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Bazinga · 09-11-2014, 01:49 AM

Students were eager to answer and this just made Cassie all that more excited. She bounced a bit as she moved around the room. Wait, calm Cassiopeia calm. She took a few deep breaths and proceeded to listen to all the wonderful answers.

SPOILER!!: All you lovely people

[quote=Abby listened to the professors question and raised her hand and said "We rub our hands on the crystal ball" It was a guess but really like the professor said learning from mistakes happens and there was no point in being quiet during class and she had to earn points back after loosing 10 at the start of term feast[/quote]

She beamed at the child, it was a good guess and some might do that for show. “Some have done that for show, many muggle fortune tellers will for the dramatic effect. It is not needed of course, but that is a really great guess. Great job!”

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thornton

Thornton bit his lip and scratched the more absurd suggestions off this list of things that using a crystal ball could be called. He'd been taking notes so furiously that even watching-TV-omancy had made it on the list.

Following the professor with his eyes, he tried to recall what he had read in the text. He could recall several of the steps, but which was the first?

Tentatively raising his hand, he offered a thought. "You need to focus on what the question or the intention is?" After all, pictures didn't just show up in the ball, right?

Seeing a hand she turned and pointed towards the boy, “Yes if you are searching for a specific thing you will possibly think about that, but Scrying can be a bit more difficult than that. Your mind really needs to be clear of all things.” It is a blurred line she knew, but she hoped they could understand a little better throughout the term.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Angel

Angel looked at the Professor and raised her hand. "Professor, I think you use a cloth and a bit of water and soap on the crystal ball to make it look misty." Angel wasn't sure about if she was right though but it was worth guessing. "You then stare into the crystal ball and clear your mind and just concentrate on seeing what you wanted." Angel smiled, at the Professor, she loved Divination.

That was an interesting answer and the girl got encouraging snaps. “That’s how you could clean it yes, but it’s easier to use your wand. It is not how we do crystal-gazing though.” Then the girl said more and she gave a little bounce in her step. “Very good! Yes clearing your mind is the best step of course!”

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samantha

Samantha raised her hand at Professor Morgan's question and replied, "I think the crystal ball needs to be cleaned with a cloth with mild soap and water so that the energy is cleansed. Oh, and a term called smudging is also used in order to purify the ball. I think that it involves a lit smudge stick made of sage and then the ball being passed through the smoke a number of times. After this procedure is done, you focus your mind only on the question you wish to ask."

“This is something that is done regularly and our own Mr. Cutty had just cleaned the Crystal Balls before class.” She gave the boy a smile. “Keeping them cleansed keeps the ball working properly.” She gave the girl an encouraging grin. Basic Crystal Ball care was super important. The smudge stick though she gave her a smile and nodded, “Yes I have heard those things as well. In your books you will find a section on myths and facts about Crystal Balls. The smudge stick is one that is debated though the ages.” Good to know she knew her background information though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ethan

She's got so many snaps to give out today, yeah? Ethan tilted his head and rapped his table gently as Professor Cassie took his answer. Well, he wasn't expecting that his answer would somehow stand out, given that he just put two words together. Crystal, and gazing.

Ethan had inhaled too much lavender at that point, that he didn't notice the little 'I-love-you' confession drama. It would have been grand if he heard everything. Take some tips from that boy, just in case.

But moving on! How does one see things in the crystal ball? Honestly, Ethan had no idea, but he can always fall back on his obersvation skillz, and logical thinking. His hand was raised once more. "I think the set-up of the classroom is given, Professor. One must relax his mind so he may concentrate while gazing at the crystal ball..." Ethan trailed off as he lowered his hand, "So, I suppose that's the first step?" That should explain why they are in their pjs, and getting super comfy, right?
___________

Eeeep! The observant one, Cassie snapped happily. “Ah-mazing eyes Ethan! Yes we have to be relaxed. That is a huge step to being able to Crystal-gaze. I have made the room very calming and relaxing just for today’s lesson.” She looked around the darker room. She wasn’t on for such dark colors, but it was needed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adi

Adi was very much amused at some of the answers to the first question. Such creative minds the students of Hogwarts were blessed with. Hehe. Well, he had answered correctly. Yay! Reading one's Divination textbook did pay off though the reader fell asleep loads of times

Right. Next question. Hmmm. Had Adi read about this? Because he wasn't sure about the answer. Hand in the air anyway, he answered, "I think the gazer needs to be very much relaxed, Professor.''

Another great answer from the Hufflepuff prefect! “Yes great job Adi, we do have to be very relaxed and I hope that you are all comfortable and becoming more relaxed as we are moving along today.” She checked her time, because she didn’t want to all of the sudden be short on time, there was too much fun to be had.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jasmine

Listening to her classmates responses, Jasmine took notes as she heard lots of useful information. Her note taking continued as Professor Cassie commented and gave more detailed information about the topic. Then the next question was presented.

Jasmine raised her hand to respond to the question. "I think it would be helpful to clear your mind and try to eliminate distractions before getting started with scrying." She figured that it would be important to have your mind and your energies focused on the task at hand.
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“Yes, wonderful! Distraction will never help you see anything and it will shut your inner eye very quickly. So clearing your mind is a great task. It is a task though so today we will be practicing that.” She knew how hard it was.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cutty

Cutty had been sipping. Sipping and listening. He had a feeling he was going to like this form of Divination. There really couldn't have been a right answer to this as he didn't believe there was even a right way to perform divination via a crystal ball.

His pallid hand flew into the air and he was bouncing in his seat to try and gain attention. "Lighting should take care of both problems in your questions, Professor. If it's too dark to see yer own reflection well yew couldn't be too distracted by it and yew'd have to look deeper into the crystal. And who knows what yew might see." Like mounds of fortunes to be made off of suckers born every minute.

Her ball cleaner was answering now and she nodded in his direction. [b] “Lighting is very important. If it is too bright one will never be able to find their inner eye and see things in the Crystal ball, but too dark and you aren’t going to be able to see anything. So we will be getting to the lighting very very soon. Of course right now it is too bright as you can see your own reflections.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hadleigh

Sipping the peppermint tea Hady shifted slightly in her spot getting more comfortable as she listened to her classmates give out answers. When the next answer came she slowly raised her hand into the air.

"I think your supposed to cleanse the crystal ball first with some mild soap, water and a cloth" She answered softly hoping it was correct. She did some reading already in a few of her textbooks and she could recall having read something about cleaning the ball before each use. It did make some sense she supposed.

Giving the girl an approving smile she nodded, “Yes, basic care like I’ve said before is very important, but since that has been just done for us we can just skip over that today.” It wasn’t really for the actual scrying but it was certainly important.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AJ

So, her answer actually wasn't that off. Well, well, well. We might just have a psychic ball reading person on our hands. Oh, the next question though. She knew this one. AJ threw her hand in the air and waited to be called on. "We have to drink tea, and relax in our jammies." Duh, because that was exactly what they were doing right now. She didn't need to read that in a textbook.

On that note AJ slouched in her chair and took another sip of tea. There was nothing to see here. She was only getting ready to see something other than her reflection in these crystal balls.

Aj certainly got a giggle at of Professor Cassie, “One might think so, because we are doing just that, but you don’t have to be in your pajamas and you don’t have to drink tea. These are just some of my favorite ways to get relaxed and feel connected to my crystal ball. It’s always good to use the same Crystal Ball, but since it is a class it’s a bit harder.” If she could give them all their own she would really.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eden

Now. Back to important things. Class. She listened to Professor Cassie's explanation..right right..Crystal Ball, Crystallomanyfancy...or something..that sounded...easy enough to remember. She supposed she should WRITE this all down, right?

And she wanted them to speak up? Okay. Eden KNEW she would make a fool of herself, but WHATEVER. She was a 'claw now..she had to at least be...cool in class. Coooooool as ice.

Gosh she was lame.

"Um, Professor--" she actually raised a VERY shaky and. "Um--well--couldn't you just knock on the ball and ask it to wake up? And do some future-tellin'?" She knew this was wrong. Oh, it TOTALLY was. but this was her guess. KNOCKKNOCKKNOCK HELLO CRYSTAL BALL WAKE UP. She blushed deeply, and just tapped on hers...
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Awww poor student. Cassie gave her a very encouraging smile and moved a little closer her way, but then moved a bit more quickly as she tapped on the Crystal Ball. “Oh dear no napping on it. Please.” Still being very sweet and calm, but no, please no tapping. “Wouldn’t it be just wonderful if we could do that? It’s a great guess, it truly is, but the ball isn’t the only part that has to wake up. Your inner eye and focus need to be all connected together.” So the three must work in sync or it would never do to just have one and not the other.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toby

So Toby was wrong, but that was okay! He beamed at the encouragement from Professor Morgan and and wrote down the correct answers that had been supplied by everyone else. He made sure to write the right answers down in big and underline them a few times before drawing little crystal balls by them; if Toby didn't already know something it was super extra difficult to learn it and remember it, so the more it stood out in his notes, the more memorable it would be when he studied everything later. THAT was a new trick he'd learned, and he supposed it was time to see if it worked.

He was getting alllllllll of this down. Literally all of it. He was super focused and EVERYTHING, which was... very new, but expected.

Okay SO... how to get started. Toby had a pretty good idea, so he stuck his hand up.

"I reckon it's a good idea to sort of... open your mind. Broaden it, I mean." Which was different from clearing your mind."'Cause if you don't think it's going to work, you're probably not going to see anything. You probably have to be really open and really trust that it will work, otherwise you might end up dismissing something you've seen in it as unimportant."

Did that make sense? Was it RIGHT? Toby hoped so.

Another fabtastic answer! These kids were just sooooo smart! Eeeeep! “Yes, very good! Opening your mind is the biggest thing that needs to be done. You have to believe in yourself, if you don’t believe in yourself what’s the point of doing anything!” Hence why she was so big on her snap cup and showing each other support! It was all about the confidence. She gave Toby snaps, because this one just understood what was really going on!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lux

Taking notes, Lux listened to everything that the students and professor said. Some answers seemed legit, and others much like guesswork. Professor Cassie had a lot more to say on the matter, but then she WOULD since it was her field.

Raising her hand, she tried her best to answer the next question since it seemed easier than the first one. "I think clearing your mind of distractions and focusing on your intention or question would be the first step." That was the first thing you did in Transfiguration before casting the spell, so maybe it was the same for Divination. Noooot that she had changed her mind about the subject over the summer.

Snaps for Lux! “Yes, exactly right. Clearing your mind of distractions is the very first step to getting closer to opening the inner eye.” What wonderful answers all of them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Connor

Crystal Gazing, Connor wasn't sure this was something he would be any good at. But he certainly wanted to try, thinking deep and hard on this he had to really wonder why something that would show you yourself would allow you to also see other things? What made this substance different?

Was he over thinking this? Most likely, But he wanted to try and get it right, he looked into it and then back up at Professor Morgan. "Professor, i would think we'd have to clear our mind, look past ourselves." That was his thought process anyway, if you were looking at yourself you might think of your own issues when you're trying to reach something more by looking into the ball, that would be his first step, to let go of himself, to move past it.

The answers just kept coming and she was thrilled to be hearing them. “Very good Connor, we do have to look past ourselves and look into something deeper.” Some could not do this and that proved they just lacked the gift, but these students. OHMYGOSH her students were so bright listen to them all with their answers. She just knew they would do wonder. Well most of them at least. *eyes you Miss Cambridge*

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zander

What did the scrying business even mean? Scrying sounds a whole lot like crying, if you ask this Gryffindor. And crying was a pretty accurate definition of divination to be fair. Not that Zander was going to cry about the class!! Not at all, just this class was really hard, almost as hard as DADA and Potions and Transfiguration and Arithmancy and-- wait a minute. Every class at this school was hard.

-_______-

Ahem. So yes scrying. Scrying and crying. Sounded synonymous really. So they were probably really similar, right? Although, why you'd need to cry into your crystal ball? That didn't make any sense. AND not to mention, crying on demand is a lot harder than it sounds!! "Well you've got to think of something really really sad, like a dead turtle," Dead turtles were really sad. "And then you blink really hard and... And you stare into the ball?" That should get you crying scrying in no time!

Wait, what did Zander say? No, she knew he was closer to the gift than answering like that, but she kept her encouraging smile. “Goodness Zander that is a very interesting answer, but I would hope that nothing in my profession meant that I had to think something sad. I really do not like to think sad. Positive, happy thoughts are the best in my book. Though for scrying no thoughts at all are best.” More encouraging snaps. “Great guess though. Thank you soo much for trying.” Just trying was a wonderful thing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paloma

As far as class went, Paloma kept doodling in her notes about the subject, for future revision. When Professor Cassie continued her class, explaining what they were about to do, she raised her eyebrows and looked around.

Everything was cozy enough to just...either focus to study, or fall asleep. But studying was the deal there, so...She raised her hand, "Well, this is pretty much the perfect external enviroment, Professor. There is lavender scent, tea...music...." Perfect music. "But internally, I guess....you have to let any external...distraction be away from your mind, and focus on some sort of event, thing...person..." Yeah, that was one question, hopefully to be answered soon, but..."And what your mind focuses on, letting all others be away, that is what the crystal ball will 'show' what we need to know" She hoped she made some sense.
__________________

This one was very observant and knowledgeable. “Wonderful answer dear. You are exactly right. The external is calming to help the internal relax and focus on nothing to see what the inner eye wants you to see.” It was all soooo exciting wasn’t it?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Devlin

Devlin didn't know much about this subject so he just paid attention to the Professor. He'd stay quiet, and try his best to understand it. But as well, he needed to make his judgement on this Professor. So far, she seemed alright. So, that was the positive thing to this class.

Still watching though.

Although the boy didn't know much about this class thus far he figured he could give an answer. A small one, but, a few students already seemed to have taken upon themselves to repeat his own thought. Thanks for giving him the chance to voice an idea.

Clear the mind, don't think of anything else. Rather hard, wouldn't you say? Freeing your mind of all thoughts. If they had to do that, it made him wonder just how long it'd take him to get the technique right.

What some others said, Professor. Free your mind and all that good stuff."
__________________

She nodded a bit and for some reason felt the need to break out in song, you know, Free your mind and the rest will follow, be color blind don’t be so shallow, with his comment of free your mind. Possibly humming it for a moment as she nodded before answering. “Very good. Freeing your mind is a wonderful and difficult task.” They would learn though, she knew they would.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grayson

What he'd expected from this class was to get distracted. What he didn't expect was to be asked questions about Miss Nice Legs (Sophie) over there. Grayson simply smirked and raised an eyebrow at the new student, almost as if he was asking her if she was jealous. No need to say anything juuuuuuuuuust yet, his hot face could do all the talking. Not that he could say much since there was whispering and...........

....................... WELL then. That certainly made this lesson a lot more interesting. Anything logical and flirty in his brain seemed to have melted into mush at the little piece of information while the fifth year glanced at Ruby and her outfit. There was a smirk along with this because let's face it, this was Whitty. And DANG, he really needed to be in his room and not sitting here answering questions about crystal ball care.

Speaking of the question, Grayson cleared his throat "Professor?" he started, half-raising an arm in the air, "It's like potions, isn't it? You wouldn't brew a potion if there were cracks and dirt in the cauldron so you wouldn't go ahead and read your future without checking to see the situation of the ball." Lulz. "Probably includes smudge marks and fingerprints and whatnot." At this, he SQUINTED at his crystal ball, mentally judging whoever had used it last.

"They could mess up your readings." IF you got any. He doubted he would because LOL, distractions everywhere.
__________________

She listened to Grayson speak and nodded as he did. She had never heard Divination compared to potions, but that was very smart of him. “Very good Grayson I agree with you one hundred percent and basic ball care is to keep it clean and smudge free.”

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marigold

Marigold took notes on her brand new parchment with a spell-check quill because hello those were a lot of -mancys and she didn't know how to spell half of them. After scanning her notes for any apparent misspelling or wrong information, and after shooting a look at the people DISRUPTING her class - that boy and that French-sounding girl - she raised her hand to answer.

Except LOTS of people were called on before she was. She tried to think of something that hadn't been said already. "You have to be willing and patient and openminded, otherwise you would just be staring at your reflection." For prolonged periods of time. Marigold would rather take exams than stare at her face for an hour.
__________________

She looked towards the Hufflepuff prefect and smiled, giving her some snaps. “Yes very good. An open mind is just so important and we don’t want to only see our reflections. Some of us might really enjoy just looking at our own faces, I know I don’t mind fluffing my hair in a mirror once in awhile, but we need to see further than that today.” She half chuckled at her own little joke. The girls would most likely get it more than the boys.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zahra

....SNORT. Gryffindors were so awesome. If not for them, Zahra probably WOULD be asleep. From that one Gryffindor SPEWING TEA everywhere, to ZANDER's oh so brilliant answer... It was good to be a Gryffindor. She giggle!snorted in his dead turtle direction.

"Professor, I know I wasn't supposed to start yet, but I THINK I just saw the house elves bringing us food in my crystal ball. I think maybe you should call them. I got my scry on over here."

“OHMYGOSH!!! That’s so AH-MAZING. They will be here towards the end of the lesson to bring us a little snack. You have some gifts of your own.” She certainly remembered this lion from the last class and she couldn’t help but chuckle. “Scrying is hard work, it’s a harder form of Divination and to reground yourself after being in that open mind a snack is always good, but for now no food around the Crystal Balls.”

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hugo

Ethan was proud of Hugo? and yeah also of everyone in Slytherin That made him feel good. After all, who didn't like that? You are cool, prefect. Mhm.

Back to the class.

Professor Cassie caught the attention of two students who were "confessing their love". They can confess their love...but anywhere away from him.

Hugo's answer was almost right. Anyways, he was wondering what use could he get from this subject, besides seeing the future and that stuff the professor mentioned. And again, she made a question.

The boy thought for a second. Like before he had no clue. Still he tried to answer. Raising his hand he said, "We have to focus on what we want see?" 'cause that was the only thing he thought it could work.

“Focusing on what you see is just a little part of it, because if you focus too much on one thing you might miss the rest, but that is an awesome answer! Thank you sooo much for saying it.” She loved all the answers she had been given.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heather

And now her opinion was swinging back around to being glad that she had given this class another chance. Because Professor Cassie had a neat way of calling out those who weren't paying attention. Like a certain Gryffindor/Ravenclaw pair. "Ooooooooo BURN!" Yep, a pretty awesome one.

Then the awesome kept coming. From one of her fellow Gryffindors suggesting thinking of something sad to another suggesting food. Mmmm, food. Heather had skipped breakfast this morning due to sleeping in, so food sounded pretty good to her right now. As if lending it's agreement to that suggestion, her stomach gave a loud grumble. To cover it, she said her answer a little louder then what was really required in the room. "Make sure it's polished really well." Yep.

Polishing really well, that was an answer and Cassie let it sit in her thoughts for just a moment, “That is important, but just not for this lesson today. Though when you do polish it Crystal Balls have a very special cloth that is used to polish them and a certain way to do it just right.”

Now looking back at the class she was just overwhelmed by all their wonderful answers and the ones that were still just sitting quiet got encouraging smiles. They could be quiet that was fine. They were probably just getting into their relaxed state. Yes, it was going to be a great lesson she could just feel it. “Now as I have said, basic ball care is very important. Crystal Balls are very sensitive and usually the reader will only use one ball. Never changing, because you have to make a connection with the Crystal Ball, but unfortunately with it being school and class you can’t have your very own. Though for the rest of the term you will have this particular one in front of you. When you are finished there is a special bag that each go in. Your name will be stuck to the bag so that you can get it when needed.” They might need it a few times throughout the term, so just some needed information.

“Now moving on, we are going to start the art of Scrying today. Please do not get frustrated if by the end of class you haven’t gotten anything. Your mind is a hard tool to clear and that will be your first obstacle. Depending on what all of you have on your minds some things fight to stay there, while others have doubts about this that will make it harder for them to open their minds and awaken their inner eyes.” She may have glanced around to a few students that she was sure didn’t hold the gift.

Pausing for a moment with a blank stare and then a pained expression. Finally sighing, “Seems you’ll be having pork tomorrow for dinner. Oh and Connor Smaug is on his way towards class. He seems to be going to try to get into a bit of trouble. You’ll be able to find him in the Room a Serenity once class is over.” The downside and upside of her gifts. Now anyway, back to the lesson. “So like I’ve said the Crystal Balls have just been recently cleaned, so we do not have to worry about that part. So our next step is to just relax. Open our minds. I’ve had the calming music and the relaxing scent to start, the tea always helps as well. Now it’s your turns to try and turn off your brains. Close your eyes, do some deep breathing and just push all other thoughts away.”

Going back to her chair she sat down and rolled her shoulders. Flicking her wand she made the lights go down really dim. “Now the lighting is right, but we won’t be starting just yet. We have to work on our focus and thoughts. So I want everyone just to stay quiet and really get into focus.” She closed her own eyes just for a moment to relax. Opening them back up and get up to walk around and monitor her students. Help them if needed.

09-11-2014, 01:49 AM	#133 (permalink)
Bazinga Chinese Fireball Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Ohio Posts: 28,013 Hogwarts RPG Name: Kirsten Delbin Hufflepuff Fifth Year Hogwarts RPG Name: Mateo Theodore Slytherin Fifth Year x11 x9	Puff by day, snake by night \| Mj's bestie \| Always UP to Something... Students were eager to answer and this just made Cassie all that more excited. She bounced a bit as she moved around the room. Wait, calm Cassiopeia calm. She took a few deep breaths and proceeded to listen to all the wonderful answers. SPOILER!!: All you lovely people [quote=Abby listened to the professors question and raised her hand and said "We rub our hands on the crystal ball" It was a guess but really like the professor said learning from mistakes happens and there was no point in being quiet during class and she had to earn points back after loosing 10 at the start of term feast[/quote] She beamed at the child, it was a good guess and some might do that for show. “Some have done that for show, many muggle fortune tellers will for the dramatic effect. It is not needed of course, but that is a really great guess. Great job!” Quote: Originally Posted by Thornton Thornton bit his lip and scratched the more absurd suggestions off this list of things that using a crystal ball could be called. He'd been taking notes so furiously that even watching-TV-omancy had made it on the list. Following the professor with his eyes, he tried to recall what he had read in the text. He could recall several of the steps, but which was the first? Tentatively raising his hand, he offered a thought. "You need to focus on what the question or the intention is?" After all, pictures didn't just show up in the ball, right? Seeing a hand she turned and pointed towards the boy, “Yes if you are searching for a specific thing you will possibly think about that, but Scrying can be a bit more difficult than that. Your mind really needs to be clear of all things.” It is a blurred line she knew, but she hoped they could understand a little better throughout the term. Quote: Originally Posted by Angel Angel looked at the Professor and raised her hand. "Professor, I think you use a cloth and a bit of water and soap on the crystal ball to make it look misty." Angel wasn't sure about if she was right though but it was worth guessing. "You then stare into the crystal ball and clear your mind and just concentrate on seeing what you wanted." Angel smiled, at the Professor, she loved Divination. That was an interesting answer and the girl got encouraging snaps. “That’s how you could clean it yes, but it’s easier to use your wand. It is not how we do crystal-gazing though.” Then the girl said more and she gave a little bounce in her step. “Very good! Yes clearing your mind is the best step of course!” Quote: Originally Posted by Samantha Samantha raised her hand at Professor Morgan's question and replied, "I think the crystal ball needs to be cleaned with a cloth with mild soap and water so that the energy is cleansed. Oh, and a term called smudging is also used in order to purify the ball. I think that it involves a lit smudge stick made of sage and then the ball being passed through the smoke a number of times. After this procedure is done, you focus your mind only on the question you wish to ask." “This is something that is done regularly and our own Mr. Cutty had just cleaned the Crystal Balls before class.” She gave the boy a smile. “Keeping them cleansed keeps the ball working properly.” She gave the girl an encouraging grin. Basic Crystal Ball care was super important. The smudge stick though she gave her a smile and nodded, “Yes I have heard those things as well. In your books you will find a section on myths and facts about Crystal Balls. The smudge stick is one that is debated though the ages.” Good to know she knew her background information though. Quote: Originally Posted by Ethan She's got so many snaps to give out today, yeah? Ethan tilted his head and rapped his table gently as Professor Cassie took his answer. Well, he wasn't expecting that his answer would somehow stand out, given that he just put two words together. Crystal, and gazing. Ethan had inhaled too much lavender at that point, that he didn't notice the little 'I-love-you' confession drama. It would have been grand if he heard everything. Take some tips from that boy, just in case. But moving on! How does one see things in the crystal ball? Honestly, Ethan had no idea, but he can always fall back on his obersvation skillz, and logical thinking. His hand was raised once more. "I think the set-up of the classroom is given, Professor. One must relax his mind so he may concentrate while gazing at the crystal ball..." Ethan trailed off as he lowered his hand, "So, I suppose that's the first step?" That should explain why they are in their pjs, and getting super comfy, right? ___________ Eeeep! The observant one, Cassie snapped happily. “Ah-mazing eyes Ethan! Yes we have to be relaxed. That is a huge step to being able to Crystal-gaze. I have made the room very calming and relaxing just for today’s lesson.” She looked around the darker room. She wasn’t on for such dark colors, but it was needed. Quote: Originally Posted by Adi Adi was very much amused at some of the answers to the first question. Such creative minds the students of Hogwarts were blessed with. Hehe. Well, he had answered correctly. Yay! Reading one's Divination textbook did pay off though the reader fell asleep loads of times Right. Next question. Hmmm. Had Adi read about this? Because he wasn't sure about the answer. Hand in the air anyway, he answered, "I think the gazer needs to be very much relaxed, Professor.'' Another great answer from the Hufflepuff prefect! “Yes great job Adi, we do have to be very relaxed and I hope that you are all comfortable and becoming more relaxed as we are moving along today.” She checked her time, because she didn’t want to all of the sudden be short on time, there was too much fun to be had. Quote: Originally Posted by Jasmine Listening to her classmates responses, Jasmine took notes as she heard lots of useful information. Her note taking continued as Professor Cassie commented and gave more detailed information about the topic. Then the next question was presented. Jasmine raised her hand to respond to the question. "I think it would be helpful to clear your mind and try to eliminate distractions before getting started with scrying." She figured that it would be important to have your mind and your energies focused on the task at hand. __________________ “Yes, wonderful! Distraction will never help you see anything and it will shut your inner eye very quickly. So clearing your mind is a great task. It is a task though so today we will be practicing that.” She knew how hard it was. Quote: Originally Posted by Cutty Cutty had been sipping. Sipping and listening. He had a feeling he was going to like this form of Divination. There really couldn't have been a right answer to this as he didn't believe there was even a right way to perform divination via a crystal ball. His pallid hand flew into the air and he was bouncing in his seat to try and gain attention. "Lighting should take care of both problems in your questions, Professor. If it's too dark to see yer own reflection well yew couldn't be too distracted by it and yew'd have to look deeper into the crystal. And who knows what yew might see." Like mounds of fortunes to be made off of suckers born every minute. Her ball cleaner was answering now and she nodded in his direction. [b] “Lighting is very important. If it is too bright one will never be able to find their inner eye and see things in the Crystal ball, but too dark and you aren’t going to be able to see anything. So we will be getting to the lighting very very soon. Of course right now it is too bright as you can see your own reflections. Quote: Originally Posted by Hadleigh Sipping the peppermint tea Hady shifted slightly in her spot getting more comfortable as she listened to her classmates give out answers. When the next answer came she slowly raised her hand into the air. "I think your supposed to cleanse the crystal ball first with some mild soap, water and a cloth" She answered softly hoping it was correct. She did some reading already in a few of her textbooks and she could recall having read something about cleaning the ball before each use. It did make some sense she supposed. Giving the girl an approving smile she nodded, “Yes, basic care like I’ve said before is very important, but since that has been just done for us we can just skip over that today.” It wasn’t really for the actual scrying but it was certainly important. Quote: Originally Posted by AJ So, her answer actually wasn't that off. Well, well, well. We might just have a psychic ball reading person on our hands. Oh, the next question though. She knew this one. AJ threw her hand in the air and waited to be called on. "We have to drink tea, and relax in our jammies." Duh, because that was exactly what they were doing right now. She didn't need to read that in a textbook. On that note AJ slouched in her chair and took another sip of tea. There was nothing to see here. She was only getting ready to see something other than her reflection in these crystal balls. Aj certainly got a giggle at of Professor Cassie, “One might think so, because we are doing just that, but you don’t have to be in your pajamas and you don’t have to drink tea. These are just some of my favorite ways to get relaxed and feel connected to my crystal ball. It’s always good to use the same Crystal Ball, but since it is a class it’s a bit harder.” If she could give them all their own she would really. Quote: Originally Posted by Eden Now. Back to important things. Class. She listened to Professor Cassie's explanation..right right..Crystal Ball, Crystallomanyfancy...or something..that sounded...easy enough to remember. She supposed she should WRITE this all down, right? And she wanted them to speak up? Okay. Eden KNEW she would make a fool of herself, but WHATEVER. She was a 'claw now..she had to at least be...cool in class. Coooooool as ice. Gosh she was lame. "Um, Professor--" she actually raised a VERY shaky and. "Um--well--couldn't you just knock on the ball and ask it to wake up? And do some future-tellin'?" She knew this was wrong. Oh, it TOTALLY was. but this was her guess. KNOCKKNOCKKNOCK HELLO CRYSTAL BALL WAKE UP. She blushed deeply, and just tapped on hers... __________________ Awww poor student. Cassie gave her a very encouraging smile and moved a little closer her way, but then moved a bit more quickly as she tapped on the Crystal Ball. “Oh dear no napping on it. Please.” Still being very sweet and calm, but no, please no tapping. “Wouldn’t it be just wonderful if we could do that? It’s a great guess, it truly is, but the ball isn’t the only part that has to wake up. Your inner eye and focus need to be all connected together.” So the three must work in sync or it would never do to just have one and not the other. Quote: Originally Posted by Toby So Toby was wrong, but that was okay! He beamed at the encouragement from Professor Morgan and and wrote down the correct answers that had been supplied by everyone else. He made sure to write the right answers down in big and underline them a few times before drawing little crystal balls by them; if Toby didn't already know something it was super extra difficult to learn it and remember it, so the more it stood out in his notes, the more memorable it would be when he studied everything later. THAT was a new trick he'd learned, and he supposed it was time to see if it worked. He was getting alllllllll of this down. Literally all of it. He was super focused and EVERYTHING, which was... very new, but expected. Okay SO... how to get started. Toby had a pretty good idea, so he stuck his hand up. "I reckon it's a good idea to sort of... open your mind. Broaden it, I mean." Which was different from clearing your mind."'Cause if you don't think it's going to work, you're probably not going to see anything. You probably have to be really open and really trust that it will work, otherwise you might end up dismissing something you've seen in it as unimportant." Did that make sense? Was it RIGHT? Toby hoped so. Another fabtastic answer! These kids were just sooooo smart! Eeeeep! “Yes, very good! Opening your mind is the biggest thing that needs to be done. You have to believe in yourself, if you don’t believe in yourself what’s the point of doing anything!” Hence why she was so big on her snap cup and showing each other support! It was all about the confidence. She gave Toby snaps, because this one just understood what was really going on! Quote: Originally Posted by Lux Taking notes, Lux listened to everything that the students and professor said. Some answers seemed legit, and others much like guesswork. Professor Cassie had a lot more to say on the matter, but then she WOULD since it was her field. Raising her hand, she tried her best to answer the next question since it seemed easier than the first one. "I think clearing your mind of distractions and focusing on your intention or question would be the first step." That was the first thing you did in Transfiguration before casting the spell, so maybe it was the same for Divination. Noooot that she had changed her mind about the subject over the summer. Snaps for Lux! “Yes, exactly right. Clearing your mind of distractions is the very first step to getting closer to opening the inner eye.” What wonderful answers all of them. Quote: Originally Posted by Connor Crystal Gazing, Connor wasn't sure this was something he would be any good at. But he certainly wanted to try, thinking deep and hard on this he had to really wonder why something that would show you yourself would allow you to also see other things? What made this substance different? Was he over thinking this? Most likely, But he wanted to try and get it right, he looked into it and then back up at Professor Morgan. "Professor, i would think we'd have to clear our mind, look past ourselves." That was his thought process anyway, if you were looking at yourself you might think of your own issues when you're trying to reach something more by looking into the ball, that would be his first step, to let go of himself, to move past it. The answers just kept coming and she was thrilled to be hearing them. “Very good Connor, we do have to look past ourselves and look into something deeper.” Some could not do this and that proved they just lacked the gift, but these students. OHMYGOSH her students were so bright listen to them all with their answers. She just knew they would do wonder. Well most of them at least. eyes you Miss Cambridge Quote: Originally Posted by Zander What did the scrying business even mean? Scrying sounds a whole lot like crying, if you ask this Gryffindor. And crying was a pretty accurate definition of divination to be fair. Not that Zander was going to cry about the class!! Not at all, just this class was really hard, almost as hard as DADA and Potions and Transfiguration and Arithmancy and-- wait a minute. Every class at this school was hard. -_______- Ahem. So yes scrying. Scrying and crying. Sounded synonymous really. So they were probably really similar, right? Although, why you'd need to cry into your crystal ball? That didn't make any sense. AND not to mention, crying on demand is a lot harder than it sounds!! "Well you've got to think of something really really sad, like a dead turtle," Dead turtles were really sad. "And then you blink really hard and... And you stare into the ball?" That should get you crying scrying in no time! Wait, what did Zander say? No, she knew he was closer to the gift than answering like that, but she kept her encouraging smile. “Goodness Zander that is a very interesting answer, but I would hope that nothing in my profession meant that I had to think something sad. I really do not like to think sad. Positive, happy thoughts are the best in my book. Though for scrying no thoughts at all are best.” More encouraging snaps. “Great guess though. Thank you soo much for trying.” Just trying was a wonderful thing. Quote: Originally Posted by Paloma As far as class went, Paloma kept doodling in her notes about the subject, for future revision. When Professor Cassie continued her class, explaining what they were about to do, she raised her eyebrows and looked around. Everything was cozy enough to just...either focus to study, or fall asleep. But studying was the deal there, so...She raised her hand, "Well, this is pretty much the perfect external enviroment, Professor. There is lavender scent, tea...music...." Perfect music. "But internally, I guess....you have to let any external...distraction be away from your mind, and focus on some sort of event, thing...person..." Yeah, that was one question, hopefully to be answered soon, but..."And what your mind focuses on, letting all others be away, that is what the crystal ball will 'show' what we need to know" She hoped she made some sense. __________________ This one was very observant and knowledgeable. “Wonderful answer dear. You are exactly right. The external is calming to help the internal relax and focus on nothing to see what the inner eye wants you to see.” It was all soooo exciting wasn’t it? Quote: Originally Posted by Devlin Devlin didn't know much about this subject so he just paid attention to the Professor. He'd stay quiet, and try his best to understand it. But as well, he needed to make his judgement on this Professor. So far, she seemed alright. So, that was the positive thing to this class. Still watching though. Although the boy didn't know much about this class thus far he figured he could give an answer. A small one, but, a few students already seemed to have taken upon themselves to repeat his own thought. Thanks for giving him the chance to voice an idea. Clear the mind, don't think of anything else. Rather hard, wouldn't you say? Freeing your mind of all thoughts. If they had to do that, it made him wonder just how long it'd take him to get the technique right. What some others said, Professor. Free your mind and all that good stuff." __________________ She nodded a bit and for some reason felt the need to break out in song, you know, Free your mind and the rest will follow, be color blind don’t be so shallow, with his comment of free your mind. Possibly humming it for a moment as she nodded before answering. “Very good. Freeing your mind is a wonderful and difficult task.” They would learn though, she knew they would. Quote: Originally Posted by Grayson What he'd expected from this class was to get distracted. What he didn't expect was to be asked questions about Miss Nice Legs (Sophie) over there. Grayson simply smirked and raised an eyebrow at the new student, almost as if he was asking her if she was jealous. No need to say anything juuuuuuuuuust yet, his hot face could do all the talking. Not that he could say much since there was whispering and........... ....................... WELL then. That certainly made this lesson a lot more interesting. Anything logical and flirty in his brain seemed to have melted into mush at the little piece of information while the fifth year glanced at Ruby and her outfit. There was a smirk along with this because let's face it, this was Whitty. And DANG, he really needed to be in his room and not sitting here answering questions about crystal ball care. Speaking of the question, Grayson cleared his throat "Professor?" he started, half-raising an arm in the air, "It's like potions, isn't it? You wouldn't brew a potion if there were cracks and dirt in the cauldron so you wouldn't go ahead and read your future without checking to see the situation of the ball." Lulz. "Probably includes smudge marks and fingerprints and whatnot." At this, he SQUINTED at his crystal ball, mentally judging whoever had used it last. "They could mess up your readings." IF you got any. He doubted he would because LOL, distractions everywhere. __________________ She listened to Grayson speak and nodded as he did. She had never heard Divination compared to potions, but that was very smart of him. “Very good Grayson I agree with you one hundred percent and basic ball care is to keep it clean and smudge free.” Quote: Originally Posted by Marigold Marigold took notes on her brand new parchment with a spell-check quill because hello those were a lot of -mancys and she didn't know how to spell half of them. After scanning her notes for any apparent misspelling or wrong information, and after shooting a look at the people DISRUPTING her class - that boy and that French-sounding girl - she raised her hand to answer. Except LOTS of people were called on before she was. She tried to think of something that hadn't been said already. "You have to be willing and patient and openminded, otherwise you would just be staring at your reflection." For prolonged periods of time. Marigold would rather take exams than stare at her face for an hour. __________________ She looked towards the Hufflepuff prefect and smiled, giving her some snaps. “Yes very good. An open mind is just so important and we don’t want to only see our reflections. Some of us might really enjoy just looking at our own faces, I know I don’t mind fluffing my hair in a mirror once in awhile, but we need to see further than that today.” She half chuckled at her own little joke. The girls would most likely get it more than the boys. Quote: Originally Posted by Zahra ....SNORT. Gryffindors were so awesome. If not for them, Zahra probably WOULD be asleep. From that one Gryffindor SPEWING TEA everywhere, to ZANDER's oh so brilliant answer... It was good to be a Gryffindor. She giggle!snorted in his dead turtle direction. "Professor, I know I wasn't supposed to start yet, but I THINK I just saw the house elves bringing us food in my crystal ball. I think maybe you should call them. I got my scry on over here." “OHMYGOSH!!! That’s so AH-MAZING. They will be here towards the end of the lesson to bring us a little snack. You have some gifts of your own.” She certainly remembered this lion from the last class and she couldn’t help but chuckle. “Scrying is hard work, it’s a harder form of Divination and to reground yourself after being in that open mind a snack is always good, but for now no food around the Crystal Balls.” Quote: Originally Posted by Hugo Ethan was proud of Hugo? and yeah also of everyone in Slytherin That made him feel good. After all, who didn't like that? You are cool, prefect. Mhm. Back to the class. Professor Cassie caught the attention of two students who were "confessing their love". They can confess their love...but anywhere away from him. Hugo's answer was almost right. Anyways, he was wondering what use could he get from this subject, besides seeing the future and that stuff the professor mentioned. And again, she made a question. The boy thought for a second. Like before he had no clue. Still he tried to answer. Raising his hand he said, "We have to focus on what we want see?" 'cause that was the only thing he thought it could work. “Focusing on what you see is just a little part of it, because if you focus too much on one thing you might miss the rest, but that is an awesome answer! Thank you sooo much for saying it.” She loved all the answers she had been given. Quote: Originally Posted by Heather And now her opinion was swinging back around to being glad that she had given this class another chance. Because Professor Cassie had a neat way of calling out those who weren't paying attention. Like a certain Gryffindor/Ravenclaw pair. "Ooooooooo BURN!" Yep, a pretty awesome one. Then the awesome kept coming. From one of her fellow Gryffindors suggesting thinking of something sad to another suggesting food. Mmmm, food. Heather had skipped breakfast this morning due to sleeping in, so food sounded pretty good to her right now. As if lending it's agreement to that suggestion, her stomach gave a loud grumble. To cover it, she said her answer a little louder then what was really required in the room. "Make sure it's polished really well." Yep. Polishing really well, that was an answer and Cassie let it sit in her thoughts for just a moment, “That is important, but just not for this lesson today. Though when you do polish it Crystal Balls have a very special cloth that is used to polish them and a certain way to do it just right.” Now looking back at the class she was just overwhelmed by all their wonderful answers and the ones that were still just sitting quiet got encouraging smiles. They could be quiet that was fine. They were probably just getting into their relaxed state. Yes, it was going to be a great lesson she could just feel it. “Now as I have said, basic ball care is very important. Crystal Balls are very sensitive and usually the reader will only use one ball. Never changing, because you have to make a connection with the Crystal Ball, but unfortunately with it being school and class you can’t have your very own. Though for the rest of the term you will have this particular one in front of you. When you are finished there is a special bag that each go in. Your name will be stuck to the bag so that you can get it when needed.” They might need it a few times throughout the term, so just some needed information. “Now moving on, we are going to start the art of Scrying today. Please do not get frustrated if by the end of class you haven’t gotten anything. Your mind is a hard tool to clear and that will be your first obstacle. Depending on what all of you have on your minds some things fight to stay there, while others have doubts about this that will make it harder for them to open their minds and awaken their inner eyes.” She may have glanced around to a few students that she was sure didn’t hold the gift. Pausing for a moment with a blank stare and then a pained expression. Finally sighing, “Seems you’ll be having pork tomorrow for dinner. Oh and Connor Smaug is on his way towards class. He seems to be going to try to get into a bit of trouble. You’ll be able to find him in the Room a Serenity once class is over.” The downside and upside of her gifts. Now anyway, back to the lesson. “So like I’ve said the Crystal Balls have just been recently cleaned, so we do not have to worry about that part. So our next step is to just relax. Open our minds. I’ve had the calming music and the relaxing scent to start, the tea always helps as well. Now it’s your turns to try and turn off your brains. Close your eyes, do some deep breathing and just push all other thoughts away.” Going back to her chair she sat down and rolled her shoulders. Flicking her wand she made the lights go down really dim. “Now the lighting is right, but we won’t be starting just yet. We have to work on our focus and thoughts. So I want everyone just to stay quiet and really get into focus.” She closed her own eyes just for a moment to relax. Opening them back up and get up to walk around and monitor her students. Help them if needed. __________________