Saudade

Chapter 21 Only Happy Thoughts Ophelia

"I'll bet you wish you hadn't given up Divination now, don't you, Hermione?" Parvati asked, smirking.

It was breakfast time, two days after the sacking of Professor Trelawney, and Parvati was curling her eyelashes around her wand and examining the effect in the back of her spoon. Ophelia was to have her first lesson with Firenze that morning.

"Not really," Hermione said indifferently, who was reading the Daily Prophet. "I've never really liked horses."

She turned a page of the newspaper and scanned its columns.

"He's not a horse, he's a centaur!" Lavender said, sounding shocked.

"A gorgeous centaur..." Parvati sighed.

Ophelia gave Harry a disgusted look.

"Either way, he's still got four legs," Hermione said coolly. "Anyway, I thought you two were all upset that Trelawney had gone?"

"We are!" Lavender assured her. "We went up to her office to see her; we took her some daffodils--not the honking ones that Sprout's got, nice ones."

"How is she?" Harry asked.

"Not very good, poor thing," Lavender said sympathetically. "She was crying and saying she'd rather leave the castle forever than stay here where Umbridge is, and I don't blame her, Umbridge was horrible to her, wasn't she?"

"I've got a feeling Umbridge has only just started being horrible," Hermione said darkly.

"Impossible," Ron said, who was tucking into a large plate of eggs and bacon. "She can't get any worse than she's been already."

"Hmmm, I don't know. She's going to want revenge on Dumbledore for appointing a new teacher without consulting her," Ophelia said. "Especially another part-human. You saw the look on her face when she saw Firenze."

After breakfast Ophelia departed with Blaise, heading for Divination. Instead of heading toward the North Tower, they headed toward Classroom eleven which was on the ground floor along the corridor leading off the Entrance Hall from the opposite side to the Great Hall. Ophelia knew it was one of those classrooms that were never used regularly, and therefore had the slightly neglected feeling of a cupboard or storeroom. When she entered it right behind Blaise, and found herself in the middle of a forest clearing, she was therefore momentarily stunned.

"What the--?"

The classroom floor had become springily mossy and trees were growing out of it; their leafy branches fanned across the ceiling and windows, so that the room was full of slanting shafts of soft, dappled, green light. The students who had already arrived were sitting on the earthy floor with their backs resting against tree trunks or boulders, arms wrapped around their knees or folded tightly across their chests, and all looking rather nervous. In the middle of the clearing, where there were no trees, stood Firenze.

Ophelia noticed there was the shadow of a hoof-shaped bruise on Firenze's chest. As she turned to join the rest of the class on the ground.

When the door was closed and the last student had sat down on a tree stump beside the wastepaper basket, Firenze gestured around the room.

"Professor Dumbledore has kindly arranged this classroom for us," Firenze said, when everyone had settled down, "in imitation of my natural habitat. I would have preferred to teach you in the Forbidden Forest, which was--until Monday--my home... but that is no longer possible."

"Please--er-- sir--" Daphne said breathlessly, raising her hand, "--why not? We've been in there with Hagrid, we're not frightened!"

"It is not a question of your bravery," Firenze said, "but of my position. I cannot return to the Forest. My herd has banished me."