Eye of the Serpent | HP MARAUDER ERA [2]

Chapter Seventeen

Looking around the room, there were only four students besides myself who had taken N.E.W.T.-level Divination in my year. I smiled slightly; a small class meant I'd be able to sit at a table alone and I wouldn't have to share with someone I didn't particularly like.

Professor Quinley, the Divination professor, walked swiftly into the classroom. The mousy woman surveyed the room, looking out at the room of only five students that was awaiting her.

"Just as expected, we have a small class again," she said, making the few other students glance up at her upon hearing her distinctive, nasally voice. "I don't know if that's because so many people failed or because I scared you all, but be sure that you will all drop out of this class by the end of the year."

I wasn't sure whether to laugh or become worried, because I really couldn't tell whether or not the woman was joking.

"This year, we're going to be doing the usual, only a lot more in-depth: crystal-gazing, palmistry, heptomology, cartomancy, catoptromancy, ichthyomancy, astrology, ornithomancy, tessomancy, prithomancy..."

She paused, looking at us expectantly. The other four students looked mildly terrified upon hearing all of the complex words she was using. Their eyes were widened with fright, and I probably had a similar expression on my face.

"Focus, people!" she said abruptly, snapping her fingers. "I was trying to see if you were listening. There is no such thing as prithomancy!"

I listened to the woman drone on and on about each method of Divination, wondering why I had taken this class in the first place. I liked Divination, but Professor Quinley still startled me sometimes, and being a smaller class meant she would notice me a lot more.

"Ornithomancy is the Divination method of reading omens by watching and carefully inspecting the actions of birds. We have mentioned this topic in previous years, but it is definitely on the difficult side and—I'm not going to sugar coat it—you're going to struggle with it." Suddenly, Quinley stopped talking abruptly. She walked towards me, looked me up and down, then said finally, "Beware the bespectacled one."

***

"'Beware the bespectacled one'?" James gasped, placing a hand over his heart. "Well, that's got to be me, doesn't it?" he said, grinning and fixing his glasses on his nose.

"Yes, James, oh Bespectacled One, I should definitely be terrified of you," I said, highly amused.

"Quinley is actually nuts," said Peter.

"Honestly, that woman is so scary," I replied shuddering.

"Fifty Galleons says that's you in twenty years," Sirius said to me, grinning mischievously.

"Padfoot, that's an insult. Quinley's insane," said Remus.

"Thanks Remus," I said smiling at Remus and then narrowing my eyes at Sirius.

"Bianca will have gone mad way before that," Remus continued. "I give her ten years."

"Hey!" I said, smacking his arm. "I thought you were actually defending me, but of course you weren't. Bah, with friends like these my sanity will only survive for five more years."

They chuckled, agreeing.

"OK, OK, back to the topic at hand... What is it exactly that I'm going to do?" James asked.