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Heri didn't know Professor Dumbledore personally very well. She had spoken to him a few times in passing, whether at school or during downtime before Order meetings, but she couldn't say they were much more than acquainted. If asked, she would say that she knew Professor Snape more intimately, and the dour man usually ignored her altogether when he wasn't sending her fellow Hufflepuffs skittering to hide behind her in the face of his harsh berating or getting into an argument with Sirius about his suitability of taking care of anyone, let alone her. The Headmaster seemed kind enough, but Heri hadn't felt any desire so far to get to know him outside of a professional setting.
When Professor Dumbledore noticed her as she entered the room, he gave her a worn but fond smile. It wasn't much more than a slight upturn of his lips, but that was easily excused seeing as he looked weary enough that she suspected he hadn't slept in a few days.
"Hello, my dear," said the Headmaster, straightening up and lifting his cup to take a sip.
Heri bobbed in an abbreviated curtsy. So long had she been under Auntie Andromeda's tutelage that such gestures were now habitual instead of stilted like they had been in the beginning.
"Good evening, Professor," Heri said. "I hope you're well?"
He lowered his cup with a quiet sigh and smiled ruefully.
"Perhaps not at my best at the moment," he admitted, "but not nearly as bad as I look, I assure you. And yourself?"
"With all things considered, as well as I can be, sir."
"What is this about, Professor?" asked Sirius before they could continue with their pleasantries, a frown on his face. "You've never asked to see Heri before."
Professor Dumbledore's demeanour then became withdrawn. He looked grimmer than a newly widowed elderly woman at her husband's funeral. He placed his cup back in its saucer with a tiny clink and drew in a fortifying breath.
"You may want to take a seat for this. I believe this will take some time to explain," the Headmaster said, interlacing his fingers on the table.
As Heri and Remus sat down, cups of tea appeared on the table for them as well. Remus took her hand under the table and gave it a comforting squeeze.
"Before I begin, I must ask you, Miss Potter, what do you know of prophecies?"
If the clues leading up hadn't been enough, this was when Heri knew beyond a doubt that she would not be liking what she would be told. Heri responded in the way she would had this been a school setting and she had just been posed a question in class.
"The textbook definition of prophecy implies a process in which one or more messages are communicated through two specific types of Seers, either an Oracle or a Prophet," said Heri, her tone courteous but bland. "The messages typically involve 'divine inspiration, interpretation, or revelation' of events to come. Historically, clairvoyance and precognition have been thought to be synonymous with prophecy, but true prophecy involves being the mouthpiece of a higher power, the word coming from the Greek 'prophetia', meaning 'a gift of interpreting the will of God'.
"Higher powers send prophecies either when their vessels have been asked for one, or in times of war and change when a great body of people — possibly under their jurisdiction — will be influenced. These prophecies can be things like warnings of how a change might come about, or even a message to bring hope, foretelling that a favourable end is nearing.
"Being gifted with prophecy doesn't necessarily go hand-in-hand with skill with Divination though. Higher powers choose their messengers through personal preferences, not because of any merit or capabilities. It is because of this that being an Oracle or Prophet is not recognised by any agency as a true qualification for positions that call for divinatory skills, much like how Metamorphmagy doesn't guarantee a position within the covert operations of the DMLE."
Professor Dumbledore blinked slowly, nonplussed. His lips then twitched despite his solemnity.
"A deeper understanding of it than I was expecting, admittedly," he said.
Heri quirked a small smile of satisfaction despite herself. Because Hogwarts taught beyond the standard O.W.L. education, the students that continued on to their N.E.W.T.s were acknowledged by the guilds as Apprentices under their professors, who were all Masters within their fields. This held true even if said students didn't continue on the road toward Mastery after graduation, those type technically staying Apprentices for the rest of their lives. For a girl that had spent her early years being put down and told constantly that she would never have any prospects for a good future, it was an opportunity easy to take advantage of.
"Thank you, sir. I hope to gain Masteries in as many fields as I can, Divination being amongst my top choices. I plan on applying for Journeyman accreditation at the Divinus Haruspex Association of Clairvoyants after taking my N.E.W.T.s."
Inexplicably, Professor Dumbledore winced at her statement, the bit of amusement that had been apparent drained away.
"Sir?" said Heri, voice hesitant.
"It pains me that students must now plan their future around the rising darkness," Professor Dumbledore said eventually. "I think of the bright opportunities, and inevitably Voldemort's taint casts its shadow. I feel it more strongly with you, Miss Potter, you who bear the burden of his mark with you no matter where you go.
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