Lesson 1 - Tea Leaves

Natalie was the first one inside the Divination classroom, which was somewhat comforting. The quiet in a room was usually a good way to measure the amount of good conversation that would be had there in the future. At least, that's what all the Hobkloppers flying around the ceiling indicated. Yes, this would be a delightful class.

She went to the front of the room per the professor's instructions and chose a cup, cheerfully declaring "Tea time!" to the near empty room before taking her seat again.

Pierre somehow manged to skulk into the Divination Tower. He was the second one there, and the other one looked a little ditsy. Scowling at the sickeningly cheerful girl, he chose a pink tea cup and sat down at his own table. Several tables away from the teacher and the other girl. Ugh. How could people be that happy? Ugh. Hopefully the whole class isn't going to be like that girl...

He couldn't believe that his mother had made him take this useless class.... When would he even need to tell the future?

Charlotte walked into the classroom a little early. She wasn't the last person there. There were two others before her. She walked in, with her bag over her shoulder and her Divination book in her hands. She, a muggleborn, wanted to learn anything and everything to do with magic, so when it came to classes that people called useless, she didn't mind giving it a chance.
She walked to the front of the classroom and took a tea cup from the table and walked back to her own table.

Following the others into the classroom, Peter looked around and sighed a bit relieved. At least he thought the room was done up in normal colors. Listening to his professor he had to agree. Tea was much better in bags than using leaves. He'd always thought it was a bit nasty to be drinking his tea then have the floaty stuff at the bottom.

Setting his bag down at a table he went and paused by the cups. Uh oh, he had no idea what color they were. He'd read the sign up sheet and knew if he accidentally broke a pink one he'd be in trouble. Not that he was planning on breaking one, but accidents did happen.

Picking a cup at random he went and sat down at a table and waited for their professor and the nasty tea.

Sami walked indifferently into the Divination classroom. She was not so impressed with the stories of the past Divination teachers, and hoped this one would be better. She was intrigued when she first heard of the subject and hoped a bad teacher wouldn't ruin it for her.

Not feeling particularly social, the raven haired girl sat in an empty table, near the mid-back. She wasn't all too excited about the first lesson. Tea leaves; the first word, let alone, made Sami shiver in disgust. In all honesty, she was a coffee kind of girl.

Sighing dramatically, the Raven put her stuff on her table and headed to get herself a cup, which hopefully wasn't see-through. She hardly wanted to taste the tea, let alone look at it while doing so.

Sami Criss sat down on her table with her empty cup, waiting for further instructions.

Elise ran up the stairs to the room. She wasn't late, or at least she didn't think she was late but that was no reason for her to stop getting to class on time. At the top of the tower there were already other students waiting at the door. Soon after though the professor came and ushered them inside.

Then the professor conjured a pyramid of cups which were assorted to blue and pink. Elise almost visibly blanched at the pink cup, and chose a blue instead. She was about to sit at her own table when a boy picked up a pink cup.

Elise hesitated. She, being a tomboy and hypocritical traditionalist, always thought that boys should be manly. And a guy choosing a pink cup disturbed her slightly. Then again that was her opinion, and who's to say that the professor wasn't manly either. He certainly looked like an ideal man.

Ugh. Whatever, Elise. Just sit next to him and ask if he really wanted to pick up that cup. And so Elise sat next to the Ravenclaw boy. So... How am I suppose to ask him?! What if he actually chose to get the pink cup? Then I'd look like a fool.

Letting out a small sigh, she leaned in towards him slightly and whispered, "Hey... Did you really want to choose a pink cup? You should've chosen blue to be on the safe side, you know."

Elise felt proud of herself for thinking of an excuse at the last second, although it was a sound advice.

Gwen rushed in class and promptly fell on her bum tripping up the last step. Her bag landed with an 'OOMPH'(from her) and an angry, 'MEOW' (From Rox) She smiled sheepishly and sat down next to the girl that had said TEA TIME after getting a NOT pink cup.
Oh yes.
She´d read the list.
And she´d be danged if she chose a pink cup.
She didn´t need an angry professor, thankyouverymuch.
She didn´t like tea much but she´d drink it.
She´d just have a larger pumpkin juice later on.

Peter looked over when a girl sat next to him. He smiled at her, which turned to a look of horror and embarrassment after she spoke.

Quote :

"Hey... Did you really want to choose a pink cup? You should've chosen blue to be on the safe side, you know."

Great. He had to choose a pink cup didn't he. Clearing his throat he admitted, "I didn't mean too...I have problems with colors..." He made sure he was just as quiet as she was when whispering. "Think you can help me out?"

"No problem," Elise said, returning his smile and switched their cups. "I took a blue one, just so you know."

Elise didn't mind the switch, and was glad to be of help to someone. And no wonder why he didn't get the other colored cup; he had a problem with colors.

"Don't worry, I'll help you out whenever you need it. Just tell me so then you won't be too worried about stuff like that." She whispered back before turning her attention back to the teacher.

Sami almost gagged a bit at the the overwhelming smell of tea in the air. Taking a deep breath through her mouth, she unwillingly grabbed the small, blue cup of tea. She peered down into the contents of the cup and gagged again. It looks... weird, for lack of a better word.

She had only tried tea once, when she was back in England with Kyra. After that, she had vowed to never, ever drink it again. Well, it's time to take one for the team, the girl thought grimly.

She mentally prepared herself for it, and as soon as she thought , 'go' she chugged down the tea.

Pierre quickly drank his own cup of tea, shuddering at the taste. He was more of a water person. Choking slightly on the bitter liquid, he quickly set down his cup, choking the hot liquid down. Glancing in his cup, he scowled at the dregs remaining before placing his saucer over the cup and turning them to drain.

Peter shrugged and watched the steam rise from his cup. Seeing they didn’t have any cream or sugar, he assumed that would disrupt the clumping of the tealeaves. Shame that was. Picking up the cup he took sip and quickly put it down making a face as his tongue was burnt. Waving his hand in front of his mouth he glared at his cup as if it was at fault.

When he tried to drink it again, he was more careful this time. Blowing on it a couple dozen times. Finally getting to the end of it, a shudder ran through his body. He could have sworn even his toes curled from the taste. “Yeaugh,” he stated, clinking the cup on the saucer. After shuddering again, the boy quickly removed the saucer from under the cup and placed it on top before flipping it and setting it back on the table. Digging around in his pockets he smiled triumphant when he pulled out a packet of Droobles Blowing Gum. He knew he had some left over!

Turning to the girl who’d helped him out of his cup disaster he whispered, “Want one? I’m Peter, by the way.”

Gwen coughed when some tea decided to be hotter than she wanted and winced before downing it.
Ew.
She did as instructed and looked at the rests.
It looked icky.
She hoped that wasn´t a bad sign.
She really didn´t want an icky future.
She stared at the cup trying to think of a less...'icky' word to describe it.

Rowan suddenly walked into the classroom, looking around to see that all of the other students had already arrived. She didn't show even a hint of embarrassment as she walked across the room and picked out an olive-colored teacup which had been filled with tea, along with the other teacups. She turned to the teacher with cup in hand. "I apologize, Professor. I won't be late again," she said, not hesitating as she looked up at the Divinations professor. She raised her cup to him for a moment, having it level to her own eyes, a slight smirk on her face. "Cheers," she said, once more lowering her cup and walking over to a table with no one seated around her.

She set down her still full cup onto the saucer placed on the table. She took off her messenger bag, setting it on the ground beside her. She pulled out only her Divinations textbook and set it up on the table before turning to the tea. She picked it up delicately and took a small sip, tasting the tea. It was gross, but she had been taught not to be rude, and especially not to show disgust on her face. She kept her face controlled as she drank the rest of the tea, shuddering just slightly. Once only the dregs remained, she did as everyone else was doing by placing the saucer gently onto the delicate tea cup and turned it upside down so it could drain. She looked around at the other people once she had turned her cup upside down.

There weren't many others there. Big surprise. The only reason she took this class was because it was she had thought it might be a good class to slack off and do other homework in. But, seeing as how she didn't know anyone there and the fact that there weren't enough people to blend into, she knew that plan was probably going to fail. She supposed she mine as well try and get good grades. She did not want to fail any classes.

Natalie sipped at her tea quietly as she looked around the room, taking in the appearance of the classroom and of the other people in there, including the professor. He wasn't what she'd expected when she'd thought of signing up for Divination, but she was quite glad that he was the professor; he seemed to know what he was doing. That's what the Dingleknops said, anyway, and they were rarely wrong.

When she had finished her tea down to the dregs, she did as instructed and flipped the cup over on the saucer, waiting for it to drain out, then waiting for further instructions.

Hester quickly drank the tea from her blue cup. She hated tea, but she wasn't going to show that to anyone, and barely even pulled a face as she swallowed the bitter liquid. She hadn't realised that divination had meant drinking tea, but she had been curious, so she had signed up.

She tipped the cup over onto the saucer, just as she had been told. She had chosen the blue cup because she didn't want to get into trouble, not in her first lesson.

While she was waiting for further instructions she glanced around the room. It was filled with other students. She wondered which of them were in Gryffindor.

Looking at the childrens' varying expression when having to drink the tea he hid his smile. Hans was a bit surprised then none of them had tried to take advantage of any of the plants or the table cloths to get rid of the tea. If memory served correctly that was what Chris had done. He'd let the table cloth soak up some of the tea and tossed some of it on a nearby plant when the professor wasn't looking.

"All right, now that we have that horrid bit out of the way. It's time to read your fortunes. Please get look at the pamphlets I gave you. It should have a list there of things you might find in your leaves. Switch your cups with someone. You can't read your own cups unfortunately."

(OOC: Don't ask why most of them say good luck -_- I personally don't see how a spider could bring luck. I did get this out of an actual book though...)



Tea Leaf Symbols and Meanings

Acorn – Good health
Anchor – Voyage
Arrow – Bad news in a letter
Balloon – Troubles lifting
Banana – A business trip
Bat – Disappointment
Bee – Meeting friends
Bells – Good News
Bird – Good luck
Boat – Visit from a friend
Book – Awareness, learning
Branch – New friendship
Butterfly – Happiness
Cat – Treachery
Chair – Unexpected guest
Circle – Love
Clock – Recovery from illness
Clouds – Doubt
Coin – Debt of payment
Crab – An enemy nearby
Cross – Trouble on the way
Cup – Great success
Dagger – Danger from foes
Diamond – An expensive gift
Dog – Faithful friends
Donkey – Patience needed
Dove – Good luck
Dragon – Changes
Drum – Gossip
Egg – Fertility, increase
Envelope – News
Eye – Exercise caution
Face – New friends
Feather – Requires more effort
Fish – News from abroad
Flag – Danger
Flowers – Love, honor, esteem
Fork – Diversion from a goal
Frog – Business upswing
Giraffe – A misunderstanding
Glove – Luck and honor
Goat – Misfortune
Goose – An invitation
Grapes – Good times with friends
Guitar – Romance on the horizon
Gun – Danger, strife, catastrophe
Hammer – Triumph over adversity, hard work
Hand – friendship
Hat – A new work situation
Horn – Abundance
Horseshoe – Good luck
House – Stability
Kangaroo – Unexpected Travel
Kettle – A friendly home
Key – Unveiling of mystery
Keyhole – Unwanted news
Lace – Fragile matters
Ladder – Advancement, movement, success
Lamp – Monetary gain
Leaf – Good luck
Lion – Helpful friends
Lizard – Hidden enemies
Man – An unexpected visitor
Mermaid – Temptation
Moon – Love
Mountain – Journey of hindrance
Mouse – Financial insecurity
Mushroom – Expect delays
Musical instruments – Good company
Needle – Respect from others
Nest – Shelter
Noose – Dangers ahead
Oar – Temporary problem
Owl – Scandal, bad health
Ox – Arguments with associates
Parrot – A disturbance
Pendulum – Indecision
Pig – Difficulty in relationship
Pipe – New ideas
Pumpkin – A warm relationship
Question mark – Uncertainty, change
Rabbit – Success
Rainbow – Good luck
Rat – Danger, lost possession
Ring – Marriage
Saw – Trouble with a stranger
Scales – Justice, success at law
Scepter – More responsibilities
Scissors – Angry words, family misunderstandings
Scythe – Good harvest, or a death warning
Scorpion – An enemy's plot
Sheep – Good luck
Shoe – A career change
Skeleton – Illness
Snake – Falsehood, temptation
Spade – Good fortune through industry
Spider – Good luck, money
Squirrel – Future wealth
Stairs – Improvement coming
Star – Good luck
Sun – Continued happiness
Sword – argument with close friend
Table – A pleasant get together
Thistle – High ambitions
Tortoise – Criticism
Tree – Success
Triangle – An unexpected event
Umbrella – Annoyances
Vase – A friend in need of help
Violin – loneliness
Walking stick – Need for support
Waterfall – Affluence
Web – Intrigue, complications
Window – Help from a friend
Wine glass – New acquaintances
Wing - News

Gwen gently nudged the person next to her, "Wanna trade?" She asked smiling. She wondered about her future. Ollivander had tol her of new beginnings so she was very curious to how this would turn out. She hoped no deaths or anything. She had had enough of those. After all, she could see thestrals quite clearly.

Hester was sat next to a couple of people. One of them was a fellow Gryffindor with dark hair and blue eyes who was smiling and asking to trade cups.

"Sure," said Hester, smiling in return. She slid her empty cup along the desk to the girl. "I'm Hester. You are...?" she asked.

She hoped that nothing horrible would be read from her cup. She hadn't had a suspicious upbringing and wasn't sure how true any of this would be, but since the rest of magic was real, there was no reason why this shouldn't be.

She waited for the girl to pass her a cup in return.

Pierre walked over to where Sami was sitting, and sat down across from her, nodding briefly. "Will you do my cup?" he asked, pushing his cup over to her. Hopefully she would so he wouldn't have to pair up with that ditzy girl who seemed a bit off.... He opened his pamphlet, wondering which one he would get.

Natalie glanced around the room with a blank look in her eyes. Choosing a partner was difficult. She had no idea who to choose, or if anyone else had any idea what they were doing, so she selected someone who did not already have a partner. "Hello," she greeted the person. "My name is Natalie, would you like to trade cups with me?"

Hester Alderman wrote:

Hester was sat next to a couple of people. One of them was a fellow Gryffindor with dark hair and blue eyes who was smiling and asking to trade cups.

"Sure," said Hester, smiling in return. She slid her empty cup along the desk to the girl. "I'm Hester. You are...?" she asked.

She hoped that nothing horrible would be read from her cup. She hadn't had a suspicious upbringing and wasn't sure how true any of this would be, but since the rest of magic was real, there was no reason why this shouldn't be.

She waited for the girl to pass her a cup in return.

Gwen smiled trading cups, "I´m Gwen, let´s hope our cups arent too horrid." She chuckled looking at Hesters. She couldn´t really see anything. She squinted and thought a bit.
"Well. If you squint like this,and tilt your head...it could be...wonky butterfly. Let´s see that means...Happiness. Oh cool. And that thing there..could be... a wing...and that means good news." She looked up grinning, "Sounds good, eh?"

Hester smiled. Happiness and good news sounded good. She gazed into Gwen's cup, trying to decipher the murky blobs of tea leaves. They didn't seem to form any shape to her whatsoever.

She looked in the book again.

"Well, that could be a... chair," she said doubtfully. "That means... an unexpected guest. Hang on, if I turn it this way it could be a ... bee? I can definitely see a stinger on the end, any how. That would mean-" she scanned the book- "That would mean meeting friends. Although, actually it could be a dinosaur, and that's not even on the list..."