Bella and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter Forty-Two

Hey guys, I'm back! Have you missed me? ;)

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Mine, Harry's and Ron's last exam was Divination; Hermione's, Muggle Studies. We walked up the marble staircase together. Hermione left us on the first floor and the three of us proceeded all the way up to the seventh, where many of our class were sitting on the spiral staircase to Professor Trelawney's classroom, trying to cram in a bit of last-minute revision.

"She's seeing us all separately," Neville informed us, as we went to sit down next to him. He had his copy of Unfogging the Future open on his lap at the pages devoted to crystal-gazing. "Have either of you ever seen anything in a crystal ball?" he asked us unhappily.

"Nope," Ron said, in an offhand voice. He kept checking his watch; I knew that he was counting down the time until Buckbeak's appeal started.

The queue of people outside the classroom shortened very slowly. As each person climbed back down the silver ladder, the rest of the class hissed, "What did she ask? Was it OK?"

But they all refused to say.

"She says the crystal ball's told her that, if I tell you, I'll have a horrible accident!" Neville squeaked, as he clambered back down the ladder towards me, Harry and Ron, we had now reached the landing. 

"That's convenient," Ron snorted. "You know, I'm starting to think Hermione was right about her" (he jabbed his thumb towards the trapdoor overhead), "she's a right old fraud"

"Yeah," I said, looking at my own watch. It was now two o'clock. "Wish she'd hurry up..."

Parvati came back down the ladder glowing with pride.

"She says I've got all the markings of a true Seer," she informed us. "I saw loads of stuff...well, good luck!"

She hurried off down the spiral staircase towards Lavender. 

"Ronald Weasley," said the familiar, misty voice from over our heads. Ron grimaced at us and climbed the silver ladder out of sight. Me and Harry were now the only people left to be tested. We settled ourselves on the floor with our backs against the wall, listening to a fly buzzing in the sunny windows, my mind across the grounds with Hagrid.

Finally, after about twenty minutes, Ron's large feet reappeared on the ladder.

"How'd it go?" Harry asked him as we stood up.

"Rubbish," Ron said. "Couldn't see a thing, so I made some stuff up. Don't think she was convinced, though..."

"Meet you in the Common Room," I muttered, as Professor Trelawney's voice called, "Bella Swan!"

I said bye to Harry and made my way up the ladder. The room was hotter than ever before; the curtains were closed, the fire was alight, and the usual sickly scent made me cough as I stumbled through the clutter of chairs and tables to where Professor Trelawney sat waiting for me 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..."

I bent over the crystal ball and stared, stared as hard as I could, willing it to show me something other than swirling white fog, but nothing happened. 

"Well?" Trelawney prompted delicately. "What do you see?"

The heat was overpowering and my nostrils were stinging with the perfumed smoke wafting from the fire beside us. I thought of what Ron had just said, and decided to pretend. 

"Er -" I said, "a dark shape...um..."

"What does it resemble?" Trelawney whispered. "Think, now..."