The bell rang just as Lyra swept into the class. A general malaise hung over the students. Hufflepuff prefect Cedric Diggory looked particularly worse for the wear, with his robes hanging rumpled, bags under his eyes, and chin cupped in his hands. Even the Weasley twins were quiet, and their friend Lee Jordan had his head on his desk, eyes blank and vacant.

She stood at the front of the room, arms folded, and mentally threw out her lesson plans for the day.

"Right," she said, "Last night a very traumatic event happened. Something tells me the last thing you are thinking about right now is the difference between muggle and magical transportation."

Lee Jordan snorted.

"That's what I thought. Today I'm giving you a few options. You can leave, take the time to breathe, or exercise, or whatever you need to do. I won't judge you; it was hard enough convincing myself to get out of bed this morning," she paused, "Or you can stay here, and we can talk about what happened, how it happened, and what might happen next," Lyra sat on the edge of her desk, neatly avoiding a stack of papers she'd meant to grab the previous day.

No one moved. The class stared at her, but she could see the relief in some faces, the immediate shut down in others.

Sarah Fawcett raised her hand, "Professor Rosier, what does he want with Hogwarts?"

Lyra nodded, "A good question, one I wish I could answer definitively. We don't know for sure, we only have suspicions. If you're really asking if you're safe, I believe the answer is yes."

"What about Harry Potter?" George Weasley said.

"Yeah, Black's supposed to be working for you-know-who, he'd want to come after Harry," Fred added.

"Why is it always Harry Potter?" One of the Ravenclaws, Matthew Chambers, muttered, in what was evidently supposed to be a whisper. Chambers looked guilty when Lee Jordan, sitting beside him, elbowed him in the ribs.

"Shut it," he said.

Lyra heaved a sigh. She should have known none of the other professors that morning had talked to the students yet. She wasn't qualified to play counsellor to a class of fifteen-year-olds.

"Right," Lyra said again, silencing the soft bickering that had arisen, "I'm not going to even try to speculate what Sirius Black wants. The school staff are working to prevent another incident like the one last night. The best thing you can do is to watch out for each other, and if you see anything suspicious, report it."

"But Professor, how did he get in and out without being seen?" The other Ravenclaw, Millicent McLaird, raised her hand tentatively.

"Well it wasn't because he can turn into a pumpkin, no matter what that third year thinks," Lee Jordan said, snarkily.

Jordan was mouthy today. Lyra wondered how much sleep he'd gotten.

"As soon as we have an idea, we will let you know," Lyra told McLaird.

More murmurings. No one had any other questions. Feeling only slightly better, Lyra dismissed the class early, calling as she did so, "Diggory, Jordan, a word."

The two boys shared a look, but met her at the front.

Up close, Lyra could see that neither looked particularly well. Diggory had bags under his eyes to go with the rest of his rumpled look, and Jordan's pupils were blown wide, likely from a slightly too powerful wideye potion.

"Diggory, you look exhausted," Lyra said, giving him a small smile.

"Is it that obvious?" Diggory laughed, "I was up most of the night with some first years. Some of the older kids got to them before we knew what was going on, and told them Sirius Black was there to murder all the muggle-borns," he shook his head, "As if the chamber of secrets last year wasn't enough of that joke."

Lyra nodded, "Well, I'm sure they appreciate it. I can write you a note for the rest of the day off, if you'd like. Get some sleep."

Diggory shook his head, "Thanks, but no. I only have one class this afternoon, and I told Professor Flitwick I'd help with the levitation class."

"Right, well good luck with that then," Lyra said, "But the offer still stands if you change your mind."

Diggory nodded, adjusted his bag, and left.

Lyra looked at Jordan, "Slightly too many snake fangs in the wideye potion, I'd say."

He laughed somewhat nervously, "Sorry, I didn't sleep well either," he fidgeted with the cuff of his sleeve.

Lyra waited.

"It's just… I was the last one in the common room before the feast last night. What if I'd been there when he tried to come in?" He looked up, and for a moment looked so young that Lyra was reminded these were children in her classes.

"But you weren't."

"But what if I was? I can't stop thinking about it, about opening the portrait hole and seeing Black on the other side. What would he have done to me?"

"Jordan -"

"What if I ran into him in the halls? What if I passed right by him and didn't notice?" He threw his arms up animatedly, eyes bright.

"Jordan -" Lyra said, again.

"What if I thought I knew -"

"Lee," Lyra said, touching his arm.

The boy paused mid sentence and looked at her. He was breathing heavily, and a thin coat of sweat had broken out on his forehead.

"You can't focus on the what-ifs. You'll drive yourself mad that way. Nothing happened that isn't reparable. No one was hurt," Lyra half turned to her desk, and picked up a piece of parchment, beginning to scrawl a note, "More importantly, I'm writing you a note to take to Madam Pomfrey. You're going to see her about an antidote for improperly brewed wideye, and take the rest of the day off. Get some sleep. You'll feel better afterwards, I promise."

Jordan stared at her, "But -"

"Tomorrow, after you've slept and aren't sweating pure adrenaline, you can come back, and we can talk, if you'd like," she handed over the parchment, and met his eyes.

Jordan opened his mouth to say something else, but closed it again, nodding his head instead.

Once he left, Lyra sighed, and sank heavily into her desk chair. She had a feeling whatever was bothering Jordan was more than being the last one in the common room.

The next few days were a complete blur. Lyra sat through several staff meetings dedicated to building security, quelled more rumors about Sirius Black than she'd heard since he was in school, and broke up an actual physical fight about whether or not Dumbledore would hire a dragon to protect the castle. The students were only first years, and it was less of a fight and more of an exuberant throwing of sparks, but it took place outside her classroom on Thursday afternoon, and she was tired and cranky.

"Thirty points from Gryffindor and Slytherin, and if you don't break this up now I'll give you all detention," Lyra shoved the two boys apart. The Gryffindor looked up at her, eyebrows furrowed.

"But Professor, he said -"

"It's not my fault you're a prat, Sloper," the Slytherin retorted.

Lyra's ever present headache throbbed.

"Fine, you both get detention, and if you keep at it, I'll make sure it's with Mr. Filch," Lyra turned to the small crowd that had gathered, "Keep moving, you lot."

"Detention with Filch, what could be scarier," Lupin appeared from the crowd of students, hands stuffed in pockets. He looked particularly worn, and the cuffs of his sweater were fraying.

"I knew there was a reason I didn't want to deal with anyone below fifth year, and yet somehow they're starting fights outside my door," Lyra threw her hands up, "As if dragon security is anything worth fighting about."

"Hagrid would be pleased," Lupin said with a small smile.

"He'd be the only one," she turned to face him as the crush of students passed, "Need something?"

Lupin looked down, "I was wondering if you'd be free to take all or some of my classes tomorrow, I've got something -"

"It's the full moon, isn't it?"

He jerked his head up, "I didn't think Dumbledore - I mean, I knew he told some, but I wasn't sure if you... I mean, if he..."

"Dumbledore didn't tell me, it came up with the Aurors on Monday," Lyra shrugged, "I can take some of the classes, just leave notes. If not, they'll all be learning about artifacts."

"You're not bothered?"

"I only have the one class, so it's not that -"

"You know what I'm asking."

Distantly, the clock in Lyra's rooms struck the hour. No students were left in the hallway.

"No, Remus, I'm not bothered."

Lupin gave her a searching look, but nodded once, "I'll leave you notes, then"

"I can't do the period right after lunch, you'll need to find someone else to cover that one," Lyra said.

"Thank you, Lyra," Lupin said, and Lyra got the feeling he was thanking her for more than covering his full moon classes.

Lyra,

Don't want to say too much, they have spies everywhere. Can you meet in person? I can be in Hogsmeade this weekend - Hogs Head, 2pm on Saturday. Do not respond to this letter - I don't want them knowing I'm corresponding with you.

Croaker

Echoes of muggle technology can be seen all over the magical world, but perhaps most obviously in certain methods of transportation such as ministry cars and the Knight Bus. These are standard muggle vehicles that have been enchanted to allow more room, better fuel efficiency, and an overall improvement on comfort. The Knight Bus in particular represents a large step into accepting muggle technology in daily magical life, and can be used as an argument for allowing the blending of muggle and magical worlds.

Excerpt from "A discussion of muggle and magical artifacts for transportation, focusing on the rifts between worlds and why we shouldn't go back to vanishing our own feces" by Sarah Fawcett, November 1993. Given an "Outstanding" grade by Professor Lyra Rosier, with the note to make the next essay slightly smaller in scope.