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Chapter 504: The Desire to Win
Chapter 504: The Desire to Win
"Isabella, may I come in?"
After a brief knock, Katrina's voice sounded from outside the door.
"Just a moment."
Isabella raised her finger and gently touched the two-way mirror before getting up and walking to the door to let her sister into the room.
Before Katrina started attending Hogwarts, she would often come running into Isabella's room, asking her to tell stories or teach her some simple magic.
However, since she started school, the relationship between the two sisters seemed to have become more distant.
Katrina had finally grown up and no longer relied on her older sister for everything.
Isabella looked at her sister with a sense of relief and contentment.
"Who were you talking to just now?" Katrina asked, her curiosity piqued.
"What is it?" Isabella diverted the topic, "Are you still worried about your Divination O.W.L. grade?"
Katrina surveyed the room, her eyes scanning the desk. After all these years, the only change she noticed was the increasing number of books.
"Do you think you can get an outstanding grade in the O.W.L. for Divination?" Katrina asked, ignoring her previous question.
In last term's Divination exam, Katrina had only managed to achieve an 'Acceptable' grade.
"Are you asking if I can divine?"
Isabella looked into her sister's eyes and calmly answered, "Unfortunately, I'm not skilled in divination, nor can I predict the future through a crystal ball. Divination requires a certain talent, which I clearly lack."
"But how can you be sure that you'll get a high score in the O.W.L. for Divination?" Katrina persisted with her doubts.
To be honest, she disliked Professor Trelawney and thought of her as a fraud. Despite her efforts in the subject, her progress was far less than in other areas of study.
"Professor Trelawney is not a fraud," Isabella said, as if seeing through her sister's thoughts, and offered a kind explanation, "She is a descendant of the famous seer, Cassandra Trelawney. Without genuine abilities, I doubt she could have remained as the Divination professor at Hogwarts for so long."
"And prophecies require the support of talent."
"But I didn't say what Professor Trelawney wanted to hear, and she only gave me an 'Acceptable' grade in the end?" Katrina was all too familiar with the crystal ball divination exam.
"Katrina, there's something you need to understand," Isabella said, gently stroking her sister's hair as if calming a kitten, "The divination we've learned is only the most basic knowledge. Even the advanced divination classes can't truly teach you how to predict the future."
"The O.W.L. exam consists of crystal ball divination, tea leaf reading, and palmistry (checking the life line and wisdom line). These are the three components every year, and do you know why?"
Katrina shook her head. How could she possibly know the reason?
"They never expected to rely on divination classes to cultivate outstanding seers. Prophecy is a gift," Isabella repeated, "Talented witches and wizards will naturally grasp the knowledge of divination after taking the class and use it as a foundation to begin developing their prophetic abilities. Those without the gift of prophecy can only interpret what they see based on the standard answers provided in the textbooks."
"The result doesn't matter. Even if you excel in this subject, without the gift of prophecy, you won't become an outstanding seer, and people will eventually brand you as a fraud."
"Then what's the point of this subject?" Katrina became even more confused.
"It's easier to identify who has the gift of divination," Isabella thought for a moment and added, "It gives you a perfect ending to your three years of hard work, rather than a complete denial of your efforts."
Katrina fell into an even longer silence. According to Isabella, talent was crucial to becoming a seer, perhaps even more important than hard work.
Indeed, Professor Trelawney gave her the impression of being a seer with insufficient talent—a fraud.
"Can Albert really divine? You know what I mean!"
In truth, Katrina didn't like bringing up Albert's name in front of Isabella, as it always made her feel somewhat embarrassed.
"He can," Isabella nodded, "In fact, several of his prophecies have already come true."
"Did he tell you that?"
"Why do you ask?"
"No reason," Katrina said, "That guy always acts so mysteriously."
"Mysterious boys are more charming, aren't they?" Isabella said with a smile.
"When did you two start dating?" Katrina asked bluntly.
"Around the time school started last semester!" Isabella blinked playfully, "I confessed to him first."
"That's impossible. You're so excellent," Katrina was stunned, her words stumbling.
"He's even more excellent," Isabella didn't tease her sister further, "Who confesses first doesn't really matter as long as you get the result you want."
"Was it really you who confessed first?" Katrina was still fixated on this point.
"I just gave him a little hint."
"What does it feel like to be in love?" The young girl asked curiously, as she had seen her friends fall in love and occasionally joined them in discussing such matters.
"Feelings?"
Isabella pondered her words, "Obsession."
"Obsession?"
"You'll probably need to experience it for yourself when you find someone you like," Isabella laughed, "Do you have someone you like?"
"No," Katrina glanced at Isabella and quickly changed the subject, "I heard from my friends that when people are in love, they send letters to each other every day."
"That's the norm," Isabella joked, "But it's a bit difficult for Albert, as he receives and sends a lot of letters every month. While we're at school, we mostly use communication tags to stay in touch."
Katrina's mind wandered, and she wondered if Albert had created the communication tags specifically to maintain smooth communication with Isabella.
"I feel like I'm heartbroken,"
Katrina rested her head on Isabella's shoulder and murmured softly.
"You haven't even been in love, so how can you have a broken heart?" Isabella gently stroked her sister's hair to comfort her.
"Since we were little, I've never beaten you at anything," Katrina mumbled softly, "I really want to win, just once."
Watching Katrina leave in a daze, Isabella shook her head and returned to the two-way mirror, softly calling out Albert's name.
(End of Chapter)
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