CHAPTER SIX
❛She was creepy.❜
One of the worst parts about a new year at Hogwarts, was that classes started immediately. It gave all of the students no time at all to get settled in.
Divination class was placed in a strange classroom, little tea tables scattered around the room. Different types of Crystal Balls were lined up on shelves around the classroom. Overall, it looked like a crossover between an old tea shop and someone's attic.
"Sit my children, sit." came a raspy high-pitched voice from around the corner.
Hope Lupin rolled her eyes and sat across from Milo Bishop, who smiled at her knowingly.
"Milo, hello."
The voice then came around the corner to reveal a woman with unruly curly strawberry-blonde woman with wide rimmed navy glasses.
"In this room, you will explore the Art of Divination, if you posses--"
Milo cut her off by waving his hand. "The Sight."
"The Gift." she glared at him.
The boy only shrugged and flashed Hope a smile. "Close enough."
"I am Professor Trelawney. And together, we shall cast ourselves into the future. But know this. One either has the Gift or not." said the professor as she looked around the room. "It cannot be divined from the pages of a book. Books only cloud ones inner eye"
Hermione shook her head and crossed her arms. "What rubbish."
Milo, Ron, Harry, and Hope all whipped around to see a frustrated Hermione. Ron eyed her up and down before saying. "When'd you get here?"
"Me? I've been here all along." said Hermione, as she turned her attention back to the seer.
Professor Trelawney whipped around to be face to face with Neville, who was shaking in fear. "You! Is your grandmother well?"
"I think so?" he managed to say, still blinded by fear.
Hope rolled her eyes and spoke loudly. "Don't scare him."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that, Mister Longbottom. The first term will be devoted to the reading of tea leaves. If all goes well, we will continue to Palmistry, Fire Omens, and finally the Crystal Ball."
Milo leaned in towards Hope, with a smile on his face. "Fire Omens are way cool."
The professor then leaned in towards Parvati Patil, who was laughing. "By the way, dear, be aware of a red-headed man."
"Look, Ronald." laughed Hope, earning the attention of the Weasley boy. "You've got yourself a lover."
"Speak for yourself, you and my brother are real close."
She only glared playfully in response as Trelawney kept talking. "Unfortunately, classes will be disrupted in February by a nasty bout of the flu. I myself will lose my voice--"
Hermione chuckled. "Would it really be a bad thing?"
"And in Spring, one of our numbers will leave us forever."
Milo got up and grabbed the tea cups and tea leaves, and then sat back down across from Hope. As the leaves mutated in the cup, Milo started to look at the tea leaves in her cup and smiled.
"Let's get started with you, yeah?"
She smiled in return. "Yeah, let's do that."
The Bishop boy stared at the cup intently before saying. "Let's see here. A cross, which you know means trials and suffering. There's a leaf, which I knew would happen."
"What's a leaf mean?"
"That you will come together with peace." said Milo, before looking into his own cup. "I got one, too."
Hope glanced over to the book. "Wait, it doesn't say that in the book."
"I know extra readings, my mum's a seer." he replied.
Out of nowhere there was a loud scream from the professor. "The Grim!"
"What?" said Harry,
Seamus wrinkled his nose up and looked around the room. "Whats a grin?"
"The Grim." started Lavender Brown, as she looked into a book. "It is among the darkest omens in our world. It's an omen of death."
Milo leaned into Hope and whispered. "It could also mean something with the shape of The Grim."
"What do you mean?"
Professor Trelawney leaned in towards the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw and smiled eerily. "You two, you're destined for great things. The Peace Prophecy, the Gryffindor and the Ravenclaw."
"Yes, we know." smiled the Bishop boy.
"No, I don't know, what?" Hope just furrowed her eyebrows, confused on what the professor meant.
"In time, you will know."
The next day, Hope, Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked down to Care for Magical Creatures. And as they walked down the grassy hills, Hope grumbled on and on about Divination.
"Divination is complete and utter bullshit." she crossed her arms as she walked.
"Death Omens, honestly?" agreed Hermione, rolling her dark-brown eyes.
Hope looked over to her. "Did you hear what she said to me?"
"No? What?" questioned Harry.
The Lupin girl just rolled her eyes and continued on. "Something about a Peace Prophecy, something about Milo and I. She was creepy."
"If you ask me, Divination is stupid." added Hermione. "Now, Ancient Ruins, that's a fascinating subject."
"Hope's just mad that she didn't see George's name in a heart-shape." Ron said as he made kissy faces.
Harry furrowed his eyebrows and turned to Hermione. "Hang on, Ancient Ruins is the same time as Divination. You'd be in two classes at once."
"Don't be silly, how could you be in two places at once?" she questioned the boy.
Ron was running around Hope making kissy noises as he talked loudly, imitating Hope's voice. "Dearest Georgie, how much do you love me?"
"One, I don't sound like that." she shot back. "Two, you're just mad cause you're lonely."
"Hey!" yelled out Ron. "I got that Patil girl. What's her name, Paige? Paisley? Posie--"
Hermione whipped around. "Parvati, don't be foolish."
Hope nodded and started to tease. "Besides, you found that out by a crazy seer. I mean, broaden your mind, Ronald."
Harry turned around to be face to face with the two. "Stop it, you two."
Once they arrived to Care for Magical Creatures, students of all houses stood around in an open wooded area in the Forest. In the area, there was an iron rack with dead ferrets.
Hope stood with Draco, Greg, and Vincent who were looking around confused.
"Gather 'round. Find yerself a spot." yelled out Hagrid. "That's it. Now, firs' thing yeh'll want ter do is open yer books."
Draco cut off the man with his snarky voice. "And how exactly do we do that?"
"Eh?"
Hermione spoke up next, her voice nicer than Draco's. "Hagrid, how do we open them?"
"Guys." called out Hope. "You just have to stroke the spines."
Crabbe looked over her shoulder and chuckled. "You say it like it was obvious, J."
"Vin, it is."
Hagrid then disappeared into the Forest for a few minutes. But once he returned he brung out a Hippogriff with grey feathers and big yellow eyes. Hope tried to walk forward but Goyle held her back.
"Woah, it's a Hippogriff." said Hope, her voice laced in amazement.
"Right you are, Hope. Beautiful, isn't he?" responded Hagrid, the entire class remained silent though.
Draco looked at it, confused. "It's a bird."
"Hippogriff."
He looked to his cousin. "Whatever."
"Now, teh firs' thing yeh gotta know is they're proud. Easily offended, Hippogriffs are." the professor started to say. "Don't never insult one, 'cause it migh' be the las' thing yeh do. Right then, who wants to come to say hello firs'"
The entire class stayed silent, no one wanting to say a word. Hagrid looked over the class and his eyes landed on Hope. "Hope?"
Hope just backed up, further behind the Slytherin boys. Goyle spoke up for her. "She doesn't want to, she's fine right here."
"How about you, Harry?"
Harry's emerald eyes looked up. "Uh, sure?"
"Good man, Harry!" called out the half-giant. "Tha's it. Easy now. Stop! This here's Buckbeak, Harry. Yeh wants to let him make the firs' move. It's polite, see?"
Unsure about it, Harry stepped forward and bowed. The Hippogriff took a couple of seconds, but bowed back. Hagrid let out a relieved sigh.
"Jus' take a step forward, give 'im a bow, and if Buckbeak bows back, yeh're allowed ter touch him. Ready?"
The boy reached out and touched Buckbeak's long feathers. Hope managed to space out and by the time she zoned back in, Harry was sliding back on to the dirt floor.
"Give me a go at that thing--"
Hope gripped onto Draco's arm as he walked forward. "Draco, no--"
He shook her off. "If Potter can do it, so can I."
Crabbe gripped onto Hope's wrist. "Hope, stay back."
"Draco, watch out!"
In the blink of an eye, Buckbeak raised his talons to slash Draco, but Hope was much faster than the magical creature. Hope quickly pushed Draco out of the way, only to get her entire arm slashed deeply.
Blood quickly started to gush out of the wound, and she laid there on the floor whimpering.
"Hope!" screamed out Draco, as he kneeled down next to her. "It's killed her, that monster killed her."
Goyle looked up to Hagrid. "Grab her, Hagrid, grab her!"
"She needs the Hospital Wing." said Crabbed. "She's going to die."
Ron stared in shock, but that soon turned to anger. "If you hadn't--"
As Hagrid carried her out with the three Slytherins hot on his tail. Freya Reed let out snickers as she leaned into Pansy Parkinson.
"Do you think it killed her, Pans?" she said loud enough for the trio to hear.
"Hopefully, maybe she'll stay away from Draco."
Freya laughed loudly. "We can only hope."
Hermione whipped around, now standing face to face with the Slytherin. "What the hell did you just say?"
"I said, I hope that beast killed your friend." she said loudly in Hermione's face.
As Hermione raised back her fist, Ron yelled out. "Hermione--"
Her fist collided with Freya's nose, and an unsettling crack was heard from everyone. And Freya's brown eyes filled with water as blood leaked out.
"My nose!" she whined. "You filthy little mudblood!"
"Want to see me do it again?" Hermione raised her fist, which just made both girls turn back and run.
She smirked as she turned to Harry and Ron, who were shocked. "Hermione, that was--"
"I don't care." she called out. "We have to see Hope!"