⋅︓︒︑∘∗✧∘︑︒⚬∙︓⋅⠄✯∘⠄✧⠄

𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚.
𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘑𝘰𝘴𝘭𝘺𝘯.

⋅︓︒︑∘∗✧∘︑︒⚬∙︓⋅⠄✯∘⠄✧⠄

The next day, when I entered the Great Hall, I looked out of sight of my friends who were already sitting next to the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione, and were holding in their hands the papers that I assumed were their schedules. I approached them quickly and fell hard on the bench.

"Stupid clown," said George calmly when I approached them and looked at me.

"Rise and shine Joslyn," The Weasley twins laughed.

"Shut up," I groaned and took my schedule, which Professor Sprout gave me.

"Bad night?" asked Harry.

"Bad everything," I grimaced, even more, when I saw my schedule.

"Let me see," Amy took it from my hands and after a while, she also grimaced.

"Numerology twice in a row? Good luck," Nico laughed.

"Don't even say anything," I said, putting my head in my hands.

"Cheer up—" started Fred

"You have the Care of Magical Animals with us," finished George.

"I don't know if that's a reason to be happy," Ron squinted, and I laughed loudly, quietly agreeing with him.

Although Ron, Hermione, and Harry are two years younger than us, we get along well with them. Because I've been friends with the Weasley twins since my first year, I knew Ron much earlier when he first came to Hogwarts and I treat him like my younger brother, just like Harry and Hermione, although this may sound strange because of their fights with Draco.

Draco may not have liked the three of them, but he didn't dare to offend them in my presence, for which I was extremely grateful, because I don't want to take sides. Their rasps are their rasps, and I have no intention of meddling between them unless something serious happens. Then I prefer one of the sides to be offended at me for a while as if I were to leave it without a word.

Coming back to my schedule, today I started with the Potions and ended with the Defense Against the Dark Arts, to which I was incredibly excited, considering that we had a new teacher. The previous two, Quirrell and Lockhart, were some of the worst teachers we ever had, the first one was a shaky bastard with You-Know-Who, the back of his head, and the second one was a narcissistic idiot who also worked for You-Know-Who. I was hoping that at least Lupin would be normal.

"What did you talk about earlier?" I finally asked.

"About your brother," said, Ron. "He laughed at Harry because he fainted in the compartment yesterday when he saw Dementors."

"He looked a little different last night when the Dementors were on the train. He fell into our compartment, didn't he, Fred?" George laughed.

"He almost pissed himself," said Fred, looking at Malfoy with contempt.

"Wait," I stopped them. "Harry, you fainted on the train yesterday?"

"Yeah. Why?" Harry asked.

"I happen to do, too. That Dementor, it did something to me. It did something to you too, didn't it?" Harry nodded his head slightly stressed out, agreeing with me.

"I didn't feel well either," George admitted. "These are terrible types, these Dementors."

"It's freezing to the bone marrow, right?" added Fred.

"But you didn't lose consciousness, did you?" asked Harry.

"Don't worry, Harry," George comforted him. "Dad had to go to Azkaban once, remember, Fred? He said it was the most horrible place he had ever seen when he came back, we barely saw him, he was still shaking. Dementors suck the happiness out of every place they find themselves. Most of the prisoners get mad there."

"Anyway, we'll see what kind of face Malfoy will have after Quidditch's first game," said Fred. "Gryffindor against Slytherin, the first game of the season, remember?"

How much I loved Draco, I had to admit that Harry was much better than him. Anyway, I think Harry knew that too because I saw him cheer up and put sausages on his plate.

"Oh, wonderful, there will be new classes today!" said, Hermione.

"Hermione," said Ron, looking over her shoulder and bending over with disgust. "How much they added to you! They must have made a mistake. See, you have ten lessons a day. You don't have enough time for that!"

"Don't worry, I'll manage. I've arranged all this with Professor McGonagall."

"But look at today," Ron said, laughing. "You have Divination at nine, right? And underneath, you have Muggle Studies, at nine. And here," Ron leaned over the schedule "see, Numerology, nine o'clock. I know you're good, but I don't think you're good enough to pass three lessons at once!"

"Don't be stupid. I will not be in three classes at once."

"So how—"

"Hand me the jam," Hermione said.

"But—"

"Oh, Ron, what do you care if my schedule is a little... tense? I already told you, I've agreed on all this with Professor McGonagall."

At this moment, Hagrid came in in a long coat of creepy frocks. He was holding the tail of a dead coward, whom he waved carelessly.

"Well, all right?" He asked, stopping by them on his way to the teacher's table. "Merlin, we have a lesson today! My first! Right after lunch! I broke up at five o'clock today, I had to prepare everything... I think it will work. Me a teacher... let me die."

He smiled at us wide and moved towards the teacher's table, still waving with the dead coward.

"I am very curious about what he had to prepare," said Ron with a little anxiety.

"Okay, I've gotta go, I still have to go to Draco," I smiled at everyone. Taking my things and saying goodbye to my friends, I got up from the table, heading to Draco, who was laughing at something with his friends. "Hi."

Draco jumped up a little bit, suddenly turning towards me and grabbed a place where his heart was.

"Joslyn! Can you not sneak up like that?" He asked outraged, and I laughed.

"I'm sorry," I said, still laughing. "How are you doing? Everything's okay?"

"As much as possible," he said, and moved on, making room for me to sit down.

"What's your schedule?" I asked and took a schedule that was in front of him. "Numerology first? Good luck."

"So bad?"

"Should I lie?" I looked at him significantly, and Draco laughed. "I have Potions in a moment, so I'm going to get going, I just wanted to ask if everything is okay. I'll see you at dinner?"

"See you at dinner," He smiled, and I got up and went to class.

★★★★

"Ron, don't have such a gloomy face," Hermione said when I sat next to them at dinner. "After all, you heard what McGonagall said."

I wrinkled my eyebrows and put the stew on the plate.

"What happened?" I asked her, taking food on the fork.

"Harry turned the Grim on the Divination," Hermione said, and I snorted.

"Why are you laughing?" worried Ron asked. "After all, this is a serious thing!"

"Professor Trelawney drops death in lessons every year. Last year Cedric's death was thrown over by her," I laughed.

"And as far as we know, Cedric is still alive and well," she snorted Amy, pouring herself a compote.

"You see Ron?" Hermione looked at the redhead. "There's nothing to worry about."

"Harry," said Ron, ignoring our words, "but I don't think you've seen any big black dogs lately, have you?"

"I have. That night, when I ran away from the Dursleys," Ron's banging fork fell on a plate.

"Probably some kind of a stray," Hermione quietly said. Ron looked at her like she was crazy.

"Hermione, if Harry saw the Grim, then—it was very bad. My—my Uncle Bilius saw one and—and after twenty-four hours he was already dead!"

"Coincidence, " I muttered, taking a plate of baked potatoes from Nico.

"You have no idea what you are talking about!" Ron got upset. "Most wizards are afraid of the Grim!"

"Well," Hermione said. "When they see the Grim, they die of fear. A Grim is not a bad omen, but a cause of death! And Harry is still alive because he is not so stupid to tell himself: "I saw the Grim guy, so I've got to die!"

Ron's eyes were frowning on Hermione, who opened the bag, took out her new numerology textbook, opened it, and leaned it against the juice jug.

"I think this whole Divination thing is very cloudy," she said, flipping the pages. "Lots of guesswork and delusions—"

"And the Grim at the bottom of the cup was also a delusion, yes?" Ron got angry.

"You weren't so sure when you told Harry that it was a ram," Hermione said coldly, and Nico, Amy, and I snorted with laughter.

"Professor Trelawney said you don't have the right aura! You know what? You just can't stand not being the best at something!"

Everyone was silent. It was clear she was touched by these words as Hermione slammed Numerology into the table.

"If being good at Divination means seeing the omen of death in a pile of tea grounds, I think I'll stop learning it! This first lesson is complete nonsense compared to my Numerology!" She grabbed the bag and went to the exit, and Ron wrinkled his forehead.

"What is she talking about? After all, she hasn't had Numerology yet."

"Harry," I started "you have nothing to worry about, Professor Trelawney is a little," I stopped looking for the right word "specific? Something like that."

"I don't know about that with you," said Nicolas. "For the time being, every year you've been through the same disasters, and maybe it will be—"

He didn't manage to finish because Amy hit him with her open hand in the back of the head with such force that he groaned in pain and I sent him a threatening look.

Harry indeed had incredible misfortune in the first two years at Hogwarts, but that doesn't mean he will die this year. Although I liked Divination, I had to admit that it was not a very trustworthy lesson. Yes, of course, it happened that the fortune told on the grounds of Professor Trelawney's lesson worked, but it was mostly a stupid coincidence.

The same with Cedric, last year his grounds overturned the Grim, and somehow he's still alive and well, as far as I know, he has no intention of dying soon and even intended to live as long as possible.

As I said, Divination is not a very true lesson.

★★★★

I was in the middle of Divination when the anxious Professor Sprout entered the room.

"Professor Trelawney, could I ask Miss Black with me? It's important," she said, coming to my place.

"But we were just in the middle of a fortune-teller," said Professor Trelawney in a slightly shaking voice.

"Sybilla, Draco Malfoy landed in the hospital wing—"

When I heard these words, I didn't wait for Professor Trelawney's permission and I ran out of the class immediately, not taking my things, and headed to the hospital wing. As I was coming down the stairs, I almost did fall nearly three times, but I didn't care much for it, considering that I was in a hurry to see what happened to Draco.

With a bang I fell into the hospital wing, apologizing to Madame Pomfrey, who looked at me angrily. I searched for my brother and as soon as I saw him, I quickly approached him.

"What happened?" I asked him looking at his stabilized hand.

"This stupid Hagrid brought some kind of a bloody chicken to the Creature Care that attacked me! Can you imagine that?! This big guy should not be allowed to teach us!" He complained, and I got red out of anger. Hagrid wouldn't have done it on purpose in his life.

"Draco! I'm sure Hagrid didn't want to hurt you, and it was just an accident!"

"You haven't had a lesson with this stupid big—"

"Draco!" I growled.

"Okay, okay!" He sighed and finally shut up.

"Let's change the subject, what about your hand?" I asked, running my fingers through my hair.

"It is broken," answered Draco and made room for me on the bed he was sitting on.

"Nothing more?" I sat next to him and my brother shook his head. "Merlin, I am glad nothing more serious has happened to you!" I said and hugged him gently so as not to hurt him, which he laughed at slightly.

★★★★

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" I screamed when I run up the last stairs, wheezing loudly. "I didn't want to be late, but I was with Draco and I lost track of time!"

I leaned my hands against my knees trying to catch my breath after my marathon on the stairs and I was expecting an annoying voice from Cedric, complaining about me being late. However, all I heard was the gentle laughter of the boy.

"It's okay," he laughed.

"Huh? Really? After all, I'm an hour late!" I groaned and stood next to him.

"You were with your brother, I won't be angry with you because you were sitting with him in the hospital wing," he shrugged and I looked at him.

"Who are you and what did you do with Cedric very punctual Diggory?" I asked, and the boy laughed at my nickname.

"I have your things," he said and gave me my bag.

"Thank you, you didn't have to," I smiled and took my things.

"I didn't have to, but I wanted to," he also smiled.