Harry Potter and the Keys of Light

Chapter Seven: "The Divination Professor"

A thousand questions filled Harry's mind.

"What happened to Trelawney?" was the first thing that found its way from his mouth.

"She's taking a well-deserved vacation with her sister," the witch said. "You must be Harry. I've heard a lot about you." She stepped forward, offering her hand. "I'm so glad to finally meet you. I was friends with Lily in school." She smiled warmly at him, and Harry couldn't help but return it; this woman seemed extremely nice, and he was glad to meet someone that had been friends with his mother. He shook her hand, and said,

"It's nice meeting you." Lupin then moved them all into the Great Hall, where a scattered number of teachers were already seated. Professor McGonagall entered the Hall behind them, searching for something. Upon eyeing them, she marched over and said,

"Albus has asked me to tell you he will be down shortly," she said to Tavisham, who was sitting on Lupin's other side. "It is so good to have you back at Hogwarts."

"It always has seemed like home," the witch replied. "I was so glad when Dumbledore sent me an owl telling me a position was open. Teaching was something I've wanted to do for a long time, but there was never a chance."

"You were working in the Ministry, right?" Lupin said conversationally.

"Yes, in the Department of Law Reinforcement. Quite boring, really, if you're not an Auror."

"What did you do?" Harry asked.

"I worked in a sub-department of the Auror Headquarters, in research. Cataloging mostly, and absolutely dreadful." Harry began thinking that this woman was rarely without her happy grin. "I've secretly been waiting for Professor Binns to leave so I could take on History, but it's been nearly twenty years, and he's still here!" She laughed, a ringing, bell-like sound that Harry found pleasing; she was certainly a change from the professors he was used to, and definitely different from Trelawney.

"A much more worthwhile subject," McGonagall said. Despite her obvious like of the new professor, Divination still seemed to be a waste of time.

"Well, I had to take what I could, Minerva." Professor Tavisham smiled and added, "It's strange calling you by your first name. I remember when it was still 'Professor.' I am quite sure you would've put us in detention if we had dared say anything else!"

"I still will," McGonagall said, casting Harry a warning glance. Tavisham laughed again and told McGonagall to not be so serious.

"It is the summer after all--enjoy it." Lunch appeared on the table before them. Several of the other professors came down the table to welcome the new Divination teacher, some that already knew her chatted a while.

"I do wonder what is keeping the Headmaster," McGonagall said. Dinner was almost over, and indeed, Dumbledore had remained entirely absent.

"It's all right," Professor Tavisham replied, "Uncle Albus is a busy wizard. I'll go see him later." Harry found it hard not to choke on his Pumpkin juice at hearing her refer to Dumbledore as "Uncle Albus." There wasn't a lot that he knew about the greatest wizard of all time, he realized. The problem thus resolved, no one mentioned it again.

Harry felt somewhat out of place at the staff table, as he never had before. The new Divination Professor was obviously a great favorite of much of the staff, and the conversation centered mainly on her; Harry would sometimes ask a question, to which she readily and happily answered, but most of the time he sat in silence. They were talking about places and times he had nothing to do with, and it set him apart from them. As dinner drew to a close, Harry excused himself early and returned to the dormitory. The Common Room was quiet, as it had been all summer. There was a fire in the grate, lit by one of the House elves, but the chairs were unused, the tables devoid of parchment, quills and books...He was very lonely then. It was a sadness that swept over him suddenly, like a brisk wind, and he longed for the noise of the students, of Hermione scolding Ron for playing cards instead of finishing his homework. A thought entered his mind that did nothing to cheer him; was this what it would be like, if Voldemort gained power again? Would he be completely alone? Over the course of this war, would he loose his best friends?

He was fingering the ring on his forefinger, as had become habitual with him, and he knew who he could talk to. Summoning a slip of parchment, a quill and some ink, Harry sat in the large armchair by the fire and wrote.

Luna,

Well, term is only a week away. I can't wait for everyone to come back--it's been really boring around here. The Professor is harder than ever with me. I don't know if I'll ever get it right. But I'm getting really good at Potions and Transfiguration, so it's not so bad.

A new teacher arrived today. She's the new Divinations Professor, and her name is Brenna Tavisham. She was in the same year as my parents, and Lupin. The weirdest thing though, she's Dumbledore's niece. I never imagined him with a family...She's really nice and I wish I had taken Divination with her instead of Trelawney. I

was sort of bummed tonight, though, with all the teachers paling around.

I just want my friends here again, I think.

Well, see you on the first,

Harry

He folded it and sealed it with some of the scarlet wax from Moody. He left it on the small end table next to the armchair to give to Hedwig tomorrow. Some of the emptiness had gone away; he always felt better after writing to Luna. He felt he could tell her anything without having to worry about what she would think of him, and as much as he confided in Ron and Hermione, that was what he needed then.

He had the dream again; this time he had tracked the snake to a hole deep within a wood before he woke up. The dream was beginning to frustrate him. It was s stupid dream, and he was tired of having it. His mood was not aided by the fact that some of his loneliness was still gnawing at his stomach. Needing something to distract him, Harry donned his robes and went hurriedly to the Room of Requirement. He no longer went at four, but whenever he felt the need. The Professor was always waiting for him.

"Good morning, Mister Potter. It is a little early, don't you think?" The Professor looked as alert as he always did, in robes of dark red, pacing the room.

"We both appear awake," Harry replied, "so the time is really not important."

"Very well. I suppose this is a sign that you are going to take your lesson seriously today?" Harry felt a pang of irritation, but kept his face from displaying it--had he not been trying for the past month? "Very well. Legilimens!"

Harry was in the gym, dueling with Lupin...he was standing in a dungeon looking up at a panel of shadowed figures, Fudge leaning imperiously over the ledge at him...he was on Privet Drive, the Dursley's car coming on the corner...Harry felt his stomach flutter at the image, and the emotions of that day filled him. There was a gut wrenched pain as he was thrown back on the floor...he was no longer on the floor of the Number Four, but on stony steps, watching as Sirius and Bellatrix Lestrange battled on the dais before him...You can't have this Harry thought, watching as a red jet of light hit his godfather squarely on the chest...he felt the memory starting to fade, but he held on...he was running down the steps towards the dais, everything passing in slow motion, and Sirius was arched back, beginning to fall...the edges of the image were blurring, but he wouldn't let them...this was his, and if anyone wanted to invade this pain, they would have to see all of it...

Everything went black, and then Harry was back in the Room of Requirement. The Professor was giving him a penetrating stare, a thin line of sweat glistening on his brow. It amazed Harry to realize that he was fine, not breathing any more quickly, still standing, his body still, his face calm.

"Now that," the Professor said quietly, "is what I expect from you." A chair was conjured, and he sat down, placing his wand within the folds of his robes. "It seemed a simple matter of finding the right memory."

"You saw that memory?" Harry asked. "I held you there?"

"You did more than that, young man. You shared your emotion with me. That, Mister Potter, has been our objective all along, and you have finally mastered it. I have no doubt you will be able to repeat the exercise and produce similar results."

"I've done it before," Harry replied, trying his hardest not to sound ungrateful at the compliment, "and this is the first time I focused on one memory since. How do you know?"

"I just do, Mister Potter. Whatever happened between yesterday and this morning allowed you to access your feelings that you may have been blocking. I would only have seen the images you were showing were this not legitimate Occlumency. I should feel greatly sorry for anyone you were seriously attempting to harm, Mister Potter. There is a lot of pain buried inside of you...shall we try again?"

Harry kept the image of Sirius firmly in his mind, and this time, the memories did not shift at all. The Professor made him do it again and again, until Harry wasn't seeing the memory anymore, but watching the Professor as he struggled with the pain Harry was forcing through his mind. It was a strange sight to see; the Professor's eyes appeared glazed over, his mouth in a tight line, his outstretched wand arm trembling slightly. After a while, Harry realized that the Professor was unable to retreat from Harry's mind, and for a moment, panic surged through him. He let go of the memory, and saw the Professor fall back onto the floor, breathing hard. This weakness did not last very long, however, and the Professor was again on his feet, his lips stretched into an acknowledging smile.

"That is enough for today, Harry. Tomorrow, we will start something new." With this dismissal, Harry left, a significant swagger to his walk. The Room of Requirement dissolved into the wall, and Harry turned left to go get Hedwig from the Owlery. He rounded the corner and promptly fell back. Professor Tavisham was on the floor before him, a stack of cushions Harry recognized as belonging to the Divination classroom scattered on the floor and atop her.

"I'm so sorry," Harry said, offering her a hand once he had righted himself. "Are you alright?"

"Oh, Harry! Yes, I'm fine. I just couldn't see with all these blasted cushions."

"What are you doing with them?" Harry began piling the cushions into a stack with his wand.

"That tower is just too stuffy. I was cleaning it out. Mr. Filch told me there was a storeroom somewhere on the third floor were I could put everything, but I'm afraid I can't find it." Harry took the stack of cushions from the floor and said,

"I know the one he's talking about. I can take you, if you want."

"Oh really! That would be wonderful. It's been so long since I was here, you know. It seems as though parts of the castle just slipped from my mind." She laughed lightly. "What are you doing up so early? I thought teenage boys were supposed to remain in bed until at least noon."

"I was just doing some work. Professor Lupin's been helping me this summer, tutoring me for my classes. With N.E.W.T.s to worry about, I wanted to be as prepared as possible."

"That's really excellent Harry. Lily was quite the student, you know. She should have been in Ravenclaw, I think, with Remus--"

"Professor Lupin was a Ravenclaw?" Harry asked. "I always thought he was in Gryffindor with Sirius and my parents."

"Oh no, Harry. Lupin was in Ravenclaw and your mother was a Hufflepuff. Funny how those things work out...I used to think it strange too, when I was younger; I don't know how things are at Hogwarts these days, but in my years, the houses were all so competitive. It was odd for the four houses to interact with each other, excepting Hufflepuffs, of course, who were usually friends with everyone."

"It's the same now, I guess. I mean, if I was ever a friend with a Slytherin, I don't know what the rest of my house would do." Harry was surprised as he said this--for some reason, it was very easy to talk to this woman.

"You must be a Gryffindor then," Tavisham said with a smile. "But I hope we can still be friends." Before Harry could ask what she meant, she added, "I'm somewhat pleased to find out Dumbledore's opinion of you is the true one. I mean, the way Severus went on, you'd think you were some sort of delinquent."

"Snape? Are you friends with him?" Harry asked, coming to a stop. Tavisham looked at Harry with a curious expression and said,

"Well yes. He was in my year." Suddenly, it dawned on Harry why she had asked if they could still be friends.

"You were in Slytherin."

"Don't look so surprised. It wasn't that bad."

"You just seem so...so...well, so nice."

"Well thank you, Harry," she laughed. "Not all of us are bad, you know. I always wondered that I wasn't placed in Hufflepuff--my friends used to tease my a lot about being a pushover." They continued walking, carrying their cushions before them. Harry caught sight of the statue of the one-eyed witch that led to the cellar of Honeyduke's Sweets in Hogsmeade. The storeroom was down past the statue, around a corner and first on the left. He told Professor Tavisham this, and she smiled appreciatively.

"About time, too," she said, "I'm tired of carrying these." The deposited the cushions and Harry followed her back to the North Tower. The Divination room had changed drastically in Trelwaney's absence; the thick curtains had disappeared from the window so that a healthy stream of white light was filling the room. Without the cushions littering the floor, the tower room looked a lot bigger. Professor Trelawney's large winged armchair had vanished, and there was a small white desk in the corner next to the bare hutch that used to house the teacups. There was a chalkboard behind the desk, and a large painting of a woman in flowing blue robes above the fireplace. The tables had been rearranged in a neat circle around the room, with a larger one placed in the center with a crystal ball sitting atop it. They were covered in white tablecloths with a small floral border at the bottom, and were surrounded each by two small chairs, also in white. There were star charts on the walls, and hanging from the ceiling a working model of the solar system and what appeared to be a few stars. There were large boxes beneath the window and one of Tavisham's trunks sitting open.

"Can you hand me the packs of cards from the trunk, Harry?" the Professor asked, filling the top shelf of the hutch behind her desk with books. Harry went to the trunk and looked in; there were dozens of cards, bound together with white ribbon, and small velvet covered boxes. Taking the cards, Harry walked back to the desk.

"Tarot cards?" he said, looking down at them.

"For N.E.W.T students only. It's a bunch of rubbish if you don't have any real power," Tavisham said. The cards were placed in the hutch, on the bottom shelf where more books and several crystal balls had already been placed. "For the younger students, I think I'll stick with history and theory. Real divine power doesn't appear until about fifteen or sixteen, so it isn't really fair to force the students to try and look into the future, don't you think?" Harry couldn't have agreed more, wishing by the minute he had spent the last three years with Professor Tavisham. He sincerely doubted she would have told him he was going to die on his first day in class.

"Are you a Seer?" he asked, taking stacks of textbooks from her and placing them on the desks.

"Good heavens no," she said, "I couldn't tell you what the weather was going to be if my life depended on it! The only reason Dumbledore took me on is because I have a sort of weakened Sight. What I can do is read into people, I can see their character. It's not a very useful thing, let me tell you," she said. "It was not fun having all my friends send me to investigate their boyfriends in school. I mean, what's the pointing in seeing someone if you already know what they're like?" Harry laughed with her. "No, I am much more interested in History."

"I wish you were taking Binns' place," Harry said. "I mean, if anyone had ever told me that I would think a goblin rebellion would be boring, I would never have believed them. But Professor Binns has somehow managed to make everything boring."

"That's how it was when I was here," Professor Tavisham said. "You were more likely to fall asleep than learn anything. To be perfectly honest, that's why I wanted to become a teacher--so that future students wouldn't have to suffer!"

They spent the rest of the morning unpacking Professor Tavisham's things. The velvet boxes turned out to be crystal balls, which Harry put on the utmost shelf of the bookcase that had been placed next to the window. The Divination Professor shared stories with him, and Harry told her about the students in his year.

"Lavender and Parvati will probably be upset Trelawney left. They really worshipped her, I think," Harry said. They had finished and were seated at the largest table in the room; Professor Tavisham had drawn up tea and biscuits for them.

"They sound like they will be good students, though," Tavisham replied. "Will you be taking Divination, Harry?"

"Sorry, Professor, but no. Defense is really more my subject."

"I suppose it is, what with the Boy-Who-Lived thing. That's all right. I do hope you visit me over the year, though. You're a very sweet young man." Harry felt his face flush with embarrassment, and sipped his tea with his face down.

"Thank you," he said. "I really need to go now, though." He got up from the table, and went to the trapdoor.

"Well thank you," the witch replied. "I could never have done this all so quickly without help. See you later Harry." Climbing down the ladder to the landing below, Harry mused over the morning. It was strange to fit the lively, pleasant woman as a Slytherin, let alone a friend of Snape's. The thought of the potions master angered him--who was he to be telling the other teachers he was a delinquent? But Professor Tavisham hadn't believed it, and that was what mattered. He was definitely glad at this change in the new teachers at Hogwarts; after Umbridge last year, he had been totally hesitant about the thought of any new Professors. This year, perhaps, would not be as bad. There was still the fact that he would be going against Dumbledore's orders in continuing the D.A. and he work with the Professor was grueling, but that compared to last year, was bearable.

It was a beautiful morning, sunny and clear and warm. The castle grounds were lush and green, and there was a gently puffing stream of gray smoke issuing from the chimney of Hagrid's hut. Harry had only been down to see Hagrid once that week, having been busy with his lessons inside the castle. Hagrid was behind his hut, standing inside of the large pen that he once held hippogriffs during Harry's third year. Currently, the pen was filled with what appeared to be custard colored balls; Hagrid was standing in the midst of them, speaking in a babyish voice.

"Tha's right my lil darlin's, come to Uncle 'Agrid." Harry couldn't help but laugh, and, realizing he was no longer alone, Hagrid blushed furiously beneath his wiry beard and said in a serious tone,

"Mornin' Harry."

"Hagrid, what are those things?"

"Puffskeins. They're usually used as pets, so I though the firs' years might like 'em. You can hold one if ya like." He took up one of the yellow puffs and tossed it over the fence. Taken totally be surprise at this, Harry fell over as the Puffskein landed in his arms. Strangely, it began wobbling about, a low humming noise coming from its bottom end, tickling Harry's stomach.

"It is kind of cute," he admitted, scratching what he assumed was the back of the little hairy ball. It purred more, and he sat up, keeping the thing in his lap.

"They're scavengers, ya see. Eat abosul'ly anythin'. Nice enuff little things tho'. So, how're you?"

"Fine, Hagrid. Did you know the new Divination Professor arrived yesterday?"

"Her? Yeah, I met her. She went here about the same time as yur mum, I think, but I don' really remember her then. She seems nice, tho. What do you think o' her?"

"She is nice, Hagrid. Really different from Trelawney."

"That ole fraud needed a break after las' year," Hagrid said with a grin. "Said she needed ter get away from it all. So, she packed 'er stuff an' off she went to some sister's o' 'ers." Climbing out of the pen, Hagrid pulled the Puffskein off of Harry and placed it back with its fellows. "I've got some tea brewin' inside, if ye want."

"Sure," Harry said, and they went inside. Harry sat down at the scrubbed board table as Hagrid got out cups and saucers.

"Hagrid, do you know when our Hogwarts letters will arrive? I haven't gotten mine yet."

"Oh! I forgot to tell ya!" Hagrid said, sitting down across from Harry, a plate of biscuits in one of his enormous hands. "Yer comin' with me to Diagon Alley tomorrow to get yer stuff. I got yer list las' week from Professor McGonagall and told her I'd get it to ye." He fished through his pockets and produced a wrinkled parchment envelope. The address read,

Mr. H. Potter

Sixth Year Dormitory

Gryffindor Tower

Hogwarts School

He folded it in half and put it in the pocket of his robes to read later. He stayed in Hagrid's hut until they went up to the castle for lunch. Hagrid was very excited about getting the approval for the keeping of Streeler for the seventh year Care of Magical Creatures class. When Harry asked what a Streeler was exactly, Hagrid told him about the giant venomous color-changing snail with great enthusiasm.

There were few Professors at lunch; nearing the start of term, many of them were locked in their offices preparing their lessons for the next year, snapping at those who interrupted them. That afternoon, Harry went out and flew around the Quidditch field, and played with the model Ron had given him for his birthday. The little figures worked exactly as they should, and he had been able to come up with some things that would absolutely crush the other house teams. He couldn't wait for the team to begin practicing again; and he was proud to have something for Angelina, after having been gone all last year.

As the sun was setting, Harry climbed back up to Gryffindor Tower and put his broom and the model away in his trunk. He took a seat in the large armchair in the Common Room, which he had silently claimed for himself, and opened his letter.

It was unusually thick this year, and Harry soon found out why; as a sixth year, he needed to choose all of his classes, and the list of books and supplies covered everything offered at the school. There was a final sheet of parchment with a large checklist on it--the classes Harry wanted to take. Potions, Charms, Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts were already checked in black ink, and Harry added to those Care of Magical Creatures and Magical Defense. This latter class was listed under Defense Against the Dark Arts studies, along with a class whose name caught Harry's eye.

"Dark Studies?" he wondered aloud. "Who'll teach that?" More curious than anything else, Harry checked that class as well. He saw a section of courses entitled Magical Medicine, and put down a check next to Healing. If he was going to learn half the thing he already had with Madame Pomfrey, it should be an easy class to take. Besides, Lupin wouldn't be able to spend as much time with him once term started, and he wanted to continue what he had begun learning that summer. Schedule full, he folded the parchment list to give to McGonagall later. He looked over the other courses, wondering what his friends would take. He couldn't imagine anyone finding Wizard Banking to be an interesting course, or choosing to take History of Magic. The Magical Creatures course in Magical Law sounded interesting, but Harry wanted to work for the Aurors, not the for the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Finding fresh pieces of parchment, Harry wrote quick notes to Hermione and Ron, telling them what he had chosen and asking what they had. The letter to Luna was still sitting on the table next to the chair, and he opened it and added a P.S. informing her of his success with Professor that morning. Satisfied, he took the letters and went to the Owlery to give them to Hedwig.