Trelawney was very thin. To Will, she looked like a few bamboo poles tied together. Large Glasses covered her face, countless beads and chains hung around her long, spindly neck, and her arms and hands glittered with bracelets and rings. A sheer shawl studded with shining metal pieces draped over her shoulders.
Divination began in a strange atmosphere. Hermione and Will sat together at a small round table.
"Welcome to Divination," Professor Trelawney told them from an armchair by the fire. "I am Professor Trelawney. You probably haven't seen me before."
Her eyes swept over the students through her thick lenses. Her gaze rested only briefly on each of them, yet it carried a deliberately cultivated air of seeing right through them.
"Sit wherever you like, my dears." Professor Trelawney waved a hand, setting the bracelets on her wrist clinking. "The art of Divination has no need for rigid order. Follow your inner senses and choose a place that resonates with your soul."
Harry and Ron chose a table beside Will's. Neville was still breathless from the climb. He stumbled toward the table nearest the ladder and nearly knocked over a ceramic vase full of peacock feathers.
"This term," Professor Trelawney continued, "we will explore the basics of reading crystal balls, tea leaves, and palms. In winter, when Mars and Saturn form a special alignment, we will enter the realm of dream interpretation.
"But first—"
She broke off and turned toward Harry. Candlelight flashed across her thick lenses, hiding her eyes behind two patches of white.
"Ah," she said softly, so softly she was almost inaudible. Yet the whole room fell silent at once. "I believe there is someone... special among us."
Harry went rigid. Ron turned to look at him curiously.
Professor Trelawney took a few steps toward Harry,