Harry Potter and the Obscurus

Chapter 51 Tea and Teacups

The Hogwarts opening dinner was as delicious as ever, but most students seemed to have lost their appetite due to the negative impact of Sirius Black and the Dementors.

……

Seeing Hermione arrive late, Harry asked with some curiosity.

"What did Professor McGonagall want with you just now? How come you even missed the Sorting Ceremony?"

"Nothing much, just discussing course selection for this semester... Hey? Why does everyone look so gloomy?"

"This year, Hogwarts will be guarded by Dementors sent by the Ministry of Magic... more than a hundred of them! Just looking at those things makes me feel disgusted! How could they do such a thing?"

Seeing Ron's indignant expression, Hermione couldn't help but retort:

"What you just said really sounds like Malfoy. If you added, 'I'm going to write a letter to my father,' it would be even more so."

Ron pursed his lips and said:

"If it really works to have Malfoy write to his father, then I will support him unconditionally this time."

Upon hearing this, Harry patted Ron on the shoulder and gave him a "I understand" look.

"I also think the Ministry of Magic went too far this time. Sending Dementors to replace human guards stationed near the school? What are the Aurors doing? Besides, Dementors are one of the very few dark magic creatures whose fate is still unclear, and even adult wizards rarely have the ability to deal with them. Placing over a hundred Dementors at Hogwarts? Are they treating the students here like prisoners in Azkaban?"

Harry's sharp commentary instantly garnered a lot of support, with the Gryffindor students, led by Fred and George, even standing on their chairs and shouting:

"Well said, Harry! Those black-robed bastards should be driven out!"

"We protest! We refute the Ministry of Magic's absurd decision!"

"Bullshit decision! Bullshit decision! Bullshit decision!"

The increasingly noisy atmosphere in the Great Hall forced Headmaster Dumbledore to personally intervene and quiet the crowd.

"Quiet!"

"Students, given the special circumstances of this special period, Hogwarts has no choice but to cooperate with the Ministry of Magic in carrying out its duties. I understand how you feel, but today is the first day of school, so please maintain your composure and present a joyful and cheerful campus atmosphere in front of the new students."

Headmaster Dumbledore's authority was unquestionable; with just a few words, he calmed the young wizards down.

When Harry woke up the next morning, he was already back in "Hogwarts mode".

Looking at his roommates who were still fast asleep, he couldn't help but sigh that this castle truly had an indescribable magic—it was as if no matter what anyone did outside of school, as long as they returned here, they would always feel at home.

They got up, got dressed, greeted classmates from different grades, and ate breakfast. By the time the three leaders met in the auditorium, there was less than half an hour left before the first divination class.

“I told you you can’t choose these courses, Hermione. Look, Divination, Arithmetic Divination, and Muggle Studies are all at nine in the morning… Wait a minute, why do you want to study Muggle Studies? Aren’t your parents Muggles?”

“People will definitely have different feelings about Muggles from different perspectives. Also, I discussed all the courses with Professor McGonagall before choosing them.”

Hermione said as she hid her new timetable:

"Compared to this, haven't you noticed that Malfoy has been unusually well-behaved this year? He hasn't caused any trouble, nor has he been spreading rumors about Hagrid?"

Changing the subject worked perfectly on Ron. He looked up, glanced at the Slytherin table, and said:

"Before school started, my dad told me that the Malfoy family seemed to have run into serious financial problems after being removed from the Hogwarts board of directors. They even sold their house-elves because of it. Heh, you know, people like him and his dad are all talk and no action except showing off their money. Now that they're poor, of course they don't dare to flaunt it."

Harry, recalling Dobby who had already received two months' salary from Lily Health Insurance, pursed his lips and said:

"Hmm...that's certainly possible, but I still think people can change."

"Will it change?"

Ron reacted quite strongly, even raising his voice several notches.

"Malfoy isn't Crookshanks; he won't change easily! If he were truly willing to reform, why didn't he come looking for you again after we resolved the Chamber of Secrets and the Basilisk problem?"

"Cough cough!"

A pale-faced platinum-haired boy suddenly said:

"If you have the guts, why don't you say these things to my face!"

Draco Malfoy's sudden visit did not deter Ron; he turned around abruptly.

"I'll say the same thing to your face!"

"Whoa!"

Draco seemed to have heard a very funny joke.

"Looks like your dad winning the lottery has given you some confidence, huh? How much was it again? 700 Galleons? Is that enough to buy half a Nimbus 2001?"

Ron's face flushed red, and before he could continue arguing with Malfoy, Harry interrupted them, saying:

"They're already third graders, can you please stop playing those childish tricks? It's so embarrassing."

"You, sit down and eat."

"You, get to the point."

……

Ten minutes later, on their way to the Divination classroom, Ron, unable to contain his curiosity, asked Harry about Draco Malfoy's purpose in delivering the message.

hiss……

Harry gasped inwardly.

Although Lucius only invited me to Malfoy Manor for Christmas to discuss specific details of the cooperation, the Ron family has always been at odds with him, and if I were to reveal anything, I fear it would cause unnecessary trouble.

Thinking of this, Harry made an excuse and said:

"Here's the thing, I found a rather rare antique during my previous holiday trip. It seems that Lucius Malfoy has wanted it for a long time, and he wrote to me this time to offer to buy it."

"Is it some kind of magical relic?"

"Um... I don't think so, it's just an art piece."

"Huh? If that's the case, I support you selling, Harry. You can take this opportunity to squeeze a hefty sum out of him!"

Seeing the fiery passion emanating from his friend's eyes, Harry was so embarrassed he wanted to Apparate away. Fortunately, the long spiral staircase leading to the top of the North Tower was long enough, and Ron's stamina was inferior to his. By the time they reached the fifth floor, all that could be heard from Ron was the sound of his heavy breathing.

"Ha! Ha! I'm exhausted!"

After finally climbing to the top floor, a slightly dizzy and lightheaded Ron mustered all his strength to squeeze out a few words. But strangely, the place in front of him, where the classroom should have been, was completely empty except for a group of classmates who had already arrived.

"Huh? Is there a staircase? Where's the classroom? We're not in the wrong place, Harry, aren't we already on the top floor? What's going on?"

Hearing the voice behind him, Neville turned around and pointed to the circular trapdoor in the ceiling:

"You're here! Our classroom is over there, we need to wait for the teacher to lower the ladder before we can go up... Hey? Harry, how come you're not even out of breath?"

"Ah, I... I cast a lightness spell on myself."

As they were talking, the trapdoor creaked open, and before many curious students could even turn around to look at Harry, they climbed the silver ladder leading to the classroom one after another.

The divination room was designed to resemble a teahouse built by an elderly woman in her attic. Unlike the wooden sets used in the film, Professor Trelawney used small, patterned tables and chairs with cushions. All the curtains were drawn tightly, and the dim light made the already heated room feel even more suffocating.

Harry, with a panting Ron and an even more exhausted Hermione, found an empty table away from the teapot and incense. However, just as he settled his friends down, a giant praying mantis appeared out of nowhere in front of him.

"what!"

Harry instinctively called out, only to realize that the insect-like eyes, larger than his own face, were actually Professor Trelawney's eyes, magnified several times by his glasses.

"welcome."

She stared at Harry and mumbled something:

"Students from the material plane, welcome to the divination class. I am Professor Trelawney. You probably haven't seen me much before, because if I go down into the chaotic and noisy areas of the castle, my vision will be blurred by the mundane, and my ability to see the future will be clouded."

Feeling a little uncomfortable under his gaze, Harry coughed twice and subconsciously scratched the back of his neck. Unfortunately, Professor Trelawney, oblivious to social niceties, completely ignored this gesture. She adjusted her shawl and continued:

"Divination is the most profound and artistic of all magic. Although Hogwarts allows everyone to choose this course voluntarily, I must be upfront about the unpleasant aspects. Some people are born without 'vision'; their third eye is clouded, and no amount of reading can illuminate their path. I am powerless to help such students who lack talent."

Hermione, who was still catching her breath, looked up immediately after hearing Professor Trelawney's words, "Reading more books cannot illuminate one's path." She wanted to retort, but after taking a good look at him, she wisely chose to remain silent.

"This school year we'll be learning crystal ball and tea leaf divination. Of course, we can only begin with crystal ball divination after we've finished learning about fire signs. Unfortunately, Hogwarts will be closed in February due to a flu outbreak, and as the teacher, I'll lose my voice as a result, so... wait..."

Professor Trelawney's gaze left Harry; she abruptly turned to look at the empty ceiling, then held up a finger. She looked as if she were brewing a sneeze that she hadn't yet managed to let out.

Time ticked by, the crackling of the fireplace crackling in the flames. As everyone grew puzzled by Professor Trelawney's unusual behavior, Lavender Brown, who was closest to her, tentatively called out:

"professor?"

"what?"

Professor Trelawney seemed to have gone off track of time, completely oblivious to the students' earlier anxious silence.

What just happened?

Lavender replied:

"You said you would lose your voice because of the flu."

Professor Trelawney glanced at the female student in front of him, then replied, seemingly unrelated to the question:

"My child, unfortunately, the thing you fear most will happen on Friday, October 16th."

Lavender didn't immediately grasp what the divination professor was saying. By the time she realized what was happening and started trembling, Trelawney was already directing the students to get teacups from the shelf.

"I feel like this person is a madman."

Harry said to Mo Ran in the mental world:

"Why can someone like this be a teacher at Hogwarts? There are so many excellent professors at the school, why can't they standardize the hiring criteria?"

After watching the live stream for a while and having a good time, Mo Ran first composed himself and then explained to Harry: