Lost in the days yet to be

[Colette Descoteaux]

The small figure of Colette was intensely focused on the tea leaves in the bottom of her mug. To many perhaps these damp bits were simply that, but to someone such as Colette, they were windows into the days yet to be. She muttered quietly to herself in her native French as she looked away from the tea leaves to quickly write something in a dog eared notebook. It was the weekend, with most of her fellow Ravenclaws having already retired from breakfast to get on with the day's events. Colette had rapidly become distracted by the leaves in her cup of tea, sadly her breakfast lay forgotten barely touched and long since cold.

She glanced at her writing and nodded, apparently pleased before giving the mug one final examination. Satisfied at last she finally returned her attention to breakfast and judging from her expression, she seemed to be surprised to find herself alone at the Ravenclaw table. This look vanished after a few heartbeats, returning to her usual serine and distant expression most common with the young woman. She chewed on a piece of cold toast losing herself to the privacy of her own thought, the young seer was perceptive and talented, though she was still in need of much training. Colette might be able to see the future, but seeing what might be happened to be completely different from what will be.

It was hard for her to explain to someone else who lacked the sight or if their inner eye was closed. She missed France, she missed her friends in her old house and the food. The Hogwarts Elves tried their best she felt sure, but British cuisine was not something she particularly enjoyed. Maybe she could see if the Elves might be tempted by a French cook book, but she did not need the sight to see that it may backfire on her, especially if the little chefs took offense to her attempt to get some of her home style cooking.

[Josephine Miller]

Josephine was walking by the table when she heard Colette, just by chance, muttering in French. Her mother had taught her French along with English, so she was a bit surprised to hear it here of all places. She raised a brow and looked over at the Ravenclaw who was sitting alone and walked over to her table.

"Je ne savais pas qu'il y avait un autre francophone ici," she said, "Je m'appelle Joséphine. Et toi?" she tilted her head a bit.

Half of Josephine's issue with some of the students here, especially the others who called themselves Half-bloods like herself, was their considerable lack of culture. While she'd never lived in France, she had gone there plenty to visit her mother's family. She found it to be much more appealing there than anywhere in England, honestly. She hoped she'd found someone of any kind of a like mind here, though that did beg the question of why she was here and not Beauxbatons.

Though Josephine was also aware she was in the middle of something, that was never a thing that would stop her from speaking her mind. Plus, her curiosity was nagging her anyways.

[Colette Descoteaux]

It took Colette a few seconds to realize that someone was in fact attempting to communicate with her. She blinked, in apparent surprise to find someone talking with her, though whether this came down to someone willing to talk with her or due to them speaking her native language and quite well, she could not have managed a guess. Colette swallowed her mouthful of toast. "Oui." She began in French before taking a second to consider the English she required. "Though I need to get better at using my English but French to me is much more descriptive and easier." Her English was pretty good, but she preferred her native tongue all the same.

"I am Colette." She introduced herself in turn before taking another mouthful of toast. "How are you?" The seer inquired after she finished the mouthful, washing it down with a flagon on orange juice. She blinked again as if something just occurred to her, interrupting the serene and dreamlike expression which she habitually appeared to wear. "You're French is very good. Did you go to Beauxbatons too?" Colette inquired curiously, there might have been those who's eyes and minds were closed, who would have been mean enough to suggest that she use her sight to find out. But being a seer did not work like that.

[Josephine Miller]

Josephine shrugged at the idea of needing to get better at English, "If you think it's necessary," she sighed, "Unfortunately no, I did not get to go there. My mother did though. For whatever reason she decided it was better to move out to England than make my father go to France, so," she shook her head and shrugged, "Might I ask why you're here?" she asked, sitting down across from Colette, clearly curious herself. She wasn't aware of Colette's seer capabilities, so the thought never occurred regardless, but she just wanted to get to know this new and seemingly interesting person.

[Colette Descoteaux]

"Oui, I do as most of our work here requires the use of English." Colette chuckled at may have been an attempt to be funny. "Oh that is a shame, you would have enjoyed it very much I think." She sounded genuinely disappointed that they had not attended her former school. "I get that, my father decided the same thing, but for work." Colette explained, her father was a genius when it came to broomstick design. All other broomsticks were to him but lumps of moldy wood when compared to a Descoteaux designed broom. They were works of artistry and usually insanely expansive to boot as a result.

"Here as in school? Or do you mean here as in why am I here in the Great Hall?" Colette questioned before deciding to answer both, without waiting for one herself. "My father he... Er... How do you say? Relocated to Britain following a job offer and acceptance. He did not wish me to remain in France by myself so I came to Hogwarts. As for the Great Hall, I am here for breakfast though I may have become a tad distracted by reading the tea leaves." The seer grinned somewhat sheepishly. It was not as bad as last Friday where the only reason she did not read every single cup or mug's tea leaves came down to the interruption of one of the professors who kindly ensured she got to class on time.

[Josephine Miller]

Josephine listened to her response without changing her expression, having figured she'd figure out the answer on her own, which she more or less did, "Reading the tea leaves? So you're into Divination? Never quite understood it myself, but it's not my worst class," she mused, leaning her chin into her hand, "What job does your father have? Mine's just some boring businessman, but I suppose I can't complain too much considering he does a pretty good job..."

Jo was more or less hoping this new person would prove to be far more interesting than any of the people she'd known so far while at Hogwarts. And maybe also wouldn't give her flack for her unfortunate lineage situation. The way people had treated her over that had certainly left her more than a little prickly towards most students currently there.

[Colette Descoteaux]

"Yes, I have to be since I am a seer." Colette told her with a grin, to her born with her inner eye open to the potential possibilities of the world was as natural as breathing. "It is a difficult subject to understand." Shy empathized with her there. "We are looking for but one ripple on the lake of the future and each drop of rain is a potential future, these ripples, merged and twist and alter. Sometimes knowing is enough to change it, sometimes even prior knowledge is not enough to change fate,"

She cocked her head to one side abruptly, frowning ever so slightly as if she were listening to something. "My father he works as a broomstick designer. If it extremely fast or how do you say? Flashy? Then chances were he designed it." Colette used to ride one of the fanciest and expensive broomsticks around until her own vision of her untimely end. Another soul might have regretted such a choice, but she made it happily. Now, no one could get her to even go near a broomstick such was her aversion to flying. "It is ironic since I no longer fly." Colette chuckled quietly. "I can read some tea leaves for you if you would like?" She offered from seemingly no where.

[Josephine Miller]

"Ah, a seer, that explains a bit," Josephine mused, before listening to her talk, "Sounds really impressive when you phrase it like that," she smirked a bit, "I'm sure the Quidditch team kids will be all over those brooms in a heartbeat then," she snorted as she explained the brooms. She raised a brow at the comment about how she no longer flew but seemed to bounce to the offer before Jo could question it.

Joe shrugged, "I mean sure, but I don't expect much, no offense," she said, holding up a hand as she said the last words, not wanting to offend her right out. She only did that to people she didn't like.

[Colette Descoteaux]

"I guess it does." Colette voiced her agreement happily, though briefly she wondered what it might be like for the majority of people who were born without an inner eye or those who's inner eye was firmly closed. A few people she knew from conversation expected her to know the future clearly, but the future was mutable, malleable, prone to changing completely seemingly on a whim. Yet also, it could be something set in stone and the actions taken to avoid a fate, more likely to bring it about. The thought bought about her decision not to fly or play Quidditch any more, the vision was it true? False? A dream? A nightmare? It was something to discuss with the Divination Professor next time she saw him.

"Hmm." Colette gave a start, lost in her own thoughts. "Oh yes, I think they will." She said quickly, though honestly she did not really know. Some people were weird when it came to broomsticks and Quidditch. "None taken." Colette informed her, she was a difficult person to offend in general. "I admit I am better with visions and dream interpretation but... The leaves are fascinating in their own way yes?" Colette glanced about herself. "Do you have a cup or should we get some tea?" She inquired, a focused light in her eyes at the prospect of a reading.

[Josephine Miller]

Jo listened to her before looking back to where she'd been sitting. She held up a finger to tell Colette to wait, muttering "Un moment," as she did. She went over, grabbing her cup from where she'd had a cup of tea with her meal before bringing it over and setting it down between them, "Here you go," she said, "I get so bored in that class, but perhaps you can make me interested in paying more attention," she smirked, leaning her chin into her hand.

She doubted it, her mother had never put much stock in Divination, and it seemed to be more of a gut-feeling kind of magic for anyone not graced with "the sight", but it was entertaining, she supposed, if nothing else. She was curious about this girl regardless.

[Colette Descoteaux]

Colette eagerly accepted the cup, narrowly avoiding snatching it from the other woman's grasp as she brought the mug up in order to study the leaves as they were. Slowly, she went through the motions required into order to read the leaves correctly. As she studied them, Colette muttered to herself in French before falling silent for a long minute. She abruptly set the cup down before pulling out a book from her bag, clearly related to divination, even if it was in French. The book was heavy, with a royal blue cover, inlaid with gold text and a big silver clasp.

This, she undid with a snap before quickly turning to the relevant page. Another study of the cup before she ran her finger down the page, stopping to rest on a particular part which she tapped three times with her finger. "If the vision is clear today is your lucky today and you are shortly to encounter some wealth." Colette told her in a serene voice. "An alternative interpretation is a handsome individual will answer you a question." She added on, in a similar tone. "The leaves are not my preferred method of divining what may be from what will be. Yet to be forewarned is to be forearmed." Colette smirked at her own little joke.

She did not understand why some many students found the subject boring, could they not open their inner eye to the mystery?

[Josephine Miller]

Jo listened without interruption, watching her curiously. However, whenever she read out the observation, she gave a huff, "My mother always said to take what resonates with those kinds of things, but it always just sounds like rubbish to me," She waved a hand, "I don't mean to be dismissive, but I think I'll leave such poppycock to those who interested and focus on things that actually make sense. There's no sense trying to divine the future when it's ever-changing. Any decision you make could change everything," she reached into the tea cup and used her nail to change what the shape was on the bottom of the cup, "Turning to diving tools is a way to take the responsibility for it out of your own hands," she shrugged, "That's my opinion anyways. And ultimately, what does that matter?" she smirked a little, as if reiterating her own point.

"Though that might come off as insulting to a seer. I'm not discrediting that you do in fact see things, but there's nothing saying that what you see is law other than people turning it into a self-fulling prophecy," she shrugged again, "Il n'y a aucune raison pour que l'avenir ne puisse pas changer à moins que nous décidions qu'il ne devrait pas le faire."

[Colette Descoteaux]

"The tea leaves is not my preferred method of divining the future." Colette insisted, even if she still found it fascinating and absorbing. But then again, her inner eye was open, for she was a seer. A talented one at that, just like her great grandmother. "That is the key point exactly, what will happen is very different from what will happen." She attempted to explain, even if her audience did not feel receptive of it. "It is hard to explain in English and as long as I can remember my inner eye is open to these sorts of things. I can see the possibilities, just as I know a boy will ask me to three days before it."

The Ravenclaw girl had seen a great deal of other things in her visions of the future. Though what would happen to those who asked for her insights remained a mystery. Futures changed at the drop of a hat, an unreturned greeting, a forgotten sheet of homework and so on. "Ah you prefer the argument of Professor Thatch in his work from 1892. If the future can be seen and predicted, do we even have free will. But as you say yourself if you can change the future then what was foreseen would not happen." Colette did not take the girl's dismissal of her best subject to heart. Words were only weapons if you let them be. "Say if I predicted a boy you like would ask you out, ordinarily without my knowledge you would have said yes, but if you knew and decided to say no then the future is altered, as you chose to do so." She smirked at the thought.

"I believe it was Madame Argyle in her seminal work..." Colette trailed off abruptly, her brown eyes losing her focus as she stared at something only she could see as she slipped into one of her trances. She snapped back into focus after a minute or two of total silence, though she seemed considerably agitated. She looked pale, almost drawn as if she witnessed something particularly unpleasant. Hastily she started to collect her things, failing at any attempt conceal the trembling in her limbs.

"I..." Colette failed to speak, recalling her friend's last words before she lost her focus and slipped into a vision. "I hope you are right." She managed to say shakily, wondering if she might be able to find the divination professor and talk to him about her latest vision. "Please excuse me." Colette explained as she made to leave, casting wary glances about her as if she were expecting something dangerous to come out of the walls, floor, ceiling or windows.

[Josephine Miller]

"My point is that I don't want predictions because it attempts to create a color-by-the-numbers picture," Jo muttered when she started talking about professor arguments, shaking her head as her point seemed to be lost in the attempt to justify the seers own. Though she supposed that was the nature of the thing. When she trailed off, Jo glanced up and saw her look, "Hellooooooo?" she said, waving her hand in the line of sight Colette had then realized what was happening. She didn't bother to ask what she saw, watching her go, "Au revoir," she gave a half wave before shaking her head and getting her things together, "Seers," she muttered, making a face, to herself before heading to meet back up with her friends.