nose of the potions master who was currently standing
at the head of the classroom, proctoring the test she was currently
supposed to be finishing.
Hermione had dropped divination ages ago. What others (especially two of her roommates who shall remain nameless) had studied as both art and science she had dismissed out of hand. After all, who could determine the course of a person's life from soggy tea leaves and playing cards? She could never see what possible use could come of it. Her last test for the NEWTs had already been completed when Snape had dropped this bomb on her. Even though she had dropped the class after only completing a few weeks she still had to complete the divination section of the NEWT. The strangest thing was that there was only one question: What does the future hold?
Hermione looked around her. Lavender and Parvati were pulling out tarot cards, shuffling frantically. She could practically hear the gears turning in Ron's head as he predicted Harry's death in a crystal ball. She had nothing. Not even a cup of tea to help her make a prediction.
In desperation, she turned again to the front of the class room. She had hoped to see some hint of sympathy from Snape. Hoped that she could once again plead her case and be excused from this section of the test. When she looked up she was once again met with the cold stare she had seen earlier. There was no escape. She would just have to complete the test and hope that it didn't bring her average down too much.
What did the future hold?
She closed her eyes and searched desperately for an answer. Any answer. That's when she saw it.
She saw Ron falling for what seemed to be forever. She saw Ginny sitting astride a dragon. She saw Draco Malfoy holding a skeletal hand with a black candle. And finally she saw Harry holding a great sphere of light that burned his hands. She saw him smile. That was the last thing she saw before she passed out.
Hermione had dropped divination ages ago. What others (especially two of her roommates who shall remain nameless) had studied as both art and science she had dismissed out of hand. After all, who could determine the course of a person's life from soggy tea leaves and playing cards? She could never see what possible use could come of it. Her last test for the NEWTs had already been completed when Snape had dropped this bomb on her. Even though she had dropped the class after only completing a few weeks she still had to complete the divination section of the NEWT. The strangest thing was that there was only one question: What does the future hold?
Hermione looked around her. Lavender and Parvati were pulling out tarot cards, shuffling frantically. She could practically hear the gears turning in Ron's head as he predicted Harry's death in a crystal ball. She had nothing. Not even a cup of tea to help her make a prediction.
In desperation, she turned again to the front of the class room. She had hoped to see some hint of sympathy from Snape. Hoped that she could once again plead her case and be excused from this section of the test. When she looked up she was once again met with the cold stare she had seen earlier. There was no escape. She would just have to complete the test and hope that it didn't bring her average down too much.
What did the future hold?
She closed her eyes and searched desperately for an answer. Any answer. That's when she saw it.
She saw Ron falling for what seemed to be forever. She saw Ginny sitting astride a dragon. She saw Draco Malfoy holding a skeletal hand with a black candle. And finally she saw Harry holding a great sphere of light that burned his hands. She saw him smile. That was the last thing she saw before she passed out.