Electricity, Lights, Cars, and Other Mysteries

Electricity, Lights, Cars, and Other Muggle Mysteries

Chapter One ~ A Brief Introduction

Professor Aileen Ebena was preparing for her Muggle Studies classes. It was the beginning of a new school year, a year she had sworn to be well-prepared for at least by July 31. Then by August 31. But here it was, September 1, the first day before classes, and she was hastily looking over her notes from last year that she miraculously had not thrown away. She vowed that from now on she would be much more organized. Ebena glanced at her Muggle clock. "Crap!" she muttered, shoving her books away and running down to the teacher's meeting she was late for.

~

Draco Malfoy was miffed. This was not a good thing, as even when Draco is merely miffed, things get broken, like lamps, toys, other people. The Headmaster had called Draco to his office directly after dinner. Dumbledore had ordered him, under the guise of a request/sugguestion, to take dratted Muggle Studies. "Perhaps if you gain a better understanding of how Muggles live, Mr. Malfoy," the old git had said, with his damned eyes twinkling away, "you will learn that perhaps Muggles are not so bad after all."

Draco had snorted, and left his office. Nevertheless, later that evening the Headmaster's owl dropped Draco's newly revised schedule on his bed. Just because he had caused some Mudblood to trip, drop all his trunks, and laughed at him, he was forced to take damned Muggle Studies. Well, perhaps Draco had been a bit harsh. After all, it had been a first year.

Nah.

Draco attempted to throw the owl across the room, but the owl bit his hand and flew off. Draco swore and nursed his wound and his anger.

~

Ah, September the second. The first day of the classes I was up until bloody midnight preparing for, Ebena thought wearily, as she got dressed for breakfast. As she left her room, she picked up her class schedule. Her first class was fifteen minutes after breakfast. The nice thing about living in a boarding school in a castle, she reflected, was that there were such long breaks between classes. Let's see, she thought. What years are my first class? Ah, the sixth-years. Great. Another batch of angsty sixteen year olds, first thing in the morning. Let's hope they've all had their anti-hormone shots. Aileen Ebena pushed her chair back and left the Great Hall, smiling at Professor Dumbledore, who, surprisingly, stopped her from leaving. "Yes, Headmaster?"

"Professor Ebena, I must speak with you."

Her eyebrows rose in curiosity. After all, she was just the simple Muggleborn Muggle Studies professor, without a House to govern, an odd quirk of her eye which caused it to twitch occasionally at the worst times, a mere elective to teach. . .

But she was not bitter.

"There is a late addition to your class. His name is Draco Malfoy, a sixth-year. Now," Dumbledore's voice lowered conspiratorily, "he may be uncooperative at first, but that is to be expected. His father was. . . not entirely pleased with my executive decision to place him in your class, so you may anticipate an owl from Malfoy Senior. But I implore you to treat him as you would any other student, regardless of his lineage, which he will no doubt remind you of."

"Yes, sir," she squeaked, thoroughly freaked out by this cryptic speech. She bid him goodbye, and went on her way.

When she arrived in her classroom, she first picked up her attendance book and added Draco Malfoy to the list. After that was done with, she sat down and began to look over what she had planned for that day.

Not much.

What the class is about, why wizards should take it, blah blah, what her plans for that year were, yada yada.

While she was reading over her notes, students began filing into their seats. After it seemed that the class was there, she stood up with her attendance book in hand. Ebena glanced around the class, taking note of the faces that seemed vaguely familiar, and finally her gaze landed on a blond-haired boy who would have been quite handsome had his face not developed an ugly sneer oddly resembling Severus Snape's. Obviously Draco Malfoy. "All right," she began, "first, I'm going to take attendance, and you'll please forgive me if I call you the wrong name for the first week or so. I'm usually pretty good with names, however." She proceeded to call roll. Ebena had what the staff called a mixed class, which was a class with Gryffindors, Slytherins, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs. Generally, mixed classes just didn't have enough students signed up for them to hold them separately.

Once she'd finished, she put away her attendance book, and began her speech. "Now, Muggle Studies class is very important because wizards must have an understanding of Muggles. If they do not, it leads to misunderstandings, anger, and, as we have seen in the past, hatred."

She was interrupted by Draco's raised hand. "Yes, Mr. Malfoy?"

"How long have you been teaching?"

Thrown off-kilter, she replied, "Eight years. Why?"

"Because your eye has a rather annoying twitch that is generally a sign of nervousness. I would think that after eight years-"

"That is enough, Mr. Malfoy. Five points from Slytherin."

Draco merely shrugged.

"Now, class, what is the object of this course? The object, my young students, is to learn and gain an appreciation of Muggles and their way of life. I think that if you understand how they live, you will be quite amazed at the technology they have and the things they can do easily--without magic." A hand raised in the back. "Yes, Miss Patil?"

Parvati cleared her throat. "How did you learn so much about Muggles, Professor Ebena?"

"Well, to begin with, I am one. Well, was born one, anyway. I live in the Muggle world during the summer still, and I spend much time reading and researching." A faint smile crossed her lips. "I daresay I know much more about electricity and exactly how lights turn on than most Muggles. Now," she changed the subject, "my plans for this class are as follows: Count on a lot of weekend trips into Muggle London and other Muggle areas. The first nine weeks we shall spend mostly concentrating on concepts and how things work, such as electricity, running water, et cetera. The second nine weeks, we will study Muggle histories of the British Isles -- that is, Wales, England, Scotland, and Ireland --. During Christmas break, we will take an optional, extra credit trip into Muggle London to see Christmas lights, decorations, church services, and whatever else all of you wish to see. I stress that is optional, and I will not take points off if you choose not to go. If any of you are Muggleborns or half-Muggle, I don't blame you, as you have most likely seen all of it your whole life." Some students laughed a bit. "Now, after Christmas, we shall begin International Studies, beginning, obviously, with America. What are two other countries you'd like to study? I don't want to dash so quickly through six or seven countries that you don't remember anything!"

"Muggle India," the Patil girl said. Not surprising.

"Egypt!" a Hufflepuff boy exclaimed, looking like he wanted to study the curses and hexes, rather than the history.

"Very well; India and Egypt. We have quite the interesting class this year," Ebena commented as she wrote those three countries out by the side. "Let's see. . . oh yes, the last nine weeks. We shall play a variety of Muggle sports, beginning with football, or soccer as they call it in America. Then we progress to a rush version of cricket, as that game can literally go on for weeks. Next we will do baseball, basketball, volleyball, and finally American football. Your final exam will have a section on Muggle concepts and inventions, a section on the British Muggle habits and history, a section on the four countries we just decided on, and then we will play one of the sports, which will be decided later, and half your grade on that will be participation, the other half understanding of the rules. Not too difficult."

"Why haven't you ever done all this with other classes?" the Longbottom boy asked nervously.

"That is a good question, Mr. Longbottom. I don't know. This summer I just woke up one morning and thought, 'Wouldn't be neat if we actually did Muggle things?'" Professor Ebena grinned and glanced at her clock. "Now, why don't you read your Electricity, Lights, Cars, and Other Muggle Mysteries books for the rest of the period, and come prepared tomorrow for a lecture on Chapter One. Also, everyone please don't be afraid to ask me questions on anything, especially those of you who have not been around much Muggle culture. Yes, Miss Perks?"

"Are we going to go anywhere else besides at Christmas?" Sally-Anne asked.

"Well, I was considering going to a cinema on a weekend to see a film. It depends on whether we all have time and desire to do it."

"When would we do it?" she pressed.

"As soon as I can get permission from Dumbledore to do so," Ebena replied. "Now, read your books; I will see about the cinema."