Chapter 330: Ominous Signs
Chapter 330: Ominous Signs
Vold surveyed the room and spotted the name 'Cassandra Trelawney' in the corner.
The professor stood in the shadows, away from the light, adorned with intricate and peculiar jewelry, perfectly achieving the effect of invisibility in this cluttered room.
She wore a large pair of glasses, her eyes bulging, and her entire demeanor exuded an air of eccentricity.
Vold suddenly felt a resemblance between her and Luna—not in appearance, but in the sense that they both seemed to live in another world.
The students who had not seen the professor before hesitated to sit down, and they looked around curiously. Ron asked, "Where is she?"
"Welcome," a ethereal voice echoed, "It's nice to finally see you all in the tangible world."
Trelawney emerged, swaying slightly, her transparent light shawl shimmering, and the bracelets on her arms jingling with a crisp sound.
Vold's expression conveyed a mix of exasperation and disbelief.
Trelawney, clearly, was putting on airs, attempting to awe this group of first-time Divination students with a mystical and powerful persona, as if she could communicate with the divine.
In reality, though, her behavior when she had been observing the students in the darkness was exactly how she wanted to be perceived. When she put on an act, it only made her seem shallow and superficial.
Trelawney motioned for the students to sit, adjusted her shawl, and settled into an armchair, continuing her boasting—
"My Celestial Eye has become blurry due to the hectic school life..."
"This is the most challenging course among all magical arts... If you don't possess 'Vision,' there's little I can teach you..."
"Unveiling the future and piercing through the mist is a talent possessed by only a select few..."
Trelawney lifted her chin slightly, implying that she was among that elite few with such talent, but her eyes remained fixed on a point in the air in front of her, avoiding eye contact with anyone.
It must be said that the naive students were almost entirely convinced, and Vold noticed that Padma, not too far away, had initially regarded the professor with a critical gaze, but as time passed, her expression became more and more convinced.
Vold flipped through his Divination textbook out of boredom.
The cover of the book depicted a sun, a large eye, and the silhouette of a woman, with the author credited as Cassandra Vablaski.
The preface briefly introduced this renowned seer of the magical world—she had once been a beautiful princess who received the Divine Sight from the sun god Apollo, enabling her to foresee the future.
Tragically, she had offended Apollo and was cursed by the god, causing no one to believe her words.
Cassandra foresaw the impending doom of her country, the deaths of her family and herself, yet no one believed her.
While she was alive, people thought her mad; after her death, her prophecies were proven true, and she became known as the greatest seer in history.
Professor Trelawney was a descendant of this legendary figure, and strangely, she put on airs among the students but never mentioned her own legendary lineage.
Vold knew that although Trelawney always seemed to be putting on a show, she was, in fact, a genuine seer.
Her prophecies had once driven Voldemort to hunt down Harry, influencing the course of the entire world—even though she herself was unaware of this.
Just as she had said, "prophecy" was an innate talent that flowed in her blood, and it could tear apart the facade of peace, revealing the cruel and grim face of destiny.
Students without this talent could only refer to the textbook and babble about tea leaves.
Professor Trelawney had prophesied that around Easter, someone would leave them forever. Then, as if her words were of no consequence, she nonchalantly began pouring tea from a teapot.
Although Vold found this exercise pointless, he still took a teacup from the shelf and asked Professor Trelawney to pour him a cup of hot tea.
Sitting next to Vold was Neville, who accidentally broke a teacup and had to blushingly take a second one, holding it as if it were a bomb, and carefully returned to his seat.
The tea was scalding hot, and the students blew on it as they drank. After finally finishing the tea, they shook the cup three times and turned it over, placing it upside down on the saucer.
As they waited for the tea to drain, Neville nervously opened his textbook. The yellowed pages were filled with simple sketches of various tea leaf shapes, with different interpretations written alongside them.
Vold treated it like a dream interpretation book, and although he didn't believe in it, he found it quite interesting to read.
Soon, the tea was gone, and Vold lifted the cup, glancing at it casually. His expression froze slightly.
No matter how he looked at it, the tea leaves resembled a bat with its wings spread, flying.
In the textbook, bats, like black dogs, were symbols of death, and bats were also associated with evil and vampires.
Neville, unaware of this, was too nervous about the broken cup. He stared at his own teacup and said, "Vold, you've already opened yours? Um... Is my tea finished? It should be about done, right?"
Neville hesitantly lifted his head, wanting to see what the others were doing.
In that moment, Vold also picked up his teacup, lightly tapping the rim against the bottom of the saucer.
"Students who have finished, interpret your tea leaves for your classmates," Professor Trelawney said. "I will guide and help you. Of course, students without the gift can give up early. I've said it before, talent is the most important thing..."
Vold and Neville exchanged teacups.
"Um, this..."
Neville flipped through the book, trying to interpret, "Your tea leaves look like an umbrella... Maybe it means it will rain tomorrow, and you should go out with an umbrella... But I know you don't need one; your wand is enough..."
He turned the teacup in another direction.
"From this angle, it looks a bit like a small boat. Maybe you're going to row a boat on the Black Lake, Vold... Or it could mean you're going on a long journey... Yes, with an umbrella..."
Vold also gently shook Neville's tea leaves—
"It looks a bit like a ferocious rabbit... Well, this means you'll encounter some good things; or like a large cabbage..."
As Vold spoke, he suddenly felt a momentary dizziness.
Neville waited a few seconds and asked, "Are you hungry, Vold?"
"No," Vold said, steadying himself. "Um... Cabbage... symbolizes a bountiful harvest..."
He casually recited the words from the book, but a thought lingered in his mind—
In that brief moment, he felt that the shape of the tea leaves resembled a goat's head, and this idea took root, becoming more convincing the more he looked at it.
A goat's head, like a bat, was not a good omen.
But it was just a few leftover tea leaves; to say they could reveal one's destiny was preposterous.
Vold thought this to himself, casually mentioning some positive omens, and Neville was delighted.
On the other side of the classroom, Professor Trelawney was staring at Harry, sadly shouting, "Omen—the worst omen—a death omen!"
(End of Chapter)
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