Despite Trelawney's earnest manner and the dramatic intensity she brought to the moment, Adrian remained deeply skeptical of what he was witnessing.
All he could see before him was a simple ceramic basin filled with murky, greenish-brown liquid that looked more like dirty dishwater than anything mystical. The surface was littered with fragments of torn paper scattered throughout the liquid.
Those scraps couldn't even form anything remotely resembling a clear pattern or meaningful image, much less deliver a prophecy from the universe.
Trelawney fell silent for a drawn-out moment, her eyes were fixed on the basin with intense concentration. Adrian noticed what appeared to be sweat forming on her forehead despite the coolness of the tower room.
"Professor Trelawney?" Adrian saif, wondering if she was feeling ill. "Are you all right?"
"Oh!" Trelawney seemed startled out of a trance by his voice, jerking slightly in her chair.
Her voice became tense and urgent. "Use your wand! Quickly, you must touch the tip of your wand to the water's surface! Only through the medium of magic, through the conduit of a wizard's personal power, can you see the truth that fate reveals! The veil must be pierced!"
Adrian drew his wand with some uncertainty, not entirely convinced this would accomplish anything. He extended it carefully over the basin and gently dipped the tip into the strange liquid.
However, ten seconds passed in silence, and the water in the basin remained completely still and unchanged.
Just as Adrian looked up from the disappointing basin toward Trelawney, preparing to voice his doubts, something completely unexpected happened that made him freeze.
The liquid in the clay basin began to vibrate violently without warning, the entire surface was suddenly churning and roiling as though something beneath was boiling. The previously murky water surface instantly became as clear as a polished mirror.
Adrian could see his own face looking back at him from the liquid.
The scattered paper fragments floating in the water began moving, drawn together by invisible forces. They rearranged themselves, forming a pattern that emerged clearly against the now-transparent liquid.
"Merlin's beard!" Trelawney exclaimed in a trembling voice. "You're going to face a great calamity, Professor Westeros. This... this is absolutely dreadful!"
The corner of Adrian's mouth twitched as he struggled to maintain his composed expression and not reveal his thoughts.
He hadn't failed to notice that just before the liquid began to shake and transform, Trelawney's left hand had quietly made a small, subtle gesture beneath the table where she thought he couldn't see.
She was clearly casting a spell in secret, using wandless magic to manipulate the basin.
Still, despite catching her in this obvious deception, he had no intention of exposing Trelawney's charade here and now.
After all, she had gone to such lengths to put on this performance for him. The least he could do was play along politely and let her maintain her dignity.
Adrian turned his attention toward the pattern in the water, feigning earnest interest and leaned forward slightly. "So what exactly does this pattern foretell?"
Trelawney immediately resumed her mystical persona with vigor, speaking in that ethereal, distant tone she favored.
"My dear, that depends entirely on your own powers of perception and mystical awareness. Only wizards of exceptional talent and sensitivity can properly read the subtle hints that fate provides—ordinary mortals can never comprehend such profound meanings hidden in the symbols."
She lowered her voice mysteriously, adding a touch of drama. "If you cannot understand it clearly, that means... your connection to fate is not yet deep enough. You must look with your inner sight, not your outer eyes."
Adrian put on a thoughtful expression, furrowing his brow as though concentrating deeply, and stared at the water's surface with apparent focus.
At that moment, the pattern formed by the paper fragments began to change again. The pieces moved smoothly through the clear water, taking on new configurations.
It was becoming... a tree?
This unexpected discovery made Adrian abandon his casual, humoring attitude entirely and observe the pattern in the water with genuine, intense interest. His posture straightened and his eyes sharpened.
When the image in the water finally stabilized completely, Adrian couldn't help but hold his breath in shock.
There was absolutely no mistaking it! That was clearly the outline of the Tree of Wisdom, his Tree of Wisdom!
This startling discovery completely dispelled his earlier dismissiveness and skepticism about the entire process.
Trelawney might indeed be putting on an act with her secret spell-casting and dramatic statements, but the pattern now displayed in the water couldn't possibly be mere coincidence.
And if it was somehow a coincidence, that would be even more terrifying.
Seeing Adrian's genuinely contemplative expression and the way his face had paled slightly, Trelawney smiled with obvious satisfaction, clearly pleased that her "divination" had produced such a strong reaction.
"It seems you've already understood what the pattern reveals. The meaning has become clear to you."
"Thank you very much for your help, Professor Trelawney," Adrian said, standing up somewhat abruptly and speaking with complete solemnity.
His earlier casual tone was entirely gone. "I'll take my leave now. This has been... most illuminating."
Trelawney appeared quite pleased with herself, waving her hand gracefully in a gesture of dismissal. "May fate forever smile upon you, my dear. Walk carefully in the days ahead."
After Adrian left the tower room, making his way back down the many staircases, Trelawney immediately collapsed into her armchair with a long, heavy sigh of relief. Her whole body went limp.
She'd managed to bluff her way through that encounter quite successfully, she thought with satisfaction.
She glanced at the clay basin still sitting on the table, where the clear water had returned to its murky state. Floating on the surface was a somewhat irregular pentagram shape formed by the paper fragments.
This was her most commonly used pattern for mystifying people.
She had absolutely no idea what Adrian might have gleaned from it or what interpretation he'd placed on the random arrangement of paper scraps.
Well, at least she'd managed to fool him convincingly. He'd certainly seemed affected by it.
Trelawney furrowed her brow in mild confusion, reached for her bottle, and took another long swig of sherry.
Meanwhile, Adrian wasted no time. He immediately returned to the plantation through the portal as soon as he reached his office, not even pausing to remove his outer robes.
The Tree of Wisdom stood there in the center of the magical space just as it always had, silent and serene and eternal. Its massive trunk rose toward the enchanted sky.
The large patch of leaves he had previously harvested for Harry's treatment had already grown back completely, showing no sign of ever having been removed.
The tender green leaves swayed gently in the perpetual breeze that moved through the plantation, giving off that peculiar sensation of awareness that always surrounded the tree.
Adrian approached the Tree of Wisdom with quick strides and placed his hand flat against the rough bark of the trunk, feeling its texture.
Peaceful, warm, familiar. This sensation was the same as always—the gentle pulse of life and magic flowing through the wood, the sense of vast consciousness observing him.
Based on Trelawney's unintentional interpretation or perhaps the universe speaking through her fraudulent ritual—"the mark in your soul that sets you apart" most likely referred directly to the Tree of Wisdom itself.
Could something dangerous happen to the Tree of Wisdom in three days?
Adrian narrowed his eyes, his mind working rapidly through possibilities and scenarios.
After all, the Tree of Wisdom was his foundation, the absolute cornerstone of everything he'd built. It was the most important thing he possessed in this world. Absolutely nothing could be allowed to go wrong with it. Its loss would be catastrophic beyond measure.
Of course, while Adrian believed the centaur's prophecy was likely accurate as centaurs didn't make such warnings lightly, he couldn't completely trust its contents without question. Prophecies were notoriously difficult to interpret, and acting on them could sometimes make them come true.
He needed to prepare as quickly as possible! Take every precaution.
At that moment, interrupting his worried thoughts, Dobby came running over from where he'd been working among the magical plants on the far side of the plantation. His large ears flopped as he ran.
"Sir, has something happened?" He asked. "You seem a bit... unsettled."
Adrian withdrew his hand slowly from the bark and turned to face Dobby. "There are indeed some things I need to prepare for urgently. By the way, Dobby, have you noticed anything unusual around here lately? Any strange occurrences, anything out of place?"
Dobby's large bat-like ears twitched as he thought seriously, his face was scrunching up with concentration. "Apart from a few wild bowtruckles that occasionally cause trouble in the western section and need to be chased away, Dobby hasn't noticed anything unusual at all, sir. Everything has been peaceful."
He wrung the colorful scarf he was wearing anxiously between his small hands, clearly worried by Adrian's concern. "Sir, is some danger coming to this place? Dobby can increase patrols! Dobby will protect the plantation!"
Adrian thought for a moment about what precautions would be most effective, then nodded decisively.
"Starting today, I want you to patrol the entire plantation every night until midnight, paying special attention to any intruders or unusual magical signatures. Oh, and set up more protective enchantments around the perimeter, the ones I taught you last month. Layer them for redundancy."
"Dobby guarantees to complete the mission!" Dobby puffed out his small chest with pride and determination. "Nothing will get past Dobby!"
"I'm counting on you, Dobby," Adrian said seriously, then added as an afterthought, "There will be overtime pay for this extra work, of course."
"!!!!"
Dobby's eyes went even wider, and he began bouncing on his toes with excitement.
Watching Dobby immediately begin setting up protective enchantments with vigor and enthusiasm, Adrian felt slightly more at ease about the situation.
There was no point in simply standing here waiting anxiously for three days.
Therefore, after giving Dobby his detailed instructions and making sure the house-elf understood the importance of the task, he returned through the portal to Hogwarts.
It being Saturday afternoon, with no classes scheduled and free time available, Adrian made a rare visit to the Defense Against the Dark Arts study group's usual meeting place. He wanted to check on the students, see how they were handling in Harry's absence.
However, when he arrived, he found only a handful of sparse figures scattered around the large activity area that usually hosted dozens of students.
The room felt empty.
"Cedric," Adrian called out, spotting him standing near one of the practice dummies.
Cedric turned at the sound of his name and smiled. "Professor Westeros, good afternoon. This is unexpected."
"Has today's meeting already ended?" Adrian asked, looking around at the nearly empty room. "Where is everyone?"
Cedric's expression darkened considerably, his smile was fading. "The meetings have been suspended indefinitely. After all... Harry is still in a comatose state in the hospital wing, and without him leading the sessions and demonstrating spells, everyone has lost their enthusiasm for continuing. It doesn't feel right without him."
He paused, his voice dropped lower. "We're all very worried about him, Professor. Madam Pomfrey keeps saying he's just unconscious, that there's nothing physically wrong, but it's obviously been going on for far too long now."
"He will wake up," Adrian reassured him. "His condition is stable. That's what matters."
"Let's hope so," Cedric said softly, his eyes were showing concern.
Then he hesitated, glancing around to make sure no one was close enough to overhear, before lowering his voice. "There's one more thing... Professor Westeros, does John Selwyn's disappearance have anything to do with this? With what happened to Harry?"
The scattered students nearby unconsciously moved closer, clearly sharing this question. Their curiosity was obvious despite their attempts to appear casual.
Although many others in the school didn't care much about John or even notice he was missing, he was still one of them to some extent—a member of this study group, someone who'd practiced alongside them.
Adrian noticed that along with concern, Cedric's eyes showed keen perception and intelligence. He was indeed quite a brilliant student.
"Don't worry," Adrian said carefully. "This matter is still under investigation by the staff."
He didn't reveal any further information, but seeing Cedric's thoughtful expression, Adrian knew that this intelligent student had already extracted certain conclusions from what little he'd said and perhaps more importantly, from what he hadn't said.
The connection between Harry's condition and John's disappearance was becoming obvious to anyone paying attention.
"I understand, Professor," Cedric said quietly. "Thank you for checking on us."
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