Divination Test

Victor's second class is at three o'clock in the afternoon.

As class time approached, more and more students began to flood into the Divination classroom, more than double the number of previous years. Among them were Fred and George from Gryffindor, and their good friend Lee Jordan.

The three of them walked into the divination classroom with their arms around each other's shoulders.

Compared to the morning, the divination classroom has undergone some changes.

Although the classroom remained clean and spacious, the curtains on both sides of the attic had been drawn again, and a white candle on each table lit the room. At the front of the classroom, the fireplace had been extinguished, replaced by a brazier on a stand that was burning brightly.

Fred and the others sat down at a round table near the brazier, and immediately began whispering to each other:

"I heard that seventh graders' morning classes are very interesting. Hufflepuff's seventh graders told me that they learned how to use a pocket watch to predict which road is safest."

"Think about it another way, maybe this will allow us to avoid the road with Filch when we're out at night!"

"That's right! Then I need to study hard too—"

The conversation between the three gradually veered in a direction that caused Professor McGonagall's blood pressure to rise. But after a few words, George looked at the brazier with a puzzled expression:

"But this doesn't seem like we need to use pocket watches... Are we going to have to learn fire divination?"

"Almost, Mr. Weasley."

A faint, eerie voice suddenly came from behind them, startling the three of them.

They turned around and saw Victor slowly emerging from the shadows behind them... but no one knew when he had appeared there.

After saying that, Victor ignored Fred and went straight to the podium.

The class has started.

He looked at all the young wizards with his dark, hollow eyes:

"Welcome to the divination class, everyone. Before we begin, I have some unfortunate news to share."

This sentence immediately caught the students' attention, making them prick up their ears.

Victor continued, "While many students are interested in divination, some will leave our classroom forever at the end of this lesson—not because they will meet with some misfortune, but because not everyone has the ability to foresee the future."

"The process of divination means that you will release your spirituality, communicate with the world around you, and gain insight into information invisible to the naked eye through spiritual feedback..."

"The degree of spirituality is innate, just as a wizard is born a wizard."

"Less spirituality doesn't mean you can't excel in magic, but it does mean you won't go far in pure divination."

"So, I prepared a pre-school test to persuade those students who weren't so good at it to switch to a field where they were more talented."

A pre-school test?!

take an exam??

The students' excited expressions gradually faded, replaced by a sense of worry and irritability—who could guarantee they had spiritual insight? What if they didn't? Wouldn't they be unable to learn those novel divination methods?

George suddenly raised his hand high again.

"Speak, Mr. Weasley."

"Professor, we have no knowledge of divination. How can we pass the test?"

"Good question." Victor nodded slightly. "So now, everyone please take out your copy of 'Seeing the Future Through the Fog.' It's okay if you didn't bring your textbook; you can share one with the student next to you."

A rustling sound immediately filled the classroom as students took out their thick textbooks from their bags.

"Now, please turn to page 15."

Then came another sound of pages turning.

Fred moved his hand and quickly turned to that page, then saw the opening title: Various Images in Tea Divination.

"When you turn to this page, you will find many symbolic images, such as what tea leaves forming the shape of the sun represent, and what an eagle represents."

"I will not ask you to interpret it, but I hope you can find the shapes you see in the flames and smoke based on the intentions mentioned above."

"—Then answer the question on this parchment."

Victor took a thick stack of parchment from the table beside the fireplace and distributed it to the students around him, instructing them to pass it on. The students began to whisper among themselves.

As soon as George received the parchment, he carefully read the questions on it:

Question 1: In the smoke that's supposed to indicate campus safety this year, which of the following patterns do you see?

A. Sun

B. Rams and Horns

C. Crow

D. A crooked cross

Question 2: In the smoke that foretells the safety of the magical world this year, which of the following patterns did you see?

Question 3...

George quickly scrolled down and found that the next few questions were all similar, with only the last one being different.

Question 10: In the final stretch of smoke, describe a scene you perceive from the smoke, and write down the emotions and colors of the scene.

???

George was a little stunned. Even the fortune-telling final exam paper Percy brought home a few years ago didn't look like this!

If he could solve these problems, shouldn't he have been able to graduate directly?!

"At the end of the course, I will reveal the answers so that you can check your grades yourselves."

"I only recommend that students who get at least 6 questions right continue taking divination courses, because students who are not good at directly observing the world are more suitable to learn arithmetic divination."

As he spoke, Victor walked to the fireplace and took down a bowl of lettuce in a wooden tub and a small dish of spices from the top of the fireplace.

He first sprinkled a handful of spices into the brazier, including rosemary and forget-me-nots, and then threw in a few lettuce leaves.

Then, in a vague and indifferent tone, he explained:

"Forget-me-nots can enhance one's sense of smell. Certain types of lettuce can elevate your spirituality..."

The moment the lettuce slices were placed inside, flames suddenly erupted, expanding nearly tenfold in size and reaching straight to the ceiling!

It also turned into an eerie dark purple, and began to spew out pale white smoke with purple specks. The smoke formed a small cloud in the air, but it did not disperse.

The students gasped in surprise.

"You might feel a little dizzy and want to drink water, but that's normal and requires no intervention. Just focus on the smoke above and choose the pattern you see—"

"Mr. George, is there anything else you want to say?"

He looked at George, who had raised his hand.

George was taken aback, not expecting Victor to be able to distinguish him from Fred at a glance, but he didn't ask the question for the moment. Instead, he said with great interest:

"Professor, if we can guess all six questions correctly, can we still choose the divination course?"

"Why not?" Victor retorted.

"Being able to guess six questions correctly in a row is itself a sign of destiny, indicating that you have exceptionally good luck and will achieve twice the results with half the effort in divination."

"Alright, is everything alright?"

"The exam begins."