The first class of our third year was an elective.
We had to choose one out of three options: Divination, Arithmancy, or Muggle Studies. Based on the advice Farley-senpai gave me last year, I chose Arithmancy, the one that seemed the harshest to study on my own.
In Muggle terms, it is a field comparable to mathematics or statistics. It is particularly useful if you get a job at places like Gringotts Bank, where it is used to forecast economic trends or calculate clients' default risk ratios.
When Daphne, Nott, and I headed to the classroom after breakfast, Hermione was already there.
The first Arithmancy lesson consisted of guidance-style explanations like "why this subject is important" and "how it is used in society." I half-listened with reactions like "huh" and "I see," thinking to myself, This is easy. Farley-senpai was exaggerating. Later on, I would learn just how wrong that impression was.
To explain, this comes up later, but around the fourth lesson, a huge number of magical formulas and theoretical models suddenly appeared. Professor Vector moved along briskly with an attitude like, "Well, you've memorized the formulas in the textbook already, right?" and would finish explanations on her own. As a result, every student except Hermione panicked.
I was also thrown off by the sudden change and panicked during the fourth lesson. However, once I understood that this class assumed advance preparation, and that lecture time was for asking the professor questions and hearing explanations of points not written in the textbook, things started to go relatively smoothly.
Setting that aside.
At lunchtime, as I passed the Gryffindor table on my way to the Slytherin table, I noticed something felt different from usual.
That was because the Gryffindor table felt like a funeral. When I looked more closely, everyone's gaze was fixed on Harry, while Hermione and Ron were arguing.
"Professor McGonagall said it herself, didn't she? I think Divination is unreliable."
"But if Harry really saw the Grim and it's attached to him, then he's doomed!"
From what I could tell, it sounded like Harry was going to die because he was possessed by the Grim. Ron supported the prophecy made by the Divination professor, while Hermione wanted to deny it, and the two of them argued while leaving the sullen Harry out of it.
"If you'd like, shall I read your fortune for you?"
I sat down beside Hermione with a small motion. Ignoring the three of them widening their eyes at my sudden appearance, I poured a little milk into a nearby cup of tea.
"This is a secret milk tea fortune-telling method passed down in my family. It has a reputation for being very accurate."
Watching the milk swirl through the tea, I stared intently into the cup and murmured, "Hmmmm…"
"Ah, I see. I understand perfectly now. Harry, you're troubled by something at the moment, aren't you? Am I right?"
"You can tell just by looking at me…"
"Ah, wait a moment. I'm seeing something else now. Hmm, this is the Grim."
"Elaina!?"
Stopping Hermione's shriek, I turned back to Harry.
"Look at this swirl. What does it look like to you? Yes, a turban. Two years ago, you were almost killed by a dangerous guy wearing a turban, weren't you?"
"Well, yes…"
"And this irregular movement of the swirl. That's a Bludger. Last year, you were almost killed by a Bludger, weren't you?"
"Ah… that was Dobby…"
He looked off into the distance. I don't know who Dobby is, but if the other person starts listing the reasons they almost died on their own, that works perfectly for me.
"So it was Dobby after all. I thought so too. Hmm… oh? Now it looks like a snake. Harry, do you remember nearly being killed by a snake?"
"I definitely do…"
"I thought so, I thought so. Oh my, now the milk looks like a baby. Come to think of it, Harry, you were almost killed when you were born too, weren't you?"
I don't know what kind of person Professor Trelawney is, but ordinary people do not nearly die that many times in their teens. Considering Harry's history, even if the claim that he is possessed by the Grim is not entirely correct, it is not far off either.
"Oh my, now the tea looks just like Sirius Black. Come to think of it, there are rumors that the vicious criminal Black is targeting you, Harry. At this point, there's no other explanation than that the Grim is attached to you."
"…"
Harry looked confused. After thinking it through calmly, he was probably starting to feel, Wait, am I actually cursed…?
I don't think that feeling is entirely wrong. Honestly, he might want to get an exorcism at least once.
"Do you have any other experiences where you were almost killed? I'm sure you do, right?"
"Now that you mention it, I think Fluffy almost killed me too…"
"Should we count the troll as well?"
"Aragog was definitely trying to kill us."
The three of them nodded to themselves in agreement. Or rather, it seems he almost died quite a lot even in ways I didn't know about.
"Hmm… what is it this time?"
So I continued.
"This white, hazy shape is… ah, I see. A guardian spirit. Yes, I understand perfectly now. Harry, you have both the Grim and a guardian spirit attached to you at the same time."
"A guardian spirit?"
"Yes. So even though you often come close to death because of the Grim, the guardian spirit saves you, which is why you survive every time. How about that? A perfect reading, wouldn't you say?"
Harry stayed silent, but I could see his expression soften just a little.
"I don't know about Professor Trelawney, but from the perspective of an ordinary teenager, you've nearly died so many times that it's only natural to think you're 'possessed by the Grim.' So the Divination prophecy might not be something you can completely deny."
"But," I continued.
"Every single time, you've somehow survived. That fact also cannot be denied. After all, you're the Boy Who Lived."
When I said that, Harry let out a quiet laugh.
"Elaina, sometimes you actually say nice things."
"I believe I always say nice things."
When I shrugged, Harry spoke with a refreshed expression.
"Thanks, Elaina."
"Then, as a fortune-telling fee, one gold coin."
"Give me back the emotional moment."
Harry narrowed his eyes at me, but his expression was clearly brighter.
"But I think I kind of get it now. If Professor Trelawney wants to kill me, then I'll just go along with whatever she says."
"Yes. That's exactly how it should be. Regardless of the truth, the basics of sales talk are giving customers the words they want to hear."
Apparently, that is exactly how it works in Slytherin. I also heard that Zabini, the notorious womanizer, receives unusually high praise from Professor Trelawney. It probably was not because he charmed her romantically, but because he satisfied her with his conversational skills.
"And besides," I continued.
"If we're going to do it, we might as well predict something more tragic than a Grim dog. I'm sure it'll get a good reaction."
When I said that jokingly, Harry grinned.
"Right… How about holding the rear guard so your friends can escape, then blowing yourself up with a grenade and taking an alien with you?"
"Harry's final moments, giving a thumbs-up as he sinks into molten metal, were truly impossible to watch without tears."
Hermione burst out laughing, while Ron, the only one who didn't get the reference, tilted his head and muttered, "Aliens? Molten metal?"
It is true that, even if it's not as extreme as the Grim, the world often does not go the way one wants. It is easy to think, Am I cursed or something?
No matter how much you struggle or how many times you clash with them, there are gaps you cannot cross and walls you cannot break. When that happens, there may be many moments in life when you want to justify despair by thinking, "This misfortune is a predetermined, unchangeable fate."
That is why there is a saying like this in the world.
There is no such thing as fate. The future is something you create yourself.
Your future is something you will make from now on.Something you can change with your own strength.
If you live believing that.
Even if you cannot change the death that awaits you at the end of your life.
The life you live on the path leading to the grave can surely be changed.
(End of chapter)
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