Originally Posted by Parchment

Biological Family:
Pros:

• Support: emotionally and (sometimes) monetarily
• blood ties
• Always there for you, even if you don't want them to
• Don't need to be friends, just need to be there

Cons:

• Over-protectiveness
• no choice: if you don't get along, you can't get away
• Press you into doing things you don't want to do
• some quite odd characters

Other Family (Friends)
Pros:

• You can choose them
• same like/dislikes
• You can avoid them easier
• actually want to be there for you

Cons:

• They can decide to not be your friend
• harder to make amends
• come from different background, so different views/opinions
• can be bad influences

Originally Posted by Zoerawrr

Jake went back to sit down at his desk at the back, and picked up his quill that had been sitting in the ink, loading up, ready to write.

He had a whole bunch of names to choose, and that didn't seem right to him. He didn't 'believe' in Arithmancy all that much. In fact... he took it for the grade.

BUT SHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Deciding on the best name, Jake got started.

He shrugged. In HIS opinion, all of the interpretations of all numbers could relate to anyone if you looked hard enough.

Originally Posted by Hera

Emily returned to her seat, pleased with how the activity went.
"Great interpretations Finn", she said smiling at her fellow Claw.

Once she was seated she wrote her name on a fresh piece of parchment and began to calculate her family name number.

Originally Posted by Nordic Witch

Sophie turned pink as she did more than she was supposed to. Guilty she looked over at Finn and mumbled ashamed of herself "Sorry!" before returning to her seat. The next task was to calculate her own family number.

Sophie sighed. Another number would probably have fit her just as well as this one did. Was there a number which could be unique for just her or was that impossible? Prof Hadley might say something about that later in the lesson.

Originally Posted by RachieRu

Originally Posted by Nixy!

Iris sat and watched the students who did the demonstrations on the black board. As they were told to calculate their own numbers, Iris wasn't sure if Hadley was talking to the people who'd just done the Teachers names, or the whole class.

She picked up her quill anyway, and wrote down her surname. The surname that she really didn't like.

SPOILER!!: Iris' Parchment

BEAUMONT
2 + 5 + 1 + 3 + 4 + 6 + 5 + 2 = 28
2 + 8 = 10 = 1

My Family Name Number is: ONE.
Textbook Meaning: You inherit an independent spirit, a forceful nature, a strong will, and the ability to come up with original ideas.

My family could be considered to be these things for a number of different reasons and evens.

My parents chose to be independent when they broke away from their families in France and moved to England.

The rest of my "family" (i.e. My dad's parents, siblings...) have definitely shown their forceful nature when they DISOWNED me because I was born British.

Me, my mum and my brother are all very strong willed. It was tough when my dad left, but we all pulled through it. We all got on with our lives instead of breaking down and losing it without him.

I suppose the most "original" idea my family ever made was the move to England. Before my parents moved, none of the other Beaumonts had even visited the country, never mind lived there.

Iris looked at the textbook, with a frown. She didn't like this task. It was making her think about all the family issues that Iris didn't like to address. The ones she just wanted to forget.

Her interpretation wasn't very creative or insightful. To be perfectly honest though, Iris didn't want to try and interpret these things about her family. Doing so wouldn't bring her dad back, and wouldn't make her family accept her, so what was the point, really?

Originally Posted by Roselyn

Slumping down in her seat, she waited for Finn to interpret the number, and she...Evelyn wasn't so sure about it. Artistic flair? Concern for others? Taking out her Arithmancy book, she flipped to the chapter about the family number and read about Lafay's, seeing if she had heard the Ravenclaw prefect correctly or not.

An emotional nature?

Okay, there has got to be some way she miscalculated that number, yet the Professor hadn't corrected her. Hmm, well Lafay was rather emotional now that she thought of it. Her anger and irritation levels were...way up there.

Shaking her head slightly, she pulled her notebook closer to herself, flipping to a new page to calculate her own family name number. Bleh. Like she'd want to know about the Flores name. Couldn't she use Destiny's last name instead? Actually, the Slytherin would more then likely do that sooner or later to see why Destiny was...the way she was.



This failed. Her family was like...the complete opposite of this! In her eyes at least. Or...it was so opposite that it looked as if the description would fit them. Now, THAT she could believe.

...

That didn't stop her from sighing dramatically and letting the amazingly addicting to watch color changing quill to drop to her desk in annoyance. Even those flashing rainbow colors couldn't get her to smile.

Originally Posted by Macavity

Originally Posted by Anna Banana

One second into the activity, and Sierra was already frowning. Her last name had so many letters in it! G-r-e-i-n-g-o-t-h! Bahhh! She scooped her quill off her desk, straightened up her parchment, and then stared at her paper for a few seconds before starting. So...how were they meant to be doing this again? Oh, yeah--chapter two!

G + R + E + I + N + G + O + T + H
7 + 9 + 5 + 9 + 5 + 7 + 6 + 2 + 8 = 58
5 + 8 = 13
1 + 3 = 4

Hmm...the Greingoth family was a four, apparently. Now just what did that mean? Sierra glanced back at her textbook and silently read:

FOUR (4): You inherit a belief that hard work is the right way to work, a sense of cautiousness, thoroughness, and self-discipline.

Sierra made a slight face before taking notes on her parchment.

...but hard work isn't really the only way to work. For example, if someone does something for you, then you really didn't have to do any of the work yourself--they did all your work for you. Now I do think Greingoth's--well, some of us--have been known to be cautious. For example, seeing other people smiling makes me think they're up to something. This is one of the main reasons I'm so leery of Hufflepuffs some people. Thoroughness sounds pretty accurate for my family. After all, when we set a goal to accomplish something, we always see it through to the very end. I'd say we're very ambitious people. Self-discipline? Psh. I'll just pretend like that one's not even there.

Conclusion: I don't know if I like the number four.

Originally Posted by Zebragirl

Originally Posted by HaRoHeGiNeLu

Woah. She was right?

Woah.

Arithmancy got a lot easier this year, apparently. Or Ellie tried harder...

Nah, totally the first.

.....

Sighing, Ellie wrote her name on the paper, and went into her bag for her textbook....which she didn't have. Darn. Honestly, she never carried it around because she never needed it, and now when she did, she forgot it. Great.

Instead, she peered over at her neighbor's book.

One. So, what did that mean? She stood up in her seat a bit to better see her neighbor's book. And squinted. That helped to.

GASP.

That. Was. So. Her.

Or so she'd like to think. She thought she was independent. And she did have a strong will to get Bishop out of the school.

Heh. That was so cool.

Field trip now?

Arithmancy totally just got bumped up on the 'cool class' list.

Originally Posted by Lottiepot

What was with all the Hogwarts kids and not liking the families they belonged to? Was it just her or were there literally no others that had just a great a school life then their home life? Trixie adored her family, no doubt about it. True they would have their petty arguments but she certainly wouldn't go as far as saying that she wanted her family to just leave her or whatever.

So with that, the con side of the list was going to be slightly difficult. The Head Girl picked up her quill and started scribbling down notes here and there.

Biological Family
Pro's

•They can't ever leave you legally, so in theory they will always be there for you.
•They can understand everything about your past or your homelife and help you if you have a problem.
•Your always going to have a home and a family to return to when times are tough.
•Your parents are more likely to hve a deep bond with you, provided your close.
•They will always love you, even if it doesn't feel like it, and even if it's really REALLY deep down.

Con's

•You can't go to them if you have a problem with your family.
•Your going to get effected more if you argue with them compared to non biological family.

But on the other hand, Trixie was incredibly close to her non biological family, her best friend, close friends and her boyfriend made Hogwarts what it was and without them the Blondes life simply wouldn't be the same. She would find it hard surviving with just one of them, she certainly needed them both.

Non Biological Family
Pro's

•You can choose who they are, if you don't like them then you won't pick them to be close to you. Your more likely to pick someone who are similar to you and care about who you are and not just because they have to.
•You can go to them whenever you need support as they are only an owl away. You can tell them any issue you want, including family problems
•You have the ability to love them as much as you love your real family because of how alike they are, they can change your life for the better, especially your best friend! *Cough* Oliver

Con's

•They can simply leave you because there is no biological contract keeping them to you. They can just up and leave if you have an argument or a falling out.
•They might not know you as well, which makes it hard when you have a problem and they simply can't help you.

By the time she had finished they had already moved onto the next subject. The Slytherin placed her quill down, blinking down at her list, had it really taken her that long to write it all? She watched as people volunteered their services and then it was time to move onto the next part. Calculating her family number for her own surname? Err.. Okay.

M A L F O Y
413667

4+1+3+6+6+7= 27
2+7=9

The number nine apparently means that the family I belong to have a concern for one another, something I find to be very true for my family as we look out for one another all the time, we always have and i certainly look out for my cousins at school. A number nine family also give generously to one another Does parents spoiling their children come under this? Because then that might be true. They can also be artistic. My parents used to do a lot of creative things with me I guess and now I'm like it, and feel the need to serve, probably making them a very close knit family which we are. And lastly, a number nine child is supposed to inherit emotional traits, and in my family, that is very true!

There. That would do right

Originally Posted by The1HBIC

Marie sat there watching and listening as the others figured out the numbers for all the head of houses. That was simple enough. Marie was good at figuring the numbers, it was the interpretations she sucked at. Something that Finn seemed to be good at though. Hmm, maybe he could help her with her interpretation when she got her number figured. Good thing she was sitting next to him... or she would be when he returned to his seat.

Taking the parchment that had her list on it (will be added later) she wrote her name near the bottom and started to calculate it out.



After reading over the textbook meaning Marie frowned a bit. That didn't really sound like her... well all except for that last part. She WAS very stubborn and DID have strong opinions about things. As for family oriented, she loves her family and spending time with them. Just not as much time now that she was getting older. She would much rather spend time with her boyfriend friends than stay home with her family. Her helping others though? Did this book not know who she was? She thought about any time she may have helped someone else with something. Well, there were the times she broke some noses when those boys made Mia cry. They didn't bother Mia anymore after that. So not only did she help someone but she also solved a problem. That probably wasn't what the professor was looking for though. Not to mention it wasn't a very conservative attitude to have.

She looked over at Finn who already had his work done. Good. Now he would have time to help her. "Um, I don't think this number really suits me. What do you think?" She asked showing him the six on her parchment.

Yep, she was gonna take total advantage of his Ravenclaw smarts here.

Originally Posted by Lara_the_Firelady

Family...

Obviously, as the Gryffindor figured observing around, talking about families was a problematic thing for some people in the class. Well...Josh had slight problems with his family, too but who didn't? Nothing was perfect in this world. And yes, there was no such thing like 'perfect'. One should ask what he was thinking about when that person decided to create a word with such a meaning, whoever he or she was. Anyway, at least he was happy with his family no matter what so he had no hesitations like others as he wrote down his last name on the piece of parchment, ready to calculate it.

Hmmm...so he got two. Interesting and nice. Josh liked two. Yep, he liked it but.....WAIT! Checking the text book again, he did not need much time to see that he was wrong. That was only a '2', it was '11'. Now, that was different. He got a master number. MASTER number! Hehehehehe

Once he was done Josh put his quill back on the desk with a content expression on his face. Now, he could feel that he missed home. He even missed his mother yelling at him or sending him away to Ryan just to ged rid of the fuss he created. Hahha. Nice memories. Now to see what others were doing.

And by others, of course, he meant Evelyn. Wondering what the Snake Girl possibly got, his dark brown eyes searched her in the class...there she was! As pretty as usual, she seemed to be busy with her calculating. With a little warm smile on his face, Josh kept watching her as she worked on her number wondering which last name she was using for this. Her original one or Destiny's? Probably the original one as it was much more reasonable to calculate that one at her case.

Then when she seemed to be done after a minute or so, Josh was still watching her beautiful face without moving his gaze even for a single second, the boy's smile vanished too when he saw her displeased expression and disappointed sigh. Ah! She, the lion boy assumed, got a result that she did not like. There was no way Josh could let a little number make this Slytherin girl unhappy. No way!

So he grabbed his white quill, drew a circle around the '11' and took the parchment waving it towards her cheerfully ''ROSE! Hey Rose!'' the professor would not be annoyed if he raised his voice a little to ger her attention, would she? Hehe. ''Look here, hun! If you don't like your family number, it seemed to me that you don't, you can MARRY me and have THIS as the family number'' he waved the parchment some more ''I got a master number. A MASTER number, Rose. This is also the proof that i am The Master of Everything. We can be both happy with this number!''

Bahahahaha! Yeah, everybody knew he was right. It was just difficult for them to accept it.

Originally Posted by Walrus

Jacob, had no idea what was going on. He had finally lifted his head off the desk, when they were making lists... and Simon was watching him. Whatever. He wasn't going to ask.

Oh, they were calculating numbers. Jacob could do that... kinda... sort of... maybe.

Jacob set his quill down... this is why he didn't enjoy this class. It was all numbers, and guess work. Nothing factual... It was like Divination which he quit after his first class just numbers instead of chrystal balls.

You had to live life... you couldn't just sit there and try to explain it. This would make people go crazy... sitting in a small room with a bunch of numbers trying to figure the meaning to their pathetic little lives... the waste of time and education, trying to figure out the world, when they could be helping it.

Originally Posted by grangerfan8

While the other students volunteered for calculations, she decided that she would glance at her list again, maybe add a few more to the list. Cause SHE sure wasn't gonna volunteer.



After the last glance over her list...and after deciding what she did and didn't want to add, she glanced back up at the front of class. Sure the last list was the shortest, but she couldn't think of what else to add to the list.

Ah. They had to do calculations. Well... she was doing better at those, and it only took four terms. Pulling out another piece of parchment, she opened her book up to the correct chapter and started to work on her surname calculations.



Hm.

All this talk of family was actually starting to have them missing them a bit more. She would have to write them once this class was over. Placing her quill down on the table, she eased back in her seat and waited for the next set of instructions.

Originally Posted by ArianaBlack

Nika wrote some notes on her parchment and in the corner she began to calculate her family number.



Nika looked through her text book and found the page on family name numbers. She frowned slightly when she read the short description it had for the number 4. All of the other numbers had way more written to describe them.

Nika took some more notes on her parchment including how her family liked to be careful and get things done with hard work. It wasn't really true though, she thought to herself. Her dad is so lazy it's not even funny.

Originally Posted by jengirls109

Originally Posted by scarsandtetris

Charley scrupulously copied down all the necessary notes, then began calculating her own Master Number.

K E L L E Y
2 5 3 3 5 7
25
7

She seemed to have had an easier time with the calculations than most of the other students. Well, there's a reason I'm in Ravenclaw. She grabbed her textbook and flipped through to the page that gave the information associated with the number as a Family Name Number, also copying down the descriptions in the front of the book.

7: Analysis, research, solitude, wisdom, spiritual focus, investigative, mystical

SEVEN (7): Analytical and Mystical
Key Words: Intellectual, inner wisdom, scientific-technological minded, metaphysical and occult mysteries, loner, eccentric, intuitive, private, skeptical, reserved, analyst, education, calculation, logic, ritual, reason, dignity
Astrological Equivalent: Pisces
Tarot Card Equivalent: The Hermit (silent, wise, seeks truth. The solitary Hermit is the wise teacher and withdraws to mediate); the 7s of each Minor Arcana suit
Colors: Violet, purple
Gems: Amethyst, alexandrite
Flowers: Lavender for silence, rose-scented geranium for preference and discernment

SEVEN (7): You inherit a desire for knowledge, you value learning, and you respect quality, facts, and theories, as well as a need for spiritual understanding. Your family traits will be those of observation, analysis, perfectionism, and the desire for privacy.

That's so true...More about Henry and I than the others, I think, but very true.

Originally Posted by Snape'sGirlThru&Thru

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

Kurumi stared at her parchment, quill in hand, and felt as though all the breath had left her body. She looked around as everyone began calculating their family numbers...but it wasn't as easy as that for her. Her father, the man she loved and grew up admiring so much, wasn't who he said he was. There was no person named Charles Hollingberry, at least, not one that had a birth certificate. No, her father had faked his own death years before she was born, changed his name, and run away to Japan to work. He had even changed his appearance slightly...Kurumi didn't know who he was...or who she was anymore.

Hollingberry...or...the other name...

Tears already stinging her eyes, Kurumi put her hood over her head when she saw her hair turning a dark slate blue. She could control the changes for the most part these days, but explosions of intense emotion were still impossible. Leaning forward now so that he face was hidden a bit, Kurumi began to calculate...



Hands shaking, Kurumi looked to her textbook and read the description aloud in a low whispered as her voice showed how she was feeling inside. "You inherit an independent spirit, a forceful nature, a strong will, and the ability to come up with original ideas."

Frowning even more, she wasn't sure this fit her at all. She was not very independent, nor was she forceful by nature. Strong willed? Perhaps...but the rest did not seem to fit. Hands shaking even more now, Kurumi found herself unable to see for a moment due to the tears. Picking up her quill again, Kurumi began another calculation.



Using the sleeve of her robe to wipe away tears now, Kurumi returned her blurred gaze to the textbook. Your greatest growth will come from compassion and forgiveness. Her hair finished its metamorphosis to dark slate blue and Kurumi clutched the hood of her robe tightly as she read the sentence over and over and over again.

Forgiveness...compassion...all things she had wanted from her mother who refused to so much as look at her without her brown colored contacts in. All because she was a witch...all because she was different...Then there was her father who had taken extreme steps in his life to protect himself and his family...but why?

How could Kurumi forgive without answers?

Unable to take it anymore, Kurumi buried her face in her arms and sobbed softly.

Originally Posted by Luinevaug

Luin smiled as the professor said her answer was correct, although she was a bit slow on the uptake to by a volunteer. She shrugged and then start to calculate her family number;

Hm, well four did seem to work, although she wasn't sure if she had done it right. She shrugged and then looked over her list of pros and cons for biological and chosen family.

Originally Posted by PattyH.

A little shocked that his Mother's name was not to be used in the equation, Patroclus selected a new piece of parchment and wrote out his surname, then began to assign each letter it's corresponding number.

Then it was simplify time!


Look back over the parchment, Patroclus couldn't help but smile; it was true his family was perfect!

Originally Posted by Steelsheen

Salander has been sitting quietly behind Lexi, chin resting on one hand and the other holding a quill at the ready but the parchment has been nice and spotless for a good while now. He had finally managed to shift his eyes from the pretty blonde bob in front of him when he heard a soft, sobbing somewhere off to his side. All he could see was a small, hooded figure and had no clue who it was until he heard Jake whisper out...

Kurumi? Now why was she crying?

He frowned, deciding to try to speak with the young Gryffindor after class. He shifted his eyes back to front to try to figure out where the lesson was currently at. Ok something about families and crunching numbers. Someone said Families Suck. Well heck Salander agrees 101%.

So apparently they need to code their family names and get the meanings. Simple enough he mused as he began to scribble earnestly on his parchment



He dropped the quill back onto his parchment, leaned back into his seat and resumed staring at the lovely blonde locks that bobs from time to time in front of him.

Originally Posted by scarsandtetris

Charley stiffened a bit.
Should I tell her?
Go ahead. She is your best friend.
Get out!
Sorry.
"I'm not sure how exactly to word this, but my brother Henry, the Ravenclaw who graduated last term; he's a very...accomplished Legimilens. That basically means he can read people's mind. Legimilency is another branch of magic, one they don't normally teach here, and one most people never master any part of. Not as if it's necessary such as Charms, though, so that's perfectly all right. Anyway, he's started teaching me somewhat, and every once in a while, he'll sort of..put his own thoughts into my head, and I'm sort of able to do the same, since he'll read my thoughts. He knows how difficult our family situation is for me, and he watches out for me. He's basically my father, even though he's my brother and he's only six years older than I am. So, a lot of the time when I seem spaced out, I'm not daydreaming, I'm talking to my brother. In my head. Sometimes I am just daydreaming, though."
She giggled then looked at Jaina inquisitively.
"Do you understand, somewhat?"

Charley smiled at the compliment.
"Thank you, Professor Hadley!"

Originally Posted by jengirls109

Originally Posted by Mordanyes

K-Lee set to work on her list, only quickly putting some ideas down.



She frowned looking at it. She didn't really have many ideas to put on it, but still tried.

Oooo, adventure! Calculation? K-Lee was frowning within seconds of looking happy. She had forgotten that it was Arithmancy and that involved actual math and work. She didn't have any idea on what to do, so sat quietly.

K-Lee worked on how interpreting her families name. Writing it down, she referred to the textbook to see exactly how it was done.

K-Lee thought about it. It sort of fit her family, in a way. Though she didn't know what some of it meant. She went on with the task, poising her quill on the parchment again.

She had nothing. She sat for a few minutes, just trying to think.

That worked for K-Lee. It seemed to cover all she could understand.

Originally Posted by Lockhartian

Family. Oh, yes, he'd kept quiet about this on purpose. Totally, ON PURPOSE. Though, he completely adored his family, he still haven't figured out some things about a certain relative of him. So, yeah, better not to draw attention until he knew where he stood in said matter.

So, yes, well...he began to write.

Blink.

More blinking.

Well, that explains their need to keep Gilderoy in the dark.



A little interpretation for sure, because his mind was entirely unfocused thinking many things. Involving the family, that is. Especially the last bit. He ought to learn from it, certainly.

But dedicating to research was something he very much loved. No problem in figuring stuff out, then.

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

Still not wanting to raise her head, Kurumi held her breath in attempt to quell her sobbing for a few moments. A few strands of dark blue hair fell across her face, but to people not in her immediate area it appeared as though her hair were still its usual raven color.

Kurumi did raise her head a bit when she felt someone touching her arm and she looked up to see the concerned expression of Professor Hadley looking down at her. "S-S-Sorry for interrupting class, P-P-Professor," Kurumi said bowing her head in apology and drying her eyes with the sleeve of her robe. Taking a quick peak around, Kurumi saw that there were several other students with concerned faces and she quickly turned her gaze back to her parchment where they remained on a single word: lies. "I'm...just having some family issues at the moment and...calculating my family number is a bit overwhelming..."

She adjusted her arm so that her second calculation was covered, but it was probably too late to keep those numbers from Professor Hadley's sharp gaze.

Originally Posted by Hera

Emily smiled at Professor Hadley, it was true, she like many of her fellow Claws had a thirst for knowledge and great curiosity. And as she was so curious she decided to calculate her mothers maiden family name number.

"Oh that's my mother all right", she muttered to herself. No matter how hard she tried or how well she did at school, she was never good enough for her mother.... never.

Originally Posted by Anna Banana

Sierra's eyes flashed up to meet the professor. Another professor who knew her father?! Merlin! She suddenly got the feeling that if she ever stepped a single toe out of line at this castle, it'd only take about five minutes for her father to get wind of it. Scary, really...

Hmm...get anywhere in life? Of course she wanted to get somewhere in life. She nodded once to the professor before turning back to her parchment.

Okay, so maybe self-discipline isn't such a bad thing after all. Sometimes it pays to think before you act and figure out what would be best for you in the long run.

So now her parchment read:

...but hard work isn't really the only way to work. For example, if someone does something for you, then you really didn't have to do any of the work yourself--they did all your work for you. Now I do think Greingoth's--well, some of us--have been known to be cautious. For example, seeing other people smiling makes me think they're up to something. This is one of the main reasons I'm so leery of Hufflepuffs some people. Thoroughness sounds pretty accurate for my family. After all, when we set a goal to accomplish something, we always see it through to the very end. I'd say we're very ambitious people. Self-discipline? Psh. I'll just pretend like that one's not even there.

Okay, so maybe self-discipline isn't such a bad thing after all. Sometimes it pays to think before you act and figure out what would be best for you in the long run.

Conclusion: I don't know if I might like the number four...

Originally Posted by Zoerawrr

Jake glanced over at Kurumi and then at Hadley.

This session needed lightning up.

"I, for one, know that no family situation is perfect. I mean... also, look at the word. It's fam... which sounds like ham... which..." Uhh... new track? "Family sounds like... gravity. It ALSO sucks."

BAM!

Who cared that gravity didn't actually suck.

"Nobody... NOBODY has an ideal family situation. I mean, come on. I'm on my third or fourth surname, and I've had a bunch of foster families. The number of which is bigger than a hippogriff's hindquarters. AND even when you're set, that can still go wrong. My parents split, so where does that put me? Confusions, man. Just stick with the friends as a family. Too bad there's no surname for that."

NEXT TIME... Jake was gonna go with a totally made up surname.

"Just sayin'."

Originally Posted by Zebragirl