Juniper turned to the Slytherin boy and handed her new chocolate, this time left unwrapped, to him. Thank goodness for chocolate-loving Slytherins. Perhaps a love for chocolate was a criterion for Slytherins. She smiled shyly at the boy before turning back to watch the professor's reaction to everyone's answers.

"I don't know if I should be impressed or worried that you all know so much about them." Lainey smiled though. She was impressed. She thought it was important to teach students every angle and let them grown minds of their own.

"Oh patience, patience. It'll come together." Lainey grinned.


"Yes, exactly. Perfection definition. Again, really, I must say that I'm quite impressed that most of you are familiar with the great evils known as horcruxes. Truly remarkable bits of magic - terrible, but remarkable. Points for everyone that answered!"


"Now.... let's see if we can put them together...." Lainey stared particularly back and forth between several Slytherins. "What do "Saint" Patrick, leprechauns, and horcruxes have to do with one another?"

"They are evil!"

Lainey laughed. "Perhaps! Why though?" Lainey urged her on. She could put it all together...

"Because they are green" Agie said raising her hand. "I'm not sure if they fit together, but they are both evil on their own. Obviously Horcuxes are, but the Saint Patrick leprechauns are really something. They use the word said very lightly as a cover up. Little evil men in green, running around is bound to be trouble, and maybe they fit together with horcuxes because they create them. I have no idea, but it is a scary thought."

Ian's eyes opened really wide. "St Patrick, leprechauns, and horcruxes ... What if St. Patrick tried to make a horocrux and the result was leprechauns?!" he exclaimed, jumping out of his seat. "That would be so weird!"

Juniper raised her hand. "Did... did St. Patrick show the leprechauns how to make horcruxes or something like that?" she suggested.

"And maybe it was all a dream," Marco smiled. He didn't understand the reason he was actually failing History of Magic.

Cassandra realized she'd jumped the gun on that one...

"Well, a man who can make muggles think he is a god, instead of just a wizard and exploits it... I mean, that's right up there with Sandy Claws... and I think that the freed house elves have stolen the fortune of whichever family they were released from, and that's why they have their pot of gold... see? evil... and Horcruxes by definition are evil... aren't they, professor?" Cassandra would believe the sky was green if Lainey told her so.

"Or are you thinking that the Leprechauns are house elves released by this Patrick, after he made them into horcruxes, so he can come back to life?" Cassandra's mind was working overtime.

"maybe the pot of gold is his horcrux and that's why he protects it so fervently?" Xana asked.

Claudian put his hand up, "All three are largely powerful figures which have the strong leaning towards the characteristic of secrecy. Horcruxes, or is it Horcruxi?, are obviously forbidden, thus knowledge of them is monitored. Leprechauns enjoy their privacy, and the lot of what is known about St. Patrick is shrouded in some degree of mystery.", he explained.

"No... he didn't show them how to make them... but he was the first to make one!"

"You're on the right path... I don't think Saint Patrick ever let these house elves, or leprechauns, go though. I think they were his..." Oh boy, the hints she was giving.

"OH! Aren't you just too brilliant!? Five points to you! My goodness! Yesssss," Lainey went back into her parseltongue impersonations. "Maybe the pot of "gold" was his horcrux indeed. Wonder what he made into horcruxes?" Lainey's eyebrows shot up. Someone could put it all together now...

"The gold Ma'am" Marco said, raising his hand.

Hermy was slightly confused by Lainey's trail of thought, it had to be said. No, very confused. She was a logical thinker and based things totally on facts and research - creativity and imagination were not her strongest points.

"Did he make the gold into horcruxes? And then order the house elfs to look after it? But why then would the gold disappear?" She frowned in thought.

"The cauldron... the caudron was the horcrux, not the gold."

Agie smirked at Marco, as she raised her hand, they seemed to both be bad at this class today. "Umm maybe he replicated the gold. That's why it disappears because the gold isn't real. It has just been multiplied." She shrugged, maybe she should give up now.

Lainey laughed. Bless her class, she was wearing them out. "What do you suppose... ole Patrick did with all those snakes he 'got rid of'? Hmmmm...." If that didn't give it away, she didn't know what would. She grinned in anticipation of someone... anyone... getting it right.

Juniper was very confused. What was Lainey talking about? Were the leprechauns Patrick's horcruxes? It did not make much sense.

Juniper raised her hand. "So...St. Patrick made the first horcrux? Then... the horcruxes were the snakes?" she guessed.

What the hell was this lady on? "He transfigured said snakes into gold and made them horcruxes?"

"He turned them into LEPRECHAUNS!!"

"He made a really nice leather snake Jacket!" Agie laughed. What was all this talk about snakes in all her classes. They should talk about real animals, like Lions.

"Maybe he turned them into gold?! Am I right?" James said, raising his hand. Oh...he was tired....

Jezz raised her hand, "Didn't he banish them into the sea??" she remembered hearing the story in one of her muggle schools.

Lainey shook her head. Merlin help them.


"Alright darlings.. I give up. Let me explain...," she took a deep breath and let it out slowly before starting.


"Saint Patrick, evil Patrick, had the gift of bag when it came to snakes. He didn't 'rid' Ireland of snakes - he simply gathered them up! Called them to him, used them to experiment. Just like Juniper guessed, he made the first horcrux out of a snake. Something as precious as a piece of your soul would need to be guarded, right? That's where the leprechauns, or house elf, come in. He set them to protecting 'their gold'. Remember darlings, not all gold glitters. His gold was bits of his soul, kept safe by house elves."

Lainey sighed. Pity everyone seemed so confused. She didn't know if they could make it through the very last piece of class or not...

Qaz was stunned. What would her Irish father have to say about this. Well, he's kicked her out of the house, so he'll never know. She just couldn't believe what she was hearing. Muggles adored St Patrick, but maybe it was just an excuse for the Muggles to get drunk, like New Years Eve.