The Mystery of the Two Seeing Cassandras
by Lane Beaverfeldspar
As you may have noticed, not many people in the Harry Potter world have the same first name. In fact, hardly any share their first name with someone else.
However, while reading Order of the Phoenix last summer, I noticed that the name of Trelawney’s great-grandmother was Cassandra Trelawney, and that she was a very celebrated Seer. I was reminded of another Cassandra–one who, like Cassandra Trelawney, was also a Seer. Have you got it figured out yet? Of course, it’s Cassandra Vablatsky, author of Unfogging the Future. I found it very strange that these two shared very similar characteristics: same fist name and same gift of Seeing. It was not until later that I found another interesting fact about one of the two.
While playing the Playstation game Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, you have the opportunity to collect famous witch and wizard cards. I found Cassandra Vablatsky’s card which included the dates of her birth and death. She was born in the 1890’s, which really did nothing for me, but her death was written as 1997. Most of us agree that in 1997 Harry will be completing his last year at Hogwarts; and in this year there will undoubtedly be the biggest battle known to wizard kind. Im wondering whether Cassandra Vablatsky will make prophecy somewhat similar to Trelawney’s. Maybe this prophecy will warn the Good Side of an attack plotted by Voldemort. Voldemort, angry at the plan being thwarted, kills Cassandra, or has her killed.
However, 1997 could just be some made up year by the game’s designers. It may have nothing to do with Voldemort whatsoever. After all, Cassandra would indeed be very old in 1997; but in my opinion there are too many similarities between the two Cassandras and the year of Cassandra Vablatsky’s death to be ignored.