Cast yourself (you are the spell)

Chapter 2

Inside the headmaster's office was utter chaos. Professor Slughorn and Professor Binns were arguing over trivial matters that really had nothing to do with the matter at hand. Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall were quarreling over the meaning of the prophecy, while the other professors demanded to know whether it was even real at all.

The only two that did not speak were the ever-confused Sybill Trelawney and Albus Dumbledore, who was standing over a Pensieve in search for the memory which had occurred barely thirty minutes ago.

A white light wisps out of his wand into the Pensieve, and a second later the worrying incident plays out before him. The room grows quiet as everyone strains to observe Dumbledore's memory.

Trelawney watches herself as she forewarns a prophecy of which she cannot recall.

"When the sun rises,
the end of peace will set,
and Merlin will stir in anger
with the first hour of the morning.
He will reign destruction on nature,
turning the seas to ice
and the forests to fire.
Two will need to come together
one purest of blood,
from the house of the snake
and another with none to her name,
but from much of the same.
Only their union can truly free us from Merlin's wrath.
And the great evil's heir
shall become the wizarding world's savior."

As the memory comes to an end, the staff reverts back to the disorder they had found comfort in before. Professor Snape remains a quill in hand, transcribing the prophecy just as it concluded.

"Settle down, everyone," Dumbledore bellows patiently, feeling as if he's addressing a group of first years. In turn, the staff stare up at him, waiting restlessly for what he has to say next.

As always, Dumbledore delays his speech for dramatics, and-as always-Professor McGonagall huffs in annoyance.

"It appears...what we have is to be a true prophecy-" Before he can even finish his sentence or add more, the room dissolves into a fierce commotion once again.

"This is crazy!" Trelawney exclaims, and Professor McGonagall has the sudden and deep urge to strangle her.

"I knew I should have never accepted this teaching position," Professor Slughorn mumbles gracelessly under his breath, as if his presence had personally invoked Merlin's fury.

"What do we do?" Professor Flitwick was repeatedly asking, and for once, Dumbledore had no precise response.

"We interpret it to the best of our ability, and then we do everything in our power to prevent the destruction it so describes," he says, taking a step back as the teachers crowd over Professor Snape and his transcription of the prophecy. For just a second, in the comfort of his own mind, Albus Dumbledore allows himself to wonder what Gellert Grindewald would do.

A tight knot forms in the space where his heart should be, and he blinks back to the situation at hand.

"Alright, we must decipher this now. It won't be long until the morning, and we have the best chance the quicker we can translate it," Professor McGonagall tells her fellow staff members, reaching out for some ink and a quill.

"I think it is rather obvious." Professor Snape sighs. "Essentially, the balance of nature will be unstable unless two students can manage to salvage it."

"Two students? How can you infer that?" Professor Flitwick jumps in.

"'House of the snake' is quite clearly referring to Slytherin-"

"-How do we know they haven't graduated yet?"

"We don't," Professor McGonagall cuts in. "For now, we will narrow down the list of current students starting in Slytherin."