This couldn’t really be called superstition. Although true Seers were becoming rarer, they did indeed exist in history.
As the oldest branch of magic, Divination had always been an inseparable part of the Wizarding World.
Because of the lack of understanding, the mystery, and the awe of the future, Seers were often highly respected.
Now, many wizards looked at Professor Trelawney with a complex and reverent gaze.
“Yes, I have known about the increasingly clear omens for a long time. The omens were never good,” Professor Trelawney said in her characteristic tone, “never good, boys. I saw a lot in them, including death.”
She paused. A series of disordered gasps filled the room, and someone even dropped a cup, shattering it.
Evan sighed helplessly. Would it be rude if he asked to leave at this moment?
“Why have you not returned to Divination class this term?” she continued. “I learned from the headmaster that you dropped the subject. This is regrettable news, even more disappointing than Dobbin still being at Hogwarts. You should know that for you, the subject is of the utmost importance!”
Why had they given up Divination? Did she really have no idea?
Death, death, death — aside from endless fear-mongering about death, they had gained nothing from this class.Because he had heard Professor Trelawney make a true prophecy, Evan had once held out hope for this.
But later, it became clear that real prophecies were rare occurrences, and he couldn’t follow Professor Trelawney around twenty-four hours a day, waiting for another one.
So, Evan had decided to drop the subject.
Professor Trelawney’s prophecy about Voldemort returning with a power beyond the imagination of ordinary people had largely come true. Voldemort had indeed returned again, with the help of Caresius and the evil god’s statue, and the terrible magic left by Slytherin himself, and was on the road to becoming an inhuman monster. If he succeeded, he would indeed wield power beyond imagination, the power of the evil god.
Although there were still some details that didn’t fully align, Evan had thought it over carefully and didn’t see it as an issue.
Even true prophecies were not always clear and accurate, and contained many ambiguities.
Therefore, the dark temple and the servant who would help Voldemort were probably the fallen centaurs temple in the Albanian forest and the vampire leader Caresius who had been helping Voldemort at the time. That interpretation seemed reasonable enough…
What needed to be done now was to defeat Voldemort, and Evan felt that this process no longer required Professor Trelawney’s prophecies.
“You really should have taken Divination. If you ever need it, boys, all you have to do is say the word…”
“Ah, Sybill, we all think our subject’s most important!” said a loud voice, and Slughorn appeared at Professor Trelawney’s other side, his face very red, his velvet hat a little askew, a glass of mead in one hand and an enormous mince pie in the other. “But the three in front of us all performed well in Potions. Especially Harry, he’s a natural at Potions. Yes, Evan and Hermione did well too, but they are still a long way from Harry. I think I’ve never known such a student. His understanding of Potions has exceeded my imagination!”
He regarded Harry with a fond, if bloodshot, eye, a smug smile on his face.
“You’re instinctive, just like your mother! No, perhaps even better than your mother. Really, I’ve only ever taught a few with this kind of ability, I can tell you that, Harry — why even Severus —”
The air seemed to freeze. Harry’s eyes widened, and he took half a step back, as though he had been struck.
At that moment, Evan saw exactly what had startled him.
Slughorn had thrown out an arm and seemed to scoop Snape out of thin air toward them.
“Stop skulking and come and join us, Severus!” hiccuped Slughorn happily. “I was just talking about Harry’s exceptional potion-making! It’s simply amazing, I’m very optimistic about him. Of course, of course, some credit must go to you, you taught him for five years!”
Trapped, with Slughorn’s arm around his shoulders, Snape looked down his hooked nose at Evan, then quickly at Harry, his black eyes narrowed, scrutinizing him.
“Funny, I never had the impression that I managed to teach Potter anything at all.”
“Well, then, it’s natural ability!” shouted Slughorn. “You should have seen what he gave me, first lesson, Draught of Living Death — never had a student produce finer on a first attempt, I don’t think even you, Severus —”
“Really?” said Snape quietly, his eyes still boring into Harry, who felt a certain disquiet. The last thing he wanted was for Snape to start investigating the source of his newfound brilliance at Potions.
Hermione frowned, and Evan also thought Harry was getting a little too carried away.
He was relying too much on that book. Evan had warned him before — use it cautiously, treat it as a reference rather than a guide — but Harry hadn’t listened.
Well, he hadn’t expected Slughorn to speak so highly of him.
“Dear, remind me what other subjects you’re taking, Harry?” asked Slughorn.
“Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology …”
“All the subjects required, in short, for an Auror,” said Snape, with the faintest sneer.
“Yeah, well, that’s what I’d like to do,” Harry said defiantly, looking bravely at Snape.
Torn for a long time between becoming a Quidditch star or an Auror, he had finally decided to follow his original plan and become an Auror if he could do it.
He thought he should try it, like Sirius had done.
“I don’t think you should be an Auror, Harry,” said Luna unexpectedly, and everybody looked at her.
“What?”
“Don’t you know? The Aurors are part of the Rotfang Conspiracy. I thought everyone knew that,” said Luna in a matter-of-fact tone.
“What’s the Rotfang Conspiracy?” Hermione asked instinctively.
“They’re working to bring down the Ministry of Magic from within using a combination of Dark Magic and gum disease, and the Aurors are their accomplices.”
Many people who were watching this conversation laughed. Luna’s joke was quite funny, but Snape obviously didn’t think so. He stared at Harry with malice and didn’t intend to let him go. Snape was going to get to the bottom of the matter, but fortunately, at that moment, Filch came striding toward them, dragging Draco Malfoy by the ear.
“Professor Slughorn,” wheezed Filch, his jowls aquiver and the maniacal light of mischief-detection in his bulging eyes, “I discovered this boy lurking in an upstairs corridor. He claims to have been invited to your party and to have been delayed in setting out. Did you issue him with an invitation?”
Hey there! Translating_Wizard here! Chapter 1623 just dropped on Patreon! If you've enjoyed reading and want to read more, I'd greatly appreciate your support ♡