I was deciding between divination and Athrimancy So was Dray, so we both were permitted to have a joint divination session with the gryffindors.
The hall was starting to empty as people headed off toward theirfirst lesson. Dtay checked his course schedule.
"We'd better go, look, Divination's at the top of North Tower.It'll take us ten minutes to get there. . . ."
We finished their breakfasts hastily, said good-bye to Zoe and Nicholas, and walked back through the hall. As they passedthe Gryffindor table table, people stared at me. The followed us into the entrancehall.
The journey through the castle to North Tower was a long one.Two years at Hogwarts hadn't taught us everything about thecastle, and they had er been inside North Tower before.
"There's — got — to — be — a — shortcut," Dray panted as we climbed their seventh long staircase and emerged on an unfamiliar landing, where there was nothing but a large painting of abare stretch of grass hanging on the stone wall.
"I think it's this way," said Dray, peering down the emptypassage to the right."Can't be," I said. "That's south, look, you can see a bit of thelake out of the window . . ."
I was watching the painting. A fat, dapple-gray pony hadjust ambled onto the grass and was grazing nonchalantly. I was used to the subjects of Hogwarts paintings moving around andleaving their frames to visit one another, but I always enjoyedwatching it.
A moment later, a short, squat knight in a suit of armor clanked into the picture after his pony. By the look of the grassstains on his metal knees, he had just fallen off."Aha!" he yelled, seeing Me and Dray. "What villains are these, that trespass upon my private lands! Come toscorn at my fall, perchance? Draw, you knaves, you dogs!"
We watched in astonishment as the little knight tugged hissword out of its scabbard and began brandishing it violently, hopping up and down in rage. But the sword was too long for him; aparticularly wild swing made him overbalance, and he landed facedown in the grass.
"Are you all right?" said Dray, moving closer to the picture.
"Get back, you scurvy braggart! Back, you rogue!"
The knight seized his sword again and used it to push himselfback up, but the blade sank deeply into the grass and, though hepulled with all his might, he couldn't get it out again. Finally, hehad to flop back down onto the grass and push up his visor to mophis sweating face.
"Listen," I said, taking advantage of the knight's exhaustion, "we're looking for the North Tower. You don't know the way,do you?"
"A quest!" The knight's rage seemed to vanish instantly. Heclanked to his feet and shouted, "Come follow me, dear friends, andwe shall find our goal, or else shall perish bravely in the charge!"He gave the sword another fruitless tug, tried and failed tomount the fat pony, gave up, and cried, "On foot then, good sir and gentle lady! On! On!"
And he ran, clanking loudly, into the left side of the frame andout of sight. We hurried after him along the corridor, following the soundof his armor. Every now and then we spotted him runningthrough a picture ahead.
"Be of stout heart, the worst is yet to come!" yelled the knight,and we saw him reappear in front of an alarmed group of womenin crinolines, whose picture hung on the wall of a narrow spiralstaircase.
Puffing loudly, Dray and I climbed the tightlyspiraling steps, getting dizzier and dizzier, until at last we heardthe murmur of voices above them and knew they had reached theclassroom.
"Farewell!" cried the knight, popping his head into a painting ofsome sinister-looking monks. "Farewell, my comrades-in-arms! Ifever you have need of noble heart and steely sinew, call upon SirCadogan!"
"Yeah, we'll call you," muttered Dray as the knight disappeared,"if we ever need someone mental." I laughed.
We climbed the last few steps and emerged onto a tiny landing, where the Gryffindors was already assembled. There were nodoors off this landing, but Dray nudged me and pointed at theceiling, where there was a circular trapdoor with a brass plaqueon it.
" 'Sibyll Trelawney, Divination teacher,' "I read. "How'rewe supposed to get up there?"
Gryffindors stared, we scowled. "We had to do it with them?" asked Dray groaning. "Apparently" I said "no point moaning about it."
As though in answer to my previous question, the trapdoor suddenlyopened, and a silvery ladder descended right at my feet.
Everyone got quiet."After you," said Dray, grinning, so I climbed the ladderfirst I emerged intI the strangest-looking classroom he had everseen. In fact, it didn't look like a classroom at all, more like a cross between someone's attic and an old-fashioned tea shop. At leasttwenty small, circular tables were crammed inside it, all surrounded by chintz armchairs and fat little poufs. Everything was litwith a dim, crimson light; the curtains at the windows were allclosed, and the many lamps were draped with dark red scarves. Itwas stiflingly warm, and the fire that was burning under thecrowded mantelpiece was giving off a heavy, sickly sort of perfumeas it heated a large copper kettle. The shelves running around thecircular walls were crammed with dusty-looking feathers, stubs ofcandles, many packs of tattered playing cards, countless silverycrystal balls, and a huge array of teacups.
Draco appeared at my shoulder as the Gryffindors assembled around us, all talking in whispers."Where is she?" Ron said.A voice came suddenly out of the shadows, a soft, misty sort ofvoice."Welcome," it said. "How nice to see you in the physical worldat last."
my immediate impression was of a large, glittering insect.Professor Trelawney moved into the firelight, and they saw that shewas very thin; her large glasses magnified her eyes to several timestheir natural size, and she was draped in a gauzy spangled shawl.Innumerable chains and beads hung around her spindly neck, andher arms and hands were encrusted with bangles and rings.
"Sit, my children, sit," she said, and they all climbed awkwardlyinto armchairs or sank onto poufs. me and Dray satthemselves around the same round table, beside harry ron and Hermione.
"Welcome to Divination," said Professor Trelawney, who had seated herself in a winged armchair in front of the fire. "My nameis Professor Trelawney. You may not have seen me before. I findthat descending too often into the hustle and bustle of the mainschool clouds my Inner Eye."
Nobody said anything to this extraordinary pronouncement, Draco stiffled a laugh, I nudge him sharply.Professor Trelawney delicately rearranged her shawl and continued,"So you have chosen to study Divination, the most difficult of allmagical arts. I must warn you at the outset that if you do not havethe Sight, there is very little I will be able to teach you. Books cantake you only so far in this field. . . ."
At these words, both Draco glanced, grinning, at me, I looked startled at the news that books wouldn't bemuch help in this subject. I scowled at him, he flashed me a wink and smirk. "Many witches and wizards, talented though they are in the areaof loud bangs and smells and sudden disappearings, are yet unableto penetrate the veiled mysteries of the future," ProfessorTrelawney went on, her enormous, gleaming eyes moving fromface to nervous face.
"It is a Gift granted to few. You, boy," she saidsuddenly to Neville, who almost toppled off his pouf. "Is yourgrandmother well?""I think so," said Neville tremulously."I wouldn't be so sure if I were you, dear," said ProfessorTrelawney, the firelight glinting on her long emerald earrings.Neville gulped.
Professor Trelawney continued placidly. "We willbe covering the basic methods of Divination this year. The firstterm will be devoted to reading the tea leaves. Next term we shallprogress to palmistry. By the way, my dear," she shot suddenly atParvati 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."In the second term," Professor Trelawney went on, "we shallprogress to the crystal ball — if we have finished with fire omens,that is. Unfortunately, classes will be disrupted in February by anasty bout of flu. I myself will lose my voice. And around Easter,one of our number will leave us forever.And I believe two will leave to do.
No doubt about that.
A very tense silence followed this pronouncement, but ProfessorTrelawney seemed unaware of it."I wonder, dear," she said to Lavender Brown, who was nearestand shrank back in her chair, "if you could pass me the largest silver teapot?"Lavender, looking relieved, stood up, took an enormous teapotfrom the shelf, and put it down on the table in front of ProfessorTrelawney."Thank you, my dear. Incidentally, that thing you aredreading — it will happen on Friday the sixteenth of October."
Lavender trembled."Now, I want you all to divide into pairs. Collect a teacup fromthe 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 threetimes with the left hand, then turn the cup upside down on itssaucer, wait for the last of the tea to drain away, then give your cupto your partner to read. You will interpret the patterns using pagesfive and six of Unfogging the Future. I shall move among you, helping and instructing. Oh, and dear" — she caught Neville by thearm 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. ProfessorTrelawney swept over to him holding a dustpan and brush andsaid, "One of the blue ones, then, dear, if you wouldn'tmind . . . thank you. . . ."
When Dray and I had had our teacups filled, we wentback to our table and tried to drink the scalding tea quickly. our swilled the dregs around as Professor Trelawney had instructed,then drained the cups and swapped over."
Right," said Draco as we both opened our books at pages fiveand six. "What can you see in mine?"
"A load of soggy brown stuff," I said. The heavily perfumedsmoke in the room was making me feel sleepy and stupid.
"Broaden your minds, my dears, and allow your eyes to see pastthe mundane!" Professor Trelawney cried through the gloom. I tried to pull myself together.
"Right, you've got a crooked sort of cross . . ." I consultedUnfogging the Future. "That means you're going to have 'trials andsuffering' — sorry about that — but there's a thing that could bethe sun . . . hang on . . . that means 'great happiness' . . . so you'regoing to suffer but be very happy. . . ."
"You need your Inner Eye tested, if you ask me," said Draco, and we both had to stifle our laughs as Professor Trelawney gazed intheir direction.
"My turn . . ." Draco peered into my teacup, his foreheadwrinkled with effort. "There's a blob a bit like a bowler hat," hesaid. "Maybe you're going to work for the Ministry of Magic. . . ."He turned the teacup the other way up."But this way it looks more like an acorn. . . . What's that?"
This continued until we heard a gasp. "MY DEAR! YOU HAVE THE GRIM!" I turned sharply to see Harry look belwidered. "Professor" asked Draco, evidently not caring "what is this?"
Professor Trelawney was staring into the teacup, rotating itcounterclockwise."The falcon . . . my dear, you have a deadly enemy."
"But everyone knows that," said Hermione in a loud whisper.Professor Trelawney stared at her."Well, they do," said Hermione. "Everybody knows about Harry, Emma and You-Know-Who."Harry and Ron stared at her with a mixture of amazement andadmiration. I raised an eyebrow.
I had never heard Hermione speak to a teacherlike that before. Professor Trelawney chose not to reply. She lowered her huge eyes to my cup again and continued to turn it."The club . . . an attack, my dear you have practically the same cup as your brother. Dear, dear, this is not a happy cup. . . ."
The skull . . . danger in your path, my dear. . . ."Everyone was staring, transfixed, at Professor Trelawney, whogave the cup a final turn, gasped, and then screamed.There was another tinkle of breaking china; Neville hadsmashed his second cup. Professor Trelawney sank into a vacantarmchair, her glittering hand at her heart and her eyes closed.
"My dear," Professor Trelawney's huge eyes opened dramatically,"you and your brother have the Grim."
"The Grim, my dear, the Grim!" cried Professor Trelawney, wholooked shocked that Harry hadn't understood. "The giant, spectraldog that haunts churchyards! My dear boy, it is an omen — theworst omen — of death!"
my stomach lurched. That dog on the cover of Death Omensin Flourish and Blotts — the dog in the shadows of MagnoliaCrescent . . . Lavender Brown clapped her hands to her mouthtoo. Draco's hand found mine under the table. Everyone was looking at Harry and me, everyone except Hermione,who had gotten up and moved around to the back of ProfessorTrelawney'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 thefuture."
"It looks like a Grim if you do this," he said, with his eyes almostshut, "but it looks more like a donkey from here," he said, leaningto the left.
"When you've all finished deciding whether we're going to die ornot!" I said, taking even myself by surprise. Now nobodyseemed to want to look at us.
"I think we will leave the lesson here for today," said ProfessorTrelawney in her mistiest voice. "Yes . . . please pack away yourthings. . . ."Silently the class took their teacups back to Professor Trelawney,packed away their books, and closed their bags. Even Draco wasavoiding my eyes.
"Until we meet again," said Professor Trelawney faintly, "fair fortune be yours. Oh, and dear" — she pointed at Neville — "you'llbe late next time, so mind you work extra-hard to catch up."
Draco descended Professor Trelawney's ladder and the winding stair in silence, then set off for Professor Snape's Office before Charms.
Snape called us in with a sigh, "Ah, of course," said Professor Snape, frowning."There is no need to say any more, Miss Potter and Mr Malfor. Tell me, which ofyou will be dying this year?"Everyone stared at her.
"Me,"I said , finally "and my brother" both Draco and Snape's lip curled.
"I see," said Professor Snape.
"Then you should know, Ms Potter, that Sibyll Trelawney haspredicted the death of one student a year since she arrived at thisschool. None of them has died yet. Seeing death omens is herfavorite way of greeting a new class. If it were not for the fact thatI never speak ill of my colleagues —"Professor Snape broke off, and we saw that his nostrilshad gone white.
he went on, more calmly, "Divination is one ofthe most imprecise branches of magic. I shall not conceal from youthat I have very little patience with it. True Seers are very rare, andProfessor Trelawney —" He stopped again, and then said, in a very matter-of-fact tone,"You look in excellent health to me, Ms Potter, so you will excuse me ifI don't let you off homework today. I assure you that if you die, youneed not hand it in."
Draco laughed. I felt a bit better. "So, you both will be continuing with Athrimancy?"
We nod.
"Very well. Go to class.
We tell Nicholas and Zoe and they scoff.
"I think Divination seems very woolly," Zoe said, searching for her scheduel. "A lot of guesswork, if you ask me."
"If being good at Divination means yo have to pretend to seedeath omens in a lump of tea leaves," laughed Nicholas "I'm not sure youI'll be studying itmuch longer! That lesson seems absolute rubbish compared with our Ancient runes lesson.
I was pleased to get out of the castle after lunch. Yesterday'srain had cleared; the sky was a clear, pale gray, and the grass wasspringy and damp underfoot as they set off for their first ever Careof Magical Creatures class.
It was with Gryffindors again. I walkedbeside Zoe and Draco in silence as we went down the sloping lawns to Hagrid's hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
Hagrid was waiting for his class at the door of his hut. He stoodin his moleskin overcoat, with Fang the boarhound at his heels,looking impatient to start."C'mon, now, get a move on!" he called as the class approached."Got a real treat for yeh today! Great lesson comin' up! Everyonehere? Right, follow me!"
For one nasty moment, I thought that Hagrid was going tolead us into the forest; Harry and I had had enough unpleasant experiences in there to last me a lifetime. However, Hagrid strolled offaround the edge of the trees, and five minutes later, we found ourselves outside a kind of paddock. There was nothing in there."
Everyone gather 'round the fence here!" he called. "That's it —make sure yeh can see — now, firs' thing yeh'll want ter do is openyer books —"
"How?" said Draco with a drawl.
"Eh?" said Hagrid.
"How do we open our books?" Draco repeated. He took out hiscopy of The Monster Book of Monsters, which he had bound shutwith a length of rope. Other people took theirs out too; some, likeHarry and me, had belted their book shut; others had crammed them inside tight bags or clamped them together with binder clips.
"Hasn' — hasn' anyone bin able ter open their books?" saidHagrid, looking crestfallen.
The class all shook their heads.
"Yeh've got ter stroke 'em," said Hagrid, as though this was themost obvious thing in the world. "Look —"He took Hermione's copy and ripped off the Spellotape thatbound it. The book tried to bite, but Hagrid ran a giant forefingerdown its spine, and the book shivered, and then fell open and layquiet in his hand
."Oh, how silly we've all been!" Draco sneered.
"We should havestroked them! Why didn't we guess!"
"I — I thought they were funny," Hagrid said uncertainly toHermione.
"Oh, tremendously funny!" said Malfoy. "Really witty, giving usbooks that try and rip our hands off!"
"Draco" I warned.
"so — so yeh've got yer books an' — an' — now yeh need theMagical Creatures. Yeah. So I'll go an' get 'em. Hang on . . ."
He strode away from them into the forest and out of sight.
"God, this place is going to the dogs," said Draco loudly. "Thatoaf teaching classes, my father'll have a fit when I tell him —"
"Shut up, Malfoy."
"Dray" I said.
"Oooooooh!" squealed Lavender Brown, pointing toward theopposite side of the paddock.
Trotting toward us were a dozen of the most bizarre creatures I had ever seen. They had the bodies, hind legs, and tails ofhorses, but the front legs, wings, and heads of what seemed to be giant eagles, with cruel, steel-colored beaks and large, brilliantly orange eyes. The talons on their front legs were half a foot long anddeadly looking.
Each of the beasts had a thick leather collar aroundits neck, which was attached to a long chain, and the ends of all ofthese were held in the vast hands of Hagrid, who came jogging intothe paddock behind the creatures."Gee up, there!" he roared, shaking the chains and urging thecreatures toward the fence where the class stood.
Everyone drewback slightly as Hagrid reached us and tethered the creatures tothe fence.
"Hippogriffs!" Hagrid roared happily, waving a hand at them."Beau'iful, aren' they?"
I could sort of see what Hagrid meant. Once you got overthe first shock of seeing something that was half horse, half bird,you started to appreciate the hippogriffs' gleaming coats, changingsmoothly from feather to hair, each of them a different color:stormy gray, bronze, pinkish roan, gleaming chestnut, and inkyblack.
"So," said Hagrid, rubbing his hands together and beamingaround, "if yeh wan' ter come a bit nearer —"
No one seemed to want to. Harry, Ron, and Hermione, however, approached the fence cautiously, I did too, I may hate most of the Gryffindor but Hagrid accepted me and told me I was a witch.
"Now, firs' thing yeh gotta know abou' hippogriffs is, they'reproud," said Hagrid. "Easily offended, hippogriffs are. Don't neverinsult one, 'cause it might be the last thing yeh do."
"Yeh always wait fer the hippogriff ter make the firs' move,"Hagrid continued. "It's polite, see? Yeh walk toward him, and yehbow, an' yeh wait. If he bows back, yeh're allowed ter touch him. Ifhe doesn' bow, then get away from him sharpish, 'cause thosetalons hurt."Right — who wants ter go first?"
Most of the class backed farther away in answer. Even Harry,Ron, and Hermione had misgivings. The hippogriffs were tossingtheir fierce heads and flexing their powerful wings; they didn't seemto like being tethered like this.
"No one?" said Hagrid, with a pleading look.
I sighed "I'll do it."
"I'll do it too," said Harry.
There was an intake of breath from behind us, and bothLavender and Parvati whispered, "Oooh, no, Harry, Emma rememberyour tea leaves!"
Draco grasped my arm "careful" he whispered. I blushed, he smirked.
I smiled. We climbed over the paddock fence.
"Good job,Emma, Harry!" roared Hagrid.
"Right then — let's seehow yeh get on with Buckbeak."
He untied one of the chains, pulled the gray hippogriff awayfrom its fellows, and slipped off its leather collar. The class on theother side of the paddock seemed to be holding its breath. Malfoy'seyes were narrowed maliciously.
"Easy, now, Harry, Emma" said Hagrid quietly. "Yeh've got eye contact,now try not ter blink. . . . Hippogriffs don' trust yeh if yeh blinktoo much. . . ."
my eyes immediately began to water, but I didn't shutthem. Buckbeak had turned his great, sharp head and was staringat Harry and me with one fierce orange eye.
"Tha's it Emma," said Hagrid. "Tha's it, Harry . . . now, bow . . ."
I didn't feel much like exposing the back of his neck toBuckbeak, but I did as I was told. He gave a short bow and thenlooked up.
The hippogriff was still staring haughtily at us. It didn't move.
"Ah," said Hagrid, sounding worried.
"Right Emma, back away — back away, now,Harry, easy does it —"
But then, to my enormous surprise, the hippogriff suddenlybent its scaly front knees and sank into what was an unmistakablebow.
"Well done, and Emma!" said Hagrid, ecstatic. "Right — yeh cantouch him! Pat his beak, go on!"
Feeling that a better reward would have been to back away, I moved slowly toward the hippogriff and reached out towardit, Harry behind me. We patted the beak several times and the hippogriff closed itseyes lazily, as though enjoying it.
The class broke into applause,a few Slytherins clapped for me.
"Righ' then, Harry, Emma" said Hagrid. "I reckon he might' let yehride him!"
This was more than I had bargained for. I wasn't even used to abroomstick.
"Yeh climb up there, jus' behind the wing joint," said Hagrid,"an' mind yeh don' pull any of his feathers out, he won' likethat. . . ."Harry put his foot on the top of Buckbeak's wing and hoistedhimself onto its back. Buckbeak stood up. Harry wasn't sure whereto hold on; everything in front of him was covered with feathers.
Hagrid heaved me up.
I wrapped my arms around Harry. "Go on, then!" roared Hagrid, slapping the hippogriff's hindquarters.
Without warning, twelve-foot wings flapped open on either sideof me; I just had time to seize Harry around the neckbefore we were soaring upward. The hippogriff's wingsbeat uncomfortably on either side of me, catching me under mylegs and making me feel I was about to be thrown off; the glossyfeathers slipped under my fingers and I didn't dare get a strongergrip
Buckbeak flew us once around the paddock and then headedback to the ground; this was the bit I had been dreading; Ileaned back as the smooth neck lowered, feeling I was going toslip off over the beak, then felt a heavy thud as the four ill-assortedfeet hit the ground. I just managed to hold on and push myselfstraight again.
"Good work, Harry and Emma!" roared Hagrid as everyone cheered.
"Okay, who else wants a go?"
Emboldened by our success, the rest of the class climbedcautiously into the paddock.
Hagrid untied the hippogriffs one byone, and soon people were bowing nervously, all over the paddock.Neville ran repeatedly backward from his, which didn't seem towant to bend its knees.
Zoe and Nicholas practiced on the chestnut, while I watched.Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle had taken over Buckbeak.
He hadbowed to Draco, who was now patting his beak, looking disdainful.
"This is very easy," Draco drawled, loud enough for Harry tohear him. "I knew it must have been, if Potter could do it. . . . I betyou're not dangerous at all, are you?" he said to the hippogriff. "Areyou, you great ugly brute?"
It happened in a flash of steely talons; Draco let out a highpitched scream and next moment, Hagrid was wrestling Buckbeakback into his collar as he strained to get at Draco, who lay curledin the grass, blood blossoming over his robes, I rushed to his side.
"I'm dying!" Draco 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 —"
Nicholas ran to hold open the gate as Hagrid lifted Draco easily. As they passed, I saw that there was a long, deep gash onMalfoy's arm; blood splattered the grass and Hagrid ran with him,up the slope toward the castle.Very shaken, the Care of Magical Creatures class followed at awalk.
The Slytherins were all shouting about Hagrid.
"They should fire him straight away!" said Pansy Parkinson, whowas in tears.
"It was Malfoy's fault!" snapped Dean Thomas. Crabbe andGoyle flexed their muscles threateningly.we all climbed the stone steps into the deserted entrance hall.
"Yes it was." I agree softly, everyone looked shocked. "What?" I asked "It was his fault. Hagrid said they hated being insulted, but still--" I looked at the rest of the Hippogriffes "Hippogrifes on the first lesson, I mean really."
"He was an idiot"agreed Nicholas "but he's still our friend."
"Let's go see if he's ok" I said.