The Gift From Death Year 3

Chapter 6: Third year Part 5

9th, August, 1998...

"This is after our first Divination lesson and Professor Trelawney had just predicted my death using tea leaves." Harry explained.

"Let me guess, she saw the Grim?" Sirius asked. Harry nodded. "I thought so."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione descended Professor Trelawney's ladder and the winding stairs in silence, then set off for Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration lesson. It took them so long to find her classroom that, early as they had left Divination, they were only just in time.

Harry chose a seat right at the back of the room, feeling as though he were sitting in a very bright spotlight; the rest of the class kept shooting furtive glances at him, as though he were about to drop dead at any moment. He hardly heard what Professor McGonagall was telling them about Animagi (wizards who could transform at will into animals),

James and Sirius grinned and turned into their Animagi, Remus followed turning into his Lycan form. James turned back, but Sirius and Remus stayed animals. They jumped up onto their chairs and Padfoot curled up into a ball while Moony stretched out and lay on Dora's lap, prompting Teddy, who had been sitting quietly playing with his toy wolf on Andy's knee to clap happily, crawl over to his mother's knee and cuddle into his father's neck before falling asleep. Everyone in the room noticed this and chuckled at the boy using Moony's neck as a pillow.

and wasn't even watching when she transformed herself in front of their eyes into a tabby cat with spectacle markings around her eyes.

"Really, what has got into you all today?" said Professor McGonagall, turning back into herself with a faint pop, and staring around at them all. "Not that it matters, but that's the first time my transformation's not got applause from a class."

Everybody's heads turned toward Harry again, but nobody spoke. Then Hermione raised her hand.

"Please, Professor, we've just had our first Divination class, and we were reading the tea leaves, and -"

"Ah, of course," said Professor McGonagall, suddenly frowning. "There is no need to say any more, Miss Granger. Tell me, which of you will be dying this year?"

Everyone stared at her.

"Me," said Harry, finally.

"I see," said Professor McGonagall, fixing Harry with her beady eyes. "Then you should know, Potter, that Sybill Trelawney has predicted the death of one student a year since she arrived at this school."

"See? Even Minnie knows she's a fraud." James grinned.

"We didn't at the time." Harry nodded.

"I've never had the patience for Divination either. And I've never seen the point in keeping that a secret." Minerva added.

"None of them has died yet. Seeing death omens is her favorite way of greeting a new class. If it were not for the fact that I never speak ill of my colleagues -" Professor McGonagall broke off, and they saw that her nostrils had gone white. She went on, more calmly, "Divination is one of the most imprecise branches of magic. I shall not conceal from you that I have very little patience with it. True Seers are very rare, and Professor Trelawney..."She stopped again, and then said, in a very matter-of-fact tone, "You look in excellent health to me, Potter, so you will excuse me if I don't let you off homework today. I assure you that if you die, you need not hand it in."