Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and events from J.K. Rowling's wonderful Harry Potter books. I am writing this for my own enjoyment and hopefully for the enjoyment of readers. Anything you recognize belongs to JKR. The rest belongs to me.
Chapter 48: The Image in the Crystal
"I can't believe the term is almost finished!" exclaimed Peter.
"Yeah, the year did kind of fly by, didn't it?" commented Remus.
"One more exam and then we're done!" said Sirius.
"Yeah, so how has Muggle Studies been, Padfoot?" asked James with a smile, already knowing the answer.
Sirius scowled as he glanced at Marlene, who was busy reading her mail. "Annoying as ever with that know-it-all McKinnon in the class."
"You're just sore because she charmed your ears to grow out and smack you in the face," chuckled Remus.
Peter laughed and added, "And remember that time she did that switching spell between his head and his a-"
"Yes, Wormtail! I think we ALL remember that one without it having to be brought up over and over again!" scowled Sirius.
James, Peter, and Remus were hunched over, grabbing their sides from laughing so hard. James had to admit that Marlene and Sirius had a knack for finding the most embarrassing and irritating things to do to each other.
Sirius sat at the table poking at his food before trying to redirect the conversation back to the original topic. "I can't believe what they want us to do for the Muggle Studies exam. They want us to build a fire - WITHOUT MAGIC! We get to choose between banging some rocks against each other or rubbing sticks together. Muggles are certainly an interesting species. It's amazing they've made it this far without dying off! Maybe I should've taken Divination, instead."
James waved his hand, trying to catch his breath after laughing so hard. "No, mate. Divination isn't any better. We're supposed to look at a crystal ball and come up with a prediction. It's all a bunch of rubbish!"
"I dunno, Prongs," said Remus. "That old lady seems to know her stuff. Remember after she was scrying for Frank, she warned him to avoid stairs. On his way out of the tower he fell and broke his arm."
James shrugged and countered, "But that's Frank! Sirius could have made that prediction and he's
not even taking the class! Moony, I think you're worried because of the predictions she's made for
you."
"You have to admit," started Remus, "her predictions have a ring of truth about them."
"Her predictions are full of half truths so you will be forced to believe them," said James. "So you're going to face an enemy so foul, blah, blah, blah…big surprise. That could mean all sorts of things. It could refer to your 'alter-monthly-ego' which in a way is your own worst enemy. It could mean someone who discovers who you are. Again, big IF. Then again, there's always Voldemort," said James with disgust. "He's certainly foul and is gathering more power than anyone would like to admit."
Peter shuddered at the mention of Voldemort. When the others glanced at him he shook his head and said, "That guy's name gives me the creeps. He's attacking more people and nobody can keep track of his pattern. He just seems to show up out of nowhere and strike…"
"So, what- you think Voldemort is going show up here at just the mention of his name by a third year student in one of the safest places in England?" asked Sirius. He smirked and said, "Scared of a name?! That's crazy!"
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"So how do you think you did in your other exams, Lily?" asked Alice as they walked out of the Great Hall.
"I don't know. Arithmancy was rather challenging, and I think I mixed up some of the calculations," replied Lily.
"You say that every time," said Marlene, "and every time you get an Outstanding."
Lily blushed and said, "How did you girls do?"
"As far as I can tell, I passed everything so far. How about you, Alice?" asked Marlene.
"I think I did well in DADA, but that's always been my best subject. I'm not sure about Potions, though. I think my grades might have slipped a little because of Quidditch," replied Alice.
"You're just like Lily. You always get top marks, though if you get an Exceeds Expectations then I wouldn't break down into hysterics, if I were you," Marlene said dryly. "Besides, you helped us win the Quidditch Cup for the second year in a row. A little slip of the grades was worth it since we won!"
As the girls reached the stairway to the north tower, Alice and Lily wished Marlene good luck on her Muggle Studies exam and started the long trek up to the Divination classroom, pausing only a moment to chat with Sir Cadogan.
When they reached the classroom they found it locked with a few students waiting outside in a line. At the front of the line was a girl in her late teens. She had thick glasses and frizzy hair, with a scarf tied around it in a manner that reminded Lily of Professor Vablatsky. Like the professor she was adorned with large pieces of jewelry.
When she spoke she had a misty voice, one that sounded a bit dramatic. "Students! Please form a line. My great-great grandmother will see each of you for your exam one at a time. Please wait your turn."
"I didn't know Vablatsky had a great-great granddaughter. Is she really that old?" whispered Lily.
"From what I've heard, I think she had a few kids during her fourth marriage," replied Alice.
"Fourth?" echoed Lily, surprised.
Alice smirked and said, "Yeah, I heard she's been married at least seven times. Vablatsky was the name of her most recent husband."
"What happened to him?" whispered Lily.
"Died," replied Alice. "It's sad, because from the rumors I've heard, she's predicted the unfortunate demise of each of her husbands."
As the girls settled into the line more students gradually arrived forming a line that stretched down a few flights of stairs. Finally, the trap door opened and Dorcas went inside, the door closing behind her. Each student took about five to ten minutes, each coming out with a confused expression. When Alice came out, Lily asked her how it went.
"I couldn't see anything, so I started making stuff up. I said I saw myself playing professional Quidditch. It was the only thing I could think of!" cried Alice.
"Next!" croaked the voice of Professor Vablatsky.
Alice gave Lily a weak smile before Lily hesitantly stepped into the dark, overheated room. Professor Vablatsky was seated at a table in the center of the room. In the center of the table was a crystal ball, about four inches in diameter. Though the room was dark, the light from the fireplace danced across the surface of the orb causing it to glow a bit. Lily took the only empty seat left at the table and sat down. She gulped and waited for her instructions. Something about Professor Vablatsky always made her nervous.
"Miss Evans, for your exam, I want you to gaze into the crystal and tell me what you see," said Professor Vablatsky.
Lily took a deep breath and focused her attention on the crystal, trying to block out the probing blue eyes that were studying her. She sat for several minutes, gazing and trying in vain to see something. She was not surprised at the lack of vision, for she had never had any during class.
"What is it you see, child?" asked the professor.
Lily sighed and said in a tight voice, "I'm sorry, Professor. I can't see anything."
Vablatsky smiled and said, "Look closer."
Lily leaned toward the glass orb and said, "All I see are my eyes staring back at me."
"What else?" asked the professor.
Lily looked again. She could still see the eyes, but as she looked she could see nothing else. "That's funny…I see my eyes but I don't see any other part of my reflection."
Professor Vablatsky nodded and with a gnarled hand reached for her quill to record something on her parchment. "Very good, Miss Evans. You are excused."
Lily sat there for a moment, confused. How on Earth could she be finished? She hadn't seen anything, yet her professor had acted satisfied about her comments. She shakily grabbed her bag and headed toward the door, realizing why each of the previous students had had a confused expression when they had finished their exam.
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Remus and James were silently plotting an end-of-term prank while waiting their turn for the Divination exam. Not much could be overheard of their scheme by the other students except the occasional muttering of 'Snivellus,' 'bagpipes,' and 'scarlet and gold kilt.'
James noticed Lily walking down the steps from her exam and asked, "How'd it go, Evans?"
Remus noticed Lily's odd expression and said, "Is everything alright, Lily?"
Lily paused to face them, though directing her words more to Remus than James. "Honestly, I'm not sure how I did. I didn't think I saw anything but she seemed happy anyway."
"James here thinks that if we make up some half-truths then she'll be satisfied," said Remus.
"That's what Alice did - she made stuff up," said Lily. "I'd better go catch up with her." She smiled at Remus and with a quick glance at James said, "Good luck," before walking down the stairs.
James was silent for a bit after that, feeling a sense of déjà vu. His mind traveled back to the previous year before a Quidditch match when he thought he had heard Lily tell him good luck as he had been leaving the Great Hall. 'Nah,' he thought. 'She'd been saying that to Remus just now.' After all, she had made it clear how immature she thought he was for picking on Snivellus. Why then, would she bother to wish him luck?
When it was his turn to take the exam, James found himself in the same chair that Lily had been in, facing the crystal ball. He sat in his seat with a bored expression as he stared at the crystal. After several minutes he looked up at Professor Vablatsky, hoping to find a way to end the exam.
"So, Mr. Potter, tell me what you see," said the Professor. Before James could respond she added, "And do not 'make it up' as you were planning. Tell me what you really see."
James had a cat-who-ate-the-canary look as he pondered what to do now to pass the class. How was he supposed to pass if he couldn't see anything and couldn't make anything up?
"Just tell me what you see," urged the professor.
James tried to humor her by looking into the crystal ball again, but after a moment he looked at her and said, "I'm not sure what to tell you, Professor. All I see is my reflection."
Professor Vablatsky smiled and said, "Are you so sure about that?" When James raised his eyebrows in frustration, she gently said, "Look again."
This time James looked at the crystal and focused on his reflection. Only this time, James noticed something odd about the reflection. Professor Vablatsky noticed the change in James' face and asked, "What is it, Mr. Potter?"
James shook his head and said, "It's my reflection, only it's different in a way. In the image, my nose is a little shorter - but that could just be from the shape of the glass."
"What else?" probed the professor.
"My eyes…they aren't the same color. They're green. They look different though…not just the color. They look older," said James. He hadn't noticed the change in his demeanor as he had gone from acting bored to gazing intensely at the image.
"Do you see anything else?" asked the professor.
"Yeah," said James. "There's some kind of mark on my forehead." He reached up and touched his forehead, searching for evidence of what he saw reflecting back at him.
"Very good, Mr. Potter," said Professor Vablatsky as she marked her parchment. "You are excused."
James shook his head as he walked to the exit. By the time he was climbing down the ladder he had convinced himself that the changes in his reflection had been from the firelight dancing across his reflection, and nothing more than that.
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When James walked into the Great Hall to meet his friends for dinner he noticed a subdued and fearful attitude amongst the students. Groups of students were huddled together whispering in shaky voices. When James reached his friends he sat down and asked what was going on.
"Voldemort and his supporters have struck again," replied Sirius. "Honestly, Wormtail! Quit flinching every time I say his name!"
"What happened?" asked James.
Remus replied, "Edgar and Amelia Bones' mum and grandparents were killed."
"Bones? Their names are familiar but I can't match them with the faces," said James.
"They're in Ravenclaw. Their folks both work (or in their mum's case- worked) for the Ministry. Their mum was Muggleborn and she had been visiting her parents when the attack occurred," said Remus. "Their dad is a Ministry official."
"I just don't understand this," growled James. "How does he keep getting more supporters? How is he not getting caught?"
"He's very advanced in Dark Magic, Prongs," said Remus. Remus, Sirius, and Peter all knew that this would hit James close to home after what had happened to his father.
"That doesn't matter!" roared James. "With all these attacks happening, someone has to know how to stop him, Moony!"
Remus paused and looked over James' shoulder. "Hi Lily," he said.
James turned around and saw Lily standing behind him with Alice approaching. Lily had a strange look on her face as she stared at Remus. All of a sudden her eyes widened as if she suddenly remembered something. Alice poked her in the side. Lily turned to her and remembered they were on their way down the table to sit with Marlene. She turned back to Remus, smiled, and muttered a quick 'hello' before rushing to meet Marlene.
"That was odd," said Sirius.
The Marauders gave each other a questioning look before launching into a more pleasant subject, like the latest prank they had planned for Snivellus.
Remus, on the other hand, ate his dinner silently as he pondered why Lily had looked at him like that.
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A/N: Okay - I took a little liberty with Vablatsky's character. She is Cassandra Vablatsky, the woman who wrote Unfogging the Future. That, several of you figured out. If you recall, the name of Sibyl Trelawney's great-great-grandmother was Cassandra Trelawney. I found it an amazing coincidence that there are two Seers whose first name is Cassandra, so I decided to make them one in the same. I just made the connection by having Professor Vablatsky married multiple times, hence the change in last name.
Thanks to my latest reviewers: nanopy, hermionelover101 (x2), Jo Bob, A New Reader (x3), Florina, Alicia, Mani12191, Nyscat (x5), sista7, Golden Phoenix (x2).
Next chapter: The students head home for the summer. This summer will focus more on Sirius and Remus and their lives at home.