Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, themes, and settings in this story. That all belongs to J.K.R.
Thank you so much to ilovemoony73 for being the Beta for this story. Honestly the quality of the writing has improved so much since my last chapter that you'll probably think they are two different stories. For now let me just say how sorry I am that I haven't been able to update. The college workload has hit me like a train and the reading... so many textbooks. Anyways! Now that's winter break I am getting back into it and I am going to to my damnedest to try to get chapter up more often then every time I'm on vacation from school. As usual please review, sell you my soul for a review, ect. Thank you again to ilovemoony73, honestly I actually learned a lot about grammar from reading over the corrections and I feel much better with this chapter than any others I have written. Hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 7: Divination and Frustration
I tried to write a letter to my mother saying that I couldn't be Head girl but I ended up shoving the letter away before even mentioning anything about my Prefect duties.
The morning passed with my usual process. I sat in the very front row next to Camille in every single class. While I vigilantly listened and wrote down every word coming out of the professor's mouth , Camille doodled diagrams from Quidditch practice. Before she was written off as my lazy side kick that spends most of her life dreaming about a sport where children pummeled each other with bats and cannon balls, remember that I said earlier; she was one of the smartest people I knew. While other people needed hours of studying to learn a subject, I just gave Camille my notes the night before and she'd be good for the quiz.
This pattern of me taking notes and Camille ignoring the teacher went on for about two classes, with a brief intermission of glaring daggers into Lysander's back until as I passed him on the way to my seat. By the time the longest brake was over, I craved to escape to the library.
"Are you going to Potions?" asked Camille.
"Yeah in a minute Camille, I just need to check something." I parted with her while we were climbing up a flight of stairs. I approached one of the portrait doors stating "Studious Success" and it swung open to admit me. I walked down the hallway that led to the library. I walked through the ornate stone archway and realized in the nearlyemptyI got a couple that had to do with Defense Against the Dark Arts and Divination. I pulled out one of the Divination textbooks and flipped through it to find something I could use for my paper, that hopefully had some magical science behind it. Not able to find anything I went up to Madam Lemnis, the librarian.
"Hey Madam Lemnis, can you tell where I can find a Divination book on the theory behind it?"
"Oh, you won't find that sort of thing in the main library," she responded from behind a giant stack of books she was putting back onto the shelves. She was a small robust women with a weather-worn face and a slight accent I couldn't trace.
"okay, thanks."For the second time that day things weren't working out in my favor. I almost walked out with what books I found.
"Where are you going? I said no books in the main section;I said nothing about none being in the Restricted Section."
"Oh," I said distracted by my earlier dissatisfaction, but then what she just said sunk in, "Oh!" I turned around almost forgetting to say thank you over my shoulder.
I ran into the Restricted section, only having to lift a wrought iron fence's door handle to enter. For being called the Restriction Section it was quite accessible. I was already equated with this area of the library so I found the Divination Section in a dozen seconds.
Divination Through the Ages...
Sounded familiar, could Quidditch Through the Ages could sue them on wizarding copyright grounds?
Your Life Is in the Palm of Your Hand...
Clever title, Divination section, clever title.
Divination for the Dimwitted...
Was this actually the title of one of the big bad books in the Restricted Section? I almost passed over it until I saw the tag line underneath.
Learn about Divination and the Not So Divine Explanation of Why it Works.
Hmm.
That sounded intriguing. I picked it up and looked at the tacky cover which couldn't have been more than twenty years old.
The first page was either a disclaimer or author's note, no more than a paragraph, accompanied by a moving picture of a glittering half-moon with clouds passing over it.
Divination, down to its core, is about the complex concept of balance. For every light, there is a darkness. For every good, there is an evil. The study of Divination is more of a study of how balance works and affects the universe. There are subdivisions of Balance which include patterns, coincidence and influence. The mentally complex: proceed, and those without creativity and willpower: beware.
I tucked it into my side bag, which at this point was cutting into my shoulder and glanced at my wristwatch. Holy shit, sholy hit.
I sprinted out of the library, which at this point was completely empty. Madam Lemnis gave me a hard look and I tried to look apologetic, but I probably ended up looking demented instead.
I waited outside of the potions classroom listening through the door for a break in Slughorn's annual speech of "What Potion do you Think this is?"
Finally I heard a pause and I opened the door as quietly as possible. As expected, everyone was looking at me.
"Miss Weasley, we were waiting for you! Well take a seat and we can get started on today's lesson."
I mumbled a "thanks professor," and went to my usual seat next to Camille. She looked at me apologetically, because Albert was seated next to her, taking up my seat. I glance around to find another seat and found the only empty seat… and it was next to Scorpius Malfoy.
I carefully placed my bag next to my chair. Scorpious glanced at me quickly, but other than that he didn't acknowledge my presence. Even better that he pretend I wasn't here as long as we don't need to interact.
"For the next half an hour of class you shall be brewing a potion with the person next to you."
Partnership? With Scorpius Malfoy? Shit. Those were two concepts that I wished would never be used in the same context. I glanced at Malfoy. Either he was doing his damnedest to ignore me, or his finger nails, which he was currently examining, were very fascinating.
"One person from each partnership will pick a slip which will have a potion written on it."
The potions which he was was referring to were all lined up in front of the class, merely a table in front of me.
The bag got passed around. I tried to crane my neck towards the front table to see what the possible potions were. The one's that I was immediately able to recognize were the Befuddlement Draught, Restoration Potion, and Pepperup Potion. They were all pretty basic so I wasn't too worried, a few were harder to decipher because Slughorn had covered them with their cauldron's lid. The bag finally arrived at our table and I grabbed it and picked the first piece of parchment that grazed my fingers.
Beautification Potion.
It sounded easy enough. Now I was going to have to face Malfoy.
"Scorpius?"
"Uh huh."
"We're to make a Beautification Potion," I said pointing to the paper in my hand. He brushed a few strands of his sleek hair out of his face and stared at me.
"Okay then, I'll get the supplies." he got up and walked toward the small crowd that was gathered around the ingredient cabinet. So far our exchange had been polite. That hadn't been the case six years ago when we had first talked.
In fact, we met in this very classroom. It was the first day of class and good ole Sluggy was having a class discussion of the properties of certain potions, in which we had to guess what they were. I had raised my hand like the eager little first year I was and Slughorn called on me for almost every question. After I answered my last question he said, "I should have guessed that Hermione Granger's daughter would be just as gifted at potions as she herself! Twenty points to Gryffindor."
At that point I heard snickering behind me so I whipped around. It was Scorpius and his fellow Slytherin friend Trevor Zabini. While Slughorn continued on with his lecture I whispered through my teeth.
"Something funny?"
It was Scorpius who responded, "Oh no, nothing's funny."
"Hmm," I turned back around with my nose in the air.
After the lesson I had walked outside. I wasn't close with Camille yet so I was by myself, and Louis was chatting up a Hufflepuff girl. Even in his carefree youth, Louis was still a devout man whore. I walked up to Albus who was waiting outside.
"How was potions?" He asked.
"Okay." I didn't bring up the people laughing at me. After talking a little bit longer Albus walked into Potions to attend class.
I was walking to my next class when I overheard a small group of Slytherins talking together. I walked past them, determined to ignore them, until I overheard my name.
"She's such a know-it-all bitch," A girl with long black hair said. I almost froze in place. My first year ears weren't used to such harsh cursing, especially in relation to my name.
This time Scorpius spoke: "Did you see her raising her hand for everything? Must be starved for attention at home or something."
"Come on, we're going to be late for charms." They all walked away without noticing me behind them.
"Dickheads," I heard over my shoulder.
"Huh?" I turned around and saw a tall, thin blonde girl with a pair of large hazel eyes. I'd met her, Camille, but we'd never had a meaningful conversation.
"The Slytherins. They suck."
She nodded her head to the left hallway, "Wanna get to Herbology?"
"Sure." I smiled at her. The rest of the way to the dining hall we talked and I learned that she was a Muggleborn and that her father was a high(-)ranking politician. After we continued to Herbology in a comfortable silence, all I could think about was how I should have stood up to those Slytherins, or jinxed them or something.
The after effects of the overheard conversation were both negative and positive. I gained Camille as a friend, but from that moment on I always had a nagging voice in my head whenever I answered in class, saying attention starved and in result I stopped raising my hand so much. I tried to convince myself that he was probably just jealous because he might have not been smart. It was something I read in a Muggle book about how sometimes intelligence was seen as a threat in people who considered themselves less intelligent, so I watched him out of the corner of my eye during class.
He got good grades during quizzes and brewed his potions correctly, but he hardly ever spoke up in class during discussions but instead talked to his friends and looked disinterested and acted superior to everything. It frustrated me to no end.
He walked back to our table with the ingredients and we began to brew it in silence. We occasionally talked to decipher a line in the textbook but we didn't chat. By the time class ended and we were packing up and I was feeling less annoyed at by Scorpius as a person. So I decided to bite the bullet and ask him.
"Scorpius?"
"Uh huh," he responded. Wow, did he ever shut up? I thought sarcastically.
"I was wondering if you had a partner for the Prefects' project. I slung my bag over my shoulder and tried to sound as casual as possible.
"Yeah, Tamsin," he said looking at me curiously.
"Okay. Well, see you." Of course he would be working with Tamsin. I felt stupid asking, but at least I got my answer. There was no way I would become Head Girl. I was walking out when I heard "Hey,Weasley!' over my shoulder.
I turned around and saw Scorpius holding a textbook, "Oh! Thanks."
I went to grab it and and he smirked.
"What's funny?" In confusion.
"Oh, it's just ironic that you'd be willing to read Divination for the Dimwitted." He said while his smirk expanded into a grin.
"Thanks again," I said as I stalked about out of the classroom. My finger gripped the book tighter and I felt a thick piece of paper sticking out from the book that tickle my palm. Curious, I pulled on the loose paper when I entered the hallway outside, which was empty. Someone wrote had written an essay on the accuracy and truth behind prophecies. I almost tucked it away in my bag until I saw the signature on the bottom.
Hermione Granger
I was sat alone in the Ravenclaw common room late at night, bent over that piece of paper.
Why was my mother writing this essay? It was extremely curious because third year students didn't need to write essays in Divination and my mother quit the class in third year (in a dramatic fashion, according to my father). So this had to be in her free time. She hates Divination, so it was unlikely she would do it for fun.
"What's up Nosy Rosie?"
I jumped a mile into the air.
"Holy— Merlin's shaggy left leg! What are you doing here Lysander?" I slid the essay away into a pile of parchment.
"Oh I was looking for a book in the Ravenclaw library, since your house hoards all the useful books in the common room. What's that?" He asked, pointing at the essay.
"Nothing to you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" He actually had the audacity to look hurt.
"I can't become Head Girl, thanks to you!" I responded heatedly.
"Rosie, I hope you don't think I did that to hurt you! No, no, I've wanted to do this since I was a lad!" He looked at me with big puppy dog eyes and I rolled my own.
"It's a Divination essay that my mum wrote and I have absolutely no idea what it's about. So I can't tell you what it is." Deciding to forgive his betrayal for the time being.
"Well, give it here!" Lysander reached his hand out.
"No. I told you, it's rubbish and completely mental! And you're not helpful, anyways." I said, pulling the paper away from him.
"I know a little about mental, Weasley; remember, part Lovegood," he said, pointing to himself. I handed him the book and he began to flip through the pages with a flourish.
"And I happen to know more than a little about Divination," he added looking pleased with himself.
"Come off it, how do you know about Divination?"
"Two summers ago when I was stranded at my dear Grandmothers house I decided to read up on it, since her basement was full of books." he s
"I feel like I ask you this question a lot, but why?"
"Well, dearest Rosie Cheeks, I wanted to make a good amount of pocket change for the expedition I would be embarking on next year, so I decided to start a business of reading Muggles' fortunes."
"Okay, so if you're such an expert, tell me what that paper says." I responded crossly.
"I must say I am reveling in the power rush I get from knowing something you don't," he said, and I aimed a kick at him under the table which I ended up missing and hit his chair leg instead.
"Ah, ah! Don't be feisty to the intellectually superior!"he reprimanded.
"Just read the bloody paper," I gritted.
And for once, Lysander shut his mouth. He furrowed his brows in concentration while scanning the text. I nervously tapped my finger on the table for what seemed like an eternity.
"It's actually very simple," he said looking up.
" . .mean?" I asked, accentuating every word.
"It means that certain prophecies have the tendency to reoccur. They aren't tied to an individual but rather a blood line. Or, in some cases, multiple bloodlines."
"That can't be right; everything in this book had some sort of logical reason for everything to turn out the way they do. This sounds like something some old bat like Trelawney pulled out of her ass after a bad case of the runs." I muttered while rubbing my eyes from exhaustion.
"You paint a lovely picture… but I don't think this was written with notes out of just this book." He put the book on the table and tapped it with his fingers. "No, this was probably something very thoroughly researched and probably took several sources."
"So my mother was a crazy lady who gathered her wild theories from several sources?" I asked.
"No, if I were to guess, I would say your mother already knew something and maybe spent her free time trying to prove divination theories false.
"Well she probably did, because she still thinks Divination is a load of bullocks."
"Wishful thinking it seems, because this paper looks like something that has been proven true." he said while neatly folding the paper back in half.
I leaned back onto my seat, pinching the bridge of my nose.
"If it has to do with bloodlines, and if it has something to do with my mother. Then this prophecy has something to do with me?"
"So it seems." Lysander already made that leap when he had finished reading the paper, once again outwitting me. I rubbed the back of my neck and avoided his concerned eyes.
"Good thing I think Divination is a useless class then." I chucked the book along with the paper onto the floor with all my the other books I got on Divination.
"Thanks for the help, but I have some essays to revise, and you're probably way past curfew and you're not a Ravenclaw." I pulled out my red ink and quill to begin to edit. I heard his footsteps as he walked toward the portrait hole.
"Hey Rose?"
"Yes Lysander?"
"Get some sleep."
I sighed, "I still don't forgive you."
"Don't worry. I'll make sure you become Head girl. Trust me."
The door closed and I continued to work till about two in the morning, thinking deeply about how exactly he planned on making me Head Girl. Once I started to read the same sentences four times in a row I decided to finish the rest during breakfast. When I was putting everything back into by bag I realized that I had forgotten to finish my letter to my family, but mostly to my mom; who actually wrote back every week. I thought about writing to her about my Head girl troubles but I wasn't sure if Lysander told his family about his plans next year to drop school. I also wanted to ask her about Divination but a lesser part of me felt betrayed that I had adamantly decided against taking any Divination classes past the third year because I thought it was useless. Or at least I thought that I thought that it was. As I read through the text books today on Divination I felt the same tickle of curiosity I felt when reading for other classes, in some cases even more when compared to Astronomy and History of Magic. Once I laid down to go to sleep I was kept awake with a nagging thought; how much of myself that I knew to be true was actually me and not just of how I imagined my mother was at my age. After lying awake thinking about other troubling topics like how I would never live up to my parents name and was already failing at it I drifted off into dreams of Hippogriffs and Pygmy puffs.