09/16/08 Lesson 1 Magical beginnings

The class files in with a buzz, annd everyone goes to his/her seat. Professor Wickham is already standing at the lecturn in the center of the room. She begins her lecture, weaving her way through the desks as she speaks.

<Artemis Weasley> Good morning to all of you. Today we will be discussing the beginnings of magic. Magic is as old as the world itself, as is the fear the muggles have of it. We in wizarding societies have always had to keep our magic a secret. Because of this, much of our history has been lost and warped throughout time.

Magic itself began as a rudimentary practice. In the beginning, magical people did not have the education that we have today. Due to this, many people did not have the skill to harness their magical abilities and use them only as needed. This skill was acquired through much practice. Trial and error was used more often than not, and the errors were often disasterous. Many of these disasters were recorded by muggles, but they are thought to be things other than magic -- such as religious miracles and freak accidents.

Magical people soon learned that their powers were not to be taken lightly. Back then, they lived much more closely with muggles than we do now. There were not seperate "worlds" to segregate the magical from the non-magical. Therefore there were bonds that tied those who were magical to non-magical societies. If these bonds were broken, then magical people were often left desolate and alone by non-magical people who feared the powers of those who had magical abilities.

Those with magical abilities did start learning to control them in new ways, and skilled wizardry started to crop up. These early wizards were often castoff from the muggle societies to which they belonged, creating an animosity toward the muggles that still exists today, as well as a capacity for dark magic that grew over the centuries. These castoffs banded together and formed villages where they began to perfect their magical abilities and turn them into actual skills. The earliest skilled wizardry on record is dated back to the 5000s BC.

*Artemis looks at her watch.*

Oh, that's all that we have time for today. Five points to the house of the person who can tell me where these early wizarding villages cropped up at. Use simple common sense to figure it out if you don't know where to look.

Perpetua took a seat and readied her quill and parchment. She was hoping this class wasnt as boring as her parents told her it would be. She listened and enjoyed the lesson only making snide comments when muggles were mentioned.

"My ancestors would not be a part of such filth. This is what is wrong with the wizarding world, too many people want to speak to creatures that are beneath them" She said loud enough for the professor to hear. "If not for needing this class i would drop it because I heard she married one of those blood traitors"