Chapter 283: Master, Please Help! (Edited)

The news that Newt had become the substitute professor for Care of Magical Creatures spread immediately, and all the Gryffindor wizards, except for a few, were thrilled—it was Newt Scamander! The news of what Tom and the others had seen in the suitcase also spread throughout the school.

If there were a search list on campus, Newt would be number one, with Hagrid, Malfoy, and the Hippogriff following closely behind. Everyone was talking about Professor Scamander and his magical suitcase.

After lunch, Tom headed back to the common room, ready to get a good sleep for the afternoon session. But three girls blocked his way. He recognized them—two of them were third-year Gryffindors, one named Parvati Patil, the other Lavender Brown, and the third was Parvati's sister, Padma Patil from Ravenclaw.

The two sisters had made quite an impression on Tom.

"Yodel, can I have a moment of your time?" Parvati stopped Tom, looking expectant. "Just a few minutes."

Tom glanced at Hermione as he straightened the strap of his bag. "I'll go back to the common room then. See you this afternoon!" With that, he made his way through the crowd and disappeared.

The three girls led Tom to an empty classroom and explained the reason for their visit.

It turned out that Parvati and Lavender respected Professor Trelawney almost to the point of admiration, so every prophecy she made was taken literally by the two and tormented them day and night.

"It's alright to be wary of redheads, I just have to be careful around them when they pass by. But Yodel, Professor Trelawney says that Lavender's biggest fear will come true on October 16th. What are we going to do about it?" Parvati shared her fears with Tom.

In their eyes, Tom Yodel, who had been praised by Professor Trelawney, might help them solve their problem.

But Tom's mood was outrageous. "Who do you think I am? Some kind of roadside fortune-teller? With a sense of helplessness, Tom could only correct their misconceptions.

"Divination is the accurate presentation of a predetermined fate, and I must say here that you shouldn't take every word of the professor seriously because excessive embellishments will only lead to misunderstandings, and earthly life will taint the professor's eyes and make her judgments less accurate. And it is to fate, because it cannot be changed or reversed, but accepted, that it is called destiny." Tom shared his definition of divination with the three young girls.

Seeing the confused look in their eyes, Tom knew they hadn't understood a thing.

Lavender pondered for a moment and retorted, "Professor Trelawney's prophecies hit the mark. Many of her predictions have come true... like Neville's, so the ones that didn't come true just weren't ready yet."

Tom sighed, "That's not the point. What I'm saying is that the future is foretold, it cannot be reversed. Diviners can only catch glimpses of it through various means, but they can't reverse it... and if they do, it becomes fate."

Lavender obviously couldn't accept this negative statement. She wanted to argue further but was stopped by Parvati.

"So at least tell us in advance what will happen to Lavender on that day so we can be prepared."

Tom felt a headache coming on, but he couldn't do anything about it. "Let's practice with them," he thought, and agreed.

"But I don't have a divination kit..."

"It's alright, we already have one." The Patil sisters quickly pulled out a set of divination tools: teapot, teacup, tea leaves, crystal ball...

They placed the teapot on the table with their hands and feet, used their magic to boil the water, and then Lavender poured her own cup of tea with such speed that it took Tom's breath away, leaving behind a trail of tea leaves.

She disposed of them as Professor Trelawney had taught her and handed them to Tom. Tom stared at Lavender's tea leaves and began deciphering them.

"Hey, does this... look like a rabbit?" Lavender breathed on the side as Tom continued to spin the cup counterclockwise. "Looks like there's a fox behind the rabbit, so the fox chased the rabbit?"

Lavender exclaimed, "It must be my rabbit! Thank you, Yodel!" She got up from her seat and ran off towards the owlery.

Parvati extended her hands. "You see, Lavender's rabbit's fate may have changed."

Tom didn't care about Lavender's rabbit's fate. He just made a mental note to ask Lavender if "her worst fears" had happened when October 16th arrived. Back in the common room, Tom also saw Professor Lupin walking down the hallway with a suitcase.

It seemed the professor was searching the corners of Hogwarts castle for something, or some creature. He looked much better than he did on the train, probably rested and well-fed.

In the afternoon, Tom arrived punctually at the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, awaiting the arrival of Professor Lupin. However, Lupin didn't appear until the bell rang and all the other young wizards arrived.

It took about five minutes before Lupin pushed open the classroom door.

"Good afternoon, everyone. Please put your books back in your bags. Today, we have a practical lesson." Lupin had a slight smile on his face, still in tatters but with a very different demeanor.

Professor Lockhart from the previous year had often given practical lessons, so the students weren't surprised, but they were curious to see what the professor would bring to the class.

"You're in luck. Today, I was inclined to let you read your textbooks... but just a second before the bell rang, I came across this little one..." Professor Lupin greeted the students as they exited the classroom and led them toward the teachers' room.

As Professor Lupin spoke, Anthony Goldstein, who was at the back of the group, felt a tap on his shoulder and looked back to see an empty corridor.

He was confused, thought for a few seconds, and suddenly got goosebumps. "I was at the back of the group, there was no one behind me, so who was that person who touched my shoulder?"