The Grim - PoA

Chapter Two

Cassie hadn't slept much the night before — she'd had nightmares about dementors finding their way into Slytherin's common room, and woke with a start early in the morning when it was still dark out. Now, sitting at the Slytherin table for breakfast, she ate slowly, doing everything she could to tune out Draco and the rest of her house.

Draco had gathered most of the Slytherins near one end of the table, pretending again and again to faint.

"Potter!" Pansy's whiny voice called, "Watch out, Potter! The dementors are coming! Ooooh!"

Cassie looked up, watching as Ron and Hermione led Harry away, all three glaring in Draco's direction. Cassie frowned, turning her attention back to her breakfast. An older student, one of the Slytherin prefects, set her schedule down in front of her without a word.

She had Divination first, and left breakfast early in order to get there on time (she had to climb nearly seven flights of stairs to get to the north tower, where the classroom was). She climbed the winding stairs to the top of the tower, which finally opened into a landing. Most of the class was already there, chatting quietly, many of them looking towards the ceiling.

"How do you reckon we're to get up there?" Ron Weasley questioned, sounding puzzled.

Cassie followed their gaze, seeing the trap door in the center of the ceiling, with a bronze plaque labeled 'Sybill Trelawney, Divination teacher.' Suddenly, as if the door had heard Ron, it popped open and a ladder emerged.

The classroom, though she'd hardly call it that, was small and uncomfortably warm. The fire lit under the mantel piece gave off a sickly sweet perfume and there was at least twenty round tables crammed into the room, each containing a crystal ball. Around the room, which was bathed in red light, there lay packs of cards, feathers, beads, books, and candles.

"Welcome!" A feathery voice called from the darkness, "How nice to see you in the physical world at last."

Professor Trelawney herself was an odd sight. The woman was scrawny, with rounded, large glasses that magnified her eyes to an unnatural size, making her resemble an insect. Around her neck hung numerous chains, beaded necklaces, and charms, and rings adorned every one of her bony fingers.

"Sit, my children, sit!" She says, waving her hands spastically, and taking a seat in an armchair by the fire. "Welcome to Divination!"

There weren't many Slytherins in Divination, not that Cassie would have sat with them anyway, had she been given a choice. She found herself at a table with a nervous, and quite familiar looking, brunette boy.

"My name is Professor Trelawney. You may not have seen me before, I find that descending too often into the hustle and bustle of the main school clouds my Inner Eye."

Cassie had no idea what on earth that could mean, and was having a hard time concentrating on the odd Professors introductions — the boy next to her had taken to staring, wide eyed, like he was scared of her. Certainly she wasn't that intimidating? With a quick glance, she noticed his robes; he was a Gryffindor.

"So you have chosen to study Divination," Professor Trelawney continues, "The most difficult of all magical arts. I must warn you that if you do not have the Sight, there is very little I can teach you. Books can only get you so far in this field! Many witches and wizards, talented as they are, are unable to penetrate the veiled mysteries of the future. It is a gift granted to few."

The Professor's enormous eyes traveled from face to face, suddenly stopping at her table. "You, boy!" He looked faint, trembling slightly. "Is your grandmother well?"

"I-I think so."

"I wouldn't be so sure, dear," His face pales even more, but Professor Trelawney has already moved on, "We will be covering the basics of Divination this year, focusing on reading tea leaves this term, and moving in to palmistry the next. By the way, dear," Her haze landed on another unfortunate student, "Beware the red-headed man."