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HP Chapter 63: Professor Trelawney
🕑 Added 2025-08-31 14:00:06 +0000 UTCAs summer approached, the weather turned stiflingly hot and cloudless. Each day, Anne Reeve just wanted to rush back to the Slytherin common room after class for a glass of chilled fruit juice, it was easily the coolest place in the castle.
"I can't read anymore!" Anne groaned, pushing her notes away and propping her chin in her hand. "Why does Transfiguration have to be such a horrible subject?"
"But the exam's next week, Anne. You’ve got to study whether you want to or not," Fanny replied, sliding the notebook back in front of her.
Anne squirmed in her chair, avoiding the notes entirely. "But it’s so hot! I can’t concentrate at all!"
"Our common room’s already the coolest place in the castle, Anne. No excuses. Just read. These are Hermione’s notes, you have to return them soon."
Pouting, Anne reluctantly shifted her eyes back to the notebook. "I don’t get how the Gryffindors survive up in their tower in this heat..."
"They can open the windows, you know. Being so high up, they probably get great breezes," Fanny said while jotting down revision points on her parchment.
"Breezes?" Anne’s eyes lit up. "Wait, that’s it! I could make a fan to cool down!"
"A fan? You mean the kind Muggles use? But don’t they need electricity?" Fanny paused, her quill mid-air.
Anne grinned and pulled a blank piece of parchment from her pile. "Don’t forget, we're witches! Making a fan spin with magic should be easy."
Fanny peeked over to see Anne’s sketch. After a moment, she narrowed her eyes. "Anne, don’t change the subject. If you keep ignoring Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall won’t go easy on you."
With a resigned sigh, Anne shoved the half-finished design aside and opened the notebook.
Fanny chuckled and returned to her own studying.
“Here you go, Hermione,” Anne said later, handing back the notebook and plopping down in the seat next to her. “I finished reading it, your notes are really detailed.”
Hermione looked up from a pile of books and accepted the notebook with a smile. “So, Anne, feeling confident about the Transfiguration exam now?”
Anne made a face. “Transfiguration just exists to torture me... I just want it to be over. Or someone could at least tell me what the exam’s going to be about...”
“Professor McGonagall would never do that,” Fanny said bluntly.
As Anne began unpacking her own books and notes, Hermione cleared a stack of books and parchment from the desk.
“You’re right. I’ll just have to rely on myself,” Anne muttered as she opened Numerology and Grammatica.
The three girls each turned their attention to different books, but the quiet didn’t last long.
Harry and Ron hurried over, breathing heavily, and slapped a small note onto the table.
All three girls looked up. Hermione picked up the note. “It’s from Hagrid. Buckbeak’s appeal is scheduled for the sixth.”
Anne raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Fanny glanced at Anne and said to the group, “That’s the last day of exams. Anne and I have our final Transfiguration exam with Professor McGonagall that morning.”
Ron leaned on the table, panting. “There’s... more...”
Hermione kept reading. “They’re coming to Hogwarts to hear the appeal, the Minister of Magic, two judges... and an executioner?!”
Her voice rose sharply at the last word.
“They brought an executioner? Sounds like they've already made up their minds!” Fanny exclaimed, alarmed.
“Exactly,” Harry said, catching his breath.
Hermione frowned and tossed the note on the table, clearly furious.
“No wonder Malfoy’s back to his arrogant self, he had quieted down after the Quidditch final,” Fanny added.
“Figures. His family’s behind this,” Ron growled, fists clenched.
“Don’t look at me,” Anne said quickly, grabbing her quill. “There’s nothing we can do now. You should come up with something comforting to say to Hagrid, then get back to revising.”
“But Hagrid...” Ron tried to argue, but trailed off, realizing he had no strong rebuttal, just that Hagrid would be heartbroken.
After a moment of silence, Hermione tugged on Anne’s robe sleeve.
Anne turned, looking resigned. “You Gryffindor trio weren’t quitters in your first or second year, so why give up now? This hasn’t happened yet, it’s not final. Finish exams, then give it everything you’ve got. If it doesn’t work out, you can be upset then. Isn’t courage and boldness Gryffindor tradition?”
“You’re right!” Ron said, fired up. “Harry just beat Malfoy in Quidditch, there’s still hope!”
Anne gave Hermione a look that said that’s as much as I can help, and Hermione smiled in return.
Exam week began, and an unusual silence fell over the castle. Charms involved a Cheering Charm, History of Magic was packed with goblin rebellions and medieval nonsense, and Defense Against the Dark Arts, Professor Lupin’s test, was unique. Held outdoors under the sun, he’d set up various magical obstacles they had studied throughout the year. Anne, however, gave up at the final challenge, facing a Boggart. She didn’t even get within a hundred meters of its box.
Over the next few days, Anne got through all the other exams. The last day featured Divination in the morning and Transfiguration, her most dreaded subject, in the afternoon.
A long queue stretched outside Professor Trelawney’s classroom.
“What’s going on?” Fanny asked Neville, who stood in front of her.
“She’s seeing us one at a time,” Neville replied nervously, flipping through "Unfogging the Future" to the chapter on crystal balls.
The line moved at a snail’s pace. Whenever someone descended the silver ladder, everyone whispered, “What did she ask? Did you pass?”
But no one answered.
“She said the crystal ball warned that if I told anyone, something awful would happen!” Neville squeaked as he came down. Harry, Ron, Fanny, and Anne gathered together.
“Exactly what I thought,” Ron said impatiently. “I’m starting to think Hermione was right all along, Trelawney’s a fraud.”
“Yeah,” Harry agreed.
Anne rolled a Knut between her fingers. “I just hope she hurries up. It’s almost lunchtime...”
“Fanny Charles!” called Trelawney’s dreamy voice.
Anne gave Fanny an encouraging glance as she climbed the ladder.
Ten minutes later, Fanny returned.
“What a mess...” she sighed. “Honestly, I saw nothing in that crystal ball. But I used your trick, Anne, I made up a story based on the book. I think it went okay...”
“Don’t worry, most people are in the same boat,” Anne reassured her.
“Ron Weasley!”
Ron climbed the ladder, leaving just Anne and Harry.
“It’s half past twelve. I’m starving...” Anne groaned, pocketing the coin and rubbing her stomach. She plopped onto the steps and pulled out two wrapped bundles. “Good thing I came prepared.”
She opened one to reveal a sandwich, and handed the other to Fanny. “Here, yours.”
“When did you put this in here?” Fanny took it and hesitated before sitting.
Anne pulled out two blank sheets of paper and laid them on the steps. “Sit, it’s exhausting to stand. I didn’t feel full after breakfast, so I went to the kitchens.”
“And two bottles of milk...” She retrieved two glass bottles, full of milk.
“I’ve got sweets too. Want some, Harry?” She set down the milk and dug out a handful of candies.
“Eat something. I bet we’ll be waiting a while yet,” Anne urged.
Fanny straightened her robes and sat beside Anne. “Yeah, I think we’ll be here until at least one.”
“Alright,” Harry said, accepting the candy. “Anne, where’d you get so many? stocked up in Hogsmeade?”
Anne took a bite of her sandwich. “Yep. I love sweets, so I bought loads.”
About fifteen minutes later, Ron returned.
“Harry Potter!” Trelawney called.
Harry handed his leftover candy to Ron and headed up.
“What did you see?” Fanny asked.
“Nothing. So I made something up. I don’t think she bought it, but I crammed in as much of the book’s mumbo-jumbo as I could.”
About ten minutes passed. Then Harry returned, looking thoughtful and dazed.
“Anne Laurence Reeve!”
“Last one... how unlucky,” Anne muttered, heading to the ladder.
Harry spoke just as she reached the first step. “Anne, something felt off with Professor Trelawney just now.”
“Off?” Anne paused. “What do you mean?”
“I...”
“Anne Laurence Reeve?” Trelawney called again.
Anne glanced at Harry. “I’ll be careful,” she said, and climbed the ladder.
The tower room was hotter than ever. The curtains were drawn, and the fireplace was lit. Professor Trelawney sat with a massive crystal ball before her.
“Hello, dear,” she said gently. “Gaze into the crystal ball... I’ll start the timer... then tell me what you see.”
Anne eyed her. She looked the same as usual. Anne turned her focus to the crystal ball.
White mist swirled inside, but nothing else appeared.
“Well?” Trelawney prompted kindly. “What do you see?”
Sweat beaded on Anne’s forehead as the heat grew stifling.
Might as well make up a story. “Oh, I see... a gray shape...”
“Gray? What does it resemble?” Trelawney asked softly. “Focus...”
“A storm cloud... covering a castle...”
“Really?” Trelawney whispered, scribbling on a parchment. “My dear, you might be seeing Hogwarts itself. Can you make out any details?”
“People... lots of people...” Anne continued. “Some in robes, others not...”
“Can you be more specific?”
“They don’t seem to be from our school... but they’re around our age...”
Sweat dripped down her nose. Anne had had enough. She’d basically just predicted next term’s events anyway.
“The vision’s fading...” she said.
Trelawney sighed. “Very well, dear. A bit disappointing... but I’m sure you did your best.”
Anne exhaled with relief, stood up, grabbed her bag, and turned to leave,
When suddenly, a loud, rasping voice rang out behind her.
Anne jumped, startled, and then, what she heard made her blood run cold.
