Paper Rings

7: The First Day

Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Thankfully the first day of classes wasn't until the next day, Emory's hangover would not have done well early in the morning.

Alyssa and Emory made sure to wake each other up early, to make themselves look the best they could for their last first day. They took hot showers, moisturized their skin, and ironed their uniforms. After packing their bags, they left their dorms and headed to the dining hall for breakfast.

Being able to sit with any house, Thalia joined Emory and Ryder for breakfast. Alyssa joined her friends at the Horned Serpent table. Much was going to happen today.

A few class periods had passed, and it was nearing the end of the day. The next class was Arithmancy the most advanced subject you could take.

The classroom was deathly silent, the only thing heard was the quiet mumbling of the very few students. The Professor stepped inside the classroom, their summer projects were expected to be placed directly on his desk.

The classroom was small, but it had more than enough room for the ten final years taking the class.

Emory focused the hardest she had the whole school day. Since it was all final years in the class, they all mastered the quill charm. Quills were constantly at work, writing everything the professor said.

The professor cleared his throat. "This number on the board here is of the individual solitary unit. One is independent, focused, and determined. They set many goals and stick to them, they are leaders and inventors. One finds it difficult to work with others and doesn't like being to take orders. Can anyone recite for me what this means?" the professor asked.

Hardly anyone had their hands up, the professor only had two choices. Emory's hand is the first one up.

"Oh, of course, Miss. Abbot. Shoot for the stars," The professor told her.

She raised her head with pride. "This is just the personality type of the kind of person you are overall. So the first number is easily a character number. My final answer is simply the number 1."

"Okay, so what is this destiny number that comes out to four? What does that number 4 mean then?" asked the professor writing chalk on the board.

Emory smiled. "Professor, fours are stable. Fours enjoy hard work and are practical, reliable, and logical. They are good at organization and getting things done, being predictable, and stubborn, along with being suspicious people and are commonly prone to angry outbursts. The conflicts are possible in two, and I believe they are doubled into four complications." She smirked.

The Professor smiled warmly at her, "I could say 10 points to the Thunderbirds for another astonishing answer".

Kyle doodled next to her, and he chuckled. He was the only one of her friends smart enough for this class. She gave him a look and he stopped.

"Now, before we jump into the next problem. This lesson is about counting, so in the very beginning, we all counted numbers. For example, how many numbers are there from 1 to 10 inclusive? Inclusive just indicates that you include the boundary numbers, in this case, 1 and 10. So there are n - k + 1 numbers. Of course, this is easily counted on your fingers, but when the problems get harder, it's better to have something besides your fingers to help. Pull out a number and recite for me the meaning behind this."

Some raised their hands, and some sat confused.

"Miss. Abbot?" The Professor picked out.

"Alright, let's say nine. It represents completion and achievement to the utmost. Nines dedicate themselves to service mostly as teachers, scientists, and humanitarians. Determined, they work tirelessly and are an inspiration to many others, but they can be arrogant and conceited when things don't go their way."

"Let's break down the formula, students, before we get into homework." The Professor smiled, before handing them a page full of problems.

The class groaned, and the classroom echoed with frustration. To each other students began reciting formulas of number definitions. There just had to be a pop quiz the first day back.

Emory smiled and blabbed on, "Using this formula you can find all the whole numbers in a set. Counting is basically determining how many numbers there are in a set-"

"I understand, Em." Kyle said, "But can we do this quietly?" He asked nicely.

"Yeah, I'm just excited," She said shyly.

"Only you Em, only you" He mumbled.

The Professor walked passed their desk. Giving a soft pat on Emory's desk he asked in a quiet tone, "You friends talking?" He raised his eyebrow.

Emory smiled shyly, and whispered, "Sorry Professor, I was rambling about the equations."

Professor gave her a small smile, "I've always enjoyed your enthusiasm."

Slowly walking off to check on others, he forgave Emory chattering.

"Teachers always liked you," Kyle groaned at Emory, who smirked in response.