Characters and locations from the world of Harry Potter are the property of J. K. Rowling. (My original characters just get to play there.)

Chapter 5 - Of Class and Classes

James waited until the rest of the new students were sorted in order to follow his fellow Puckwudgies to the dormitories. He noticed that, unlike Hogwarts, neither his robes nor his tie had changed color; they remained the same blue and cranberry and the clasp holding the robes closed was still a Gordian knot, a miniature copy of the one on the floor of the sorting hall. It would not be until James could see in a mirror much later that he would notice the difference: two small Puckwudgie symbols on each tab of the robe's collar and subtle piping of the house color around that collar. It would seem that house differences were not flaunted at Ilvermorny.

Scanning the crowd, James was hoping to catch a glimpse of Tora or another of his new friends. During the whole train ride up here, he had not think to ask what house everyone else was in. Mario had also been selected by Puckwudgie while Gabrielle had to choose between two houses and ultimately selected Thunderbird.

"Anyone know if they have a welcoming feast?" James called out to the students milling on the balcony.

"Of course," a familiar voice called out. James looked up to see Tora waving down. "The stairs are just through the double doors. The dining hall is on this level."

Moving a quickly as possible with the crowd climbing the stairs, James was glad to see Tora had waited for him. It was then he noticed the same Puckwudgie symbols on the collar of her robes.

"Did you have to choose too?" James asked.

"No, only Puckwudgie was interested in me when I was sorted," Tora said. "It makes sense now that I am preparing to be a Mediwizard."

"Aye, 'tis why I selected it. It felt the right place to be with a future as a healer."

Walking hand in hand, the young couple made their way into the dining hall, which was every bit as impressive as the Great Hall at Hogwarts. But James saw many smaller tables set up throughout the room rather than four large tables for the separate houses. There was no forced separation of the houses of Ilvermorny so friends could sit together regardless of which house they were in, another striking difference compared to Hogwarts. But that did allow all the friends James had met on the train to sit together. When the throng of students had finished filing in, the headmistress , Professor Adelaide Two-leaf, stood up for her welcoming remarks.

"Good evening everyone, both newcomers and veterans. The staff and I hope this will be a wonderful school year for you all, especially this year's crop of transfers. I will have more mundane administrative announcements after our dinner, but for now, let the feast begin."

She clapped her hands much like James had seen Professor Dippet do at the Hogwarts welcoming feasts and as at the British school, the plates filled to excess with sumptuous dishes from across the United States. There were the typical roast meats, such as beef and turkey, but there were also many local delicacies, such as barbecued spare ribs and collard greens. There were mounds of mashed potatoes and of mashed turnips and platters of corn still on the cob. There were biscuits and rolls and sliced breads of all descriptions. This was clearly the equal of any feast James had eaten at Hogwarts and might possibly be better, if only for the great number of new and exotic foods. The quality and quantity continued into dessert, with pies and cakes and cookies appearing, stacked in a mountain at the center of each round table. James was particularly pleased with the pecan pie, a favorite for the young witches and wizards from the Southern region of the States. Finally, when it appeared the students could eat no more, the headmistress clapped her hands again and the tables were as clean and empty as at the start of the feast, with the exception of tea and coffee carriages and small containers of sugar and cream.

While he was fixing himself a cup of tea, James saw a young witch enter the hall and speak to Prof. Two-leaf in hushed secretive tones. A look of concern clouded the headmistress's face as she nodded an acknowledgement to the staffer, who immediately scurried away like a small nervous animal. The headmistress then rose and made her way to a podium in front of the head table where the faculty had been dining. She heaved a long sigh to compose herself before speaking. James could sense this would be a more serious talk than the usual beginning of the year announcements.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have received some very grave news. This may sound like it will only affect some of the exchange students and transfers, but I assure you this will eventually affect all citizens of every country around the globe." She took another deep breath before continuing. "I have been informed that the No-Maj armies of the German Reich have invaded Poland. In response to that violation of Polish sovereignty, the No-Maj governments of England and France have declared war on Germany. It looks like the non-magical world has descended into another world war. Let us hope it remains contained to the European continent as it was over twenty years ago. In light of this serious and disturbing news, I will have each head of house post written copies of the opening remarks and announcements I had previously been prepared to deliver. You may make your way to the dormitories and may we all give a prayer for those who have perished in this opening battle overseas."

The students sat in stunned silence for a few moments before the first tables began to leave and a hushed murmur could be heard in the halls beyond the exit doors. Almost half of the group of friends sitting at their table were from Europe; Gabrielle and Tora had particularly worried looks, as their countries were now at war or might soon be. Joyce and Claire gave each of them a hug in an attempt to reassure the two transfer students. James and Mario gave each other a grim look. While they would all be insulated to a degree at Ilvermorny, they all knew things had gotten much more difficult for their families back home. James's father would certainly have a harder job come morning and both he and Mario realized, as the children of diplomats or embassy staffers, things could get infinitely worse. Italy was, in the Muggle world at least, an ally of Germany. James's Da hadn't received any intelligence on Italian wizards helping the Muggle government in Rome, but he wouldn't be able to rule it out. When the Great War began twenty-five years ago, the International wizarding community had decided not to interfere, but they had left it up to individual wizards to choose whether to aid their home governments in their respective No-Maj armies. Who knew how the wizarding world would react this time? Some of the No-Maj leaders in Europe, such as the German Chancellor, looked to be ruthless dictators. They would be the type of men with no compunction about forcing their local wizard populations into helping the Fascist Muggle's causes. There might even be wizards that would gladly and willingly aid one of these Fascist dictators. Tonight's news would not make for a good night's sleep.

Tora led James to the Puckwudgie common room in silence. Denmark bordered Germany, so she was certainly lost in thought and worried if her home country would be next after the Third Reich had finished with Poland. James could sense she was not in a talking mood and did everything he could to reassure her, but he was not able to convince her to break the silence. Soon they were at the door to their house common room; if Tora had not been so melancholy James might have enjoyed the walk. He would not notice until morning how the grounds and buildings of Ilvermorny were not designed as a whole but showed signs of additions being continuously constructed to meet the growing and changing needs of the school. As it was, James had no idea how anyone would enter the room beyond; there was no doorknob and no one had mentioned a password. He became dismayed when Tora let go of his hand, but saw it was to begin some sort of ritual to gain entrance. She grasped her wand and tapped what seemed to James as random points on the door. It would only be on closer inspection that James would see the exact points she had touched formed a heart around a picture of the house totem.

The door opened and James followed Tora into the warmth of the common room. There was a lot of wooden furniture that James thought was cherry and a pale green accent painted on the walls. Still wearing green, James thought. He was surprised that green piping didn't appear more obvious on his robes after being sorted, but that subtlety seemed to follow Ilvermorny's code of not flaunting and strictly segregating the houses as Hogwarts had. All the students in Puckwudgie were milling in the common room waiting for a faculty member to speak.

"Head of house?" James asked Tora in a whisper. Tora gave a quick nod but stayed focused on the adult witch.

"Okay, settle down students," the witch said. "For those of you who are new, my name is Professor Deborah Dram. I am the Potions Master at Ilvermorny and your head of house. Quidditch tryouts will be held in two weeks and final cuts for varsity and junior varsity teams will be announced the following week. We are expecting more No-Maj activity than usual over the next several weeks as the leaves change colors. The stone tower the Massachusetts No-Maj government has built is an absolute magnet for non-magical folk." Prof. Dram looked around the room before continuing. "Needless to say, students should stay away from the wards and charms surrounding the school else the No-Maj's discover us. Finally, I will be passing out your class schedules tomorrow morning at breakfast, so please arrive promptly. Oh, before I forget. Would all the transfer and exchange students please see me after these announcements are finished? I have some additional news to pass on to you from the headmistress."

James looked around the common room as the rest of the students began to clear out and head to their dormitories. Tora stayed near him but gave a quick wave to Claire and Joyce as they headed to bed. Mario moved towards Prof. Dram along with a few younger students James hadn't met on the train or at the feast. James looked around for Gabrielle but a few moments later remembered she had been sorted in Thunderbird. Ten minutes later the room was totally clear except for the handful of foreign students and their head of house.

"This will be difficult for all of you here while the No-Maj armies are marching across Europe," the elder witch began. "However your respective countries are aligned in the non-magical world, you would all do well to remember that you have no enemies here within the walls of Ilvermorny. Secretary of State Picquery has made it clear that no matter what happens between the No-Maj governments of Europe, you will be welcome here in the United States as exiles and refugees."

"Is that truly what will happen?" asked Mario. "Or will I be ripped from Transfiguration one day and portkeyed back to Rome because of the Muggle government of that damned Il Duce?"

"You will not be forcibly removed from here Mr Zabini if the Headmistress has the last word. You are here to learn and nothing will interfere with that. And nothing Italy's No-Maj government can do will change your status here in the magical world. After the last World War, I doubt there is anyone under the delusion it will be over in a few months. If the No-Majs do anything particularly well it's wage war and they've yet to have a short one."

James looked at his Head of House and saw a mixed look of resignation and determination. He had to wonder if she had participated in the Great War, although she didn't look quite old enough to have been involved. Maybe an older brother had gone overseas to fight? In either case, the witch was not under any delusions that the war would be anything but devastating.

"It sounds like we'll be needed as soon as possible then," Tora said softly.

"Yes Miss Svendotter," Dram replied, "we'll likely be needing more mediwizards than we can graduate. And those of you that do graduate will more than likely be marching straight to hell in either the No-Maj army or a magical army."

Two second year transfer students blanched at that thought; it didn't occur to them that the war would have to last close to a decade for it to still be going on when they graduated from Ilvermorny. Professor Dram was right though. It would be Tora and James and the other mediwizard students would be graduating into a very dangerous world. The war could easily still be going on after only two years and healers would certainly be needed.

"Alright. Off to bed now children." The elder witch gave a curt nod as she dismissed the final group of students. James hung back a moment, eager to ask the Professor a question.

"Were you in the Great War, Professor? You spoke with the seriousness of someone who's seen war firsthand."

"No Mr. McCrea, although I did volunteer here on the home front. My brother was killed at Belleau Woods. His Marine platoon was cut to pieces by German machine gun nests and the crossfire was so vicious they almost didn't recover the bodies. They buried John in one of the big military cemeteries over there in France, not that there was enough of him left to ship home for a funeral. So as you have so keenly observed, I am no fan of armed conflict."

"I'm sorry for your loss Professor, especially such a tragic and senseless one. I'm sure your government sent your parents a letter saying he died a hero and may have even presented them with a posthumous medal, but that still doesn't excuse the fact he was cut down in his prime and will never be replaced. That's one of the biggest reasons I wanted to become a mediwizard Professor, so that people would not have to die before their time."

"That's a very mature outlook for someone who's only sixteen. Most teenage boys would be seduced by the supposed glory of war and rush to enlist, even going so far as to fake how old they truly were if the patriotic fervor was thick enough. Well, enough talk of such a dour subject. Off to bed James, you particularly have a very early and very busy day ahead of you tomorrow."

"Goodnight Professor. I'll see you at breakfast." James turned and walked to the boy's dormitory to attempt some sleep but he knew it was going to be a rough night. His short talk with the Potions Master had left him much to ponder.

It was as rough a night as James had expected. The only saving grace was that James was already awake as the sun slowly rose and shown through the dormitory window. Remembering the warning from Professor Dram, he showered, dressed, and made his way down to the dining hall. Surprisingly, he was not the only student from his house up at that hour. A pair of third years were hurrying out the common room door dressed in athletic wear, followed closely by a trio of seventh years similarly clad. Moving silently through the hallways, James strode to a table in the middle of the dining hall. He was glad to see the clusters of circular tables weren't just for the welcoming feast; the Headmistress and staff really did want the houses to intermingle. He sat down and ordered eggs, bacon, and a glass of fresh apple cider, having heard his American friends rave about this wonderful seasonal drink.

"You should try the bagels."

James looked up to see Tora sitting down next to him. "Bagel?"

"Yes. It's a wonderful round piece of heavenly bread. Remember to have the house elves toast them though, it makes them even better that way."

"And slathered in marmalade, I suppose?"

"Cream cheese, actually," Tora said with a chuckle. "I'm surprised you didn't wait for me in the common room."

"Sorry Tora, I was up way before the sun. I hate to admit it, but I really didn't sleep well. I hope I can stay awake during classes today."

"The two of you have the same classes, so Miss Svendotter should be able to share her notes if you doze off." The voice belonged to their head of house and she placed a long roll of parchment next to each of them. "I suggest that you do not doze off in my class Mr. McCrea; there are too many dangerous things in the ingredients cupboard to not be paying attention."

"Understood Professor, although it looks like we don't have Potions until after lunch," James said after quickly scanning the parchment.

"Then it is your good luck the school house elves keep pots of fresh coffee and tea available between meals, for just this occasion," the Potions Master said.

James gave a small chuckle and a nod to Professor Dram before returning his attention to his class schedule. It had many similarities to his class schedules at Hogwarts but it also had glaring differences. Many of the classes, although familiar subjects, were heavily focused on the healing arts.

"First up is Charms for Mediwizards?" James asked. "They have that many to have a separate class?"

"I think we will both be surprised, James," Tora replied. "I have a feeling we will be dealing with an unimaginable intensity to our studies. Many lives will be in our hands when we graduate."

"I guess it's too late to change my mind about my career choice?"

"No James, it is not, but I believe you will be unhappy if you do not become a Mediwizard."

"You're probably right, love," James said. "Now, if you're done with breakfast, could you please show me where the charms classroom is? I'd hate to be late on my first day."

They each finished a few last bites of their meal before heading back to the dorms to collect their books. James had left his in room because he had been awake at such an ungodly hour; Tora was used to the bustle of Ilvermorny and knew there would be time to get only the books they needed for the morning classes. It felt good to stroll the halls hand in hand and James had a very contented smile on his face. It was still early enough that many students were just beginning to rise and make their way down to the dining hall. It felt like nothing could shake his good mood when he spotted something out of the corner of his eye near the hallway leading to the dormitories for Wampus house, a familiar shock of hair disappeared around a corner.

Anger flashed in James's eyes. If it really was the same person, the last time he had seen that hair was a men's water closet at the Danish embassy. Shaking his hand free from Tora's, James put on a short burst of speed to reach the spot where the dark haired phantom had disappeared. He rounded that same corner and skidded to a stop in a deserted hall. Were they close enough to the common room entrance for his quarry to have gone to ground? James shook his head. If the boy did run and hide, that would mean he had seen and recognized James, which seemed unlikely if James himself wasn't sure he had actually seen the young man. He had to admit his mind could be playing tricks on him, but he doubted it. That level of pain and trauma had a way of burning its memory into your soul.

"What is the matter, James? Why did you run off like that?"

"I thought I saw one."

"One what?"

"Who you mean. I think I saw one of the sassenachs that put me in hospital, but he's gone now."

"Are you sure?"

"No, not really. I only got a quick glimpse and only saw his hair. Then he disappeared in this corridor. Those three thugs and their leader are people I'll not be likely to forget."

James and Tora turned and headed back down the corridor toward their own dormitory; they still needed their books for the first classes of the day. They were long gone before the shaggy black mop of hair dared peek out of a broom closet in the hall. Edvard Kaiser looked with barely concealed joy that the coast was clear. He was a last minute seventh year returnee to Ilvermorny, as his father was originally scheduled to have his diplomatic posting rotated to France from the United States, but the beginning of the Muggle war changed those plans. His father, a senior functionary under the Danish Ambassador, was ordered to remain here to prepare for the possibility of the Danish Magical government needing to rule in absentia if the Muggle armies overran Denmark.

He certainly did not expect to see the young British from the birthday celebration. He thought he and his friends had chased him back to London, yet here he was also a student at Ilvermorny. He didn't think the other boy had seen him, but his instincts proved correct, getting the closet door shut mere moments before the lad had skidded around the corner and into this hallway leading to the Wampus common room. It took all his self-control to not gasp in surprise when he heard this James fellow ranting about the attack, confirming that he had seen Edvard and that he remembered him. And it also confirmed that James had ignored the warning Edvard's group had given him about seeing Tora. It was going to be a long school year and it would be near impossible to avoid the English brat for that whole time. At least, since he was taking the NEWT load for a curse breaker, he was not going to be in the same classes as James.

Despite the short detour, Tora and James made it to Charms with time to spare and had the luxury of finding a pair of open seats together about half way back from the teacher's desk. They each set up parchment, quills and ink for taking notes and waited for the rest of the class and the professor. All told, there were about a dozen other sixth years taking seats and they looked evenly divided between all the houses. Finally, a serious looking wizard swept in and with a flourish of his wand caused his name and the class title to appear on the chalkboard.

"Good morning class. I am Professor Erskine Foley and this is Advanced Charms for Mediwizards. Prior to my posting here at Ilvermorny, I was a Surgical Wizard at St Benedict's Hospital in Boston, specializing in trauma inflicted by magical beasts, so believe me when I say I have more than a theoretical knowledge of the subject."

The students were suitably impressed and it seemed to James that the Professor's tone was purely matter of fact and not bragging.

"For this first class, let's start by seeing who has a few basics down." A pair of girls in the front began to fidget nervously. "Who can name a standard Charm that might prove useful in surgery?"

James immediately raised his hand and waited for the Professor to acknowledge him.

"Ah yes, Mr. McCrea is it?"

"Yes Sir. Vulnera Sanentur would be useful during a surgical procedure or to treat shallow wounds."

"Very good. Two points to Puckwudgie. Vulnera Sanentur or the wound closing charm is indeed very useful during surgery to stop bleeding from incisions and while it is most effective on shallower cuts and wounds it will work on deeper gashes, although you will need to work longer at closing the wound with that one. What else?"

One of the girls in the front row raised her hand, the ice broken with James's answer. Professor Foley nodded at her and she responded with Diffindo.

"Ah yes, the cutting charm. Useful for making incisions during surgery and for cutting and removing clothing from a grievously injured patient. Two points to Thunderbird."

The question and answer session kept up for another ten minutes before the Professor got down to the heart of the lecture. There were several charms that were specific to medicine in general and surgery in specific, but a lot of charms used in Mediwizardry were adapted or repurposed from the arsenal of common charms a witch or wizard would normally encounter in everyday life. If the rest of the year were like this, then James would definitely be enjoying this class. Soon the bell rang and it was time to move to the next class, all of the students moving en masse from Charms to the Herbology greenhouses. It hit James that Mediwizard was such a rigorous specialty that there might not be crossovers from other programs. The fourteen witches and wizards in Charms would likely be the only students he would ever see in his classes.

James was surprised to see a handful of other students join them in Greenhouse number Six. Still less than what appeared to be a full classroom at Ilvermorny, but a mystery none the less until the Professor came sauntering in from another greenhouse.

"Ah, good morning class. My name is Professor Thaddeus Mulch and welcome to Herbology for Mediwizards and Pharmacy Potioneers. We will be spending this first term learning about the plants, both magical and mundane, that have medical properties and how to identify them in the wild. In second term we will delve closer into the dangerous plants and the proper way of handling them and what their effects and symptoms are. Always good to know what you're dealing with before you try and administer an antidote willy-nilly."

Tora had a skeptical look on her face when the professor had mentioned mundane plants would be looked at. James shook his head with a smile, suspecting they did not have any non-magical plants at the Danish Embassy. James knew better; there were very few gardens in England, Muggle or Magical, that didn't have at least a few mundane plants with healing properties. Even something as simple as mint could help with a minor ailment or two. The professor brought out a small fever bark sapling first and everyone began to pay closer attention. Brewing a tea from the bark was one of the oldest home remedies known, although the Muggles had taken to processing the bark much more vigorously. That bark extract could be found in tablets marked as aspirin in any mundane pharmacy in the United States.

"Now why would the No-Majs go through all that trouble when a simple tea would suffice?" the Professor asked.

One of the Pharmacy students raised her hand. "As a better way of controlling the dosage, Professor. Not all pieces of bark will have the same amount of active ingredient nor will each person brew the tea extract in the exact same way."

"Excellent! That is exactly correct." The Professor said. "Two points to Thunderbird."

"So is the Fever Reducing Philter the way we control dosage in the Magical world?" another Potioneer asked.

"Absolutely," Professor Mulch said. "We really do have the best of the best here in these advanced classes. Now we're not going to learn how to brew that potion in this class but you will all be able to find this plant in the wild and correctly harvest it. There will not always be a potions supply shop conveniently next door if you're posted in some rural area. Five points to Horned Serpent for some excellent reasoning."

The rest of the class was spent discussing the properties of the Fever bark tree in detail and the homework for next class was twelves inches of parchment with a full description of at least one other plant that had fever reducing properties with a bonus ten points if that plant was mundane. Most of the class groaned and James had to remind himself that this was a special intensive program in Mediwizardry; copious amounts of homework would be the norm not the exception.

"Good God. It's only lunch time and I feel like I've been awake for two days straight." Mario said as he sat down at the table with the rest of their clique. "The schools in Italy never gave out so much homework."

"Welcome to sixth year," said Claire.

"Ha, you mean welcome to Ilvermorny!" Joyce said. "This school has an international reputation for the most homework assigned, ever."

"Makes you question coming here, mate?" James said as he dropped into the seat across from Mario and prepared to tuck into a reuben with a side of cole slaw. The menu was quite different than Hogwarts and James was taking the chance to sample all of the local cuisine. Tora sat down to his right and ordered a bowl of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich and began chatting with Claire.

Mario reflected a bit before replying. "No. Even if Muggles didn't start a war, I would rather be here than Roma. I really wasn't getting challenged by the schools there. Sono meglio qui, capire?"

"Yes, I know where you're coming from," James said. "I feel the same way about the mediwizard program."

"Is it just me, or are there a lot more transfer and exchange students this year?" Joyce asked the group.

"There might be, if there are a lot more kids of diplomats this year," said Claire, "they might have been worried about the war breaking out back home and decided to send them here."

"I know mi famiglia was very glad to get this posting back in the spring," Mario said.

"And I know my Da was ecstatic to get his posting as Ambassador, but I think that was more for the promotion than anything to do on the Continent," James said. "Being on an island is both a blessing and a curse. We didn't have as much of an idea what was going on with that Muggle Chancellor of Germany."

"The United States hasn't been any better," Joyce said. "The No-Maj government and MACUSA has both been shouting to stay out of what's going on in Europe. There are still a lot of people around that feel we should never have gotten involved in the Great War back in 1917 and are really digging in their heels about staying neutral this time around."

"Thank god we only need to worry about classes," Claire said.

"For now," Tora replied, bringing a silence over the table.

James and Tora made their way to the Potions classroom after the somber lunch, hoping their next class would chase the feeling away. Stepping through the doorway, James was surprised at how different this classroom was compared to the one at Hogwarts. There were windows going up to the ceiling and the tables were set up as squares rather than long benches. Along the wall opposite the Windows were shelves of ingredient bottles, neatly positioned and clearly labeled in easily read script, very unlike Professor Slughorn's scrawl. Besides the usual cauldron, James saw alembics, retorts, and calcinators along one of the shorter walls, giving rise to thoughts of alchemy but not why a mediwizard would need to dabble in that sketchy art. He picked a work table in the middle of the class and sat with a small shake of his head.

The stragglers were still milling about when Professor Dram flowed into the room, her cape flapping behind her like the wings of a bird. There were shorter work robes under the cape that were revealed as she hung it on coat rack in a corner near her desk. She said nothing initially but her stern look indicated she would brook no nonsense from the students. The stragglers quickly quieted down and found seats and when the Professor was satisfied everyone was paying attention she began.

"Good afternoon class. I am Professor Dram and I welcome you to advanced Potions for Mediwizards and Pharmacy Potioneers. I expect all of you to perform in here with the utmost seriousness. One wrong move could be fatal for you or a classmate." The pair of Thunderbirds from Charms looked at each other nervously again. James could only manage a small smirk before Professor Dram continued. "As many of you may have figured out, we will be focusing on potions that are used in the healing arts. They will range from simple potions like the Fever Reducing Philter to some very complex broad spectrum poison antidotes. In all cases you will pay extreme attention to safety. There will be no pranks or other horsing around in this classroom. If you try any of that nonsense and another student gets injured you will be expelled. Do I make myself clear?"

The entire class gave a collective gulp before nodding in the affirmative. They were all so close to their goals that none of them wanted to mess up. This was certainly a case of death being the least of their worries; being expelled at this point would be disastrous. They had passed their OWLs, so none of them would be getting their wand snapped if they did get booted, but they would never be mediwizards and witches if they did get kicked out.

"Very good. Now please open your textbooks to Chapter One. We will be starting with Essence of Murtlap today."

Two hours later, James and his classmates trudged out of Potions. Professor Dram was not kidding about being very meticulous. She made Slughorn look sloppy and he was anything but. Moving towards the general classrooms building, the group made their way to anatomy, the Potioneer students peeling off to head to their last classes. This was where that big Muggle book was going to be used and if the other classes today were any indication it would be heavily used.

The group finally arrived at one of the smaller classrooms. Again picking a seat in the middle, James slumped down, not sure how he would stay awake for this class. It was clearly more intense than what would have awaited him at Hogwarts for sixth year but James didn't regret the decision. It was just a bit overwhelming for the first day of school. Tora looked fairly frazzled too, so it wasn't only James feeling in over his head. In fact every one of the mediwizard students were looking exhausted from the previous classes. Maybe the Professor would take pity on them.

And dragons will wear tutus, James thought with a chuckle.

The humorous thought was banished as the Professor entered the classroom and made his way to the desk. James hadn't noticed earlier but there was a skeleton standing in the corner near the blackboard. He had grey hair and was starting to go bald. He looked at the class with a severe angular face that held a hint of humor with several laugh lines crinkling around the wizard's eyes. He also seemed taller and thinner than most of the other teachers here at Ilvermorny, almost as thin as the skeleton in the corner.

"Good afternoon class. I am Professor McDermid Tarsal and this is Human Anatomy. With the help of old Yorick here, we'll be starting by looking at the human skeleton." He made a quick waving motion at the display of bones by the blackboard. "Does anyone know how many individual bones are in the human skeleton?"

For once today the girls from Thunderbird weren't cowed by a question. They conferred quickly before the quieter one raised her hand. "Two hundred and six," she said.

"Very good Miss Claussen. Five points to Thunderbird," said the Professor. "Now, can any of you tell me which are the largest and which are the smallest bones in humans?" Tora's hand shot up and Professor Tarsal pointed at her.

"The femurs, or thigh bones, are the largest Professor."

"Excellent Miss Svendotter! Two points to Puckwudgie. Now what about the smallest?"

The class sat thinking for a few minutes before a tall boy in the back raised his hand. "The bones of the ears, Professor?"

"Yes. Quite right. There is debate as to which of the three is the absolute smallest, but the bones of the inner ear are indeed the smallest. Two points to Wampus."

There were a few more general questions about the human skeleton before Professor Tarsal launched into his lecture in earnest. There were many potions to heal or replace damaged or missing bones and some charms as well, but the mediwizard needed to know how they fit together, in case surgery was needed. And they needed to know what curses were out there that might block or interfere with the Potions and spells to heal bones. It was a lot of knowledge just on the skeleton and James was worried he wouldn't be able to keep track of everything once the teacher started adding other bodily systems into the learning mix.

"I have never been so tired on the first day of school," Mario complained. "My brain feels as if it is already finals week."

"This really wasn't that bad a first day," Claire said, "but I heard the Mediwizard program is insane for homework."

"Aye, this was certainly a busier first day than I ever had at Hogwarts," James said.

"Claire was right that the Mediwizard program has more homework, but this was not drastically worse than past years have been," Tora said.

"Today was so busy I think I'm almost too tired to eat dinner," Josh said.

"Ha. They have navy bean soup tonight," Clair laughed. "You are not missing that."

"Dang, you know me too well. I won't care what the entree is if I can fill up on soup."

The group laughed at Josh who joined in; it was his favorite soup. They made their way down to the dining hall, glad to have a chance to relax. There were a number of students exiting after an earlier dinner leaving the friends to thread their way towards the main doors. Mario made a snide comment about some third years and James turned back to tell him off. Unfortunately, he ran into an older student who was exiting the hall, knocking him down.

"Sorry about that," James said. "I should have been ... you! I did see you this morning!"

Edward looked up in horror. He had not even gone a full day without the Englishman finding him again. He tried to scramble backwards but there was no room; another large group of students was exiting the dining hall at that moment. Edvard's head whipped around wild eyed with fear. This Englishman fought like a madman at the Danish embassy and Edvard had no desire to be punched again. With a swift stride, James closed the distance and hauled Edvard to his feet by his tie.

"Give me one good reason I shouldn't put you through a wall," James hissed in his face.

"Stop James!" Tora yelled. "He is not worth a detention!"

"Why are so angry with him?" Claire asked.

"Did ya not hear of what happened to me over the summer?" James asked the group. "This sassenach was part of the group that put me in the hospital when they attacked me at the Danish Embassy." He stated back at Edvard. "Not so brave now when you're alone, are you?"

"You were supposed to go back to England and leave Tora alone," Edvard stuttered. "And I was not supposed to be back at Ilvermorny after that job last month."

"What do you mean 'that job'?" Mario asked. "What you did to my friend was not personal?"

"No, it was not personal. I was one of three young men hired by a Polish nobleman to send you a message and to make sure you understood the seriousness of it." Edvard said, his voice calmer as James's grip loosened slightly. "My father's posting back to Europe was cancelled when the Muggle war began otherwise I would not have been here this term."

"Polish? Could it have been Count Stanislaus Korovski?" Tora asked.

"I was never told his name when I was hired. I have seen the Count and I believe the man who set the job up was the Pole's aide. We were to rough you up a bit but only to get it through your head that Tora was not yours."

"As if it were anyone's decision but mine?" Tora snapped.

"You are an heiress of a pureblood family. The Count would certainly consider you a worthy match and your Uncle, as Head of Family, would have no choice but accept the Count's proposal if you are not already betrothed when he makes the offer."

Tora blanched. "I would never marry that decrepit old man!"

"I guess I should be impressed the Count saw me as a romantic rival," James said. The annoyance was clear in his tone.

"Not a rival," Edvard said, "only a stupid child that could ruin his plans."

James released his hold on the boy's collar with a shove. "Just stay away from me. Got it?"

"It is what I have been trying to do all day. This was the only place you could have ever run across me, as luck would have it."

James glared at the young hooligan, gritting his teeth in a supreme effort not to slug him. As good as it would have felt, he doubted getting a detention on the first day of classes would please his parents, although James suspected they would eventually understand. His friends followed him into the dining hall but none of them were sure they were still hungry, James himself most of all. But if he did me have a few bites he wasn't going to have the energy to study. The mediwizard program would be unforgiving to those who fell behind on homework. Tora caught up to him and gave his hands a quick squeeze.

"We will make it through this, my love. You cannot let that foul young man get the better of you, no matter what he did in the past."

"I know Tora, I know. It's just really frustrating knowing I'll have a constant reminder of the attack here the whole school year. I don't need the extra aggravation with all the studying we're going to need to do."

"May I suggest some meditation exercises?" James looked up to see Kenji carrying a tray piled high with food. "They always help me to calm down when I find myself in a stressful situation. It helps me focus on my wand work as well."

"That sounds like a great idea!" Claire said. "We could all use that kind of help. Would you be willing to teach all of us, Kenji?"

"Yes. I will see if there is a classroom available sometime over this weekend that will hold all of us. Professor Dram may be of assistance in that task."

"Well, mi amore," Mario said with a wink at Claire, "I know some other ways to relieve stress if meditation doesn't help."

"You are incorrigible," shouted Claire, slapping Mario on the shoulder. Mario let go a hearty, infectious laugh that got the whole group of friends laughing along. It was the best James had felt in ages and it gave him hope of making it throughout the year.

Author's notes: Edits and corrections. Serves me right for writing this over several weeks and not proofing before I uploaded.