Emerald (Lazuli Book #2) Harry Potter Fan Fiction (Draco Malfoy)

Chapter Thirteen - Slughorn's Dinner

Everybody curiously looks at Slughorn - it's rare for a teacher to mention the dark forces outside Hogwarts, particularly Slughorn, who has a reputation for denying any mention of anything like that. He seems to realize his mistake too, because he quickly changes the subject. "You mentioned before that one of your brother's works with dragons in Romania," he says, more of a statement than a question. I nod my head and smile at the mention of Charlie, my favourite brother (if I can say that). "Yes sir, Charlie has always enjoyed more dangerous activities" I chuckle nervously. Slughorn cackles as if it's the funniest thing in the world, with contributing laughter from everybody else at the table, even though I'm sure that none of them found it funny. "What career do you want to take when you leave school, Miss Weasley?"

Every pair of eyes in the room is on me, and I feel myself blush and shrink into my seat. Talking about my idea of becoming a professor is not something that I publicly voice, telling only those that I'm closest to, for fear of the sharp comments and whispers of 'nerd' in the corridor. But Slughorn is staring expectantly at me, as if everybody else, I can hardly run away from the question. "I've always liked the idea of teaching" I mumbled, just loud enough for him to hear. A waste of effort really, considering that he screamed at the top of his voice "teaching? Here at Hogwarts I presume? Why what a marvelous idea!"

I blush before I can stop myself. "We all know that you excel in all subjects Miss Weasley, but which would you teach?"

I stare down at the now empty bowl of soup in front of me, and looking at the mint leaves that now sit on the base of the bowl I am reminded of fourth year divination, when Professor Trelawney tried to teach us how to read mint leaves. With a shudder, I flash back to the scene, all of us crammed into Trelawney's tiny classroom, nearly choking on all the incense that she filled the air with.

"Now clear your minds, as we practiced." Trelawney's whispering voice was lulling many of my classmates to sleep, but I was determined to concentrate. Divination was, however much I hated it, still an OWL, and qualifications counted from everything, as Professor Flitwick had told us during the careers meetings earlier in the year. Since then, I'd been trying especially hard to concentrate in all my lessons, making sure I put in as much effort as possible.

"Shut your eyes, and slowly - thinking only of the mint leaves - swirl the cup around."

Her instructions made no sense, clear your mind, but think about the mint leaves? Typical Trelawney, nothing ever made any sense with her.

Trelawney's voice floated around the room as she drifted about, not even noticing a Gryffindor that was unconscious on the first row. I rolled my eyes and sighed, before following her instructions carefully. The lesson, which was the last of the day, was almost over. After that, I was meeting up with Cedric to help him get in some final practicing before tomorrow, the last event of the Triwizard cup. By this time tomorrow, Cedric would be about to start. The thought made me shudder.

"Now open your eyes, and using your textbooks, start to calculate what the mint leaves are saying about your future." As I opened my eyes, Trelawney had stopped at Harry and Ron's table, staring into Harry's cup and predicting yet another grave injury for him. I rolled my eyes once more, looking at Honey beside me, who was more interested in applying another layer of lipstick than her mint leaves. I smiled to myself, same old Honey.

My leaves were a strange formation, not like everybody else around me, that told them they were going to get in trouble for a piece of homework overdue, or that it was going to rain this weekend. I flipped through the book, trying to find an image or symbol that was remotely similar to it. Finally, I came across what looked like a dog, the symbol for a loyal friend. With a frown, I searched my mint leaves for anything else. Then I saw, near the rim of the bowl, a tiny bird-like shape. In confusion I called Trelawney over, handing her my bowl and asking her what it meant. I pointed out the dog, telling her that it meant a friend, but that I couldn't find anything about the bird.