Professor Trelawney's Predictions
Twenty minutes later, a very dumbfounded Sirius Black made his way up to the Gryffindor common room, reliving what had happened just minutes ago…
"I am afraid Sirius will have to compete," said Dumbledore, a grim expression on his face. Sirius' heart leapt. At least it would be an adventure, and he simply couldn't wait to show Severus who was the real Hogwarts Best Young Wizard. However, the other teachers weren't nearly as eager as Sirius was.
"Dumbledore, this is mad! He can't possibly face the three obstacles alone!" Professor Lamina protested.
"I can do it, Professor! You know I can!" Sirius argued, looking at Dumbledore with a pleading gaze. Dumbledore sighed dramatically. The other teachers stared at him expectantly.
"Sirius, I must ask you something. Did you put your name in the casket?" he said clearly.
"Of course not!" Sirius exploded. Dumbledore nodded.
"I believe him. He couldn't possibly have done it himself. And I don't believe that he would ask an older student to put his name in for him. Daring and careless as Sirius is, I believe he is telling the truth. That is all..."
Sirius had reached the portrait hole.
"Goblin rebellion," said Sirius grimly, wondering what James would say when he told him what had happened. The portrait swung to the side and Sirius climbed through. No sooner had he entered the room than James almost bowled him over.
"Sirius, how did you do it? Why didn't you tell me?" James asked, his eyes wide with surprise.
"Come up to our dormitory and I'll explain everything…" answered Sirius, waving aside a host of admirers.
"So that's what happened," said James. "But who could have put your name in the casket?"
"Someone who hates me, no doubt," replied Sirius darkly.
"Who… do you mean Snivelly? He wouldn't have done it. You're a far better wizard than he'll ever be. He wouldn't want you competing against him," said James wisely. Sirius considered the thought.
"But he's obsessed with the Dark Arts, James! What if he wanted me to enter just so he could beat me with his Dark Arts skills? He's far better at Defence Against the Dark Arts than any seventh year I know!" stormed Sirius.
"I don't think that's the case," came a voice. James and Sirius breathed a sigh of relief as Remus walked into the dormitory.
"Look, class has been awfully boring lately with all this extra work for our OWLs," he said, sinking onto his own bed. "Why not liven things up a little? It'd do you a world of good, Sirius," he added. Sirius looked thoughtful.
"It sounds wonderful. But who's class could we 'liven up'?" he asked, thinking of all the strict Hogwarts teachers.
"Aha!" cried James excitedly. "How about we let off dungbombs or Fillibusters in Divination?" he asked, his eyes sparkling with malice.
"I like it!" grinned Sirius, as Peter walked in looking terrified.
"A-are you s-sure about that?" he gasped. James and Sirius laughed.
"Don't be such a scaredy cat, Peter!" said James, chuckling.
"Oho, Edith Trelawney, have we got a surprise for you," said Sirius with a slightly wicked grin.
Lily yawned as she dipped her quill into the inkpot that she, Star and Bellatrix were sharing. It was almost midnight, but the trio were still struggling with their homework. Lily stretched her arms as she finished the last sentence of her Potions essay.
"Finished!" she said proudly, rolling up the parchment. Star and Bellatrix put their essays away too and Bellatrix left the Library to go to the Slytherin common room.
"Well, we'd better get going," said Star. "We'll have to get some sleep tonight," she added drowsily. Lily nodded.
"I'm so glad tomorrow's Friday," she yawned. "I can't wait to go to Hogsmeade and stock up on Honeyduke's sweets."
"Ah, you're forgetting something," teased Star as the two girls walked away from the Library.
"What am I forgetting?" asked Lily, but she needn't have asked, because all of a sudden she remembered.
"Oh… I'm going to Hogsmeade with Severus, aren't I?" she said. Star nodded at her best friend.
"D-d-do you think everything will be okay?" asked Lily nervously. "I've never been on… on a…" her voice trailed off.
"A date?" Star suggested, a smile creeping over her face. Unable to think of anything to say, Lily nodded dumbly.
"You'll be fine Lily. Sirius and I have been to Hogsmeade together dozens of times. If you just act normally and be yourself, everything will be fine," Star said, giving Lily a hug.
"Thanks, Star," Lily smiled.
"Good afternoon, everybody," said Professor Edith Trelawney in a dreamy, sing-song voice, spreading her arms out wide as if she was welcoming a whole country, and not a class of young witches and wizards. James and Sirius sniggered, while Remus rolled his eyes. Peter, however, struggled to listen to every word that came out of Trelawney's mouth.
"At each of your tables, I have placed a small glass globe. Inside you will notice a realistic diagram which shows…" she began, but no one ever found out what the globes showed, because at that precise moment there was a loud BOOM!
Lily, Star and some of the other girls dived under the table they were sharing. James, Sirius and Remus ducked under their table and burst into silent laughter.
Professor Trelawney's jaw dropped open as a bright pink firework burst above her head, sending showers of sparks cascading over her desk. She too, ducked to avoid being chased by a gold Catherine wheel, which was zooming around the room at top speed. Lily laughed as Peter Pettigrew dashed past her table, being chased by a royal blue firecracker. The class was in utter chaos for several minutes, until at last, there were no more fireworks. People peered around the room from under their tables and when they were certain that there were no more fireworks, they emerged from their hiding places.
"Who-did-that?" spluttered Professor Trelawney, her normally calm blue eyes becoming wild red pools of anger. But she didn't stop there. All of a sudden, her eyes began to roll, and her eyelids began to droop.
A few of the girls gaped in terror. Was Professor Trelawney having a fit? Lily and Remus stood up together. As prefects, it was their duty to take control of the situation.
"Someone, find Madam Moonluck!" barked Lupin, referring to the kindly old matron in the hospital wing. Star leapt off her pouffe and climbed hurriedly down the ladder that led up to the Divination tower.
"In the meantime, someone get Trelawney a drink of water!" Lily commanded, and one of the boys dashed off. Everyone else in the room was staring at Professor Trelawney. She looked truly frightening.
"Do you think it's our fault?" whispered James to his friend. Sirius nodded grimly.
"She was pretty old, of course, and…" but his voice came to a sudden halt. Professor Trelawney was rising from her chair, her eyes now black all over.
"He will return… soon…the time is coming nearer…the Dark Lord will return…he is growing stronger…he is controlling one who is older and wiser than you…"
James, Sirius and the rest of the class gaped at their teacher, who had suddenly fainted. The boy who had gone for water returned and forced the drink down Trelawney's throat. When she had drained it all, he backed away as quickly as he could.
"My God… did you hear what she said?" whispered Remus. He looked so worried that James was scared that he might faint too…
Meanwhile, Lily was pacing from one end of the room to the other.
"Oh Star, come on!" she cried, wringing her hands.
"Look!" someone shouted, pointing to Trelawney. Sure enough, she was slowly beginning to wake up, this time she looked wilder than ever. Her black eyes seemed to be clouded over with fury, her long white hair billowed out behind her, and she was actually hovering a few feet in the air. The class was too scared to move a muscle…
"He is coming…be warned…he is coming…"
By dinner that evening, the whole school had learnt of what had happened in the fifth year's Divination class. Thankfully, Madam Moonluck had given Professor Trelawney a flask of some unknown silver medicine, and she was now recovering in the hospital wing. James, Sirius, Remus and Peter were discussing what had happened.
"Do you think that she really did make predictions?" asked Peter.
"If those weren't real predictions, I'll eat my hat," said Sirius, darkly.
"They were definitely real," agreed Remus. "But it was weird… it was as if she was possessed…" he said, a shiver running down his spine. James lowered his voice.
"Did you hear what she said though?" he whispered. His friends nodded.
"It was terrifying," Sirius said. "It just can't be true though…" he said, shaking his head briskly. James however, looked at his friends determinedly.
"No, it is true. I'm sure of it. We'll just have to face the facts. We thought Voldemort had gone into hiding a few years ago. We thought he'd gathered enough supporters and we've all been waiting for him to return. I'm afraid to say that it looks like Lord Voldemort is going to return. Soon."
Severus opened his eyes slowly and blinked as he remembered that today was Saturday… He almost leapt out of bed and looked out the window. Although winter was approaching and it was beginning to feel cold, the sun shone brightly and bathed the Hogwarts grounds in a sunny glow. Feeling as if nothing could possibly go wrong today, Severus threw off his pyjamas and took extra care while putting on his robes. Checking his reflection in his mirror, he combed his greasy black hair and stood up straight and as tall as he could. All in all, he thought he looked very presentable. Determined to make the best of the day, he walked downstairs to the Great Hall for breakfast, even though he wasn't the slightest bit hungry. He managed to force down a slice of toast, before he gave up on eating and went into the Entrance Hall to wait for Lily.
"Hurry up, Sirius!" James cried in frustration, as Sirius gulped down his second glass of orange juice.
"I'm coming, hold your horses," said Sirius, grinning at James.
"Have fun, you two. And don't get into trouble!" warned Remus, who wasn't coming to Hogsmeade, because of a cold he had developed. James grabbed Sirius by the arm and dragged him over to the Entrance Hall.
"There's Snivellus," Sirius pointed to where Severus was standing, looking expectant.
"And there's Lily…" James watched as Lily ran to Severus. Filch eyed their permission slips and they were free to go. James and Sirius silently ran after them.
"Where do you want to go first?" asked Severus, glancing up the main street of Hogsmeade. He was glad to finally be able to say something after an awkward silence.
"Oh, I don't mind. Maybe we could go to the Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer?" suggested Lily.
"OK then," said Severus and they set off along the street, occasionally looking into the shop windows. A little way behind them, James and Sirius watched from behind the door of the Owl Post Office.
"So, er, Lily, I don't know much about you. Er, what's your favourite subject?" asked Severus.
"Charms," said Lily, with a smile. "But I already know what your favourite subject is."
"Oh?" Severus looked down at Lily, who was a little shorter than he was.
"Well, Defence Against the Dark Arts of course," said Lily, matter-of-factly.
"Oh, yes, right," said Severus. "How about your favourite teacher?"
As the couple walked, Severus relaxed a little. Lily was easy to talk to, and by the time they reached the Three Broomsticks, they both knew a great deal more about each other.
"Two butterbeers please," said Severus, taking out a handful of silver sickles. Lily dipped her hand into her pocket, but Severus stopped her.
"Don't worry. I-I'll pay," he stammered. Once they were seated, things became strangely quiet. Lily's heart was beating so quickly that she barely knew what was happening.
She was actually on a date with Severus! After finally getting the chance to actually speak to him, Lily realised how nice he was, but still, there was a nagging feeling in her head… He's nice, thought Lily. But maybe he's not my type... Severus chose that moment to reach his hand across the table and slip it into Lily's. At first she drew back, but then the voice in her head said, Oh come on, Lily! Give him a chance… Slowly, Lily slipped her hand into Severus'.
James, Sirius and Remus sat in their dormitory that evening, surrounded by a pile of books.
"Okay, let's try some easy spells first, then we'll progress to harder ones," Remus instructed. He eyed the tottering pile of books, and took one that was entitled Simple Spells and Enchantments that Every Wizard or Witch Should Know About.
"That one looks like a good place to start," he said with a cough, handing the book to James, who leafed through it. He and Remus were trying to help Sirius practise for the unknown first obstacle in the Best Young Witch or Wizard contest, but James was finding it increasingly difficult to concentrate. Thoughts of Lily and Severus crowded his head, but he quickly shook them away.
"Okay Sirius, perform for me a simple disarming spell..."