Attending
(Just post and I'll add you in)

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OOC: Your character has already arrived unless prearranged, as late arrivals result in point loss and/or detention.

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It was the last lesson before Christmas for the fifth years and they had worked very hard all term. Professor Duerr was pleased with their progress, they seemed to grasp the difficult topics for the exams very well. Those who struggled were good about coming to her for extra help.

The lesson preceding had covered a little end of term exam to check their recall of the term. Just because it was Christmas ahead, she wasn't allowing them to rest on their laurels. Calculations needed regular practice to recall them. Once it was all taken down, it was time for a little more lighthearted work.

"Now then, a little puzzle." The Professor took at seat at the head of the table they were all sat at. "You are all very familiar with your life path personalities, and how to calculate it from a birth date. So a little challenge for you in reverse. You can pair or team up as you like. But can you predict the possible life path numbers for he following names?" She reached back and waved her wand at the blackboard so it began to chalk them up.

Minister Zephyr⁴
Headmistress McGonagall⁵
Madam Biladeu-Yukawa³
Professor R Donovan⁴
Mr Woodward⁹
Professor S Donovan¹
Madam Nagde³
Professor Storm¹
Head Girl Jordyn Dimbleby⁸
Head Boy Theo Whitman⁶


(numbers are for OOC help!)

[1]

1.	Calculator

Juni's focus had been waning the closer it got to Christmas. She was excited to go home, visit her dad-- maybe see her aunts and uncles, and wreck havoc in St Albans with her friends. She wanted to do some tunnel exploring-- her dad had mentioned that he had found a couple new ones.

Still, Arithmancy was fun. Juni enjoyed figuring out her own life path number (11!) even if she didn't completely agree with it. But oh, she was going to enjoy the task. Guessing somebody's life path number, based on their personality.  "Well, Professor Storm is a sadist." She said to the person next to her, though loud enough for Professor Duerr to hear, "He's definitely not a 9. They're nice." She had decided that whatever one sounded the most evil, was probably Professor Storm.He was mean, grumpy, and old. He had probably always been mean and grumpy, and old at heart.

But, he was a good teacher for her,  effective.

"Maybe he's an 8..? They're authoritative and bossy."

As the students examined the names and pulled open their text books to check the summaries of the life path numbers, Professor Duerr circled the table and listened to their conversations.

"Well, Professor Storm is a sadist…" Juni's voice cut through the chattering. Professor Duerr winced ever so slightly at the description. She wasn't sure Juni quite knew the proper definition of the word (admittedly, Camille had looked that word up in English not so long ago for a very similar reason).

"No, not a nine." The Professor agreed. "But eights are concerned with status, material success. Do you really see the Deputy Headmaster as such?" Ignan's teaching uniform of nothing particularly flashy, more practical but smart suits, the very bare, practical outlook of his classroom only filled with things needed for lessons and to teach.

"Would anyone hazard a guess for one of the list?" She asked the rest of the students.

Kelvin sat back in his chair with his arms crossed as Juni said Storm would be an eight after saying he couldn't be a nine because he wasn't nice.  He wasn't sure that really had much to do with it.  Being a professor could still make his life path number a nine.  Granted it also irked Kelvin since his number was an eight.  Not that there was anything wrong with being lumped in with Professor Storm but he didn't consider himself bossy or not nice.

"Humph.  Thats not all that makes someone an eight Juni."  He muttered quietly to Juni before looking over at the professor as she said the same things. "Umm, the Headmistress could be a four."  Kelvin said speaking loud enough for the class to hear that time.

Juni had no idea that Kelvin was an eight. It wasn't as if he had shared that information. She herself was an 11. She didn't think hers was very accurate--but how often were things perfect, even with magic?

She looked at Kelvin as he spoke to her in such a condescending way. "Who put a blast ended skrewt in your pants?" Juni muttered back at him. She nodded in agreement as he said that the headmaster could be a four. That suited McGonagall. Serious. Stern. A practical teacher.

"Professor Donovan could be a four too." Juni added, "The one with the brooding face."[1]

1.	Rick Donovan

"Umm, the Headmistress could be a four." Kelvin offered,
"Professor Donovan could be a four too. The one with the brooding face." Professor Duerr chuckled at Juni's description of Rick despite herself. It was more accurate than the sadist one for Ignan!

"Well," the Professor addressed them both, pleased they were debating and keen to encourage them, "one of you is correct." She stepped back and left a mark beside the two names on the board. "What are the characteristics of a life path four, and which of them lead you think these two might be a four?"

She looked from one to the other,
"What I'm asking you to do is difficult, even with your good grasp of Arithmancy, because you're relying on your own observations rather than the numbers - it's to both firm up your understandings of the personalities, and also to see how they blend and overlap. So go ahead, together we'll work out who is our four."

Professor Duerr wanted them to figure out who the four was out of the list. Juni was certain that Rick was a four. There were ten people listed, and twelve numbers that were possible.  33 and 22 were rare numbers to have-- it was unlikely that anyone on this list had those numbers. 

She thought about the characteristics of a four. "They're both serious." Juni offered, "And they're hard workers." She had worked for Professor Donovan over the summer, and it was clear that he was not a lazy man. "Focused, too. It's not easy to change their minds about anything."

"True, as life path of four is for a teacher, it is a little tricky since they are both teachers." Professor Duerr agreed. "Fours like to be organised and put things back in their proper place - they like to have a solid plan. They can be rigid, stubborn and far too serious. Can often lack tact." She smiled gently and lowered her voice to give them a clue, "But they are wonderful engineers."

Kelvin laughed, "Well that's definitely Professor Donovan.  I'm pretty sure he ticks every box."  He didn't mean it rudely, just in his estimation the man seemed rigid, stubborn, too serious, and lacking in tact.  He couldn't be sure the Headmistress didn't as well because he hadn't interacted with her at all really.  What he knew about her, he knew from books and stories. 

What he knew about Professor Donovan however was from sitting in class with the man several times a week.  And he definitely fit what Duerr had said.  "The Headmistress could be a 9 since she's not a four and has dedicated her life to teaching."

"… sure he ticks every box." Kelvin laughed and Professor Duerr gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up before hurrying to the board to write up the correct answer for Rick.
"A point to Ravenclaw, actually two because Juni posed he was."

"The Headmistress could be a 9 since she's not a four and has dedicated her life to teaching."
"I admire the logic, Kelvin," Professor Duerr nodded, "but our Headmistress is not a 9 either. In truth, she is a very difficult one to pin down by this method, so I will reveal." Her hand moved across the board to attach the number 5. "She's a bit of a free spirit, enjoys the company of a variety of characters." The Professor added by way of explanation.

Minister Zephyr⁴
Headmistress McGonagall - 5
Madam Biladeu-Yukawa³
Professor R Donovan - 4
Mr Woodward⁹
Professor S Donovan¹
Madam Nagde³
Professor Storm¹
Head Girl Jordyn Dimbleby⁸
Head Boy Theo Whitman⁶


"There is another 4 on this list, though they are not a teacher, and there is a 9, though he is not a teacher either, but is a humanitarian - by which I mean serves the community in some way."

Dec 17
Arithmancy - Fifth Years - Everybody Counts
http://absitomen.com/index.php?topic=18007

R
Juni Zamperia 3 +1
Kelvin Watkins 2 +1