Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter series!

Professor Trelawney's Prediction

Ella found it a little disconcerting how much studying was being done throughout the school. Even Fred and George had given up their usual antics to study for the O. . Normally, Ella helped them, but today she had something else on her agenda. This was something she'd been thinking about for weeks and decided needed to be done as soon as possible.

The last several days had been filled with happiness and celebrations, but Ella found the effects beginning to wear off slowly but surely. Something about the future made her stomach churn. She couldn't place where things would turn sour or even how, but it was enough to fill her stomach with unease. She simply had to do this.

Soon enough, she found herself marching into Dumbledore's office. She'd sent a letter to him with Rowena requesting a time to meet with him before they had their final exams. Ella didn't include what she wanted to talk to him about, just that she wanted to talk to him.

"Hello, Ella. I assumed from your letter that the matter was somewhat serious. What do you need?" Dumbledore asked calmly.

She took a deep breath and looked him dead in the eyes, "I want you to take the curse off of me."

Dumbledore sat silently for a moment before giving a small nod, "A part of me knew this was going to happen soon enough. May I ask why before I do it?"

"I no longer need it. I've outgrown the need to tell people what I see, and it's hindering my abilities. If I didn't have the curse I think I could actually block out some of the things I see or at least gain a little more control. It's growing like my magic, but this curse is oppressing it to a point where it's more hazardous than it would be without the precaution of the spell. Besides, I have my Divinations exam and I wouldn't be able to complete it with the curse. It's hindering my abilities and my studies."

For a short while Dumbledore sat in his chair and Ella wondered if he no longer wanted her to have the curse removed. An awful thought entered her mind that he believed she wasn't actually strong enough to not reveal the secrets she knew to others. Then she began to wonder if she really could hold her tongue, but she snapped herself out of those thoughts. She couldn't let herself believe that she was weak. She knew from experience that she was stronger than that.

The man looked at her and gestured to the chair on the other side of the desk while waiting for her to sit before speaking, "I've been wondering for a long while just how much power you will have as you grow. Ever since you informed me last year that you were able to see things while you were awake I've been contemplating just how powerful this ability is. I looked through many of the old tomes in my library, but nothing holds the slightest insight into your dreams."

"Nothing seems to be able to judge how much power I have. I came to that realization my first year. But this curse is harming things more than doing good. I can't keep getting sick and facing these reoccurring dreams. It helped at first, but now there's a war going on between my dreams and the curse and I don't think any good will ever come of it. The training wheels need to come off, so to speak. I've outgrown this curse and now I need to live up to my abilities instead of hiding from them. If I can understand them maybe I can understand what's necessary for the future," Ella confided with the professor.

Without any more delays, the professor removed the curse from Ella. A rush of fresh air hit her as the invisible weights were lifted. It was like every other time the curse had been removed; only this time Ella knew it was permanent. The curse would never be reinstated. A cloud of images swept her out of Dumbledore's office for only a moment before Ella waved them off. She'd have time for that later.

Astoundingly, the images listened to her and completely receded. For the first time in what seemed like months Ella could think clearly. There wasn't the slightest hint of a vision floating in her mind. Despite their disappearance Ella knew she could call them back whenever she wanted to, and even though she had a newfound control over her ability she could still sense that the visions couldn't be held away forever. Eventually, they'd become restless and fight, but for now she could hold a little control.

"How do you feel?" Dumbledore asked her after giving Ella a moment to herself.

She smiled, "Free."

When Ella left the headmaster's office there was a spring in her step and a light in her young eyes that hadn't been there for several years. Even though she was only fifteen years old, she seemed younger. The wise girl was more youthful than she'd been in the past, and the burdens she carried daily melted off her shoulders for at least a short while. She felt confident that she'd be able to mask the coming events until exams were over. After that, she'd allow the future to reveal itself again.

Exams rushed into Ella's life like her dreams used to –in a confusing and erratic blur. She hardly needed to worry about holding back the dreams because she was too exhausted for them to show up. She and Katie were rushing between their tests trying to do well. Potions was the only one so far that Ella felt like she slipped in. That skill was become increasingly difficult for her to keep as the years passed. By the final day of testing Ella and all of her friends were completely void of energy. Katie was lucky enough that before lunch she would have a break in her testing, but Ella would have to go to Divinations to look into her first crystal ball. After lunch she wouldn't have to worry about another final. She could relax in the common room and let her brain melt in peace.

Everyone sat outside of the classroom while one student viewed the crystal ball alone with Trelawney. The smell of perfume wafted in the hallway from the classroom. Ella could only imagine how awful and choking it'd be in the small space. She'd be lucky to get a prediction out before falling asleep…or dying if the hallway was any indication.

"I saw something!" Cho blurted as soon as she was back where everyone was waiting. She'd been the first person to go. "I didn't think it was possible but I saw a bird. It looked a bit like a crow, but I wasn't certain. Trelawney was thrilled."

Cormac frowned, "Great, now the rest of us have high expectations to live up to."

Cho rolled her eyes, "It was only a bird. That's not incredibly hard to best. Anyway, good luck to you both. I'm going to lunch."

McLaggen watched her go then turned to Ella, "Can you believe her? She sees something, raises all the standards for our test, and then walks away like it was a skill she had all her life."

"If we're not careful we'll have another Marietta on our hands," Ella joked. Said Ravenclaw was testing and wasn't there to be heard or Ella would've kept her mouth shut. Soon enough Cormac was leaving Ella. His examination went about as well as he had predicted.

"Well, I made up the things I saw, which were dark because she likes that kind of thing. I'm not sure that she actually believed it though," he confided to Ella. All she could do was shrug and wait while he went to eat lunch.

"Ella Worthington." The dreamy voice floated down from the classroom after the second to last student had raced off to eat. Ella slowly climbed the ladder and made it into the room. The smell seemed to be lessening, but still made her gag. There was no way she could make it to N.E.W.T. level in this class especially if Trelawney would always have perfume fogging up her mind.

Professor Trelawney smiled at her as she took a seat across from her. The crystal ball sat in between the two of the on a table. Ella glanced up at the professor who just nodded towards the orb. Ella drew her attention back to the sphere and stared at it. For a while it seemed to only be filled with dark clouds, but then an image began to dance on the surface.

"I see a group of men…I've seen them before, but not in real life. They're marching slowly across a camp ground –I think it is. They're all covered by cloaks with face masks," Ella described. She'd seen this many times in her dreams, but this was more physical. She was watching it in a crystal ball while conscious. There wasn't a chance that it was only a dream. Ella wanted to look away from the sphere but found she was transfixed.

Her professor's voice drifted into her thoughts, "Go on child, what else is there?"

She swallowed, "The figures are shooting blasts of light up in the air. It seems like a celebration of some sort. These people just want to frighten others. I can see them moving through the camp ground blasting tents away. There…there are people floating in the air–" The vision began to flicker into the world around her instead of staying in the crystal ball.

The crowd of people pointed towards their floating victims. They laughed and jeered, some out of drunkenness and some out of pure joy in causing terror. All of them hooted and cheered at the woman in the air as she was flipped upside down so her nightgown fell up and then a child…a little child spun around at dizzying speeds sixty feet in the air. It was a nauseating sight. Then there was screaming. Not from the people in the air, but from all around the campsite. People were terrified; they were panic-stricken.

"My dear!"

Ella opened to eyes to see that she was on the floor of the Divinations classroom. Her stomach churned and she was covered in a thin layer of sweat. How long had she been passed out for? How did that even happen?

"Sorry, I…I just–"

Professor Trelawney cut her off, "You were just having a vision, and a powerful one at that."

The fourth year frowned, "That was awful. I don't even remember all of it or when it was going to happen." It was true that the finer details were already beginning to leave. The campsite would fade from her mind soon enough and all she'd remember was the terror, the people, and a forest.

"Visions do not always lay out the finer details of an event that will come to pass. It is the burden of true Seers to view horrible moments of time, but be unsure of anything more than their atrocity. Might I assume this isn't the first dark vision you have seen?" The professor looked at her with her magnified eyes.

She shook her head, "You're right. I see things like that all the time, but I can't decipher the meanings or when they'll happen. Sometimes I can't even tell what is happening, but it's awful."

"You have the green light in your eyes, child."

"What does that mean?" Ella asked, not particularly caring for being called a child.

Trelawney looked at her closely, "My grandmother told me that when a Seers sees terror and death they have a green light within their eyes. Now if you are familiar with the Unforgivable Curses you know that the Killing curse comes with a flash of green light. It is believed that the phrase derives from that blast of horror. And I can see that green light, I can see it in your eyes."

"Can I leave please?" Ella no longer wanted to be near that crystal ball.

"Yes," the professor nodded. "But do be careful. You'll probably be weak for a little while and susceptible to more visions."

Ella climbed down the ladder and prayed no more visions would come to her. She began to make her way back to the Common Room in hopes that she could rest in a big arm chair. As she walked down the Grand Staircase she saw Ginny and another girl moving towards the library. Ginny spotted her as well.

"Hey, Ella!" She called out waving Ella over to where she stood.

Slowly, Ella moved to her friend while taking in the appearance of the girl she assumed to be Luna Lovegood. She certainly had the aura that Ginny described with her wand tucked behind her left ear and a dreamy expression in her grey eyes. In fact, if that hadn't tipped Ella off then the butterbeer cap necklace and radish-looking earrings would have been a dead giveaway.

"Hi Ginny, is this your friend?"

Ginny smiled at Ella, "Yes, Ella this is Luna Lovegood. Luna, this is Ella Worthington. She's two years older than we are but one of my closest friends."

"Pleased to meet you," the girl said in an airy voice. It was the opposite of Trelawney's rasp. Luna's voice seemed to be light and melodic.

Ella smiled, "Nice to meet you as well, Ginny's told me a lot about you." The two girls shook hands which caused a pair of odd looking spectacles to fall off Luna's forehead. She straightened the glasses then looked at Ella closely.

"How odd. You haven't a single Wrackspurt floating near your head. You must be exceptionally responsive to the world around you. Maybe even a decent Seer as well," Luna told her analytically.

"A what? And how could you possibly know that?" Ella questioned her shocked. She looked towards Ginny who just grinned.

"I told you Luna's unique," Ginny laughed.

Luna babbled on, "Well, Wrackspurts are still very mysterious creatures, but they make the brain go all fuzzy. They're constantly attracted to me for some reason. You don't have many floating around you though so I'd assume that means you have an extremely clear mind."

"Well, I suppose you're right. I'm going to head to the Gryffindor Common Room now, but it was very nice to meet you Luna. See you later Ginny," Ella told the two. She had noticed her knees had begun to shake as the conversation went on. Her head felt like it was pounding.

By the time she reached the Common Room, many kids had left for their final exam. Ella collapsed into a chair near one of the windows. She couldn't believe that of all the tests she'd faced, it'd been Divinations that took the most energy out of her. Not even the Defense Against the Dark Arts obstacle course did this much damage to her. Insteadshe was taken down by a crystal ball. She couldn't stop herself from shivering and trembling. She took slow deep breaths to attempt to calm her racing heart, but it was impossible. Her body and mind seemed to be racing and losing control. All the oppressing she'd been doing was finally catching up to her.

"No more visions today. I've had enough," she whispered to herself, but her mind was rebelling. She sat in that spot fighting for control for nearly an hour. The panic began to lessen and she slowly went back to normal.

IT WILL HAPPEN TONIGHT.

Ella's head jerked backwards as though someone had yanked her hair. The Common Room faded like the classroom had before only this time was different. She wasn't completely in the scene. It was clouded like the image in the crystal ball. The scene before her billowed around and was split into many scenes. A raspy voice echoed throughout her mind.

THE DARK LORD LIES ALONE AND FRIENDLESS, ABANDONED BY HIS FOLLOWERS.

A shriveled creature lied somewhere. It was disgusting and weak looking. Ella was shocked by the appearance of Lord Voldemort. He didn't look like the most powerful and frightening wizard to date, but she knew looks were deceiving.

HIS SERVANT HAS BEEN CHAINED THESE TWELVE YEARS.

The Weasleys were now flickering around the stream of images. Ella whirled around watching as Percy took care of the rat then gave him over to Ron for his first year of school. Scabbers was pampered as much as the Weasleys were able to do, but Ella felt how sinister he was now. The rat wasn't chained, he was thriving and waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike or abandon the family that'd done so much for him.

TONIGHT, BEFORE MIDNIGHT…THE SERVANT WILL BREAK FREE AND SET OUT TO REJOIN HIS MASTER.

Ella watched as the dirty man she'd seen in her petrified state turned once more into a rat and ran off through the grass. She wanted to capture him, but she was unable to move. She looked around before the vision could change and saw the rat was in front of the Whomping Willow.

THE DARK LORD WILL RISE AGAIN WITH HIS SERVANT'S AID, GREATER AND MORE TERRIBLE THAN HE EVER WAS.

Now a house loomed in the vision. It was falling apart on the outside, but within it Voldemort sat on a chair and Pettigrew kneeled before him helping the evil man gain strength. Many images floated around showing Pettigrew caring for the broken dark wizard. Then Pettigrew dropped him into a giant cauldron. Ella gasped in surprise until she watched as Voldemort rose from it back in all of his glory. Children and adults screamed in the background as his power was restored.

TONIGHT…BEFORE MIDNIGHT…THE SERVANT…WILL SET OUT…TO REJOIN…HIS MASTER…

Houses were set on fire and burned to the ground. Ella didn't know if there were people in those buildings or what was happening, but an ominous cloud was in the air of a skull with a snake slithering out of its mouth lit up the sky and sent a chill of foreboding down her spine. More screaming could be heard and jets of green lights shot through the different visions.

"Ella! Snap out of it!"

The Common Room rushed back into view and the vision she'd just seen faded out of sight. She was still sitting in the same chair, but her whole body ached from how rigid she'd gone. Every muscle was tensed. She blinked a few times and looked over at Fred. He was watching her hesitantly along with George, Lee, Angelina, and Alicia.

"Sor-Sorry. I must have spaced off a little," Ella mumbled shakily.

Fred shook his head, "Don't lie. That wasn't spaced off –that was…"

"You were sitting completely still, almost like you were petrified again. We kept trying to get you to snap out of it, but you just sat there staring at nothing," George explained for his brother.

"None of us could get a response until Fred yelled at you," Lee continued.

"I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to scare you all. I couldn't help it," Ella said standing up. She felt a lot stronger for some odd reason. The vision frightened her, but it strengthened her resolve. She was going to change what was about to happen. Sirius and her would end that rat before her escaped at midnight.

Angelina looked at her suspiciously, "You were having a vision, weren't you?"

They all looked at her in surprise.

"Alright, yes. I can see things outside of dreaming now, but it's not normal or common," Ella informed them.

Lee looked at her in astonishment, "Your dreams are one thing, but that's really powerful to see things while you're awake as well."

"I know…believe me I do. And I don't particularly care for that. Now if you all will excuse me I need to go see Dumbledore," Ella said grabbing her bag and hoping they'd let her go. She began walking towards the portrait hole.

"What did you see?" Fred called to her.

She stopped and looked at all of her friends then forced a small smile on her face, "Nothing that can't be stopped."

Ella rushed up to the Owlery and pulled a piece of parchment, a quill, and some ink out of her bag. Rowena glided over towards her and hooted curiously. She absent mindedly stroked the bird then got to work on her letter.

Dear Professor Dumbledore,

I'm sorry that I haven't been as open this year about things to come with you. All year I've been worried about how changing the future could affect the world and whether that'd be good or not. I hope I'm not too late in changing my mind, but the future needs to be changed. I saw that much today.

Sirius Black is innocent. He's been innocent for the last twelve years. Peter Pettigrew is alive; he was the one who was in league with Voldemort. They changed the Secret-Keeper at the last moment because Sirius and the Potters believed that Voldemort would go after Sirius first and that he wouldn't suspect Pettigrew, but it was a mistake. Peter Pettigrew gave them away immediately.

After the Potters were killed, Sirius went to murder Pettigrew, but before he could Pettigrew yelled about his betrayal then blew up the entire street. He cut off his finger to make it look like an accident and has been living as an illegal Animagus. He's the one Sirius is after. Sirius, Peter, and James Potter became Animagi to make Professor Lupin's transformations easier. It's how Sirius escaped from Azkaban and how Pettigrew has remained hidden so long, he's a rat.

Tonight, I fear everything will unfold, but I'm going to try to change the future. If something goes wrong and Sirius is captured, you must do something to stop him from being kissed. Talk to him –he'll tell you the same story that I'm telling you. There has to be some way to save him if things go awry, and I have a terrible feeling they will.

Sorry again,

Ella Worthington

She looked at Rowena and stroked her head once more, "This is for Dumbledore, but don't take it to him until later tonight. Understand?" Rowena hooted intelligently to her. Ella nodded and began to leave the Owlery. That was one person down that she needed to see. One left.

"Come in." The voice behind the office door called out after Ella knocked. She slowly turned the knob and entered Lupin's office. "Ella, I'm sorry I wasn't expecting you. I don't have your exam graded just yet, but it will be soon."

"I'm not here for a grade Professor," she responded.

Lupin nodded, "Right, then what can I help you with?"

Ella took a deep breath, "I don't know any other way to say this so I'm just going to tell you. Sirius Black is innocent."

The teacher froze then spluttered, "He's…you…excuse me?"

"I know it seems like a lot and a giant lie, but I'm telling you the truth. He's been wrongfully imprisoned the last twelve years. Pettigrew was the traitor and the actual Secret-Keeper; he and Sirius switched at the last moment," Ella quickly explained some of the finer details.

Remus Lupin shook his head, "That's not possible. There were eye witnesses." Ella looked out the window and realized that she needed to hurry up or she'd never be able to explain what she saw to Sirius in time.

"Alright, if you don't believe me then look at your Marauder's Map. It doesn't lie, it doesn't make things up. Think about it closely. Peter like powerful friends. He befriended the biggest kid on the playground so to speak, and at the time that the Potters were betrayed it was Voldemort who was the powerful ally to have. Just watch the map and see that I'm not lying to you," Ella told him. Then she turned around and dashed out of the room.

"Ella wait!" Lupin shouted, but Ella wasn't going to turn back. She got around the corner and found the corridor empty. All the students were enjoying their dinner by now. They wouldn't be wandering the hallways tonight. They'd be celebrating the end of finals.

Soon enough her two long legs had become four little ones. Ella raced down the hall hoping she wouldn't run into anyone while she was an Animagus. They'd probably be very confused by a fox running around the school. Luckily she made it outside the building without running into anyone. The Whomping Willow stood menacingly above the entrance to the Shrieking Shack, but Ella didn't even try stunning it. She swiftly darted beneath it and into the darkness below.

A/N: I'm soooooo sorry this took so long. College is nuts, but I'll try to post as much as I can before break ends. Happy (late) Christmas and I hope you enjoyed the chapter! As always, reviews are very welcome! :)