He hated that he was doing this. But when was his mother ever wrong? Go to him for help. He'll appreciate that and respect you more in the classroom. Don't give him a reason to correct you again, Lucas Choi. He could hear her voice when he had read the words in her letter.

And so, here he was, taking her advice.

He had his schoolbag in hand, uniform in perfect condition, hair swept to the side and combed, and even some lip balm on so his lips weren't....crusty. He knocked the doors harder than he usually would, but they looked heavy.

Fletcher had only just gotten settled back in his office after a run down by the lake. On a day like this where he didn’t have lessons to teach, he found it helped to clear his mind. Occasionally, he would break up any troublemaking he ran into but that wasn’t the purpose of the jogs, just a bi-product.

Now back at his desk, the man slipped his reading glasses on and summoned the essays that had been turned in early.

It was interesting to find a few overachievers in a place like this. With all the horrid little maggots running around looking for any reason for a revolt, the few that not only turned in homework on time but early was quite the refreshing change. Whether they made any actual sense was another thing entirely.

He wasn’t terribly optimistic.

The knock on his door drew his attention from the first paper. He sighed deeply before calling out. “Come in.”

That Come in did not sound even remotely enthusiastic. It made him feel like turning right around and pretending he had never even come! But he thought Professor Fletcher was likely to be irritated about that and he'd proooobably hunt Lucas down and take 100000000 points from Slytherin for ruining his evening tea or whatever mean Professors did in their free time.

Did come in mean come in? Would he somehow get in trouble? Lucas timidly pushed the door open and peeked inside, licking his lips nervously. He suddenly felt very thirsty. "Uh...go-good day, Professor Fletcher. I've come to talk to you about our...homework. Essay." He patted his backpack. "If you have the time right now, that is. If not, I can come at a more convenient time." His mother's advice was replaying over and over in his head. Be respectful and accommodating. Respectful and accommodating. He could do both of those things fairly well.

His expression neither rose nor sank when the person behind the knock was revealed. “Mr. Choi.” He said mildly, not failing to notice who well put together the boy was today. He wouldn’t say it but that earned him a few points, just a few. It was important to take pride in how you looked and to carry yourself about appropriately.

Calvin lowered his glasses to the solid oak desk and nudged the papers to the side. “Now is fine. The deadline is fast approaching and I’d like you to be able to hand it in on time. If I can clear up a few things to prevent you from handing in rubbish, well, all the better.”

The man waved a hand toward one of the chairs opposite his at the desk. “Have a seat. What can I help you with exactly?”

Because, yes, he did prefer students to come to him for clarification instead of scribbling a loud of dragon dung and turning it in.

Lucas nodded and bit his lip as he pulled his schoolbag from his back and let it sit on his knees as he sat down in the chair facing Professor Fletcher. His backpack was super organized; he pulled out his binder for Divination and slid his essay Fletcher had assigned out from the binder neatly. The parchment was even folded neatly. "Oh, sir, I finished the assignment. I just wanted to see if you could give it a look through...and maybe give it back so I can make sure it's the best it can be before I turn it in?" the inflection in his voice...did not sound as hopeful as he wanted to sound. "I am having some organization issues, I think." He unfolded his essay and sighed slightly.

The more he was...focusing on the assignment and thinking of Fletcher as someone who could potentially help him was keeping his heart rate and nervousness down. "I'm not sure whether to go through the structure of Ancient Greek governance and say how their appreciation and mild admiration of the divine arts played into this structure, or if I should be organizing it by Divination practices and how it plays into the governance from the bottom up. Or maybe even up to...bottom." He said in a quiet tone. "For right now, I have organized in the first way I mentioned, because it's more than just pyromancy. that affected things. Unless I did this wrong and you want it to be focused on pyromancy."

And now...he was feeling nervous. What if he had put way too much work into this and it was all bloody wrong? He'd feel like a fool; stupid; useless; etc.

There was a slight raise of his brow as the boy began his explanation. The man was half tempted to ask if this was an attempt at brown nosing but thought better of it, offering a small nod instead. Right. He was done but wanted it checked so he could make it the best it could be. “Admirable, Mr. Choi. If only more of your classmates were as diligent with their school work.”

He steepled his fingers, resting his chin comfortably while he listened. “The second option, while not incorrect, is less preferred to the first but no, I don’t expect you to solely focus on pyromancy.” While it had been the topic of the lesson, the question did ask about divination on a whole.

Fletcher extended a hand to take a look at the essay. “So far, it sounds like you’re on the right track, but I’d like to see the actual content.” To make sure he wasn’t a clever idiot.

Lucas had no response to Fletcher's first comment; he merely shift uncomfortably in his seat. Many of his classmates DID work as hard as he did, but he didn't think anyone would come see Fletcher. He was too cruel, too mean. Lucas didn't even think himself this brave but here he was, sitting across from the kinda' bald man.

No offense. The hairline didn't look back on the guy. Lucas didn't think he could off having less hair.

Oh goooood! Lucas looked visibly relieved and his shoulders fell, relaxed. "Oh good, sir." He said with a nod before pushing it over to the Divination professor. He had worked hard, made sure all the grammar and whatnot was correct, and honestly thought it was more than passable. But who knew what Fletcher would say. Lucas was hardly one to bite his tongue, usually, when a thought popped into his head. But he had one that he....REALLY wanted to ask Fletcher about because if he could...like, maybe see SOME humanity behind this man he'd have a better time dealing with him. He didn't know if he'd be able to do the same with the headmaster.... but Fletcher had a slim chance in Lucas' mind.

"Are you a seer?" he asked gently. His tone was curious.

Calvin took the parchment and returned his glasses to their previous position on his face. He skimmed the words, deciding he wouldn’t nitpick unnecessarily but he kept his eyes peeled for anything that may have caused him any sort of grief when reading later. Once or twice he crossed out a sentence or a word with his own quill but it wasn’t quite the massacre the boy may or may not have been expecting.

The quill came to a stop at the boy’s question. He paused, eyeing him up and down in an attempt to figure out whether this about about to be some clever jab that would earn the boy detention before attempting an answer.

“I’m not, no. The sight was never something that I inherited.” There was another pause while he looked the boy over.

“Is that going to be a problem, Mr. Choi?”

Lucas didn't even know what he would expect from Professor Fletcher. He HAD put the time and effort and research into it, so he thought he had done a good job. On the other hand, Fletcher seemed....strict? Like really really strict. So maybe he would hate Lucas' writing style or something, or expect perfection. And Lucas wasn't perfect....smart, sure, but not perfect.

But he wanted an O >.>

"Does it run in your family?" he asked, pressing...more than he normally would have with a professor he didn't like, but he couldn't hELP IT. IT WAS SPILLING OUT OF HIS MOUTH. "What made you want to...pursue Divination as a career, then?" And then his cheeks turned RED when asked if it were a problem. "Oh--o-of course not s-sir," he said quickly, waving his hands to show that it wasn't a big deal! "I was just curious is all!"

Had he shoved his foot in his mouth on accident????

"You're awful inquisitive, aren't you, Mr. Choi?" His first observation as the boy went on. "Can't say I thought any of you would care enough to ask." Seriously. Most of them were too absorbed in complaining about rules that weren't that hard to follow and moping about a little physical activity or the fact he didn't smile much. What the positioning of his lips had to do with any of them was beyond him.

The fact this came about because he was "just curious" earned him a small raise of his brows.

The man leaned back in his chair, deciding how much he felt like sharing and indeed if he felt like sharing at all. In the end, he saw no harm in it and simply shrugged. "Both my mother and her mother were seers. I grew up learning about the art, watching its practices and sometimes taking part in them myself. I suppose you can say that it's grown to be a part of me."

As....cliche as that statement was.

Skyler found herself at the door to Professor Fletcher's office. She had never been to his office so this would be interesting. Ever since the fire lesson, she had started to become interested in divination. What? She loved fire okay? She had read a few books, (Despite having her textbook) writing down anything that she thought was important. She wasn't sure if she was allowed to carry books out of the library or not. She knocked hard on the wooden door that was sealed shut and waited for a response.

The man actually hadn't been in his office today. He'd been down in the dungeons serving yet another pointless detention because of yet another student that just didn't seem to get that this was a school and like all schools, it had rules. You'd think by this point in the term they would get it.

Apparently not.

The man arrived back at his door just moments after the knocking one brow rising in question at the Slytherin standing there.

"What can I do for you, Ms. Queen?"

Skyler frowned when there was no response. Huh..he wasn't there right now. She turned around, shrugging, and decided to try later. He had a life too. She then stopped before she started to leave. There he was coming towards her.
“Oh uh hello professor Fletcher.” She said.
Fletcher did not scare her at all. She only stammered a bit because she was surprised about his entrance.
“I came up here because I wanted to know more about divination, specifically dream interpretation. I read a few books about divination in general, and wrote some notes,” she raised her notebook a bit to let him see that she had it.

Calvin glanced down at the book for only a moment before moving by her to open the door. Call him skeptical but he didn't think he'd find anything of true substance in the girl's notes and didn't think it was worth his time looking. "Come in." He said, instead, as he moved into the office himself.

He did have a few things he needed to get done but if a student needed his help, his job description dictated that he offer up his help.

"Have a seat by the desk." The man pointed to the chair across from his own at his desk before sinking into his. "What exactly would you like to know about dream divination, Ms. Queen? It's quite a large topic. What have you read thus far?"

Skyler frowned and held her journal down at her side and walked inside his office and glanced around for a quick second noticing that it wasn’t decorated with anything. She noticed a large window letting in as much light as it would allow and two plush chairs. She looked down and noticed a desk with two chairs on either side.
When Skyler sat down, she looked back to Fletcher.
What has she learned so far?
"Each book I read treats dreams like they are these uniform and structured things like a dream about your teeth falling out could be that you are afraid about getting old or dreams about being lost can mean that you're anxcious. But dreams thst I can remember having seam really random. What I’m wondering is, how would be able to get any answers from dreams that seem to be random?"

The frown didn't go unnoticed but it wasn't acknowledged either. Her facial expressions were of little consequence to him. He cared more to get to the meat of the matter, something she hadn't at first attempted to do. With such a wide topic as dream interpretation, to show up saying she wanted to know more was akin to to showing up and saying she wanted to learn more about...well...Hogwarts. There were many things to be discussed depending on what the focus was.

Thankfully, in the next minute, the young girl did get to the point by asking a specific question. They could start from there.

"Are they truly random, or do they only seem random because you haven't stopped to further peer into them?" A crucial question. When one failed to truly pause and meditate on all they remember, every part of the dream could seem inconsequential. Calvin paused a moment to let her think it over.

The man leaned back into his chair, tilting it somewhat at an angle while he considered the Slytherin. "But to answer the question, you must think beyond what you see. It's the same with the study of any novel. You can read it and enjoy the story for what it is, but you can also dig deeper to locate the themes, the hidden messages, the symbolism in the actions. Once you've picked apart the dream and stripped it to the bones, you can begin reassembling the dream in such a way that you can gain answers."

As the divination professor continued to explain himself, she nodded a bit in agreement. He did have a point. The morning of the dreams that she did rememeber. (Most times, she never remembered her dreams past the few minutes of waking up), she never stopped to think about what they really could mean. His explanation too, was a lot more detailed then she could say.
"That is true," she said only to agree with him. She wasn't doubting him by any means. What he said was basically common sense. Well, maybe. She ran her left hand along her other wrist under her long sleeve shirt and robe sleeve.
"I've also read too, about lucid dreams. How would a person be able to control their own dreams?" She asked. She had stopped running her finger along her wrist.

"Lucid dreaming doesn't necessarily improve the ability to interpret dreams." He would start with that. While it seemed she'd moved on to another topic under dreaming, he felt a link was still needed, if only for himself so he could keep up. "It can allow you to assess your dreams in real time, sure, giving you less to do once you've awakened but even then it's still dependent on how much you actually remember when you wake up."

Now that he'd gotten some of that out of the way. "There are a few practices that strengthen your chances of having a lucid dream. Most commonly you will need mediation. Just before sleeping, it helps to focus on the process of dreaming. Become aware that you're about to fall asleep and even while you begin to doze, try to maintain as much of your concentration as possible." For all the times he'd gotten his class to focus and concentrate before a reading, it wasn't lost on him that many still failed to see the importance.

"It's important to be aware. Some say that while dreaming, it's the small details that make them realize it can only be a dream. A chair out of place in the home, a friend using words they'd never normally use. This of course, requires a sharp mind, one awake even while in sleep, one anticipating and ready to make assessments at every turn--another benefit of meditation."

Was she following?

"The interesting thing about lucid dreams is, once you realize you're dreaming, control is easy to gain to the point you end up changing what the dream might otherwise have been." Did she now see why lucid dreams weren't necessarily the best for interpreting? They were often tainted by conscious intervention.

Skyler nodded. She was not asking about lucid dreaming making interpretations easier, she was just curious. She knew that if anything it made it more difficult or even inaccurate. But, she kept her mouth shut about that and continued to let him speak. If anything, she was learning something new. Which was the point of making the effort to come up here on her own time.

"I see what you mean," she decided to say instead.

She wondered if it would be helpful to tell him about a dream that she had that she realized she was dreaming but then she woke up. She decided to save it to if he asked her about it.

"Good." He replied. If she saw what he meant then they were on the same page and further explanation on that particular topic would not be needed. Briefly, his eyes fell to her notebook again. He was no more inclined to have a look than he was earlier but it did raise a few questions of his own. Some he may ask in time if the situation called for it.

For now, he reached into his desk and pulled out a stack of papers he'd been procrastinating. It was a dirty habit, he knew, but there were other things that needed his attention and when they were done, the motivation was hard to come by.

"Was there anything else you specifically wanted to inquire about?" Specific because if she simply came to hear about "dream interpretation" there was a book he could loan her but if there was something of particular interest, he could be of more detailed assistance.

Skyler decided that this may be a good time to ask him about it. She mentally nodded.
"I was more curious then anything," she said about any specific questions nodding a bit to assure herself more then anything.
This conversation was shorter then she thought it would be. She had a conversation planmed out but eh. Guess it didn't work out that way.

Calvin nodded slowly at her explanation. Just curious. Nothing she necessarily wanted to focus on, just had a wonder and came to satiate it.

"Well, should something else come up, you need only knock at the door and I'll see if I can clear it up for you. In the mean time if you're interested in further readings, I do have a few books--so long as you care for them. I don't take kindly to having my possessions mishandled." A fair warning if he ever gave one.

Skyler blinked. If something should come up...she wanted to say something. But she took a glance at the large stack of papers he had to grade.
Tell him later. He has a lot of pappers to grade. Sure he would want to get that done. But he is also giving you that opertunity...no. Later."
Skyler nodded instead. She might even figure it out herself later.
"Yes, that would be nice please." she said about the offer on the books and the help.

Calvin looked the young girl over for a moment after she accepted the offer, still deciding whether he truly wanted to hand over anything of value to a student when on a whole, they hadn't proven themselves to be capable of....most things. In the end, the man nodded again before summoning a book from the shelf. It was large but well kept. The pages were in near new condition, the cover while aged did not show too many visible signs of wear and tear--a testament to how well the man cared for his belongings.

"This should provide some of the answers you're....probably looking for." He didn't know anymore. He'd answered what she'd asked but if she still needed the book it meant she still had questions clearly floating about her mind on the subject.

She knew what she was looking for, surely she'd be able to find it. "Will that be all?" He asked, pulling for the first of many parchments and skimming the words.