Capnomancy

[Professor Pythia]

Professor Pythia had prepared the fire that was burning slowly. On her desk she had laurel leaves, jasmine and poppy seeds - all needed for her lesson she had planned for that day. Next to those were her class list. She was disappointed (albeit not suprised) that the students were small in number, yet maybe if she could make her class interesting enough, more students would come. On the positive side, a small class was good, it meant her students would get more hands on practise.

Trying to stay positive, she left her desk and opened the door. She hoped it wouldn't be long before the students showed up.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare didn't know why he was surprised that he was the first to show up for class. He was always the first Gryffindor in at curfew, too. It seemed like the rules around here were all for show; Dare followed them though. Mostly. He wasn't one to break a rule for the sake of breaking it. They were there for a reason, after all. But if a rule got in the way of what he thought needed done, he'd rather do what needed done and accept the consequences.

But this class was less about rules, and more about instinct, hunches, and maybe even creativity, something Dare had in abundance. He'd been looking forward to it since he'd signed up. The room was warm, and scented with herbs, relaxing. Dare swept his fingers against his fringe, then went in search of a seat.

[Kira Kingston]

With a bounce in her step and a smile on her lips, Kira bounced into the classroom with the light shining brightly in her eyes. She had been looking forward to the start of classes again. The summer had gone past so slowly and with Derek being odd, she needed something to take her mind of things.

Greeting the professor warmly, she made her way to her favourite mix-matched cushioned chair and placed her bag next to it. Slipping her pumps off, she nestled her legs beneath her and looked around to see who else had arrived. The only other person in the room was a dark haired boy that she had not met before nor did she recognise. She gave him a quick one-over, trying to pre-determine what house he was in, whether he was nice or mean. She knew not to judge a book by it's cover, but Kira enjoyed reading body language and second guessing herself.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare could feel the girl's gaze on him, but he forcibly ignored it. He'd opened a notebook, and was drawing along the edges of the page with his silver quill, biding his time until class started and trying to keep awake in the quiet comfort of the room. The girl hadn't just looked and gone on though, and so Dare found himself distracted from his drawing. He lifted his head slightly to look at her from behind his fringe, one brow arching as though to ask, any questions?

[Kira Kingston]

Kira blushed and looked away from the boy, embarressed, yet amused that she had been caught out. She was yet to decide what house he was in, but she was certain he wasn't a Slytherin. Interlocking her fingers, she tapped her thumbs against each other as she tried to work it out. He had some bravado in him, the fact he had acknowledged her observations, even non-verbally, ascertained that. He was also doodling or writing, which could mean he had some artistic flair. He didn't look like a Hufflepuff either. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye quickly, then glanced back at her thumbs before he could notice. Gryffindor or Ravenclaw.. Which one, which one. She thought to herself, chewing on her bottom lip. Maybe she should ask? They were after all sharing a class. She glanced over to him once again, forming the question in her mind.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare had no idea what the girl was trying to get up the nerve to ask, but he could tell it was something. He didn't want to assume, so he didn't, but flipped to a clean page in his notebook. Then he shuffled into a slightly more comfortable position and gave the girl a long look before glancing down at his paper and making a few sweeping lines. If she was going to watch him, even unobtrusively, he'd just take the opportunity to do the same. He had a feeling she wouldn't be hexing him later over it. Daree took brief glances at her between marking the page. He paused only a moment to scribble a title at the bottom; Curiosity.

[Kira Kingston]

"Gryffindor" Kira said a loud, more of a statement than a question. "Sorry, I meant to say 'Are you a Gryffindor?'. I like to try and work out which house students are in, before I ask." She smiled and looked at the boy expectantly. "Are you a Gryffindor?" She asked a little less confidently. She had noticed him drawing before and although it interested her, she didn't want to intrude even more on his privacy.

[Camile Ryan]

Camile entered the Divination classroom and looked around. Seeing that Dare was there, she took a seat next to him. She'd never talked to him before, but at least he was in her House and year. After sitting down, she took out her Divination textbook and started to do some reading before the class got started

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare didn't see the other girl come in, he was looking at his drawing so intently. He looked up from it at the talkative girl, though. "Does it matter?" he asked, arching one dark eyebrow. Dare sighed. She didn't look like she meant anything by it, so what was the harm? "Yes, I'm in Gryffindor," he said, looked the girl over again, then went back to his drawing. He was in Gryffindor, he wasn't specifically a Gryffindor. Dare didn't like labels, but he didn't correct the girl, beyond that extremely subtle rephrasing of her question. He was the picky one.

[Amaryllis Banarr]

Amaryllis rushed into class, her eyes darting from each face until she recognised one belonging to Kira. Throwing herself in a chair beside her friend, Amaryllis flung her bag beside her feet, apologising to the professor and passing a bemused look to Kira. Amaryllis's timing was not always one of lateness, however today had been a bad day for turning up on time, if it wasn't for staircases deciding to change their directions, it was trick steps that caused obstacles for the Ravenclaw. Her face flushed (from embarressment as well as from running down the corridor), Amaryllis made herself comfortable, glad to see that class had yet to begin.

[Professor Pythia]

Four students. That was all who was in attendance to her class and Professor Pythia was saddened slightly yet unsurprised that her class was so small. There were many in the wizarding world that thought of divination as piffle, yet at least she had four students to teach. Closing the classroom door, Pythia crossed the room and stood beside the fire, the glow from it's flaming coals making Pythia's skin seem more golden than it really was.

"Kalimera Class." Pythia began, welcoming her small class. "Some of you will know me from last year. Those of you who don't, then I am Professor Pythia. I am here to teach you of Divination and it's many sides. Today we are to learn about Capnomancy." Stepping back from the warmth of the fire, Pythia took the items from her desk and passed them to each student. "Some of you will have laurel leaves, you will have jasmine" She said, handing Dare a small sprig of white flowers "and Kira, you can have the poppy seeds. Now I am sure some of you don't have a clue what Capnomancy is. Capnomancy is a form of divination by watching the behaviour of the smoke and the shapes it may form. It is down to us to decipher these messages and whether or not they are good or forewarning us of dangers or ills. Now how do we decide?" She took her class's silence as a good sign and continued on. "In the past, those that practised Capnomancy would sacrifice something, however I have always felt that the use of plants works just as well than sacrificing a virgin. Now before we begin, I want you to take a look at the plant I gave you and concentrate on it quietly. Forget everything else, but just focus on the objects I gave you."

[Amaryllis Banarr]

Amaryllis looked at the leaves in her hand and concentrated on them. The urge to giggle was huge and she bit down on her lip trying to calm herself down and be sensible. What was it the professor said? Forget everything. Easier said then done thought Amaryllis to herself.

[Kira Kingston]

Kira wasn't sure if she had offended the Gryffindor in her questioning, but she was hesitant to push further and be more irksome. She was however, rather pleased that she had guessed his house correctly. Now that class had began after Amaryllis's last minute dash through the door, Kira concentrated on what Pythia was teaching. Cap-no-man-cy Kira had repeated it in her head, and listened intently to what the professor was saying. She had seen Pythia's work before, outside of the classroom and was amazed at what had happened. Since that day, she was not one to ridicule what the woman said and instead took a great interest into her work, even if it did leave her sat with a handful of Poppy seeds. Chuckling at the virgin joke Pythia had made, Kira looked back at the seeds in her hands and followed the professor's instructions. Forget everything, concentrate. Screwing up her eyes, Kira stared intensely at the seeds, blocking out the quiet popping of the fire.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare had no issues with being given those delicate flowers. He glanced once at the teacher, then turned his attention to the blooms and the twig which held them, forgetting about the girl who'd been talking to him only minutes before. It was easy for him to do, to just look at the flowers, inspecting the shape of them, the texture of that twig and the velvety blossoms. His fingers nearly itched with the desire to draw them. Dare closed his eyes a moment and breathed in the flowers' soft perfume, then opened his eyes to look at them again. This was what he liked about divination, the relaxation, the letting go of thought for instinct.