Chamber of Love

Chapter 32

I know this is a short chapter but it's also the most important one so far.

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Juliette sighed, impatiently tapping her fingers on the table surface. Trelawney was pacing around the Divination classroom while the raindrops accompanied her movements from the other side of the windows, hidden by the red curtains. A brown-furred cat, which belonged to Trelawney, was peacefully sleeping on one of the chairs that usually got occupied by students.

"Professor, what are you–" Juliette attempted to ask what she was doing, what she was looking for exactly so they could get to the point about Juliette's reasons to be there.

But Trelawney wouldn't let her speak, "Hush, dear, don't distract me."

Juliette lifted her eyebrows with surprise but didn't utter another word, obeying her teacher.

She waited quietly -and a bit impatiently- while Trelawney opened and closed drawers, looked into some boxes with velvet coverings and even checked under some tables.

"Oh, there you are." Soon enough, she found what she was looking for, much to Juliette's relief. The brown haired woman was holding a book, which looked a bit old and worn out from where Juliette was sitting.

"What's that?" Juliette couldn't help but ask.

Trelawney walked around the tables with excitement, heading towards Juliette. Her thin, long shawl was following her as she moved.

"This, Miss Avery, is The Dream Oracle." Said the Professor as she put it on the table with a thud, involuntarily startling Juliette.

The leather-bound book was indeed old. It looked weary with its peeled bits and pages that are ready to split. Juliette wondered how many times Trelawney had read this particular book.

"It's written by Inigo Imago." She continued as Juliette inspected the hard cover, which was dark blue. The cover was accented in gold embellishments with raised spines. The name of the author was written in small italics right under the title of the book.

Juliette raised her head, giving Trelawney an unsure look.

"What's it about?" She asked even though the title gave her a spark of an idea.

Trelawney smiled and leaned forward after fixing her glasses, which made her eyes look unnaturally bigger. "This book will provide you information about dream interpretation. It was supposed to be required for your fifth year but I will make an exception for you."

Juliette examined her friendly smile with suspicion.

"Why?" She asked, wondering what she knew about her dreams or... visions.

"Professor Snape told me everything." Trelawney said with a tone that made Juliette feel like she was feeling sorry for her. "But no need to worry. I will show you how to understand them, interpret them or even–"

"What do you mean by everything?" Juliette asked, interrupting her professor's enthusiastic speech.

Trelawney looked confused. "Well, he told me you were having some very bad dreams. Consistently. Apparently you were having trouble sleeping."

Juliette nodded, frowning a little bit. He didn't mention the visions she had during daytime nor how she kept seeing the Dark Lord. Should she talk about it to Trelawney? Maybe Snape didn't mention them for a reason. He asked her to keep it a secret after all.

"You see, there are ways to find a meaning behind those dreams whether they're nightmares or not." Trelawney started again, regaining her passionate voice. She quickly opened the book and turned the pages. "You see, if you discover the message behind them, you might stop having them over and over again. If you read the introduction right here–"