Umbridge saw the fearful expression spreading across Trelawney's face and felt a surge of triumphant satisfaction course through her. She took several steps closer, her fat body was swelling with self-importance.
The watching students shifted uncomfortably, creating a wider circle around the two professors.
Just as Umbridge opened her mouth to continue her mockery, an unexpected and utterly dramatic turn of events occurred that no one in the hall could have possibly anticipated.
A sherry bottle suddenly flew out from somewhere deep within the crowd of watching students. It sailed through the air in a arc, spinning slightly as it moved.
It was the very same bottle that Trelawney had brought down with her earlier from her tower office and carelessly left sitting on a nearby table in the corridor, forgotten in her agitation.
By what seemed like sheer coincidence, the sherry bottle struck Umbridge directly on the back of her head with considerable force.
With a dull, sickening thud that echoed through the entrance hall and made several students wince in pain, Umbridge's bulging toad-like eyes widened instantly in shock and confusion.
For a single frozen moment she stood there, swaying slightly, her mouth was still open in mid-insult. Then her eyes rolled back slightly and she collapsed limply to the ground like a puppet with all its strings suddenly cut.
Her body hit the cold stone floor with another unpleasant sound.
Complete, absolute silence fell upon the hall.
All the students gathered around stared at the scene in stunned disbelief, their mouths were hanging open in shock.
Trelawney herself was so thoroughly shocked by this completely unexpected turn of events that she covered her mouth with both hands.
Adrian stood several feet away, equally surprised, not knowing what to say for a moment as he processed what had just happened.
Although the bottle had clearly been enchanted, the trajectory had been so obvious and slow that for any competent wizard to fail to dodge such an attack was truly inexcusable and frankly embarrassing.
Umbridge had been standing still, talking, completely aware of her surroundings. She'd just stood there and let herself be struck.
Umbridge really was utterly useless, despite all her talk about proper Ministry training and techniques.
Well, Adrian supposed with an internal sigh of resignation, he should clean up this complicated mess first and handle the situation before it spiraled any further out of control.
After all, besides the now-unconscious Umbridge lying on the floor and the thoroughly shocked Trelawney who looked like she might faint at any moment, he was the only professor present at the scene.
Responsibility for managing this situation fell on his shoulders whether he wanted it or not.
He stepped forward, moving into a position of authority, and put on his most stern professorial expression.
"Who did this?" Adrian asked apparently seriously.
However, the crowd of students remained silent, each person had an expression of bewildered innocence.
The silence stretched on for several seconds.
"The bottle flew up by itself, Professor!" one voice called out.
"It was Peeves! That troublemaking poltergeist! He's already run off!" another voice added immediately.
Two voices rang out one after another from the watching crowd.
Adrian looked slowly in the direction of voices and spotted the Weasley twins standing in the front row of the watching crowd with one on the left and one on the right. As he watched, both of them winked at him with exaggerated obviousness.
Fine. Adrian made his decision in that instant. He would believe them.
It was definitely Peeves who did it!
Adrian made his judgment immediately, keeping his face blank and authoritative despite the absurdity of the situation.
At that moment, deep in the basement of Hogwarts Castle, Peeves the poltergeist was actually resting peacefully in a forgotten storage room and bothering some unfortunate paintings with rude songs.
He had no idea that he'd just been made a scapegoat for the twins' latest bout of mischief.
Adrian cleared his throat loudly and addressed the watching students. "All right, everyone disperse immediately. There is nothing more to see here. I'll report Peeves's prank directly to the Bloody Baron."
The students began to disperse with suppressed laughter and excitement, many of them were exchanging meaningful glances and whispered comments.
As they left, many students gave the Weasley twins sneaky thumbs-up gestures and admiring looks. Several Gryffindors patted them on the shoulders as they passed.
Fred and George accepted the silent praise with modest bows and dramatic humility, clearly enjoying their moment of fame.
After most people had departed and the hall had emptied considerably, leaving only a handful of lingering students who were pretending to adjust their bags while actually watching, Adrian lightly snapped his fingers.
"Dotty," he called softly.
With a soft pop, a small house-elf appeared before him. She was dressed in a remarkably neat tea towel that had been carefully hemmed and even had a small embroidered pattern along the edge. She gazed up at Adrian with respectful eyes.
"Professor Westeros, sir! What are your orders?" Dotty asked in her high, squeaky voice.
"Please take Professor Umbridge to the hospital wing immediately," Adrian said, pointing down at unconscious Umbridge lying on the ground. "Be very careful with her—she's suffered what appears to be a blunt force trauma to the back of her head. Madam Pomfrey will need to examine her thoroughly for concussion and other potential injuries."
"Yes, sir. Right away, sir," Dotty responded with obedience. She snapped her tiny fingers and transferred both herself and Umbridge's body away with another pop of air, leaving only empty space where they'd been.
After handling the medical situation, Adrian turned his attention to the still-motionless Trelawney, who seemed frozen in place like a statue, her hands were still covering her mouth.
He said conversationally, trying to ease the tension, "House-elf magic is quite convenient, isn't it? Very efficient for emergencies like this."
Only then did Trelawney finally snap out of her shocked stupor, as though his words had broken some kind of spell. She blinked several times rapidly behind her glasses.
She adjusted the crooked spectacles that had slipped down her nose and asked in a lowered voice, leaning closer to Adrian, "Who threw that bottle just now?"
"That's not important at all," Adrian replied smoothly. He glanced briefly at the twins who were still lingering by the doorway, waving cheerfully at him and giving him enthusiastic thumbs-up gestures with both hands.
"Oh, my dear Professor, it is very important indeed," Trelawney said, and suddenly her entire demeanor changed.
She adopted that inscrutable, mysterious expression that Adrian recognized from the few times he'd observed her classes.
She said in that pretentious mystical tone, "In fact, I had already foreseen that very scene in the misty depths of my crystal ball just this morning during my dawn meditation. The ancient loom of fate has arranged all of this. Nothing happens by chance in this universe."
She raised her chin, looking down her nose at him despite being shorter. "And if my foresight is correct, which it invariably is when the Inner Eye speaks clearly, you came here specifically to find me today, didn't you?"
Adrian privately didn't think that was remotely the case but he decided to play along with her convenient delusion. It would make things easier. "You guessed correctly, Professor Trelawney."
"This is not mere guesswork, dear boy," Trelawney said, drawing herself up.
The countless beads on her shawl clinked together musically as she gestured with both hands, creating a soft chiming sound. "This is what my Inner Eye has clearly told me."
"How impressive," Adrian said, keeping his expression admirably blank.
"So then, my dear," Trelawney's voice became noticeably much warmer and more friendly, losing some of its mystical exaggeration,
"What exactly did you want to see me about? What brought you seeking my particular expertise? Since you just helped me in my moment of need, saving me from that dreadful woman's persecution, I'm more than happy to return the favor. The universe demands balance in all things, and debts must be repaid."
Adrian noticed the shift in her attitude and demeanor. She'd gone from shocked and frightened to warm and obliging in the space of minutes.
He chose his words carefully. "I recently received a prophecy from a friend, but I'm not quite sure what it means or how to interpret it properly."
"Ah, the eternal riddle of destiny!" Trelawney exclaimed with excitement, her entire face lit up.
She rubbed her hands together with enthusiasm.
"The mysterious messages from beyond the veil! I'm the absolute best at interpreting these, you know. It's my greatest gift. How about we discuss this matter in proper detail in my Divination room? It has the most suitable atmosphere and proper mystical energy for exploring prophecies and communing with fate."
So, with some uncertainty about whether this would actually help, Adrian followed Trelawney away from the entrance hall and up through the castle.
They climbed the many staircases leading to the North Tower, going higher and higher into the castle's upper parts.
Trelawney's Divination room, as she rather grandly called it, was actually just her personal office, directly connected to her classroom through a heavy beaded curtain that clinked constantly, it was a very small, cramped room tucked under the eaves of the North Tower.
Adrian felt upon entering and looking around that describing this particular room as a "lair" or perhaps "den" would be considerably more appropriate. It looked like the dwelling place of some eccentric hermit or perhaps a fortune teller's tent at a traveling carnival.
The low ceiling was hung with what appeared to be hundreds of beaded strings in various colors and lengths. They created a chaotic tangle over their heads that clinked softly whenever anyone moved.
Wooden shelves crammed full to overflowing on every available wall space, filled with all sorts of odds and ends collected over what must have been decades. There were crystals of every size and color, some as large as Adrian's fist.
Only the small space around the central circular table had any room to actually stand and move around, and even that limited space was nearly completely occupied by two overstuffed armchairs across from each other.
"Please sit, my dear," Trelawney said graciously, gesturing with a sweep of her many shawls toward one of the armchairs. "Make yourself comfortable. We may be here for some time, depending on what the spirits reveal."
Adrian settled into the indicated chair, which was surprisingly comfortable despite its appearance.
"I'll prepare the necessary tools," Trelawney continued, moving to the shelves. "For an excellent Seer like myself, they are absolutely indispensable for divination work."
She turned and began retrieving many items from a nearby shelf and arranged them on the table.
A ceramic basin, a bottle of unidentified liquid, and a crumpled gray piece of parchment.
Although Adrian couldn't immediately discern the purpose or function of these seemingly mundane items through simple observation, the serious and focused manner in which Trelawney presented and arranged them on the table made him feel that perhaps, just perhaps, he might actually gain something useful from this visit.
Well, he tried not to get his hopes up too high.
As everyone at Hogwarts knew quite well from unfortunate experience, most of Trelawney's dramatic prophecies were complete and utter nonsense, useful only for fooling gullible students and adding an air of mystery to her classes. She predicted deaths and disasters frequently, none of which ever came to pass.
But still. She had been hired by Dumbledore, and that had to mean something.
"Let me confirm once more before we begin," Trelawney said to Adrian with earnestness, leaning forward slightly. Her eyes focused on him intently through her glasses. "You have a prophecy that was obtained from someone else, that needs confirmation, is that correct?"
Adrian nodded, his gaze falling curiously on those peculiar divination tools now arranged before him. "Yes, that's correct."
"Very good," Trelawney said, and her expression became exceptionally focused and serious.
She carefully pushed the crumpled gray parchment and a surprisingly colorful quill across the table toward Adrian. "If you still remember the exact wording of that prophecy, every single word as it was spoken, please write it down on this parchment. Remember, it must be word for word, precisely as it was originally delivered."
Adrian picked up both the parchment and quill and examined them carefully.
Well... they were just ordinary items, as far as he could tell. Nothing particularly magical about them beyond their somewhat peculiar appearance.
The Tree of Wisdom, through their connection, confirmed the same thing.
Taking a moment to carefully recall the exact phrasing Ronan had used, making sure he had every word correct, Adrian carefully wrote out the prophecy in neat, clear handwriting:
"When night has fallen and departed thrice, the mark in your soul that sets you apart will be revealed in danger."
Adrian obediently copied every word onto the parchment.
The very moment he finished the final stroke of the last letter and prepared to hand the parchment across the table to Trelawney, she suddenly recoiled back in her chair as if the paper were a dangerous serpent ready to strike.
Her eyes went wide with alarm.
"No! Don't let me see it!" She waved her hands nervously in front of her face. "Fold it up, quickly! Don't show me the words written there!"
She clutched at her shawls with both hands, pulling them tighter around herself as though for protection.
"The power of the Inner Eye works both ways, you see. It's a double-edged sword. If I read this prophecy directly with my own eyes, I might very well suffer a terrible backlash from the powerful forces of destiny within it."
Adrian did as instructed and carefully folded the parchment into a small square, though he found the person before him increasingly unreliable with each passing moment.
Only then did Trelawney breathe a sigh of relief. She gingerly took the folded parchment from Adrian's extended hand, holding it with just her fingertips as though it might burn her at any moment.
Not daring to look at it even once more or unfold it to peek, she quickly tossed it into the ceramic basin with a soft plop.
Then she quickly opened the bottle of mysterious liquid with trembling fingers, fumbling with the cork for a moment before pulling it free with a pop. She poured its contents over the parchment carefully.
A pungent herbal smell immediately permeated the air, shar. Adrian's nose wrinkled and he had to resist the urge to cough. The smell reminded him of rotting vegetation mixed with something medicinal and bitter.
The gray parchment rapidly dissolved in the liquid, breaking apart and transforming almost instantly into small fragments of debris that swirled in the bowl like snow in a shaken globe.
"Now then," Trelawney said mysteriously, "let us see what the universe reveals to us."
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