The Seers' Truth: A Broken Beginning

Chapter 3

Tricks, Treats and Lack of Sleep

Ginny awoke from the Dream with a start; she hadn't had the Dream since first year. She was in a cold sweat. She knew she was being irrational, but she couldn't help herself. She checked her feet and robe for dirt. She checked the bed for rooster feathers. She got up out of bed, flinging the covers on the floor. There were no feathers. There was no blood. Her wand was right by her bed on the nightstand where she had left it. For a crazy moment, she thought she should hide it in her trunk, like she did that first year: hide it from Tom.

"You can't hide anything from me, Virginia." Even the memory of him terrified her, but that was all he was, even from the beginning, he was only a memory. "I'm your best friend. Your secret friend.You can tell me everything."

She had told him everything that first year. She told him about her secret feelings for Harry. Tom never laughed at her, but then he was good at being everything she wanted, as long as she was everything he wanted.

"You're perfect Virginia." After her stay at St. Mungo's in the summer after her first year, she thought Tom was gone for good. The doctors had told her that she might have flashbacks to her first year's terror, but it had not happened. Not until now.

"Ginny?" Parvati, who was usually a light sleeper, awoke. "Ginny, what are you doing?"

"Nothing. I just had a nightmare."

"Oh. Well, go back to sleep," Parvati grumbled, rolling over and facing the wall.

Sleep?That was impossible just now. Ginny sat wide-eyed on the edge of her bed for a moment, telling herself that she was Ginny. Virginia Weasley. She wouldn't let him take her name away from her. She could be Ginny, or even Virginia, if she wanted to be because Tom Riddle was no longer a part of her. The diary was destroyed and he couldn't hurt her. He was gone. GONE. Only, he wasn't gone, because he was Lord Voldemort and he was very much alive. Ginny stuck her fist in her mouth to keep from crying.

Suddenly Parvati turned back to Ginny. "Was it a Seeing?" she asked groggily.

"Huh? Oh. No," said Ginny, "it wasn't."

"You should write it down," she mumbled. "Show it to Professor Trelawney."

Gawd. That was all she needed. "No," Ginny said more firmly, "it wasn't a Seeing. Go back to sleep Parvati. Thanks."

Ginny sat perfectly still. She wanted to stand and pace. She needed to try to shake off the feeling that Tom was looking over her shoulder. She knew what she would see if she closed her eyes and she didn't want to see it. If she were back at the Burrow, she would go down to the kitchen and make some hot chocolate. Here at Hogwarts, that wasn't an option, or was it?

Ginny waited until Parvati snuggled back down under the covers, and her breathing was even and steady. Then Ginny picked up her night robe from the bottom of the bed and slid her feet into her slippers. Maybe she couldn't go to the kitchen, but she couldn't stay in bed either. The house elves would be asleep. It was after midnight: how long after, she wasn't sure. She had forgotten to look at the clock on her nightstand when she picked up her wand. As she headed out of the girl's dormitory, she wondered how late Fred and George nicked food from the kitchens. She would just go down to the common room. It would be empty by now.

Ginny wandered into the common room and headed for the big overstuffed rocking chairs by the fireplace. The fire, of course, was not lit. It was too warm for a fire, but that part of the common room always felt the coziest to Ginny. She remembered sitting there by Ron and Harry after Hermione was petrified that first year.

She had wanted to tell them about Tom then, but he wouldn't let her. "You can't do anything without me Ginny. You are mine. Take me with you. Take me with you everywhere."

Unconsciously, Ginny felt for the diary in her robes, but it wasn't there of course. She didn't even have a pocket on the left side in her night robe, just the pocket on the right. There was no diary. It was only her imagination that made her so nervous. Ginny heard the portrait hole open with a click behind her and the Fat Lady saying good night to whomever was coming in at this late hour. Ginny froze. If she stayed just where she was, she was hidden behind the tall back of the chair, but what if they weren't alone. She didn't want to eavesdrop on some lover's tryst. It was better if she made herself known right away.

She swiveled the rocker to meet the latecomer.

"Bloody Hell!" He jumped into a fighting stance and Ginny found herself facing the business end of his wand.

"Edward?" His hair was wet and tousled as if he'd been running his fingers through it--or maybe someone else was--

"Virginia. I'm so sorry. I didn't know anyone else was here," he said, lowering his wand. "That was stupid. I'm just a little jumpy, that's all."

"No one can blame you," said Ginny. "Train wreck. Dark Mark in the sky. The Sorting Hat not sorting. You've had quite a first day at Hogwarts. I guess you've found--" She hesitated, hating to say it. Here she was, thinking that maybe she could put Harry out of her mind at last, but the first guy she was interested in probably had a girlfriend. "A friend," she finished. "You've found a friend already though. That's a good thing, right?"

"Yeah," Edward paced to the fireplace and lit a fire with his wand. It looked a little silly. He didn't conjure any logs: just flames. Maybe he didn't know how, and Ginny wasn't going to point out his shortcomings.

"Is it raining?" Ginny asked.

"I--I don't think so, why?"

"Your hair is wet."

There was an uncomfortable silence. "I guess I'll go back to bed now," said Ginny, standing.

"No. I mean, don't go. You were here first." Silence again stretched before them.

"I'll tell you," said Edward after a moment. He turned to face the fire.

"Tell me what?"

"How my hair got wet."

"I don't want to know. It's none of my business how your hair got wet."

"Did you know the prefects have private bathrooms?" asked Edward softly.

"I've heard they're supposed to," said Ginny.

"They haven't changed the password since my grandmother was here," he said. "Pine fresh."

Ginny started to laugh. She knew that was true, but she still felt he was holding something back from his explanation. Perhaps it was whom he was sharing the private bathroom with.

"Ok, so my secret's out now," said Edward. "What about you? Why are you sitting in the common room all alone so late at night? Are you feeling all right? Burns hurting?"

"No, Madam Pomfrey took care of that. I just couldn't sleep," said Ginny. She didn't want to mention her nightmares. It made her seem weak or crazy or both. "I was thinking about raiding the kitchen."

"You know where it is?" said Edward excitedly.

She nodded.

"Well, let's go. I'll come with you."

"Sh-h. You have to be quiet," she said as she led the way. "We don't want Filch to catch us."

"Who's Filch?"

"Caretaker, and then there's his evil cat, Mrs. Norris."

"Who would name a cat Mrs. Norris?"

"Well, I sometimes wonder if it's just a cat," said Ginny.

Ginny knew there was a tunnel passage that would put them nearer to the kitchen, but after her dream she had no intention of going that way. She would rather take the main hall and brave the possibility of meeting Filch. It was quiet as they worked their way down the hall, but as they reached the area near the Great Hall, Ginny heard whispered voices. She ducked back into an alcove as two other sleepless students strolled down the hall as if they owned the place. She didn't know them and they swept by without noticing anyone else in the hall; they didn't see her or Edward. Ginny let out her breath in a long sigh. "Come on," she whispered, turning the other way, toward the kitchen.

The howl of a cat froze her on the spot, but Mrs. Norris was nowhere in sight. "Cat," Edward whispered, and, catching his hand, Ginny sprinted silently down the hall. Then she realized that it was the other students that Mrs. Norris had caught. In a moment, Filch would be along, but the kitchen was only a few more steps away.

"Here," she whispered while reaching up to tickle the pear. It laughed and if Ginny could have made it laugh more quietly she would have. In a moment the pear turned into a doorknob and still holding hands, they hurried into the kitchen.

"Ms. Weasley," said Winky. "You are hungry for snacks like your brothers?"

Ginny's mouth fell open. "Brothers."

"We have many snacks made now," Winky continued. "Cheese or cookies.Maybe you want some potatoes and meat pie from dinner? Sit..."

"Virginia Weasley! What are you doing here?" demanded a familiar voice. It almost sounded almost like Percy--no, it was Fred.

She gasped as she saw the twins sitting at a table, which held such a variety of foods that rivaled the great hall dining table. "I could ask you the same question," she snapped.

"What does it look like we're doing?" said George as he stuck a whole cracker piled high with cheese and meat into his mouth. "We're ea'ing."

Fred just noticed Edward standing with his arm draped carelessly over Ginny's shoulder. "And who are you?" he growled.

"And what are you doing with our sister in the middle of the night?" George added, eyeing her night robe and slippers.

"Oh, this is Edward," said Ginny. "Edward, my over protective brothers, Fred and George," she introduced. "Edward was the one who got me off the train," Ginny explained.

Edward extended his hand to the twin in front of him.

"Honestly, Ginny. I'm George. He's Fred."

"No, you're not," said Ginny. "You can pull that with Mom, but not with me. So what do you have goodhere?" She pulled up a chair next to Fred and took the last orange from the dish and started to peel it. "No hot chocolate?" she asked.

"Winky will be getting you some right away," said the house elf. "My master loved hot chocolate too. He said it--" Winky covered her mouth in horror. She hurried to get the hot chocolate and some more fruit in case they wanted it.

Fred wiped his hand and extended it to Edward. "Welcome to the kitchen," he said. "Just remember this is our domain, and Ginny is our sister. You treat her right or we'll hex you."

"Quit it, guys," said Ginny as her ears started to get red.

"Fred's right," said George, matter of factly, as he shook hands with Edward. "If you hurt our baby sister, we'll just poison you."

"Stop the teasing," said Ginny sharply. "I'm old enough to make my own decisions. Anyway, we just met in the common room and were hungry. Nothing's going on."

"Umm. These are good," said Fred. "Cream tarts?" He was holding one out to Edward.

"No!" said Ginny, recognizing it as a Canary Cream, and knocked it out of his hand.

"Ah, Ginny, I wasn't going to poison him."

Edward's eyes narrowed, trying to decide whether Fred was teasing or not.

"Just turn him into a canary."

"I thought you said your brothers were all in Gryffindor," said Edward.

"It's just a temporary canary," said Ginny.

"Oh, well, that makes a difference," said Edward.

"Fred's the one you have to watch out for," said Ginny.

"So how do I tell you two apart?" asked Edward as he started to make himself a sandwich from the food on the table.

"I'm the smart one," they both said together.

Edward laughed. "No kidding," he said. "That's how you tell me apart from my twin too."

"Well, that and the color of the crest on your robes," said Ginny. As soon as she said it she knew she shouldn't have.

"Couldn't imagine not having George in my house," said Fred.

"What do you mean your house, it's my house," said George.

"So, what house is your brother in Edward?" asked Fred, still munching crackers.

"Well, with the Sorting Hat messing up..." interrupted Ginny.

"Slytherin," said Edward.

There was a long silence and then Fred piped up, "In that case, here's a Canary Cream for your brother."

Edward smiled a slow sly smile and took the candy. "That would be really fun," he said. "After all the times he's gotten me in trouble...Could I have a few of them?"

The twins didn't tease Ginny any more, but they waited until Ginny and Edward were done eating and walked them back to the common room. Ginny noticed that they didn't use the secret tunnel either and they didn't leave until she was safely in the girl's dormitory. At least she felt sleepy now--sleepy and happy. She was hoping for good dreams.

===

Ginny, being up so late last night, was thus running late for breakfast. Parvati was still sleeping and Lavender was trying to decide which clothes to wear under her robes. Not that it made much difference. No one saw them under the robes anyway. Neither of them usually made it to breakfast, preferring instead to take the extra time in getting ready for the day at a leisurely pace.

"Are you ready yet Samara?" Ginny called to Sam. "I'm starved. I won't make it through class without breakfast especially with all the incense fumes, and you have to get all the way down to the Quidditch field for flying."

"Coming."

"Take your Herbologybook, Samara. We'll meet there. We won't have time to come back to the room."

Samara still hadn't appeared.

"Samara!" Ginny was pacing at the door when Samara finally emerged from the girl's bathroom while blowing on bright blue, wet fingernails.

"Oh shit." She stopped at her desk and looked for the Herbology book, which was wedged between two other books on the desk. "Ginny, help me out here," she said, pointing to the book, while continuing to blow on the wet nail polish.

Ginny started back into the room but Lavender took out her wand. "Arefacio," she said and Samara felt a warm rush of air. "Never trust Ginny to dry your nails. She's never even been close to a bottle of nail polish. She might use 'Exuro' and set your fingers on fire."

"I would not," said Ginny indignantly. She didn't want to argue her little bit of time away when she was already late, so she just shrugged and started down to the Great Hall with Samara following. "It looks like you do a better glamour charm than Lavender," Ginny commented. "She'll want to know what it is before the end of the week."

"It's not a glamour charm. It'sMuggle make-up," said Samara. They continued their conversation about make-up and various beauty aids until they got into the Great Hall and sat down at the Gryffindor table. Ron and Harry ignored them. They were arguing with Fred and George about why they were too fragile to test the twins' newest candy: Dragon Breath Mints.

"That reminds me," Ginny announced to the nearby first years. She looked for Edward, but he was standing at the Slytherin table talking to his brother and Draco. "Never take candy from Fred and George," she said. They told the first years some of the funny stories from past years. Lou turned to George and tried to get him to divulge just a few secret recipes, but he was being closed mouthed.

"So, what's the dream team doing after classes today?" Fred asked Ron, Harry and Hermione.

"Splitting up," answered Hermione. "I'm going to the library to get on the tutor schedule. My parents are cutting my spending money this year. They said I had to contribute or cut the Hogsmeadeweekend spending down."

"And I have Quidditch Practice. Well, not strictly practice," said Harry as Edward returned to the Gryffindor table and sat beside Harry. "We're going to make some plans for the Quidditch Tryouts tomorrow and just open flying. Why don't you at least try out?" Harry asked Edward for the tenth time this morning.

"I don't like the game," said Edward.

"Leave it, Harry," said Ron. "Maybe he can't fly a broom."

"Oh, yes he can," said Ginny. "I mean, I was unconscious, but Madam Pomfrey was amazed he could handle the broom when I couldn't even sit up. It would have been--" Ginny broke off, turning red around the ears.

Edward glared at Ron and then brightened at Ginny's praise. "Ahh, Ginny, don't share our secrets."

She blushed even redder.

"I would love to try out for Quidditch," said Samara. "But I've never even been on a broom."

"Well," said Harry after a long pause. "Usually, first years don't get to be on the team unless they--" he paused. "Well, usually they don't, but this isn't a usual year so who knows. You have to be pretty athletic. Not too much room for mistakes when you are ten meters in the air."

"I am pretty athletic," Samara retorted. "I'm going to go crazy here. It seems Quidditch is the only form of real exercise or sport. There are no dance classes. No gymnastics. No softball. I have to do something, so I guess it will have to be Quidditch."

"Ok, then let's meet back at the common room after classes," said Harry. "Maybe we can switch around our first years," he said to Ginny. "I'll take Samara. You take Edward."

"I REALLY think I'll manage by myself for a few hours," Edward said.

"Oh fine," said Ginny sharply. "If you don't want to come with me, don't, because I have other things to do anyway." She was glaring at him.

Edward looked around, aware that he had made a mistake, but for the life of him he couldn't see what it was.

"Well then. That's settled," he said. He paused and listened to the silence. Usually he liked silence, but there was tension in the air and he didn't know why or how to fix it.

The tension was broken by a stir at the Slytherin table as Malfoy suddenly turned into a large yellow canary, followed immediately by both Crabbe and Goyle.

"Do they always do everything Malfoydoes?" said Edward in a disgusted voice.

"I thought you wanted to get your brother," said George, laughing.

"I just did," said Edward, pointing at the Slytherin table as Malfoy, Crabbeand Goyle all turned to Ethan with wands out. There was a snap as all three tried to hex him and Ethan retaliated. Snape was bearing down on the table with an ugly sneer, and Malfoy was whining something about, "Those Damn Weasleys."

Just then, the post owls fluttered into the Great Hall. A low flying Eagle Owl flew inches from Beatrice's head, and she ducked and screeched. "I thought it was going to hit me," she explained, embarrassed.

The Daily Profit dropped in front of Hermione, and Errol fluttered in and dropped on the table. One wing slapped into the marmalade in front of Ginny and made a mess of orange on the table.

"Stupid bird," said Ron.

"Well that's why Mom sends me owls instead of you," said Ginny, calmly taking the letter from Errol's leg.

Samara started to wipe the sticky mess off of Errol's wing with a napkin.

"No," said Ron. "It's because you write back."

"I'll get it," said Ginny to Samara. "Purgo," she said and let Errol have a sip of orange juice. "I think he likes orange," Ginny confided. "He always lands in the marmalade or my orange juice, and personally, I'd rather do a cleaning spell on him, than a drying spell one me."

"Hey, look at this," said Hermione. "On page 5. Can you believe it? Hogwarts Express Derailed."

She showed them a tiny article:

"The Hogwarts Express was derailed on its journey to the famous Wizarding School last evening. The wreck, which is attributed to a mechanical error, occurred at 5:39 pm.Due to the quick thinking of the upperclassmen, all of the students were flown by broomstick from the train to Hogwarts. Even all pets were accounted for with the exception of a common brown barn owl, which officials believe may have mistakenly flown home instead of to Hogwarts. All parents were owled concerning the incident, but as no students were seriously injured, there will be no investigation."

"I can't believe it," said Harry. "What's wrong with the ministry? There was a Dark Mark for gosh sakes!"

"That's Fudge for you," said Ron. "Who knows what Percy sees in him. The man is just plain crazy. I don't know how long he can hide his head and pretend that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is not on the rise."

"Mom's asking for confirmation that nothing other than a simple mechanical failure happened to the Hogwarts Express," said Ginny. "What do you think I should tell her? She says Errol's to wait for a reply."

"The truth," said Ron. "No, wait, I'll write to her." He began rummaging through his bag. "Ginny," he said. "Do you have a piece of parchment?"

She sighed and handed him one along with her quill. Then she and Samara began feeding Errol tidbits from their plates.

"We should be getting to class," Hermione said. "Arithmancy is just around the corner, but it's a long climb to Divination."

"Are you still taking the stairs?" asked Fred

"Why don't you take the lift?" asked George in unison with his brother.

"There. Done," said Ron, tying the letter home to Errol's leg.

"There's a lift?" said Harry. "We've been walking up all those stairs for three years..."

"Harry. Map," said Fred.

"But now that you've told us about the shortcut," interrupted Ron, "you have to tell where the secret passages are."

"Not until you taste a Dragon Breath Mint," said George.

"Are these going to set my mouth on fire?"

"Of course not," said Fred. "We wouldn't hurt our little brother."

"Right," said Ron sarcastically, holding the mint in his hand and examining it. He smelled it. It smelled like cinnamon. It definitely could have fooled anyone who thought it was a normal, Muggle mint, but Ron knew better. "So what does it do?"

"Oh come on Ron, that takes all the fun out of it," said George.

"Does it explode?"

"Ron!" said Fred and George together. "Just taste it."

Harry looked at his watch. "We've wasted too much time already. We need the short cut now," he said. "So either take it, or we've got to run."

"Ok. It can't be worse than running up twelve flights of stairs, can it?" said Ron.

Harry had his doubts about that, but Ron had already popped the mint into his mouth. Immediately he opened his mouth again.

"Ha! Hot!" he said and a large spout of blue flame erupted from his mouth.

Everyone started to laugh, including Ron. Tiny puffs of smoke came out of his mouth. He sucked on the mint for another minute.

"Good. Cinnamon." More smoke billowed out.

"I still wish we could have managed the red flame," said George. "But we thought we'd have to save those for the Slytherins. It wouldn't just taste hot; it would fry the roof of your mouth."

"We can't figure out how to make it red and harmless at the same time," said Fred.

"At least they don't taste nasty," said Ron, "and after the first blast of flame, that's it right?" Several more large puffs of smoke came out of his mouth. "I guess I'll have to keep my mouth shut."

"Won't help," said Fred.

"It will come out your nose," said George.

Samara was laughing so hard she had to lean on Ginny for support.

"Oh Great. For how long?" Ron complained.

"About a half hour."

"Don't worry about it," said Harry. "It's Divination. No one will notice a little extra smoke with all the incense. Let's go. Be glad it's not Snape's class. He'd take 10 points from Gryffindor every time you breathed."

"I usually feel that way even without smoke," said Neville.

Still giggling, Hermione asked, "Ok, where's the shortcut? Do you think you can find HerbologyBeatrice?"

"Yes," she said. "You can see the greenhouse from the Quidditch Field, can't you?"

"Yes, you can," said Harry. "See you at Herbology, then."

The first years were leaving breakfast in a little group. It reminded Harry of how good he felt about his new friends when he had first come to Hogwarts five years ago. Fred and George had started to leave the table.

"Fred and George," puffed Ron. "Shortcut."

"Oh right. Do you know the secret passage by the red tapestry?" asked Fred.

"No..." said Ron with still more smoke.

"Ok. Do you see the red tapestry?" George pointed.

"Way down at the end of the hall?" finished Fred.

"I think so," said Ginny.

"When you get to the tapestry, face it and count to the third knight on the right. Behind him is a secret passage which will lead you down a level. You will come out behind the blue tapestry by the entrance to Snape's Dungeon. Do you know it?"

Ginny shook her head. "Is this one of those tunnel secret passages? I hate those."

"Honestly, Ginny, quit whining. I don't know how you can be our sister. You must be adopted."

"Don't tease her," said Hermione. "You know why she hates those tunnels."

Ginny turned a bright red. "Ok, red tapestry, third knight on the--the--"

"Right. Red. Right.Blue. Left. So when you get out of the blue tapestry turn left. That takes you to the picture of the fruit. Do you know it?"

"The one that leads to the kitchen?" asked Harry.

"The very one. Tickle the pear."

"I remember, but that goes down," Harry said

"It does, but only down another flight to the kitchen."

"It was only twelve flights before," said Ron, among clouds of smoke. "Now you are making it fourteen. Are you sure this is a short cut?"

"Look," said George, "once you are in the kitchen ask one of the house elves to show you the elevator--"

"They take it to the tower to give Trelawney her food," said Fred. "It saves about fourteen stories of walking."

"Ok. We've got it," said Hermione. "Come on. We'd better run." She waved at Fred and George. "Thanks guys."

They hurried down the hall and, sure enough, the passage behind the knight was a tunnel. It was dim, dank and cramped.

Harry held up his wand. "Lumos!" he said.

Ron moved back to Ginny. "You ok?" he whispered. He had noticed that she was taking slow deep breaths and looked like she could have used a dose from Beatrice's puffer. She was muttering something under her breath.

Once they got out of the tunnel and headed for the kitchen, Hermione paused at an intersection of corridors.

"Don't believe any of Trelawney's death threats," said Hermione. Before they could answer, Hermione had turned the corner and headed toward Arithmancy. "See you later," she called.

Once in the kitchens, it was difficult to get out. The house elves wanted to feed them even though they assured the elves that they had had a wonderful breakfast. They finally each took a piece of fruit and a cookie and a couple of mints which started them on gales of laughter again. Finally Dobby told them where the lift was. The lift was small--only big enough for a house elf to take a tray of food to Trelawney, so only two or maybe three students could be stuffed into it at a time. Neville went first with Ginny. Ron's billows of smoke clouded the whole interior of the lift.

"I hope we don't set off any fire alarms in here," said Harry.

"What?" More smoke billowed out.

"Never mind, just keep your mouth shut," said Harry.

Once on the lift, it was only a moment until they were at the top of the tower where Trelawney held classes.

"Come in, my dears," said Trelawney. "My favorite class."

"That's only because we predicted our own deaths so many times," said Ron.

"I hope we don't have to do that all this year," said Harry. "I've run out of catastrophes."

"Today we have a treat," said Trelawney. "Our own Miss Patil has had a vision--on the Hogwarts Express. It's one of several visions actually. I haven't figured out exactly how they work together, but this one I have no doubt about. It is spectacular."

"Probably killed off half of Hogsmeade," said Ron.

"Miss Patil's prediction is actually a twin prediction to my own. Of course, it would have been better if Lavender hadn't touched her," Trelawney said dreamily.

"Sure," muttered Ron sarcastically. "Just let her burn in the car."

"Miss Patil's vision seems to over lap and then continue further into the future than my own prediction," said Trelawney. "So, as some background, let me tell you about my own prediction. I had this Seeing when I was just twelve years old. It was one of my first true Seeings." Trelawney sat down on her pouf and folded her bedangledhands in her lap.

"I hated potions," Trelawney continued. "So messy and nasty..."

"First true thing she's ever said," whispered Ron.

Lavender hushed him.

"But I had a wonderful teacher. She was so patient with all of us." Tears welled up in Trelawney's eyes and she took a deep breath, trying to compose herself. "She was one of the world's true heroes. It was at the height of Grindelwald's power...

"She tried to bring him down with a Clematis potion, disguised as a medicine. It would have worked, but he was warned, and she was forced to drink one of her own poisons."

"A wonderful teacher?" murmured Harry. "Sounds like she could have given Snape some competition if you ask me."

"Headmaster Dippet came to tell us," Trelawney continued. "We were all upset, but I was distraught. That was when I saw the cauldron spilling out and then the words started to come: they were flowing right out of the cauldron, burning into the sky with a ghastly green light.

"Dippet recognized my despair as a Seeing right away. He charmed a quill to copy down my words. That is why it is so important to have someone who can write down a seeing as it is happening or at least immediately afterwards. That is what Parvati did. She immediately came to me and I wrote down her Seeing in the most meticulous detail. It's important to tell you that Parvati has had several Seeings. The question is how they are related to one another.

"Parvati, would you please read to the class your summary of your seeing last night?"

Parvati stood up. Harry wasn't sure if she was flushed from excitement or embarrassment.

"It's ok," Trelawney said softly. "You were on the train with your friends, correct?"

"Yes," Parvati said. "We were on the train. A lot of Gryffindors were crowded into the compartment. We were just talking when the first explosion hit. Harry and Ron went for their brooms. They said something about saving the first years."

There was a little twitter of whispers, but Parvati continued.

"I saw the first years on the train, but it wasn't the train, it was the Sorting, but the Sorting was on the train. One of the first years had the hat on, but I couldn't see who it was. The Sorting Hat was pulled down over the face. I couldn't tell if it was a boy or a girl.

"Then, the founders were there in the compartment: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Salazar Slytherin and Rowena Ravenclaw. They were all there and they were arguing over the child: pulling the child. They were hurting the child; I heard the screams. I thought, if they don't stop, they would pull him or her apart. I knew if they destroyed the child, all would be lost.

"Then a phoenix flew in. It looked like Headmaster Dumbledore's bird, but that could be because I haven't seen any other phoenixes. And when he flew over the child, the whole compartment burst into flames. It was in flames and they were in a panic. They were running around the compartment, but it didn't seem like a compartment. It seemed bigger--or they were smaller. They were jumping and scratching to get out. Some were flying, but not on brooms...just flying...Then they were gone.

"They were sucked out of the car: by floo powder or a portkey or Apparition -- just gone and I was frantic to get to them...to find them. At first I thought I was looking for all of them, but then I knew, it was just the one child I was looking for. Upon this one child rests the future of the wizarding world. I had to claim the child for the light. I got the car door open and there was nothing on the floor, except a book...It was...

"A diary..."

Ron glanced at Ginny, who was silently biting her lip, and then back to Parvati who was now wringing her hands. She looked at Trelawney, "I don't like this part."

Me either, thought Ginny. She was breathing fast, and Ron stretched his fingers across the table to hold her hand.

"It will be alright," Trelawney assured Parvati. "We need to know. Something here in your vision will touch someone who will understand."

"I picked up the book," her voice dropped to a horrified whisper. "There were snakes. One after the other they came out of the book. They were on my arms. Around my legs. My neck..." Parvati was starting to get hysterical.

Ginny, white faced, was on her feet.

"Then Lavender came. I felt her hold me and they were gone."

There was a long silence before Parvati continued: "I guess that was when I was on the broom."

"Did you see anything else?" asked Trelawney.

"I didn't see anything else after that except a Dark Mark above Hogwarts.

"But I could still hear them. They were talking in that snake language. I don't know if they were planning or arguing. I just could hear them hissing and hissing and seemed to go on forever...

"Then, far away, I heard the music. Music like I've never heard before--unearthly music drowning out the hissing.

"When I awoke I was here with Professor Trelawney."

"Professor," said Seamus, "there was a Dark Mark over the Hogwarts Express last night."

"What I saw was NOT over the train," Parvati said. "This was over Hogwarts. Directly over the castle."

"Professor," Ginny was already walking toward the door. "I feel sick. May I go to the Infirmary?"

"Ginny, is there something about Parvati's vision that has touched you?" Trelawney eyes were shining with excitement. "You felt something when you heard Parvati read this account, didn't you?"

"Yeah, sick."

"She was in the car next to the one that exploded," interrupted Ron. "I'll take Ginny down to Madam Pomfrey."

They hesitated and Professor Trelawney nodded, but Harry got the feeling that Ron was going to get his sister out of here whether Trelawney gave them permission or not.

"Now," said Trelawney, "I'd like you to consider possible interpretations of Parvati's prediction. I'm quite sure this is a true prediction and I would have liked to have shared my own so we could compare them, but Headmaster Dumbledore doesn't want my prediction released to you due to the fact that some parts set in motion could still be stopped..."

Her voice dwindled off as if she forgot what she was going to say or, perhaps, thought better of saying it aloud.

For the remainder of class, Harry thought about Parvati's prediction. For once, he had no doubt that this was a true prediction. He wished there were some way that he could have heard the Parseltongue. If he could have heard what they were saying, maybe it would help him to figure it out. He wondered if Ginny had ever told Parvati about the diary. He didn't think so, and that was part of what convinced him that the prediction was true. According to Ron, Ginny didn't tell anyone what had happened to her in her first year at Hogwarts. She still felt guilty and embarrassed by the whole incident...perhaps she felt more than that.

Harry knew that she had spent some time the summer after her first year at St. Mungo's trying to sort out what were her thoughts and what were residual suggestions from the diary. Apparently, they had it all sorted out, because Ginny seemed fine now.

His own thoughts about the diary weren't very pleasant either. Three years ago, didn't he ask the diary who had opened the Chamber of Secrets? Didn't he believe it when it implicated his friend Hagrid? Looking back, Harry always wondered how he could have taken the word of the diary when Hagrid was his friend.

Harry decided to write a letter to Hagrid. In fact, he would start on it right now. After all, it was just Divination class. He needed to think about Parvati's prediction when he was alone and quiet and the smell of incense didn't give him a headache. He rubbed his head as if unconsciously trying once again to wipe away the influence of Voldemort from his brain. He brought his thought back to the present. If he couldn't figure out Parvati's prediction in time for homework tomorrow, there was still the old Divination standby: make it up.

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