Crystal-Ball

> Crystal-gazing is a particularly refined art. I do not expect any of you to See when first you peer into the Orb's infinite depths.
>
> Professor Trelawney describing the art of reading crystal balls, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

A **crystal ball** (or, as Seers preferred to call it, the **Orb**) was a magical crystal sphere which Seers gazed into for the purpose of Divination.Template:ObjectBecause of their condensed thickness, they could serve as makeshift blunt weapons, as ***Sybill Trelawney*** managed to knock out the ***werewolf*** ***Fenrir Greyback*** by throwing one at his head during the Battle of Hogwarts, and then used ***her wand*** to launch more as projectiles.

## History

 File:Trelawney First Prophecy.jpg
"*The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies....*"
— Sybill Trelawney's prophecy made to Albus Dumbledore[src]
The prophecy in question made to Albus Dumbledore by Sybill Trelawney had foretold the coming of a boy who would have the power to vanquish Lord Voldemort. The prophecy was made while Trelawney was having an interview with Dumbledore for the post of Divination teacher at ogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Dumbledore, who was disappointed at the performance she gave during the interview, was about to leave when she went into a trance and made the prophecy. During the prophecy, Trelawney specified that the requirements for the boy of the prophecy who was capable of (but not necessarily would be) defeating the Dark Lord.

### 1980s/1990s

 File:Divination class.jpg  ***Sybill Trelawney*** introduced all ***third-year*** students to this device and its proper use in 1994. However, most students, Harry Potter and his friends in general, saw nothing more than the white blank swirl in it, and Ron joked about how that night would be very foggy. In their end of year exam, the third years had to look into a crystal ball and predict the future. Harry lied and said that he saw ***Buckbeak*** getting off his trial that night. Professor Trelawney then made a prediction, one of the two genuinely accurate predictions she had ever made in her lifetime.

 File:DivinationHarryRon.jpg
Later that same year, Trelawney claimed during one class to have seen death while crystal-gazing the night before, having received an overpowering urge to consult the Orb while knitting. Harry Potter, however, long used to such predictions, simply yawned "widely and obviously" in response.

In 1996, crystal gazing was part of the Divination O.W.L. exams, and while Harry failed to see anything in his, Ron embarrassed himself by describing at length the ugly man with a wart on his nose that he saw in his crystal ball, before realising that he was describing his ***examiner's*** reflection.

> And with a move like a tennis serve, she heaved another enormous crystal sphere from her bag, waved her wand through the air, and caused the ball to speed across the hall and smash through a window.
>
> Trelawney weaponizing crystal balls during the Battle of Hogwarts., Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

## Behind the scenes

* In Template:POA, as Hermione stormed out of Divination, she kicked a crystal ball down the stairs, therefore making Harry have to carry it all the way back up to the classroom. This was where Trelawney made the prediction instead of the exam hall, where it happened in the book.
* At least two of ***Dolores Umbridge***'s ***ornamental plates*** in Template:OOTP depict a kitten with a crystal ball.

## Appearances

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1. ↑ Template:See image