DISCLAIMER: IDNOM (BIWID)

Here it is: Merlin the Teacher. And his star pupil. Enjoy!

"And this, kids, is the Battle of Hastings." Merlin said, flipping onto the next slide. "Anyone know what happened here?"

A hand shot up on the table to his left, its owner - a small, bushy haired girl - quivering beneath it. Merlin smiled. Of course she knew - enthusiastic, knowledgeable...as clichéd as it was, that was why he'd decided to be a young minds, helping educate. Plus he could always use his magic to do the marking.

"Yes?"

"The battle of Hastings was fought in 1066. King Harold II got the crown when Edward died. He fought Tostig, his brother, and Harald Hardrada, the Last Viking King, and won both of those fights. In October of 1066, William of Normandy fought Harold's men at Hastings and won." The little girl recited, as if summoning up a textbook in her mind. "William became King. He made the first consensus."

"Well done - but it's census, not consensus." Merlin grinned, walking across the classroom to sit on the edge of his desk. "Harold II did indeed inherit the crown from Edward the Confessor. Harold was crowned king shortly after Edward's death - Edward had no children, you see. It wasn't easy. He faced invasions from William, his own brother Tostig and Harold III of Norway - also known as Harald Hardrada. Hardrada and Tostig beat Harold's army army at the Battle of Fulford on 20 September 1066, but were then defeated by Harold at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, five days later. Whilst Harold and his men were marching back from Stamford, William landed his forces at Pevensey on the 28th of September. Harold had to quickly summon an army and march south.

No one knows how many people fought, but historians think that it was somewhere around 10,000 for William and almost 7000 for Harold. The English army was made almost entirely of infantry and had few archers, but, in the French force, about half were infantry, and the rest were either cavalry or archers." Merlin paused, blinking away memories. The historians may not know - but he did. "We think that Harold tried to surprise William, but William's scouts found his army and told the French duke, who then marched from Hastings to the battlefield to meet Harold. The battle lasted all day - about nine til five. The Normans couldn't break the English defence, and so pretended to run away to draw the English out. The battle ended when Harold died. Without a leader, the English gave up, and William was crowned as king on Christmas Day."

The bell rang, signalling the end of the day. "Right," Merlin Shouted over the chatter, "Homework! I want a couple of paragraphs on how Harold died, the Bayeaux Tapestry, and the importance of Halley's Comet. In for Monday, no excuses!"

Merlin collapsed into his chair. Sure, it was worthwhile, but teaching a bunch of year sixes was not the most enjoyable experience at times. He was willing to bet that half of the,m wouldn't have done the homework come Monday, and the other half wouldn't have tried. He groaned, burying his face in his hands. He hated teaching history. It was all battles and wars, blood and guts, betrayal and incorrect facts. Half of what he taught was the end result of a hundred-year-old game of chinese whispers. But then again, he couldn't exactly come out and tell them they were wrong - that would result in some awkward explanations.

"Mr. Emrys, sir?" A small voice piped up at his elbow. "Are you okay?"

He looked down to see the eager face of his brightest pupil. Her hair was wayward as usual, a bunch of books collected in the crook of her arm.

"You looked sad, sir. Are you okay?" She crinkled her face up, scrunching it in an effort to understand.

"I'm fine. Just memories. Lots and lots of memories. Stories, I suppose. They're not much more than stories now."

"Like those ones you tell me about King Arthur, Sir? About Gwaine and Lancelot and Gwen?" She patted his arm soothingly. "They're my favourite stories, sir. I like Merlin best. I think he's like me, sir. We both have the same..." She looked away, blushing. "Um...Maybe you can tell me this story sometime?"

"I'd love that." Merlin laughed, cheered up by the eager little bookworm. "I promise. But you should go - it's Friday. Go and enjoy your weekend. I want to read that essay!"

The little girl laughed before running off down the corridor, her satchel bumping her hip at every step, books spilling form all nooks and crannys. "Oh, and Hermione?" Merlin called after her. She stopped and turned, attention on her face. "Merlin's my favourite too."

He smiled as he shut the door, sitting down at his desk and pulling a pile of paperwork towards him. He'd have to keep an eye on that Hermione Granger. He had a good feeling about her.

So there we go! This one'll probably have a sequel later on. Not entirely sure what'll happen yet.

Liked it? Review! (Also, I could do with some ideas, so if you have anny prompts just mention them below :). I'll see what I can do.) Hope this was all right - and thanks to PheonixFire316, hillybillygirl11, and MamzelleHermy for reviewing the last chap. Dedicate this chapter to yourselves.