Heath nodded in reply to Claudine, though he didn’t say anything because the lesson was beginning. He wasn’t at all surprised to hear she had no idea what was in the crates. He had no idea either, but that didn’t stop him from speculating about it. Must be the Ravenclaw curiosity in him…

Something else Heath had no idea of? How to answer the professor’s question! Or questions, in this case, as it sounded like she was asking several different things. As for the first question, yes, he did feel mostly safe on the school grounds (The Forbidden Forest notwithstanding). At that thought, memories of the acromantulas in DADA came rushing back, and he could almost feel the fight or flight response kicking in. Was that the sort of answer Professor Kitridge was looking for to the second question? If so, how did that relate to divination? The only thing he could think of was intuitive divination. That used gut feelings, didn’t it? But it was more a category of divination than a specific form of it…

His thoughts were going in so many directions that there was no way to voice them without sounding incoherent. Rather than embarrass himself, he kept quiet for now.

Kinsay tried not to look as disappointed as she felt. Kiz wasn’t even aware that doing water readings was on the table!!! But now that she knew, it was horribly terrible that they weren’t going to do water readings for class today. And even though it was hard not to dwell, she tried her very best.

Gut feelings.

Kizzy got those ALL the time. They were hard to explain, but they were always around. So she thought about the question for a little while, listening to her classmates before her own hand shot up into the air. ”My mum has intuition, she always knows everything. Is motherly intuition a kind of divination?” 'Cause that would explain a whole lot.

"Very good thoughts and answers. Many of you have get thoughts on that gut feeling you get and I love that you are aware of hairs sanding up or chills down your spine. Always, always listen to those signs. IF they are saying something is wrong more than likely it is." It was so important to her that they know how to figure that out. She felt the more they were aware the more their sixth sense started waking up.

"Now there are many forms that use the outside and can help us find information about a situation, we have water, birds, air just as some examples. All we could do right here in this very spot, but what we will be doing today involves creatures. Creatures are such special beings. They are in tune with nature and their surroundings. Watch creatures can really show us where is safe and where is not." She loved sitting and watching creatures in their natural habitats.

Moving towards one of the crates she pulled the blanket and the clear crate showed all the serpents inside. "Today we are going to be working with these serpents as we work through Ophiomancy. Ophiomancy can tell us when danger is near or when things are peaceful and you can have a pleasant time." She reached down and picked one up, "These snakes are very use to people so they will not bite, they actually enjoy being touched." She let the snake climb her arm as she spoke. [b] "Serpents are very knowledgeable creatures that truly know their surroundings well.


"There is enough serpents for all of you to take one. If you are afraid of them you may partner with someone, but they are very lovable so you shouldn't have any problems. Please take a few minutes and come get one and become familiar with your new friend."


** As Cassie said they are tame so no danger will be happening. Class will move on in 24 hours.

Sure. Divination was reliable but gut feeling were just a feeling??? That didn't sound right. When were her gut feelings not reliable? She was always having one, true, but she was always in danger so... Anyways, she sighed as she stepped forward to pick up a snake. She wasn't scared. It was harmless. She watched it slither up her arm. "Hello. You seem nice and I don't think you'll abandon me. So consider yourself my friend."

Irithel agreed that they should believe their gut instinct if it suggests that something is wrong. Intuition cannot be totally accurate, but better safe than sorry, right? Unless you're a super paranoid person who gets a strange feeling about everything and can't even step outside. Which Irithel isn't - she is a perfectly logical and sensible person.

She grimaced when the blanket was pulled back to reveal SERPENTS inside the crate. She loves a lot of creatures, but snakes? Ugh, no. The purpose of this divination is to find out where is safe and where is not. But snakes in the wild are supposed to be super dangerous. If she were strolling through the grounds and got a gut feeling that she was not safe, she would NEVER just pick up a snake and perform Ophio-whatever. The creature would be the source of her feeling unsafe!! Or she would need to have a pet snake and carry it everywhere to tell if she is in danger, but that is just out of the question.

Still, the professor said that these ones like humans. Irithel followed Ashley as she picked up a snake as if it were a cute kitten. "Hey Ash, can I partner up with you? I kinda don't like snakes," she said and gave the snakey an awkward pat-pat.

Cole was a little bit disappointed that they weren’t going to be trying their hands at water scrying. The nice weather and the shimmering lake would have been perfect for it. It was no use sulking about it he supposed as the first question was asked. Gut feelings? Cole felt a bit clueless. He couldn’t think of one form of divination that worked like a gut instinct but he supposed it was nothing wrong in hazarding a guess. "Palmistry maybe? If you read the lines in your palm you can get warned about oncoming danger just like the chill down your spine or the hairs on your arm stand up."

Merlin’s great socks!!! Cole couldn’t quite believe his ears. Professor Cassie wanted each of them to bond with a snake. Surprised and slightly frightened too since he didn’t exactly have good snake memories his eyes kept eyeing the snakes as his pulse rose in his chest with his anxiety. Trying to breath normally Cole looked sideways to Naya pleadingly. "Can we please share a snake? I don’t trust that the snake i take won’t give me a poisonous bite no matter what Professor Kitridge has promised."

Ashley was with Irithel on some of those thoughts. Didn't the professor know that, in Australia where she lived there were very poisonous snakes? That she would never touch? But she had good feelings about this little guy. "Sure, Irithel. Do you wanna hold it a little? It's a nice snake. Unless it tries to kill you which it won't." She held her arm out. "See?" The little snake slithered down her arm and hissed sweetly at Irithel. "Nice snakey." Wait a minute. The professor never said the snakes weren't dangerous. She said that they were tame. Those were not the same thing. She almost recoiled as she looked questioningly at the professor. But no. The professor would not let them hold poisonous snakes, right? She shook the thought away. "This one is kinda cute, isn't it? HEY PROFESSOR, what kind of snakes are these?" Hopefully they were garden snakes or something.

I'm sorry, did she snakes?

Serena watched in horror as the snake emerged from the crate, and wound around Professor Kitridge's arm. She liked her serpents only on her house crest - thank you very much - she didn't need a live one too. She didn't care if they were loveable. They had fangs. That's all she needed to know.

The frightened fourth year looked around the rest of the class, maybe she could partner up with someone who wasn't ready to freeze in terror unlike her "Does anyone need a partner?" She asked - a bit weaker than she usually would. Those snakes were giving her all the wrong body signals, premonitions, heebie-jeebies or whatever it was that Professor Kitridge had called it.

Since it would be sort of awkward to stand and write, Claudine decided she would have to settle for taking help from her textbook later on. Gut feelings were a good thing, she agreed, but wouldn’t some feelings that weren’t gut feelings be wrong? What about if the person has gas or something? That uncomfortable feeling would be way, way off.

Her dark eyes widened slightly. Did Kitridge just say that they would be working with creatures? A few things Kitridge said about creatures being in tune with their surroundings are what the girl could believe in; she actually knew that from firsthand experience. Anyway. Serpents? Claudine was a little taken aback. Of all the creatures… Hearing the words about them not being hostile, though, was a comfort.

“Are you afraid of them?’’ Claudine asked Heath. Because she was not but if he was, and wanted to work with her, that was fine. The Slytherin slithered made her way to the crates then after a moment of debate, lifted one of the serpents out with both hands, one just under its mouth and the other down its middle. Kitridge was right: there didn’t seem to be signs of hostility. “Hi, little guy. How’s it going? I’m not holding you too tightly, am I?”

Avalon returned Claudine's smile with a wave. She brushed her foot over the grass in front of her, happy to see that it was once again turning green, as she waited for class to begin. But the first question thoroughly stumped her. Didn't all types of Divination use gut instinct to some degree? Like, how could anyone honestly look at a clump of tea leaves and confidently state its existential meaning? The entire process of Divination, at least to Avalon, required some creative interpretation and gut instinct. So she decided to keep quiet, choosing to listen to her classmates' answers instead of offering one of her own.

Um. Hold up. They were using snakes to tell the future now? Avalon stared, wide-eyed, as Professor Kitridge picked up a serpent as if it was a harmless kitten. And the snakes enjoyed being touched? That was a little hard to believe. Avalon wasn't afraid of them, but she didn't particularly enjoy scaly, slithery things either.

Oh good, someone else wanted a partner. She'd definitely prefer to work with someone, just in case anything weird happened. "I'll work with you," Avalon said to Serena. "I guess I'll grab one?" The Ravenclaw made her way to the crates and cautiously lifted up a serpent. "If this thing ends up biting my head off, I'm never taking Divination again," she said jokingly before running her hand across the snake's cool skin. It was always awkward talking to creatures, but it seemed to help them warm up. "Hi, little snakey. Nice to meet you?" she said hesitantly, trying not to laugh at how silly it must seem. She held the snake out to the Slytherin. "You wanna try holding it?"

Naya listened as her classmates gave their answers and Professor Kitridge went on to talk about her lesson for the day. And then........the mystery was solved. Snakes. There were snakes in the crates and they were each meant to get one. Now Naya was not afraid of snakes. They weren’t her favorites, but she loved all creatures........at least all of those she had encountered so far.

Apparently, her boyfriend was not so fond of the serpents. Sensing his anxiety, Naya tried to calm his fears. Turning to Cole, she said, “Of course we can share a snake.” She understood the mistrust. Serpents did not exactly have the best reputations. “Don’t worry, if the professor says they are tame, I’m sure they are.”. Naya went up to one of the crates and carefully removed a snake. She held it gently, but securely and headed back to Cole. “Hey there”, she said, while stroking the snake. ”You’re a friendly one, aren’t you? I’m Naya and this is Cole. Now you be really nice to him, ok?” Keeping a bit of distance from her boyfriend, she held the sake up, hoping he would relax.

SNAAAAAAAKES.

Why'd it have to be snakes? Hehehe. Kale was basically Indiana Jones. ANYWHOODLE. He wasn't actually averse to snakes. If Professor Kitridge said they weren't harmful, then he had to believe her, right? Adults never lied. They knew too much to be bothered with all that noise.

So he hobbled over the to snakes and looked for his life partner. Or lesson partner. The snake that he would bond with and become eternal buds.

When he locked eyes with one snake, oof, it was clear he was the one. Or she. He really didn't know how to tell the difference. However this snake was, its name was Douglas now.

Kale scooted over to the snake and whispered, "Heya Douglas. Wanna be my friend?"

Mamie's eyebrows went up up up when Kitridge revealed that the crates were full of SNAKES. She wasn't scared per se, but she was definitely surprised that they were going to be handling snakes without any extra supervision. What if they accidentally let the snakes crawl away?

Still, she went to get a snake from one of the crates. She lifted one out, then carried it back to where she'd been standing. "Hello," she said, trying not to shudder as the snake wiggled in her grip. Kitridge had said they were tame, but, well it was still weird. She patted its head with her finger. "I'm going to call you Maya," she announced to her snake. Was it a boy snake? A girl snake? Did it matter?

Wrinkling her nose as she was still uncertain about the weird scaly snake texture, she kept stroking/patting the snake's head gently. She hoped this was what was meant by bonding, she didn't really want to let the snake crawl all over her.

Carsyn was definitely grateful that the weather was getting warmer again. It made for an easier time with training, as opposed to having to bundle up with five layers to avoid frostbite. Although the lack of proper seats was interesting but this was divination so anything was possible. Sixth sense? What was Kitridge going on about? Arching a brow, she listened as she talked about gut feelings. Wasn't there something that involved pigs guts?

Although listening to her peers speaking, Carsyn was glad she didn't speak up because apparently pigs entrails had nothing to do with gut instincts and she wasn't even sure now what that had to do with the next task which was dealing with friendly snakes?? Weird indeed.

"Gonna call you Bob," Carsyn spoke to the serpent as she picked one up. She was unbothered by it clearly, but if anyone was afraid and wanted to work with her, she'd let them.

Heath had no idea where this lesson was going! The more he listened to the professor, the more confused he became, though he did perk up at the mention of creatures. Was that what was in the crate? Whatever was in there was awfully quiet if it was! He watched, intrigued, as Professor Kitridge revealed the snakes. Where had they come from? Did she round up snakes around the school grounds, or were they conjured by a Serpensortia spell?

He wasn't worried about the snakes, even before the professor said they were harmless. He trusted Professor Kitridge not to intentionally put the students in danger, and mostly he was just glad it wasn't frogs! Even if it had been, he wasn't afraid of frogs; they just made him sad. His eyes automatically flicked toward Claudine as the professor said partners were allowed. For one fleeting moment, he wondered if she was afraid of snakes, but before he could speak, she was asking him the same question. "No, not at all," he replied, shaking his head. He watched, smiling slightly, as Claudine picked up a snake and began talking to it. She was so sweet with creatures; it was adorable, did she know? Never mind… not the time to think about that!

Heath stepped forward to claim his own snake, surveying the serpents still in the crate until he spotted a small one at the back. "Hi, little guy…" he whispered. "Girl? Snake?" Yeah, let's go with that! Taking care not to make any sudden movements and startle the snake, he extended his arm as an invitation to climb it. The snake looked at him for a few seconds, its tongue flicking in and out, then slithered all the way up his arm to rest on his shoulder. He laughed quietly. "Hey, that tickles!"

Was he allowed to name the snake? He overheard others doing so, so he assumed he was. And he had the perfect name! "I'll call you Baby Yoda," he said to the snake. Because it was little and cute and sort of looked like the green alien baby. Turning to Claudine, he asked, "Are you going to name yours?"

"Naya, you are the best!" Cole exclaimed as he watched his girlfriend go over to the snake crates without showing any worry for getting bitten or any anxiety whereas he was bubbling with anxiety. He didn’t like snakes and he definitely mistrusted them. Of course Naya was okay with snakes, she was going to be a creature healer after Hoggies he vividly remembered. "Not worrying is easier said than done." Cole mumbled as Naya returned to him with a wriggling green snake in her hands and she was even stroking it like she did her kneazle. He wanted to take several steps back and his anxiousness and fears probably showed clear in his eyes as Naya went and introduced them both to the snake. Taking a shaky breath Cole asked "So i’m just supposed to stroke the snake on the head like I would my cat? And it’s safe?" Just looking at the snake and imagining how it would sink it’s poisonous teeth into his hand wasn’t helping Cole relax.

"Uh, okay. Yeah, I guess it is kinda cute if I look from a certain angle ..." she said and took the little snake from Ashley. It hissed at her again, making her flinch, then slithered up her arm without causing any harm. Irithel smiled nervously and touched its body gently. She was beginning to warm up to this creature she was unfamiliar with. "You are a nice snakey, aren't you? Let's be friends. I'm sorry I can't speak Parseltongue so I can't communicate with you, but I can try to learn it in the future and you can learn English too." She was ... rambling. The snake had reached her shoulder and was hissing at her playfully. "Ashley? Can you take the snake now? Ahhh that tickles!"

Serena perked up when someone took up her offer as partners. "Yes, please." She sighed in relief, as she turned to smile at Avalon gratefully. The Slytherin walked up to the prefect, and watched as she took a serpent from the crate - she instinctively took a step back. "I'm pretty sure there won't be anyone attending Divination classes for a while, if that happens." She replied with a cautious chuckle of her own.

She watched as the older girl started...bonding? with the snake, and Serena inched closer to watch. It seemed docile enough, right? But when Avalon held out the snake towards her, she took half a step back before stopping and squaring her shoulders in reluctant determination.

The blonde extended a tentative finger towards the snake, and ran a finger through its cool skin. It wasn't so bad? But it definitely was no warm kneazle.

"Are allowed to name..it? him? her?" She asked

She was fine, you know. Everything was fine. It was Divination class and while one Emmerson Nicole Justine Cambridge was growing tired of going to classes and...y'know...learning, she didn't mind Divination.

Until the snakes.

"Eeewwwww!!!!! Ew ew ew! Professsoooorrrr!!" The little Gryffindor stayed as FAR AWAY from the snakes as she possibly could without leaving her classmates and professor in her dust but it was fair to say she had no plans of getting any closer. Someone should have TOLD her they were learning about snakes today. She would have gone to the healer with the worst headache in life and INSISTED on staying in the hospital wing for the hour.

The headache would understandably disappear once the lesson was over but now she might get a real headache and this was absolutely not fun.

"It's looking at me--ew ew get it awwaaayyyyyyy!!"

No, she didn't want a partner, she wanted a letter excusing her from the lesson entirely.

Bernie didn't want to touch a snake EITHER. Privately, she agreed with Cambridge, who was voicing her concerns for her. BUT, she was also a BRAVE BRAVE BRAVE GRYFFINDOR and wasn't afraid AT ALL of Slytherins--- er, snakes.

"You can work with ME, if you wanna," Bernie casually mentioned to Emmerson as she reluctantly made her way up to the crate of snakes. If she pulled her robes down so her hands were covered by her uniform, maybe the snake wouldn't touch her and would be less scary!??!

Bernie still made a face as she took a snake, holding it out at an arm's length.

Tom was so scared about this, he wasn't taking one, nope he wasn't, he just stayed were he was, the Professor would have to force him to take one, they were scary.

Professor Kitridge was always so nice, Violet almost wished she were better at Divination so that she wouldn't always feel so awkward coming into class. But she didn't think she had a sixth sense. Though...listening to the professor's last speech, she wondered--she definitely had had a terrible feeling of wrongness several times this term--in the Forbidden Forest, in Charms class, in the Trophy Room. But fat lot of good that did, none of the adults would listen anyway when you tried to tell them something was wrong.

But anyway--snakes! This was going to be better than Violet had imagined a Divination class could go! Violet loved snakes and lizards and things, but her grandfather and uncles nearly went into hysterics if she so much as tried to touch one with her littlest finger. And they'd instructed Miss Howard the same, because Violet was never allowed to keep any of the creatures she brought into the house and tried to hide in her room in jars and boxes--she wasn't even allowed any pets! Except her magpie, Machiavelli, and that was only because he was a bird who'd come through her window one day and refused to leave.

And now she was going to be able to pick up a snake and touch it as much as she liked--and it was part of school, so no one could tell her not to! She was walking toward the crate of snakes eagerly, planning to pick out just the right one, when she noticed a Gryffindor boy in her class--well, what should have been her class, if she hadn't lost a year--looking frozen in his tracks. Hmm...maybe he had one of those snake phobias. Well, the professor had said they could have partners, and Violet did want to meet more students her own age, so she paused as she walked by. Tom, she thought that was his name. She smiled in what she hoped was a friendly way.

"Hey, Tom, do you want to partner up? I'll be happy to get our snake, I'm already on my way up there."

Tom was still just staring at the snake, there was no way he was going to pick one up at all, nope he would run a mile if he had to touch one, this was just so crazy, why would anyone want to touch a snake. This was a bad idea.

He was about to close his eyes and pretend to be asleep, okay probably wouldn't be the best thing to do in class but it would get him off the snake thing right when someone spoke to him.

'Sure that would be awesome!' He smiled at the girl, who must be around his age, he would partner up as long as he did have to touch the snake or do anything with the snake, they were scary and horrible.

Valencia did not mind snakes at all so she happily went to go get one. She carefully reached into the crate and picked one up. She then headed back to give other students room. She gave the little snake nice little head pats in the meantime. Hi there little one.

Phoebe didn't dislike Divination, but she certainly spent most of her time just trying to figure out what the Professor was talking about. There were facts you could glean from a book (she was fine at that, whatever) and facts that only the Professor could impart (which required listening skills, sadly) and then there were gut instincts... and Phoebe was not nearly self aware enough to have those.

But at least she could play with a snake. That was pretty cool, right? Phoebe approached the box and waved at one of the cutest little guys who was just waiting on her. Cute... little... b...

She slowly dropped her wiggling fingers back down to her side and considered the box of remaining snakes coolly. THIS WAS HOW THEY WERE SPENDING THEIR TIME? THIS WAS HOW THESE PROFESSORS SHOWED THEIR DISDAIN FOR HER DEMANDS????? The audacity.

With a SHRIEK of rage, she upended the box, sending those snakes out on the ground. "I WILL NOT BE IGNORED."