Harry Potter and the Order Of the Phoenix [171]
“Hey, she finally made an accurate prediction,” whispered Ron to Harry after she had given them their tests. Harry laughed, and began working. Just a few minutes into the exam, his hand began to hurt. He had already done six other tests, just like this, and his hand felt as though it had just run the marathon… twice. Worst of all, all of the questions were short answer; she gave a few occurrences, and you had to write what they meant. Harry knew barely any of them, and guessed on almost them all. He didn’t really care if he did or didn’t get the O.W.L. anymore, all he wanted was sleep.
However, the sounds of another Advanced Care of Magical Creatures O.W.L. going on outside encouraged Harry to keep going. He wished he was back out there, fighting with his dragon.
Before long, Harry had finished, and passed his test in well before anyone else. They were all trying to put down correct answers, not making stuff up. Ron finished shortly after him, then the rest of the class finished, ending with Lavender and Parvati, who had evidently taken their time.
Professor Trelawney collected the papers and put them away. Harry groaned, it was time for the Advanced O.W.L. test… should he try for it?
“Well, since this is my last class for the day,” said Professor Trelawney, “I have decided to end it doing a bit of a more… fun test than I did on my other classes.”
Harry heard Ron grunt. Though, he agreed with him. What would Professor Trelawney’s idea of fun be? Counting the amount of pellets inside an owl’s stomach to see if it would flood next Tuesday? Harry certainly hoped not.
“For the Advanced O.W.L. test,” she continued, “I am going to show you all a film. It is up to you to try and predict what will happen next. Now, I am warning you, this is a very random movie, and one that I am sure none of you would have ever seen since it is a Muggle film. So, it is going to be next to impossible to figure out what will happen next unless you are a true Seer.” She turned away, and walked into the back of her room. She returned with a genuine Muggle television set, VCR and all. It was on a large stand with wheels, so she easily wheeled it to the front of the class.
“Excuse me, Professor,” said Parvati, “but how is that… thing going to work? Electricity doesn’t work in the castle.”
“I will power it with a bit of my own magic,” she said as she popped the tape into the VCR and tapped it with her wand. Immediately, the TV turned on.
“Everyone wishing to participate, please come up close,” said Professor Trelawney. Harry sighed, and walked up. It’s worth a shot, he thought to himself. Ron came up as well, thinking along the same lines as Harry. Everyone in the class was going to try for it, and they were all huddled around the television set.
“I wonder what movie it could be,” whispered Ron. Harry shrugged. Knowing Professor Trelawney, it was probably some boring documentary or something.
Then, the opening credits began and the music started. Harry’s ears perked, and his attention turned from outside the window to the TV. Could it be? He looked closer at what was currently on, and felt excited all over. He couldn’t believe it… she was showing Monty Python and the Holy Grail!
As soon as the opening credits were over, Harry decided it was time to take action. He could get the O.W.L.! Harry closed his eyes, and pretended to shake all over, as if going into some magnificent trance. He slowly walked up next to the television set, and began mumbling incoherent words. Harry heard excited whispers all around him, everyone was wondering what he was doing.
Then, just when the movie was really starting to begin, Harry opened his eyes, and met the world with a blank stare, trying to look as catatonic as possible. Harry had watched this movie so often with Dudley, he had practically memorized it… and now was the time to recite it.
He began speaking right at the first scene, line for line,