History of Magic Lesson 2 (1st-2nd)

[Alexander Griffiths]

Xander looked at Chris and was a bit taken aback by his enthusiasm to know more, then he chuckled. "No, Chris. I did not save any cats, and it wasn't part of our job to interfere. We did started healing men from both sides after that fight, and we buried those who were dead." he answered the boy. He then looked up as another student entered his classroom and nodded at her. He had a feeling that things would be quite different than his plan.

"Seeing things like that are not cool, they are sometimes scary. The blood, the screams and everything. It has an effect on the people who see it, it's not just about seeing it and then calling it cool. Because it is not cool, it's dangerous. We saw people dying, getting severely hurt and ofcourse, families loosing their loved one's." he explained, his face becoming serious again.

[Jeremy Taylor]

It sounded like the class was officially getting started and once again, Jeremy got confused as the professor spoke of Arabs and Hebrews and Egyptians. The second year supposed it didn't matter much in the end. He slunk down farther and hid behind his History book as he scanned the pages. Even if he didn't understand what Professor Griffiths was going on about, Jeremy knew it would be in a book somewhere and he could at least read about it.

[Christian Nagle]

As much as he disliked being reprimanded, and this did feel a lot like a scolding (however subtle), Chris understood what Xander was talking about. Screaming and blood, yeah he'd been there before. It didn't phase him as much as it might to some other students, but that was just the environment Chris was coming from. He figured, if they had the chance, Eston and Jerome would probably have been right on the front line shooting out killing curses and injuring one after another figures of wizards and witches. That was how it worked for the Couley brothers. Chris was used to it. However, Professor Griffiths didn't, honestly, know this... and how could he? why should he?... so he reexamined his interest in severed limbs and rivers running with blood.

"Yes, of course you're right. Nothing cool about dying. Sorry Professor. It's just this hero complex that I'm pretty sure I have." He thought about flashing a disarmingly charming smile, but reconsidered given the gravity of his Professor's facial expression. "It doesn't seem to phase me, the gore and blood lust of humanity." He paused for a moment or two, then chose to go find his seat near Izzy. She didn't look so good today. Before he'd planted himself in his seat, a new idea had come to his mind. He wanted to try the tome out one more time - get some dirt on the shadows he knew lurked two metres below the sunspots.

[Isabella Huntington]

The second that she had been given the silent ok to approach the owl, Izzy was at the Professor's desk. As her family had never had an owl, she was still getting used to the idea that these nocturnal animals were actually post carriers for those in the wizarding world. She had grown up with phones and internet and postmen... not owls. A few relatives on her mother's side of the family had owls, but she still wasn't used to the whole thing. The owls were rarely home when she visited family, but she had seen them a few times - there were tawny owls, barn owls, and even a snowy owl... but she had never seen the kind of owl that sat quietly and patiently on the History of Magic Professor's desk.

"Hi there," the red head said with a smile on her face as her eyes locked with the owl's. Very slowly, she reached out a hand toward the large bird, not wanting to make any sudden movements and scare it. She watched its eyes as they followed the movement of her hand before it nipped at her index finger. She wasn't the least bit frightened; it had been a friendly nip, one that caused Izzy's smile to grow. Chuckling quietly, she brought her hand up to the owl's head and stroked it.

She also continued to listen to Professor Griffiths and Chris' conversation... It was difficult not to. They were fairly close to her and they were talking about some kind of massacre-fight thing. It probably wasn't a good idea to eavesdrop, but she couldn't help it - curiosity continued to overrule her reason, until she heard the end of the conversation approaching. Knowing that class would probably start after Chris took a seat, Izzy gave the owl one more stroke before smiling at it. "Bye," she whispered, then turned around and headed back toward her seat.

[Alexander Griffiths]

Xander looked at Izzy as she came over to his desk to pat the owl, then he turned to Chris as he talked. Xander wasn't one to be a fan of blood, growing up in a time of war was not the best of things for a person. He watched as Izzy returned to her seat and cleared his throat, "Our topic today would be, just like what Chris saw. A war or something of a battle, it can be the goblin wars, Giant wars, Centaur preservation from Half breed hunters and much much more. I will give you the keywords and you will watch the war that will unfold before you." he said. Xander then stood up and went over to the board, then he started to write the keywords...

Keywords:
Giant wars
Rebellious Goblins
Centaur hunting
Hebrew wipe-out
First Wizard war
Second Wizard war
Battle between Gryffindor and Slytherin (more of a duel than a war)[/size]

Xander looked at the keywords, "These should be enough for now" he said. He then went over to his desk again and sat down, he stroked the owl before grabbing a piece of parchment and writing on it. He might as well do somethign while the students are doing something as well.

[Christian Nagle]

'Hebrew wipe-out... more or less, check' Chris thought.
'Rebellious goblins... not really that interesting', 'Centaur hunting... pass', 'Giant wars... getting more exciting', then he came to the fifth entry and smiled, subtly. What was the first wizard war? Was it anything like the second wizard war or was their single similarity that they were listed one above the other on this classroom board? He decided it would be interesting to see what the tome yielded to him on this topic.

[Isabella Huntington]

As soon as the Professor finished explaining today's lesson to the class, Izzy reached down into her messenger bag only to pull out a red and gold striped book. It was the journal that each student had been given during the last class, something that the Gryffindor had spent much time looking at ever since. The magical journal had easily captured Izzy's attention and desire to study the History of the Wizarding World. It had made what could've easily been a boring subject one of the most interesting for the first year. Too bad the Muggle World didn't have journals like it... perhaps Izzy would've done much better in her Social Studies class otherwise.

Once the journal was placed on her desk, Izzy looked back up at the board to read over the subjects that the Professor had written down. They had briefly gone over Giant Wars during the last class, and she hadn't had too much interest in it. Her green eyes continued down the list: 'Goblings... Centaurs... Hebrews... First Wizard War...

Izzy paused. A Wizard War? Her parents had never told her about a Wizard War before.

Looking away from the board, Izzy turned to Chris, then back to the board. She wouldn't bother him with a question about wars when she could easily see for herself. After opening up the journal, Izzy leaned down toward it and said softly, "Please show me everything there is to know about the First Wizard War - how it came about, the actual war, and then the aftermath." She then leaned back from the journal and watched as the blank pages produced a small amount of smoke that swirled into a scene. There was a group of men bowing in front of another man, one who immediately gave Izzy a bad feeling. Who was he? He was talking about taking over the Wizarding World... getting rid of "half-bloods" and "mudbloods".

Izzy frowned. She didn't like this.

[Jeremy Taylor]

The professor was speaking and Jeremy only half paid attention from the back of the room. He sat up a little straighter as that mean Gryffindor girl went to find her seat, but once she sat down, he slumped back down again and continued reading his book. He was reading about something he had learned about in Muggle schools and thought it was kind of neat that it was in a Wizarding History book too. Maybe if Wizards and Muggles got along better, they could help each other out more instead of always having to fight their wars on their own, he thought.

[Alexander Griffiths]

Xander looked over at Chris and saw him looking at the board carefully, he smiled. Yes, it was going to be a tough decision since every event that would be shown by those keywords will be very detailed and interesting. He then glanced over at Jeremy, who was slumped over his desk and reading something. Atleast he reads he thought, so he wouldn't bother him this time. It was just too much to lecture a boy who wouldn't even listen, or pay attention for that matter.

His eyes then found Izzy, she seemed to be studying the board. But then Xander noticed a change, her eyes were fixed on something on the board. He couldn't guess what it was though, so he just sat back and watched as the young Gryffindor opened her book and spoke softly to it. The words were hard to make out, but he swore he heard 'the First Wizard War' He was a bit surprised, but he just shrugged it off and looked down on his desk. He continued to write on the parchment and then he rolled it up and tied it to shadow's leg. "There you go, just come back here. I wrote in the letter that I'll need to keep you here for a while ok?" he said, the eagle owl gave a hoot and nipped his fingers gently before flying off.

[Christian Nagle]

With the tome out on his desk, Chris overheard Izzy saying something about the first wizard war. Great minds think alike? he supposed. Well there wouldn't be much fun in learning something that someone else was learning about. He decided he'd switch his interest to the Second Wizard War, though he might need some background information about this topic. If it had anything to do with the first wizard war then he would need to be greatly informed.

He opened the journal and wrote on the top of the page Second Wizard War[/size] and shortly under this he wrote Background Information[/size]. As usual, the smoke swirled up and then the images began.

They shaped into a cloudy sky dropping rain down upon a very emerald green landscape below. The journal zoomed Chris into the landscape, a rocky island off set from another bigger island. In through the wood-and-tar roof, upon which fish lay battered by the rain, to a loft where two young black haired women spoke in hushed voices in a language Chris couldn't understand but which the journal wrote out for him (translated into English):

Aileen: Peig, I saw Him at An Daigan when I was ashore to sell the fish.
Peig: You lie. He'd not visit here without notice... prior warning?
Aileen: We can not count Him out of anything. He makes impossible things possible.
Peig: Ay, and I doubt not His ability to travel wherest ever He chooses. He's is after it, isn't He, A?
Aileen: Tan't be assure of it, Peig, but He certainly has come to these parts looking for something.
Peig: We should leave. Go to Beiginis and hide it in the skellig or at Oilean na n'Og wherest no man or sane woman would look forst something the likes.
Aileen: No man or sane woman save for Him. Do you think He would know?
Peig: (clucks her tongue) I tan't assure of anything anymore, A, but I knows we must stash it somewheres else it falls into the wrong hands, if'n you understand me.
Aileen: Ay, I knows your ways, sister. Perhaps to the sea, you think, it tan't safe upon the shore, I knows that. He fears little but I would think He'd know enough to not meddle with the Elements.
Peig: You could be on to something, Aileen, dear. I suppose we should order a fire and set praises to Brighid, Padraic and Nantosuelta before we do anything of the sort, eh?
Aileen: Ay.

[Alexander Griffiths]

lesson finished