Closed Foggy Views

[Iris van Houten]

Iris had been looking forward to divination so much over the years, but when she had looked at her results last year she hadn't been very pleased. They hadn't been as high as she had expected, and it made her realize that she might be very interested in the subject, but that didn't mean it would come naturally to her. She was glad that it was something she would have the first semester now, but she wanted to prepare herself properly this time. Last year they had talked a lot about different kinds of divination, and one that had interested Iris a lot was scrying with a crystal ball. Iris had bought herself a crystal ball so she could practice, and had it set up at a table in the back of the student lounge. It was a relatively quiet day, so she could focus all her attention on the ball in front of her. She remembered what Professor Le Fey had said, about not forcing it but letting it come to her. She was trying her best, but it was a little frustrating when nothing was actually coming to her. Iris squinted, tilted her head, even turned the ball around as if that would help anything. But nothing but fog presented itself to her. She sighed softly, sitting back in her chair with her shoulders slumped. What was she doing wrong?

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander still felt like he was in holiday-mode. He hadn't gotten up to a whole lot over the break, outside of his Quidditch practice to keep himself warmed up, and so he didn't feel ready to go back to school when he hadn't really made the most of it. He especially hadn't been ready when his father had handed him some extra Transfiguration material to study up on. He'd been struggling with his progress on the whole animagus training front, which didn't make sense because he was meant to be a natural at it. It was in his blood, he was supposed to just be good at it. Reluctantly, he'd taken his study material to the student lounge, feeling it was better than having to remember to stay quiet in the library. He shuffled about the room, looking for a decent place to tuck himself into with his snacks, and spotted Iris in a corner of her own. He walked over and sat down, glancing at the crystal ball. "What can you see?" He asked her, forgetting about the work he was supposed to be focusing on. He hadn't seen anything whenever he tried to peer into a crystal ball. Or tea leaves. Or fire. Or anything Elvera had told them about, really.​

 

[Iris van Houten]

While a part of Iris wanted to just give up on the crystal ball, it was difficult to do so. She kept feeling like if she just waited a little longer, something would happen. Something would appear to her. But she kept on waiting, and she kept on seeing nothing. She was so focused on the crystal ball that she didn't even notice Lysander until he asked her a question. Her gaze moved up to him, and she blinked. For a second, she considered lying and saying she was seeing something, to keep up the slightly mysterious reputation she enjoyed having. She knew Lysander was aware of her interests, and it would be a little embarrassing to admit she couldn't see anything. But... lying felt wrong, too. Especially to someone like Lysander, who always seemed honest and nice. Emma trusted him with everything, so Iris figured she could trust him too. Her shoulders sagged a bit and she shook her head, lowering her gaze back to the crystal ball before putting her face in her hands. "Nothing." She grumbled. "Just... stupid fog."

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander thought that Iris seemed a bit defeated, and admittedly was a bit disappointed that she hadn't had any exciting answer. "Have you tried cleaning it?" He asked. He pulled his sleeve over his hand and gave the ball a brief polish in slow, lazy circles, in case that helped. It seemed just as foggy to him, still. "What if that's the future? Maybe there's a storm coming..." He suggested with a shrug. He stared into the ball himself, hoping that he might see something too. His cousin was a seer, and he still held some hope that he might one day wake up as one, too. All he could see was his own reflection, and the murky fog. "Hm, yeah. Cloudy skies. It could mean that...it'll rain during the next Quidditch match." He decided. Yes, that made sense to him. It was a very important event in the future. A storm was going to make the next match difficult, and it was warning them. He'd have to prepare the team if that was the case.​

 

[Iris van Houten]

The suggestion of cleaning the crystal ball was such a surprise to Iris that she actually let out a surprised little laugh, while keeping her face buried in her hands. She finally lowered her hands slightly and shook her head. "That's nice of you, but I know I'm just not seeing anything." She said softly, glancing at him before looking back at the crystal ball, a little crestfallen. "I... guess I'm not a natural at this stuff." She admitted, something that kind of hurt to say out loud. "I always kind of thought I would be good at it, but I guess I have to work harder." She said, tucking some of her hair behind her ear and looking into the mist again for a moment. She could almost convince herself she saw something, but realized it was Lysander's reflection. She turned to him again, forcing herself to smile. "But it will be okay, I just need to practice more I think." She said, though she didn't know if that was really the case.

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander listened to Iris, unsure of what he could say to make the atmosphere less gloomy. Her words rang true with his own struggles, and if he didn't know what to say to help himself, he wasn't sure how he could help her. "We just have to keep trying, right?" He agreed after an awkward moment of silence. "If anyone's going to be good at it, it's you. If divination was easy, then everyone would do it, and we'd all be able to see the future whenever we wanted, but we can't. I bet even Elvera had to study a lot before she could do it. Who do we know that isn't an adult who can already do any of this stuff?" He tried to reassure her. He didn't know how the whole process worked, he'd just kind of hoped something would reveal itself to him if he kept looking in crystal balls or mirrors. Divination was not an easy subject to understand, and he couldn't be sure how he'd even managed to come as far as he had in the course. He felt like he'd learned a lot, while also learning practically nothing at all. "You could still be a natural. I think even naturals can take ages to become really good at something." He shrugged and tapped his finger against the glass of the crystal ball, as if to scare off the fog. He wasn't sure who he was trying to convince anymore.​

 

[Iris van Houten]

Iris knew shes was being a bit gloomy and sad, and knew that probably wasn't very fun for Lysander. She kept her smile in place, trying to seem optimistic even though she felt anything but. His words actually gave her some comfort, and her smile turned more genuine as he went on. "You have a point." She said with a small shrug, looking back at the crystal ball for a moment. "I just wish it came to me just a little bit easier." She said before sighing. "But you're right, I have to keep studying and trying." She said, though then she had to laugh at his definition of being a natural. "I don't know, I think that's not entirely how that works." She said, but she looked more relaxed. Lysander had managed to cheer her up quite a bit with just a few words. "If you're this good at encouraging your team, I'm expecting a Gryffindor win this year." She said jokingly.