Y30 Electives Fair

The elective fair stressed Gabriella out, and she felt anxious as she walked past all the tables with the different options. A part of her just wanted to take everything, just so she wouldn't have to choose. Most classes looked interesting,and most professors were talking to students. She spotted a Gryffindor girl at the Arithmancy table and joined her side, though she turned her attention to the professor she wasn't talking to. She didn't look too friendly to Gabriella, but she would probably know enough to answer her qustions. "Excuse me, may I ask you some things about this subject?" She asked politely, finding it rude to just launch in with a question immediately.
 
Bella smiled at Sylvia when she joined her. She definitely seemed like someone she could get along with, and so far Bella was happy to share the subject with her. Bella laughed at the lady's comment. "And conning twelve year old's at that." She joked, with a small roll of her eyes. However, there wasn't too much time for more small talk as their table was approached by a Gryffindor. Bella forced a small smile on her face, noticing out the side of her eye how pleased Sylvia seemed to be that she wasn't asking her. "Well, this is all about Arithmancy." Bella answered in return, before remembering that she was a Professor now, and was probably expected to be a bit more professional, and actually answer the question. She leaned forward on the table. "Arithmancy is traced way back to the Ancient Greeks, a form of Divination but using numbers. However, it's more precise than Divination, it is measurable and a scientific way of determining your future." Another student approached the table, and Bella was glad that she went to Sylvia. Damn right, share the load.
 
Jocelynn frowned at the Professor's words. She didn't understand how numbers could be more precise than divination. Her words didn't really make sense, kind of like she was trying to use big words to seem more impressive. She knew some people were gifted with Divination and be able to give prophecies of the future. "So you look at numbers all day? Seems like it could be boring," Jocelynn said looking around at the posters and such on the table while she talked. "So you study numbers and measure the future from them?" Jocelynn glanced up to the other woman talking nearby before looking back to the Professor she was conversing with.

Tagging: Bella Matthias
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Tagging: Lucinda Sylvester, Chante Ateara
Kennedy waited patiently for students to approach her table. It was never the most popular amongst students, but she didn't mind. Most who approached were either skeptical and wanted to challenge the validity of the subject or already knew what they wanted from the subject. Sure enough, one of the first students that approached seemed very enthusiastic to know what they'd learn while at Hogwarts. Kennedy waved hello to her colleague who'd just arrived and then addressed the younger girl. "Well, you might be happy to know that crystal ball scrying is covered in the second half of third year," she said with a smile. "The first half we learn about tea leaf reading," she added for clarification. "You learn about tarot in fourth year and Professor Chamberlin here," she gestured to the man beside her, "teaches the upper level classes where you'll cover dream interpretations, astrology, and palmistry," Kennedy explained happily. There was a range of things for people to learn in Divination which was why she loved the subject so much, there wasn't just one method to its practice which meant any number of people could be good at it, if they just tried and find a method that worked for them. The woman smiled at one of her younger badgers who approached the table earlier as well and nodded as she looked at the crystal ball on the table. "Yes, crystal balls can come in various different shades. Solids work best to help you concentrate on a smooth surface and see a vision clearer, but more advanced scryers can See in less solid surfaces," she explained.
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Bella raised an eyebrow at the audacity of the student in front of her. How rude! She leaned forward and rested her chin in the palm of her hand. "Well, I suppose numbers aren't for everyone. Only the smartest students should think about taking such a heavy subject on board. I wouldn't expect everyone to get it." Bella replied. She had to try retain some sort of professionalism about her, but it was hard when the students got away with being cheeky and rude, and she couldn't fight back. The new Professor was beginning to wish there were harsher punishments; though she was no saint at school, she wasn't attending now so it would benefit her more if she could get rid of the Gryffindor know-it-all in front of her. "It's not just about the future. It's about your life, and what to focus on and how to benefit from the things around you."
 
As much as she was enjoying watching Bella deal with the young student, Sylvia wasn't able to shirk her own duties for long as another girl approached the table. She tried to look open and welcoming, but didn't put in effort to think she had pulled it off very effectively - if a student was going to be sworn off Arithmancy because Sylvia wasn't going to fawn all over them, so much the better. She hoped the smile she followed up with at least looked authentic, if not particularly warm. "Of course," she told the serious-looking girl. "That's what we're here for." And how she wished they weren't. At least this girl seemed like she would be easier to deal with than the one that had latched onto Bella, although Sylvia was particularly enjoying her colleague's response to the other student's latest remark. A twitch at the corner of her mouth was all she showed of it though, keeping her gaze focused on the Hufflepuff girl. "Was there anything in particular you'd like to know, or were you just looking for a general overview?"
 
Tagging: Prof. Kahurangi Josephs

Athena didn’t really see much point in going to the electives fair, but she didn’t want to disappoint any professor even though she already knew what she liked and didn’t like already. Third year wasn’t far from now, so Athena sighed and decided it was best if she just made the best of today. Walking around, Athena tried to spot any professor who didn’t seem busy speaking to other students but so far most of the ones she wanted to talk to were, well, busy. Her friends were nowhere in sight. Athena shrugged, finally stopping at a stall that screamed Ancient Runes where one of her classmates was already asking questions. When she felt it the right time to say something, the blonde smiled at the woman. "Hello. What’s so important about Ancient Runes? What skills would I gain from taking the class?" Her question didn’t sound rude to her ears and her tone didn’t suggest it was intentionally rude, so she didn’t mind any attention to how it sounded.
 
Tagging: Professor Warrick
Xavier was looking forward to today’s electives fair, as in his young mind he had plenty of questions to ask that would ultimately help decide his future. He didn’t want to end up jobless, after all, so he had high hopes of today’s outcome, not wanting to become disappointed by the lack of information he could receive. When he arrived however all of those thoughts dissipated, replaced by reassurance. Although there were plenty of people asking questions already, Xavier still felt encouraged. He spotted Alexis and decided he would leave her alone for now while he walked around, trying to catch anyone’s attention or catching a glimpse of the flyers lying on the table to see whether they looked interesting enough for him to make a stop at that particular subject. At the next one, Xavier nodded in Ryder’s direction. Waaaait, said a lightbulb in his brain. He backtracked, since everyone else seemed to be busy but his sister’s husband he might as well ask about Muggle Studies. Even though, Xavier wasn’t sure yet if he wanted to take it. "Heee-yy, Ry- Professor Warrick," he corrected himself, smiling politely at Ryder. He did want to ask how Alex was, the worried sibling Xavier was sometimes, but knew it wasn’t appropriate right now to do so. Instead, he picked up a flyer, flipping through the pages as he skimmed through it. "So. What muggle things do you teach?" he asked curiously, glancing at the man in front of him. ​
 
Professor Kingsley smiled at the young girl she recognized as a Gryffindor. "It depends what it is you'd like to do with dragons" she explained. "Some of our oldest and most important books are written in runes, so reading through some history books can involve needing to know about runes." The professor thought for a moment, "And certainly knowing about bind runes and warding would be helpful to keep yourself and the dragons safe if you're doing direct work with them." It was a brief answer but one that she believed explained that sometimes young students forgot the details. They often forgot just how transferable the skills they learned in their classes were in their lives.

Tagging: Fleur
 
Kahurangi was pleased to see Cyndi arrive, giving her colleague a smile as the other woman joined her. "You haven't missed much, we've just been talking about some applications for runes." She responded happily, to quickly fill the other woman in. It wasn't long before Cyndi was busy talking to a student herself and Kahurangi rearranged her things slightly, waiting for someone else to approach her. When a girl did Kahurangi gave her a friendly smile, pleased to answer her questions. "Well, what's important about Ancient Runes depends on what you're hoping to get out of it. You'll gain a variety of different skills from our course, including information about an ancient culture, learning to read a new alphabet, combining runes to get specific effects like protection or strengthening, and of course, we teach rune casting, as a way of looking at the future. Runes have a lot of different applications in different careers, so ultimately what you're going to get out of Ancient Runes depends on what you want it to give you." She smiled, hoping the overview contained something to intrigue the girl.

Tagging: Athena Rey-Martinez
 
Fleur's eyes lit up slightly as the professor talked, nodding eagerly. "Well, I still have to look into what jobs exactly there are with dragons, honestly." She said, pausing. "Perhaps I can come see you for that sometime!" That was probably a good idea. All she knew was that she wanted to work with them, care for them and do something positive. She just wasn't sure what kind of exact name a job like that would have. But as the professor talked, she was definitely starting to be convinced Ancient Runes was something she should be considering. "Wow, that actually sounds useful." Then realizing how that sounded, she blushed. "I mean, useful for that field. Of course I knew it was useful." Fleur cleared her throat, hoping she hadn't just offended her professor. "Well, maybe you will see me in your class next year!"

Tagging: Professor Kingsley
 
Gabriella was glad the professor smiled and seemed happy to answer her question. The other girl at the table was talking to the other professor and Gabriella was trying her best to block her out so she could focus on the woman in front of her. "Honestly, I would like a general overview." She said, glad the woman had suggested it. "It seems like a very interesting subject, but it is a little hard to picture for me. What would we learn? And what kind of careers would it be most useful for?" Gabriella didn't really know what she wanted to do yet after graduation. She was only in her second year, after all. It seemed early to be making decisions like that, but electives were needed for some careers so it was something to keep in mind even now. It made her feel a little stressed, and she wondered again if she shouldn't just take them all.

Tagging: Professor Hartley
 
Professor Kingsley nodded, smiling at the young girl's enthusiasm. "Sure" she responded. Listening as the girl continued, Cyndi let out a chuckle. "Don't worry. I know what you meant " she said kindly. The woman nodded her head once more, and thanked the girl for stopping by before waiting to see if she needed to help anyone else.

Tagging: Fleur
 
The electives fair was an event Nixon had been dreading, the idea of having to make a partially final decision on something jarring to him. He procrastinated his arrival, unsure of if he was going to be part of the event at all or it he was going to stay in his dorm all day and avoid it as well as any questions to why he wasn't there. But eventually he decided it was better for him to go than to be alone all day so he mustered the courage to make his way to the courtyard where the fair was being held, sucking in a breath as he stepped closer to one of the tables. It was the divination table and after a quick glance over what was there and a wave to his head of house, Nixon decided to turn around and look elsewhere. In a different part of the hall was the ancient runes table and out of all the electives that subject piqued his interest the most, being one of the subjects he wondered about ever since discovering someone's runes homework in his first year. He approached the ancient runes table and looked to both the professors. They seemed occupied so instead of asking a direct question he decided to look at what was there and listen to what they were telling other students.​
 
"Thanks professor!" Fleur said happily, giving the woman a bright smile. Armed with new information, she left the Ancient Runes table to look at the others. She wondered if they all had such a good answer to her particular question. She doubted a class like Muggle Studies would. For now she decided to walk around a bit, maybe she would pick up some interesting information that way.
 
Mervyn hadn't given much thought to which electives he was going to take for the sole reason that he didn't care, so long as he took them with Leda. When he realised attendance to the fair was mandatory, however, he resigned himself to the courtyard to check it out. Better that than to have a one-to-one discussion with his professors about what he wanted to do! What did he want to do? The answer wasn't so clear. The Gryffindor wanted to try a little bit of everything, but beyond that, he didn't have the faintest idea what he wanted to do or be when he grew up. His granddad said he was still young, and that he had plenty of time to figure it out, which comforted him, though he felt a bit nervous when he realised some people his age already knew exactly where they wanted to be in ten years time. Crazy! How could Mervyn plan that far ahead?

Wandering around the stalls, he stopped at those that caught his eye, listening to the professors and looking through the brochures scattered around the place. He didn't care much about Muggle Studies, and Divination seemed sketchy, but he liked the sound of Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. Maybe he would give them a try. What did he have to lose?
 
The exchange between Alexis and Professor Josephs, did not interest him much. He slowly retreat to another table, leaving the talk of runes behind. It was like the kind of magic his tia would dive into, without knowing the basics. The conversation she has with Joshua, did not sound like that. He question if his tia know of the complexity that subject contains. Putting that thought to the side, Joshua made his way to another subject. Muggel Studies. He, stood by and listening to the many exchanges going on. Muggel Studies, portray to be the safest bet. Joshua would take this subject if it meant one sane lesson every week. Call him a chicken, he wouldn't care. Taking up muggel studies may come in handy for him some day.
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Pleased that she had managed to be captured by a more thoughtful-sounding student, Sylvia tilted her head slightly in consideration of the girl's questions. "Well, the very base of Arithmancy is the study and use of magical properties in numbers. So, as you can imagine, this means the subject can be applied in all sorts of different careers and personal uses." Sylvia smiled, stalling for time as she tried to organise her thoughts coherently. "Mostly we perform calculations using a variety of variables to discover likely, or suggested, courses of action ahead of us, though we are free to accept or deny these results where we see fit. It's not telling the future, like you would in Divination... it's seeing possibilities of the future and present, and deciding whether we would like to embrace or deny them." Remembering that there was a list of careers in one of the flyers she had found and brought with her, Sylvia flipped a copy open and pushed it around so the girl could read it. "Journalists use Arithmancy, as does the Trading Standards Body - one would imagine they both make calculations to inform certain decisions about their work... what project is most important to focus on, who they should be talking to, and so on." Looking up at the student, Sylvia tried to remember if she had properly answered each question. She had talked herself off in a certain direction, and hoped that if she had missed something important the girl would be smart enough not to let the matter drop.
 
Frankie had meant to turn up to the electives fair a lot earlier than she ended up doing so - really, she had. It just happened that she had got distracted a couple of times or two, or more, on her way down from Gryffindor house to the courtyard. Taking in all the other students gathered around each table, Frankie saw the banner that interested her most first, and then the friend that was standing beneath it. She strode towards the Ancient Runes table immediately with a grin, and didn't even bother greeting Nixon until after she had slung an elbow around his shoulder. "Dude, hey!" Not bothering to examine any of the stuff on the table too closely, Frankie instead directed a smile straight at her Head of House. "Professor Kingsley, you know me. This is Nixon, and we're both totally taking Ancient Runes next year." She turned her head towards Nixon. "We are, right?" His interest in the subject had been the whole reason she had decided to take the class, after all, and she didn't have a back up plan if her friend had changed his mind.
 
Nixon continued to observe the table, flinching slightly at the sudden arm around his shoulders but quickly relaxing when he heard Frankie's voice. "Hey!" He exclaimed in return, then looking to his head of house and nodding as Frankie spoke. Ancient runes was one of the subjects he knew he was taking for sure, and knowing Frankie felt the same and that he would not be alone for at least one of his electives made him feel less stressed about the ordeal of having to choose. "We so are." He said to his friend, nodding again in response to her question. The other elective he was going to take was still a mystery, with no subjects jumping out and capturing his interest the way ancient runes had. But he had the whole rest of the electives fair to try and figure it out, as well as the remainder of the semester. Something was bound to seem interesting to him sooner or later and he would choose eventually even if making a final decision worried him.​
 
Gabriella listened with a serious expression on her face as the professor explained to her what Arithmancy was. She found it very interesting, though not entirely understandable. She supposed that it was something they would learn if she took the subject. She took a notebook out of her bag and took a few notes on what the professor said, then she looked over at the book the professor showed her, her eyes widening slightly at all the numbers and complicated things in there. She nodded at the jobs the professor listed, though she felt anxiety grip her as she spoke. She had no idea what she wanted to do yet, so hearing about jobs that needed Arithmancy made her feel uneasy. What if she didn't take it and missed out of her dream career? "That sounds like it could be useful in most professions." She said as the professor was finished talking. "I think I will take the subject, though I have to see what the other electives are first." She gave the professor a small smile. "Thank you so much." She had certainly explained a lot, which she appreciated. With a small nod, she left the table, clutching her notebook to her chest.
 
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