Divination was by far Jacob's least favorite subject -- it wasn't concrete enough! -- but he was determined to give it his best shot. He walked to the lake bank and read the notice the professor had up. No rock touching. Got it.

He spotted Olivia and waved at her with a smile before sitting down at a different area alone. He hoped she wouldn't be offended. He preferred to sit away from friends (and he thought that maybe they were friends now) during lessons so he could concentrate better, especially in subjects that weren't his best. Of course, "not his best" didn't really mean "bad." He was just his own worst critic. Anything other than a top mark was bad to him.

He wouldn't mind if anyone joined him. He just didn't want to sit near anyone he already knew, or else he might be tempted to talk to them instead of paying his utmost attention to the lesson at hand.

According to her uncle Divination was a fascinating subject along with Ancient Runes, Trixie however didn't really see it. There just seemed to be a lot of guess work when it came to those subjects but they could be interesting sometimes. Hopefully today would be one of those days.

As she approached the lake and saw the straw mats and stones placed around, Trixie had a good feeling that this was indeed going to be an interesting lessson. She spotted Ace and was about to head over to him but she realised that she was going to have to weave her way through a number of students and well she was not the most graceful of girls, she was likely to trip over someone.

So instead, Trixie decided on the mat closest to her. Only there was someone already sitting there. "Do you mind if I sit here?" She hoped that he didn't because she was going to sit there anyway.

The seventeen year old sat watching the other students. She had given waves to some and just for the most part was relaxing until class started. When she saw the best friend heading her way she grinned a bit more. "I have no clue to be honest. It could be something to do with birds. There is this one that you put a stone in water and look at it while birds fly over or something like that."

She could have had that completely wrong though. She truly wasn't sure. "Whatever it is we get to be outside and not wearing our robes so I'll take it." Anything was better than being in a stuffy classroom especially the Divination tower. It was so much effort to climb all that way. She pulled her book out of her bag and grabbed her parchment and quill.

Janelle had been looking forward to this lesson. It wasn't necessarily Divination that had her spirits up, but the fact that they would be having their lesson outside. The lake was a place that she really liked, so what better setting for class?

When Janelle reached the temporary classroom, she took in the scene. It was a beautiful day and there was no other place the seventh year would rather be. "Hello Professor ", she said to their currently wading leader. That would explain the suggestion to wear roll up-able pants. Smiling to herself, Janelle made her way to the nearest empty straw mat. She sat down and stretched out her legs. Once she was comfortable, she prepared her materials and then sat back to relax. Yes, this was going to be a lovely day.

"Oh," Jacob looked up in surprise. "Yeah, sure. Go ahead." The redhead girl looked like she was going to sit down no matter what he said, so he may as well be friendly.

He sat in silence for a few moments, looking at his hands in his lap and wondering if he should be talking to her or not. He glanced over at her. Had she sat there out of convenience or to try and make friends? Was he overthinking this like he always did about everything?

"I'm Jacob," was what he settled on. Seemed safe enough. Open for a simple introduction or a conversation while waiting for class to start, either way. The ball was in her court.

"Ta." Trixie sat down on a mat beside his and stretched her legs out in front of her. And even though she had planned on sitting here regardless of whether the boy wanted her to or not, she had no idea what she was supposed to do now. While she had no probelms in talking to girls, in fact she was quite outgoing, conversing with boys always seemed to be a problem.

It didn't occur to her that he was having the same problem. She always thought that boys were always loud and over confident. Maybe it was just the ones she knew. When she actually thought about it, all the guys she knew were Gryffindors so naturally they would be loud. The thought made her smile a little and she turned toward the boy and opened her mouth to speak.

But he had beaten her to it. For a moment she just sat there because she had been so busy thinking about what she was going to say that she had almost missed what he had said. And then she let out a small laugh. "Nice to meet you Jacob. My name is Trixie." She held out her hand to him because she had seen so many people do that. "For a moment there I thought we were going to sit in awkward silence for tbe whole class."

The fact that one of her first classes of the year would be held by the lake excited Charlie- and it was Divination, at that! She wasn't really sure what to expect, though. Her mum had written a book about a seer once, but her knowledge didn't extend much beyond the basics: Divination revolved around seeing the future, and seers did this. This was all part of the intrigue, though. Not knowing things only opened the door more widely to learn. Was it more difficult? Sure. It could also be more interesting.

Walking out to the lake, it had hit Charlie that she forgot to dress properly, as told to do so! Drat. Well. She'd just have to roll up her trousers when able to sit down and take off her socks and shoes.

With a solution in mind and a hint of pep in her step, she approached the group that was evidently the Divination class, and took to greeting the professor first. She seemed to be off in her own world at the moment, but Charlie figured it would be impolite not to try. "Good afternoon, Professor Vance! Lovely weather we're having today." That was her name, right? And was small talk appropriate when greeting a professor?

Oh boy.

Charlie walked away from the professor and towards the mats gathered around the stone tablets, casually scanning the group for a familiar face or two. A wave of relief washed over her when she took notice of Derf and Zoryn the projectile, and she quickly made her way over in their direction.

"Hey, you two," She said with a grin and a wave, then moving to take her place on a mat near her friends. Now was the time to cool down for the lesson- and avoid touching the stone tablets.

Class at the lake didn't sound too bad. But that was taking this class at face value. Slate wondered if he'd ever get over being... ... caught off guard by the unconventional nature of this school. He was guessing the answer was a solid no.

He looked around, nodding a 'I acknowledge your presence' to the teach before sitting on some straw yoga mat. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the large stone tablet in front of him. As he looked around, he noticed a message in the sand.

Odd. She was standing right there. Couldn't she just as easily said the instruction out loud? He continued looking around before his eyes landed on a pile of stones. Why couldn't he touch them? They looked perfectly boring.

If anything, Elle looked forward to Divination being outside for the simple reason that it was outside. She could imagine that the lesson might involve nature, and not only that, it felt like the grounds were somewhat immune to invasion by certain poltergeists. Plus, it was still warm enough that she wouldn’t have to worry about freezing given the instruction not to wear anything too long. She’d changed into a well-worn pair of jeans and a sweater before she’d headed outside. The stones liberally placed around the class area only received a cursory glance, along with the notice not to touch said stones.

Instead, she had given the professor a smile, on her way to join Nat and Tim where the other two girls had chosen to sit. “Good afternoon Professor Vance,” she said, the smile evident in her tone before she’d arrived at said chosen spot. Also known as the grouping the head girl was at, and of course both Nat and Tim got smiles as well. “Is there a method of divination involving skipping stones?,” she said softly, just so the other two seventh years could hear. It could be that thing Nat was talking about too, given she suspected they were going to be entering the water for one reason or another. Either way, it wasn’t anything she knew much about.

The whole not wearing skirts to the lesson thing had been somewhat of a problem for Isa. She didn't own any Hogwarts uniform trousers as she always wore skirts. So, here she was, wearing a pair of jeans that were not the sort of trousers that were meant to be worn as a part of the Hogwarts uniform. It was the best she could do given the circumstances. Isa loved that the lesson was outdoors, as she preferred spending her time outdoors in nature. "Hello, Professor Vance!" Isa smiled at the professor and waved cheerfully. Oh, rocks? Were they going to be practicing some form of lithomancy? Perhaps throwing rocks in the lake or something?

SPOILER!!: Kane

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lissy Longbottom

Kane was not really looking forward to Divination. He wasn't sure he believed all this stuff, and they hadn't really put a lot of emphasis on it at Ilvermorny. Still, he was intrigued, especially since this class was taking place at the lake. What could you possibly do with Divination at the LAKE? He was far more interested in the mythical Giant Squid and the merpeople who lived there than Divination...

"Hello Professor!" Kane said happily as he took a seat on a mat near the front. He may not believe much in this stuff, but he wasn't going to be RUDE about it.

Do not touch the stones. Ok. Got it.

Isa saw Kane and Brent and headed over to sit with them. "Hi Kane! Hi Brent!" She waved to everyone who was sitting in the area, grinning cheerfully. This lesson was going to be fun!

"Hi, Trixie," Jacob answered, smiling slightly. He looked a little taken aback at her outstretched hand, but he took it and shook it anyway, hoping his expression didn't betray his surprise. It just seemed like such an adult thing to do. It wasn't a bad thing. He just hadn't been expecting it. "So did I. Awkward seems to be my speciality. I'm trying to fix that. Not sure how well that's coming along..." He shrugged, trying to play it off as a joke, but he wasn't sure if Trixie could tell he was serious. He really was trying to fix the awkward thing. It was hit-or-miss right now.

"So... Divination, huh?" Off to a great start with this interaction, he was. Riveting conversationalist, really. "How do you like it?" He still hadn't made it to the library to check out a book to help him with social stuff. Ah, right, he thought, suddenly remembering, I need to go to the Owlery at some point and write to Jared. He's always been a natural at socialization and popularity... He thought fondly of his older brother, who had always been something of the golden child of the family.

Olivia didn't seem very sure about what she said and that disturbed Ashley a bit. Just a bit. Huh. "Shouldn't be.. can be.." she mumbled, absently. "Maybe we'll know when class starts" she said, looking at Olivia.

"Which year are you..?" she enquired. She looked about 14-15, couldn't be sure which. "Do all divination classes happen by the lake..?" She hoped the girl didn't get irritated by her questions.

Ashley watched as another boy, probably a first year, walk towards them. He seemed disinterested by the whole set up.. or wasn't? He sat on the table nearby them, all alone.

"Hey.." she called to him. "You can join us if you want to" she offered, hoping Olivia wouldn't mind it.

Trixie did her best to hide her embarassment when Jacob shook her hand, she felt a little foolish for the whole hand shaking thing. It was just that she had seen her family and other people do it that she thought it was the done thing to do. Thankfully the Ravenclaw didn't say anything about it and she couldn't help a small smile as he began to talk. Oh she could so relate. "I know what you mean. I never used to be like this." And then puberty hit and she became self conscious about everything. "You're doing okay though. No stuttering or blushing." So that was a good thing, right?

A small chuckle escaped her lips as she lent back on her hands and looked out at the lake to where the Professor was standing. "Well according to my uncle it's a cool subject. He's right into it, that and Ancient Runes. Actually he used to teach Runes here many years ago. As for me though, well it's not my favourite subject but it can be at times quite interesting." Trixie turned back to look at Jacob and she faltered a little. It was so much easier to talk when she wasn't looking at him. "But I think you have to have a gift to really get this class." Which was making her wonder why she had decided to take this class in the first place.

The pizza party promising Gryffindor was soon greeted by another Gryffindor...which reminding him that there had been TWO names on the poster that he had been shown. WAS THIS THE OTHER PERSON?! He could only remember their names started with B...so they would be B1 and B2 in his head for now. Small wave to you, B2.

ZORYN!

The Hufflepuff BEAMED when she appeared and, seeing at his circle of rocks was getting a bit crowded, scooted over a little. They could share a mat if need be. "I HOPE SO!" he chirped. "I would be s-s-so neat to learn the divining practices-s-s of s-s-sentient beas-sts." LIKE CENTAURS! Was this professor about to become one of his FAVORITES by incorporating his interest in the nonhuman with this subject? He had no real opinion on Divination just yet, so he was very impressionable right now and HOPEFULLY would not be let down. "I even practiced some Mermis-sh before clas-ss-s!" Oh, he almost forgot! "I found this guy under fose," he continued, pointing to the pile of rocks and the one he had turned over to find the worm he was now presenting to his fellow first year. "Octolasion cyaneum!"

OH CHARLIE TOO! Derf scooted over a tiiiiiiiiiny bit more just in case. They were all first years and LOADS smaller than seventh years, so they could all squish together on a mat just fine. "Hi Charlie," he grinned. "You're s-s-so lucky! First magical les-s-son EVER and fere will be merpeople!" Because he had CONVINCED himself that that was to be the case. By the lake, rocks, professor even getting a head start for swimming IN the lake by taking her shoes off (HIM TOO! AND THEY WERE TUCKED NEATLY BY HIS ENCHANTED SUITCASE BESIDE HIM)...it was really the only option. "Als-s-so found a worm under one of the rocks," he added, showing her his blue-grey worm as well with a little wiggle of it in the air.

SPOILER!!: Individual student replies

Quote:

Originally Posted by Watson

Thankfully it was pretty easy to find the class as she saw a woman standing, she assumed that she was Professor Vance, and a few straw matts dispersed around the ground organized around piles of stones. As she approached the Professor more, she noticed that the woman was standing barefoot in the banks. Huh. She looked... quite relax. Olivia bit her lip, wondering whether or not she should say good morning and interrupt the quiet. However, Olivia hated silences and just went for it. "Good morning Professor Vance," she said with a grin before heading to explore the rest of their makeshift classroom.
Alright, straw mats on the floor paired with stone tablets and a large pile of stones in various shapes and sizes. What was all of this for? Would they be reading stones? she thought for a moment before chuckling. This was interesting. She glanced, noticing a fellow housemate (Ashley) had already arrived. "Hello! Mind if I join you?"

Good morning professor Vance. The voice of a girl broke Laurel out of her pensive moment. Stepping out of the water she grinned back at the girl. "Good afternoon Olivia, are you ready for some divining? Take 1 house point for your promptness"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saz Hale

Kimi was looking forward to this lesson and said "Good Day Professor Vance, have a nice summer" Kimi looked at the rocks and wondered what they would be learning today and he hoped that it would be fun whatever it was

Next student to make his way down to the lake was one of Paul's badgers. Smiling to him Laurel chirped "Afternoon Kimi, yes I had a very nice summer. Did you have a nice summer too?" Before she turned her attention to the next student she said "Take 1 house point for your timely arrival."

Quote:

Originally Posted by dansgurl

She watched as a student made her way to the class. Gryffindor. She recognized the girl from the common room. And she wished the professor.

OUCH.
Ashley had totally forgotten about the whole wishing thing. What's gotten into me? RESPECT. "Uhm.. Professor.. Good morning" Had she seen me already? And she hadn't, atleast not consciously. Her face flushed. NICELY DONE.
The Gryffindor made her way towards Ashley. Join me? "Oh not at all.." she said, pointing to the seat next to her. "The seat is all yours"
"I'm Ashley" And I have seen you. You're so fast. She gave a warm smile.

The lioness that had arrived first of all students, but didn't greet her. The girl did though realize her mistake some moments later and greeted her with flushed features. Laurel was in a good mood so she didn't correct her, she just flashed the girl a smile. "Good afternoon Ashley, are you happy to be back at Hogwarts?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Devina Wellheart

Miranda made her way to her first divination lesson of her third year at school.. It had always been her least favorite , but nevertheless she was here in the familiar cramped space. " Hello, Professor...", she said with a smile.. She was in a great mood today for some reason.. She wasn't sure why , but that didn't really matter.. A good mood was something to cling to these days..

First day of classes was exciting and Laurel was in a awfully good mood. It could possibly have something to do with the breathtaking location. It was something with the lake that always put a smile on her face. Blue eyes turning to the next badger to arrived she beamed "Hello Miranda, did you have an interesting summer?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lissy Longbottom

Kane was not really looking forward to Divination. He wasn't sure he believed all this stuff, and they hadn't really put a lot of emphasis on it at Ilvermorny. Still, he was intrigued, especially since this class was taking place at the lake. What could you possibly do with Divination at the LAKE? He was far more interested in the mythical Giant Squid and the merpeople who lived there than Divination...
"Hello Professor!" Kane said happily as he took a seat on a mat near the front. He may not believe much in this stuff, but he wasn't going to be RUDE about it.
Do not touch the stones. Ok. Got it.

Paul must have drummed in class promptness into his badgers the previous night since another badger boy found his way down to her makeshift classroom. Smiling Professor Vance said "Hello Kane, right? How did it feel to be sorted by the Hogwarts sorting hat?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhoenixRising

Making her way out to the grounds with her trousers already cuffed up to her knees because it was a rather warm day for Scotland and a Slytherin t-shirt, it took a minute to locate the professor and Sky had to question if she was in the right location or not. There were a couple other students present but none of which she recognized so she smiled at the professor first, "Good afternoon, Professor!"
And taking a seat on one of the empty straw mats with no one else there, Sky sighed hoping for a friend to arrive soon.

The first student to arrive from her cousin's house showed that she had read the class notice carefully and came down sporting trousers and a snakeish t-shirt. Beaming back at the girl when their eyes met Laurel said "Hello Skylar, nice t-shirt. Can you buy that t-shirt now at Madam Malkins?" Because if memory served house t-shirts hadn't been on sale or even on the supply lists when she had a student at Hogwarts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DuckyLinJi

Mason liked the idea of outdoor classes more than being stuck in a classroom. It made learning a lot more fun in his opinion even if his parents didn't agree with him and fresh air was certainly better for the brain than the divination tower.

Although he had never took real interest in the subject he still wondered each time which type of Divination they'd be doing. He checked his watch as he made his way towards the lake and quickened his speed. Not that he was late but he wanted to get there early enough to good a good place.
"Hey Professor" he greeted eventhough she was looking at the water and found a place to sit.
No touching the stones. Great now he wanted to! But he didn't, he was sixteen now, not a child.

The first eagle from Hirsch's house to arrive down to her lake classroom, was one of the seniors. "Good afternoon Mason," Laurel greeted with a smile pursing her lips. "Did you have good summer?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

As far as ways to start the term went, this one wasn't so bad. Blaise could definitely appreciate not being locked up in the stuffy classroom with the incense the Professor seemed so hell bent on burning while she taught. Sure, it must have served some greater divinatory purpose but really all it did was inform him he wouldn't be breathing for that hour. Not the most conducive means of learning for this lion at all.
The lake on the other hand, this was golden. Fresh afternoon air, brilliant weather that they all knew wouldn't last long; it was to be enjoyed.
"Hey Professor." The Fifth Year approached the small gathering. He wasn't bothered by the fact the only chairs they had would be mats but he was awful curious about the stones.

The first Bellaire youth to arrive down to the lake was Blaise. Professor Vance figured that the lion liked the choice of location since he if memory served wasn't very fond of her warm, incense smelling tower classroom. Smiling at him she said "Hello Blaise, did you have a fun summer vacation?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erindipity

As she approached the little gaggle of students she shot Blaise a smile and made a beeline for the new kid she had tried to convince to start a fire with her. Plopping down on a mat next to him she looked back at the professor... who's name was slipping her mind at thE moment, and spoke, "Good day Professor! What's up with the stones? " Was no one else going to ask?

The lioness that came down shortly after Blaise was expected. Laurel had read in the cards that the senior blond student was going to be taking her class this year. "Good day Dora," Prof Vance chirped, "Patience young lioness, the stones significance will be revealed in just a few minutes. Did you have nice summer vacation?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

"Maakeeffaa! Professor!" Derf greeted with an eager wave. See? He was totally prepared!
Distracted by the sight of the professor, the first year was looking ANYWHERE but down and therefore entirely missed whatever was written in the sand as he plopped down next to a face that he would find familiar in just a moment. "OH! The pizza party Gryffindor!" he exclaimed as he promptly began slipping off his shoes and socks. Blaise...right? He would have asked, but his attention was drawn to the Gryffindor girl seated nearby asking about the rocks. "Fink we will use them to get the merpeople to come to the s-surface?" he asked her. She was older...so she WOULD probably know what the customs were of the tribe living in the lake. "Or maybe there are neat bugs-s-s under them!" He even picked one up and examined underneath it, poking the ground with his finger just in case.
Oh hey! A worm! TUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUG.

The very excited badger first year that came down to the lake surprised her by knowing some mermish. It wasn't very common for a first year to do that. The eagerness that he greeted her with made Prof Vance beam broadly at him, "The water is indeed very beautiful Derfael, congratulations on being sorted into Hufflepuff."

And then he did the last thing Laurel had wanted. The boy TOUCHED the stones. Taking a breath she reminded him since he clearly had missed her notice. "Stop, touching the stones please, Derfael!"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bazinga

First Divination of term. Natalia had went to her room before changing out of her robes to a pair of capri pants and a long sleeve shirt. Throwing her bag over her shoulder she headed out of the castle and out on the grounds.

Moving closer to where the little group was gathering she looked around. "Afternoon Professor." Professor Vance wasn't one of those outer space type Divi professors so that was cool. Turning she looked around and decided on an empty area to sit.

Next student to come down sporting pants and a long sleeved shirt was Prefect Franks-Mundie. Flashing Natalia a big smile Laurel asked "Afternoon Natalia, did you have a good summer?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steelsheen

The Gryffindor Ace zoomed down towards the lake shore, his silvery cruiser catching the gleam from the sun. See this is why his cruiser can be illegal, because its useful. He just needs to convince the cantankerous old Caretaker about that.
"'Afternoon Professor Vance!" the leonine lad greeted her, then gave a wave hello to the rest of the class already assembled.

"Afternoon Tenacious, is that cruiser safe?" Laurel asked somewhat worried. It looked useful, but also dangerous if you had bad balance. But the prefect seemed to know what he was doing so she gave her watch a glance. It still wasn't time to start.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davvy_Wavvy

Bentley came up behind Blaise and stopped after giving a nod to the professor.
"I suppose this beats suffocating to death." He said as he messed up his hair just enough at the top.
SO much better. This way the setting sun would catch the highlights on the tip of his hair just right.
He could definitely get used to this.

Bentley's nod in her direction didn't go unnoticed. Returning it with a nod of her own Laurel greeted "Hello Bentley,"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Star-Lord

She looked closely at the rocks and began making scenarios as to what they'd be doing today; also taking into consideration the class' location. "Good afternoon, professor," she smiled at her and continued to walk towards a spot. That was until she spotted a certain someone sitting alone.
Practically skipping towards the Head Girl, Tim set her bag down and sat. Natalia and Tim didn't really have to greet each other anymore; conversations would just start as a type of Hello. "Do you think we'll be skipping rocks today?" She asked her best friend while taking out her textbook. Maybe the book can tell her something about rocks and their purpose in divination.

"Good afternoon Timila," Laurel smiled over to the lioness as she passed by her to find somewhere to sit. It was nice to see her in class and eager to start it seemed since Timila already brought out her textbook.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sonea

Why was she here again? Hmm, with a sour look in her eyes the now second year old looked around her to see where the professor was. “Wait till the moment when I can drop this stupid lesson” she muttered softly to herself while walking toward the professor. “Hello” said she not that enthusiastic because, well… The professor already knew that she didn’t believed in this lesson because, if even Muggles were using Divination methods then, well… Then this whole subject was nothing but fake if you were asking it her.
Shaking her head slightly to prepare herself for a really long and probably boring lesson she walked toward one of the straw mats and sat down, still looking not that happy to be here…

Ah Leesha had arrived. The young snakettes demeanour was anything but chipper, that was though nothing out of the ordinary. "Hello Leesha," Prof Vance greeted with a smile. "Did you have a fun summer?" Maybe some small talk would break the poor mood?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goblinfrog

So it was with some excitement that Kitty made her way to the lake that afternoon, wearing a black long sleeved turtleneck shirt and skirt. Not her most glamorous outfit, but she didn't know how dirty they were going to get and she wanted to follow the instructions as closely as she could.
"Good afternoon Professor Vance," she said, glancing curiously at the slabs of stone, sign, and the professor's bare feet. Were they going to be barefoot too? "How are you?" Then she sat down by one of the stones.

Prefect Valentine of the eagles followed in Leesha's footsteps and she on the other hand seemed to be in a happier mood. "Good afternoon Kitty," Prof Vance greeted kindly. "I'm lovely, thank you for asking. How are you dear?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArianaBlack

"Hi Professor! Did you forget your shoes?" she pointed at the bare feet. Without allowing time for her Professor to answer she continued, "'Cause sometimes I forget too, you can borrow one of mine!" It made a lot of sense. 'Cause one shoe was better than no shoe. And this way they'd both have ONE SHOE! So she pulled hers off and offered it to her Professor.

What was it with these first years? They all seemed to be bubbling with excitement and eagerness. A sour sight to the eyes. Beaming broadly to the lioness she said "Hello Zoryn," shaking her head she blinked "Thanks for your consideration dear, but no I didn't forget my shoes. I have just kicked them off to feel the sand between my toes."

Quote:

Originally Posted by TakemetotheBurrow

"Hello Professor." The Slytherin curtsied with a smile and then looked around to see who she could sit by. It was impotant, picking the right seat. One didn't want to sit next to the smelly kid in class or worse, the kid who thought he was funny while really just being extremely obnoxious. Junia didn't fake laughter for the benefit of others, she just didn't.

Good manners was a virtue and it seemed that this snakette knew how to act since she curtsied when she greeted her. Smiling Laurel said "Afternoon Junia," She followed the girl as she headed over and took a seat next to a house mate on a straw mat. It was interesting that no student had so far kicked their shoes to feel the sand.

Quote:

Originally Posted by awakemysoul

He spotted Olivia and waved at her with a smile before sitting down at a different area alone. He hoped she wouldn't be offended. He preferred to sit away from friends (and he thought that maybe they were friends now) during lessons so he could concentrate better, especially in subjects that weren't his best. Of course, "not his best" didn't really mean "bad." He was just his own worst critic. Anything other than a top mark was bad to him.
He wouldn't mind if anyone joined him. He just didn't want to sit near anyone he already knew, or else he might be tempted to talk to them instead of paying his utmost attention to the lesson at hand.

The next eagle boy's arrival didn't go unnoticed even if he didn't grace her with a greeted like many of his class. Prof. Vance did though wave slightly as she greeted "Hello Jacob," she had decided to greet every single student that came down to her class and she wasn't going to stop now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anna Banana

At least class was held at the Black Lake. Brent had heard this was a pretty cool place to hang out. Approaching the class area, he noted the straw mats and stones. That wasn't really his ideal place to sit, but whatever. He walked up behind Kane and clapped him on the back. "What's up, lil bro?" he asked. Now that they were separated by house, he didn't get to see his brother a whole lot.
He took a seat on a nearby mat and got himself comfortable.

"Hello Brent," Laurel chirped with a blue-eyed glance to the Westwood youth that she had encountered earlier on the ground floor by the hourglasses. That he was there she took as a sign that their earlier run in hadn't scared him away from attending her class.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hermygirl

Divination really wasn't one of Sam's favoured subjects, truth be told. In fact, it probably vied for last place with Ancient Runes. However, she felt optimistic about today's lesson, mainly because it was being held in the deliciously clean, clear air of the lake.
No incense here to make her sneeze, nuh-uh.
Skipping to catch up with her bestie, Sam took the mat beside the Gryffindor and dumped her bag on the ground. "I 'ope we get teh skip 'em," she answered Dora's question with a grin, having picked up the skill during the summer on their travels. "'n' who's your friend?" She waved at the Hufflepuff, pretty sure she didn't recognise him.

"Afternoon Samantha," Laurel greeted the eaglette as she made her entrance to the 'classroom'. The girl's mind was as it seemed more focused on finding the right place to sit then on greeting her. She didn't mind too much though. Laurel had probably been like that herself in her school years.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mell

As she approached the lake and saw the straw mats and stones placed around, Trixie had a good feeling that this was indeed going to be an interesting lessson. She spotted Ace and was about to head over to him but she realised that she was going to have to weave her way through a number of students and well she was not the most graceful of girls, she was likely to trip over someone.
So instead, Trixie decided on the mat closest to her. Only there was someone already sitting there. "Do you mind if I sit here?" She hoped that he didn't because she was going to sit there anyway.

Another lioness came down and decided unlike many of her classmates to choose the closest mat to the entrance to sit down on next to someone she apparently didn't know. Waving to her Prof Vance called out "Hello Trixie!" it was enterprising of the girl to sit with someone she didn't know it showed that she was a true Gryffindor.

[QUOTE=Daydreamer11;12121995]Janelle had been looking forward to this lesson. It wasn't necessarily Divination that had her spirits up, but the fact that they would be having their lesson outside. The lake was a place that she really liked, so what better setting for class?
When Janelle reached the temporary classroom, she took in the scene. It was a beautiful day and there was no other place the seventh year would rather be. "Hello Professor ", she said to their currently wading leader. That would explain the suggestion to wear roll up-able pants/QUOTE]

The eagle seventh year got a smile and a greeting upon arrival "Hello Janelle, did you have a good summer?" Was she looking forward to NEWT year and finishing her Hogwarts education? Laurel would have to ask at a later opportunity as the time to start kept trickling down slowly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by klexos24

With a solution in mind and a hint of pep in her step, she approached the group that was evidently the Divination class, and took to greeting the professor first. She seemed to be off in her own world at the moment, but Charlie figured it would be impolite not to try. "Good afternoon, Professor Vance! Lovely weather we're having today." That was her name, right? And was small talk appropriate when greeting a professor?

Another bubbling first year with some spring in her step entered her makeshift classroom. Flashing the girl a grin Prof Vance said. "Good afternoon Charlie, I couldn't agree with you more. The lovely weather is perfect for an outside class." She'd have to talk to Imogen about all these excited first years. It was so warming to see.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LilFox06

He looked around, nodding a 'I acknowledge your presence' to the teach before sitting on some straw yoga mat. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the large stone tablet in front of him. As he looked around, he noticed a message in the sand.

The next snake first year boy to arrive wasn't as bubbly. He had a more reserved approach than the other Laurel thought as she returned his nod with a short greeting "Hello Slate," after class was over she'd know if it had served him well or not.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilverTiger

Instead, she had given the professor a smile, on her way to join Nat and Tim where the other two girls had chosen to sit. “Good afternoon Professor Vance,” she said, the smile evident in her tone before she’d arrived at said chosen spot. Also known as the grouping the head girl was at, and of course both Nat and Tim got smiles as well. “Is there a method of divination involving skipping stones?,” she said softly, just so the other two seventh years could hear. It could be that thing Nat was talking about too, given she suspected they were going to be entering the water for one reason or another. Either way, it wasn’t anything she knew much about.

The older snakette that arrived after the first year got a broad smile as she passed on her way to sit with Natalia and Timila. "Good afternoon Elle, did you enjoy your summer?" It was nice to see so many years represented in her class. It boded well for a good class dynamic.

Quote:

Originally Posted by griffin

The whole not wearing skirts to the lesson thing had been somewhat of a problem for Isa. She didn't own any Hogwarts uniform trousers as she always wore skirts. So, here she was, wearing a pair of jeans that were not the sort of trousers that were meant to be worn as a part of the Hogwarts uniform. It was the best she could do given the circumstances. Isa loved that the lesson was outdoors, as she preferred spending her time outdoors in nature. "Hello, Professor Vance!" Isa smiled at the professor and waved cheerfully. Oh, rocks? Were they going to be practicing some form of lithomancy? Perhaps throwing rocks in the lake or something?

Stealing a glance at her watch Laurel smiled to herself one more student greeting then she would start the class. The last student to arrive was Isabel that she had met in the girl's bathroom when her necklace had broke. Smiling cheerfully back at the girl she greeted "Good afternoon Isa!"

With a last glance down at her watch Laurel deemed that enough students had arrived for her to be able to start. Stepping up a few more meters on the lake bank on wet bare feet she said a smile pursing her lips as she addressed the assembled students. "Welcome students to another year in the study of the noble art of divination. I am Professor Laurel Vance for those among you who don't know me, and I will be your guide as we together attempt to unearth what the future has in store for us this year at Hogwarts." Here she paused briefly to let that sink in.

"I award everyone with 2 house points each for following my sand instruction of not touching the stone piles." Laurel said with a big broad beam. Even Derfael would get his first points even though he hadn't excatly done what she had asked, but Laurel was feeling generous and would see it as if it never happened.

"I assume that many of you are keen to know why you are all out here sitting on straw mats near the lake edge and with just plain black stones for company? Well I shall get into that very soon, but first can each and everyone of you give me one fact about water divination?" Going silent she waited for the students to think up some answers, wondering silently if any of the lake inhabitants would pay them a visit.

OOC: Class has started! I will continue in approximatley 24 hours from this post at around 3 pm GMT+1 on Sunday Jan 8th. Please no posting your character arriving after this post, unless you are willing to accept IC consequences that Laurel will think up. If you are joining late just jump right in as if your student has been there all along.

Don't wait to be called on just raise your hand and assume Prof Vance said your students name and give an answer e.g give a fact about water divination. Let your character speak for themselves, be creative, all answers count, even wrong ones.

Oh looked like class had started, Trixie dragged her gaze away from Jacob to concentrate on the Professor and she raised her hand tentatively upon hearing the question. "The use of water divination is to bring messages."

"It was" Mason thought. How had his summer been? "Adventurous" he finally answered with a smile as he sat down on a straw mat . He refrained from saying it had being adventurous because of the many books he had read and had therefore traveled to other worlds in his mind and he hadn't actually had a Gryffindor kind of summer. He also did not ask how her summer had been because he had not been the only one with the same question.

As class begun, Mason had to stifle a laugh when the Professor mentioned the subject as noble. He didn't think of Divination as noble, just a lot of guess work and luck. But then he did smile when he learned that he and so had everyone else who had followed the instructions had earned two points. His first points of the term and he hadn't done anything. Nice.

"Scrying or seeking images in water is a form of divination isn't it?" he said after he had raised his hand in the air. Just because he thought of the subject as a joke it didn't mean he didn't read about it.

"Yes professor. I'm happy to be here" Not back. It was her first term there. Maybe the professor was new too?

2 points each for not touching stones? Ashley had a GRIN. GRIN. GRIN. moment inside her head. I like this professor.

Water divination. HMM. Let's see. Divination was searching for something in the future. Looking into it. What's with water and divination?

She raised her hand and took a guess, "Water divination helps us locate sea creatures.. or objects in water?" She added the last part a bit doubtfully.

SHE KNEW HIS NAME?!

Derf's eyes WIDENED at that because she either had a really REALLY good memory from all the new sortees or that Inner Eye thingy was really neat! Or scary. He was glad mum and dad did not have it because clearly he would not be able to get away with anything. Like filling the bathtub up with pond water for all of his polliwogs.

AND SHE KNEW MERMISH!?

Well, that just sealed the deal then, didn't it? The first year turned his bright blues towards Zoryn and Charlie and GRINNED. "S-She knows-s Mermish, you guys," he squealed softly. THEY WERE TOTALLY LEARNING MERPEOPLE DIVINATION TODAY!

Bit too STUNNED by this bit of news for him to respond properly and thank the professor for her congratulations. Oops.

Slipping the worm into his pocket for Scamander to eat, the first year repeated the professor's name to himself a few times to commit it to memory. He WAS going to comment on how writing messages in the sand was probably not the BEST nor the most effective form of communication, but question asking was happening and thus he focused there.

With his hand shooting up confidently like he knew precisely what he was talking about.

"The tribe of merpeople in the Black Lake haff feir own unique form...uuuuuh....us-s-sing lake currents-s-s...and ripples-s!" he stated as fact - although he really had NO idea if it was true or not BUT HE WAS HOPEFUL. What else did he know about divining by water? Well....

"......and it's-s wet!"

Ooh Water divination! That was quite interesting actually! Hattie had been interested in finding more out about this subject, and so she had decided to do some reading over the summer. It had come in useful actually. The third year thought for a few seconds, so that she could get a really good answer but she finally raised her hands. "Isn't Dowsing a form of Water Divination Professor?" The girl asked, as she raised her hand in the air. "People used it to find water under the ground"

Zoryn was disappointed in the way her Professor reacted. She may have been real little, but she could pick up on things okay!! And it felt like her Professor wasn’t having any of it, which was only further confirmed when the lady turned down the shoe offering. Whatever, her loss. Zoryn had very pretty shoes. So she shrugged and skipped off without a further doubt on that one.

At least Derf was excited. Which made Zoryn MORE excited. See Zoryn didn’t know what half of the stuff Derf was talking about meant, but she nodded her head anyways because it did all sounds super NEAT. ”It’s gonna be so AWESOME!!!” she could feel it in her fingers and toes! ”Good thinking,” she commented. ”You’ve still gotta teach me so I can help next time!!” Obviously there’d be more mermaid adventures.

And at the site of wooooorm, she scrunched her nose giggling ”EEWWW!!” Though her laughter did indicate that she wasn’t in fact grossed out. Octo-huh now? That’s a weird name. ‘Cert his name was Derfael, so…. It made sense. So Zoryn shrugged it off.

”YAAAAAAAY!” she STAGE whispered back to Derf and Charlie. THEY WERE GONNA FIND THE MERMAIDS!

And then the PROFESSOR started talking again!!! AND she had a name (that Zoryn wouldn’t remember)! And how come no one was gonna tell her what the heck divination even was. Zoryn didn’t care if it was ‘noble’. How’d that help her in the class? The two points thing did excite her though, which was clear in her bouncing. She didn’t even know they weren’t supposed to touch the stones. So basically, she got two points for BEING ZORYN!!!!

As for the question… Zoryn still didn’t know what divination was… So she ignored that part of the sentence and gave one fact about water instead. ”Water is a liquid and it’s made of these things called atoms that slip and sliiiiiiiide all around each other!” Constant motion or something like that. They learned it in SCIENCE last year. Man, and she thought she’d never be able to use that stuff. Two points for everyone? But like TEN MILLION FOR ZORYN. What a genius answer.

Oops. Brent hadn't intended to not greet the professor, so when she actually greeted him first AND remembered him by name, he felt really bad. "Hello, Professor," he returned. He didn't say anything else, because she'd already moved on to greeting somebody else who'd arrived. Pretty soon, the lesson was underway, and Brent had already earned his first two house points! COOL! Never mind the fact that everybody had done the exact same thing. Brent loved a good competition, and this had just started the race!

...and there was the first question, which Brent didn't know the answer to. Or, he probably didn't know the right answer. He combed through his mind for something decent to say.

"I once heard that you can use different things like rods to discover what's in the water," he said, raising his hand. "The rods shake or do something cool like that to indicate something's there." That actually sounded pretty cool, although Brent could care less what it told him about his future. He just thought a scavenger hunt sounded fun.

Tim looked up as Elle came over and sat with them. She gave her a smile before her eyes fell on her book again. Elle just made her mind wander again about skipping rocks and divination. Maybe it was like one of those silly muggle future games the girls in her old neighborhood did. "Maybe you call guess the future with how many skips your rock does?' Tim questioned out loud and shrugged. She really had no idea how rocks would be used in this form of divination..

Hearing the question, something automatically went off in her head. How did she forget about water divination before? When Paige had mentioned floromancy, Tim did more research on it and different types. "Water divination is commonly known as Hydromancy. It's been used for thousands of years to receive messages and predict the future through water movements.' That was one way of explaining it. Tim couldn't really remember much more since it's been about two years since she had read about the subject and it wasn't one of her main focuses.

"Its pretty safe Professah!" the Curly Top replied reassuredly. The cruiser itself was safe for as long as the rider knew what they were doing, and he knew what he was doing.... most of the time.

And he gets points for just sitting on his bum? Awwyea! But aye what did he know about Water Divination? He didnt know either, but then he wasnt shy about venturing this guess "Uhh.... does it have anything to do with skipping stones across the lake?" Because thats what he always does when he's at home mhmm.

Zara sat ever so quietly on the mat as she looked back and forth between all her fellow classmates and the stones. She already had a sinking feeling Divinations wasn't going to be a strong subject for her, but it was still worth a try.

Listening to what everyone was saying, she slowly raised her hand. "Water can be used like a vessel in divination. We can use how it reacts to prophecies thing." At least, that's what she thought from everything she was hearing. "There are a lot of kinds of divinations that involve dropping things into water and interpreting its reaction."