Arithmancy

"Malfoy, if you say another word, I'll slice you into pieces!" Harry roared.

The blade of the small knife used for processing herbs gleamed with a chilling light. Judging by how smoothly it sliced through Daisy Root, cutting meat would certainly be no problem; cutting bones would depend on the user's technique. However, considering its length of less than three inches and width of a finger, this statement was clearly not very intimidating.

"What a pity, I can't use it to brew Potions." Malfoy, completely unfazed by his threat, feigned a sorrowful tone and said, "In that case, the poor Hippogriff will become a horse-winged beast."

A wicked smile spread across his face, "Do you know why?"

Because it's about to be beheaded! Hahahaha...

"You're the one who should be beheaded." Harry's hands trembled with rage. He gripped the knife tightly, but in the end, he had no choice but to do as he was told and viciously sliced the caterpillar into pieces.

A few tables away on the right, Hermione added a rat's spleen to the cauldron, her gaze constantly shifting forward. She said with some concern, "They won't start fighting, will they?"

"Probably not. Harry is impulsive sometimes, and not so impulsive sometimes." Loren scooped up some with a spoon and slowly poured it back into the cauldron to check the color, observing the progress of the Potions brewing.

When small bubbles begin to rise slightly at the bottom of the crucible and it is about to boil but has not yet boiled, add a little bit of leech juice. Stir over low heat until the soup turns a bright and dazzling green. A pot of fresh Shrinking Potion is then ready.

Loren took out a small medicine bottle from his pendant and used a spoon to scoop up the medicine and fill it into the bottle.

Hermione was completely bewildered and asked in confusion, "What's going on?"

"Stock up on some medicine, just in case we need it later." Loren didn't even look up, focused solely on fleecing the school.

Hermione remained silent, a conscience that was not yet completely corrupted telling her that this was wrong, yet in some ways she felt that what Loren said made some sense.

Just as the little Witch was caught in a moral dilemma, Draco's triumphant voice once again drew everyone's attention. "Professor Snape, we're done!"

He held the stirring spoon high, looking smug.

Harry stood beside him, a Winky knife in his hand, seemingly ready to stab Draco at any moment.

This lackey is utterly rebellious.

Loren put the filled potion into the pendant, looked up, and watched the spectacle with great interest.

Snape, who rushed over upon hearing the commotion, examined the potion that Draco and Harry had brewed. He scooped some up with a spoon and slowly poured it back into the cauldron, creating a thin, translucent, emerald-green thread of liquid that everyone else could see.

"The color a normal finished product should have." Snape looked at the two with amusement. "You two seem like a good team. Will you be going to Potions class together from now on?"

"No, no need! Professor!" Harry hurriedly shouted, his eyes, as green as the potion, filled with panic. "Today is just a special case."

Snape looked at Draco, Draco shrugged; he'd had his fun anyway.

The other groups of young wizards also finished their potions before the end of class, and most of them were considered successful. However, except for Loren and Hermione, the other groups' potions had some impurities and were not clear enough.

Potions class and Harry's time as Harry's sidekick ended with Snape's monotonous voice assigning homework. "Listen, this week write a paper on the Shrinking Potion, no less than a foot long. Class dismissed."

Loren and his friends went upstairs together.

Harry still remembered Draco's attitude when he was being bossed around, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he became, gritting his teeth in hatred. "Even if I don't cut him into pieces, I really should beat him up!"

"Come on," Loren shook his head and teased with a smile, "Your term as his follower is for a whole day, so don't let him hear that, or he might ask you to feed him at dinner."

"Oh, Merlin above me~" Harry imagined the scene and shuddered. "I won't be having Great Hall. Ron, could you bring me some pies back to the common room?"

The others couldn't help but laugh.

"By the way, Hermione, what's the next class?" Harry habitually asked the most reliable one among them, only to find that his gaze was fixed on Loren and Ron. He asked in confusion, "Where's Hermione? Where did she go?"

"I went to reserve seats for an elective class," Loren replied calmly. "The next class is Arithmancy, an elective. Those of you who didn't choose it don't have class today. Go straight back to the lounge. I should go to class anyway."

Just ahead was a corner of the corridor, where many wizards taking elective courses were turning around. Loren waved to the two of them and jogged away, disappearing from Harry and Ron's sight.

"See you at dinner—no, see you after dinner." Harry waved to him, giving himself another thumbs up for his brilliant decision not to have dinner in the Great Hall.

Ron looked thoughtfully at the group of wizards heading to their elective classes. Among them was an annoying figure who looked puzzled. "Is Malfoy going to an elective class too?"

"Yes, Seamus said he chose Ancient Rune," Harry replied, having specifically inquired about Malfoy's lessons that day because he was a follower.

Ron asked uncertainly, "I remember Hermione also chose Runes, right? Loren just said he and Hermione were going to take some kind of class?"

Harry realized what he meant and hesitated before replying, "It seems to be Arithmancy..."

He paused for a moment, thinking for a few seconds, "The classes conflict. Hermione will definitely choose Arithmancy, so she can take this class with Loren."

Ron looked at him. "But do you think Hermione would skip a class, or do you think she would skip class?"

Harry paused for a moment, then said, "Yeah, that's... Hermione..."

When Loren arrived at the Arithmancy classroom, Hermione was already waiting in the front row, having reserved a seat.

She had just finished an Ancient Rune lesson and returned an hour later, flipping through her notebook to look at the Runes numbers 0-9.

Hearing Loren put down his bag and sit down, Hermione handed her the notebook and asked curiously, "Why is the animal that represents the number three Runespoor, and not Three-headed Dog? I mean, Fluffy also has three heads."

"Because the Runespoor was more favored by ancient wizards. Its venomous Three-headed Dog, ground into powder, could be used as a substitute for Floo Powder, although there was a risk of poisoning. Compared to the Cerberus, which only drools and can be easily put to sleep with music, they were much more useful," Loren replied.

Hermione chuckled. "Fluffy will be so sad to hear you say that. He used to like you so much."

"It was sent back to Greece by Dumbledore to be raised there a long time ago, so it can't hear." Loren paused, unable to hold back his question, "Why did you go to take the Ancient Rune class first, and then come back to take the Arithmancy, instead of taking the Arithmancy with me and then coming back to take the Ancient Rune?"

"Hmm... there's no reason, it's all the same to you." Hermione hummed a few times, her drawn-out tone soft and gentle, like a kitten. Her slender, white fingers tapped on the notebook, the light rhythm conveying the little Witch's cheerful mood.

Taking classes with the Time-Turner is exhausting, and if she puts the Runes for one person at the end, she'll find it even harder to endure. But if she puts the Arithmancy for two people at the end, the fatigue from the long classes doesn't seem so unbearable.

"That's weird," Loren muttered to himself.

Compared to Divination, the word "arithmetic" in the name of the Arithmancy Class scared away many young wizards, and there weren't many people in the classroom. Since it was the first class, there were no assigned seats, and the young wizards were scattered throughout the classroom, sitting rather sparsely.

Having experienced Professor Trelawney's Divination Class, Hermione had high expectations for this supposedly logically rigorous Arithmancy.

Professor Victor Septima Victor, who taught the class, was an intellectual middle-aged Witch, dressed in a black professor's robe, wearing a pointed wizard's hat and thick black-rimmed glasses, and looked somewhat similar to Professor McGonagall. However, she was less serious and solemn than Professor McGonagall, and seemed more approachable.

Her voice was measured and softer than Professor McGonagall's. "Arithmancy refers to the use of numbers to interpret a person's character and destiny, as well as the movements of planets and stars, in order to predict the Divination. It's also known as 'numerical occultism.'"

"Unlike reading crystal balls, tea leaves, or palmistry, which are based on interpreting vague images or deducing the inherent connections between food from random shapes and scribbled words, Arithmancy is based on a series of well-known calculations with strict rules."

These words, which distinguished them from Divination, won Hermione's favor. The little Witch nodded repeatedly, her eyes sparkling.

"The ancient wizard Pythagoras first proposed that 'the world is built upon the power of numbers,' leading wizards to explore the Magic Power of numbers and develop Arithmancy. Ancient Arithmancy was very complicated to use, so I won't go into details here; interested students can discuss it with me later."

"In the 13th century, the Arithmancy Bridget Winlock first identified the Magic Power of the number 7, after which Arithmancy entered a new era..."

"This semester we will learn a Divination method that predicts a person's personality through their name. It requires very little: just a pen, a piece of paper, and basic spelling and basic arithmetic skills..."

"The most widely used Divination method involves extracting three main numbers from a person's name: the personality number, the soul number, and the world number. Then, based on the interpretations of these numbers, the results are explained using a series of theories and methods. First, let's understand numbers..."

"The number 1 represents... The number 2 represents..."

Professor Victor's account is completely different from Trelawney's Divination method. Compared to those vague and ambiguous Prophecy, the Arithmancy method has a mathematical beauty, is simple and clear, and is straightforward.

But this also made it somewhat tedious. Professor Victor stood on the stage, explaining the meaning of each number one by one, his tone completely flat, much like Professor Binns telling history, which made the young wizards yawn incessantly.

The first step in analyzing a person's name is to convert it into a series of numbers, with each letter corresponding to one of the numbers 1 to 9. Loren prefers to call it "numerical fortune-telling," and this Divination process is anything but magical.

That is: AI corresponds to 1-9, JR corresponds to 1-9, and SZ corresponds to 1-8.

Add all the numbers together. If the sum exceeds 9, add the units digit and the tens digit together to get a number that is between 1 and 9.

This number is the personality number, which literally means that the number represents this person's personality.

Next, perform the same operation on the vowels (A, E, I, O, U) in the name to obtain the soul number.

Soul numbers can offer a glimpse into a person's soul, revealing their desires and fears.

Finally, perform the above calculations on the numbers excluding vowels to obtain the world numbers.

The world number represents the characteristics that a person presents to the outside world.

"Take Nicolas Flamel of the Middle Ages as an example." Professor Victor suddenly raised her voice, paused, and glanced meaningfully in the direction of Loren.

Upon hearing that familiar name, Loren sprang to attention and became alert.

"... Based on these explanations, we can now examine the name Nicolas Flamel."

NICHOLASFLAMEL: 59386311631453.

Professor Victor wrote the calculated result "4, 4, 9" on the blackboard. "It can be seen that he is a hardworking and honest person, who often falls into hesitation and indecision, and is sometimes easily angered... He solves problems with a practical approach and is very stable in relationships. However, what he presents to the world is his generous side..."

Loren listened intently, not missing a single word, silently comparing the analysis results with his impression of Nicol.

Diligent work: In his early years, he deciphered the Book of Abraham; in his middle years, he crafted the Sorcerer's Stone; and even after achieving great success, he continued to explore Alchemy, never slacking off for hundreds of years.

Hesitation and indecisiveness: After gaining immortality, Nicol did indeed lose his spirit and become timid and fearful for a period of time. He eventually came to his senses in time during the crisis brought about by Grindelwald.

Honesty... easily angered...

Loren paused for a moment, "I don't know."

However, he remembered that during his first year, shortly after he opened the Fantasy Book, Flamel was inexplicably angry a few times.

Judging from Flamel's behavior, Nicol must have had a period of fiery temper when he was young.

"Finally, when we finish analyzing the numbers of this person's name, we can go back to the series of numbers listed below his name and see if any number repeats more often."

We found that the numbers 3 and 1 appeared more frequently than the others. This suggests that, in addition to the personality traits we just analyzed, Flamel was also a perfectionist, extremely focused, and that his money came very easily.

"The money came very easily..." Loren repeated silently.

"... Like many predictive systems, the more information you have about the subject you are studying, the more accurate your predictions will be. Arithmancy is no exception... The real difficulty lies in eliminating the influence and interference of known information when conducting the analysis."

——

[Free Content]

Number table:

1: This number represents solitude or individuality. People with the number "1" are very independent, focused, honest, and determined. They set a goal for themselves and then forge ahead to achieve it. They don't like working with others and are reluctant to give orders. They may be self-centered, willful, and domineering. They are usually loners.

2: Represents the ability to interact, communicate, cooperate, and maintain balance. People with this number are highly imaginative and creative. Their personalities are gentle, balanced, and natural. They have excellent coordination, are loyal and willing to take responsibility, and are very fair. However, the number "2" also represents contradictions, a mixture of positive and negative aspects. It often represents two completely opposite sides of things: day and night, justice and evil, etc. People with this number may be introverted, withdrawn, moody, indecisive, and introspective.

3 represents the concept of completeness and fulfillment. Like the three tenses in language—past, present, and perfect—and what we commonly refer to as "consciousness, body, and spirit," Pythagoras considered "3" to be the first number signifying "completion" because it can be a sequence of numbers, encompassing beginning, middle, and end. 3 represents genius, energy, artistic cultivation and talent, a sense of humor, and social skills. People with this number are typically very approachable and wealthy. They have a high probability of success. However, they also have weaknesses; they may struggle to focus on one thing, are easily offended, and tend to be superficial.

4: Just as a table has four legs, 4 represents stability and solidity. People with the number "4" are also diligent workers. They are very practical, results-oriented, and trustworthy. They enjoy logical thinking and reasoning, and dislike the abstract. They are highly organized and can ensure the smooth completion of tasks. Like the cycle of the four seasons, their actions are predictable and their actions are always expected. They can be stubborn, suspicious, and sometimes seem overly focused on practicality. They are often overworked, and the contradictions that apply to "2" are amplified in "4".

5 represents instability and imbalance. It reveals change and uncertainty. People with this number may be attracted to many things, but will ultimately choose only one. They enjoy adventure and are daring. They also like to travel and make new friends, but may not like to stay in one place for too long. Such people can sometimes be boastful, lack a strong sense of responsibility, and have a rather impatient temper.

6 represents harmony, friendship, and family values. People with this number are loyal, responsible, and loving. They have a strong ability to adapt to their environment. Their talents are particularly outstanding in teaching or the arts. However, they often find it difficult to succeed in business. They sometimes enjoy gossiping and are prone to self-satisfaction. Pythagoras considered "6" a perfect number because it is divisible by both 2 and 3. Furthermore, it is the sum of the first three natural numbers, which is also the product of those three numbers (1+2+3=6, 1×2×3=6).

7: Strong cognitive abilities, intelligent, and insightful. People with this number enjoy hard work and challenges. They are usually serious, scholarly, and interested in all things mysterious. Originality and imagination are far more attractive to them than money and wealth. However, it can also indicate pessimism, a tendency towards irony, and insecurity. "7" is considered a mysterious and Magic Power number; ancient Astronomy also mentions seven planets (the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter).

8: Represents business success. This success may also manifest in finance, politics, and other fields. People with this number are very practical, ambitious, responsible, and hardworking. However, they may also have flaws such as jealousy, greed, and a tendency to give orders. They can represent both the pinnacle of success and the trough of failure. Whichever path they take, things are likely to continue to develop.

9: Represents completion and fulfillment. This number is also the number of "perfect completion." It is three times 3. People with this number are willing to serve others; many of them are teachers, scholars, or humanitarians. They are determined, work tirelessly, and never feel weary. They often inspire others. However, such people can also be arrogant, and may become self-righteous when things don't go their way.

This Divination method is a bit tricky, so I revised it several times to explain it as clearly as possible. Please forgive the lateness. [bows]