"Uh, in the storm clouds of fate, I saw us going to lunch immediately," Rose said lamely. Abruptly, she then threw the crystal ball down onto the floor where it shattered, causing the fog within to dissipate instantly as it escaped its glass prison.
"Let's go," she said to Leo quietly. "We have things to do."
Leo grabbed his and Rose's book bags and followed her out of the classroom while Sidra loudly consoled Lavender, telling the sullen would-be seer that Rose Potter was nothing more than a spoiled, selfish drama queen who would one day get her comeuppance.
"What did you see?" Leo asked as he and Rose descended the ladder that was the entrance and exit to the divination classroom.
"Pettigrew," Rose said.
"What about Pettigrew?" Leo asked as he followed Rose through the castle.
"Voldemort didn't send him to Hogwarts to open the Chamber of Secrets," Rose told Leo. "He sent Pettigrew here to find and retrieve one of the objects for which Bellatrix now searches."
"Did you see the actual object?" Leo asked.
"Sort of," Rose said. "It was in a very unique room in the castle. It should not take us more than a few hours to find it.
.....
Smoothing back his hair, the salesperson cleared his throat as he appreciatively eyed Bellatrix's curves from the side while she examined the newest and most expensive 7-Series BMW the dealership had on the lot. "May I take you on a test drive, ma'am?"
"That would be wonderful, thank you," Bellatrix declared, breaking her gaze away from the black beauty that would probably be her car before the end of the day. She opened the passenger door, dropped in the seat, and pulled the door shut.
The salesperson stared in consternation, finally walking over to the driver's side, opening the door, and peering into the automobile. "Err, ma'am, it is customary for the prospective buyer to perform the test drive."
"I am right here," Bellatrix said, looking at him with wide, violet eyes.
"Well, I meant that you are supposed to drive the car yourself, you know, to see if you like it or not," the salesperson said, though his fingers were now fidgeting with keys as if he was perfectly prepared to drive the car instead of hand them over to the customer.
"No, no," Bellatrix said. "You are supposed to show me how it works. I will watch. That way, I will know how to drive it home."
"Okay… ," said the salesperson, taking the driver seat and pulling the door shut as he slipped the key into the ignition. "You do know how to drive car don't you, ma'am?"
"Oh, of course," Bellatrix said, waving her hand dismissively as she intently watched the salesperson twist the key in the ignition and shift the automatic transmission into drive.
The salesperson pulled the car out of the lot, and they were soon driving through a residential neighborhood. "As you can see ma'am, this car has superb handling and braking," the salesperson said. "Even in stop and go traffic, everything is quite smooth."
"And what does this button do?" Bellatrix said, pointing to the console.
"That's the rear defogger," the salesperson informed her.
Bellatrix pushed the button and looked back. "Nothing is happening."
"There has to be fog or frost on the rear window, first," the salesperson explained.
"Is this feature optional? I do not think I need it," Bellatrix said.
"You'll need it in the winter," the salesperson protested, beginning to get a sneaking suspicion that this girl knew nothing about automobiles.
"Actually, I am planning to get an acquaintance of mine to do some alterations so that I will not require such things. Why would I need something to get the frost off if I do not let the frost on in the first place?"
"A mechanic is going to do something to prevent frost from getting on your windows?" the salesperson asked, confused.
"Yes, I think so," Bellatrix said. "If he cannot do it, I reckon that it will not be much trouble for me to do it myself."
"In any event, this feature comes with every car we sell," the salesperson said, deciding to go ahead and overlook her strange idea about frost prevention.
"Oh, well I guess I can take it anyway," Bellatrix said. "I mean, it would look strange to ah… normal people if I did not have a rear defogger in my car, right?"
"Yes, very strange," the salesperson said.
They drove in silence for several minutes as Bellatrix watched the salesperson and studied the car's controls. The salesperson eyed Bellatrix from the corner of his eye. She almost looked normal. The nearly knee-high black boots were not unheard of on women, though they looked a lot more… leathery than any boots he had ever seen. The knee-length black skirt was also normal, but her black jacket was embroidered with very distinctive and sparkling emerald and silver materials. Probably some sort of fashionista, he concluded.
"Stop the car," Bellatrix commanded.
"Huh?" the salesperson asked, slowing the car down.
"I think I know how to drive now. Stop the car, and I'll take us the rest of the way."
The salesperson brought the car to a complete stop in the middle of the street, and he and Bellatrix switched seats. Bellatrix got behind the wheel, shifted the car into gear, and sped off.
"You need to slow down," the salesperson warned Bellatrix. "There is a speed limit-especially on these residential streets where children play."
"I suppose you are right," Bellatrix said as she slammed on the brakes in order to navigate a sharp corner and merge onto a main drag. "I do not think we shall run into many people here."
"Still too fast," the salesperson squeaked as Bellatrix slammed down the gas pedal and got back up to speed.
"We are not moving all that fast," Bellatrix protested as the needle pushed 100 km/h.
"For this street we are," the salesperson declared as Bellatrix eased on the brakes as they approached a bend in the road. His relief ended as Bellatrix accelerated back to over 100 immediately after passing the curve.
"This driving thing is not as bad as I imagined," Bellatrix told the salesperson.