𝙮𝙤𝙪 || 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐲-𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭: 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

The next day was marked as the first school term of the year. During breakfast, when the third-year course schedules were handed out, you compare it to Susan's. You did it twice with Delilah and Fiona, and the obvious difference had you frowning.

"I can't believe I'm the only one who took Divination," you grumble, squinting your eyes at your friends. "You traitors."

Delilah's fork stops in midair. "It sounds unbelievably boring." She pauses to take a nibble from the sausage on her fork. "And I don't believe in predictions."

You made a face. "You've seen flying broomsticks and talking plants, yet you don't believe in predicting the future?"

"Do you?" Questions Susan, who was taking Ancient Runes at nine o'clock.

"That's why I chose Divination," you said, taking a bite out of your toast before swallowing, "because if it's true, then I'll be able to predict the exact moment Periwinkle coughs up a hairball on my bed."

Delilah grins sheepishly. "He regrets it," she apologizes on behalf of her cat.

You would have complained more, but she's lucky her pet cat was adorable. That and you needed to finish breakfast early. The Divination class was held in the North Tower, which will take ten minutes to get to. Some students were already exiting the Great Hall, and you couldn't distinguish any of your Gryffindor friends from the crowd.

But that was fine. Great, even. For two years you've relied on others for directions. The castle was huge and, sure, you haven't exactly memorized the huge layout in a short span of three years, but locating the North Tower should come easy to you by now.

Right?

Before you can start doubting yourself, you were already shouldering your bag and leaving the Hufflepuff table.

"Good luck opening your third eye or whatever!" Delilah laughs gleefully with a wave.

You didn't bother responding to her teasing and marched out of the entrance hall. At least you still had other friends who took Divination, like Neville. The one thing you didn't understand is why Delilah bothered taking Muggle Studies with Fiona when she was a Muggle-born herself. Even you didn't take the subject. What else can you learn about Muggles? She could have at least taken Divination with you.

You went up what you thought was the third set of stairs you've come across. You bite the inside of your cheek while looking around, seeing two passages. One of them could potentially lead to the North Tower while the other will lead you to another corridor. And the latter wasn't something you can deal with when you've already wasted five minutes.

You're not lost, you're definitely not lost.

Throwing all caution to the wind, you decided on the left passage. You end up climbing two more staircases and emerge on an unfamiliar floor. That's when you finally stopped being in denial and accepted your situation with a heavy heart.

You're definitely lost.

You slump against the wall, fighting the urge to jump out the nearest window. Tardiness wasn't something that troubled you since you make sure to wake up early, but now that you're stuck in some part of the castle you didn't recognize, it's safe to assume you'll be the last one to arrive to class.

You continue to meander across the barren hallway, unsure if you were even going in the right direction. There's a lone painting of grass on the stone wall, but other than that there wasn't much else that grabbed your interest.

"FREEZE, INTRUDER!"

You yelped, clutching onto the strap of your bag and looking around wildly for the owner of the voice. It came in the form of a little knight suddenly appearing in the large portrait, wielding his sword and waving it around violently. He was struggling to point it at you. Moving paintings were just one of the many magical properties at Hogwarts. You wonder why his painting was the only one in this particular passage.