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Chapter 378 – "Divination Is Truly Unreliable"
Hermione's words earlier had made Darren very happy.
But she disappeared for the entire noon break.
It was not until Divination class in the afternoon that Hermione finally appeared again.
By then, the effect of the Happiness Charm had completely faded from her face.
She sat beside Darren and said in a worried voice:
"Professor Flitwick hinted that the Happiness Charm lesson might count as an assessed class… and I missed it.
What if I fail?"
Darren smiled calmly.
From his bag, he took out a thin bundle of parchment.
"I expected you would panic like this," he said gently.
"So I already wrote detailed notes for you."
"As for the spell, trust me—you won't have any problem with it at all."
[Ding, Father Value +100]
[Ding, Father Value +100]
[Ding, Father Value +100]
Hermione was so moved that her eyes reddened.
"Darren… you're always like this. I really want to—"
Before she could finish, Professor Trelawney floated into the classroom.
"Hello, my dear children…"
"Today, we shall study the crystal ball."
"Fate has informed me… that your June examination will certainly be related to the sphere."
Hermione immediately showed a look of disdain.
She scoffed under her breath:
"Did fate tell you… or did you decide that yourself?"
Several students stifled their laughter.
Trelawney did not react.
Her face remained half-hidden in shadow.
She continued speaking in her dreamy, exaggerated tone, explaining the so-called principles of crystal-ball divination.
But nearly no one listened.
Whispers filled the classroom instead.
Only Lavender was paying serious attention.
Ever since her rabbit had died on October 16th, she had completely believed in Professor Trelawney.
"Now, I want you to observe your crystal balls carefully," Trelawney finally instructed.
"Try to sense the signs of the future."
Darren stared at the cloudy sphere.
He found it meaningless.
Occasionally, he could feel the future himself.
Whether he sensed it or not depended entirely on his own will.
To him, this sort of prophecy was nothing more than guesswork.
Hermione was already growing impatient.
"This is ridiculous," she muttered.
"With this time, I could already be practicing spells instead."
But when she noticed Darren's expression, she immediately stopped complaining.
Before Christmas, she had already planned to drop Divination.
But she had been too busy and kept forgetting.
Now that Darren had advised her to reduce her course load earlier, the subject she wanted to drop most was clearly Divination.
Still…
She did not want Darren to think badly of her.
So she forced herself to stay silent and looked into the crystal ball seriously.
All she could see was a vague shadow—
nothing more than her own reflection.
"Does anyone wish me to interpret what you see?" Trelawney asked, slowly circling the room.
Ron muttered quietly,
"Of course… it's telling us that it'll be foggy tonight."
Hermione laughed aloud.
Trelawney stopped instantly.
She strode toward Hermione and leaned over her crystal ball.
Her voice dropped solemnly.
"What I see is… dark… dangerous…"
"It is not your danger…"
"It is your friend's!"
"Death walks beside your companion… she is in terrible peril!"
Hermione slammed her hand on the table.
She stood up furiously and said:
"Every time it's death! Every time it's disaster!
Is that all you ever predict?!"
Trelawney's face stiffened.
Her voice turned sharp.
"From the day term began, I have known it—you do not belong in this class."
"I have never encountered a student so completely lacking in the gift of prophecy!"
"You possess none of the necessary qualities!"
Hermione picked up her bag.
She glanced at Darren apologetically.
Then she looked at Trelawney coldly.
"I may have no talent for divination…"
"But I also refuse to become a fraud."
"I will not sit here pretending to believe my friend is going to die."
"I quit this class."
She walked out.
The door slammed behind her.
---
After class, Hermione was not upset at all.
In fact, she felt lighter.
Relieved.
It was only that she felt slightly guilty for causing a scene in front of Darren.
Though Darren told her it was fine, he also said softly:
"You probably should still apologize to Professor Trelawney out of courtesy."
Then he added seriously:
"But giving up Divination?"
"I think you made the right choice."
"You and that subject were never meant for each other."
Hermione's heart warmed instantly.
With Divination gone, Easter soon arrived.
Unfortunately, the teachers also remembered that exams were approaching.
Homework flooded in like a storm.
Even Darren could no longer be as carefree as before.
At the very least, in the library, he had to pretend to study.
So lately, he preferred staying in his dormitory.
He told Harry it was because it was quieter.
In truth?
He was reading comics, eating snacks, and having Paige bring him various computer-related books.
It was 1993.
There were already pagers and primitive cell phones in the Muggle world.
If he started learning now…
Maybe one day, he could become absurdly rich.
With the system helping him, learning these things was ridiculously easy.
Developing a basic phone no longer felt impossible.
As for advanced technology?
That would come later.
Right now—
What Darren missed most…
Was his phone.
He really wanted to play games.
Badly.
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