*hugs everyone* You're all doing awesome.
 

As she released the students to attempt their own readings, Renée found herself smiling a little. At least most of them seemed a bit enthusiastic about the lesson, and even those who had seemed lost were trying to find a way to keep moving through the lesson. She knew herself that that was the way to begin. Trying to figure things out, and even though she hadn’t really gone through that recently, other than in changing jobs, she understood their hesitancy. Especially when it came to possibly learning things from the cards they hadn’t known before. Even fumbling readings sometimes revealed things. She imagined at least some of the students weren’t aware of that, though, which was why she was there to help.
Working her way around the room, with a brief glance at the supposedly empty wall again as she passed, she nodded as she passed those who seemed to be at least getting the basic idea of what to do down, although she stopped to listen to a few of the readings. It was fascinating what they were coming up with, and she made a point to pause by Jake and Treyen for a moment as they’d paired up. That seemed to be a disaster in the making, but as long as they stayed civil she wasn’t going to intervene again. Besides, it was interesting getting into their heads, through listening to them. But she had a few students who seemed like they needed guidance, or answers, so she continued walking.

As she arrived at Mr. Perevell’s desk, Renée looked down at his spread for a moment, before glancing to him with a friendly smile. She had to give him points for being different, as it had seemed most of his fellow students, with a few exceptions, had veered away from the spread discussed in the lesson and gone with simpler ones, but it seemed he was still confused. “The numbers indicate the order in which the meanings progress, yes,” she replied to his question, turning her attention to the image still on the chalkboard. “You could either have analyzed the readings as you drew, or could work on them from this point, but yes. I would suggest following the diagram and looking for the meanings as you followed it to the end.” Perhaps she hadn’t been quite as explicit in her directions as she’d thought. He’d seemed to understand the basic idea of the spread, at least, though. So that was progress. She’d keep her eye on him though, in case he needed more help.

First, it seemed the little Hufflepuff needed her, and Renée made her way over as quickly as possible. “You can’t get it wrong, as long as you follow what’s in the book, or your notes. I think I’d suggest a simple three card spread for you, though.” Limit the cards he needed to analyze, and he’d be following along with most the others in the lesson, so perhaps they could assist if she was with anyone else. It didn’t seem anyone was offering at the moment, but class wasn’t over yet. She had faith he could manage it, though, even on his own, and there was always speaking with him later if he still felt behind. He just needed to understand that there was no way she’d let him fail.

Renée was a bit distracted from Simon, however, when she heard another voice speak up. Somehow, she hadn’t even noticed that Vadoma had been there, but then, she imagined that had been because the girl hadn’t needed help. She sent the girl a smile, however. “Of course. I don’t see any reason you shouldn’t,” she replied, watching as the antique deck was revealed yet again. The energies there probably would have overwhelmed most of the other students, but she knew Vadoma could handle it. “Feel free to do whatever you wish, as we’d discussed earlier. If you’d rather not stick with the general activity.” She was fairly certain there wouldn’t be many other questions from there, and she wondered if the Ravenclaw would help if necessary. She wasn’t about to suggest it, though, and instead she moved on to the next student.



Ah, Mr. Ives. Renée paused by his desk as he was another one who seemed a bit unsure about how to go about the reading, and she quietly watched as he shuffled and started drawing cards. She was slightly pleased as he seemed to choose the discussed spread, simply because it indicated a bit of a will to succeed in itself, if not necessarily complete individuality. The challenge inherent in the larger number of cards was still there, and she moved slightly more toward his desk as he stopped after the last card. “you seem to have gotten the layout down correctly,” she said softly, so he could hear but without necessarily gaining the attention of many others. “I’d suggest seeing what you think the cards you’ve drawn mean. Since while I can provide the basic meanings, the reading is still yours. The conjunction of the cards could reveal something to yourself that might be missed by me.” Metaphorically, since she was the professor. She could read them, but that wouldn’t help him learn.

There was another student who seemed, well, a bit curious, and Renée made her way over in time to catch the cards as they skidded across her admirer’s desk before they had to spend too much time on the floor. “I think you’d find the cards prefer you be careful with them, Mr. Salander,” she said with a smile, handing the deck back to him. “You seem a bit distracted. Mind if I ask?,” she continued. He certainly had only seemed to be superficially listening to the discussion, especially as he’d seemed a bit late in his reaction to her previous comment to himself. She only hoped she could manage to get him on track, before he ended up hopeless. Or truly like the fangirls she’d found so amusing elsewhere. As long as she could teach him something, she’d call it a success. Until then, she was going to remain amused by his actions.

Looking up again from her spot near the front of the room, Renée looked questioningly toward the young girl who had seemed a little like she thought she’d been forgotten. Walking over, she paused by the girl’s desk as she pulled a deck out of her bag. “Well, it seems you have a bit of an advantage over most of the rest of your peers,” she commented with a smile, eyes indicating the personal deck. “You’re perfectly welcome to stick to doing a reading on your own, unless anyone is willing to join you,” she added, glancing around the room to see if she could find anyone else who seemed like they wanted a partner. Nobody seemed to be obvious, beyond Simon the little Hufflepuff, and she didn’t think either would suggest pairing up in this situation. She couldn’t be sure, but until then, she’d help the girl along on her own. “It seems you have a good start.” Book out, cards. She just needed to shuffle and draw, then she could really see what came out.



Her attention was drawn from the first year by the sounds of shock from nearby, and Renée looked up to see a few girls working together. And it seemed they’d been surprised by one of the cards that had been discussed a bit more than others. Walking over, she stopped by their desks and looked down. “The Tower isn’t always quite as bad as it seems. Yes, it involves destruction, and that can always be scary.” And the Tower card was always frightening when it appeared. “But there’s also the thought of what could come out of that destruction.” Rebuilding after the war, that sort of thing. Not inherent in the meaning of that specific card, however, which was always why one card spreads usually weren’t as enlightening as others.“Perhaps you should draw again. See what else shows up, and maybe that can reflect more on what you’ve gotten so far.” Beyond that, she wasn’t sure what else she could suggest.

Turning her attention to the rest of the students, Renée made her way toward another first year that had started by doing a reading on their own, and smiled as she was posed a question. “What does the text say the High Priestess represents?,” she prompted. If she knew the others, then knowing all three could answer the second part of the question on its own. She could tell the student, but then interpretation still had to happen. Most people didn’t take their readings at face value, and liked to put their own spin on what was revealed. Letting the students do that on their own helped them learn that better. But she trailed off in her prompting as the girl then chose to join a few others, and chose to continue putting her attention of the class as a whole. Leading them to their own knowledge was better than feeding words to them. Until anyone asked any more questions, she would just watch.

Probably another day or so, and then I'll try to wrap things up.

Heather sat with the other students and thought about what the professor had said as they traded readings. Finally resigning herself to her curiosity she took out her book and looked up the meaning's of all three to refresh her memory.

That made sense now. Her past was indeed similar to the fool. Her present similar to the high priestess. And if the lovers was her future card, she figured it would be right as well. She only hoped it was a someone and not a something. She smiled to herself and the n continued on with the other students.

"Wow! Your really good at that." she said slightly surprised "It's seems like I'm going to be given a lot of glory!" she laughed

Anyway...

She took the first card.
"Well, this is the magician. And..." she started to flip throught the pages of her book "It means you are going to get an idea, or a solution to a problem you have"
She hoped she was reading these right!

"The second is the the six of wands. This is the victory card. Your special and different and this will make you have success in what you do..."
She really hoped these were right!

"And finally, it's..." she coudn't help sniger at the last card "The hanged man... sorry for laughing."
She looked it up in the book.
"It dosn't mean death or anything" she smiled at Nika "it means you have to stop resisting and become vulnerable and this will help you see things clearly. Soultions to problems will be found... and it can symbolise a time of rest and reflection before moving on... Is this making any sence to you?" she laughed.
Divination was silly in Emily's opinion, but it was a good time to bond and laugh with friends.

"The star, huh?" She said softly as she examined the card. It was beautiful, just like its meaning.



Then she set it down and shuffled the deck. "Alright." After a few minutes of shuffling, she drew a card.

"hmmm..the sun. Weird." She told Heather with a slight frown on her face

"Interesting." Heather said. "I'm not pregnant though, so I can cross that off the list." Heather laughed.

Kurumi nodded at Eino. At least, she knew that the matters involving Faustus would come true. She supposed that was kind of cheating the cards a bit since she was making their predictions come true...or perhaps it was the cards that were making her make their predictions come true...Divination was giving her a headache. At least her turn of analyzing cards was over for now and Eino could do all the work this time around.

"I don't think it works that way," she laughed. "You can't pick and choose cards based on whether or not you like the meaning of them." Although, that sure would make card readings much easier and predicable though. Kurumi turned to her own Divination textbook to crosscheck the Empress card. Was she a creator? Perhaps the card was referring to all her new cookie recipes she had come up with for this term and the ones that were yet to come. Baking was certainly something where she was able to exhibit her creativity and she supposed that cookies could be a type of creation of life. If nothing else, they did cheer people up. This card tells the Querent that if they want their new romance, new career, new business, new creation to grow into all it can be they have to pay attention to it, baby it and be willing to let it take those first steps when it is ready. Most of all, like any pregnant mother or good gardener, they have to be patient. All things need time to gestate and sprout. That seemed rather fitting with everything that had been going on with Adam recently - not that Adam was a baby or anything, but their relationship was new and it certainly kept her on her toes. "You picked a fine card, Eino," she smiled. "It certainly gave her a lot to think about.

"I think I'm going to go see if I can introduce myself to some new students after I do a quick layout on my own again." Heather said smiling and standing up. "I'll talk to you later."

Heather waled off and sat back down at her own table, picking up her deck of cards and shuffling them. She drew twelve cards and placed them face down on the table, turning them up one at a time.

Cass laughed. "Alright, thanks for being my partner." She said with a smile

Selina looked up at her teacher and nodded. She had only revealed one card thus far. Perhaps there were better things in store, she hoped.

Before she could draw the next card Professor Bishop asked another question. Raising her hand she answered, "Excuse me, Professor? Isn't it about secrets? The knowledge that a specific person knows but will not reveal? It is the foil to the Magician."

Turning back to Violet she flipped over the next card in the nine card spread. Again it was a peculiar card, The Judgement card. From what she understood from class this card was about rebirth and forgiveness. It reveals that a new change or transformation will happen to the said person. Funny that this card should follow The Tower.

"Vi, this is a weird batch. I don't know why they all flow so well together. It's erie." And for some odd reason it was like Selina knew what was going to come next. Like she could see it, it was an odd sensation. One she was not accustomed to having. Then she remembered what her Aunt Jennette once said, "Sometimes, Selina, I just know what comes next. It's weird." What was happening to her?

So she tested her theory. "Your next card is going to be The Temperance." Then when she flipped it over it was so. Selina jumped back from the table slightly. How did she do that?

Jake watched the cards become flipped over with one eyebrow raised. Heh. It really was a load of Hogwash to him. Yeah, so it made sense, but it was all so vague that of COURSE it would.

When they were done, Jake said nothing but glanced at the cards and then at Treyen. He raised his hand, still looking at the younger boy, and spoke. "I have a question for you, Professor Bishop."

Stiiiiiiill looking at Treyen.

"And just for you."

Finally, he looked at the woman in question. "Surely when doing a reading, as long as you are even subconciously looking for a way for the cards to apply to you, then they will. It's all so vague. Even if I asked the cards a question then the response would be vague and deep in one's mind they would force the card meanings into place for the situation."

... but all in all...

"To me they're just... cards with pictures. Some branches of Divination I get... but not this one." And a whole bunch of others. Maybe he just agreed with ONE branch.

Satine reached for her deck and then placed it down on her desk and grabbed her notes beside her. She looked at the girl and then back at her deck as she grabbed the top card...this would be easy right since she didn't know much about the girl....yes it would...she was giving herself a much needed pep talk.

"It's the....." she checked her notes to confirm as she flipped it face up on the table. "Temperance."

Satine glanced at her notes again to see what the little guide words were and then she said, "So, ummmm, that means that you are well-balanced and grounded. However, the temperance card could be telling you that you are in conflict with yourself for some reason...this could be with a relationship or health or just your everyday life. and um...or that you are going to have to make a big decision soon and you should think it through to insure that your answer is the most balanced one..." She knew she sounded like a crazy woman...her mom's mom had always said you had to talk to the cards and ask them questions and they would answer them for you...ya that would make her look like an even more crazy woman..."did that make sense at all? she asked with one eyebrow raised.

Witsy turned a new page in her journal and brushed the feather of her quill along her cheek. She drew a card from the top of the pile...The Hanged Man, she thought to herself. Great I'm gonna die, was her first thought. She took her quill and started writing the first things that came to mind.

Opened because people will be aware, so that leaves you vulnerable. In a sense you're immobile therefore you're reflective. She stopped writing wondering if anything she was jotting down was relevant.

Suddenly her quill took it's own motion and starting writing... shocked yet interested a quivered voice emerged, "Professor!" as she was starring.

Sierra's face was a mixture of emotions as she listened to Satine's reading. First, she started with an expression of pure confusion. Temperance? Sierra wasn't even sure she'd ever heard that word before, much less be able to gain any insight from it. Next, she narrowed her eyes in thought as she considered whether or not she was in conflict with herself.

She didn't have any 'relationships' yet, and she sure hoped she wasn't dying young!

Finally, her eyes grew wide as she learned that she may have to make a big decision soon. She wasn't good with big decisions, but she guessed that might just depend on exactly how big the decision was. "Uhh, yeah, I think so," she answered, her eyes flickering to the card then back to Satine. "So, I'm...pretty much calm and collected, yet I'm in a conflict with myself, and...I have to make a big decision soon."

"...great."

Her turn, she guessed. This seemed easy enough. She took a few seconds to shuffle her own deck of cards then swiftly plucked one of the top and turned it over. "Uhh," she said, turning toward her own notes. "This one is 'The Tower'." It took her a good five minutes to read through the card, as she slowly pieced together what the information was trying to tell her.

"Umm, says here you're old, decrepit, and need to be demolished and rebuilt," she announced. She paused for a moment as she let that reading really sink in. Something about it just didn’t seem quite right, for Satine really didn’t look that old to her. Surely a fifth, sixth, or seventh year wasn’t on their way out! "Umm, hold on a second."

"Okay, so this card seems to have a lot to do with old beliefs and ideas, particularly those we cling to that make us feel safe," she said. Oh, yeah. This was a far better reading than the first one she gave. "So I think, Satine, you may be holding on to things that have always made you feel safe and secure; however, it says here that you should find power and security within yourself and not a material object."

"...I think," she said. "How'd I do?"

You know, other than that little blurb about being demolished and rebuilt in the beginning...

And why was he looking at Treyen, now??

The boy couldn't help but look towards him as he asked...a question? He actually never asked a question. And Treyen was still puzzled as to why Jake had been looking at him when he spoke.

What exactly didn't Jake get? This was the easiest Divination method. ACTUALLY, why was Jake taking Divination in the first place? The latter was a question he'd asked himself many times today.

The Lockhart boy sighed and looked away.

Instead of answering right away, Simon simply turned over the next card in the pile he held in his opposite hand.

The Star Card

"Um..it represents peace and harmony. And it means you'll soon find guiddance ...possibly from an unexpected source," he finally answered. His eyes passing over to the notes one last time to double check and nodding once to confirm his words.

Selena nodded again. Alright... "Something good, sounds good, looks like something that's good will happen," she rambled. Blech. Another messed up - actually no. That might actually come true. Given that would mean someone had to get rid of her .... yeah. "I see, and then...?" Selena asked. She hated how these cards were actually somewhat right at the moment. Ugh.

Fee looked around still without a partner. Mhhhhhh who could she pair with? Cass was taken and she couldnt figure out any of her other friends. Nooot coool. So she looked like a total loner now or what?!Hello someone to the rescue?!

So now they were actually doing readings. She looked at Lexi. "We should start, then." She said, the deck of cards in her hand. Evangeline put down one card, and she stared at it, shocked. She was still rather cynical about all things divination, even if she was beginning to rather like this teacher. So the fact that she had played down the death card meant nothing, right? And besides, if she was going to trust in a pack of cards, she knew that the death card didn't necessarily mean Death. It could mean transformation and change, for instance. But it still just gave her a really strange feeling. But remaining her cool self, the look of shock disappeared from her face as quickly as it had come, and she continued to put down cards.

"Okay so I'm going to get an idea. Hmmm... I wonder what sort of idea that would be?" Nika watched Emily as she flipped over the next card."I can live with. Success sounds good." Nika watched carefully crossing her fingers that Emily doesn't pick the death card.

Hanged man! What!?!?! This is going to be just great. Nika started giggling, Well this can't be good now can it? She heard the explanation and sighed aloud. "Okay that is not so bad actually. So I guess it kinda makes sense. But I don't know how much sense it makes all put together."

"I think it means you have a problem, but soon you will have an idea to overcome it and will succed in doing it... or something like that" she laughed

"Well apparently we're both gonna have success then? Also, I'm gonna finish something that took me a lot of time? Well I'm struggling in ancient runes, so mabye that's it? I dunno..."
Divination was a strange subject, but very enjoyable!

Isobel smiled at the girl. "My name's Isobel VonHue, third year Hufflepuff. Um, I guess we should start now." She sat down next to the girl and got some cards.

"Thank you, I tried very hard. I thought very hard when I picked it, I thought: please be a good card for my friend Kurumi, she is nice and generous, please do not make her cry." And it worked. Yay! But he still had to think very hard for nine other good cards. Okay, next. Before proceeding, Eino repeated the fortune that the second card would bring. "'This card indicates the situation at hand, or the potential situation.'" And now for the card. He picked a card from the deck and turned it around, revealing The Magician. "The Magician... 'The Magician is the male power of creation, creation by willpower and desire. The reader might well interpret this card as telling the querent that they will be given a vision, an idea, a magical, mental image of whatever it is they most want: the solution to a problem, an ambitious career, a love life, a job.' Do you suppose this has something to do with what happened the other day in the library?" Maybe Kurumi was anticipating the meeting with Mrs. Elo more than he imagined it, and perhaps this meeting would be the one who enlighten Kurumi in regards to her family history, but he sure hoped it wasn't anything bad.

Eino left Kurumi to contemplate before he read the meaning the second card would bring. "This one is The Foundation. It says here, 'This card indicates factors that are behind the Querent, usually influences from the distant past. Think of this card as a foundation that the situation may be built upon.'" He then reached for the deck, took another card, and flipped it. "Temperance, Temperance, Temperance..." He chanted as he flipped through the pages to find its meaning. "'The of merging seemingly impossible opposites. There is an angle to the card, that of merging seemingly impossible opposites. Sagittarius, the centaur, merges beast and man into a unique creature. And then there is the bow and arrow, one moving, one stationary, working together to point the way. But it may also be a reminder to the Querent that seemingly irreconcilable opposites may not be irreconcilable at all. '" This was a curious one. It involved Kurumi and someone else, maybe Walnut, yeah that was a safe bet. "I suppose someone very unlikely will help you and maybe be somewhat connected to you?" The bow and arrow help each other, even though they are separate items, but the beast and man connection was, like the text said, unlikely, but also ideal.

"Now we shall move onto the fourth card, this one is The Recent Past." He said with his eyes fixed on the book, the description was it were obvious but he thought it would be best for him to recall them. "'This card indicates events and influences that are more recent. '" Very simple. He took yet another card, flipped it over, and showed it to Kurumi. It was The Fool. "'In standing for the Querent, the Fool represents a time of newness, a time when life has been "re-started" as it were. The person feels that they are back at zero, whether that be in romantic affairs, or career, at their job or intellectual pursuits.'" He read thinking it was probably related to the recent event in the library. Kurumi was somewhat lost back then, so maybe that it was what it was referring to. "'In addition, they likely have no idea where they're going or what they're going to do.'" He finished before looking up. "Good thing that is the past."

Since Lea was new through the whole class she just sat there taking notes. She didn't take Divination at her old school. She looked around, everyone started to pair up. "Excuses me Professor, I do not have a partner." she said while looking at everyone with their friends, while she sat there quite alone.

Chloe heard a girl call out she did not have a partner. Chloe had yet to find one herself so she walked up to the girl she soon realized is a Gryffindor just like her and said, "Hi, I'm Chloe. I hear you don't have a partner. I would be more then happy to be your partner ifyou would like.".

Kurumi's eyes were locked on the Magician card Eino turned over and found herself reaching out and picking it up before she knew what she was doing. “Be given a vision,” she repeated looking at the card. She hadn’t really been having any dreams lately, but perhaps the vision was not referring to that sort of vision. Perhaps this vision was in the literal sense as in the picture of her father under a different name she had found in the library. “I think that’s exactly it,” Kurumi nodded. “Most importantly, the Magician card stands for the "reveal" - as in a magic trick,” Kurumi read from the textbook.” Emphasis on NEW. When the Magician card appears, the Querent is likely to say: "Now there's an idea! Why didn't I think of that before?" Truth is, the Querent had that idea in his head all along. The Magician merely revealed it to him. But what will the Querent do with this idea? That's a question for the next card,” Kurumi set the Magician down on the table and felt her heart thumping against her chest in anticipation for the next card Eino turned over.

The Temperance. Kurumi picked up that card next and held it side by side with the Magician as if the two cards were having a conversation with each other. Perhaps they were whispering secrets about Kurumi and if she watched them closely enough she could hear. Kurumi shook her head for a moment. She was over thinking things. This wasn’t logical. They were two pieces of paper with a design on them. Not real living and breathing beings. Still, she couldn’t help but feel that there was some sort of connection. Something that was staring her right in the face. She looked at Eino when he mentioned that she would get help from an unlikely source. An opposite of her as it were. “Maybe this is referring to Mrs. Elo?” Kurumi asked more thinking a loud than anything else. “Or maybe…it is talking about us merging somehow? We are pretty different.” She shrugged. It was true, Eino was blonde and Kurumi had black hair. They came from different countries and their ways of thinking were pretty different yet they were helping each other out a lot.

Eino flipped over the next card and Kurumi groaned before she knew the meaning of it. Recent past and her being a fool, well that certainly did not sound good. She had been pretty blind as a child, ignoring all the hints that were obviously put in front of her, and she was paying for that innocence now. “That card is spot on,” she found picking it up and laying it next to the other two cards. “I really do feel like I am starting over at zero.” She smiled at Eino who, at the moment seemed to be more innocent than she was. “I am not sure that past is fully behind me yet. I need this Magician card to kick in and show me those new ideas he is supposed to represent.”

All three of the cards were having a conversation among themselves about Kurumi’s fate and they were not letting her in on it, at least, not yet.