Ira looked into her notes and tried to make a meaning of the numbers 5, 2, and 7...She studied them for a few moments before answering.
Ira raised her hand up and answered, a bit doubtfully, "Maybe, it means that the box should be opened without movement? I mean, using non-verbal magic? That way, the person trying to open it won't be hit by freezing charm due to movement...." There wasn't any harm in trying, right?
But they had to find the range, i.e what activates the spell....What activates it?! "Or, professor, human magic activates the spell! Doesn't it? So something other than human magic must be used to open it so as to not cause the spell to activate..." Ira hoped that the professor understood what she really wanted to convey.

Oh dear, Kurumi hadn't expected Professor Hadley to get so excited about her answer. It was rather silly of her to think so, Kurumi not the professor, since she knew that the Arithmancy professor loved numbers. If she didn't, why else would she teach in this field? It seemed that what she needed to do when thinking about these number combinations was take the meaning of the numbers literally. No over analyzing for this lion if she could help it

"Whenever a witch or wizard tries to touch the box or perform a spell on it, the spell will be activated," Kurumi asked, feeling a bit more confident with this answer. "Professor, one of the properties of seven is solitude...does that mean that if a witch or wizard were to attempt to open the box with someone else that the spell would react differently? Or...if the one trying to open the box had their own type of magic?" She hoped that the wording on the latter part was obvious enough to get her point across?

Yep, she was still holding out for some special guests this lesson.

Jenny gave a huge sigh. She didn't even bother to look at her notes this time. She saw no use in understanding Arithmancy now.

But Jenny didn't want to stop answering just yet. She quickly wrote down some notes on her parchment. Affects human movement...causes target to have no movement... Hm. Time to go back to those moments when the other students tried to open that box.

A few minutes later, Jenny raised her hand. "Since you warned us not to touch the box, I guess any physical touch would set off the spell. Magic also sets off the spell as well, so it's best not to perform magic either..." And she stopped there; if she said any more, it would just be pure speculation.

Oh my dear Merlin! See.This was why Sierra should have dropped Arithmancy. What language was the professor speaking anyway? This didn't sound like any number combination Sierra had heard before. Whatever happened to the good ole Life Path Number?

...oh, yeah. That was first year.

Blahhh. Okay, five...two...seven. Five...two...seven. Arggggh! Kurumi Hollingberry! Why must you always ask a question in response to a question?! Her replies always confused Sierra. Always. She tried to block the girl's voice out as she thought about the meanings of all those numbers.

Five...two...seven... Sierra glanced at her textbook to see what the numbers meant.

Erm... "Maybe it means that the spell is activated through the physical touch of someone magical?" she suggested, her hand raised. "So, I think it's the magic within us coming into contact with the box."

Alyssa head was beginning to spin again. Thank goodness they were down to the 2nd last set of numbers. She tried to break down the numbers

5: Change, transition, progressive thinking, resourceful, freedom, versatility, physical world, physical touch, verbal
2: Harmony, unity, relationships, collaboration, duality, humans/human magic
7: Analysis, research, solitude, wisdom, spiritual focus, investigative, mysticism, magic

She thought for awhile and attempted an answer. She raised her hand and said,"We know that the number 2 relates to humans and human magic, 5 relates to change and physical touch, and 7 relates to spiritual focus. So could it be that the combination of the numbers 527 means that in order for any change to happen or the spell to activate, the spell requires for a human to invoke human magic interaction with the object either through verbal or thought.". Alyssa heard her own answer and even she knew that it didn't make sense.

Minerva realized she was very lost. So she decided to take as many notes as possible.

Simon looked at the Professor, to say he was a Prince he wasn't very good at this sort of thing and his summer teacher, he hated that he had to have lessons in the summer had told him that he wouldn't be able to do Arithmancy perfectly at all and his father had been mad about it because he loved the subject but Simon hated it. "Well it came into my head, I remember reading somewhere about people being able to use numbers like 2 and 8 to see into the future and so I thought that was what you ment." Simon once again said the first thing that came into his head.

Simon smiled again. "527 could mean something to do with spells, you have to get a book and go to the 5 page, 2 spell along and the 7th line of that spell and that is what the meaning is." Simon was getting very confused. "So it could mean that someone nasty will use a spell to take over the world."

Orr nodded at Prof. Hadley's reply to her answer. So it wasn't just limited to wizarding folk rather it was referring to humans in general. And while listening to answers given to the other students, Orr quietly thought about the next set of numbers.

She looked at her parchment

So the 2 obviously referred to humans and since it was clear by the Prof.'s answers that the core causes no movement. And well, Orr didn't really know what to do with the 5 and 7 but she kept on glancing at their meanings in her parchment. She focused on the resourcefulness aspect of 5 and the investigative aspect of 7. So maybe...yes...that might make sense plus the talk in class about non verbal magic..at least it made a little sense to her.

Orr raised her hand and asked, "Prof. Hadley? could 527 indicate that a person's resourcefulness ie their mind and analytic understanding of the box would help them be more investigative using their logic, through the use of non-verbal magic perhaps to understand how to open the box? It just makes sense to me that the spell would sense the person's investigative intent on how to open the box."

Who knows? she could be completely wrong and misinterpreted the Prof.'s hints and answers completely but she could be half right as well

Louisa wrote down what the basis and the next thing meant. She also listened very patiently to the Professor.... and appreciated smart Hadley because not only was she repeating and explaining all the nonsense she was fan of, but she accepted all the answers from clumsy students.

And she had hope that her students were going to get it one time.

Hadley was impressive. Louisa smiled in her thoughts and kept hearing ideas of her fellow students.

Ashley looked at his notes, and then at the number, and tried to find some kind of combination of words in all of the characteristics that made sense before raising his hand to try.
"Is it magic that's performed by a human that tries to change the box physically?" As before, he was really just guessing, but he was determined to figure this out, and to get at least one of these right at some point, and the only way he could do that was by continuing to try to come up with something, even if it sounded bad or wrong.

"Could it have something to do with the physical part and that is why we were not suppose to touch the box?"

Oh good; Evelyn was still with her in the class! For a moment, Josephina had thought the seventh year had fallen asleep or something, as she'd been keeping such a low profile. "Yes. The grouping does relate to touch. And magic."

"Physical touch. Magic. Very good. " Fina nodded encouragingly at the sixth year. Now they seemed to be getting this.

Ah... she was getting ahead of the lesson, as Kurumi had been trying to the whole lesson. "527 could be telling us to call on non-human magic as a way to avoid setting off the spell, yes." That was true.

Fina nodded again. Students were getting it now. Finally. Either that or they were just exhausted and agreeing with their classmates so they could be dismissed.

"Using non-verbal magic, while a good idea, is still magic," Hadley replied to the young Gryffindor. "So while you wouldn't be affected by the movement, you'd still be affected by the use of magic."

Ah, there was Kurumi, jumping ahead again, as she posed another question. "It would still react though, as even if you tried to open it with company, there's also the number 2 there, which means unity. So it counter-balances the solitude represented by the number seven."

"Yes, precisely." Fina nodded as another girl suggested the same as her classmates.

Oh look! Sierra was trying it out! She looked perplexed though, but that was to be expected, considering this material WAS advanced. What they were learning was just the very basics of curse-breaking and spell numerization, but if they wanted to pursue curse-breaking as a field, they'd learn this more in depth. It was always good to expose to the basics.

"Magic and contact with the box, would both set it off, yes."

At first Josephina hadn't been sure what the second year had been trying to get at, but as she listened at the girl elaborated, Hadley nodded. Really she'd been saying the same thing as everyone else, after all. "Yes. The grouping is activated by human magic, regardless of whether its verbal or non-verbal."

In his head?! It just came into his head?!? Merlin, Simon. He should play the lottery if numbers were just coming into his head.

"Yes. 527 does have to do with spells, but not the way you described it," Fina complimented him on his first part. But going to the fifth page and the second spell on the page? What? Silly Simon.

Looking now toward another Ravenclaw, Josephina listened as she explained what she thought could set off the spell with those particular numbers. "But how would that activate the spell? The person's investigative intent." In other words, not exactly what she was looking for.

"It's the foremost. It's magic performed by a human. But not changing the box physically..." Oh no, that part of her interpretation was slightly off.

"The physical part, in reference to humans physically touching the box, yes." Hadley nodded at the young Hufflepuff.


"As many of you seem to have figured out or guessed upon, its physical and touch and magic that activates the spell if the grouping is 527." Hadley paused, letting this sink in for a few, before going on. "The two in the middle of the numbers is representative of interconnectedness between the five, representing the physical world and physical touch, and the seven which is about magic. Specifically though, these numbers are in reference to human magic and human physical contact."

"Before we move onto the final part of the number, the cline, though a couple ways have been mentioned already, how can we avoid setting off the spell if its only affected by human touch or magic?"


ooc: Meant to post sooner, but I'm going to try to wrap this up tonight. Can I have a time turner, please? <3

Jesifur raised her hand, "Well, if we can't touch it or use magic...I guess what's left would be to talk to it?"

Jesifur frowned, her answer sounded silly, simple even. Was it possible the answer was that simple? Just talk to it? Ask it to open, maybe say please? Too easy maybe.

Kurumi was practically bouncing in her seat - internally that is. It would be rude to hop up and down in the middle of a lesson after all. She listened as Professor Hadley addressed each student's answer before asking one to the class as a whole.

Her hand immediately shot into the air like a rocket ship blasting off. "Since it is HUMAN touch and HUMAN magic that causes the reaction, perhaps if you sought the help of someone...else...someone not human." She paused for a moment to try and contain her glee. "Perhaps a goblin or..." here it comes.... "...a house elf..."

Homework assignment where they had to pair up with a house elf to do the assignment? Yes please!

Plenty of ideas flashed through her mind one Professor Hadley had asked that question but the main one, the one that she was most excited about!...Cookie Girl stole it. House elves were her idea! Eh. Would Hadley take points of she said they should have Cookie Girl open it?

...At least it'd make Evelyn laugh.

Nevertheless, as bummed as she was, the Slytherin thought of another answer. Or at least tried to. "What about using one of those muggle grabber things?" she asked after raising her hand. "Or some other object." You weren't technically touching it then!

"Talking to it might work..." It was definitely an idea, but talking was magic of its own, wasn't it?


"It's Human magic, not necessarily human touch, so if you used the help of a house elf or goblin, you'd have to be careful that they didn't physically touch the object." Hadley shuttered at the thought of what might happen.

"But you sort of are touching it. Just use a medium to touch it."

"To bypass the spell, you really don't need to use advanced magic. While yes, this topic of Arithmancy is complicated, you don't need advanced magic to solve it." Just some basic wit, which many Ravenclaws seemed to naturally have. "This particular spell, though simple, you will never find a cursed object as simple or straight forward."

Moving on though. "Now the last part, the cline, which is the numbers four and nine is probably the most complex part of the spell number to understand. There are seven classifications of clines, or types of curse, but only two that you'll really need to worry about at this level of your studies." She paused again, flicking her wand at the board:

"The four, before the nine is indicative of the complexity of the spell, as it is specific to targeting humans." Yes, there were spells that would be specific to target House Elves.

"For homework, you'll need to practice the Arithmos Revelio spell. I have here..." She held out a large container for them. "In this container are small boxes that when you're ready, tap the top of the box once with your wand and it will unfold to reveal a walnut. The only problem is that the walnuts each carry the same curse on it that we saw here in class, which is why I have them in these magical boxes. When you get the spell correct, the number will appear clear and in full, as opposed to seeing incorrect, incomplete or fuzzy numbers."

Walking toward the door with the container, she set it on an empty desk near the door. "So take one of the small boxes with you and good luck. Remember, if you happen to touch the walnut, you'll only stop moving for about 30 seconds at most. So I don't want to hear that you couldn't complete the assignment due to your own fatality." Because unless it was from something else, fatalities were impossible from this curse.


ooc: yes. Lesson is dismissed. This is the BULK of the assignment, but I'll post the assignment in full, with the due date on my notice board sometime within the next 12 hours ihope. Thank you <3

So, the lesson was over and another crap homework.. Blimey...
Raven took a box then left the class

"Thanks for your lesson, Professor Hadley."

Finally this maze of numbers was over! Before, numbers seemed so easy and simple but everything was confusing now after this lecture!
But it had been a good class...
And, Ira was excited for the homework. it would be fun to decode the curse!
"Thank you professor" she chimed, packing up her things. "It was an interesting class!"
She took one of the magical box and left the classroom.

Alyssa wrote down everything the Professor had said and then moved forward to pick up one of the small boxes that the Professor had placed on the empty desk. Another assignment but this should be an easy one as long as I don't mess up on the spell,"Alyssa thought to herself. Putting the box in her bag, Alyssa picked up her things, she walked up to the Professor. "Thank you for a very interesting lesson, Professor. I guess we don't get to share the chocolates after all,"she said with a grin, and quickly left the room before the Professor could get a chance to reply.

Minerva got up from her seat. She was so confused from this lesson. Numbers.. why are numbers always confusing her. Minerva thought. She was afraid that she would never be able to do this assignment. When she got to the professor she looked at the boxes. "Well I guess I will take this one. Thank you for the lesson professor."

Orr nodded as the Prof. gave replies to all the students' suggestions, writing down important points.

As the HW was explained, Orr was excited to try it herself. She packed up her things and walked up to collect her box and to thank Prof. Hadley for an interesting first lesson.

Victoria sat in her chair, confused apparently.

She hadn't got a clue what the homework is about, or what to do. Did the professor just said something about spells(in Arithmancy?) and nuts and curses. Oh well...she'll probably get the homework out of someone else then.

"Good bye professor." said Victoria as she walked towards the door. She haven't done too much in this class, because she was too distracted from all the thoughts of fun in the snow. But she guess it's going to be okay if she study harder in her textbook and notes to fill in the places she didn't understand.

Penny took note of the homework and then gathered her belongings and slung her bag onto her back..."Thanks for an interesting lesson Professor Hadley", said Penny as she left the classroom...

Jesifur would have much preferred the box of chocolates. She picked up a small box, and returned to her seat to pack up her things.

"Thank you Professor, I have a lot of work to do I think." Jesifur said as she left the room. Numbers were still swimming in her head, or rather they seemed to be drowning! She really did need to study up on Arithmancy.

Kurumi jotted down additional notes and began to pack up her things as Professor Hadley dismissed the class. Her thoughts, however, could not stop lingering on the box that everyone had failed to open. Kurumi didn't care too much about its contents, no matter how delicious they may be, but she was fascinated by just HOW the box could be opened. Sure, they had all discussed some theories, but had Professor Hadley actually given them an answer? If she had, the young Gryffindor had completely missed it. There had been an awful lot to take in this lesson.

As students began shuffling out of the classroom, she threw her bag over her shoulder and approached the box once again and directed her attention towards the professor. "Professor, how could those of us who attempted to open the box have succeeded?" Shr had intended for them to open it, right? After all, she had put some yummy things in it for everyone to share. "If human magic and human touch activate the...does that mean it is impossible for us to do it?"