Extra midnight lessons seemed to be the professors' faaaavorite thing this term. Last term it had been extra outside lessons and stuff -- and Emmeline definitely preferred that one. Since she had to wake up SUPER early to have any decent amount of time with her cruppy in the mornings between breakfast and the start of lessons, the twelve-year-old was all extra tired in general these days. Tonight, she felt kinda dead on her feet, like she was a zombie or something.

It was precisely because she was so tired and half-swaying on her feet on the landing below the Divination classroom that Emmeline was one of the first students to scramble up the silver ladder as soon as it descended. She'd been expecting a niiice, big fire that would totally help her stay up but these hopes plummeted as she took a few steps into the room. It was super DARK, and the incense that always clogged the tower room seemed to be, like, LOADS stronger tonight. Her head was starting to feel kinda fuzzy, actually. Frowning slightly, Emmeline tried to get to her table in the depths of the classroom, but she knocked into something almost immediately. The second year was clumsy at the best of times -- and in broad daylight -- so all this darkness stuff was realllly not helping. Thank Merlin that she'd only hit a chair that time; she was prone to running into other people, mhm. She rubbed her knee where it was stinging from the impact and pressed on.

This was taking like thirty times longer than usual. Finally, the Gryffindor slid into an armchair at what she thought was her table (they all looked the same in the dark, really), and was just breathing a sigh of relief when she banged her notebook on the table and the bowl-and-pitcher-combo started wobbling like mad. Emmeline sucked in a breath for several seconds that took agonizingly long before they finally stilled; she let out her breath in a whoooosh and tried to see if anything had spilled. She couldn't tell, so she straightened up in her seat and called out, "Hiiiii, Professor Vance!". The professor hadn't noticed the things wiggling, right?

This was becoming something of a trend, wasn't it? Everyone having midnight classes. Astronomy was normal, those lessons were usually late depending on the constellations you wanted to see or what part of the galaxy you were trying to study. Care of Magical Creatures made sense that time too because those mooncalves only came out late at night...Divination though....she didn't think time had anything to do with when they could or couldn't 'discern the future'.

"Hello Professor." She greeted, not particularly tired but slightly put off that she'd had to leave her makeshift lab in the middle of a study to head up to a lesson she thought to be a hoax anyway.

Thankfully it was the sort of potion you could leave for a period of time...otherwise...she wasn't sure she'd have made it to class tonight. The thing was, Jessa was used to odd hours. She was usually awake anyway but usually her time was being better spent.

Having taken her usual spot at her assigned table, she blinked a little at the sight of Emmeline sitting there too, mostly because she was usually at the other table with Derf and Stasya. "Hey Emmeline...." The Fourth Year greeted somewhat tentatively. Should she say something? It wasn't as if she minded her sitting there, hardly. In fact, maybe she wouldn't say anything at all. It wasn't an issue.

What was it with all the evening classes? Astronomy made sense but.. not every other class. It was exhausting, really. Etta slowly walked into the classroom, realising that she was way too early. Not that it was a bad thing. Also, she hoped the professor wouldn’t notice the fact that she couldn’t stop yawning. Heh, she was tired. “Hello, professor.” She greeted with a small smile. YAWN.

The prefect made her way towards an empty seat somewhere near the middle of the classroom, giving Jessa and Emmeline a smile. “Hey, you guys.” Another yawn. Okay, this was problematic. How was she going to stay awake for the rest of the class? Bleh.

There had been way more late night classes this term, but that didn’t really bother Stasya that much. Not right now, considering she hadn’t been sleeping much since the dorm disaster. Too many memories, and because of that she had been pretty much tried whether or not she had a lesson at midnight. Instead, she’d been eating way too many cookies just to keep herself hyped upon sugar, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t tired. She felt like she was tired in her soul, and hugs could only do so much. It had basically taken sheer force of will to climb the silver ladder up to the Divination classroom.

“G’night Professor Vance,” she’d said softly, thinking she was talking louder than she was, as she’d somehow wound her way through the dark classroom to her usual seat, giving Emmeline a curious look at the other table with Jessa. Not that it bothered her, because as she’d sank into the chair at her table, it had really taken more willpower not to fall asleep. It was nighttime after all, which was why she’d greeted the professor the way she had. She was going to blame it on the incense if she did fall asleep, mhm. It wouldn’t be entirely wrong, but just to make sure she had tried everything not to, she scrunched herself down nearly to the level of the table, scarfing down another cookie while hidden by the things that were on the table. Hopefully the sugar could keep her awake long enough.

Ugh, ladder. He normally didn't have a problem with it, but at midnight and with the trouble he'd had sleeping since the dorms had been ransacked, plus the coffee he had with him just to keep him alert, it was a struggle just to keep from falling down it. But, alas, Ronan made it to the top and into the Divination classroom.

Only to find that the room was dimly lit and a huge fire was roaring in the fireplace. Plus, the incense seemed heavier in the air somehow. At least the lighting hid the fact that the sleeplessness was written all over his face. On the other hand, it was a good thing he had his coffee, because this room seemed designed to put people to sleep.

Anyway, he made his way to his seat, stubbing his toes on one of the tables on the way (causing the bowl on it to jiggle), and sunk into the chair. Ahh. "Hello, professor."

It was strange, these night classes. Two years ago, when there was the random portal sucking people in and then the monster invaded the castle, there was a curfew in place. This year, when there was mysterious blood writing, a dead hawk, dorms being ransacked, all the professors decided that hosting night classes would be BRILLIANT. Made absolutely no sense to the fifth year, but alas, that was the way the schedule was. It wasn't like Skylar would have been sleeping anyway, because sleep was not really an option this year with OWL studies, but it would be nice to not to have be on the cold grounds in the dead of night or in the tower that was not the Astronomy tower.

"Hello Professor, Good evening" She beamed at her head of house, entering the dim-lit room and finding an empty seat. Bowls and pitchers.... scrying? At least that was the slytherin's first thought, as she adjusted her bag and carefully removed her Divination notes.

Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiired.

Derf was already lacking in the sleep department trying to keep watch in his dorm, waking every few hours or half hour it seemed in CASE something was sneaking into their room and feasting on toes or...whatever the next step in the progression was to these mysterious circumstances. Sometimes he woke up screaming thinking that the portal had manifested itself in his room and the Monster was back and ransacking their things, dragging this and that back into the portal with it...latching on to his bed and dragging all of him in....

"WAAAAAAAAH!"

Whether it was his own feet, some loose carpet, a pillow, or something else entirely...it really did not matter because the third year had now face planted into the floor of the classroom.

Maisie stumbled along the corridor and up the stairs into the Divination classroom. She took a seat at a table, forgetting to say hello to the Professor. Her head felt heavy. On the table, were some bowls and pitchers. Maisie stared at a bowl. A lot of her lessons were scheduled for midnight lately and the little Eagle was growing exhausted.

Laurel drinks up the last of her steaming green tea and stands up reluctantly from her comfy warm seat to begin the lesson. "Good evening everyone, today we're going to talk about and you're all going to be performing water scrying readings in the light of the full moon."

As Professor Vance spoke the message on the blackboard erased itself to instead write "Full Moon Water Scrying" in big cursive letters. Laurel momentarily paused to move to stand on the other side of the blackboard, resting a hand on the frame. "Before we talk more about the moon and scrying can anyone venture a guess as to what other divination methods are similar to water scrying?"

OOC: Class has officially started! Catch up posts are allowed throughout. If you post late then act as if your student has been there the whole time unless you want to potentially loose some house points...Question 1 is simple just give a guess as to what other divination methods your character thinks are similar to water scrying. The lesson will move at approx 7 pm GMT +2 tomorrow night.

Ruffling his hair as he sat up, he nodded to the professor and wrinkled his nose. "Yeah...I'm okay," he yawned slightly, pulling himself from the floor and quickly hurrying to find himself a seat.

Taking out his textbook, and rubbing his nose from time to time while also checking to make sure he wasn't bleeding, his eyes tried to focus on the words that had appeared on the board...but his baby blues were watering a bit too much to be able to see. But at least he could still hear? The fall hadn't effect that. Soooo...moon scrying. Er...water scrying...

It was only then that he noticed the moon...and it was full. Wait...it had just been full like...two weeks ish ago when they had been observing mooncalves....

Color drained from Derf's face almost instantly. Were they...in...the...Upsidedown? Right now he was too tired and delirious to see how absurd that notion was and was stuck in place just STARING at the moon.

Scrying....water...."....mirrors...." he ended up saying aloud, because he DID know that mirrors were an evolved form of water scrying.

Mirror scrying...mirror world...it ALL made sense.

Water scrying, yes, as Skylar predicted was the topic. But then again, anyone who'd read the textbook (and syllabus) would have known that, which majority of Hogwarts didn't do on a given day it seemed.

Although, couldn't they do scrying anytime of day? Apparently not, as Professor Vance pointed out the full moon present.

Methods similar to scrying? "Isn't ... couldn't gazing into a crystal ball be similar? Or maybe even a form of scrying?" Just different medium used, instead of water. Although, had the fifth year known what had happened recently to the stock of crystal balls, she probably would not have been so haste to mention that as an example.

Sam yawned widely. She was a night owl and so well used to burning the midnight oil, but divination was right down there with Runes when it came down to her least favourite subjects. Cynical, she definitely was. On the plus side, her waffling skills had improved tremendously coming up with predictions.

Ahem.

Anyways, seemed like they were going to be covering some sort of water scrying by the light of the moon tonight. Well, as a fan of Astronomy, Sam might be able to get behind at least one part of that. First though, other forms of scrying.

Mirror and crystal ball were both good answers. And Sam knew another one. "I believe you can scry using fire too, Professor," she answered, raising her hand.

It was so daaaaark and warm and the air was heavy. It made Natalie want to fall asleep. All the teachers kept making the students stay up late for evening classes lately and it was about to make her fall asleep during class. Derf seemed to have the same problem, too. She assumed that's what had happened anyway.

Stifling a yawn, Natalie considered the art of water scrying, of which she knew very little. She supposed it was like any other scrying, but maybe the water was reflective enough to see images clearly, like in a pensieve. But her thoughts were vague and some other answers in the classroom seemed just as good as hers, so she stayed quiet and tried to keep her eyes open.

That was it? Scrying in the light of the full moon?

The moon had risen into the sky for hours now, it didn't explain why she'd had to leave her potion behind to attend a lesson at midnight. Merlin's beard they could've had this lesson after dinner and allowed her to get back to what she'd been far more interested in doing.

Besides that, you'd think the Professors would try to avoid having the students out so late at night when there was something or someone searching and ransacking the castle. Seemed to her like they'd have only done this sparingly but with the way all the Professors seemed to be slapping on these midnight lessons, the Ravenclaw was beginning to wonder if they cared about their well being at all.

She was lucky, the Ravenclaw Common Room was just in the distance, in another tower. The Hufflepuffs and Slytherins would have to trek it back to their Common Rooms at an odd hour of the morning and hope their Prefects would be able to fight off anything that came their way while they battled the sleep that would surely set in. Given that some of the Prefects were only now studying for OWLs...she wasn't sure she felt safe having them be the line of defense in a situation that could have been avoided.

As for the scrying.....she didn't know. Most times she didn't know the answers in Divination and tonight when the hour was so late and her mind was on her potion, she was even less inclined to know.

Oh, that's what the bowls and things were for. Though, why they had to be out this late was still up in the air. The moon did come out once it went dark. Unless this had to be done when the moon was at a certain point in the sky.

Ronan had zero clue as to an answer, since the ones that came to his mind had been said already. So, simply sipped his coffee and took notes. Which was kind of hard in this lighting, but had to be done. Also, didn't scrying require full attention? How were they supposed to do that with half the class half asleep? Oh well, he was too tired to think about that.

Now Harriet wasn't the best at Divination. It wasn't her finest subject, and honestly she didn't like it. She was looking forward to dropping it after her OWLS. But for now, she was trying her best. She wanted to pass. She didn't see the point in her taking it, if she didn't at lest try to pass. If she tried her hardest, then she knew it would at least be okay.

To be honest, she wasn't too sure about the question, and she remained quiet for a few moments trying to think about an answer that at least made sense. This was going well. She was totally on her way to pass the owl. Eventually though, she did still her hand in the air. "I Agree with Sky!" The girl murmured with a smile. "I'm pretty sure gazing into crystal balls is a form of scrying" which would make sense, since it was a similar medium since they were both kind of reflective.

Maisie sleepily raised her hand. “Tea,” She said. “You could look into tea,” She really wanted a cup of tea.

Trying to wake herself up, she dug her fingernails into her palm. The pain raised her out of her stupor. Maisie checked she had her books and pens.

Retaking her place in the center of the room Professor Vance began her lecture which hopefully would make the drowsy more alert. "Water scrying is a very common divination method that has been practiced since ancient times and roughly speaking it's interpretation of visions you see in a medium of choice. The objective has usual been personal guidance, revelation or prophetic. All forms of scrying has always been viewed as a prominent means of fortune telling."

"Any basin of rock, pool , pond, fountain or lake can be used as a reflective surface for the water scrying readings and something we hopefully always have access to is water in some shape or form. There are many variants of divination methods that appear similar to water scrying like those you've mentioned here in class like scrying with crystal balls, mirrors, pyromancy and tea leaves. Other methods similar are hydromancy that you all tried practicing last school year by the lake or spheromancy, captromancy, and anthracomancy to name just a few."

Laurel paused her to give all the students some extra time to take notes since she knew it was late and they were tired. "As I said earlier we are tonight going to water scry in the light of the full moon. Can anyone tell me why they think it's best to scry in the full moon light?"

OOC: Question 2 is up! Give a guess as to why your student think its best/most optimal to scry in the light of the full moon. All answers are welcome both right, wrong and weird. I'll move on in about 24 hours at approx 6.30 pm

Oh. Full moon. Hattie did kind of know a bit about the full moon. That was good. It made her feel a little more confident about the subject. At least she knew something. That helped. She didn't feel like she didn't know enough. So she was happy that she at least knew a little bit. She wrote down her answer, making sure that it made sense before she said it. She did not want to look stupid, especially when she thought that she actually knew the answer right now. That wasn't something she could usually say.

Smiling, when she'd wrote it down, she put her hand into the air. "I've heard people say that the full moon makes them feel more energetic and alert during the phase of the full moon. Also our bodies and minds are connected to the lunar cycle, so I guess that means it could influence our readings, and maybe make it a little easier to understand them?"

Jessa looked about the room as the others offered up their responses and the Professor in turn replied. Did she feel bad that only those who'd offered up an answer would receive points? No. Ravenclaw was losing anyway and it wasn't a direct reflection of how strong they were as a house. If nothing else it was a reflection of how finicky Professors could sometimes be.

Did she want to reply to this second question?

Not particular. Did she feel it properly incentivized? No, but she supposed she couldn't remain silent for the entirety of the lesson. As a result, the Ravenclaw slowly lifted her hand.

"Only reason I can think about is if you happen to be out of lights. The full moon's particularly bright, you'd be able to more accurately see whatever you're looking at as opposed to a night with no moon or a half moon."

A practical answer, because she wasn't sold on Hattie's. Maybe the moon did have power and maybe she should have studied it but for now...she would stick to practicality.

Why water scrying in the light of the full moon? Other than because the professors weren't valuing their student's safety in times when the dormitories were being ransacked? Not that there was anything she could do about it; besides, unlike the last time when she felt unsafe at Hogwarts, she was one of the 'older kids' now, being fifth year.

Pyromancy though ... now that was a Divination topic she could get behind. But alas, not something they were studying today.

"The full moon also symbolizes wisdom and intuition, which if there's one thing I'm certain about with Divination, it's to trust your intuition, so it makes sense on that note to divine under full moon conditions." Or well, maybe not, but it kind of made sense and was connected?

"Nope, just coffee, madame." He wasn't one to just drink potions willy-nilly, thank goodness.

As for the question about water scrying in relation to the moon? Yeah, he didn't know the answer to that one. But, if he had to hazard a guess? "It could be that it was the way it was done centuries ago, before electricity and everything and scrying by full moon is now just a way of connecting with our ancestors." Because it would be easier to see what you were supposed to be looking for with a light instead of the moon, non? Then again, it be that tiredness was just making him look for the simplest answer.

Derf was still trying to process this twilight zone they had all wandered into and him being the only one unnerved by it. At least he SEEMED to be the only one...maybe this was all a dream and he was dreaming and now his consciousness was becoming aware that he was dreaming?

Okay. He just really needed to stop thinking up stories and theories..BECAUSE NO ONE BELIEVED HIM ANYWAY!

Sighing and slouching a bit more into his seat, Derf listened to everyone as they offered up their answers. What did he know about the full moon and water? Only something completely practical and no where near what anyone else was talking about...but his hand was up regardless to try and contribute. "Well...full moons are connected with the tides...and um..." he paused to ruffle his hair, trying to remember what dad had said about them since his work in aquatic herbology was kinda heavily influenced by the tides and lunar cycle. "...and...well... Earth is able to hold onto everything, with gravity and stuff, except the water...so like...the Moon's pull on water during a full moon is at its strongest...althouhgh such a small amount of water like what is in our bowls isn't reaaaaaaaaally gonna be effected by the Moon's pull like the oceans and lakes are but...um...water is kinda more...fluid?"

Ish? Maybe.

Why scry under the full moon? To see werewolves better with m'dear?

He had to smirk at the thought, but he knew that werewolves were unrelated to this discussion. At least not in the train of thought that he thinks Professor Vance is leading into. If this was Professor Hirsch, for sure he would say that they would use the water to throw it at the werewolves as means of distraction or defense.

But right DIVINATION. Why are they out here at night under that big ball of luminous light? He racked his brains hard trying to remember if theres anything from his half-hearted listening of his grandma that says anything about full moons.... and maybe there was something. Up goes the hand "Professor, my grandma says that water collected during the night of the full moon is more potent, and is specially helpful for those who had a hard time connecting with the element of water." Yeah thats how that stuck to his head-- Moon Princess Yue of the Water Tribe.