The Very Best by BrilliantLady

Chapter 5: Yr5: Dementor Trouble, Make it Double

"Take the boy and get out!" yelled his uncle. "Kill him if you want to, just leave the rest of us normal people alone!" Petunia and Dudley fled the house for the relative safety of the shed in the back garden, followed by his uncle.

"What a loving family," Sirius sneered. "Get your things, Harry. You're not ever coming back here. Even my mouldering old house is better than this."

"He's probably gone to get his shotgun," warned Harry.

"Oh, I hope he tries something."

Sirius seemed genuinely disappointed when Harry's uncle just cowered in the shed with the rest of the Dursleys.

"You promised he'd attack me," he whined to Harry.

"I said he might be getting a shotgun. Hagrid broke his last one."

"But I wanted to hex him in 'self-defence'. Oh well, I suppose it's best to keep out of trouble," Sirius sighed. "Look at me, having to be a responsible adult. I'm really not cut out for it, Harry. Alright, let's go then."

*pokemonpokemonpokemon*

Harry loved Divination. After his teacher had tired of predicting his death, which he'd pointed out in Third Year was only a possibility, not a certainty, or there would be no purpose in divinations at all, he and Professor Trelawney had slowly started to get along a lot better. Especially when he'd finally started developing real talent at her subject near the end of last year. He'd been useless at reading tea leaves, and liked crystal balls the best – they just felt like a proper witchy kind of thing you should be able to see the future in. He didn't always see anything, but he caught enough glimpses to impress the heck out of both his teacher and his classmates. Other students had to stick with the curriculum and learn to read Tarot cards and other divinatory methods, but he got to use the crystal ball whenever he wanted to.

In the first class that year, everyone else except Harry settled down to read up on dream interpretation (at least in theory), while he and Trelawney had a first-class-of-the-year competition to see what horrible things they could each see in a crystal ball. Most of the class just ignored their books to watch the byplay, of course. Ron had quickly organised a betting pool and was taking wagers as to whose predictions would come true first.

"I see pink… It's Professor Umbridge. She has a quill – it's cursed! No-one should write with it or they will be scarred forever," he intoned. Lavender and Parvati gasped, and his teacher smiled at him benevolently, and took her turn gazing into the mist-filled crystal ball.

"I see… the Dark Lord!" she pronounced triumphantly. "He seeks your death, Harry Potter!" she pointed dramatically at him. There were gasps and murmurs from his classmates.

"That seems likely," Harry said politely and calmly. "Anything specific?"

His teacher returned her gaze to the crystal ball, peering into it with wide eyes as she waved her hands around it, and breathed deeply of the incense-laden air. "Blood everywhere – your face covered in blood, dripping scarlet everywhere. Secrets causing pain. Death Eaters surrounding you as you stand alone." she shook her head. "That's all I see for now." It sounded like it was going to be a bad year for him – that was even worse than last year's predictions.

"Thank you, Professor. I'll see what I can see for your own future," he said, hoping he could fish for something impressive from the mists of the future, but not too scary. "Pink again. Umbridge causing problems for you, I think. And… a horse? No, a centaur! There's a centaur in your classroom! He sees me – he's looking in my direction! How can he do that?" Some of the girls applauded him as he looked up and blinked, a little tired from the effort of exerting his will so intensely.