History of Magic - First Lesson

[Professor Windwaltz]

The room was empty and quiet. The long since teacher-less History of Magic classroom was completely blank, with nothing on the ground or on the walls. Footsteps resounded from down the hall, a loud 'thump, thump, thump' continuing to hit the ground until at last the doors swung wide open. Standing in the hall was a man with straw-colored hair. His face was completely shaven, and his eyes were an icy blue.

His clothes were poor for that of a teacher's, however. They were torn in several places - despite someone's poor attempts at trying to sew it up - and his boots were just as ragged. They retained a soft gold color despite their poor appearance. The man was holding a very large green bag, which he threw onto the ground as soon as he entered the room.

Whipping his wand from his robe pocket, he smiled happily and said, "I've always wanted to do this." Positioning his wand as if constructing an orchestra, he began to 'conduct', and many pieces of furniture and artifacts began to pop out and dance their way into their proper spots throughout the classroom. His desk made its way to the front of the classroom, a blackboard jumped up behind it, and thirty armchairs appeared around fifteen round tables.

A fireplace appeared in the corner, and a table appeared as well in the back of the room. A stack of parchment appeared on top, as well as numerous amounts of quills and ink bottles. Artifacts jumped out of the bag onto the walls, from shields to swords to broken wands. A tapestry appeared in the back of a gigantic monster being fought by four formidable-looking wizards.

After all the things popped out of the bag, the man walked over to it and shook wildly. One more thing fell out of the bag - the textbook he was going to use. 'I knew I didn't forget it,' he thought to himself. He threw the textbook onto his desk at the front, and then looked around. It was a formidably rainy day outside, so he twirled his wand and pointed it at the fireplace.

"Focus Inflamare!" He shouted, and a blue flame shot from his wand into the fire. Now lit with a strange blue glow, Talon sat down at his desk and pointed his wand at the blackboard. "Scribe." He said quietly, and the words "Professor Talon Windwaltz" appeared on the board. "Now just to wait for them all to file in..."

[Sylph]

Sylph was glad that lessons had resumed; it provided a reasonably pleasant distraction from the seriousness of what was going on with the school. Sylph knew that she was destined to take part in the battle - whenever it happened - but it was nice not to have to think about it all the time. Besides, who knew? The lessons might provide something useful, or, shock horror, actually be interesting.

Peeking through the doors to the History of Magic classroom Sylph was disappointed to see that she was the first to arrive. She didn't mind sticking out - her violently dyed-purple hair bore testament to that - she just hated being the only one in the room with the teacher. Pushing open the door a little wider, however, Sylph was pleasantly surprised to see the new Professor was not much older than she - he looked as if he'd only been out of school for a coupe of years at most. He also looked as if he could make this subject interesting.

"Alright?" she said as she stepped inside, her startlingly bright green eyes twinkling slightly. She grinned a little - a look that sat comfortably on her features - and took a seat in one of the armchairs near the middle of the room.

"Hope I'm not too early," she added after settling a little, and looking up towards the teacher expectantly. Her eye was caught by the words on the blackboard;
Professor Talon Windwaltz.

So he was an old student. Sylph had heard from Hayzie that Talon had been a great quidditch player for Gryffindor in his day - he looked like he'd enjoy flying, anyway. There was something that spoke of freedom, and a certain aura was about him that reminded Sylph of the wind itself. She liked that, it was something that she hoped people would see in herself. She smiled at him again, nodding in a more formal greeting this time, and got out her quill and parchment ready for the lesson to begin.

[Marina Roeswood]

Classes had always been the one thing that Marina had excelled at. Magic and all things scholarly had always come naturally to her, and so, as she approached the History of Magic classroom, she held her head high and wore a confident smile. Class was the only place she was ever in her element. Everywhere else, she just existed.

She pushed open the door and immediately took a seat front row center, not even taking a look to the front of the class, assuming that the Professor would be merely a total stranger to her. Nina discovered otherwise, however, when she glanced up. Her eyes widened as she instantaneously recognized the man, an ex Head Boy, who she'd met personally for the first time not too long ago. She was rather shocked, indeed.

"Hello... Professor Windwaltz," she said politely, and slightly dazedly as well. Nina really hadn't been expecting to see him here.

Normally, she would have been slightly put off by the teacher's somewhat shabby appearance, but in comparison to the last time she'd seen him, it was a major improvement. Thus, Marina let her attention shift elsewhere as more students filed in. She adjusted her things beside her chair and sat more comfortably, her eyes glancing back towards the door as she waited for more classmates to arrive.

[Ashlle G. Rainier]

It had been a long time since Ashlle and been to class. Of course there having been no classes to go to might have something to do with it. Still, she wasn't happy about having History of Magic be her first one.

It's bound to be boring she thought and with the troubles we're having - time would be much better spend on dueling club! Still -dutiful as always- she went, arriving a bit early but not first.

She too sat in the front, near the teacher, so that what ever lecture he would give wouldn't get lost on it's way into her head. Upon reading the black board, she said:
"Good morning Professor Windwaltz" and sat down in her chair waiting for him to begin -or- tell her what she needed to get out in order to begin.

[Dovie(comp down indefinitely)]

Dovie hurried down the hallways and corridors towards her very first class from her time being here. She carried a book bag, stuffed with several binders, notebooks, and loads of quills, of which she had a slight knack for losing. As she neared a large door, she tried to slow to a stop and ended up slipping in her mocassins and sliding all the way to a desk in the front of the room. She only stopped upon falling flat on her behind and knocking her head into the desk.
"Damn," she whispered under her breath as she held her head in her right hand and picked up a few quills that had fallen out during the ride. She took in a short breath and sighed as she stood, brushed off her deerhide skirt, and slipped into an empty seat next to...
"Oh, hey Ashlle!" Dovie smiled happily and looked around the class a little more.
Heyas, Sylph! Dovie thought over to her other friend. Plan on sitting way back there, or are you going to move to the front..? she sent over playfully as she smirked. Or are you afraid you'll wind up in trouble sitting near Ashlle and I? I swear we won't pull out any fireworks or glitter... Dovie snickered slightly as she let Ashlle in on her thoughts. Right? Dovie gave an angelic look and crossed her hands on the desk in front of her and looked forward to the chalkboard, ready to start a lesson.

[Ashlle G. Rainier]

Of course we won't! thought Ashlle back how obsured! This class may be boring but it's still a class. We need to be respectful or we won't learn anything. She looked at Dovie, appaled that she would think of somthing like that.

"Behave" she hissed thoguht her teeth. "We are in a classroom." Then she looked around, afriad Professor Windwaltz had noticed.

[Sylph]

Sylph jerked her head around, sending her violet locks flying around her shoulders in waves, as a familiar telepathic voice entered her mind.

"Alright Dovie, Ashlle," she said, grinning over at them whilst waving slightly, wiggling her fingers as opposed to her actual hand. She leant back a little in her chair, making it clear she was comfotable right where she was, and sent a return message to Dovie's mind.

Nah, I'm good here, she sent. Only goody-goodies sit right at the front. She smirked a little in a friendly way, and made no effort to move.

[blatzbombberkely]

Judi Lee entered the class room. She casually walked to the back and pulled the quill she had behind her ear out and pulled a crumbled peice of paper from her pocket. She blew a bubble and it popped. She looked up at the front waiting for class to start.

[Aidana Hawkins]

Aidana Hawkins ran through the halls at top speed. It was her first day of classes, and she was already late? That really wouldn't give a good impresison. She avoided crashing into three people before noticing her books were threatning to fall out. Taking a few precious moments to stop and close her bags properly, Aidana noticed that the halls were seemingly empty. She was later than she thought! She slung her bag over her shoulder, and began running again to the assigned room. Coming closer to the classroom door, Aidana slowed down, but lost her footing. She crashed headfirst into the room, and hit the floor with an OOF. She slowly looked up, and saw a lot of curious faces. A blush grew on Aidana's cheeks.

" Sorry," she said apologetically, getting up. She bent down to collect her fallen books, and replaced them in her bag. Aidana stood up again and looked around the classroom. She saw a few familiar faces, and a couple unfamiliar ones, but it was the Professor that intrigued her. He looked very familiar, and Aidana racked her brains trying to remember. Then it hit her, he was the professor that had recently saved her life from a demon. He was doing his job, protecting the students, but she was still very thankful. She walked up to his desk.

" Thank you," she said softly, so only he could hear. She nodded, and turned around, looking for a place to sit. There was a seat next to Dovie, but it was in the front, and Aidana didn't plan on sitting there. She smiled as she spied a seat next to Sylph in the back. Now that was more Aidana's style. She made her way to the back.

" You plan to pay attention up here Dovie?" she asked the girl as she passed her. Aidana grinned and winked as she sat down next to Sylph. She uncerimoniously dumped her bad on the floor and reclined in the chair, trying to get comfortable. Well, she hoped that this teacher didn't make History of Magic a bore.

[Signit Sonata]

Being bored that day, Ark decided to drop into a class. Unfortunately for him, it was History of Magic, his least favorite class. Fortunately for him, Talon Windwaltz was teaching. "Hey Talon, see your moving up in the world." he said, grinning at the new Professor.

[Professor Windwaltz]

Smiling at each of the students as they entered, he was most intrigued by the many familiar faces he saw throughout the crowd. First there was the Slytherin Prefect, Marina Roeswood, who he had met in...there...several days ago. Then there was the red haired girl who he had met atop the Astronomy Tower, and lastly a boy who Talon could hardly remember, but recognized as a Gryffindor.

He spoke no words to these people who greeted him, simply sitting back and carrying a smile on his face. When the armchairs were filled with a reasonable amount of students, he stood up and cleared his throat. "And that's the ding!" He said cheerfully, "You're going to have to tell your fellow students when they come in the door what I'm about to tell you, seeing how I'm going to - err - begin now."

Walking to his right and touching the book on his desk, he said very strictly, "Do not take out your books: 'History of our Time', yet. We will not need them today." Staring at each of them in sequence, his strict tone faded back into a casual one. "Now then, allow me to give you a little lesson on the History of Magic.

"The History of Magic, quite clearly, can be summed up into one, simple, encouraging phrase. 'The History of Magic is You.' For you see, my students, this is the truth. The people who you are going to read about in your books were once students at this school, like you. They once sat in a classroom just like this and listened to their teacher talk to them. They became some of the world's most renowed heroes while still in school. This is the History of Magic. One day, if you're lucky, you may even find yourself in their shoes."

Chuckling again, he whipped out his wand in a quick manner. "Today's class assignment is a joint effort in getting to know my students, and being able to teach you how bound to History you actually are." Shouting the word "Scribe!" once more, lavish words danced across the blackboard. "Many of you have had fantastic exploits - from a bad Great Hall mess to perhaps a run in with an awful monster..." His eyes found their way to Aidana, and nodded in a silent glance. "What I want you to do, is simply write in a historical, third person format, one of your exploits. It need not be your most professional, nor your boldest - simply the one you wish to share with me."

As the lavish words stopped, he motioned toward the blackboard, "This is my own example, I hope you use it well."

'During the time of Wilting Rose and Claire's dual reign over the re-named school of Magic Horizons School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a boy by the name of Talon Windwaltz entered the school. He was the son of the famous Head Auror Sciezen Windwaltz, and desperately dreamed - like his father - of becoming a wind mage. After a chance meeting with a woman by the name of Meriel Magdaline, he was trained in the art of Wind Magic. A most terrifying incident was when Talon's spell went wrong and accidentely summoned a gigantic dragon known as the Draco Eurus, or the Dragon of the East Wind. Meriel subdued it, and Talon, though ashamed, continued his training. Within time, he too became a formidable Wind Mage, and won many duels with his new skill.'

[Dovie(comp down indefinitely)]

"Ashlle, I meant it as a joke, calm down..." Dovie smiled warmly and smirked as Sylph replied.
Har dee har har, very funny. Dovie smiled, but knew it was the truth. She'd always loved sitting in the front of class, and intended on keeping it that way. Even Aidana semi-mocked her as she passed. Dovie nodded her head solemnly at first, and then shot bac a quick Don't worry, I won't! as she rolled her eyes at Aidana's motherly comment. Why would I cause trouble? Dovie thought innocently. Especially around him? Dovie nodded to the front of the room where the Professor had cleared his throat and listened intently as he began speaking. Once the Professor was finished, Dovie had a slight look of helplessness on her face. What would she write about? There was nothing to write about, at least not that had happened here at the school...yet... She really didn't want to write about her father, but...
Hn, Dovie thought to herself. Maybe I could write about how I learned to call rain, or bring water using only my hands... Dovie blinked her dark green eyes and bent to the side to pull out a quill and some parchment. What to write, what to write... Dovie thought over and over, her hair now in her face. She sat there staring at the blank parchment; she'd have to think on this one...

[Hayzie]

History of Magic. Although it was now one of her old friends teaching, rather than the old scatty Professor who had taken it before, Hayz was still under old habit of lying in for as long as possible before heading to class. That day, her school uniform was a little on the scruffy side, and the Prefect had hurridly pinned on her badge and swept her hair back into a messy ponytail as she ran to class, her pink bag swinging wildly behind her.

Silence rang through the corridors, but suddenly tapping feet and hurried breath filled them, followed by a screeching of her heels skidding to a stop and her running back a few steps behind her and entering the classroom.

Grinning sheepishly at Ta- Professor Windwaltz, Hayz took her seat, and whispered to the person sitting next to her, asking what they were supposed to be doing. Usually, the old Professor wouldn't have stumbled in for another ten minutes... Hayz's routine would have to be drastically altered from now on.

Quickly, her eyes flicked to the board, and all was revealed... though which experience should she use? The most obvious one was the one she was still trying to reverse... but writing about that would simply be wrong, especially considering it would hopefully all be over soon. Pulling a sugar quill out of her bag, the blonde Prefect sucked on it for a while, trying to figure out what to write.

[Aidana Hawkins]

Aidana had her hand half-way to get her book, and fall asleep in it when the Professor said they didn't need their books. What? How was she supposed to look like she was paying attention now? She sighed, and looked up at Professor Windwaltz. Someone had told her that this Professor actually used to go Magic Horizons not too long ago. He was apparently Head Boy, and played Quidditch. Well, that made sense. A wind mage playing Quidditch. Right now though, he was saying that they were history. He was trying to connect history to their own lives, and was having them write a piece of their lives down. His eyes flickered to her, and she knew that he had accepted her gratitude. Aidana grabbed a quill, and began sucking on it, trying to think what to write about. There was the time she had wandered into the Forest when she was new. Then there was the time that she had gone into the Forest to try to save a friend. And most recently, there was the incident in which the Professor had saved her. But no, students must not know about that yet. She dipped her quill in some black ink, and decided to tell a story of when she was new.




It has been said that new students are reckless and do things that they really shouldn't. Aidana Hawkins, twin sister to Aylen Hawkins, did one of these things. Aidana came from a long line of purebloods, who lived near the mountains. The Hawkins family was renowned for breeding and raising messenger hawks. They were also renowned for being Ravenclaws, a tradition which Aidana and Aylen broke. They went into the House of Gryffindor, and shocked their family.

One day Aidana was stressed out by the day, and decided she needed some time alone. She had nowhere to go, but inside the Forest. Being reckless, Aidana ventured in and met some misfortune. She had barely gone in the Forest when a sudden noise jolted her. She let out a Disarming Spell, and found that a boy had fallen out of a tree. But that wasn't all she found, a nymph and a vampire had come onto the scene. The nymph had Aidana pinned to a tree, and the vampire was taking care of the boy, Ark. Both of them were brutally tortured for invading the creatures' Forest. A demon was also present, but didn't do anything to help or hurt the situation. In the end, Ark had been kissed by a vampire, and had many injuries. Aidana had her finger dismembered, and her throat slit so that she almost died. The vampire and the nymph had decided that was enough, and left the two students to crawl back to the castle. As soon as they made it in the castle, the nurses cured them as best as they could. Aidana had to take a trip to St. Mungos to have her finger reattatched. But the students were both mentally and physically scarred. Aidana still has a thin scar around her right index finger, and another scar at the base of her neck.

Two new students learned to be careful that day. This story only backs up the point that new students need to be taught a lesson in cautiousness, but it seems that they will always get themselves into trouble.




Aidana set down her quill, and rubbed her hand. It had started to hurt from writing so mcuh. She looked at her paper and tilted her head. Hm...it would do. She just hoped that the professor thought so.


Excellent work Ms. Hawkins. 15 points to Gryffindor. 2 points for learning a lesson the hard way.

[Sylph]

Sylph shot an amused look in Aidana's direction when she began to look sleepy after reading a few scant paragraphs of the text book, but was soon distracted by Professor Windwaltz's words. He seemed pretty cool - she liked the way he introduced history. It was a good place to start. Possibly the first teacher known to make History of Magic sound interesting. Well kudos to him for that. Sylph thought she might speak to him later about his elemental magic, see if he could help her. Air was the element Sylph most associated, so going to Professor Windwaltz was perhaps the best step.

As for what to write though... Sylph had no idea. Lots of things had happened to her since arriving at MH, but none that she thought was worthy of describing in a historical style. She saw Aidana begin scribbling, and afforded herself a wry smile. Sylph knew what Aidana would be writing about - she never had quite gotten over that nymph episode. Chewing on her quill, Sylph pondered what she should write about, but had little luck. She could write about what had happened to her the night Ark had been turned out in the forest, but it wasn't really exciting enough. She had also recently seen the return of her Gift, the Sight that she had inherited from her grandmother... but nothing useful had yet come of it, well, nothing of practical use. Visions were one thing, but this required an event, something to describe with enthusiasm.

Sylph came up with a blank. Was she actually that boring? Shooting Aidana a wondering glance, she shrugged helplessly, sending her friend a telepathic question.

Any ideas?