SnitchSeeker.com - Divination Lesson 1

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- Term 38: September - December 2014 (https://www.snitchseeker.com/term-38-september-december-2014/)

- - Divination Lesson 1 (https://www.snitchseeker.com/term-38-september-december-2014/divination-lesson-1-a-98733/)

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.

So once again everyone was on spot with the answers. Not feeling the need to make repeats of answers Cinna just opened her notebook and scribbled down notes and doodled in the notebook. She had even started a game of Mash on a page. It was for Lux of course. Not her.... oh nooooo. Never. Nope. Okay so she might have done one for her already.

She was listening of course. She was pretty excited about the lesson and stuff. Divination was her favorite. Well one of her favorites she didn't have many.

The PJ's wasn't helping with fact that she was cool, calm and relaxed. Perfect for a nap. But she wasn't going to miss this lesson snoozing. If she could make it though the next questions without everyone answering before she could. It wasn't like the girl was day dreaming or anything.

Zahra scratched her nose. She was out of tea and kind of hungry. LAST Divination had come with FOOD - that's why Zahra was here now? Otherwise, like, she should probably take a nap.

SPOILER!!: Zander Lulz

....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."

Norah couldn't help but to smile back at the Professor. Her enthusiasm made her instantly likable, and any professor who allowed pajamas in her classroom was pretty darn cool. Nevertheless, it was still a class, so the second year scribbled down all the weird names people had mentioned on her parchment. She looked at her parchment and made a face. Thaaat definitely wasn't spelled right.

How to begin? Uhhhhh. Norah opted to sit and listen on this question. No need to embarrass herself twice in a row, anyway. One day she would be older and smarter and she'd be able to answer alllll the questions. So THERE.

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.

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.

Was any of that directed at her? Lex was gonna pretend otherwise. There were at least a million other students in the class that didn't have anything to say and it might have been because they were afraid of being wrong but not her, that was never her reason. Professors could possibly attest to the fact that she spoke even when she didn't know what she was talking about. This was different, REAL different and the Gryffindor would have simply preferred to stare. When had that become a crime?

For lack of having anything better to do with her hands, Lex began idly twirling around her tea spoon in the cup of still full tea. Maybe if she swished it enough it would change colour and reveal itself for what it truly was. Not poison, nah, not with Professor Smiles....but something, something she wasn't willing to test out.

Once again there was a question and once again, Lex sat mute. A ball couldn't show you the future, not when the future wasn't set in stone and subject to change at any point. No reason to bother if it would end differently anyway. Food for thought right there.

Lex regarded her crystal ball and the lack of activity inside. Guess that meant her future was blank, huh?

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...
__________________

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.

Quiet and relaxed.... Quiet and relaxed....

Puke. Chance was hyped up even if he was in his pajamas. I mean, when was he not? He shrugged his shoulders though, and did a little dance, looking around the room as everyone seemed to take que of what the Professor had said. Chance didn't really believe in doing this stuff. But, it was magic. So, he would try anything once. He stared at the crystal ball, not really thinking about anything.

And he yawned.

Dude, these pajamas, low lighting, and scents were making him sleepy. His eyes sprang open and he looked around the room. Hmm... was she trying to make everyone fall asleep? He eyed the Professor and her overly joyful self. Something not right about that one... He'd have to keep an eye on her...

Making Chance sleepy was hard to do.

SPOILER!!: Chance~

Bianca grinned hearing a fellow Gryffindor cough to stiffle a laugh. She knew that kind of coughing. It was the kind of coughing she did when old people said stupid things without realizing it. 'Cause it'd be rude to laugh at old people since they're old and all. "We could flip through all the channels of the future," she muttered back, giving him a little wink of her own. Because winking. Bianca could do that.

SPOILER!!: ED

Bianca didn't know if she was supposed to whisper to ED about her attire or anything. However, she was sure that later on she would definitely ask ED where the pajamas were... then dress her up in something super comfy. Because if they had the chance to wear pajamas to class, why was ED denying herself that right?!

SPOILER!!: PROFESSOR

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bazinga (Post 11661216)

The art of Scrying. That sounded so... lame yet awesome at the same time. Lamesome. That was the word she was looking for. Plus what was the professor even saying about pork and Connor Smaug?

Who was Connor Smaug? Was that the name of the pig they would be eating for dinner? Had she named their dinner. Wow this class was strange. Bianca loved it. But Bianca really wanted to touch the crystal ball. Just poke it with her wand or tail or something. Her tail was still in her hand as she brushed it against her chin. She did not want to let o of the plushiness.

Stay quiet and get into focus.

Pffft. Bianca could do that.

She took in a deeeeeeeeep breath trying to relax and smell the roses. Or the lavender in this case. Apparently the tea would help too. She was not going to drink the tea though. Bianca could hear herself breathing as well as various classmates. How was that supposed to even be helpful?! "Foooooocusssss," Bianca muttered to herself. She crossed her legs like she was meditating. How was she supposed to do so many things like focusing thoughts and being quiet? Bianca liked voicing her thoughts.

Like the one telling her to shut up right now. "No Vicky, you be quiet."

She had named that voice Vicky. Anyways. Quiet and focus... chiiiiiiilllllllll.... yawn.

eerr... SORRY, didn't realise you posted moving on already XD

Muggle terminology.. MANNNNN... he needed to learn how NOT to be a muggle, this was embarrassing. Nevertheless, Zeke bowed his head, dipped his quill into his ink, and started scribbling notes. He wasn't sure WHAT he was writing exactly, but it was better than nothing. Spelling errors though, they would be a thing, a big big big thing. Boo.

It was a little difficult to keep up with all this talk of STUFF, but he did his best. He almost spoke up when the first question came, but was glad he didn't when ~~Miss~~Professor Cassie continued. Rhetorical question then??? Perhaps. The followup question though... well, errrr, nope... NO CLUE LADY!!!

Still, he didn't want to sit there looking all confused, he'd at least TRYYYYYY to guess things. "Touching it, Professor," he started with his hand raised again. "You put both hands either side of it and you touch it with your energy and stufff, oozing yourself into it. Don't ACTUALLY touch it though, cause then you'll get fingerprintmarks on them and that'll make things less visible."

Of course, he was silly, he didn't knowwwww anything... maybe Emily was right and it was all rubbish. On top of that, his nose was still itching from the lavender, and he didn't like tea enough to drink it. Sigh.

Zeke did his best to relax, but his mind was elsewhere, still busy and churning.

Jasmine knew that clearing the mind was essential in preparation for scrying, but that was easier said than done. She wasn't sure that she could erase all thoughts from her mind. She was also afraid that if she got too relaxed, she would surely fall asleep. Oh well, she would give it her best shot anyway.

Mimicking Professor Cassie, Jasmine began to roll her shoulders. Then she moved her head from side to side, trying to relax her muscles. Now her mind......that was another story. Jasmine closed her eyes and began to take some deep, cleansing breaths like they taught in yoga class. She tried to focus her mind, but that was not so easy. Various thoughts kept racing through her brain and no matter how hard she tried, they wouldn't stop. This was going to take a lot of effort and practice so she tried again and again.

Clear your mind? Jeremiah wasn't even sure what that meant really. how did you do that? He glanced at Gabe before picking up his tea and taking a sip of it. Clear miiiiiiiiiiiiind.

however you did that. he tried to stop thinking of all the things in his mind. the taste of the tea the smell of the lavender and the thoughts of Beverly. She was always on the boys mind and he even tried to shove her out of his thoughts but to no avail. Maybe he needed help. "gabe," he leaned towards the ravenclaw and whispered very quietly so only he could hear. "how do you clear your mind?" whisper whisper. he was also Hungry now. Thanks to Zahra.

Easy-peasy. Ethan wore a slight smug grin on his face as he got the answer right. More words were being spewed and the fourth year got his parchment and quill out to take a few more notes. He did however stop, as soon as a question formed in his mind. The blond boy bit his lip as he watched Professor Cassie talk some more, and then instructed them to settle in, and be relaxed.

Now this was the hard part. He’d have to think of something to keep himself awake, but Professor Cassie asked them to clear their minds. Ethan was positive that as soon as he empties his thought bank, he’d fall asleep. Merlin, he needed something…anything, to latch his mind on while clearing it. He can’t fall back and snooze during a class. Oh…the struggle.

Ethan shifted in his seat, rolled his shoulders, and closed his eyes. The tea he consumed, the lavender scent that swirled around him, plus the music that was playing in the background did help him get in the zone. However, he can also feel that he was starting to give in to sleep. Ethan took a deep breath, and thought of the goal of this activity. He needs to be relaxed, open his mind, and NOT fall asleep. The boy anchored his thoughts on that, keeping his consciousness at bay.

Good.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bazinga (Post 11661216)

SPOILER!!: All you lovely people

Samantha smiled to herself. Hmm, she at least knew something about Divination. At the teacher's instructions, she closed her eyes and began to inhale and exhale deeply as she began to focus her mind. Well, she was trying because with the events that had happened recently, Sam just could not focus. Maybe the tea will help. So Samantha decided to take a sip of tea and try again. Sure enough, her mind began to focus.

It pleased Lux to know that she had gotten the answer right. But she didn't have much faith in her ability to see anything in the crystal ball. Might be due to the fact that this subject held no accuracy in her opinion. But class was class and she'd do this for Professor Cassie.

After sipping her tea, Lux closed her eyes and focused on doing some deep breathing while attempting to drive all distractions out of her mind.

....

.......

Why...was the Professor looking at her like that? Something about preventing themselves from trying? Was that it? She didn't even KNOW. Merlin, the Gryffindor hadn't been paying attention to anything in particular so most of it had gone over her head, but not the look, or that other look either. What? Had she missed something? Consider her mind not cleared anymore. More like cluttered with confusion as to what exactly might have been going on.

While everyone around her settled in and did the deep breathing Lex just...kinda...looked around. Her mind was as focused as it would ever be and she didn't think closed eyes would get her far.

It was all a ploy. See the Professor walking around. She'd be slipping things into the tea while no one was looking. Well not on her watch, nope, so she'd be keeping her eyes open, open and ON her cup.

AH-Mazing, Professor Divination called her. PLUS, food WAS coming! This was the best class. Why Zahra had considered not taking it was COMPLETELY beyond her.

Because know what time it was now?

MANDATED NAP TIME. The pajamas made ALL THE SENSE now! How cool was that? Like, Zahra wasn't into naps too much, but it beat doing like book work or tea readings.

Zahra raised both hands to SNAP then she sent TWO THUMBS up to Professor Divi. Zahra got this Professor. GOTCHU, PROFESSOR.

So Zahra got comfortable and tried her best to nap.

Professor + Grayson + Ruby

Oh, err..what? Explain how it all worked? Err... Sophie gave the professor one of those looks that showed she was completely taken by surprise and left speechless. Uhh... "Oh, well, I mean...I don't mean that I know exactly how it works," she stumbled. "I just meant that I know you look into it and see things that tell the future." That was pretty much how it worked, though, right?

Then suddenly there was tea everywhere, but Sophie wasn't worried about that. She was suddenly tuned in to how that new girl kept leaning in to Grayson and whispering things to him. But...NO! Sophie and Grayson sort of, kind of, maybe already had a thing going on, and she couldn't just step in and take him from her! ... Could she? ... Sophie wouldn't fight the girl for him, because if Grayson backed out after all that flirting and those letters over the summer, then...then... Oh, what was she saying? She'd be crushed!

She didn't care about crystal balls now. She cared about the fact that she CARED about keeping Grayson. She didn't exactly have him YET, but she sort of did. SIGH.

Then the lights went dim, and they were supposed to start thinking about whatever was in their thoughts, but now Sophie was in a weird mood. BAH.

Another correct answer for him. There was something the Hufflepufff had ever expected to happen. O_O Connect with the Crystal Ball? Okaaaay. He eyed the Ball in front of him. That was his now. For the term at least.

Listening to Professor Morgan go on, Adi had no doubt he would be one of those who by the end of the term would be able to see anything in the Ball. Why? The reason was sitting a few paces away from him in the form of AJ. Why was she so uptight with him today? Whatever the reason was, it was distracting him.

Relax...Relax. Yeah, Adi could try to do that. He closed his eyes but all he saw was AJ's face when she had greeted him earlier. Nope, this wasn't working. He flicked his eyes open, shot a glance at the cause for his distraction before reaching for his tea. He took a sip and closed his eyes again, trying to push any AJ related thoughts away. "Let the music take over you like it always does,'' he thought.

Hey, it was working! AJ's smiling face popped up this time in his mind. Uh strike that. No it wasn't. Grrr. He'd have to keep trying to clear his head.

How on earth was he supposed to clear his mind when the only thing he could think about was how uncomfortable he was? He back felt alternatively pinched or unsupported, depending on which way he tried to sit up.

Sighing heavily, he stood, walked around his cushion and then tried kneeling on it instead. Feet tucked underneath him, he closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind. There went the worry about coursework... there went the sounds... there went the sensation of people moving around the room... there went

OW

His feet were asleep. Now, all Thornton could think about was how tingly the bottoms of his feet were. This. Wasn't. Working.

Sliding off of his cushion, Thornton lay down on the floor, and scooted the cushion under his knees. How about this?

I'm not thinking of anything I'm not thinking of anything I'm not thinking of anything I'm not thinking of anything I'm not thinking of anything I'm not thinking of anything I'm not thinking of anything I'm not thinking of anything I'm not thinking of anything

Except that he wanted to practice his cello.

And that he has really hungry for a cookie.

And that he wanted to talk to the Astronomy professor about his parents sending his telescope.

And.

UGH!

Aww yeah, more snaps! AND he was right. Man. What a Good Day.

Toby went back to scribbling all that down in his big and loopy rushed handwriting, managing to get more or less everything that was being said and not getting distracted at all. Not even once. Not even FIDGETING.

Until... was... was Professor Morgan having a moment? Did this usually happen? Toby had never been all that attentive in Divination classes before, and couldn't remember if.......... uh........... okay. Right. Casual predictions mid-class. He could get behind that. Sure. It was definitely a testament to how away with the fairies he'd been last term, that was for sure.

Okay, Toby's notes were more or less done, so he set down his quill and glanced around at everyone else to see how they were going about this whole relaxation, mind-relaxing thing. Except... well... it wasn't very easy to tell from looking at someone, was it? Toby looked back around at his own crystal ball, and shot a little grin in Soph's direction. Hey girl heyyyyy.

Well... if he looked at Soph there was absolutely no wAY he was going to be able to clear his mind at ALL, so the Hufflepuff forced himself to close his eyes. Luckily, he was in a much better position when it came to clearing his mind an relaxing than he would have been last term, and he thanked Merlin for small mercies. Toby crossed his arms on the table in front of him and, still with his eyes closed, rest his chin on them, breathing deep and trying to think of nothing which, while not easy, felt like something that could actually be easy.

PROGRESS.

Relax. Quiet. Breathing. Devlin was going to try and do that but it was incredibly hard. Because unlike his Professor he found the music and scented room rather distracting. Giving him the opposite desired effect he knew his Professor wished for.

His nostrils tried to take in the scent and it made him wonder just exactly what type it was. The music as well distracted him. For his mind was slowly swaying along to the soft hum of the beat. His mind was clearly not free. As well, all this breathing stuff? Yep. Devlin wasn't aware he'd signed up for some secret yoga session.

Just... clear the mind. Devlin tried so, emptying it of all thoughts, but with so many students and the scent and the music, his mind was wandering all over the place.

Marigold could do theory. (Sometimes). She could take notes. (Messily). And she could even do spellwork. (Successful or not was a different story).

But CLEAR her MIND?!?!?!??!?!?!? Already just THINKING of clearing her mind had thoughts running through her head like What if I can't clear my mind? and Is Zahra sleeping? and What if now that Ruby is at Hogwarts she and Zahra never hang out with me? and What if I fail all my OWLs? and What if Moo stays in Italy for the rest of ever and I never tell her about magic? and all of this ICKY STUFF.

She stopped and downed the rest of her tea, closed her eyes, shifted, and CONCENTRATED ON NOTHING IN PARTICULAR.

~~Except the loose string on her pajama sleeve.~~

Connect with the ball. Be the ball. You are the ball. This whole clearing her mind thing wasn't going to be a cake walk. There were far too many thoughts churning in her head, and she doubted very seriously that they would just go away because she needed to see something in a crystal ball. Thoughts could be rude like that sometimes.

The lights went dim, and AJ took a sip of her tea. She blew out air, and tried to clear her mind. Of course as soon as that happened every little detail of hers and Adi's conversation from the feast came to mind. Whhhy? If she saw anything at all in that ball before the class was over it was going to be Adi's face because she couldn't stop thinking about him, and how their relationship would be after he got his little girlfriend.

She was not going to look his way. She ended up looking his way. He had to know that she was different with him. Adi always picked up on things like that. Clear your mind, Valentine. It wasn't working, like at all. This was going to be a long class. Maybe she get like some of the other kids and get a good nap in. As if she could fall asleep with her thoughts. Ugh.