Chapter 1 – The Prophecy

On a wet, cold night of 1979, in a room above the bar at the Hog's Head inn, sat a tall, thin and very old man with bright blue eyes shining behind his half-moon spectacles, a silver beard long enough to tuck into his belt wearing long, sky blue robes, which amazingly brought out his eyes, and high-heeled buckle boots. Albus Dumbledore sat waiting patiently for the applicant for the post of Divination teacher, though it was against his inclination to allow the subject of Divination to continue at all. However, the applicant was the great-great-granddaughter of a famous and gifted Seer and he thought it would be polite to meet her.

The bar, at where he sat, had one small , very dirty, and dingy room. The place was filled with rough wooden tables that had nothing except the stubs of candles sitting upon their surfaces. The stone floor of the place was so dirty that it looks as though there is not a floor at all, but instead that the building is simply built on open ground.

Albus Dumbledore checked his pocket watch to check the time."Quarter past seven ", he muttered to himself. The seer was 15 minutes late. He flicked his wand and a tall glass of water appeared on the table. Putting his wand back inside his robes he lifted the glass up to his lips and took a sip from it and started gazing out the window but it was so encrusted with filth that you can barely see through them. Losing interest, he looked away and started whistling to himself to pass the time. Suddenly the door opened with a loud creak and a lady cautiously stepped in. The lady wasn't young nor was she very old. She was very thin and had large glasses that magnified her eyes to several times their natural size. Innumerable chains and beads hung around her neck, she was draped in gauzy shawls and her arms and hands were encrusted with bangles and rings. She started looking in numerous directions in fear as if there was evil residing in the room and it would pounce and attack her any moment. Albus Dumbledore, disappointed as he expected a strong woman with a powerful aura radiating around her, not a thin, odd-looking woman who doesn't look at all like the granddaughter of Cassandra Trelawney, stood up.

"Good Evening," he greeted her and gave a polite smile.

The Seer gave a yelp of surprise as though she didn't see him there the time she walked in. She re-adjusted her glasses and looked up at Dumbledore," Oh, my! I didn't see you there, Headmaster," she said with a dreamy voice. She glanced at the fireplace and gave a loud gasp and a fearful look. With trembling hands she took out her wand, said a spell and set the fireplace ablaze.

"One should never extinguish the fire as evil lurks in the dark places of one's mind," said she, still trembling she sat on the chair opposite to the confused Dumbledore who didn't understand her sudden outbreak.

"Water?" Dumbledore asked as he sat down.

"Oh, oh yes, please," she replied.

Dumbledore took out his wand, gave it a flick and a tall glass of water appeared before the seer. The applicant looked at the glass as if the water was poisoned. She examined it for a moment or two and then when convinced that it wasn't poisoned picked up the glass and took a sip from it.

"Good Evening to you. My name is Sybill Trelawney," she greeted as she put the glass back down on the table and then delicately re-adjusted her shawl.

Dumbledore gave a smile and replied in politely," Nice to meet you Ms. Trelawney. I am Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts. I see you that you are interested for the post of Divination teacher," with a pause he continued," So I have heard that you are the great-great granddaughter of Cassandra Trelawney. But you are the first in your family to, since Cassandra, to posses the Second Sight. Am I right?"

"Yes, no one in the family since my grandmother has possessed the second sight," now waving her hand to ward off an invisible fly.

"How very interesting. I presume you know a lot about Hogwarts."

"Oh! Oh, yes. I studied there. In my third year I chose Divination as one of my elective subjects and achieved high grades in my O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. I was also a member of the slug club," she continued with a smile," Professor Slughorn was very fond of me, I suppose because of my ancestry."

" And what experiences do you have related to this position? " asked Dumbledore.

" Actually, this is the first time I have applied for the Divination post, I would have applied sooner but as you see for the past few months I locked myself in my house as I had predicted that I would be captured and tortured to insanity if I stepped outside into the cold, dark world," she replied.

He chuckled as he thought that she was joking but stopped smiling when he realised that she wasn't when he saw the seriousness in her face. He cleared his throat and continued," And have you ever made a prophecy before?"

"Yes, yes I have. Numerous times." She said with a blank expression on her face.

Dumbledore began to doubt whether she had made any at all, "Is it possible that you will be able to predict something for me. Anything. Anything at all, if possible," he asked politely, hoping that she possessed the talent that he was hoping to see.

"I'm sorry, Headmaster, I cannot predict on command," she said firmly.

This continued till 8.00 and still the Seer displayed none of Cassandra's divinatory skills, experience, or teaching capabilities, which greatly disappointed Dumbledore. With a heavy sigh and a courteous tone he began," I'm sorry, Sybill but I do not think that you are fit for this job. Thank you for coming and I hope you can find a job elsewhere." He stood up and started to leave.

Trelawney started to say,"Bu-but He- Headmaster I-" but there was no use of persuading, Dumbledore had already made up his mind and there was nothing she could say could prevent it.

He stopped in his tracks just to repeat his refusal, "I'm sorry, Sybill." He turned his back on her and started to walk towards the door when suddenly he heard a loud crash of glass shatter on the floor and heard a harsh voice speak. He turned around to see Trelawney trembling as though she was about to have a seizure. He rushed towards her and grabbed her my her wrists to stop her from plummeting onto the floor," Ms. Trelawney? Ms. Trelawney? Sybill? Are you alright?" he said as he tried to shake her back to sanity. Her eyes started to roll – and then she spoke again in the same harsh voice, quite unlike her own:

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... And the Dark Lord shall mark him as his equal, but he shall have power the Dark Lord knows not... One must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies."

Her head fell forward onto her chest. She made a grunting sort of noise then suddenly, her head snapped up again.

"I'm sorry, Headmaster. Must have drifted off for a moment… did I say something?"

Dumbledore let go of her wrists and stood there, still staring.

"Is there anything wrong?"

"My dear, you just made a prophecy."

"Have I now?"

He chuckled softly and replied," Yes, not just an ordinary prophecy but about the downfall of Voldemort," but then he stopped smiling as though there was something grave troubling him. He said in a deep, intense tone," But the child… the child will be in a terrible danger," he faced Trelawney and continued in a deep voice," No one. I repeat. No one must know."

"Pardon?" she replied as if she did not understand what Dumbledore was implying, and then she exclaimed," I would certainly not presume to predict anything like that!"

Dumbledore laughed softy,"I was wrong about you ,Sybill, or should I say Professor Trelawney? The job is yours! You can start teaching next Monday," but then he turned serious again," But remember not to mention the contents of this evening," he quickly returned to his cheery self and continued,"But never mind that. Sit down, sit down. Would you like a Butterbeer or maybe a Firewhiskey?" They continued their conversation in the pub, but what they were not aware of was that The Hog's Head Inn, which Sybill chose for its cheapness, has long attracted a more interesting clientele than the three Broomsticks. It is a place where it is never safe to assume you are not being overheard. Of course, Dumbledore had not imagined that there would be anything worth overhearing, when he set out to meet Trelawney. What they did not know was that an eavesdropper was detected only a short way into the prophecy and thrown from the building.

The Eavesdropper had greasy shoulder-length black hair which framed his face, sallow skin, a large hooked nose and black, cold eyes. He wore black flowing robes and his name was Severus Snape. A Death Eater.