Chapter 561: Eavesdropping!!
After calming Hermione and the others down,
Darren followed them to Divination class.
The Divination classroom was as smoky as ever. Thick incense curled through the air, making everything feel hazy and unreal.
Darren had no doubt that if someone asked him to lie down right now, he could still fall asleep instantly.
He was sitting next to Kassandra and was just about to discuss the dream he'd made up with her when he saw Umbridge walk in from outside.
She strode straight up to Professor Trelawney and smiled sweetly.
"I believe I sent you an inspection notice," she said. "You didn't forget about it, did you?"
Trelawney nodded stiffly.
She was clearly displeased, but she still forced herself to remain calm and spoke in the same tone she always used in class.
Umbridge, on the other hand, didn't seem bothered at all by Trelawney's displeasure.
She calmly pulled a chair over from the side of the room, sat down, and began writing in her notebook.
When Trelawney announced that it was time for dream interpretation—
no, correction, divination practice—
Umbridge let out a shrill, tinkling laugh.
Darren almost laughed too.
Honestly, he thought Trelawney's class—just like Hagrid's—was perfect for fooling around.
Especially Trelawney.
In their very first lesson, she had predicted that he would have many girlfriends and even hinted at pregnancies. Darren had stared at her for a long time afterward, seriously doubting her eyesight.
After all, saying things like that so early in life had created massive difficulties for him when it came to… finding a future wife.
Darren firmly believed that the reason he was so restrained now was at least partly Trelawney's fault.
Yes. Definitely her fault.
So when Umbridge mocked Trelawney, Darren looked worried on the surface—but inside, he was really holding back laughter.
Fortunately, Kassandra had already unfolded her parchment and started looking at the dreams Darren had made up over the past few days.
"I heard you've been here for many years?"
Umbridge suddenly asked.
Darren immediately perked up his ears.
"Yes, sixteen years!" Trelawney replied.
"Oh? Were you recruited by Dumbledore as well?"
"Yes… what exactly are you trying to say?"
Trelawney asked, clearly irritated.
"I've heard you're the great-great-granddaughter of the famous Seer, Lady Trelawney?"
"Of course!"
Trelawney lifted her chin proudly.
"Then perhaps you could make a prophecy for me?"
Umbridge stared at her intently.
"Is it always like this?"
Darren was busy eavesdropping on Umbridge's conversation with his enhanced hearing when he suddenly heard Kassandra whisper this question.
He nodded absently, then went right back to listening in.
Trelawney was clearly offended by Umbridge's demand.
She snapped sharply,
"The Inner Eye does not obey orders!"
"Very good."
Umbridge calmly jotted something down in her notebook.
Darren strongly suspected she had just written the word fraud.
Trelawney quickly lost her composure.
"Wait—wait… I feel as though I see something in you…"
She tried desperately to sound mysterious, but her trembling voice only made it worse.
"Black… a shadow of terror… danger…"
Then silence.
Umbridge sneered.
"So that's how it is."
She wrote a few more notes in her notebook, which only made Trelawney even angrier.
Darren snickered inwardly.
Then he noticed Trelawney glancing in his direction.
Startled, he quickly turned his head—but in his haste, he choked on his own saliva and coughed several times before finally straightening up.
He was about to talk to Kassandra about their dreams anyway.
But when he turned to look at her properly, he realized she had her head lowered and was quietly crying.
When she noticed Darren looking at her, she hurriedly wiped the tear marks from her face with a tissue.
Darren looked completely puzzled.
Still, he lifted his wand.
The tears on Kassandra's face vanished.
"Thank you…"
she whispered.
She fell silent for a moment, then suddenly asked,
"Having nightmares like this every day… no wonder your dark circles are so bad. You should really go to the school nurse."
"I don't want to cause more trouble for everyone."
[Ding, Father +10]
…Huh?
Darren was momentarily stunned.
Was Kassandra really that moved?
But then again, it seemed normal—she looked genuinely upset now.
She almost grabbed Darren's hand and whispered urgently,
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
"Is it because you're afraid people will say you're mentally unstable like Harry Potter, and that it'll damage Dumbledore's reputation—so you don't even care about your own life?"
"It's not that serious," Darren said lightly.
"I just don't sleep well. I have nightmares at night and wake up a lot."
[Ding, Holy Father +20]
Kassandra pressed her lips together.
Suddenly, she pulled a small spray-bottle potion from her pocket.
"Spray this on yourself every night before you sleep," she said.
"You won't have nightmares."
Darren watched her movements.
They were incredibly practiced—like she'd done this countless times before.
Curious, he asked,
"What kind of potion is it?"
"Poison,"
Kassandra snapped.
Darren laughed.
"Then I'll try it tonight. Thank you."
[Ding, Father +70]
"Hmph. Like I care about you."
Kassandra turned away arrogantly.
Then she looked down at the dream Darren had fabricated and deliberately picked one that wasn't too frightening.
"This one… you dream that you're climbing the stairs and suddenly get arrested… that means… you'll be—"
She flipped through the reference book, comparing it to Darren's parchment.
But before she could finish, the parchment was snatched away by Trelawney.
Trelawney glanced at the dream and announced loudly,
"Being arrested means that the person closest to you will be punished!"
Darren looked at Harry.
Worry flickered in his eyes.
But Harry just laughed it off.
Typical Trelawney.
She put Darren's parchment down and picked up Harry's instead, beginning to analyze his dreams.
Not only did she interpret the dream Harry had made up that day, she also analyzed every single dream from his past assignments.
She predicted Harry's death twenty-two times.
Umbridge laughed delightedly.
And of course, she happily added several more notes to her notebook.
It was obvious that, in Umbridge's eyes, Professor Trelawney had already been firmly labeled a fraud.