A.N.: Chapter 3 out of 3. Hope you had a good Halloween/All Saint's Day.

Chapter Twelve

Understanding Aldus

By Halloween all of the students of Hogwarts were well settled into their classes, knowing what was expected of them even from their least orthodox professors. But Keir Box especially was still not impressed with them and often longed for the professors that he had had the year before.

"I can't get away with anything in Professor Zoe's class!" he protested when he met up with Leu and Noah to walk to Defense. "It's like she knows what I'm going to say before I even say it. She isn't a Truth Seeker too, is she?"

"No, I'm sure she's not," Leu said.

"I think it's because of how she was when she was in school," Noah said. "She and her brother caused so much trouble it's a wonder that they even graduated. They pulled every trick in the book and said every smart arse thing anyone can think of. That's why she sees it coming."

"I don't see why you'd want to cause trouble in there anyway. Your marks in there are much better than last year," Leu said.

"Only because she stops when she sees someone is stuck and walks them through it so many times you have it down whether you want to learn it or not. That doesn't make Transfiguration any less boring!" Keir declared. "I like Aldus better, although I wish he'd stop going off topic. I don't think there was a single question on his last test that had anything to do with the reading. It was all on lectures. In fact, I really don't think I got many of them right."

"You're just not good at note-taking. Why don't you ask him if he'll let you use a Dictation Quill? As much as he's into magical items, he may let you, you know," Leu suggested.

"You're right, he will! See, I have plenty of reasons to like old Aldus," Keir said.

"You mean other than the occasional publishing hints?" Leu asked knowingly.

"Some of the sixth and seventh years don't seem to like him, they think he's too balmy. They all say they've noticed him talking to himself in the passages before he realizes that they're there," Keir explained.

"Oh, that's not so bad, is it? A lot of people talk to themselves, especially when they don't think anyone is around," Leu reasoned.

"Well, I've never noticed him talking to himself, although Leu is right that a lot of people do," Noah put in. "He does spend a great deal of his free time in the kitchens talking to the House Elves, though."

"That's not all that surprising, considering he does his own cooking," Keir snorted. "So that part does make sense, although he is a bit extreme on the amount of jewelry he wears. Really, I think they just don't like him because of his servant background. You know how stuck up some of them are. I think the fact that he came away from all that and made something of himself and became one of the editors at Wizardday Publishing should account for something."

"Yes, you're quite right," Leu said in support before stepping into the Defense Room. Professor Aldus was already hovering behind his desk when they arrived, his finger on the class notes as if going over them.

"Professor Aldus, if I get a Dictation Quill, can I use it in class?" Keir asked hopefully as he made his way to his seat.

"If it means that you are likely to do better on my tests than you did on the last one, I insist," Aldus said dryly.

"Thank you, Profesor Aldus," Keir answered enthusiastically, sitting down and exchanging a grin with Leu and Noah. Aldus then watched and waited as the rest of the class took their seats, closing the door when the last of them arrived. The stern, disapproving look on his creased face was unmistakable.

"Can I assume for a moment that a great number of you are well aware that you did not do as well on my last test as you would have liked?" Aldus asked bluntly. More than half of the class looked uncomfortable, while a few (including Keir) slowly sank down in their seats. "I warned you coming into the class that the majority of your class record would be derived from lectures and only a quarter from your book... both in your syllabus and vocally. And I'm quite sure the Headmaster himself would not be pleased with most of your responses on how to nullify a Naugh or a Paugh... let alone any of the more typical types of Sluagh. However, since I cannot stress enough how important it is that you learn this material, you will be given a chance to make it up this evening. You will go to the library and gather whatever resources you need to write a small paragraph on each question you missed with emphasis on what distinguishes each type of Dark Fae from the other, and how best to defeat it. What is it, Mr. Box?"

"Tonight is the Spectral Ball! It's Halloween!" Keir protested, hoping that Aldus had simply forgotten.

"So it is, but this will still be due tomorrow, and if you don't get it done, you will have two poor marks instead of the one, Mr. Box. I suggest you find the time to get it done," Aldus said firmly. A pile of scrolls suddenly lifted off one of the back tables, flying through the air and landing one by one on the students' desks.

"For next week, you will be reading through these scrolls on the history of demons and an introduction to demonology. Do not be concerned with any smudged or blank paragraphs you may find. These scrolls have been enchanted to only exhibit material appropriate to your year of study," Aldus said.

"In other words, all the good parts were taken out," Keir murmured to Leu out of the corner of his mouth.

"Mr. Box?" Aldus said, and Keir straightened up guiltily. "You may come up and borrow one of my Dictation Quills for my lecture today as well as some highlighting chalk... I trust you can at least discern the important points of my lecture and highlight accordingly. The rest of you students with poor note-taking skills may also borrow one if you would like, but if you wish to continue using one in my class, you need to bring your own by next week. Also, I expect to see a dramatic improvement in the work of anyone who chooses to use this study strategy, else I will be revoking your privileges to use one if you haven't made progress by the winter holiday."

So many students decided to come up and take advantage of Professor Aldus' offer that Leu wondered if he even had enough Quills and chalk to go around. But he needn't have worried; Aldus seemed to have boxes of them, and probably enough to pass around to some of his other more problematic classes.

"Aren't you two getting one?" Keir asked.

"I only missed two," Leu explained.

"I didn't miss any," Noah said. Frowning in annoyance, Keir sat down.

"Well, that's all well enough for you, I suppose. But it looks like I'm not going to the Ball tonight. I'm going to be stuck in the library," Keir muttered, feeling sorry for himself.

"Don't worry, I'll come help you with your research, Keir," Noah offered immediately. "I really don't have much reason to go this year and I'd rather not to be honest."

Leu frowned and looked at his friend. He had forgotten that it was the first dance the school had held since Myrtle went away.

"I think I'll go to the library too," Leu decided.

"Don't feel like you have to go out of your way because of us, Leu. I know you were planning to go with Amy and Chuck," Noah protested.

"Chuck would be very glad of me being out of the way anyhow," Leu shrugged, but then heard a tapping sound coming from the professor rapping on his desk.

"Quiet down, you should be settled by now," Aldus warned before beginning his lecture for the day.

Keir and Leu decided to eat in the Owl Room that night, where a tray of sandwiches waited for them, along with a small bowl of wrapped chocolates and pumpkin toffees.

"I bet we'll be the only ones in here tonight," Keir said cheerfully, piling up his plate. "Boulderdash got stuck chaperoning, and practically everyone I know either has a ghost date or a real date. Even Maurice is going!"

"I know. He took Beth," Leu said, deciding to grab an extra sandwich for himself as well. "They've been going out since she came back to the Owls."

"I didn't know about it until she said something this morning. They act more like chums than they do boyfriend and girlfriend, really, but he didn't deny it when she started going on about it. She seems a lot more into him than he is into her," Keir said before scarfing down the contents on his plate.

"It's hard to say, really. He doesn't show his emotions much," Leu said, eating more leisurely.

"That's true," Keir agreed. "Hey, don't forget Noah's out there waiting on us."
"Right," Leu said, picking up the pace while Keir went on out to the main library.

Not seeing Noah, Keir walked over to find Ambrose Tinker sitting behind the main desk, checking off a stack of returned books. "Hello, Keir," Ambrose said. "Skipping the Ball, are we?"

"Not voluntarily," Keir said with a sigh, bringing out his marked test. "Do you know where I can find references for all of these?"

"Oh, Professor Aldus warned me he had some students coming," Ambrose grinned, getting up. "Wow, you really botched this, didn't you?"

"Actually, I was expecting the test was going to be more on the reading than what he was talking about. No Slaughs have been seen around these parts in ages," Keir complained.

"Maybe not as long ago as you think," Ambrose said, leading him through the aisles of books. "The portals have been breached a number of times over the years. One of those times a portion of the Host did get through and tried to attack the school... during a Quidditch game, no less. Headmaster Dumbledore ended up using a spell to bury them."

"Bury them?" Keir said, glancing at his test.

"The Wild Hunt relies heavily on their flying to hunt prey, you know, along with their ability to cause fear and despair so they can dispatch their quarry without a fight," Ambrose explained.

"Really? Then I suppose to defeat them you'd need to use a spell to force them down, and then something like we use on Dementors to stop the despair part," Keir reasoned.

"I expect Professor Aldus is looking for a more textbook answer," Ambrose said, pulling out a couple of books with a grin. "But I think it's funny that you're listening to me when you obviously didn't listen to him."

"I just didn't see much of a point," Keir admitted unabashedly, walking back with him. "Do you suppose he's teaching this because he's afraid there's going to be another breach in the future?"

"More than likely it's the Headmaster who's worried," Ambrose said with a sigh. "Leu and Noah are trying to flag you down over there."

"Oh, all right. Thanks," Keir said then walked over to where his friends were sitting and put his books on the table. "I have everything... at least, I think I have. Ambrose helped me find these, and he knows the library nearly as well as old Boulderdash does."

"Professor Aldus stepped by our table while you were getting those," Noah said, pulling one of the books over. "He said he'd be studying at one of the tables near the staff library when you need him."

"Why would I need him?" Keir shrugged.

"He also confiscated our notes," Leu added. "We told him we wouldn't have cheated that way, but he didn't seem to believe us."

"It's okay. You still know enough you can help me point to the right entries to research."

"Yes, and I have one of mine to finish as well, but I need my notes for it," Leu sighed.

"Well, go back and ask him if you can borrow them real quick, then you can help me with mine," Keir said, pulling out his test sheet with a sigh when he saw he missed the very first question.

"It looks like this old encyclopedia of different species during the Fomorian Wars is going to be the most useful," Noah decided.

"The words are hard to read, there are faded characters behind them," Keir complained when he was trying to read the entry Noah had pointed him too.

"It's been translated. What you're seeing is the translated text overlapping with the original text. Normally you don't notice it, so it probably needs realigning," Noah explained, taking out his wand and tapping the book so that the English was more distinct. "We should take it up to the front when we're done."

"Assuming someone else doesn't need it first," Keir said, gesturing over to two other tables where some of their classmates glumly looked over their own papers.

"Never mind, let's just get yours done. From the looks of that paper, it'll take until curfew to finish it," Noah said.

The two of them hunched over the books, Keir writing one paragraph while Noah searched for the next one. It was well after Keir had begun on the second paragraph that Leu returned (Aldus had only let him borrow his notes on the condition that Leu finish his work at the Professor's table) and took over looking for entries that Noah had skipped over, not having found it in the Encyclopedia. Even after looking through the other two books, Leu had very limited success, finding only one of the two of the five that Noah had given him. Leu glanced at the clock and then sighed, shaking his head.

"Keir, I really don't think we're going to be able to find these," Leu admitted.

"They're probably just in another book. Maybe one of the others have it," Keir suggested, glancing around. But by then, most of the other students had already finished up. "Or maybe one of the ones sitting at the front desk."

"No, I mean, I don't think they're in the library at all. One of these is the Naugh, and I remember during his lecture that it wasn't a species of faeries that's ever been seen in this world," Leu said.

"Oh, that's probably why I didn't write it down, then. I figured there would be not point in him bringing it up on a test since we're not ever going to have to defend ourselves against it," Keir snorted.

"No wonder you did so badly on this test if you discounted it because of that," Noah said. "I'm sure he wouldn't have brought it up at all if he hadn't thought it was important."

"So what am I supposed to do if it's not in a book and he's taken everyone's notes?" Keir complained.

"I'd say you're going to have to ask Professor Aldus," Leu said. Keir frowned.

"Still, missing three out of all that isn't all that bad..." Keir reasoned.

"It doesn't hurt to ask, Keir. Besides, I bet the whole reason he stayed here tonight was because he knew some of the students wouldn't find them all," Leu argued.

"That does explain why he took all our notes, too," Noah agreed.

"Fine," Keir said resignedly, grabbing his papers and getting up. "You might as well take those other books up to the front. I think we're done other than these, thanks."

"We'll pack up then," Leu said, and Keir nodded and walked off.

"I suppose that's all the thanks we're going to get, isn't it?" Noah said with a snort.

"Yes, but he is getting better. At least he did that much," Leu said.

"True," Noah sighed. "I suppose it was enough. It's not like I wasn't looking for an excuse to get out of it." Leu smiled sympathetically at his friend and helped him clean up.

Most of the other students were cleaning up as well, and Keir frowned, wondering if he was going to have time to even finish the last three even if Aldus agreed to help him. In fact, Aldus was frowning at his pocket watch when he finally looked up with a faint smile on his crinkled face.

"I was beginning to wonder if you were going to find me," Aldus said, shaking his head slightly.

"I've been stuck searching for these last three creatures, and I can't find them," Keir said.

"Of course you can't. There are no references to any of these in this library," Aldus said calmly.

"Then how am I supposed to research them for my paragraphs?" Keir asked with annoyance.

"Well, there were only two ways, and those were to either get that information from me or to go to the source, which is Professor Bael. You may borrow my class notes and write them. Make yourself comfortable... don't worry about the time, I'll see you back to your room," Aldus said.

"Yes, Professor," Keir said, sitting down. "Although the Headmaster really doesn't like students being out after curfew after Halloween."

"I'm well aware of it, just as he is well aware of why the majority of my class ended up missing the Ball tonight. He agreed with me that this was more important, so I suggest you get on with it," Aldus said sternly.

"Yes, Professor," Keir sighed, a bit glad that Aldus had a neat hand when it came to his notes.

None of the notes were anywhere near as detailed as the entries he had looked up before, so even after using every scrap of information given, his paragraphs were a lot thinner than he liked, and ended up adding a little on Unseelie Court and its origins in general to make up for the lack of it.

"I'm done, Professor," Keir said in resignation. Aldus slid the paper over to his side of the table to peruse them.

"You seem to have decent enough essay skills, at least," Aldus decided as he glanced over the answers.

"Professor Scribe drills us endlessly on essay questions, Professor," Keir said with such lack of enthusiasm that Aldus sneered.

"I had better escort you back. I'm sure everyone else has returned to their rooms by now," Aldus said.

Aldus got up, and for a split second, Keir noticed that his sitting height and standing height hadn't seemed to change. But then, Aldus straightened up and was back to his normal height. Keir stood up, watching him curiously.

"I believe you know the way, Mr. Box," Aldus said, and Keir sheepishly began walking towards the front of the library. Many of the chandeliers, sconces, and lanterns had already been snuffed out, with only the standing candelabras around the main desk dimly lighting the way as Aldus extinguished the ones that had still been lit for their benefit. Aldus gestured towards Ambrose to make sure he knew they were leaving, then glanced over at Keir, who had been scrutinizing him carefully. "Something on your mind, Mr. Box?"

"Yes, but you'd probably find it impertinent," Keir decided.

"If there's one thing I have grown used to over my lifetime, it's impertinence," Aldus snorted. "Considering the way you're eyeballing me, I assume it's about me. I have become a bit paranoid over time, and you'd be doing us both a favor to simply tell me what your thinking rather than us both let our imaginations free to make up imaginary answers. By all means, be impertinent."

"Oh. Well, all right, but you asked for it," Keir warned. "Why do you go to such lengths in hiding your real height? It's not just the ultra-lites, there's something about your robes that helps re-proportion how you look as well."

"You have a keen eye for enchantments on items, Mr. Box," Aldus said. "I wear them so that less wizards judge me by my height. I'm judged enough by others without adding to it."

"You do seem to be," Keir agreed in support. Aldus squinted at him. "Well, some of the upper years in my house have been talking about how you were a servant in a dark wizard family. And they say you talk to yourself."

"How would they know? No, not about the servant thing, that's common enough knowledge. But there's no way they could know whether or not someone else talks to himself or not."

"They said they heard you," Keir admitted.

"Then I wasn't talking to myself," Aldus reasoned calmly. "I may have been talking out loud, that's practically a requirement of talking. But if they heard me talking, then I obviously wasn't talking to myself. Talking to oneself bears no witness."

"Oh. I guess I never thought of it like that," Keir said. "I guess they mean they heard you talking out loud when nobody else was around so they figured you didn't want to be heard by anyone else."

"In that case, I would be thinking instead of talking. Of course, that doesn't block Truth Seekers, I suppose, but there are ways of protecting against that, as we will discuss after the winter holiday," Aldus said. "I trust your marks will be back in order before then."

"Yes, Professor. I will pay more attention to your lectures from now on. Although I still don't know why I have to learn so many of these Unseelie races that never leave the Otherworld," Keir added in complaint.

"Yes, well, the Headmaster would call it insurance, and hope we never truly have to face them," Aldus said. Neither of them spoke the rest of the way to the house rooms.