Finally a class with an easy question. Well somewhat easy Caroline had pretty much known that what she wanted to do since she was around five years old. Raising her hand "I know that I want to be a healer." She thought more. "Travel the world some. maybe get married one day and be a mum." That last past was probably a long way off.

Dear Merlin, don't make Arithmancy lengthly. Ugh. As if it didn't feel like it was hours long as it was...Ugh.

Accomplish? Ellie wanted to accomplish a lot, really. Like... her goal of never having to brew a Potion. Or drink one again. Or never reading icky books. Or eating...

GASP.

Treyen. Ellie's eyes went to the boy as she tried to send a telepathic message. They needed to eat gelato. That was a goal. Hope. Dream. All of that.

Anyway, she hoped Jacob would finally get carted off to St. Mungos. She also hoped Conan would believe in magic. Like really hoped. Because it was awful that he didn't. And she hoped that Spike would let Matilda free. Maybe she could live in the Forbidden Forest with the Acromantulas. Which, Ellie hoped never to see.

Hadley never said they had to say these out loud.

Ariella knew exactly what one of her aspirations were.....she spent plenty of time daydreaming about them. "I want to be a bestselling author." She smiled. "And Quidditch captain." Well, Quidditch captain wasn't really a big goal, but it's something, right?

Kurumi's hair had turned a dark shade of pink at Treyen's comment, along with her cheeks burning and forcing her to look away for a moment. She probably would have melted in her seat if she had looked into his piercing eyes or his dazzling smile at that moment.

Thankfull, Professor Hadley began class and gave her something else to think about although it was hard to ignore Treyen seeing as he was sitting right next to her. Her heart pounded in her chest and she tried to breathe in deeply and slowly to prevent her hair from turning any brighter.

Kurumi leaned back in her seat as she thought about Professor Hadley’s question. Hadn’t she just been discussing such things with Connor, Treyen, and Selina recently? Well, on separate occasions. She was still very unsure of what she wanted to do with her life, so she divided things in her head between short term and long term.

While still at Hogwarts, she would love to be able to fly on a broom without the fear of falling off – or just a general fear of brooms. She had broken out in hives the other night thinking about the upcoming match after all. Also, she would love to be a Prefect and perhaps even Head Girl one day. She, however, didn’t choose to voice these thoughts a loud.

Instead, she focused on her long term goals and aspirations as things to share. “My mother’s side of the family has owned a kendo dojo, a school, for centuries and I would be honored to help uphold its traditions and take it over,” especially since her brothers seemed less inclined to do so. “However, I too would like to work with dragons and perhaps become a dragonologist and perhaps working in the Minitry of Magic in the Magical Creatures Department,” she nodded towards Eino. She didn’t know that he had an interest in the creatures. She thought that he always had rocks in his brain. “I do love baking,” which was stating the obvious. “And I wouldn’t mind perhaps having my own shop in Diagon Alley or perhaps even at the Leaky Cauldron.” Really though, working with dragons and magical creatures was the most appealing of the options she had mentioned.

Well I know that I want to become an auror and then hopefully after a few years find Mr. Wright and settle down in a stable job at the ministry that allows me to be there for my family unlike my parents who are still away as aurors.", Chloe responded with a hand raised in the air.

Aspirations? Hmm...

The Slytherin lad shrugged and replied "Always wanted to learn to play the drums, ever since I listened to my first rock album. So, I guess my aspiration would be to learn how to play the drums and be part of a band. Eh simple dreams really. 'Course being the next Harry Potter wouldnt be such a bad consolation either heh.

Aspirations in life? Hmm.

Well, besides wanting to rule the muggle and wizarding world, "I'd love to get a great job, and after that marry" Prince Charming "someone special." As for the children part... eh, she had plenty of time to think about that.

But still, Helena wondered how could this question relate to the lesson. Probably more complicated things with numbers... obviously.

She really shouldn't have expected the students to open up about their personal aspirations, but she did expect some thought.

Art college? Did these kids forget they were magical or something? That ... seemed so mundane. Not that she didn't appreciate artwork because she totally did and was even a painter herself when time allowed it. "Interesting. Don't forget you could even integrate moving photographs into your work, as well." Mmhm. Because she was a witch and all.

"That's a reasonable goal." You know, not having to live your life without magic would be good, lest one HAS to succumb to muggle professions. "Any ideas of what you hope to accomplish?" Probably not. Evelyn seemed rather relaxed already.

The brunette stared at the Hufflepuff boy for a moment to see if he was serious. He was; she was sure of it. Oh for the love of Merlin, if Simon Simpson became King of someplace, she'd make sure to run! "That's ... interesting." And unrealistic, but who was she to judge or shatter a kid's dreams?

Now Fina did smile a bit. Not because she thought Eino's aspiration was unrealistic, but quite the contrary. It was an actual, believable, doable goal. Even if she didn't do creatures, she knew others did, like Maya for one. "I just hope you've got strong hands. And are good with creatures." But if not, she was sure she could connect the boy with a few people who could maybe help.

Olympics? Figure skating? Josephina hadn't really pinpointed Katie out to be one of those to jump into a mundane field like that, but she did know the girl was determined and whatnot. "That's intense. Good luck with that." Yea, she didn't really do sports, but she did know they weren't easy, mundane or not.

"It is hard sometimes, to think of these things. Specifically, that is," Fina nodded. "And even, sometimes, we might have something perfectly planned out and then ... something intercepts and changes everything." So clearly planning wasn't always the best option.

Another one who couldn't ride a broomstick?! Smiles and waves of sympathy for YOU! "Flying is hard," for her it wasn't so much the concept of flying though that scared her, but height. "But well, making the Quidditch team isn't everything, you know?" She should know. And she made something of herself without ever playing quidditch, despite the fact that it was something she wanted to pick up now, if nothing more than to see what all the hype was about.

Such variety in careers; Fina was amused though to see that Rebecca was the first to mention the Ministry. Though it wasn't her ideal career choice either, so she didn't blame the kids. There was too much corruption in the political world. "Back up aspirations! I like it!" Fina grinned at the young badger. Just in case one thing didn't work out, there was always plan B.

"All very good aspirations in mind too," Hadley nodded, deciding not to comment though on the Healer idea. Nice, stable field, her mother would say.

Another sports fiend. Actually, Josephina was surprised slightly there there weren't more. "Not bad. Excel and surpass your parents." Good goals.

Another drama person? Perhaps they should start a drama club with all the students interested in that. Actually, sometimes it felt like the whole of Hogwarts was a drama club and they didn't need an actual club. Teenage dramatics. Hehe. But again with the mundane.

Another perspective Ministry Employee? Good for her! "Not a bad aspiration." Considering she was so young, with plenty of time to change her mind and develop her strengths... and weaknesses.

Another who wanted to surpass their caretaker; of course quidditch was involved too. "Nothing like the goal of surpassing those who care for us," Fina nodded.

Another famous-ish person? "Good luck," she said simply and was about to continue onward with the lesson as it seemed most who wanted to speak had done so, when another few spoke up.


Fina wasn't sure what she'd been expecting the girl to say, but the fact that Sierra seemed so utterly ... mature in how she spoke, surprised her. Not to mention her interaction with Treyen too. "Well I'm sure if you needed assistance, Professor Lafay would be able to help you there." Scary, but nice witch the Potions Mistress was.

"Perhaps interning at Floreans is in your foreseeable future then," Josephina nodded at the she-snake. A muggle amusement park though? Interesting, but ... there were rides that were high up.

"Not a bad thing to aspire to be," Unless of course you became stuck up or big-headed from it. But well, at the same time, Fina was sure having a small ego was a necessary component to the job.

Another potential healer? Her mother would be proud. "Healer is a nice field for being a mother too." Meh. That's what her mother kept telling her anyway, despite the fact that she wasn't anywhere close to being ready to be a mother.

It looked like Ellie had wanted to say something, but then she didn't. And so Hadley waited, but nothing. Hmm.... strange. Shrugging it off, she looked instead at the next student to speak up.

Aspiring writer? Well that was interesting. "Perhaps you should use quidditch to help you toward your goal of writing." Hadley nodded at the young Gryffindor.

"Right then. As you've heard, aspirations and dreams can vary in both importance, as well as short term versus long term. Some are also maybe more realistic than others as well." Hadley said looking around the room at each of their shining faces. Most of them were shining, maybe. "Two of the numbers we will be discussing today are indicators in which relate to you path to your great accomplishment. They speak of both the journey ahead and also what barriers you may face to get there. These numbers are, you may have guessed, the pinnacles and the challenges."

"We will discuss the pinnacles first. What are the pinnacles?" She looked around the room at the students again. "How many are there? Basically, tell me what you know about them ... with the exception of, I don't want to know how to find them just yet anyway." She paused.

Simon had chosen to kept quiet about his aspirations for his mind was still mixed up about his plans for the future. But when the subject was switched to a more mundane topic, the seventh year did his best to think back, perusing the the textbook before finally raising his hand. "They are numbers that represent different periods of your life and there are four of them overall," he answered lowering his hand.

Hah. Yeah, Hadley, they aaaaall guessed pinnacles and challenges. You could think that if you wanted.

Pinnacles. SNORT.

Sounded soooo close to pineapples. Which were gooood. And good job, Hadley, you've made Ellie hungry now. But, it was okay. It was a good thing Arithmancy was on the second floor. It was so close to the Great Hall.

Which was where Ellie'll be going after this, hopefully not lengthly, lesson. Yup.

Kurumi's hand shot up. "A pinnacle, but definition alone, is highest point of level. In life, this could mean a point were we are at our best or perhaps a point at which we have achieved one of our goals and are feeling like we literally are on top of the world." She swallowed and put a little more thought into her answer. "In Arithmancy, pinnacles are a set of numbers that will lead you towards your greatest accomplishment, a means to reveal your potential for achievement and success. They also show us what is possible for us to achieve in a given period of our life..." She trailed off a bit. What if her numbers told her that working with dragons was beyond what she was capable of?!

Eino looked at his hands. Yes, they were very strong, and shaking, for some odd reason. Well, he had had a problem here and there with a creature or two but generally speaking, he was excellent with creatures. You know, other than having accidentally killed every single pet he had ever owned. At least Professor Hadley seemed to believe in him. Not that others usually thought he was lying, but they always laughed and said it was impossible. She was supportive.

At first Eino heard pineapples, and got hungry, but he could remember having studied pinnacles in the past. He raised his hand. "They are based on nine year cycles and there are four of them, aren't there, Professor?" Every nine years completed a cycle and each cycle had a number of pinnacles, but Eino wasn't sure exactly how many. These would be the peak, or the best moments, of those nine year cycles? "I think they may also be linked to the four seasons. The first being Spring, the second Summer, the third Fall, and the last Winter."

Pinnacles... Helena heard about those...

Oh! "There are four long-term cycles," she said quickly, with her hand raised. "Each represents a particular... part of your life, I think." She also remembered reading about how to calculate those pinnacles, and it was really REALLY complicated.

So... she wasn't quite looking forward to that.

Samira thought about this for a moment, then raised her hand. "A pinnacle is the highest possible point of something. It could be your highest point of success, or money...things like that." As for how many there were, Samira didn't know.

A pinnacle? Sounds like some sort of flower. A pinnacle... What could that possibly mean!? She had heard it before though, but not related to Arithmancy. But where did she hear it before... "Something pointy?" It had to do with height or a point or something... Maybe she should've just stuck with the flower guess....

Roderigo was slightly exhausted from the day before, and therefore was not in the mood to answer about his aspirations, though he did have some. However, Professor Hadley progressed with the class, and as she asked them about pinnacles, the Spaniard furrowed his dark brows as he tried to remember what his Arithmancy book had said. After a few moments, his hand shot into the air.
"Professor, by English definition alone, the pinnacle is the highest point; the greatest achievement, if you will. The pinnacles are what indicate the potential towards our greatest accomplishments in our future." He smiled broadly; he was proud of himself for actually reading a classroom book beforehand and for remembering what he had actually read. Pleased with his answer, he lowered his hand as other students raised their own. But then he remembered more, and his hand shot up into the air again.
"Sorry, Professor, but also, there are four pinnacle numbers, and they each foretell a specific period of our lives." He looked down and lowered his hand.

William smiled. " Thank you for the nice comment" William told the professor.

What did she hope to accomplish?

"I don't know." she shrugged, pausing in the quill tapping for a moment to think about it before continuing on. Eh, she hadn't really thought about that. Not dying would be an accomplishment, right?

Yea, she'd go with that.

Pinnacles...hmm she remembered somewhat about those. A few other answers being said were enough to have her figure out a decent yet different answer. Maybe not decent? "There are four of them, and they're pretty much like guidelines for you, aren't they?" They seemed like it to her. "Telling you what effort and attitude you need to give during a certain part of your life that will lead you to your greatest accomplishments apparently."

The Slytherin didn't like guidelines. Not on her life that is.

Nessie had been quiet the whole lesson and decided that she should be more active, so she looked in her book then she put up her hand waited her turn then said. "Um Proffessor.. Isn't the Pinnacles a set of numbers which lead you to your greatest achievement. . They tell about the journey ahead and show what can be done at a certain period of time in life. I think there are twelve pinnacles?" said Ness hoping whatever she just said was right.

Penny raised her hand in the air "Professor, Pinnacles show what potential a person will have for achievement and success and also what is possible at a given time...and there are four pinnacles"

Ryden's first ever Arithmancy lesson, and already the brunette found that she did not like this subject. One, it was too personal. Why should she share her aspirations with a bunch of insane Hogwarts kids? One day they'd read about her in some sort of high end magic magazine, proclaiming her to be more successful than Guido Di Marco and the MOST successful woman - witch - in the entire world.

Yep yep. And two, it seemed a bit silly. Pinnacles? Challenges? Sounded like a load of Abraxan droppings. Or something a little less smelly. At any rate, Ryden kept her mouth shut and ever so discreetly read her textbook to see if there was something in there that she could contribute to the lesson. One thing's for sure, though - this was NOTHING like muggle maths.

Unfortunately.

The pinnacles? ... wow. They'd not been studied in class for YEARS.

Rasing her hand again, Iris offered her answer. "The pinnacles are "predictive indicators"... They tell us what we can achieve at a certain point of our lives, and what we're capable of achieving."To explain it with as little detail as possible. Nodding, Iris sighed as she tried to remember how many there were. "And ... there's four of them. Four pinnacles... with... nine... year cycles. I think."

'Pinacles are...a set of numbers. Each letter of the alphabet is assigned a numerical value between 1 and 9. And, eh...the numbers can indicate the pinnacle of success or the depths of failure', Gwen said. Was that even logical?, the girl asked herself. Probably not...

"There are a total of 9 pinacles and picacle helps you to figuree out what one can achieve in a certain part of ones life.", Chloe responded with her hand raised high.

Salina was sure that she was going to be a healer someday, or maybe a curse breaker. Nevermind. Pinnacle. What's a pinnacle? OOH!

"A pinnacle is the highest point of something. In Arithmancy, I believe we have four main stages of our lives?" asked Salina, crossing her fingers.