Open a different type of reading

[Eoghan Blyth]

Eoghan wasn't going to be sticking around anywhere where he felt like he was being made a fool of. He could understand some children wanted to play pranks on one another, especially when they thought they'd get away with it and with so many contenders in a castle this big, but that was precisely why he didn't want to be here. Most kids in this school weren't taking things seriously, wasting away their time here on petty plans that were designed to cause the most chaos properly. Apparently, they couldn't even have a simple tour without someone trying to ruin it.

The blond had swiftly left the first year tour in the hopes of getting some fresh air, headed towards the courtyard that the older girl had earlier pointed out. He'd figure out his way around the castle by himself like everyone else who seemed to manage it without having a tour. By the time he stepped outside (and not a moment too soon) the cool air hitting his face was relief, and as his eyes adjusted to the light he peered around the grounds. There were a few students milling around but not enough that he thought they'd get in the way, a pleasant change from most areas in the school.

Taking a seat on one of the stairs in front of the main doors, careful to keep out of the way of any other students retreating to safety, Eoghan slid his hand into the pocket of his robes and pulled out a deck of cards, shuffling them absent-mindedly as he continued to scour the area. Sometimes he wasn't sure if he wished Imogen was here with him or whether he was back with her, but he knew it would be a long time until the first break if he spent his whole time wishing he was somewhere else. Turning his attention to the cards in the hand, he began to flip over a few and lay them neatly at his feet, studying the patterns on each one.​

 

[Cal Greenleaf]

Desperate for some fresh air after that stink bomb went off and possibly to hide from the fact that he got caught talking to himself, Cal had followed some other kids heading in the direction of a courtyard. Some of this was a little overwhelming for Cal, he was used to being on his own and this place had people everywhere. crossing the threshold into clean air he felt instant relief and took in his surroundings. Cal spotted a few other students roaming the place and another on the side of the steps sitting down shuffling and tossing some playing cards. The cards had reminded Cal of his mother, he had heard the story so many times. Cals mother and father always told him about how she would try to impress the actual magic wizard with muggle slight of hand tricks, and his father had fallen hard. Cal was always impressed that a non magical person could still maintain illusion and find their own type of magic. Not sure if it was missing home, or the desperation of not wanting to be a loner but Cal approached the blonde student with the cards, finding some hidden courage and said "Hey, sorry to interrupt, but would you be interested in seeing a magic trick?" Cal reddened. That sounded way less stupid in his head but he was already there now and already said it.

 

[Eoghan Blyth]

A reverse judgment. Eoghan scowled at the tarot card he’d most recently turned over, although the longer he looked at it the more he could resonate. Before he had a chance to combine it, he heard another student's voice beside him and Eoghan glanced up to meet the pink-cheeked student it belonged to. "What?" he asked. It wasn't that he hadn't heard what he'd said, but he was buying time to make sure it was most definitely him this kid was talking to. "A magic trick like.. a spell? Or a fake one?" Eoghan knew tricks were things that a muggle sometimes did, although it was a lot easier to be good at an illusion when you could make the magic happen for real. "Alright," Eoghan said eventually, squinting as the brightness of the white clouds was practically blinding him as he tried to keep his eyes on the boy who stood next to him.​

 

[Cal Greenleaf]

Cal was shocked, he half expected to be ignored or told to bugger off. Almost as if quoting his mother herself "There's a little bit of magic in everything, you've just got to be willing to find it." No idea where this confidence had come from he decided to roll with it. "may i?" Cal reached for the cards and started to shuffle them, "This is something my mom taught me," After he shuffled the cards he fanned them out, "take your pick and don't show me which is yours, after you see it i'll ask you put it back in the deck." Cal hoped desperately that this trick would work, he didn't want his first attempt at an actual wizarding school to be failing at muggle "magic". He had started to sweat a little, ignoring the cold breeze.

 

[Ondine Physwick]

Ondine, too, had broken away from the tour in search of some fresh air. A dungbomb was tame in comparison with some of the smells that drifted out of her mother's laboratory on a regular basis, but the ensuing chaos was unfamiliar, and she'd been at risk of getting trampled. So she went out into the courtyard, where a cool breeze helped settle her nerves. Although they could only be settled so much. The children here were so... noisy. And it wasn't just the children. The professors, the portraits, the ghosts, the house elves - everybody seemed to be in competition to see who could talk the loudest. Ondine had hardly said a word since the feast, but if she had, it would have been swallowed immediately by the din. It was all quite unsettling.

But the courtyard was quiet enough. In a few minutes, when everybody had calmed down, perhaps she'd go back in and see if she could catch up with the tour. Until then, she was happy to stand out here by herself.

And what was this? A magic trick? Ondine had seen a few of those; not the wizard kind, but misdirection, sleight of hand. Her uncle Bertle was very good at making coins disappear, or re-appear in her ear, without any real magic at all. In some ways, it was even more impressive. Curiosity won over her feet, and she found herself drifting towards the boys. Not too close. Just close enough to watch.

 

[Eoghan Blyth]

Eoghan said nothing as the boy told him there was magic to be found in everything. Try telling Imogen that, he thought, glancing over the boys shoulder to see that he'd gained a shadow. Another girl from his own house that he recognised from the common room although he couldn't recall her name. Truth be told the only names he had bothered to remember were Victoria, Susie and William, but even they didn't even seem to have noticed he'd disappeared. The boy scooped up Eoghan's cards, and he watched as he began to shuffle them back in together. His tarot reading would be useless now. This. This was why he didn't have any friends. People would think they could just do as they pleased if it suited them, it didn't matter how it effected others.

Playing along, Eoghan took one of his own cards, checking it before placing it back into the deck. If he really could figure out which card was his without using magic, well maybe it would give Imogen a little hope after all.​

 

[Cal Greenleaf]

Cal composed himself, this was a trick that his mother had taught him and he wanted to get it right, no needed to get it right. He watched as the Ravenclaw boy had chosen the card and were he put it back in the deck, as he shuffled the deck he used his fingernail to make a slight bend in the bottom left corner of the card, unnoticeable unless you were looking for it. It was time for a little showmanship, he shuffled the deck in all sorts of manners and while doing so slipped the slightly marked card into his sleeves, he had hoped nobody noticed and proceeded to the next step, the decoy reveal! Cal's mother had said the best part is when people think they've got you figured out and then flipping the situation to the big reveal! Cal fanned the cards out again in his left hand and then used the right to pick a wrong card and show it to the blonde boy, "This is...." he paused for dramatic effect, "NOT your card!" Cal folded the deck back and handed it back to the Ravenclaw. As he turned to walk away he said, "Oh thats right," and with a flick of his hand the correct card slid into his left hand and he held it up with a sly grin on his face. "THIS is your card!" at least he hoped it was. Cal waited and studied the boys face looking for some sort of approval, still holding the card up and flashing a smile.

 

[Ondine Physwick]

It wasn't enough to wave your hands around and pick out the correct card; muggle magic was about the performance, and this boy would have given Uncle Bertie a run for his money. Even as Ondine inched closer still, craning for a better look, she had no idea where he'd stashed the card. But of course, even all that misdirection wouldn't be very impressive if it was the wrong card.

 

[Eoghan Blyth]

Eoghan was staring at the boy in front of him as though he was watching paint dry. Perhaps it was because he could do real magic that any type of illusion was wasted on him, although he supposed he could him credit for the performance. When he presented him with his card, Eoghan almost laughed. It was a lot of effort when it wasn't even the right card he'd chosen. That was, until the boy turned and out of nowhere showed him the card he had plucked from the collection. Eoghan tilted his head a little as though trying to work out where the card was, before eventually he took it from the boy's hands. "This had no mark on it," he stated, checking over his own card. He knew his cards, he played with them every day. "How did you know?" he looked back up the boy, taking the rest of his deck and recombining the cards.​

 

[Cal Greenleaf]

Cal felt proud of his performance, it had been a while since he had done the trick or practiced this trick. He shrugged and said the familiar line his mother would say to his father when he asked about her tricks, "A magician never reveals their secrets." He remembered fondly how after his mom would say that and turn and wink at him. "I'm Cal by the way, maybe I'll show you how its done one day," Cal glanced and realized that this was one pristine deck of expensive looking tarot cards. He had never been very good at divination, "I showed you a trick, would you mind doing a reading for me? I've always been pretty bad at divination." Cal looked into the boys eyes trying to get a read of his own on him.

 

[Ondine Physwick]

The blonde boy didn't look anywhere near as impressed as he ought to have. Then again, Ondine hadn't appreciated the skill muggle magic required either until she'd tried it herself. Turns out she couldn't even shuffle a deck of cards without spraying them everywhere. She could only hope she wasn't as useless at real magic, which, luckily for her, seemed to require a bit less hand-eye coordination, and substantially less charisma.

She offered a small applause. Somehow, she'd drifted right into the boys' circle. "Excuse me," she said. It was the first thing she'd said all day, and her voice was croaky. "Could I watch?" She'd already been watching, of course, but as her ma told her, it was impolite to lurk.

 

[Eoghan Blyth]

Eoghan wasn't entirely sure what to think about Cal. "Divination isn't a trick," Eoghan started, hoping the boy would be more careful in future with how he worded things. "Illusions are tricks. Divination is using the supernatural," he began shuffling his cards again as Cal introduced himself, shortly followed by the girl behind him giving the boy an applause for his efforts. "Sit," he said to them both with a nod of his head, taking a moment to contemplate whether or not this was a good idea. He did this enough with himself that he was confident in what it would mean, but he'd never done it for someone else before. "I'm Eoghan," he added quietly, finally beginning to get used to the way he kept having to introduce himself to the other first years. "I don't mind," he added to the other Ravenclaw truthfully. He wasn't up for making friends, but he wasn't about to push away anyone either.

When he had his deck together again, he turned once more to Cal. "Think of a question. It can be anything you want answered," he gave the boy a moment to come up with something before he asked, "What do you want to know?"​

 

[Cal Greenleaf]

"Very nice to meet you!" Cal sat excitedly, he wondered if this could be his first friend. He had always been better at observing people than talking to them. Honestly he wondered where this burst of confidence came from and he wanted to know where it would lead. Cal sat on the steps next to Eoghan and pondered what it was he wanted to know. He had thoughts of the far future, would he become an Auror like his father? Would he live up to his expectations? Would he become a great wizard? He was afraid of asking the wrong question. After a moment his mother popped into his head rather than his father. She was always a very go with the flow person, something he always wanted to do, though she wasn't the magic user in the family she had a funny way of just going with the flow. Cal turned to Eoghan and said, "What would the cards like me to know about myself?" He had hoped the question wasn't too vague, but he was trying to reinvent himself in school, and get out of his normal comfort zone he started to realize.

 

[Ondine Physwick]

Ondine climbed up on the step behind the boys and sat down. From here, she had a much better view of the tarot cards, and any further magic tricks Cal might be persuaded to show them afterwards. Neither of them seemed very interested in her presence, which suited her all right; there was nothing she hated more than talking about herself. Although she wouldn't have minded sharing her name, if they asked for it. Perhaps they'd ask for it. Yes - almost definitely, they'd ask her in a minute.

 

[Eoghan Blyth]

As Eoghan's acquaintances took a seat beside him, he began to shuffle the cards once more, thinking about Cal's question. One of the cards seemed to get caught against other but he didn't think about it too much. "Okay. What can we learn about you," he clarified, finally pausing the shuffling to turn over the first card, laying it on the step between them. "The hermit," Eoghan said, thinking about how this would translate to Cal's question. "This suggests that erm, you need to take time for yourself but on the other hand you should be careful not to isolate yourself," he explained, wondering how close Cal would find this to be appropriate. The blond took the next card from the top of the deck, placing it next to the second, "Temperance" Eoghan glanced at Cal as though trying to gauge some information, "Basically this says that you should be pursuing your success, whatever that means to you, through moderation. You shouldn't make any extreme decisions, at least, not too quickly. And, try not to be smug about it." he added, drawing a third card to complete the set. "The world?" he wasn't sure why he was asking Cal, he didn't know what it meant. The picture on the card showed a woman holding up the earth, "It's, the last card. In a Tarot deck, it's the last card of the set, which means you should collect your thoughts, and filter them towards something meaningful to you. You might be scattered right now but if you focus on your actions and use them for something that means something, in time you'll get the results you want." he finished, resting his hand on the remaining cards in his deck. "Does that answer your question?"

After a moment he flickered his eyes to the girl sat behind them. "Do you want to try? What's your question?"​

 

[Cal Greenleaf]

Cal was stunned, it was extremely impressive how the cards seemed to read his mind. "Yes i think it did, thank you." Suddenly aware of the Ravenclaw girl behind him Cal turned and greeted her smiling, "oh hey there, I'm Cal! You should definitely try it out, it was incredibly insightful." Cal moved so the girl could take her spot next to Eoghan and gestured with his hands.

 

[Ondine Physwick]

Ondine rested her chin on her knees as she watched Eoghan turn the cards. Ma said divination was all coincidence and trickery - anything could be relevant to you if it was worded vaguely enough - but Ondine wasn’t one to dismiss a thing before she’d tried it. “Me?” she said. The only questions she had in mind were the vulnerable sort, and she’d never been good at thinking on the spot. She slid down onto the step Cal had freed up for her. “Must I say it out loud? Can I keep it in my head?” Her question was: How do I make friends?

 

[Eoghan Blyth]

The corner of Eoghan's mouth lifted a little in half a smile as the answers seemed to suit Cal and what he was looking for, and he watched as the two students switched places in front of him. The Ravenclaw didn't want to ask her question out loud, "It will make it harder for me to interpret it for you, but I can tell you what it means more generally," he said, offering the deck out to her with one hand, and taking one of her hands in his other. He laid her hand on top of the deck, "Ask it your question, you don't have to speak it." The deck still needed a way to connect to her question if she wasn't going to say it out loud, so this would have been the next best thing. He watched the Ravenclaw for a moment until she'd nodded and he pulled away, ready to draw her cards.

As Eoghan turned over the cards, it was harder to know what it meant for the girl, but he'd do what he could to help. "You have Temperance too," he began, glancing at her to see what she'd make of that. "Again you shouldn't make any rushed decisions, but temperance is also about self-healing. Things might be changing around you soon and you should be prepared, your lifestyle might change. If you're disciplined about the way you come across your goal, you'll find what you're looking for," he said, before moving on to the second card. "The Queen of Cups," he announced, laying the card with a woman sitting on a throne between them on the step. This was so much harder when he didn't know what the girl's question was, but he'd just have to give her as much information as he could. "The Queen is considered to be, mature with her emotions. Almost like a motherly figure of a group," he began, "She's nurturing, caring, compassionate," he glanced back up to the girl with the streak in her hair, "Does that sound like you?" he asked without judgment. He wondered how she saw herself, rather than that she doubted that would be far from the truth. "The Queen channels creativity, unconditional love," Eoghan went on, "but she also represents finding strength from within. If you want something to change you have to feel it, connect with it, like you would if you were in the water, and only then once you've experienced how deep it can be will you be able to feel peace with it," perhaps he was losing the student with his long-winded explanations, but he wasn't about to condescend her by giving her the short version, either. Eoghan turned over the third and final card with a small smile, "The Chariot. This basically means that whatever your question was, the answer is yes." Eoghan of course didn't know if that was a good thing or not, but there we are, "It symbolises victory and triumph. Usually, you'll get through some trials and hardships to get there, but by breaking down illusions and seeing things for what they really are, you'll figure out what's most important to you." He could only hope this would answer her question.

"I have a question for you," he added, sliding the cards back into the deck and beginning to shuffle them once more, "What's your name?"

Out of Character:

Godmod approved

​

 

[Cal Greenleaf]

Cal was very impressed at the skill Eoghan's skill with the cards. Everything he did with them looked and felt intentional. Watching the cards as he drew them Cal wondered more about the ravenclaw girl's question as she hadn't said it out loud, he was the curious type. The realization also hit him that he had not asked the girl her name and added, "I'm sorry I got caught up in the trick before, I would love to make your acquaintance."

 

[Ondine Physwick]

With her hand on the cards, Ondine repeated her question. How do I make friends? In truth, she was afraid of the answer. Her ma wasn’t one to sugar-coat things; she’d made it quite clear that Ondine could either be herself, or be well-liked, but not both. It wasn’t unkindness. Her ma had a point. Apparently, most people didn’t like to be corrected when they were wrong, or given unsolicited advice, or asked deeply personal questions, which covered about two-thirds of the things that came out of Ondine’s mouth. If she couldn’t say any of that, what was there to talk about? She had already determined that her peers didn’t share her enthusiasm for moss or lizards, either. Being herself was hopeless, which left her with one option, and it was an option she didn’t much like.

Temperance. She’d come across that word before, but she couldn’t recall the definition. If her brain closed one eye, and perhaps squinted with the other, it could just about see a connection between her life and the card’s meaning, but it was pretty tenuous. Her lifestyle had already changed, and she didn’t see how her academic goals were going to help her make friends. The second card, the Queen of Cups, was closer to the mark, but still wrong. Ondine had never nurtured anything in her life, save a few plant specimens, and a couple of those had gone mouldy. Things didn’t improve much with the last two cards. She was creative, certainly, but this quality made her if anything less social. And her question didn’t demand a yes or no answer.

So, if she wanted to make friends, she had to read more books, act like Ma, go for a swim, and see things more clearly.

Perhaps interpreting tarot cards was a bit more complicated than she’d thought.

“Thank you,” she said. What was the word Cal had used? Perhaps she could get away with copying him. “That was insightful. Really insightful. I think.”

Though she had hoped the boys would ask her name, she was still surprised when they did. “Ondine. Sorry - Miss Ondine Physwick. How do you do?” She offered her hand first to Eoghan, then Cal. “My uncle Bertie does magic like you do. Can you do the one with the coin?” She demonstrated roughly with an imaginary coin, pretending to make it vanish and then re-appear. While she’d studied the hand movements closely, she’d never been able to replicate the trick for real.

 

[Eoghan Blyth]

Eoghan couldn't tell whether or not the Ravenclaw was sincere when she said the reading was insightful. Perhaps it was just that she didn't know what to say, or hadn't had one before to know what it meant. "Ondine?" Eoghan repeated, not having come across the name before and wanting to make sure he'd heard it right. He shook her hand, watching as Ondine proceeded to ask Cal more about the fake magic. He didn't think the fake magic was as interesting as real Divination, but maybe it would take some students more time than others to settle into the knowledge that this was their real life now. Just because Eoghan had accepted that he could do, didn't mean everyone did. Besides, if it reminded his housemate of home, maybe she was just homesick too. He dropped his eyes to the cards in his hands once more, observing to see if Cal would know what Ondine was referring to.​

 

[Cal Greenleaf]

Cal took Ondine's hand in greeting and smiled at the question, this was the first trick his mother had taught him. "May i?" Cal let Ondine place the coin in his hand, "Since you already mostly know this one i don't mind sharing it with you, but keep it a secret to others not around to observe this, otherwise it ruins the fun." It had been quite sometime since he had done muggle magic and he was surprised actual magical students were finding this interesting, in his head he thought it was a long shot at best. "Its all in the fingers and distracting with the other hand," Cal showed how you flip the coin behind two fingers of one hand and showing the coin missing in the other, then with a flourish he "pulled" the coin from behind Ondine's ear. "See just like that." Cal handed the coin back to Ondine and asked both her and Eoghan, "Are you two joining any clubs this year? I'm thinking of joining the SDA, I've always wanted to duel."

 

[Ondine Physwick]

Ondine nodded. She hadn't realised her name was unusual until several students had asked her to pronounce it for them. Perhaps she ought to give herself a nickname. Could you give yourself a nickname? Or were you supposed to let other people choose them for you? As long as it wasn't Dee, or Dina, she wouldn't mind - although that did rule out all the obvious choices.

She happily handed her coin to Cal. "I promise," she said. There'd be no sense in learning the trick, only to go and show everybody how it was done. Besides, his secrets were pretty safe with her. Even when he replicated the steps one by one, he might as well have been performing real magic for all she understood it. She took the sickle back and examined it. Cal was so good at this, he could've swapped it for a plastic one and she wouldn't have noticed. But it seemed to be real. "I don't know how to duel," Ondine admitted, missing the point. She had never been to a club before.

 

[Eoghan Blyth]

Eoghan watched quietly as Cal performed the trick for Ondine, and while he had no idea how it was done he still wasn't sure that was a problem. They'd come to a real magic school, discovering things about them in the last few months that would turn their life upside down, why was it so important to keep hold of the fake magic when the real magic was on their doorstep?

The Ravenclaw almost sighed in relief when Cal asked something else, unrelated to the illusions. "I think I am also joining the Student Defence Association," he said, having seen a poster up for it earlier in the day and thinking it would be the one that would suit him best. He didn't think it suited him well, however it was better than all the others. Ondine didn't know how to duel, but it was Eoghan who quickly interjected, "Isn't that what we're there to learn? I'd be surprised if any first years know how to before we've been taught," Sure there may have been those surrounded by magic at a young age that had a better idea than most how duels worked, but for the most part they'd all be learning together. "Perhaps you should come with us, then you will know how to duel."​

 

[Cal Greenleaf]

Cal turned to Ondine, "I don't know the rules of dueling yet, but I do think its a good skill to have. Eoghan is right, we're here to learn as much about magic and how to use it." Cal hoped that he had the beginning sparks of some new friends, he was so lonely before coming here and surprised himself that friendship was something that became a desire. He had always been fine by his lonesome and entertaining himself, but coming to Hogwarts and seeing all the students and friendships forming he couldn't help but want that for himself. "what do you say Ondine, want to give it a try and just see what dueling is all about?"