Chapter- 45 : Fraudulence Part - 3
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It was her turn to groan and look sheepish. "Oh no. Sybill was one of those people that idolised me and bought into my act. A modicum of talent, but not a lick of sense. How on earth did she even get the job?"
He snorted. "She gave a genuine prophecy during her job interview."
She giggled. "That's one way to do it." She coughed and tried to look stern. "So what are you going to do about it?"
He threw up his hands. "I don't know! I'm not a Seer, so what options do I have?"
She looked confused "Is being a Seer a requirement for the job? Because you're either born one or you're not, you know."
Harry stared at her. "Then what use is the class if it can't be taught!?"
"What do you mean? I thought we were talking about Divination. Of course it can be taught."
He looked bewildered and she looked confused before her expression slowly turned to one of horror.
"Tell me," she said very slowly, "what do you think a Seer is?"
"Um. Someone who gives prophecies and can see the future and stuff?"
She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. "I can see what you mean when you say you don't know much about the subject, because all of that was wrong." Clearing her throat, she adopted a lecturing pose.
"A Seer is someone born with some form of extrasensory perception like mage sight, the ability to literally see magic. It comes in many forms but usually has nothing to do with the future. Someone who gives prophecies is fittingly called a Prophet, which is an inborn and involuntary talent. Telling the future on command, however, using a crystal ball or tarot cards and the like is the area of Divining. That one can be taught."
She looked sadly at his surprise. "How can you not know this?"
"Er. Are you sure Sybill knew this? Because I promise you she did not explain that in class."
Both were quiet for a while as she pondered the foolishness of her descendant and he considered if everything he knew about the subject was wrong.
"If Divining can be taught, how come I never made an accurate prediction?" Harry asked finally. "I mean, I stared for hours in a crystal ball, but I never had a vision."
"The answer to that question is typically belief. Did you believe you were going to make a prediction or had you already given it up as futile beforehand?"
"Um, is that important?"
She sighed before muttering, "Well, that answers that question." Rolling her eyes she shouted, "Yes!"
She continued in a more even tone. "All magic hinges on belief, a problem especially potent in Divination because the results are so open to interpretation. Many people doubt themselves, thereby shooting themselves in the foot."
"So Divination really works?" Harry said, not a little sceptical.
"Of course it does!" Cassandra said, affronted. "Why else do you think that it's been part of the Hogwarts curriculum for hundreds of years?"
Harry shrugged. "I know that Dumbledore wanted to abolish the course before your descendant gave a prophecy during her job interview. He's like a hundred and fifty years old and if he doesn't believe in Divination that means the course has been taught poorly for at least that long. Students taking it usually do so because it's an easy option."
"Then why are you worried about doing a bad job teaching?" she asked snidely. "It doesn't sound like expectations are that high."
Sitting down behind the desk Harry pondered that question seriously while Cassandra stared down at him. The thought of turning into Lockhart made him shudder.
"Because that's not who I want to be," he said finally. "I did not want to come to this world, but now that I'm here I have a chance for a fresh start." A chance to be just Harry, someone without an obnoxious nickname. "I don't want to waste that by being a fraud. I'm being forced into this position through no fault of my own, but now that I have the job I don't want to do it badly. It would be dishonest to the kids."
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