Lily Potter (Harry Potter's Twin)

Chapter 30

Professor Trelawney was sacked by the next week, and made quite a scene when she was leaving. Umbrigde tried to kick her off campus, but Dumbledore showed up and saved the day. He appointed a centaur named Firenze. I was glad I deiced to take Divination for this term, I always dreamed of being taught be the centaur.

Hermione, who had given up divination, was not upset she wasn't getting a centaur for a teacher. "I never really liked horses," she said when Parvati asked her.

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

"A gorgeous centaur.." sighed Parvati.

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

"We are!" Lavender assured her. "We visited her and brought he some daffodils.."

"How is she?" I asked.

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

"I have a feeling she will get even worse," I said."She will want revenge on Dumbledore for appointing a new teacher without consulting her, especially another part human. You saw the look on her face when see saw Firenze.."

After a quick breakfast I followed Lavender and Parvati into the entrance hall, then to classroom eleven. Classroom eleven was situated in the ground-floor corridor leading off the Great Hall. I remembered that in the book, Dumbledore made it seem just like the Forbidden Forest.

The class room did resemble the forest. 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 green light. The students that had already had arrived were sitting on the earthy floor with their backs resting on tree trunks or boulders, arms wrapped around their knees or folded tightly across their chests, looking nervous. In the middle of the room, we're there was no trees, stood Firenze.

"Lily Potter," said Firenze when he say me. "I was told of your return, welcome."

That probably confused many people, since no one knew about my 'situation' with living in the future and all. I noticed a hoof-shaped bruise on Firenze's chest.

"Thank you, I like it here," I said, I know that he knows exactly what I mean.

I turned to the rest of the class and went to sit with Harry and Ron.

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

"Professor Dumbledore gas kindly arrange this classroom for us, " said Firenze 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 this is not possible.

"Lie back upon the floor, " said Firenze in his calm voice, " and observe the heavens. I know you have learned the names of the planets and their moons in Astronomy and that you have mapped the stars progress through the heavens. Centaurs have unraveled the mysteries of these movements over centuries. Our findings teach us that the future may be glimpsed in the sky above us..."

It was the most unusual lesson I ever attended at Hogwarts. We burned old sage and mallowsweet there on the classroom floor, and Firenze told us to look for certain shapes and symbols in the pungent fumes. I saw them. No one but never could see then but me. He said humans were hardly ever good at this, that it took centaurs years and years to become competent, and finished by telling them that it was foolish to put too much faith in such things anyway, because even centaurs sometimes read them wrongly. He was nothing like any teacher I had ever had.