Chapter 315: Divination Teacher (Edited)

After breakfast, the third year Gryffindor students headed to the Divination classroom, which was located at the top of the North Tower and took quite a while to get to.

But with Fish, a kitten who knew all the secret passages of Hogwarts, it was a much shorter walk.

Passing through several oddly shaped doors, the group followed Fish around the castle like headless flies, and before long they came to a narrow revolving staircase.

"If we climb this staircase, we will find Sybil nya."

?(●ΦωΦ●)?

Fish pointed to the stairs whose rotation speed was obviously not right and said.

The staircase didn't look too long, so they looked at each other and reluctantly climbed up.

What they didn't know was that this was only the beginning, and that after climbing this spiral staircase, there were new ones to climb, all of which rotated at different speeds and in different directions, and they all felt dizzy and out of breath as they huffed and puffed their way up the stairs.

Except, of course, for Fish, for whom this level of spinning and exercise is nothing for a kitten.

"My goodness... George and Fred and the others didn't say anything about having to suffer like this before a Divination class..."

Ron grumbled as he covered his head, as he was a little dizzy.

"Why would you say that?" Fish shook his head incomprehensibly, "These stairs are hilarious."

The group laughed bitterly, but the stairs were fine if you walked slowly, except that they were a bit tiring.

But the leader, Fish, walked at such a fast pace that the group unconsciously picked up the pace, and so they were all dizzy after climbing the stairs.

After taking a breath, they looked around.

They were standing on a small platform with no doors, let alone windows, around them.

As the group wondered, they saw Fisch running toward the center of the platform, raising his head toward the ceiling and shouting, "Sybil! Fisch is coming to class!"

It was then that they all noticed that above the ceiling was a round flap door with a brass plaque that read "Sybil Trelawney, Professor of Divination."

When Fish shouted, the trapdoor opened automatically and a silver ladder descended from above.

"Come on up."

?(●ΦωΦ●)?

Without a word, Fish climbed the ladder and, as he was about to enter the classroom, he waved to the students below.

They all followed Fish up the stairs to a classroom that looked like a cross between a loft and an old-fashioned tea house.

There were a lot of classes at Hogwarts, and apart from flying and astronomy, which didn't require a classroom, and magical animal protection, which they were going to have in the afternoon, all the other classes had their peculiarities.

The Divination classroom, however, was the most unlike any classroom they had ever seen.

There were at least twenty round tables crammed into the small room, surrounded by percale armchairs and small, lumpy futons.

The curtains are drawn so tightly closed that not a single ray of light from outside enters, but the room is not dimly lit inside, everything is illuminated by a red, hazy light.

This red light is caused by the large crimson scarves covering the lamps in the room and by the fireplace, which burns brightly.

This made the room not only glaring, but also stiflingly hot.

In addition, on the mantelpiece was a large copper kettle with a strong smell of tea, which many found oppressive and even a bit nauseating, not to mention Fish, who had a keen sense of smell....

So the cat cast a deodorizing spell on himself as soon as he entered the classroom.

"Sybil, it's been a long time nya."

?(●ΦωΦ●)?

Fish ran around the corner, and waved at a figure in the shadows.

Professor Trelawney had intended to show her sense of mystery, but Fish called out to her and had no choice but to step out of the shadows.

"Welcome," she said as she approached the fireplace, bathed in firelight and looking mysterious, "I'm glad to finally meet you in the material world."

Professor Trelawney's voice was soft and a little muffled, and though it sounded strange, it was very appropriate for her as a fortune teller.

The audience looked at Professor Trelawney a bit confused, both because they didn't quite understand what she was saying and because her outfit was so over the top that they couldn't help but think of Luna Lovegood, who was standing near Fish....

Trelawney's body was slender, her eyes magnified several times over by a pair of large spectacles, and she wore a thin, sheer shawl adorned with many shiny metal pieces.

On her long, slender neck were innumerable beads and chains, and on her arms and hands were so many bracelets and rings that Professor Trelawney looked like a huge, shiny insect.

"She must be a Ravenclaw like Luna."

Ron whispered to Harry beside him, "Just as Slytherin always produces dark wizards, Ravenclaw has always been known for producing geeks."

While this was a stereotype to Ron, or to most students, this time he was right, Trelawney was a Ravenclaw as well.

"Sybil, why do you smell so bad in here?"

?ω?

The little cat didn't mind Professor Trelawney's pretense at all....

She and the centaurs, anyway, had always been like that, and Fish had gotten used to it.

But the strong smell of tea in the air was too much for the kitten, so at first he frowned and complained to Professor Trelawney.

Smiling, Professor Trelawney continued in her soft, muffled voice, "Interpreting tea leaves is an introduction to Divination, and this is your first lesson of the day."

With that, she gently patted Fish on the head, pointed to the nearest small round table, and said, "Sit down first, and you children sit down."

Fish did as he was told, and then Hermione, Lavender and Parvati, the three Gryffindor girls, were the first to take a seat next to Fish, the four of them occupying the small table.

The rest of the group gathered and took their seats.

"Welcome to Divination class," Professor Trelawney said as she too took a seat in a chair in front of the fire, not looking at the group, but staring up at the ceiling, "I'm Professor Trelawney. You probably haven't met me before. I find that being in the chaos and noise of school district life too often clouds my celestial vision."

Harry had already heard the seniors mention it in their arguments during course selection, and he knew it was probably a gift used to see the future....

As to where it grew and how to sense it, Harry and the others were at a loss.

Professor Trelawney didn't explain much as she elegantly straightened her shawl and continued, "So you've taken Divination, the most advanced of all the magical arts. I must say beforehand that I can't help you if you don't have a vision. Books can only teach you so much in this field..."

Hermione seemed surprised to hear that books would not be of much help in this discipline.

At that moment, Fish leaned close to his ear and whispered, "The centaurs in the Forbidden Forest have a similar claim, but Minerva says it's just an excuse they make when Divination fails nya."

"I heard that!"

Professor Trelawney, whose armchair was next to Fish's desk, naturally heard the kitten whisper.

In her anger, her voice was no longer soft, but became higher pitched.

"Minerva is only jealous because she doesn't have the gift of prophecy!"

Hearing Professor Trelawney say this about Professor McGonagall, everyone looked nervously at Fish, fearing that he would jump up and punch Professor Trelawney, as he had done to Professor Lockhart and Professor Lupin.

However, the kitten was in a very steady mood, as he was tired of watching Professor McGonagall and Trelawney argue.

And, while they were arguing, they always got involved.....

"Fish, you should have listened to me and become a fortune teller, unlike Minerva, you have the gift of prophecy!"

And there it is again...

(?ω?)

The kitten looked at Professor Trelawney with vacant eyes and wagged its tail helplessly.