Divination (All Students start here)

[Harmony Chan H6]

((God Izy, this is a lot of info... And Pytharogas is in it too! *makes a sickened face* Urgh, I have had enough of maths, and the second one is like, next week, so I'm not thinking about it yet!))

Harmony was just daydreaming and falling steadily into mindless oblivion, when a taller, older girl who appeared to be a Hufflepuff approached with a friendly smile, and sat down beside her. Flashing back a quick grateful grin of her own, Harmony felt a little pleased she was no longer alone, and introduced herself as Harmony Chan, second year. "No, course not, I'm pleased I have someone to work with." Ivy began flicking diligently through her book with a frown, and following suit, Harmony did the same.

Ivy stated a few things about herself, which Harmony slowly digested and tried to remember, and began to quickly leaf through several pages, attempting to find the necessary information. Finally alighting upon what she needed, she gave a triumphant smile, and turned to the older girl, making quick calculations in her head, "Well... Since your year is 1983, that adds up to 21, then 3, and that will be added to your month, which is 4, and your day, which is 1, resulting in an overall Lifepath number of 8. It says here that..."

Harmony cast a quick glance again to read out the long contents, "Well, it's quite long, but here goes. I hope this is correct! The Life Path 8 suggests that you entered this plane armed to lead, direct, organise and govern. You are very ambitious and goal-oriented. You will want to use your ambitions, your organisational ability, and your efficient approach to carve a satisfying niche for yourself. If you are a positive 8 you are endowed with tremendous potential for conceiving far-reaching schemes and ideas, and also possessing the tenacity and independence to follow them through to completion. In short, you were born to be an executive.

"You know how to manage yourself and your environment. Your ability to judge the character and potential of the people around you is an asset used to your advantage. A large part of your success in life comes from how hard you work. This Life Path is the most prone to producing workaholics. But your ability to spot good people and engage them in your endeavors is a special trait not to be overlooked. There is an inspirational quality in your makeup which allows you to become a great leader. You are practical and steady in your pursuit of major objectives, and you have the courage of your convictions when it comes to taking the necessary chances to get ahead.

"With the Life Path of the number 8 you are focused on learning the satisfactions to be found in the material world. The Life Path 8 produces many powerful, confident and materially successful people. Most of your concerns involve money and learning of the power that comes with its proper manipulation.

"This Life Path is perhaps the one that is the most concerned with and desirous of status as an ultimate measure of success. You want to be recognised for your hard work and achievements. The attainment of honours and acceptance into the club of executive leadership is all important. For this, you may find yourself very well suited to compete in the business world or in the political arena.

"In relationships, you are frank, honest, and steadfast. You may be very much in love, but watch that you are not too busy and preoccupied to show it. Being the lavish provider is not always an adequate substitute for showing your devotion and affection in more personal ways. You have a great need for close personal relationships to mitigate and somehow soften your nature. You must find the time for love and keep it as an important project in your life.

"The negative 8 can be dictatorial and often suppresses the enthusiasm and efforts of fellow member of the environment. Often, the strength of their own personality excludes close feelings for other people with whom they come in contact. Material gains and rewards often become issues of utmost importance, even to the neglect of family, home and peace of mind. Dedication to success can become an obsession. Emotional feelings are often suppressed by the negative 8, resulting in isolation and loneliness. All Life Path 8 people must avoid discounting the opinions of others."

Harmony finally let out a breath she did not realise she had been holding and flashed a grin at the older girl, almost laughing in the process, "Well, that was long, wasn't it?"

((Was that too long then? Sorry if it was, and I hope it's the right info.))

[Ivy Tunstall]

Ivy smiled as Harmony introduced herself and tried to make sure she would remember the name. Since she'd been made a Prefect she felt she ought to know who different people were in Hufflepuff. The point of Prefects was to keep order, but apart from when she turned grumpy Ivy was simply too nice (and timid) to give anyone a sharp reproach. She tended just to try to minimize the repercussions on school property. Working at the Cubby, she had come across a few disgruntled customers, but her response was mostly just to repair shattered crockery several times over to get it perfect while accepting criticism of the establishment. Ivy had enough belief that they provided a good service for her confidence not to follow in the path of the crockery. Catalina would probably have been incensed by some of the comments but as long as she wasn't there it didn't cause a problem. So Ivy applied the same principle when people got carried away and broke things in school - as long as they hadn't irritated her too much. She did however, think that Prefects should be there as support for younger students, and she tried to always be approachable. Part of being approachable was not asking 'So who exactly are you?' if someone started talking to you.

Ivy listened doubtfully as Harmony started reciting the contents of the book. She had never been someone that recognised her good traits very much, but she really couldn't see much resemblance between the portrait being painted of her and her true self, whatever that was. Yes, perhaps some of it was true, but it was a few inches off from hitting the nail on the head. She scratched her head and gave an embarrassed grin as Harmony continued to read. A few of the words stuck out at her but it still seemed just as inaccurate as Divination always was.
"Hmm... okay," she said, when Harmony had finished. "Well, it doesn't sound exactly like me but... that's not to say it's not correct - the way you worked it out, that is. It's just Divination which is... well, I can't say I put much belief in Divination." Ivy gave a wry smile and buried her head back in her textbook. "Apparently the day you're born on also shows you something," she said, tapping a small coloured box on the page with her wand to enlarge it so that it gave her the full information she needed to work this 'influence' out rather than it just informing her that doing so was possible. "Hmm... this is basically just repeating the same thing as my... Liferoad? number was telling me. I have 'executive ability' and 'leadership qualities', and not much 'desire to handle details'. Sure." she said with a hint of amused sarcasm, although she did have to agree with the bit about her feelings being rather repressed. She didn't comment on that though. She wasn't going to be generalised.

Ivy looked back up at Harmony. "Okay, so that's me... half done. How about you now? Is Harmony Chan your full name, because apparently you need your full name to work out your..." - she consulted the book again - "... your Destiny Number. Your life's purpose, that is," she added with a grin. "And there's other stuff in this section on names but... well, one thing is quite enough to cope with at a time."

[Harmony Chan H6]

((Aha, your turn to try and find all this insanely long information. Like yours it's probably way, way off... *sigh*))

After relaying the long amount of information, Harmony began to work out her life path number in her head, curious to see what hers said about her, and whether or not it was even accurate. "Month... May... 5... Day... um... 12th... So that's 3... 1986, so that's 24, which makes 6... 6 plus 5 plus 3... makes 14. 1 add 4 makes 5." Scouring the page before her for the life path number 5, Harmony found herself reading out the paragraphs of text in her head, smiling at some points, frowning at others with the occasional eye roll...

The Life Path 5 suggests that you entered this plane with a highly progressive mindset, with the attitude and skills to make the world a better place. Harmony raised an eyebrow at this, though a small smile was clear on her face, "I guess you could say that..."

The key word for your Life Path is freedom. Harmony wondered at this comment, but continued to read onwards curiously, In the pursuit of freedom, you are naturally versatile, adventurous, and advanced in your thinking. You are one of those people who is always striving to find answers to the many questions that life poses. The byword for the positive Life Path 5 is constant change and improvement. You want to be totally unrestrained, as this is the number most often associated with the productive use of freedom. "Um... This sounds awfully more like a Ravenclaw..." Harmony frowned slightly, though found it quite amusing that she was "naturally versatile".

You may be one of the most compassionate of people as the 5 is surely the most freedom-loving and compassionate Life Path. Your love of freedom extends to humanity at large, and concern for your fellow man, his freedom and his welfare, may be foremost in your mind. As the ultimate progressive thinker type, your potential in government, the law, and other positions of authority is unlimited. "Okay, so maybe O'm concerned about others, but government... No way." Harmony shook her head, blinking. This was slightly inaccurate... Slightly to say the least.

You are a good communicator, and you know how to motivate people around you. This may be your strongest and most valuable trait. Because of this skill, and your amazing wit, you are a truly natural born salesman. This ability to sell and motivate extends to any sort of physical product all the way through to whatever ideas or concepts you may embrace. "But I'm so shy!" Harmony thought incredulously.

You abhor routine and boring work, and you are not very good at staying with everyday tasks that must be finished on time. This was something else Harmony had to disagree on. She was a very conscientious person, and didn't mind work too much, though it could be boring. On the average, the number 5 personality is rather happy-go-lucky; living for today, and not worrying too much about tomorrow. "That's kind of correct, I guess..." It is also important for you to find a job that provides thought-provoking tasks rather than routine and redundant responsibilities. You do best dealing with people, but the important thing is that you have the flexibility to express yourself at all times. You have an innate ability to think through complex matters and analyze them quickly, but then be off to something new. Harmony sighed. Whoever wrote this book??

A love of adventure may dominate your life. This may take the form of mental or physical manifestation, but in either case, you thrill to the chance for exploration and blazing new trails. Surely you belong to a group considered the most worldly and traveled. Clearly you are not one to pass up a good venture. You have quite a lot of the risk-taker in your makeup. If you aren't putting your money at stake, you are surely open to a wide variety of risks in your everyday life. Taking the conservative approach is just not in your nature. "Wrong, wrong, wrong..."

In romance, you hate to be tied down and restricted. This doesn't necessarily mean that you are unfaithful or promiscuous, but it does mean that a good partner for you needs to understand your nature. A relationship based on jealousy and having tight reigns is not going to work at all for you. A partner who understands your need to be free and trusted will find you trustworthy, even if you aren't constantly available and totally dutiful. It is important for you to mix with people of a like mind, and to try to avoid those that are too serious and demanding. Although Harmony wasn't sure of this, as she had never been in a relationship before, she was pretty sure she wasn't like that.

If you are living on the negative side of the Life Path 5, you are apt to be multitalented, but suffering from some lack of direction, and there is confusion surrounding your ambition. Restless, discontent, and impulsive, you may bounce from one job to the next without accomplishing much at all. A negative Life Path 5 can become very irresponsible in tasks and decisions concerning the home and business life. The total pursuit of sensation and adventure can result in your becoming self-indulgent and totally unaware of the feelings of those around you.

Harmony tutted softly upon finishing reading her life path results, and turned to Ivy with a laugh, "Mine wasn't particularly correct... Rather off in some areas actually. She laughed good naturedly at Ivy's comments, completely agreeing on her thoughts to do with Divination. "Yours too? Yup, Divination is... well, what can I say? Divination." Harmony stated simply with an amused grin. She then watched as Ivy proceeded to read out some more extra information, which also didn't please Ivy too much... "Life path." Harmony corrected, grinning with a nod.

"Really? There's a Destiny Number?" Surprised, Harmony glanced down at her book also, and found the correct page, almost groaning when she saw it, "I doubt this will be correct either, but okay, let's give it a shot... My full name is Harmony Lily Chan. What does it say then?" She asked curiously, watching Ivy work it out.

[Ivy Tunstall]

((Harmony's does sound very off. Some of Ivy's could be true - even though she doesn't see it - but I think that's because I've been playing her for quite a lot of time so she's balanced out. But I don't intend to put the whole paragraphs here... no way. Not likely!))

Ivy watched Harmony politely as the younger girl pored over her own book. She supposed that she must be working out her own number for some trait. Ivy had a tendency to do that herself - rather than always concentrating on the job at hand in classes, she preferred to go off and work something else out which looked to hold more interest. But today she wasn't really doing that, because she had the responsibility of working with another person. She didn't have the luxury of doing things her own way. Ivy smiled at the younger girl as she returned to task, happy that she'd not found a Divination zealot who'd immediately reprimanded Ivy for her cynicism. Ivy hadn't come across very many of those, although having befriended one might just have helped her abysmal Divination marks. "Life path," she corrected herself as an echo of the other Hufflepuff, nodding. She would remember that for when she had to write it in an exam - yes she would!, she assured herself sternly.

"Harmony Lily Chan," Ivy repeated slowly, scrawling each word down as she said it on a piece of scrap parchment. She held it up for Harmony to see. "Did I spell it right?" she asked. "I can't blame Divination for being inaccurate if I can't spell accurately," she added with a small smile. "I'm not very quick at adding numbers up in my head, by the way." she warned the other girl, resorting to muttering to herself and counting up on her fingers as she tried to work out the number for each word of Harmony's name. Harmony came to 4, Lily came to 4 as well, while Chan came to 8. Ivy wrote each of these numbers down on the piece of paper underneath their respective names. "Okay... well I may have got it wrong but... I think your destiny number is 4, plus 4, plus 8 which makes... 16," she said, pleased with herself at how quickly she'd made the simple calculation. "That simplifies to 7." Ivy ran her finger down the yellowed page of her textbook until she found the description, and let out an expression of wonder when she did. "Gosh," she said in genuine surprise. "Or not quite so simple after all... they didn't bother giving a short explanation did they?"

Ivy took a big breath before starting to read out what it said. "The direction of growth in your lifetime will be toward thought, analysis, and the development of a mind skilled at searching out the truth. You must become accomplished at analyzing, judging and discriminating, so that little escapes your observation and deep understanding. In this you will become increasingly introspective, and value seclusiveness and solitude." She stopped, already tired of reading out the entire book with all its eloquent phrases. Ivy wasn't a great public speaker and she preferred reading in her head to reading aloud. "Um... you could get really involved in a search for wisdom - either factual, meaning you'd make a good teacher, or spiritual. You have lots of capability for learning really deep and difficult subjects. Apparently you operate on a 'different wavelength', and 'neither show nor understand emotions very well'. Your friends may not know you particularly well. You're a perfectionist, very logical and usually have a rational approach to things. On the negative 'side' of things... you don't have much trust in people, which makes you highly introverted, self-contained and possibly self-centred. This makes you possibly um... overly critical and intolerant, and not very adaptable." Ivy looked at Harmony dubiously. "Sound anything like you?" she asked.

[Harmony Chan H6]

((I know! The one for me personally turned out okay though… I’m a 6, apparently. You should see T’s… quite accurate. She’s a 9. I think she was extremely happy with hers… Ha. Aw… whole paragraphs is fuuuuun! ;D Hehe, I think we’re driving each other insane from being around each other too much… Anyway, to the post!))

Harmony grinned as Ivy nodded to herself as she corrected her mistake, and proceeded to listen to what meaning her name held, wondering if any of this was going to be even slightly correct. She nodded when Ivy asked her the spelling of her name, and replied cheerfully, “Nope, I’m not so good at Arithmancy myself. It’s meant to run in my family… It just seems it never passed onto me. You should see my sister and cousin though… They’re amazing. I guess that’s okay though, because I don’t find it too hard… I just don’t like it.” Harmony shrugged with a smile as she watched Ivy working with her fingers, muttering incoherently. Even though the older girl had said she wasn’t so quick with numbers, Harmony found she trusted her to get it right, and waited patiently for an answer.

An amused smile appeared on Harmony’s face at the surprise laced in Ivy’s voice at the length of the information provided, and nodded in agreement with a laugh, “Yes, it is ridiculously long. But it’s not as if any of it is correct!” Harmony digested Ivy’s words with interest, and found herself agreeing with most of the first half. However, “neither show nor understand emotions very well”? What was that about? Harmony frowned as Ivy continued onwards with an almost bored tone at how much information there was, wondering if her first impression of her Destiny Number of being more accurate than her Life Path Number was going to be misguided… She found it to be so when Ivy finally stated “overly critical and intolerant”, and bit back a choke of laughter, knowing full well this was nothing at all like her. Shaking her head with a suppressed smile, she sent Ivy a rather apologetic expression, “Hm… No… Looks like this one’s pretty way off too. The beginning sounded okay… ish. Until it went very off course.” Harmony laughed and scratched her head, knowing her suspicions of Divination were now fully confirmed. It just couldn’t be trusted.

“So… do you want to work yours out, or shall we not bother?” Harmony offered with a cynical grin, flashing her eyes back down to the textbook briefly.

[Professor Sybil Trelawney]

"Books closed and pens down class. The class is now over. You all did well." Sybill went back to her overstuffed chair and began to cough violently. "Have a good afternoon, and I hope the stars are with you."


((This class is now over.))