Chapter Forty: Seeing Things

When Daphne came out of Charms class a couple of days later, she was pretty sure any boggart she might run into from now on would have a new shape: a cheerful Draco Malfoy.

The Cheering Charms they'd been practicing were tricky, and while Daphne and Tracey had gotten on quite well with them, Pansy had sent Malfoy into hysterics by casting the spell with a bit too much power, and seeing Malfoy that cheerful seemed like it was somehow an affront to nature itself.

Still, the lingering effect on the charm cast on her was quite welcome, as it allowed her to happily battle her way through Transfiguration later in the day.

Sadly for her, the charm was beginning to wear off when it was time for Divination. Worse, because she'd been cheery for a good chunk of time, she now felt quite tired, and she hadn't even entered the stifling hot classroom yet.

When the ladder dropped down and Daphne entered the perfumed heat, she felt her head starting to spin almost immediately. On each table in the room, there was a crystal ball full of swirling pearly white mist.

She sat down at a table with Harry, Hermione, and Ron.

"I thought we weren't starting crystal balls until next term," Ron muttered.

"Don't complain, this means we've finished palmistry," Harry muttered back. "I was getting sick of her flinching every time she looked at my hands."

"Good day to you!" Trelawney's misty voice said. "I have decided to introduce the crystal ball a little earlier than I had planned. The fates have informed me that your examination in June will concern the Orb, and I am anxious to give you sufficient practice."

Hermione snorted. "Well, honestly…'the fates have informed her'…who sets the exam? She does! What an amazing prediction!" she said, not even bothering to keep her voice low.

Daphne, Harry, and Ron choked back laughs.

Trelawney acted as if she hadn't heard Hermione's remark and gave a vague introduction about crystal balls.

"Furthermore, do not expect to see the same things in the Orb as anyone else at your table... The Orb is one of the most versatile tools a Seer can use. If you are meant to See, you will See…" Trelawney finished her explanation.

She then left the students to their own devices. It would have been helpful to Daphne if she'd had any clue on how to use a crystal ball, but Merlin forbid Trelawney would actually say something straightforward that wasn't a prediction of Harry's death.

So, not knowing anything else to do, she just stared at the swirling fog. In its own way, it was quite pretty, in the same way that gazing into a fire was mesmerizing. The heat, perfume, and the fatigue she'd been feeling already began to conspire against Daphne, and it was like the swirling mist was becoming brighter, while everything else in the room seemed to dim. The noises around her seemed to be distant as she emptily gazed into the crystal ball.

At some point, the mist seemed to solidify and form images. A rat…a man with watery eyes and a pointed nose…a graveyard…a thin, skeletal man, with red eyes… Faster and faster the images came, and Daphne could hardly tell them apart…and then… A forest clearing, where the red-eyed man stood, waiting, with several other people around them, and then Harry appeared, and the red-eyed man aimed his wand…a flash of green…

"NO!"

Daphne was wide awake now, leaning back from the crystal ball, which seemed to be filled with fog again.

"No…" she said again, softer now.

"My dear! What did you See? Tell us," Trelawney prompted.

Daphne looked at her friends, who looked worried. Her eyes lingered on Harry, who seemed to be getting quite nervous from the way she was looking at him.

"No," she said for a third time. "I just…fell asleep, or something. I didn't see anything. I refuse…whatever that was."

"My dear, as uncomfortable as it is, the Orb shows those sensitive to it what is to come…" Trelawney said.

"Then it's broken," Daphne said fiercely, and Ron chuckled for a moment before seeing the expression on her face.

Trelawney gave her a look that Daphne supposed was to convey compassion, but it simply looked very condescending instead.

Trelawney looked into the crystal ball herself. "There is something here," she said. "Something moving, but what is it?"

Daphne shook her head angrily. Whatever Trelawney was seeing, it wasn't what Daphne had seen. The images she saw were perfectly clear until they'd started coming too fast for her to follow anymore, and even then, the only problem had been her own speed at processing the images, not the images themselves.

"My dear…" Trelawney said softly, looking up at Harry. "It is here, plainer than ever before…my dear, stalking toward you, growing ever closer…the Gr–"

"Oh for goodness' sake!" Hermione said loudly. "Not that ridiculous Grim again!"

Trelawney stood up, looking at Hermione with unmistakable anger. "I am sorry to say that from the moment you have arrived in this class, my dear, it has been apparent that you do not have what the noble art of Divination requires. Indeed, I don't remember ever meeting a student whose mind was so hopelessly mundane."

There was a moment's silence. Then–

"Fine!" Hermione said suddenly, getting up and cramming Unfogging the Future into her back.

"Fine!" she repeated, swinging the bag over her shoulder and almost knocking Ron off his chair. "I give up! I'm leaving!"

And to everyone's amazement, Hermione strode over to the trapdoor, kicked it open, and climbed down the ladder out of sight.

The class began murmuring excitedly, but Daphne didn't listen. The final images of her…dream? Vision? …were still in her mind. The man with red eyes was Voldemort, she was sure of it…but why would Harry simply walk up to him and allow himself to be killed? It made no sense at all. It had to have a been a dream. There was no way it could be a real glimpse of the future. It couldn't be.

She glanced at Harry from the corner of her eye. The Harry in her vision had been a lot taller and definitely older than he was now. Whatever she'd seen…it wouldn't happen in the immediate future. And if she had anything to say about it, it wouldn't happen at all.

"What was that about?" Ron asked once they were out of the Divination classroom.

Daphne shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it," she said. "I just fell asleep. Long day."

"Did you see the Grim?" Harry asked.

"No. I promise you, I didn't see the Grim," Daphne said firmly.

"But you did see something," Harry said.

Daphne turned away. "I had a dream," she said stubbornly. "It means nothing. Now please stop talking about it. I don't want to think about it anymore!"

She shouted those last words, more to herself than to Harry and Ron, but of course they were startled by her outburst.

"I'm sorry," Daphne said softly. "I'll…I'll see you at dinner."

She walked away, without any clue where she was going. She didn't have any classes anymore, so she simply headed outside, found an empty spot underneath a tree, and leaned back against it.

Why had she had that vision? Was she really a Seer? Or could anyone see something in a crystal ball if they were tired enough and just stared at it for a long time? She supposed she'd find out over the coming lessons. She wasn't keen on it, and she hoped she simply wouldn't manage to do…whatever it was she'd done today…ever again. Better a failing grade than seeing a friend die, even if the dream might end up being meaningless.

"Not looking too great, Greengrass," a drawling voice said. "Had a hard time predicting the future? I bet it looks bleak for you."

"Sod off, Malfoy," Daphne said. "I'm not in the mood for you and your cronies today."

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle snickered. Daphne wondered why bullies always felt the need to laugh stupidly at whatever their target said. It made them look even dumber than they already were.

"We just heard that you went a bit crazy in there. We wanted to see if it was true," Malfoy said.

"So because Harry can blast you over with his anti-Dementor spell now, you thought you'd try me instead, is that it?" Daphne asked. "Because if so, I've got a prediction for you: a trip to the infirmary."

While she was talking, she'd gotten up and drawn her wand. "I mean it, Malfoy. I'm not in the mood for your stupidity right now. If you really want to fight, then we'll fight. I don't care if I win or not, but before your security trolls take me out you can be sure I'll make you regret starting something."

Crabbe and Goyle lumbered forward, but Daphne simply took a few steps back.

"Stay away, or I'm hexing you," she said.

"Leave her be," Malfoy commanded. "She probably just dreamed that Potter rejected her or something…"

Daphne walked forward, between Crabbe and Goyle — who'd spread apart a bit in a not-too-bright attempt to encircle her just before — switched her wand to her left hand and slapped Malfoy as hard as she could with her right. Her hand even stung a bit from it.

Before Malfoy, Crabbe, or Goyle could recover, Daphne had already walked away. She didn't care if she'd get in trouble. Malfoy had had it coming for a while now, anyway.

Again, she wasn't really sure where she was going, and she ended up simply taking a walk around the grounds.

When she finally headed back to the entrance hall, she spotted Malfoy again, only this time he was talking to Harry, Hermione, and Ron. He clearly said something provocative, because all three of them seemed to want to hit him, but Hermione actually got there first and slapped him much the same way Daphne herself had done, maybe forty minutes before.

Again, Malfoy looked stunned, and again Crabbe and Goyle had been utterly useless. Daphne wondered if they were sneakily enjoying seeing Malfoy get slapped.

The three of them walked off, and Daphne quickly made her way over to her friends.

"Nice slap," she said when she got close. "I actually gave him one earlier, as well."

"Good," Hermione said savagely. "I am sick of Malfoy. He keeps insulting everything we do, everyone we like, and no one bothers to stop him."

"They can't. Snape's our Head of House and he's keeping tabs on Lucius for Dumbledore, I told you," Daphne said. "He'll never punish Malfoy. I doubt he'll punish me, either, but I hope you don't get summoned to McGonagall for this."

Hermione shrugged. "Then I will explain to her what he did and take the point loss. I'll make it all back within an hour anyway," she said.

"What about detention?" Ron asked.

Hermione smiled grimly. "She may not look like it, but McGonagall can play favorites too."

Then she walked away. Ron looked at Harry and Daphne and said, "What is with her today? I mean, I heartily approve, but wow."

During the Easter holidays, Daphne was so swamped with homework that she didn't get much of a chance to think about the things she'd seen in Divination.

Since that first class, she hadn't dared to really look into the crystal ball anymore, and now usually spent the lesson looking at the table underneath it, and regularly looking around the classroom to clear her head a bit. Consequently, she hadn't had any more visions, and she desperately wanted to keep it that way. Her friends had stopped asking her what she'd seen as well, and she was very grateful for it.

After the holidays were over, Harry had to spend more and more time training for Quidditch as well. The finals were coming up, and though Gryffindor had essentially already won the Cup, they still had to beat Hufflepuff to seal the deal. Oliver Wood didn't give his team the chance to get complacent and they were training for all they were worth.

Then, eventually, the day of the match arrived. As usual, Daphne went to the pitch with Hermione, Ron, and Ginny. They found some good seats and waited for the match to start.

"Come on, Harry!" Ginny yelled when the game began.

Daphne grinned at her, and Ginny grinned back.

Early in the match, it was already clear that Gryffindor was much stronger than Hufflepuff, and they took a massive lead while Harry kept watch for the Snitch above the rest of the players. He occasionally glanced at Diggory, the Hufflepuff Seeker, to check he hadn't seen anything yet, but he mostly remained calm, trying to use the angle of the sun to his advantage in spotting a glint of gold between the other players.

Since nothing particularly exciting was happening in the game, Daphne let her eyes wander around the field and the stands. Most of the school had shown up to cheer, as usual, and since Hufflepuffs would have to win with a three-hundred-and-fifty-point margin to make up the gap to Gryffindor, the atmosphere was pretty friendly. No one expected Hufflepuff to walk away with a victory.

Daphne glanced down at the field itself, partially worried she'd suddenly see Dementors there, but it was empty…or was it?

Something moved near the entrance to the field. Something big, black, and shaggy. It was a massive dog, gazing up at the game from the shadows. Was that the 'Grim' Harry had been seeing all this time? This dog didn't look spectral at all. Even though it was partially hidden in shadow, she could clearly see that it was corporeal. It was odd to see a dog watching a Quidditch game with such interest, but at least Daphne would be able to tell Harry that whatever the dog was, it wasn't a Grim.

A roar went through the stands, and Daphne quickly looked back at the players. Harry had gone into a dive, speeding right through the center of the field after Diggory, who had a decent head start — but Harry's Firebolt was much too fast for whatever Diggory was using. Harry streaked past, and moments later he triumphantly held up the Snitch.

Daphne cheered along with everyone else, but shot a quick glance down to the field. The dog was gone. Wherever it had gone, Daphne hoped, for the dog's sake, that it had been a Gryffindor supporter.