June 1st - June 19th
It's almost summer! The last few weeks of school have come, and students will need to study hard for their final exams! Don't let up yet, or your grades won't be what you want them to. Of course, the weather is almost perfect and pristine, in attempts to lure students away from their studies.
Divination: 3rd & 4th Years: Class Three
Cyrus leaned back in his chair with his legs propped up on his desk. Spread on his lap was that morning's Daily Prophet, and in his right hand was a tea cup. He was drinking tea. He didn't particularly like tea, but he had to follow along with the students that day to make sure they didn't get lost and all. Hopefully the students would like tea. This was Britain anyway, most people drank tea whether they liked it or not.
Spread on each table between the two seats was a tea kettle sitting on a small stand with an equally small fire underneath. Magical fire, so that the table wouldn't catch it and cause an interruption. That was the last thing he needed. The fire was just to keep the tea warm enough for when the students arrived, and Cyrus was glad to have had the help of a couple of very efficient House Elves to prepare and set out the tea. They even gave him some old cups which were in infinitely better shape than the cracked ones on the shelves. The Elves promptly took those ones and threw them out.
After one last sip of the tea where all of the liquid dripped into his mouth, he set it down on its saucer and ran a hand through his hair. It didn't take nearly as long to run through as he was used to, and he was reminded once again of the rather big change his little niece had caused him. From what she'd said his long hair had actually been frozen to the chair and the wall, so to move him she had had to cut it. Cyrus couldn't really blame her, and he was glad for her help, but it was just a weird feeling not to have all that hair anymore. And that sickness had not been fun at all.
There was a familiar clumping of shoes as students began to trickle inside his room. He glanced up at them as they entered but continued to read the rest of the paper until they were all present and accounted for. Then he folded up the paper and stood up to address them.
"Welcome back," he said and walked around his desk to lean against the front of it as usual. He smiled cordially at the assembled students, crossing his arms over his chest. "I hope you all had a...nice holiday." He fizzled out near the end as he remembered the train wreck and the kidnappings, and decided maybe that wasn't the way to go. Instead he cleared his throat and turned to the chalkboard next to his desk. "Anyway, school is back in session."
He waved his wand at the board and a single clear word appeared on it: "Tasseomancy."
Turning back to the class, he waved at the word. "Who can tell me what this is? Although I'm sure you can guess by the teapots on your tables."
Listed below are the people who are supposed to be in this class. You only need to post at least ONCE for your character to be considered present, and therefore won't get in trouble. Characters with a star beside their names are characters who have posted. If a character isn't posted for at all, they will LOSE 50 points from their house. Hopefully I'll be able to keep track of this.
Jordyn scowled as she clumped up the steps to the divination tower, bag thumping against each step as she headed up. She was holding the messenger bag by it's strap, letting the rest of the bag dangle so that it dragged along the floor or, as the case was, the stairs. All it contained was books anyway, and they were durable - she'd learned that over the years, if nothing else. Besides, it wasn't like she was going to use them for anything much anyway. Sure, she had her classes to do (if she ever got around to it) but aside from that, what was she going to use them for? Bookends - for the other books she had? Paperweights? Firewood! Clearly Jordyn Huntington not only valued learning, but she was eager to pass her knowledge onto others and keep the books she'd learned from as reference for later years. God, she hated classes.
At least Divination wasn't too hard. Well, sometimes it was, but in Jordyn's opinion it was all bull anyway. It wasn't like they could actually prove something by looking into a crystal ball, and since she'd never seen an actual prediction in her life, she was going to continue thinking it was useless. So why had she taken it, then? Well, she'd thought it was going to be interesting. And it was, when she wasn't grumbling about how useless it was.
Shuffling into the classroom, she took in the tea pots at the tables, and bit back a groan. Honestly. Tea leaves? This sucked. Not only was she not going to be able to sleep through this class, but she'd have to sit around drinking tea wiht her peers. Wonderful. She didn't even like tea - she was more of a coffee girl, herself. Shrugging, she sat down in the nearest seat with a thump, her book coming to rest against one of the legs of the table as she stared up at the ceiling, wondering if something would come and strike her down. She was ready for this day to end already; of course, she'd been ready for it to end as soon as Defense Against the Dark Arts had started, and that had been first period. Running a hand through her hair, she glanced up as Professor Archer began speaking. His hair was shorter, she noticed, but at least he looked better. She'd heard that he'd been sick.
"Welcome back. I hope you all had a...nice holiday."
She wished she was still on holiday. It wasn't divination that had her in such a whiny mood, it was classes in general. Jordyn hated classes - there were other things she wanted to do with her time.
"Anyway, school is back in session. Who can tell me what this is? Although I'm sure you can guess by the teapots on your tables."
She didn't make a movement to lift her hand or answer, even though she knew what it was. Someone else would speak up; it always seemed to happen that way. And if not... Well, then she'd talk. But all she wanted to do was sit back, drink her tea, and get this class done and over with as quickly as possible so that she could go back to her dorm and sleep.
Tibiana "Tibbs" Chiflet
3rd Year Hufflepuff
Keeper I need a friend...
Posts: 9
(1/4/06 12:39 am) Reply
Re: Divination: 3rd & 4th Years: Class Three
Feeling particularly remorseful, Tibbs slowly dragged herself up the stairways to the last class of the day—thank goodness. Though break had only been two weeks long, she’d forgotten how absolutely long the classes seemed to drag on. And Divination was one of the worst. Oh sure, it had sounded a lot more interesting than the alternative, but that didn’t necessarily mean that Tibbs was learning anything from it. Then again, Muggle Studies probably would have been infinitely worse. What was the point of learning about Muggles when she’d spent most of her life living as one?
Walking quickly through the hallways darkened by winter weather, Tibbs met no one. Her soft brown eyes followed her feet until at last she found herself beneath the trapdoor to the Divination classroom. As usual, she was the first student present. Without giving a glance to Professor Archer or even the collection of tea party accessories, Tibbs took her usual seat at the back corner of the room. Since no one wanted to talk to her anyways, what was the point of sitting anywhere else? She’d only be taking up space others would rather share with their friends anyways.
Tibbs forced her mind away from those depressing thoughts. Besides, it wasn’t as if she was exactly hated by anyone (or so she hoped and desperately believed), so there was still hope. She’d even had some sort of conversation at the return-feast, so really there wasn’t any reason for her to feel negatively about her tendency towards unsociability. After all, she’d gone thirteen years without needing a true friend, taking a little more time and working patiently to gain one surely shouldn’t be all that bad. But patience had never really been a part of Tibbs’ character and suddenly trying to make the trait grow didn’t seem as if it would ever be remotely successful.
The rest of the class reluctantly poured into the room, each likely just as resigned as Tibbs, quite ready for the day to end and some free-time to be given. “I wish…” Tibbs muttered to herself as she opened her book and glanced at the teapot before her. With finals coming up, though in the far future as far as Tibbs was concerned, the teachers had suddenly decided to pile on a load of unnecessary homework. She studied the teapot and its less than interesting design. Perhaps she’d ‘accidentally’ blow it up when she got tired of trying to peer into the future, a hopeless task in any case.
“Tasseomancy?” Tibbs repeated aloud, not bothering to raise her hand. She was tired of trying to get people to like her…already. “Well, the root of the word sounds like tassel and the suffix—mancy—means divination, so I suppose we’re going to divine the origin of teapots through use of those lovely little curtain decorations,” Tibbs thought aloud. There was no mockery in her tone, but it was impossible not to see the mischief glittering in her soft brown eyes. So what if Professor Archer gave her detention and she lost what meager respect she might have gained from her peers over the course of two days of being polite and smiley? Eh, it would be worth it to see the Divination teacher’s reaction.
Re: Divination: 3rd & 4th Years: Class Three
Binx poked his head through the trap door. He absolutely hated the location of the Divination room, but he supposed that they couldn't change the location just because he desired it to be changed. "Hello everyone." He piped cheerfully. It was a few minutes before class began, which was lucky because he had been distracted by a few paintings on the way up. "If we have any late students I think it's because of the orc and knight painting a stairwell back." He finished coming through the trap door, shifting his book bag to his other shoulder, "They're having a duel and throwing people off." He grinned at the Professor before looking at his classmates. He didn't mind the Professor, but Divinations was the one class that had to be absolutely full of crock. Not that he minded any of it. The first year he had had the class he had mostly made things up, which wasn't particularly hard to do. After all, it was an 'inner eye', which meant no one could see what you saw, or dreamt, unless it was in plain view.
After a moment Binx walked over to his usual seat cushion. He noted that there were tea cups and tea kettles readied for them. Binx looked at them blankly for a moment before Cyrus began to talk. "Welcome back," Binx smiled. Ah. Classes. Professors. Homework. Studying. It was old already. "I hope you all had a...nice holiday." Binx mentally cringed at the Professor's innocent words. 'Nice' holiday. Like that was possible now. A Handful of students had been kidnapped, and handfuls more were dead. Nice holiday indeed. Binx had felt lucky that he hadn't gone home. "Anyway, school is back in session." Binx's eyes followed the Professor's hands as he rotated the chalkboard. "Tasseomancy." was the word that appeared on the board. Binx raised an eyebrow. The term sounded familiar. Binx had enough older friends that had been in his year last year to know the intimate, painful details of the wretched class. Even though the Professor was different, the subject matter was still the same. And that meant dream journals and tea leaf readings.
“Tasseomancy?” Tibbs repeated aloud, not bothering to raise her hand. She was tired of trying to get people to like her…already. “Well, the root of the word sounds like tassel and the suffix—mancy—means divination, so I suppose we’re going to divine the origin of teapots through use of those lovely little curtain decorations,”
Binx stared at the girl. Was she a complete moron, or was she just joking. "Erm. Actually it would be... Using tea leaves for predicting things." He hadn't raised his hand, but Binx rarely felt the need to act so formal in a casual class like this.
checkyourpockets
Edward "Ed" Tate
4th Year Ravenclaw Resident Wallflower
Re: Divination: 3rd & 4th Years: Class Three
Why did the Divination room have to be in a loft up in a tower with a trap door that a house would usually have up to an attic? Thoughts like these lingered within Ed’s head each time he crawled up the steep set of stairs to the musty room. It was slightly warm up there, mainly because hot air rises, but the other reason could have been the excess of steam in the room from the heated teapots.
“You’re never going to guess. The orc and the knight paintings are fighting. Kind of entertaining,” He said, directing it towards Binx. Ed laughed but it was obvious something had already been said about the subject. “Mind if I sit here?” He inquired but figured it would be fine seeing as how they had talked about being partners in class more often since the Social. Ed set his bag down behind his seat and looked at the pot filled with boiling water. It was almost ready to spit steam because Ed could hear a faint whistling sound. He didn’t touch the water – not wanting to disturb the lesson. There were teacups, too. Ed was smart but this class escaped him. He had no clue of what was to come this lesson. Drinking tea or something? Ed liked tea – his mom gave it to him a lot when he was younger with crumpets. He had a great mom for things like that - making him snacks and food and cheering him up and making him comfortable. His stomach panged and he was homesick for the first time in a long time. Ed’s mother and he had a good relationship – one that he would never forget and would always miss when without. Sometimes he thought that that was one of the reasons for his lack of social skills. But he never blamed it on her; it was just a notion.
The Ravenclaw boy glanced over to Binx and back to the teapot and then to Prof. Archer as he talked. "Welcome back," Ed had heard this before. However, unlike most of the students, Ed was gradually getting used to the idea of classes and homework and note taking. His holiday was, on average, boring, and he was hoping for a jump in his activity. Homework and classes offered a big change. "I hope you all had a...nice holiday." In reality, Ed did have a good holiday. He went to the social and, for some of the days, hung out with Binx, who, evidently, fixed their friendship that was going downhill due to assumptions. He had a pretty damn swell holiday.
After the professor had put “Tasseomancy” up on the board, something in Ed’s mind clicked. He didn’t fully remember, but he knew something of the word. It was in one of his textbooks (about a famous diviner). He listened to the girl who spoke, realizing a hint of sarcasm in her voice, but decided not to speak up, just in case she was being serious. Reading drapes? I don’t think that’s what I read about, Ed wondered in earnest. Enlightened, however, he became when Binx spoke up.
"Erm. Actually it would be... Using tea leaves for predicting things." Ed grinned, knowing that that was the right answer, remembering the tealeaf-reading diviner in his History of Magic textbook. “Wow, Mr. Binx knows a lot,” Ed grinned and nudged Binx in the shoulder, “How do you remember all these things?”
Re: Divination: 3rd & 4th Years: Class Three
Cyrus wasn't really that surprised that so many of his students were listless and lifeless. It was the last class of the day on the first day back from holidays, so most of them were probably exhausted. Cyrus himself was a little tired, teaching other classes and such. This was certainly the one in the worst state. He wasn't sure if he could make things interesting, but hopefully things would at least go all right.
Surprisingly there weren't many people who picked up on what Tasseomancy was, or at least they didn't voice it. His eyes glanced over to the young third year girl and her subtly sarcastic answer.
“Well, the root of the word sounds like tassel and the suffix—mancy—means divination, so I suppose we’re going to divine the origin of teapots through use of those lovely little curtain decorations,” Tibbs thought aloud.
Cyrus smirked, drumming his fingers along his folded arms. "Not quite, but good guess, Miss Chiflet," he murmured. Thankfully someone else cleared the muddy air.
"Erm. Actually it would be... Using tea leaves for predicting things."
"Very good, Mister Binx," Cyrus chirped with a grin. "That's exactly right." He stood up straight and turned around and picked up the teapot and cup on his desk. "This is a very common form of Divination here in Britain, since we drink so damn much of it. It started when we first got tea in the 17th century and has remained popular. Now, the way we're going to do it, because there are different ways, is very simple. First, you pour the tea."
Cyrus didn't want to bother with spilled liquid or chipped cups, so he waved his wand and the teapots on all the tables poured tea themselves. When they were done, they floated off to a shelf, their fires traveling with them to keep the tea warm in case people needed more.
"Done. Now, easily enough, you drink it. Don't dawdle, it's not that hard to drink. After you drink it, you switch with your partner so he or she can read the leaves. But! Don't read them right away like that."
He turned and took the empty tea cup he had finished earlier and brought the saucer with it. "Leave a little bit of tea in the cup so the leaves can be swished around." He demonstrated as much, then held up the cup's saucer. "After you do that, place the cup upside down on the saucer. After a few seconds, lift the cup up and examine the dregs that way. This offers for more variety."
He demonstrated further, then held his cup up for others to see. "This one has a timeline with it. Some diviners say it can only see 24 hours into the future, but who knows. The dregs closest to the rim of the cup are the immediate future, and the further down in the cup the more distant into the future the event."
Cyrus placed the cup and saucer back on his desk and then held up the course textbook. "Tasseomancy heavily relies on the psychic's intuition, so I doubt any of you will actually predict something. I told you at the beginning of the year that there's really only one true way to see into the future, that of visions by actual Seers. Everything else, like tasseomancy, are...unproven theories."
He thrust the book out. "Chapter five's appendix in the back should have a list of symbols and stuff for tea reading. After you all are done...We'll see."
Tibiana "Tibbs" Chiflet
3rd Year Hufflepuff
Keeper I need a friend...
Posts: 14
(1/12/06 12:19 am) Reply
Re: Divination: 3rd & 4th Years: Class Three
A smirk? Her ridiculous explanation that was so incredibly and obviously wrong and all she got from the bloody instructor was an indulgent smirk as he tapped his fingers on folded arms? Tibbs was absolutely insulted! Why didn’t he realize that she’d been attempting to upset him? Obviously Tasseomancy had something to do with the bloody teapots on their desks, did he really think she was that stupid? Fuming, Tibbs sat back in her chair and glared at the front of the classroom from out of slightly bulging, soft-brown eyes.
However, at Marvin Binx’s answer, Tibbs immediately exchanged her glare to the back of his goody-too-shoes head. What a show-off! Did he honestly think that shouting out precise answers like a human dictionary really impressed anyone? Who was he trying to fool? Adding more to her list of hurts, the Ravenclaw sitting next to her fourth-year house-mate actually seemed fascinated by Binx’s bloody response. Tibbs wished she could have just left and not had any class for this period of the day, but ditching class was not a wise move for someone like her; someone who was widely unpopular and had already gotten in more trouble over the years than was good for her.
She was just thinking about which charm would be best used to give the biggest explosion to the decorative teapot when it floated away from her, guided by Professor Archer’s steady wand. Feeling that her glares weren’t doing anything, Tibbs decided to go along with it…for now. Tossing the cup practically vertical, Tibbs made as if to drown the tea in one over-large gulp, but abruptly had to set it down, wincing at its bitterness. She stuck out her tongue in distaste. Of course, she’d never really liked tea that much—Tibbs tended to use it only to wash down the cookies and crackers they occasionally were given during teatime—but this particular cup seemed unusually bitter to her sensitive tongue.
Soft brown eyes flickered quickly about the classroom to make sure that no one was looking, then she turned it upside down on the saucer, forgetting to swirl it first. The dregs settled sluggishly, difficult to see amongst the large amount of tea that remained. She poked at it, holding down the dregs with one finger as she dumped the rest of the tea back into the cup. The dregs, looking more like dog droppings than anything else, were no doubt smooshed out of place with such blatant abuse, but what did Tibbs care? Besides, even Professor Archer himself said that it was a proven waste of time.
One of the few without a partner—no one ever wanted to sit with “Tibby the loudmouth”—Tibbs didn’t bother to glance around looking for anyone to look at her tea dregs. Besides, it wasn’t like they read it properly even if they could and wanted to do so. Tibbs pulled out her book and flung the pages to the appendix of chapter five. Skimming over the shapes, she could find nothing that looked remotely similar to the blob in her cup.
Already bored, Tibbs surreptitiously slid out her quill and began poking the dregs into a shape she thought might be interesting. Who knew? Perhaps Professor Archer might actually let her ditch class. Her eyes flickered briefly to the book to make sure she was getting it exactly right, then she tossed the quill back in her bag and opened her eyes even wider before crying out, purposefully feigned anxiety and fear evident in her voice,
Re: Divination: 3rd & 4th Years: Class Three
Cyrus began to walk around and help people read the squiggles in their cups. It was hard to be helpful and cheerful when so many of the students were lazy and tired and frustrated. In effect their sour moods rubbed off on him, and it became increasingly difficult to be congenial. He sauntered around with a murring grumble, when a particularly noticeable squawk interrupted his mental meanderings.
"P-P-Professor sir, I-I think I have the Grim!”
Oh, god.
He turned around and wasn't surprised to see Miss Chiflet pretending to be scared. She obviously had some sort of chip on her shoulder, and Cyrus' patience was wearing thin. He took a deep breath and ambled over, scratching at the stubble on his chin. When he reached her table he smiled cordially and bent over to look at her cup. Indeed there was a dog-shaped blob inside. How convenient.
"Oh, my" he said lightly, tilting his head to the side. "Seems like you do." He gave her back a hearty clap and grinned toothily. "Well, it was nice knowing you, Miss Chiflet!"
Re: Divination: 3rd & 4th Years: Class Three
Ed wasn’t at all surprised to find out that Binx was completely correct in what he said. For some reason or another, Ed had an odd connection to Binx, and when he was correct about something, Ed was proud. It was an odd feeling – normally Ed disliked his peers being right when he didn’t know the answer himself. However, when Binx was commended by Professor Archer, Ed found himself thinking, he’s so damn smart, and smiling slightly.
Ed was, though, intent on learning this class and avoided any thoughts that might distract him.
"This is a very common form of Divination here in Britain, since we drink so damn much of it. It started when we first got tea in the 17th century and has remained popular. Now, the way we're going to do it, because there are different ways, is very simple. First, you pour the tea."
Watching the tea pour itself and then leave it’s spot on the table to float easily over to the shelf on the wall, Ed was ready to drink. The young Ravenclaw fancied his cup of tea as much as the other Brit, but liked taking his time to savor the drink. He wasn’t used to downing the liquid without a crumpet or biscuit. Bear it he must, however. A few times he put the small cup to his mouth and sipped away; he was nearly half done now. It was a bitter batch, but he didn’t mind much – tea without honey or sugar was a formal drink and he could stand it. He held his drinking a bit for Binx to catch up but was interrupted by the odd girl that had said something earlier.
“P-P-Professor sir, I-I think I have the Grim!”
Christ, Ed thought annoyed. There had always been someone like her in his classes and he was surprised that this time it was a third year Hufflepuff. Now he realized that she was trying to be sarcastic or fresh when she was “interpreting” what Tasseomancy might be. He leaned in with a smirk on his face and whispered, avoiding anyone else’s ears, to Binx, “Looks like we have another ridiculous loony. I kind of figured as much from Tibbs – she’s always been a bit melodramatic. Maybe she’ll be right and we won’t have to deal with her much longer,” Ed snickered which showed that he was simply joking. He saw Cyrus walk over to the girl reluctantly with, what seemed to be, the same facial expression as his own.
"Oh, my" he said lightly, tilting his head to the side. "Seems like you do." He gave her back a hearty clap and grinned toothily. "Well, it was nice knowing you, Miss Chiflet!"
Ed’s slight snicker had turned into a loud snort, which ended as quickly as he could cover his mouth. He was sure that he disliked this class as much as the next student without a passion for it, but with a teacher like Cyrus, Ed would have fun. Holding his now empty teacup, he shared a glance with Binx and then looked over to the lonely girl grinning madly awaiting her reaction.
Re: Divination: 3rd & 4th Years: Class Three
Shaking her head, Jordyn grudgingly poured herself a cup of tea and swished it around a bit, staring into it's murky depths and wondering if there was something she could pour it into. She really didn't like tea; she was a coffee girl, through and through, and since she wasn't thirsty (or dying in the middle of a desert) she had no desire to even attempt to drink it. However, it wasn't like she had much of a choice, and it wasn't that gross - just unappealing in her eyes. Ick, tea. Taking a breath, she tilted her head back and drank most of the liquid in one gulp, leaving a little as they'd been instructed. Well, Professor Archer was still talking, so she supposed that she might have missed something, but hey - it was divination, for Merlin's sake. What could she possibly miss? That was what they had the textbook for.
She apparently wasn't the only one hurrying through her tea (though most of the students actually seemed to like the stuff), as from across the room a 'terrified' girl spoke up. The same girl who'd made the comment about the curtains. Jordyn wasn't sure what to think of her, but supposed that she at least made this class interesting.
“P-P-Professor sir, I-I think I have the Grim!”
I'm sure, Jordyn thought dryly. The chances anyone actually seeing anything, much less the grim, were slim to none. Swilling her tea around, she placed the cup top down on her saucer and watched with interest as Professor Archer went over there. She almost felt bad for the man, considering very few of the students in the room were actually interested in learning divination, but supposed that that was what he got for being a teacher. He should have thought of that before he got hired to be the divination professor.
"Oh, my. Seems like you do. Well, it was nice knowing you, Miss Chiflet!"
Jordyn muffled a choked snicker behind her hand, shaking her head and bending over her cup, which she'd righted by that point. Eyeing the blobby mass, she kept one eye on 'Miss Chiflet' as she tried to discern what she was looking at without very much success. Honestly, it looked just like a bunch of tea dregs to her - she wasn't sure what to look for. The thingie in the top corner could have been a sun, cross, star, moon... Well, anything if she put her mind to it. It was like gazing at the clouds; with enough imagination, you could see pretty much everything. Idly, she flipped through the book, wondering how much longer they had before Professor Archer would just give up on them.
Re: Divination: 3rd & 4th Years: Class Three
Binx beamed as Cyrus nodded in affirmation. "Very good, Mister Binx," Cyrus chirped with a grin. "That's exactly right." Binx straightened slightly, folding his hands together. He absolutely loved knowing that he had done something right, especially when it involved knowing something that not everyone knew. It boosted his ego a little, but not to massive proportions. He leaned forward slightly as Cyrus continued talking about reading tea leaves. "This is a very common form of Divination here in Britain, since we drink so damn much of it. It started when we first got tea in the 17th century and has remained popular. Now, the way we're going to do it, because there are different ways, is very simple. First, you pour the tea." Binx watched the teapots as they dispersed among the students, pouring themselves and then floating back to sit in their original positions.
"Done. Now, easily enough, you drink it. Don't dawdle, it's not that hard to drink. After you drink it, you switch with your partner so he or she can read the leaves. But! Don't read them right away like that." Binx frowned into his tea cup before leaning over to glance into Ed's. They were supposed to drink a whole cup of tea without anything to help wash it down? Binx pursed his lips, sniffing at the tea lightly. From the smell it of, it was a little bitter. Better to get it all over in one gulp. "Leave a little bit of tea in the cup so the leaves can be swished around." He demonstrated as much, then held up the cup's saucer. "After you do that, place the cup upside down on the saucer. After a few seconds, lift the cup up and examine the dregs that way. This offers for more variety." Binx shrugged slightly, looking back into his own cup before bringing it to his lips. Maybe he could finish it all in one gulp...
Binx tilted back his head, bringing the cup with it, trying to gulp down the steamy liquid. The bitterness of the tea made sensation explode in his nose, causing him to cough a little. "Mmf." He grunted, bringing the cup down. He still had about halfway to go... He took another gulp, and then ceased, pulling the cup away to see that there was still a little bit to swish the tea leaves around in. "P-P-Professor sir, I-I think I have the Grim!” Binx blinked and glanced over at the girl. It was the same one who had made a fool out of herself by spouting an absolutely ridiculous answer. He raised an eyebrow and sent Ed an 'oh great' look. “Looks like we have another ridiculous loony. I kind of figured as much from Tibbs – she’s always been a bit melodramatic. Maybe she’ll be right and we won’t have to deal with her much longer,” Binx choked back a laugh, grinning and covering his mouth. He could have expected this much from a third year, but weren't Hufflepuffs supposed to be nice? This girl was just a ball of sarcastic comments.. Binx turned his attentions back to his tea leaves, swishing them around in his cup a little.
"Oh, my" he said lightly, tilting his head to the side. "Seems like you do." He gave her back a hearty clap and grinned toothily. "Well, it was nice knowing you, Miss Chiflet!"
Binx snorted rather loudly at Cyrus' reply, turning his cup over into the saucer. "Okay Ed! You read mine!"
Tibiana "Tibbs" Chiflet
3rd Year Hufflepuff
Keeper I need a friend...
Posts: 16
(1/15/06 1:55 pm) Reply
Re: Divination: 3rd & 4th Years: Class Three
Professor Archer smiled as he went to join her, obviously taking her exclamation as an improperly deciphered guess. At his reaction though, even Tibbs had a hard time refraining from grinning. She heard several snorts throughout the classroom that told her she’d at least brought some sort of entertainment to this dull and pointless class. Wonderful; her job here was done. She sank back into her chair with a look of utter horror dancing on her face but a proud grin brimming from within her heart. Well, here was at least one class that had gone right today, even if it had been because she’d been rebelling. Fun was right, wasn’t it?
Nevertheless, she couldn’t help but find Professor Archer’s response…somewhat unusual. He obviously saw through her, and yet he had not punished her for making a mockery of him twice. That definitely said something of his character in Tibbs’ book. Most teachers would have taken points away from Hufflepuff if not outright slap detention on her. She watched him out of the corner of her eye, studying him as she had not bothered to do previously. With the constant cheer of his face and the rather long ponytail he sported, the man looked more like a renegade student than a professor. Tibbs had once heard that the man was a retired Quidditch beater, but Professor Archer hardly looked the part.
Nevertheless, Tibbs decided to reward his continuing cheer in a class that everyone else obviously felt was worthless. How difficult it must be to come to work each day knowing that the people you were teaching simply didn’t care! Well, starting now Tibbs would pretend she did care. So what if it was no longer exactly New Years? She could still make another resolution…to actually try in her Divination class. Besides, maybe it could tie into her other resolution. Perhaps she might actually find a friend in Professor Archer. It wasn’t entirely conventional, sure, but surely it was worth a try.
Tibbs pulled out her Divination book and began to read it in earnest, ignoring the spoilt tea dregs on her desk and trying to absorb as much of the information as possible. Though they’d been required to read much of this beforehand, Tibbs had only skimmed over it in the past; glancing over only the bare minimum required to complete her homework. Now she worked to commit every detail—no matter how miniscule or unimportant it seemed—to memory. Tibbs planned to do well in the class and prove to Professor Archer, even if it wasn’t true, that the class he taught actually made a difference in other peoples’ lives.
checkyourpockets
Edward "Ed" Tate
4th Year Ravenclaw Resident Wallflower
Jason Cromwell
5th Year Slytherin
Prefect/Seeker Strictly Slytherin
Re: Divination: 3rd & 4th Years: Class Three
Ed smiled when Binx laughed at his loony comment. It made him feel good to know that he made at least someone laugh, let alone Binx. Score! This was an amusing class, Ed thought, and figured that if Cyrus could get so many giggles out of the students then he would be good for at least half the year.
"Okay Ed! You read mine!"
“Oh how I love you enthusiasm, Binx!” Grinned Ed as he took the near empty cup from the Hufflepuff. His own cup was empty as well so he swished the deposit at the bottom of it and handed it over. Immediately he looked down to the dark-greenish matter left from the tea at the bottom of Binx’s drinking vessel. There was a simple pattern of soaked leaf chips and crumbs that swelled at the very base and nothing more. With that, Ed placed the saucer on the top of the teacup and in one fluid motion he inverted the whole.
Without hesitation, Ed took the cup off of the saucer and examined the new specimen blob. A cat? There was a tiny gerbil running in his wheel for a while inside Ed’s brain but then he realized that his work might be a bit easier with the help of his textbook. Flipping to chapter five’s appendix, Ed looked the symbols and different pictures of tea dregs over intently.
There were two separate bunches of dregs. One looked a lot like a “V” but with curved arms; this mass looked like a seagull one might have drawn when younger or to make it look like it was off in the distance. So far, Ed was lost. This bore no resemblance to anything he knew of. The second cluster of dregs did catch him. It did, as he thought before, bored a striking resemblance to a cat. It was sitting as far as Ed could interpret, and was looking up slightly towards the bird(?). Beneath the cat there were many spots and tiny dreg groups and between the cat and the bird there was a mysterious line of dark tea.
Almost immediately Ed thought of an interpretation. The bird wasn’t a seagull, but a raven. Ravenclaw. Binx has a black cat, which might personify him. Ed knew that much but he wasn’t sure of the rest. Perhaps the smaller groups were society and the line of tea meant that Binx had connected him to it? Christ, that gerbil was working over-time. Ed’s heart leapt and he had no idea that he could be so perceptive; let alone the dregs so correct. He felt like he had just had a horrifically bad day and went back to read his horoscope and it said, “A hard and troubled day lies ahead,” for that day.
Ed decided to play it cool and laugh. “I think it’s a cat trying to eat a bird,” the previously- astonished-but-now-joking boy. “What do you think?”
“Do me, now,” Ed said, but soon realized that, taken out of context, that could sound quite odd. He blushed and added, “Read my leaves, that is.” Ed snickered a bit.
Re: Divination: 3rd & 4th Years: Class Three
Ooh, he'd made them laugh. That was something. It was unintentional of course, but one of those rare rewards of being a teacher. He smiled at the reactions of the students, and luckily enough Tibbs even quirked a grin too. For a moment he'd been worried that he would upset her in the form of a vindictive student. Despite being a third year and somewhat of a taunting student, she at least had a good sense of humor.
Strangely enough, she immediately went about reading her Divination book as soon as she could. Cyrus blinked at her, cocking one brow to the sky while the other one furrowed curiously. Just a few moments before she was acting like it was a joke.
Nevertheless he looked around the room for a moment, then turned back to Tibiana. "Tibs, go sit with Jordyn and read her cup while she reads yours. I said before it doesn't really work if you read your own, and you need a partner."
He stood up and turned to the other girl. "Jordyn, reset your cup. You and Tibs are partners now." He waved his wand at the shelves and one of the tea pots fluttered out to rest at Jordyn's table. "Then make sure you girls switch cups."
With that he gave Tibs a small smile and turned to saunter around the room, investigating other partners.
ooc: By the way, Cy doesn't have super long hair anymore. XD So the braid is gone now. I would update his bio but it's locked. >.>;; Now his hair is just barely shoulder-lenghth, about.
Tibiana "Tibbs" Chiflet
3rd Year Hufflepuff
Keeper I need a friend...
Posts: 19
(1/18/06 10:15 pm) Reply
Re: Divination: 3rd & 4th Years: Class Three
With eyes busy flickering back and forth across the page as she thoroughly read the information for the first time, Tibbs saw nothing of her instructor’s reaction to her sudden and unusual behavior. Perhaps this was to her benefit though, for had she had the opportunity to catch his expression, however, Tibbs would have cracked up laughing. Who would have ever guessed that she—the loudmouth Tibiana Chiflet—would actually take any class seriously and suddenly forsake the privilege to make jokes? As she continued to read, however, Tibbs began to have a feeling that none of it would really help her. As Professor Archer had mentioned previously and according to paragraph three, Divination was a truly imprecise branch of magic that depended mostly on inherent ability, which Tibbs most likely lacked.
It was only when she heard her name that the third-year glanced up. Had he honestly just called her by her nickname? Certainly she’d been introducing herself as “Tibbs” all this year, but most teachers refused to acknowledge it. A flamboyant maverick, most believed she simply didn’t deserve to have a nickname. For a few moments, Tibbs simply watched as Professor Archer directed the teapot over to Jordyn’s table. Despite herself, she simply couldn’t quite understand this man who was unlike any teacher she’d ever had. He smiled at her briefly before continuing his rounds. Startled, Tibbs returned the smile, somewhat uncertainly.
Hastily, Tibbs picked up her book and cup, then darted off to Jordyn’s table as she’d been directed. Without glancing at her companion, Tibbs poured herself some more tea, determined go through the process properly this time. Though she was sorely tempted to see Jordyn’s reaction to being paired off with her, Tibbs refrained. Gawking at her partner—or rather the fact that she actually had a partner—likely wouldn't help her make friends at all. Having been busy amusing herself with the previous proceedings, Tibbs hadn’t really taken note of the Gryffindor girl’s reaction, and she was somewhat nervous about discovering whether it was positive or negative.
Tibbs drowned the majority of the tea in one gulp, attempting not to wince once more at the bitterness. But at least she didn’t have quite so much left over. Gently swilling the remaining tea and the dregs within it, Tibbs then set it upon her saucer and timidly nudged it over to Jordyn before at last glancing at the other girl. Feeling that the absence of eye-contact and the ominous silence were stretching a great deal too far between them, Tibbs attempted to bridge the gap with a quiet comment of, “Bitter, isn’t it?”
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