In fifth year, there was an important mission: the O.W.L. exams. These exams directly affected students' graduation prospects.
So, fifth year was a particularly heavy academic period.
But for John, none of this was very important.
In fact, if it weren't for the annual mission rewards, he wouldn't even bother coming.
The professors knew this too. As the perennial top-ranking prodigy, they generally turned a blind eye to John's lackadaisical attitude in class.
For subjects like Muggle Studies and Arithmancy and Divination, John practically never attended.
The professors didn't complain, since John still consistently scored first in the exams.
Professor Flitwick, who taught Charms, would occasionally discuss spell applications with John, and John gained a lot from those conversations.
As the champion of the Dueling Tournament, Professor Flitwick represented the academic school of combat.
He was especially skilled in one-on-one duels and in the creation of original spells.
"Mr. Wick, your idea is excellent!" Professor Flitwick said in his high-pitched voice. "Flexible use of Transfiguration can indeed produce some unexpectedly good effects. I once saw a wizard win a duel by conjuring a banana peel. He hadn't even expected his opponent to step on it while casting a spell."
John happened to run into Professor Flitwick between classes, and the two chatted.
Their conversation was pleasant, and Professor Flitwick said, "You're heading to Divination? Professor Trelawney is the most... unique of the staff."
He glanced around, and seeing this, John leaned down slightly. He then heard Professor Flitwick whisper cautiously, "To be honest, none of us expected Dumbledore to hire her. Sometimes she's... well, like one of those Muggle fortune tellers."
Professor Flitwick phrased it very tactfully. John chuckled lightly and said, "Yup. Professor Trelawney does sometimes fall a bit short of her field's professional standards."
"The Ministry of Magic has sent an investigator to look into Hogwarts' education," Flitwick said. "Professor Trelawney might be in trouble."
Though he sometimes felt Trelawney resembled a fraud, Flitwick still kindly gave a heads-up.
That woman named Umbridge clearly came with ill intent. She wandered from classroom to classroom, taking notes with that pen of hers.
Though short in stature, Flitwick's mind was unquestionably as sharp as an eagle in flight.
He was quick to detect the Ministry's shift in attitude toward Hogwarts. With Barty Crouch Sr. taking office, reforms were inevitable.
Unlike Fudge, whose tenure as Minister mostly revolved around maintaining the status quo in the wizarding world, Barty had ambition and was likely to introduce reforms in several areas.
And the first target was: education.
Dumbledore's influence was no longer what it used to be.
...
John arrived at the Divination classroom, where he saw Professor Trelawney sitting as if on pins and needles.
Looking to the side, he saw Umbridge, in her pink cardigan, leisurely fiddling with a notebook.
She sat quietly off to the side, exerting immense pressure on Trelawney.
As the great-granddaughter of the seer Cassandra Trelawney, she possessed the prophetic Sight.
But this ability... she wasn't skilled in using it—or perhaps due to her diluted bloodline, she simply couldn't harness it effectively.
More often than not, she relied on methods that resembled charlatanry to make others believe in her prophecies.
She knew the techniques of prophecy, but she just couldn't use them.
She was terrified of being dismissed. She had been at Hogwarts for over a decade and had nowhere else to go.
The moment she found out she was going to be evaluated, she panicked.
Her eyes kept darting nervously toward Umbridge, and she was visibly uneasy.
This state continued until John arrived, finally putting her a little at ease. She hurried over with quick steps and a kind of emotional excitement.
"John, my child, thank you—thank you for coming!"
She acted like she was receiving a distinguished guest, flustered and babbling.
John said helplessly, "Professor, did you forget? I'm here for class."
With John present, Trelawney suddenly felt a sense of security.
She might be unreliable, but here was someone who truly could make prophecies.
She escorted John to his seat with great reverence, as though he weren't a student, but her lifeline.
When Harry arrived, he saw Professor Trelawney with a stern expression, and to his surprise, he also noticed the pink-clad woman he'd seen at the start-of-term feast.
Not long after he sat down, Ron came up as well.
"Hermione and I aren't arguing anymore," Ron said, sitting down next to Harry.
"Good," Harry muttered.
"But Hermione said she hopes you'll stop snapping at us all the time," Ron added gloomily.
Harry retorted angrily, "I haven't."
"I'm just passing on the message," Ron replied. He also thought Harry had been unusually irritable lately. "I think she's right. You shouldn't take out what other people do to you on us."
"I never said I did that," Harry snapped, and just as he finished, Trelawney spoke up.
"Good day, students," came Trelawney's hazy, dreamlike, signature voice. "Welcome back to Divination class. I've spent the entire summer carefully observing your fates, and I'm very pleased to see you all have returned safely to school."
Trelawney gradually regained her composure.
Her classes were usually enveloped in an air of mystery, with the strong scent of liquor and tea that left everyone's heads swimming.
Today's lesson was on The Guide to Dream Interpretation. For wizards, dreams were one of the easiest gateways to prophecy.
This was because dreams often contained various clues and symbols, and learning to interpret them meant unraveling those signs to gain a glimpse of the future—or at least some forewarning.
Of course, this also required a certain degree of talent.
If Potions class was about effort plus talent, then Divination was talent plus more talent.
Some things were determined at birth—and Divination was one of them.
Trelawney was rambling on about dream interpretation, and finally had the students begin trying to interpret each other's dreams.
John glanced over at Neville.
Neville did his best to recall a dream he'd had—it was...
"Ahem."
A sharp, high-pitched sound interrupted. Trelawney looked over—it was Umbridge.
She held her notebook, scribbling in it. "So, how long have you been in this position?"
Trelawney glared at her fiercely, arms crossed, and replied in an extremely annoyed tone, "About sixteen years."
"That's quite some time," Umbridge said, jotting down more notes.
"Appointed by Dumbledore, was it?"
"That's right."
Umbridge continued writing. "And you're the great-granddaughter of the Seer Cassandra Trelawney?"
At the mention of her lineage, Trelawney lifted her chin a little higher. "Yes."
"Since Cassandra Trelawney, are you the first in your family to possess the Second Sight?"
The Second Sight, also known as the Inner Eye or the Mind's Eye.
At the mention of this, Trelawney seemed a bit guilty. "These things tend to skip a generation—uh, or two."
She noticed Umbridge scribbling again in her notebook and couldn't help asking, "What are you writing?"
"Just some notes about the standard of education at Hogwarts," Umbridge replied with a girlish giggle that sent shivers down everyone's spine. "I wonder if you might predict something for me?"
Though she was smiling, Umbridge gave off an unmistakably unpleasant vibe.
Trelawney hadn't expected her to actually request a prophecy. She looked offended. "I don't understand what you mean."
"I'd like you to make a prediction for me. You are the Divination professor, aren't you?" Umbridge said, perfectly clearly.
Trelawney straightened up, indignantly replying, "The Inner Eye does not work on command!"
"Understood," said Umbridge, and resumed scribbling in her notebook with alarming speed.
Trelawney began to panic. "W-wait, I—I…"
Her eyes darted toward John, as if she'd just spotted a lifeline. "I believe having my student demonstrate would be an even better showcase of my teaching ability."
She spoke quickly, eyes filled with hope as she turned to John.
"Wick, dear, my child—show her your ability."
Trelawney was, after all, the one who had taught John the art of Divination. While she might be unreliable at times, her techniques were real.
"Hehe," a saccharine, affected giggle rang out as Umbridge cast a disdainful glance at the flustered Trelawney.
Honestly, if this woman hadn't been brought in by John himself, he'd already be thinking about how to get rid of her.
For the first time, he felt that Malfoy's position as the most disliked person was under serious threat.
"I suppose I can give it a try," John stood up, his expression calm as he looked at Umbridge.
It was just a prophecy, after all.
It's not like he couldn't do it. John raised an eyebrow. "Would you like a short-term outcome, or a long-term goal?"
There's a choice?
Umbridge put on a fake smile. "Then let's go with something short-term."
"Alright then."
John stared straight at Umbridge.
After just a few seconds, Umbridge began to feel like she was being completely seen through.
Those pale, misted-over eyes were downright chilling.
"You'll suffer misfortune today—when you go down the stairs."
__________
Read 12 Chaps ahead:
Patreon: Dragonel