Once we arrived at the castle, I followed Hermione into a carriage with Harry and Ron, but almost as soon as we stepped out Malfoy was there, malicious smirk making a reappearance.

"You fainted, Potter?" He taunted. "Is Longbottom telling the truth? You actually fainted?"

He started to tease Ron when he told Malfoy to shove off, but Professor Lupin was quick to interrupt. I rolled my eyes at Malfoy's retreating back. Typical.

When we reached the doors, McGonagall pulled Harry, Hermione, and I aside.

"I'll need you three. You can go on ahead, Mister Weasley, I'll send them right back."

Ron rolled his eyes but did as he was told, though he watched McGonagall drag us away. She led us all the way up to her office.

"Professor Lupin owned ahead," she told us. "Said you two had fallen ill on the train."

I quickly shook my head. "We're alright, Professor. A bit of a shock, is all."

Madam Pomfrey swept through the doors. I saw Harry get noticeably red at all of the attention. Her face darkened when she saw it was us.

"Oh you lot again," she scoffed. "I suppose you've been doing something dangerous—"

"It was a Dementor, Poppy," Professor McGonagall said grimly. They shared a knowing look.

"We're okay, really," Harry stood quickly. "Professor Lupin gave us some chocolate. We're much better, right Lila?"

I nodded in agreement. "Yes, we're alright."

Madam Pomfrey seemed satisfied with this. "I'm glad we've finally got a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who knows his remedies."

"If you two are sure you're feeling alright," Professor McGonagall gestured to the door. "Kindly wait outside while I have a quick word with Miss Granger about her schedule."

Harry and I sat outside the door. I could tell he was frustrated by how fast the word had spread, and all of the fuss being made about it. I wanted to make him feel better, but I wasn't sure how. I was too lost in thought about what I'd seen. Despite what I'd said, the whole endeavor left me feeling exhausted and almost empty.

"I watched your parents die," I blurted. Harry's jaw dropped as he turned to look at me.

"You — what?!"

"Your parents, and Neville's, and my mum," I frowned while I stared at the floor. "Each time it was like I was there. Like the dreams I'd had with Anne. So vivid. Too vivid."

"I—," Harry was at a loss for words. "I'm sorry. I don't know what to say."

"I don't either," I played with the gem of Anne's necklace nervously. What was happening? Was this my supposed Seer abilities starting to show up? "But I hope I won't have to see it again."

Hermione emerged suddenly, looking very thrilled. Her expression fell when she noticed how glum the both of us seemed.

"What's with you two?" She asked as she helped us up.

"Nothing," Harry said quickly, turning to go before McGonagall could pull either of us back in. I shrugged and shook my head.

"I'll tell you later," I told her. The list was starting to pile up.

We'd missed the Sorting, walking in just as it was ending. Many heads turned to look and whisper at us, and I grimaced.

"News travels fast," I muttered.

"Leave that to Malfoy," Harry replied darkly.

"Welcome!" Dumbledore stood and opened his arms to us. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way."

He cleared his throat and launched into a precautionary speech about the Dementors and not leaving the school without permission. Additionally, they could not be fooled, even by invisibility cloaks, and although he said this rather plainly we knew it was directed at us. We were also thrilled to discover that Hagrid had been hired as the Care of Magical Creatures teacher.

After eating (I was suddenly starving), we gave Hagrid our best regards.

"We're so excited, Hagrid! Congratulations!" Hermione told him. We'd surrounded him in a group hug. He looked tearfully happy.

"All down ter you lot," said Hagrid. "Can' believe it . . . great man, Dumbledore . . . came straight down to me hut after Professor Kettleburn said he'd had enough . . .It's what I always wanted!"

I was very relieved to be back in my dorm bed. I'd let Willow out of her cage and told her to be careful of the dementors, then removing Brutus from my hair. Willow made no move to eat him, thankfully, but he remained wary nonetheless.

Parvati and Lavender were not thrilled to be sharing the room with a snake at first, but he grew on them quickly when he tried to burrow into their palms. He did not bite either of them, thankfully, and was pleased when I told him that they thought he was very cute.

Hermione let Crookshanks out. He purred contently at the foot of Hermione's bed, and when they decided to pet him he meowed happily. Hermione seemed thrilled by this.

"See? He's not so bad after all," she said proudly. "If only Ron would grow up."

"Crookshanks would be doing Ron a favor," I said. "Scabbers has been alive a lot longer than a normal rat should be. He's probably suffering — it'd be quick and easy."

Hermione stifled a laugh. "Don't tell Ron you said that."

"I wasn't planning on it." I replied.

* * *

"This is ridiculous," I huffed, taking another turn up the spiral staircase. "It's eight forty-seven in the morning and I don't know about any of you but I don't remember asking for a peregrination."

"I'm not sure what that means," said Seamus. "But I agree." After a few more steps, he added, "Imagine how much fun this staircase would be if this were a slide."

Dean looked at him sharply. "Don't be saying that now — we're still trying to get up them."

I looked back to Neville, behind us. I had been leading the charge upwards but I was starting to grow exhausted myself. "Hanging in there, Neville?"

"Just peachy," he panted. I laughed.

"Don't worry, I think we're almost there—"

"You've said that four times already," Dean reminded me.

"Shush, would you?" I stopped. We had reached the end of the staircase and we faced a circular trapdoor above us. The plaque read "Sybill Trelawney — Divination Teacher." I gave it a sharp knock and it lowered, revealing a silver ladder. I looked to Dean smugly.

"See? What did I tell you?" I stepped onto the ladder. "Fourth time's a charm."

I climbed up first. Dean followed, then Seamus and Neville. The classroom itself was exactly what I'd imagine a fortune teller's attic to look like. Lavender and Parvati were already there, whispering excitedly amongst themselves. Internally, I shared their excitement. I was hoping I could tap more into my abilities, especially after what had happened on the train.

Sybill Trelawney was still nowhere to be seen, so the four of us sat around one of the tables. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had probably gotten lost. The last time I'd seen them, Ron and Hermione had been arguing over Hermione's schedule. Somehow she had three classes at once today - Arithmancy, Divination, and Muggle Studies.

They had split up the Arithmancy takers into two separate periods because there were so many this year, but for some reason Hermione was still in the nine o' clock slot with two other classes. I told her to see Professor McGonagall about it, but she said that they'd already worked it out.

I checked my watch. Eight fifty-three. Where were they? As if to answer my question, I noticed the trapdoor lower once again and in climbed Harry, followed by Ron, then Hermione. The four of us waved to them as they took a seat at a table near ours. They waved back.

"Where is she?" Ron asked me loudly.

"Welcome," said a quiet, misted over sort of voice from the shadows. "How nice to see you in the physical world at last."

She emerged into the firelight from behind one of the thick, fuchsia drapes. She looked to me like the human version of a praying mantis.

"Welcome to Divination," Professor Trelawney said as she sat daintily in her own poofy armchair. "My name is Professor Trelawney. You may not have seen me before. I find that descending too often into the hustle and bustle of the main school clouds my Inner Eye."

I opened and closed my mouth silently. Maybe this was a mistake.

"Sit, my children, sit," she said, though everyone was seated — I wasn't sure who she was talking to. Perhaps her outer eyes were clouded too.

The lesson only proved to get more and more disheartening, as we were supposed to derive meaning from dregs of tea and somehow she'd forecasted a death omen in Harry's.

Hermione, who had been just as skeptical as I was and shocked all of us by talking back, was nowhere to be found after class. So on the way to Transfiguration, I walked beside Harry, trying to take his mind off of it.

It didn't help that Lavender and Parvati were still whispering, and that Ron kept anxiously looking at Harry as if to make sure he was still there.

"You heard Seamus, it could have been anything," I said comfortingly. "Besides, you've survived life threatening situations before—"

"It can't be a coincidence," Harry sighed. "That's what I saw right before the Knight Bus ran me over. And then it just showed up again!"

I frowned. Interesting as this was, it could have also been a coincidence.

"You're not going to die, Harry," I said. "They call you the Boy Who Lived for a reason." At his flat expression, I hastily added, "I know I'm not too good at comforting, but I mean it. Hermione would back me up, but I'm not sure where she disappeared to. Do you have any idea where she went?"

Harry turned around to look behind us — a mistake, the rest of the Gryffindors were still whispering amongst themselves.

"No idea," he said, ignoring them.

"I don't think Professor Trelawney has a clue what she's doing," I frowned. "I mean, she told me I lacked the Sight or whatever but we both know that being a Seer is literally in my blood."

At Harry's silence, I continued. "There's actual, psychological factors that Trelawney was glossing over. Like the Baader-Meinhof Effect, also called the Frequency Bias, where you learn or experience something new and then start seeing it everywhere. That's probably what happened with the dog — you saw it once and now you're seeing it everywhere. It's not an omen, it's just the heightened psychological registration of a coincidental phenomenon. It's actually very interesting — much less woolly than Divination."

I didn't think he had a clue what I was saying, but it seemed to work with distracting him.

He seemed a lot better than before, but as soon as everyone sat down it was like an invisible spotlight had been placed on him. Hermione (when did she get here?) sat in front of us. Lavender and Parvati would often look back at Harry the same way Ron did, as if to make sure he was still sitting there.

"What's gotten into you all?" Asked Professor McGonagall. She'd been talking about Animagi (which Hermione and I were very invested in) and she'd transformed herself into a tabby cat. "This is the first time my transformation hasn't gotten any applause."

"We had our first Divination lesson today, Professor," explained Lavender.

Professor McGonagall's face grew stony. "Ah, say no more. Now, which one of you all will be dying this year?"

Everyone turned around. Harry sighed. "Me."

"I see," said Professor McGonagall, giving Harry a knowing look. "Then you should know, Potter, that Sibyll Trelawney has predicted the death of one student a year since she arrived at this school. None of them has died yet. Seeing death omens is her favorite way of greeting a new class. If it were not for the fact that I never speak ill of my colleagues --" Professor McGonagall paused, and had to take a moment before continuing again. "Divination is one of the most imprecise branches of magic. I shall not conceal from you that I have very little patience with it. True Seers are very rare, and Professor Trelawney. . ."

She paused, meaningfully. "You look in excellent health to me, Potter, so you will excuse me if I don't let you off homework today. I assure you that if you die, you need not hand it in."

Hermione and I laughed, but we were of the few that did.