Dark Magic

The Grim

On our first day, our lessons would commence with our elective subjects; Divination. I had researched into who our teacher was in my free time; a Sybil Trelawny, descendant of the great Seer Cassandra Trelawny, who had told many scarcely accurate prophecies in her time. There were rumours surrounding Dumbledore nearly scrapping Divination entirely; that was, until Sybil received the post and kept the tradition going in Hogwarts. She must have impressed him, so I could only hope she was a competent teacher.

It was my first lesson with the other third years and already, I felt entirely out of place. They were all much, much bigger than me and most of them were already in their cliques; it was obvious that I would not be making any friends this year.

All of the Slytherin girls partnered up, some of the boys now starting to try their luck with them in the hopes of, possibly, attaining a date at the end of class. I didn't quite feel mature enough for all of that stuff yet; I had not yet turned twelve, after all.

I was alone, for Harry and Ron had already partnered, and nobody else in Slytherin was left...

"Hey, partner!" I gasped, as a crystal ball was thrown towards me and I caught it briskly in my hands; it was heaver than I had expected, but the same weight as a Quaffle. My eyes looked to the sound of the voice, meeting those of "Draco."

He smirked, his blue eyes finding mine, "Not who you expected?" The blonde-haired boy scoffed, feigning offence. I chuckled lightly, shaking my head as we made our way towards a table in the room. "What about Crabbe and Goyle? Don't they want to be your partner?" He avoided my glance, kneeling onto the floor and taking a seat on a vacant cushion. 

"They didn't take Divination." I felt a little disheartened by his honesty. "Anyway, I want to sit with you. Who better to welcome you to third year?" His second comment, however, lifted my spirits slightly. Draco could have easily paired with Pansy Parkinson, and I could feel her glares burning onto us both as I joined his side. 

A middle-aged, raggedy woman with tight curls in her hair entered the room. She wore the most unflattering, baggy top and trousers to match. Her overwhelming amount of accessories; bangles, rings and necklaces were very distracting.

And as she walked, the beads that had been braided into her hair would tap against one another, creating a sort of jingle. She wore her look with confidence, however. And her most noticeable feature were here glasses, making her eyes appear three times the size of the usual pair. She seemed like an easy teacher; extremely laid back and yet, very judgemental. 

My head began to pound, black spots covering my vision for a moment. I tried to hide my pain, reaching for my bag and taking out the pumpkin juice that I had put some of Severus' potion into at breakfast. I took a sip, hoping that it would take effect quickly. Unfortunately, I was wrong.

"Welcome, my children. In this room, we shall explore the noble art of Divination. In this room, you shall discover if you possess The Sight!" The teacher exclaimed as she bumped into a table, quite ironically. The rest of the class held a straight face rather convincingly. I, myself, found myself unable to focus on anything other than the pain surging through my head like a knife being twisted into my temple.

"Hello. I am Professor Trelawny. Together, we shall cast ourselves into the future!" The Professor cheered excitedly, waving her hands into the air with extravagance. "This term, we shall be focusing on tasseomancy; the art of reading tea leaves! Now please, take a cup of the person sitting opposite you." I glanced down at the table, as we each had already taken a sip of the tea and allowed the leaves to take form at the bottom of the cup. Draco and I exchanged our teacups with a short glance.

Turning to the fifth and sixth pages in my textbook, I began to decipher any shapes that I could find.

"I am sensing something over here." Trelawny spoke as she closed the gap between herself and Draco and I's table. Her eyes met my own, wide with anticipation, "What do you see in his cup, my dear?"

I felt a little nervous, as I glanced down between the cup and the textbook. "I see an arrow pointing downwards; perhaps, indicating that you are headed in the wrong direction. And an axe, which can symbolise future difficulty with friends or family. But here, I see an Abbey, which points to increasing wealth." She nodded at my reading, taking the cup I was holding into her palm. 

After a few moments, she smiled and nodded, placing her hand onto my shoulder and giving it a tight squeeze. "You, my dear, possess the sight. Well done, 10 points to Slytherin." The rest of my house hissed in happiness, but the teacher soon grew distracted as she made her way towards a table of two Gryffindor boys. She began to question one of them surrounding their Grandmother's health, worrying the poor boy.

"Well done, Em." I smiled at Draco's half-compliment, tucking a loose curl behind my ear. "Thanks. What does mine say?" I asked, as he looked down at the cup nervously. "Broaden your minds!" The Professor continued to instruct, sauntering around the room inquisitively. 

"I see water-meaning emotions and psychic power. And an hourglass, which can show danger. There's also, what looks like, a knife. The sign of death, sacrifice or division." I shuddered at Draco's reading, the pounding in my head becoming slightly more bearable but his words did not put my mind at rest.

"Oh! Your aura is pulsing, dear! Are you in the beyond!? I think you are!" I flinched at Trelawny's announcement, turning in the direction of her voice as she faced Ron; Hermione now having joined his and Harry's table with a look of complete disgust. She certainly was not in the classroom at the beginning of the lesson-where did she come from?

Ron nodded, his eyes wide and afraid, "Sure!"

The Professor's eyes darted to the cup in his hands, and back to Ron, "Look at the cup! Tell me what you see!" She motioned impatiently. 

Ron began to read, "Yeah, um-Harry's got a sort of a...Wonky cross; well that's trials and suffering....And uh...That there could be the sun and that's happiness...So uh...You're gonna suffer...But you're gonna be happy about it." I watched as the class and my brother tried not to erupt in a fit of laughter.

Trelawny looked a little confused, "Give me the cup." She instructed, as Ron handed it towards her. She took less than a momentary glance, before a loud and frightened shriek emitted from her, startling us all in our seats. The professor took a step back, distancing the gap between herself and my brother as her eyes filled with dread.

"Oh, my dear boy! You have...The Grim!" She sighed, holding her hands closely to her chest. I gulped, looking back towards the pages in the textbook as I found my entire body shaking in horror and disbelief. I felt as though I could have been sick as the words read out in my mind. The rest of the class erupted into whispers, querying the meaning of our teacher's prediction. Finally, one of the other Gryffindor students began to speak, "Taking form of a giant spectre of dog. It's among the darkest omens in our world; the omen...Of death..."