Not long after Dolores Umbridge issued the new Educational Decree, another rumor spread through the school: their Divination professor, Trelawney, had actually been placed on probation.
Many students were astonished that the old fraud had been put on probation rather than simply dismissed.
Some said Umbridge feared Professor Trelawney's Prophecy would come true and was trying to break it this way. Others said Umbridge simply had not yet found a Divination professor capable of replacing Trelawney.
In any case, their Divination professor was still temporarily employed at Hogwarts.
As soon as the news spread through the school, some students began questioning Trelawney's prophecy, believing it had indeed been a trick by the old fraud to avoid getting fired.
However, Professor Trelawney seemed unconcerned by any of it. She continued teaching her classes as though nothing had happened, completely unaffected by the gossip outside.
Well!
Saying Professor Trelawney was unaffected was obviously a lie. Her mindset was on the verge of collapsing, but fortunately, Calming Draught helped steady her emotions and allowed her to remain composed before the students.
"Umbridge hasn't found a suitable replacement yet."
During Divination class, Trelawney made no attempt to avoid mentioning her probation. In an exceptionally flat tone, she told everyone, "You may not know this, but there isn't a single wizard in the British wizarding world who excels at Divination and meets the Ministry of Magic's requirements. They can't just find someone who knows nothing about Divination to teach you, or the Ministry of Magic will become a laughingstock—though it's nearly one already."
"Professor, who do you think will become the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor?"
"Not a human, anyway." Professor Trelawney did not want to discuss it. She hated centaurs.
"A ghost?"
"No. You'll find out later."
"Maybe it'll be a Vampire."