NEWT Class, Cartomancy- An Introduction

Zara glared at the piece of paper in front of her. The stupid teacher who had gotten the kick, had left a lesson plan that Zara was expected to follow. The class for today happened to be "Cartomancy." She whispered it aloud and then stared at the book in front of her. Her last class had just left, and she had no idea what the next subject was. So after debating it for a moment, she picked up the book and started to read it on the section labeled 'cartomancy.'

After a few minutes of skimming Zara knew exactly what she wanted to show the students, teaching Divination wasn't the hardest subject anyway. Give them a bunch of cards, tell them to look in the book and go at it. Check her own book a few times, exclaim that there was torture in their future and then go on to the next kid. Easy as pie, but Zara knew these older kids certainly weren't going to be as easy as the younger ones. The younger ones at least just looked at her in awe, made her feel old, made her very angry, and then she went on. Now she had to deal with the kids who were kind of serious about the class, and that bothered her. Seeing as she had failed most of her classes in Hogwarts, and hadn't even taken Divination beyond her third year.

Zara flicked her wand at the trapdoor and put her boots up onto the desk, leaning back in her chair to read from the book about Cartomancy. Her knee high boots perfectly visible to the students as they walked into the sweltering hot, dimly lit room. She had pulled her hair back last period, and it stayed in a high, curly pony tail, going down her back. Her robes were standard Hogwarts staff robes, but besides that, nothing about Zara was teacherous in the slightest.

Salem thought that she may actually enjoy her Divination class, because the subject was like her- odd and unexplainable. It also had a dark reputation that did not really match it. Her style often got her identified as a child of darkness, when really she just did not prefer bright, preppy colors and clothes. Divination, like her, was misunderstood.

The first lesson was a sham. Everyone knew that, and Salem was fine with putting that out of her mind for now as she approached the classroom, climbing the stairs, her bag in her shoulder, her book clutched against her chest as she tried to clutch at happiness. This is one of your better subjects. You will be fine. Be happy. Enjoy yourself.

She tipped her head to look up at the silverly step ladder that would surely lead to the sweltering, comfy room above, full of whimsy and possibilities. She opened her book bag and carefully slid the book she had held to so tightly into her bag, patting the pocket of her pants to double check that her wand was still close, still on her person. Good.

She clambered up and pulled herself into the classroom, straightening up and allowing a rare smile onto her face as she looked towards the professor's desk. Her expression froze and vanished, her breath caught, her eyes magnified. No... Of all the people teaching this subject and it was her... The woman who had tortured her, buried her voice even farther inside her fragile soul. She took a step back, her eyes meeting the professors, and shook her head. She could not do this.

She turned and clambered back down the ladder before Zara could do anything more to her. She panicked, sweat gathering on her brow, tears springing in her fearful eyes. She did not care. She was dropping the class. In her terror, she slipped and fell the last few feet, landing on her shoulder. She cried out and jumped to her feet.

She turned, she could not do this. She ran down the steps, knocking into her classmates as she sprinted away, feeling the oddest temptation the young, mute, helpless girl had ever felt. The temptation to tell.

Ash walked into the classroom, not expecting to find a new teacher there. It almost took her by surprise. She was a little tired from walking up the long flight of stairs to get to the top of the tower and that was something she knew she'd have to get used to and soon. She knew it was time for her to actually start trying to get in shape.

As she climbed up to the top of the ladder, she bumped into the girl Salem, who she had noticed never spoke a single word. She didn't know her and didn't want to, she just wanted to finish out her year. She moved over to her seat taking her bag off of her shoulders and setting it beside her.

Zara looked up when the first student came in, and she felt herself smile widely. If it wasn't the little mute girl. Her eyes locked with the girl, and a large smile fixed itself onto her face, but before she could do anything, the girl had run away, half in tears, running away from her problems. Well, Zara wouldn't let her drop, and she would be forced to sit up here with her. Yes.. Zara watched as the students started to file in, and she started to scribble a note to the head of Ravenclaw house. After writing quickly, she tapped it with her wand, and it folded into a paper airplane, shooting out of the trapdoor and down the stairs, passing Salme as it flew.

Zara then stood up neatly, and looked around the room. "Welcome students, to Divination.. I am Professor Ellis, and as you can see, your old teacher got the dump.. It seems she wasn't qualified to teach a lesson as easy as this one." She said with a small laugh, but there was something about her voice that made the warm room get almost chilly, she walked among the cushions and chairs, looking over their shoulders for a moment before walking back to the front of the room.

"Now, as I understand it, Divination is about reading the stars, and predicting things... I'm following the previous teachers notes on this subject, and today you will be doing a subject known as Cartomancy... now if you expect me to know anything about this subject, then you are wrong, for I never took Divination, but I WILL be changing the syllabus soon, so that I CAN teach you something I know." She said with a grin. "So forget anything the old teacher told you, because I'm in charge now. Oh, and if you expect to drop this class, like the mute girl did, I'd think again..." She said with a grin, before grabbing her book. "Now open your books to Chapter one, read the introduction, and write a two foot essay on what you want to learn, and or already know about Cartomancy, due in two days."

[assignment, write a post with your reaction towards Zara, and read
Essay: Optional, must be at least 2 paragraphs on what your character would know about Cartomancy.
Please only state what you know if you CHARACTER would know it, if you don't know, then look it up.
You may ask questions.]

OOC: I'm doing the essay in here because I didn't know if you wanted it in our post or not.

She listened to Professor Ellis speak but it was almost as if going in one ear and out the other at first. It was the same old thing when you got a new professor, the only difference was, this time, she was coming in in the middle of the year and not at the beginning. Well she'd have to make due with what was there she supposed as she finally started to listen in. Her eyes got wide. A two foot essay?! Was she serious? At least this was a subject that she knew somewhat.

She pulled out her book, reading was never one of her favorite things to do but since she had found out she was pregnant, she found herself reading more and more so it was beginning to appear as a natural habit of hers, although school work could definitely use more of a boost of action. She flipped to the introduction and found herself zooming through it fairly quickly. Divination was something she was fascinated in and Cartomancy was just that more intriguing to her. She had finished the introduction quite quickly and began working on the essay.

I've always been fascinated with cartomancy since I was extremely young. I've own several tarot decks and have studied it throughly, although I do have to admit that I wish to know how to interpret the cards better. Cartomancy, more better known as tarot or fortune telling with cards. It originated when playing cards appeared in Europe and was more commonly used by Gypsies in the beginning...at least that is what muggles believe anyways.

Unlike a playing deck that can be typically used for cartomancy, tarot cards are slightly different in that they have twenty one trump cards and a fool card, together known as the Major Arcana and then fifty six other cards, such as the wands or staves, pentacles, cups and swords known as the Minor Arcana, while a typical deck of playing cards only has fifty two cards all together. It is also believed by some, and I follow that in agreement that your cartomancy deck should be used for nothing else other than cartomancy and should not be touched by anyone but yourself unless you are performing a reading for another person, in which case they should cut the deck, that way the cards do contain some of their energy as well as your own.