I'm Still Standing!~ Book 3

Part 19

Finally, after about twenty minutes, Ron's large feet reappeared on the ladder. "How'd it go?" Harry asked, standing up. "Rubbish," said Ron. "Couldn't see a thing, so I made some stuff up. Don't think she was convinced, though..." "Meet you in the common room," Harry muttered as Professor Trelawney's voice called, "Harry Potter!" The tower room was hotter than ever before; the curtains were closed, the fire was alight, and the usual sickly scent made Harry cough as he stumbled through the clutter of chairs and table to where Professor Trelawney sat waiting for him before a large crystal ball.

"Good day, my dear," she said softly. "If you would kindly gaze into the Orb... Take your time, now... then tell me what you see within it..." Harry bent over the crystal ball and stared, stared as hard as he could, wishing it to show him something other than swirling white fog, but nothing happened. "Well?" Professor Trelawney prompted delicately. "What do you see?" The heat was overpowering and his nostrils were stinging with the perfumed smoke wafting from the fire beside them. 

He thought of what Ron had just said and decided to pretend. "Uh..." said Harry, "a dark shape... um..." "What does it resemble?" whispered Professor Trelawney. "Think, now..." Harry cast his mind around and it landed on Buckbeak. "A Hippogriff," he said firmly. "Indeed!" whispered Professor Trelawney, scribbling keenly on the parchment perched upon her knees. "My boy, you may well be seeing the outcome of poor Hagrid's trouble with the Ministry of Magic! Look closer... Does the Hippogriff appear to... have its head?" 

"Yes," said Harry firmly. "Are you sure?" Professor Trelawney urged him. "Are you quite sure, dear? You don't see it writhing on the ground, perhaps, and a shadowy figure raising an axe behind it?" "No!" said Harry, starting to feel slightly sick. "No blood? No weeping Hagrid?" "No!" said Harry again, wanting more than ever to leave the room and the heat. "It looks fine, it's... flying away..." Professor Trelawney sighed. "Well, dear, I think we'll leave it there... A little disappointing... but I'm sure you did your best." 

Relieved, Harry got up, picked up his bag, and turned to go, but then a loud, harsh voice spoke behind him. "IT WILL HAPPEN TONIGHT." Harry wheeled around. Professor Trelawney had gone rigid in her armchair; her eyes were unfocused and her mouth sagging. "S... sorry?" said Harry. But Professor Trelawney didn't seem to hear him. Her eyes started to roll. Harry sat there in a panic. She looked as though she was about to have some sort of seizure. 

He hesitated, thinking of running to the hospital wing... and then Professor Trelawney spoke again, in the same harsh voice, quite unlike her own: "THE DARK LORD LIES ALONE AND FRIENDLESS, ABANDONED BY HIS FOLLOWERS. HIS SERVANT HAS BEEN CHAINED THESE TWELVE YEARS. TONIGHT, BEFORE MIDNIGHT... THE SERVANT WILL BREAK FREE AND SET OUT TO REJOIN HIS MASTER. THE DARK LORD WILL RISE AGAIN WITH HIS SERVANT'S AID, GREATER AND MORE TERRIBLE THAN EVER. TONIGHT... BEFORE MIDNIGHT... THE SERVANT... WILL SET OUT... TO REJOIN... HIS MASTER..." Professor Trelawney's head fell forward onto her chest. 

~With Jade~

Jade had just gotten back from herbology in the greenhouse and was about to walk up to the library to get some *if any* info on her parents when she quite literally bumped into Hermione and Ron in the hall. Hermione asked her what she was up to, however, Jade didn't want to tell either of them what she'd planned to do so she lied and said she was planning to do some last-minute studying to make sure she'd pass Professor Snape's test. Hermione smiled and invited her up to the Gryffindor common room to study with her. 

Jade agreed not able to come up with an excuse to refuse her, which caused Ron to groan and ask Hermione why she and Harry would befriend a Slytherin. 

~Timeskip~

When Harry finally walked into the Gryffindor common room, Jade, Hermione, and Ron were huddled in a corner reading a letter written by Hagrid. "Professor Trelawney..." Harry panted, "just told me..." But he stopped abruptly at the sight of their faces. "Buckbeak lost," said Ron weakly.

"Hagrid's just sent this." Jade said with tears in her eyes, looking as if they were fighting to fall but she refused to let them in front of these three let alone most anyone so she wasn't looking directly at any of them as she spoke. Hagrid's note was dry this time, no tears had splattered it, yet his hand seemed to have shaken so much as he wrote that it was hardly legible.

'Lost appeal. They're going to execute at sunset. Nothing you can do. Don't come down. I don't want you to see it.

~Hagrid' 

"We've got to go," said Harry at once. "He can't just sit there on his own, waiting for the executioner!" "You've gotta be joking, right?" Jade asked looking Harry in his face as she got control of her tears. She knew that if Lucius had anything to do with this he'd be there to ensure the execution happened. She also knew she couldn't go cause he'd know she was there since he was proficient at Legilimency. "We'd never be allowed... 'specially you, Harry..." Ron said in agreement for once with Jade. 

Harry sank his head into his hands, thinking. "If we only had the Invisibility Cloak..." "Where is it?" said Hermione. Harry told her about leaving it in the passageway under the one-eyed witch. "... if Snape sees me anywhere near there again, I'm in serious trouble," he finished. "That's true," said Hermione, getting to her feet. "If he sees you... How do you open the witch's hump again?" Jade stared at her silently with a confused expression on her face. She understood what the girl was going to do. '...but why?' 

"You... you tap it and say, 'Dissendium,'" said Harry. "But..." Hermione didn't wait for the rest of his sentence; she strode across the room, pushed open the Fat Lady's portrait, and vanished from sight. "She hasn't gone to get it?" Ron said, staring after her. Jade sighed. "Unfortunately yes..." And with that Jade left not telling them why she said it like that.