Prof. Trelawney deserves credit!

[jenny_ravenclaw]

No: HPFGUIDX 42716

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "naama2486" <naama2486 at y...> wrote:

> I've been wondering for a while now about Trelawney. All through PoA  
she keeps seeing a Grim, in Harry's teacup, orb etc. right? Wrong!
 
 I don't think I'm the first that figured out that she had actually 
saw Sirius as an animagus, but mistakened him for a Grim. So she saw 
the sign, but read it wrong. That's more than most can do.>

One of the successful tricks of most "psychics" is their ability to be 
vague in a way that anyone can fit into their predictions.  Besides, 
one doesn't have to be a Seer to be able to read things like tea 
leaves, palms and Tarot cards.  Those are things one can study and 
apply without ever actually Seeing the future.  The only way I can 
think to explain this is that Venus and Serena Williams are two of the 
best tennis players to ever pick up racquets.  They were taught by 
their father, who is in no way an athlete (I find him rather nasty, 
actually).  He knew how to explain and apply the game to his 
daughters.  Maybe Trelawney had an excellent teacher when she was in 
school and maybe Divination was her favorite course, causing her to 
work very hard to perfect her knowledge of the subject.    
 
> Morover, there are those two *true* predictions: the one about the 
return of LV and the one Dumbledore talks about (something like "that 
brings her total of true predictions to two", I don't remember the 
exact quote). I'd say that's a great deal for a fraud. I mean, if such 
predictions could come to anyone, how come Trelawney had them *twice*? 
There must be something about her after all, doesn't it?>

There is, but unfortunately, Trelawney cannot control her abilities 
and denies it ever happened when Harry asks her about her trance.  
She'd rather try an impress a classroom filled with nervous students 
then work on self-inducing trances to See the future.  Harry was not 
enough of an audience for Trelawney to accept his word.

Whether or not Trelawney is the real thing, I think she uses her 
abilities for the wrong reasons.  She has created a false aura about 
herself with her dramatic entrances and soft-voiced directions.  She, 
like so many others, is taken with "Famous Harry Potter" and hopes he 
will rally around her, seeking her advice.  She uses her "Seeing" to 
threaten students (remember what she told Neville about sharing exam 
information with his peers in PoA?).  She cannot even distinguish the 
difference between her students' real efforts with their assignments 
and faking it and praises Ron and Harry when they make up dramatic and 
traumatic situations on their homework.  McGonagall mentions later 
that Trelawney's speech about who will die is recycled every year.  
She likes to capture her audience.

She may be smart and she may have true talents, but Trelawney has 
created a persona that is false, making it hard for me to respect her.  
I don't blame Hermione for giving up on Divinations class.

--jenny from ravenclaw ********