Remus Lupin was unsurprised and not in the least discouraged by the feeble applause. He was all too used to being distrusted. However, he was determined to enjoy this year at Hogwarts. As he began serving himself food, he glanced curiously to his right, wondering if the staff member he had sat by would be someone he, by chance, knew. He had only gotten a vague impression of an incredibly beautiful woman when he sat down, but the moment he caught sight of her face, he had to withhold a gasp of surprise.

Finally, he said, "Ellie?"

She froze, but before Remus could wonder why, she looked over at him with a kind smile and said, "I heard you were working here now. How have you been, Remi?"

"I've been good," he said, so stunned he forgot his food entirely. "How are you? I haven't seen you since..."

He broke off, unsure how to express everything he was feeling.

"Yes, well," Eliana said, a faint blush dusting her cheeks before she gave him a look he remembered from back in their Hogwarts days, a look as enchanting as it was kindly.

Remus smiled, remembering his food as Eliana took some for herself.

"So, what do you do here?" Remus asked curiously.

"I'm the Assistant Matron," Eliana explained. "I mostly help with brewing potions and watching over the students when confined to the Hospital Wing for long periods of time."

"That's brilliant," Remus said. "You always said you wanted to be a Healer."

"Yes, well, this gives me more chance to look after my daughter," Eliana said.

"Y-your daughter?" Remus stuttered. "I didn't realize...Are you married?"

"No," Eliana replied softly, her gaze turning to Althea who was chattering excitedly with Hermione.

Following her gaze, Remus asked, "The auburn-haired girl sitting by Harry?"

"Yes," Eliana said with a fond smile. "She's good friends with him, you know. James and Lily would have been pleased."

"If she's anything like you, they would be more than pleased," Remus replied.

"I thought she was like me, but the more she grows up, the more I realize she isn't quite," Eliana admitted consideringly, but before Remus could ask anything more, Althea looked up, catching her mother's eye.

Nudging her friends, Althea waved, a bright smile on her face as the others did the same. Eliana waved back, a light laugh slipping through her lips.

.

"We'd better go, look, Divination's at the top of the North Tower," Ron pointed out, checking his schedule. "It'll take us ten minutes to get there."

"Where's Thea?" Harry asked, looking down the table curiously. They had yet to see her all morning.

"Probably visiting her mum or something," Ron suggested as they grabbed their bags.

"No, Madam Black is up there," Harry said, pointing to where Eliana was sitting talking to Professor McGonagall cheerfully.

"Huh," Ron said with a frown. "Should we wait for her?"

"Nah," Harry said. "She's probably already there. You know how excited she can get about classes at the beginning of the year."

It was true. While her enthusiasm usually fizzled out by mid-term, the first several weeks, Althea got so excited about her work that she was usually quicker even than Hermione to finish their assignments.

True to their guess, when Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who had joined them at the bottom of the North Tower, reached the Divination classroom, Althea was already sitting at one of the many round tables covered in silks and lace, chatting amiably with Neville.

As they took the table beside them, Althea turned and cheerfully greeted, "Good morning."

"Thea, did you eat breakfast?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"I have it right here," she replied, holding up a small bundle of toast and sausage.

Shaking her head at her, Hermione turned back to Ron and Harry just as an eerie voice began, "Welcome. How nice to see you all in the physical world at last."

Althea jumped, rounding on the tall, thin woman who stood in the firelight, glittering strangely and almost like an insect.

"Sit, my children, sit," she added to the few still standing. "Welcome to Divination. My name is Professor Trelawney. You may not have seen me before. I find that descending too often into the hustle and bustle of the main school clouds my inner eye." After a long, tense pause during which Althea and Neville fought to keep their eyes off each other to restrain their laughter, she resumed, "So you have chosen to study Divination, the most difficult of all magical arts. I must warn you at the outset that if you do not have the Sight, there is very little I will be able to teach you. Books can take you only so far in this field..."

Out of the corner of her eye, Althea just saw Ron and Harry giving Hermione grinning looks.

"Many witches and wizards, talented though they are in the area of loud bangs and smells and sudden disappearing, are yet unable to penetrate the veiled mysteries of the future. It is a gift granted to few. You, boy," she exclaimed suddenly, rounding on Neville so quickly he nearly fell. "Is your grandmother well?"

Sending Althea a panicked look, he shakily replied, "I think so."

"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you, dear," Professor Trelawney said ominously. "We will be covering the basic methods of Divination this year. The first term will be devoted to reading the tea leaves. Next term we shall progress to palmistry." Turning suddenly on Pavati Patil, she added, "Beware a red-haired man."

Giving Ron a shocked look, she inched as far from him as she could while remaining in her seat.

"Second term we shall progress to the crystal ball - if we have finished with fire omens, that is. Unfortunately, classes will be disrupted in February by a nasty bout of flu. I myself will lose my voice. And around Easter, one of our number will leave us forever."

There was a long, tense silence.

Turning to Lavender Brown, she requested, "I wonder, dear, if you could pass me the largest silver teapot?"

Looking relieved, Lavender did so, but as she handed it over, Trelawney said, "Thank you, my dear. Incidentally, that thing you are dreading - it will happen on Friday the sixteenth of October." She opened her mouth to resume, but upon catching sight of Althea, she added quickly, "You...that which you most long will come to pass in June."