"Well let's hope we don't see any Grims in here." Callie smiled nervously at the mention of the bad omen. It was no joking matter, really.

Other than that though the Hufflepuff was quite right in her anwser. "Very good Miss Hyde. You've got the basics down."
"Yes you can, thanks for pointing that out!" Callie was excited to have not just the answers she expected being put forth today, especially by a young Gryffindor like this one.
Alexa seemed especially excited today, perhaps she had eaten her weight in candy before the lesson? Callie chuckled thinking about that as she called on the girl's waving hand.

"Very good! Yes, the roots of Western Tasseomancy did start with fortune tellers in the Medieval period here in Europe. I will talk more about that in a minute but thanks for bringing it up." The girl got another smile too.
Calista was very impressed with her returning students but the new ones seemed to be on quite a roll so far in the lesson.

"Exactly, thank you Miss Carrington. It is extremely important to check all angles of your cup and each section when doing a tea leaf reading. You could miss something astronomically important if you don't."
The Slytherin girl stated the basics well. "Yes, good. The images, of course are the end result we will be recording."
"Yes Miss Dawnsel, good." She nodded as she listened to the Ravenclaw's answer. "You can do a reading for a friend although usually the most effective readings occur when doing your own. But you've named the basic steps very well."
"Yes, the occasional stirring while the tea is being made with the hot water is called 'steeping' and while this is happening, we will be thinking of a question or clearing our minds to get a different reading." She would go into more detail about the type of readings they would be doing today in a bit.
Ahh there was one of the answers she was most expecting. "Thank you Miss Wheatborn, there are different types of cups that effect the type of reading you will be doing. But there is also a general reading in which you can use any old tea cup." There were varieties like many type of Divination.
Calista smiled at the eager Ravenclaw as she burst forth with her answer, a decent one at that. "Yes, the type of Tasseomancy we will be studying today most likely had its roots in Medieval Europe."
Oooh very nice. "Thank you for that Miss Fischer." She hadn't even thought to mention that when she picked this topic for the lesson. "It is interesting to see how things got their name when looking back at Latin and other Romantic languages like French. Good."
"Interesting thought Prefect Keller. It is usually not what one first sees in the dregs of their tea but it is actually something one can do if they do not see symbols in the actual tea. Good point." Professor Elwood nodded at the Gryffindor encouragingly.
The Hufflepuff asked a rather simple question but one she was going to have to answer in a minute anyways. "I do know what a few of them mean, but only because I am more practiced than you all. But because you are all most likely beginners, you will be using the chapter on Tasseomancy in your textbook that will give you a listing of symbols and their meanings."

Alright?
Callie smiled at the young Slytherin as she answered. It wasn't a purposefully cheeky answer. Elwood could see that the young girl was being serious and she really wasn't wrong since she had just asked what they knew about the topic.

"Good Miss Merivel, Tasseomancy or Tea Leaf Reading is a form of Divination, and the one we will be studying today." Yes, and hopefully she would pick up on some of the other answers her peers were giving. The blonde had no doubt the Snake would learn more today.
"Coffee does leave behind dregs in a cup if you drink it brewed the same way that tea is. Very good Mr. Turner." Callie nodded the Slytherin's way.
For love. Siiiiigh.

"Yes, those are the basics. Thank you for that." Callie nodded and then turned to the next raised hand.
"That's exactly what you do. Good answer." Professor Elwood gave the Ravenclaw with the tentative answer a smile before moving on to the next student.
"Loose leave are a must, that's right Miss Phillips." What nothing to do with naps today? Callie was impressed that the girl was thinking of the actual subject today.

Her last comment about the tea having to be good made Callie smile though. "Yes, good tea would be ideal but you don't always get to pick do you?" Like in this situation?
West Odessa.

He was a critic of Divination and Callie thought he sometimes was one of her as well. But nevertheless he represented a questioning voice that a student should always have and the need to never just blindly accept things they are told. The blonde did wish though that now that he'd been to more than a few of her lessons that he would beginning to trust her that she wasn't trying to swindle him or anything.

"Yes, Mr. Odessa. Tea leaf readings, once they've been done, can effect what choices a person makes in situations that regard their future. But just because what you see in the cup is one thing, does not mean that its always a set thing. The Future can change based on choices and the inner-workings of the Beyond."

West got a smile all the same. He kept her on her toes.
"Yes we need loose tea leaves, most definitely." Professor Elwood smiled at the girl's answer. She was such a good little Ravenclaw.
"Coffee yes, and even wine in some areas. Although I wouldn't like to drink any wine that has stuff floating in it." It didn't sound like very good quality stuff really. "And we won't be drinking the stuff in class today, so we will have to be okay with tea." She nodded though to his added information.
"Yes, that is the basic idea. Good answer." The Gryffindor was on the right track with his answer.
The little Ravenclaw was right. "Yes, the position of the symbols in the cup let you know when it will effect your future or if they are a factor in the overall result."

Dylan looked rather hazy today but he gave an answer so Callie assumed he was okay.

A rather cynical answer at that. "Well Mr. Montmorency, Tasseomancy is as subjective as other readings and it requires great concentration by the reader. When doing this particular form of Divination it is usually best for the reader to read his own cup, thus the connections he makes with the symbols he sees in his own cup do not matter compared to others. His indiviual interpretation is the right one in this case as long as they have a clear mind and are trying their best to access the Beyond."
"Yes we will be drinking the tea, or else there would be no way to read the symbols left behind in the dregs." The Hufflepuff was still right though.
The little sweaty Hufflepuff seemed to be cooling down from his first climb to the Divination Tower and ready to answer the question.

"Yes, tea leaves can predict a reader's fate but also just their immediate future, the answer to a specific question or their horoscope depending on the type of cup and reading you are performing." A good question/answer.
"Good answers Miss Baltazar. The type of tea you use really doesn't make too much of a difference apart from the different amounts of time it takes to brew and steep. We do want loose tea leaves though as opposed to bagged ones. As for the cup it depends on the type of reading, but I will go more into that in just a moment." The Slytherin was definitely on the right track though.
Jory was spot on. "Yes, Mr. Stonewall that is what we will be doing today. Very good." The Hufflepuff boy earned himself another nod.
Marcus was the next one to speak up and it seemed as if he was coming out of some trance, perhaps he was already in the Beyond?! He seemed to be on the defensive though, and Callie was ready to intervene if an argument broke out.

Wait....his mother practiced Tasseomancy? She would have to ask him or her more about that. "Yes Mr. Branxton and it sounds as if your mother is doing her readings correctly. We will be doing our's in basically the same manner." She chose to outwardly ignore the last comment but inwardly agreed 100%.
Ummmm......Professor Callie sounded strange. But if Beezus was okay with it....no, she may have to tell her outside of class she can call her that but not during lessons. She had disapproved last term when they had been referring to Ariey by his first name.

She would kindly talk to her after class about it. She could even go back to calling her Beatrice in lessons too if that made her feel better.
The Hufflepuff was right. "It most certainly is Mr. Summers. Usually we will have the person doing the reading drink their own tea for the best results."
That was something.

"Yes, I can see why some practitioners would prefer to use teas from the countries they are from or perhaps the one's they are doing the readings on. Good point." The Divination Professor smiled at the snake for her efforts.
"It is. Fortune Telling is a type of Divination almost in itself. It tends to have a bag stigma of being a form of scheming witches and wizards have to take advantage of Muggles but that is not always the case. It could just literally be someone who focuses just on telling people their fortunes." She knew that for a fact.
"Yes, it can do that if done correctly." Callie nodded slowly at the Slytherin boy.

At least he wasn't sleeping.
"Yep that is the basic idea." Elwood nodded quickly at the girl and moved onto the next raised hand.
Another one with the correct name for Tea Leaf Reading and she didn't even have to tell them it first! "Yes, we will be deciphering symbols from the dregs of tea left behind; good!: The Slytherin Prefect was right on track.
"That is true but don't worry about not knowing how to do it just yet, that's what we will be learning today." The young snake still seemed eager despite her not knowing about the topic just yet; that was promising.

"Very good, thanks for those other names for the practice." The Gryffindor was a new student but definitely had the right idea.