Alasdair McCandlish
Third Year Ravenclaw
Lesson One: 200+ word RP of the lesson.
Alasdair was almost immediately perturbed upon entering the Divination classroom. It didn’t look, feel, or smell how a classroom should look, feel, and smell, and Alasdair was really quite picky about his learning environments. Two years of previous experience had already taught Alasdair the productive places in the library, and where he couldn’t get three-scroll essays done for Potions for the life of him. And so, it was with an acute sense of doubt that Alasdair sat in the class next to Susan, his stomach uneasy with the smell of the rolling waves of incense fumes.
All too soon Professor Trelawney entered the room, and began to give her resume aloud. Oh of all the uncouth things! Dair did not care to believe that this woman’s pedigree ensured her to take a class. After all, if Alasdair followed in the footsteps of his grandfather and father and brother, well, he’d be getting ready to work in a bloody fishery up in Ye Olde Fraserburg, wouldn’t he?
And then the woman gave them her very first prophecy; that most of them would fail. How Sweet! How apt! How right she would be! Because Alasdair was ready to quit at this very moment. Frowning in the general direction of the woman, Alasdair stood with the rest of his classmates once they were dismissed (with homework on, essentially, why divination was the best class ever. Bah!) and exited the classroom, hoping against all hopes that he wouldn’t fall down the trap door, and that if he did, Susan or Phoebus would be underneath him to provide a soft landing. After all, what are best friends for?
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Alasdair McCandlish
Third Year Ravenclaw
Lesson Two: RP researching some forms of Divination. Feel free to start your own thread in a different part of the castle, just be sure that you come and link back to it in this thread. (Cite your sources!)
Alasdair couldn’t help the feeling that today’s lesson in Divination would be more lame than the one from last week. You see, last week, Dair and Susan had been graced with the presence of Phoebus at their small little table. This week, Phee had promised himself to Takeda, and that was lame.
Rushing up the stairs of the North Tower, his stomps creating echoes in the stone building, Dair reached the Divination Classroom only a minute before the huge bells of Hogwarts announced that it was officially time for class to start. The Ravenclaw was naturally surprised, of course, to see that Phee was sitting next to Susan, and not Ryu! Dair slid into the seat next to Phee. “Hey mate!” With a grin, he greeted the Slytherin who was already frowning at the pen in his hand. “Hi Susie,” he added so that Susan wouldn’t feel left out or huffy. Huffy!Susan meant bad times for Dair, and Dair was surprisingly caring enough about his two good friends to not wish them unhappiness.
Professor Trelawney who had quickly earned herself a place in Dair’s “Stupid as Hell Professors” book, mentioned something about the fortune of a curly haired girl in the class, and then after that, a Hufflepuff boy. Deciding already that the lot of this was rubbish, Dair spent the class wondering exactly how eviscerating the intestines of a ferret would predict anything except the sheer lunacy of the person doing the eviscerating, and that salmonella bacteria would soon take up residence in the location of the evisceration.
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Alasdair McCandlish
Third Year Ravenclaw
Lesson Three: Write a poem about Professor Trelawney's "talents" at "seeing" or, write a poem about the "grim tidings" and how they befall Hogwarts. Poem should be at least 100 words please.
Dair hunkered down next to Phoebus, having about the same amount of enthusiasm for Divination as Phoebus did. That is to say; not very much. Dair itched the top of his head before dropping his hands, and then his head down onto the table, which was actually rather difficult, given how low his bum sank in these poofy chairs. “Of course I would,” he intoned, as his level of desperation grew. They had only been in class for five minutes. There was an eternally long time left to suffer through.
Dair spent the rest of the time in class mentally alphabetizing all the letters in the words she wrote on the board.
aeMns
ehT aeMns aer eht ‘’ahtw ,or bcejstu aemttr, fo aceh fmor fo aDiiinnotv. ehT bcejstu lmosty is ddeefin as: aEhrt, Air, aertW, eFir, aMn or iipSt. eeHorvw eht bcejstu is not aalswy acellry ddeefin and ehnt mstu be ddeefin by eht ‘deiirnsv ceeinopprt.
Perhaps it was clear, therefore, of two things:
1. Professor Trelawney would drive Alasdair McCandlish to do crazy things.
2. That made him just like her which was also not entirely wanted.
3. Or maybe Dair just needed to get a life.
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Alasdair McCandlish
Third Year Ravenclaw
Lesson Four: As always, a 50 word attendance post is mandatory.
To be quite honest, Alasdair McCandlish was actually somewhat taken aback at the actions of his Divination professor. The woman had always been crazy, flighty, and inconsequential. But when she looked serious and wasn’t being her usual ditzy self, Alasdair actually, almost. Uh. Began to respect her?
Too bad that lasted for all of, oh, twenty minutes. By the time Professor Trelawney had finished explaining that it had all been an experiment, Dair was back to boredly kicking Phoebus’ foot whenever it came within reach of his own.
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Alasdair McCandlish
Third Year Ravenclaw
Lesson Five: Please RP the lesson, trying Psychometry. Essays are boring. Don’t do one.
Dair’s eyes were widened dramatically when Professor Trelawney explained to the class what she expected from them this lesson. His eyes fell towards Susan who would most likely be just as personally affronted by this request. He withdrew a pocket watch from the basket of things, thinking that at least he could steal it and in the future be a pompous git who had a pocket watch in his vest pocket.
“I’m not even sure,” he mumbled in response to Susan as they left the classroom, and he craned his neck in all ways trying to find just exactly where Phoebus had disappeared to in the few moments since the end of class.
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Alasdair McCandlish
Third Year Ravenclaw
Lesson Six: 50 word attendance
After today’s divination lesson, Alasdair McCandlish was more assured than ever before of the complete lunacy of Professor Trelawney. The woman was insane, telling them to screw their eyes shut in a manner just so so that they could see colors that hung around a person, so that the colors could be called different colors so that they could be interpreted.
Instead of partnering up to actually accomplish this thing, Dair sat in a corner and relaced his shoes. Phoebus and Ryu were off being stupid elsewhere in the classroom, so the boy really had nothing better to do.
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Alasdair McCandlish
Third Year Ravenclaw
Lesson Seven: Pick a shape from the clouds, and write me a short essay (approx. 100 words) on what you saw.
Alasdair’s first term of lessons in Divination had done one thing and one thing only: they had taught the Ravenclaw that if nothing else, Professor Trelawney sure liked to fill the air with stuff. Usually incense. Today, clouds.
The woman was nuts. And Alasdair couldn’t wait to get onto next semester where he’d be brewing potions and learning ancient runes and arithmancy. Those seemed like worthy subjects. Especially potions. Way better than this bottled air crap.
QUOTE
The Rubbish I “See” in the Sky
I am willing enough to acknowledge that I don’t have the most fantastic imaginative skills in this room, but really, professor, I can’t see much of anything that seems worthwhile, either in a Divinatory sense or otherwise. I do see what could be construed as feathers, which would imply “lack of concentration” if the textbook is correct, and I suppose that feathers would be appropriate enough for this class. (You can’t honestly think that all of us students are extraordinarily concentrated on this stuff.)
Because I can’t say that I saw much, I’ll tell you about things I wish I saw. I wish I saw lions, because that means that I’d have influential friends. Cows and crescent moons would both be appreciated, as they both imply prosperity and good fortune. I’d love to see a bush in the clouds, as they mean an invitation into society. Even I can’t say that I’m laboring under the delusions that my Great Aunt Mary is at all able to get me anywhere important. I would have loved for Phoebus to see mushrooms: he’s spending way too much time with girls and I’m getting rather jealous because of it. Actually, it seems like a lot of signs mean separations: razors, scissors, swords… I’ll go ahead and take another look at those clouds, Professor, and see if I can’t point out any of those shapes to Phee.