Ash did not like this at all. No matter what the teachers wanted you to think, lessons would be undeniably different. Her scowl today really highlighted her scars. She was giving off a very cynical energy now. She nodded at the professor. "Professor. Today is a day." Not hello professor, today is a good day. She slouched in her chair moodily, before deciding to put on her fake 'don't scare first years' face. "What are we learning about today?" She smiled, falsely. Whatever they were learning about BETTER NOT involve muggles. She drew another blood-red and ash-grey phoenix symbol, just to remind everyone that she wasn't planning on bending to the will of blood purity fanatics. Just in case. If art and music were the only ways she could show her true feelings, then art and music was what she would be doing.

Mamie literally ran to Divination. Well, she ran up as many stairs as she thought she could. Then she walked the rest of the way, she didn't want to get too winded. Panting slightly, she barely registered that Professor Kitridge didn't look as happy as normal. She was too happy to be in the divination tower.

"Hello Professor," she said as she took a seat at a long table. She eyed the pile of rocks. Were they going to learn how to navigate based on which side of a rock had moss growing on it? Because Mamie already knew how to do that.

Quinn was very excited for divination before he came to school. Being able to tell bits and pieces of the future would be great—being able to know how something would go before it happened had always been a wish for Quinn. Then he wouldn't be so scared of things to come. Then he learned that he could, and then he learned that his wand was good for that kind of thing. How lovely!

Now, though, he was terrified of what the future held. No outcome of what was to come felt like it could be classified as "good," or even "fine." He entered the classroom downtrodden, eyes still baggy from the lack of sleep the night before. The professor seemed sweet, though; Quinn could feel a nurturing, motherly energy from her. Quinn thought he would like her. "Hello, Professor." He mustered what he could of a smile. He looked across the rows of tables—mostly empty, save for Ash. He couldn't very well sit away from her in an empty room, could he?

Quinn went over and sat next to her, giving her a small smile and hoping she wouldn't say anything scary to him. He had only met her last night, but she seemed to have a knack for saying scary things. He liked her phoenixes, though.

Divination.

What a terribly unimportant class, and a horrible name to boot.

Yet he felt the need to be here. Any and all distractions right now were surely needed, and he was not going to say no to a useless class to help chew that time up. So here he was, Moose in a Divination Class.

Nothing felt divine.

Moose had made his way into the classroom and looked over at the Professor. He felt no need to even bother attempting to put a smile on his face, why was the Professor even smiling herself? Moose knew fake smiles. He basically was the master of fake smiles. You couldn't fool him. He just gave her a quick nod and found his way to a seat.

Minjae had never truly cared for Divination despite coming back each year. (mainly because it was easier than certain other subjects) but this time the Hufflepuff was glad to be here.

Being in the same room as his Head of House gave him a sense of comfort. Ever since the feast, the Hufflepuff had not been himself. No laughing, no smiling. He was basically keeping a low profile as to not draw too much attention to himself as the form they had to fill out was making him highly nervous as a muggleborn.

He noted that she wasn't cheerfully snapping and the seventh year secretly missed that. It was kind of her thing to do, a personality trait of some sort. He didn't comment on it though. "Hello Professor" he greeted as he lifted his head up to look at her for a second before flashing a small smile, pretending like eeeeverything was okay. Finding a seat, Minjae sat down and began to stare at the rocks in front of him.

Valentina walked into the classroom, the usual enthusiasm missing from her face. She felt incredibly tired and stressed - plus, divination was a subject that was completely beyond her understanding. She tried to muster up some energy to smile as she greeted the professor - ”Hello, Professor!

The gryffindor headed towards a seat by the window and sat down, dropping her bag to the floor. She looked around, wondering where all her friends were?? Why was she here so early?

Camryn should have been excited for Divination class. Sadly, on this day, she was not. Worrying more than any eleven year old should need to, her mind was distracted and she had taken a wrong turn on the way to class. That was definitely not helpful to her state of mind.

Finally arriving at class, Camryn entered the room with a weak smile. “Hello Professor”, she said as she made her way to an empty seat. Barely noticing the rocks on the table, Cam sat down. She busied herself by getting her supplies out of her bag and taking several deep breaths. She needed to be calm, so she could concentrate on her lesson.

Divination had been a household joke in the Flamsteed home. Well, mostly a joke. Mum would always fuss at dad whenever Auntie Callista would come over. They had all been professors at Hogwarts together...and as it turns out, so had dad and Professor Kitridge. Well, after Auntie Callista had left Hogwarts. Mum had been the one to give himself and Aries the little mini history lesson over the summer since, well, since dad was too busy with work at the Ministry. Supposedly.

He had heard from Andromeda how perky Professor Kitridge was...and Atlas could use a bit of perk right about now. To contrast everything else...only upon entering the the tower and then classroom...he found the woman to be anything but perky. There wasn't even this infamous Snap Cup he had heard do much about - it sounded like something Aries could really get behind too. Or make for himself.

But something else caught his attention. Rocks. Little piles of rocks.

His stomach gave another horrible lurch.


Quietly, he shuffled his feet over to the nearest unoccupied seat [next to Minjae!] and sat down without another word.

Divination wasn't a class that she knew too much about. Which was okay really. That was why she attended classes. To learn. And that was more than enough for her. Dahlia loved learning about new things, nearly as much as she loved to read.

It was a long walk from her previous lesson all the way up to where Divination was held but she didn't complain. When she did get there her heart soared at finally seeing someone with a smile on their face. "Hello, Professor," Lia greeted the women softly but with a gentle smile of her own.

A very quick glance around showed no signs of any of her family members, slowpokes. That just meant she could sit anywhere she wanted. Choosing an empty spot, she placed her bag beside her chair. This wasn't so bad. Maybe this class would go okay and things could appear normal for just a short while.

Now what was up with all of those rocks?

Bella was a little excited for Divination class since her wand was supposedly, according to the shopkeeper at Ollivanders good for divination spells. She wanted to test if that was the case, but mostly she wanted a distraction from all the unhealthy worrying. An eleven year old shouldn't have to worry about not being able to write home right?

Shuffling her feet the dark haired snakette headed into the tower classrom taking a seat at at an empty desk with a pile of rocks on it. Raising her head Bella plastered on a weak, but sunny smile as she greeted the woman at the front. "Hello Professor Kitridge!"

Emmerson wasn't looking forward to Divination with Professor Smiles (the name her mum had said the moment she told her she was the one teaching her Divination). This had nothing to do with the subject, or the woman, but rather that this school year was already a nightmare. The Second Year wanted to curl up back in bed and wait for the Hogwarts Express.

However.

There were rocks. Emm stepped back outside the class to ensure no one was coming. She re-entered and looked about the room, then turned with a hopeful look toward the woman. "Are these for the jerks walking around the castle?? I can't throw all that hard but I'm getting better at the levitation charm."

Finally, SOMEONE was trying to help them revolt. Never in a million years did she think it would be Professor Smiles but desperate beggars couldn't be choosers. If Kitridge was the only one on their side then so be it.

"I bet Moose could probably throw a hard rock."

Kale was wrung out from this term already. Fifteen going on fifty. It was, like, a never ending misery train. And to make matters worse, he had to go to Divination! Kale was as perceptive as the rocks they were gun learn about and he wasn’t really in the mood to feel stupid today.

So with the MOST sad face, he lifted his hand in greeting to Kitridge and plopped at a nearby table.

Kinsay made her way inside, following just behind Emmerson.

......

How could Professor Kitridge smile at a time like this??? It made Kinsay feel even more upset. So upon making eye contact with the divination professor, she gave the smiley blonde her biggest frown... Only to hear Emmerson suggest that they were using the rocks as weapons!

Okay, Kinsay was fine again!

"I have a strong left arm," she added, nodding knowingly. "Do you have bigger rocks? We should make a fort." One that they could hide in and throw the little rocks from. It was genius! Who knew that Professor Kitridge would be the one to save them all!?!

Ah divination, the highest point in the castle. Probably not the safest place in the castle if she had to run from the alliance. But, between Divination and Astronomy those were the only two classes that could keep her interested and feel like something slightly normal may come of this year. Well, so long as her family was still there when she got home.

With a quick glance up she noticed Professor Kitridge smiling, while normally it would have felt comforting after last night it was anything but. "Hi Professor." Normal round tables gone meant she had to find a new place to sit and hang out for the lesson. Finding an empty seat closer to the front of the room she sat down and stared at the rocks like they might hold some sort of answer to when they'd get out of this school. Day one was too early to feel that way, right?

It was always such a long trek to the Divination Tower. That’s what she originally thought during her second and third years at Hoogwarts at least. Now? The girl was quite accustomed to the long walk. In any case, she could use the brief walk to try to clear her head from all the recent happenings at Hogwarts. Walks and time by herself usually helped but not this time around. The new idiot Headmaster was still unfortunately on her mind.

What did distract Claudine though were the rocks on the long tables. Divination by rocks? Something else quite attention grabbing was the fact that Kitridge wasn’t snapping. The fifth year hid her surprise. “Hello, professor.’’ After the simple greeting, Claudine chose to sit at the table furthest from the front of the room and on a chair at the far end of said table.

As usual, everyone was ignored though there were familiar faces everywhere.

The sound of wheezing and grunting, a few muttered curses and choice words preceded their entrance into the divination tower. Two hooded figures, their faces completely in shadow, pulled themselves in through the trapdoor. They said nothing now but certainly exuded a threatening presence as they moved over to stand on either side of Professor Kitridge. One of the hooded figures pulled a pad of parchment and quill from the depths of their robes, their black-gloved hand poised over it to take notes.

Were they here to observe her or the children? It didn't matter. Compliance WOULD be ensured for the greater good.

You know what was awkward? Standing at the bottom of a ladder watching two VERY ominous cloaked figures heading to your next class. She didn't anticipate being a very devoted divination student by any means, but maybe this lesson would be more action-packed than she'd originally thought. Who knows. Not her. Everything about everything was not how she'd thought it would be so far.

Only once the trapdoor had closed behind the two creepy, hooded figures did the first year make her way up the ladder and into the class without a single huff or puff. Annnnnnnnnnd the ominous cloaked figures were ominously standing around the teacher. There were rocks on the tables. Neat.

"Hello, Professor," Eden greeted, saying nothing to the hooded figures. She figured it would be rude to NOT sit next to her housemates Ash and Quinn after their slumber party, so that's where she went. "Hey."

Bernadette was running late late LATE late late to Divination. She was literally holding her bag on her shoulder with one hand as she raaaaaaan down the corridor to the Divination ladder. Merlin! Why was this class on the opposite side of the castle from her previous one?!

Anyway, she smartened herself up before ascending to the Divination room. No sense in looking shabby when she entered, right? One never knew who (or what) Divination class would hold. Er, she never knew, at least, because she did not read her textbooks for fun nor have her Inner Eye calibrated properly. Bernie poked her head through the door and her blue eyes widened at the sight of the guests there.

Ummmmmmm. Were these Azkaban escapees TOO? "Hello Professor," she snapped one hand at the Hufflepuff Head of House in greeting, then after a long pause, added, "and esteemed guests?" A snap for them too. Bernie scuttled up and into the room the rest of the way and found her way to an empty table.

Someone please tell her these stones weren't here just to make a pun? "Divination rocks?" OR DID IT?

Avalon had gone back and forth on whether or not she would continue taking Divination after her OWLs. She received a passing score, but she was relatively ambivalent to the class. She did well at the subject, of course, but it wasn't her favorite class of all time. Ultimately, she decided to stick with it, just because she appreciated Professor Kitridge. The bubbly professor always brightened Avalon's day a bit (even though she was sometimes a little over the top).

But Professor Kitridge didn't seem so excited today. And Avalon couldn't blame her. With everything that had happened recently, the Ravenclaw couldn't imagine how anyone could have a smile on their face. And who were those creepy hooded figures? Were they going to be observing every lesson now? Talk about hard to concentrate.

"Hi Professor Kitridge," Avalon said glumly as she took a seat away from most of her classmates, not really in the mood for socializing.

"Hello Professor" Blake stated as he walked into another divination class. He didn't mind this class really, but never felt like he was actually getting the hang of it. He didn't feel he ever really possessed the 'inner eye' but gave it his best effort none the less.

Taking a seat and looking at what was in front him ... they were rocks ... was this a geology lesson instead? And that's when he felt the ominous presence .... who were those people next to the Professor???? Blake didn't like it ... didn't feel right that's for sure. He wasn't sure if he should comment on it ... or just try his best to ignore them (as if that could be possible)

Again, Aboli wished they had had a DAY to freakin' acclimate here. But nooOOoooo they were supposed to just be all LA TEEE DAAAAH about it. "Hi, Professor," she said, coldly, irritated by her demeanor. She didn't WANT them to pretend things were cool. She wanted ANGER. FRUSTRATION. REBELLION. Well, not the last one. At least no stupidly and openly...plus, hadn't she set herself on survival, no matter the cost?

Whatever.

She didn't even touch the rocks. She just crossed her arms, standing there as she waited for the lesson to begin...

That is, until the HOODED GUYS showed up. Her arms uncrossed immediately and hung at her side, and she felt herself straightening up, her facial features hardening, and her eyes scanning the room again. What was that awful, dreadful feeling in the pit of her stomach?

Right.

Fear.

Wonderful.

Normally Christian would be bounding up to the divination towel on the first day of lessons. Divination was a easy class right? That’s what he was thinking when he signed up for this elective. Plus the professor was Gemma’s mum so she would go easy on him right?

But after last nights start of term feast he was thinking that this term wasn’t going to be easy on anyone professors included.

So today the third year just made his way to tower luckily it wasn’t far from his common room and his slow pace wouldn’t cause him to be late. He climbed the ladder up into the classroom. ”Good morning Professor Kitridge.” No snaps but a smile. It alway amazed him how some people could wear a smile all the time even in the dimmest of times.

As he had predicted some of Rosiers goonies had also showed up for the lesson. He glances over at them and stared for a moment before his brown eyes found the tables of rocks. Boy would he love to chuck one of those rocks at the hooded goonies. ”I’ve got a pretty good arm myself.” The third year chimed in, looks like he wasn’t the only one with that same idea.

All thooose stairs. She better have some nice quads by the end of this term. Some nice toned ones. And hamstrings. Some nice fit ones….

Lilith’s train of thought was abruptly interrupted when she entered the classroom and saw the two hooded forms on either side of the professor. What were they doing here? Why wasn’t the professor kicking them out? Or better yet, hexing them? She didn’t feel safe enough to open her mouth and greet anyone.

Hah. No. She wasn’t going to die here. Or today. That’s how they made her feel. Nope. Lilith joined the table nearest the hatch door.

Know all your exits.

Austin didn't really like morning classes, he walked into class, not saying much but gave the professor a respectful nod to let them know he at least acknowledged their presense. He quickly found a seat and waited for class to begin, looking at some rocks near him. Um...