HOM-101 Lesson 2

Year 1 Week 2

Second Period Thursday came around faster than the students could say Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and it was finally time for History of Magic again. Once all the seats were full, the doors closed as Professor Wood entered with her usual grace, blue robes flowing behind her as she made her way to the front of the room.

Welcome back to History Magic, it's nice to see all your beautiful faces again today. I was very excited to read all of your entries for last week's assignment. As I said last lesson, we will begin this course with an introduction into the three internationally accepted theories of magical beginnings.               

The Theory of Uno Mas has existed as the most popular theory for a long time. Keeping it simple, this theory suggests that all magic blood originates to one man, christened Uno Mas. This originally ancient Aramaic name was given to him by magical historians and would be translated to 'The First Magi'. Uno Mas is believed to be born during the Time of the Reptiles, or Dinosaurs as the Muggles would call them. Uno Mas is said to have had a keen sense of discovery and creativity that did not exist amongst muggles at the time.

A young redhead in the front row raised his hand eagerly. Excuse me, Professor, but is it true that Uno Mas was also the creator of the first wand?

Very good, Mister... Gray, was it? He Nodded. I see you did the optional pre-reading, 5 Points to Gryffindor. That is indeed how the theory goes however this too is debated. Uno Mas is considered, in this theory, to be the father of all witches and wizards, as well as the creator of the first wand and, therefore, the literal father of magic. 

Pausing, Professor Wood took in the room around her. The whole room was hanging intently onto every word, all except a pair of green-robed students...

Mister and Miss Silverhorn, since you clearly don't need to be listening to my lecture, could you please give the class an overview of our next magical theory?

The twins went silent as all eyes turned to them.

It appears not, in which case I ask you kindly to pay attention and leave your chatter for outside of Classroom 4F's walls. Miss Carraway, you look thrilled to share, go ahead.

Professor, the Migration Theory suggests that Magic already existed for some time, but the magical, unaware of their abilities, lived in a harmonious pattern of survival-driven migration prior to the Descent of Blizz, the muggle Ice Age, after which the wizards and witches set about on their own new journey, hidden from their non-magical counterparts.

Very Good! 5 Points to Hufflepuff Miss Carraway! For a few further details, look to the following excerpt from Bathilda Bagshot's 'A History of Magic':

"In 1535, a Chinese explorer named Ho Mao Tseng followed [the wizards'] tracks before stopping in the middle of a deserted area in the shadow of the Swiss Alps. Tseng deduced that the entire group died in an avalanche, but in the early 1800s, a group of Gringotts' curse breakers unearthed the spells that hid their lair from the world. An underground chamber ... was discovered, and a few artefacts remained intact, encased in a block of ice. Tools, clothing, and a few of their other items held magical properties, including a vanishing cloak that held a number of Diricrawl feathers and Unicorn horns made into necklaces. Bodies were never found, but it is believed that these ancient wizards abandoned the tunnel and decided to go their separate ways and thus created the societies that exist today."

Continuing on with our final theory for today, the Theory of Uno Mas focuses on the first wizard, while the Theory of Hocus Pocus focuses on the first encounters with magic rather than who first used magic. The theory suggests that women began to use magic in the art of persuasion and that from this stemmed a "natural progression of magical tendencies." Natural progression here simply means that nature has a tendency to force specific habits upon humans who react differently than a magical person would. The main evidence supporting the Theory of Hocus Pocus is the Birch Bark Manuscript, which contains writings and observations that support this theory. It is currently stored at the Brussels Museum of Ancient Magical History and is kept by Professor Hugo Bjorken, the senior curator and magianthropologist.

Of course with any set of theories, you will have proponents and opponents but we won't go into detail about these this lesson. If you are interested in more details feel free to see me after class or to contact me by Electronic Owl. You can also check the library for "The Anti-Uno Mas Theory" and several other books that discuss each of these three theories in further detail.

This week you will have two assignments on the Theories of Magical Beginnings.

Two pieces of lined parchment appeared on each students desk.

The first parchment in a compulsory quiz that must be completed prior to our next lesson.

https://forms.gle/RjYcfXVvdYWHmUic8

As you will see, the second explicitly states Optional but is a research piece about Magical Beginnings for the history enthusiasts.

https://forms.gle/B39QEQYujbhXiYiW9

With these words, Professor Wood turned on her heels and left the room.

Until Next Time Darlings.