Finally, he knew he could put it off no longer. He got to his feet and walked to the big chalkboard at the head of the class.

"Elements."

Anders wrote the word on the board and turned round to face the class. He was visibly shaking, and he stammered over his carefully prepared and now extremely soggy notes. "I'm s..sure you're all aware," he managed to get out eventually, "that there are f..four m..main elements." He flicked his wand into his hand and one at a time, the four elements appeared as tiny illustrative illusions before him. "Earth. Water. Air. And..and..fire." The illusions winked out again.

He left a slight pause and shuffled the pulpy papers in his hand, still nervous. "To understand how to defend yourself against the Dark Arts more effectively, it is also necessary to understand more about the nature of magic itself." He looked around at the class and was somewhat startled to see he actually seemed to have their attention. Bolstered up by this, he continued.

"This is what our class today will be about. I haven't had a chance to order in the things that I want to show you on a practical level, so we're going to have a discussion about this subject." He paused, waiting for reaction.

"Professor are we really going to discuss the nature of magic itself?" piped up the ever forward Sarah, "I mean no one ever does that with us. They just show us how to do it not about it." Sarah was intrigued.

Anders smiled at Sarah's enthusiasm. "Yes," he acknowledged. "We're talking about how it works, not necessarily how to do it. Might make a change for you." The nerves were settling now.

Elia, seeing that Katia is about to raise her hand, raises hers quickly. "Umm..." she begins, suddenly aware that everyone is looking at her, "Aristotle, an ancient Greek philosopher, theorised that everything is made up of four elements. The four were fire, water, air, and earth. Each had its own set of properties and each was either hot or cold, dry or moist. There were four combinations. Air was hot and moist, Earth was cold and dry. Fire was hot and dry, and water was cold and moist. It was the nature of earth to fall, and that of fire to rise." She stops speaking, looking acutely embarrassed to have spoken up in class. "I'm not sure if that's exactly what you mean by elements in magic..."

At Elia's little speech, he nodded more. "Excellent. Well spoken. Aristotle - who was, some of you might like to note - a Muggle - was right. But when magic is applied to the equation...it gets a little more complicated." He shuffled the papier-mâché in his hands again.

"For every positive benefit of each of the elements, there is a negative. Fire burns. Fire also warms. Water drowns - water also nourishes. It is up the spell caster to determine how each one ultimately turns. Nothing is truly evil unless its intent and purpose is." He was becoming more confident with each word, and soon left his notes on the desk altogether and began pacing the room, making things up as he went along. He was surprised at how easily it came. "This, then, is where we start to understand the Dark Arts."

"Tell me one thing. Have you ever stopped to consider how the elements react to each other? Let's start with fire. One of the most fearsome forces on earth can be stopped by water, one of the seemingly most harmless. Cold air can freeze water in its tracks. And sometimes the reactions are harmonious. Air feeds fire, giving it strength. Water gives dry earth pliability. Everything can ultimately be traced back to a root in these four elements. Water can help a tree to grow to be the strongest plant in the world, but a landslide of catastrophic proportions can rip it to the ground."

This was no longer the shy, awkward teacher who had entered the classroom this morning. This was an intelligent, eloquent young man, passionate about his own words. The poet and artist in him gave his words credence, and complimented with his very gentle accent, gave them an almost hypnotic influx.

"Fire! Flood! Earthquakes! Tornadoes!" He banged his fist onto the desk after each word, as if to emphasise it. Then, in a softer voice, he said, "Warmth. Cleanliness. Nourishment. A gentle summer's breeze. The same root - different results."

His face was animated as he spoke, his hands waving around, and illustrations appearing on the board as he described each item. "I want you to go away after class and consider the elements. Consider the good things and the bad things. Consider the pros, the cons. The strengths, weaknesses, advantages and threats. List them down. And you may be surprised at which of the four turns out to be the most powerful."

He leaned forward; his hands set on the desk, his blue eyes glinting. "I'll give you something to start with. It isn't the one that you think it is." He waited for reaction before continuing.

Niki raises her hand. "Aristotle theorised a fifth element, too... Ether, which is what he said that the planets and such were made up of."

Kat had stayed quiet through out the discussion, but now she had a question... She raised her hand in the air. "Please sir, but what is mind magic made from? I mean if everything includes one of the 4 elements then what do I use for borrowing?"

Anders turned to regard Kat thoughtfully. "Things like Borrowing and Mind Magic are complicated at to explain at this basic level," he conceded. "It seems to have a branch of its own. I have my own personal theories, but..." He shrugged. "The people who make the rules have decreed that Mind Magic, like Illusion, has its basis in the Earth classes. Something to do with the physical nature of our very being." He grinned suddenly, looking very boyish. "All hoity-toity serious wizard rubbish, very dull."

Arcadia looks bemused "Ah" she whispers "So we're going to learn how to bore Dark Wizards to death are we?"

Katia overhears, and grins slightly. "Or scare teachers to death? Did you see the look on his face?" she whispers back.

Arcadia cannot help but giggle, but hides it in a cough then looks very intently at the front of the class, as if she was always been paying attention. Pantalaimon yawns.

Yvette bristled as she heard this. How could they be so mean? He was a teacher, for pete's sakes, and they didn't even respect him! She felt a certain pity for the man, none of the contempt expected.

She'd learned to keep her mouth shut, and did so hesitantly. They were really making her mad...

Madison had a hard expression on her face. "They're going a bit far, aren't they?" she said, turning to Yvette. "Honestly!" She sighed and shook her head.

"But was he sir?" piped up Nimue, "A muggle I mean? In ancient Greece magic was an accepted part of society and so ideas such as these were part of what was considered natural philosophy. The elements also exist within us don't they and part of that is how can work with magic - balancing them within us or if they are out of balance....?"

Glancing very swiftly, almost casually at Nimue, Anders nodded. "The elements do indeed exist within us. Take your astrological birth sign. There are four divisions - earth, water, air, fire." This isn't coincidence. Trust me. Ten points to Gryffindor. Very well said, Miss Hawkwood."

Anders flipped his wand back into his hand and up went the chalk that in turn continued its furious scribbling on the board. "I want you to write these things down, and tell me, from your own conclusions, what you believe constitutes the difference between good and evil. For example. Is evil purely destructive? Or can evil create as well? Summoning a fire demon, for example, is considered a Dark Arts spell. Yet it is creating something from nothing. Is that totally evil?"

A large question mark appeared on the blackboard.

He reached the crescendo of his little monologue, and as he spoke, he turned to a different student each time, pointing at them as he spoke, as if he could somehow help his words take effect.

"A spark of fire can cause a blaze that will destroy a forest in the blink of an eye, yet at the same time can warm and light the darkness. A glass of water can be the gift of life to a dying man, but to a small insect, it can be an ocean in which it drowns. A clod of earth can be home to a beautiful flower, or a poisonous toadstool. A breath of air can be the elixir of life, but to any creature with gills...it is death."

Gripped by his own words now, he continued happily. "A fountain of water can bring tranquillity to the most tortured soul..." He turned again, and came face to face with Nimue, and his speech suddenly seemed forgotten. "Or...or...uh...well...you get the idea."

Abruptly, the chalk ceased its endless scratching, falling to the ground and Anders fell silent, staring uncomfortably at the floor. There was a pregnant pause.

Finally he looked up, and the articulacy that had gripped him during his lecture seemed to have packed up its things and gone south for the winter. "Consider," he said, shyly and softly. "Consider and write up your impressions of the elements."

He sat down and drew a few deep breaths. "I have a suggestion for a...game, of sorts...please, everybody find a partner." He was exhausted.

Niki glances around the room. "Dylan... partners?"

Elia turns to Randal and raises her eyebrows, still a bit surprised at herself for speaking up in class. She looks at him imploringly.

Kalidor gulped. How was he going to find a partner? He decided to lie low and wait for someone to approach him. That way he might even be able to grab a few seconds more sleep... Kalidor couldn't fail to notice that Winifred was paying him no attention whatsoever. He'd really done it this time. Scared her off for good. He'd have to wait and see if she did actually want to meet up. Right now it was more important that he stayed awake for this his first lesson...It's...no...good. Too...tir.....zzzzzzzzz

Randal looked at Elia. "Partners?" He said. By her look he hadn't offended her too much at mentioning the news clippings that Niki had received.

Sarah turned and made eye contact with Nimue over the idea of partners. She was trying to be friendly with the Gryffindor girl who seemed to have been stuck in the back without anyone next to her. So she moved back to the seat that Nimue had been saving for Kat and suggested they work together.

When the Professor had made his comment about the fountain, Nimue's heart suddenly felt very heavy in her chest. *He had remembered* her attempt at healing must have left some impression. Then Sarah had bustled over and Nimue could have hugged her for taking her mind off her own thoughts.

Now that she wanted to be 'friends', Sarah reminded Nimue of a huge puppy and her enthusiasm was refreshing even if somewhat overwhelming.

"SIR" - Sarah put up her hand to get Anders attention "is it because it's a 'demon' that it's 'dark arts' and that suggests it might run amuck or something or be uncontrollable. So it's not the creation as such that is dark art but that the demon isn't a very controllable thing? So you might put your hatred or anger into it instead of good things. Plus, who says what is 'dark art' or not? Could you create something else of fire that wasn't a demon so it wouldn't be 'dark art'? Sarah was inquisitive.

Again Arcadia whispers "The difference between good and evil is not getting caught" She looks at Katia and smiles, then returns to 'pretend' to listen intently. Pantalaimon starts to fall asleep and Arcadia's eyes start to droop.

Katia giggles again. "Evil is so much more interesting..."

Anders turned his attention to the girl with the short, spiky hair who seemed far older than her years. A little like someone else he could recall to mind...

"Yes," he conceded. "By its very nature, a demon has the potential to be evil by itself, because it is chaotic - it has no interest in the world as we know it - it is merely out to be interested in itself." Much as Anders hated to do it, he got to his feet and walked over to Sarah and Nimue. "If you understand the nature of the elementals, you can summon - say, a water spirit to protect you against an attack of fire. But if you summoned a water "demon", it could turn on you in an instant. The key is to understand what beats what."

He turned to the rest of the class. "I'm sure you've all heard of the Muggle 'game' - rock, scissors, paper." He demonstrated briefly, holding his hand out in a fist, with two fingers and flat respectively. "You all know the principle. Rock beats scissors as rocks can dent the blade. Paper beats rock as it can wrap it up. Scissors beat paper for..well, the obvious reason. Well, imagine that you apply this to our four elements."

He held up his hand in four gestures. "Fire," he said, holding his fingers upright and waggling them a little. He clenched his hand into a fist. "Earth." Holding his palm out flat and casting a shy glance at Nimue, he said, "Water." And finally, he held his hand up, the fingers splayed out. "Air."

Catching one or two befuddled looks, he gave a quick demonstration. "Water beats fire. It puts it out. You work out the rest." With that, he suddenly seemed to sag at the edges, and started to cough heavily as he walked back to his chair.

"Once you have a partners," he said, "I want you to count to three and hold your hand up in style of your chosen element. Work out which wins, which loses, which combinations are a draw."

"Sir... Couldn't you just summon a Fire Demon, then if it got out of control just summon a Water one to cancel it out?"

Anders shook his head, wiping at the sweat on his forehead with the sleeve of his robe. "No," he said. "Didn't you listen? It has been decreed by the Powers That Be that the very act of summoning a demon is a Dark Art. The demon itself is virtually consequential. It is the spell that matters, not the end result."

He paused as a sudden fit of coughing descended on him. When he had regained control of his own voice, he continued. "I cannot demonstrate, because for me, the use of Dark Arts is strictly prohibited. I am here to teach you to defend AGAINST them, not put you in a position of danger." His voice, whilst his own, was almost robotic in its recital of the first rule of his parole. "It is, as the Muggles would say, more than my job's worth to do otherwise."

Nimue was genuinely interested in what the young Professor was saying about evil and she spoke up to clarify a point with him before commencing the game with an eager Sarah, who wanted to be fire, of course.

"Sir, you just said that what makes the demon evil is that it is chaotic, only interested in itself. Wouldn't you say that this attitude is what defines a great deal of what is considered 'dark magic' - it doesn't care about the balance of things but only is interested in the result? Thus, most dark witches and wizards could be characterised the same? As being interested in themselves and what they get out of the world and magic than what they can give?"

"That's not quite true, though," Niki interrupts, looking slightly abashed, but not so much so that she would be quiet. "Dark witches and wizards aren't necessarily only interested in themselves. Some of them believe that through their actions are moving them towards a higher goal. For example, some of the Death Eaters believed that muggle-born and half-blood wizards were not good, and that by destroying them they would help purify the wizarding community." She lapses back into silence, aware that she probably should not have spoken.

Arcadia didn't wish to drop the subject of Dark Art spells: " But if it's the SPELL that's wrong, and not what happens, then...Then you could just do the spell in a different way. Then it's a different spell!"

Arcadia seems pleased with herself by this line of thinking.

"So if you don't summon a 'Demon' but summon a...a Elemental instead then that would be okay then?.. and anyway.... in Caring for Magical Creatures we get to see the creature.. and... and in Herbology we get to be with plants... so therefore" She takes a deep breath as she said all the last part in one breath " So Therefore in Defence against the Dark Arts we should SEE what we are supposed to be learning about!...Shouldn't we?"

Arcadia smiles and Pantalaimon licks her hand.

Madison shook her head. "If it's been forbidden because it's so dangerous, then he probably shouldn't demonstrate something like that. Besides, in History of Magic, we don't go back in time to SEE the wars and stuff we're supposed to be learning about."

"Sir, the very word 'summoning' suggests calling from another place" piped up Nimue (again but she was gripped by the ideas) "calling something which has some awareness even if that awareness is towards chaos and harm.

So are you saying that the 'creation' of a form from natural elements even of fire can be considered OK because there is no awareness except for that of the element? So in theory it is only animated by the will of the wizard or witch and its natural energy?"

He was overwhelmed. What he had seen as a lesson filler was turning into a full-scale debate. The questions were flying at him thick and fast. To Arcadia, he said, "No I will not - and CAN not oblige you. I cannot cast a Dark Arts spell for your gratification. I am here to teach DEFENCE against the Dark Arts, not the Arts themselves."

His expression was becoming a little frazzled as he turned to Niki. "The Death Eaters served a Dark Master," he said. "Their values were distorted to match his. Consider that. If you follow evil, ultimately, evil will follow you."

Finally, as Nimue spoke, he smiled. "That is absolutely right, Nimue. Here."

And as if for her and no one else, his eyes closed, his wand moved in the air, and an illusion began to take shape in front of his eyes. A tiny, tiny, yet perfect landscape, complete with mountains and trees and a tiny waterfall... He opened his eyes and smiled. "Illusion. But called into being from the spirits of Earth. It has no malevolent intent so is therefore totally benign."

He gazed on the scene for a few moments. "So creating something from nothing is not necessarily evil, per se," he finished, brushing at the illusion irritably as it floated in front of him. It seemed to defy him. For a few seconds, until he glowered at it, whereby it popped out of existence. "It's what you DO with that something that counts."

At this, he fell silent, and took a long sip from his cough potion. He was reaching the end of his usefulness, he felt. He needed to rest, and he was still unsure as to how successful...or not..his first class had been.

Arcadia sees that she is not going to win this one, she learnt a long time ago that sometimes it's best to back down and wait. She crosses her arms and just sits back silently.

"Oh, really," Katia mutters. "Durmstrang takes a much more sensible approach. They teach the Arts themselves, not just this defence stuff."

Madison whirled around. "Then why don't you go there?"

"I *did*," Katia snaps.

"Maybe you should have stayed," Madison snapped back. "Instead of sitting there muttering. The rest of us are trying to learn something out of this. He's NOT going to summon a demon, so just let it go." She turned back around in her seat and waited for the professor to continue.

"And maybe I would *rather* have stayed!" Katia replies in an angry undertone. "Do you really think I would have chosen to go to school with little murderers like you?"

Madison clenched her fists and didn't turn around. All the emotions she thought she had gotten over came rushing back. She looked up at the professor. "Professor...may I be excused please?" she asked quietly.

Katia smiles nastily, but Niki reaches over and lays her hand on Madison's shoulder. "It's not her business, Madison," she murmurs. "It wasn't your fault, she's just trying to upset you. Ignore her."

Ayumi, who had been sitting a few seats away studiously taking notes, looked up and nodded. "Don't let people get to you!" She smiled, and beckoned Madison over. "Why not come over here? We're supposed to be pairing off.....have you already found a partner?"

Madison forced a smile. "Thanks Niki..." She got up and moved next to Ayumi. "You, too, Ayumi...Thanks." Meanwhile, Lee was glaring daggers at Katia. After Madison moved, he turned back around and muttered something he wouldn't have dared to say aloud in front of any adult.

At the teacher's instructions that they were to partner up, Hyacinth's face grew an even brighter shade of white, and the professor was treated to another deer-in-the-headlights look as she glanced around furtively, shrinking down further in her seat and praying once more to remain unnoticed. 'Look at it this way,' she told herself. 'At least they didn't make you sit in a circle!'

Kat looked around for a partner. She was getting an increasingly bad impression of the girl sat next to her. She was being really nasty to the teacher. She looked around desperately for a partner...

Nimue caught Kat's eye and pointing at Sarah shrugged trying to communicate that the other Ravenclaw girl had picked her before getting a chance to come over to Kat. She pointed a finger in Kalidor's direction. Partnerless, he seemed to be drifting into sleep. How this was possible with the amount of noise around him - well he was a strange kid.

Seeing Kat, a fellow Ravenclaw, was looking for a partner, and seeing as she had not found one herself, and seeing that there was no getting out of this particular assignment except via an embarrassingly public display of sickness, Hyacinth's eyes met those of the other girl and she offered up a tentative smile, which more or less failed to invoke her enthusiasm.

The boy apparently falling asleep in his class caught Anders' attention and he sighed. He pointed his wand and murmured the words of a spell. Almost instantly, an alarm clock popped into existence by Kalidor's nestled head, clanged loudly several times and winked out again. "Are you alright?" Anders was all concern. "Are you ill? Do you need to go and see Madame Pomfrey?" His brow furrowed. "Or are you just being facetious?"

He noticed that Kat was still without a partner and gestured to her. "Miss Black, would you please partner this young man - and see that he stays awake for more than ten minutes?"

Kalidor mumbled incoherently whilst batting his hand at the alarm clock, or rather where the alarm clock was, before realising exactly where he was and what he was doing. He muttered apologetically in the direction of the teacher, whilst thinking to himself what an utter fool he was managing to make of himself today.

At least if he was to be Kat's partner he might get the chance to find out what had been going on, and where on earth Marvo was. It would be nice to be with a familiar face again.

Kat shuffled over to where Kalidor was sitting. At least she hadn't ended up with that new girl! "Hi, Kali. I thought you might have wanted to go with Winifred." She smiled at him. "How are you anyway? Why are you so tired?" Kat wasn't really with it, and had forgotten what they were supposed to be doing. "Can you remember what we are doing in partners?" she asked Kali

Winifred looked desperately around for a partner. Glancing in Kalidor's direction she saw that he was already paired up with Kat. Everyone seemed to have a partner except one girl she didn't know. She walked up to Hyacinth whose face was buried in a book. "Hi, I'm Winifred. Do you want to work on the elements game with me?"

Hyacinth, who had been staring rather disconsolately at her desk, as if expecting great wisdom to spurt forth from it, looked up with a visible start as Winifred came over. Another hasty glance around the room revealed no exit, so she nodded, shoving her hair out of her face and trying again for a smile, which sort of came off the way it was supposed to.

***********

Niki had looked around at Kat before she been partnered. She can't exactly be Kat's partner and Dylan's... but was relived when she had been put with Kalidor. Niki then does what she hopes can be construed as a good thing. Raising her hand, she says, "The difference between good and evil is the intention. The Imperious curse, for instance, is usually considered a Dark Arts spell. It could be used to force someone to murder, but it could also be used to protect people. In the first instance it is used for evil, but in the second it isn't, and should not be punished as such."

"That's a good point," said Anders, nodding. "The Imperious Curse can indeed be used for good or evil purposes - but like the act of summoning, it is generally considered that it is a potentate for evil. Of course, should you end up having to prove yourself in front of a jury..." He shuddered involuntarily, "then they will take into account any REAL reason you may have for using Imperious."

He got back to his feet and paced a little. "This should give you something else to consider. Can 'good' as we know it truly exist without evil? The main wizarding school of thought is that the two need to establish a balance, for one cannot really survive without the other. Do you believe this? Write down those thoughts as well - I won't grade you on them, it'll just be something for you to co..."

He stopped speaking as a major coughing fit descended on him. He wobbled a little and went back to his desk, where he sat, trying to claw back what little dignity he had left. He had to go and see Snape for more of that restorative potion. The thought of speaking to the Slytherin House Master was not a pleasant one and he sighed to himself. Snape had him, Anders, right where he wanted him. Indebted and needing his help.