Chapter 27 ~ One Alarming Prophecy.

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"You finished that homework, Stefan?" Maxine was juggling her own schoolwork whilst he held her bag and they both strode along the corridor.

"Yeah." They were heading for divination and Maxine was worrying again, having stayed up half the night to finish a poor essay on the meaning of dreams, whereas Stefan's could be called excellent."And don't worry Max, it'll be fine"

She smiled uneasily at him but wasn't convinced. Last night she'd been deterred from work by thoughts on both James and Stefan. she wanted to make up with her brother and create peace between them, and had been imagining lame and cheesy hugs between the two of them - something everyone does at some point in their lives. And she'd been preoccupied with thoughts on Stefan. He had just crashed to the floor and she had no idea whether he was alright or not. Still,he'd been fine that morning, laughing and joking with her as usual, though being slightly silent by turns. Typical Stefan to be honest.

And as Stefan handed Maxine her bag, he could see she was preoccupied. Though it wasn't about him anymore.

Typical Maxie.

"Today we will be studying dreams once more." Professor Matt Vinear began, walking down the steps from the small balcony of the divination classroom. A few groans sounded and he swept his dark eyes around the room in a patronising stare which immediately silenced the class. Unlike his predecessor, he was no fake, and his skills were genuine - especially the silencing gaze, which was the best of all his talents, exceeding even his seer abilities. "Now, before you start scoffing once more, let me see your homework."

Maxine sighed quietly, earning a sympathetic smile from Stefan, who could see she was worrying about her work again. She knew she was making a big thing about it, though, but she really hated being ignorant in a subject, which was unfortunately what she was in Divination. Shaking her head to herself, Maxine attempted to halt the train of self-pity and focused intently on the Professor, who had now stopped staring around at the class

Professor Vinear began to make his way round the class. "People who's homework I am not reviewing, could you please takeout your textbooks and read chapter six, Interpreting Dreams." He told the idle students. "Also, I would request silence, which means you, Ava and Avery, are kindly required to stop whispering." The Golden Twins scowled but remained silent. Vinear was just about the only teacher who saw through their pretences.

The Professor smiled at the Twins with more patronisation before approaching Rose, who handed her roll of parchment to him."Hmmm, looks good. Nice phrasing with the method and feeling..."

Maxine hauled her book out, a heavy, leather-bound volume with a shining cover of scarlet and gold, and began to read, trying to immerse herself in the writing;

"Dreams have many meanings. Some will describe a soul, others give a meaning yet to be understood. Seers can read dreams to decipher the future, the past, and the present. Some nightmares..."

She thought of her own dreams as she read. They were usually a muddle bizarre combinations and settings, a blur which she often could not recall when she woke up in the morning. She could always fly, but the worst dreams were when she was falling through darkness and her stomach was roiling as she plunged. 

How on earth could seers decipher dreams like that? It was the part Maxine didn't get. Of course, anyone could tell what dreams meant by following simple guidelines, but those dreams had to make sense, actually be something, even if it was just a person walking into a shop and buying new shoes. But, of course, dreams never made sense.

Professor Vinear was near now, marking Avery and Ava's essays, which unfortunately were marked with "O"s in bright green ink, just to emphasise their success. Maxine shook of the feeling of envy and went back to the textbook. However, another subject got her her thinking on a completely different level. Did seers ever see Wesen? Did they contact them? Could Professor Vinear tell that she'd dreamt of Monroe and Nick last night? It had been a weird, surreal blur,but it had still happened. She looked up at the Professor, who was nearly upon her at Stefan for the marking of their essays. He had never had a predicting moment her the classes she had attended so far, but Stefan had told her he had told the future quite a few times, a kind of aura descending upon him and his eyes going all strange and dark before he spoke in a strangely low and sort of threatening voice. 

Maxine lowered her eyes back to the pages, realising she'd barely read a paragraph because of her thoughts. Settling down, she began to skim read again.

"There are many guidelines for Non-Seers to read dreams. Different appearances of certain objects or people in dreams mean certain fates, as does the setting affect the meaning of the dream, and the circumstances. All play a vital role in deciphering an outcome.

Sometimes, dreams can-"

And once again Maxine's reading was interrupted.

"You!" Professor Vinear, having been reaching for Stefan's presented essay, had withdrawn his hand and taken a step back as if he had just burnt himself, gasping, or rather groaning, as he did so. 

Stefan was looking bewildered. "Professor-" 

"No!" Vinear held out his hand in a wild fashion. "I'm sorry, child, I'm sorry, but you..." He was gulping wildly and his eyes were far away as excited and bewildered murmurs began to sound through the classroom. Maxine looked at Stefan in confusion, but Stefan's gaze was fixed firmly upon the Professor.

"You will die." A universal gasp replaced the whispers, and Stefan's face had gone a bleached white. "I see you...dead..in pain - unless."

Stefan was leaning forward, pace sombre and focused. 

"Unless you transform." The Professor's eyes now fixed upon the boy. "Unless you change your soul."

And with that, the Professor fainted away to hit the wooden floor with an ominous thump that echoed through the still room.