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Chapter 365: Simple Arithmancy
Chapter 365: Simple Arithmancy
"I just can't wrap my head around it, I really can't. What is all this about?"
Lee Jordan, who had just left the Divination classroom, looked utterly flustered.
The Divination class hadn't taught them anything useful. For most of the time, Professor Trelawney had them interpret the shapes of tea leaves using the content from pages five and six of the book Unfogging the Future.
Later, Fred's cup had somehow led Professor Trelawney to interpret the worst possible omen—a prediction of death! This left Lee Jordan feeling very uncomfortable, as he had been responsible for interpreting Fred's cup.
"You guys aren't taking this seriously, are you?" Albert spoke up, sensing the oppressive atmosphere around them.
Several of his roommates stopped in their tracks and turned to look at Albert.
"As far as I know, Professor Sibyl Trelawney has predicted the death of a student every year since she started teaching at this school," Albert stated calmly. "Seeing death omens is her favorite way of welcoming new students."
"Every year?" Fred blurted out.
"Yes, every single year," Albert replied, patting Fred on the shoulder. "And so far, not a single one of them has actually died."
"Looks like you're off the hook then," George said with a laugh as he draped an arm around his brother's shoulders.
"Yeah, that's a relief," Fred sighed. "To be honest, I was pretty spooked by Professor Trelawney's prediction."
"But... prophecies..." Lee Jordan still seemed troubled by this.
"Prophecies are obviously fake. I doubt Professor Trelawney can even make prophecies at all. At least, not like those seers who can directly foretell the future. Otherwise, she would definitely showcase her prophetic abilities during class. Nothing would be more convincing than that."
"Then what about your prophecy?" Lee Jordan persisted.
Noticing a group of students eavesdropping nearby, Albert rolled his eyes and said, "Ever since Harry Potter came to Hogwarts, and with Dumbledore setting up that mysterious restricted area in the castle, I've had a feeling that something unpleasant might happen."
"You! I thought..." Lee Jordan stared at Albert, mouth agape, realizing he'd been fooled again.
"After two years of being together, you still don't understand Albert!" George exclaimed, his expression implying that Lee might as well not be part of their group.
"Does Albert even need prophecies?" Fred teased. "He doesn't. If he really wanted to make a prophecy, all he has to do is open his mouth. I guarantee it would be more accurate than any prediction."
The twins exchanged a glance and burst into laughter.
Indeed, in the Weasley brothers' opinion, Albert's predictions were more accurate than any prophecy.
As for Professor Trelawney's death prophecy, it was most likely just her peculiar way of welcoming new students. All they had to do was ask around, and they would know whether it was true or not.
As for whether Albert could make prophecies, Fred and George were inclined to believe that he probably could.
After all, he had accurately foretold many events with his words. Additionally, Albert didn't like letting too many people know certain things, such as whether he could actually perform divination. Perhaps Albert wouldn't mind sharing such information privately with them, but asking in front of others was deliberately provoking him.
Moreover, this guy had a habit of mixing truthful statements with half-truths and outright lies, making it impossible to discern which were which.
Fred and George also never asked about sensitive topics in front of others; even if they did, it was purely in jest.
If they wanted to know something, they would ask privately back in their dormitory at night.
Only Lee Jordan, with his rigid thinking, was taking a while to catch on.
Fred and George shot him looks that clearly told him to drop the subject, and they changed the topic.
"We still have a Transfiguration class coming up, and then Care of Magical Creatures and Potions classes in the afternoon. Our schedule is packed these days, it's exhausting."
"What about your Arithmancy class? Did you just skip it?" George frowned as they walked through an empty corridor.
"No, I sent my doppelganger to attend. Alright, don't ask me how I did it; it's a secret," Albert said as he checked his pocket watch. He then added, "Wait for me a moment," before stepping into the nearby boys' restroom.
Albert gently pushed the door of a stall, and hearing three knocks in response, he knocked three times on the door before entering the adjacent stall. As he closed the door, the previously locked stall door opened, and a somewhat weary-looking Albert emerged.
In the stall he had just left, Albert was now taking out a Time-Turner from his pouch. He hung it around his neck and turned it once.
Albert felt as if time was rapidly rewinding, and his ears popped. The next moment, he felt solid ground beneath his feet, and everything returned to normal.
Putting away the Time-Turner, Albert pulled out his pocket watch to check the time and then quickly exited the boys' restroom, heading toward his Arithmancy class.
"By the way, I think the Arithmancy classroom is on the seventh floor, in Room 7A," Albert muttered to himself. "Ugh, it's quite a distance away. What a hassle."
Arithmancy's "numerology" was a branch of arithmancy that dealt with the mystical relationships between numbers and events that occurred simultaneously.
Albert had already read Wakefield's Numerology and Graphomancy during the summer vacation. For most witches and wizards who hadn't studied mathematics properly, it wasn't a very friendly book.
It reminded him of a book called The Kabbalah Code, a secret Jewish divination technique known as "numerology" in common parlance.
In Albert's opinion, the magical world's arithmancy was akin to a mix of probability calculations and a bunch of strange concepts.
If that was truly the case, it might explain why curse breakers needed to master this skill.
It would enable them to assess the success rate of curse breaking without actually attempting it, thus minimizing the risk of failure.
As Albert appeared on the fourth floor of the castle via a shortcut, just about to head to the eighth floor through another secret passage, he happened to spot two unlucky students arguing with Filch: Ron Weasley, with his distinctive red hair, and none other than the famous Harry Potter.
"The Weasley with red hair, humph, don't think I don't know what you're up to. Students are prohibited from going to the restricted corridor on the fourth floor."
As Albert approached, he heard Filch's angry voice.
"Lost, I don't believe you would be so coincidentally lost and trying to wander into the restricted area on the fourth floor."
Soon, Albert saw someone walking over, it was Professor Quirrell, he was probably on his way to inspect the protective checkpoint and happened to help the two unlucky students out of their predicament.
"If I catch you trying to wander into the restricted area again," Filch glared at the two escaped students and threatened, "it's straight to detention, and maybe a day in the dungeons will help clear your heads."
As Harry and Ron turned the corner, they saw Albert standing there, looking at them with a smirk.
"You certainly live up to the Weasley name, trying to explore the school's restricted areas on the first day of school?" Albert said to Ron with a light smile.
"No, we just got lost," Ron refuted.
"We were just looking for the Charms classroom," Harry muttered.
"Then go on, just head straight from here, and you'll get there soon after passing through the Armor Corridor." Albert said quietly, "If you get lost, it's better to ask someone for directions instead of wandering around the school by yourself. Only someone without a brain would do that, trust me, a lot of people will be willing to show you the way, Potter, if you just ask."
Harry and Ron jogged off in the direction Albert had pointed out.
"Do you know him?" Harry asked quietly.
"Fred and George invited him to our house during the summer holidays, and Mum and Dad really like him too." Ron said dryly, "He's supposed to be a pretty amazing genius."
"But why did he say that?" Harry couldn't help but ask.
"Fred and George like to play pranks at school, and he probably thought I'd be like them." Ron felt a little depressed when he talked about this, and he suddenly realized why Filch had targeted them, it was most likely related to Fred and George.
Albert didn't know what Harry and Ron had said to each other, but he finally made it to the Arithmancy classroom via a shortcut before the class started.
Their teacher for this subject was Professor Vector, who explained to them what Arithmancy was all about during the class.
..."a supposed form of divination based on assigning numerical values to the letters of words and phrases. Although this may seem contradictory, Arithmancy employs a strict and mathematical approach to predicting the future."
Yes, that was a direct quote from the book 'Numerology and Graphomancy'.
"....Arithmancy requires rigorous logic. You can't make things up as you go, and don't think you can get away with just jotting down random numbers for your assignments." Professor Vector said to the students, who were struggling to keep up.
Next, Professor Vector instructed them to look at the dense numbers on the blackboard and began teaching them how to perform Arithmancy.
Aside from Shan'na and Albert, a few other Muggle-born students, most of the students in the class frowned and listened intently.
There was no helping it, for a group of students who hadn't even fully grasped basic arithmetic, learning Arithmancy was undoubtedly challenging.
However, Albert found it quite easy and it was indeed just probability calculations.
It was undeniable that Muggle-born wizards had an advantage in this aspect, as they had attended regular schools and learned basic mathematics, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
Professor Vector walked over and picked up a piece of parchment from the table, glancing at the numbers filled in the table.
They were all correct.
Professor Vector gave Albert a surprised look, as she had heard about him before, but it was only now that she truly understood why the other professors spoke so highly of him.
"Well done, Mr. Anderson, you've completed the calculations and they're all correct. Ten points to Gryffindor." After saying this, Professor Vector leaned down and said to Albert, "Stay back for a moment after class, I have something to discuss with you."
Indeed, Arithmancy was challenging for many students, and aside from Shan'na, even Katrina, who was diligently working on the calculations, couldn't finish them before the end of class.
This vast gap left Katrina feeling quite deflated.
After Albert left the classroom, Katrina wanted to say something, but Shan'na beat her to it.
"What did Professor Vector want to talk to you about?" Shan'na asked curiously.
"Professor Vector asked me to attend the advanced class whenever I have time." Albert replied.
"Advanced class? I heard that the advanced class only accepts the smartest students, and I heard from some seniors that it's called Advanced Arithmancy Studies, and the classroom is on the first floor of the castle." Shan'na asked, "Can I go to the advanced class with you?"
"I don't mind." Albert shrugged.
"How did you do it? I mean, how did you learn it so quickly? Is there a trick to it?" Katrina finally couldn't help but ask.
"You guys might find it difficult because you haven't studied mathematics before." Albert spoke the truth, "Arithmancy is similar to probability calculations in the Muggle world, and if you have knowledge in that area, then learning Arithmancy will be a breeze."
Katrina glared at Albert with resentment and walked away. She didn't want to talk to that guy anymore, it was just too frustrating.
(End of Chapter)
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