Dylan sat in the back, positively drinking in every word. Not much of it made sense, but he ticked off notes in Welsh anyway, determined to understand it later. This might actually be useful. Absently, he nodded to Niki when she queried about partners, but it was obvious for once he was paying attention to the class as well as the world around him. Dylan chewed the end of his nubby little pencil thoughtfully, giving Katia half a listen, her and Arcadia. One more quip, one more shot, and he's nail one of the two with his pencil. Right in the back of the head. It was a tempting thought, and one he figured would be quite gratifying. Dylan waited, and lined up his aim with a tinge of a wicked grin, malevolence glittering in his hard eyes. After all, girls like that couldn't keep their mouths shut.

Sarah was enjoying herself with playing the element game with Nimue. It helped her to revise her position on the Gryffindor girl. The girl might well be the sort that was always seemed to be something of a 'teacher's pet' but she was also a good sport once she was drawn out.

Nimue was very fast on the uptake in playing with elements game and the two girls were able to move quite smoothly through the stages of the exercise finding time to chat.

"Can you do what he is able to do with that creation business?" asked Sarah "That is so amazing even if not exactly how to defend against the dark arts!" When Anders seemed somewhat recovered, Sarah put up her hand for his attention and asked him:

"Sir, that thing you do with creating that illusion was really neat. Is that a talent of yours or is it one that others can learn?"

Anders had been about to intercede in the little...discussion going on in the front of the class, but it seemed to have settled down some. "Illusions?" he said, a little distracted. "Oh...well, it is something that you will touch on briefly, but certainly not until your fifth year. I find it to be.." He pondered. "..a creative outlet. My mother was an artist...and I seem to have inherited some of her talent. Only difference being that her skill was with a brush - and mine is with magic." He smiled at Sarah and turned his attention back to the matter in hand.

He was aware that the end of class was rapidly approaching. "Work on this during the week. Stop people in the hall and challenge them to Elemental Combat. When you come back next week, I want the list of the ten possible permutations and their results. Spend the last ten minutes of class practising. You'll soon get the hang of it."

His blue eyes met those of Arcadia again and he frowned, troubled. There was something about her expression that bothered him. She - and that girl in the front row who had pressed him into losing his temper - were going to be hard work, he knew. He pointed at Katia. "Come up here to me, please, young lady, I wish to speak with you privately."

"Yes, Professor Grimalkin?" Katia said, moving up towards his desk. She seems to be sneering a little bit.

Anders lowered his voice so only Katia could hear what he was saying. "I won't tolerate another display like that," he said to her, his tone soft, but firm. "You're only getting off without detention because this is our first class and neither of us are familiar with the other yet. But don't push into places where you are not wanted. It will rebound on you eventually."

He looked at her. "Do we have an understanding? If you're THAT curious about why I...why I was in...That Place...then read some of the old issues of the Daily Prophet. Just don't ask me about it. That's a plea, not an order. Be aware that the harder you push, the harder I'll resist."

His blue eyes flashed dangerously at her and he turned back to his paperwork, indicating that for him, at least, the conversation was over.

"Of course," Katia says sweetly. "I didn't mean to, ah, embarrass you, Professor. I was only interested, and of course, if you'd rather, I'll look through old issues of the Daily Prophet." As she sweeps back to her seat, she adds over her shoulder, "Of course, Rita Skeeter is not always to be trusted..."

Arcadia remains very quite and tries not to be noticed. Pantalaimon hides under the desk.

***********

Elia smiled at Randal. " So... What would beat air? It'd be fire, wouldn't it? Since fire uses up air?"

Randal thought for a minute. "I guess it would, yes. So if water beats fire, fire beats air, air beats earth maybe? And I assume then that earth beats water. I'm not sure though"

"I think air would beat water... since water evaporates, doesn't it?" Elia seems much more cheerful than earlier. She smiles at Randal as he thinks.

**********

With his brains not entirely switched on, Kalidor didn't know how to respond to so many quick fire questions from Kat, so he switched into serial mode and ignored everything but the last input.

"We're supposed to be waving our hands about imitating some muggle game about rocks" he said. "Or at least that's what I think he said". He looked around the classroom, checking no one else had come in during his 'period of reduced concentration' and added as an afterthought "So where's Marvo then?"

Kat stares at Kalidor. "Marvo?" She looks like she is about to burst into tears. "Th...they took him a...away. The WiBs. All b...b...because he saved our lives by using an unfo...unforgivable curse!" Being highly emotional about his topic, she has no idea that she has almost shouted this piece of information.

She stares at her notes, trying to remember how they were supposed to be 'waving their hands'...

"Taken away?" He spluttered. "Wibbs?" (Not knowing how to pronounce the word) "C..c..c..CURSE?" He stuttered, rather loudly. He sat down heavily, shaking his head as if shell shocked, all thoughts of DADA and elements completely removed from his mind. One word was left. "Why?"

His hopes of catching a five-minute sit-down and getting his strength back a little were dashed...again. With a sigh, Anders got up and moved across to Kat and Kalidor. "What's the problem here?" he began, an irritated expression on his face...until he saw Kat's face. "Hey..." he said, softly, putting a hand out and touching her gently on the shoulder. "Are you OK in there?"

The concern that filled his face was totally genuine. He turned to Kalidor. "Go join in with another group for now, please," he said, naturally voicing the name at the top of his head. "I want to have a quiet word with Miss Black." He scanned the girl very quickly. Something had clearly made her desperately upset.

Kalidor continued to sit in a state of shock. Thoughts were rushing round his head. What exactly had happened here whilst he was away? Was any of it his fault? OK things had been a little strange before he left but this was something different...

Kat looked up at the DADA teacher. "It's alright sir, you don't have to send him away. He only asked about Marvo. And I'm sure you must have heard what happened by now." Kat of course assumed that everyone knew.

At the mention of the name 'Marvo', Anders cast a confused glance at Nimue, then back at Kat, and then something obviously registered. "Ah...yes. I...um...heard about the young man. It'll be OK." Crouching down beside her desk he looked at her intently. "If you need to talk to anyone about it, my door will always be open, you know that, right?"

He glanced back at Kalidor, beckoning him back over. "Please let this other young lady join up with you as well," he said, pointing at Hyacinth and beckoning her over, a smile on his face. Ye gods and little fishes, he needed a cigarette.

Acutely aware of the time, Anders shook himself. He'd been daydreaming again. "OK, that's the end of today's lesson. Remember - practise, practise, practise. It seems trivial and futile - but the day you have to work together against an oncoming elemental threat - you'll thank your lucky stars you learned this game."

In an almost coy expression, he at them from under his long, dark eyelashes. "I hope you enjoyed your first lesson with me as much as I enjoyed teaching it. OK -class dismissed."

Seeing that the class was just about over, Ayumi began to push her notebooks back into her bag. "Quite fascinating, eh?" she commented to Madison. "This looks to be a wonderful class!" Pushing back her chair, Ayumi quickly stood and shuffled in with the mob of students headed for the door.

Madison nodded distractedly and followed Ayumi out the door. Lee was waiting just outside the door. "This Professor Grimalkin's pretty cool, huh?"

Madison nodded again. "Yeah, the lesson was pretty interesting. He's a good teacher. Um...what do we have next?"

Between Classes

Arcadia is just about the first out of the door. She turns to Katia." God that was boring! I almost thought I was in a History of Magic Lesson "

She looks a Katia, in her wonderful robe, wonderful hair and wonderful make-up. "So, What's next lesson?... Oh yes, before I forget. Look.." She takes out a small vial from her robe and hands it to Katia.

" It's a new Perfume my Daddy got when he was in India. I think you'll like it. I think it would suit you more than me. Please, take it, as a gift" Arcadia Smiles. Pantalaimon sniffs the air.

Katia smiles back. "Maybe later... I've got a Care of Magical Creatures lesson coming up with that half-giant teacher." She makes a face. "I can't wait until Nigel gets here, you know?" Seeing that Arcadia doesn't understand, she explains. "My friend Nigel Cadnum. He used to go to Durmstrang, with me, but he left too. He was supposed to be here yesterday, but it's just like him to be late."

" No problem, wear it tonight for dinner" Arcadia smiled, " Nigel? oh? what's he like? You know..." She winks

Winifred hadn't had much time to work on the elements game with Hyacinth, but jotted a few notes down. "Water beats fire, fire beats earth, earth beats air, air beats water." She wasn't sure if this was correct and hoped that she could compare it to someone else's before next week.

She walked out of the classroom alone, as Niki decided to stay and talk with Prof. Grimalkin and she was too embarrassed to talk to Kalidor again. She headed to the library (she had opted not to take Care of Magical Creatures) to work on Arithmancy and to get some thoughts jotted in her journal.

Randal turned to Elia. "Shall we go? I can finish telling you about what I found out last night." He smiled at Elia, and waited for her to pack her things. "Here," he opened the door for her. "After you."

Elia goes out the door ahead of Randal, and leads him down the hallways until they're out on the grounds, with the others significantly farther ahead of them. Then, she turns to him. "What did you find out last night?"

"Well, I was hiding in the shadows near the Slytherin common room last night when Niki and Winifred went passed. They had no idea I was there. Well, they were planning to set a magical trap for the person leaving the newspaper clippings. But as you heard in the lesson, they didn't turn up last night. They were going to find a spell to allow them to tell who had been in the dorm. I guess if the person leaving those notes were to get caught... Well I have no idea what Niki would do, but she smelt so angry that she could do anything..."

"I don't know if you know the person who is doing this, but... if you do, you could pass that on. I was just concerned in case this got out of hand." He smiled at her a little lamely, hoping that he wasn't pushing his luck too far.

Elia's lips tighten, but she doesn't say anything. "Randal... what do you mean, she smelled angry?"

Randal paused for a minute. Had he really said that? He really should watch for that more often. He sighed he'd have to explain it now... "Well, I have a very sensitive sense of smell. It is so acute that I can smell some emotions. A bit like some animals." He looked embarrassed at trying to explain.

*********

Nimue gathered her books and papers as the class was dismissed. She went over and joined Kat Black. "You look a little shaky." she said, "can we talk on the way to our next class or do you prefer to catch up later?"

"Sure." Kat replied to Nimue, "I'll be out in a minute." She turned to Kali. "Um... err... I just wanted to say sorry. If you do want to know the whole story of what happened while you were away I'll tell you later in the common room. I don't mean to get so upset, I just feel it is really unfair that he has been taken away for who knows what fate, all because he saved us rather than letting us die. He used an unforgivable dark curse in order to win against Queztacoatal. It nearly cost him his life, and he was technically dead for a couple of minutes. And... and... I miss him too." She looked a little embarrassed, but she hoped he understood.

"That's Ok," Kalidor replied. "I guess I've got a lot to catch up on." He glanced at this books. "And I don't just mean lessons!" He pulled a scrap of paper out his robes and studied it briefly. "Do you know where Care of Magical Creatures is? I've got it next apparently"

Glyndwr, who had been hiding under the desk, hissed at this. Why would Kalidor want to take care of any other Magical Creatures?

Kat looked a little startled by Glyndwr. She bent down and gave him a scratch between the ears.

"I've got that too. Nimue wants to talk to me though, otherwise I'd walk with you." Kat smiled at him. "You need to got to Hagrid's hut. That is out of the main door, and keep heading in the same direction. You should find it when you get near the edge of the forest, and there should be other students heading that way too. I'll see you there."

With that she headed out of the door where she caught up with Nimue. "Sorry, I had to have a quick word. Um, wanted to talk?"

Nimue had waited in the hall while her friend talked to Kalidor. She amused herself by looking at the patterns in the wallpaper and thinking about any number of things especially her mixed up life.

Nimue was glad that Kat wasn't too long. "It's about Marvo and me. us. I've wrote to my father demanding that they break off the betrothal. It probably won't work but I've at least fired the first shot across his bows with reasons and all."

She looked very tense. "Have you heard anything about him. I know it's only been a couple of days but I am hoping he gets to send owls. I pray he won't be ... you know .. sent away."

Kat was surprised. "Oh. Well, I guess you said you were going to try and talk them out of it." She was even more surprised that Nimue had said she 'demanded' it. That really didn't sound like her.

"No, I haven't heard from him yet. I guess it will be a couple of days before he can get owls out though. I'm still really worried about him. And as for yesterday, I can't remember anything about it. I remember being taken away by the WiBs and going into this room, but after that it is all a fog."

"But how are you? You seem, I don't know, a little different. And why are you so tense?"

"Tense, am I?" replied Nimue, "I guess it's just caught up with me. I was very worried about you yesterday and no one seemed to know where you were. Achel dumped me for this new girl Arcadia and then Marcus ended up lecturing me over ... well.. over .... umm basically over Marvo related stuff. We ended up quarrelling a fair amount over the course of the day and then there was Tish leaving suddenly. Then Professor Grimalkin got sick after dinner and Marcus had me sit with him while he found Professor Snape."

She paused for breath. "Sometime in the morning I wrote my father. After the first argument with Marcus and before I ... I had my second argument with Marcus where we agreed to .. ummm .. not tell my father about our first argument. That was my day." she concluded. "So you think I seem 'different'? How?"

"Um..." Kat started feeling a little nervous. Nimue was never this confrontational. "Well, you just seem more, um... outspoken?" She made it into a question, not quite sure how Nimue would take it.

"It's probably just me." She followed her instinct in it being so bad that she should assume nothing was wrong. Kat was now almost certain there was something really wrong. "I'm sorry to hear you had such a bad day. I didn't know Tish had gone. I guess I must have missed that too! Do you know why she left? Will she come back? I was sort of hoping to talk to her, but I guess I can't now. I missed so much yesterday, and I have no idea what happened to me."

"Outspoken?" echoed Nimue, "yes - maybe, that is it? As I said I think it just all caught up with me. I realised there was something I wanted aside from what my parents wanted for me. I had thought that it was my duty to follow their plans even though I protested when I first heard, it was a resigned protest because I believed they had the right. Now I want to determine my own life but in order to do that I have to be able to speak up for myself. So might as well start practising for what might take a long time to sort out."

She paused and smiled somewhat more like her old self, "Anyway, as for Tish, it seems that it was all down to their father feeling that Hogwarts isn't safe or something or maybe he got wind of the costume she wore at the Yule Ball! Anyway, he's removed both her and Nathan to be schooled at home. She hardly had time to say goodbye so I guess it is permanent. It's strange you can't remember what happened with them, do you think they put a memory charm on you or something?"

Kat fell silent for a minute. "Oh. I shall miss her. We were just starting to get on well."

She didn't say anymore, just continued to walk with her friend.

*************

Having dismissed the class, Anders turned away to sit at his desk.

Niki approached the professor's desk tentatively as the class was dismissed and the students began to file out. "Excuse me, Professor Grimalkin," she said, quietly, "but I just wanted to say you shouldn't be upset... That Katia person is just trying to provoke you, or anyone else. You saw what she said to Madison, didn't you?"

He looked up and nodded. "Thanks for your concern," he said smiling a little. "She and I had a little discussion...I'm pretty sure she's going to tread a little bit more carefully from now on." He put down his quill and looked at her. "Tell me...are they...REALLY bad, these rumours about me?"

He looked desperately worried and glanced nervously over her shoulder at the departing class.

Niki shook her head. "I haven't heard any rumours except that you were in Azkaban. I think she was just saying that..." She glanced around the room, seeing that no one else was left. "My mother... she was too. In Azkaban, I mean. That's what Katia was saying to me." Niki's face flushed.

Anders' face fell and impulsively he reached out, taking her hand and squeezing it gently. "I'm sorry," he said, softly, his eyes full of pity. "I guess...I'm lucky that neither of my parents were alive to see me sent there. My mother would have died of shame anyway."

He sighed. "It was a terrible place. I was lucky to get out alive. But it was hard. Peterssen...the man who I was accused of killing...his family were there the day they led me to trial..." He shuddered, remembering the names, the accusations, the pure, unadulterated words of hatred that had spilled from their mouths.

"Well, my mother probably deserved to be there," Niki said slowly. "She was a Death Eater... I hardly remember her, I was only five when she was sent off, and I saw her once, there in Azkaban, before she died. Peterssen, did you say? Was it... Olaf Peterssen?" She looked intrigued. "He was one of the main witnesses in... in Mother's trial. Ex-Death Eater." She tried to smile, and act like she was all right, but she obviously wasn't.

He squeezed her hand a little tighter and shook his head. "I heard rumours about him being an ex-Death Eater..." he said, his voice barely more than a whisper. "It's very possibly the same man." Seeing her face, he shook his head again. "Don't torture yourself with this, Niki. Life is too short. C'mon. Smile for me, huh?" He smiled himself, but it was vague and a little unsteady.

Niki tried to smile. "I came up here trying to make you feel better, and now you're making me feel better." This time her smile was a bit steadier. "Thank you for a very interesting lesson, Professor." She squeezed back on his hand.

"You're very welcome," he said, letting go of her hand and putting his remaining things away. "I have to run and catch Professor Snape now before next lessons start - so excuse me." And with that, the young Professor was bounding down the corridor towards Snape's dungeon.

Professor Severus Snape was having a harassed morning. His morning class had gone well enough but he had returned to his office to find letters from the Ministry of Magic informing him of new 'standards' to be implemented regarding the storage and transportation of potion ingredients along with need for proper documentation including something described as 'Safety Data Sheets'.

The quill pushers at MoM obviously thought he had nothing better to do with his time!

Also, one of his requisitions had been returned with a curt form letter that he had failed to provide a 'purchase order number' which allowed the suppliers to properly bill Hogwarts for the order.

He longed to escape to Hogsmeade where at the Hog's Head pub a thriving 'black market' in rare but useful ingredients could still be found if you knew who to ask. Still the MoM letter threatened impromptu 'quality and safety assessment audits' suggesting such expeditions would be confined to restocking his private stores.

Anders slid to a halt outside Snape's door. Now he was here, he felt almost embarrassed about it. But he needed the Restorative, and Snape HAD said... Cursing himself for feeling like a school kid again, he rapped on the door.

"Uh.. Professor Snape? It's...um...Anders Grimalkin...you said I could call on your help for more of that Restorative...um...yeah. I guess you're probably busy...I'll just....y'know. Leave again."

He said all this very quickly, and hoped that his voice didn't carry. He began to slink away again.

"Please stop whining Grimalkin and just Come IN!" Snape's voice carried into the Hall.

Anders winced, but pushed open the heavy door to Snape's dungeon office. He poked his head around the door. "Um...would it be OK for me to...if it's not too much trouble for you...to ask for...uh...some more of that Restorative potion you prepared for me..."

He was feeling desperately nervous about speaking to Snape after yesterday. The Potions Master had already scored points off his vulnerabilities, and he was certain that would just be the start of a very long term.

Snape was acutely aware of Anders' nervousness and while one part of his mind was vaguely amused by this hangover from the boy's schooldays, another part of him was rather irritated by subservient behaviour in someone who was after all a colleague.

"Sit..." he commanded. When Anders had done so Snape reached into his desk and produced another bottle of the restorative potion. "Here go easy on it - take about half an eggcup's worth now and then pace it out during the next couple of days."

"Your first class today, the Third Years' I believe - how did it go?" Snape asked somewhat offhandedly.

Anders carefully measured out a dose of the potion and downed it with some relief. Snape's question took him rather by surprise, but he rallied quickly.

"I think it went rather well," he said, carefully. "Discussed the elements. They took notes and participated and asked intelligent questions. It was..." He looked up at the Potions Master. "It was easier than I expected it would be."

~Apart from having to keep my eyes off Nimue,~ his mind shrieked. His expression didn't change, but his eye began to twitch slightly. "I'll just go...leave you to your paperwork, shall I? Thank you for the potion. And...Professor?"

As Anders rose, he took a shred of his new-found confidence and put it into practise. Leaning on the desk until his nose was inches from Snape's, he said, in a low rumble, "I never cheated in that duel. You prove it, I'll accept it. You lost. I won, fair and square. And you can't handle that."

With a mock bow at the door, something he'd done many times as a student, Anders was gone, back to his own classroom to gloat in peace.

***********

"Och, McTavish," murmured Fiona Munro to the tuft of fur that was all that was visible of her familiar, sticking out of her robe pocket. "Tha' medical took far too long. We missed Defence Against th' Dark Arts."

The tuft of fur gave a small, barely perceptible movement as if shrugging. "Aye, you're right, at least we're here now."

She was a small, plump, rosy-cheeked girl, with shoulder-length blonde hair that framed her pleasant face and seemed to make the huge glasses that perched on her small nose even larger than they were. She'd arrived at Hogwarts that morning and been subjected to the routine medical with Madame Pomfrey before being rushed up to the Sorting Hat (which had swiftly and promptly put her in Ravenclaw).

Now she was trying to figure out where she was going - not an easy task.

If you listened carefully, the tuft in her pocket was emitting a soft snore, totally disinterested in its surroundings. She patted it affectionately. She was rather fond of her familiar, but he did have a habit of falling asleep all the time.