the mighty, mighty merlin, PART TWO.

[Alexander Novus]

[[YES I AM AWARE THAT STONEHENGE IS NOT IN LONDON. But it's the only place I have to post it, lmao. Oh, and absolutely NO ONE is allowed to post here if you are not in History of Magic, unless I give permission or something. Deduction of points, yes?]]


STONEHENGE!

With a strong jerk, Alex's feet slammed onto the grassy field. As though he commonly touched handbags that transported him halfway across the country, he straightened out his ink black robes. He watched as student after student made a similar (although much less graceful) entrance. Finally, after what seemed like ages, the entire class was congregated on the lawn, some with looks of confusion, others with looks of eagerness plain on their faces.

"All right, so, let's start!" Alexander conjured a few large blankets, spreading them out across the lawn with a wave of his wand. He preferred to stand so he conjured up nothing for himself. Once the students seemed to be remotely comfortable, he continued.

"This may seem like a worthless group of stones, but they are in fact, a creation of the great wizard Merlin. Although, this is not where our story starts, so let's back up a bit.

"Merlin was born in Carmarthen, the county town of Carmarthenshire, Wales. Within the Muggle folklore, it is said that Merlin was the son of a mortal woman and an incubus, or demon. This is true -- in a sense. Having previously fought with her sister, a prostitute, Merlin's mother had locked herself in her room and slept. Folklore says that an incubus, who had been searching to wreak havoc on the family ever since her father, entered the locked room and impregnated the woman. In reality, the incubus was actually an unknown Dark wizard, who did not even know what he was at the time. He had an infatuation with the Muggle woman and found a way into her locked room, proceeding to impregnate her. So, yes, Merlin was a half-blood.

As a boy, Merlin possessed many magical talents. He was very good with prophecies. One of these was that six descendants of Arthur shall rule after the great king before Saxons would return and conquer Britain. He was also very accomplished with spells, potions; pretty much everything involved in being a wizard. Please note that it's likely that this was all self-taught, all self-discovered. We owe a lot to Merlin."

Alexander paused, taking a breath and running a hand through his dirty blonde hair. Hopefully he wasn't boring the kids, but ehh, he probably was. If it was him, he would be dead bored. But, thank God, it wasn't. So if they failed the exam, it wasn't his problem. He was getting a bit tired of ranting, however, so he decided to give the kids a chance to earn some points.

"Does anybody know what the connection between Merlin and Stonehenge?" He gestured at the group of stones behind him.

[Vlad Keegan]

Vlad popped in front of Stonehenge. Why Stonehenge. He had been here before with his family but never thought of it to have some sort of magical significance. After the professor had conjured the large blankets he took a seat on one of them hoping he wouldn't have someone fall upon him once they 'popped' into this part of the lesson.

He listened to the professor lecture about Merlin which was at times both boring and interesting, depending on what part he was talking about. He then asked the students what Stonehenge and Merlin had in common. He had heard stories about how Arther took Excalibur from a rock. Did this rock he got it out of come from here. It was his only guess so he decided to take the risk of missing it. Vlad raised his hand and waited to be called upon to answer.

After he was called upon he started his guess. "Well, I know i am not a full wizard person," he said in his Russian accent, which he wonders when he will loose, "But i have heard some Arthurian stories. I am guessing that rock that Excalibur was placed in wasn't that rock from here or I might be wrong?" he asked.

[Renn Shadows]

She hit the ground hard, landing on her hands and knees with a soft groaning noise. Yes! She officially disliked port keys, but what’s she going to do? Not go to the lesson? Yea, right that wasn’t like Renn to skip out. She looked around at the blankets that had been conjured, and sighed as she planted herself down to one near the middle, pulling her sore knees to her chest and resting her chin there.

One eyebrow arched as she listened to the professor. So Merlin was a half-blood? She thought, only half surprised. She hardly got surprised with what she learned anymore. Her mind wandered as the professor continued to tell them about Stonehenge. What was the connection? She thought, tapping her fingers against her legs. It was slightly warm, and wearing school robes, wasn’t an ideal idea in her opinion.

Her eyes wandered to the other student who had answered. She shrugged as he answered, still trying to figure out if that’s what the answer was. She tilted her head to the side. “Could it have been a grave that Merlin made, or something?” She asked, remembering something she had read during one of her bouts of boredom.

[Professor Bianca Frye]

Having a bit of experience with portkeys, due to Muggle Animals and from Animagi class last term and some she landed on her feet and sumbled just a bit. She figured she would get it eventually. She glanced around. Stonehenge. Rumor of having mystical powers all of it's own. She took a seat on one fo the conjoured blankets. She started to think of some type of connections, aside the point that Merlin had created Stonehenge. "Could he have stored something here?"

[Natalie Amelia Summers]

WOOOOOSH.

Natalie landed face first on a grassy field, and yes it hurt just a little bit. But it would take more than dirt to take her cheer away. She dusted away any remaining dirt with her hands, still uneasy from using magic outside of school because she didn't want to get in trouble. A few more tumbles had passed and the slight feeling of dizziness had disappeared. When her eyesight had stopped blurring she saw the wondrous sight before her. And no, it wasn't the Professor, silly goose! The stoooooonehenge. The Stonehenge was awesome, she's been there a few times while exploring with her grandmother. With all those trips there, it never lost it's splendor and luster. It was still a pretty magnificent site.

She sat down on the pretty blankets that Mr. Novus had so kindly conjured for his students and she listened attentively, not letting anything distract her. With her dutiful notebook opened and her well practiced hand writing like there's no tomorrow, word per word that the professor said, she was even listening to the question and accidentally wrote it down. It scratched it neatly and her well practiced right hand shot into the air in a know-it-all fashion as she always did.

"The Stonehenge. The stones weigh up to 50 tons each, the tallest of which rises 24 feet. The whole complex, including the banks and ditches, is about 450 feet in diameter. The most famous center stones are in the middle and the arrangement has a diameter of approximately 55 feet. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, the Saxon's had, through trickery, slaughtered the British at a meeting of nobles. King Ambrosius, brother of Uther Pendragon, wanted a memorial to those slain by the devious Saxons. Merlin suggested transporting the stones from the Giant's Ring at the top of Mount Killaraus in Ireland back to Britain. Ambrosius though this would be a fitting memorial, and an army of Britons went to Ireland to get the stones. Many tried and failed, and only Merlin was able to transport them back to Britain, and make Stonehenge. The story then goes on to say that Stonehenge served as a grave for Ambrosius, as well as Constantine, Arthur's successor.

I quote from Monmouth: 'Aurelius ordered Merlin to erect round the burial-place the stones which he had brought from Ireland. Merlin obeyed the King's orders and put the stones up in a circle round the sepulcher, in exactly the same way as they had been arranged on Mount Killaraus in Ireland, thus proving that his artistry was worth more than any brute strength.'"

How she knew this? Reading a lot of books. BECAUSE READING IS WHAT COOL KIDS DO NOW.

[Nicole Miner]

EEK. She didn't like Portkeys. She felt a jerk in her...erm, naval area, and the room started spinning. She was lifted up, still spinning, and then the room disappeared. It was replaced by flashes of green, gray, and blue. They were outside, by the STONEHENGE. The spinning got slower and then she was told to let go. She did, and almost landed with a THUD on the ground. Almost. She had practice, so she landed hard on her feet. She would be more graceful next time. GROAN, NEXT TIME. Hopefully, there wouldn't be a next time.

WAIT, WHAT WERE THEY DOING HERE? Nicole didn't know that the stonehenge meant something in wizard history. Interesting. She didn't have any idea what it was for. The others had good guesses. First, it was a hot kid with a russian accent. DAMNIT, WHY WAS HE A FIRST YEAR? Then, her friend Renn Shadows went. Natalie, the only other student that hadn't said anything raised her hand, and Nicole flushed red.

She was sooo embarassed that she didn't have any idea, and Natalie did. Natalie had more than a guess, she had a SPEECH. Nicole flushed red again, listening to Natalie.

[Alexander Novus]

After a few moments, the kiddo who had been there first raised his hand. Ugh. A Hufflepuff. And not a very smart one at that. "Uhm ... no," he said shortly to Vlad. If all of his students were like this kid, he was going to have his work cut out for him. Another student, this one a female Slytherin, raised her hand, taking a stab at the question. "Actually, that's rather close. Good job. Uhh, sorta, I suppose, if you count bodies as something to be stored," he added to the other Hufflepuff girl. And then, someone practically spoke a novel. Alexander turned his blue gaze in the Ravenclaw's direction.

"Ahh, bravo," he said, rolling his eyes. "But miss, if I wanted you to teach my lesson, I would have asked you. Besides, you got the name wrong. It isn't Ambrosius, it is Ambrosias. Now, if you don't mind, I'll teach you something, all right?" Alex shook his head, sighing deeply. Even though she was a member of his old house, he wasn't sure, yet, if he was too fond of this girl. She seemed like one of the Ravenclaws who gave them the stereotype of being know-it-alls. Needless to say, he hated stereotypes.

"Even though I'm sure you all enjoyed this girl's lecture, I'd like to give you one of my own, one that you might want to actually pay attention to.

Giants brought the rocks of Stonehenge all the way from Africa to Ireland. These stones are said to possess healing powers. Aurelius Ambrosias, from the fifth century, wished to erect a memorial to the 3,000 nobles who had died in battle with the Saxons and were buried at Salisbury. He chose -- on Merlin's advice, of course -- Stonehenge. The King sent Merlin, Uther Pendragon, and 15,000 soldiers to retrieve the rocks. After slaying 7,000 Irish, the soldiers attempted to move the stones with force, but failed. Merlin, being the wizard he was, easily managed to dismantle the stones and send them over to where we are now -- Britain.

The exact death or disappearance of Merlin is uncertain, seeing as there have been many different stories throughout history. The most common story is that Merlin Ambrosius met Niniane (also known as Viviane or Nimue) when she was twelve-years-old. She was intrigued by him because of his knowledge of magic. They met again, later, and Merlin became entranced by her beauty. Niniane promised to return his love if he taught her everything he knew about magic. Love would be the downfall of Merlin, it seems. With the knowledge that he had provided her, Niniane used the art of Transfiguration to transfigure Merlin into a rock in the forest. There, he remains imprisoned forever."

That had been a hell of a lot to condense in one lesson, when it could have easily have been a couple more, but Alexander had done that. That was probably due to the fact that he was supremely awesome.

"That's the end of the first lesson. Congratulations to those of you who got through it without falling asleep! If anyone has any questions, don't hesitate to ask. Also, there are many other legends that Merlin is connected with, so if you feel the need to, bring them up. I figured I wouldn't make this lesson too long, what with it being your first and all. Unfortunately, there's homework. Groan and points will be deducted," Alexander added, knowing that if he didn't, the entire class would probably start griping. He conjured up the small sheet of questions and handed one to each student. "You can either do the homework now, seeing as it's only five questions, or go explore the Stonehenge landmark. Have fun!"

HOMEWORK
to be turned in by august fourth.

1. Explain, in about two or three sentences, how Merlin was conceived.
2. Who was the downfall of Merlin?
3. What is the connection between Merlin and Stonehenge?
4. Who brought the stones that make up Stonehenge? From where did they bring them, and where did they bring them to?
5. What branch of magic brought down Merlin?
EXTRA CREDIT QUESTION: Besides the one mentioned, what other famous prophecy did Merlin make?


[center][size=5]HOMEWORK[/size]
[/center]
[blockquote][b]1. Explain, in about two or three sentences, how Merlin was conceived.[/b]
[b]2. Who was the downfall of Merlin?[/b]
[b]3. What is the connection between Merlin and Stonehenge?[/b]
[b]4. Who brought the stones that make up Stonehenge? From where did they bring them, and where did they bring them to?[/b]
[b]5. What branch of magic brought down Merlin?[/b]
[b][u]EXTRA CREDIT QUESTION[/u]: Besides the one mentioned, what other famous prophecy did Merlin make?[/b][/blockquote]

[[The thread in the classroom will be modified with this homework, along with the first post I made here. PM ALL HOMEWORK TO ME. Give it a proper title so I know what it is. THANK YOU!]]

[Nicole Miner]

Nicole tried to pretend she was looking somewhere else when Professor Novus started kinda scolding Natalie. In a way. She tried to hide her glee at the fact she didn't get 100000 points to Ravenclaw for her speech. She got yelled at. Well, not yelled, "a talking to." Then he gave a painfully long lecture, that Nicole tried to listen to. She scribbled down as many notes as she could as fast as she could.

Then, homework. On the first day. Groan. At least there weren't other homework assignments to do. But she wanted to get unpacked and stuff. She looked at her notes for today.

Giants brought rocks Africa - Ireland
Stones - healing powers
Needed memorial
Soldiers tried to move stones
Merlin used magic - stones to Britian
Many different stories about death/disappearance
One = transformed into rock

[Vlad Keegan]

Vlad heard the stories about Merlin and Arthur many times. They were literally his bedtime stories when he was a good boy that day. If he wasn't it was the stories of Baba Yaga who flew around on a broom and ate children.

The one he remembered the most was of Baba Yaga and Vasilisa. This is the story of how a young girl named Vasilisa has a dying mother who gave her a doll and the doll would tell her in which direction she needed to go in every aspect in life. When her mother dies the father remarries a mean woman who has two daughters they all hated Vasilisa. One day they asked her to go out to the woods and find Baba Yaga and get a flame to relight the wood from.

Even though the story ended in happiness Vlad was scared and now that being at a magic school made this fear a bit more realistic now remembering the story a bit more vividly. I mean he saw many broomsticks and people flying them. So any Russian child who knew the Baba Yaga story and was a muggle would be frightened in his situation.

Vlad raised his hand again and then said "Um, professor i am not trying to be rude but your story on the death of Merlin doesn't seem to be the one that is the most popular to what i have heard." he said to the professor hoping he wouldn't be mad if he explained his story of the death that his parents told him on the night of his 8th birthday.

[Alexander Novus]

Alexander didn't feel like making a long post but figured he should address Mister Hufflepuff-pants. "Like I said, Mister ... ?" he trailed off, not remembering the kid's names. Hmmm. He would have to sit down and start memorizing those. "Anyway. Like I said, there are many stories, and they have been misconstrued throughout time. Therefore, no story is certain. I was just giving one of the stories that are mentioned in your books." He conjured one of the History of Magic textbooks out of thin air, waving it at the kid. "Buuut, you can explain your story, too. We have plenty of time."

[Jadyn Hart]

Jadyn squealed, falling and tumbling then bumping into some girl as she arrived to the grassy like field thing. She squeaked and yelped, "I'm sorry! I'm a bit clumsy!" She blinked and looked up at the girl then sat up brushing whatever dirt and grass had gotten on her. She also ran her fingers through her hair to make sure it was neat and had no dirt or grass or anything in it, you could say she liked to look good, and looks were important to her, well for her own self. She didn't like to look a complete and total mess.

Then Jadyn sat herself down on one of the blankets by one of her classmates and got comfortable. Of course she wasn't at all the smartest person in the world, so she really didn't know much yet, plus only being in her second year she hadn't learned much at all. She looked around her for a second before listening and paying attention to Professor Alexander.

So this Merlin guy was pretty damn important, finding out and discovering spells and stuff. She wrote down a few things about him and looked around seeing if anyone tried to attempt to answer the question. It seemed like the hufflepuff boy got it wrong, but his answer was a billion times better then hers considering she didn't even try to answer it and she really had no idea. But that was why she was in this class right? So she could learn about the History of Magic which she really needed to know more about.

"Yikes." Jadyn whispered to herself, when alexander looked a little pissed and sounded a little pissed when the girl spoke about Merlin and answered the question. "She really must read alot." Jadyn mumbled, maybe jadyn should start reading more. But she really didn't like reading all that much. But Jadyn also didn't like answerign questions in class since she didn't want to make a complete idiot of herself infront of a bunch of people by getting it wrong, so she usually kept her mouth shut unless she knew the answer for sure. She wrote down the homework questions so she could do them later.

[Vlad Keegan]

Vlad was now sorry he said anything but decided since he bothered the professor he would explain his story anyway. "Ok, well like I said I have heard another story of Merlin death. It was the same woman that you said Professor Novus." he said and then continued. "Well she did lead him into the woods but instead of just making him a rock he put him into a cave and conjured a sleeping charm I guess and while he was sleeping she put a big stone over the cave and left him in there to die." said Vlad and hoped the professor had heard of that story.

[Amber Black]

Amber fell hard on her back. How embaressing. She disliked protkeys very much, well, who didn't? She got up slowly and listened to what Professor Novus had to say about Merlin the Wizard. The information was rather interesting. Amber took notes on Merlin and had no clue what the answer was to the question Professor Novus had asked. Then, he mentioned they had to do Homework. Amber nearly groaned, but he said if anybody groans, points will be deducted, so Amber stopped herself and stared at the questions. She'll do her homework later. She wanted to check out the stonehenge, after all, it's a once in a lifetime chance...probably.

[Natalie Amelia Summers]

Natalie's pale skin suddenly grew bright pink with all her the blood, hot and furious, rushed through her veins making her color bright scarlet. Anyone would be embarrassed in her situation. Oh well, books don't know everything and that's what she got for being such an insufferable know it all. She kept her brown gaze warm, friendlyand untouched as ever with her child like innocence still marked across her tiny smile. "Sorry Professor. I promise to try to hold back next time." she said rather shyly as she got her quill and wrote word per word the Professor's lecture which was even more detailed and accurate that her own. How she knew? Because he was the friggin' Professor silly! An awesome one at that. She actually made it through the lesson with her energy in tact. She didn't post a super long post again out of fear that she might get scolded again, getting scolded was something wasn't used to. She was a good little nerd. 8]

She did her essay neatly and legibly in a piece of paper, keeping in mind not to fall apart because she wasn't that kind of Ravenclaw who'd cry when they got something wrong. From mistakes they learn, from success? Not so much. When she finished, walked slowly to the professor and gave him her homework thing because she might forget it later on. So after giving him the essay, she just sat in her little blanket again, all by her lonesome and doodled a doodle of the the stonehenge.

[Josie Kent]

THUD

Josie landed with a hard landing "ouch" she grumbled and sat down on a blanket. It wasn't exactly soft but it would do after all she didn't want to get grass stains on her outfit. Josie spent a few seconds tying her hair back in a pony and looked around. They seemed to be in the middle of no where. And yet her family's home wasn't that far away now was it. Maybe the Professor would let them take a looksie around. She thought about the old vicor and his family if they still lived in the small cottage.

Comming back to the now, she listened to the story of Merlin, the rocks that were known as Stonehenge and the myths and legends that surrounded the great rocks. Josie sat took the notes and groaned. She hadn't realized but a rock was under her and boy did that hurt! Her stomach grummbled once more and she wished she had thougth about bringing her fruit with her.

Josie listened to those who were brave enough to answer his questions. She listened to him as he continued about the giants and more myths more legends all revolving around Merlin. This guy was reallly important, she let her eyes wander over to the stones and envisioned what it would be like to be here on this spot on the day that Merlin the great created such a magnificant structue. Josie vaugly heard the Professor talk about homework and even though she took notes she went over what he said and answered the homework, as they sat there.