Always For You. [Snape Romance] [Harry Potter]

Arc 2: Chapter 7: Arifica

The classroom was stained a deep red and the petite Trelawney was going from table to table clearing up the clutter. She picked up a teacup on one table and peered inside, her eyes went wide in shock and she let out a loud gasp.

"Goodness!" she yelled and began to mutter to herself incoherently. "This is not a good result at all, no, no." With every movement she made, the beads and ornaments attached to her clothing made an odd jangle. 

"Uh, excuse me?" I calmly called out to grab her attention. She had been so focused that I startled her and she dropped the cup, causing it to smash to pieces once it hit the floor.

"Cassandra! I have been expecting you!" she said as her mystical facade was quickly restored. 

Sure you were... The teacup said as much. Also, since when were we on a first-name basis? 

"Sit, sit." She waved her hands towards me and then the chair. Even without her glasses magnifying her eyes, I could tell they were filled with excitement. Did she think we were friends just because I came here? 

"Sybill, I'm in a bit of a rush so if we could just-" I tried to start but she shoved a clean teacup into my hands.   

"When I saw you would be coming today, I was rather ecstatic. I just knew you would fulfil your promise to me." I did promise her that I would come back to do a tea leaf or palm reading last term, didn't I...? She was so happy that I didn't have it in me to put her down again.

"Now," she said as she grabbed a small teapot and began to pour its contents into my cup, "what do the leaves say?"

The darkened tea leaves began to settle in the bottom of the cup. Trelawney watched with vivid interest but as they settled, her face went pale and her posture stiffened. 

"Is it bad?" I asked completely clueless as to what the image was. 

"That is..." she began shakenly, "the Grim. Cassandra, it means you will die soon." She pointed one of her boney fingers and began to explain it was the shape of a spectral dog. 

"I sense also... the signs of two becoming one. There is something ominous in the future. A tale of... calamity." She emphasised the last word. My mind wandered to the Cavity of Calamity. It did not feel coincidental anymore that she had chosen that word out of all the ones in her vast vocabulary. 

I jumped to my feet in mild shock which caused my cup to fall to the floor and shatter among the one Sybill had dropped previously. 

"Calamity? You're certain?" I asked, my throat feeling dry.

"I would heed the leaves with great caution. My Inner Eye tells me that this is a strong prophecy but, for your sake, I do hope it is mistaken." She was relatively sweet when she was acting attached. 

"I see... Well... Thank you, Sybill." 

"The pleasure is all mine." she said suddenly cheery again and grabbed my hand to shake it. As she did so, the clattering noise was as loud as ever. She was so happy to have a friend.

Maybe she isn't as bad as I had made myself believe. Sure, she was quite strange, over the top and undoubtedly a loner, but there wasn't anything in her that made her seem like a bad person. I think she just wanted a friend and companionship. It wouldn't be so criminal to give her the benefit of the doubt for once, right? But...

I'm not too sure what exactly I was expecting. A death omen was almost guaranteed based on what Severus and McGonagall had told me about Trelawney but her other words concerned me. If she was right, the Cavity of Calamity could be a good place for research.