The ghost watched passively as the two girls spoke to one another through the wall that was missing its door. The ghost was not particularly bothered by the situation, perhaps mildly curious...

The ghost strode past Layla and through the wall. She now was on the side of the wall with Charlotte. The ghosts dark eyes observed the girl.

The ghost pointed. "The door went that way... but... you must be quiet, the noise will frighten her away."

Layla scowled as the ghost walked through the door. Now she was alone...

"Ok! I'll stay here."

"Not as if there is anywhere else I could go..." She mutters.

"I'll get it." Charlotte tried to call through the wall, while still being quiet so the door wouldn't get scared. She put her wand away, not wanting to make it feel nervous, and started to tiptoe down the hallway. There were a lot of doors, and the ghost wasn't helping much, so Charlotte had to try to figure it out on her own. It was like a riddle in a fairy story, she thought.

So, which door was a good candidate? Most of them were pretty evenly spread out. But there was a pair of doors that were about an inch apart. That was suspicious, and as she crept closer, she saw that the door was also shivering a little. That was a sure sign, right?

When she was close enough she suddenly lunged forward and grabbed the knob. "Aha!" she said, but her triumph was taken away quickly as the door sped along down the wall. She kept her grip on it and was forced to run alongside, lest she be dragged by the fleeing door. The other doors in the hallway jumped up and flattened against the ceiling to get out of the way.

Charlotte's face scrunched up in determination, she dug her heels in and yanked on the door handle. She got it to hold still long enough to try to reason with it.

"It's okay," she murmured gently to the door. She hesitated for a moment and then stroked the frame with her free hand. She could feel the door shudder under her hand, and as she stroked it seemed to calm down. "I need your help... door. My friend is trapped in a room and you're the only way in and out!"

"Come on," she pulled on the knob. There was resistance for a moment, but then the door let itself be led down the hallway. The other doors jumped out of the way as they had before, and Charlotte led the door back to the blank stretch of wall where Layla was trapped. When she got the door there, she turned the knob and pulled it open. And there was Layla.

"Gotcha! Now I hide, right?"

The ghost stood behind the open door, and touched the wood gingerly then glanced over to the two first years. "Well done, little one." Was she talking to the door or one of the girls, it was unclear.

"They call me Holt." the ghost was clearly speaking to the girls now. "If you ever again become lost in this place, you may call on me."

Nolan felt his stomach tighten as Professor Quinn began the class. He forced himself to calm down and looked down at the blank page before him. "Just try to keep up. Write down the important things. Go over them. Don't be afraid to ask questions. If it's too many questions, come back later." He muttered the words of advice on studying Tidus had given him and breathed. There was nothing to worry about, right?

He was interested to discover that the professor that scared him so much was more interested in seeing what they already knew than pumping them full of information. It made sense, as in all the time he'd spent with his brothers, this was the only class they spoken of where anything they said really stuck. Professor Quinn waited quietly, a heavy silence hanging over the austere room. He tried to think of a question to ask, but the only one he could think of "What make magic Dark magic?" seemed like something she'd cover right after this. He then remembered something he'd heard in passing and blurted it before thinking twice. "Is it true your position used to be cursed? ...And that you removed the curse?"

DADA

She stood, her chalk poised over the black board for a moment after Nolan voiced his query.

Then she wrote 'Cursed?' The question mark was overlarge and curled at both ends. This was her way of expressing her pleasure, her face remained stony and stoic.

She turned to the class. "It is true that I am the only teacher to hold this position at Hogwarts more than one term in a very... very... very long time."

"Curses are very real." She paced the front of the room as she spoke. "We should discuss exactly how much power a curse can have. Do you think that it is possible to curse a faculty position? People can certainly be cursed, and places. Even muggles have heard of 'haunted houses'. How about families? Something more abstract? Thoughts?"

Roze had hurried back to her seat as the Professor had entered the room; not wanting to get into more trouble. She'd received three letters this morning at breakfast - her Father, brother and Uncle had all congratulated her on sticking up for herself from the get go - however, they had told her to be more careful in the future. The last thing she needed was to gain a handful of mortal enemies in just her first year.
As the first question was voiced, Roze's attention peaked. Curses were a peculiar thing. Although the one set on the Professor's post for Defense Against the Dark Arts had definitely been active, it was different to the spoken curses that one used in wand combat.
As Professor Quinn asked for thoughts, Roze's hand shot up.
"If someone can curse an object or a person, it makes sense that they should be able to curse more immaterial or theoretical items, such as a certain day in a year, or even a faculty position. I mean, there's plenty of evidence behind it - during the years before the start of the Second Wizarding War, while Harry Potter was at school - none lasted for more than a year. I read somewhere that Voldemort himself cursed the position, and having been refused it in the past. After he died, I suppose the curse was lifted." She paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts. "But, for things like haunted houses, I don't think it necessarily has to be a curse. Although there's no concrete evidence, I believe Muggles can remain as spirits after death, without any choice, because of personal reasons."

"A day of the year? Friday-the-thirteenth, for instance?"

She began to write on the board a list underneath the word 'curse?'

- Object
- Person
- Faculty Position
- Day of the year
-

She paused as the child said the name Voldermort. Her face remained placid, yet, the adults who lived through the era of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named would never grow accustomed to the casual tone with which the youth pronounced his name. Even in the days of the war, those who spoke the name spoke it with the spirit of defiance and courage. To the children... it was only another name in their history books...

She started a second column on the other side of the blackboard. 'limitations?'...

- Death of the wizard?
- Ghosts
-

"I would like to hear a contrary position." She turned back to the class, and waited for another response.

"Thank you!" Charlotte said enthusiastically to the ghost. "We have to get to class, which way is it?" The spirit pointed silently, and Charlie grabbed Layla's hand and almost dragged her down the hallway toward their destination. They were late, and needed to get to class quickly, but Charlotte was reflecting that today was already a great first day. She had rescued a real live Damsel in Distress, and had made friends with a ghost. Not to mention conquering her first magical foe: the wandering door.

Charlotte burst loudly through the door as the Professor was writing something on the chalk board.

"Oh..." Charlotte deflated a little. "Sorry, we're late."

Sadria Quinn cast a glance toward the two late comers.

"Tardiness... ten points each shall be deducted from your house points. Together that is twenty points from Gryffindor. Now, please take a seat and participate. Our discussion concerns whether or not it is possible to curse a faculty position... Such as is rumored to be the case for the Defense teacher here at Hogwarts."

She would step out of the way so the two girls could view the board and the notes that had been taken thus far.

As Dani waited for the teacher and the rest of the students to arrive, another first year Ravenclaw whom Dani had noticed at the meeting with the headmistress the night before, sat next to her, offering her a small smile before getting up to go talk to another girl with black hair that seemed a little shocked about something.

But, in addition to the clamoring voices all around her, a boy started singing in some other language. Though his voice was a rather nasty-looking greenish yellow and felt like a dull slap all over her body that made her wince, the words of the song he was singing were quite refreshing, making her feel as though she had just had a great nap, and delicious, tasting of things like apple pie and fresh bacon, though not at the same time.

Entranced as she was by the wonderful taste and feeling of his words, Dani didn’t immediately realize that he had stopped singing or that the professor had entered the room and announced that she would be waiting a few more minutes for those who were lost to arrive. In fact, when she opened her eyes, she saw the professor standing at the chalkboard, poised to write, but apparently waiting on input from the students. One student, whom she recognized as having been sorted into Slytherin the night before asked a question about the professor’s position having been cursed before.

Though her face remained unchanged, Dani got the sense that Professor Quinn was rather pleased by the question as she wrote “Curses?” at the top of the chalkboard before she stated that she was the first person to hold the position for more than one year in a long time. She then proceeded to explain that curses were in fact real and that they should discuss what kinds of thing could be cursed, opening the floor for more discussion.

The other first year Ravenclaw girl, who had apparently returned to her seat next to Dani once the professor entered the room raised her hand like a rocket, mentioning that it made sense that immaterial things could be cursed and mentioning someone named Voldemort and how he had allegedly cursed the position after having been rejected for it.

Despite the fact that he was probably a rather unpleasant guy, what with cursing a position and the professor’s subtle pause as he was mentioned, his name was rather… cheery, tasting of strawberry shortcake and whipped cream. The girl’s voice didn’t help much, either, as it was a bright, sunny color that felt like a ray of sunshine. As such, Dani found it easy to pay attention to her as she mentioned that she believed that Muggles could live on as ghosts too, and that they may explain the idea of haunted houses.

As the girl talked about her thoughts on the matter, Dani grew rather excited to be learning about magic and it’s ins and outs, and the list of questions she wanted to ask grew longer and longer. When Professor Quinn asked for a contrary position, Dani quickly wrote something down on her whiteboard and held it up so that the professor could read the blue writing, which read, “Sorry that this isn’t what you were looking for, but is it possible to curse someone with good things? Or remove a curse by cursing the curse?”

While Dani was still raising the board, however, two students walked in, apologizing for being tardy. As expected, Professor Quinn wasn't exactly forgiving, deducting ten points each from their House, whatever that meant. Inwardly, she hoped that the professor would read what she had written out loud so that she didn't have to spin the board around for everyone to read each time she wanted to say something. She also hoped that the professor would see what she had written soon, as her arms were growing tired due to holding the board up in the air, accidentally blocking the view of several students behind her and eliciting a few grumbled whispers.

Sadria Quinn's eyes were drawn toward Dani as she heard the grumbles of the students behind her. She took a moment to read the board. There was another moment. A moment of consideration. It was a look Dani might have seen in the eyes of her previous muggle teachers on the first day of class. 'How am I going to handle this one...'

"Is it possible to curse someone with good things? Or to curse a curse? Interesting questions..." Sadria turned around to write on the board...

- Positive curses?
- Curse-the-curse?

Whatever reaction Nolan had been expecting... it might have been that? He wasn't entirely sure. Yet something about Professor Quinn's behavior suggested that he had picked a good question to ask, even if her expression still betrayed no emotion. He could only assume this was a topic of interest to her, the nature of curses and all that. Instead of answering his question, she just stated some facts and then asked other questions. What kind of class was this? Up until this point all his classes were straightforward. Each question had an answer that he nearly always failed to remember.

One girl apparently couldn't wait to answer this question as he hand shot up and she instantly went on about somethings. "Immaterial"? "Theoretical"? Did she really need to use such fancy words? He didn't like the way she made the answer to his question sound obvious. Nolan watched Quinn's response and quickly noted down everything that seemed important, only barely registering the late arrival of the other two girls. He looked up to copy the second column Quinn's had written on the board, when he suddenly found a much smaller board blocking his view. He strained to look around it, but being in the last row of desks, he couldn't quite see. From some of the mumbles around, it was clear he wasn't the only one having that problem.

Luckily their professor soon addressed the girl holding up the board, apparently her preferred way of asking questions. "Curse someone with good things..." Now this was just getting confusing. Everyone knew curses were bad. He still wrote what was on the board though. It might make sense later. He spoke up once more "Well what counts as a curse? It's just something bad, right?"

"That is a good place to begin in order to answer our problem..."

She turned to the class now and began walking up and down the rows.

"There are seven types of spells. I shall be brief, in your studies here you will learn about all these in depth."

"Simply put, a spell is a magical action. The act of performing a spell is called casting. The most common elements of casting a spell is an incantation, a wand motion, and intent, in order to perform the spell."

"The seven basic categories of spells and their defining features." She was at the board again and began to write as she spoke.

"Transfiguration: Alteration of the form or appearance of an object."

"Charm: "Alteration of an objects qualities, behaviors, and capabilities."

"Jinx: Minor dark magic. Effects are irritating, amusing, and a minor inconvenience of the target."

"Hex: Dark magic that consistently affects the object in a negative manner. Major inconvenience to the target."

"Curse: Major dark magic intended to inhibit the target in a strongly negative manner."

"Counter-Spell: Inhibit the effect of another spell."

"Healing Spell: Improves the condition of a living subject."

These were written under both lists on the blackboard.

"We have only begun to explore a rather advanced question on our first day... So, you will be given the whole semester to resolve this problem. I would like you each to try and devise a way that you might "curse" this faculty position. Keep it in mind through the semester. We can discuss this problem again through the term. I would like you to submit your plan to curse this faculty position at the end of the term. Whomever devises the best plan will be rewarded."

"I imagine that it will take you some time to navigate back through the dungeons. I shall end class early, but only today. Your homework is a written assignment due at the beginning of our next class. Describe again the seven types of spells, think of one example of how each might be used to the determent of a target. We will of course focus on the Jinx, Hex, Curse, and Counter-spell this semester, but that does not mean that a strategically placed charm can not be equally devastating to an individual. If you can not think of an instance simply write that."

"I will remain here for another hour if you have any further questions before you leave. You are dismissed."

Once the professor added Dani’s ideas to the list on the chalkboard, Dani lowered her whiteboard, setting it aside so that she could take notes when the professor began answering some of their questions, like the boy who had started the discussion on curses asking what made a curse a curse. Dani had assumed, incorrectly from what the professor proceeded to explain, that a curse was simply a spell cast on a person to influence their luck, an assumption that was more based on what she had seen on television than anything else.

As it turns out, curses were pretty dark business, at least that’s what Dani figured when the professor explained them as dark magic intended to seriously negatively impact the victim. While she was a little embarrassed that she had been so wrong, Dani’s primary concern as she copied down what the professor wrote on the chalkboard was with Professor Quinn’s casual explanation of the components of any spell, particularly the part about the incantation.

Despite wanting to ask a few questions to clear up her concern right away, she figured it wasn’t the right time to do so, and planned instead on catching the professor immediately after the lesson. Fortunately, Professor Quinn announced that she would be remaining in the classroom for another hour to answer any questions that the students might have, which meant that she would have plenty of time to talk with her about incantations.

Once the professor finished dismissing them, giving them an assignment that was due when the class met again, Dani collected her things and scurried up to the professor, holding up a finger as a request to wait a moment while she pulled out a dry erase marker and began writing on her whiteboard. ”Are incantations necessary for every spell? I’m mute, so I can’t do them if they are,”, the whiteboard read when she turned it around so that the professor could see it.

A door appeared. And Layla stepped out of it.
Immediately she was jerked away by Charlotte running down the corridor with her. They were going to be late for class...
As they were running along, Layla noticed how shockingly red Charlotte's hair was; at The Sorting she had not noticed how vivid and stunning the colour was.
Soon they were at class, and the teacher was already writing on the board. All eyes were on them as they ran in. Charlotte did the speaking: she apologised for being late, and Layla was glad it was only points taken off, not worse. They sat down in a seat, and focused on the lesson.
Layla groaned at the prospect of homework, but she had something to tell Professor Quinn.
"Professor? I know all about spells." She boasted, "Hence the three unforgivable curses: the killing curse, the cruciatus curse and the imperius curse. These are illegal curses and the rules are enforced by Aurors; however, in the first wizarding war the Aurors were allowed to use now unforgivable curses."

The professor read the small chalkboard that the girl head, then regarded her thoughtfully for a moment.

"I'll have a word with the head of your house. They were supposed to speak with you before you began your classes." Quinn looked slightly displeased, but then softened as she began to explain. "Most spells are cast with a verbal incantation. However rare it is there are some wizards who learn to do the same spell work without an incantation. There are a few students who study this method here at Hogwarts, but not until their advanced years... You, of course, will require this training as soon as possible."

"You will require extra tutoring outside of your normal coursework, you have also been assigned a peer-mentor to assist you. I will personally see your house master today and be sure that all the proper arrangements are being made in a timely fashion." Her brow furrowed a bit, she disliked inefficiency, the new head of Ravenclaw house did not exactly... live in the present.

As she spoke to Dani another student approached, Layla.

"The politics behind that decision are better explained by your history teacher. Nonetheless... With or without... official permission... the Unforgivable curses are still just that. Unforgivable."

"Everyone, to some degree, has a sense of justice. Think of a time you made a mistake, perhaps an accident or a lapse of judgment, and perhaps you though to correct your mistake or make up for it somehow..."

"The effects of the unforgivable curses are irreparable. The experience of the curses can not be reversed, nor is there anything that can be done to make amends for what has been done."

"They are advanced curses, and therefore, require a high level of skill and understanding. When one casts an unforgivable curse, it is no accident. The wizard casting such a spell is completely aware of that the harm they are doing can not be reversed and can not be amended... How would you judge the wizard who would perform such an action even if it were legal?"

"Anyhow, it is for these reasons we name them the unforgivable curses."

She nodded toward both girls with approval. "I am glad that you have both taken an interest in your studies."

Although slightly disappointed that the lesson had gone by so quickly - and she hadn't learnt anything particularly new - Roze had copied down all the things on the board, silently cursing the quill as she struggled to get to grips with it. Out of all the things she practiced before arriving, writing with a quill hadn't been number one on the list. She had incorrectly assumed it would be no different than handling a fountain pen; a favoured writing implement of hers.
As the class was dismissed, Dani immediately went to the Professor with a question. Packing her things away, Roze decided to wait for Dani, hoping they could have lunch together or something. In terms of social interactions, she wasn't too great. The train ride hadn't been too bad, considering all of them in the compartment were in the same boat; new people, new friends (Or enemies, as the progression the day had shown), new school. However, for all she knew, everyone else could have made best friends as soon as the feast had ended, and Roze had been left out.
However, her almost paranoid frettings were pushed to the back of her mind as the boastings of another girl filled the room. Buckling her bag and standing up, Roze rolled her eyes - which were matching the same shade of chocolate brown as her curls, considering her excitement of the first lesson had worn off.
"Anyone who picked up a book before coming here knows about the Unforgivable Curses." She thought to herself, shaking her head slightly. Considering the dark history that had occurred in just the past few decades, the three infamous Curses were talked about far more often in History books. Ignoring the statement, she walked over to Dani, smiling at the smaller girl.
"Hi, it's Dani, right? I'm Roze, I have the bed next to you in our dorm - I was wondering if you wanted to get lunch together?" She asked, rocking back and forth on her feet slightly, as she did when approaching a potentially awkward situation.

Caelum was silent through the class. As a muggle born she wasn't sure what to say. She didn't know the history so well as her classmates seemed to. Nor had she read ahead in her text.

When they were dismissed she wanted to catch up with Nolan.

"You had some good questions in class today. Though... I'm not sure I'll be able to figure out the problem." She held up her sketchbook, in the middle was written 'How is it possible to curse the DADA teacher?' These were the only notes she took, around it were incomplete sketches of various things around the classroom: The faces of the two girls who were late to class, Sadria Quinn at the chalkboard, parts of the dungeon, the moldy stonework and barred doorways.

"I guess we have enough time to think about it, though I don't know if that will help." She shrugged. "Is it lunch next? I think? Do you remember the way back?"

Dani was immensely relieved to hear that spells could be cast without reciting an incantation, as it meant that she would still be able to use and learn magic. Given what they knew of her already, it wasn’t very surprising that Professor Quinn would disapprove of Ravenclaw’s Head forgetting to inform Dani of the special measures that she would have to take to learn how to cast spells non-verbally.

Dani, of course, was grateful that the professor would talk with the Head of Ravenclaw about meeting with her and scribbled a quick thank you on her whiteboard as another girl came up to ask about something known as the Unforgivable Curses. To be perfectly honest, Dani didn’t take an immediate liking to the girl. In addition to a posture and body language that was reminiscent of a peacock (i.e. arrogant and prideful), her tone of voice as she spouted off what she knew reeked of snobbishness, which wasn’t altogether endearing.

Professor Quinn didn’t even bat an eye, however, calmly and efficiently responding with more complete information on what were known as the Unforgivable Curses. At about that time, the girl who had been sitting next to Dani throughout class joined her, asking if she wanted to get lunch and introducing herself. Despite the fact that she seemed a little exasperated with the other girl’s boasting (Dani had got a glimpse of the eye roll), she also appeared to be a bit nervous, which helped put Dani at ease.

Nodding her assent, Dani gathered her things together and left the room, deciding to wait in the hallway for the fellow Ravenclaw student. Once Roze joined her outside, they made their way to the dining hall that they had been in the night before, occasionally having to dodge a group of people or some other obstacle. But, eventually, they made it and were able to sit down and get ready to eat.

@MiddleEarthRoze