Chapter 32:
All during dinner, Michelle kept looking to the headmaster's table. Dumbledore wasn't there. Michelle couldn't concentrate on the coversation around her. Seeing Trelawney getting up from her seat, Michelle excused herself from the table.
"Professor...can I talk to you?"
Trelawney gave her an odd smile, "Michelle, why don't we step out into the hall."
Once outside the door, Michelle turned back to her teacher. "Do you know where Prof. Dumbledore is tonight?"
"I believe he received an urgent message and is in his office. Is there something I can help you with?"
"No, I just needed to ask him some questions."
"In any case, I am glad you stopped me. I have some good news from Azkaban." She began walking down the hall forcing Michelle to come with her. "I have secured a room for us to use and I have spoken to my friend."
"The Seer who is going to help with the ceremony? He's well enough to do it?"
"Yes. He isn't imprisoned there. Actually, you have heard me speak of him before...Prof. Avilas."
"Your teacher, the one who mentored you when you became a Seer?"
"Yes. He was one of the few never caught by He-Who-Can-Not-Be-Named. He went into seclusion at the end of the Dark Lord's reign."
"About the end of Voldermort, was your family still in England when he was defeated by Harry?" Michelle watched Trelawney closely.
The professor's eyes darkened for a second. "I was far away with my family. I thought I told you all about this..."
"Guess I just got things confused in my head."
Trelawney didn't believe her, but didn't want to invite more inquiry from Michelle. "I don't think I mentioned when my family left exactly. We were gone for several years."
"Understandable...you would have been hunted down if you'd come back too soon..." Michelle couldn't hide the accusational tone of her voice.
Now Trelawney really didn't like where this conversation was going. She changed the subject. "I have spoken to Prof. Snape about your birthday. He will escort you to Azkaban. I will be going there a day early to make sure everything is properly arranged for the ceremony."
"I'm sure you will." Michelle stopped in the hallway. She didn't want to walk with Trelawney alone anymore. Her brain was screaming at her to not go any further. "I had better get back to my house. I've got loads of homework to do." She turned and walked away quickly.
Trelawney moved swiftly to her office. While she wasn't convinced Michelle knew exactly what it was she had done, Trelawney was positive Michelle no longer trusted her. All she needed to do was keep Michelle off balance for just 3 more days. Three more days and it would all be over.
Michelle went to Dumbledore's office first thing the next morning.
"Professor, I told you I started having another vision...one that involved Prof. Trelawney. I did as you told me. I followed my instincts and I discovered the professor lied to me. She told me she left with her family shortly after Voldermort came into power. She gave up being a Seer to protect them. But, I found an article in the Daily Prophet written just a few days before Harry was born which says she lost her family 5 years prior and that she was going on sabbatical after being attacked by a Death Eater."
Dumbledore nodded, "After we last spoke, I sent an owl to an old friend. He has known Sibyll since she was a young girl. He told me she had left suddenly without any sort of real explaination. He had lost touch with her until recently. He knew her family had been killed before she left England."
"How did her family die?"
"It appeared to be accidental, but it's so hard to tell in the Muggle world sometimes..."
Michelle interrupted, "Her parents were Muggles? She told me they were wizards."
"They were wizards. They, like many other wizarding families, were attempting to hide in the Muggle world. They thought they would go unnoticed by Voldermort there."
"Can I ask who your friend is?"
"Of course, he used to teach here. Professor Armand Avilas is his name..."
Michelle couldn't believe what Dumbledore had told her. Avilas had left Hogwarts when he had a vision about Voldermort. He feared for the safety of the students. Avilas had stayed in contact with Dumbledore, providing him with information from his visions. He even took out a few Death Eaters who had tried to capture him. Avilas had seen Trelawney shortly before she left, but that was all Dumbledore would share with her. When she told him Trelawney had selected Avilas as the Seer in charge of the ceremony, Dumbledore didn't seem surprised. Trelawney knew Avilas was part of a group of wizards Dumbledore had sent to Azkaban in an attempt to keep the Dementors on their side.
All through her classes, Michelle kept going over her visions and everything she had learned in the last year. Her head ached by the time she returned to the common room. She went straight upstairs. Laying down on her bed, she didn't even notice Daphne was in the room.
Daphne looked up from her reading and said hello. When Michelle didn't answer, she sat down her book and walked to Michelle's bed.
"You feeling okay?"
Michelle slowly opened her eyes, "My head just hurts...too much thinking...not enough sleep..."
"Want to talk about it?" Daphne lowered herself to the edge of the bed carefully.
"No thanks."
"You and Harry are okay?"
"That's about the only thing that's okay right now..."
"You sure you don't want to talk, might make you feel better."
Michelle smiled weakly, "I'm sure. I just need sleep."
"I'll leave you alone then...and I'll try and keep the rest of the girls out of here for awhile."
"Thanks Daphne...I'll owe you one..." Michelle watched her friend leave, then curled up against her pillow to try and sleep.
When Michelle awoke, the room was dark. She could hear the peaceful breathing of her sleeping roommates. She had slept through dinner. Hell, she'd slept through everything. For a split second she panicked. What if she had slept through her birthday? She rubbed her eyes hard. That was just silly. Dumbledore wouldn't let her sleep through the ceremony. Still, she wasn't really sure what time it was. She pulled on her sweater and moved quietly through the room. Michelle opened the door and stepped on a piece of parchment that had been slid underneath. It had her name on it. She crept to the stairs to get near some light. It was a note from Harry. He had asked Daphne where Michelle was. Not wanting to disturb her, he'd written the note before going to bed. He had a plan for the night before her birthday. Harry wanted her to meet him at midnight the next evening in the common room. Michelle's heartbeat sped up. They hadn't talked much about what they could do to celebrate her birthday, but it had been clear from the start, the night before would be theirs alone. Michelle tensed hearing voices below her. She continued down the stairs to listen in on the conversation, hiding as best she could.
"Ron...stop it..."
"Stop what..."
"Stop that...someone could catch us..."
Michelle stiffled a laugh. Even from here, she could tell Hermione didn't really want Ron to stop whatever it was he was doing. Still, it was amusing to hear her pretend to be concerned.
"I thought you wanted to study Potions..." Hermione was still unconvincing in her efforts to redirect Ron.
"I never said that..."
"Yes, you did."
"No, I didn't. I didn't say I wanted to study Potions..."
Michelle noticed a long pause and what sounded like a sigh from Hermione before Ron spoke again.
"I said I wanted to study."
"Study what then?"
"You..."
"Ron, that is quite possibly the silliest thing I have ever heard you say..."
Michelle nearly lost it hearing Hermione actually giggle!
"I thought that was pretty good myself." Ron sounded disappointed.
"It was very sweet. You don't have to try so hard you know."
"Yeah well, what if I want to impress you? I certainly can't do it with my grades."
"Ron, I don't care about your grades."
"Really?!"
"Okay, no. I do care, but only because I know you're smarter than you let on. Besides, other things about you impress me."
"And what are these things exactly?"
Instead of a reply, Michelle heard another long pause accompanied by some movement on the couch. Feeling a little like a peeping tom, Michelle started to go back up the stairs. She winced as the step under her foot creaked. She stopped suddenly and ducked back down. Peering cautiously into the common room, she could see Ron looking up over the back of the couch. His tie was no where to be seen and his shirt was clearly unbuttoned.
"Is there someone there?" Hermione whispered.
"No. I don't see anyone."
"Good."
Michelle saw a hand come up and tug on Ron's collar pulling him back down. Skipping the step that had almost revealed where she was, Michelle snuck back upstairs with a new found respect for Hermione.
