Alana was putting on a pot of tea, as she awaited the arrival of her student Winifred. The girl was a fourth year as well as a Hufflepuff, so Alana naturally saw a fair amount of her. Being Head of Hufflepuff, it was of course Alana's responsibility to look out for all the students in her house. But she felt a special connection to Winifred, who was for the most part a very sweet girl. Alana had heard that she had a tendency to gossip a bit too much, but then that sounded like most fourteen year old girls anyway. Alana had been a bit surprised when Winifred had asked to meet with her privately this afternoon, but she hadn't argued. She was grateful that there were students who actually looked up to her and wanted her advice, unlike so many of Winifred's peers.

Alana wasn't positive what Winifred wished to speak about, and so she pondered it as she poured some tea into two mugs and set them on her small table. Alana had her own office, but honestly she preferred her own classroom. This space was where she did ninety percent of her work anyway, and she loved how it felt to be so high up in the tower. It was a good thing Winifred didn't seem afraid of heights.

Juni had suggested that maybe Winifred should meet up with th Divination professor. She was a seer, too. And Winnie needed to learn more about her skill and exactly what she was doing and how to get better at it. Since the new Divination profess was also her head of house, she decided tht maybe she should take Juni's advice. If nothing else it would get her in good with the head of house and professor of one of the few classes she was good at. But maybe it would do more- like make her smarter or something.

Winifred trudged up the stairs to the Divination tower on Tuesday evening after dinner. She would have gone earlier, but she had Astronomy that day and it was later in the afternoon. When she entered her Divination classroom, she saw that Professor Wright had set up some tea. Oooh! Good.

"Good evening, Professor!" she greeted. "Thank you for making some time to meet with me, I really appreciate it." She plopped down in the empty chair and sniffed the tea. Ooh. It smelled good. Tea was very integral to being a seer, after all. Especially with the reading of tealeaves.

"I hope your classes went well today," she said. It was best to make polite conversation before getting down to business. She had learned that from listening to the adults at her aunt and uncle's pub. "I know that I really enjoyed your class on Cartomancy! I just really love divination," she continued, "it's one of the very few classes that I am actually good at. And it's so nice to have a teacher who understands what divination is supposed to be like. Instead of making it all mathematical and statistic like- we had a professor who did that before. It ruined Divination."

Alana gave Winifred a friendly smile as the girl entered her classroom. "Evening Winifred," she replied. "It's my pleasure, I'm always happy to talk to my students and help with whatever I can." She enjoyed the way Winifred sniffed the air, happy to find young people who appreciated the smell of quality tea.

"Oh, they went well enough. It's sad to see how few appreciate Divination. I'm afraid there is so much stigma behind the subject being corny, false, fake. If only people would take the time to actually develop an understanding of the practice. But alas, few do," Alana lamented all of this with melancholy in her voice. She was just glad people like Winifred not only took the class, but genuinely enjoyed doing so.

Alana's smile widened when Winifred mentioned how much she had enjoyed her recent class on Cartomancy. "I'm pleased you enjoyed it. It is one of my preferred ways to practice Divination." She chuckled after Winifred had finished complaining about her former Divination professor. "Indeed, I've had Professors like that before. I found them terribly dull."

Winnie nodded. "I know! I don't understand why so many people think that Divination is silly. Because it's really useful and it's such a different kind of magic! I mean, I'm so bad at most of my classes- well, not as bad as I was, and I was just always good at Divination and I've always believed in it. My Aunt Leola has always really liked DIvination and she is so proud of me for doing well in the class!" Winnie's mother, on the other hand, was one of those people who thought it was silly. But since her daughter was getting a good grade, didn't complain too much about it.

"She also thought that Divination was one of those things that just anybody could do. I don't think it is. I think some people just can't do it, and if they don't believe it they can't figure out." Of course, Winnie was biased. She liked to think she had special skill, and that being good at divination made her a special person.  "And dull is the nice way of putting it," she said.

Winifred picked up the tea and sipped it cautiously. It wasn't too hot, so she took a bigger gulp. "Oh man, this is really good tea," she said. "Thank you!"

She swung her feet a little, careful not to kick the legs of the table. "I did have a reason for coming by," Winnie said. "I know that you're a seer. And I found out that I am one, too. Back in December I was in the library and Mr. Morgan told me that I tried to issue a prophecy. And ever since then I've noticed that sometimes I just know things. Like this one time I told Aisling Knight congratulations and I had no idea why I said it, and then found out she was pregnant. And I dream stuff sometimes, and it happens. And a lot of the time when I do tarot or read tea leaves or look in a crystal ball, the stuff I predict actually happens. And I don't know. I mean. I guess the fact there are two seers at Hogwarts is really cool."

"Cause, you know, I want to learn more about it. I don't know much. And I don't remember trying to issue a prophecy. All I know is that it was something about a reunion. But I thought, since you're the Divination professor, that maybe you could help me with that kind of stuff?" Winnie asked, tilting her head. She didn't even know how someone could help her. But she didn't want to "squander her gift" or whatever it was her aunt had said in the last owl she'd sent.

"I suppose it is because some Professors perpetuate the idea that it is hoaxy and not useful. Instead of trying to show students practical uses, they pander to students who want their futures read, who care about the next boyfriend they'll have. Rather than showing students how it can aid you in magic. I'm glad you're one of the few exceptions. Your Aunt has good taste," Alana joked, winking at Winnie.

"Oh no, I agree with you. I believe that to a certain extent yes, someone without a natural gift can develop keener skills and pay more attention to the energy around them. But there are those who will always be more adept at the skill, the ones who really feel what they do. Those are the people you seek out, those are the ones who without any seer ability can still give you fairly accurate information, even if it doesn't make sense at the time."

Alana picked up her own tea a moment after Winnie picked up hers, taking a long, deep sip. She smiled, setting her cup back down. "I'm glad you like it, this is my favorite blend."

Alana laced her fingers together as Winifred began to speak, coming to the heart of the reason she'd asked to speak with her today. She raised her eyebrows when Winifred confessed that she'd discovered she was a seer. It was not unheard of for these powers to emerge later in life; but for Alana, she'd been fortelling from the time she was three years old. She could not imagine having this kind of news thrust upon her when she was Winifred's age. Alana had simply grown up with it.

"Indeed, it is "cool" " Alana agreed, smiling gently. "I imagine you're also a bit confused and scared, no? It can be confusing, having this ability. Well my dear, you've come to the right place. I don't have all the answers, but I can help as much as possible. When I was younger, only a few years older than you, I traveled around the world, studying with many different seers. I have a great deal of material I can show you, if you'd like"

"I haven't learned a whole lot about Divination aiding in magic!" Winifred exclaimed. "I didn't know that. Oh I would love to learn more about that," she said. "I only know the simple. You know, like what you learn in third year and what he have learned this year. But I really hope to get my NEWT in divination. But I know a lot about tarot cards and readings. My aunt bought me my first deck, and they are really nice cards. They're very pretty and I really love them. And I can read tea leaves pretty well. And I like the crystal ball. But I want to learn more about other parts of Divination."

"Of course, I'm sure when I get back next year that I will be," Winnie said. "Cause I'll be doing my OWLs and that's an important year with a lot to learn." And hopefully the new Divination professor would stick around long enough for them to have a regular progression of things learned. That would be really nice.

Winnie nodded when Professor Wright suggested she was confused. And scared. "It can be. Especially when like... I mean. Sometimes, when I dream stuff, it happens. So if I have a nightmare, especially about something bad happening to someone I care about, I worry that it's going to come true. That I'm seeing it. And that's super scary. And then sometimes I just get confused. Because it's like I get feelings but I don't know yet what they mean or how to interpret them."

"And like, what if I give a prophecy and nobody is around?" Winnie asked. "Cause Mr. Morgan was there the first time- at least, the first time someone saw it happen- and I never finished it. And I read in books that Seers will always finish a prophecy it just might take a while for it to finish. And I don't even remember doing it. So what if I've been spouting off prophecies for years and just never knew it? And what if they were important? The books said some seers never learn how to remember or how to control them. That they just happen. Can the ministry even track that stuff?" she asked.

Winifred realized she was bombarding the professor with questions- but it was just a lot to keep in. Especially for a fifteen year old girl. It was hard to be so stressed and worried and feel like you had nobody to turn to. It sucked, really. "I would love to see material. I really want to learn all that I can," Winnie told her. "I'm... not very good, at most magic stuff, or classes. I mean, I've really been trying and I got a new wand and that has helped a lot. But Divination is one of the very few thing I've always been good at. And I want to be really good at it. Great even. I mean, being good at Divination could be the only thing going for me for my future. Which only adds to the being scared and worried part of it all."

"It can yes, depending on what you see and how developed your skills are.  I would be happy to teach you more, but perhaps that's better saved for classtime. This time alone might be better spent focusing on your abilties as a seer," Alana recommended. "I am sure you will have no problem getting your NEWT in Divination, you seem like an intelligent and hard working young woman. Your aunt sounds like someone who deeply loves the subject. Where did she bring the cards from?"

"I understand.  I have been giving prophecies and having dreams since I was a toddler. You must learn to accept that while you are a seer, you do not stop being a human. Yes, some of your dreams are significant. But others are not. You will have nightmares just like everyone else, that have absolute no bearing on the future. I believe one of the most difficult skills to learn as a seer is how to sense what is important, and what is not. And you will never be able to decide for certain. If you try to be right about every thought or dream, you will go mad," Alana warned.

"That is what they about prophecies, yes. I'm still not sure I believe that. I knew a woman who was a hundred and ten, and she gave the "beginning" of a prophecy when she was twenty. She's yet to finish it. Also I don't believe you've been spouting off prophecies. For one thing, your mother would have noticed, friends would have noticed. A couple of missed prophecies is not a rare thing. But years of it are. Do not worry Winnie. Focus on the here and now. And to answer your question, no. The ministry cannot. They do their best, but some seers are actually glad they cannot control things more. Some seers have no desire for their dreams and prophecies to be monitored."

"Well then I would be happy to show the material to you," Alana offered, taking another sip of her tea. "Every person is good at something different. And who knows, you may yet show an aptitude for other subjects. Sometimes it simply takes a certain type of professor. I hope together you and I can indeed help you become great, Winifred," Alana declared with a smile.

Winnie nodded. Professor Wright made sense. Time alone would be a lot better spent working on her abilities as a seer. Even if Winifred had zero clue how you trained your seeing abilities. "I'm not sure where she got them. She said they had been in the family for a while. And that she was glad that I wanted them. My mother never did and she didn't have any daughters. I guess maybe they're cards for girls? If there is such a thing as cards jut for girls. I don't know."

It was a relief toh ear that she had, more than likely, not been giving prophecies for years without even realizing it. Professor Wright was so smart! And she made a good point. If it had been happening in the past, then somebody else would have noticed it and said something. There was no way it had gone undetected for that long, not if it had been going on for years. "I'm glad to know it's probably not something that's been going on forever. I'd feel awful otherwise."

"The thing I don't understand, though, is how you train your seeing abilities. I just guessed it was going to be one of those things that I would have to keep experiencing to learn. I mean, if you can't just make yourself see something then how can you learn the feelings and stuff?" Winnie shrugged, confused. "I don't know. I guess maybe you can help explain all of that stuff when you have time. Right now I just don't understand how it all works."

"But I would love to be great at something! I'd work super hard, I promise, if you'd take the time to help me and teach me more outside of classes! I've been working extra hard this year at everything else. I can be slow, sometimes," she cautioned. "I'm not always the quickest to learn or understand and sometimes, well, you know, I can just be bad at stuff. But I think everyone has something they're bad at. Well, most people. I think there are a lot of kids at Hogwarts who don't seem to be bad at anything. It bums me out sometimes."