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CHAPTER TWO
tea leaves and hippogriffs
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IT WAS THE NEXT MORNING and Juliet and Callum were sat at the Hufflepuff table eating breakfast and examining their new timetables for the year.
"Excited for our first Divination lesson today, Julie?" Kate asked with a grin, her and Will taking a seat across from Juliet. The other Hufflepuffs were used to them coming over to their table, as sitting with other houses was normalised. However, being a Slytherin, every now and again Kate got the odd wary look.
"I still can not believe you two took Divination, it's a useless subject," Callum said, shaking his head.
"What do we have to lose?" Juliet said.
"Your will to live."
"Your sanity." Will added, waving his fork.
"Come on, it surely won't be that bad," Kate scoffed, getting up to leave, "But we'll let you know if it is,"
"See you guys later," Juliet said, hoisting her bag on her back, grabbing a slice of toast to take with her.
———☆———
"Merlin, where is this bloody Divination classroom?!" Kate groaned, after their third lap of the same five classrooms.
"Thinking of dropping it just to not have to navigate throughout the entire castle every time we want to get there." Juliet muttered, knowing the bell rang fifteen minutes ago.
The two stopped and looked around, begging for a sign they were close. Kate saw it, a small spiral staircase tucked away in the corner, and nudged Juliet silently and pointed to it. She nodded and they both set off toward it and climbed. They were met with a small landing where in the middle was a silver ladder leading toward a trapdoor into the ceiling.
"This isn't ominous at all," Juliet heard Kate utter from under her and giggled. Juliet could hear the sound of who she assumed to be Professor Trelawney, speaking to the rest of the class.
Finally reaching the top, Juliet emerged to what seemed to be the most ominous classroom she had ever seen. It was dimly lit and shaped like an attic; the blinds were all pulled down and there were mismatched armchairs scattered everywhere around little round tables. There was also a fire crackling in the corner.
However, Juliet could barely take in the strange classroom while twenty-odd people from various houses were staring at her and Kate, who had clambered up quickly after her.
"Who may you two lost souls be?"
Lost souls?
Kate's mouth parted slightly in surprise, but Juliet decided to look past it.
"Um, Juliet Blanchard and Kate Troy, sorry we're late, we got... lost,"
A few people chuckled.
"Of course! I had sensed that two of my inquisitive students would be led astray by the wonders of this school." Professor Trelawney said to them, but sounding like she had had no idea they were even in her class.
"Now, I want you all to divide into pairs..." Trelawney continued, acting as if nothing had happened.
Juliet and Kate exchanged confused glances toward one another and moved to one of the few vacant tables. They dropped their bags on the floor and followed the rest of the class, grabbing a teacup each. Still looking very confused, they sat back down and just stared at the tea.
"Did you hear what she told us to do?" Juliet asked Kate.
"Nope," Kate turned in her seat and tapped Dean Thomas's shoulder, "Dean, what are we meant to be doing?"
"Oh, um..." Dean said, surprised by the sudden interaction, "We're meant to drink the tea and swirl the dregs before draining it, and then read the leaves using the textbook,"
"Thanks!" Kate said with a smile and Dean's cheeks flushed, but she had already turned around to notice it.
"Urgh, I hate tea," she groaned, after taking a small sip.
"Speak for yourself," Juliet said, taking three long gulps and finishing it. She followed Dean's instructions and then passed the teacup to Kate, who then also passed her own teacup while eyeing it with disgust.
Kate eyed the tea leaves in Juliet's cup curiously trying to decipher the symbols with her textbook laid open next to her. Juliet just stared blankly at her cup.
"There's something that looks like a jug... it says here that jugs are a sign of clutter, which means at one point your entire life will scramble to the point you don't know who's your friend and who's your enemy?"
"Merlin, that's dark." Kate laughed.
"Right? Now tell me about mine,"
But before Juliet could find out what Kate was going to say about her tea leaves, the two saw Professor Trelawney grab a teacup from Ronald Weasley's hands. Everyone went quiet to watch.
Professor Trelawney was staring into the teacup, rotating it counterclockwise.
"The falcon... my dear, you have a deadly enemy."
"But everyone knows that, " said Hermione Granger in a loud whisper. Professor Trelawney stared at her.
"Well, they do," said Hermione. "Everybody knows about Harry and You-Know-Who."
Kate and Juliet exchanged impressed glances: they had never heard of Hermione Granger undermining a teacher like that before.
Professor Trelawney chose not to reply. She lowered her huge eyes to Harry's cup again and continued to turn it.
"The club... an attack. Dear, dear, this is not a happy cup...."
"I thought that was a bowler hat," said Ron sheepishly. Kate snorted, and quickly covered her mouth, playing it off as a cough.
"The skull... danger in your path, my dear...."
Everyone was staring, transfixed, at Professor Trelawney, who gave the cup a final turn, gasped, and then screamed.
There was another tinkle of breaking china; Neville had smashed his second cup. Professor Trelawney sank into a vacant armchair, her glittering hand at her heart and her eyes closed.
"My dear boy... my poor, dear boy no it is kinder not to say.. . no...don't ask me...."
"What is it, Professor?" said Dean Thomas at once. Everyone had got to their feet, and slowly they crowded around Harry and Ron's table, pressing close to Professor Trelawney's chair to get a good look at Harry's cup. Juliet was leaning very close over Harry's shoulder, which was as rigid as the table he was sitting at.
"My dear," Professor Trelawney's huge eyes opened dramatically, "You have the Grim."
"The what?" said Harry.
He wasn't the only one who didn't understand; Dean Thomas shrugged at him and Lavender Brown looked puzzled, but nearly everybody else clapped their hands to their mouths in horror. Juliet was baffled that the class was reacting like this, omens in the Wizarding world weren't to be taken seriously. Well, that's what her mother had always said to her.
"The Grim, my dear, the Grim!" cried Professor Trelawney, who looked shocked that Harry hadn't understood. "The giant, spectral dog that haunts churchyards! My dear boy, it is an omen – the worst omen – of death!"
Juliet leaned back and was even more shocked to see Kate, the one who never took anything seriously, with her eyes widened in fear; her face as pale as the ghosts who roamed around the castle.
Everyone was looking at Harry, everyone except Hermione, who had gotten up and moved around to the back of Professor Trelawney's chair.
"I don't think it looks like a Grim," she said flatly.
Professor Trelawney surveyed Hermione with mounting dislike.
"You'll forgive me for saying so, my dear, but I perceive very little aura around you. Very little receptivity to the resonances of the future."
Juliet moved around and tilted her head to the side, trying to get a better view. "It kind of looks like a horse," she said with a small giggle.
Almost everybody looked at her, and her cheeks burnt red.
"When you've all finished deciding whether I'm going to die or not!" said Harry, looking straight up at Juliet as if she had been the one to tell him he was going to die. Now nobody else seemed to want to look at him.
"I think we will leave the lesson here for today," said Professor Trelawney in her mistiest voice. "Yes... please pack away your things...."
Silently the class took their teacups back to Professor Trelawney, packed away their books, and closed their bags.
"Until we meet again," said Professor Trelawney faintly, "fair fortune be yours. Oh, and dear" – she pointed at Neville – "you'll be late next time, so mind you work extra-hard to catch up."
Juliet and Kate were the nearest to the trapdoor, so they were the first to leave. It was an uncomfortable silence as they climbed down the silver ladder and walked down the corridor. Juliet was the first to break the silence.
"Some lesson, right?"
Kate just stared ahead, the same pale look on her face as before.
"Come on, Kate, you can't seriously believe what Trelawney said?"
"It's just," Kate began, stopping to face Juliet, "You know how my parents are, they're super strict about everything they believe in! This is one of them and... I don't know, it's just... freaky,"
"Yeah I get it, but I still don't believe anyone should take what she said to heart too much, it'll just stress everyone out every time we go to a lesson," Juliet sighed, kicking a stray ink pot lid across the corridor. Kate didn't look any more reassured and didn't say another word after that.
"Will, no offence, but that does not sound interesting at all," Juliet said jokingly, after William had told her all about his Arithmancy lesson. They were both walking to their first Care of Magical Creatures class. When asked, Callum told them he just wasn't interested in animals, but really they all knew he was just scared of any animal larger than Juliet's cat, Olive.
"Well, I find it fascinating, a whole lot more interesting than divination!" Will replied enthusiastically. Juliet fake-rolled her eyes and swung her arm over his shoulder. There was a sudden cry from behind them.
"I know, I know, I'm late!" Kate yelled, suddenly crashing into Juliet and Will, "Oops, sorry, Will!"
Will was massaging his shoulder where Kate had just crashed into, muttering something about 'sensitive joints'. Juliet was just happy to see that Kate's mind had been taken off the Grim than she had been this morning and asked her where she'd been.
"I made the horrible mistake of trying to open that Monster's Book of Monsters before coming down and I've only just wrenched it back shut!"
"We can tell," Will snickered, pointing at the numerous rips in Kate's robes, and Kate just pinched him in his 'sore' shoulder. Will's yell was drowned out by Hagrid's booming voice.
"C'mon, now, get a move on!" he called as the class approached. "Got a real treat for yeh today! Great lesson comin' up! Everyone here? Right, follow me!"
Everyone gather 'round the fence here! That's it – make sure yeh can see — now, firs' thing yeh'll want ter do is open yer books —"
Will chuckled at Kate again.
"How?" said the cold, drawling voice of Draco Malfoy.
"Eh?" said Hagrid.
"How do we open our books?" Malfoy repeated. He took out his copy of The Monster Book of Monsters, which he had bound shut with a length of rope. Other people took theirs out too; some, like Juliet and Will, had belted their books shut; others had crammed them inside tight bags or clamped them together with binder clips.
"Hasn' — hasn' anyone bin able ter open their books?" said Hagrid, looking crestfallen.
The class all shook their heads.
"Yeh've got ter stroke 'em," said Hagrid, as though this was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Look —" He took Hermione's copy and ripped off the Spellotape that bound it. The book tried to bite, but Hagrid ran a giant forefinger down its spine, and the book shivered, and then fell open and lay quiet in his hand.
"Oh, how silly we've all been!" Malfoy sneered. "We should have stroked them! why didn't we guess!"
"I — I thought they were funny," Hagrid said uncertainly to Hermione.
"Oh, tremendously funny!" said Malfoy. "Really witty, giving us books that try to rip our hands off!"
Although Malfoy's voice was riling Juliet up like it always had, she didn't feel as though she had the energy to argue with him. However, it seemed like Kate did.
"It was. It was really funny actually!" Kate said loudly, giving Malfoy one of her dirtiest looks.
Hagrid smiled appreciatively at them, but still looked less confident than before.
"Righ' then," said Hagrid, who seemed to have lost his thread, "so – so yeh've got yer books an' — an' — now yeh need the Magical Creatures. Yeah. So I'll go an' get 'em. Hang on..."
"Malfoy's an arse." Juliet muttered to her friends. Will nodded while Kate was still looking daggers at Malfoy.
He strode away from them into the forest and out of sight.
"God, this place is going to the dogs," said Malfoy loudly. "That oaf teaching classes, my father'll have a fit when I tell him.
"God, who actually cares about what your father thinks, Malfoy?" Will said, rolling his eyes.
"You should, Dawson, he's someone who can make life miserable for you."
"Like you being here doesn't already make everyone miserable–"
"Oooooooh!" squealed Lavender Brown, pointing toward the opposite side of the paddock.
The three friends turned their heads to see a dozen majestic Hippogriffs striding towards them, led by Hagrid with long and thick metal chains. Juliet had heard of Hippogriffs before but had never seen one in person before.
"Gee up, there!" he roared, shaking the chains and urging the creatures toward the fence where the class stood. Everyone drew back slightly as Hagrid reached them and tethered the creatures to the fence.
"Hippogriffs!" Hagrid roared happily, waving a hand at them. "Beau'iful, aren' they?"
Juliet could kind of see why, but they were a little too intimidating for her to be able to appreciate it properly.
"So," said Hagrid, rubbing his hands together and beaming around, "if yeh wan' ter come a bit nearer —"
No one seemed to want to, except Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who came forward nervously.
"Now, firs' thing yeh gotta know abou' hippogriffs is, they're proud," said Hagrid. "Easily offended, hippogriffs are. Don't ever insult one, 'cause it might be the last thing yeh do."
If Juliet wasn't nervous before, she was now.
"Yeh always wait fer the hippogriff ter make the firs' move," Hagrid continued. "It's polite, see? Yeh walk toward him, and yeh bow, an' yeh wait. If he bows back, yeh're allowed ter touch him. If he doesn' bow, then get away from him sharpish, 'cause those talons hurt. Right — who wants ter go first?"
Most of the class backed away. The hippogriffs were tossing their fierce heads and flexing their powerful wings; they didn't seem to like being tethered like this.
"No one?" said Hagrid, with a pleading look.
"I'll do it," said Harry.
There was an intake of breath from behind him, and both Lavender and Parvati whispered,
"Oooh, no, Harry, remember your tea leaves!"
Kate paled at this, and Juliet gave her a reassuring smile. Surely Hagrid wouldn't show them any life-threatening creatures.
Harry ignored them. He climbed over the paddock fence.
"Good man, Harry!" roared Hagrid. "Right then — let's see how yeh get on with Buckbeak."
Juliet watched with the rest of the class in anticipation as Harry began making serious eye contact with the hippogriff.
"Tha's it," said Hagrid. "Tha's it, Harry... now, bow."
Harry bowed and waited. For a moment the Hippogriff didn't move and Juliet bit her lip. Eventually, the hippogriff bent its knees and sank into a deep bow.
"Well done, Harry!" said Hagrid, ecstatic. "Right — yeh can touch him! Pat his beak, go on!"
Harry patted it gently and the hippogriff closed its eyes lazily, clearly enjoying it.
"Righ' then, Harry," said Hagrid. "I reckon he might' let yeh ride him!"
Juliet laughed in surprise and turned to Will and Kate, who were exchanging similar surprised looks at the prospect of riding the hippogriff. Juliet laughed again at the look on Harry's face as Hagrid guided him onto Buckbeak.
"Go on, then'" roared Hagrid, slapping the hippogriff's hindquarters.
Harry and Buckbeak soon made it back to level ground safely and the class applauded their success (excluding the Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were evidently disappointed that Harry hadn't fallen off).
"Good work, Harry!" roared Hagrid, "Okay, who else wants a go?"
After seeing Harry's success, the rest of the class cautiously climbed into the paddock and began bowing nervously to the various different Hippogriffs. Kate boldly went first, almost immediately earning the respect of a very majestic, black feathered Hippogriff. Juliet went next, accidentally blinking and breaking eye contact with the Hippogriff, but after a long pause it also bent down in respect. Before Will could take a step forward toward the Hippogriff, a high-pitched scream sounded from behind them.
Everyone whipped around. Kate and Juliet gasped as their eyes fell on a wailing and bleeding Malfoy, and Hagrid who was wrestling Buckbeak back into his collar: it seemed that Malfoy had been struck by its talons in the arm.
"I'm dying!" Malfoy yelled as the class panicked. "I'm dying, look at me! It's killed me!"
"Yer not dyin'!" said Hagrid, who had gone very white. "Someone help me — gotta get him outta here —"
Hermione ran to hold open the gate as Hagrid lifted Malfoy easily. He ran up toward the castle with Malfoy in his arms; blood spattered behind them.
The very shaken Care of Magical Creatures class followed them up at a walk. The Slytherins were all shouting about Hagrid.
"They should fire him straight away!" said Pansy Parkinson, who was in tears.
"It was Malfoy's fault!" snapped Dean Thomas. Crabbe and Goyle flexed their muscles threateningly.
They all climbed the stone steps into the deserted entrance hall.
"I'm going to see if he's okay!" said Pansy, and they all watched her run up the marble staircase. The Slytherins, still muttering about Hagrid, headed away in the direction of their dungeon common room. Kate, Juliet, and Will made their way to the place they always hung out: a large windowsill in one of the quietest corridors.
"What'd you think is gonna happen to Hagrid?" Will began.
"Knowing Malfoy's father, he's definitely going to be sacked." Kate replied, shaking her head in disgust at the thought of Lucius Malfoy, "It's a shame, I quite liked him,"
"But it wasn't his fault, it was Malfoy's stupid ignorance," Juliet said.
"Yeah, I know, but his dad is a governor and has a lot more power and support than Hagrid does."
Juliet shrugged her shoulders and the three continued walking. So much for an uneventful first day.
———☆———
author's note!
happy late halloween!!
I'm back writing! sorry for the very long break, school started and I'm so busy now, I don't even know how often I'll be able to get more chapters out in the next few weeks since I'll be doing my exams! hopefully once they finish I'll regularly update :)
published: 1st november 2023