"Malfoy was being a prat, and his... er, conscience kicked in." Katherine Rhys said, changing from her sullen anger to enjoyment flickering like a candle in a window.
            "All right," I said while thinking to myself that knowing their parentage I should not be surprised,  "What did Mr. Malfoy say to provoke the lye soap bubbles?"
            "Oh, she did that ages ago." Ron Weasley replied happily, "Most brilliant thing somebody ever did to Malfoy, barring the incredible bouncing ferret episode."
            The four Gryffindors sitting in the front snickered. God, that girl looked like Gwen!  But she didn't act like the golden girl, who couldn't be nasty. Oh no, this one had a tinge of shadows to her. Lye soap... sounded like something that Sirius Black or Snape would come up with. Black was just that much of a troublemaker, and Snape, Snape because he was a malicious bastard.  I couldn't help it, I smiled, a creature after my own heart was Katherine Rhys.
            "Okay, now that fun time is over, could we begin class?  Please move the desks into a circle facing in."  This request was met with grumbling from about half the class, the rest of them seemed intrigued by what might happen.

"First order of business," I said taking a seat on my desk, "my name is Ana Dimitrios, I have recently come back to Britain from New York, two of my favorite things to do are dance and sing, although I have to remember and practice great care when other people are around. I was born in Romania, and attended the three great wizarding schools in Europe, finally graduating here at Hogwarts.  I have spent the last ten years working as a paranormal researcher in New York.  If you have any questions that I have not covered here, please feel free to ask."

Almost as soon as I finished Harry Potter raised his hand.

"Yes Mr. Potter?"

" Didn't you tell me on the train that you would tell us why you don't seem as old as you really are?" he asked awkwardly.

"Yes I did, and I think Miss Rhys can answer that for me from the information I have given.  Miss Rhys, if you would?"

Katherine looked confused for a moment, then the light came on.  "I think what Professor Dimitrios means is that she gave us clues in her introduction speech.  The fact that she was born in Eastern Europe is a smaller clue than the other two, but the loving to sing and dance are the catch, especially since she has to be careful doing that with other people around.  The clues fit perfectly with what we learned last year.  Professor Dimitrios is a veela."

"Well met cousin. Ten points to Gryffindor for your deductive skills.  Now can anyone else tell me what you have learned of veela in past classes?" 

A frizzy haired girl sitting by Ron Weasley Raised her hand almost immediately and most of the class groaned at this.

"Yes Miss, Granger isn't it?" I asked sensing that this was one that I had to monitor how many times I let her answer questions posed to the whole class.

"The veela home territory is Southern and Eastern Europe. Unlike their relatives to the north, the Daoine Sidhe, there are no known veela males, so any veela you would meet is at least one eighth human blood. The race has very strong magic, powerful enough to cow any full-grown wizard of pure human blood.  Their innate magic manifests itself in a number of ways including dancing and sung spells.  Most times the people strongest affected are male, as that sort of spell work, especially by a veela, is innately sexual in nature.  Both the dance and songs most often reported are a lure similar to the sithe Come-Hither Charm.  The veela are what the Ancient Greeks and other cultures called sirens, which lured men to their deaths at sea.  That's all I can remember right now, I hope it is enough professor."  Hermione Granger said as if she were quoting a textbook.

"Very good.  That's more information than I would have given, but I did ask what you knew, and you answered honestly. Thank you.  Now, does anyone have questions about what Miss Granger shared with us?" Before I was done speaking, almost a dozen hands shot up into the air.  "Yes, Miss Parkinson?"  

"I was wondering if you could demonstrate any of the spells that Granger was talking about." She asked with a wicked grin on her face.

" I am afraid not, as I promised the headmaster that there would be none of that going on, let alone the effect it would have on half the class.  I do not intend to deal with rioting and fights on the first day of class, and neither would I want the effects lingering in the brains of hormonal teenagers." I replied calmly.  Half the class was sullen faced at this statement, while some of the others were sniggering at the prospect of what I had said.  There was another hand in the air waiting for my attention.

"Yes Mr. Malfoy, what is your question?" 

"You said that you went here as a student," he said grinning maliciously "what house were you in and how long ago was that, since Potter seems to think that you are so much older than us?"

"Well, that is a very simple answer, I was placed in Slytherin and I was here with a good many of your parents.  And yes Malfoy, I knew your father very well." I answered as calmly as I could.  The memories I had of Lucius Malfoy were none too pleasant and I did not want to recall them to the front of my mind.

            "Now, back to today's lesson.  As Miss Granger stated, the Daoine Sidhe and the Veela are relatives, both races can trace their ancestry back to the beginning of history, if not the beginning of time.  Throughout the centuries, the two races have been persecuted and driven out of human society by non-magical people and to them we are mythical.  As a way of surviving we have interbred with humans, and although many may not know it, all magical people of European descent have some of the old blood in them."

            This comment was met with quizzical and confused looks from about half the class while the others sat there wide-eyed and open-mouthed.  Not least of whom were two of the Gryffindors up in the front.  A pair of blue rimmed with gold smiled while the brilliant green ones that were framed by wire rim glasses next to them seemed astonished.  Those eyes, if their owner had reddish blond hair and slightly higher cheekbones, I would swear that they fit the description of the High King's, although having never met or seen a picture of Arthur, I could not be sure.  The rest of the class time was spent going through the class rules for the rest of the year.

By the end of the day the entire school was talking about the information I had imparted to the seventh years and rumors abound.  The next week was spent dispelling any false notions that the students had concerning my heritage and other things.  I had a harder time of it answering the letters that came pouring in from concerned parents and dispelling their fears that I was dangerous to their children in any way.  Evidently during the past twelve years that I had spent in the States wizarding/veela relations in Britain had not improved and had in fact gotten worse.  It was hard to dispel the notion that veela were essentially evil creatures who reveled in playing tricks on humans and that we were in any way capable of creating more malevolent magics than any human wizard.

Now when I say that I am a veela, I'm not being entirely accurate.  While my mother's side of the family came from Eastern Europe, Romania and Bulgaria mainly, my paternal family ranges from all over Europe.  My grandfather whose mother was a veela came from Greece, but my Grandmother was born in Ireland and belonged to one of the few fey families left in the mortal realm, so Katharine Rhys, her mother and all their family, are cousins of mine, way back in the Sidhe family line anyway.