"Originally it was three subjects. Now I think I can take them all."
The corner of Sean's mouth lifted.
"You think a wizard's stamina—" Snape started to sneer, then stopped for no apparent reason.
"Arithmancy and Divination—drop them," he said flatly, leaving no room for debate.
"Why, Professor?" Sean asked.
"In the wizarding world, there are some people born with the ability to see the future.
"They can glimpse it through dreams, patterns in tea leaves, tarot cards, or crystal balls.
"But true Seers are vanishingly rare. The only known ones are Cassandra Trelawney from centuries ago… and Grindelwald…"
Snape's lips curled as he spoke, his tone icy.
"You mean Divination requires talent?" Sean guessed.
"No. Divination doesn't need to be learned."
Snape gave a short, contemptuous laugh.
Sean fell silent.
Maybe Snape was right.
Sean had never heard of Gellert Grindelwald "studying" Divination, nor had he heard that Professor Sybill Trelawney possessed any particularly solid technique.
In other words: a gifted witch or wizard could make prophecies without learning; an ungifted one could study for years and still get nowhere.
"Seers. Sure." Snape sneered. "They can make prophecies, but predicting the future is extraordinarily difficult, because the chain of cause and effect behind a wizard's actions is always tangled and shifting.
"If you ever run into a prophecy, get as far away from it as you can.
"Remember this, Green: if you hate what a prophecy says, then forget it.
"Fate is just another kind of stupidity."
"I understand, Professor," Sean nodded.
Prophecy, in this world, was rare—deep, and daunting.
The most famous one was the Divination professor's words about the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord: born to those who had thrice defied him, born as July ended… marked as his equal… possessing a power the Dark Lord knew not… one must die at the other's hand, for neither can live while the other survives… the one with the power would be born as July ended…
"You'd better," Snape said after a long silence.
He seemed to be thinking of something else—some other possibility.
"That's wizard prophecy. And besides wizards, centaurs are Seers too. They have their own system of divination, completely different from ours.
"Unless you've got a centaur teacher—and the entire herd has granted you permission to learn their divination that they never teach outsiders—then give it up."
He wasn't sneering now. He was simply stating a fact.
Even with winter snow beginning to melt, the dungeons were still bitterly cold. This was Hogwarts' underground—always colder than the castle above.
Sean's eyes brightened.
Snape, meanwhile, went instantly pale.
"You've been to the centaur herd?!" Snape snapped, shocked and furious.
They were centaurs. They could kill a wizard for reasons so absurd it was almost laughable—and they certainly didn't follow wizarding law.
"Firenze," Sean said. "A centaur. He agreed to be my Divination teacher."
Sean had the distinct feeling that if he stayed in the dungeon another minute, this strangely abnormal Snape might end up knowing Dumbledore's favorite kind of wool socks.
"Sean. Green!" Snape roared.
…
When Sean finally left the dungeons, he still hadn't fully processed the fact that he'd survived another storm.
Snape was becoming more and more abnormal, and it left Sean thoroughly confused.
But the good news was: he had a Time-Turner—one Snape had gone to the Ministry to "acquire."
It didn't come with the same harsh restrictions as an ordinary Time-Turner. Sean only needed to return it before graduation.
A standard Time-Turner not only required annual inspections by Ministry officials, it also had to be returned within two years.
The corridor was still cuttingly cold, drafts screaming through it; the windows of nearby classrooms rattled with sharp clack sounds in the wind.
Behind a suit of armor, Sean spotted Hermione and Justin.
They looked just as downcast when they saw him.
"Finished your detention, Sean?" Justin asked, forcing a weak smile.
Sean nodded.
"Yeah… well, ours is starting," Hermione muttered gloomily. "At least Snape didn't take points from our House."
So Sean immediately understood: their stolen potion ingredients had been discovered.
Or rather, Snape had decided it was time to deal with them.
At first, Sean had thought detention was fair—but remembering the way Snape still looked like he was simmering with fury, Sean opened his mouth, then closed it again, not sure what to say.
"Be careful," Sean finally said.
"Don't worry," Justin said, trying to sound optimistic. "Getting Lockhart out of Hogwarts is exactly what Snape wanted. If he didn't deduct points this morning, he probably won't be too hard on us."
Hermione nodded along.
Sean paused.
In the end, he let out a quiet sigh.
…
The next morning, Sean learned—unhappily—that Gryffindor and Hufflepuff had each lost twenty points.
In the Great Hall, Hermione looked like she wanted to crawl inside the table and eat with only her mouth visible.
Justin stared blankly, as if he still hadn't recovered.
"What's wrong with them?" Harry nudged Ron.
"Heard Snape docked them twenty points," Ron said sympathetically. "But that's not even the worst part. The worst part is he tripled their detention.
"And it's detention under Filch—just because they stirred a potion with the wrong hand.
"I'm betting next time Snape will deduct points because they walked into Potions with their left foot instead of their right. What d'you think?"
"When did they even get detention?" Harry asked, baffled.
"This morning while you were at Quidditch practice," Ron said. "Can you believe it? They actually stole Snape's potion ingredients. That's basically the same as grabbing a dragon's butt."
Ron sounded equal parts horrified and amazed.
Harry was deeply impressed. At least he'd never dare.
He'd rather face Voldemort than face Snape.
Nearby, Sean held the hourglass-shaped necklace in his hand and sighed softly.
Looks like "be careful" hadn't helped.
The students kept gossiping, but it had nothing to do with Sean. Once he saw Hermione and Justin regain a little color, he left the Great Hall and headed for Hope Nook.
He planned to test the Time-Turner's effects—and to see whether Legilimency could stack.
And besides that, he glanced at a plan he'd written long ago: he still needed to find Professor Flitwick and learn the Shield Charm.
After all, as a former dueling champion, that spell was practically Ravenclaw's Head of House specialty.
~~~
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