Two Prophecies

Malfoy was very upset; he had been in a bad mood ever since Gryffindor Team easily defeated Hufflepuff Team.

Malfoy simply couldn't believe that Hufflepuff Team had lost the game, even with Professor Snape himself acting as referee, and in such an unbelievable and swift manner. They were utterly useless.

Malfoy —no, all the students of Slytherin— had been cursing the Hufflepuff Team for days. They knew that the students from the other houses hoped to see Slytherin lose the Quidditch Cup this year, or even the House Cup. They were all jealous of Slytherin, and now, seeing their plot about to succeed, Malfoy was furious.

In Malfoy's mind, Slytherin will always be the best house, while Gryffindor is only fit to be their stepping stone.

There were other reasons that made Malfoy so agitated: his eye had been bruised and swollen by the poor Weasley on the day of the Quidditch Match.

Although the bruises had subsided thanks to Madam Pomfrey's treatment, Malfoy still felt a lingering pain in his eyes.

"Damn Weasley, damn Gryffindor!" Just as Malfoy was gently rubbing his swollen right eye and cursing under his breath, a fat cat walked towards him from the end of the corridor ahead. It was a very comical fat cat; he had never seen anyone's cat so obese.

As everyone knows, there is only one cat like Hogwarts, and that is Tom, the cat owned by Albert Anderson, the genius of Gryffindor.

Albert Anderson!

Malfoy's mood worsened when he thought of the name; he still hadn't forgotten the unforgettable memory of the anonymous gift he received during the Christmas holidays. The cockroaches that crawled out of the gift bag remained a deep-seated shadow in his heart, one he couldn't shake off.

"Catch that fat cat!" Malfoy suddenly said to Goyle and Crabbe beside him. He knew that damned Muggle-born wizard cared a lot about his fat cat. If he could get rid of it—of course, Malfoy didn't intend to kill the cat, but he wanted to hide it so that the Muggle-born wizard couldn't find it— Malfoy couldn't wait to see the anxious look on the annoying Muggle-born wizard's face.

Goyle and Crabbe both hesitated; they had both heard that Albert was not someone to be trifled with.

"I just want to play with it," Malfoy noticed Goyle and Crabbe's hesitation, cursed them under his breath, and began to explain, "I just want to invite it to visit our Common Room."

Just as the two men were about to grab Tom, the Fat Cat Tom seemed to sense their ill intentions and immediately turned and ran away.

"Catch that cat."

Just as Malfoy was about to pull out his wand to freeze Tom, an extremely cold voice rang in their ears. "What are you going to do to my cat?"

Goyle and Crabbe watched Albert, and neither dared to chase the cat anymore.

"Meow!"

Tom immediately hid behind Albert's legs, sticking his head out to stare at the two guys chasing him, barking at Albert and rubbing against his feet, as if complaining to Albert: These three guys are bullying me.

"Draco Malfoy, is that so!" Albert bent down to pick up his cat, then looked up and stared at the blond boy in front of him with an intense gaze. "If anything happens to my cat in the future, I will assume it was you who did it."

"Are you threatening me?" Malfoy pressed his lips tightly together, suppressing his trembling as he met Albert's gaze.

"No, I'm just telling you a fact." Albert took a few steps forward, his eyes even colder and more oppressive, a coldness that had evolved from killing. Malfoy trembled slightly under Albert's oppressive gaze.

What are you doing here?

A stern voice rang out like a torch in the darkness, and Malfoy felt all the pressure on him vanish. He took a deep breath and said to the newcomer, "Professor Snape, he is threatening me."

"Gryffindor, deduct ten points. Mr. Anderson, bullying freshmen is..." Snape stopped speaking abruptly after Albert eyes met, as he could feel the coldness in the other's eyes.

Albert ignored Snape and went straight to Malfoy's side, saying in a hoarse and distant voice, "What is associated with your name will bring you an unexpected journey; the blood of the curse cannot bring immortality, but you will be a witness, and it will be with you. Stay away from that shadow, or the conspiracy will be ruined because of you, bringing death to you or to others."

At that moment, Malfoy was stunned and stood there blankly. He didn't understand what Albert meant at all, but the other man's words gave him a very bad feeling.

Albert glanced at Snape and prepared to leave.

"Stop!"

Snape was trembling with rage; he had never been so ignored before. Moreover, Albert's words sounded like a ridiculous Prophecy. Although Snape didn't believe Albert could Prophecy the future, he did believe in Prophecy, and one Prophecy had caused him lifelong regret.

"Oh, so you need it too, don't you?" Albert stopped, turned to look into Snape's eyes, and slowly curved his lips into a smile. He said in a knowing tone, "Alright then, just this once. Next time, it'll be charged."

"Playing tricks!" Snape trembled with rage, about to say something.

Albert ignored Snape's words, making his voice sound ethereal and hollow, "Beware of black and white, stay away from the cursed lessons, or death will be near the moment your wish is granted!"

With that, Albert ignored Snape and walked away with his cat in his arms.

The students who witnessed everything in the corridor stared in disbelief at the departing figure. They had never imagined that Albert wouldn't even give Snape the time of day.

"That's so cool!"

Harry looked at Malfoy, whose face was ashen, and said excitedly to Ron in a low voice.

"Do you think those so-called Prophecy are true?" Hermione was more curious about Albert's so-called Prophecy. Albert had made a Prophecy for Malfoy and Snape, and the results were both bad.

"I don't know!" Ron quickly came to his senses and said to Harry and Hermione, "Fred and George always say Albert is very accurate."

He glanced at Malfoy, who was walking towards them, and said in a voice that the other could hear, "However, I've heard that basically Prophecy that isn't a joke comes true in the end, and they all believe that Albert has the ability to Prophecy future."

Malfoy's expression darkened further.

"He was terrified!" Hermione whispered, watching Malfoy's retreating figure. "You didn't see his expression..."

"The Cursed Course refers to..." Harry ignored Hermione's words and turned to ask.

"Defence Against the Dark Arts, legend has it that Defence Against the Dark Arts is cursed. Our last Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor even disappeared because of it. Some people believe it's because of the Defence Against the Dark Arts." Ron became more and more excited as he spoke. "You know what? I heard that Snape always wanted to be the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor. If this Prophecy is true, the day Snape becomes Defence Against the Dark Arts, he won't be far from death?"

"That would be wonderful if that were the case!"