Chapter 140 Sybill Patricia Trelawney
Just as Evan, Harry, Hermione, and Hagrid were discussing Azkaban, the door to the Great Hall opened once again.
Professor Trelawney swept in, gliding towards them as if on skates.
She was clad in a green dress adorned with round metallic disks, giving her the appearance of an oversized, shimmering dragonfly.
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen!" Professor Trelawney exclaimed in her most misty and ethereal voice. "I have been gazing into my crystal ball in the tower. To my surprise, I saw myself forsaking my lunch to join your meal. How could I resist the call of destiny? I immediately left my abode, hence I sincerely ask for your forgiveness for being late..."
No one spoke, all eyes fixed on her in astonishment.
Evan noticed Professor McGonagall's tight-lipped expression and her countenance grow even more severe.
Professor Trelawney did not sit directly down. She circled the table, exerting an unseen pressure on everyone. She lingered for a long time behind Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Evan. Her large eyes scanned the entire table.
Suddenly, she cried out!
"What's wrong, Professor?" nervously inquired the first-year student before her.
"Dear boy, you can hardly believe it. I saw..." Her eyes fixed on Evan. Her expression appeared as if he were already deceased.
"Sit down, Sybill," Professor McGonagall curtly interrupted. "Those owls and shrieks were distressing enough. There is no need to unsettle everyone further!"
"I cannot sit, Minerva!" Professor Trelawney seemed to just notice Professor McGonagall. Distressed, she said, "I cannot. If I sit, we would be thirteen around the table! There is nothing more unfortunate than thirteen! Never forget that if thirteen people dine together, the first to rise after the meal will be the first to perish!"
"We are willing to take that risk, Sybill," impatiently declared Professor McGonagall. "Sit down, it is Christmas!"
Professor Trelawney hesitated and then settled beside Evan. He had a foreboding feeling about it and could sense that she had deliberately chosen that spot. She gazed at him with her wild, large eyes as if she had something to impart to him.
Needless to say, it was definitely not something auspicious!
He knew that coming from her, whatever she had to tell him would surely be ominous and enigmatic.
Evan tried not to look at her, focusing instead on the plate before him. The situation was already troublesome enough. He did not wish to face Professor Trelawney's curse before the night's events unfolded.
"Dea...".
"Would you care for beef tripe, Sybill?"
Professor McGonagall interrupted her once more as she scooped from the nearest large container.
Professor Trelawney disregarded Professor McGonagall and turned to Evan, then scanned the room. She softly inquired, "I didn't see our dear headmaster and Prof. Lupin. Where have they gone?"
"Obviously, everyone is aware of what occurred at the castle last night. I also know their current whereabouts, Albus and Lupin!" Professor McGonagall furrowed her brow and impatiently stated, "Even if no one disclosed it to you, you must have known, correct?"
"Of course, I did!" Professor Trelawney gazed indifferently at Professor McGonagall. "But people do not like a know-it-all. I often act as if I lack this gift. That way, people will not get nervous."
"That explains a lot," remarked Professor McGonagall bitterly. "What is this gift of yours?"
"If you must know, Minerva," Professor Trelawney's voice suddenly became less misty, "Two months ago, I had already seen poor Professor Lupin's end in the crystal ball. He was alone in a place filled with fear and despair."
Clearly, the place her words alluded to was the wizard prison of Azkaban.
That place is teeming with Dementors, nothing but fear and despair there. Upon hearing her words, gasps filled the room. She seemed to have foreseen Professor Lupin's tragic fate. He would spend the rest of his days in Azkaban.
Apart from the mocking smile on Snape's mouth, the others' faces grew darker.
Harry glanced uncomfortably at Professor Trelawney; he rarely argued with her. Perhaps he thought it wasn't worth it.
Throughout the semester, Professor Trelawney prophesied death to him, but nothing happened. Harry was accustomed to it.
And now, predicting that Prof. Lupin would spend the rest of his life in Azkaban was child's play for her.
Evan overheard Harry and Hermione discussing Azkaban with Hagrid in hushed tones. They asked for more details about the prison and tried to imagine Professor Lupin and Sirius Black locked up there, then the conversation shifted to Buckbeak the Hippogriff and Hagrid's plans after Christmas.
Evan turned without looking at Professor Trelawney beside him. He listened absentmindedly to Harry's conversation.
Harry and Hermione seemed to be desperately searching for words to divert Ron's attention.
Apart from the three, no one around the table spoke, and the atmosphere was somber.
That was undoubtedly the most unpleasant meal Evan had ever had. He quickly ate the contents of his plate. He whispered something to Harry and Hermione, avoiding looking at Professor Trelawney.
Fortunately, by the end of lunch, Professor Trelawney's behavior was almost normal.
About ten minutes later, Ron was ready to leave the table.
Evan, Harry, and Hermione looked at each other and quickly got up.
"Good gracious! Which one of you four was the first to rise from your seat? Who?" suddenly shouted Professor Trelawney.
"I don't know," Ron said quietly.
"I don't think it makes any difference!" said Professor McGonagall coldly. "Unless there's a mad axe murderer waiting outside to chop off the first one who exits."
Everyone smiled a bit. Professor Trelawney said nothing more and seemed very offended.
She looked at Professor McGonagall disdainfully, grabbed a bottle of sherry from the table, and left the Great Hall without looking back.
Ron followed her. Evan, Harry, and Hermione also hurried to follow. According to the plan they discussed in the school infirmary this morning, the first step was to speak with Ron. As they investigated intelligence, they would strive to keep Ron and Peter in Gryffindor Common Room.