Anthony sat at the breakfast table, anxiously looking over his schedule for the new year.
"Potions with the Hufflepuffs, Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Slytherins, Charms with the Ravenclaws. And three new subjects: Divination, Muggle Studies, and
Arithmancy," he told Bertram, who was sitting next to him.
"Look," said Bertram, comparing his schedule to Anthony's. "We have Charms together and Divination. But why are you taking Arithmancy?"
Anthony shrugged. "I've always liked numbers," he said. "It could be the one thing I'm good at."
The last two years at Hogwarts had passed quickly for Anthony. He and Bertram had become fast friends, taking every spare moment to listen to music. Anthony was fascinated by Bertram's tales of Muggle life, while Bertram was impressed by Anthony's skills in drumming and curious about his life as a wizard. His grades, however, had not fared so well. After two years, he still struggled to do simple spells.
"It might help if you practiced," Bertram said, who did indeed spend time in their room every night going over pronunciation and wand patterns.
Anthony shrugged. "If I don't get it in class, why bother?" he replied. "Anyway, there's too much else to do. Have you heard the latest single by Rush?"
Across the Great Hall, Mac waved to them both and walked over. They boys had had a few classes together and managed to get together during free time. Fortunately, the Hufflepuffs (or Puffs, as they called themselves) weren't as strict about the inter-house rivalry as other houses and frequently hosted students from other houses, so they had no trouble finding meeting places.
"Did you hear?" Mac asked them, pointing to a copy of the Daily Prophet. "Another disappearance! The Ministry's calling it a 'resignation,' but that makes three this month! My parents said it's lucky I'm at Hogwarts, this is the safest place we can be. Hey, look, we have potions together, great, you can help me with my measurements."
Anthony smiled ruefully. "At least that's something I can do," he said.
"You've gotten better," Mac said. "Some of these spells are overrated, anyway. Hey are we meeting in the Puff common room this afternoon?"
"You know it!" said Mac. "I'll bring the snacks, you know those house-elves will give us anything we want!"
Just then, Regulus walked by their table and frowned at them as he saw them.
"I didn't know they let in bantha poodoo," Mac said. Anthony and Bertram chuckled at the inside joke; Mac had told them all about Star Wars.
Regulus' features darkened. "Better than stealing my magic like a muggle," he replied. "Personally, I think You-Know-Who has some good ideas about keeping the bloodlines pure."
As Anthony reached for his wand, he was saved by Professor Slughorn. "Regulus, there you are!" he called to him. "A moment, please.."
Regulus turned away and Mac said, "Oh I'd better go, I'll miss breakfast. See you!"
"We'd better go too," said Anthony. "We don't know how the Divination teacher will be, he might take points for being late."
"Good point," replied Bertram, grabbing a piece of toast. "Let's go!"
They made their way to a tower in a far corner of Hogwarts and found themselves under a trap door with a ladder. Going up, they were greeted with a classroom unlike they had seen so far. You never knew what would be in each classroom, but so far they had all been traditional rooms with desks facing the teacher at the front. This room was covered in colorfully patterned fabrics. Low tables dotted the room, with pillows, couches, and low poufs covering every other available inch of space. There was a man with shoulder-length silver hair and a brightly-colored paisley robe lighting candles. His feet were bare, but there was a large pair of sandals next to a pile of shoes by the door. "Take off your shoes and sit anywhere, please," he said, adjusting a pair of wire frames on his face, "the fates know where you're supposed to be."
Anthony and Bertram looked at each other, then chose a couple of squashy armchairs.
"Find your seats, please," the teacher said. "The inner eye does not see well in the midst of idle chit-chat. Those of you with the Sight may already know my name is Professor Iapetus Sponde. I come from a long line of Seers, all of whom have a prophecy at the Ministry. Some call us frauds, but they are simply afraid of what they might find. If you do not have the Sight, then I am afraid there is not much I will be able to teach you. Still, there are those who simply pretend to have the Sight for personal gain, so it is good to know the basics in order to avoid them."
He turned to a girl with curly hair in the corner. "And dear, do mind what you eat for breakfast next time. The Inner Eye does not appreciate interruptions. Today we will learn to focus the Inner Eye into a crystal ball. We will start with a simple meditation exercise. Close your mind, clear your thoughts. If any thoughts appear, simply acknowledge them and wave them away."
Anthony and Bertram peeked at each other and smirked, before hastily closing their eyes again.
"Good. Now that you have cleared your minds, it is time to observe what the crystal chooses to show us. Crystals have many properties, as we will learn later this year; the crystal which created this ball provides clarity.
Everyone please take out your copies of Unfogging the Future and open it to the section about crystal balls. Gaze into the crystal ball before you, let your mind become blank, allow your inner eye to open, then use the book to interpret what you see."
Anthony and Bertram squinted into the crystal ball before them.
"See anything?" asked Anthony.
"No," said Bertram, "unless it's going to be foggy tomorrow. You?"
"Nothing." Anthony sighed and looked around the room, idly drumming the rhythm to a song he had heard.
Suddenly Professor Sponde was right next to him. "Well," he said, "would you like to share what you have seen since you have so much time to daydream?"
"Um..it's..." Anthony sputtered, consulting his book. "It's going to be foggy tomorrow?"
Professor Sponde shook his head. "Clearly you do not possess the Sight," he said. "But I think some extra homework could not hurt, either. Tonight you should-" but he was interrupted by a gagging sound in the far corner. The curly-haired girl said, "Sorry, I think it was something I ate!" and went down the trapdoor as fast as she could.
Most of the students looked at Professor Sponde, amazed. "You predicted that!" one of them said.
"And soon, you too shall learn to interpret the signs before you," he replied. "Oh dear, it looks as if our time has run out. Tonight, practice meditating and opening your inner eye."
"That was something, wasn't it?" said Bertram as they climbed down the ladder.
Anthony replied, "I don't know, she looked a little peaky when she came in if you ask me."
As he made his way to potions, however, he wondered. Could people really see visions of the future? He was soon distracted by his potions class and helping Mac measure ingredients for a healing potion. His potion was more pink than red, but he hoped it was close enough to please Professor Slughorn.
As they were leaving, Regulus came in and Slughorn cornered him. "Given any more thought to my dinner invitation, Regulus? There will be some quite influential people there, you know! If your potion work today is as good as before, that is."
"Can I come, too, professor?" Goyle asked.
Slughorn looked at the brown sludge that still remained in Goyle's cauldron and grimaced. "We'll see, we'll see," he said dismissively. Goyle picked up his books and clomped out of the room.
Anthony rolled his eyes at Mac and headed to Charms, which went about as well as everything else as he waved his wand vaguely around in an attempt to banish his pillow. Bertram, who had made his zoom across the room right away, tried to cheer him up by saying he thought he saw it wiggle a little. Dejected, Anthony trudged to Arithmancy, expecting yet more failure.
When Anthony arrived in the classroom, there was a jumble of numbers and letters on a large chalkboard at the front. It looked like someone had been trying to add them together, which didn't make any sense at all. He found an empty seat towards the back and sat down nervously.
A tall, thin teacher with her hair pulled back and a sharp nose and chin was standing at the front of the room. "Good morning students," she said. "I am Professor Vector, your Arithmancy teacher. Whoever solves this equation by the end of class gets an automatic A."
She looked around at the stunned faces of the students, then laughed a high, tinkly laugh. "Only joking!" she said, waving her wand and making the equation disappear. A large sigh of relief swept around the students. "I am here to teach you the fine art of Arithmancy. Can anyone tell me what Arithmancy is?"
A pretty girl in Gryffindor raised her hand. "Yes, Miss Pratchett?" said Professor Vector.
"It's using numbers to foretell the future," she said.
"Very good!" said Professor Vector. "10 points to Gryffindor. There are those who talk about the Sight and seeing images in teacups and crystal balls. That's very well for them, but it is not an exact art. A blob could look like a dark omen to one person and a lucky sign to the next. Arithmancy, since we use numbers, is much more precise."
She drew on the chalkboard with her wand as she spoke. "You see, if I have one stick, that is absolute. I do not have any more or less. If I pick up another stick, I now have 2. Likewise. If I tell you I have 2 sticks, you know precisely what I mean even if you can't see them. The same principles apply to Arithmancy. The difference is, instead of sticks, we use life events. Certain numbers are more magical than others. It is rumored, for example, that You-Know-Who has 7 close followers who obey him. On a lighter note, who can tell me what happened to all of you when you turned 11?"
Several hands raised in the air, including Anthony's. "Yes, Mr. Prewett?"
"We got our letter to Hogwarts!" he said.
"Wonderful," said Professor Vector. "10 points to Gryffindor. Today we shall be discussing life paths. Since we know that numbers have power, birthdays are incredibly significant. Your task is to calculate your Life Path number and determine what it means. If you want extra credit, you can also write the similarities to your House. If you do not finish today, it will be your homework. Go on and take out your books, now and be sure to show your work."
Anthony flipped to the chapter and began scratching sums on his parchment. "My Life Path is 3," he wrote, consulting his book. "The number 3 is all about groups and working together." He thought himself, Mac, and Bertram and continued writing. "They want to make a change in the world. They are natural-born public speakers, artists, and entertainers."
He frowned and raised his hand. Mrs. Vector came over. "Professor Vector, did I do this right? This doesn't seem to apply to me."
She looked over his work and nodded. "Yes, you did it correctly," she said. "And I notice you're in Gryffindor, the house of bravery. Often our life path tells us not what we are now, but what we could be. The future can be surprising, even to Arithmancers. The numbers are strong, but our perception of them can vary. Feel free to come visit me in my office to talk any time."
"Thank you, Professor Vector."
Class was dismissed and Anthony slowly made his way near the astronomy tower to the Hufflepuff common room. He passed a large still life of a bowl of fruit and walked around a corridor into a large room filled with butterbeer casks stacked together. He went to one of the casks on the wall, tapped a pattern on it, and the cask opened to reveal a tunnel to the Hufflepuff common room.
The Hufflepuff common room had a cozy feel despite its size. Golden yellow tapestries hung on the walls along with portraits of past Heads of House. A large window filtered in golden afternoon light, while dozens of plants decorated corners and tables. The room was buzzing with conversation from students sitting in the many armchairs and couches scattered throughout the room. Anthony was sure he had seen at least one cat roaming the hall. Next to a large fireplace on the wall, a roar of laughter went up from a group of students gathered around the house ghost, the Fat Friar.
"Oh ho!" laughed the friar. "Now let me tell you the story of this nun I heard from my friend Chaucer-"
"That's enough for now!" interrupted a nearby prefect, and the student group drifted apart.
Anthony looked around and saw his friends standing near what appeared at first to be a large cloud, but was soon revealed to be a seventh-year in bright yellow tie-dyed robes, a peace sign necklace, and holding a funny-looking pipe. He was leaning back with his feet on an ottoman.
"Xeno!" Anthony said warmly, waving to him. "What is that you're holding?"
"It's a special herb I got from Muggles," Xeno replied. "It helps me see the wrackspurts, but always makes me hungry afterwards. Good thing we're next to the kitchens!"
"Wrackspurts?" asked Mac.
"Oh yes, you'll learn all about them in my latest pamphlet. Here, have an advanced copy." He pulled a pamphlet from his robes. "The Quibbler" was emblazoned on top, with "Wrackspurts: the hidden menace" underneath.
"Er, thanks," he said. He noticed Anthony and motioned to him and Bertram. "Come on, I have something to show you! See you, Xeno!"
But Xeno didn't answer, lost inside a cloud. The boys made their way upstairs to Mac's room, which was currently empty.
"Did you bring it?" asked Mac excitedly.
Bertram grinned, pulled out a miniature record player from his pocket, and put it on the table. "Engorgio!" he said, pointing his wand at it. The record player was soon back to its regular size. "I got the new Magazine album," he said.
"Excellent!" said Mac.
"What about you?" asked Anthony. "You said you wanted to show us something?"
"Yeah!" said Mac, reaching under his bed and pulling out something from his trunk. "Me mum and da gave it to me for me birthday."
"We didn't know it was your birthday!" Anthony said, punching him on the shoulder.
"Yeah, we would have gotten you something," said Bertram.
"It's no big deal," said Mac. "I've never liked big parties."
"Me either," said Anthony. "Wait, is that a guitar?"
"Yeah," said Mac proudly. "Just an acoustic one for now. When I learn to play, I wanna save up for an electric."
He plucked the strings softly as the boys continued talking. Anthony closed his eyes and listened for a little while, letting his worries sink to the back of his mind and savoring the peace of being at home with good friends.