Harry Potter & The Knights Of Merlin's Keep

Fan fiction: Harry Potter

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter. I own the original characters. Any similarities to persons living or dead are coincidental.

Rated R: For violence, some language, mature content, and eventual slash. Though I haven't decided how much, you have been warned.

AN: This story is a work in progress and though I am slowly completing it, I have many other things of higher priority (like school) that I must do first. I hope you will forgive my infrequent updates and more importantly, I hope you will enjoy the story. Please read & review.

---

Simon woke much earlier than his dorm mates. His adoptive parents were early birds and though morning wasn't his favorite time of day, he had gotten into the habit of waking early. It was especially useful when he was a student at Oxford so Simon didn't see a problem with continuing it. He took a nice long hot shower and was ready to face his day.

He looked at his schedule and collected the books that he would need for the day, then re-traced his steps to the Great Hall. When he got to the main stairwell, he noticed the stairs were different. The staircase he swore he came up from the night previous now had a new originating hallway. Just then, he heard a low rumbling above his head. He looked up to see another staircase moving.

"Wonderful," he muttered to himself, "Now how am I supposed to get to the great hall?"

He pondered the problem a moment then climbed a staircase that he noticed connected to another one, that was connected to the hallway that he knew lead to the Great Hall. As he was walking down the second staircase, it began to shift and he found himself in an opposing hallway to the one he wanted. Not one to give up easily, he tried again, only this time he would have to switch staircases three times. Simon had made it to the last leg of that trek when the staircase shifted once more, putting him back where he started quite a few minutes earlier.

"This is very annoying."

"You get used to it."

Simon spun around toward the voice that surprised him. He smiled broadly at Harry, not entirely noticing Ron and Hermione trying not to laugh. Harry also didn't notice Hermione or Ron as he was smiling just as broadly to Simon.

"So how does one get to the Great Hall?" Simon asked.

"At the moment, we take this stairwell to the charms corridor and walk around to the North wing stairs. Those don't move very often and even when they do, there's always a connection to where you need to go. We take those stairs to the main hall then walk back to the Great Hall."

"And is that the only back up route?"

"Oh heavens no," Harry grinned, "There are at least four different ways to get from one place to another and they change daily. You'll figure it all out sooner or later. Care to join us on the way down?"

Simon grinned happily, "Sure."

The four made their way down the charms corridor, Ron and Hermione walking a few paces behind Simon and Harry. The whispered their thoughts on the two before them.

"Is it just me or have they both got it bad?" Ron asked quietly.

"It's certainly not just you. But I've seen this type of infatuation before. Simon just might be grateful to Harry for helping him in Diagon Alley, but Harry has definitely flipped for Simon."

"Should we try and get them together?"

"No," Hermione said firmly, "We definitely don't want to interfere. If anything goes wrong it will cause a lot of hard feelings. I don't want to do that to Harry or Simon."

"Okay," Ron whispered, "But I reserve the right to lock them both in a closet if they take to long to figure it out."

"Noted. Now give me a kiss before they think we're plotting against them."

Ron wasn't about to argue, so he leaned over and gave her a sweet but passionate kiss. When their lips parted, he had a sly grin on his face.

"You're just making up excuses to kiss me. We ARE plotting against them."

"I didn't hear you complain." Hermione said sweetly as she gave him another quick peck.

Simon leaned over to whisper into Harry's ear.

"Is it just me, or do they have it bad?"

Harry whispered back conspiratorially, "You should have seen what I had to put up with for the past four years. Theirs is truly a love/hate relationship. I figure it's either going to last forever or they're going to kill each other by years end."

Simon snickered. "I hope there isn't to much bloodshed. I'm a bit squeamish."

Harry couldn't help but snicker in response. "Stop, you're going to get me in trouble."

Soon, the quartet found themselves at the Great Hall. Most of the students were already there enjoying breakfast. Apparently, Simon's staircase adventure had taken longer than he realized.

One of the Ravenclaws, the Head Boy Alastaire Orichalum to be specific, waved Simon over to the small group sitting at their table. Simon gave a smile of thanks to his new trio of friends and joined his housemates. Harry, Ron and Hermione walked over to the Gryffindor table claiming their usual spots.

"Blimey, Harry, you seem way too happy this morning." Dean Thomas commented as Harry sat with what the Americans called a 'huge shit-eating grin', "What's gotten into you?"

"Ron over did it on a cheering charm." Harry lied with practiced ease as he sat down. Ron just gave a nervous chuckle as he sat beside Harry.

---

"Simon, come sit here," Alastaire called.

Simon joined his housemates as they held their daily breakfast discussion.

"Simon, this is Padma Patil, fifth year prefect, that's Oslo Larson,and last but definitely not least is Forest Greenleaf, both sixth year prefects."

"My parents are hippies," Forest said flatly before Simon could even ponder to ask, "Our family's surname was actually Green before they changed it."

"I see," Simon said, though it was patently obvious that he didn't, "Such a heady group to sit with."

"Don't worry," Forest quipped with a sly grin, "We don't bite... hard"

He was instantly rewarded by a kick from Oslo, a glare from Padma and an exasperated sigh from Alastaire.

"We were just having a discussion on Muggle science versus magic," Alastaire continued, moving the conversation back on track, "Care to join in? I'm outnumbered three to one and I could use the back up."

"Um.. Sure," he said slightly nervously as he sat down.

"Alastaire exaggerates when he says it's three against one," Padma said, "I for one think that magic is superior to Muggle science over all, but I do not discount the benefits that have come from it. After all, the Muggles have done quite well for themselves with electricity."

"Science is the rape of the mother earth," Forest piped up, "At least that's what mum and dad says. I can't say I entirely disagree with them."

"Science isn't all that bad, Forest," Alastaire rebutted, "Take telly for example. World wide communications both visually and audibly. The Wizarding Wireless only does audio."

"And have you seen the things they show on telly? Death, mayhem and destruction, and that's just the fiction shows," was Forest's response.

"And frankly, I'm not impressed with the way Muggles completely rely on their vaunted technology. Why if they ever lost their oh so powerful electricity, their society would plunge into utter chaos," Oslo finally spoke, his voice reminding Simon of the lesser noble born that he attended Oxford with.

"And just what would you do without your wand, Oslo?" Alastaire snapped a bit harshly, "What if a Death Eater were here right now aiming to kill you. What would you do if you didn't have your wand? The Muggles may rely on electricity too much, but no more or less than wizards rely on their magic."

"That's not the same thing." Oslo replied, obviously offended at the comparison, "Magic is a part of us. It's who we are. Are Muggles made of electricity?"

"From one point of view, yes," Simon said meekly. All four pairs of eyes turned his way expectantly. Oslo's held an edge to them but the others were just curious as to what Simon meant.

"Well, what I mean is, the brain communicates with the rest of the body using electrical impulses carried through nerve endings. Everything we feel is transmitted through those electrical impulses, Muggles and wizards alike. So in a sense you're right about Muggles, Oslo. They can not live without electricity, but then, neither can we."

"Ha! Case in point," Alastaire slapped his hand down on the table to emphasize what he thought to be a definite victory, "And the only way we know all that is because of science. Even wizards use the scientific method when creating spells and potions."

"Fine, I'll grant you that," Oslo almost hissed, clearly not happy about having to capitulate the point, "However electricity aside, they are still too reliant on their technological gadgets. Bloody waste of time, most of them are. Anything a Muggle can do a wizard could do ten times better. Wizards have always been greater at their achievements than Muggles."

"Umm.. I can't totally agree with that, mate," Forest spoke, "Shakespeare, Brahms, Beethoven. Name one wizarding writer or composer that has even come close to achieving that kind of fame. But by far, Muggles have have perfected the art and science of dolling out death and destruction on a whim."

"What about You-Know-Who?" Padma asked, "He was a genocidal maniac."

"Did he manage to wipe out six million people even in his heyday?" Forest asked bitterly, "I'm not saying I'm not scared of the bloke, but he's a rookie compared to Hitler and his boys, and as disgusting as it sounds, atrociously inefficient in comparison."

"You are absolutely right, Forest," Padma agreed haughtily, "That was atrociously disgusting!"

With a slam of her fork, she left the table quickly, stopping only to grab her schedule from the pile.

"And once again, Forest wins the much vaunted and coveted title of thickest Ravenclaw. Good God man you almost sounded like a Slytherin with that one!" Alastaire growled.

"Hey, pardon me for being observant. I wasn't approving it."

"And what is it with you and death, anyway?" asked Oslo, a scornful and superior look forming on his face, "Is that all you can think of is how much death there is in the world?"

"When you blokes can wake up and smell the landfill, let me know, but until then, I have classes."

Forest grabbed his schedule and stormed off in a huff. Simon couldn't help but stare as the boy trudged off.

"I swear that boy gets queerer by the day," Oslo said in his superior tone, "I hope you won't judge the rest of us by him, Simon. You've heard that there's a black sheep in every crowd, well you've just met Ravenclaw's. But it's not his fault, I suppose; his parentage is quite obviously lackluster at best. Frankly it explains a lot, including why he's such a poof."

"Oslo," Alastaire's voice warned

Simon's head snapped back towards Oslo, a look of fear on his face. Oslo easily misinterpreted it.

"Oh yes, he's a poof all right, but don't worry. It's been made very clear what would happen if he made any unwanted advances towards the rest of us."

"Oslo, that's enough." the head boy's tone was icy, but the sixth year ignored him. He leaned in closer to ensure privacy.

"Rumor has it he prefers them young. I heard that he and a Hufflepuff first-"

"OSLO!" Alastaire's yell caught the entire Great Hall's attention, "Twenty points from Ravenclaw and detention!"

The look on the younger boy's face gradually turned from shock to outrage. His lips tightened as he wisely suppressed the urge to argue with the Head Boy. His face flush with fury, Oslo grabbed his schedule and walked briskly out, forcing several Slytherins and Ravenclaws to practically dive out of his way.

The Hall was deadly silent for a brief few seconds, until the headmaster cleared his throat and gave them all a patented look which stated quite clearly that the spectacle was over and that breakfast should continue unabated. The dull roar of conversation once again filled the hall, many of them now centered on speculation as to why the Head Boy had just docked his own house 20 points.

Simon was sure that he witnessed something truly extraordinary even for Hogwarts, though he was not so sure that it was a good thing. Alastaire cleared his throat slightly to get the younger boy's attention.

"If my guess is right, you are the most intelligent person in this school, and as such, have the most potential. It would be a shame if that potential were wasted due to a lack of prudence."

Simon paled and his stomach tightened. He was fearful of Oslo's fury, but it was nothing to what Alastaire was putting forth. He knew exactly what the Head Boy was talking about and he had no desire to see his life, figuratively or otherwise, come to such an abrupt end as was put forth in veiled threat. He nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

Alastaire accepted this with a nod of his own, then purposefully made his way to the private chambers off the Great Hall, where he knew the Headmaster, along with his head of household, Professor Flitwick, would be waiting for an explanation of the morning's outburst.

---

Aaron woke up with a stiff back, cursing the soft down mattresses once again. Only after a few stretches and calisthenics did he even feel ready to take a shower. Waking early for just such a purpose, Aaron took a very long hot shower to ease his tight and sore muscles.

When he was well and relaxed, as well as clean, Aaron dried himself, dressed and headed down towards the Great Hall. He didn't rush and the stairs seemed to be in a amicable mood as they hadn't moved while he was walking down them. When he arrived at the Great Hall he scanned the Gryffindor table for Kim, but came up empty. Then he headed towards the head table.

Not all the professors were there, but Aaron didn't really register that information as the only thing he could concentrate on was the fact the chair next to Bill Weasley was empty and he meant to fill it. He sat at the end of the table next to the object of his secret desires and gave the red-headed professor a pleasant smile. The return smile was so intoxicating to Aaron that he almost forgot to breathe. Bill noticed.

"Are you all right?" he asked with some mild concern.

Aaron snapped out of his blissful stupor with a slight gasp.

"Um, yeah," he lied. With Bill this close, he was anything but all right, but it felt good. It felt damn good.

"You're sure?"

"Well I'm a little disoriented," he admitted, adding on a nice pseudo-lie to distract the professor, "It happens whenever I use that hearing spell often or for any great length of time. I'll be okay, but don't be surprised if I zone out or switch gears mid thought."

Bill chuckled and Aaron was glad that he had not yet cast the spell, for Bill's deep chuckle surely would have sent him over the edge, and that would have been quite embarrassing for both of them.

"I'll keep that in mind. Do you have the spell on now?" Bill had made sure that he was keeping eye contact as Dumbledore had explained to all the staff, in case the spell wasn't active.

"No, it's way too early in the morning for that kind of headache, but as long as you look right at me and don't talk with your mouth full, I should have little to no problem understanding you. Heck, even if you look in my general direction I shouldn't have a problem."

Bill furrowed his eyebrows in thought.

"Dumbledore seemed to be very strict in saying we had to look you directly in the eye."

"Yeah, well that's because I'm that strict with him. I wouldn't be if it weren't for that blasted beard of his. Do you have any idea how hard it is to read someone's lips when they're covered in fur?"

Bill stifled a guffaw into a troubled snicker. "I hadn't thought of that."

Aaron was about to say more but he noticed Bill had gotten distracted. Turning his head to where Bill's eyes were he saw Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and the boy who knew sign language all enter the Great Hall. When he turned back, he noticed that Bill's mood seemed to have soured just a little, but in a more melancholy way than anything.

"Are you all right?" Aaron whispered.

Bill just nodded. Aaron noted the lack of response and reacted accordingly; he gave up and changed he subject.

"So you have your first classes today? I know I'll be seeing you with the first year Gryffindors this afternoon. I was wondering if there was anything you and I should go over before class. If I know a little of what to expect, I can be better prepared to translate it for Kim."

"It shouldn't be that difficult," Bill said, melancholy abated for now, "I'm starting the first years on simple curse remedies, especially those that don't involve magic. By second term, I'll move them up to Finite Incantatum and some other generic counter curses, and we'll stick with that for the rest of the year. And for third term, I will be teaching them ways to use both concurrently."

"Hmm..." Aaron nodded his head, "The counter curses will be tricky for Kim. I'd like your permission to start teaching him those now, that way, he should have a good start on them by second term and he won't have to play 'catch up' as much as he will in charms."

Bill nodded, "I don't see a problem with that as long as it doesn't affect his other charms work. I'm not going to grade heavily on the counter curses as they can be very tricky. It's mostly just to introduce the concepts."

"That sounds reasonable to me." Aaron said with a gleam in his eye.

Bill snickered before he could stop himself, while Aaron just grinned like a Cheshire cat. Bill shook his head at Aaron's cheek.

"Dumbledore was right," he said.

"Oh?"

"He said you had a weird sense of humor like that."

"What can I say? It's either that or take the world far too seriously."

"Sounds reasonable," Bill replied with a grin of his own, which was immediately matched by Aaron.

Bill's attention was then caught by a pair of identical snickers from the Gryffindor table. He looked over to see his younger twin brothers turn away guiltily, neither of them trying to hide the amused looks on their faces. Bill scowled.

"What are they up to now?" Aaron asked when he saw the scowl and who it was directed at.

"I have no idea." Bill lied.

Aaron couldn't hear the tone in his voice but the look on Bill's face told him quite the opposite.

"Hey, if something is wrong, maybe I can help."

"Oh it's nothing. Just my entire family seems to be turning against me."

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Aaron replied, "But from what I've heard about the twins, some of it by you I might add, they seem to be against the entire world."

"They are, but I wasn't meaning in that sense. It's just that..." Bill paused as he realized he was about to say far more than he wanted to, "It's complicated." he finally managed.

"Sounds like it," Aaron said in all seriousness, "They certainly seem to keep you on your toes."

Before Bill could respond, a shout from the Ravenclaw table brought all conversation to a halt. Bill's head snapped to the direction of the Head Boy now removing points and assigning a detention to a Ravenclaw sixth year. Aaron may not have heard the shout, but as he noticed all eyes turn, he knew something was up.

The sixth year stormed off without a word and the hall was eerily still until the headmaster cleared his throat. Conversations began once again and Aaron had to wonder just what happened. He passed an inquisitive look to Bill.

"I'm not sure why, but the Head Boy, a Ravenclaw, just took twenty points from his own house."

"On the first day back?" Aaron asked as he watched the Head Boy walk off to speak with the Headmaster, "That can't be good for house morale. One day in and they're already sub-zero points."

"No, no it can't," Bill replied, "Well I have to go get some things ready. I'll see you this afternoon."

With that, Bill left, throwing a venomous glare at his twin brothers, who chose at that point to look suitably chastised. Aaron knew that Bill was hiding something from him. Normally he wouldn't have cared as it obviously wasn't his business, but there was something nagging at the back of his brain that just wouldn't let him let it go.

Aaron's stomach growled angrily, protesting his neglect. He served himself up some breakfast items occasionally glancing at the Weasley twins. No sooner had Bill left the Great Hall then did they huddle close and begin whispering to each other. Aaron couldn't read their lips as a result but he knew they were up to something and Bill would be the target of their machinations. He also had the suspicion that he was going to be involved in it whether he wanted to be or not.

---

It was very comfortable in that bed. The soft down mattress nearly swallowed Kim whole and he loved every minute of it. It was for that very reason that Kim woke up much later than he wanted to. Even then it took one of his dorm mates to come fetch him as they were leaving for breakfast.

He rushed getting dressed, not bothering to brush his teeth and barely getting his hair combed. Then he next to ran to catch up with his housemates. Only they had already disappeared, presumably to the Great Hall and now Kim was left by himself to find it.

He meandered down the hallway he thought would take him to the main stairwell. But turn after turn and hall after hall, he couldn't seem to find the stairwell. Worse yet, he wasn't sure if he was going in circles or not. He started to use the paintings as landmarks, but the occupants had a tendency to move in and out. He passed by an old witch of a painting no less than three times and each time she was visiting someone else.

On the verge of just sitting down and starving to death, Kim closed his eyes and counted to ten to calm himself down. When he opened his eyes, the witch who he'd seen several times was waving at him. He smiled and waved back. She frowned and then waved again only it was more to try and get his attention. He stepped closer for a better look.

She wasn't ugly at all. A little on the older side but quite handsome, for a painting. She pointed at him, then at herself, then she pointed to his left and held up three fingers. Kim gathered that she wanted him to follow her but he didn't know what the fingers were for.

She walked of to the left and he followed. They passed a portrait of Melvin the Mediocre and she held up two fingers this time. Now Kim understood, she was telling him how many paintings to count. He followed her past one more painting until they came to the third. This one was titled Gertrude Whifflebach. The witch sat down in the chair and Kim surmised that this was Gertrude. She pointed to the corner of the hall and held up four fingers, then she rose again from her chair and walked off towards where she had pointed.

Kim counted four paintings in this new hallway but the last one was at a dead end hallway. Gertrude, non-chalantly shoving aside the depiction of Death with his scythe, smiled at him. Then she put her fingers to her mouth and looked like she whistled. Kim couldn't hear it but Death dropped his scythe to cover his skeletal ears. Then Kim felt a rumbling and it wasn't all in his stomach.

Part of the dead-end hallway opened up like a door. Past it was a long staircase leading down. It was very dark and Kim felt more than a little trepidation going down this path. Gertrude urged him on. As he stepped into the dark stairwell, torches burst to life, giving Kim a good startle. He could then see that the staircase led down several floors with no landings, but there was a door at the bottom.

With one last look at Gertrude motioning for him to continue, he began his journey downward. It didn't take him too long to reach the bottom. With caution, he opened the door at the bottom of the staircase. He was pleasantly surprised to find himself in the same waiting room just off of the Great Hall he and the other first years were brought to the night before.

He turned back to shut the door but found that the door had not only shut itself, but disappeared as well. Upon closer inspection of the wall he noticed a hairline seem where the door jam would be. Kim made a note to remember that passage way if he ever needed it. Now all he had to do was learn how to whistle.

His stomach growled, reminding him that he needed to eat before the hard work began. He exited himself into the Great Hall earning several funny looks from the student that noticed. He got quite a few from the professors at the head table as well but missed them as his concentration was focused on getting to the Gryffindor table as soon as possible.

He served himself up some eggs and bacon and some orange juice and then dug in like there was no tomorrow. Though he did be carful not to make a mess. After a few hearty bites of his breakfast, Mr. Devlin came up to him.

[When I told your teachers that your resourcefulness would surprise them, I had meant your capacity to learn. How did you get into that very locked room?]

[Secret passage. Gertrude showed me.]

[Gertrude? Who's Gertrude.]

[A painting.]

[I see. Well anyway, your teachers are suitably unsettled and though I personally encourage behaviour that unsettles authority figures, I am in their employ so I have to pretend to be one for the time being. Speaking of which, let's run down the rules.]

[Again?] Kim rolled his eyes.

[Yes!] Aaron added a slightly sharpened move to his hands to embellish his seriousness. [It's very important that you learn these things now. You should have been taught this already but your parents didn't know. Well now we have to make up for it. Now let's go over it.]

With a sigh, Kim repeated the rules that he was to abide by when using Aaron as a translator.

[One, anything and everything I sign in class or in public is considered spoken aloud and you will thusly translate it, meaning I can't have any fun.]

Aaron managed not to laugh at Kim's addition but it was difficult.

[Two, you will translate anything and everything said to me wether I want to see it or not and I am not to turn away or close my eyes. But I still say that's unfair. You get to.]

[Not where it concerns you I don't. Keep going.]

[Three, you are my translator, not my bodyguard. If I get myself into a fight, then I have to get myself out of it while you stand and watch me get slaughtered.]

Aaron was having an increasingly difficult time keeping a straight face. Kim had obviously been picking up a lot of Aaron's bad habits.

[Very good. Now I want you to know that I'm not doing this to be cruel. It's just we need to make as little disruption as possible. Having said that, I'm going to give you an out. When I do this with my hands,] Aaron made a 'T' out of both his hands, using the internationally accepted signal for 'time out', [That means I need to talk to you in private. We sign only, no spoken words or even mouthed. You can use that signal as well, but it is supposed to be for important things and emergencies only. It is not to be used just to chit chat, okay?]

Kim nodded, feeling a little relieved that he could still keep some things private if needed.

[Good. Now hurry up and finish your breakfast. I don't want you to be late for Transfigurations. Professor McGonagall will blame me and punish the both of us.]

[How can she punish you? You're an adult!] Kim signed with a look of disbelief.

[When you see some of the things she can do, you'll never need to ask that question again.]

It did not go unnoticed that Aaron had stopped smiling when he said that.

---

Bill's first day as a Professor was not going as well as he had hoped. For one thing, the boys were constantly trying to change the subject back to Bill's normally permanent job as a Gringotts curse-breaker, and though he would have relied on a few anecdotes to make his point, he didn't want to lose sight of why he was there, and that was to teach.

The girls were worse. Nearly all of them seemed to be making eyes at him. That was distracting enough but what was even worse were their constant sighs when he would recount a curse-breaking story.

Come to think of it, some of the guys made eyes at him too, though they were much more discreet about it.

It wasn't until he had the Gryffindor first years that he had a real chance to relax. First years weren't interested in that sort of thing, were they? He prayed they weren't.

The Gryffindors walked into the classroom all looking a little bit nervous. Bill remembered his first day and that he wore the same facial expression. He didn't want them all fearing him but he needed to set the right impression, so he stood his full height and kept his smile friendly but reserved.

"Sit where you feel comfortable, class. I do not assign seating unless given a reason." Bill let his natural bass voice do most of the work. He knew that with his rugged face and deep voice, the children would probably behave themselves for the first few classes, at least until they figured out how far they could push him.

Bill noticed that the deaf boy, Kim Vermont had just entered. The boy looked around for a few seconds and just as Bill was going to see if he needed help, another first year waved him over to sit next to him. The boy complied with a friendly smile.

The professor was just about to ask where Aaron was but that answer became clear as he followed the last student in. He quickly found a spot in the corner so he could face Kim. After barely a second, he furrowed his brow.

"I'm sorry to do this but would it be okay if you two switched places?" he asked the boy who had waved Kim over, "He needs to have as clear view of me as possible. If he is on the end then I can stay out of everyone else's way."

The other boy shrugged and swapped seats with Kim.

"Thanks."

Bill waited for all the children to get settled before he went into his opening speech.

"Good. Now that we are all settled in, welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts. In this class, you will learn of the many ways that you can be hurt, and you will also learn how to avoid them. As such, I expect each and every one of you to take this seriously. Any fooling around or misbehaving will result in a liberal loss of house points and detentions."

Bill spoke the last with a harsher voice than he was feeling but it got his point across.

"However, as harsh as I am with punishment, I am generous with reward. This class will be very difficult. Each and every one of you will be challenged. My job is to teach you how to meet those challenges."

Bill then turned to Aaron.

"I'm going to assume that they've been given the obligatory speech about you and Kim already?"

Aaron signed and spoke his sardonic reply, "Five times over."

"Well then I will refrain from boring you all with yet another speech."

There was a collective sigh from all of the students. Bill raised an eyebrow at Aaron. Aaron merely replied "Professor Binns" and left it at that.

"Very well. Let's begin, shall we?"

Bill proceeded to outline what they would be doing for the first term and how he expected their homework to be turned in. Then he immediately jumped into simple curse remedies. He kept his lecture fast paced, moving around the class and observing their note taking. He paused every now and then to make sure they were all keeping up, Kim most specifically. His notes weren't as comprehensive as the boy's next to him, but he had most of the important things.

"Any questions so far?"

Kim was the only one to raise his hand.

"Yes, Kimber, or do you prefer Kim?"

Bill tried his best to ignore Aaron's translation of his speech but it was difficult. Aaron had assured him that he and everyone would eventually get used to it but that it would take a week or two.

"I would prefer Kim, Professor," Aaron's voice relayed what the small boy was signing, "I'm sorry, sir, but I missed one of the ingredients of the warding potion. Would you repeat it, please?"

Kim looked a little nervous, though why, Bill wasn't exactly sure. The professor walked over to where he was sitting and took a closer look at his notes. He was impressed. Though he was right in his assessment that Kim's notes weren't as complete, they were very close. Kim was using some sort of made-up short hand that enabled him to keep up with most of what Bill had been saying. Only certain things like the individual ingredients were written out in full as he had not had the time to invent a shorthand code for them yet.

Bill reviewed the list briefly before answering.

"Red Ocher," he said, Aaron translating it.

"And something you should all note," he continued after Kim had written the name down, "is that although that potion is called the 'Warding Potion', it has several other uses, most notably rune inscription."

Several hands raised. Bill pointed to the nearest one.

"But isn't that what you make the wards with?"

"Yes, but I'm talking about rune stones. When you reach your third year, you will be taking some additional classes, of which Divination and Ancient Runes are choices. Both deal with rune stones. Part of the process in making rune stones is inscribing them. Where as a ward involves several runes in a given order, rune stones only have one rune per stone."

Kim raised his hand.

"Yes, Kim."

"My Muggle cousin showed me these stones once. He had gotten them as a gift from a pen-pal in Norway. They had designs similar to what you have on the board. Are they the same thing?"

"Yes, they are," Bill said, pleased that Kim seemed to be losing his fear, "It's a funny thing, but Muggles were the ones to first start using rune stones, not wizards. Usually, many of the superstitions that pervade the Muggle world were derived from the rituals used by wizards but this one was quite the opposite."

Bill wandered around the classroom while he spoke, "Though wizards had been using runes for centuries before, it was a Muggle or group of Muggles that had the idea to put them to stones. No one knows for sure who it was, exactly. Many point to the old Viking religion as the birth but other societies had been using similar divination and writing tools for just as long."

A first-year girl that Bill would have sworn would fit better with the third years development-wise raised here hand. He pointed her out.

"But what about the Warding Potion?" she asked, "How could Muggles brew that? Wouldn't they need it to make the runes work?"

Bill had already started to explain the answer when Kim's hand shot up like a rocket. It immediately went back down again as he then realized he'd interrupted his teacher. Bill stopped and motioned for him to go ahead.

He stood up again, looking even more timid than before.

"I'm sorry for interrupting you, sir," Aaron translated for the boy, "I just remembered that my cousin's pen-pal mentioned something to him about red ocher being a vital part of the inscription. Would that mean that the other ingredients could be replaced by non-magical ones, ones that Muggles could use?"

Bill grinned happily which helped relieve Kim. His response relieved him even more.

"Five points for good deducing, Mr. Vermont," Bill's smile grew a little wider as Kim reveled in being awarded house points, "However, the answer is no."

Kim's smile disappeared in a fit of confusion.

"Muggles typically do not use anything but red ocher. The other ingredients came as a result of wizards and witches who wanted to bind more magic into their ritualized spells. Red ocher is unique in the fact that it has magical properties that Muggles can somehow access as well as wizards and witches. The other ingredients would do nothing for a Muggle.

"I awarded you those points, Kim, because you are right in a way. The Warding Potion took over a century to develop into it's current form. However, there are many variations that perform just as well, if not better in certain situations. What we use today is more of a generic catch all. It handles the most uses with the best overall results and because of that fact, it is easier for wizards and witches to use, especially for large wards. It's also much cheaper as the ingredients are more common.

"All right," Bill said clapping his hands, "We've learned a little bit about the Warding Potion so for homework I want a minimum 30 centimetre length essay on it. For those of you who tend to write big, either make yours longer or write smaller. For those of you who write small, try to keep it readable without the need for a magnifying glass. Class dismissed."

The students fled the class room with relief as this was their last class for the day. Tom Jarvis, the boy who sat next to Kim, tried to invite Kim to join him and his other new friends outside to play before dinner. Kim shook his head with a little sadness then signed his response.

"Sorry, but I have charms tutoring during free period. And I need it too. I wasn't able to even make the Knut move a centimetre." Aaron translated for him.

"Well you get to gave some free time, don't you?"

"Only after dinner. At least for now."

"Okay," Tom seemed satisfied with that, "Well if I can help with anything, I will."

"Thanks!" Kim said audibly. His pronunciation wasn't that bad, Aaron noticed, and it also got a smile from Tom.

Aaron gave a warm smile and a nod to the Professor who returned both and then he and his charge left to meet with Professor Flitwick for charms tutoring.

---

Simon found that the library was rather crowded during the early evening before dinner. He managed to check out the books that he needed but the crowd was just to much. It wasn't loud at all, but there was hardly any room to sit. There was one spot next to Forest but after what happened that morning, Simon wasn't to eager to face him.

The Ravenclaw common room was far to loud, and even though the Ravenclaws were renowned for being bookworms, they were very loud bookworms. So Simon was on a quest to find a nice, relatively empty spot to sit and study. Empty classrooms were no good because they were all locked and Simon didn't feel like going outside. He passed by the doors to the Great Hall and decided to take a look.

It was empty save for the house elves getting ready for the evening meal. Though they were very busy and moving in great haste, they were unbelievably quiet. At least they were until one spotted Simon.

Barley before Simon could blink, the small statured creature was standing before him. It was an odd looking creature with huge glossy eyes and large bat-like ears. What made him stand out among even the other house elves was the fact that he was wearing an outfit of horridly clashing colors whereas all the other elves were wearing tea towels with the Hogwarts crest emblazoned on them.

"Good evening, sir!" said the oddly clothed house elf, "What can we house elves do for you?"

"Umm..." Simon wasn't exactly sure what to say, as the last non-human sentient creature he dealt with was a goblin and that less than pleasant experience was as fresh on his mind as the day it happened.

The house elf certainly picked up on his discomfort.

"Please, sir," he said, "If there is anything we can do, just ask."

"I was..." Simon mentally chastised himself for being intimidated by something that was going out of it's way to be friendly, but he just couldn't help it, "I was just looking for a quiet place to study. The library is full and my common room is definitely out of the question. I wouldn't get in your way if I studied here, would I?"

"Of course not! Please, please come in. Dobby will make room for you. Dobby will make sure master is left undisturbed!"

Simon almost dropped his book bag when the elf grabbed his free hand and yanked him towards the Ravenclaw table. He chittered something in a high pitched voice and several of the other house elves immediately cleared away one of the place settings. By the time Simon had reached that spot, it was devoid of anything remotely connected with dining save for the table itself.

"Umm, thank you," Simon said, still trying to wrap his mind around everything.

"Tis our pleasure, sir." Dobby bowed, "Dinner begins at 6 PM sharp. Please have your area clear at least five minutes before so we can get your setting ready."

Then all the house elves went immediately back to work, amazingly enough, being even quieter than before. Simon was not about to begrudge their courtesy so he immediately set to work on his assignments. He immersed himself so much into his work that he hadn't realized how much time had gone by. It wasn't until the Head Boy cleared his throat that Simon was aware the rest of the school still existed.

He looked up at Alastaire, at first with startled curiosity, but when he realized who it was, his heart fell and his mind raced. He once again wished that he hadn't decided to come to Hogwarts. Alastaire sat down across from him, looking rather pointedly at him. Simon avoided his gaze and tried to go back to his studying.

"We need to talk." Alastaire said quietly. Simon noted that his voice was devoid of any harshness but he did sound serious.

"What's to talk about?" Simon asked, not looking up from his books, "You yourself said that potential is wasted by a lack of prudence."

"That's one of the things we need to talk about," Alastaire said, definitely sounding sad, "I should have worded that better and not made it a threat. It's just that ... It's hard to explain without going into details I'm not allowed to go into. I was angry and I wanted to impress upon you that silence was best."

"It worked," Simon said before he could stop himself. He clamped his mouth shut before he made things worse.

Alastaire sighed. "Look, I'm not asking you to accept my apology but it's there to take. As for what Oslo said, I am asking you, not demanding, and certainly not threatening, but asking that you not go repeating it."

"I already said I wouldn't" Simon said quietly, still not looking up from his book.

"Simon, would you please stop pretending to study and look at me?"

"I'm not pretending."

"I've seen you read. You should have gone through at least four pages by now."

Simon slammed the book shut.

"Look, you said to keep quiet, so I'm going to keep quiet. I've been through this before so there's no need to play at being all civil. Now if you will please excuse me, I'd like to get back to my studying. I didn't come all the way down here just to get an early seat at dinner."

Alastaire blanched at Simon's hostile tone. "Simon, I'm not a bully. There's just more going on than what you know about."

"Look, will you please leave?" Simon half-pleaded, half-growled, "I really don't care what's going on as long as it doesn't involve me."

Alastaire held Simon's gaze for a brief moment before turning away.

"As you wish."

Simon didn't reopen his book until Alastaire had closed the door behind him and even then, he couldn't concentrate. As he cleared and packed away his books, two house elves, one of them being Dobby, came to set the remaining place setting.

"Dinner will be served shortly, sir. Do you not wish to remain? This is one of the most highly sought places to sit among Ravenclaws."

"I'm not hungry."

"But sir," Dobby rushed forward to stop Simon from leaving, "Tis one of the requirements of students to be present at dinner. You will be punished."

"I'm already being punished." Simon said trying to walk around the elf. It was easier said than done as Dobby was quite quick.

"Then you will be punished more!" he whined, "Please, master. Trust Dobby, he knows what he is talking about."

"Look, Dobby, is that your name?"

Dobby nodded.

"Well, Dobby, I'd like to leave. If they want to punish me then they are more than welcome. I doubt anything they come up with would be any worse than what I've dealt with before. Now may I please go?"

Dobby stepped aside shaking his head, "Tis folly, Master Simon, but Dobby will not hinder you anymore."

Simon found his way back to his dorms only to be confronted by the Head Boy once again. This time, he looked very annoyed.

"Dobby tells me you're planning on skiving out of dinner."

"As I told him, I'm not hungry."

"You already skipped lunch, Simon, you must be hungry."

"I was but I seemed to have misplaced my appetite."

"I don't care if you eat or not! Ravenclaw has already lost fifty points because of this incident and I'll be damned if it loses any more."

"Fifty?" Simon was shocked, "You only took twenty."

"Forest heard what happened and picked a fight with Oslo. They both lost fifteen points and each have a detention with Professor Snape. I'm genuinely surprised you hadn't heard about it."

"I was concentrating on my work."

Alastaire laughed. "If that's not a Ravenclaw trait, I don't know what is." his demeanor soured almost instantly, "But don't think for one second that I was joking. Never in the history of Ravenclaw have we lost so many points in one day, and worse yet, it was on the first day of school. Right now, our house is the laughing stock of the entire school.

"I will not have you add insult to injury just because I was a bit of a bully. I said I was sorry and I meant it, but God damn it, Bergstead, if you think I was a bully before it's nothing compared to what I'll do to you if you pull this shit. Go ahead and lose us points tomorrow if you must, but not tonight.

"Am I making myself clear?"

Alastaire leaned in close and subsequently towered over Simon. Simon paled so much that the Head Boy though he was going to faint. Instead, he dropped his book bag and raced into the bathroom. Concerned, Alastaire followed him with caution.

His ears were assaulted with the younger boy being sick in one of the stalls. The older Prefect slowly made his way to the stall and saw that Simon had regurgitated what little he had left from breakfast that morning.

Alastaire cursed his behaviour and temper. Twice he acted like the bully that he claimed he wasn't. What was worse was he could see the pain in Simons face as the boy gave one last dry heave. He collapsed next to the commode trying desperately but unsuccessfully not to cry. It almost made the Head Boy want to vomit.

"As you are feeling ill, I will excuse you from dinner," Alastaire could barely speak, "I would advise you to go see Madame Pomfrey but I leave it up to you."

He turned to to leave but stopped just short of the door.

"I know I've ruined any chance there might have been in us becoming friends. There's nothing that I could do and expect anything less. But if there is anything that I can do for you, just ask."

Simon sniffed and wiped away some of the tears.

"I just want to be left alone," he replied, his voice high pitched as if he was still very young.

Alastaire knew that when Simon said alone, he meant more than just the evening, and it was directed at more than just the Head Boy. He nodded sadly.

"As you wish."