Dumont realized that the conversation that he and Kapoor had been having had caused Erikson to become upset. He stopped and thought for a moment. What was that rumor that he had heard? Oh dear me, Erikson was the professor who had lost his wife and son last term, wasn't he, and hadn't she been a Divinations professor? He realized this was going to be a very difficult term for the poor man. He vowed never to bring the issue up around him, the fact that he was able to come back and teach again after his ordeal was true testiment to his raw courage.

"You sound as though you are going to do an excellent job," Dumont remarked to Kapoor. "You almost make me wish I were a student myself so that I could learn your teachings."