Is Professor Trelawney a fraud?

[Milz]

No: HPFGUIDX 25529

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., catherine at c... wrote:
> I've just read Luke's superb post on references to the Grim.  
> Excellent, but I am not sure I totally agree that Professor 
Trelawney 
> is a complete fraud.
<big snip> 
> This makes me think that JKR is playing a game with us - she is 
> letting Professor Trelawney get just enough right for us to worry 
> about whether it was Ron or Harry who got up first from the 
Christmas 
> dinner table.  If this is true, and everyone has money on 
Dumbledore 
> dying before the end of the series, he cannot be the first to die, 
as 
> Harry and Ron left the table before him.  In that case, my money 
has 
> to be on Ron.  Make sense?

I share your suspicions that JKR is playing a game with us. She's 
devoting a little too much book time to debunk divination. 

In the very first book, Rowling began planting the seeds of doubt 
about divination. Specifically, the part where Harry tells Hermione 
about the Centaur's prophecies. Hermione immediately dismisses it by 
saying something like Professor McGonagall says divination is 
inaccurate. Then throughout PoA, we are bombarded with the faults of 
divination. Again, it makes me suspicious.

As to who rose first from the table, IIRC Harry and Ron rose at the 
same time. So maybe they get killed at the same time? Or maybe 
the "death" is a symbolic death such as the "death of innocence". 

Milz