In the Arithmetic Divination class, Professor Victor started by teaching the numbers from 1 to 9.
According to this professor, each number has a unique personality and color, corresponds to different shapes, and anything, people's names, and destinies can be converted into corresponding numbers, which can then be interpreted using a series of theories.
She also taught the students how to interpret their own names—
First, convert the letters into numbers, and then convert the numbers through addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division into personality numbers that show personality, soul numbers that represent inner desires and fears, and social numbers related to external appearances.
It was all two-digit arithmetic, naturally no difficulty for Vid. He added and subtracted a bit and quickly got his three numbers—
[Driven by relentless imagination and vigorous curiosity, while pursuing truth and fantasy, possessing extraordinary creativity.]
[Not easy to establish intimate social relationships, doesn't like complex social activities, tends to live in the world of thought...]
—Horoscopic divination? Or personality test?
Vid looked at his "divined" results and was silent for a while.
At this moment, Professor Victor also came to Vid's side, looked at Vid's calculations, and mentally calculated it again, then smiled slightly.
"The calculation results are correct, but the social numbers do not always remain unchanged throughout our lives. To accurately interpret these numbers, we also need to consider the current celestial phenomena and time."
"Of course, this is what we will study later. You've already done very well; I'm very pleased."
After Professor Victor finished, she nodded at Vid and then went to check Michael's results.
Michael nervously showed his parchment.
Vid glanced at it and found it quite speechless.
Because Michael's interpretation was—
[A determined, courageous champion. Poor communication skills, solitary, and likes to be suspicious, will achieve great success in politics and become a command-loving dictator.]
None of it matched Michael at all.
Professor Victor also did a quick mental calculation and burst out laughing.
"You made a basic mistake, Mr. Kona," Professor Victor said with a smile. "M corresponds to the number 4, not 5."
Michael looked down and found it was indeed the case. He blushed and apologized to the professor, then finally got serious, lying on the desk to recalculate.
For Vid, his first Arithmetic Divination class was like a simple numbers game, and the entire process involved calculations no more than two digits.
Even so, his classmates frequently made errors. Professor Victor was quite patient, guiding each one individually, never losing her temper at any silly student from start to finish.
At the end of the class, Professor Victor's homework was quite simple—use arithmetic divination to interpret three familiar names.
Michael had a bright idea upon hearing this, and on the way back, he said:
"Vid, let me borrow what you've interpreted in class; later, I'll find Hermione to compare her results, so I only need to interpret one more person, and my homework will be reduced by two-thirds!"
"I don't mind lending it to you," Vid said, "but aren't you worried about failing the exams?"
"Don't worry, I've memorized the key points and the symbolism of the numbers, just too lazy to calculate repeatedly."
After saying that, Michael went to find Hermione but couldn't spot that curly-haired girl after wandering for a while.
However, there were only a few students in the corridor.
"Strange, such a noticeable person as Hermione, how could she disappear in the blink of an eye... Vid, did you see where she went? Vid?"
Michael turned around only to find Vid had disappeared as well.
He paused, looked around, and saw Theodore Nott, with a gloomy expression, bypass him and walk away.
"Michael?"
Just as Michael was confused, someone tapped his shoulder from behind. Michael suddenly turned back and saw it was Vid.
He seemed to have just come from a nearby corridor, with a strange and cheap fragrance hanging on him, lazily yawning as if not fully awake.
"What are you standing there for? Let's go," Vid said.
"Oh... okay."
Michael caught up, vaguely understanding something, yet feeling it was incredible.
...
While Michael went to find Hermione, Vid saw no one was paying attention to him, so he stepped back, used the corridor statues to block others' sight, and turned the Time Turner backward twice.
The feeling of traveling through a time tunnel reappeared, dizzyingly dazzling. Vid steadied himself and saw the surroundings were already empty.
The chilly morning light passed through the windows, making the corridor lonely and cold.
Vid didn't linger here; he used the Summoning Charm to call his broom, flew back to the dormitory for a nap, and only flew directly to the North Tower when the time approached nine o'clock.
Upon landing in the corridor through the window, Vid heard a loud, enthusiastic voice saying, "On foot, gentlemen and this lady, onward! Onward!"
Vid leaned his broom against the nearby wall, and soon a House-Elf would take it back to his dormitory.
He brushed his wind-blown hair aside and followed the direction of the voice, seeing Harry's trio climbing the stairs breathlessly, almost kneeling.
Beside them was a portrait of a short, plump knight in armor riding a dark gray pony, waving energetically:
"Farewell, my comrades! If you need a noble heart and iron muscles, don't forget to call Sir Cadogan!"
Harry and his friends were too tired to speak, just watching the knight in the portrait leave, then saw Vid walking up from below the stairs.
"Good morning, everyone!" Vid greeted cheerfully.
The Divination classroom was hidden; at class time, a trapdoor in the ceiling would open, dropping a silver ladder, and climbing up the ladder led to their classroom.
This classroom also had curtains drawn during the day, with many deep red candles lit, each covered by red shades, casting an annoying scarlet glow over the entire room.
The room was crammed with round tables and armchairs, like a poorly run old-fashioned teahouse. Shelves at the edges were filled with crystal balls, teapots, and other divination tools.
No one knew what Professor Trelawney put in the fireplace; the entire room was filled with a cloying fragrance, with this scent alone making one sleepy.
But some found this environment wonderful, filled with a mysterious and ancient aura—for instance, Padma's sister Pavarti, who was watching a dusty crystal ball at the corner with anticipation and envy.