As Draco's childhood friend, Pansy shared an unspoken understanding with him.
With just a glance, she caught on to his intent. Under her direction, Goyle and Crabbe immediately stood up without a word, their fierce glares sweeping across the room.
Though this didn't exactly block the surrounding gazes, it did its job—when two towering figures like Goyle and Crabbe stood guard, no one dared approach too close. At the very least, it prevented anyone from overhearing their conversation.
Still, not only Goyle and Crabbe, who had just been startled awake, but even Pansy herself didn't quite understand why Draco had suddenly acted this way.
It wasn't until Professor Sybill Trelawney finally stopped trembling before them that they began to faintly grasp his intent...
"He who has embraced death is about to return."
The ethereal voice echoed, and the confusion on Pansy's face was instantly replaced by shock.
Because the person speaking those words wasn't anyone else—it was Professor Trelawney herself, standing right before them.
If not for the faint movement of her lips, they might never have believed that voice—so distant, so unlike her usual syrupy tone—was coming from her at all.
It was as if someone entirely different were speaking through her.
"Professor... Trelawney?"
"Draco?"
"Exactly what you're thinking," Draco said calmly. "So keep it down. You're being too obvious."
His warning pulled Pansy back to her senses. She quickly motioned for Goyle and Crabbe to stay alert, keeping an eye on the curious Gryffindors nearby who might try to sneak over and eavesdrop.
While Hermione looked genuinely concerned that Professor Trelawney might be in some sort of distress, Pansy—who understood the weight of the name Sybill—had already caught on to the real issue.
"I see... but..."
She glanced at Draco, hesitated, and then swallowed the rest of her words.
Partly because all eyes were now fixed on Professor Trelawney in her strange trance, and partly because Hermione's probing gaze made speaking up unwise.
Not that Trelawney gave them any chance to interrupt anyway.
"The old guardian begins to fall. The young successor stands at a crossroads. In the veiled mist, the dragon's shadow stirs—"
Though Sybill Trelawney's prophecy was far clearer than the centaurs' cryptic starlit riddles, the rhythm of her words—like a verse pulled from an ancient epic—still left Draco and the others completely baffled.
What they did know was that this time, Professor Trelawney didn't sound like she was babbling nonsense.
In fact, compared to her usual dramatic, death-filled forecasts in Divination class, these words carried a strange gravity—something that actually felt real.
The shift was plain in Hermione's expression; even she, skeptic as she was, looked visibly shaken.
When the prophecy ended, no one spoke.
It wasn't that the information was too much to process—rather, everyone seemed caught in a daze, thoughts tangled and heavy.
Aside from wondering why Professor Trelawney had chosen to deliver such a prophecy directly to Draco, Pansy and the others were also unsettled by the words themselves.
The phrase "he who has embraced death" didn't sound like someone ordinary—or someone harmless.
More than that, it sounded disturbingly like...
Just as Pansy and Hermione both realized who it reminded them of and opened their mouths to speak, the professor—who had stood frozen like a statue—suddenly trembled again.
Then, as if waking from a dream, she blinked and smiled faintly.
"My apologies, dears. It must be the heat... I must have nodded off for a moment."
"....."
"....."
Pansy and Hermione exchanged glances.
It was clear that Professor Trelawney had no memory of what she'd just said. The prophecy had been spoken entirely unconsciously.
If that was acting, Pansy thought wryly, then Professor Trelawney was in the wrong profession.
Noticing their uneasy stares, Trelawney frowned faintly and rubbed her forehead, her expression clouded with vague irritation.
"What's the matter, children?"
"No... it's just, Professor, you just said—"
"Hermione."
Sensing what Hermione was about to ask, Draco cut her off.
Though confused, Hermione did as he said and held her tongue.
It wasn't until Professor Trelawney, still looking vaguely suspicious, drifted away from their table that Hermione finally spoke up again, unable to hold back any longer.
"Draco, why did you—?"
"You wouldn't get anything out of her," Pansy said before Draco could answer. "To be honest, even now, the wizards of the Sybill family can't fully control the power they inherited from their ancestors. The best they can do are these unconscious prophecies—even they don't know what they've said afterward."
"Power?"
"Yes. They were once a family known for making true prophecies... well, used to be."
"..."
Pansy's explanation left Hermione momentarily speechless.
She wanted to argue—wanted to dismiss the idea of prophecies altogether—but after what had just happened, even she couldn't bring herself to sound certain anymore.
And none of that explained the serious look still etched on Draco's face.
He seemed far more focused on Professor Trelawney's words—especially the final part of her prophecy.
If 'he who embraced death' refers to Voldemort... then the 'aged guardian' must be Dumbledore?
The thought came to Draco instinctively. These two were, after all, the most powerful and famous wizards of their time.
But if this prophecy really speaks of the future of the British wizarding world... then it means Voldemort will return. And that would mean Dumbledore—
He paused, frowning.
—might die. Or maybe not die, but fall in another way... perhaps losing his position, his power?
The more he thought about it, the more his attention fixed on the latter part of the prophecy.
Who was the successor it mentioned?
What choice would they have to make?
And what exactly was the meaning of that shadow of the dragon...