Chapter 1007: Trelawney's Prophecy
Chapter 1007: Trelawney's Prophecy
The position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was nothing but a jinxed role! This was the deepest sentiment Umbridge had during her time at Hogwarts.
She had lost count of how many times she had perused the archives of the previous Defense Against the Dark Arts professors. Ever since Harry Potter started attending Hogwarts, the professors who held this position met with unfortunate fates.
Professor Quirrell—dead.
Professor Lockhart—reduced to a gibbering mess and permanently residing in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
Professor Lupin—disgraced and almost sent to Azkaban for allegedly attacking a student.
Professor Moody—imprisoned in a trunk for the entire school year, and his imposter, Barty Crouch Jr., met an even worse fate, having his soul sucked out by a Dementor.
Professor Snape, who taught the subject before Harry's arrival, had gone missing and was presumed dead.
Despite Umbridge's reluctance to believe in the so-called curse, it was more than just a coincidence that no Defense Against the Dark Arts professor had lasted more than a year in decades.
No wonder Dumbledore struggled to find willing professors for the position.
The thought of having jumped into this trap of her own volition did nothing to improve Umbridge's mood.
Following this trend, she was highly likely to meet her end before the end of the school year, just as those students had predicted.
Naturally, Umbridge wasn't one to wait for her demise. She planned to resign from the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor before the end of the term, thereby evading the curse.
This was the best solution she had deduced from her extensive research of the archives.
All the professors who resigned prematurely from the position managed to escape unscathed.
However, as a professor dispatched by the Ministry of Magic to Hogwarts, Umbridge couldn't simply abandon the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, nor would she easily relinquish her influence within the school. Hence, she needed another position to replace it, such as Senior Inquisitor or even Headmaster of Hogwarts.
Becoming the new Headmaster of Hogwarts and replacing Dumbledore was Umbridge's ultimate goal. As long as she accomplished this task, everything else would fall into place.
Unfortunately, during her time at Hogwarts, Umbridge had failed to grasp any incriminating evidence against Dumbledore. Instead, she had been humiliated by a series of pranks.
The recent emergence of the anti-Umbridge coalition, known as the "D.U.M.B. Army," only worsened her mood.
Moreover, there were rumors circulating within the Ministry about a prophecy suggesting that Minister Fudge would be ousted from power by next summer. This only added to her agitation.
While Umbridge didn't believe in prophecies, it didn't mean she wouldn't take precautionary measures.
One of her primary tasks at Hogwarts was to establish a foothold for the Ministry within the school.
As long as she succeeded in this endeavor, she need not worry about being abandoned by the Ministry, for they would not readily discard a deputy with strong execution capabilities and a firm hand.
And the key to this plan was to install their own professors at Hogwarts.
The Senior Inquisitor had the authority to dismiss incompetent professors.
In Umbridge's opinion, there were three individuals who fit the bill as targets.
The first was the half-giant Hagrid, teacher of Care of Magical Creatures. According to information provided by Slytherin students, Hagrid's class was a disaster, especially the incident with the skrewts last year that caused quite a stir.
It was a pity that Hagrid's absence from the school had spared him, for the time being, but this did not deter Umbridge's determination to dismiss him.
However, should Hagrid be dismissed, Professor Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank would likely become the new Care of Magical Creatures teacher, and she leaned more towards Dumbledore than the Ministry.
The second target was Sybill Trelawney, the professor of Divination. According to Slytherin students, the students referred to Trelawney as "old fraud."
After all, there were very few witches and wizards who truly understood divination.
The last target was Professor Charity Burbage, the Muggle Studies teacher.
This professor had espoused theories that displeased the pure-blood faction, suggesting that "there isn't much difference between Muggles and wizards," which had incited dissatisfaction among the pure-blood supremacists. They had hoped for Dumbledore to dismiss her and appoint a new Muggle Studies professor, but their requests were undoubtedly denied by Dumbledore.
If Professor Burbage could be removed and replaced with someone more amenable to the pure-bloods, Umbridge would undoubtedly gain their support.
Umbridge was acutely aware that both she and Fudge needed the backing of the pure-blood faction.
In fact, Fudge had already made some headway in this regard.
The following day, Umbridge proceeded with her plan. She made her way to the Divination classroom, located at the top of the North Tower, carrying a prepared questionnaire and a writing board.
As she pushed open the trapdoor and entered the classroom, she found Professor Trelawney staring at her with an unblinking gaze, her eyes filled with animosity as if looking at an enemy. This caused Umbridge's feigned smile to freeze on her face.
The students in the Divination classroom, who had just received their Dream Interpretation guides, noticed the shift in the atmosphere. They were all surprised to discover that Professor Trelawney seemed to harbor intense hostility towards Umbridge.
They turned their gazes towards Umbridge, curious about what mischief she had perpetrated this time.
"Good afternoon, Professor Trelawney," Umbridge said as she found a secluded empty seat and resumed her fake smile. "I trust you received my notice, which stated the date and time of my inspection of your class."
"I did," Trelawney replied without averting her gaze. "And I also prophesied... that I would be dismissed by you."
Professor Trelawney's statement stunned everyone in the Divination classroom, and the students began whispering among themselves, trying to make sense of the old fraud's antics! "Has the old fraud lost her marbles?"
"Does she know she can't pass the inspection, so she's trying to pull a fast one on Umbridge?" Ron muttered under his breath, earning glares from the two girls beside him.
Nonetheless, seeing the old fraud boldly confront Umbridge was undoubtedly a delightful sight for everyone.
Harry, however, had a hunch about what was going on.
It was highly unusual for Professor Trelawney to openly defy Umbridge, and whenever something abnormal happened at Hogwarts, there was almost always someone pulling the strings behind the scenes, deliberately targeting Umbridge.
Did Professor Trelawney not fear being dismissed?
No, she knew she would be dismissed, and that was why she wasn't afraid and dared to vent her frustration at Umbridge.
The instigator behind all this was becoming clear.
Harry found himself anticipating how the situation would unfold.
"Oh!" Umbridge said, her face quickly resuming its false smile. Years of working at the Ministry had thickened her skin considerably. "Whether or not you will be dismissed will be decided after I inspect your class."
"Just within the last two months, as for the exact time..." Professor Trelawney continued to stare at Umbridge, her tone unfriendly as she said, "You won't get your wish, there will be an unpleasant person to take over the job."
"Aren't you going to teach?"
Umbridge raised an eyebrow, trying to steer the conversation away from this topic. She suspected that Professor Trelawney was playing some sort of trick on her.
"This class was originally going to be about dream interpretation, but... if you have any questions, just ask!"
Umbridge was quite surprised by Professor Trelawney's strong hostility towards her. So far, no professor at Hogwarts had shown such remarkable animosity towards her.
However, thinking about her plan to dismiss incompetent professors, it wasn't strange that Professor Trelawney would harbor ill feelings towards her.
"Well!" Umbridge looked up at Professor Trelawney and asked, "How long have you been in this position?"
"Almost sixteen years." Professor Trelawney answered herself, "Dumbledore hired me; I am the descendant of the seer Cassandra Trelawney, and I am well aware of my own capabilities. You need not question my 'Inner Eye', and if you wish for a prophecy, I believe we can begin. Then you may leave."
Umbridge frowned slightly and quickly jotted something down on her writing board, only to see Professor Trelawney place a crystal ball on the soft cushion in front of her.
"Place your hand on the crystal ball; I am eager to see your future." Professor Trelawney spoke with malicious intent, "The Defense Against the Dark Arts professors at Hogwarts have always been unlucky due to a curse, and I am curious if you will be able to leave this position alive. Please do so now."
Upon hearing this, Umbridge's face darkened, and after a moment's hesitation, she placed her hand on the crystal ball.
At that moment, all the students got up from their seats and gathered around the two of them, eager to witness the toad's divination results.
They couldn't help but be curious, as the old fraud was putting on quite a show. However, everyone was destined to be disappointed, as there were no changes in the crystal ball.
The students looked up at Professor Trelawney, while Umbridge's expression was even more bizarre.
Professor Trelawney, who had been staring at the crystal ball, suddenly spoke up.
"You will continue to be very unlucky, very unlucky, because someone has their eye on you."
"I didn't see anything." Umbridge forced a smile, as if trying to expose Professor Trelawney's ridiculous lie.
"That's because you don't have the Inner Eye, and I am not a very skilled diviner." Professor Trelawney looked up at Umbridge, a disdainful smirk on her face, "You know nothing about divination, only a true seer could satisfy your demands, and such a person would not even spare you a glance."
Before Umbridge could react, Professor Trelawney continued, "I see you ousting Dumbledore and becoming... if you could even call it that, the Headmaster. In fact, you won't even be able to enter the Headmaster's office."
"Let me give you a piece of advice, don't enter the Forbidden Forest, or those with long legs will teach you an unforgettable lesson. But I suppose you won't listen. I also see the caretaker escorting you out of Hogwarts while Peeves sets off fireworks to celebrate your departure, by the way..." Professor Trelawney leaned in close to Umbridge's face and shook her head sympathetically, "I see you eventually dying in Azkaban, what a sad end."
"How dare you..." Umbridge's cheeks flushed red, looking like a volcano about to erupt.
"This is the divination you asked for, I am not trying to deceive you." Professor Trelawney was clearly enjoying herself, "Also, after you are kicked out of Hogwarts, I will return to teaching here."
"Don't be angry, if you think this free divination is unreliable, you can pay to consult another diviner." Professor Trelawney mocked gleefully, "On the condition that you can find someone willing to divine for you. As far as I know, after Cassandra Vablaski was admitted to St. Mungo's, there is only one wizard left in Britain capable of divining your future."
"You..." Umbridge's eyes flashed dangerously, "Do you find it amusing to insult me like this?"
"Insult? No, I think you misunderstand. That was indeed the result of the divination. I have no interest in insulting you!" Professor Trelawney took away the crystal ball and calmly said to Umbridge, "Now you may leave."
Umbridge stormed out, her face twisted with anger.
"You can't expect me to be pleasant to someone who intends to fire me." Professor Trelawney said expressionlessly to the students, "Besides, I didn't insult her, those were the results of the prophecy."
"Professor, are those prophecies real?"
"Of course, they are." Professor Trelawney reminded them, "On the first day of class, I told you that without the Inner Eye, or the second sight, you won't be able to progress far in divination. Hogwarts doesn't expect you to become master seers, as true prophets are extremely rare. In my sixteen years of teaching, I have only come across Mr. Anderson."
"Then what's the point of this class?" someone asked.
"To give you an understanding of what divination is and to teach you some basic knowledge, such as palmistry, tea leaf reading, tarot card divination, and dream interpretation." Professor Trelawney looked around at the students, her voice calm, "If you don't take this class, how would you know if you have a talent for divination? Those with talent will quickly stand out with proper guidance, while those without it will remain the same."
"Well, let's cherish the little time we have left!"
"Professor, do you really have prophetic abilities?" A Hufflepuff student asked, but he soon realized how rude his question was.
"Sorry, Professor, I..."
Harry had more insight into this matter than anyone else. The old fraud, Professor Trelawney, did indeed possess prophetic abilities, though she couldn't control them, and sometimes she didn't even realize she had made a prophecy.
"Yes, but it's weak and unstable." Professor Trelawney admitted, confident in her abilities as Albert had acknowledged them, "Since Cassandra, my family hasn't produced another truly powerful seer. This is actually quite normal. As far as I know, Cassandra Vablaski's descendants haven't inherited much of her prophetic abilities either. In this world, there are very few true seers who could meet Umbridge's demands."
(End of Chapter)
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