Harry's lessons with Ben were going well. He still had visions from Voldemort's point of view but he felt more like an observer and less like he was the Dark Lord. Bree hadn't gone to any of the occulemency since the first one. It was kind of pointless for Bree to go, all things considered…

So when Harry went to see Ben for his next lesson, Bree went to Godric's secret room. Bree activated two more security wards before settling down to have a discussion with the painting a Godric Gryffindor.

"I've narrowed it down to Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood." She told the painting.

"I would have expected you to pick those twins of yours." Godric replied.

"They're planning on leaving the school as soon as possible. I'm pretty sure they'll be gone once they finish the final arrangements for their business." Bree explained.

"I see." The painting replied. "But why Neville and Luna." He inquired.

"Well, I've been watching them a lot lately. Neville has shown a lot of determination ever since those ten Death Eaters escaped and he has shown a progress in defense." Bree replied.

"But does his determination come from a desire for revenge or a desire to protect?" Godric asked. Bree thought for a moment.

"A bit of both I think. He wants to avenge his parents but I think that he mostly wants to keep what happened to his parents from happening to anyone else." She responded.

"And Luna." Godric pressed.

"Luna is an enigma, an outsider with no clear loyalties. She says a lot of things that no one believes so even if so told someone something completely factual they wouldn't believe her." Bree told him. Any continued conversation they may have had was cut off by a woman's scream, followed by a muffled struggle. Bree sighed.

"I'll go take care of it." She muttered.


There was a crowd in the Entrance Hall, watching the commotion. Bree pushed through it and saw Professor Trelawney was standing in the middle of the Entrance Hall with her wand in one hand and an empty sherry bottle in the other, looking utterly mad. Her hair was sticking up on end, her glasses were lopsided so that one eye was magnified more than the other; her innumerable shawls and scarves were trailing haphazardly from her shoulders, giving the impression that she was falling apart at the seams. Two large trunks lay on the floor beside her, one of them upside-down; it looked very much as though it had been thrown down the stairs after her. Professor Trelawney was staring, apparently terrified, at something Bree could not see but which seemed to be standing at the foot of the stairs.

"No!" she shrieked. "NO! This cannot be happening… it cannot… I refuse to accept it!"

"You didn't realize this was coming?" said a high girlish voice, sounding callously amused, and Bree, moving slightly to her right, saw that Trelawney's terrifying vision was nothing other than Professor Umbridge.

"Incapable though you are of predicting even tomorrow's weather, you must surely have realized that your pitiful performance during my inspections, and lack of any improvement, would make it inevitable that you would be sacked?"

"You c - can't!" howled Professor Trelawney, tears streaming down her face from behind her enormous lenses, "you c - can't sack me! I've b - been here sixteen years! H - Hogwarts is in - my h - home!"

"It was your home," said Professor Umbridge, and it was revolting to see the enjoyment stretching her toadlike face as she watched Professor Trelawney sink, sobbing uncontrollably, on to one of her trunks, "until an hour ago, when the Minister of Magic countersigned your Order of Dismissal. Now kindly remove yourself from this Hall. You are embarrassing us."

But she stood and watched, with an expression of gloating enjoyment, as Professor Trelawney shuddered and moaned, rocking backwards and forwards on her trunk in paroxysms of grief. Bree heard a muffled sob to her left and looked around. Lavender and Parvati were both crying quietly, their arms round each other. Then she heard footsteps. Professor McGonagall had broken away from the spectators, marched straight up to Professor Trelawney and was patting her firmly on the back while withdrawing a large handkerchief from within her robes.

"There, there, Sibyll… calm down… blow your nose on this… it's not as bad as you think, now… you are not going to have to leave Hogwarts…"

"Oh really, Professor McGonagall?" said Umbridge in a deadly voice, taking a few steps forward. "And your authority for that statement is…?"

"That would be mine," said a deep voice.

The oaken front doors had swung open. Students beside them scuttled out of the way as Dumbledore appeared in the entrance. Leaving the doors wide open behind him he strode forwards through the circle of onlookers towards Professor Trelawney, tear-stained and trembling, on her trunk, Professor McGonagall alongside her.

"Yours, Professor Dumbledore?" said Umbridge, with a singularly unpleasant little laugh. "I'm afraid you do not understand the position. I have here -" she pulled a parchment scroll from within her robes "-an Order of Dismissal signed by myself and the Minister for Magic. Under the terms of Educational Decree Number Twenty-three, the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts has the power to inspect, place upon probation and sack any teacher she - that is to say, I - feel is not performing to the standards required by the Ministry of Magic. I have decided that Professor Trelawney is not up to scratch. I have dismissed her."

Bree frowned; Umbridge was getting a little too high and mighty. Dumbledore continued to smile.

He looked down at Professor Trelawney, who was still sobbing and choking on her trunk, and said, "You are quite right, of course, Professor Umbridge. As High Inquisitor you have every right to dismiss my teachers. You do not, however, have the authority to send them away from the castle. I am afraid," he went on, with a courteous little bow, "that the power to do that still resides with the Headmaster, and it is my wish that Professor Trelawney continue to live at Hogwarts."

At this, Professor Trelawney gave a wild little laugh in which a hiccough was barely hidden.

"No - no, I'll g - go, Dumbledore! I sh - shall - leave Hogwarts and s - seek my fortune elsewhere -"

"No," said Dumbledore sharply. "It is my wish that you remain, Sibyll."

He turned to Professor McGonagall. Vigorously discussed

"Might I ask you to escort Sibyll back upstairs, Professor McGonagall?"

"Of course," said McGonagall. "Up you get, Sibyll…"

Professor Sprout came hurrying forwards out of the crowd and grabbed Professor Trelawney's other arm. Together, they guided her past Umbridge and up the marble stairs. Professor Flitwick went scurrying after them, his wand held out before him; he squeaked "Locomotor trunks!" and Professor Trelawney's luggage rose into the air and proceeded up the staircase after her, Professor Flitwick bringing up the rear.

Professor Umbridge was standing stock still, staring at Dumbledore, who continued to smile benignly.

"And what," she said, in a whisper that carried all around the Entrance Hall, "are you going to do with her once I appoint a new Divination teacher who needs her lodgings?"

"Oh, that won't be a problem," said Dumbledore pleasantly. "You see, I have already found us a new Divination teacher, and he will prefer lodgings on the ground floor."

"You've found -?" said Umbridge shrilly. "You've found? Might I remind you, Dumbledore, that under Educational Decree Number Twenty-two -"

"The Ministry has the right to appoint a suitable candidate if -and only if- the Headmaster is unable to find one," said Dumbledore. "And I am happy to say that on this occasion I have succeeded. May I introduce you?"

He turned to face the open front doors, through which night mist was now drifting. Bree heard hooves. There was a shocked murmur around the Hall and those nearest the doors hastily moved even further backwards, some of them tripping over in their haste to clear a path for the newcomer.

Through the mist came a face Harry had seen once before on a dark, dangerous night in the Forbidden Forest: white-blond hair and astonishingly blue eyes; the head and torso of a man joined to the palomino body of a horse.

"This is Firenze," said Dumbledore happily to a thunderstruck Umbridge. "I think you'll find him suitable." Umbridge looked as if she was to protest, but Bree was faster. She activated a security ward.

"Restrain." Bree whispered. Umbridge went stiff, her limbs snapping together. She was unable to to move or speak.

"Get out and stay out." Bree muttered. An invisible force dragged Umbridge out the door and deposited her on the grounds. Umbridge stumbled to her feet. Looking irate she stormed back to toward the doors demanding to know who was responsible. As she approached the door she was pushed back by a barrier. As the crowd watched in stunned silence Bree grinned and walked away.


"That's some amazing spellwork that keeping Umbridge out." George said from the common room's window, observing the tent that Umbridge was being forced to live and teach in.

"I wonder how they did it." Fred stated.

"I don't." Bree replied.

"What!" George exclaimed, looking shocked.

"It would be great to know that kind of magic!" Fred said.

"How could you not want to know?" George asked.

"I already know." Bree replied. The twins stared at her for a moment before realization spread across their faces. They grinned.

"You're the one you ousted Umbridge." Fred stated.

"You have to teach us to do that!" George exclaimed.

"I can't teach you to do that." Bree said.

"Why not?" George pouted.

"Because I don't know how to do it." Bree replied. The twins looked confused.

"All I did was give the order. Hogwarts took care of the rest." Bree elaborated.

"What do you mean?" Fred asked.

Bree grinned. "How would you two like to know a secret that no one else knows?" she asked.

"We're listening." The twins replied.


Bree and the twins were sitting in Gryffindor's secret room after Bree, with help from Gryffindor's painting, had explained the sentience of Hogwarts.

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" George asked.

Bree shrugged. "I already told Harry about the Room of Requirement, I just wanted to keep something to myself for a while." She answered

"I guess that makes sense." Fred muttered.

"Who else are you going to attach to the wards?" George asked. Bree had already explained to the twins why she hadn't picked them and they had agreed that they weren't that interested in being tied to Hogwarts when they were so close to opening their own business.

"I was thinking Neville and Luna, but I don't know how to go about approaching them." Bree paused for a moment. "You two have any ideas?" The twins grinned.


It was breakfast time, two days after the sacking of Professor Trelawney, and Parvati was curling her eyelashes around her wand and examining the effect in the back of her spoon. They were to have their first lesson with Firenze that morning.

"Not really" said Hermione indifferently, who was reading the Daily Prophet. "I've never really liked horses."

She turned a page of the newspaper and scanned its columns.

"He's not a horse, he's a centaur!" said Lavender, sounding shocked.

"A gorgeous centaur…" sighed Parvati.

"Either way, he's still got four legs," said Hermione coolly. "Anyway I thought you two were all upset that Trelawney had gone?"

"We are!" Lavender assured her. "We went up to her office to see her; we took her some daffodils - not the honking ones that Sprout's got, nice ones."

"How is she?" asked Harry.

"Not very good, poor thing," said Lavender sympathetically. "She was crying and saying she'd rather leave the castle forever than stay here where Umbridge is, and I don't blame her, Umbridge was horrible to her, wasn't she?"

"I hope the curse breakers don't figure out whatever spell is keeping her out anytime soon." Ron stated.

"No chance of that happening." George said as he and Fred sat down.

"Bill and his team have been working on it since early this morning." Fred explained.

"They haven't made any progress cracking it." George elaborated.

"Bill's here?" Ron questioned.

"The Ministry goons they sent yesterday didn't accomplish anything so they asked Gringotts to send some of their curse breakers." Bree explained.


Classroom eleven was where Divination classes were now to be held. It was on the ground floor along the corridor leading off the Entrance Hall from the opposite side to the Great Hall. It was one of those classrooms that were never used regularly, and therefore had the slightly neglected feeling of a cupboard or storeroom.

When Bree entered she found herself in the middle of a forest clearing, she was therefore momentarily stunned.

"What the -?"

The classroom floor had become springily mossy and trees were growing out of it; their leafy branches fanned across the ceiling and windows, so that the room was full of slanting shafts of soft, dappled, green light. The students who had already arrived were sitting on the earthy floor with their backs resting against tree trunks or boulders, arms wrapped around their knees or folded tightly across their chests, and all looking rather nervous. In the middle of the clearing, where there were no trees, stood Firenze.

"Harry Potter," he said, holding out a hand when Harry entered.

"Er - hi," said Harry, shaking hands with the centaur, who surveyed him unblinkingly through those astonishingly blue eyes but did not smile. "Er - good to see you."

"And you," said the centaur, inclining his white-blond head. "It was foretold that we would meet again."

There was the shadow of a hoof-shaped bruise on Firenze's chest.

When the door was closed and the last student had sat down on a tree stump beside the wastepaper basket, Firenze gestured around the room.

"Professor Dumbledore has kindly arranged this classroom for us," said Firenze, when everyone had settled down, "in imitation of my natural habitat. I would have preferred to teach you in the Forbidden Forest, which was - until Monday - my home… but that is no longer possible."

"Please - er - sir -" said Parvati breathlessly, raising her hand, "- why not? We've been in there with Hagrid, we're not frightened!"

"It is not a question of your bravery," said Firenze, "but of my position. I cannot return to the Forest. My herd has banished me."

"Herd?" said Lavender in a confused voice, and Harry knew she was thinking of cows. "What - oh!" Comprehension dawned on her face. "There are more of you!" she said, stunned.

"Did Hagrid breed you, like the Thestrals?" asked Dean eagerly. Bree wanted to punch him and Firenze turned his head very slowly to face Dean, who seemed to realize at once that he had said something very offensive.

"I didn't - I meant - sorry" he finished in a hushed voice.

"Centaurs are not the servants or playthings of humans," said Firenze quietly. There was a pause, then Parvati raised her hand again.

"Please, sir… why have the other centaurs banished you?"

"Because I have agreed to work for Professor Dumbledore," said Firenze. "They see this as a betrayal of our kind."

"Let us begin," said Firenze. He swished his long palomino tail, raised his hand towards the leafy canopy overhead, then lowered it slowly, and as he did so, the light in the room dimmed, so that they now seemed to be sitting in a forest clearing by twilight, and stars appeared on the ceiling.

There were oohs and gasps and Ron said audibly, "Blimey!"

"Lie back on the floor," said Firenze in his calm voice, "and observe the heavens. Here is written, for those who can see, the fortune of our races."

Bree did as instructed. Space looks beautiful and peaceful when you observe it from earth, but it's a lie. Not to say that it isn't beautiful, it is, but it's a chaotic and deadly beauty. Bree couldn't quite remember the events, but she knew the dangers. The red star above Harry was Mars. It has a source of frozen water that you had better not drink without filtering it first. Stay off of planet midnight, count the shadows in the library, don't ride on space liners named after the Titanic, and no matter where you go, if you encounter weeping angels DON'T BLINK.

"I know that you have learned the names of the planets and their moons in Astronomy," said Firenze's calm voice, "and that you have mapped the stars progress through the heavens. Centaurs have unraveled the mysteries of these movements over centuries. Our findings teach us that the future may be glimpsed in the sky above us -"

"Professor Trelawney did astrology with us!" said Parvati excitedly, raising her hand in front of her so that it stuck up in the air as she lay on her back. "Mars causes accidents and burns and things like that, and when it makes an angle to Saturn, like now -" she drew a right-angle in the air above her "- that means people need to be extra careful when handling hot things -"

"That," said Firenze calmly, "is human nonsense."

Parvati's hand fell limply to her side.

"Trivial hurts, tiny human accidents," said Firenze, as his hooves thudded over the mossy floor. "These are of no more significance than the scurryings of ants to the wide universe, and are unaffected by planetary movements."

"Professor Trelawney -" began Parvati, in a hurt and indignant voice.

"- is a human," said Firenze simply. "And is therefore blinkered and fettered by the limitations of your kind."

"Sibyll Trelawney may have Seen, I do not know," continued Firenze, and Harry heard the swishing of his tail again as he walked up and down before them, "but she wastes her time, in the main, on the self-flattering nonsense humans call fortune-telling. I, however, am here to explain the wisdom of centaurs, which is impersonal and impartial. We watch the skies for the great tides of evil or change that are sometimes marked there. It may take ten years to be sure of what we are seeing."

Firenze pointed to the red star directly above Harry.

"In the past decade, the indications have been that wizardkind is living through nothing more than a brief calm between two wars. Mars, bringer of battle, shines brightly above us, suggesting that the fight must soon break out again. How soon, centaurs may attempt to divine by the burning of certain herbs and leaves, by the observation of fume and flame…"

They did indeed burn sage and mallowsweet there on the classroom floor, and Firenze told them to look for certain shapes and symbols in the pungent fumes, but he seemed perfectly unconcerned that not one of them could see any of the signs he described, telling them that humans were hardly ever good at this, that it took centaurs years and years to become competent, and finished by telling them that it was foolish to put too much faith in such things, anyway, because even centaurs sometimes read them wrongly. His priority did not seem to be to teach them what he knew, but rather to impress upon them that nothing, not even centaurs' knowledge, was foolproof.

The bell rang right outside the classroom door and everyone jumped having completely forgotten they were still inside the castle, and quite convinced that they were really in the Forest. The class filed out, looking slightly perplexed.


Neville was studying at a table in the common room when he felt a sudden sense of doom creeping over him. He turned around and found the Weasley twins standing right behind him. They were both grinning in a way that made Neville want to run.

"Hello Neville." Fred greeted.

"You're coming with us." George said. They grabbed Neville by the arms and dragged him out of the common room, cackling the whole way.

"What do you think they're going to do with him?" Harry asked Ron. Ron looked up from his essay.

"I've learned by now that it's better not to know." He answered.


Luna had taken things well, really well. And after being tied to the wards through the Ravenclaw keystone, which looked like an eagle perched on a pile of books, she was apparently having a conversation with the castle about snorcacks.

Luna and Bree were waiting for the twins to show up with Neville in Hufflepuff's room. The portrait of Helga Hufflepuff reminded Bree of Professor Sprout and Mrs. Weasley. The twins brought Neville in a dropped him in front of the fireplace.

"Will someone please tell me what's going on!" Neville exclaimed as he stood up and dusted himself of. And so they told him about Hogwarts, old magic and bush magic, the difference between the two being that bush magic was more about basic survival and old magic was more about willing things to happen, and they told him that they were going to tie him to the wards through the Hufflepuff keystone.

"But I'm a Gryffindor!" Neville protested.

"It doesn't matter as long as you have some Hufflepuff traits, which you do. You're loyal and hard working so we're tying you to the badger." Bree said.

Neville stumbled into the common room a little while later and went back to studying.

"What did the twins do to you?" Harry asked.

"I can't tell you that or Bree will do horrible things to me. Horrible, horrible things." Neville answered. No one asked him anymore questions.


After about a week of keeping Umbridge out of the castle Bree deactivated the ward before the curse breakers were able to figure out exactly what they were dealing with. Umbridge spent days questioning students in her quest to uncover whoever was responsible for her banishment and expel them. Her investigation went nowhere and she was forced to give up.


It was the morning of April first when the Daily Prophet finally had something to report about the ten escaped Death Eaters. Augustus Rookwood had been found dead. His body had been found full of "little pieces of metal" with a note saying "Let's see the Order of the Phoenix do that!" Aunt Lisa really didn't like it when people took credit took credit for work that wasn't theirs.

Most of the students in the Great Hall didn't notice the headline right away. They were too distracted by the rubber fish that covered the walls of the Great Hall. The ceiling showed sharks and dolphins swimming overhead.

"Some Aprils Fools prank, huh?" Fred said as he sat down next to Bree.

"Must of taken all night to get those fish up there." George stated as he sat down on Bree's other side.

"Actually it only took about two hours, give or take." Bree replied, not looking up from the paper. Gringotts had had been defaced by a stylized three inside of an oval. The Third Option now had its own symbol, apparently.

"You should have told us." Fred stated.

"It's a Great April Fool prank." George continued.

"We would have helped." Fred finished.

Bree frowned and put away the paper. "I didn't do it for April Fools. I did it in celebration of a more important event that just so happens to be on April first." She said. Identical grins spread across the twins faces.

"Why, dear brother, I do believe that she's talking about our birthday." George said, wrapping an arm around Bree's shoulders. Neither twin noticed Bree's blush.

"Why I do believe you're right, brother." Fred replied, ruffling Bree's hair.

"Where'd you get all the fish from anyway?" George asked.

"My cousin Leo. He's able to get anything, cheap." Bree answered.

"Anything?" Fred echoed.

"Yeah, that reminds me, here." Bree held up a piece of paper. Fred took it.

"What's this?" he asked.

"Leo's contact information, just tell him I sent you and he'll be able to get you anything you need for your shop." Bree explained.

"Aww, she takes such good care of us Georgie." Fred said, ruffling Bree's hair again.


652. Not allowed to glue rubber fish to the walls.


Of course what birthday is complete without a party? That night there was a party in the Gryffindor room. It was as loud and fun as any other Gryffindor party and lasted well into the night. After the party finally wound down and most of the Gryffindors had stumbled up to bed except for those who had fallen asleep in the common room.

Bree was asleep and cuddled up to George's side on one of the couches.

"Fred." He whispered to his brother who had flopped onto a nearby couch. Fred sat up and blinked blearily at his twin.

"What?" he whispered back.

"I think we have a problem." George replied. "I think Lee might have been right."