A Serpent's Heart

Chapter 19. Christmas with the Carrows.

Christmas was just around the corner, but no Yule Balls or feasts had been announced. Snape's strict regime obviously had no place for parties. I was glad I had at least been to the Slytherin party to lift the grim atmosphere. The teachers (except the Carrows) had attempted to implement some Christmassy elements in their classes, but Professor McGonagall's decorations had been taken down and Professor Flitwick's choir had been disbanded. However, he had assured the Ravenclaws that there would be a Christmassy recital in their Common Room.

In my Divination class (when I entered the classroom I nearly choked on the dense smother of "Enchanting Winter Incense"), Professor Trelawney had set up crystal balls on all the tables. Luna and I sat down at one of the tables in the back, and listened to the Professor's announcement: "Today we shall predict events for the coming weeks, meaning we can also come across predictions for Christmas. I, personally, have a bad foreboding about this entire winter. Of course, I can make no statements about the new school board, but I fear these will be the most miserable days before Christmas we have ever known. I can't wait for the holidays, I highly value a pleasant ambience. Calm your senses and See with your Inner Eye: if you're lucky you might even See a positive sign indicating a wonderful family dinner or something."

Luna and I turned to the crystal ball and we took some deep breaths. I looked intently in the orb. It took me ages to detect anything, but there was a sudden flash and I saw something like a large dog.

I mentioned it to Luna, who gasped and whispered: "Are you sure?"

"I think so," I replied.

"Oh dear, I hope it's not the Grim," she sighed. Now I gasped too. I looked closely at the waft. I slowly nodded. Defeated, I leaned back. The Grim, an omen of death. Was I going to die? Was someone else going to die?

Luna touched my hand while sadly smiling at me. "I'm sure you'll be okay," she said, and turned to the crystal ball herself. I watched her as she focused on the orb.

"Ah!" she exclaimed. "I see a big bird..."

I opened the book. When I had found the right page I read aloud: "A falcon: a deadly enemy."

"It could be a falcon indeed," Luna pondered. "But don't we all have a deadly enemy? He Who Must Not Be Named has returned, after all," she continued.

"Yeah, let's just hope it's a general warning," I comforted her.

"I hope the same about your dog-shape," Luna smiled.

We left the classroom with a knot in our stomachs. Quietly we headed to our next class: Dark Arts. As expected, that didn't make things better. Professor Carrow smiled smugly as he told us of Inferi, he was clearly very engaged in this subject.

I looked at Draco, who was covertly exchanging notes with Blaise. I looked out of the window. To my surprise, it had just started snowing! I poked Luna and pointed at the window. More students had noticed the snow now, they all looked excited and cheered.

"Silence!" called Professor Carrow, who seemed very upset to have been interrupted while talking about one of his favourite topics. "Anyone who values snow and entertainment over my class gets detention," he threatened. Everyone sat down disappointedly. To emphasize his words, with a swoosh of his wand, Professor Carrow closed the curtains.

***

That afternoon the grounds were crowded with students. Luna, Emma and I were having a stroll through the snow and we chatted about our days. Luna mentioned the falcon she had seen in the crystal ball. Emma, who did not take Divination, had no clue what it meant whatsoever.