Hogwarts Card System Chapter 248

Chapter 246: Neville, Is It Finally Your Turn to Die?

“It’s over! We’re going to be late for our first Divination class!” Neville’s face was ashen.

Jerry was still asking for directions from every portrait, but most of the portraits were asleep in the middle of the night. Only a few were woken up, and whether they genuinely didn’t know or just didn’t want to tell because they were disturbed, they all said they didn’t know.

Ron… Ron burped, smelling of chicken legs.

Eating and then sleeping right away, what indigestion!

Just as the trio was in despair, a knight on horseback, clad in armor, with a goatee on his chin, looking thin yet exceptionally spirited, appeared in a portrait frame.

“Oh, it seems we have travelers in need of assistance! Sir Cadogan is at your service! Divination class is in the North Tower, follow me! Charge! Charge!”

He mounted his scrawny horse, raised his lance, and charged. He charged from one portrait to the next. The portraits along the way were thrown into a chaotic uproar.

Many portraits were yelling: Cadogan, that old lunatic, has gone mad again! Who let that old fellow out again?!

The trio didn’t care about that; someone was leading the way.

Neville: “Hurry and follow!” He grabbed the hem of his robes and ran.

The trio followed the portrait all the way to the North Tower. Ron was panting, but his two companions showed no signs of distress.

Ron: Oh no! Could it be that I ate too little and my body is a bit weak?!

Suddenly, Sir Cadogan in the portrait made an abrupt halt, bumping a fishing old man in the current portrait into the river.

He seemed to realize he had caused trouble and quickly said, “The top of the tower is the Divination classroom. I just remembered I have something to do, so I won’t go up with you. Goodbye!”

“Thank you! Thank you, Sir Cadogan!” Neville quickly expressed his gratitude.

“You’re welcome, helping the weak and upholding justice is the duty of us knights! Hahahaha! Charge!”

Before the fishing old man could climb back up, he charged all the way back.

Those unlucky portraits were stirred up again.

“Fortunately, fortunately, with the help of this kind knight, otherwise we would have…” Neville quickly pushed open the classroom door.

Everyone was already there, looking at the three latecomers who pushed the door open.

Neville, who was somewhat socially anxious, was struck by everyone’s gaze. His body tensed immediately, and he quickly moved his stiff steps, trying to sit next to Ted and Hermione.

Just then, Ron behind him suddenly stopped. His breathing hadn’t settled yet, but he suddenly remembered something: “Wait! Cado…”

He was halfway through his sentence when a voice sounded behind him—a female voice, ethereal, slow, slightly hoarse, with a hint of mystery.

“Student, please don’t block the way. Being late for class is acceptable, but destiny won’t be late.”

With that, the lady, who appeared to be in her forties, walked past the trio and approached the desk in the center of the classroom.

The person was Professor Sybill Trelawney, the Divination teacher.

Her brownish-yellow hair was naturally curly and very fluffy, making her head seem large, but her face was small, with high cheekbones, or rather, sunken cheeks.

She wore a headband on her forehead and a bunch of beads and trinkets on her body.

She wore thick-rimmed black glasses, the lenses were very thick, making her eyes appear unusually large. Moreover, her gaze was somewhat fixed, which was quite startling when she looked at people.

Ron dared not say more. The trio quickly bent down and scurried over to sit beside Ted and the others.

The classroom was a semi-circular tiered lecture hall, with the professor’s desk at the very bottom center. A large crystal ball sat on the desk.

The classroom was surrounded by curtains, glass vessels, and other items to create an atmosphere.

Putting everything else aside, this old lady certainly had some research into stage art, performance, and marketing.

She could be an old expert on TV, doing something like “going against ancestral decisions,” which would probably have a market.

Ted had taken some time during the holidays to investigate Sybill Trelawney.

After all, the Lazybones’ Home was incredibly helpful for intelligence gathering.

Her great-great-grandmother was the famous Seer Cassandra Trelawney.

She was a half-blood, her mother was a Muggle.

She graduated from Ravenclaw and was once a member of the Slug Club.

After graduation, she married once, but it was said that she divorced because she refused to change her surname.

In the original story, in 1980, she met Dumbledore to apply for the position of Divination professor. Before that, she had held many different jobs but had always resigned.

Dumbledore’s attitude towards prophecies was complex. He had initially wanted to cancel the course, but because her ancestors had produced real seers, he agreed to meet her at the Hog’s Head Inn.

The result of this conversation was not good; Dumbledore felt that it would indeed be better to cancel the course. However, Trelawney suddenly entered a “second sight” and prophesied the birth of the Golden Boy and Voldemort’s defeat.

Snape, on the other side of the wall, overheard the first half of the prophecy, then fled when discovered, leading to subsequent events.

However, this old lady could not control her ability, so most of the time she was just a charlatan, deceiving people!

Soon, she began her performance.

First, she “read faces,” making several vague “predictions.”

They were the ambiguous kind, like the fortune-telling tricks on the street.

Do you have a dog?

If you do, the dog is hindering you, so you must send it away.

If you don’t, you must get one to ward off disaster and protect your home.

It’s commonly known as a double-edged sword!

However, it was clear that Professor Trelawney would not be satisfied with just this little bit of performance; it wouldn’t showcase her abilities.

So she had other tricks up her sleeve~

She started tea leaf reading!

Since the British began trading with the East, drinking tea became a top priority in their lives.

Thus, this new skill of “tea leaf reading” emerged. It actually only began in the seventeenth century.

It’s somewhat similar to the ancient Chinese practice of burning tortoise shells to interpret patterns.

After drinking the tea, you look at the patterns of the tea leaves remaining in the cup and then start to “guess”!

The inner wall of the teacup was painted with symbols to help interpret the tea leaves, and the rim was inscribed with the phrase: “Drink the fragrance of tea, observe the qi of destiny.”

Here, the students were all drinking their fill after the automatic teapots poured water, waiting for their tea leaf shapes to appear.

Trelawney sidled over to Neville’s table; Ted and the other five sat at two tables.

Trelawney’s large eyes behind her thick glasses stared intently at Neville: “Child~ you must be careful with the teacup.”

She was too close, which scared Neville into leaning back repeatedly, and his arm accidentally bumped the teacup.

To her surprise, Neville reacted exceptionally quickly, snatching the falling teacup and placing it on the table.

Neville: “Phew~ that was close! The tea didn’t spill!”

Trelawney: Uh… what just happened? What’s the next step?

…

“Ominous! It’s ominous! Heavens~”

Trelawney pointed at Neville’s teacup and retreated repeatedly, her face filled with sorrow and fear, but her heart was blooming with joy.

The tea leaves in Neville’s cup formed an abstract鬼脸, a ghostly face with horns on its head and sharp teeth in its mouth.

But how to put it?

If Trelawney hadn’t said it was ominous, most people wouldn’t have imagined that this thing could be seen as a ghostly face.

But Trelawney finally seized the opportunity!

Trelawney: Phew~ finally back on track!

Trelawney’s voice trembled, and her body language was exaggerated, like a nonsensical performance.

“Child! Child, you, you must be careful! This is an ominous sign, a premonition of death! Be careful, you must be careful!”

…

Well, by breakfast the next day, the news that “Neville is going to die” had spread throughout the school!

Neville himself was scared!

You all say I’m going to die. If I keep living, wouldn’t that be impolite?

His friends were also somewhat nervous.

Although they had experienced quite a few things, they were still young and easily influenced by external factors.

The professors and many students all had a “be careful” attitude, which inevitably made them feel uneasy. Three people make a tiger, as the saying goes!

Seeing this, Ted had no choice but to comfort them: “Alright, don’t worry too much. As far as I know, Professor Trelawney predicts that a student will die every year.”

Just then, the twins excitedly ran over: “Neville! Neville! Is it finally your turn to die this year? The past two years, Lee Jordan was predicted by Professor Trelawney not to live past Christmas, but she never said which Christmas. Disappointing!”

Lee Jordan, who was standing nearby: I thank you, damn it! You are truly my good friends!

The twins: You’re welcome, we’ll definitely feast on your offerings at your funeral!

Neville’s face looked much better; at least he wasn’t as worried, as his friends were still supporting him living.

Ted smiled: “How about this! I’ll make a prediction that is guaranteed to be accurate!”

The surrounding young wizards all stared at Ted upon hearing this.

Ted: “I predict that everyone who has ever drunk water will die!”

After two seconds, Jerry suddenly jumped up: “Ted, your prediction is so accurate!”

Everyone burst into laughter!

As the saying goes: Seeking immortals and divining is not as good as making your own decisions, chanting Buddha and reciting scriptures is not as good as having skills, sitting in meditation and contemplating is not as good as wielding a staff and punching.

Divination and prophecy, it also depends on how you handle it.

As the saying goes, three parts are destined by heaven, seven parts depend on hard work. How can there be a fixed future!

(End of chapter)