"Let's start with the easiest question first, shall we?" He looked at the girl who had asked about the curse. "Morticia, yes?" He asked her confirming her name.

"The curse you are referring to is the one that you previous DADA teacher deflected yes? I have to say that I am fascinated to know how he managed it too. I will see what I can do to find out if anyone has found the answer yet. I believe Professor Snape was investigating it anyway. If I can find out how it was done then I will happily share that information with you."

"As for what else is in the topics for this year. Well, I'm hoping to cover some of the techniques that I use a lot. The ones that I see as building blocks for some of the more complicated defence techniques. And there will be opportunities to practice, although obviously we won't be playing with the three forbidden curses practically."

"Is that ok?" He looked at Tish to see what she thought.

Morticia nodded. "It's just that this... thing," she swallowed, "I don't know, it just bugs me that it isn't blockable. And now it seems it IS blockable after all, but nobody knows how."

She smiled. "Sorry. My brother and me are just DADA freaks, I think, always want to know everything. I'm sure your lessons will be exciting."

Next Aidan turned to Mahou. "And you are Mahou, yes? Elves... You mean wood elves. Well my personal view is that I am open to accept that people of any race are good until they prove otherwise. I don't think you can assess people on race. There have been examples where the elfish race has been biased against humans before and that has lead to an amount of contention. Also they are very much aloof, so actually meeting an elf is a rare occurrence."

"In the context of this lesson I am not planning on teaching specific defence against elves. But if an elf were to attack you using dark magic then I would hope that you would be able to defend yourself with some of the skills I will teach."

He hoped this would allay Mahou's question.

Finally he turned to Niki. "Now, Niki, you have a very interesting question there."

He walked over to where she held the piece of paper. He scanned down the runes and felt a leap of enthusiasm as he did so. "That is quite some piece you found! Can you remember which book it was in? It could be important."

He looked up to the rest of the class. "It looks as though Niki has found an excerpt of interest to Hogwarts. So I will tell you a bit about Helga and the Hammer that I think is being mentioned here."

"There are a number of different sources that have pointed to a Hammer of supreme power. Some of you may have learnt a little about the Norse beliefs and how they relate to history. Well the god of Thunder was Thor. Interestingly enough he is responsible for the name we give to one of the day's of the week. As in Thor's day or Thursday as we now pronounce it. Anyway he carried a hammer as his weapon. But this hammer was no ordinary weapon. It was magical, shaped in a T shape."

Aidan waved his wand at the board at the front of the class and drew on it the shape on the Hammer. A gothical style T.

"He called it Mjollnir. And it had the ability to crush his enemies magically, and always return to Thor's hand when he threw it. It is also said to be able to raise the dead when Thor passed it over their bones."

"Some people do not believe that it ever existed, while others suggest that it was stolen from him and hidden under the sea where no-one would be able to find it again. Some say that Thor's hammer was merely a symbol to show his link to the earth and how important he was as a god. Some people even use the hammer symbol as a sign of fertility and use it in blessing to ask for fertility to the land and to the people that till the land. However there are many texts, both in books and in ancient ruins to suggest that in fact the Hammer did exist and that he travelled the world with it."

"Now Helga's Hammer which is refereed to in these runes, Niki, also has many references. Although these are mainly found in the magical world rather than in the muggle books and such like. Many of the properties of Helga's hammer are said to be the same as those of Thor's Hammer. It again was used as a sign of fertility and health by wizards many years ago. It is also said to be invaluable in the forging of magical metals. In fact it is possible to be the same Hammer. Obviously if it could be traced it might be easy to prove but..."

"There are a number of sources that reference Helga's hammer and its location. Many believe that it is indeed Helga Hufflepuff that owned the hammer. Others are much more sceptical and say that the founder of Hogwarts school would not be the same owner of such an item."

"It has been suggested that it is hidden in the ground of hogwarts somewhere by some people, but there is no evidence to suggest that at all. It is more likely to be located somewhere in the ancient Norse lands maybe hidden in the vault of some church or other and not recognised for what it is. Many texts have speculated on its location but none have any leading clues."

"Now Helga Hufflepuff has some history that I can tell you as well. The ancients' texts that were written about the same time as Hogwarts School was founded reference the life of one Heilgar Olafdottir. She was a Dane witch that came to Britain when she was about 20. She is fabled to have wielded a magical hammer a bit like Mjollnir. Anyway, it is suspected that she later changed her name to Hufflepuff when she and three others founded the school. The fables also suggest that each founder had a similar magical weapon that was used to make them nearly invincible in the great occult battle they fought to gain the land on which we now stand."

He looked at Niki, "I really would like to know what book it was you found this in. There may be other clues in there about the hammer, it's location and the relation to the founders."

He was so enthralled with telling about something that he was so enthusiastic about, that he did not really notice if the students were listening to him or not.

Niki looked very interested indeed. "Oh, it wasn't in a book, sir, just tucked behind one of the big rune dictionaries. There were some other scraps of parchment there, too--you can keep that, if you'd like," she added generously. "Anyway, as for the hammer... In French, the name for Thursday is Jeudi, after Jupiter, or Jove, who was also the god of thunder. It makes you wonder whether there's some significance to it... Anyway, I was going to ask Professor Kacirk is he could help me with a few of the more difficult runes there, and I would really like to try and translate some of the other bits of parchment. Would that be okay, do you think?"

"You can't just discount legends," Niki added. "I mean, look at Heinrich Schliemann! I know he was a Muggle and everything, but he found Troy and Mycenae with only Homer's poems to guide *him*."

Aidan nodded. "Yes yes, keep going with the translations. I would be really interested to see the rest of the parchments when you are done. Or," he was starting to wave his arms around enthusiastically as he got more excited about it. Maybe there was something here to investigate after all.

"Or, if you have them with you we could look at them after the lesson." It would not have occurred to him that everyone would want to be out at the Quidditch trials straight after the lesson.

"And I do agree with you that you cannot discount any possibilities. Why on some of the quests I have followed for different artefacts I have had very little to go on when I started. It is amazing how much truth there can be in rumour or suspicion. The problem comes when there are hundreds of different sources. But this is certainly worth following."

"Professor?" said Nimue having hung on every word, "I have read 'Hogwarts: a History' and there is nothing in it about any occult battle being fought to gain this land. The book is rather scanty on such details. I have always wondered why it was built here rather than anywhere else - the location is remote which I assumed was an advantage then and now but is there more to it?"

The professor nodded. "Indeed the reasoning behind the founding of Hogwarts and the gaining of the land is missed out of Hogwarts: A History. In fact it is not specified in any reliable texts. Again it has been rumoured to have been chosen as a site for a number of different reasons. One even suggested a link to Avalon and the previous use of this land by some druidic religion. Perhaps even the final hiding place of the sword Excaliber for which I have been searching most of my life."

"Of course some of the rumours are much better placed than others. The interpretation of the facts is so hard to prove without physical evidence like that you see around you."

Dylan was, beyond a shadow of a doubt, completely and utterly lost. He admitted that Professor Smyth seemed to know his stuff, and was quite enthusiastic about it. The young Welshman just wasn't quite sure what on God's green earth the man was so enthusiastic about. Granted, some words popped--Thor, Excaliber, Helga Hufflepuff--but overall, he was mystified.

Slouching farther down in his seat, Dylan propped open his DADA textbook which had been sitting on his desk and stealthily slid a copy of the new comic he'd gotten before coming to school in it. As twisted as "Squee" was, it made more sense than this man did. And somehow, that didn't bode well for the rest of the year.

Jian Hupi had always been aware that he could be extremely focused on something if he set his mind to doing so. Through all his lessons that day, it had been no different-he simply focused on absorbing, effectively keeping out everything else, including his own thoughts.

However, this particular discussion in the Defence Against the Dark Arts class was making him feel very uneasy. Something about power and origins and the mysteries of the past...aspects closely related to his real reasons for being here. He found himself trying to shut off the babble of voices of his classmates and the teacher.

This time, all he wanted to do was to stop listening. If ever there was danger lurking, he was not there to deal with theory and possibility-he was there to fight. He vaguely wondered if this was the real reason why the Sorting Hat chose him for Gryffindor rather than Ravenclaw.

He felt a slight twinge of what most probably was amusement as he spied a Gryffindor girl staring half-open-mouthed at the teacher. In another place and time, Jian would perhaps have reacted in a similar fashion.

He glanced to his other side and spied his Welsh housemate Dylan reading something tucked in the middle of the textbook. Something with...illustrations? Whatever it was, it seemed more fascinating and diverting for the other boy.

"Dylan," he said in a low voice, "what is that you are reading? It looks interesting."

Dylan looked up with a scowl, and pressed his finger to his lips in a gesture familiar with those who often do other things while in class and wish it to be kept quiet. "Comic book," he mouthed silently. "Called Squee. Don't let on." Dylan glanced at the Professor, hoping his illicit activities had yet again flown under the radar.

Yvette's jaw had been dropping lower and lower as Professor Smyth went on about...what was it that he was talking about? In any other class, she would have been asleep if the professor had even _attempted_ to ramble with such a long monologue.

However, she watched the man with a vague sort of fascination. He reminded her of something she'd seen once before- called something like a Mexican bumping bean? Or was it jumping bean? She was pretty sure that was it...

As he waved his arms around, her eyebrows shot higher and higher. None of his words made any sense- translations? Helga Hufflepuff? What in the world did any of the things he was talking about have to do with each other?

A quick glance around the room made her relax somewhat. Many of the other students looked just as clueless as she did...her eyes settled on Dylan, and she grinned to herself.

She absently went back to staring at their extremely animated teacher. Maybe, if she was lucky, she'd finally understand all of this by osmosis...

Morticia had followed the conversation between Aidan and Niki with increasing confusion. When had Niki started to turn into a DADA-loving bookworm? Too much time with Nathan, she thought and suppressed a grin. The two certainly became more and more alike each day...

But the subject seemed interesting to her, so she whispered to Niki, "Ooooh, I'd sooo love to work on that, too! May I?"

"Of course!" Niki whispered back, then seemed to reconsider. "I mean," she continued, "it isn't the only runes thing I'll be doing, but if you're interested, that's fine." She grinned at her friend, her exhaustion almost forgotten in the thrill of new discoveries.

*******

Mahou almost fell out of her seat at this information.. A human willing to accept her for what she was? And she had no idea that meeting an elf was such a rare occurrence. Would it be even more rare to meet a half-elf then? She pursed her lips a moment and decided to ask. Sticking her hand in the air again, after all the Helga Hufflepuff stuff, Mahou was ready to ask her question.

Then Nimue's question had been posed and answered. Avalon? Mahou, again, nearly fell out of her seat, her shock was so great. She literally jumped but caught herself by slamming her hands down on her desk. What in the world could this place have to do with Avalon? The portal to the Land of Magick? The training place for the Avalon Priestesses? It was too much to take!

All elves, when small, no matter if they were half or full, were taught of Avalon. Some elves, always full, never half, got to even go to Avalon.. to be taught the ways of the Land of Magick. Mahou's ears burned at the thought of glimpsing Avalon. Her father, though he was a boy, had been given a chance at going, but had fallen in love with her mother and thus stayed. Mahou had fainted when he had told her the story of his decline to go to Avalon.

Many people didn't think Avalon was real.. didn't think it existed. The elves and choice humans knew better. Mahou knew better. She gripped her book so hard that her knuckles turned white, and her face paled at the thought of Avalon.

Could this place have a portal or gateway to the strange, yet wondrous, Land of Magick? ~*Avalon*~ Mahou muttered in Elfin. The word sounded completely different in her musical language than it did in English. If this place did have a gateway to Avalon.. maybe Nimue would help her find it. She would have to ask her father how to feel the magick that Avalon emitted.. if she could even sense it. What if her human side was too grown? What if she couldn't feel it at all? She had her doubts if she could sense the magick.. but she would have to try. She would have to!

Raising her hand shakily, Mahou asked a simple question, "P-Professor? D' ye believe tha' Avalon.. even exists?" As her body shivered, Mahou lowered her hand, neatly folding them on her desk, still pale, still shivering, she waited for the answer.

If anyone dared steal a glance at Mahou.. she looked a total wreck.

"Do *I* believe in Avalon?" He looked a little surprised by the question. "I think, given that I have found a number of artefacts that seem to have no background if Avalon did not exist then, sure. I believe in it. And I know that some of the druidic practices are still used today..." He shuddered, as if remembering a brush too close with one particular practice.

"Anyway, I think that we should really get onto the subject that I had intended for the lesson. I am happy to talk to anyone after the lesson."

He moved back round the desk, slightly disappointed to have to change the subject. But if he didn't start the lesson soon he'd be out of time.

"Now, what I really wanted to start with was this." He lifted his hat to show an ornate box. It was about a foot square and covered in inlaid patterns of flowers and birds.

"Can I have a volunteer to open the box?"

A number of students put their hands in the air, but Aidan chose a rather sheepish looking Hufflepuff near the front of the class.

The student lifted the top of the box. It seemed to flicker and then stick out a long point of metal that pricked the finger of the Hufflepuff student.

"Ah... you see this is no ordinary box. It is made from dark magic, but not very strong. The worse if will do is prick your finger unless you can open it correctly. Who else would like to try?"

Nimue Hawkwood already looked decidedly uncomfortable at this particular line of enquiry on the part of Professor Smyth especially his admission of his 'life long' quest for the sword Excalibur.

Then with Mahou's question about Avalon she wished she had her former dormmates Elia's ability to become invisible though managed to sit quietly not expressing anything. She just hoped Marvo wouldn't say anything clever in order to show off to his 'hero'.

Morticia raised her hand. "May I?"

She stepped forward and looked at the patterns. "Hmmm...." She thought for a moment, then touched some of them and then tried to open the box. "Ouch!"

She jumped backwards slightly as the metal pricked her finger. "Ah, well," she grinned, "was worth a try."

"Don't look so disappointed, Morticia. You had the right idea." He smiled at her.

Marvo had been listening very closely as the Professor spoke, drinking in every word. At the Mention of Avalon and Excalibur he looked over to Nimue, and winked at her.

Then he raised his hand "May I ask professor, if there is any danger from inside the box should it be opened?"

Nimue was relieved by Marvo's wink as it indicated a conspiratorial bond between them. She realised that she thought of him very much as a brother as well as a good friend and was happy that he was in Gryffindor House again.

She wasn't at all sure about the box and elected to wait until others had a go with it.

Adian looked across to where Marvo was sat. "Oh I can assure you the box is quite harmless. I have opened it myself many times, and each time the mechanism changes slightly. There is nothing inside that will harm."

In fact there was nothing inside at all, but the professor wasn't going to tell them that yet.

Surprisingly, Arcadia raises her Hand.

"Ok then, Arcadia, you try."

Branwen sat quietly at the back of the classroom, carefully watching the proceedings, taking it all in. Intriguing box...she studied it from a distance and thought for a moment that she knew....no, couldn't be that simple. Anyway, she wasn't in the mood to draw attention to herself today and decided not to volunteer for anything until at least Wednesday.

The conversation had been most entertaining though, so he was another fascinated with the whole Excalibur thing, was he? She'd have to see how this teacher turned out...

Marvo noticed Branwen as he was looking at the shelves of interesting things, his eye occasionally glowing red. He BLUSHED and quickly gave the Professor is FULL attention.

Arcadia got up for her chair and 'ambled' over to the box with Pantalaimon close beside her.

They both looked at it for a moment, then she looks at Pantalaimon and back to the box.

Her hands swiftly moved over the sides of the box and over the top and there was a slight 'click' and it sprung open. She Smiled

Hal watched with amazement. He wasn't a natural Defence Against the Dark Arts student and this was all fascinating stuff for him. How did Arcadia manage to open that so easily?

He glanced around the room and noticed that he wasn't the only 'glued' student, and pulled his attention back to the front of the room. But there was this nagging voice in his head distracting him from all this excitement, telling him that Quidditch trails were next and maybe, just maybe, he would get in...

"Very well done Miss Fudge. Now perhaps you'd care to explain to the rest of the class how you managed it." He was smiling at her encouragingly... Although inside he was very surprised that any of the class had managed the task.

Arcadia smiled a very 'smug' Smile. She moved her hands over the box again and it clicked shut.

"Well Professor, a girl has to have some secrets! And anyway. It's a silly box. Hardy any magic in it at all, dark or otherwise. could almost be muggle made!"

She looked over to the Professor, who seemed to be wanting a little bit more of an explanation.

"Well, I have a very nosy Brother, and 'some people' like to snoop in others belongings. so I have a similar type of box myself. Only much better than this one!"

"Well now Miss Fudge. I expect your classmates will have more luck at being able to pry into your secret things by the end of this lesson then. You may sit down." It was obvious that Arcadia was being cocky and was not going to let on how she did it.

Aidan addressed the class again. "Arcadia is quite right that there is hardly any magic in this box. However there is a lesson to be learned in it. They key to the box is to watch the patterns. In fact it is about the balance of the patterns. You press the pattern where it is unbalanced to grow stability. Once the pattern is even and stable the box will open."

He looked at some of the blank stares he was getting. "Ok, in simple terms if there is more dark pattern than light pattern, you press some of the dark pattern and it will turn light. If the bit you choose to press is quite large then you will end up with more light than dark, so you need to choose carefully. If you were to touch a light part of the pattern when there is already more light than dark then you will fail and be pricked by the spike as happened to Morticia."

"Now the lesson we need to learn from this simple box is that the first key to defence is observation. You cannot defend yourself if you cannot learn to see what might happen."

"Now, let's have someone else try now that I have given an explanation no how to use it."

He pointed at one of the students. "Why don't you have a go." The Hufflepuff girl looked terrified at the thought.

*********

From his seat at the very back of the class, Luis Verga allowed his eyes to slide over the backs of his classmates. Kids. He sat at the back for three main reasons: he could watch everyone, he was too tall, and he wanted to appear detached without concern for mingling.

He watched the smug smile appear on the face of Arcadia Fudge. He allowed himself a lazy smile

directed straight at her, his gray eyes glittering in the light.

Luis leaned back in his seat and brought his hand into the air. "Professor Smyth? Seeing as the Lady has had her turn, and a successful one at that, would you kindly allow a gent to have a turn at opening the box, too?" He beamed another lazy smile at Arcadia. "To see if we could perhaps keep up with Miss Fudge's...skills."

"Of course you may try." Aidan beckoned to Luis.

Yvette propped her chin up with one hand, blinking several times. She absently began listening to the two boys, tracing circles on her DADA book. The French girl couldn't have looked less interested.

However, her eyes were watching the teacher, and she still looked vaguely amazed. It was hard to tell whether or not she was truly paying attention.

Branwen had caught the glow from Marvo's cheeks and turned to look at him. 'How curious' she thought, raising an eyebrow and then shrugging slightly, she gave her full attention back to the front of the class. If this teacher thought she'd want to open the box now that everyone knew how to do it, he had another thing coming.

Oriana ignored Arcadia and paid close attention. Some time during the class, she turned around and said hello to Magnus and Piotr. Hopefully they weren't suspicious of her.

Oriana watched with interest as Arcadia opened the box. She wasn't surprised one bit. The one thing she knew when she was around Arcadia was to expect the unexpected.

She wanted to give it a go. Maybe she would also be able to open the box. She decided to wait.

Luis grinned at Professor Smyth and got to his feet, his black robes following his graceful matador's movements with swishing sounds. He dropped a bow at the teacher. "Gracias, maestro."

He walked to the front of the class, not catching anyone's eye but looking intently at the box on the desk. Balance. Yes. Dark and light. It was as simple as the most basic mathematical equation.

Luis stopped beside the desk and picked up the box, gently, with both hands. He lifted his countenance to allow the people on the front row a glimpse of the half-sneer on his face.

His right hand slid caressingly over the top of the box. His gray eyes fluttered close and a few whispered Portuguese words escaped his lips, unheard by no one but himself.

There was a telltale snap as the lid of the box opened once more after Arcadia had closed it. His right hand disappeared behind the cover and came out a second later holding a snow-white rose, with large petals yet a very short stem.

A magic trick like those in the circus side-shows.

He smiled at the teacher this time, closing the box and putting it back onto the desk as he did. "Thank you for this chance, Professor Smyth. I agree that it is a matter of balance, and understanding that balance."

Luis walked over to Arcadia and handed her the white rose. The colour matched Pan the Wolf perfectly. "A magical bloom for a Lady who understands the intricacies of magic. Miss Fudge. For you."

Arcadia and Pantalaimon had returned to their seat, still looking smug.

She was surprised anyone would dare want to open the box now she had closed it. She hadn't bothered to do anything to it, not this time. She also knew her own box was far more complicated, and dangerous, and guessed the others would know that.

As Luis spoke and went up to the box Arcadia raised an eyebrow. What was he up to? She had seen him about in Slytherin of course, and Pantalaimon had noticed him looking at her, but then again, all the boys did that, and she could not blame them.

She was impressed by his skill of opening the box, he obviously knew what he was doing. But the words he was whispering, which were whispered so only Pantalaimon could hear them, seemed gibberish to her.

But when he handed her the rose, the very beautiful rose, she was, for once, completely speechless!

No one, ever had given her a flower so beautiful, or done so beautifully! She blushed. And it must have been a very deep blush as it was visible through her make-up!

She took the rose and smiled. a real smile, not something Arcadia gets to do very often. She watched as he returned to his seat and realised she was staring, looked down to her book. Pantalaimon continued to look at Luis, forgetting all about Magus and Piotr.

This was a totally new experience for Arcadia, and she would have to think long and hard as to it's meaning.

After handing Arcadia the rose with a flourish, Luis had bestowed on the girl his trademark lazy smile that made his eyes gleam translucent silver.

He inclined his head as she accepted it, then went straight back to his seat and settled back down as if nothing had happened. He was aware of the low whispers that swept the room, especially among the Hufflepuffs. Several Huff girls were looking over their shoulders at him, with dreamy-eyed expressions.

He crossed his arms on his chest and leaned back, thinking of the possible consequences of his actions, his eyes lowered. He felt like a blank slate, in spite of this new side of himself that he had shown so artistically to his classmates.

He wondered how Drake would react when he found out, seeing as the assistant teacher had warned him of Arcadia. It was bound to be fun. Then he wondered how /she/ would react. He did not dare look up.