Nadia raised her hand but as she was about to speak, hesitated, and turned what was going to be a statement into a question; "Pardon, you mean the magical properties of the numbers, professor?"

Professor Fox chuckled lightly at Martha's answer. "Ah yes. I apologize, I remember how much I disliked it when my teachers wanted specific answers from students without asking specific quesitons. I apologize Ms. Johnson. As for Ms. Black and Ms. Kay, those are both very excellent answers. Ms. Black, we will address yours later in this class. Ms. Kay, you are absolutely right, all prime numbers, except for 2, are odd numbers. As it turns out, all known non-prime numbers can be written as a combination of two prime numbers added together. And yes, Ms. Rey, it is pronounced Ms. Rey, correct? At any rate, magical properties as well. "

He put one of his hands in his pocket and walked around to the front of his desk, leaning back on it casually, still holding his glasses with the other hand. "However, all of you young witches and wizards are interested with the magical properties and applications of these numbers, am I correct?" He scanned the room for a moment then continued, "Does anyone know of any magical properties of either 2, 3, 5, or 7? If you aren't certain, I encourage you to take a guess, then I will begin lecturing on their magical properties in a bit. So can anyone tell me about any magical properties you may know of, of these numbers? Any at all?"

*Elyshia copies down everything she has listened to.*

Nadia raised her hand, now sure what to say, "When we encounter a number 2 in the description of the traits of a person in Arithmancy, we know two’s enjoy interaction, two-way communication and balance. For this reason people with their personality numbers being 2 are thought imaginative and creative, sweetly-natured to most; their principes are commitment, loyalty and fairness, and with them you find peace and harmony.

"On the negative traits, with two-way communication also comes conflict, opposite forces and contrast. Because of this, these people are often withdrawn, moody, indecisive and self-conscious."

Alex raised her hand again.

"Two can have many different meanings, representing partnerships and interaction with others on one hand, and disunion and polarities on the other. In symbolizing partnership, two implies that individual achievements are not realistic because accomplishments are best realized through co-operation and teamwork. While duality is required for the formation of life in sexually reproducing species, it is also seen negatively when contrasted with the perfect, unified number one. Two represents polarities such as good and evil, black and white, male and female, left and right. One pole cannot exist without the other; this idea of complementary relationships is best symbolized with the Yin-Yang symbol. Polarity, though, can also create strife and discord. Two may be considered feminine, intuitive, and corresponds with our protective instincts. Negatively, two can be grasping, overprotective and cranky. The cranky aspect of the number two is derived from the disappointment and dissatisfaction of the human spirit when denied first place in anything." After a small pause during which she took a deep breath, she continued.

"Three solves the discord created in the polarity of two, resulting in a new integration and wholeness. This can be seen in the divisions of a human: mind, body, and spirit makes us whole. Three can also relate to expansiveness and learning through life experiences. It is considered to be lucky, and is often associated with money and good fortune. Three can depict several people joining together to achieve a common goal, whether through a social or professional affiliation. Three also represents communication of all kinds, expression, drama, acting, and humor. Although three possesses attributes of wisdom, understanding and knowledge, negatively it can exhibit pessimism, foolhardiness and unnecessary risk taking. Three is seen as a very magical number. In some cases, the number three can take on some negative aspects and is seen as demonic or unnatural, as there are no creatures in our world who walk upon three legs." Her throat was already getting dry from all the talking. It felt weird talking so much about ... numbers. And yet, she continued on.

"Five is connected to sensual awareness in the form of the five senses as well as protection. It is also a number which represents service to others. It is highly analytical and has the ability to think critically, but can over-ponder an issue to the point that its significance is no longer relevant. This number governs our ability to think clearly and our intellectual capacity. Five represents openness to new experiences as well as new ideas. Seeking freedom, it is often the adventurer. Five is about pushing life to its limits. It is a multifaceted number with links to our state of physical and mental health." Aaand, last but not least.

"Seven is considered to be a spiritual number because it is illusive and contains veils which must first be uncovered, one after another, before illumination will ultimately be found. Seven is said to be sacred, and this is evidenced by the fact that there are seven days in the week, ancient texts such as Genesis propose that the earth was formed in seven phases, the ancient solar system consisted of seven luminaries, and some versions of the Kabbalah have seven sephiroth. While seven possesses qualities of dreaminess, spirituality and psychic awareness, negatively it can be dubious, deceptive and insincere."

When she finished talking, she took another deep breath, and stared at Professor Fox, awaiting for a reaction.

ooc: Google is your friend.

After Emily had finished copying evrything down on the board she sat and listened to the professor. She could not think of any magical propeties for the prime numbers so she kept her mouth shut.

Lauren blinked, and then scratched her head.
She closed her eyes for a minute, Trying to recall if she had heard anything relating to this question.
She could not think of anything, So she just copied down what the students were saying.

"...Magical number.....Spiritual....Negative Traits....There, All done" She said to herself. She then put down her quill, and then listened for more.

Kali copied down some notes and then took a shot at the answer when she raised her hand, "Two is often seen as pairs and duality. As in Ying and Yang, light and dark, and other opposites. Threes represent triads, beginning middle and end. Birth, life, and death, " she paused.

She couldn't even think of a possibility for five.

"Seven is popular because of the many occurances with seven. Seven planets, seven days of the week, to name a few."

She stopped to let someone take their turn now. Then she realized that her reasons sounded more like Divination than Arithmancy.

Nadia lowered her hand just to see Alex speak this time. By the time she was finsihed, Nadia coudl only stare. She had pretty much covered it, didn't she? Well... Nadia did have a couple more things to say, especially of number seven... but suddenly she felt a little shy... maybe she would wait until the professor addressed them again...

Still casually leaning against the desk, he nodded as the students spoke. "Mmm... I see. Yes, very good everyone, especially you Ms. Hillcroft. Professor bree has certainly prepared you well in numerology and Greek arithmancy. Do any of the other students have any contributions to make? The younger students? Don't be shy, it's perfectly acceptable to make a mistake. That is what we do to learn you see, make mistakes. So, how about..." He leaned over and looked at his own personal chalkboard, "Ms. Stevenson, what do you think? Can you imagine any magical properties of say... The number 3?"

Professor Fox sighed, having failed to engender a response from the student. He certainly had hoped the students would be more willing to make mistakes in favor of participating. "I see. Well, how about anyone else? Anyone at all that hasn't answered? Magical properties of 2, 3, 5, and 7? Fear not, if you don't get it right, you need not be embarrassed, everyone makes mistakes. I will give everyone one last chance to answer, then I will begin lecturing I suppose."

All Emily knew about numbers was that seven was suposedly a lucky number.

Erica quietly slipped into the classroom, and seeing the directions on the board, followed them though she was absolutely sure that Professor Fox already knew her from their previous encounters.

Quote:

Name: Erica Arbon
Year: Third year
House: Hufflepuff

After that, she found a seat, pulled out her materials and started taking notes.

Lily raised her hand."Is it that three is the differnet stages of life?"she asked softly hten started to cough.She quietly apologised after she stopped.

:: Ganymede pondered a bit, playing with her pencil. She then held up her hand and said, "The seven numbers are linked by the planets." She decided to say. "The numbers also have meanings in numerology. Such as the number 2 is communication." She was tryng, atleast.

Suddenly, she remembered something she read.

Quote:

1 Initiative, independence, forcefulness (masculine number)
2 Diplomacy, tact, attention to detail (feminine number)
3 Spiritual, ambition, self-expression, easy success, lucky
4 Material, labor, routine work with little monetary compensation, unlucky
5 Imagination, inventive genius, charm, restlessness, adventurous
6 Tenacity, conscientiousness, success by working with another, domestic
7 Mysticism, magick, occultism, isolation, poets and dreamers; to be misunderstood by one’s associates
8 Judgment, reason, organization, financial success
9 Sympathy, generosity; dramatic, artistic talent (higher octave—teacher, master)

She raised her hand once more and added, "Number four is unlucky. It is something to do with work, number five is imagination and adventurous." She gave a weak smile as she finished. ::

::

Professor Fox nodded as Lily and Ganymede answered. "Thank you Ms. Black and Ms..." He leaned over and looked on his chalkboard, not seeing her name written down. "I'm afraid I don't have your name on my chalk board," he said to the Ganymede. "However, I believe we met on the knight bus, help me, as I can't recall your name. I apologize."

:: Ganymede sat up straight and said proudly, "Ganymede Craft sir, I am in my 7th year." She was happy he remembered her. ::

Kay turned her small blackboard so that Professor Fox could see her name.

Quote:

Name: Kayleen Minerva Harrison

She waited a few minutes before raising her hand to speak. "Professor Fox, from my previous studies and from extensive reading, I do recall that the number Three is considered to be lucky, and is often associated with money and good fortune. Three can depict several people joining together to achieve a common goal, whether through a social or professional affiliation."

Kay paused for a moment and continued, "Three also represents communication of all kinds, expression, drama, acting, and humor. Although three possesses attributes of wisdom, understanding and knowledge, negatively it can exhibit pessimism, foolhardiness and unnecessary risk taking. Three is seen as a very magical number. In some cases, the number three can take on some negative aspects and is seen as demonic or unnatural, as there are no creatures in our world who walk upon three legs."

Professor Fox nodded and wrote something down on his chalkboard. "Thank you Ms. Craft. Yes, as Ms. Craft mentioned, 7 is associated with magic and mysticism and has many very interesting properties, occasionally these are utilized in potion making, care of magical creatures, and certain permanent transfigurations and charms. We will get to these properties in a bit." He thought for a moment, then looked at Lily. "A creative suggestion Ms. Black, not quite what I was looking for, but thank you for your participation."

He set his glasses on the desk, then walked over to the board and began writing. "To get right to it, let us discuss the number 2 first." As he spoke, Professor Fox wrote a few notes neatly on the board, emphasizing them for the students: duality, dichotomy, understanding, awareness.

"You see students. Two is the first prime, it is in essence the building block of all numbers, magical and mundane. Furthermore, 2 is representative of dualism, or breaking things into two different groups.
Furthermore, this is how we humans are able to percieve the world, by organizing it into smaller groups. We do it on a daily level:

You and me; you and everyone else; good and evil; right and wrong; my friends and not-my-friends; Britain and not-Britain; wizards and non-wizards; humans and non-humans; alive and not-alive; wand and witch; male and female, the list is infinite.

Often, we make groups of just one thing, and everything else. Without groups, we humans cannot understand the world. For this reason, 2 is also associated with humans and human perception. There is a body and a soul, two intertwined elements that make humans what we are. You can see why 2 is so essential to magical spells. Without dualistic thought, we cannot even comprehend the world, let alone affect it. 2 is the organizing number. Some arithmancers would argue the most essential number in Arithmancy. Furthermore, all other numbers can be broken down into the sum of only two prime numbers. You can see why it is so important. For these reasons, you will notice almost all charms and spells have elements associated with two. Wands have two components: the physical wand and the magical core."

He turned to the students, "Are there any questions regarding 2, before we move on?"

Lily did her best to write as fast as she could without shakin too much.She quickly wrote the information off the board and took notes on what The Professor was sayin.Pullin her cloak tighter around her

Kay carefully took down the notes on her parchment. She underlined the key words that Professor Fox emphasized in describing the number Two. When Professor Fox asked if there were any questions, she shook her head and silently mouthed the word "No, sir."

Erica shook her head and waited for the professor to continue as she finished up her notes. She had to admit that Fox knew his Arithmancy, though it didn't do anything to change her feelings of animosity towards him.

"Okay, we will now move on to the number 3," he said, watching the students.

"Number 3 represents the first break from dualism, from human thought. For that reason, 3 represents a higher alternative, super human thought, the ability to solve problems. Often the number is associated with the ability to overcome common thought and opposites. Because dualistic thought necessarily requires opposites, three represents the overcoming of opposites, and the understanding of "gray" as normal instead of black and white, often creating a more calm and less aggressive nature. Furthermore, three is associated with a large number of prime groups. That is, different groups of prime numbers, include the lucky primes. For that reason, 3 also represents luck."

He walked to the blackboard and wrote the number 3 down along with a few lines of emphasis: intelligence, problem solving, serenity, luck.

He then looked to the students. "Because it is often associated more with 'thought' and less with 'reality', three appears most often in the areas of divination, arithmancy, astronomy, and ancient runes than the other more 'applied' areas of magic. However, as 3 represents problem solving, it is indispensible to curse breakers, code makers, and code crackers. It is also quite popular in potions and wand making, as three can represent complementing human understanding or human ability, which both wands and potions are intended to do. Interestingly enough, the number 3 is also highly intertwined with house elf magic, as house elves often represent the world in terms of changing complements, rather than opposing opposites." He leaned against the desk, holding the chalk in his hands. "Are there any questions about 3? We will address the applications of these numbers to the other magical areas you are learning in a later class. However, are there any quesitons, comments, or ideas you have about 2 or 3?" He asked, hoping the students would become more involved.

Terry Weasley
Hufflepuff
7th Year

Professor Fox looked a little dissapointed, fully expecting the students to be more inquiring. "Is everyone certain they understand all of this? It can be rather contrived and complicated I know." He scanned the room for a moment, happily noticing the late students were not making scenes, then added thoughtfully, "I fully encourage questions on the subject, no matter how wide ranging."

Lily raised her hand and weakly asked."So we use arithmacey in everyday life and all of our classes?"she pulled her cloak tighter around herself.