Professor Austerlitz stood silently at the front of the class, both arms folded and ankles pressed tightly together. Despite being minuscule in height, she had all the presence of a military commander, quick to jolt a young recruit around the back of the head with a walking cane. As usual, the aged witch was dressed head to toe in monotone grey - blazer, shirt, skirt, tights and sensible black shoes. A large fuschia leather handbag, some French product, was perched on her desk; immaculate, polished and as pristine as the day of its expensive purchase. Professor Austerlitz was the ultimate creature of habit; she began every class this way, she always wore dull, sensible outfits and always carried a bright and uncharacteristically cheerful designer purse.

"Third years," she eventually spoke, her voice spine-chillingly firm. "Settle down please, I don't want any more jibber-jabber - you sound like a hive of angry doxies." Taking a few steps forward, she placed both hands together, hawkish eyes scouting the entire classroom. "Now, listen here, and listen good. It's Friday, and yes, it's nearly the end of term, but that doesn't give any of you grubby specimens a reason to start acting up. This is still a History of Magic class, and I'm still nothing like the matrony cuddly-cuddly types you all expect from old witches of my age. If you decide to follow suit with the primitive behaviour employed by the majority of the  Has anybody got anything to say about this?" Raising an eyebrow, there wasn't a murmur of reply to her question. Professor Austerlitz gave a quick nod of the head, her lips sourly curling inwards. "Didn't think so."

Sighing, the good Lady Napoleon paced slowly down the aisle of desk, head held high and facing the enormous bookshelves on the curved walls of the History of Magic dome. "European wizarding history is a well-trodden path of learning, and I know full well that many students are introduced well before a Hogwarts induction. However, what can any of you tell me about the magic of the orient? What do we know of the great events and spells of the far east?" Turning on her heel as Professor Austerlitz eventually ended up at the back of the classroom, she glanced around, a little less stern than earlier.

"The traditions and customs of countries such as Japan, China, Vietnam and Korea have undoubtedly influenced many different areas of our own wizarding culture, and I feel that it is a location that is often neglected by the schooling curriculum." Professor Austerlitz was always one to choose exotic locales of study, and the Orient was one of them: it helped to broaden a student's horizon further than the reaches of their own continent, perhaps it would make them a lot less pig ignorant about the world in which they lived. "Anybody have any knowledge of great figures belonging to the history of the Far East? Anything at all to get us started?" Professor Austerlitz looked around, both arms folded, waiting for timid hands to rise in the cool, disciplined air. 

Naomi wasn't guiltless of idle chat before the short Professor commanded the attention of the class, and quieted down out of respect; Austerlitz didn't seem to suffer from the love affair many European wizards had with themselves and their own history, and it earned the Slytherin's attention, even if her behavior wasn't as disciplined and as perfect as the History of Magic professor may strive for.

And while Naomi didn't know of many famous magic folk in the Far East, or much about Asia, China, or Japan, she knew a few things about India, resulting from her grandmother hexing her butt to a surface to listen to stories and other things she tried her best not to listen to.

She crossed her ankles, hooking her boots together, and twisted to glance at the rest of the class, and decided no one was going to speak up. So, with her pen to her paper, Naomi decided to start, "'Dere's a strong focus in meditation--occlumency," she began with her Jamaican swing, still thick from the holidays, "--and health t'rough physical and magical met'ods, wit' a focus on  self-discipline and awareness of the world around 'dem." the young witch was quite sure her grandmother's incorporation into the family also intensified such studies, and only gained stricter momentum into later generations (much to Naomi's annoyance.)

"It also makes them very capable at interpreting prophecies, as Seers, and skilled Diviners," then she thoughtfully shrugged her shoulder to her chin as she added, "Women, in some cultures, were also t'ought to be better-suited towards d' latter roles, in India, but since th' shift of religions with muggles 'di' practices are only heard of in magical communities."[1] Although Naomi wasn't sure if that was a fact or if her grandmother was just enough of a tyrant to get away with something like that.

1.	Ancient India wiki source

Nikolas was slumped over his desk, chin resting on his hands, a look of utter boredom on his face. Of all his classes, History of Magic was his most hated. Not only was it mind numbing, it didn't have the benefit of a new professor acting as eyecandy like Herbology now had.

Professor Austerlitz always brought to mind the stereotype of a old, wrinkly nun with a metal ruler who would patrol the desks and smack any unwary student upside the head for imagined infractions. Professor Storm was just as nasty (maybe even more) but there was something about the DADA professor that made him come across as badass as opposed to having a giant stick up her arse.

Niko's brow wrinkled in confusion; Naomi's description didn't match anything he knew about Asia. Though most of what he knew was from Japan, China and Korea, mostly Japan.  Given how vast Asia was she was probably talking about somewhere else. "Magic is also much more intergrated and is far more accepted by muggle society, at least in East Asia it is." Given his own confusion he figured he might as well specify for everyone else. "This is primerally because, unlike western tradition, most eastern magic is considered religious in nature and isn't demonized by muggles."

"For instance in Japan, spells and charms are sold in shrines. Charms for good luck are frequently given as presents to muggle children before they take exams." Niko, himself had one hanging off one of the curtin ties on his bed, given to him by his grandmother for Christmas. Thank you Grandma Addie for being a Japanophile. "There is a strong focus on divination and protection, currently from economic disasters, but before it was mostly for protection from evil spirits."

With one stocking clad leg crossed over the other Ayla's foot swung in time with the tapping on her quill on parchment. Unlike her fellow students - and what was likely expected of her - Ayla had been rather silent at the beginning of class. Not out of respect for the Professor mind but simply because she had little to say these days. She was focusing on perfecting the few talents she actually had, crunching practices for the upcoming Quidditch match and sneaking off to the kitchens to work on her baking. She had been avoiding most of her friends lately, the drama queen trying to avoid any unnecessary drama.

As Naomi and Niko spoke she lazily scratched out some notes though she wasn't really paying attention and once they were done talking and the air hung with the anticipation of either an argument or another contribution to the discussion Ayla pulled out a small enchanted pocket book and flipped to a dog eared page. While most believed the small book, enchanted to hide it's contents to anyone other than her, to be her diary the petite Hufflepuff was actually using it as a recipe book, working out new ways to mix her talents of muggle baking and charms.

She scanned over the current concoction - a strawberry filled sugar donut that was supposed to make the consumer fly or at least hover. Unfortunately so far the hover charm only worked on the belly and had caused the few brave enough to try them to float to the ceiling bent over backwards, belly up. Not to mention they all complained it tasted like feet. She sighed and looked over her list of ingredients again trying to figure out where she had gone wrong.

Professor Austerlitz hovered towards her desk, leaning on it slightly as two critical ears channelled everything Naomi Foley said. She was a bright girl, it was undeniable, but often a little too nonchalant with her replies. Still, her confidence was commendable, and the old witch gave a few nods of the head. The crowd of numbskulls sat in front of her would do well to take a leaf out of the student's book; unafraid to tackle a question head-on. "Very good, Foley: I'm glad somebody decided to do the suggested reading for a change. A point to Gryffindor, for a glimmer of brilliance." Hildegarde was a terribly harsh marker, but credit was given where credit was due. Naomi was fast becoming a subtle favourite of the historian - one was always safe when nestled under a dragon's wing.

"Many witches and wizards of the far east believe that magic is a product of the environment around us, and this is ultimately reflected in their Muggle religions. Shintoism, Buddhism and Taoism are but three that focus in some way upon treatment of the natural world." Professor Austerlitz got to her feet once more, nodding at Falkenrath's arm in order to harvest his response. He was another up-and-comer, one of the her potential do-gooders. The boy was articulate enough, and written work was always a lot less painful than the majority of his peers.

"Indeed, Falkenrath is correct. Magic is far more accepted and understood by eastern folk; many aspects of culture are dependant upon wizardry of some form. Until early modern history, sorcerers and healers were revered and respected, keen to aid their respective societies in some way. This, however, was quickly eliminated with European influence; such things were deemed 'wrong' or 'sinful' by biblical standards, and as such, cultural focus upon magic either disappeared or became extremely diluted, remaining only in the gift shops charms Falkenrath here mentioned." She almost shuddered at this complete commodification of the arcane art. It simply made their craft look little more than superstitious hocus-pocus rubbish.

"Now, we must remember, witches and wizards of our own continent were very different in terms of appearance and attitude; they weren't warlocks, or evil servants of Beezlebub, oh no, they were bringers of good fortune, spurred on by culture of cyclical aid." She gave a vague grin to the class, a flick of the wand causing a few green sparks to emit from the end. From underneath her desk, a crimson kimono glided into the air, a rounded hat and brown leather sandals joining it as they danced around each other. After a few seconds of formation, the items of clothing assembled themselves into the shape of an oriental magician, gliding softly in between desks with an emerald wand, cloudy visions of emerald dragons dancing around the waist, minuscule fireworks erupting from the hat. "Do you think our society would benefit from such a clear understanding of magic?" Despite the stuffy, academic surroundings of the classroom and Professor Austerlitz's harsh presence herself, the dancing outfit was soothingly tranquil. A visible enchantment amongst the drab stonery of Hogwarts.

Dragging his mind away from daydreaming about hippogriffs being used for quidditch (or just fighting mid-air battles instead undoubtedly) Ambrose raised his hand - which usually meant a slightly dim question was on the way, or he was about to get the answer wrong.

"I think our society would have had to live with magic from the start and grow up generation after generation." Ambrose suggested a little unsure. "We're like two people who have grown apart, and its a bit late to go back." He wanted to add more, but he had no further bright ideas, and he was intelligent enough to know the more he spoke the worse it got for him under Professor Austerlitz's glare.

Just as long as he chipped in once in a while she'd not draw attention to how his whole basis of History of Magic was his text book, and who he could glean information off later because he'd not kept up in class with notes.

Until early modern history, sorcerers and healers were revered and respected, keen to aid their respective societies in some way. This, however, was quickly eliminated with European influence; such things were deemed 'wrong' or 'sinful' by biblical standards, and as such, cultural focus upon magic either disappeared or became extremely diluted, remaining only in the gift shops charms Falkenrath here mentioned.

Nikolas frowned in confusion. Austerlitz completely contradicted what he knew about how Christianity was in Japan at least, and seemed to contradict what he knew of the rest of East Asia as well. "Um, Professor Austerlitz?" Niko raised his hand, "That stuff you said about Christianity and Europe eliminating magic acceptance? Well... I went to Japan with my Grandmother and given what I've seen and the people I got to talk to to... that's really insulting. Magic is religiously based in Japan and Shintoism is going quite strongly there. In fact we didn't meet any Christians there."

He watched the clothing wander past, "And that outfit... what? That's a woman's garb, a Japanese woman's garb. Ignoring the fact that you are limiting yourself to one country, but the most famous wizards in Japan were men. And still are men." 'And we're not going to go into how wrong those shoes are.'

He shut up and waited for the inevitable explosion.

"A valid point, Pepper," Professor Austerlitz said in her icy tone, a little taken aback by the boy's philosophical musings. Sure, his analogy to distant friends was a little juvenile, but what could one expect from young teenagers? Yes, she'd cling to this little nugget of academic hope; perhaps he wasn't as mediocre as she initially presumed. It was typical of the History of Magic professor to analyse every single word of her students. It was a necessity, as the smallest things were the biggest indicators of one's character and potential. "There is no right answer to such a question, and the situation is truly hypothetical. I believe for one that our society would collapse in days; politics and culture on both sides of the British community would prevent true co-operation."

Pacing up towards the board once more, she turned around on her heel slowly as Falkenrath piped up once more. His response however, was lacklustre in comparison to his previous ideas. Listening to the child, Professor Austerlitz nodded slowly, a condescending grin on her face. She took in all his words, without interruption. A load of codswallop. The boy spoke utter codswallop. Her first year teaching in Hogwarts had taught her a lot: that children weren't to run in corridors, that headteachers weren't always right, and that intelligent students who knew they were intelligent had an impeccably bad habit of thinking they were an expert. Third years could be so amusing.

"Well, boys and girls, it seems dear Nikolas here as all the posts covered, so why don't we pack-up and leave, hmm?" Her voice was mockingly sweet, and she looked around with a terrifying smile: nobody dared answer. "Except, that dear Nikolas doesn't have any posts covered." She got to her feet, dusting her skirt down slightly and taking a breath. The fake smile soon evaporated into a sour frown.

"I'm sure you and your... grandmother, had a lovely little vacation around Japan. I sincerely hope that you bring your holiday snaps with you one lesson for me to sift through, that would be truly adorable." Nothing in her voice was inviting, and the sarcasm was blood-curdling. "But, please, listen to what I have just spoken, and then try formulating a coherent sentence. In the seventeenth century, Dutch trade did indeed infiltrate Japan, and in true Eurocentric style, pointed out many 'flaws' within Japanese culture that was deemed incompatible with biblical scripture. This included homosexuality, the practice of seppuku and yes, a focus upon witchcraft and wizardry. I think you'll find, my dear, that in the Meiji Era, Westerners were even employed to teach European customs and culture. Magic became a diluted presence." Professor Austerlitz spoke with eloquence, and the words fell off her tongue. Years upon years of research had imprinted such facts upon her ancient brain, and there was no way the old woman was forgetting them any time soon."I don't care who you spoke to in Japan, to be frank, I really couldn't care less. But what do I know, I'm only a professor at this school, I'm sure you could do a much finer job dear."

Professor Austerlitz looked towards the charmed outfit and gave another snort of laughter, walking towards it swiftly. "You're right, this is traditionally a woman's garb, there's no denying that... The structure, the fabric, the stitching, all female." She paused, nodding at Falkenrath like a pet owner that just saw a dog roll over for the first time. "But how do we know that this outfit didn't belong to a great female sorceress? How do we know that I wasn't about to introduce a female historical figure that I so often do, since, as you so politely expressed, many great figures of magic are male, and therefore over-studied to the brink of boredom." Indeed, Hildegarde was about to speak about Yumiko Inada, a commoner that gained the respect of her village and the region of Okinawa by using magic as a source of healing in the middle ages, but that had been sidelined. Professor Austerlitz was furious, symbolised only by her twitching smirk.

"This is not a democracy, this is a classroom, and unfortunately, the Goblin Queen has spoken!" Professor Austerlitz chuckled sternly, lifting her arms theatrically and turning to face the class once more. "Nobody likes a know-it-all, Mr Falkenrath, so please, take your things and leave my domain. You'll receive a detention notice in due course." A debate was always welcome in Professor Austerlitz's class, but rudeness was never a welcomed guest, and there was no way a witch of her steely disposition would tolerate a thirteen year old trying to make a teacher feel inadequate. It was simultaneously infuriating and hilarious

Bilius raised his eyebrows as Niko gaped in shock at the teacher, his own surprise hidden under his usual veneer of lounging boredom. Admittedly, this was far more entertaining than the usual History class, but...well. He yawned, apparently absently putting his things in his bag.

"You mean the Dutch that the Japanese Emperor had executed for pointing out 'flaws'...in the 1500s. Isn't that, like, the 16th century?" Bilius's voice was a drawl, his gaze on Niko. "And then thrown out? And the Christianity that's like...not even close to being a dominant religion?" He smirked, slightly.

"Goblin Queen you might be, but wow, Professor," he was leaning on one hand, as he stood, his bag's strap in his hand. "Good thing you got rid of Niko, eh? The students might have learned some actual historical facts. Can't have that." He looked at Niko. "Snacks in the kitchen, Niko? I'm kind of hungry."