"Yes. Two points."

"Health-related as in...someone might catch a cold or break their legs. Anything that is related to the persons physical well-being." She explained hoping that that made sense to the Hufflepuff Prefect. "Good, good, Amelia. Two points for you."

"Very good, Regina. Very good. Three points." The Professor looked down to check on her tea. It was nearly done.

"The negative space found in the usually white chinaware indicates positive signs, and the positive space created by the tea leaves indicates negative signs. It can be very subjective in this regard, but it is said that those who possess an artistic ability will have the upper hand when it comes to deciphering the messages found in the tea. Speaking of messages, those of you who have studied in your books, who can tell me what the symbol for 'travel' is?"

Evangeline immediately rose her hand up in the air. "A kangaroo is the symbol for 'travel', Professor." She said, remembering what she had read before class. "But an aircraft, an ostrich and a tent can also mean that. And an car if it's clear, for if the car is broken it means mechanical troubles." She was rambling, wasn't she? "Oooh..and a globe signifies a long distance travel."

Melinda listened about the negative and positive signs on the tea leaves. She raised her hand to answer to that question, hoping that it would be the right one. "In Tasseomancy, the symbol for travel is a ostrich..." She said, almost crossing her fingers at her left hand. Then, she remembered another animal. A zebra. Was it it? "Another symbol for travel can be...a zebra, which also means, adventure...and unsettleing..." She added to her answer.

Amelia nodded as the professor explained the health related matters and its relation to bad luck. It did make some sense.

Listening intently to the Professor as she gave some more brief comments on negative and positive spaces, she then asked about travel. Raising her hand again, she answered thoughtfully. "There are several symbols for travel; the ostrich, which is a symbol for travel, in reference to not seeking a truth. Another being a tent, which is for travel, in reference to cover, or a hidden truth." Meh. She hoped that was right anyway.

Steelsheen smiled again with her points gain as she jotted notes down on her parchment. Upon hearing the next question she raised her hand again and replied "There are several things that can symbolize travel, a few examples are an aircraft, a ball, a car, a globe, a kangaroo, a tent, an ostrich or a zebra."

Ella's interest on Diviniation was growing up. She got excited when she get points for each answer. Here her hand raised again, she said, "Bascially the symbol Ostrich is meant for travel but not seeking a truth was the other meaning of this symbol. And there are some more symbols too Professor. The symbol Zebra indicates the travel and adventure, probably overseas. And finally the Bird symbol to marks certain way of traveling. It says if the bird is flying - good news, If at rest - a fortunate journey is approaching", she finished with confidence.

Her hand shot up. "Professor, many symbols can signify travel -- not just those that my classmates have mentioned, but others as well... the textbook, along with many other supplimentary texts, state that symbols such as the bear, the compass, the tent, the coconut, and the elephant can represent traveling. Depending on additional signs, the bumblebee can also represent travel, while a globe means long-distance travel specifically and a horseshoe can mean good luck in travel. A common ball can be translated into a need or want to travel." Desdemonda rattled off, smiling, her unburnt hand suspended in the air even still.

Astrid was happy to earn another two points for Gryffindor but was hoping to earn a few more if possible. She remember a few of the different symbols that she had read about and travel was one that stuck out in her mind. She was hoping to see some travel in her tea leaves. She raised her hand high, feeling quite confident and said,

"Well Professor, there are quite a few symbols that can refer to travel. The most common are the Ostrich or Kangaroo, both simply meaning travel or a journey. There's also aircraft, which means the same. Birds can mean good news or travel by air. A Ball indicates ones desire to travel, a Car, if clear equals travel; if broken equals mechanical trouble, a globe means long distance travel. Lines mean a journey on a road; if straight they equal progress; if wavy they mean an uncertain path; if many they mean many short trips. And last but not least the Zebra indicates a need to be more flexible and adventurous in your travel plans."

With her hand raised high Cassandra said "There are several forms that can be interpreted as travel, I hate to repeat my fellow students but a muggle plane, an automobile car thing, a tent, a kangaroo, an ostrich, a zebra."

Allie raised her hand.
"There are a few signs that can be mena travel.Such as a Kangaroo, an airplane, or wavy lines. Another example is an anchor which means security and luck connected to travel."

Jamie raised her hand. "The symbol for travel is an ostrich or a zebra." she said.

As Via jotted down notes, she stopped and raised her hand to answer, "Zebra indicates travel and adventure, and also an Ostrich Professor."

Anna raised her hand. "An ostrich is the symbol for travel. A tent can indicate travel, as well. There are several other symbols representing some form of travel, though. A bear facing away from the handle of the cup, as well as an aircraft, a parrot, or a crescent, indicates a journey. A railway and a trunk indicate a long journey. A zebra indicates overseas adventure, and an arch indicates a journey abroad. A bat indicates a journey ending in disappoint."

"Very good! Five points for you."

"Yes. A symbol for unrest and sometimes that entails a journey. Two points."

"Good, Mia. Two points for your answers."

"Wonderful, Regina! Eight points to Slytherin house." Not that they needed them to win at this point.

"Good answers and explainations. Three points."

"Excellente, Desdemonda. Nine points."

"Six points to you, Cassandra."

"Four points."

"Nine points, Astrid."

"Eleven points." Professor St. Toussaint said almost whispered. This Gryffindor prefect was quite bright. Quite bright, indeed.

"Yes. Two points."

"Two points also."

"Now, your tea should be nice and thuroughly brewed. Go ahead and start drinking and remember to leave only about a teaspoon sized serving left in your cup. Do not drink it all." Professor St. Toussaint went over to her cup and brought it to her lips, but before she could take a drink she decided she'd ask the class the next question. "What does a dense formation of leaves ususally indicate in a reading?"

Ella looked down at her cup, almost forgotten in the stream of lesson. It looked well brewed and ready to consume. She took the cup and tasted every bit of the tea. Before empty the cup she left some tea as per Professor's instruction.

Meanwhile she answered the next question with a raised hand. "In our method, the leaves or dregs to be swished around. The cup is the upturned into the saucer. We should pick up the cup and begins examining the formation of the dregs. As per our method, the dregs can form patterns such as letters, numbers, geometric designs, straight or wavy lines or shapes which resemble animals, birds or objects, Professor"

"Yes, but what does it mean when the image is created with a thicker ammount of leaves?" St. Toussaint was looking for a specific answer. "What does that indicate?"

Ella was thinking for some time before reply. "It has direct meaning to your life, or triggers a memory or association strongly"said with a raised hand, still doubting about her answer.

Amelia frowned as she couldn't help but notice the first year Slytherin girl who seemed to be scoring tons of points every question. Whether it was because the girl was in Slytherin or perhaps the girl really knew divinations, either way she might need to bother her for some help after class. Although, she actually thought it was probably a bit of both.

Sighing, she looked down into her cup and noticed it was pretty well brewed. Wow! She did something right! She could brew tea! Okay, that wasn't exactly divinations material, but it was still exciting. Taking her cup, she drank some, making sure to leave the right amount per the Professor's instructions. Oddly, while drinking the tea, she simply thought of one person though. Blaylock. Her heart sank in the memories of the late professor.

Finally dredging up the courage, the seventh year raised her hand to answer the next question. "Possibly, well if the image is with a thicker amount of leaves could it be that what you're supposed to be seeing is unclear and a true interpretation cannot be drawn from that reading? Like the leaves were too coarse or something.." Truthfully she had no idea, but it was worth an effort, right?

Anna first did as she was told and followed the professor's instructions, remembering to leave only about a teaspoon sized serving in the cup." She then raised her hand to answer the question. "If the pattern of tea-leaves is evenly dispersed, this ids a good omen, Professor. But if the bottom of the cup iss dense with leaves, it's an ill omen."

Steelsheen was beaming now. She mouthed Thank you Ma'am and raised her cup in gratitude and began to sip her tea.

Upon hearing the next question, she looked down at her cup and stared at its contents. Dense formation of leaves.... she thought carefully. She leafed through her book trying to decipher what the Professor was trying to get at. She looked over her notes then tentatively raised her hand "Well, Professor, given that the dregs/ grinds represent the negative things for the drinker, a pronounced formation of whatever symbol the dregs form represents an ominous prediction." she guessed.

Celandine sipped her tea as the other students answered leaving a tiny amount in the cup. Carefully placing the cup down she raised her hand and answered.

"Professor, Large clumps of tea leaves indicate trouble or difficulties. If the dense area is near the handle the trouble is of your own making- since the handle represents the person who is being read for- and if it is opposite the handle then the trouble is not the fault of the person being read for - and the troubles or difficulties are either more or less pronounced based on whether they fall at the rim or the bottom of the cup. Also the dense area generally represents negativity in relation to its symbol and to some extent the symbols around it."

She paused, "Professor, if the dense area is a positive symbol do the two cancel each other out or does it just represent indecision or something like that?"

Cela picked up her cup again, waiting excitedly for the next step; still watching the professor expectantly for the answer to her question.

Allie drank some of her tea, only leaving a little bit left. Then, raised her hand to answer the question. She wasn't sure about the answer, but she had a guess.
"The dense formation of tea leaves is a bad omen.It means trouble lies ahead for that person." she guessed.

Cassandra glared at the professor. Eleven points to the Gryffidor? How was her answer better than her own.

She raised her hand and said "Well professor, if there is a dense formation of tea leaves, it is a bad omen." She plainly said. She looked in her cup...

Finally! Something she definitely knew about - drinking tea. Hehe. Carefully sipping her tea, she glanced over at Willow and shrugged her shoulders at Professor's question. As if she knew. Heh. Placing her cup back on the table, with now only a teaspoon sized serving of tea left in it.

Now ... a thicker amount of leaves meant ... that the person who had put the tea in the cup was greedy? Eh.

But considering that the leaves represented the bad things .... Evangeline quickly consulted her book before raising her hand. "Well, if the grinds represent the negatives things .. a thick amount of leaves must mean that dark times lay ahead." She thought aloud, scratching her chin with her quill. "You know, if they're close to the rim it means there's something really bad in the drinker's immediate future. If they're closer to the bottom of the cup, it means the bad things are on its far future."

Astrid was elated at how well she was doing in this class. She drank her tea carefully as the Professor has instructed, making sure to leave only about a teaspoon sized serving in her cup. Then she thought for a moment about the question at hand. She remembered reading about an old fortune-teller set on divining what the talking tea-leaves had to say. She raised her hand and repeated what she had read,

"If the pattern of tea-leaves was evenly dispersed, this was a good omen. But if the bottom of the cup was dense with leaves, this boded ill. A heart-shaped pattern depicted happiness. And two hearts meant romance and marriage were in store."