Of Clubs and Visions PV Prof Kibitzer Finished

@Opeila Seilun

"Come in," the professor called out as she heard the door knock, setting down her quill and looking up to face whoever might be coming to her door. She had predicted a guest today, and had not begun work on anything too important as a result - she hated to be interrupted. It was fortunate for Opeila that the woman had been expecting her. Her office was up the stairs at the back of the classroom - a final set of steps to challenge the students brave enough to tackle the Divination stairwell simply to ask a question.

Her guest had been expected, but she wasn't necessarily welcome. When Opeila entered the room, the professor's expression would change a few times. To start, she'd have a hard look on her face, staring at her guest... only for her expression to soften. It was a Slytherin, too young to be one of her Divination students. This already put her a cut above most of the visitors of the tower.

Rosalind was attentive at the girl's approach, but had no idea what she could possibly need. The professor lifted a thin sheet of parchment up off of her desk, finding it among the mess. A simple course description - not the reward one would hope for upon entering the lair of Professor Kibitzer, but it was what most people really wanted. Incessant questions bored her, but wouldn't strain the page. Her accent came through strong when she spoke again. "Go ahead, honey. Speak."

When Opeila heard the teacher ask her in, she waited a moment, in case the divination Professor would open the door herself magically like her head of house did when Opeila visited her, before she opened it herself. She was nervous. She was no third year, what if the Professor threw her out again? Since she was not teaching Opeila yet.

Entering the office, Opeila's green eyes immediately met the hard look of the professor. Oh dear. Had she chosen a bad moment? The first year was about to suggest that she could come back later if it was a bad moment, when the older woman's expression softened. The brunette was relieved. She would rather talk to the professor now than procrastinate it again.

Professor Kibitzer asked her to speak. "Thank you Professor.", she said and closed the door again. A little unsure she made a few steps further into the room and watched the teacher lifting up a sheet of parchment. Was that a list? If the Professor had already assumptions of what it was that she wanted, she couldn't be the first younger student to visit her in her office.

"I... I have two topics I want to ask you about.", she said. With which one should she start? Opeila chose the one that would less likely kill the mood. "I am a seer. I only recently had a vision. And so had another girl from my house. We don't understand them really, but we- or I- think, that they could be about the... well, strange things that had happened here. I assume you were told about spiders that attacked Slytherin in the middle of the night. The other girl had her vision just before the attack, I think. A few days later, we asked two students, who seemed suspicious, a few questions about the same attack. That was when I had my vision.
So my thought now is, that if there are alone two seers in Slytherin year one, I would not be surprised if there are more around Hogwarts. I think opening a seer club would be very useful. Maybe other seers had visions as well and have not told anyone? Maybe didn't know who to tell of them?" She looked at the Professor's expression. For now, Opeila found that she had put her thoughts into words quite well.

"Of course we are all no experienced seers though. That is where my request starts, since we also don't have divination yet. Would you- or is it even possible to control prophecies? Not as in what you see but more like... when. Is it possible to for example provoke a prophecy? Or repress one?
If I opened a club like that, could you teach us how to... well, work with the powers we are given?"
Once more Opeila realized how few she knew. She was not even sure if it made sense what she had just said.

@Rosalind Kibitzer

@Opeila Seilun
Rosalind was caught off-guard by the girl's questions. Neither of those involved a course description for Divination - although Seers were tangentially related. Young seers having visions at her age? It was unusual, but so were spider attacks in house common rooms, if the behavior of the other professors was anything to go by. She thought back to her own days as a young seer - she had never thought about what might happen if someone became a Seer unexpectedly, with nobody to turn to for guidance. In today's age, Seers were a thing that could happen by surprise. The young lady was right - they needed somewhere to go.

"That's an excellent idea," finding a fresh, blank sheet of parchment and jotting it down upon it. "What's your name?"

She didn't enjoy lingering on the topic of the attack, so she was pleased that Opeila didn't stumble upon it or show any other sign of upset. The last thing she needed was for another first year to come into her office and cry. This one was resilient.

"Provoke - to a degree. Repress... a more difficult task. It is useless to deny one's nature," Rosalind supposed, with a helpless shrug. She was brief in her responses, despite the depth of discussion invited by Opeila's questions. Perhaps it was something she wanted to save for the club, or perhaps she just believed her time to be more valuable when spent outside conversing with preteens. (Not that they lacked insight - the woman might just lack judgement.) "Yes, it's an excellent idea. If you had such a club I would love to be involved. But that sounded like four questions - was it just one?"

Even when showing her full support, she couldn't help but pick on things. Perhaps that was part of her nature that she couldn't deny - at any rate, she didn't dismiss the student entirely, so it was a good start to the meeting. The professor raised her eyebrows and angled back her head, looking down at Opeila from over her nose. "Go on."

A good start that was. Watching the Professor's face, Opeila saw the change of emotions- Or at least she thought she did. Maybe she only imagined the surprise, when she mentioned her vision. But then, why shouldn't she be, Opeila knew that it was unlikely to have visions at her age.

It was Opeila's turn to be surprised, when Professor Kibitzer called her idea excellent. Opeila had some convincing words planned, but they didn't seem necessary at all anymore now. And then the divination Professor asked for her name. "Oh right, sorry, it's Seilun. Opeila Seilun, Professor." How rude of herself. The Professor didn't know her of course, she was no divination student yet, and Opeila just barged in and started to ask questions. She should have thought of that.

That it was actually possible to provoke a prophecy was something Opeila found very interesting. Something she definitely had to find out more about. That sounded so useful!
"Oh, I didn't mean as a way to deny ones nature. More like in my classmate's case. Her prophecy could have been hardly timed worse. So I thought that, if there was a way to repress it, it might be lifesaving under certain circumstances.", she explained.

The first year smiled, when Professor Kibitzer said that she would love to be involved. One success.
And now came the topic that made the smile fade just as quickly as it had appeared.
"Yes. That was only of the two topics I wanted to ask you about. The second one is er... more personal and I'd appreciate if you could keep it to yourself.
I hoped you could help me find something out. My mother has somehow poisoned herself and is in the St. Mungo's since January. I just... I want to know if I will see her again. Is there a to find it out?", she asked the Professor.

Once more she was glad that about her ability to control herself around the authorities. That meant... As long as they didn't tell her it was okay if she lost it. Then she couldn't keep it together. Like in Professor Vernatis' office.
But Opeila had the feeling, that Professor Kibitzer was far less of a grandmother-like figure than Professor Vernatis of a father-like figure.
@Rosalind Kibitzer

"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Seilun," said the professor, though her tone suggested otherwise. The woman listened as her student continued, still looking down at her, though she leaned forward now that she had become more engaged in conversation and forgotten what she had been working on. "My advice is to not fly too high on your broom without a buddy. It could be lifesaving under certain circumstances, but it cannot be done."

It couldn't be done in her experience, and she had been cultivating her abilities longer than the young Seer had been alive. Perhaps it would be possible, somehow - but she had no theories as to the method, and would not be wasting her time trying. To her, that would fall under the umbrella of denying one's nature. There were costs associated with the Sight as well as boons. The child would learn that in time. Maybe she'd share the wisdom with her little club.

"I'll keep it to myself," she assured the girl, with no intent to keep that promise until she heard what the girl said. It was a private matter. Very personal - and quite tragic, to hear that question coming from someone so young. There was an answer you always wanted to give in times like these. Professor Kibitzer sighed, a slight frown showing on her face. "A way to find out? You could write to the healers at St. Mungo's, perhaps. I know they are very qualified and sought after, even internationally."

Rosalind hadn't a damn clue about the healers at St. Mungo's, but she wasn't about to tell Opeila something like that. If her mother had poisoned herself, there was no doubt in her mind that the healers could un-poison her. Unless her mother was some kind of magical assassin of exceptionally weak constitution, she couldn't be brewing anything too fatal, could she? The professor was unsure, but didn't let it show. On her face, she looked quite certain of herself.

"Miss Seilun, I suspect you've come here to ask me to do some kind of reading. Something to help you know. But what will you do if I say no?" she asked, rather callously, though she said it with a kind look in her eye and a softness to her voice. "Send your mother a letter. Hope you'll see her again, but don't waste the time you have now. I am quite confident you will see her, in fact, but I am sure she would love to have a letter from her daughter to read if she's stuck in there. Hospitals can be terribly boring."

The professor waited for the girl's reaction, hoping she would take the response well.

Opeila was not sure how to react, when Professor Kibitzer said that it was a pleasure to meet her. The woman's tone confused her a little.
She told Opeila to not fly high on a broom alone, as a vision could not be repressed. Opeila frowned for a second. A moment before, she had only called it a more difficult task. The first year would definitely do some research on that.

Professor Kibitzer told Opeila to write the healers of St Mungos a letter. That was a possibility. Maybe she would have done it, if she didn't know that her grandmother would have told her if the healers knew. She was visiting her daughter multiple times a week after all. Actually it was a bad sign that her grandmother didn't write her anymore. It meant something was wrong. Somewhere. Somehow.

It was not surprising, that Professor Kibitzer immediately saw through Opeila's rather carefully worded question. But there was a misunderstanding. The Professor seemed to think that there was a way for Opeila to contact her mother. The first year shook her head. "She... She can't read my letters. She is not awake.
The thing is, I can handle a no. It is the not knowing that keeps me up at night. I have pretty much said my goodbyes, I just... Not knowing is torture."
Opeila looked at her hands. She wouldn't cry. There were no tears. Opeila didn't feel emotional telling the Professor this, she just hoped, that Professor Kibitzer could help her to find out.

@Rosalind Kibitzer

"We can't know," the professor replied, keeping her voice soft as the girl looked down at her hands. There were no tools or visions that could provide a person with a certain look at the future. There were always variables beyond our control, things we can't prepare for. Imperceptible flaws in the lens that distorted what the Sight showed you. "Miss Seilun, I understand the discomfort of uncertainty. It is something that leads most people to seek out divination. However, I will never advise the use of divination as a crutch."

It might have seemed like a cruel answer - denying such a simple request. It would take her only a moment to draw a card from the top of her deck and spin it some way that made the girl sure her mother would be alright. But Professor Kibitzer was honest on principle, and enjoyed cutting through the supports that people crafted for themselves, pulling no punches as she pushed even the unwilling on the route to mental toughness. The girl would not be spared because she was a child. In fact, that usually meant you got the worst of it with Rosalind.

"It's perfectly natural to want closure. But I can't give you that. You won't have it until it's over. I can show you a card, but it could still be wrong," the professor said, trying to explain her reasoning more delicately. "Until then, I would advise that you do not give up hope. It's good that you are prepared for the worst, but you will need to endure the uncertainty. I can't give you a reading."

Opeila's shoulders lowered a little when the Divination Professor told her that they couldn't know. Opeila had already assumed- feared- an answer like Professor Kibitzer gave her minutes ago. Although the Slytherin had tried not to hope, she could feel the little pain that always came with the last sparks disappearing. She took a deep breath. No reason to fret- this had been a possibility all along. One that was very likely, when Opeila thought about it.

Opeila was not angry with the Professor. This was a sad topic. And the answer to Opeila's question could very well be a no. It was understandable if the Professor didn't want to be involved in it. She nodded.
"I understand. I am sorry for asking you to help me, I... I understand that some people don't feel comfortable." She ran her fingers through her hair and straghtened up a little. Once more she nodded. She was a little disappointed, she couldn't deny it. Opeila had hoped to find an end for the endless nights of worrying. But this was not the professor's problem and Opeila respected her decision.
"Thank you for agreeing to help with the club." The Slytherin smiled.
The pain was locked behind her reliable inner wall.

If the professor let her, Opeila would leave the classroom.

@Rosalind Kibitzer

"I appreciate your understanding," the professor said, with a subtle nod. It was rare for a student of her age to display that level of maturity. That was, unless, they had been exposed to tragedy, like the young girl had. Rosalind's heart ached for the poor child, truly, but she could offer no help. False hope would just make accepting the loss that much more painful, if it were to come about. "I hope in time you will find peace on your own. It's something you'll find useful as you grow up."

The older woman lacked the kind of empathy toward children that her coworkers had sometimes. When Opeila hid away her pain, Rosalind could not see it. Perhaps she lacked perception, or maybe she just wasn't looking that hard. In either case, she gave a sorrowful smile to the little Slytherin.

"It's my pleasure. Send me a note or visit my office again when you need anything, and don't be afraid to refer the other Seers in my direction. I am always happy to help," she said, pausing briefly before she adds "in that regard."

She would, of course, allow Opeila to leave as she desired. With the girl departed, Rosalind lowered her head and returned to work - pausing to make a note of this new responsibility she had added to her list. Ah - these kids, always keeping her busy...