𝐀𝐔𝐑𝐎𝐑𝐀 | 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬

✧ chapter 21 ✧

1976

As the week dragged on and the ball drew nearer, last minute preparations and meltdowns became more and more frequent throughout the Hogwarts girl's dormitories.

"These are all wrong!" Marlene exclaimed in a panic, tugging at her dress robes. She had tried them on at least six times that week alone and it was only Thursday.

"The ball is tomorrow! I don't have time to find new robes! What am I going to do? Mary what am I going to do?!" She continued frantically, grabbing the petite blonde by her shoulders and shaking her back and forth. The usually 5"8 Marlene towered over Mary, who was only 5"4 on a good day, in her six inch heels and Mary looked a little frightened. Lily stepped forward and put a protective arm around Mary, prying her from Marlene's frenzied grasp and pulling her out of the firing line. Surprisingly, Lily was the tallest of the group, standing at 5"11, which made her seem even more motherly to the others. Everyone had thought that Aurora would always be the tallest of the group, having hit 5"7 in second year, but she reached 5"9 at age fourteen and stopped growing allowing the others to catch up. Aurora always teased Lily about her height because she thought it made her a 'perfect match for that gangly beanpole, Potter'.

"Your robes are gorgeous Marley, what are you talking about?" Lily responded once she had moved Mary far enough away that she would not be shaken again.

"They're all wrong!" Marlene yelled again, that appearing to be her only response.

"Yesterday you loved them." Aurora added, joining Lily to inspect Marlene.

"But that was yesterday!" Marlene exclaimed in response, running her fingers through her hair in agitation. Marlene's dress robes were as extravagant and no doubt expensive as ever. They were made of ruby red silk and sported a plunging neckline sitting just below her sternum, which allowed for ample cleavage. The sleeves were long and fitted, concluding in a regal 'V' shape at the cuff and there were two thigh high slits on either side of the front panel which showed off her shapely legs when she walked.

"Marley, you took gorgeous, stop fussing. I suggest you take them off and don't look at them until you put them on before the ball. That gives you twenty-four hours to fall in love with them again." Aurora suggested, earning encouraging nods of approval from the other girls.

"I suppose you're right." Marlene sighed, beginning to unbutton the robes.

"Rory, can we head to the library now? I want to work on our divination homework before it closes." Mary spoke up, reminding Aurora of the promise she had made earlier that day. Mary, Peter and Aurora were the only three of the crazy eight to choose divination as part of their N.E.W.T's, with Lily and Remus instead choosing ancient runes while Marlene, Sirius and James chose a double study period. Mary and Peter chose it because it was viewed as sort of a filler subject and wasn't hard to do well in so they thought it would bring up their overall marks. Aurora, on the other hand chose it because she found the subject matter interesting and believed she may possess at least some form of the second sight. She was by no means a seer, not yet at least, but she had a definite talent for divination and occasionally had prophetic dreams. Never anything dramatic, just small things, like one time she was able to stop a second year stepping onto a staircase just as it was about to move because she had a dream the same second year fell. She also once stopped James and Sirius from drinking spiked pumpkin juice at breakfast because she dreamt the two had unimaginable flatulence during a herbology lesson, a result of them spiking each other with a potion of their own creation. Aurora hoped that with enough practise, and under the tutelage of Professor Mopsus (who was rumoured to be a descendant of Mopsus, an ancient Greek seer, but was yet to display any truly outstanding seer qualities) she would be able to expand and master her visions.

The two girls headed down to the common room, where they met Peter and headed for the library. Once there, they chose a table in a secluded corner and pulled out their divination books, parchment and quills. The three were required to write nine inches on Cartomancy, which involved the reading and interpretation of tarot cards.

"Okay, so I think the best way to do this would be to do a reading for each other to get an idea of how it works, then use my notes to write our essays," Aurora began, pulling out the parchment where she had already begun her homework during the lesson while taking notes. She handed the parchment to the other two and watched as they quickly read over it.

Traditionally, the Tarot deck is made up of 78 Tarot cards, each with its own unique Tarot card meaning. There are 22 Major Arcana cards and 56 Minor Arcana cards across four suits (Cups, Pentacles, Swords and Wands). The Major Arcana consists of 22 cards that reflect key archetypes or spiritual lessons in our lives. The Minor Arcana consists for four suits—Cups, Pentacles, Swords, and Wands. Each of these suits contains 14 cards, which reflect the day-to-day activities in our lives.

MAJOR ARCANA

Also known as the trump cards, the Major Arcana Tarot cards form the foundation of the Tarot deck and consists of twenty-one numbered cards and one unnumbered card (the Fool). They represent a path to spiritual self-awareness and depict the various stages we encounter as we search for greater meaning and understanding. In this way, they hold deeply meaningful lessons. The Major Arcana Tarot card meanings illustrate the structure of human consciousness and, as such, hold the keys to life lessons passed down through the ages.

MAJOR ARCANA CARDS IN A TAROT READING

When a Tarot reading is predominantly made up of Major Arcana Tarot cards, the recipient is experiencing life-changing events which will have long-term influences. There are important lessons which the recipient must pay attention to in order to progress further in their spiritual and personal quest. If many of the Major Arcana Tarot cards are reversed, however, it is indicative that the recipient is not paying attention to these important life lessons and must return to the lesson of the previous card before moving forward.

MAJOR ARCANA TAROT SPREADS

It is possible to conduct a Tarot reading only using the twenty-two Major Arcana cards. This method is typically used for Tarot readings relating to spiritual self-awareness or where you require deep insight from the collective unconscious.

Once Mary and Peter were finished reading Aurora's notes, they looked up expectantly at Aurora, who had already set up her tarot cards. She demonstrated a reading for herself to allow Peter and Mary to watch, then helped them both do a reading for her and interpret it while they took notes. All three readings didn't contain anything profound and Aurora grew bored after an hour or so but remained vigilant in order to help her friends do well. After two successful readings from both Mary and Peter, which said pretty much the same thing which was taken as a positive sign by the two, they both insisted on Aurora doing a reading for them. It began much the same as the three previous readings, but Aurora quickly grew panicked as the readings became more and more horrible.

She began with Mary, having her shuffle and cut the deck. During her shuffling a card shot out of the deck and lay face down in the centre of the table. Aurora put this aside and told Mary to continue. Once the deck was shuffled and cut, she pulled three cards from the deck and lay them face down in a horseshoe shape. She then one by one began revealing the cards and taking note; five of pentacles, five of cups, the tower. Lastly, she flipped over the card that shot out of the deck and lay it on top of the horseshoe; death. Aurora's brow furrowed, but she remained tight-lipped as she took note of the reading, before quickly sweeping the cards off the table and handing the deck to Peter to be reshuffled. This time while peter was shuffling five cards shot out of the deck at once and scattered themselves face down across the table. Aurora checked them all, then instructed Peter to try again. The same thing happened again, and again, so Aurora decided they must be important and did a five-card reading for Peter using the order the cards scattered themselves across the table; ten of swords, nine of swords, five of swords, nine of wands, the moon. Aurora's eyes widened for a second before she knit her brow in confusion.

"I have to go, sorry." She stated hastily, collecting her things and exiting the library in a flurry of parchment and robes.

"What's up with her?" Peter asked, scratching his head, to which Mary just shrugged in response as the two began packing up their things to head back to the common room.