A/N - This is a little different; more of the school side of Hogwarts than the characters, but I hope you like it anyway!
A Lesson For Roxanne
"Today we're going to be continuing our studies on ancient witches and wizards." the tall teacher began, walking in front of the large oak desk and scanning the class "We've already covered Circe and Calypso, but there is one more Ancient Greek witch who we haven't looked at yet – does anyone know who?"
The class stared back at her balefully, all determinedly blank. History of Magic had never been and would never be the most popular subject, even if Professor Binns had been replaced by a living teacher. Roxanne was sitting in the second row, gazing dully at the teacher with everyone else.
Professor Davell sighed, and swept over to the blackboard, her wand appearing out of her hanging green sleeve. She flicked it at the board, and in swirled handwriting a name appeared: Penelope.
"Penelope" the Professor began "was the wife of Odysseus – I would advise you to write this down – and she will be one of the most important witches we study because she was one of the first to conceal her use of magic from the world, while still wielding immense power."
"Penelope's husband left to fight in the Trojan war – caused by Paris, the warlock we studied last week – and she was left to rule Ithaka, where he was king. The Greeks did not take kindly to women ruling them, so Penelope had to win and gain their approval over a course of twenty years, using her magic and various other methods."
The atmosphere in the class was stiflingly dull, all dust motes in sunlight and scratching pens, and Roxanne had not written a single word. The professor raised her voice a little with the next sentence.
"She began by controlling men: flirting, promising eventual marriage, all sorts, but that only got her into trouble. Most historians believe it began with the Palace chancellor, who she tried to seduce using love potions so that he would do as she wished with the estates. This plan worked, but rumours of her affair spread and soon the island was filled with suitors who wished for the same treatment. Penelope was caught up in her reputation as a seductress, and she had to try to escape that before Odysseus returned"
All this caught Roxanne's attention, making her sit up and look at the blackboard, where the white chalk was swirling out of their lines of text into a picture.
She saw the lines mimic the teacher's words, showing a tall woman with long hair in elaborate ringlets, looking out over a rocky land from a window. She was stirring a terracotta cauldron, and she appeared to be muttering spells. Roxanne watched, entranced, as she poured the potion into a little cup, passing her hands over the top. The lines mixed and all of a sudden she was handing the cup to a stocky, bearded man, who drank it. The next picture was of the woman sitting on a throne, surrounded by courtiers hanging on her every word, stroking her hands, standing too close. There was an awful, uneasy expression on her face, along with a terrible, terrible fear. She looked directly out of the picture, directly into Roxanne's eyes.
"…and so when Odysseus did return, he killed everyone, all the suitors on the island. All those innocent men lost their lives because Penelope tried to gain control in the wrong way, and did not know how to use her magic to reverse the potion once it had spread that far. At least, that is the most popular view – some say that she engineered this deliberately so that all the kings and princes of neighbouring islands would die and their territory go to her husband, but you'll have to make up your own mind about that."
The sand timer at the front of the room ran out, and the sound of a bell came from it. The students immediately began packing up, shoving everything into their bags in their eagerness to get to lunch – except for Roxanne. She was moving slowly, caught up in thoughts of that strange, mystical woman who had looked out of the picture.
"Homework – six inches of parchment on what you think Penelope's motives were. Use the library!" Professor Davell shouted over the din, clearing the blackboard with a flourish of her wand.
And for the first time in her life, Roxanne walked to the library straight after the lesson and compiled a huge stack of books to lug up to her room, all about this ancient witch who had insinuated herself into her mind.
And so it begins...please review!