Disclaimer: Everything you see here belongs to JK Rowling.
Chapter One - Palmistry
"What are youdoing in this class?" Lily asked as she grudgingly threw her book bag down on a chintz armchair.
James looked up at her quizzically. "Are you really sitting there?" He pointed to the chair adjacent to his.
"Yes," she said airily as she struggled out of her cardigan. "Its always so stuffy in here," she grumbled.
"Voluntarily?"
"What?" Lily asked and stuffed her sweater into her bag.
"You're sitting there voluntarily," he repeated in disbelief.
"Yeah," she shrugged and stared around the room with her hands on her hips. "You're a git, but everyone else is a dunce," she admitted out of the corner of her mouth. "Divination is a breeding ground for gullible, illogical nitwits and their superstitions."
"Then why are you taking it?"
"It's recommended for students who are interested in working as a Healer. Something to do with developing analytical skills and interpreting symbols and signs so you can become a better diagnostician when working in the field."
"Sounds like a load of bollocks to me," James muttered and fiddled idly with his quill.
"That's what I thought too," Lily agreed as she settled in her chair, "but they do it in the Muggle world too. Some programs require aspiring doctors to take art courses and such," she said and smoothed out her blouse. "But you still haven't answered my question, why are youtaking this class? You think it's a joke, don't you?"
"It is a joke," James agreed and surveyed the room disapprovingly. "I'm only taking it because you're taking it."
Lily huffed and narrowed her eyes. "That's just irresponsible, you need to use your electives to pick courses that are relevant to your future career and not waste your time chasing disinterested girls."
"Girl," James corrected her quietly as he doodled aimlessly on his parchment. "Disinterested girl."
Lily opened her mouth to retort but Professor Signum had just marched briskly to the front of the room. Her chesnut hair was pulled into French plaits that she had looped into a low bun and her dark eyes swept the room until everyone fell quiet.
"The inner eye is not something that I can bequeath to you, I cannot teach you to See as I See," she boomed. "All I can do is teach you to recognize the signs. Some signs are simple and straightforward- if you see them, you can be certain that very specific events will unfold in your future. Other signs are not so telling. Their value comes from what knowledge you can glean from the way that you and your peers interpret the signs. You can learn a lot about a wizard or witch based on what a sign means to them. You will not only be interpreting the signs but you will also be interpreting your reaction to the sign and what it says about you."
She paused and stared around the room, drawing a slow and meditated breath.
"I can tell you all of this now but I know full well that you won't quite understand what I mean until we begin so lets dive right in. Today we're starting with something easy- palmistry. I'm not going to instruct you, use your textbooks and your instincts. What does a person's hand say about them?" She asked and raised an eyebrow suggestively. "Partner up, I expect you to write notes based on your observations and the conclusions you reach. You may begin."
Feeling clueless, Lily turned to look at James with a wide-eyed look.
"She's taking a rather different tack this year isn't she?" Lily asked.
"Yeah, I wasn't expecting to have to do any work in this class," James huffed and edged his chair closer to Lily's. "You go first," he said and stretched out his hand. "Tell me what my future holds," he grinned.
"Er, alright," Lily said looking flustered as she cracked her textbook open on her lap. She took James' hand in hers and squinted closely at the lines.
"Uhh," she flipped through a few pages and traced a line at the top of his palm. "This is your life line," she said uncertainly. "I guess, I guess its long, you'll have a long, full life," she stammered. "But long in comparison to what? How am I supposed to know if its long or short?" she scowled and bent her head low over his hand.
"You suck at this," James said dismissively and swiftly raised the hand in question to smack her on the nose. "Let me have a go."
"Alright Zoltar, go ahead," Lily wrinkled her nose and reached out her hand.
James took it and started kneading her palm with his thumb, rubbing along each of the lines before running along her fingers and knuckles.
"Aren't you going to use the textbook?" Lily asked.
"Don't need it," James frowned and continued to press upon her hand. "Ah, well here's something," he grinned triumphantly. "You're right handed!"
"That doesn't count, its not in the future," Lily said impatiently.
"Signum said we only need to see what we can learn about our partner, not that we have to predict the future," James argued.
"Nearly everyone is right handed and you could have seen me writing in another class," Lily rolled her eyes.
"I didn't but fine, I'll find something else then," James said and pushed down on each of her fingertips in turn. "Hey!" he exclaimed, "I didn't know you play guitar! How long have you been playing?"
"About three years," Lily said slowly, "You felt my calluses I suppose?"
"Yeah," James nodded, "that's how I knew you were right handed too, no writing callus on your left hand."
"Alright, let me try it again," Lily said and took James' hand in hers, this time feeling each part carefully with her fingertips. He had tough, thick skin where the base of his fingers met the palm of his hand. Lily pressed her finger against it and thought that it must be the effects of years of Quidditch playing. She felt along each of his fingers and there on his middle finger was the tough writing callus- so he didstudy as much as she did. She moved on to his thumb which had a shiny, pink scar stretching across the front. Gently, she traced her finger along the scar and mused that he must have picked it up when lighting dungbombs or maybe fireworks in the grounds after hours. Smiling, she raised her eyes to see him watching her closely.
"Find anything?" he asked quietly.
"Maybe," Lily said and withdrew her hand from his before leaning back in her chair.
"Well?" James asked.
Lily shrugged her shoulders and smoothed out her parchment. "I don't know," she shifted in her seat.
James smirked but Professor Signum cut in before he could question her further.
"You should be starting to record your observations now as I want you all to hand in your notes at the end of the period," she instructed the class. "And I expect your handwriting to be legible," she said emphatically.
Lily and James exchanged looks and each bent forward over their respective parchments. The remainder of the class was relatively quiet as everyone rushed to finish their write-ups. Quills scritch scratched across pages and there was the occasional clinking of glass as someone dipped into their ink well. Lily frowned and read over her concluding statements with a critical eye. Her writing process up until that point had been almost like stream of consciousness as she wrote to beat the clock.
The subject's hands are marked by everything he's involved in. They indicate his dedication to sport, school and mischief. The physical features of his hand are hardly more telling than the actual movement and conduct his hands undertake when being examined. His hands are warm and responsive to every touch. They are both firm and gentle; relaxed and in tune with the examiner's movements. He is comfortable with himself, aware of others, trusting and open.
Lily twisted her quill between her teeth. She had gone a little too far with the conclusion. She made to rip the end of her parchment off so she could rewrite it but just then the bell tolled.
"Hand your reports in to me before you go," Professor Signum shouted over the scuffing of chairs and shuffling feet.
Resignedly, Lily made her way to the professor and thrust her report into her outstretched hand. It would have to do without the edit.
"Hey where are you running off to?" James asked as he jogged into step beside her.
"I don't know, the library I guess," Lily brushed her hair aside distractedly and started tugging her cardigan back out of her book bag.
"How'd your report shape up?" James asked. "I barely had time to re-read mine before handing it and I'm pretty sure it was just mad rambling," he furrowed his brow. "I really hope she doesn't read samples out to the class like last year," he frowned.
Lily had one sleeve on and one sleeve off so her outward cringe looked particularly manic.
"Whoa, what's up with you?" James asked in bemusement.
"Ergh, nothing," she mumbled, "I just really hope she doesn't read those out loud."
…
A/N: There's more to come! I have the next chapter roughly done already so hopefully it will just be a few edits and a quick update! Its my first time back to fanfiction in a LONG time so I'd love it if you'd review- I need the help!