Disclaimer: I still don't own Harry Potter (or anything to do with it). Oh, well...
A/N: Here's something I wrote earlier today about Professor Trelawney. Now that I look back at this I like it a little more than I did when I was actually writing it. Sorry about the title, by the way. That was all I could think of. Sorry if there are fics out there with the same title as this, too. It wasn't intentional. Finally, I rated it just to be safe but do say if you think it should be changed!
A Seer
It was hard to be a Seer.
Sybill Trelawney sighed as she watched another class climb down the ladder from her classroom and disappear. It was not the first time that this thought had entered her head.
It was hard to be a Seer.
And it certainly wasn't going to be the last.
For it was indeed true. The students that had just left were an example of this. Sybill liked to believe that she had some brains – she was well aware of what other occupants of this school thought of her. 'Fraud' was one of the nicer things she had heard. Fraud. Pah! Such disbelief, such ignorance...
Trelawney had always known that the art of Divination was not usually well received. It came with the territory, as it were. Not many people understood or took it seriously. Even fewer mastered it and none completely.
Of the group of students that had just left her classroom, not one of them had the Sight. Not one! That was how rare it was.
Not that Sybill herself claimed to be an excellent Seer. She scowled as she opened a nearby cabinet. Pulling out a bottle of sherry, she took a sip. However, she wasn't a fraud! No. She was not a complete fake, as everyone thought.
She did indeed See. Just because her predictions didn't always happen... Future was mutable. It wasn't set in stone. For example, if you stood in front of the Knight Bus as it was speeding towards you, you could die, and someone could have predicted that. However, if the driver of the Knight Bus noticed you and stopped – or if you jumped, dived or otherwise got out of the way... if either party did something to prevent you from being killed then you (most likely) wouldn't die, would you? The prediction of your death was wrong in a sense, but at one point you had been likely to die, and if no one had done anything then you probably would be dead, thus proving the prediction to be correct.
Yes, future was mutable. There were many possible roads one could choose in life. Sybill did indeed See... even if it was mainly these 'possible futures' that she glimpsed. It would be nice to hit upon the actual future every time, or to even prophesise.
Prophesise. Hah! As if she'd be able to do that. Sybill had seen the dismissal of her abilities in countless people's faces. Regarding prophesising, however, she was rather inclined to agree. Trelawney, for a very long time now, had doubted that she could prophesise. Like that would happen to her. She herself only believed that she was a meagre Seer, compared to her great-great-grandmother Cassandra Trelawney.
She may be meagre, but she was no fraud. She resented being called that. Sybill gulped down some more sherry and felt her mood lift slightly. They were just jealous. Always have been, always will be. They had no understanding of these matters... she should pity them for their ignorance.
Ah. There was someone coming. Trelawney deposited the bottle of sherry back into the nearby cabinet with a flick of her wand. A minute or so later a girl climbed into the classroom. Sybill easily recognised her as one of her fourth year students she had taught earlier in the day.
"Good day." Sybill greeted in her usual ethereal voice.
The girl (by the name of Heather) slowly approached, replying, "Hello, Professor Trelawney."
Said Professor merely regarded her in silence, which seemed to prompt Heather to speak again.
"I came to hand my homework in, Professor. Here you go." She said uneasily, placing a roll of parchment on the desk in front of her. "I'm sorry I forgot it earlier."
"Never mind, my child, never mind..." Trelawney said, looking dreamily over the uncomfortable student's shoulder. "I foresaw such a thing, though--" She now looked sharply at Heather, "--I hope I never have to foresee such an incident again."
Heather nodded, her face downcast. There was a brief pause before Sybill spoke again.
"Very well. Until we meet again."
"Bye, Professor." Heather said, already on her way out of the room.
"Oh, by the way--" Heather halted at Trelawney's words, slowly turning round to look at her.
"--My dear... watch out for Peeves on your way down the corridor. I fear you may be involved in a... nasty collision if you don't."
Sybill felt she could accurately predict people's reactions to her warnings now. This one was no different. Heather blinked. A slight raise of the eyebrows. Disbelief. Dismissive thoughts in her head. The words are discarded.
Trelawney watched Heather nod slowly (humouring her, no doubt) and descend the ladder leading out of the classroom.
Trelawney waited...
...! Yes, there it was. A shriek, the sound of water. A crash. Peeves' cackling. Sybill could picture the event in her head as it was happening in clear, minute detail (well, she had Seen it, after all...). A shriek and the sound of water – as some was poured all over Heather. A crash – as Heather slipped and collided with a nearby suit of armour. Peeves' cackling - as he drifted down the corridor, mischief accomplished.
Sybill Trelawney shook her head sadly. Poor girl. She did try to warn her. Reaching inside the nearby cabinet, Sybill grabbed the bottle of sherry opened previously and drained its contents.
It was hard to be a Seer.
A/N: There it is. Hope you liked it. It would be good to know what you thought of it. As always, no flames please, but constructive criticism is appreciated!