Just when Heath thought he couldn't be any more disgusted with that Gryffindor girl, she said that. Had she just shut up after Recard scolded her, he could've chalked it up to a case of misspeaking, but no. It took every bit of restraint he had not to point out to her that it wasn't what she said that was wrong but how she said it, but he resisted. It wouldn't be fair to Professor Recard or his other, less annoying classmates to cause further disruption. Besides, if she was willing to argue with Recard, she'd probably just argue with him too, and what was the point in that? Anyway, he didn't have to say anything because Recard had already done that.

He was trying to keep an open mind, but he still didn't understand how this topic showed that they were all connected. Okay, technically that wasn't true. He understood that part; what he didn't understand was how this topic better lent itself to that than one that was slightly less divisive. All he could do was hope it made more sense soon and focus on the activity in the meantime.

He copied down the names written on the board, his eyes shifting between the parchment and his textbook as he consulted the latter. Two pairs of names jumped out at him right off the bat. James Potter and Marvolo Gaunt… that one was easy! Both families were descended from the Peverells. As for Sirius Black and Arthur Weasley, wasn't Arthur's mum a Black? He cross-referenced his book. Yes!*

The other three sets of names were more difficult. Terry Boot and Bellatrix Lestrange? He didn't think those two were related, unless there was a marriage somewhere between a Boot and a Black that he didn't remember, but he'd leave that one blank for now. Neville Longbottom and Ron Weasley? He knew both the Longbottom and Weasley families were related to the Blacks through marriage, but was that enough to make them related to each other? Lucius Malfoy and Albus Potter… that one was even harder! Albus Potter was probably related to Charlus Potter. who married Dorea Black. and he knew Lucius's wife was also a Black… but he couldn't recall any marriages between the Malfoys and Potters themselves.

Making his best guesses, he jotted down:



It was only after he finished writing that Heath registered Professor Recard's question, and that uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach was back as he thought of the Gaunts and their pureblood fanaticism. No. that wasn't fair. Surely they can't all have been evil, right? As he thought, he remembered a kernel of information and decided to take his answer in a more positive direction. "The creation of Ilvermorny," he said after raising his hand. "Isolt Sayre, the school's founder, was the daughter of Rionach Gaunt and William Sayre."