Chapter Sixteen- Professor Trelawney's Dark Prediction
The fat lady had once again disappeared from her canvas guarding the Gryffindor Common Room in Gryffindor Tower. The news spread extremely fast, and it wasn't before long, did Harry and the other's learn the reason of her disappearance. Rumors were spreading that someone apparently wanted to get inside the common room, but the fat lady denied them entrance, and the person apparently used magic on her, raising the ancient alarms in Gryffindor Tower. The fat lady escaped from her portrait, and was later found in the chamber near the Great Hall, with her friend, Violet, sobbing and screeching hysterically.
"Kind of feels like our third year, doesn't it?" Ron said, at Breakfast the next day. Harry knew only too well the events of his third year, when Sirius Black apparently broke into Hogwarts, and slashed the Fat lady's canvas trying to get inside Gryffindor Tower.
"Oh Ron, don't be so insensitive! Why'd you have to go and bring that up?" Hermione snapped, eyeing Harry.
"What do you mean?" Ron asked, bewildered.
"She's talking about Sirius" Harry muttered. He had forgotten that they didn't know Sirius had returned. He wanted to tell them, but he wanted to keep his word to Dumbledore.
The Christmas Holidays arrived bringing heavy snowfalls, and colder days with it. The grounds were covered in at least three feet of snow by the first day of the holidays. Surprisingly, they had been given less homework. However, Harry noticed that he was going to have to stay on top of his work if he wanted to become an Auror. So far, Ron was averaging better grades in his classes, except Snape. Snape gave Ron a "T" on their last paper before the holidays, which caused Ron to call Snape a lot of names he wouldn't dare say in front of Mrs. Weasley when they arrived in the Common Room that night. Sir Cardgen was once again, the temporary guardian of the Gryffindor Common Room.
"He's nothing but a slimy git!" Ron shouted, causing some first years to jump.
"Calm down Ron," said Hermione calmly. "Just take it to Dumbledore, since he's helping you"
Ron however, didn't calm down. Ginny came into the common room, and didn't look happy. She looked as though she had just heard bad news and was about to die of shock.
"What's the matter?" Ron asked, finally calming down.
"I've just-" but Ginny seemed incapable of speaking. She was on the verge of tears.
"What?" Hermione said.
"It's.Its Neville's grandmother.I've only just heard from Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick. They were talking, and I over heard them. They said that Neville's grandmother was tortured by You-Know-Who. She survived, and is in St. Mungo's hospital. They said the Aurors found bloody, and barely alive" said Ginny, quietly, trying to hold back her tears.
Ron and Hermione stared at Harry, as well as Ginny. This was his vision. He envisioned that Voldemort was torturing Neville's grandmother, but at that time, he didn't know who it was.
"Wait a second. Neville's grandmother knew about the orbs," Harry said, thinking about his conversation with Neville and Luna on the Hogwarts Express.
"But did she know about the location?" asked Hermione.
"No. I don't think so"
"Good. We have nothing to worry about then"
"Yes we do Ron! What if Voldemort made her tell him who else knows about the orbs.how do we know the next person he finds doesn't know the location?" Hermione said. Harry knew she was right.
The portrait hole opened and Professor Kevin walked in, followed by Professor McGonagall. Everyone knew that when Professor McGonagall entered Gryffindor Tower, it could not mean something good.
"Have any of you seen Mr. Longbottom?" Professor McGonagall asked, looking pale.
"No"
"I think he's upstairs. Want me to go and get him, Professor?" Harry asked.
"No, No Mr. Potter. I think Professor Kevin can do that"
Professor Kevin swept past them, and up the spiral stairs. He knocked on the boys' dormitory door, and entered. He closed the door behind him. When he did not return after five minutes, everyone knew Neville was in there too. Professor McGonagall left.
"I feel bad for him" said Hermione. "First his Parents, and now his Grandmother. Who else has he got?"
* * * * * *
Neville showed no signs of being affected by the attack on his grandmother, and the reason was he had locked himself in his dormitory for the entire holidays. Professor McGonagall tried to get him to come out, but Neville simply refused. He had asked Hermione to place a charm around the door so that no matter what happened, the door would not open, unless Neville wanted it to be opened. It was a complex spell, put it worked. Everyone felt sympathy for Neville, and some even understood what he was going through. The only time the door would open was when it was time for the boys to go to bed, and even by then, Neville would already be asleep.
On Christmas day however, Neville seemed to have come to his senses, and asked Hermione to remove the charm. He seemed to be in a better mood than ever, and was ecstatic about opening his presents on Christmas Morning. Dobby had also come up to the boys' room, to deliver Harry's present. It was a quilt adorned with bright golden snitches, while the rest of the blanket was scarlet red, like the Gryffindor Colors. Ron had given Harry a Broomstick Compass, which would come in handy because it guided the flyer wherever he or she desired to go. Hermione had given him a book titled "A Guide to the Advanced Dark Arts Defense". Other presents included Mrs. Weasley's Christmas sweater, which was once again, bottle green and had a large Snitch on it, and a box of homemade mince pies. Hagrid sent up a large box of chocolate eclairs and a slab of Honeydukes chocolate. Fred and George sent a bag of Dungbombs and a leather case for Wands. However, the moment Harry set his wand inside of it, the case turned into a large Skunk, and almost sprayed Harry, but Harry immediately sent it out of the window and made it land safely onto the floor, where it then scurried off into the Forbidden Forest.
The rest of the day dawned an enjoyable one. Fresh snow had fallen onto the grounds, providing a chance for snowball fights. Harry and Ron joined forces, against Hermione, and Ginny. They pelted snowballs at each other, and sometimes would use Magic to do it. Pretty soon (After Lunch) the Gryffindors went against Ravenclaw, while Hufflepuff against Slytherin. It was rather enjoyable seeing Crabbe and Goyle get pounded with snowballs. Neville especially caught Crabbe hard in the face. Harry knew he was letting out anger from the stranglehold Crabbe put him in last year. Finally, when it became to dark to see, and hard to aim properly, everyone returned to their common rooms, and awaited the Christmas feast.
"That was actually kind of fun!" said Hermione, panting as they reached the Seventh Floor.
"You scurvy hound's!" screamed Sir Cardigan. He was brandishing his sword high, and was clanking loudly in his armor.
"Shut up!" said Ron angrily.
"Aha! You are an angry one, young lad! Come! Follow me to the depths of this beloved castle, where we can journey into the lands of the unknown!"
"What are you talking about?" Ron asked, looking confused.
"Come! Let us journey into the chamber of fire, and find treasure!" said Sir Cardigan, looking eager.
"Whatever! Vast Wastelands"
The portrait swung open and they entered the common room, which was noisy, and crowded. Some students were getting ready for dinner. Suddenly, as Harry and Ron entered the boys' dormitory, something sprang into Harry's mind.
"Hey Ron, I think someone else besides us knows about the orbs"
"Who?" said Ron, pulling off his shirt, and putting on a dry one.
"Sir Cardigan"
"What? How would that stupid git know? You see he wasn't making any sense downstairs"
"Yes he was. He was making perfect sense," said Harry, toweling his hair. "Don't you realize what he was asking you to do?"
"Go and get myself lost" muttered Ron.
"No! He was telling you to go with him, and look for the orbs. 'The chamber of fire' is Fawkes lair and the 'treasure' are the orbs"
Ron seemed to have agreed with Harry's story. Harry then began to wonder how would sir cardigan know about the orbs? That question faded from Harry's mind as they went down to the Great Hall for Christmas dinner, because Harry thought that many of the Hogwarts Pictures knew things by simply listening.
The Christmas feast comprised of one hundred turkeys, various courses, and a mountain load of dessert. Many students had remained at Hogwarts over the holiday, so Harry saw why it was necessary for the house-elves to prepare one hundred turkeys. He ate and chatted away about Quidditch, and the D.A with Cho, and the rest of the D.A club (or who remained at school). Harry thought that this was the best holiday he'd ever had.
January came and brought sleet, and colder air. The start of term came once again, and everyone wasn't as excited to return to classes, because they had had so much fun over the Christmas holidays. Harry posted a sign in the Gryffindor Common Room announcing that Quidditch practice was going to start up again at the end of January. Parvati couldn't wait, because the first team they played again was Ravenclaw, the house in which her twin sister Padma belonged.
Harry was pleased to see that he managed to bring his History of Magic grades up. Professor Binns had given them a test on Goblin Rebellions of the nineteenth century and Harry scored a ninety-seven percent. Hermione was pleased with him, but all the while, she scored a perfect one hundred and twelve percent, while Ron only scored an eighty-three percent.
"Oh, cheer up" said Hermione, as they walked to Potions. She was holding his hand. "At least you got a decent grade"
Ron snorted. They continued down into the dungeons, where Snape was waiting for the class. It seemed that his attitude toward Harry was back in full force again. Harry continued talking to Ron and Hermione, as the class settled down.
"That'll be five points from Gryffindor," said Snape, his mouth twisting into a pleasant smile. "Mr. Potter, when you enter my classroom, your unimportant topics in which you are discussing cease immediately"
Harry grew hot. He wanted to get up and slam a cauldron full of hair grease upon Snapes head, but resisted the urge.
"Now, you were asked over the holiday to prepare The Energy potion. I am going to come around and inspect your potions. They should be a violet color by now" Snape said, pulling his clipboard from his desk and walking around, inspecting potions.
Harry's potion was violet and so was Hermione's but Ron's had remained red. Hermione was trying to sort it out but it only turned brighter and brighter. Neville's was a sea-foam green like the potion Snape gave Umbridge.
"Well Longbottom, It appears that your inability to follow directions has lead you to yet another-"
"It's not his fault!" Hermione burst out. The entire class stopped its low chatter, and the room became silent. Snape glared at her, his lip twitching.
"Excuse me, Ms. Granger, but I do not remember asking you why Mr. Longbottom couldn't follow-"
"Your evil!" she said, shouting so the entire class could hear her. Snape fell silent. "You know what happened to his Grandmother over the holidays!" she continued, her face growing red. Ron tried to hold her back, but she shook him off and continued. "You don't understand what its like to loose someone, do you? It's not Neville's fault he can't concentrate because of V- Voldemort thinking he's big and bad!"
Most of the glass gasped, and the girls let out shrieks when Hermione had said Voldemort. What surprised Harry the most was Hermione. Never in the six years that he's known her, told off Snape before. She usually said it under her breath, but it was perhaps the sudden change in Atmosphere, and all that happened so far that probably made her want to speak up for a change.
Snape continued to glare at her, his mouth twitching violently. "That will be Fifty points from both you and Mr. Longbottom, and a weeks worth of detentions Ms. Granger! I shall also speak to Professor McGonagall and have you banned from the first Quidditch match of the New Year" he said. He looked at the rest of the class, and then back to her. "And the next time you speak out like that, You'll regret it"
"Fine!" she shrieked. She grabbed her bag, and threw her books inside of it. She left her potion sitting there. She then turned, walked along the row of desks, and left the room. Snape didn't know what to do, more or less, Harry and Ron stood open mouthed. There had been only one class she ever walked out of and that was Divination.
Hermione's abrupt storming out of Snapes class seemed to spread around the school before lunchtime. Everyone was chatting noisily away, mostly talking about what Hermione had done. She had not come to the Great hall for lunch, because she was in professor McGonagall's office. Snape didn't come to lunch either. Far-fetched stories seemed to also spread around.
"I heard she spit at him, and then hexed him before she walked out," said a Ravenclaw Sixth year, to whom harry did not know.
"Yeah, well I heard that she slapped him, and called him a troll," said a Gryffindor Third year.
"Well, the troll part is true," said the Sixth Year Ravenclaw girl.
"I've never seen Hermione loose it like that," Harry said, finally abandoning his ears on other people's conversations. He was helping himself to some chocolate fudge. "I think she's on a rampage," Ron said.
"Well, she's your girlfriend so you should talk to her" Harry recommended.
"No way! You try talking to a girl when they're angry"
This was true to Harry. He wouldn't dare talk to Cho if she was upset. After lunch the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs headed across the frozen grass to Herbology in the greenhouses. Hermione was not there either. The lesson was dull, which ended up with everyone smelling like different fragrances. Harry smelled strongly of a grape gone sour, and Ron smelled like a mixture of manure and molded cheese.
They headed back into the castle after Herbology and up to the North Tower to Divination. It was a relief to have come into Professor Trelawney's room because it was boiling hot. Harry and Ron sat at little round tables, each with crystal orbs. The rest of the class entered and Professor Trelawney swept from her office, looking agitated.
"What's the matter, Professor?" asked Parvati Patil.
"Its nothing, my dear!" said Professor Trelawney, sounding very unhappy.
Harry immediately knew what it was. Professor Umbridge and Professor Trelawney must have crossed paths.
"Tell us Professor, Please?" asked Lavender Brown.
"Now" said Professor Trelawney, ignoring Lavender, and continuing to begin the lesson. "Today we will be once again interrupting what we see in the crystal ball, and writing it down, so we will not forget. Carry on"
It was easily the dullest lesson so far. Ron made up a prediction about a giant rat came and bit his foot. At the end of lesson, Harry was packing his things to go. He and Ron descended the stepladder, but it was only then had Harry relaized he forgot his book. He told Ron to go on ahead, while he went back and got it. He climbed the ladder again, and entered the room. Professor Trelawney was sitting on a chair, with gold frames.
"Something the matter, my dear?"
"Yes, I've come to get my book"
Harry walked to his table and as he did, something frightened him. Professor Trelawney began muttering, but in a voice he had only heard once before. She was saying something, but Harry couldn't make it out. She then spoke louder:
"THE DARK LORD WILL KILL HER, BECAUSE SHE STANDS IN HIS WAY OF THE POWER. HE WILL VANQUISH HER FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE POWER, BUT HE WILL NOT PUNISH HARRY POTTER. HARRY POTTER WILL INSTEAD PUNISH THE DARK LORD.THE ONE WHO PROTECTS THE POWER SHALL DIE UPON THE HAND OF THE DARK LORD, AND SHALL NOT BE BROUGHT BACK.THE DARK LORD-"
Harry wheeled around toward the stepladder, afraid of what he had just heard. He was confused. He began to sprint back to the Gryffindor Common Room.Prepared to tell Ron, Hermione (if she had returned), Ginny, and Neville about what he had just heard.
The fat lady had once again disappeared from her canvas guarding the Gryffindor Common Room in Gryffindor Tower. The news spread extremely fast, and it wasn't before long, did Harry and the other's learn the reason of her disappearance. Rumors were spreading that someone apparently wanted to get inside the common room, but the fat lady denied them entrance, and the person apparently used magic on her, raising the ancient alarms in Gryffindor Tower. The fat lady escaped from her portrait, and was later found in the chamber near the Great Hall, with her friend, Violet, sobbing and screeching hysterically.
"Kind of feels like our third year, doesn't it?" Ron said, at Breakfast the next day. Harry knew only too well the events of his third year, when Sirius Black apparently broke into Hogwarts, and slashed the Fat lady's canvas trying to get inside Gryffindor Tower.
"Oh Ron, don't be so insensitive! Why'd you have to go and bring that up?" Hermione snapped, eyeing Harry.
"What do you mean?" Ron asked, bewildered.
"She's talking about Sirius" Harry muttered. He had forgotten that they didn't know Sirius had returned. He wanted to tell them, but he wanted to keep his word to Dumbledore.
The Christmas Holidays arrived bringing heavy snowfalls, and colder days with it. The grounds were covered in at least three feet of snow by the first day of the holidays. Surprisingly, they had been given less homework. However, Harry noticed that he was going to have to stay on top of his work if he wanted to become an Auror. So far, Ron was averaging better grades in his classes, except Snape. Snape gave Ron a "T" on their last paper before the holidays, which caused Ron to call Snape a lot of names he wouldn't dare say in front of Mrs. Weasley when they arrived in the Common Room that night. Sir Cardgen was once again, the temporary guardian of the Gryffindor Common Room.
"He's nothing but a slimy git!" Ron shouted, causing some first years to jump.
"Calm down Ron," said Hermione calmly. "Just take it to Dumbledore, since he's helping you"
Ron however, didn't calm down. Ginny came into the common room, and didn't look happy. She looked as though she had just heard bad news and was about to die of shock.
"What's the matter?" Ron asked, finally calming down.
"I've just-" but Ginny seemed incapable of speaking. She was on the verge of tears.
"What?" Hermione said.
"It's.Its Neville's grandmother.I've only just heard from Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick. They were talking, and I over heard them. They said that Neville's grandmother was tortured by You-Know-Who. She survived, and is in St. Mungo's hospital. They said the Aurors found bloody, and barely alive" said Ginny, quietly, trying to hold back her tears.
Ron and Hermione stared at Harry, as well as Ginny. This was his vision. He envisioned that Voldemort was torturing Neville's grandmother, but at that time, he didn't know who it was.
"Wait a second. Neville's grandmother knew about the orbs," Harry said, thinking about his conversation with Neville and Luna on the Hogwarts Express.
"But did she know about the location?" asked Hermione.
"No. I don't think so"
"Good. We have nothing to worry about then"
"Yes we do Ron! What if Voldemort made her tell him who else knows about the orbs.how do we know the next person he finds doesn't know the location?" Hermione said. Harry knew she was right.
The portrait hole opened and Professor Kevin walked in, followed by Professor McGonagall. Everyone knew that when Professor McGonagall entered Gryffindor Tower, it could not mean something good.
"Have any of you seen Mr. Longbottom?" Professor McGonagall asked, looking pale.
"No"
"I think he's upstairs. Want me to go and get him, Professor?" Harry asked.
"No, No Mr. Potter. I think Professor Kevin can do that"
Professor Kevin swept past them, and up the spiral stairs. He knocked on the boys' dormitory door, and entered. He closed the door behind him. When he did not return after five minutes, everyone knew Neville was in there too. Professor McGonagall left.
"I feel bad for him" said Hermione. "First his Parents, and now his Grandmother. Who else has he got?"
* * * * * *
Neville showed no signs of being affected by the attack on his grandmother, and the reason was he had locked himself in his dormitory for the entire holidays. Professor McGonagall tried to get him to come out, but Neville simply refused. He had asked Hermione to place a charm around the door so that no matter what happened, the door would not open, unless Neville wanted it to be opened. It was a complex spell, put it worked. Everyone felt sympathy for Neville, and some even understood what he was going through. The only time the door would open was when it was time for the boys to go to bed, and even by then, Neville would already be asleep.
On Christmas day however, Neville seemed to have come to his senses, and asked Hermione to remove the charm. He seemed to be in a better mood than ever, and was ecstatic about opening his presents on Christmas Morning. Dobby had also come up to the boys' room, to deliver Harry's present. It was a quilt adorned with bright golden snitches, while the rest of the blanket was scarlet red, like the Gryffindor Colors. Ron had given Harry a Broomstick Compass, which would come in handy because it guided the flyer wherever he or she desired to go. Hermione had given him a book titled "A Guide to the Advanced Dark Arts Defense". Other presents included Mrs. Weasley's Christmas sweater, which was once again, bottle green and had a large Snitch on it, and a box of homemade mince pies. Hagrid sent up a large box of chocolate eclairs and a slab of Honeydukes chocolate. Fred and George sent a bag of Dungbombs and a leather case for Wands. However, the moment Harry set his wand inside of it, the case turned into a large Skunk, and almost sprayed Harry, but Harry immediately sent it out of the window and made it land safely onto the floor, where it then scurried off into the Forbidden Forest.
The rest of the day dawned an enjoyable one. Fresh snow had fallen onto the grounds, providing a chance for snowball fights. Harry and Ron joined forces, against Hermione, and Ginny. They pelted snowballs at each other, and sometimes would use Magic to do it. Pretty soon (After Lunch) the Gryffindors went against Ravenclaw, while Hufflepuff against Slytherin. It was rather enjoyable seeing Crabbe and Goyle get pounded with snowballs. Neville especially caught Crabbe hard in the face. Harry knew he was letting out anger from the stranglehold Crabbe put him in last year. Finally, when it became to dark to see, and hard to aim properly, everyone returned to their common rooms, and awaited the Christmas feast.
"That was actually kind of fun!" said Hermione, panting as they reached the Seventh Floor.
"You scurvy hound's!" screamed Sir Cardigan. He was brandishing his sword high, and was clanking loudly in his armor.
"Shut up!" said Ron angrily.
"Aha! You are an angry one, young lad! Come! Follow me to the depths of this beloved castle, where we can journey into the lands of the unknown!"
"What are you talking about?" Ron asked, looking confused.
"Come! Let us journey into the chamber of fire, and find treasure!" said Sir Cardigan, looking eager.
"Whatever! Vast Wastelands"
The portrait swung open and they entered the common room, which was noisy, and crowded. Some students were getting ready for dinner. Suddenly, as Harry and Ron entered the boys' dormitory, something sprang into Harry's mind.
"Hey Ron, I think someone else besides us knows about the orbs"
"Who?" said Ron, pulling off his shirt, and putting on a dry one.
"Sir Cardigan"
"What? How would that stupid git know? You see he wasn't making any sense downstairs"
"Yes he was. He was making perfect sense," said Harry, toweling his hair. "Don't you realize what he was asking you to do?"
"Go and get myself lost" muttered Ron.
"No! He was telling you to go with him, and look for the orbs. 'The chamber of fire' is Fawkes lair and the 'treasure' are the orbs"
Ron seemed to have agreed with Harry's story. Harry then began to wonder how would sir cardigan know about the orbs? That question faded from Harry's mind as they went down to the Great Hall for Christmas dinner, because Harry thought that many of the Hogwarts Pictures knew things by simply listening.
The Christmas feast comprised of one hundred turkeys, various courses, and a mountain load of dessert. Many students had remained at Hogwarts over the holiday, so Harry saw why it was necessary for the house-elves to prepare one hundred turkeys. He ate and chatted away about Quidditch, and the D.A with Cho, and the rest of the D.A club (or who remained at school). Harry thought that this was the best holiday he'd ever had.
January came and brought sleet, and colder air. The start of term came once again, and everyone wasn't as excited to return to classes, because they had had so much fun over the Christmas holidays. Harry posted a sign in the Gryffindor Common Room announcing that Quidditch practice was going to start up again at the end of January. Parvati couldn't wait, because the first team they played again was Ravenclaw, the house in which her twin sister Padma belonged.
Harry was pleased to see that he managed to bring his History of Magic grades up. Professor Binns had given them a test on Goblin Rebellions of the nineteenth century and Harry scored a ninety-seven percent. Hermione was pleased with him, but all the while, she scored a perfect one hundred and twelve percent, while Ron only scored an eighty-three percent.
"Oh, cheer up" said Hermione, as they walked to Potions. She was holding his hand. "At least you got a decent grade"
Ron snorted. They continued down into the dungeons, where Snape was waiting for the class. It seemed that his attitude toward Harry was back in full force again. Harry continued talking to Ron and Hermione, as the class settled down.
"That'll be five points from Gryffindor," said Snape, his mouth twisting into a pleasant smile. "Mr. Potter, when you enter my classroom, your unimportant topics in which you are discussing cease immediately"
Harry grew hot. He wanted to get up and slam a cauldron full of hair grease upon Snapes head, but resisted the urge.
"Now, you were asked over the holiday to prepare The Energy potion. I am going to come around and inspect your potions. They should be a violet color by now" Snape said, pulling his clipboard from his desk and walking around, inspecting potions.
Harry's potion was violet and so was Hermione's but Ron's had remained red. Hermione was trying to sort it out but it only turned brighter and brighter. Neville's was a sea-foam green like the potion Snape gave Umbridge.
"Well Longbottom, It appears that your inability to follow directions has lead you to yet another-"
"It's not his fault!" Hermione burst out. The entire class stopped its low chatter, and the room became silent. Snape glared at her, his lip twitching.
"Excuse me, Ms. Granger, but I do not remember asking you why Mr. Longbottom couldn't follow-"
"Your evil!" she said, shouting so the entire class could hear her. Snape fell silent. "You know what happened to his Grandmother over the holidays!" she continued, her face growing red. Ron tried to hold her back, but she shook him off and continued. "You don't understand what its like to loose someone, do you? It's not Neville's fault he can't concentrate because of V- Voldemort thinking he's big and bad!"
Most of the glass gasped, and the girls let out shrieks when Hermione had said Voldemort. What surprised Harry the most was Hermione. Never in the six years that he's known her, told off Snape before. She usually said it under her breath, but it was perhaps the sudden change in Atmosphere, and all that happened so far that probably made her want to speak up for a change.
Snape continued to glare at her, his mouth twitching violently. "That will be Fifty points from both you and Mr. Longbottom, and a weeks worth of detentions Ms. Granger! I shall also speak to Professor McGonagall and have you banned from the first Quidditch match of the New Year" he said. He looked at the rest of the class, and then back to her. "And the next time you speak out like that, You'll regret it"
"Fine!" she shrieked. She grabbed her bag, and threw her books inside of it. She left her potion sitting there. She then turned, walked along the row of desks, and left the room. Snape didn't know what to do, more or less, Harry and Ron stood open mouthed. There had been only one class she ever walked out of and that was Divination.
Hermione's abrupt storming out of Snapes class seemed to spread around the school before lunchtime. Everyone was chatting noisily away, mostly talking about what Hermione had done. She had not come to the Great hall for lunch, because she was in professor McGonagall's office. Snape didn't come to lunch either. Far-fetched stories seemed to also spread around.
"I heard she spit at him, and then hexed him before she walked out," said a Ravenclaw Sixth year, to whom harry did not know.
"Yeah, well I heard that she slapped him, and called him a troll," said a Gryffindor Third year.
"Well, the troll part is true," said the Sixth Year Ravenclaw girl.
"I've never seen Hermione loose it like that," Harry said, finally abandoning his ears on other people's conversations. He was helping himself to some chocolate fudge. "I think she's on a rampage," Ron said.
"Well, she's your girlfriend so you should talk to her" Harry recommended.
"No way! You try talking to a girl when they're angry"
This was true to Harry. He wouldn't dare talk to Cho if she was upset. After lunch the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs headed across the frozen grass to Herbology in the greenhouses. Hermione was not there either. The lesson was dull, which ended up with everyone smelling like different fragrances. Harry smelled strongly of a grape gone sour, and Ron smelled like a mixture of manure and molded cheese.
They headed back into the castle after Herbology and up to the North Tower to Divination. It was a relief to have come into Professor Trelawney's room because it was boiling hot. Harry and Ron sat at little round tables, each with crystal orbs. The rest of the class entered and Professor Trelawney swept from her office, looking agitated.
"What's the matter, Professor?" asked Parvati Patil.
"Its nothing, my dear!" said Professor Trelawney, sounding very unhappy.
Harry immediately knew what it was. Professor Umbridge and Professor Trelawney must have crossed paths.
"Tell us Professor, Please?" asked Lavender Brown.
"Now" said Professor Trelawney, ignoring Lavender, and continuing to begin the lesson. "Today we will be once again interrupting what we see in the crystal ball, and writing it down, so we will not forget. Carry on"
It was easily the dullest lesson so far. Ron made up a prediction about a giant rat came and bit his foot. At the end of lesson, Harry was packing his things to go. He and Ron descended the stepladder, but it was only then had Harry relaized he forgot his book. He told Ron to go on ahead, while he went back and got it. He climbed the ladder again, and entered the room. Professor Trelawney was sitting on a chair, with gold frames.
"Something the matter, my dear?"
"Yes, I've come to get my book"
Harry walked to his table and as he did, something frightened him. Professor Trelawney began muttering, but in a voice he had only heard once before. She was saying something, but Harry couldn't make it out. She then spoke louder:
"THE DARK LORD WILL KILL HER, BECAUSE SHE STANDS IN HIS WAY OF THE POWER. HE WILL VANQUISH HER FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE POWER, BUT HE WILL NOT PUNISH HARRY POTTER. HARRY POTTER WILL INSTEAD PUNISH THE DARK LORD.THE ONE WHO PROTECTS THE POWER SHALL DIE UPON THE HAND OF THE DARK LORD, AND SHALL NOT BE BROUGHT BACK.THE DARK LORD-"
Harry wheeled around toward the stepladder, afraid of what he had just heard. He was confused. He began to sprint back to the Gryffindor Common Room.Prepared to tell Ron, Hermione (if she had returned), Ginny, and Neville about what he had just heard.