........fine day to be active?

Max eyed Professor Curtains warily. He didn't know what that comment meant and he was pretty sure he didn't wanna know. Today was definitely not a fine day to be active.

He tried his hardest to concentrate and not let his mind wander too much when class started but maaaaan, he was just so sleepy.

So so sleepy.

So sleepy he'd probably misunderstood the question...

"The Slytherin Common Room," he piped up, uncharacteristically forgetting to raise his hand. "I won an epic game of chess there and I'm rubbish at chess so that was definitely extraordinary."

Pulling her attention away from the enchanted ceiling would have been a lot harder had she not caught a glimpse of something shiny the professor had tossed into the air and then caught again. A gold coin. One that looked just like the other coins and items that had been found around the grounds and inside the lake. A small shiver ran down her spine at thinking of the lake and she had to quickly shake it off.

They wouldn't be talking about the lake or it's items would they? Rylee didn't really want to focus through another lesson that would be dealing with that topic.

The second year listened to the replies of her classmates before raising her own hand. "How about the Sorting Hat? It's tasked with placing students into the house that suits each of them best." That was pretty extraordinary to her. An ancient hat that had such an important job each and every term.

Bel watched the coin situation right there and chewed on her lip, listening hard. A location or oblject.... something... extraordinary?

....... yeah Bel knew basically nothing about Hogwarts history. The Australian girl might have been here for a few years now but even if she wasn't hopeless at this stuff (she was), Hogwarts hadn't been part of her knowledge base whatsoever. Basically she'd come into the school as if she were muggleborn. Nooo cluuuueee.

She listened to other answers (Max's mad her smile) and then put her own hand up. "I don't know about past stuff, professor, but what if we're doing things right now that will end up in history books in a hundred years time and we don't even know it? That would be pretty cool and extraordinary I think. So its kind of like.... we have endless possibilities to be part of history every day, anywhere at all."

Yep. That was about all she had to offer. A bit sheepishly, she put her hand down again, hoping she'd not get in trouble for not exactly giving an answer.

Oooh. Places of significance in Hogwarts. Hattie knew that there were loads, and she smiled as she listened to her fellow students. It was cool to know that there were areas where extraordinary things had happened. Hattie thought of some, wanting to say a cool thing. She knew a lot, having been at the school for seven years. Her parents, and older siblings had also told her some things. She wanted to pick the very best thing though. So she spent a few moments to think of something unique, and that had not been said before. She thought, and then placed her hand into the air.

"My Mama told me that there was a flood, where the great lake, was flooding into the castle. It started down in the dungeon corridors, and I think it was because of the merpeople. It happened during her last year at school, which was 2069 I think. And then she put her hand down. That was pretty cool. Or at least, she thought so anyway. Hopefully there would be no floods now though.

.......People were finding random coins lying around in the castle and NO ONE had told him this before?

Rude

Dorian watched the coin with a transfixed stare as he watched it being tossed up and down by the professor. It was like he was mocking them for having found a coin. Which was probably not what he was doing but to him, it felt like that. Whatever, he'd find his own coins now that he knew that these just lay around. He hadn't seen one yet BUT HE WILL HAVE ONE!

Dorian raised his hand in the air when the question was being asked. "My father used to be a board of government member and he told me that a portal to another strange world had been located at hogwarts and some idiots..." Whooops! "Sorry, Some students went in and came back scarred for life" He frowned and scratched his head as he stared in front of him. "Now that i think about he might have just told me that just to scare me.."

BUT if it had happened...then he was glad to be at Hogwarts now...

Patrick smiled, he had one, and it was only fitting since all the absolutely crazy things had been happening here lately. "I nearly died during a DADA lesson during my first term. Cliff in the classroom and i was dangling by the ledge." he tsked under his breath like it didn't bother him, well he supposed it didn't now because he was still breathing, but man was he still nervous entering the DADA room. Looking back down at his notebook he added in the questions he had been asking as others spoke up.

SPOILER!!: Room of Requirement

So Professor Curtains had discovered a coin, too?! She wondered if HE had been attacked by pixies the same way Maddie had when she had discovered a coin. When he mentioned the back story behind the coins, Maddie perked up. So he knew who was leaving the coins and why?! Why hadn't he said something before now?! Did the headmistress know?!

Oh. Wait. He didn't know, did he? That had been just an elaborate introduction to the lesson. She thought about what he'd mentioned about mysterious objects or locations. One popped into her mind right off the bat. "There's the Room of Requirement," she said, raising her hand. "Dumbledore's Army used the room for their headquarters and practice area."

There were a TON of mysterious objects and rooms at Hogwarts, though! She found herself thinking about mirrors and statues that she knew were so much more than what they first appeared to be. Were the coins actually something else, too?

"The room of Requirement certainly is an interesting place. And you are correct about its historical significance - Dumbledore's Army did indeed use it to resist Dolores Umbridge and her tyranny over the school. It was also indirectly used to smuggle Death Eaters into the castle one year later to kill headmaster Dumbledore. Many groups have made use of it for their own agenda. Sometimes it has turned into a bathroom for those unable to hold much longer." Was that inappropriate? He hadn't meant it to be.

SPOILER!!: Suits of armor

Hogwarts was a place full of history, but it was full of individual people's stories. Not all of it was noteworthy, but that didn't make it less than important. The people who made friends, learned something new, experienced something terrible, fell in love, fell out of love... those were history. Noteworthy to the people who experienced them.

But the professor didn't mean those small things. He meant the kind of things in books, that everyone knew and cared about. Chloe gnawed on her lip before raising her hand. "What about the suits of armor? They're not just decorative pieces. They're... they have charms on them so they can fight if Hogwarts needs them. They were activated during the Battle of Hogwarts. That's kind of amazing, right?"

"Good one. The suits of armor do indeed have an amazing history and purpose within this school. On at least three different occasions they have been activated to protect Hogwarts from invaders, most famous of which was the Battle of Hogwarts." Charles nodded appreciatively.

SPOILER!!: Mirror of Erised

Daisy immediately raised her hand as she thought of magical objects. "There was the Mirror of Erised that Albus Dumbledore owned which showed the heart's desire of the person looking into the mirror. I believe in Harry Potter's First-Year, that is how he acquired the Philosopher's Stone."

Charles nodded appreciatively at Daisy's knowledge of the historical artifact. "Very good! Yes, the Mirror of Erised was truly one of the stranger things this school has held. Imagine being able to see what you truly wanted before your very eyes?" As for him, he did not even know what he wanted. What would the Mirror show? The true owner of his music box?

SPOILER!!: Headmaster's Office

Uh, duh, anyone who had visited the tapestry on display here at Hogwarts knew the backstory of the coins (that is, if the creator of the tapestry was a reliable source). The real mystery was why the coins were just showing up now, centuries later. But instead of pointing that out, Ronan simply thought about how to answer the question asked of the class.

"The Headmaster's Office, where Harry Potter found out that Severus Snape had been a double agent, was in love with Harry's mum and he himself was the last of Voldemort's Horcruxes." Those were some very important revelations, at least to him.

"A lot of history shaping events have transpired inside the Headmaster's Office. The second most powerful wizard to walk the Earth inhabited it for many years. Great wizards and witches have come and gone, their immortalized portraits now hanging within." And there were a lot of portraits in there now.

SPOILER!!: The Restricted Section

Those coins. Septimus had heard about the coins though he hadn’t found or even seen one of them. Very curious indeed, the Ravenclaw wouldn’t mind learning about anything they might know about them. The other discovery the second year had been witness to underwater in the Black Lake, dealing with grindylows in the process. As for other interesting discoveries, he was sure his mum could add to the stories that could be told.

Professor Curtains wanted them to give a room or object? Septimus listened to the first options being offered. Room of Requirement was a good one…as was the Mirror of Erised. Oh and the suits of armor. Now he had to think of something to contribute to the discussion. It took a few moments before he remembered something from a story he had been told. “The library. Well, the restricted section. Where some students and staff dealt with a magical fairy tale book.”

"Interesting that you would mention the restricted section. I was planning to devote a history lesson to discuss how this part of our library came to be. Sometime later, perhaps. The incident with the fairy tale book is a more recent one and is an interesting story to tell. Would you like to tell us about it?" He'd give him five points if he could accurately describe the events as they happened.

SPOILER!!: Whomping Willow

As the professor had gotten her name entirely wrong, Stasya had let her mind wander on the topic of wondering if he’d ever actually gotten it right. Not that it entirely mattered, but she didn’t think it was that difficult. all the other professors didn’t seem to have a problem remembering her name. Of course, she wasn’t about to make a big deal over it either. Idle wondering wasn’t a bad thing, as long as she paid attention to the lesson when it started…and as he’d held up the coin, her attention was definitely gotten. Anything related to the lake treasure was going to get her attention now, if just because grindylow attack memories.

People had already started suggesting ideas, answers to the question posed. And all her ideas were being quickly mentioned, yet she found herself raising her hand still. “There’s the Whomping Willow? It’s obviously magical, but it also hides the secret passageway to the Shrieking Shack.” The so very not haunted Shrieking Shack because it had just been where Remus Lupin had hidden when he was transforming into a werewolf. Plus, it had been where Harry Potter had found out who had actually been to blame for his parents’ deaths.

"Very good! The Whomping Willow is a perfect example of the mysterious nature of things in this school. I wonder how many people today know that the Whomping Willow was planted to protect a werewolf student who would later go on to become a defense against the dark arts professor? By the way, I hear there are coins just like mine by the Willow, too." Small pause. Would they think he was implying they should investigate? 'Don't go looking, though, it's not worth losing an eye for."

SPOILER!!: Slytherin Common Room

........fine day to be active?

Max eyed Professor Curtains warily. He didn't know what that comment meant and he was pretty sure he didn't wanna know. Today was definitely not a fine day to be active.

He tried his hardest to concentrate and not let his mind wander too much when class started but maaaaan, he was just so sleepy.

So so sleepy.

So sleepy he'd probably misunderstood the question...

"The Slytherin Common Room," he piped up, uncharacteristically forgetting to raise his hand. "I won an epic game of chess there and I'm rubbish at chess so that was definitely extraordinary."

Well this answer was a little unexpected. "You won a chess game in your common room? Er...I suppose that would qualify. Congratulations." A bit awkward now. Okay. Moving on...

SPOILER!!: Sorting Hat

Pulling her attention away from the enchanted ceiling would have been a lot harder had she not caught a glimpse of something shiny the professor had tossed into the air and then caught again. A gold coin. One that looked just like the other coins and items that had been found around the grounds and inside the lake. A small shiver ran down her spine at thinking of the lake and she had to quickly shake it off.

They wouldn't be talking about the lake or it's items would they? Rylee didn't really want to focus through another lesson that would be dealing with that topic.

The second year listened to the replies of her classmates before raising her own hand. "How about the Sorting Hat? It's tasked with placing students into the house that suits each of them best." That was pretty extraordinary to her. An ancient hat that had such an important job each and every term.

"The Sorting Hat is an epic piece of work. Not only is it a sentient hat who respects your choice and can see into your head, but it also is able to produce the Sword of Gryffindor for the Brave at heart. Truly, Godric Gryffindor did us all a service when he pulled that hat off his head and brought it to life."

SPOILER!!: Making history

Bel watched the coin situation right there and chewed on her lip, listening hard. A location or oblject.... something... extraordinary?

....... yeah Bel knew basically nothing about Hogwarts history. The Australian girl might have been here for a few years now but even if she wasn't hopeless at this stuff (she was), Hogwarts hadn't been part of her knowledge base whatsoever. Basically she'd come into the school as if she were muggleborn. Nooo cluuuueee.

She listened to other answers (Max's mad her smile) and then put her own hand up. "I don't know about past stuff, professor, but what if we're doing things right now that will end up in history books in a hundred years time and we don't even know it? That would be pretty cool and extraordinary I think. So its kind of like.... we have endless possibilities to be part of history every day, anywhere at all."

Yep. That was about all she had to offer. A bit sheepishly, she put her hand down again, hoping she'd not get in trouble for not exactly giving an answer.

"Nicely said, Bel! There is a basis in what you are saying, and not just in that everything we do (even the tiniest of actions) affects everything which comes next. Since when has a mysterious item showed up in the school which did not have an important secret about it? We might be on the verge of another adventure right now." He smiled appreciatively at her.

SPOILER!!: Stranger Things?

.......People were finding random coins lying around in the castle and NO ONE had told him this before?

Rude

Dorian watched the coin with a transfixed stare as he watched it being tossed up and down by the professor. It was like he was mocking them for having found a coin. Which was probably not what he was doing but to him, it felt like that. Whatever, he'd find his own coins now that he knew that these just lay around. He hadn't seen one yet BUT HE WILL HAVE ONE!

Dorian raised his hand in the air when the question was being asked. "My father used to be a board of government member and he told me that a portal to another strange world had been located at hogwarts and some idiots..." Whooops! "Sorry, Some students went in and came back scarred for life" He frowned and scratched his head as he stared in front of him. "Now that i think about he might have just told me that just to scare me.."

BUT if it had happened...then he was glad to be at Hogwarts now...

"Are you perhaps referring to the terrifying incident in which several students walked into a portal and discovered an alternate Hogwarts in which everything was darker and which was home to a monster? That truly was an incredible event, in the worst kind of way. We lost a caretaker. Truly a tragedy, but at least no one else was killed. Several students were gravely injured though, and all of them (though graduated) remain emotionally scarred to this day." He paused to allow a respectful silence for the caretaker. "Five points to you for helping us remember how terrifying our school's history can be." That mention of idiots would go ignored as long as he didn't say it again.

SPOILER!!: DADA classroom!

Patrick smiled, he had one, and it was only fitting since all the absolutely crazy things had been happening here lately. "I nearly died during a DADA lesson during my first term. Cliff in the classroom and i was dangling by the ledge." he tsked under his breath like it didn't bother him, well he supposed it didn't now because he was still breathing, but man was he still nervous entering the DADA room. Looking back down at his notebook he added in the questions he had been asking as others spoke up.

Charles looked at Patrick with some concern. Was he being serious? "Oh my. Now that is something you wouldn't forget. Are you sure Professor Hirsch didn't enchant the bottom to give you a soft landing if you fell? It doesn't sound like him to forget." WHY any professor need a cliff in their classroom was something that Charles would never understand. He was accused of being boring, but at least no student had ever dangled off a cliff in HIS class.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RachieRu

Oooh. Places of significance in Hogwarts. Hattie knew that there were loads, and she smiled as she listened to her fellow students. It was cool to know that there were areas where extraordinary things had happened. Hattie thought of some, wanting to say a cool thing. She knew a lot, having been at the school for seven years. Her parents, and older siblings had also told her some things. She wanted to pick the very best thing though. So she spent a few moments to think of something unique, and that had not been said before. She thought, and then placed her hand into the air.

"My Mama told me that there was a flood, where the great lake, was flooding into the castle. It started down in the dungeon corridors, and I think it was because of the merpeople. It happened during her last year at school, which was 2069 I think. And then she put her hand down. That was pretty cool. Or at least, she thought so anyway. Hopefully there would be no floods now though.

To be honest, Charles did not expect any of the students to mention this event. It was a good thing that one did, though, as it made the transition to the next question look natural. In this case it was natural. "You are absolutely right, Hattie," he said, nodding approvingly in her direction. "There was a time not too long ago (well, depending on your age) when this castle was flooded by the Great Lake. I was at Hogwarts during this time, as were some of the other professors here. Five points to Hufflepuff." Truly an amazing time to attend Hogwarts, but then again, when was it not an amazing time to attend Hogwarts?

Onward to the next question. Raising his voice ever so slightly and addressing the entire class, Charles said, "All of your answers were good, and I believe we could spend hours talking about any one of them." Well, except maybe the chess match. "I believe that there is not even one corridor in this school in which some extraordinary thing did not happen. But for today, we will be discussing one event and place in particular. I hope you were all paying attention to Ms.Paton's answer. I want to know how many of you know anything about the events which transpired during the year 2069. Share with the class at least one fact about that year, pertaining to Hogwarts. If you don't know anything, it's okay. I don't expect too many of you to be knowledgable about these events."

Hattie Paton was one student he expected to know a fair amount about 2069, though, as she was the one who mentioned it.

OOC: Sorry for being so late on this! Real life drama got in the way. Hopefully we'll be able to start the activity tomorrow.

There was a flood at Hogwarts. That was interesting. It was also a little terrifying. If there was flooding, that meant that something happened to his fellow Slytherins, right? Their common room was ... below the lake.

He was lost in these thoughts as he waited for people with local history background to explain things.

Her quill moved furiously across her parchment, trying to keep up with all the places she wanted to check out. She had no idea how absolutely amazing Hogwarts was and she intended to discover as much as she could before the end of term. As the professor went on, he presented them with another question.

2069 was well before her time and, with having muggle parents, there were no family members that would have had knowledge of what happened at Hogwarts that year. No stories being told around the fire, no warnings of things that could happen while at school. She didn't remember reading anything about it in her A History of Magic book either.

"Sir, I don't know anything about that day, but did the lower levels completely flood? Like, did anyone drown?" She was very curious considering the locations of the Hufflepuff common room and the Slytherin common room. Plus, all of the house elves were usually in the kitchens or laundry room. If it happened once, it stood to reason it could happen again. She didn't like the idea of waking up to her bed floating around the room or of a student or house elf being hurt.

Ohh, so someone randomly guessed the topic of today's lesson? That was kind of cool, in a way. What was really awesome was that it had been a Hufflepuff, and said Hufflepuff had gotten five extra house points! They were starting to close in on Slytherin for that race to the house cup!

So...2069. Maddie hadn't even been born until over ten years after that. She didn't even know what her own parents had been doing around that time, let alone what had been happening at the school. Someone had mentioned a flood, though, so she at least had that clue to go on. She thought about what she knew about Hogwarts and floods, and one event in particular came to mind. "Was that the flood caused by a group of merpeople?" she asked, her hand in the air. "I remember reading something about that."

...and that was about all she knew about 2069.

Oh?

It was something she’d missed during her first reading. Jessa sat forward in her seat attentively. It had nothing to do with the discussions happening around her or the Professor’s next question and everything to do with the necromancer’s findings. This particular phenomenon had been noted in one of her felines and if she was reading this correctly then the other would be following suit in short order.

Jessa glanced up at the Professor just long enough to ensure he wasn’t directly staring at her or waiting for a response in the silence that followed his question but it soon became evident the others were simply thinking up facts to recite.

Nothing she was missing.

The Ravenclaw turned the page, eager to keep reading. It was as if she was reading it all for the first time.

....She....was gonna need a stop up in her lab before lunch.

Wait...2069? That was oddly more specific than things usually got in this class. Also, it was after his mum's and uncle's time here and before Sky's, so he had no clue. So, he had nothing to add. Just sitting here taking notes.

It was a relief that the professor liked her answer, and Bel sat up a little straighter, smiling back at him and listening intently. Oh, Hattie's answer was the one that they were actually studying? Wait, the castle FLOODED? Wow! How????

She thought about it, head tilted, and put her hand up. "Professor I don't know anything about the flood in 2069 but... it must have been a magical flood in some way, right? Because Hogwarts wouldn't actually be water tight, would it? Except for maybe the Slytherin common room," For obvious reasons, "So the water that flooded the castle either must have been somehow bewitched, or the castle itself enchanted or cursed to keep it in?" At least, that was her reasoning.

Wait, had he just earned house points for mentioning something horrible that had happened at Hogwarts? "Thanks Professor" he smiled but that smile slowly turned in to a frown when he learned that someone had actually died that time. Great,now he felt bad. His father had never mentioned that detail but now that he thought about it, it had probably been the right choice to leave a death out of the story to a nine year old.

Anyway, enough being happy and sad at the same time, when the Hufflepuff correctly answered what todays topic would be he looked over at her with a bit of an admiring expression. That was cool. Too bad she wasn't in ravenclaw, they could have gotten more points.

The flood was something he was not familiar with and judging from the date it had happened, his father had not been a student himself so no stories either.

"Maybe some students" see how he did not say idiots? "angered the Giant Squid by throwing pebbles at him while he was sunbathing and the Giant Squid was like" he held up his arms and waved them around. "Who dares to wake me from my slumber??" And then flooded the castle?"

Yeaaah....he had no idea here...

Noooooo.

Max pulled a face the realisation that the flood of 2069 was to be the topic of the lesson. Not that it wasn't cool to learn about school past events, because it totally was. It's just that he'd heard the story of this particular event waaaaaaay too many times. A skewed version of events though most likely...

"My dad was the Head Boy that year," he grumbled, arm raised. Was that a good enough fact? "He... uhh.... yeah told me something about angry merpeople...."

He'd heard overexaggerated stories of his dad being a hero and taking out all the merpeople singlehandedly but he was pretty sure it was all nonsense seeing as his dad couldn't even swim.

He figured he'd keep that part to himself.

He looked at the professors shocked expression, "the jury is still out on that one Professor, I was afraid during the activity, and too terrified to ask after. I'm sure he wouldn't have let a student die but it is still scary none the less." Shrugging a shoulder before writing down that they were discussing the year 2069. Wow that was way after his parents time at Hogwarts so he didn't have any cool stories about them during this time.

He listened to what the others were saying, merpeople? Enchantments? He was seriously starting to wonder just how safe he was at this school his parents loved. He figured if the school flooded that would mean that everyone had to move higher up in the castle, but wouldn't that mean that the creatures of the lake would have access into the castle? "Did the creatures and things of the lake get into the castle?" Although it was a good question, Patrick wasn't so sure that he was ready to have that answer.

Blink blink. Nettie barely knew anything about CURRENT DAY Hogwarts, let alone the history of the school. SO, she took out her textbook and flipped and flipped through the pages, hoping to find SOMETHING that would be helpful.

Nope. Nothing. So Nettie just sat there and listened to the answers her peers gave. It seemed a lot of them didn't know what had happened that year either, other than the fact that merpeople were behind it.

They were talking about something that happened when Chloe's parents were at Hogwarts, and she closed her eyes as she tried to remember if they ever told her stories about Hogwarts flooding. Probably... not... from her father, who was full of good information, but didn't have many 'in the good old days' stories for her. But her mum had all sorts of stories.

"There were merpeople in the halls and classrooms, I think! Because the water got so high! I wish we could live peacefully side by side with them, but it didn't seem like it worked so well that time."

Her 12-year-old hand was rushing through lines like crazy, she might not have been saying much, but she was so fascinated and trying to get every word. This was super hard, did they know? It wasn't until older Chloe talked that her eyes grew wide and her mouth might have fell to the desk.

"Can we do that again? I mean that would be so cool to see Merpeople all over the corridors and stuff." Maybe that could happen for a lesson or just for fun, maybe the merpeople would want to do the big kid prom too.

Did Merpeople wear dresses? Would they like to wear dresses?

Her mind was already going all over thinking about this.

Oooo his answer had caught the professor’s attention, his own peaked as Professor Curtains mentioned a special lesson on the Restricted Section. Sure would be interesting for him given he was still too young to even be allowed there with permission unless it was a class. As for what had actually happened, Septimus searched his memory of the tale for details he could share. “Well…um…it could move on its own somehow,” he remarked at first. “And students and professors who came in contact with it were possessed and acted like characters in fairytales. Like the Mad Hatter and Captain Hook.”

2069?

Septimus didn’t think his mum had been teaching here at Hogwarts at that point. At least she hadn’t mentioned a flood of the castle and angry merpeople and it kinda seemed like something she might have mentioned. It was after her and his father were in school though, of that the second year was certain. Seeing as his mum was a Badger and therefore would have lived in dorms near the kitchen where it had flooded. So he’d have to listen to what others had to say about it.

Hmm, 2069.. As far as Kirk knew, his parents had graduated prior to that year so he didn't have any first account events of that year other than the already mentioned merpeople.. and it had been a while since he looked over that part of Hogwarts A History. So he like a few others sat there listening to others contribute what had specifically happened there, taking some notes while he was at it.

It was no surprise to him that not many students knew about the events of 2069. Much of History of Magic tended to focus on the events of the First and Second Wizarding Wars with Voldemort, sometimes at the expense of other eras. Charles was going to make it his mission going forward to discuss other eras with his class, and starting here seemed appropriate. Fortunately, some of the students did know about this event.

But first, he listened to Septimus's answer with a frown. Not an angry frown, but a curious one What she was saying was very intriguing. "That's fascinating, Septimus. I have never heard this tale before. Even I don't know all the strange things that have happened here. I will have to research this book later."

But that was not what they were studying today, today they were studying the flood of 2069! Some students were already providing answers relating to it. "You are correct, Bel, the flood of 2069 was no ordinary flood. It was caused by merfolk magic, as Chloe and Maddie pointed out." He nodded at the three girls approvingly before turning to Max.

"Your father was the head boy? Then he must have been named Clifford Carden, correct? Ah yes, I see you share the same surname." Having attended Hogwarts at the same time as Clifford, Charles had of course bumped into him a few times. He hadn't known him very well. At that time, Charles had had a crush on Anna Greingoth, the head girl. They never actually talked. He had been rather shy at the time. "You must know an awful lot about this story, then! Wonderful."

He couldn't help but smile at Dorian's suggestion. "The Squid is involved in this tale, but not as a bad guy. He actually befriended some of the students and staff and helped them figure out what was causing the flood." Good guess, though.


"The creatures did indeed get into the castle, Patrick, and it was a full on invasion army. And thankfully no one drowned, Emmalyn, though there were many close calls. I'll try to summarize the tale so you all get the gist of it, of course I encourage you to read up on this after the lesson is over."


He stood from his chair and softly cleared his throat. Then he began. "It all began with the passing away of Mercheiftainess Murcus, the leader of the merfolk at the time. She had two children: Aornos the son, and Arethusa the daughter - who was the true heir to the title. Aornos was jealous of his sister's inheritance, and so he started a rebellion against her rule and imprisoned her in a cave at the very bottom of the lake. Then, bitter against humanity for inhabiting land which used to be submerged in water, Aornos enchanted the waters of the lake to flood the dungeons and kitchens of Hogwarts. We did not know at the time that it was his doing, initially we thought it was just a particularly bad flood with perfectly natural explanations. They do happen, every now and then. But natural or not, the Slytherins were forced to sleep with the Gryffindor's and the Hufflepuff's with the Ravenclaws. I will never forget just how crowded the Ravenclaw common room became!"

Memories, memories. "But the flood grew worse and worse. Soon the first floor was flooded. It was around this time that we made contact with the Giant Squid, Bartholomew Henry. He promised to help us discover what was causing this flood. He returned with the tale of Aornos and his sister. Not long afterwards, Aornos led an attack on the castle. Moaning Myrtle led a small group to the bottom of the lake to free Arethusa while the rest of us fought off the invading army. Thankfully no one died, though there were many close calls. Arethusa subdued her brother and the waters receded back into the lake from whence they came."

That was how the story went. It was true, every word. Charles had been there and had seen it all, though he had been but a bit player in the whole thing. Who would have known back then that he would be teaching about it to future students all these years later?[/QUOTE]

He smiled when Chloe asked if they could do it all again. Ah, the innocence of youth! "Well I can't promise that Merfolk will invade us again, but we are going to be 'repeating' it, in a way." In a much less dangerous way, of course. He was not Professor Hirsch. Heh.

"For this lesson's activity, we are going to roleplay another invasion. It doesn't have to be merfolk, but narrowing it to merfolk rather than witches and wizards makes it easier, I think. Let's say the dungeons and the first floor were flooding again, and let's say that you woke up in the middle of the night and realized we were under attack. What do you think should be the first thing we do? How should we repel the invaders while protecting each other in the process? What should we, the staff, be doing, and should you even be in the battle at all? You may also discuss what you would do if an army of invading witches attacked, I do not mean to limit this debate to just merfolk."

He frowned slightly at Jessa, who APPEARED to be reading a book. He would test her later.

Maddie didn't move a muscle, not even to blink, as they story from 2069 was retold. She'd never heard the whole story. She'd just known there was a flood caused by merpeople. She didn't know why or even that there was a whole story behind it. It was super interesting, even if some merqueen had been imprisoned in the lake.

Maddie thought about what the professor was asking. She didn't have a whole lot of answers, but she had some thoughts. Raising her hand, she said, "Well, I don't think we'd really have a choice as to whether or not we went to battle. Sometimes you pretty much have to when something like a castle is under attack with this many people inside of it."

"Also, I don't think it'd be very wise to expect just the staff to fight off a whole army of merpeople," she continued. The staff were all excellent, but fighting an entire army of merpeople was expecting a little too much. "If the attack happened, though, I think it'd be good for some of the older students to send a patronus to warn the others."

Really? All that because of one creature's jealousy and bitterness? What a waste of energy.

"The sixth and seventh years should definitely be allowed to help." He knew that if there was a battle and he was expected to be a 'good little boy' and stay back, he would be TICKED. OFF. And he would probably join in anyway, because duh this is Ronan we're talking about. "Those who choose not to help can help hide the younger students somewhere safe." You know, like they did at the Battle of Hogwarts.

Alastair nodded in agreement to Ronan. "Maybe bring the younger students to the towers, where the water hadn't reached?" He added. "If the ghosts are willing to help, perhaps have them spy on the merpeople so the staff and prefects will know everything thats going on?"