Fourth Defence Lesson

[Alexander Archer]

Traipsing into the classroom, he felt profoundly disturbed at the happenings around the school. Having experienced more in the past few months than he had, possibly throughout the rest of his adult life, however short that may have been, seemed to have aged him more than anything else ever could. Not only had he grown somewhat more mature and realistic, but there were visible signs too; a few flecks of gray amongst his usually solid brunette crop of hair gave mute evidence that life at Hogwarts was anything but peaceful for Alexander Archer.

Setting his pile of notes on the desk at the forefront of the first level classroom, he turned to the board and hand wrote ‘Vampires’, then rounding it off by adding a neat-as-possible line for it to sit on. His eyes checking over the class to ensure it was neat enough for the lesson, he gave a satisfactory nod and took his seat.

Waiting for the first of the students to arrive, he thought back to his most recent encounter with danger as he’d supposedly come to the aid of two students who had unwittingly entered the Forbidden Forest. Not able to actually remember the events themselves made him slightly discontented but, as usual when he thought about that day, he skipped over it. It was the most logical conclusion he’d formed anyway, and at least the two Ravenclaws were alright; would Mister Maravon and Mister Paradox be attending his class, considering their own close encounters?

Ready with a stack of his own notes that he’d taken on the subject, he was interested to see how the students would react to their topic of the day. Not knowing how long it would take to cover all of the information, he intended to make the class into a sort of a lecture, but then a few hints of his own knowledge was stored in their textbook so perhaps it wouldn’t take up the whole lesson.

Gryffindor	Hufflepuff	Ravenclaw	Slytherin
Tommy Bryce	Cavan Weiss	Mami Tien	Narcisse Eraclea
Jason Cruz	Caitlin Collins	Dylan Cooper	Keaira O’Connell
Susan Matthews	Sebastien Bellefleur	Alessandro Darko	Gat Soldier
Aimee Miller	--	Kerridon Paradox	--
Blaire Paisley	--	D’rorah Philosophy	--

[Alessandro Darko]

Alessandro finished reading over his transfiguration essay that he had just finished moments ago. He was coping with returning to school without his previous memories alright, just as long as he kept himself busy with school work and practice. He tended to avoid people outside of class, holing himself up in the common room, dormitories, or any other place he could find solitude. This time, he had found solace in a nook on the fifth floor corridor. He looked up at a familiar tapestry but shrugged the prosaic feeling off, as he had been attending the school for five years, so of course the tapestries would begin to look familiar.

Packing his things into his bag, he strode off for the Dark Arts classroom. He trudged down the corridors glumly as he was feeling a bit behind in things. He hadn't really spoken to anyone but professors and the headmistress, welcoming him back to Hogwarts. She was a bit two-faced, in his opinion. Anyone that warm and happy was a bit off in his book. He longed for his memories to return, but after reading up on memory loss, he found that if it wasn't magically induced, then, the brain would have to recover on its own accord. Frowning at the thought that he may never recover his memories again, he entered the Dark Arts class.

Choosing his seat in the first row, he sat down and placed his bag beside his desk. Unloading his ink-well and quill. He afforded the professor a small and timid nod accompanied by a fleeting smile.

"Good day, Professor Archer." He said as he began to dab his quill in the ink. He headed his paper with the word "Vampires" as it had been written on the blackboard. He set down his quill and having nothing further to do, let his eyes linger on his desk for a moment or two, and then they began to travel around the room. It was always awkward to sit there while class was starting. Kids filtering in, chattering in their cliques, him not really remembering who his friends were was a problem.

Vampires? He thought. What an interesting topic, he was sure he'd appreciate the knowledge anyhow.

[Keaira O'Connell]

So much laid heavily on her mind as she walked through the halls of the school. Things would not return to normal, even if she so wished them to do so. Whether she liked it or not, she was an elite member of the forces of good, destined to be forced to put her own life on hold and attempt to preserve the balance between good and evil. It was a responsibility that meant she spent every day of her life watching and waiting for the moment when the forces of evil would try their best to remove her from the ranks. It was an exhausting existence, one that made her wish on occasion that the powers she had been given, were given to some one else.

With such an existence there was always a need to find new things to help extend her chances of fighting off the forces that threatened her life on a daily basis. As such, Defense Against the Dark Arts, was an important subject, even though they did not teach one how to defend against the beings she would have to fight. This class however, was a useful tool in helping to defend from dark wizards, and the spells that they might attempt to send her way. A class that had in fact helped her in her recent rescue mission, where she had to fight not only one, but two wizards who wished nothing more than to hurt her, for their sweet mistress's sake.

With her mind heavily on what had now become a way of life for her she gently eased the door to the Defense class open. Over the recent few months a dramatic change had been working its way through Keaira. Her eyes and head, although at one point would have been held high, were sullen and down cast. Her skin tone, once held warmth, and a slight rosy tone to it, had become pale, and hardened through her trials. A smile used to constantly play across her lips, and through her eyes, but now, she held a look that could easily be conveyed as sad, depressed, and contemplative. She was feeling the weight of the war she was so desperately needed in pressing down on her. Keaira O'Connell was slowly allowing who she had once been slip away, as she became more and more the introverted person.

Stepping through the door way she lifted her gaze to the professor at the front of the class. Alexander Archer, Head of Hufflepuff, former Astronomy teacher, current Defense Against Dark Arts professor, one of the few that had shared her company the night of the Christmas Ball. Keaira wondered slightly why there was still a lack of a Head of Slytherin, it seemed that all this year the Head of her house was lacking. As such she had to seek out other professors to fill that niche, first she had found Dien, and she had needed no other, but now that Dien was no longer around, she once again had no one. Her thoughts on less than happy things Keaira found it hard to send the professor a honest smile, and instead opted for an easier version, a half felt smile.

"Hello Professor Archer, interesting topic for class today, I suspect that this class might be a bit different from you last ones. There is an awful amount of information to cover on Vampires, and a part of me almost regrets that we probably won't be practicing a spell with in the time frame that we have."

As she let her vision leave the professor, she turned to see who else had already made it to the class. Her eyes though it seemed only found one person, as all others that may have been in the class did not matter to her, only this one. His tanned skin, and dark brown locks, the gray-green of his eyes, and the same silver chain that he had wore every day she had known him. It occurred to her that she had never asked him about the necklace, but than again he had never asked her about her own. Her eyes lingered on him as she moved to the second row, and placed her things at the desk behind his own. After her book bag was deposited she moved to the first row and sat in the desk next to him. Although she preferred the second row for the actual class, she wanted to take the moment to talk to her friend, even if he had found that information to be a bit hard to remember.

"Hey, Alessandro, how are you doing today? You know, if you need help with catching up, I can give you an extra hand, a lot has been covered while you were gone, and I'll need you back up to speed if were going to be partners again."

Keaira kept her voice soft, as she spoke, trying to prevent it from cracking under the strain of being able to see him, but not touch him. She had worked so hard to have him returned to her, only to discover that he no longer felt, or remember, the way she had cared for him. She knew that the story he had told about an accident practicing Quidditch was a lie, but she had not found the opportunity to tell him yet. A part of her wanted to reach out in to his mind, and help him to realize what had really happened, but she knew that if she did it before he was ready it would only make things harder. Her right hand reached up to her left shoulder, while her right crossed in front of it to hold her upper right arm. Both spots held small tokens of her life, moments of despair where she had been weak, and vulnerable, and so she had paid the price. Touching them softly she looked at the boy. Perhaps if she prompted him, he might remember something... anything about her.

[Kerridon Paradox]

Kerridon paused at the bottom of the stairs as a couple of younger students ran past, obviously late to whatever lesson they had now. He had moved back to the Ravenclaw dormitory of his own accord yesterday, and this was the first lesson he had been to since his experience in the Shadow Realm. Ironically, it was also the first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson he had attended. Previously he had thought it unnecessary, but the thought had come to him that perhaps it might be useful if Gat ever tried to stage a repeat of what he had done in the Shadow Realm. The same applied for if Keaira ever attempted to carry out her threat, and if (or rather, when, because it was bound to happen eventually) the lightfighters found out he truly did serve the Mage. More knowledge could hardly be a bad thing, and he could always twist it to his own purposes – at least, the Mage’s purposes.

Letting out a quiet sigh, he headed to the classroom and entered, taking in the man sitting at the front of the room. “Good day, Professor,” he greeted Alex, remembering his last encounter with the professor and Mister Maravon in the forest. It had been a close call that day, but he thought he had successfully convinced Alex that Maravon’s attacker had run off into the forest. He wondered whether the DADA teacher would notice the scars that had appeared since he’d last seen him. Hopefully not – he could do without those questions.

Unusually for him, he headed to the back of the room. He didn’t want too many people to take notice of him. It was only when he sat down that he noticed Alessandro, and Keaira sitting next to the boy. A look of shock passed over his face before he covered it up and looked down at his desk, pulling some parchment out of his bag. Alessandro Darko. He was here, in Hogwarts. He was supposed to be in the Shadow Realm! It seemed that not only had Dark Phoenix’s ploy to trap the lightfighters failed, but they had actually succeeded in retrieving their Elemental Master. This was not good. Suddenly very glad that he was in Hogwarts where the Shadow Mage could not reach him easily, at least for now, Kerridon rubbed a hand over his face, wincing as a measure of pain rushed up his arm. He was still not completely healed, but had gotten tired of doing nothing in the Room of Requirement while he waited for his body to recover.

Sighing once more, he wrote the heading 'Vampires' onto the top sheet of parchment, not really taking in the subject matter as he did so, wondering instead how many of the lightfighters had gone to rescue Alessandro. If it was just Keaira and Zee then surely the Mage wouldn't blame him too much. Perhaps it had been Gat's incometence, or maybe the creature that now inhabited Mordred. No longer paying much attention to the class or any other students who entered, he realised with a start that he had no wand. He had been using his wandless magic to perform energy-replenishing and healing spells on himself, and it had not even crossed his mind that he might want a wand for classes. Gat still had the wand he had bought from Ollivander's just before starting Hogwarts, and he had not thought to get another. It was too late now, he just had to hope that they wouldn't be performing spells so he didn't have to reveal his wandless magic.

[Tommy Bryce]

Tommy hurried off the staircase that had been moving a minute previously, looking around to see where he was. The second floor? Possibly the third? Although, wasn’t that the library? And just beside it the Hospital Wing? The moving staircase had somehow managed to deposit him on the first floor, he realised with a groan, when he’d been heading for the third. Muttering under his breath about whoever decided that moving staircases were a good thing to build into a school that was huge anyway, he chose a different stairway and began making his way upstairs. Luckily this one stayed stationary and he soon reached the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. Surprisingly, he was actually early – at least, there were only a few other students in the room with the professor. He hadn’t met any of them yet.

“Hello Sir,” he said quietly, sending one of his shy smiles towards the man at the front of the room, before slipping into a seat in the front row, just along from Keaira and Alessandro, and pulling out a sheet of parchment. Holding back a yawn, he thought that perhaps staying up half the night, staring at the stars through his dormitory window, might not have been the best idea. Still, vampires sounded like an interesting topic; it should hold his attention. So long as he didn’t yawn and make the professor think he was bored of the topic, he’d be fine.

[Caitlin Collins]

Caity checked her bag one last time to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything as she walked down the third floor corridor. It seemed that she hadn’t today, so she entered the classroom in a generally good mood. Normally she would greet whoever was teaching the class, Professor Archer in this case, but as she entered she immediately noticed two people she wasn’t expecting to see. Firstly was the boy from that day in Hogwarts, who had announced his allegiance to the Mage and had left with Mordred and Gat, presumably to the Shadow Realm. What on earth was he doing here? Glancing to the front of the room, she saw Keaira next to Alessandro. Had the Slytherin prefect noticed he was here? Glancing once more at the Ravenclaw at the back of the room, it suddenly processed who Keaira was sitting next to. Alessandro?! Her head spun back to face the front of the room and she saw that it was indeed the 5th year Ravenclaw. Shaking her head slightly, she walked over to sit on his other side.

“Alessandro?” she questioned. It was definitely him, she thought as she sat down, dropping her bag softly onto the floor. But he looked different... were those scars on his face? “When did you get back? I thought your parents took you out – why'd they let you come back?” It gave her some hope for when her own parents finally found out what was happening at the school, which they inevitably would at some point. She had not said anything to them yet, but it probably wasn't going to take long for them to realise that something was wrong. They weren't stupid.

[Cavan Mikal Weiss]

Cavan yawned as he pulled on his robes, packing away his homework, his notes, his translations and all his stationary supplies back into his bag once more. He’d just taken a small nap in the middle of studying and now had a crease from the book he’d been reading on his cheek. His eyes were still blurry from sleep, but at least the short nap had been free of lurking Shadows, for that he was grateful. He gave himself a quick once over and then, his hair still pulled back from earlier, he quickly headed out the door. He’d have to take the stairs quickly, he was running late, though he didn’t take them too quickly, after all, he’d rather be late then died by stairs. He reached the door to the classroom panting slightly, having run from the stairs to the door rather frantic not to be late.

After a moment, after he’d caught his breath and hoped that his face wasn’t too red from running and that the crease wasn’t obvious. He rubbed his cheek unconsciously as he made his way into the room, nodding to Caitlin before he took a seat in the front row, next to Tommy. He unpacked a single ink well, quill, and a small stack of paper for notes. Upon seeing the subject they would be studying, sitting neatly on the blackboard, he smiled brightly, writing the heading on his paper neatly before turning said smile on his new friend. “Hi,” he spoke, moments before a yawn escaped his lips.

[Mami Tien]

Once again, Mami had gotten lost on her way to anywhere, this time it was DADA. When she’d finally found the right corridor she hoped that she wasn’t too late for the class. She knew that she’d be excused, this time, but it didn’t change the fact that she wanted to make a good impression as a new student and that missing any part of class wasn’t exactly helpful in the learning process. When she came to the door, she looked in, hoping she was in the right place and upon seeing the heading ‘vampires’ on the board, decided it was.

She slowly entered, holding her books close to her chest. She was wearing her uniform, though she was wearing her high stockings and slight platform oxford, her robes were open, so that her uniform could actually be seen. She swallowed hard, looking around for anyone she might recognize. She saw the two younger boys that she’d met at the ball in the front row, but there were no seats left. She thought about taking a seat behind them, but just as she was about to move to do so she caught sight of the boy she’d met in Potter Park. She slowly made her way to the back of the classroom, making a v-line for him. It was probably smarter for her to take a seat closer to the front, as she would be able to take notes better and hear the instructor as well, but she didn’t like the idea od sitting alone just yet. So she stopped just shy of his desk, bowing slightly before she spoke in very soft tones that didn’t carry past a row in front of them, “May I sit with you Paradox-sama?”[/size]

[Alessandro Darko]

As he had dreaded, the students began to filter in. The second student to arrive in class was a Slytherin girl. Alessandro recognized her to be one of the two students that had miraculously come to his rescue before he could meet an untimely fate against a sharply aimed Avada Kedavra curse. There was a certain familiarity about her, but the only thing he could think of was how she was yet another person in his life that he, unfortunately, just could not remember. He knew her name started with a 'K', but as he tried to remember it further, he couldn't remember what she had said.

Was it Kaylee? Katie....Katrina....Kammy...No, not Kammy....Kyra? It was probably Kyra.... He thought as his eyes wandered to her form. He smiled at her as she came to sit in the chair behind him and began to say something to him.

"Hey, Alessandro, how are you doing today? You know, if you need help with catching up, I can give you an extra hand, a lot has been covered while you were gone, and I'll need you back up to speed if were going to be partners again."

"Oh, Hello K-....Hello..." He caught himself. He was still unsure of what the rest of her name was, so he just modified his response to just 'hello'. "I'm doing alright...I was just catching up with Transfiguration a little bit earlier...And how are you doing today?" He asked her as he rubbed his right leg. It was pretty much healed, but it would be some time before the pains would fade out. Luckily from the medicines and healing charms that were administered, he would not be permanently scarred.

I haven't properly thanked her yet....I should speak with her later... He thought regarding his narrow escape from death. There were so many questions he had, and he felt that perhaps this girl may have answers for him. There was so much that he had forgotten, and he felt like he was completely left in the darkness, as his peers seemed to be all involved in something of a greater meaning.

A Hufflepuff girl, a prefect, walked into the room surveying the class, and out of the corner of his eye, he thought he might have seen her do a double-take. He craned his neck and saw that she was approaching, seating herself next to him, and then assailed him with a cacophony of questions.

He winced as she had asked about his parents taking him out of school. He could not understand who had started the rumor, but was getting a bit sick of it. When he had woken up in his home, his parents had told him he had suffered a concussion from a Quidditch accident. He had lost a huge chunk of his memory because of it and could barely remember his own name when he first came out of his sleep.

He looked at the girl with frustration flickering in his eyes. "I'm sorry, but you must be mistaken. I do not know who has been spreading that rumor. I had an accident, a concussion...I guess I wasn't paying attention when I was flying around the Quidditch pitch, and I crashed into the grandstands. My parents wouldn't just take me out of school." He huffed. He wasn't meaning to sound like an arrogant twit, but he was getting frustrated with people asking him why his parents took him out of school.

He shook his head gently and his expression melted away from frustration and a softer, more gentle expression surfaced. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to snap at you. What's your name?" He asked her as he tilted his head, trying to rack his brain again for some kind of memory. She had known his name, so they obviously had met, but he could not place her face to any memory.

[Keaira O'Connell]

As Alessandro stumbled over what he was saying to her she frowned slightly, and responded with an "Keaira, and it's ok." When she had first found out about his memory loss, it had been heartbreaking, and it still was, but she would adapt, it was what she did best. After all, she needed to be strong, if she wasn't, things would fall apart.

"I'm doing alright I guess, things have been a bit off with out you, and with your memory issues, it will probably still be some time before things return to normal..... I-.. I've missed you Alessandro Orion Darko, and I'm glad your back. We should talk about what you remember later, I think it might help. I'd love to go to the Lake, and have some apples, but it snowing, so instead, there's this nice place on the fifth floor I would like to take you to. If you're interested, my offer stands at any time."

Mentioning several things that she knew reminded her of Alessandro, she hoped something would spark his mind, and make him wish for more. Apples at the Lake, His full name, the small gardened area on the fifth floor that was still around as a little bit of the outside after hours. She wondered if he might remember that he's one of the few that knew he full name. But she held little faith in the idea. It troubled her that the only way she might be able to truly help would be to get in to his mind, an idea that she knew would be a bad thing if she just up and did it, with out him fully trusting her.

Keaira was ready for when the questions came flying at Alessandro from the other students, she had been expecting it, particularly since Zane and herself had not told any of the light fighters what had happened. It really was her own fault, she should have let them know, but yet she had not found the time. As expected Caitlin had instantly brought up his parents removing him from school, but Keaira knew that Alessandro had not had the chance to be talked to about that yet, and so he still believed that he had an accident. Knowing that now was not the time for this type of a discovery, Keaira sent a very brief look at Caity that would prevent her from asking more questions.

"He's convinced that there was an accident, I think he might have been bewitched, but when Zane and I found him, we had all we could do to get him out of the shadow realm alive. I'll call a meeting later, and we can all discuss what's going on. For now, try not to pry too much, he's been through a lot."

The mental message was sent to Caitlin, although Keaira wished to tell every one about it at the same time, there simply were not enough hours in the day. A large portion of her time recently had been spent making sure that she had kept her promise of food, and medical attention to Kerridon, and worrying about Alessandro. It wasn't like he could just waltz in to the school, wounds everywhere, and still have everything be fine. no, it had taken a bit of time for him to be returned, and she spent a large bit of her time waiting, and stressing over his health. Even if she couldn't show him, she cared more for him than any of the other students.

[Alexander Archer]

“Good afternoon, Mister Darko. Glad to see you back,” he said conversationally to the boy, his tone friendly and a small smile placed onto his features. As the Ravenclaw took his seat in the front row, his own attention was diverted by the appearance of one of the few students who had stopped to talk to him on the night of the ball and his smile brightened significantly. “I certainly hope so, Miss O’Connell,” he said happily as she referred to the topic. “And the vast amount of information might just see us cover it in two lessons, so slipping a spell in should be possible. I always find it important to have a practical session,” he added, and watched as she wandered into the second row behind Alessandro.

Leaving the pair to their own conversation, his eyes strayed to the newest entrant and he was pleasantly surprised to see Kerridon. “Hello again Mister Paradox,” he said, his tone slightly less upbeat in this particular address. As the second Ravenclaw made his way to the back of the classroom, he gave a slight sigh and allowed his eyes to roam around the classroom. Not noticing the latest student to arrive until he heard a quiet voice speak, his surprised eyes swiveled back to face the boy and found Tommy Bryce, one of the few first years starting at Hogwarts this year.

“Mister Bryce, good to see you,” he said with a friendly smile as the boy slipped off to join his classmates and, Alex appreciated, in the front row. As Caitlin, Cavan and Mami all passed him in quick succession and took their own seats. “Good afternoon Miss Collins, Mister Weiss, Miss Tien,” he added in a carrying tone, his eyes lingering on each of them before moving back to the doorway. Flicking his gaze down to the watch on his now raised left arm, he saw there were a few minutes to go before he was due to start the lesson.

[Alessandro Darko]

Alessandro felt his cheeks flush with embarrassment as he couldn't quite recall her name. Keaira. It was a pretty name, unlike Kaylee. It had an innate strength to it, while sounding delicate and feminine. He nodded his head as she said her name and then as she continued to speak, he tilted his head as if he was trying to concentrate on the things she was saying.

"I'm doing alright I guess, things have been a bit off with out you, and with your memory issues, it will probably still be some time before things return to normal..... I-.. I've missed you Alessandro Orion Darko, and I'm glad your back. We should talk about what you remember later, I think it might help. I'd love to go to the Lake, and have some apples, but it snowing, so instead, there's this nice place on the fifth floor I would like to take you to. If you're interested, my offer stands at any time."

He couldn't control his eyebrows at the moment she had mentioned sitting by the lake eating apples. He remembered he had a dream prior to waking up in that cemetery, and in his dream, there was a girl sitting by a lake....eating apples. He remembered that the dream did not end well, for another person had come along and sat next to her and indulged in the apple eating, and then he set them both on fire out of jealousy.

"I had a dream about a girl turning mice into apples by a lake...under a willow tree...it didn't end well..." He murmured, still looking at her with a tilted head. Her mention of the fifth floor didn't ring any bells, just the apples. It was also curious that she addressed him by his entire name. Usually people only call him Alessandro, or Darko. But she had addressed him by Alessandro Orion Darko. Curious.

"...But yes...I would like that...Keaira." His tone of voice was forced, just like the odd smile that he had manage to pull across his face. He wasn't happy, but that didn't mean he wanted others to know. First he was led astray from his return to school, smuggled across dimensions, and tortured, and for what? Something a bout a war between the forces of Light and Darkness, and he had no clue how he fit into all of this. Second, his return had yielded him many questions as to why his parents pulled him out of school. This inaccuracy frustrated him beyond belief, particularly because he was the only one who believed that he was in a Quidditch accident. Everybody else disagrees. Lastly his memory. He could barely remember anything about the majority of his fifth year, which presented a problem adjusting socially as he couldn't recall any of the friends he had made, not to mention his school work had suffered a loss of all of the knowlege he had gained prior to his accident. With all of these things in tow, Alessandro was fighting for a reason to be happy and was losing the battle severely.

[Susan Matthews]

Slightly later than she usually made it to her classes, Susan entered the partially full classroom. Quite a few people had gathered around a boy in the first row. Susan looked past him, mentioning a hello to Professor Archer and taking note of today's lesson: Vampires, which was indicated on the board. Before choosing her seat for class, Susan looked for Dylan, hoping to sit next to him. Seeing as he hadn't arrived yet, Susan then caught sight of Caitlin in the front row with Kearia and a boy in between them.

Susan approached from behind, placing her things on the desk next to Caitlin. "Hey guys," Susan said generally to the three. She looked to the boy, expecting to have to introduce herself, when her eyes fell upon Alessandro. For a moment, Susan was stunned. "Alessandro," she said happily, "it's good to have you back!" Susan smiled brightly, it was good to know that Alessandro was now safe at Hogwarts. She was also happy to know that another among the lightfighters was alright again.

Susan recalled one of the last time she'd seen Alessandro before his untimely disappearance from school. That late night in the kitchens had led to an intense Patronus lesson from Alessandro. She remembered vividly his beautiful shining stallion as it had emitted from his wand. Susan herself had been unable to produce more than a bright light and a few wisps of smoke. Shortly after that night, Susan managed to bring about her own corporeal patronus.

She was suddenly brought back to the present, and she quickly shuffled her things into order, placing the unnecessary items under her desk. She turned back to her friends, hoping to hear news from Alessandro pertaining to what's happened since he's been gone, or maybe even their opinions on the subject for today's class. Susan glanced at the block letters on the front board again, unsure herself how she felt about the subject.

[Caitlin Collins]

Caity didn’t see Cavan or Mami enter, too surprised by Alessandro’s reply to her query. She hadn’t thought there was any doubt in why he had been taken out of the school, but apparently he thought otherwise.

"I'm sorry, but you must be mistaken. I do not know who has been spreading that rumour. I had an accident, a concussion...I guess I wasn't paying attention when I was flying around the Quidditch pitch, and I crashed into the grandstands. My parents wouldn't just take me out of school."

“Sorry... that’s what I was told...” she said quietly, not quite meeting his eyes as she spoke and slightly embarrassed. It was strange... she was sure that D’rorah wouldn’t have told them that his parents had taken him away if it hadn’t been true, or if there had been any doubt for that matter.

"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to snap at you. What's your name?"

Caity blinked in confusion. What was the matter with him? He knew her name, she was sure that she’d told him before, and that he’d used it before...

“Caity,” she said simply, thinking he must just need reminding but not completely able to wipe the confusion off her face as she spoke. Keaira’s mental voice suddenly echoed in her head, explaining to a certain extent what was the matter.

He's convinced that there was an accident, I think he might have been bewitched, but when Zane and I found him, we had all we could do to get him out of the shadow realm alive. I'll call a meeting later, and we can all discuss what's going on. For now, try not to pry too much, he's been through a lot.

Alarm bells immediately started ringing in Caitlin’s head at the mention of the shadow realm. Wasn’t that where Dark Phoenix was? What had Alessandro been doing there?! However, the voice speaking in her head made her think of Mallan, and the thought of him calmed her nerves slightly. He seemed to have that effect on her; able to make her relax and forget anything that might be worrying her. She wondered how he was doing with his training. Hopefully he might even be back soon; surely the training could not last that long or he’d get very behind in his schoolwork and people would start asking questions. Before she could dwell any more on the matter, she was distracted by Susan sitting next to her.

"Hey guys. Alessandro, it's good to have you back!"

“Hi Susan,” she greeted the Gryffindor in a cheery manner. It was nice being surrounded by her friends, knowing that Alessandro was safe and with the thought that maybe Mallan would be returning soon. She hadn’t received any letters from him other than that one she had been handed just before he left, but guessed that either he was too busy or he did not have access to owls wherever he was. After all, she had to use muggle post when sending mail to anyone in India, because the owls simply could not stand the heat there. Ever the optimist, little did she know of the letter she would be receiving in only a few days time informing her of what had happened to him.

[Zane Lucifer Bishop]

Zee had stopped attending classes. It wasn't that he thought them a waste of time and that he wouldn't learn anything from them, though that had occurred to him on occasion. But no, it was simply that he didn't care. Nothing he would learn in any of the classes at Hogwarts would allow him to make things go back to the way they'd been, the way he'd enjoyed. Nobody knowing anything about him other than he was handsome and charming and seemingly friendly; spending several nights atop the astronomy tower with Wysteria; learning fascinating bits of info concerning unforgivable curses from D'rorah. Now all the lightfighters, which oddly enough made up most of the people he'd gotten to know, were well aware of who Zee was and what he was capable of. Wysteria, while no longer dead in his beliefs, was still missing with no hint as to how she might be found. And D'rorah . . . well, Zee'd been so wrapped up in his own little issues he hadn't even really taken note that it had been some time since he'd even seen D'rorah. Maybe that was just due to his avoidance of the classrooms, somewhere the consummate Ravenclaw could often be found.

No, things were not going well for Zee. Yet after his battle with Mordred Kade he figured there would be wisdom in attending the Defense Against the Dark Arts class. That was after all not going to be the last time he had to defend against the dark arts. Heading to class, Zee checked to make sure the cuffs of his button up were straight. Typically his sleeves were rolled to the elbow, both for the freedom of movement and the style. Now though, with the marks along his left arm where his flesh had been seared by his own metal armor, not to mention the multitude of other marks Kade had left on him, Zee was less eager to show off his body. Shrugging on his mandarin style jacket with its high collar to hide the scar along his neck, a smile crossed Zee's face. It was a cold, bitter expression though; a reaction to the irony that the motivation behind his choice of dress was now closely mirroring D'rorah's and Dylan's.

Soon after he stood outside the door to the D.A.D.A. class. Pushing the door open quietly, Zee slipped in as soon as the crack in the doorway would permit. It was certainly different than the grand entrances he used to always attempt, grinning at everyone who would look his way. His face now was an emotionless mask, and it stayed that way. Zee meant to take a moment to examine who all was present, but he found himself thinking deeply on all he saw.

Keaira and Alessandro were seated in the front, along with Susan and Caitlin. Lightfighters all, though Darko seemed not to recall any of it. They were a group Zee technically belonged to, one he should feel comfortable joining. In his mind though he saw all too clearly the expressions on both the Gryffindor's and Hufflepuff's faces when they'd found out what he had done to Dylan, the look in Caitlin's eyes when he'd moved to protect her from Sebastien Bellefleur and she had assumed he was merely attacking the boy to feed his bloodlust. They would not be comfortable near him and the feeling would be mutual.

And then there was Alessandro himself. Though he had never liked the boy due to the very slight, vague hostility he'd shown him the night they'd met, now he utterly despised him. He sat there, surrounded by adoring young ladies, something that had been a part of Zee's goal in coming to Hogwarts. All his practiced movements, his carefully thought out speeches, his research into human behavior. And now that they knew him, he felt reviled by most. That was only a small, immature fragment of Zee's hatred for Alessandro Darko though. The biggest part was that he sat there right beside the girl who loved him, who had been devastated by his loss and fought and bled to get him back, and he did not care. He didn't even remember her. What Zee would have given to be able to sit so near to Wysteria, to be even within a dozen meters of her. To Zee's mind Alessandro's indifference, as much as it wasn't even under his control, was unforgivable.

Forcing his eyes and mind to focus elsewhere, Zee noted Kerridon sitting in the back and considered joining him. He couldn't explain the vague connection he felt to the Ravenclaw, that he'd felt since he'd stumbled upon the boy unconscious in the woods. It was almost as if they were similar, that they had more in common than either knew. Or perhaps Zee was just fascinated by the new feeling of compassion seeing Kerridon had made him feel. Regardless, the presence of some other student Zee didn't recognize disallowed the possibility of him sitting next to Kerridon. Zee was in no humor to meet anyone.

Turning his attention to the Professor and the board containing the study subject for the day, Zee again though of Wysteria. The last time he'd seen Alexander Archer was in the astronomy tower when the man had docked him five points for being late, something that had annoyed Zee at the time. More importantly though, that class was the last time he'd seen Wysteria. The lesson's subject quite obviously made him think of his blood drinking lost love, and perhaps would give him something to work with in his attempts to locate and retrieve her. He'd been counting on Alessandro's assistance, but since the boy seemed to remember nothing about her, he would likely prove useless.

Though Zee hadn't intended it, his thoughts had kept him standing there in the doorway for over a minute. Realizing how odd that must seem, he headed over to the side of the room opposite Kerridon and sank into the rear corner seat, pausing only to tap his forehead with two fingers toward the professor in a rather aloof greeting.

"Archer."

Zee pulled forth no parchment or quill as he sat, deciding he would wait to see if the man actually had anything interesting or helpful to say before he would write any of it down.