029 Gryffindors ❈ Dictated or Action ❈ Backdated to the Evening of August 6th

[rose_of_battle]

[The sound of a crash can be heard over the journals, followed by the sound of Sheena's voice--which seems to be far away, as though the journal had fallen on the floor and popped open.]

Dammit! That's not right! Why can't I get this?

[There's the sound of tapping, and "Ah-ha!" then a frustrated growl. Sounds of what can only be a search are next, then Sheena's voice once more.]

Ah! There you are!

[She clears her throat as she addresses the journal properly--her voice loud, clear, and frustrated.]

Excuse me, this is Sheena and I have a favor to ask of anyone who knows Arithmancy. I know it's an elective course, but I was "encouraged" to take it, and I can't back out now. However, I just can't get the hang of it. If anyone knows their way around this stuff, and can help me, I'll help them in return with a class they're having trouble with.

Thank you.

[She closes the journal, and anyone venturing into the Gryffindor common room will find her staring at her Arithmancy book like it's the enemy.

Someone want to help a poor seventh-year out? Or just talk to get her mind off all those numbers?]

Comments

[courageous_wit]

I'm the Arithmancy professor. I'll be happy to go over the work with you.

[rose_of_battle]

[Sheena's jaw drops in surprise. Of all the people to respond, but she HAD made the request pretty public, hadn't she?

Swallowing quickly, she finally finds her voice.]

Professor, I didn't expect you to answer...

[courageous_wit]

Why wouldn't I? If a student is having trouble, it's the teacher's job to help them.

[rose_of_battle]

Well, because I promised to help the person helping me with one of their subjects. And you teach...

[LAME! But she's going with that, anyway.]

[courageous_wit]

Don't think of me as a teacher. Just think of me as Hermione.

[rose_of_battle]

[She opens her mouth to say something, then closes it again. Finally, she speaks up.]

I really don't know if I can, but I'll try.

[She glares at her book again and prods it, like it'll bite her.]

So...where should we begin?

[courageous_wit]

[no, Sheena, that's not The Monster Book of Monsters]

Let's go over what you've done so far.

[rose_of_battle]

[Close enough! It's scary enough, anyway.]

All right. [Typical student sigh as she gathers up all her papers and puts them in front of her, pointing to the last bit on the last sheet.]

This is as far as I get before things start going wrong. Up until then, it seems okay.

[courageous_wit]

[Hermione nods] It looks like you were doing everything correctly, except you forgot to carry the one for odd-numbered months.

[rose_of_battle]

[Sheena stares at her, totally in shock.]

Are you sure? I mean, you're the Professor, so you probably are, but I could have sworn...

[She bends over the paper to check, running her finger back through and stopping when she saw the mistake.

Then her head finishes its journey to land on the table, where Sheena starts chuckling sheepishly.]

I don't believe it!

[courageous_wit]

[she smiles] It's all right, it's a common mistake to make.

[rose_of_battle]

[She's looking at you wryly, Hermione.]

Did you ever make it?

[courageous_wit]

Erm... honestly, no. But many of my classmates did.

[rose_of_battle]

[Awww, couldn't you have lied? :P

Sheena rises up and starts chuckling.]

Did they come to you for help? I mean, you found the problem so fast!

[courageous_wit]

We all work at our own pace. Some things that are easy for you would be difficult for me. I'm not as good in Defense Against the Dark Arts as my friend Harry, for example.

[rose_of_battle]

Harry? [There's only one Harry she knows about.] Potter? I didn't know he was good in that!

But I see what you're saying. I've always had trouble with anything that has to do with arithmetic, but things like Magical Creatures are a breeze.

[courageous_wit]

He's brilliant! A fantastic teacher, too.

[rose_of_battle]

I didn't have him for an instructor. I had already taken the class before he took over.

[She sighs and rests her chin on her hand.]

Now, I wish I had waited.

[courageous_wit]

O-oh, no, he was never a formal teacher... It was sort of tutoring.

[rose_of_battle]

Oh. Well that explains why I didn't see his name on the roster--or hear others complain about "Professor Potter."

[Although, her own inattentiveness when she sometimes studies could account for that as well...]

But "sort of"? He wasn't a full tutor?

[courageous_wit]

No. They were informal meetings. We changed the times and dates all the time.

[rose_of_battle]

Oh. From what you said, he should have gone the "full" route.

[She cocked her head.]

Did you tutor him in this? [She taps her book.]

[courageous_wit]

No, Harry never took Arithmancy. He and Ron were taking Divinations. [her tone suggests how little she thinks of that discipline]

[rose_of_battle]

[Sheena picks up on that tone and gives her a knowing look.]

Let me guess: not one of your favorite classes?

[courageous_wit]

It's ridiculous! It's all based on guesswork.

[rose_of_battle]

But that's what makes it interesting! To see if your guesses actually work out!

[Sheena smiles in understanding.]

Though, I will admit, I'm partial to Magical Creatures myself.

[courageous_wit]

But anyone can make a guess at something and be lucky enough to get it right. That's not magic!

Magical Creatures is lovely, but Hagrid... He sometimes brought in some very unpleasant beasts.

[rose_of_battle]

But there are also times when you have to guess what spell to use and be unlucky enough to get it wrong, right?

[She tilts her head in wonder.]

You really thought some of them were unpleasant? I kind of liked all of them...

[courageous_wit]

[she shakes her head] You're using something you've learned. If you're in a situation where you have to act in a split-second moment, you're still drawing on previous knowledge. That's completely different from looking at soggy tea leaves and making up some ridiculous prediction.

You must not have met the flobberworms or Blast-Ended Skrewts.

[rose_of_battle]

[She taps the work in front of her.]

Everything we do or react to is something we've learned though; why can't divination fall under that category? Some people can tell when it's going to rain when others can't by reading certain signs. Wouldn't that be the same thing?

[She pauses for a moment.]

Okay. I'll give you the Skrewt, but the flobberworm is actually kind of interesting.

[courageous_wit]

It's not the same thing at all! And predicting the weather isn't that accurate all the time, anyway. They're going by weather patterns, the movement of hot and cold air, and a lot of other factors.

No, divinations is completely left open to interpretation. I've heard prophecies and I know that they can mean any number of things.

[rose_of_battle]

[Sheena gives the other woman a pointed look.]

Maybe they're open to different interpretations because those who did the prophecies actually saw more than one future, and we need this [she taps her book again] to guide us on the right path.

[courageous_wit]

They're open to interpretation because they're vague. They only become true because those who hear them decide to interpret them the way they want.

[sorry, Sheena, but she knows how this works. Her best friend was caught up in a prophecy because some wizard decided to interpret a prophecy his way]

[rose_of_battle]

They might be vague because the choices we make can have different outcomes. [She sighs.] Unfortunately, there are always charlatans and fakes that give something like that a bad name, so no one trusts them.

[She looks at the other woman.]

And those are usually the ones who are looking out for themselves--and no one else... [She falls silent as she suddenly becomes deep in thought...]

Hmmm...

[courageous_wit]

I suppose we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one.

[rose_of_battle]

I suppose so...

[She perks up.]

You have to admit, though, it's a fun topic to discuss.

[courageous_wit]

I suppose.

[rose_of_battle]

You don't sound like you agree.

[She stops to think.]

Okay, maybe not the topic is fun, but the actual disagreement/debate?

[courageous_wit]

[she purses her lips] True. The non-magical community even has competitions for debating.

[rose_of_battle]

[Sheena sighs.]

I know. I was told while growing up I should go into debating--since I like to argue.