Dark child

19

When Elara entered the Great Hall for breakfast the next day, the first thing she saw was Draco, who was entertaining a large group of Slytherins with an impression of a swooning fit and there was a roar of laughter. He was making fun of Harry's faint in front of Dementors, and Slytherins seemed to really enjoy it.
"Hey, Potter!" shrieked Pansy Parkinson, as Harry entered the Great Hall. "Potter! The dementors are coming, Potter! Woooooooo!"
"New third-year course schedules," said a fifth year Slytherin, passing them over. Elara examined her new schedule.
Divination, nine o'clock was her first class. She though maybe Severus believes divination is rubbish, but he actually recommended her to take the course.
Just then, Hagrid entered the Great Hall. He was wearing his long moleskin overcoat and was absentmindedly swinging a dead polecat from one enormous hand. Elara looked down at her schedule again and saw that she has Care of Magical creatures right after lunch.

The hall was starting to empty as people headed off toward their first lesson. Elara tapped on Draco's shoulder, who was still embarrassing Harry.
"We'd better go, look, Divination's at the top of North Tower. It'll take us ten minutes to get there."
They finished their breakfasts hastily, and walked back through the hall.
Elara was right. The journey through the castle to North Tower was a long one. Luckily for Draco, Elara knew every inch of the school since the first year that she searched it to find the chamber of secrets. So they didn't lost their way toward the North Tower. They climbed the tightly spiraling steps, getting dizzier and dizzier, until at last they heard the murmur of voices above them. They had reached the classroom. They climbed the last few steps and emerged onto a tiny landing. There were no doors off this landing, but Draco nudged Elara and pointed at the ceiling, where there was a circular trapdoor with a brass plaque on it.
" 'Sibyll Trelawney, Divination teacher,' " Elara read. The trapdoor suddenly opened, and a silvery ladder descended right at Elara's feet.
"After you," said Draco, grinning, so she climbed the ladder first.

Elara emerged into the strangest-looking classroom she had ever seen. 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 least twenty small, circular tables were crammed inside it, all surrounded by chintz armchairs and fat little poufs. Everything was lit with a dim, crimson light; the curtains at the windows were all closed, and the many lamps were draped with dark red scarves. It was stiflingly warm, and the fire that was burning under the crowded mantelpiece was giving off a heavy, sickly sort of perfume as it heated a large copper kettle. The shelves running around the circular walls were crammed with dusty-looking feathers, stubs of candles, many packs of tattered playing cards, countless silvery crystal balls, and a huge array of teacups.
"Where is she?" Draco said.
A voice came suddenly out of the shadows, a soft, misty sort of voice.
"Welcome," it said. "How nice to see you in the physical world at last."
Elara's immediate impression was of a large, glittering insect. Professor Trelawney moved into the firelight, and they saw that she was very thin; her large glasses magnified her eyes to several times their natural size, and she was draped in a gauzy spangled shawl. Innumerable chains and beads hung around her spindly neck, and her arms and hands were encrusted with bangles and rings.
"Sit, my children, sit," she said, and they all climbed awkwardly into armchairs or sank onto poufs. Elara saw that Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat themselves around the same round table. She sat with Draco, who had seemed to be temporarily forgotten about Harry's faint.

"Welcome to Divination," said Professor Trelawney, who had seated herself in a winged armchair in front of the fire. "My name is Professor Trelawney. You may not have seen me before. I find that descending too often into the hustle and bustle of the main school clouds my Inner Eye."
Nobody said anything to this extraordinary pronouncement. Professor Trelawney delicately rearranged her shawl and continued, "So you have chosen to study Divination, the most difficult of all magical arts. I must warn you at the outset that if you do not have the Sight, there is very little I will be able to teach you. Books can take you only so far in this field. Many witches and wizards, talented though they are in the area of loud bangs and smells and sudden disappearings, are yet unable to penetrate the veiled mysteries of the future," Professor Trelawney went on, her enormous, gleaming eyes moving from face to nervous face. "It is a Gift granted to few. You, boy," she said suddenly to Neville, who almost toppled off his pouf. "Is your grandmother well?"
"I think so," said Neville tremulously.
"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you, dear," said Professor Trelawney, the firelight glinting on her long emerald earrings. Neville gulped. Professor Trelawney continued placidly. "We will be covering the basic methods of Divination this year. The first term will be devoted to reading the tea leaves. Next term we shall progress to palmistry. By the way, my dear," she shot suddenly at Parvati 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 shall progress to the crystal ball — if we have finished with fire omens, that is. Unfortunately, classes will be disrupted in February by a nasty bout of flu. I myself will lose my voice. And around Easter, one of our number will leave us forever."
A very tense silence followed this pronouncement, but Professor Trelawney seemed unaware of it.
"I wonder, dear," she said to Lavender Brown, who was nearest and shrank back in her chair, "if you could pass me the largest silver teapot?"
Lavender, looking relieved, stood up, took an enormous teapot from the shelf, and put it down on the table in front of Professor Trelawney.
"Thank you, my dear. Incidentally, that thing you are dreading — it will happen on Friday the sixteenth of October."
Lavender trembled.