"Rhys, save me!" The moment Daphne realized it was Rhys who had sat down beside her, she didn't hesitate at all—she immediately reached out for help.
Rhys usually disliked helping kids with their homework. But after glancing at the mess of papers on the table and spotting two Divination assignments among them, his heart softened.
While he had been warmly catching up with old friends, she had been diligently helping him with his homework—how could he not lend a hand to such a devoted student?
"What's the problem?" Rhys asked, curious about what had her so stuck.
"What spell was Professor White using in class? I've checked so many books and still couldn't find it—have you seen anything about it in the letters from ancient wizards?"
Rhys thought for a moment, then explained the effects of the spell and how to counter it.
"What a terrifying curse!" Daphne gasped. "Is this what ancient wizarding war magic was like?"
Rhys nodded. Back in their time, magic truly had been more brutal—many spells were designed to cause as much large-scale harm as possible.
With Rhys's help, Daphne's confusion was cleared up instantly. Now that the obstacle was out of the way, she dove back into her homework with renewed enthusiasm.
While Rhys was helping a student with homework, Helga arrived at the West Tower.
After climbing the ladder, Helga entered the Divination classroom and found that, although class wasn't currently in session, a few young girls were still gathered around Professor Trelawney, watching her perform a reading.
"Welcome, sage who does not belong to this era." The moment she saw Helga's face clearly, Trelawney felt a jolt in her heart. But her expression didn't betray a thing—she simply greeted Helga with that misty, ethereal tone of hers.
Seeing Professor White arrive, the girls present grew visibly excited.
They were eager to witness the conversation between Professor Trelawney and Professor White. But for the sake of preserving her own image, Trelawney found an excuse to usher them out—after all, if she were to get verbally destroyed by this ancient witch in front of students, her reputation would be in shambles.
"Oh! We have lingered too long in the veil of fog that conceals the future, and thus our eyes have been clouded by confusion. Miss Lavender, Miss Parvati, if you do not leave now, you may be late. You'll have to redouble your efforts to catch up."
Prompted by Professor Trelawney's words, the girls suddenly realized they had dawdled in the Divination classroom for far too long—class was about to begin.
The girls quickly scrambled up from their cushions and hurried out of the room.
"Please, have a seat." Once they were gone, Trelawney politely gestured for Helga Hufflepuff to sit.
Helga chose a ginger-colored cushion and sat down, only to notice a schoolbag lying beside it—probably left behind by one of the girls earlier.
She casually set the bag aside and turned her attention to studying the woman in front of her: Sybill Trelawney.
Right now, Helga didn't have any particularly strong impression of the Divination professor—other than that she wore a lot of accessories. While Helga was observing Trelawney, Trelawney was also observing Helga.
After a few cautious moments of thought, Trelawney finally spoke.
"Even with the Inner Eye, I am still unable to part the veil of worldly confusion…" Facing Helga seated across from her, Trelawney launched into a long string of mysterious and cryptic phrases.
Condensed down, all her flowery words essentially meant: Why have you come to see me?
"I once met your ancestor—she left a deep impression on me. That's why I've come… I wanted to meet the descendant of that great seer," Helga stated her purpose directly.
Upon learning that the woman before her had known her ancestor, Trelawney felt both joy and unease: pleased by White's praise, but also worried her own abilities—or lack thereof—might be exposed.
"The blood of the Trelawney family carries the gift of Divination," she replied, falling back on some vague but technically true platitudes.
"And it also carries the curse," Helga added, her expression tinged with regret. "Could you do a reading for me?"
"With great pleasure." At this point, there was no way Professor Trelawney could refuse. After thinking it over, she went to the shelf at the edge of the classroom and retrieved a crystal ball, preparing to conduct a crystal ball reading.
She first fixed the ball in place on the table, then took out a brazier and began adding various herbs to it.
Seeing Professor Trelawney begin the ritual, Helga's eyes lit up—she suddenly remembered that the Trelawney ancestor she had once met had used this very method to begin a crystal ball reading.
And she remembered the herbal formula used by that Seer perfectly!
With warm enthusiasm, Helga drew her wand and summoned all the herbs needed for a proper crystal ball divination.
For a few of the rarer ingredients, which were no longer commonly found in the modern magical world, she even dipped into her personal stash.
Trelawney: ?
She stared wide-eyed at the mixture of herbs now settling into the brazier, completely baffled.
After placing the herbs into the basin, Helga said with a note of regret, "Dragon's Blood Fern and Soulguard Leaf are hard to come by these days—good thing I still had a bit in reserve. Without them, the clarity of the crystal ball reading would likely be greatly diminished, wouldn't it?"
Trelawney suddenly understood—these herbs summoned by Professor White were meant to enhance the crystal ball divination! And considering she had met the Seer herself, that meant...
This herbal blend must be the very recipe used by my prophetic ancestor to aid in scrying!
Trelawney couldn't sit still—she, a descendant of the Seer, had inherited little more than the surname, and certainly knew nothing about any herbal formulas. And now, by some twist of fate, the wisdom of her ancestor had come right to her doorstep!
If it were up to her, she would've kicked Professor White out of the Divination classroom on the spot and studied every single herb in that basin thoroughly—but she couldn't do that.
Trelawney had no choice but to suppress her excitement, replying in a slightly trembling voice, "Yes… without those two herbs, clearing the obstacles clouding the Inner Eye becomes much more difficult. Thank you, Professor White…"
While chanting softly under her breath, she didn't let her hands rest.
Professor Trelawney quickly stirred the herbs in the brazier, desperately trying to memorize the names of the herbs she recognized, and doing her best to imprint the appearance of the ones she didn't.
Once she felt she had memorized them well enough, Professor Trelawney straightened up, lit the herbs in the brazier, and guided the rising smoke into the crystal ball.
According to the textbook method, the next step was to interpret the shapes in the mist within the crystal ball and give a reading based on them.
But for some reason—perhaps because she had accidentally inhaled too much of the smoke—Trelawney suddenly felt her head spinning.
"Oh no…" was her final thought before losing consciousness.
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