𝐁𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐊 | f. weasley

six

ACCORDING TO CASSANDRA, THE BEST  word to describe Professor Trewlaney was eccentric. She moved like a ghost, soundlessly, her facial features reminding anyone and every one of an insect the way her eyes were magnified by her large circular spectacles. The way she spoke, it seemed like she had to take a lot of effort to speak. When she first greeted the students, her voice had cracked – like when a person speaks after staying quiet for a long period of time.

Currently, students were figuring out what each tea leaf read. Cassie and Hermione decided to become partners while Harry and Ron paired up with one another.

Hermione's frustration with the subject was rather too evident. Every time she observed something peculiar in Cassie's cup, she would hurriedly flip through the pages to decipher it and its results would either make her grunt or scoff.

"Why don't you just relax and let the images form. If you keep that attitude, all you'll see is clumps and not what's in the guide," advised Cassie.

"Really? If you're so good then why don't you go ahead with it!" argued Hermione, angrily thrusting her teacup to Cassie. A small smile crawled on Cassie's lips as she remembered a very similar line being said by Ronald three years ago when Hermione had tried to help him in Charms.

"Let's see," Cassie began as she relaxed her eyes to gage the tea leaves. Slowly, she began to see some shapes.

"So, I see a clock or something like that," examined Cassie, bringing the cup closer to see it better. Hermione's breath hitched on hearing her words which made the Black cock her eyebrow, but when her friend brushed it off, she let it slide for the time being.

"I also see a cross. Wait, what do these even mean," Cassie immediately opened her copy of Unfogging the Future and consulted it. "Well, the clock says time travelling but that doesn't make sense because children aren't allowed to have time turners. As for the cross, that means a huge fight. Hmph – whatever does that mean," pondered Cassie, continuing to stare into Hermione's cup.

She may not have noticed it, but on hearing the words of clock and time travelling, some colour had already drained Hermione's face.

Cassie was about to continue with her sightings when she got distracted by Professor Trelawney discussing Harry's 'unhappy cup'. It was revealed that he had a deadly enemy – which was obviously referring to Voldemort, as Hermione pointed irritably – along with an attack, some sort of danger in his path and finally she fell short of words, her face paling.

"My dear," Professor Trelawney informed, her eyes opening dramatically, "You have the Grim,"

"That dog?" Hermione scoffed, "Cassie has it too!" she added, handing the professor Cassandra's cup.

On simply touching Cassie's cup, Trelawney dropped the cup hastily on the table as though the touch of it burnt her skin.

"Oh, what a terrible terrible cup that is," she grimaced, making Cassie want to crawl under her desk.

"What is wrong with-it Professor?" Ron asked immediately, his eyes going wide.

"Numerous skulls, a huge lock, clubs, the grim!" she exclaimed dramatically, inching away from the table as though Cassie was diseased.

"What does the lock mean?" Lavender asked from behind the teacher.

"Secrets, terrible and dark secrets," she whispered in a mystical voice, making every single person in the room eye her suspiciously.

"But I see hope," the professor said, after an excruciatingly long pause.

Everyone was listening to the tea leaf reading of these two students with rapt attention by now. On hearing the word 'hope', everyone corrected the posture and moved closer to the quartet's table to get a view of Cassie's cup.