Dahlia did her best not to look towards the hooded men that had no reason to be in their class. Didn't they know how much their very presence was a huge distraction? How was she meant to learn anything when she was constantly nervous.

She turned her eyes onto the rocks that were set on the long tables. If she had to stare at rocks for the entire lesson she would. Anything to not see those creepy dudes in her line of vision. Like that one oddly shaped rock that was a strange mix of colors and didn't look like it belonged next to the others.

As for the Professors question... well... she really had no clue what-so-ever. Divination wasn't at all her strong suit. Lia raised her hand anyhow. "I'm really not sure but maybe we could paint them? I don't know what that might tell us though." Yeah, probably not her best answer but at least it could be fun.

...

What were they doing here?

Emm had been quite content to talk rocks as weapons and Professor Smiles was making it seem like it really WOULD be the direction they were going in. The fact Kizzy had a good left arm was even better. She was sure that with a Professor on their side, they could do SOME thing.

Except now the Headmaster's goons were here...and if they weren't the most distracting things in life she didn't know what was.

"Um..." It was hard to look away, super hard. Each time she looked to Professor Smiles, she found her green eyes sliding back to the pair. "If you...if you throw a rock at someone...and it hits them square in the face....it...it means they probably....deserved it...." What might have been said with MUCH enthusiasm was watered down to uncertain words. Emmerson shrank in her seat. They probably weren't looking at her but Merlin did it feel like that anyway.

The sudden sound of silence from the lack of a quill scratching should have been the first warning to this one. The hooded figures seemed to lean around Kitridge to exchange a glance, then the one without the quill flicked a hand at this churlish youth.

A hot stinging, burning sensation should be appearing on her lips right about now from the nonverbal stinging jinx sent her way. Several thick, heavy welts on the lips would follow as her mouth swelled to grotesque proportions for her insubordination.

No, they would NOT like to take a seat and do the lesson. The writer began jotting things down again while the one with the wand (seven inches, hawthorne and dragon heartstring) began tapping it menacingly.

This professor would need to see Lucien later. Indeed.

For now, the wand-bearer seemed to float over to the trapdoor as though they were indeed leaving. But instead, they slowly rotated their wand around the door, making it disappear entirely until the floor was one smooth wooden surface.

No one would be leaving until the Inquisitorial Squad said so.

Oh.

My.

GOODNESS!

That hooded person!

That hooded person with the rather SHORT wand, in her opinion at least, had just used that rather short wand on that little Slytherin girl! In broad daylight. In front of the PROFESSSOR. Normally, Flora would've laughed at the sight of seeing someone get hurt like that, because that kind of stuff was kind of funny to her, but not this time.

Nu-huh. No way. Not funny, security people. It would've been much appreciated if they hadn't made the door disappear, too.

How were they even supposed to concentrate on the lesson now? Did Professor Kitridge SEE any of this happening? Was Divination even one of Flora's favorite classes anymore!? Those were the questions she was going to try to answer using the rocks in front of her. She just.. didn't know how to do that. Yet. "Could licking a rock tell us something?" Something besides the fact that it could possibly not be a rock.

Emmerson had the best answer, though. Flora figured that if they threw the rocks at the hooded people, it would hit them square in the face. Multiple times.

Curtis definitely had plans after his classes were over for the day. He watched the two figures who his godmother had turned briefly to say...something.. to them. He couldn't tell given how far in the back he chose to sit. He eyed the rocks on the table in front of him, his arms folded comfortably as he leaned into his chair. He wasn't slouching just... comfortable. As much as he could be at the moment.

Lithomancy... Curtis thought privately as he eyed the rocks. Studying of stone carvings, etc. A few other classmates tossed these answers around. He merely pointed at one of the rocks that while was the smallest in the bunch had chunks forming a unique shape compared to the rest. Something that sticks out... He was going to remain silent... until he remembered how much trouble students received for being silent. He wasn't afraid of getting into trouble, but this Professor, however.... "A rock that has a different set of marking and shape is what I'd focus on, otherwise, it's easy to step over it and not notice it at all." As for ways it is used to be studied.. "There's usually a pattern with laying them out a certain way, though that means gathering more than one of them at a time."

Also, did his eyes deceive him or did the trap door entrance go bye-bye?

Dear Merlin, those dudes in the cloak first off reminded him of Demetors, it was kind of gross and he wasn't all that happy about the situation. He was rather intimidated by them, and they were ruining the school vibe quite frankly.

But doing his best to ignore them, he turned back toward the Professor. "I think it's called lithomancy." Blake said thinking about things he had read in the past. "Though, I have no idea how to actually do it."

Adam had been sitting in the back of the room, trying to focus on the lesson and not the numbness that he was currently feeling in his writing hand. Probably due to that nice little crucio spell he'd experienced at the opening feast. Each day was a bit better but still - that much energy in such a tiny body was apparently NOT a good thing and was leaving lingering side effects that were not fun at all.

And of course, he kept watching that hooded person out of the corner of his eye. When he got up and sealed the door completely shut...uh, that wasn't good. If they were about to be attacked he was not going to be able to find a way out of this - he was NOT jumping out a window!

What were they doing? Rocks? His attention was completely lost now. Oops.

This was too much. How were they supposed to concentrate and learn anything with the hooded people lurking about everywhere? Camryn closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them, she looked directly at the professor and nothing else. She listened to the lady talk about rocks. How did they relate to Divination? She thought her best bet was to listen and take lots of notes.

Camryn did have an idea that she wanted to share, but before she could raise her hand, someone else gave her answer. Note to self, give your answer as soon as the professor asks the question. She was starting to think of a plan B when the hooded characters made the door disappear.

Now Cam had been managing her anxiety thus far, but now that the door was gone, she felt trapped. That was not a good thing. She could not freak out, but she felt a panic attack coming on........again. She had to control her breathing. Closing her eyes again, she tried to focus on steadying her breathing. “Calm down”, she said to herself.

She was trying to keep calm, she was, but the longer those hooded dunderheads stayed near the more her nerves started to get more and more on edge. These were her students, her kids, her babies, she would not be allowing any of them to get hurt or disrespected. She knew she needed to keep a balance, to keep professional, but that mother side of her was screeching to hex them right this very second.

SPOILER!!: replies

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

Claudine stared as the figures stood on either side of Kitridge. She was upset to see them there and it reminded her of Umbridge all those years ago, observing the then Hogwarts professors. The Snakette hoped Kitridge wouldn’t be intimidated and would be able to carry out the lesson as planned. A pleasant distraction in the form of Heath arrived which made her feel a bit better. His presence had that effect on him. “Hi, you,’’ she mouthed to him.

Nature readings… that sure did sound interesting. Claudine had to agree with Kitridge. Nature was definitely wonderful as she had found out during that year at Beauxbatons when she would constantly find herself drawn to the Rose Garden. Even here at Hogwarts she liked to be out at the Lake or the pathways. Nature usually provided a calm and soothing effect, not to mention inspiration for sketches.

Doing her best to ignore The Hoods, the Snakette focused on the questions. Naturally it was a reading by rocks which she had heard of. But as for the name of that form of Divination? Claudine could not quite peg it though the answer felt as though it was on the tip of her tongue.

She wasn't sure if Claudine was being quiet because of the hooded people or because she didn't know the answer but Cassie gave her a small smile before going to the next student.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NiallNIP

Even though Quinn was excited for divination, he didn't actually know much in the way of the subject. This included whatever was going to happen with these rocks. He did know that he liked nature, though, so he was ready for that.

He wasn't ready to sit in a classroom with the Weirdo-Alliance members. They weren't the Headmaster—Quinn wouldn't be able to do a thing if he was in the room—but it was people like him, and they made Quinn exceedingly nervous. Quinn tried to focus on the rocks in front of him, but every now and then his eyes would dart up towards the hooded people to make sure they weren't going to attack anyone. When he was looking at the rocks, though, he did see some that he liked—one looked like a vague pyramid-ish shape, and another was pretty flat and oblong, but it had a hole in the side that intrigued Quinn.

Another quiet student and more encouraging snaps to try to get them to give some answers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadAlice

Violet had been staring at the hooded figures, trying to peer at their faces, when she heard the teacher begin. Well, she didn't like Divination, but she did like rocks, she always had. Ever since she was little, she would occasionally pick one up on a walk or in the garden, for no seeming reason, because they were not necessarily pretty or unusual rocks--just some rocks seemed to want to come with her. She would bring them home, put them in a box or bag, and hide them in her room, and then one of the servants or her uncles would find them and throw them out. And she would start again. She sat up straighter and leaned over the table, trying to decide if any of these rocks seemed to want to come with her.



Violet nearly dropped her quill when Professor Kitridge invited the uninvited intruders to sit down and join the class--she didn't normally take to Professor Kitridge's ways, but she had to admit, the woman had style. She hoped the teacher wouldn't get in trouble for that and decided to try to move the class along to turn their attention and raised her hand. "Well, I've heard of a type of rock divination called lithomancy, though I've never done it."

"Lithomancy is a form of divination that uses rocks, but not the one we are using today. Very good idea though."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Waddles

Mamie was not about these scary dudes being in her safe space. She eyed them warily and almost missed the first half of what Professor Kitridge said. Something about divination in nature and touching the rocks?

She reached for a rock, then paused. Wait, no. She said don't touch the rocks. Mamie withdrew her hand, but kept her eye on that rock. It was a good rock. She raised her hand. "I like this rock," she said, gesturing. "Can we use rocks divination to see what has happened in a place? L-Like, like if it's a good place or a bad place or...or if bad people were there?" She tried really hard not to look at the scary people. She focused on the good rock in front of her instead.

"Not for today's lesson. Rocks are used more for answering questions, healing, or seeing if you will have children or not." She glanced at the guest and back to her students. She hoped they were not frightened too much for her to keep teaching. She sighed about with frustration at the situation and how she felt so helpless.

Quote:

Originally Posted by astrocat

Ash nodded at the kids sitting nearby. It would have been awkward if they sat on the other side of class.

"I've heard of lithomancy too. I think you like, predict the future or something by looking at rocks. I don't know how though. Do you look at the rocks, the arrangement of rocks, the light on the rocks, the shape of the rocks... I don't know." For once, Ash could use a little divination. Although... knowing what the future held wouldn't change it, so maybe she didn't want to know. She picked a rock that was lumpy, like a heart or a brain or a fist. She didn't really know. It just seemed like a special rock.

"Ah yes, Lithomancy, that is a form that uses patterns of rocks. It is a great guess, but not what we will be doing today."

Quote:

Originally Posted by kayquilz

Aboli actu[ally managed a small smile as Professor K said she had thought of her this summer! And while planning some lessons?! "Yes - thank you, Professor. I need to come see you for some guidance about my future at some point..." Her and Healer Recard, her head of house. But with no owls...Aboli suddenly realized....applying to University would be impossible.

The punch to her gut was something she had not expected so soon into the class. But rhe realization had drained all color from her face. She put a hand over her stomach and tried to focused on Professor K's moving lips, the words from her mouth.

Rocks.

Rocks.

They were talking about rock divination.

Aboli normally had so much to say in this subject, but all she could think about was how quickly her plans could be ruined, DRASTICALLY SO. Rosier did not seem like he'd be easy to talk to...but surely he wanted to perpetuate magical people's development and continued education? Should she...ask him if she would be allowed? If "Trent's" treatment of her last term had anything to do with it, she was terribly afraid not.

What...what was going on???? Aboli had lost focus COMPLETELY.

Cassie couldn't help but to do something she never truly did much of, frown, Aboli not answering was like a child not liking suckers or ice cream. It just didn't make any sense and this just added on to her frustration of what was going on.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pundantic

Kitridge was a nice lady, he thought as his bottom lip wibbled, offering to be there for him as he navigated this new world. One without his Dad. But he couldn’t really stand to reply. He was too exhausted, listless.

So Kale fully lurched to awareness when Flynn sat beside him. He managed a soft smile, the weak kind that was mostly sad, at his bud to show his appreciation for the solidarity. Friendship, bro. It was more important now than ever. Kinda felt like the only thing they had at the moment.

He blinked down at the rocks, searching for anything tangible to answer her question, but his brain was straight up empty. Kitridge would have to excuse him. The fifth year couldn’t put more than a few solid thoughts together and stuff for classes was falling dead last in his priorities.

Kale was another that she gave a sympathetic look towards and just wished she could do more.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LilFox06

Valencia watched the hooded figured for a moment before raising her hand. "There's divination based on how light reflects off stones." she said. Perhaps that's what they were doing.

"Very good, there is divination based on this part of stones."

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArianaBlack

"Who needs bigger rocks when one has a wand?"

Professor Kitridge's question made Kizzy think. A big PROPER, think. Was Professor Kitridge telling them to use their wands to attack the bad people??? Was she ENCOURAGING rebellion? While Kiz appreciated the encouragement, it didn't seem like a good idea. No offense, but she didn't want to die yet.

AND

Even if wands were better than big rocks, Kizzy only knew how to do maybe... four spells maximum? Last term had been rough and spent doing catch-up with the early confiscation of her wand and she had a feeling this term wouldn't be much better. So she simply gave Professor Kitridge a blank stare before making her way to sit down.

Rock divination though? Kinsay raised her hand, despite having no clue. "Sometimes rocks have fossils. Is that divination?" Because it could tell you where dinosaurs lived and that's pretty important information. Kinsay thought so, anyway. She was trying to distract herself from the scary hooded people.

She could see she had gotten the young Ravenclaw's mind going and she couldn't help but like that. Especially when every wizard knew that they could make rocks bigger with a spell. How simple was that. "Rocks do have fossils, we don't use that as much for Divination, but it is interesting to see."

Quote:

Originally Posted by BanaBatGirl

Bernie had absolutely no clue that you could use rocks for divination. However, at this point in her many (read: five) years as a witch, she had learned that you could basically use anything for Divination. There was no avoiding it, apparently. So for her answer, she fell into her default mode of making something up.

"You could... skip a stone across the lake and see how many rings it makes in the water," she guessed. "Or if you've got long game, you could get a stone wet and then see if it'll grow moss and then you could burn the moss and read the smoke rings."

She really had no clue. It was hard to make a good guess when they were all being watched by these people but they couldn't see WHO the creepy watchers WERE. They were just ... hoods. Bernie blinked and decided to be a watcher herself; she watched as the professor spoke to the suspicious people, her gaze darting between the adults with hesitation. Were the rocks really here for the lesson or did she want to give them an extra weapon (besides their wands)? Hufflepuffs were nice like that, Bernie thought. Maybe Kitridge was just looking out for them, really. Then she took turns watching each additional person who answered, wondering how some of the kids (the ones mentioning lithomancy) knew which chapters to read before the first of day school, even. Guess those ones were the seers.

"Skipping stones is a form of Divination, it isn't what we are doing today, but you are on the right path.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anna Banana

Delilah was equally shocked and relieved when the professor carried on with the lesson as if the hooded figures hadn't ever even arrived at all. It was admirable, but it was worrisome, too. Each and every time someone showed the least bit of resistance, Delilah was taken back to that very first crucio she had seen at the feast. It wasn't exactly a mental picture most people wanted to have.

Rocks. Just...rocks. Delilah had never, not even once in her life, considered rocks very interesting. They especially didn't 'speak' to her at all. She stared down at the rocks before her, though, but it was really just as a distraction from the hooded figures.

She raised her hand. "I don't really know much about Divination, but if I was walking through a forest, I would probably just pick up a really pretty rock. Or maybe even a rock that I could throw," she said. Having pretty rocks and rocks she could throw, though, had nothing to do with Divination. "I'd say if we wanted to use them for Divination, we would look at sizes and shapes? Maybe whether they're smooth or jagged?"

"Picking up a pretty one or one with smooth or rough edges speaks volumes about you and your aura, Diviners look for many things when reading people, these would be very good examples of that."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Watson

Noah hadn't been feeling his usual self so he had been rather quiet at the beginning of class. Rocks... Reading. Shadows? Shapes? Lines? He mulled over what they could be doing with the rocks today.... He stayed silent, listening to the other students provide their thoughts and answers to Professor K before raising his right hand. He intended on building on top of Delilah's idea in a way. "Would we also look at cracks on the rocks??" He paused, running through ideas in his head. "Shadows perhaps?"

"Looking for cracks in rocks could help with certain forms."

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

Don't touch the rocks.

.......................

Why was it always so hard to follow instructions to not touch something? Aries and himself had never been quite good at that, often sneaking into dad's office to play with his figurines. They used to get away with it, sort of. Dad had this crazy photographic memory where he would pick up at the tiniest of change in position. Mum would say the same about her work bag and that exploration had sent them on an emergency trip to Mungo's. Andromeda didn't like it when they touched her stuff either...but they did it anyway.

Anyway. Rocks. There was no way in Hades that Atlas was leaving this classroom without a rock in his pocket...but not to throw it at anyone like Emmerson was suggesting. He was...going to ignore that statement, especially since it was the total opposite of what she had been saying last night about resisting and using force against these people, and instead eye the pile of rocks nearby to pick out his favorite.

He didn't know anything about Divination, just how to troll here and there with astrology, but he DID like the suggestion of one of his housemates.

"I like the skipping stones idea. Can we do that?"

Because then they could be outside and maybe feel less like these hooded figures were breathing down their necks. Also...maybe they could provoke the giant squid and he could go all kraken on Hogwarts and the Neo-Alliance.

"We can't do that today, but maybe one day we can do that form and go down to the lake." Maybe on a spring day one term.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lady of Light

Rocks??

Valentina didn’t know one could use rocks for divination but then again, she didn’t really understand the subject all that much. She simply stared at the rock sitting in front of her for a minute or two.. uhh?? they weren’t really speaking to her at all?? She just didn’t get it so she simply looked around a bit.

.... “I didn’t know rocks could be used for divination... reading purposes, Professor!” She responded to the professor’s question several moments later, raising a hand.

"You can use many things, but rocks have been used for as long as anyone can remember. They were most likely one of the first forms of Divination to come about."

Quote:

Originally Posted by DuckyLinJi

The Hufflepuff definitely needed to hear those words. After indirectly being called worthless as a muggleborn was something no one signed up for. He nodded in appreciation before he looked next to him as one of the Flamsteed boys decided to sit next to him.

Now, he wasn’t that familiar with the Flamsteeds apart from that their Herbology professor shared the same name. Were they related or was it purely coincidental like the name Yoon was normal but not all Yoon’s were related in his home country?

Also , which one was this? That Atlas kid or what was his name again?…Aries right? Sounded about right. He would pay attention when the Professor called his name that way he would know for sure.

Before he could greet the young Gryffindor, his eyes saw the hooded figures coming in to the room and he immediately closed his mouth as he clenched his jaw as they stood behind the professor. Feeling that his hands had started to tremble in fear, the seventeen year old put them under the table so that no one saw.

He looked at the rocks in front of him and wondered which one got his attention . None of them did, the hoods were too distracting at the moment.
Hi

His mind went to an old computer game he had played with his little brother in which they had obtained golden rocks after learning the divination skill in the elf clan. But that was probably not what the professor meant so he thought of something else. He must have remembered SOMETHING . ”Liomancy….right?” he asked slowly before he added ”Oh! i meant Lithomancy ”

"Very good guess, not what we are doing today, but still a great guess."

He blamed the hoods for this mistake.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nordic Witch

Bella gladly dropped her eyes to the rocks on her desk instead of the strangers that had showed up in this class too. It was best to ignore them and just focus on the lesson and the question they had been asked. She studied the rocks for a moment before she looked up at Professor K. Raising her hand she answered. "If a certain rock is extra shiny or has an unique shape or colour or in some other way draws my attention to it then I'd pick it up." Bella studied her rocks again before adding on. "I suppose we can read the stones by throwing them on the ground and see how they land if it's up or down or sideways. Other ways to read could be by interpreting the stones surfaces like if the stones are smooth, cool, hot, jagged or rough or has a certain colour. I also think the most common divination form with stones is called Lithomancy but there is also pessomancy or poe divination."

"You are correct, but with pessomancy we would use beans or just pebbles, not big rocks."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kolyander

Dahlia did her best not to look towards the hooded men that had no reason to be in their class. Didn't they know how much their very presence was a huge distraction? How was she meant to learn anything when she was constantly nervous.

She turned her eyes onto the rocks that were set on the long tables. If she had to stare at rocks for the entire lesson she would. Anything to not see those creepy dudes in her line of vision. Like that one oddly shaped rock that was a strange mix of colors and didn't look like it belonged next to the others.

As for the Professors question... well... she really had no clue what-so-ever. Divination wasn't at all her strong suit. Lia raised her hand anyhow. "I'm really not sure but maybe we could paint them? I don't know what that might tell us though." Yeah, probably not her best answer but at least it could be fun.

"Though this isn't something we would do in Divination, it is something fun to do. It is also fun to hide them after painting them for others to find." She did that with her nephews in her brother's muggle town once or twice.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

...

What were they doing here?

Emm had been quite content to talk rocks as weapons and Professor Smiles was making it seem like it really WOULD be the direction they were going in. The fact Kizzy had a good left arm was even better. She was sure that with a Professor on their side, they could do SOME thing.

Except now the Headmaster's goons were here...and if they weren't the most distracting things in life she didn't know what was.

"Um..." It was hard to look away, super hard. Each time she looked to Professor Smiles, she found her green eyes sliding back to the pair. "If you...if you throw a rock at someone...and it hits them square in the face....it...it means they probably....deserved it...." What might have been said with MUCH enthusiasm was watered down to uncertain words. Emmerson shrank in her seat. They probably weren't looking at her but Merlin did it feel like that anyway.

Giving a small glance over her shoulder and back to Emmerson she needed to get the girl to stop before she got hurt, but she couldn't help but be amused by her spirit either. Some of these students were so stubborn and so willing to get into trouble and danger. It terrified Cassie, but on some occasions had made her proud as well. "We won't be throwing any rocks today. " She kept her eye contact just a bit too long before turning to another student.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Destiny

Oh.

My.

GOODNESS!

That hooded person!

That hooded person with the rather SHORT wand, in her opinion at least, had just used that rather short wand on that little Slytherin girl! In broad daylight. In front of the PROFESSSOR. Normally, Flora would've laughed at the sight of seeing someone get hurt like that, because that kind of stuff was kind of funny to her, but not this time.

Nu-huh. No way. Not funny, security people. It would've been much appreciated if they hadn't made the door disappear, too.

How were they even supposed to concentrate on the lesson now? Did Professor Kitridge SEE any of this happening? Was Divination even one of Flora's favorite classes anymore!? Those were the questions she was going to try to answer using the rocks in front of her. She just.. didn't know how to do that. Yet. "Could licking a rock tell us something?" Something besides the fact that it could possibly not be a rock.

Emmerson had the best answer, though. Flora figured that if they threw the rocks at the hooded people, it would hit them square in the face. Multiple times.

"No we would not lick rocks, you don't know which animal might have peed on them or anything like that. I would never ask you to lick something that has been on the ground."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charely Potter

Curtis definitely had plans after his classes were over for the day. He watched the two figures who his godmother had turned briefly to say...something.. to them. He couldn't tell given how far in the back he chose to sit. He eyed the rocks on the table in front of him, his arms folded comfortably as he leaned into his chair. He wasn't slouching just... comfortable. As much as he could be at the moment.

Lithomancy... Curtis thought privately as he eyed the rocks. Studying of stone carvings, etc. A few other classmates tossed these answers around. He merely pointed at one of the rocks that while was the smallest in the bunch had chunks forming a unique shape compared to the rest. Something that sticks out... He was going to remain silent... until he remembered how much trouble students received for being silent. He wasn't afraid of getting into trouble, but this Professor, however.... "A rock that has a different set of marking and shape is what I'd focus on, otherwise, it's easy to step over it and not notice it at all." As for ways it is used to be studied.. "There's usually a pattern with laying them out a certain way, though that means gathering more than one of them at a time."

Also, did his eyes deceive him or did the trap door entrance go bye-bye?

Her godson of course would know a few things after growing up with her visiting. She smiled at him and nodded, "Yes patterns with rocks is used, but just not for today's lesson."

Quote:

Originally Posted by love-for-HP

Dear Merlin, those dudes in the cloak first off reminded him of Demetors, it was kind of gross and he wasn't all that happy about the situation. He was rather intimidated by them, and they were ruining the school vibe quite frankly.

But doing his best to ignore them, he turned back toward the Professor. "I think it's called lithomancy." Blake said thinking about things he had read in the past. "Though, I have no idea how to actually do it."

"Lithomancy is a great guess, not what we are doing today, but very good."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lissy Longbottom

Adam had been sitting in the back of the room, trying to focus on the lesson and not the numbness that he was currently feeling in his writing hand. Probably due to that nice little crucio spell he'd experienced at the opening feast. Each day was a bit better but still - that much energy in such a tiny body was apparently NOT a good thing and was leaving lingering side effects that were not fun at all.

And of course, he kept watching that hooded person out of the corner of his eye. When he got up and sealed the door completely shut...uh, that wasn't good. If they were about to be attacked he was not going to be able to find a way out of this - he was NOT jumping out a window!

What were they doing? Rocks? His attention was completely lost now. Oops.

Another quiet one that Cassie worried was not focusing before of these jerks. She sighed, but had no time to react to anyone else when they took things into their own hands.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inquisitorial Squad

The sudden sound of silence from the lack of a quill scratching should have been the first warning to this one. The hooded figures seemed to lean around Kitridge to exchange a glance, then the one without the quill flicked a hand at this churlish youth.

A hot stinging, burning sensation should be appearing on her lips right about now from the nonverbal stinging jinx sent her way. Several thick, heavy welts on the lips would follow as her mouth swelled to grotesque proportions for her insubordination.



No, they would NOT like to take a seat and do the lesson. The writer began jotting things down again while the one with the wand (seven inches, hawthorne and dragon heartstring) began tapping it menacingly.

This professor would need to see Lucien later. Indeed.

For now, the wand-bearer seemed to float over to the trapdoor as though they were indeed leaving. But instead, they slowly rotated their wand around the door, making it disappear entirely until the floor was one smooth wooden surface.

No one would be leaving until the Inquisitorial Squad said so.

She felt the leaning but hadn't seen anything at first, it wasn't until the young girl in front of her was hit that she had noticed. She let out a scream and rushed towards her. "What in Merlin's name are you doing? These are children, CHILDREN! Many of them don't even know spells, it is their very first day." Mother Cassie was out and not going back, "You can watch my lesson, you can have them fill out forms, but this is still my classroom and you will not be harming students." Her eyes watched as the other took away the door. She glared at them both and turned to the students.

"We will be working on Zygomancy today, Zygomancy is an ancient Divination form that uses rocks in many ways." She took a breath to calm herself, she would get them started on the lesson then she would be having words with these people.

"Zygomancy takes on a few different ways of reading. It as other forms I have taught has both light and dark sides. The dark side is tying a rock for weight on a corpse and asking questions. If the corpse is to heavy to move the answer is no. In other ways it has been used is women would use stones to see if they would have children, some readings would see if a person would be healed of an illness." She was sticking close to the students to keep them as safe as she could and trying to keep her eyes on the men. "In today's lesson we will be working with the weight of the rocks and whether or not you have a good or bad omen." If she would have known how today was going to go she wouldn't have picked Omens.

"Right now I would like to look at the rocks. Do not touch them yet, I want you to decide which rocks you like by seeing them first. Take your quill and put your initial on five rocks."

With that out of the way she turned to the hooded figures, "Can I please speak with you up front near my desk." This was Cassie trying to be brave professional.

Violet couldn't believe the way Professor Kitridge was going after those hooded guys--her respect for her Divination teacher was going up by the minute. She wasn't even worried anymore that the door was gone.

Violet turned back to the table of rocks--she had already picked out three that struck her as special and quickly put her initials on them before anyone else took them away. She held out her hand over the table, hovering just over the rocks but not touching them. Sometimes when she did this a rock would feel kind of warm or itchy on her palm, and then she would know that was the one. There! that round, smooth, white rock. She put her initials on that one, too. Now just one more.

Violet glanced up at the robed thugs at the front of the room to make sure they weren't up to anything while she worked, and suddenly felt a stab of heat on the palm of her hand. Did they do that?! Or..no, it was the rock underneath--a large, rough, reddish one. It looked angry, like Violet felt, so she initialed that too, as her final rock.

Ash was scared that the door was gone, but nobody was being explicitly threatened, so it was okay. She found her rocks. The fist/heart shaped one, a red and gray one that reminded her of phoevens, a smooth and cold-looking black stone, A flat one like a surfboard, and one that was just different. It gave off different vibes, y'know. It felt like a rock that Ash would want on her side. Inexplicably. She put her initials down. She muttered to the kids next to her. "Do you think I'll get a good one or bad one? I bet I'll get a bad one that is good in the end." Because that's how it usually ended for Ash. Right?

Quinn leaned over to Ash. "I bet you'll get a great one, Ash. At least one." Quinn was trying a new approach to the more mundane things: stay positive. He was having trouble with staying positive overall, like with how the hooded figures just hurt another student right in front of him and any of them in the class could be next, but he could at least try to be positive with the results of the lesson. He pointed towards the heart-ish one. "That one feels good."

Quinn immediately went for the muddy brown pyramid-esque rock and the dark grey oblong one with a hole that he was eyeing earlier, scratching "QFK" onto both. Beyond that, he needed to have another look-see. His eyes landed on a rock with a rounded bottom that made it wobble easily, and it had a purple streak running through it that looked really pretty—it immediately got the quill. There was another that was a blueish-gray and had a flat bottom and a couple peaks that stuck straight up. This one felt a little more brittle under his quill. Finally, he found one that just... seemed like a rock. The surface had the normal randomness one would of rocks, with flatter parts and a jagged edge, and it looked like it had been broken off a bigger rock. It was random enough not to have any distinguishing features. Quinn thought he should have one mundane one, and he wrote his initials accordingly.

When the quill stopped scratching along the parchment, Delilah winced. She braced herself, wondering who was about to get whatever was about to come. At this point, it could be any of them. It had been a Slytherin girl who'd been victim to the latest act of terror. She just bet her friends back home were having a wonderful start to their school year. She missed them, and she missed every opportunity she'd lost by coming to this horrible school.

She gave her professor a saddened expression. She was very, very brave, but there was no doubt in Delilah's mind that she'd be the next victim. She also tried hard to listen to the lesson and follow along. It was really difficult, though, for obvious reasons. So...five rocks. All she needed was five rocks and five reasons why.

Also, how was she supposed to write her initials on the rocks without touching them? It'd be awkward, but she could do it. Anyway...rocks. She did just what she'd said she would do and went straight for the one she thought the prettiest. She wrote DGE on it and moved on. The second rock she chose was one that looked really heavy. That was pretty much the only reason she'd chosen that one. She marked her initials on it, too. The third rock she chose was really smooth, and it looked like it'd been flattened by a muggle car or something else really heavy. Next, she went for a rock that had a weird shape to it. She couldn't quite figure out what she thought it was shaped like, but then again, the odd shape was what had attracted her to it in the first place. Finally, she chose a super small rock. Maybe even a pebble. She doubted it would get picked by anybody else, and right now, she just wanted to go for the underdog.

So all five of her rocks had been chosen, and they all had DGE on them. Now she was free to try her hardest to listen in on the conversation the professor had asked the hooded figures to have. If they even allowed it.

Mamie was not claustrophobic. She was concerned about the door being gone, though. What if something bad happened to all the adults and they couldn't ever get out? She doubted any of the students knew how to make a door reappear. She tried really hard to focus on Professor Kitridge and the rocks.

She still liked the first rock she'd wanted to touch, so she put her initials on it as directed. M. T. Now she had to pick four more?

Mamie eyed the pile of rocks and claimed a larger grey one, marking it with her initials as well. M.T. Then a more square-ish one near the bottom of the pile... M.T. Then a medium-sized one from the middle of the pile--she decided she would call it the Goldilocks of rocks. M.T. She was not sure she understood how this Zigomancy? Xylomancy? Zygomancy thing was supposed to work...especially since she already had a bad feeling. Maybe she'd feel better if she got some rocks with the good omens? So they'd feel...lighter? She labeled a smaller rock that looked like it had some holes in it with her initials. M.T. That one would feel lighter, she guessed. There was less rock there.

Then she set down her quill and folded her hands on the table so she wouldn't be tempted to touch the rocks.

There was a disappointment regarding the lack of skipping stones and being outside, especially as the cloaked figures' presence became more and more ominous, but Atlas' thoughts were soon far from thinking about Bartholomew Henry to worrying about the professor and one of his first year peers. And then there was the fact that the very door in and out of the classroom was...gone.

Thank Merlin he had used the loo before class.

Blue eyes darting over to the Slytherin girl, the blonde tried to get her attention from fearful gaze alone but...he figured it was a bit futile. Her attention was going to be anywhere but on him considering what these horrible people had just done to her cute face.

He hissed in a breath, hand instinctively reaching out for his brother's under the table and out of sight but grabbing Minjae's hand instead. Out of sheer convenience since it was right there. Atlas found himself afraid for Professor Kitridge...but also grateful because he knew that they had an ally in her at least. He...needed to go see her after class as well...

Realizing he was holding on to the older Hufflepuff's hand, Atlas quickly released it with a bit of an awkward apology under his breath while retrieving his quill. Did...did the lesson topic REALLY have to talk about corpses? And tying rocks to them? The Black Lake was LITERALLY right over there. Which was also why Atlas was no longer looking out the window. Instead he shifted attention to the rocks where he arbitrarily picked out five - the first five he looked at - and then scribbled his initials on to them while they stayed where they were in the pile.

And after he did that...he kept looking at the pile to see which one he was going to be taking back with him in his pocket.

GULP.

The hooded creepy people AGAIN. AND... the door was gone. Completely vanished. Valentina stared, looking more than a little horrified. Would they be able to leave this classroom at all?? What were these hooded people going to do? No, she wasn’t going to cry. NOPE. She immediately diverted her attention back towards the Professor, ignoring the tears that were slowly making their way down her cheeks.

Bad omen. It looked like they all had bad omens!! Wiping her face, she quickly got to writing her initials on any five rocks she could find before setting her quill down.

Nope. Not crying.

Dahlia had thought that she was doing well in trying not to focus on the scary hooded people. At least she had been. That was before one of those creepy dudes hexed a girl for no reason!. None that she saw anyhow. Why would they do that?! It didn't make any sense to her and she found herself very slowly trying to move further away from them.

Was the door to the room gone too?! How were they supposed to get out now?! Lia glanced around the room. Was it getting smaller in here?

She didn't like any of this. Not one bit. What she did like was how the Professor stood up to those guys... she just hoped they wouldn't go and hurt the Professor for doing so. Even though she hardly knew her she already liked her. The idea to paint and hide rocks sounded like a great idea, one day.

So she needed to choose five rocks and write her initials on them. Without touching them. Well then...

Lia let out a slow breath as she looked up and down the tables for the rocks she appealed most to her. First was that oddly shaped colorful one. Then one that looked almost clear bit it had a hint of white to it and was mostly smooth and shiny. A pinkish looking one that had a few almost jagged bits sticking out that vaguely reminded her somewhat of a flower that needed some serious help. A two-toned grayish one that looked like a piece had been broken off. The last was her favorite though. It was smaller then the others she had chosen, black but it seemed to have three smears of colors on it red, blue and a pinkish-peachy color.

As neatly as she could, without touching any of the rocks she had wrote her initials onto each one, DJD.

Despite being scared, or more like terrified at the moment, Minjae still craned his neck to see what they were doing and when he saw that they had vanished the trapdoor leading up to the classroom his face paled a little. ……Had those Hoods trapped them all inside of the classroom?

He was bought back to the now when he felt a hand in his own from under table and the Hufflepuff looked at Atlas or was he Aries?? who didn’t seem to realize that he was holding his hand. Minjae did not mind though which was funny because had this happened a year earlier he would have told the young Gryffindor to keep his hand with himself but with everything going on at the moment he couldn’t do something that heartless.

When the hand was gone, Minjae didn’t mention anything but looked at the front as the Professor began to scream when one of the students had been hit by a stinging spell. Her protective words confirmed him that she was definitely against the cult and he couldn’t help but look at her in both admiration and fear. Because surely the Hoods would not let it go that easily …

Zygomancy. Never heard of it.
Minjae listened as the professor began to explain the light and dark sides of the divination . It would have been a cool concept to explore if it hadn’t been for this year. Because now it sounded ominous .

The Hufflepuff picked up his muggle pen a small act of defiance and looked at the stones . They looked like normal stones to him , none that he liked more in particular. He sighed and put his pen on one of the first stones while trying not to touch the others and began to scribble his initials MY and found it stupidly funny.

He continued this process until he had put his initials on five rocks and placed down his pen. He had also found his favorite rock among them all. A palm sized flat surfaced grey one. Perfect for throwing across water.

Delaney had been staring at the rocks in front of her and failed to notice the hooded figures suspicious behavior until a sharp piercing sensation erupted on her lips. The young girl yelped in pain and slapped her hands over her mouth. Bad idea. The burning sensation got stronger and stronger. Hot tears welled up in her eyes, blurring her vision.

Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't Cry.

She breathed deeply through her nose and she continued to glare at the rocks as the professor rushed over, attempting to ignore the pain and the fact that it felt like her lips were growing in size. Gross. She refused to look up at the hooded figures or at any of the other students in the room as her cheeks reddened in embarrassment. The Slytherin slowly removed one hand away from her mouth, keep the other securely in place. With a shaking hand she slowly chose five random rocks to initial, not paying attention to their size or color or shape. She had a feeling that not participating would only worsen her situation, largely due to the fact that the hooded figures were still lingering about the room.

Kale Trent, ghost-boy and saddest lion devoid of sparkle these days, felt his whole body shift in focus when Kitridge decided to be brave. He wearily watched the whole exchange with his peers. The hooded dudes were scary, Prof. Like real bad scary. He had seen all kinds of stuff. He'd been on the opposite end of worse.

He appreciated her bravery-- he was a lion, after all-- but these guys were no joke. And he couldn't lose a teacher today.

The fifth year TRIED to focus on the rocks, he really did, but his attention was diverted.

Yeah, so why are they distracting us?? Austin glared at the squad as he was trying to do some work but failing epically cos he was being distracted.

WHY WERE PEOPLE SO DUMB?! Aboli couldn't compreHEND how younger kids and SOME of the other older students continued the snark. LIKE, these people were NOT playing, and Aboli almost thought, actually she DID think, well...at this point it's, what is it, survival of the fittest? BECAUSE COME ON PEOPLE.

But the hex thrown still made her cringe. She took a deep breath and tried her best to pay attention to what Professor K said after her little outbreak at the hooded figured (which Aboli thought was unwise on her part, honestly).

Right.

Rocks.

....Oooooh. The dark way...using corpses with the rocks sounded utterly fascinating, and Aboli thought, darkly, if the younger ones kept this up they would have corpses to practice with, too. No...no. Don't normalize it.Be outraged, afraid, and disgusted every time, Aboli... she thought to herself. Her dark humor needed to go away!

She squinted down at the rocks and picked five that were all around the same size and color. She liked reddish rocks, so she scribbled her initials on a few.

It was beginning to freak her out. All this hurting students and making them silent was really starting to make her question just what exactly was going to happen this year. Rocks, the lesson was supposed to be about rocks, yet her eyes were trailing the hooded figures around the room. Sighing she looked down at the rocks trying to avoid everything going on around her.

How many rocks could a person actually like? They were rocks. Trying to avoid eye contact on her part with the inquisition squad she glanced at stones. There was a purple/black rock that was pretty and kind of jagged and it called to her at that point. Maybe this class wouldn't be so bad after all. She could pick rocks. right?

Uh...had nobody told Professor Kitridge how these hooded jerks had even threatened Professor Williamson's life? And why?! Why make the trap door vanish? They weren't going anywhere anyways because they were in the middle of class now. Moose was doing his best to try and act like everything was normal, but that's near impossible when these fools just do things that would cause an uproar?!

He kept his head low and walked over to the rocks. Sure it was easy to just write initials on any rock, but Moose actually did put some thought into it. This rock looked like it would hurt a Hooded Figure MS. Oh and that rock looked like it would cause a splitting headache if it made contact MS. Hmmm, yeah this rock would be a real pain MS. No not that one, but this one! Oh yeah it would cause some damage MS. Finally the last rock would definitely take out some teeth. MS.

Once that was done and he felt satisfied with his choices. Moose walked back to his seat and waited. Keeping his eyes on the Hooded Figures.

Try as she might, Claudine could not quite ignore The Hoods. Especially when one of them did something that seemingly made the trapdoor disappear. Her dark eyes widened slightly when she realised that they were trapped in here. Why would The Hoods do such a thing? It wasn’t as though students usually upped and out of a class without good reason. Poor Kitridge. She must be so flustered because of these idiots. Claudine’s gaze darted back to the woman in time to catch the smile which she returned.

The fifth year began to make her notes, cringing in disgust as Kitridge mentioned tying a rock to a corpse and asking it questions. It was all she could do to keep from shuddering. Thank Merlin that wasn’t the form they’d be using today though she suspected that The Hoods might enjoy that.

Now, her attention turned to the rocks before her. Without really deliberating for too long, Claudine wrote her initials on five: a mixture of smooth and rough ones.