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Chapter 24: Prophecy of Success
🕑 Added 2024-12-18 16:18:10 +0000 UTCIn a spacious and bright classroom, sunlight streamed through the windows into the attic-like space, casting a golden sheen on the floor. Yet, even under the golden light, the floor in front of Bones remained perfectly flat and ordinary, showing no signs of illusions.
Six students lined up, their heads poking out eagerly to watch the floor.
For the past three years, they had never done anything like this in Trelawney's class. Aside from using Jupiter to predict crashing their brooms or falling into the lake next week—both predictions that alarmingly often came true—they had rarely engaged in proper divination exercises.
"You may begin," Viktor said.
Bones took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and recited the first incantation with a mix of anticipation and doubt:
"Ep, Pip, Kak."
He took a step forward, the heel of his front boot brushing against the toe of his back one.
"Silo, Holo, Halo."
That was the second step.
"Ze-si, Ze-si, Ze-k."
On the third step, he paused, standing still with his eyes shut, listening intently for any change in the rhythm of the pocket watch's ticking. Confirming no irregularities, he stepped forward again.
Suddenly, the wooden plank beneath his feet turned to mist, revealing an empty void below.
Bones scrambled to grab hold of the surrounding floor but, unsurprisingly, failed on the smooth surface. With a cacophony of rattles and clatters, he plunged downward in a panic.
"Ahhhhh!"
Thud!
His scream abruptly ended as Viktor's spell caught him mid-fall.
"You mispronounced the incantation," Viktor said flatly. "The first phrase requires emphasis on the vowels, and the final phrase must be pitched higher than the first two."
With a flick of his wand, Viktor restored the vanished wooden plank, concealing the view of the floor below.
The students watching Bones' unceremonious drop swallowed nervously.
Surely, a wizard wouldn't die doing this...
...But no one wanted to experience freefall firsthand!
"Next."
A freckled Ravenclaw boy hesitantly stepped forward, swallowing hard. He seemed sharp, though his trembling betrayed his nerves. Closing his eyes, he carefully recalled the incantation before stepping forward.
"Ep, Pip, Kak."
"Silo, Holo, Halo."
His enunciation was crisp, and his steps confident at first. By the time he reached the fifth plank, beads of sweat dotted his forehead, and his lips moved as if muttering calculations under his breath. Perhaps he had gained some confidence, but—
Bang!
"Ahhhhh!"
Thud!
"You're overthinking it," Viktor remarked dispassionately. "I told you to focus on the pocket watch, not the odds of stepping onto a void."
Ravenclaws, always overanalyzing things.
"Next."
Now it was Tonks' turn.
The students behind her were still eager, but the two consecutive failures had planted seeds of doubt. Could this spell even be performed correctly?
Tonks took a deep breath, her hair shifting from black to vibrant orange. She carefully stepped onto the starting point, clasped her hands around the pocket watch, and attempted to clear her mind.
After a flurry of bizarrely intricate gestures resembling prayers, she finally closed her eyes and murmured the incantation.
"Ep, Pip, Kak..."
She advanced cautiously.
One plank.
Two planks.
"Ep, Pip, Kak."
"Silo, Holo, Halo."
"Ze-si, Ze-si, Ze-k!"
After finishing the third phrase, she raised her polished boot to take the next step. But then she froze mid-motion as if realizing something.
Slowly, she withdrew her foot and held the pocket watch close to her ear.
The other students leaned forward curiously, straining to catch any sound.
Tic-tic, tic-tic, tic-tic-tic-tic, tic-tac...
The ticking had quickened!
A wave of murmurs rippled through the students. While it might not prove divination beyond doubt, it was undeniable that the watch’s behavior had changed—something the previous two students hadn’t managed to achieve!
Tonks opened her eyes, visibly excited. She shifted her weight onto the current plank and cautiously stretched her other foot forward.
The plank ahead dissolved into mist!
"I did it?"
"Professor, I did it!" Tonks exclaimed, spinning around to face Viktor.
Viktor didn’t dampen her enthusiasm. He nodded faintly and replied, "Yes, Miss Tonks has provided a proper demonstration. As long as your pronunciation is clear, your intonation correct, and your thoughts focused, achieving the effect is not difficult."
"Fantastic!" Tonks skipped away from the planks, thrilled.
With her successful example, the remaining students felt emboldened. Of the next four, two succeeded in accelerating their watch’s ticking and correctly predicting the illusory planks.
The first two students, now less anxious, attempted the exercise again. Bones succeeded on his second try, while the Ravenclaw boy, still distracted by his fear of falling, failed yet again.
Time slipped away as the students took turns practicing.
Eventually, as class neared its end, everyone gathered back inside the classroom.
"Alright," Viktor drawled, now lounging at his desk. He only perked up when someone fell, idly flicking his wand to rescue them. "I assume everyone who wanted to try has had their chance?"
The students nodded.
"I know many of you still have doubts—whether this divination effect is real or just an illusion, or if I tampered with the watch to deceive you."
The students perked up, some glancing at Tonks, who seemed ready to defend Viktor.
But Viktor raised a hand to calm her and continued, "Let me assure you—those doubts are unfounded."
Tonks' eyes sparkled.
"This form of divination taps into your innate ability to sense danger. Though you may not consciously realize it, this ability is real and works in response to any threat."
"If you’re skeptical, I encourage you to test it yourselves. Use your own pocket watches to divine something after class. However," Viktor added, "keep the scope narrow—broad predictions are difficult with such rudimentary divination techniques."
"For instance, go to the Forbidden Forest, pick a path, and divine which one is more dangerous. The results should be—"
He paused, imagining McGonagall storming in after students inevitably tested this theory.
"Ahem. But entering the Forbidden Forest is strictly against school rules, so do not try this."
Despite the warning, the students' excitement was palpable. Tonks, who had succeeded on her first try, looked especially eager to test predictions on other matters.
This was real divination!
A form of prophecy immune to skepticism!
Then, the Ravenclaw boy raised his hand.
"Speak, and give your name," Viktor instructed.
"Ian Jones, Professor," the boy said. "Can anyone learn this form of divination? Can we teach it to others?"
"Good question," Viktor said, his tone as indifferent as ever.
"I don’t mind you sharing this technique. But not everyone can master it. First, it requires the use of mandrake leaves. Second, only those with sharp spiritual sensitivity and undimmed auras can predict danger."
"In other words, you need a gift for divination. Fortunately, everyone in this room happens to possess that talent—evidence of Professor Trelawney’s instincts in selecting students."
Viktor glanced at the clock, ignoring the rising hands of eager students, and lazily declared:
"Time's up. Class dismissed."
...
