Heart of Yours | Harry Potter

X.

Lalia was in Divination with Harry and Ron. They were pulling out their dream diary, which Lalia would no longer have to fake, in their seats at the very back of the shadowy Divination room when Ron nudged them both, looking round, they saw Professor Umbridge emerging through the trapdoor in the floor. The class, which had been talking cheerily, fell silent at once. The abrupt fall in the noise level made Professr Trelawney, who had been wafting about handing out Dream Oracles, look round. 

"Good afternoon, Professor Trelawney," said Professor Umbridge with a wide smile. "You received my note, I trust? Giving the time and date of your inspection?" 

Professor Trelawney nodded curtly and, looking very disgruntled, turned her back on Professor Umbridge and continued to give out books. Still smiling, Professor Umbridge grasped the back of the nearest armchair and pulled it to the front of the class so that it was a few inches behind Professor Trelawney's seat. She then sat down, took her clipboard frorm her flowery bag, and looked up expectantly, waiting for the class to begin. 

Professor Trelawney pulled her shawls tight about her with slightly trembling hands and surveyed the class through her hugely magnifying lenses. "We shall be continuing our study of prophetic dreams today," she said in a brave attempt at her usual mystic tones, though her voice shook slightly. "Divide into your groups, please, and interpret each other's latest nighttime visions with the aid of the Oracle."

She made as though to sweep back to her seat, saw Professor Umbridge sitting right beside it, and immediately veered left toward Parvati and Lavender, who were already deep in discussion about Parvati's most recent dream. 

Lalia opened her copy of The Dream Oracle, watching Umbridge uneasily. She was making notes on her clipboard now. After a few minutes she got to her feet and began to pace the room in Trelawney's wake, listening to her conversations with students and posing questions here and there. 

"Think of a dream, quick," Harry told Ron, "in case the old toad comes our way."

"I did it last time," Ron protested, "It's your turn, you tell me one. Or Lalia can -" 

"No!" Harry said strictly. "I dunno ...." He desperately tried to remember dreaming anything at all over the last few days. "Let's say I dreamed I was ... drowning Snape in my  cauldron. Yeah, that'll do... ."

Ron chortled as he opened his own book.. 

"Okay, we've got to add your age to the date you had the dream, the number of letters in the subject ... would that be 'drowning' or 'cauldron' or 'Snape'?" 

"Drowning," Lalia said, glancing at her own book. 

Professor Umbridge was now standing at Professor Trelawney's shoulder making notes while the Divination teacher questioned Neville about his dream diary.

"What night did you dream this again?" Ron said, immerssed in calculations. 

"I dunno, last night, whenever you like," Harry told him, trying to listen to what Umbridge was saying to Professor Trelawney. They were only atbale away from them now. Professor Umbridge was maing another note on her clipboard and Professor Trelawney was looking extremely put out. 

"Now," said Umbridge, looking at Trelawney, "you've been in this post how long, exaclty?"

Professor Trelawney scowled at her, arms crossed and shoulders hunched as though wishing to protect herself as much as possible from the indignity of the inspection. After a slight pause in which she seemed to decide that the question was not so offensive that she could reasonably ignore it, she said in a deeply resentful tone, "Nearly sixteen years."