Now nobody seemed to want
to look at him.
"I think we will leave the lesson here for today," said Professor
Trelawney in her mistiest voice. "Yes... please pack away your
things...."
Silently the class took their teacups back to Professor Trelawney,
packed away their books, and closed their bags. Even Ron was avoiding
Harry's eyes.
"Until we meet again," said Professor Trelawney faintly, "fair fortune
be yours. Oh, and dear" -- she pointed at Neville -- "you'll be late
next time, so mind you work extra-hard to catch up."
Harry, Ron, and Hermione descended Professor Trelawney's ladder and the
winding stair in silence, then set off for Professor McGonagall's
Transfiguration lesson. It took them so long to find her classroom that,
early as they had left Divination, they were only just in time.
Harry chose a seat right at the back of the room, feeling as though he
were sitting in a very bright spotlight; the rest of the class kept
shooting furtive glances at him, as though he were about to drop dead at
any moment. He hardly heard what Professor McGonagall was telling them
about Animagi (wizards who could transform at will into animals), and
wasn't even watching when she transformed herself in front of their eyes
into a tabby cat with spectacle markings around her eyes.
"Really, what has got into you all today?" said Professor McGonagall,
turning back into herself with a faint pop, and staring around at them
all. "Not that it matters, but that's the first time my transformation's
not got applause from a class."
Everybody's heads turned toward Harry again, but nobody spoke. Then
Hermione raised her hand.
"Please, Professor, we've just had our first Divination class, and we
were reading the tea leaves, and --"
"Ah, of course," said Professor McGonagall, suddenly frowning.
"There is no need to say any more, Miss Granger. Tell me, which of you
will be dying this year?"
Everyone stared at her.
"Me," said Harry, finally.
"I see," said Professor McGonagall, fixing Harry with her beady eyes.
"Then you should know, Potter, that Sibyll Trelawney has predicted the
death of one student a year since she arrived at this school. None of
them has died yet. Seeing death omens is her favorite way of greeting a
new class. If it were not for the fact that I never speak ill of my
colleagues --"
Professor McGonagall broke off, and they saw that her nostrils had gone
white. She went on, more calmly, "Divination is one of the most
imprecise branches of magic. I shall not conceal from you that I have
very little patience with it. True Seers are very rare, and Professor
Trelawney --"
She stopped again, and then said, in a very matter-of-fact tone, "You
look in excellent health to me, Potter, so you will excuse me if I don't
let you off homework today. I assure you that if you die, you need not
hand it in."
Hermione laughed. Harry felt a bit better. It was harder to feel scared
of a lump of tea leaves away from the dim red light and befuddling
perfume of Professor Trelawney's classroom. Not everyone was convinced,
however. Ron still looked worried, and Lavender whispered, "But what
about Neville's cup?"
When the Transfiguration class had finished, they joined the crowd
thundering toward the Great Hall for lunch.
"Ron, cheer up," said Hermione, pushing a dish of stew toward him. "You
heard what Professor McGonagall said."
Ron spooned stew onto his plate and picked up his fork but didn't start.
"Harry," he said, in a low, serious voice, "You haven't seen a great
black dog anywhere, have you?"
"Yeah, I have," said Harry. "I saw one the night I left the Dursleys."
Ron let his fork fall with a clatter.
"Probably a stray," said Hermione calmly.
Ron looked at Hermione as though she had gone mad.
"Hermione, if Harry's seen a Grim, that's -- that's bad," he said. "My
-- my uncle Bilius saw one and -- and he died twenty-four hours later!"
"Coincidence," said Hermione airily, pouring herself some pumpkin juice.
"You don't know what you're talking about!" said Ron, starting to get
angry. "Grims scare the living daylights out of most wizards!"
"There you are, then," said Hermione in a superior tone. "They see the
Grim and die of fright. The Grim's not an omen, it's the cause of death!
And Harry's still with us because he's not stupid enough to see one and
think, right, well, I'd better kick the bucket then!"
Ron mouthed wordlessly at Hermione, who opened her bag, took out her new
Arithmancy book, and propped it open against the juice jug.
"I think Divination seems very woolly," she said, searching for her
page. "A lot of guesswork, if you ask me."
"There was nothing woolly about the Grim in that cup!" said Ron hotly.
"You didn't seem quite so confident when you were telling Harry it was a
sheep," said Hermione coolly.
"Professor Trelawney said you didn't have the right aura! You just don't
like being bad at something for a change!"
He had touched a nerve. Hermione slammed her Arithmancy book down on the
table so hard that bits of meat and carrot flew everywhere.
"If being good at Divination means I have to pretend to see death omens
in a lump of tea leaves, I'm not sure I'll be studying it much longer!
That lesson was absolute rubbish compared with my Arithmancy class!"
She snatched up her bag and stalked away.
Ron frowned after her.
"What's she talking about?" he said to Harry. "She hasn't been to an
Arithmancy class yet."
Harry was pleased to get out of the castle after lunch. Yesterday's rain
had cleared; the sky was a clear, pale gray, and the grass was springy
and damp underfoot as they set off for their first ever Care of Magical
Creatures class.
Ron and Hermione weren't speaking to each other. Harry walked beside
them in silence as they went down the sloping lawns to Hagrid's hut on
the edge of the Forbidden Forest. It was only when he spotted three
only-too-familiar backs ahead of them that he realized they must be
having these lessons with the Slytherins. Malfoy was talking animatedly
to Crabbe and Goyle, who were chortling. Harry was quite sure he knew
what they were talking about.
Hagrid was waiting for his class at the door of his hut. He stood in his
moleskin overcoat, with Fang the boarhound at his heels, looking
impatient to start.
"C'mon, now, get a move on!" he called as the class approached. "Got a
real treat for yeh today! Great lesson comin' up! Everyone here? Right,
follow me!"
For one nasty moment, Harry thought that Hagrid was going to lead them
into the forest; Harry had had enough unpleasant experiences in there to