Errand Let That Be A Lesson PV N. Benoit

After wiping down her freshly washed hands with a towel, Nadège swept open the net that hung over her chair and took a seat in front of the Ravenclaw girl. While it was normally taken up by an assortment of tarot cards, books, or paperwork, the round table then was free of any clutter; the deep red velvet reflecting beautifully by nearby candle.

Nadège smiled at Dymphna's question as she sat the towel neatly in her lap. She had Dymphna wash her hands as well; they needed to be spotless for efficient readings. Even though the pair hadn't started the session, the teenager's excitement was palpable. The professor remembered having that sort of exhilaration when she was younger and just newly discovering her own possession of an Inner Eye... then travelling the world with her mentor to learn how to handle it. All those years later and she still felt like home wherever Divination took her. It was a big reason why she became a Professor. Knowledge on such a misunderstood subject deserved to be spread.

"No worries. Excitement is what we live for, isn't it?," she began with a laugh, holding out her hand for the other's. "As for your question, well, I was only intending to read your palm, but if there's enough time afterwards, we can see about those tea leaves, alright?"

She couldn't bring herself to say no. Anything that could spark a student's interest in Divination, Nadège would welcome with open arms. Dymphna was enrolled in her classes as a third year and studying beginner methods, but the professor had heard much about her beforehand. It was difficult not to considering the family relation between the Teague and her close friend, Professor Jensen. One may have felt wary doing a reading on someone they were close to in fear of what could be revealed, but not her. Nadège loved the challenges it brought.

"Both of your hands, please." Both hands were equally important in palmistry, and necessary to compare the conscious with the subconscious. She was certain Dymphna understood; she had only ever reiterated that point during lessons several dozen times.

"Do you have any specific questions or concerns that brought you here today?"

PV Professor @Nadège Benoit

Dymphna gave an enthusiastic nod as she placed both of her hands within the professors. At her question, she hesitated. How should she explain?

"My grandfather. I don't know if my palms will answer my question, but I'm curious to what you might see either way." She flipped her hands palm side up, realizing she hadn't done so sooner. "I'd like to know... will he be able to speak again? He's so quiet. He's mute, you know? He works at the Owl Post Office so we write letters, but it would be nice to hear his voice. I've never heard him speak and no one talks about it." She frowned. "He doesn't sleep well either. I just want him to be alright."

There was much she didn't know - no one in the family would tell her. Her parents said that they would discuss it when she got older but how much older? How grown up would she have to be? As much as she wanted to push it, Dymphna refrained from asking her grandfather instead. Whatever it was, she suspected that it wasn't a good story, considering he lost sleep over it. He had told her that much at least. Her nana always gave her a stern look too, if she tried to bring it up, and she wasn't a sort of serious person either.

There was a moment of feeling guilty for going behind her families back about such a matter. It belonged in the family, did it not? What if what the professor saw was too personal? Dymphna suspected with Divination, it was something that the woman was used to. "I think he might have gotten hurt during the war," she blurted out, wanting to make sure that she knew the extent of his injuries, or of what she might see in her readings. If her palms couldn't answer her question, what would the reading say instead?

She was curious for answers, anything that Professor Benoit could tell her about herself, her future and her family.

WC: 348 | TOTAL: 814

As Dymphna blurted out everything that had been on her mind, Nadège was able to keep an ear open as she took her hands. Staring down at them, most noticeable at first were her slender fingers. Water hands, they were considered; most common among the sensitive, but also the intelligent and orderly. Dymphna certainly seemed that way. She seemed to carry herself at a maturity unlike many her age, and clearly cared for her family's welfare. Nadège didn't mind the personal nature of her question. The professor was used to it and found it good that the student was willing to open up. In a school like Hogwarts, who knew how much trauma was buried within.

Nadège didn't say much to the girl immediately after noting her hand shape, just a simple hum and nod telling her to continue. It provided a general glance into personality, which for Dymphna, was right on the dot. "Hmm." Flipping over Dymphna's hand so that her palms were face up again, she began by focusing on the lines of the right hand; The Line of Mentality, a thick line that swoops downward in the middle of the palm, in particular. It held the most crucial information on a person; their mentality, which in turn fuelled all action.

But first, she'd have to be honest with Dymphna about her expectations. Keeping her manicured thumb pressed gently into the girl's palm as to remember her place, she looked up at the Ravenclaw, quite apologetically. "I'm very sorry. But I will need your grandfather's palms for that, and knowing the extent of his injuries wouldn't hurt." Or perhaps a more advanced method of Divination could get the job done. From her years of experience, palmistry only gathered enough about the individual receiving the reading. Dymphna did ask for a tea reading, however, maybe that could provide the answers she was seeking. "However, I can read into how your relationship with him and the rest of your family will fare, and that of your future self. How about it?"

PV Professor @Nadège Benoit

"I see." The blonde was a little disappointed because she didn't know anything more about how her grandfather came about his injuries. The family whispered about it behind closed doors and spoke of it after casting silencing charms. It wasn't anything that Hjørdis seemed to know much about either or she might've told her already.

There was quite a bit that she did know however. During her first year at Hogwarts, Dymphna had met Alexxandria Séverin. It was well known within the Pureblood community that the Teagues saved non-Pureblood families during the war, yet it wasn't common knowledge that the Séverins were among them. Due to their status as Death Eaters, the Teagues kept them hidden from the other families they were harboring in case they were recognized and turned in to the Dark Lord. It protected everyone who lived there until they could all get on with their normal lives again.

The Professors next words had her smiling again. "Oh, could you? Anything you could tell me, I'd love to hear it." Thirteen seemed to be dragging on forever. What would she be like at fourteen, fifteen or even twenty? The future was uncertain, her career and what she would be like then. It was a lot to ask of the Professor, she thought. So she settled for anything that Professor Benoit would be able to tell her.

WC: 241 | TOTAL: 1055