TRUST ME, harry potter

FOUR - THE TEA LEAVES!

CASSIE LOOKED AROUND THE CLASSROOM, her eyes wide with amazement. It looked more like someone's attic and an old-fashioned tea shop than a classroom. Still, there was at least twenty small, circular tables, which were surrounded by armchairs and little poufs. The only source of light was a few candles scattered around the class, and all windows were closed. It was incredibly warm and the shelves running around the circular walls were crammed with dusty-looking feathers, stubs of candles, many packs of tattered playing cards, countless silvery crystal balls, and a huge array of teacups.

All the kids entered behind the Smith's, and Cassie seemed to be the only person who looked amazed. Everyone else just stared, eyes and face showing no emotion. "Where is she?" Callie wondered quietly, jumping when Harry and Ron appeared next to her and Cassie.

Cassie didn't even glance at them, she was too busy admiring the place. Suddenly, a voice appeared out of thin air. "Welcome," it said. "How nice to see you in the physical world at last."

Professor Trelawney moved into the firelight, and Cassie stumbled back into Harry. Something about the Professor made Cassie uneasy, but she soon noticed it was because her eyes were ten times their natural size due to her glasses.

"Sit, my children, sit," she said, and Cassie immediately sat herself onto one of the poufs, Callie was the only person to sit on the floor as she sat in between the pouf and the table her three friends decided to sit at. She usually found floors comfier to sit on.

"Welcome to Divination," said Professor Trelawney, who had seated herself in a winged armchair in front of the fire. "My name is Professor Trelawney. You may not have seen me before. I find that descending too often into the hustle and bustle of the main school clouds my Inner Eye."

Cassie watched as Professor Trelawney delicately rearranged her shawl and continued, "So you have chosen to study Divination, the most difficult of all magical arts. I must warn you at the outset that if you do not have the Sight, there is very little I will be able to teach you. Books can take you only so far in this field..."

Callie laughed at Hermione, who looked startled at the news that books wouldn't be much help in this subject. Cassie grinned, she knew Hermione relied on books to help her pass, Cassie, however, just winged every exam she had. If she failed, she failed. She knew she was really intelligent, but exams were based off memory, not knowledge. She was intelligent if someone talked her through it.

"Many witches and wizards, talented though they are in the area of loud bangs and smells and sudden disappearing's, are yet unable to penetrate the veiled mysteries of the future," Professor Trelawney went on, her enormous, gleaming eyes moving from face to nervous face. "It is a Gift granted to few. You, boy," she said suddenly to Neville, who almost toppled off his pouf. "Is your grandmother well?"

"I think so," said Neville tremulously.

Cassie furrowed her eyebrows, looking over at Neville who looked really nervous. She felt bad for the boy, she knew of his past and she knew he was one of Professor Snape's favourite target. Cassie was lucky enough to not be in Professor Snape's line of insults, but she knew he was bound to say something at least once.

"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you, dear," said Professor Trelawney, the firelight glinting on her long emerald earrings. Neville gulped. Professor Trelawney continued placidly. "We will be covering the basic methods of Divination this year. The first term will be devoted to reading the tea leaves. Next term we shall progress to palmistry. By the way, my dear," she shot suddenly at Parvati Patil, "beware a red-haired man."

Parvati gave a startled look at Ron, who was right behind her, and edged her chair away from him. Callie found this extremely amusing, and let out a loud snort. Cassie laughed quietly to herself.

"In the second term," Professor Trelawney went on, "we shall progress to the crystal ball—if we have finished with fire omens, that is. Unfortunately, classes will be disrupted in February by a nasty bout of flu. I myself will lose my voice. And around Easter, one of our number will leave us forever."

A very tense silence followed this pronouncement, but Professor Trelawney seemed unaware of it. Cassie wondered who she was on about, but if she had to guess, she'd say Hermione -- she knew by the look on her face that she was not enjoying this lesson. Perhaps it was due to the fact books couldn't help her.

"I wonder, dear," Trelawney said to Lavender Brown, who was nearest and shrank back in her chair, "if you could pass me the largest silver teapot?"

Lavender, looking relieved, stood up, took an enormous teapot from the shelf, and put it down on the table in front of Professor Trelawney.

"Thank you, my dear. Incidentally, that thing you are dreading—it will happen on Friday the sixteenth of October."

Lavender trembled. Cassie shrunk in her seat, avoiding Professor Trelawney's eyes so she wouldn't say anything to her.

"Now, I want you all to divide into pairs. Collect a teacup from the shelf, come to me, and I will fill it. Then sit down and drink, drink until only the dregs remain. Swill these around the cup three times with the left hand, then turn the cup upside down on its saucer, wait for the last of the tea to drain away, then give your cup to your partner to read. You will interpret the patterns using pages five and six of Unfogging the Future. I shall move among you, helping and instructing. Oh, and dear"—she caught Neville by the arm as he made to stand up—"after you've broken your first cup, would you be so kind as to select one of the blue patterned ones? I'm rather attached to the pink."

Sure enough, Neville had no sooner reached the shelf of teacups when there was a tinkle of breaking china. Professor Trelawney swept over to him holding a dustpan and brush and said, "One of the blue ones, then, dear, if you wouldn't mind... thank you..."

Cassie's eyebrows rose as she and Callie went to go fill their teacups. Oddly eough, Cassie was eager to find out what was in her tea leaves. They swilled the dregs around as Professor Trelawney had instructed, then drained the cups and swapped over.

"Right," Callie said, opening the book to pages five and six. "What can you see in mine?"

"Uh — just soggy brown stuff, if I'm being completely honest." was Cassie's reply.

"Broaden your minds, my dears, and allow your eyes to see past the mundane!" Professor Trelawney cried through the gloom.

"I'm pretty sure whatever this is means change," Callie replied, "You'll probably go through puberty or something, no need to worry."

Cassie blinked, "I've already bee--"

Whatever Ron had said made Harry let out a snort of laughter, interrupting Cassie.

"Let me see that, my dear," Trelawney said , sweeping over and snatching Harry's cup from Ron. Everyone went quiet to watch. Professor Trelawney was staring into the teacup, rotating it counterclockwise.

"The falcon... my dear, you have a deadly enemy."

A/N: callie and cassie are cute, they're the best duo in this fic... other than cassie and lee. anyways, my christmas half term is over, but i rarely have plans these days so i'm still gonna publish like once a day, and if not, it will be once every other day.
QOTD: what is your patronus?
AOTD: a grey squirrel!