Electives Fair Y34

[Professor Kahurangi Josephs]

Although most of the new duties she had faced as Head of House had made Kahurangi nervous, feeling out of her depth and unprepared, this was one job she was actually quite confident in her ability to do. She had been attending every Electives Fair for years now, and setting the Great Hall up in its familiar layout for the fair didn't feel like anything new at all. She arranged tables for each elective subject with plenty of space for the professors to set up displays advertising their subjects, and plenty of comfortable seats for her colleagues. With a few waves of her wand Kahurangi was satisfied with the way the space was set up, and she could turn to her own table.

Kahurangi knew Cyndi would likely be along before long to help so she only set her things out on one side of the table, trying to make it look as enticing and fascinating as possible. Pamphlets about Ancient Runes were surrounded by bags with runes made in different styles and of different materials, and from a metal tree she hung various amulets bearing bind runes designed by her former students. The space was well organised, and Kahurangi hoped she'd have the opportunity to do a couple of readings for interested second years today. Taking a seat behind her side of the table, Kahurangi looked around, satisfied with her work as she waited for the Great Hall to fill with colleagues and students alike.

 

[Eric Holland]

Eric had no real interest in this event, but he had the feeling teachers were watching him closely and would notice it if he didn't attend this 'mandatory' event. He didn't want any more trouble or detention, so he headed into the great hall and slumped against a wall as he watched the professor and kids wandering around. He didn't know what sort of electives he wanted, and doubted any of the professors could really help. They'd all just tell him how cool their own subject was, which was probably a lie for every single one of them.

 

[Aisa Hunter]

Aisa was curious about the electives fair. They had to pick electives at the end of the year, and it was smart to be informed before making a choice. She didn't think professors would give an unbiased view of their subjects, but at least she could ask questions. Shouldering her bag, Aisa moved past a group of students to head over to the Ancient Runes table first. She stopped in front of it. "What sort of careers require this class?" She asked, looking up at the professor she knew was the Ravenclaw head of house. "Is it a common magical skill outside of Hogwarts?"

@Professor Kahurangi Josephs

 

[Professor Elvera Le Fey]

Elvera was looking forward to the elective fair she hoped to encourage some students to take up divination. She made her way down from the divination tower a box hovering beside her. She took her table and lay a dark purple tablecloth over it. She then started to take a selection of different items out of the box. A teapot that she filled with tea. With a selection of cups, a couple of packs of tarot cards, some scrying equipment and some charts and tables. TheFinal addition was something that was never missing in her classroom. A plate of fresh baked muffins that were still slightly warm from the oven. She poured herself a cup of tea as she waited for the students to arrive and start to ask questions

 

[Professor Adorah Zumwalt]

Adorah was excited to attend the Electives Fair. This was something she had been looking forward since early on in her first year. She had no idea which electives she would choose, but she figured that this fair would help her narrow down things. She had read about each subject before today, but she was still unclear about a few. When she made her way, she noticed that her Head of House had set up a table for Ancient Ruins. This was a subject that still made her brain spin. She strolled over to the table. "Hi, Professor Josephs. Could you tell me a little bit more about Ancient Ruins and what all you study?" This would be a good way to start the fair: interacting with someone she was familiar with.

 

[Professor Kahurangi Josephs]

Kahurangi was pleasantly surprised to be approached quickly by two girls, one of whom she recognised as a Ravenclaw. She gave them each a pleasant smile, turning to the first girl who had approached first. "Well, to answer your first question, Ancient Runes is required to become a journalist, or to work in magical equipment control, international magical law, muggle-worthy excuses, and trading standards, as well as being an option for aurors. It's a subject with applications in an incredibly broad number of fields though, and you'll find different applications of runes in all sorts of places outside Hogwarts, from strengthening enchanted household objects, to being used to compliment other divination tools used by seers, to the study of magical history." She leaned over the table slightly, lowering her voice. "And I'm not endorsing this use, but if you were looking for a secret language to pass notes in other classes, not all of your other professors know how to read runes." Kahurangi smiled and sat back up with a quick wink before turning to Adorah. "As for what we study, we cover a wide variety of approaches to Runes. In the first two years, in Professor Kingsley's class, you'll learn how to read runes as a language, and all about their history in Norse culture, as well as how to craft a set of runes for reading. In my class you'll put that set to use, learning to cast runes as a method of divination and decision making." As she spoke, Kahurangi had lifted a bag of wooden runes like the ones made in Cyndi's class, and she drew one to show the students. Setting the bag down, she picked up one of her amulets, holding it out for the girls to see. "We also cover the physical uses of runes to imbue an item with particular qualities. This amulet was designed by one of my students last year, it's a combination of Sowelo and Ehwaz." She explained, tracing the shape of each rune in the pattern as she named them. "This is an amulet to protect a relationship and keep it happy in the long-term." She smiled, returning the amulet to where it hung with the others. "Can I interest either of you girls in a reading, to see more of what we do in class?"

 

[Jai Edogawa-Raven]

Jai wasn't really all that looking forward to the electives fair although he had to admit that it would probably be useful. His mum hadn't really been all that helpful when he had asked her for advice on which electives to take. He didn't find any of them to be particularly of interest and although he knew the electives his parents took up when they were students, it didn't help him any in trying to decide what to take. He had just arrived at the fair and passed by one professor explaining to his classmates what Ancient Runes was about, it was a pretty interesting field of study from what he heard on the professor's explanation. Maybe he'd consider that, it was certainly more interesting than Muggle Studies in his opinion. Walking further, he saw the table that was most likely for Divination. It was pretty obvious with the setup, it was sort of like one of those fortune-tellers you see. And well, if Jai were to admit, it was actually the muffins that had caught his attention. He approached the professor and asked what had always kept him curious about when his mum would use her own set of tarot cards from time to time. "Good day, Professor. I'm sort of familiar with some of these tools," he didn't really know what else to call them really. "How do you use them to see? And can you tell if someone is just making stuff up in class or if they can actually see things?" Jai could remember his mum telling him that she used to be really good with Divination but her skills had degraded over time and lack of practice and use until all she was really familiar with like the back of her hand were tarot cards. He could never tell if his mum was joking or not really, so he was pretty curious.​

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@Professor Elvera Le Fey ​

 

[Professor Elvera Le Fey]

Elvera watched a group of students gather around Kahurangi's table. ancient runes was an interesting subject. if she had not managed to get the position teaching divination ancient runes would have been her second favourite subject to teach. she even overheard her coworker daying that runes was a good compliment to divination. that was very true. she often used her runes set in the evenings to try and direct her divination.
it was then that a student walked over to her desk. she smiled at him. she was sure that the second years looked smaller and smaller each year. she smiled when he said he was familiar with some of the tools. "being familiar is a good start. do you have a family member who is interested in divination?" she said. it made using them easier. when he asked how she used them to see she looked at the spread there was a bit of a difference between using tools for divination and being a seer. "It depends what I want to look for. if I have a particular question the tarot cards can be used to get an answer which can be either read simply or more detailed. if it is more of a general idea of what to expect tea leaves can be used, and if I want to see some particular time or place then crystal balls or candles are a good way to channel the mind for divination." she said. his second question made her chuckle. "there are ways to tell. but often when people are making things up the ideas have to come from somewhere. and often they are using their inner eye without even realising it." she said.

@Jai Edogawa-Raven

 

[Aisa Hunter]

A Ravenclaw girl joined her at the Ancient Runes table, but Aisa only gave her a glance before she turned her attention back to the professor. The professor's answer was very long, and Aisa listened quietly as she explained what careers it would be useful for. "That's a lot of jobs you just mentioned, but I don't know what half of them are." She said bluntly. "How am I supposed to know if that's something I want to do after Hogwarts, when I have no idea what something like the muggle-worthy excuses... thing, does?" She asked, crossing her arms. She knew it wasn't the professor's fault, but Aisa was already feeling a little overwhelmed with all the information. Did she have an interest in runes? Not really. But what if she needed it for a job she wanted later? She shrugged. "I'll watch a reading." She added as the professor suggested one, though she hardly knew what a reading would look like.

 

[Jai Edogawa-Raven]

Jai nodded at the professor's question. "My mum. She took up Divination when she went here," the boy said as he continued to scan over the various items, both familiar and not. He didn't even know that tea leaves or candles could be used for such things. Or that crystal balls were actually used. He thought that that was just a hoax in carnivals and stuff. He didn't think that it had some actual truth to them. He just really knew about cards. Maybe that was why his mum tended to look at her cup after they had some tea. The boy hummed, "Well I guess, but there are guides right? That one can use to make stuff up? And do people actually develop their inner eye in class or is it something that you need to have prior?" Jai didn't think that Divination would pique his curiosity this much when he arrived at the fair really.​

@Professor Elvera Le Fey

 

[Professor Kahurangi Josephs]

Kahurangi smiled apologetically at the Gryffindor's complaint. "You're right, I'm sorry. The department of muggle-worthy excuses are responsible for maintaining our cover story to keep hidden from the non-magical world. If you like you'll be able to schedule a meeting with Professor Kingsley to discuss all of your options in depth, and she can give you information on any career you like." Kahurangi smiled encouragingly, and her smile widened as the girl agreed to watch a reading. "Wonderful! Can either of you give me a question? Any question at all, and we'll see what the runes have to say." She said, gently rattling the bag containing her favourite pounamu runes.

 

[Professor Adorah Zumwalt]

Adorah listened as Profesor Josephs answered the other girl's question and then her own. It seemed to be a very complicated form of magic, and Adorah was unsure that she would truly do well in it. However, she was interested to see the reading happen. She waited for the girl to ask her question to see what would happen next.

 

[Professor Elvera Le Fey]

Elvera smiled when the boy said that his mum had taken divination when she had been at school. there was a good chance that she had taught her. "What is your mum's name?" she asked curiosity in her voice. many of the students and more than a few of the staff here saw her as a fairly new teacher but she had actually taught for many years before she had had her girls. "those who are most used practised in divination or most attuned to their inner eye don't need to make things up. and there are ways to help focus one's inner eye." she said. she thought about the next question for a second how best to describe it. "the inner eye is like many skills such as playing sport or painting. some people have more natural ability but if they don't practice it comes to nothing. other people may not have much innate skill but with a lot of practice, they can become as good as anyone else" she said. her family often carried an innate skill but that didn't mean that she didn't need to continuously practice. or that she didn't know how to instruct and develop the skill in others.

@Jai Edogawa-Raven

 

[Jai Edogawa-Raven]

Jai smiled just a bit when the professor asked who his mum was. He didn’t actually knew if the professor knew his mum but since there were some professors here that were already teaching during his parents’ time, perhaps it wouldn’t be so weird if Professor Le Fey was his mum’s Divination professor. “Ai. Ai Nightray, but I suppose she would have been Edogawa when she was a student here,” he said with a small smile. Even though he was stoic and silent most of the time, Jai really liked to talk about his family from time to time. The Slytherin listened quite attentively as the professor continued to answer his questions. It was interesting and while he had not considered Divination before as a possible elective since it didn’t seem practical enough, it had already triggered his curiosity, and therefore his interest enough for him to seriously consider taking it. “I see,” he said. “Last question, I think,” the boy smiled rather sheepishly. He had asked a lot of questions which was perhaps rather unusual for him, it was usually his sisters doing the asking. “What careers could need or use Divination?”
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@Professor Elvera Le Fey ​

 

[Aisa Hunter]

Aisa nodded as the woman explained the one term to her, not wanting to admit that most of the other things she said were unfamiliar too. She nodded again when the professor mentioned a meeting with Professor Kingsley, though she knew she would prefer to figure it out on her own. Then it was time to give a question for the reading. The other girl's silence told Aisa it was on her, and she said something after a moment. "Will I pick the right electives after this event?" She asked pointedly.

 

[Professor Kahurangi Josephs]

"A very good question." Kahurangi said with a smile as she reached into her rune bag, She drew one of the pounamu runes and set it in front of the girls, the bright green stone shining atop the table. "Ah, Wunjo! Wonderful!" Kahurangi smiled, pleased with the rune she had drawn. "Wunjo is arguably the most positive rune, certainly one of my personal favourites. Wunjo speaks of happiness, prosperity, luck, and the fulfilling of hopes. So I would say you'll be able to make exactly the decisions you need to make after today."

 

[Aisa Hunter]

Aisa nodded and sighed. "That does sound pretty positive, but it's not really a guarantee right?" She asked, looking at the runes doubtfully. "Couldn't it be interpreted differently too? Like... I don't pick the right electives but I end up happy despite that? Or something?" She gave the woman a puzzled look, wondering if she was right or not.

 

[Professor Kahurangi Josephs]

"Ah!" Kahurangi smiled at the girl's objection, leaning over her table slightly. "You see, that's the magic of runes. The rune doesn't only answer a question for us, it tells us what our mindset is about that question. Each individual person is going to have their own individual interpretation of what the answers in the runes mean, and that's not a bad thing. For example, if I asked the runes if I should have some cake and they told me no, that would make me sad, and what I've really learned isn't that I shouldn't have cake, it's that I really wanted the cake, more than I thought I did, and I should have some anyway. The way we see the runes we draw tells us about our own way of thinking, which makes it a useful tool for understanding yourself." Kahurangi smiled, setting the Wunjo rune down on the table between them. "Your reading of Wunjo has every chance of being just as right as mine, so we've learned both what the future holds, and our own personal attitudes towards that future."