Chapter 179: Malfoy's Fear
As Professor McGonagall's words fell, the students present all turned their gaze to Harry, though no one spoke up.
Seeing this, Hermione, sitting in the front row on the left, raised her hand to Professor McGonagall. "I think everyone was affected by the Divination class just now—the professor cursed Harry when interpreting the tea leaves."
"Cursed?!" Professor McGonagall's eyebrow twitched.
Dylan shook his head: "No, Professor, it was a prophecy from Professor Trelawney."
Professor McGonagall frowned: "She made another new prophecy?"
Hermione immediately continued: "Yes! I think her prophecy is utter nonsense!"
Professor McGonagall's expression relaxed: "Did she say Harry might die?"
Hermione paused, then nodded: "Professor, how did you know? She said Harry would soon encounter an omen of death!"
Harry's expression was quite normal—he had already heard Dylan's new interpretation.
"Alright, I don't think you need to put too much thought or energy into this matter," Professor McGonagall began. "Especially you, Potter, don't be afraid. Ever since the Divination professor came to this school, I've heard some of her prophecies almost every year."
"Death—omen—inauspicious... always like this, and I haven't seen any student die in any year."
"But she always uses these utterly impractical dark omens to greet every new face she meets each year—this year, it's your turn." Professor McGonagall paused, a hint of helplessness showing in her stern expression. "I truly dislike speaking ill of colleagues behind their backs—"
At this point, seeing the other students looking at her, Professor McGonagall opened her mouth but then held back her thoughts. Complaining about a colleague's eccentric behavior to students was not something an elegant lady should do. Therefore, Professor McGonagall merely took a slight breath, then her expression became calm again.
"All in all, I do not believe that Divination can hold a place in the vast sea of magical knowledge—at least for me, it is so. I have no patience for it, nor am I willing to prance about between a pile of playing cards and crystal balls."
"As for your Divination professor—do not spend too much of your energy trying to decipher her statements—in fact, there's nothing to decipher."
"Children, remember this one thing—true Seers do not speak many prophecies; they only speak the most crucial ones—sometimes even the most crucial must be concealed."
When Professor McGonagall spoke of Divination, her tone towards the students became more patient. Clearly, she really did not care for Professor Trelawney. From her demeanor, one could infer what other professors thought of Professor Trelawney—if even Professor McGonagall, who was usually the most tolerant with others, was like this, let alone the other professors.
"Regarding divination, you only need to remember one thing—this was told to me by someone with genuine divinatory ability." As she spoke, Professor McGonagall's gaze fell upon Dylan. "If the augury is good, accept it with joy. If you see a bad omen, treat it as inaccurate. Do not let worry consume your heart."
Dylan fluttered his eyelashes and chuckled. Did he say it that poetically? Why couldn't he remember?
"You look quite relaxed, Potter, it seems you've already been advised—but I must say again, your health, in my opinion, couldn't be better."
"Therefore, I will not exempt you from homework because of a prophecy—unless one day you truly encounter that non-existent ill omen, only then will I exempt your homework."
Harry was startled and blinked. Why did that sound so familiar? Harry also looked at Dylan. Suddenly, he couldn't help but grin, feeling relieved. Perhaps Professor Trelawney's prophecy about him wasn't accurate after all—after all, Dylan had already said he would be fine. Wasn't Dylan the true Seer with foreseeing talent? As for the black dog he saw earlier... it might just be a coincidence. How could a dog bring him disaster?
...
After Transfiguration class, Dylan and Hermione didn't leave. Instead, they returned to before class began. The two went to another classroom to continue their lessons.
Using the Time-Turner to travel through time, Dylan sensed the changes in the surrounding space. It was a very magical feeling. He could even see the surrounding scenes rewinding. Time was truly quickly rewinding, until it brought him back to before the second class.
"Dylan, let's go quickly, we have class," Hermione said to Dylan.
Dylan didn't try to explore the power and working principles of the Time-Turner just yet—there would be plenty of time for that later. He nodded and followed Hermione to the new classroom for their next Arithmancy lesson.
When they arrived at the classroom, Professor Vector didn't lecture much, instead immediately having the students begin writing. Her teaching attitude and methods seemed even stricter than Professor McGonagall's. Without much explanation, she already had the students doing calculations.
At this point, Hermione sat beside Dylan. Since she didn't know anyone else in this elective class, it was only natural for her to sit with Dylan. Looking at Dylan's incredibly fast writing, Hermione paused. Finally, she couldn't help but lower her voice and whisper.
"Dylan, you are a truly gifted Seer, so I'll just ask you frankly."
Dylan didn't look up; he just wrote and said, "What?"
"That professor in Divination class, is she really a Seer? I mean—is it possible she's a fraud? You know, her behavior in class isn't like a Seer at all, but more like a charlatan."
"Then do you think I'm a Seer?"
Hermione paused, then nodded: "Of course! I just said, you are a truly gifted Seer!"
Dylan looked up slightly: "Then do you think it's possible that I'm also deceiving you? Or, if I were to deceive you now, would you trust me or not?"
Hermione was stumped by Dylan's question. She didn't quite understand the meaning of Dylan's question. Seeing her not reply, Dylan lowered his head again, looking at the notebook in front of him.
Arithmancy, he had actually dabbled in it before class—he had read books about this subject. But at that time, he had always mistakenly thought that Arithmancy was actually probability theory. However, Professor Vector immediately disproved his answer. He had to admit, she was indeed a professor with a similar name to that mechanically ascended fellow. Her explanations were incredibly incisive.
Dylan only calculated the problems she gave, and he gained a very deep understanding of Arithmancy. Compared to probability theory, this subject was actually more inclined towards its name—arithmetic. That is, calculation, or rather, things related to astrology.
And in Professor Vector's words—using numbers to predict the future. They didn't need to observe strange tea leaves to calculate a person's character and destiny. Nor did they need crystal balls, tarot cards, or the like. Instead, it was about calculating a person's psyche.
By simply converting letters into numbers and performing mathematical operations on names and other relevant information, they could derive personality numbers, soul numbers, and social numbers. Then, based on a series of interpretative theories, by interpreting these numbers, they could analyze a person's character, destiny, and so on.
As for the accuracy of the results obtained through calculation, it can only be said that true Seers with genuine prophetic talent don't need to do these things. For those without prophetic talent who wish to divine, calculating numbers is clearly better than staring blankly at a cup of tea leaves.
"Are you trying to say that Professor Trelawney isn't actually a fraud?"
"No, I'm just trying to say, whether a person has so-called prophetic abilities or not, what they can provide are future events, and since the future hasn't happened yet, how can you determine whether they're merely humoring you or revealing genuine future information?"
Hermione frowned. "That's easy to verify."
"Of course, but the other person can also choose not to tell you the truth at all—or only half of it." Dylan shrugged: "Why would a Seer necessarily need to tell you the true prophecy?"
Hermione pursed her lips. "Furthermore, if a Seer doesn't tell you the truth, is it because they cannot tell the truth to prevent the future from being altered, or are they deliberately not telling the truth to try and change the future—can you distinguish between those?"
Hermione's face showed signs of thought. She lowered her head and looked at the parchment in her hand. This Arithmancy class felt much more comfortable than staring blankly at some tea leaves. She quickly calculated the answers to the problems.
Dylan immediately compared his results with Hermione's. The answers matched.
"It seems you actually have quite a talent for Divination after all, just in a slightly different form," Dylan chuckled.
Hermione, however, kept a stern face, still somewhat serious. "I understand what you mean, Dylan, but—I still don't think that professor has any real substance."
Dylan blinked: "You've already made your definition, so embrace it."
Hermione turned her head, and her eyes lit up, as if something had occurred to her. "What Professor McGonagall said, that must have been from you, right? I've heard you say it before too—believe good prophecies, disbelieve bad ones—that's just a bad possibility."
"Your attitude, that's actually what a true Seer's attitude should be!" Hermione suddenly seemed to understand everything, her expression becoming invigorated, as if she had discovered a new continent.
Because both their calculation results were approved by Professor Vector, they were praised exceptionally. Professor Vector even allowed them to chat for a limited time during class—as long as it didn't disturb the other students' calculations.
So Hermione had no qualms and said to Dylan with shining eyes: "The future described by others might contain deception—but the future will definitely come!"
"So, we just need to wait for the future to arrive to know if the person who made the prophecy is a fraud!"
"Hmm, very true nonsense, and then?" Dylan smacked his lips.
Hermione wasn't deterred at all; she continued: "A true Seer doesn't emphasize making others believe their prophecies!—Others can believe or not believe!"
"But this professor constantly tries to make others accept her prophecies by any means, so I conclude—she is a fraud!"
"That's... a very unique perspective." Dylan opened his mouth, "Since you think so, as I said, accept your conclusion."
Hermione's spirited demeanor suddenly deflated, and she slumped again. "Whether that professor is a fraud or not, I have to admit one thing—she was right about something: I probably won't enjoy the pleasure of seeing through the future."
Hermione sighed: "I simply have no talent for Divination!"
Dylan chuckled: "Most people don't—just like many Muggles can't become wizards, otherwise why would our school have so few students?"
"Few?" Hermione looked at Dylan in surprise. "What do you mean few? I almost didn't get a seat on the train!"
Dylan: "." He glanced at Hermione: "So, do you want to drop the class? Actually, very few people have Divination talent, but doesn't someone still get a perfect score every year in Divination class? So you..."
"No!" Hermione shook her head firmly. "If getting a perfect score means sacrificing my self-respect, going out of my way to flatter and please a professor who already has a problem with me, spending effort staring at a pile of tea leaves to make so-called prophecies and ending up with a bad omen, then I'd rather not get that perfect score—I mean, I'd rather drop the class directly!"
Dylan shrugged: "Having a strong sense of self is a good thing. As I said before, once you've decided, move forward without regret."
By this time, other students had begun to show their answers to Professor Vector. Some were correct, some were wrong. Professor Vector didn't say anything harsh to those who made mistakes; instead, she patiently explained to the students.
Hermione looked over, then looked back. "I'm sure I'll get a perfect score in this subject—at least the professor is much more normal."
"Uh, no matter when, I don't think it's a good idea to say someone isn't normal."
Hermione's expression instantly became strange.
Oh, oh, oh~
No matter when, saying someone isn't normal isn't a good thing~~~
"Then why did you, last time, and the time before, and the time before that—scold Malfoy so much he even cried?"
Dylan paused, then gave an embarrassed laugh: "Well, wasn't it because he was bullying other students first? Although I'm too lazy to teach him a lesson, that doesn't mean I should ignore his rude behavior if I see it."
"You know, students aren't supposed to fight or use dark curses on each other, so of course, I was just trying to gently guide Malfoy towards the light."
Hermione's mouth twitched: "He's so afraid of you, I don't think it's just because you're good at scolding him."
"No way! Don't spread rumors, I didn't!"
....
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