Ashley walked towards the Lake. Weird place to keep a class. Wasn't Divination supposed to be closed... umm thing? Art of looking ahead, she'd imagined they would be enclosed in a dark room with glowing objects. But the class was located by the lake, in a warm and pleasant atmosphere.

She looked at the stone tables and the mat, looking for a good place to sit. Wonder who would be beside me. The tables had some sort of formation around some stones. Decoration. HUH? She moved towards the one at the far right.

As she reached the table, she noticed the writing on the sand. REFRAIN FROM TOUCHING ANY STONES.

What stones?

She looked at the pile of stones between the tables. We're not supposed to touch them? And she'd thought they were some sort of decoration.

Was it some sort of magical object?
Were they going to learn something dangerous?

She waited for the class to fill and for her questions to be answered.

Class at the Lake? Say what?

She couldn't believe that they were having class at the Lake. She wondered why at first. There could be so many reasons. Maybe the Professor was trying to prove a point that Divination didn't need to be held in a stuffy classroom? Or maybe she was just trying to get all the students out and in the fresh air? Fresh air was good. Whatever the reason was, Olivia was really glad that it was still rather warm outside.

Thankfully it was pretty easy to find the class as she saw a woman standing, she assumed that she was Professor Vance, and a few straw matts dispersed around the ground organized around piles of stones. As she approached the Professor more, she noticed that the woman was standing barefoot in the banks. Huh. She looked... quite relax. Olivia bit her lip, wondering whether or not she should say good morning and interrupt the quiet. However, Olivia hated silences and just went for it. "Good morning Professor Vance," she said with a grin before heading to explore the rest of their makeshift classroom.

Alright, straw mats on the floor paired with stone tablets and a large pile of stones in various shapes and sizes. What was all of this for? Would they be reading stones? she thought for a moment before chuckling. This was interesting. She glanced, noticing a fellow housemate (Ashley) had already arrived. "Hello! Mind if I join you?"

Kimi was looking forward to this lesson and said "Good Day Professor Vance, have a nice summer" Kimi looked at the rocks and wondered what they would be learning today and he hoped that it would be fun whatever it was

She watched as a student made her way to the class. Gryffindor. She recognized the girl from the common room. And she wished the professor.

OUCH.

Ashley had totally forgotten about the whole wishing thing. What's gotten into me? RESPECT. "Uhm.. Professor.. Good morning" Had she seen me already? And she hadn't, atleast not consciously. Her face flushed. NICELY DONE.

The Gryffindor made her way towards Ashley. Join me? "Oh not at all.." she said, pointing to the seat next to her. "The seat is all yours"

"I'm Ashley" And I have seen you. You're so fast. She gave a warm smile.

Miranda made her way to her first divination lesson of her third year at school.. It had always been her least favorite , but nevertheless she was here in the familiar cramped space. " Hello, Professor...", she said with a smile.. She was in a great mood today for some reason.. She wasn't sure why , but that didn't really matter.. A good mood was something to cling to these days..

She looked around at the straw mats on the floor... Hmmm.. Not looking too comfy.. Oh well she chose one in the middle and sat down and set her bag to the side and got her twxt book out.

Kane was not really looking forward to Divination. He wasn't sure he believed all this stuff, and they hadn't really put a lot of emphasis on it at Ilvermorny. Still, he was intrigued, especially since this class was taking place at the lake. What could you possibly do with Divination at the LAKE? He was far more interested in the mythical Giant Squid and the merpeople who lived there than Divination...

"Hello Professor!" Kane said happily as he took a seat on a mat near the front. He may not believe much in this stuff, but he wasn't going to be RUDE about it.

Do not touch the stones. Ok. Got it.

"Great!" Olivia beamed and took the seat next to the younger girl. Ashley was her name? Lovely name indeed. Ashley. Ashley. Ashley. She'd remember this girl's name. She had a nice friendly smile too. Olivia liked friendly people, especially friendly housemates. "Nice to meet you, Ashley. I'm Olivia." Then she set about getting her parchment ready as well as her quill and ink. Her notes would be perfect. ABSOLUTELY PERFECT. Good, legible handwriting and all that jazz. Mhmm..

Once everything was set up, she turned back to her fellow housemate. "So how's your first few days at Hogwarts been?"

Skylar had to admit she was a bit skeptical about today's lesson, but if she was being honest she was always skeptical when it came to Divination. To the third year, the subject just didn't seem to make any sense without any tangible truths. But when she read the notice about today's lesson being at the lake and to not wear uniforms but trousers, Sky was extra skeptical. And the fact that there was class on a Saturday too; like what was so important that it couldn't wait till Monday? Although not complaining too much because trousers were super duper comfortable.

Making her way out to the grounds with her trousers already cuffed up to her knees because it was a rather warm day for Scotland and a Slytherin t-shirt, it took a minute to locate the professor and Sky had to question if she was in the right location or not. There were a couple other students present but none of which she recognized so she smiled at the professor first, "Good afternoon, Professor!"

And taking a seat on one of the empty straw mats with no one else there, Sky sighed hoping for a friend to arrive soon.

Mason liked the idea of outdoor classes more than being stuck in a classroom. It made learning a lot more fun in his opinion even if his parents didn't agree with him and fresh air was certainly better for the brain than the divination tower.

Although he had never took real interest in the subject he still wondered each time which type of Divination they'd be doing. He checked his watch as he made his way towards the lake and quickened his speed. Not that he was late but he wanted to get there early enough to good a good place.

"Hey Professor" he greeted eventhough she was looking at the water and found a place to sit.

No touching the stones. Great now he wanted to! But he didn't, he was sixteen now, not a child.

As far as ways to start the term went, this one wasn't so bad. Blaise could definitely appreciate not being locked up in the stuffy classroom with the incense the Professor seemed so hell bent on burning while she taught. Sure, it must have served some greater divinatory purpose but really all it did was inform him he wouldn't be breathing for that hour. Not the most conducive means of learning for this lion at all.

The lake on the other hand, this was golden. Fresh afternoon air, brilliant weather that they all knew wouldn't last long; it was to be enjoyed.

"Hey Professor." The Fifth Year approached the small gathering. He wasn't bothered by the fact the only chairs they had would be mats but he was awful curious about the stones.

Blaise took a seat at an empty table, figuring his cousin would be right behind him...eventually. Stones in themselves were never a very interesting subject matter, but given the context, they must have had SOME importance, yeah? His quill made note of it, before turning its attention to those already present. Idle chatter proved to be good material in the absence of real stories.

Divination wasn't exactly her... favorite subject in the world. Nope. BUT, she was promising to TRY this term. Mr. Kapoor had asked her to give it a chance, all things considered.

So here she was. Walking to the lake. In September. In Scotland. Blech.

As she approached the little gaggle of students she shot Blaise a smile and made a beeline for the new kid she had tried to convince to start a fire with her. Plopping down on a mat next to him she looked back at the professor... who's name was slipping her mind at thE moment, and spoke, "Good day Professor! What's up with the stones? " Was no one else going to ask?

Attention back to Kane, "How are you liking Hogwarts? I see you're a Hufflepuff. I reckon it suits you, " Ahem.

"Nice to meet you too" And she really meant it. Olivia radiated happiness, and she liked that about her. Ashley saw her put out her quill and parchment. She wondered if she'd do the same.

"It's absolutely lovely in here!" she said, every bit excited as she sounded. "I've been going around the castle. Almost everything in here doesn't fail to fascinate" She also planned to look at the places she hadn't seen already. EXPLORE.

"This subject won't be hard would it?" Her first few days were wonderful and she intended on having the same for the first few classes.

LAKE! CLASS BY THE LAKE!

WHERE THEY GOING TO LEARN DIVINING TECHNIQUES USED BY MERPEOPLE?! Because he had TOTALLY brushed up on some Mermish expressions that MAY be useful in such circumstances. OR OR OR MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYBE THE GIANT SQUID HAD THE INNER EYE AND ----

Rocks? SKIPPING STONES? Or perhaps those were calling cards for the merpeople? LIKE LIKE...special rocks for knocking on the door that was the surface of the Black Lake to ask them to come up? He did not know how the colony worked at Hogwarts so...it was possible...right?

"Maakeeffaa! Professor!" Derf greeted with an eager wave. See? He was totally prepared!

Could they take off their shoes too and go in the water like she was? Did he HAVE to sit down?

Distracted by the sight of the professor, the first year was looking ANYWHERE but down and therefore entirely missed whatever was written in the sand as he plopped down next to a face that he would find familiar in just a moment. "OH! The pizza party Gryffindor!" he exclaimed as he promptly began slipping off his shoes and socks. Blaise...right? He would have asked, but his attention was drawn to the Gryffindor girl seated nearby asking about the rocks. "Fink we will use them to get the merpeople to come to the s-surface?" he asked her. She was older...so she WOULD probably know what the customs were of the tribe living in the lake. "Or maybe there are neat bugs-s-s under them!" He even picked one up and examined underneath it, poking the ground with his finger just in case.

Oh hey! A worm! TUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUG.

Gently, of course.

First Divination of term. Natalia had went to her room before changing out of her robes to a pair of capri pants and a long sleeve shirt. Throwing her bag over her shoulder she headed out of the castle and out on the grounds. With the cold coming soo Nat was happy to get outside as much as possible. Though the sun might be a bit distracting.

Moving closer to where the little group was gathering she looked around. "Afternoon Professor." Professor Vance wasn't one of those outer space type Divi professors so that was cool. Turning she looked around and decided on an empty area to sit.

Divination out by the lake! Briiiiillant!

The Gryffindor Ace zoomed down towards the lake shore, his silvery cruiser catching the gleam from the sun. See this is why his cruiser cant be illegal, because its useful. He just needs to convince the cantankerous old Caretaker about that.

"'Afternoon Professor Vance!" the leonine lad greeted her, then gave a wave hello to the rest of the class already assembled.

Them stones? He thought was some newfangled artsy sculpture by the lake. Grabbing a mat and chiiiiiills.

Bentley came up behind Blaise and stopped after giving a nod to the professor.

"I suppose this beats suffocating to death." He said as he messed up his hair just enough at the top.

SO much better. This way the setting sun would catch the highlights on the tip of his hair just right.

He could definitely get used to this.

Wearing Conrad's hoodie and comfortable jeans with sneakers, Timila slung her bag over her shoulder and headed out to divination. Though she didn't have to take the class anymore, the Gryffindor figured she'd keep going out of fun. Tim wanted to understand the subject more and it's theories. So here she was. Upon reaching the grounds, her blue eyes looked around at the set up Professor Vance had today. She looked closely at the rocks and began making scenarios as to what they'd be doing today; also taking into consideration the class' location. "Good afternoon, professor," she smiled at her and continued to walk towards a spot. That was until she spotted a certain someone sitting alone.

Practically skipping towards the Head Girl, Tim set her bag down and sat. Natalia and Tim didn't really have to greet each other anymore; conversations would just start as a type of Hello. "Do you think we'll be skipping rocks today?" She asked her best friend while taking out her textbook. Maybe the book can tell her something about rocks and their purpose in divination.

Why was she here again? Hmm, with a sour look in her eyes the now second year old looked around her to see where the professor was. “Wait till the moment when I can drop this stupid lesson” she muttered softly to herself while walking toward the professor. “Hello” said she not that enthusiastic because, well… The professor already knew that she didn’t believed in this lesson because, if even Muggles were using Divination methods then, well… Then this whole subject was nothing but fake if you were asking it her.

Shaking her head slightly to prepare herself for a really long and probably boring lesson she walked toward one of the straw mats and sat down, still looking not that happy to be here…

Olivia nodded in agreement. Yes, that was certainly true. Or... Well.. er.. she had found the same! Most things didn't fail to fascinate at Hogwarts. She was about to speak when she heard Healer Reed's sage words in her head, warning her to be careful. The school didn't seem to dangerous yet still it would be wise to be a little bit cautious. Though she was sure that Noelle or Tenacius would advise the young first years. Maybe? She'd let the Prefects handle it and keep an eye on the others. "Yeah, that's true. There's a lot of history here for sure. Plus, there's so much to explore!"

And to Ashley's question, Olivia pursed her lips. She was definitely unsure of whether this class would be hard or not. "Umm.. I don't believe so?" she said before knocking on her piece of parchment in order not to jinx herself. Just to be extra safe. "It's Divination... It shouldn't be too difficult." She thought. Famous last words, perhaps?

Last year, Kitty had finally begun to appreciate Divination as a serious subject worth her attention. In other years she had the found the whole fate and destiny aspect of the subject anti-intellectual and kind of depressing. But Laurel was a really good teacher and now she had come to believe that sometimes Divination actually could be useful and not to dismiss the entire subject.

So it was with some excitement that Kitty made her way to the lake that afternoon, wearing a black long sleeved turtleneck shirt and skirt. Not her most glamorous outfit, but she didn't know how dirty they were going to get and she wanted to follow the instructions as closely as she could.

"Good afternoon Professor Vance," she said, glancing curiously at the slabs of stone, sign, and the professor's bare feet. Were they going to be barefoot too? "How are you?" Then she sat down by one of the stones.

Brent wasn't really sure about this whole Divination thing. It had never been a subject he was interested in, but he was going to give it a try this year. He couldn't really think of anything he might want to do in the future that would require him to interpret the future, but whatever. This might be cool.

MIGHT BE.

At least class was held at the Black Lake. Brent had heard this was a pretty cool place to hang out. Approaching the class area, he noted the straw mats and stones. That wasn't really his ideal place to sit, but whatever. He walked up behind Kane and clapped him on the back. "What's up, lil bro?" he asked. Now that they were separated by house, he didn't get to see his brother a whole lot.

He took a seat on a nearby mat and got himself comfortable.

Divination. It was a long word. And Zoryn had NO idea what it meant. Maybe that's what they'd learn in class today! Man, she was SOOooOOOOoooOOOooo ahead of the game.

She had practically RUN all the way to the lake after accidentally going to the actual classroom first. How come no one warned her? Okay, maybe they did BUT STILL. There were way too many fun things happening to even attempt remembering weird facts like that class was moved to the lake. She liked this lake though because it was fun to swim in. Maybe they'd find the merpeople this time!!! Except, if Derf fell in again... Zoryn would volunteer SOMEONE ELSE to jump in to save him this time 'cause there were a lot of older kids here and Zoryn didn't want to be wet for the rest of the lesson.

"Hi Professor! Did you forget your shoes?" she pointed at the bare feet. Without allowing time for her Professor to answer she continued, "'Cause sometimes I forget too, you can borrow one of mine!" It made a lot of sense. 'Cause one shoe was better than no shoe. And this way they'd both have ONE SHOE! So she pulled hers off and offered it to her Professor.

Aaaaaaaaand after the interaction with her Professor she ran towards DERF! She was very disappointed that he wasn't in her house any more. But they had a class together, look!! "Hiiii! Maybe we'll see a MERMAID THIS TIME!" She sqealed, running to sit on a mat beside him, near the notepad boy from the feast (... whose name she forgot).

Divination really wasn't one of Sam's favoured subjects, truth be told. In fact, it probably vied for last place with Ancient Runes. However, she felt optimistic about today's lesson, mainly because it was being held in the deliciously clean, clear air of the lake.

No incense here to make her sneeze, nuh-uh.

Skipping to catch up with her bestie, Sam took the mat beside the Gryffindor and dumped her bag on the ground. "I 'ope we get teh skip 'em," she answered Dora's question with a grin, having picked up the skill during the summer on their travels. "'n' who's your friend?" She waved at the Hufflepuff, pretty sure she didn't recognise him.

It was probably unwise to have a lesson by the lake as there were so many interesting things to see and enjoy other than the actual lesson taking place. Way to make it hard for the class to concentrate, professor. Luckily, Junia could focus when she needed to. Or, well, wanted to. Hopefully they'd be learning about something interesting that would inspire that want.

"Hello Professor." The Slytherin curtsied with a smile and then looked around to see who she could sit by. It was impotant, picking the right seat. One didn't want to sit next to the smelly kid in class or worse, the kid who thought he was funny while really just being extremely obnoxious. Junia didn't fake laughter for the benefit of others, she just didn't.

Oh look, Sky. That would work!

"Hello roomie." HI!