Lilith, or the White Flame Reborn

Chapter two

Nivalis

The corridor emptied at once. Students hurried back to their compartment, packing up, thrusting their sweets and empty pumpkin-juice bottles back in their bags and throwing their waste papers in the baskets. Lilith took up the empty North Cross bottles, Anton took her trunk down and she put them back inside.

'Lilith!' Ginger called out. 'Come and see!'

She joined him by the window and gazed out. A little further north, tall and powerful stood a great castle. Huge and rough-looking, the mere sight of it brought to you its thousand year's existence, a mist created by all the gathered souls that had fought here and died for it, either friends or foes. The clouds had disappeared then and the morning sun had set the walls on fire. The golden wind vanes had caught the sunbeams and reflected them back in every direction at once like thousands of fiery arrows. The many-turreted grey shape seemed to be slowly breathing, standing guard on the horizon, gazing Northward, ever watchful on top of its high cliff. From the corners of the outer wall, four high towers loomed up, dark and threatening like great posts erected in the heart of a burning stake. Birds of prey surrounded them as shadows breaking the silence with their stinging shrieks.

Lilith stood gazing at it in wonder for several minutes. She immediately fell in love with everything about this castle. The old stones, the landscape, the lingering presence of the warriors dead under its everlasting walls.

'Nivalis,' Ginger whispered.

'Built in 1031, almost a thousand years ago by the members of the Order of the Dragon,' Aldo added. 'No matter how many times I see it, I can't help loving this old castle.'

Lilith was captivated, taking in every detail of the medieval architecture, feeling the power flowing from it like water flows from a spring, overwhelming the whole area with its magical aura.

The train slithered between the hills and crossed a deep forest of shadows where all lights seemed to fade. The trees had roofed the railway and after a few minutes' crossing, no one could see a thing through the darkness.

'Lumos,' Lilith whispered, but nothing happened.

'It's no use,' Aldo said, 'light cannot enter this forest. It has been banished from here long ago. They call it Layil.' A shiver ran down Lilith's spine.

Half an hour passed in complete darkness, and finally, the train dragged itself out of the forest, sped up a little more and began slowing down.

'Nivalis Station,' Professor Valider's magnified voice boomed from the head wagon. 'All students will please get off the train quietly and in order.'

Voices broke at once from every corner of the train. Running feet crossed the corridor from all sides and once again, professor Valider's shouts rose above the lingering noise.

'I said,' he repeated, 'quietly and in order.'

The crowd calmed down a little and Ginger opened the compartment door. It was packed with a chattering queue of students slowly shuffling along the wagons. Lilith and the others waited for the corridor to empty and then walked to the door. They had finally made it, and Nivalis' castle was there, waiting for them. It looked even more powerful now that you stood in its shade than it had been from the other side of the forest, safely back inside the train. The lingering presence overwhelmed her, and suddenly, it just felt too much. Now that she was there, not only could she feel the presence of the dead warriors, but she could also hear them, their shouts of war, and their screams of pain, grief, joy, hatred and fury. She could see ghostly mists slithering through the trees and winding between the students. She could touch their cold immaterial bodies. She could smell the reek of old sweat, blood and death, the taste of it spreading to her very mouth, making her sick and drowsy.

'Come on Lilith!' Anton's voice woke her up. 'Firs' years must go over there,' he said, showing a group of nervous-looking youngsters shaking with anxiety.

Lilith looked about her, searching for some sign, but no one seemed to notice the overwhelming presence, or if they did, they didn't show it. The older students were walking towards a great white wolf who seemed to be waiting for them.

'This is where we part!' Blue said smiling at her. 'Don't worry, everything's gonna be just fine!'

She ran her hand through the dark hair, catching the white streak with it.

'We'll see you back inside,' Anton said to reassure her. She wasn't looking well at all; her usually pale face had gone livid and her eyes were glassy, as two perfect ice spheres.

'Come on,' Aldo let out impatiently. 'I thought you were made out of tougher wood! Remember your first exploit in the train! Be just as you were then and no one will stand up to you.'

She turned to face him, astounded by how respectful his voice had sounded. Nodding her head, she tried to stick to that idea as Aldo took out his wand and gave it a wave over her trunk.

'Wingardium Leviosa.'

The trunk slowly rose.

'There,' he said. 'Now off you go!'

He turned away and began unloading his things from the hold.

'We'll see you later!' Ginger waved, getting away. Heidi waved too and joined her friend among the hundreds of students that the white wolf was leading up to the castle.

Anton took hold of Blue and thrust her onto his shoulder. He grabbed their two weightless trunks single-handed and followed his two friends, carrying Blue on his shoulder like a bag of potatoes. Lilith smiled as she saw Blue hitting Anton's back and then giving up, crying with laughter. Aldo was following them; his brand new racing broom still wrapped in brown paper.

Lilith sighed and turned back to the pack of first years ahead. They were all so estranged to her. All but one, even though that one definitely wasn't helping out. Standing well in sight, Angelina Mingus was behaving like a perfect prim and prissy little girl with her three girlfriends who were drinking up every single word issuing from her twisted mouth.

Lilith took a deep breath and clutching her cross tight, she took a first step towards them. At once, a deafening shriek boomed from within the castle walls. Then great wings flapped, whipping up a thick cloud of dust, which rose higher than the castle itself. Finally, another shriek was heard and a huge bluish-grey shape loomed over the wall. Its immense wings were dazzling in the sun and its horns shone like polished steel.

'A dragon!' Lilith thought.

The entire first years' gathering broke out at once and children fled in every direction, rushing past Lilith who remained still. She had never seen a dragon with her own eyes before, and now there it was, a powerful and untamable Swedish Short-snout. Untamable? She wondered. The tall girl stretched out her hand in its direction, focusing all her thoughts on the creature's mind. The giant reptile shrieked. It circled once a hundred feet above her head and then flew away southward.

Lilith looked around her. Some first years were slowly beginning to stand up and get out of their makeshift shelters, still trembling all over, but some remained lying down on the ground with their hands over their faces, hidden under large leaves or small bushes. Only Angelina had remained as still as her, staring up at the Short-snout with a defying look, her friends cowering behind her like frightened ostrich hiding their heads in the sand thinking it will protect them.

Lilith thought of taking another step, but then she remembered what the first one had caused and she hesitated. And yet, in a way, she had enjoyed what had happened. The striking aura of the magical creature had made her forget about the dead men's screams and their threatening presence. She took one more step and then another. As she was about to take a third, a deafening noise emerged from the forest as if someone had blew a horn, but what strength a rib cage must have had to blow a horn with such power.

The noise came closer. Then it stopped and was replaced by the sound of heavy hooves coming towards them. A knight, Lilith thought. She remembered all the old paintings she had seen of magical knights in bright golden armours carrying heavy swords and crossbows, and figured one according to her own fantasy. The mounted silhouette was becoming clearer with every step, as it detached itself from the shadowy forest and came closer. Finally, it stepped into the light and the children held their breath. It was no knight, as Lilith had first thought, it wasn't even human. It was a centaur. His silvery-grey hair was flowing with the wind and his flaming emerald-green eyes seemed able to see through your very mind. The human chest was broad with thick arms and his animal part was the same size as a carthorse's with a grey coat and hairy white ankles. A hunting horn was hanging from his neck, dangling over the muscular torso on which a huge dragon was tattooed. He bore a heavy, broad-bladed spear and a long bow and two quivers were hung round his waist. He stepped onto the stone platform and waited for the pupils to gather around him. When all of them had managed to dominate their fear of both the dragon and the centaur, and that they were all standing around him, he spoke in his deep, wise and ageless voice.

'Welcome to Nivalis School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Stardust is my name. I am Nivalis' groundskeeper. Please, follow me.'

He turned towards the castle and began walking slowly to the high barred oaken doors. He entered followed by over a hundred terrified students. The castle's courtyard was immense, far larger than it had looked from outside, and maybe it was, Lilith thought. She knew that with magic, one could not really trust their eyes.

'And you don't know how right you are,' a warm, intriguing voice broke. A tall man clad in long white robes and a white cloak was walking towards them. His snow-like hair was almost gone, only a few long, dishevelled and worn-out locks were still dangling with the wind behind his back. The pupils stared at him bewildered, especially at the white band tied over his eyes: he was blind.

'What did you say, Professor?' Stardust asked.

'I was confirming this young girl's thought,' he explained, pointing his white, silver-headed staff at Lilith, 'that one could not trust their eyes when magic is involved. But there is one eye you can always trust.'

He smiled, pointing a finger at his forehead.

'Everyone,' Stardust started, 'this is Professor Aristos.'

'Good morning, Professor Aristos.'

'Good morning, everyone,' he answered with a warm smile. 'My name is Theo Aristos and I am the Divination teacher. As you all can see, I am blind. However, if you honour me with your presence and join my class after you reach your third year, I will still be able to teach you how to see further than you can at this very moment with your valid eyes.'

Silence had fell over the assembly. The power of this teacher was so great that you could almost see it flow from his body like a shining aura.

'I'll leave you with Professor Aristos, then,' Stardust said. 'Good luck on your first day.'

'Now, everyone,' Professor Aristos said, 'say good bye to our dear groundskeeper.'

'Good bye, Mister Stardust.'

'Now, let me introduce you to the place where most of you are going to spend the six years to come.'

The professor took out his wand and gave it a wave. A deep hollow humming was heard, coming from the top of a tower from which a fine thread of smoke was rising and suddenly, the children felt their feet leave the ground. They rose several hundred feet high at once, flying high above the castle with Professor Aristos among them. They could now make out all that was within the castle walls, the huge courtyard with its bright flowers and great trees, the four greenhouses, their glass roof shining in the sun, the frozen south-west corner from which the dragon had flown away. Outside the wall, to the east, two large Quidditch pitches were waiting for the new-come players to show their skill. Down south, the great forest spread its darkness miles and miles square.

Lilith made out the small silhouette of Stardust galloping towards the forest where the shadow swallowed him.

'From here you can see the whole area of Nivalis. The courtyard is allowed to every student anytime they like on spare times. It is forbidden to fly broomsticks inside the castle limits outside of your regular flying lessons. The Quidditch pitches are reserved to the Quidditch players of Nivalis' ten teams. But you will have to wait for your second year before you are granted such an honour, all but the natural that I can sense among you, who will be allowed to play right away.'

Whispers grew among the children. 'A natural? Here? Could it be me?' all of them wondered. Professor Aristos cleared his throat.

'Of course, all the others will be allowed access to the pitches on every match to watch and support their favourite teams.' Aristos took a pennant out of his sleeve and waved it quietly. It was labelled "Go! Seven Victors!" He put it back in his sleeve and cleared his throat again, blushing slightly. The whole assembly was silent. 'Inside the courtyard, as you can see, are four greenhouses where Professor Springle will give away to you all Herbology's secrets. In the opposite corner, you will find what is probably the most dangerous place of the whole castle, that is to say the ward of Furioso, who is the dragon of our beloved Care of Magical Creatures' teacher, Professor Maîtrazur.'

'Professor what?'

'Maîtrazur,' Aristos answered. 'Does anyone know where the name comes from?' he asked.

It was French. Lilith knew it; she had learned this language, as well as many others in the monastery, even though it sounded quite strange, even for French. A girl raised her hand shyly.

'I'm sorry, Miss Grey, but this is a wrong answer.'

The children gasped. How could he know? Lilith raised her hand.

'Yes, Miss Incarna?' Lilith cleared her throat.

'It's French,' she said shyly.

'That is correct,' Aristos said, his face still turned towards Lilith, waiting for something.

'Hey!' the young girl called Miss Grey exclaimed. 'That's what I was about to say!'

Some boys smirked at Aristos, believing him to be a fraud.

'I know that, Miss Grey,' he said, his face unchanged. 'It was the correct meaning that you had wrong.'

The small witch frowned at him angrily.

'Go on, Miss Incarna, what does it mean?'

'Well,' Lilith answered. Grey, as well as Angelina were both glaring at her. 'It means, something like... master sky, but it doesn't sound right.'

'That is correct!' he said. 'Now, Miss Graigne Grey, from Cork, you do know that you were wrong.'

Graigne had put her hand to her mouth and glared no more. On the contrary, Angelina still did, as fiercely as ever.

'Good,' he ended with a smile. 'As you can see, young ones, I am not a fraud. Now I want you to remember something, and that will be the first lesson you will get from a Nivalis teacher. NEVER underestimate the skill of someone who holds you in his power five hundred feet from the ground. Not until you spread wings, that is.'

He smiled. The students looked down and gasped. They had forgotten how high they were and as they realised, some of them screamed or cried and a boy fainted.

'Let us go back on earth.' He raised his wand and they fell down at once. Their fall stopped two feet from the ground and they landed lightly on the courtyard floor. Aristos raised his hand and waved lightly towards the tower where smoke was rising. The perfect smoke line broke a second and started again. Then Aristos walked to the boy who had fainted and made him sit up. He whispered 'Ennervate' and with a tap of his wand, the boy's eyes opened.

'Now,' he said, standing up. 'Before you meet back the others in the dining hall for lunch, I have a few more things to tell you. Let me remind you once again that the forest of Layil is forbidden. Enter it, and you will never come out again. There are one hundred and sixteen of you who will be divided in five groups of twenty-three pupils each, except one which will count twenty four, but I have foreseen that one of you will be expelled, so it will allow us to put the groups back into balance.'

The children gasped, their face a little paler. There was no need to ask them to see that they had preferred his first prediction.

'The groups are random and are changed every year. Now if you will follow me, I will lead you to the Dining Hall where the others are waiting.'

The children followed him silently, casting worried side-glances to each other. As the castle door drew closer, Furioso's shrieks came back and the huge winged shape appeared. It tucked in its wings and dived with dazzling speed towards the ground, landing heavily on its four strong paws with a deafening boom that made the earth shook. It was holding a great stag inside its jaw, which it crushed effortlessly with a horrible noise of broken bones that made the children sick.

Aristos had paid no attention and was still walking. They reached the doors, which were twenty feet high and almost as broad. It was made out of oak, but in addition to that, a huge stony white snowflake was sealing it closed. Above it, a wonderful statue was sitting in a white and silver throne. It portrayed an old and yet beautiful Lady wearing starry dress robes, straight long hair and a strange-looking hat. She looked so human, you couldn't help shivering when you looked at her, and wherever you stood she seemed to be looking at you.

Aristos looked up towards her and nodded. The statue remained motionless. A noise was heard. Then the stony snowflake detached from the door and hovered up until it stopped in front of the old Lady, imprisoning her in the cave where her throne was set. The doors opened and Aristos turned to the children.

'Follow me.'

The silent assembly followed and entered the huge hall; the noise of their feet on the slate floor rung out, echoing up to the high ceiling. Lilith sighed with relief when the great oaken door banged shut and the noise of the stony snowflake was heard as it barred it again. The cries and moans of the dead were shut outside, and she felt safe. When they reached the centre of the hall, Aristos told them to leave their trunk here and showed them a great door on their right. It was opened and they could make out all the other students sitting there in silence.

Angelina led the walk, smiling like an angel and all the others followed. Lilith tried to walk as erect as she could and to look right in front of her. Professor Aristos was bringing up the rear. As soon as he entered, a great snowy owl landed at once on his shoulder and the door banged shut behind him. Two tables had been left free in the middle for them to sit around, and behind these, a tall and broad man was standing. Still handsome in spite of his age, he was smiling warmly, his arms folded over his muscular chest. He was wearing white and golden robes and a great golden cape. His clear grey eyes were glittering behind the untidy blond locks and his beaky face gave him a noble look

As the children were coming closer, he unfolded his arms and put his right hand on the golden hilt of the heavy double-edged sword girded round his waist.

'Welcome to Nivalis School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,' he declared in a deep hollow voice. He threw his cape behind him with a sweeping gesture of his arm and indicated the long benches.

'If you will please sit down,' he said warmly. The children proceeded. 'Let me introduce myself,' he carried on. 'I am Dean McImpey. I will be your new Headmaster for the years to come. You will find the list of the five groups outside in the great hall as soon as lunch is finished. This afternoon, Prefects will show you to the dormitories and the classrooms. The rest of the afternoon will be spare time. Your trunks and private belongings will be waiting for you in your dormitories and you will receive your schedules later this afternoon. Nivalis staff is composed of fourteen teachers, one... two librarians, one caretaker and one groundskeeper. If you have any question, they will be pleased to answer. But enough words for the moment, let us eat, drink and make merry!'

Glasses sprung at once all over the tables, filled with cool and fragrant pumpkin juice. The Headmaster sat at the end of one of the two first years' tables and took up his glass, lifting it up above his head, immediately followed by the students.

'To a happy new year at Nivalis!'

'CHEERS' the hundreds of voices shouted. They drank, and when they set down their glasses, great plates and silver cutlery bloomed and huge dishes sprang at once from the tables. The silence broke and voices, shouts and laughter sprung from every corner of the Dining Hall, filling it with life. Lilith looked around her. Most of the first years had remained still and dared not touch the dishes. Her neighbour however had filled his plate and was eating greedily. He looked at her and then at her empty plate.

'Come on, eat before it gets cold.'

Lilith looked at him. He was brown-haired and blue-eyed, and his face was aggressive. The other first years began helping themselves and ate. Finally, Lilith took some food, although she didn't feel hungry at all. Her stomach was tied in a tight knot. She felt desperately lonely here and she was dying to see Blue and the others. Her neighbour was still looking at her.

'Come on, you should eat,' he said roughly, 'the food is great here.'

'How do you know if you only tasted it once?' she asked scornfully. She was in no mood for getting reprimanded.

'I didn't. This is my second first year,' he answered matter-of-factly.

'Oh,' Lilith let out, 'I'm sorry.'

'Don't be,' he answered. 'You have nothing to do with it, do you?'

Lilith looked down.

'Neither do I, by the way,' he added.

'What do you mean?' she asked.

'I'm a squib,' he explained, his tone still as detached as ever.

'How do you know?' she asked, flushing.

He stopped eating and faced her.

'I never could cast a spell properly. Not one, even the most simple. Every time I fly a broomstick, I end up with a broken arm. I wanted to give up after my first year, but my parents wouldn't hear about it.'

'I'm sorry,' she said again, which made him sigh.

'You're not a fast learner, are you?'

Lilith looked down again.

'Eat,' he said, 'you're all bones.'

Lilith choked with anger.

'What?' she asked furiously.

'There's no use screaming like that,' he smirked. 'Look at you, you're as pale as death and you must weight less than half as much as I do.'

Lilith was outraged. She turned away from him and began eating, determined not to speak with him anymore. More than ever now, she was desperate to see Blue and Anton. Even Aldo's scorn would have been a relief. She looked towards the far end of the table and saw Professor Aristos sitting with his great snowy owl hung on to his shoulder and eating quietly. Her friends were nowhere to be seen.

My friends...

Were they really her friends? She wondered. Maybe they had only pitied her, lost and lonely as she seemed.

'I thought you were made out of tougher wood!'

Aldo's words echoed in her mind. What wood was she made out of? Was it tough enough? Would she be strong enough?

'Don't worry, everything's gonna be just fine!'

Blue. Everything must have been so easy for her, beautiful as she is with her sweet smile and her nice boyfriend.

'We'll see you later!'

Ginger must say things like that all the time, he knows every single student in this school. He would have said that to anybody.

As her thoughts wandered, dishes succeeded to others, after the starter, the main course and then the desert. She dreamt them all away.

'Now that our meal is over,' McImpey's voice broke, waking her from her daydream, 'I'll ask to all first years to go and wait in the Great Hall. The Prefects will wait here. The others can go into the courtyard and have some fun.'

Lilith stood up absent-mindedly, still lost in her thoughts. She followed the stream of students shuffling along to the Great Hall. Suddenly a large brown hand landed on her shoulder and dragged her closer.

'Hey!' Anton smiled. 'So, how did it go?' he asked.

Blue was walking next to him and she put her hand on Lilith's other shoulder. Her heart melted on the spot. She wanted to cry, but something, like a voice echoing in her mind, told her to hold back her tears.

'It was OK,' she lied.

'That's grand!' Blue exclaimed. 'I've been so worried about you! You weren't looking very well back on the platform where we parted. I didn't want to leave you. I feel better now that I know you're all right.'

She had been worried about her? Maybe they did care for her. Lilith was shaking with emotion. They got out of the Dining Hall. Ginger was waiting for them there with two other people she didn't know, a boy and a girl both holding broomsticks, but they looked so much alike that it was hard to tell them apart. They both were of the same height and both as slender. Their slanting brown eyes, their thick black hair tied in ponytails and the features of their faces showed that they were Japanese. They had the same white and blue badge sewn to their robes. Then Lilith remembered that back on the train, Aldo had asked Hammer where the Twins were, and she understood that they must be the ones he had referred to.

'Are they the Twins?' Lilith asked.

'Yep,' Blue answered, 'the Nishi Twins, our fellow chasers of the Seven Blizzards. You have to hear the way they talk, it's hilarious. But don't you laugh in front of them!'

'Hey, how're ya!' Anton greeted cheerfully, waving to them.

'Good good! Helo, Antom,' the boy said. 'Holyday was?'

'It was grand,' he answered. 'What about you guys?'

'Bely good to,' the girl answered. 'We wentuback to Nihon... ano...'

'We so awal family again. It was gleat!' the boy finished.

Lilith wasn't sure she had understood the whole thing, which made her think Blue had been right: they spoke a very poor English. Anton frowned.

'Cool!' he finally said after a pause.

'We'll catch you later, Lilith!' Blue smiled as the five of them walked away towards the courtyard.

Lilith waved and then remained still. She turned around to see all the other first years packed in front of the large notice board where five rolls of parchment had been hung, each labelled from "group one" to "group five". As they got to know which group they were in, the students cleared the area and Lilith went to take a look. She looked for her name in the first group then turned to the second.

'Tell me your name and I'll help you find what group you're in,' said a voice. It was the boy who had sat next to her in the Dining Hall. Lilith looked away disdainfully, still angry about what he had told her.

'Come on!' he said, 'don't tell me you're mad at me!'

She didn't answer and kept on scanning the second group with the tip of her quill When she found it there, she tapped it, took a small notebook out of her pocket and wrote "n°2" on the first page. Then she put it away and walked off proudly; he was smiling. She walked up to one of the walls and sat down on a long wooden bench, watching her fellow first years with a sigh. Lonely. Angelina was laughing with one of her friends, trying to comfort the two others who were crying. They had been separated from their leader and it seemed they hadn't been prepared for it.

The doors of the Dining Hall flung open and over a dozen students came out, a bright prefect badge pinned to their robes. Among them were Aldo and Heidi, Lilith already knew about them, but she also noticed the two familiar silhouettes of Hammer and her friend Sigma. They walked towards the group of first years and told them to gather. Lilith stood up and joined the others.

A witch with a piercing gaze, black hair and a pale skin took one step forward. Her left eye was green, the right was blue.

'Welcome to Nivalis,' she said, her formal tone almost taking over her singsong Donegal accent. 'I am Sally Woolf, Headgirl and head of Nivalis' Prefects. As you see, there are sixteen of us, eight fifth years and eight sixth years. Being a Prefect is a very important part. We are the second persons in charge in this school after the staff, and in case you cannot have access to a teacher when something happens, it is one of us that you must call. Is that clear?'

The assembly remained silent.

'The Prefects are elected by the teachers among the candidates of each year from the fifth, so if you plan to become a Prefect yourself, you'd better watch your behaviour as soon as I speak. At the end of a Prefect's year, the Prefect can choose either to keep his or her duty or to quit, the latter option leading to a new election.'

She paused and turned to a short stocky boy with glazed eyes and a stout face standing behind her. He handed her a roll of parchment and she called out fourteen names.

'Those whom I just called, you will go with the two Prefects there.'

The fourteen students walked to the two Prefects among whom was Heidi. Sally called out a second group, then a third.

'Incarna, Lilith,' she said as she called out a fourth group.

Lilith stepped out as Sally called out several other names and ended with 'Mingus, Angelina' who took one step forward, her bright angel smile shining.

'Those fifteen I just called, you will go with those two Prefects.'

'Aldo!' Lilith thought as Sally pointed her finger at him and the stout faced stocky boy who had handed her the roll of parchment. He had a "Headboy" badge pinned to his shabby old robes.

'Hello, everyone, I'm Rusty Dozer,' he said. 'I'm in sixth year and here is Aldo Mingus, he's in fifth year.'

Aldo winked.

'Now,' Rusty carried on, 'please follow me, we will begin with the classrooms.'

He began walking away towards the great stairs. He walked with a stoop and his shoulders rocked sideways with each step he took. He lead them to the third floor and turned left into a long corridor, then took a few more steps and opened a door.

'This is the classroom where Professor Ferez will teach you charms.'

'Absolutely!' a voice broke as a small and stocky man with thick curly blond hair and warm brown eyes apparated in front of the students.

'Hello, everyone, I am Waldo Ferez, the Charm teacher.'

'Hello, Professor,' the children answered.

'It is I,' he said, 'who will teach you one of the most useful domain of magic, that is to say how to make things fly or fall and to control the world around you with nothing but the power Of-Your-Mind!' he said, insisting on each words. 'And a wand, of course,' he smiled, taking his out and giving it a wave. 'You have had a good example of the power of charms this very morning when you arrived. Hope you enjoyed the view,' he smiled

'But I thought it was Professor Aristos who did it,' Graigne Grey said shyly, 'he told us that he was holding us in his power.'

'For some of you, he was,' Ferez answered, 'but actually, it took four of us to make so many of you fly.'

Lilith remembered then how Professor Aristos had waved towards the tower. This is where the teachers must have been, she thought.

'Now go, young ones,' he ended, 'there's still plenty to see here'

His face shone with a boyish smile as the students walked out. Rusty resumed his walk, going a little farther up the corridor. He opened a door but didn't enter.

'Here's a general classroom where some options can take place. It is also used when regular classrooms are...' he hesitated, 'temporarily unavailable.'

'What do you mean?' Angelina asked.

'For example,' Aldo answered, 'when Furioso gets angry and freezes a classroom with her cold breath. She did two years ago, she destroyed the History of Magic classroom. Once she had blown her frozen breath on it, I could shatter the walls with my bare fingers.'

The first years gasped. Rusty sighed and closed the door. They walked a little farther.

'On your right and on your left,' Rusty said, 'are two other general classrooms.'

They carried on quietly. Then, a low, deep humming was heard.

'What is this?' Angelina asked.

'This is Professor Squando,' Aldo answered. 'He's the Transfiguration teacher.'

'It is said,' Rusty added, 'that he could have taken up every other subject. He's so old that he had time to deal with every magical domain, although he is still as sane as ever. Here's his classroom.'