Chapter 330 — Conflict in the Great Hall
"You're the most talented girl I've ever met!"
Trelawney swept the thick book off the table and onto the floor, then grabbed Pansy's hand and shook it excitedly.
"I said that the person you divined will probably return soon, and I can assure you that he is not in any danger for the time being."
A true Seer possessed a spirituality of their own.
Pansy wore an awkward, slightly uncomfortable smile.
In reality, she didn't feel that she had any particular talent. She had merely described what she had seen.
But she did feel a little more at ease.
The classroom was filled with mist. Candlelight cast an ambiguous pink glow, and the faint scent of incense lingered around Pansy's nose.
"Achoo!"
She sneezed uncomfortably and rubbed her nose.
"Thank you."
Pansy bowed to Trelawney.
"No need. It's only a small matter. I'm happy for you, too. Being able to glimpse the future through the fog is something to be proud of."
Trelawney shook her head.
Pansy then left the classroom excitedly.
She was on her way to the Great Hall for lunch.
Her footsteps suddenly felt much lighter.
Just as Trelawney began tidying up and organizing her teaching materials, the tightly closed trapdoor was pushed open.
Another person climbed up the silver ladder and appeared in her classroom.
"Professor Snape?"
Surprise appeared on Trelawney's face.
"Dumbledore sent me to find you."
Snape dragged his robes behind him as he quickly approached Trelawney. He immediately pulled his wand from his sleeve and cast a spell.
The surrounding candles went out instantly, plunging the room into darkness.
Both light and sound were blocked.
His voice was devoid of emotion. Even his usual deep, measured pronunciation had become somewhat hurried.
Trelawney strained her ears, barely managing to follow what the man was saying.
Five minutes later.
"You mean… you want me to make a false prophecy?"
Trelawney's eyes widened. Under the magnifying effect of her spectacles, they looked even more comical, almost half the size of her face.
She stared at the man before her in disbelief.
"I am a woman of principle, Severus, even if this is Dumbledore's request."
Trelawney frowned.
"Especially because I am responsible for my prophecies. If they come true, then they are the will of fate and cannot be changed. Even when I make an occasional mistake, it is fate correcting the course it has already determined."
Snape's expression darkened.
Dumbledore probably hadn't expected the Professor of Divination to be so pedantic.
The situation had reached an impasse.
As for Pansy, she was completely unaware of what had happened in the classroom.
She was hurrying toward the Great Hall. Lunchtime was almost over, and she had already wasted a great deal of time.
She had classes that afternoon.
Now that they were in their fifth year, every student had a much heavier workload.
As soon as she pushed open the doors, however, she heard an irritating male voice.
"Has Malfoy been caught?"
Ron was sitting at the table, holding up a copy of The Daily Prophet. He had probably already finished his lunch.
He sounded gleeful.
Pansy's heart skipped a beat.
Ron paused for a moment before speaking loudly again.
"Oh, it doesn't look like it. Then he probably died somewhere. What a pity."
"Shut your mouth!"
Pansy stormed over, glaring furiously at Ron, her shoulders trembling.
"What if I say no?"
Ron looked at the girl defiantly, seemingly unconcerned.
"Then I'll teach you a lesson."
Pansy impulsively raised her wand and fired a spell at Ron.
It struck him squarely in the face.
It was a purely kinetic spell.
With a series of loud clanging noises, Ron's head was first thrown backward before he plunged his entire face directly into the deep bowl in front of him.
Thick soup splashed everywhere.
He looked utterly disheveled.
"I'm going to teach you a lesson."
Ron immediately pulled the dishes off his head and slammed them onto the table angrily. He struggled to his feet, spat several times onto the floor, then wiped at his hair, which was dripping with soup.
He drew his wand and pointed it at Pansy.
He had simply been careless.
With Moody's special training, he didn't believe he could possibly lose to this girl.
The atmosphere suddenly became tense.
But at that moment, Pansy lowered the wand she had raised and hid it behind her back, seemingly having given up on fighting.
"What are you doing?"
Professor McGonagall, wearing her tall, dark-green pointed hat, strode over with a serious expression.
She looked between the two of them.
Ron was a complete mess, while Pansy stood with her arms crossed.
There even seemed to be several green vegetable leaves stuck to Ron's head.
The remaining Slytherins who were eating slowly and had not yet left the Great Hall burst into laughter at the comical sight.
They fell silent only after Professor McGonagall swept them with a cold gaze.
"Slytherin, twenty points deducted. Pansy Parkinson used a curse on a fellow student."
"Miss Parkinson, even though you are a Slytherin Prefect, I have the authority to deal with you as Deputy Headmistress. I am not only the Head of Gryffindor House, but also the Deputy Headmistress."
Professor McGonagall's voice was authoritative.
"Yes."
Pansy nodded obediently, accepting the punishment.
She then casually walked over to Slytherin's long table, pulled out a chair, and sat down.
The younger Slytherin students all looked at her with admiration.
They didn't care how many house points had been deducted.
"All right, Weasley, that's enough."
Seeing that Ron still looked dissatisfied and seemed about to say something more, Professor McGonagall stopped him.
"Gryffindor's courage is not meant for fighting."
Then she left.
The conflict seemed to have vanished without a trace.
But something unexpected happened next.
"Mr. Weasley, as the Prefect of Gryffindor, your attire is disheveled and you have failed to set a good example."
Snape suddenly appeared beside Ron, his expression gloomy and sinister.
"Twenty points deducted."
His tone was full of disgust.
He then sat down at the Slytherin table, apparently without having eaten.
"That poor guy. He's already in such a sorry state and still gets points deducted."
Pansy looked at Ron and laughed smugly.
Ron clenched his fists angrily.
But then, as if remembering something, he dejectedly let them fall back to his sides.
"Anyway, there's someone being chased around like a stray dog right now. Who knows when he'll die out in the wilderness."
Pansy's face immediately turned pale.
She gripped her knife and fork tightly.
Since they couldn't fight, they could at least keep arguing.
After all the commotion, the highly charged lunch finally came to an end.
Frustrated and impatient, Pansy left the Great Hall and ran along the cobblestone path toward the Slytherin common room.