"Huh." She's quiet for a little bit.

"What sorts of spells are there?"

She hums. "There's loose categories in theory, though individual spells can belong to multiple, or have disputed classifications."

"A major classification is transfiguration versus charm versus counter-spell - most spells belong to one of those three, though there's some odd edge cases."

"Transfigurations change their target's appearance or form. Conjuration spells create objects, and are considered a subclass of transfiguration."

"Charms change their target's qualities, such as behavior or capabilities."

"Counter-spells reverse the effects of other spells. They can also be charms or transfiguration, if targeted specifically at a class of spells, but most target the magic directly."

"Spells can also be classified as dark magic or light magic - though the term 'light magic' is rarely used, since spells are default assumed to be light. There's actually a technical difference, but most people use 'dark magic' to mean the legal difference, which is annoyingly a bit different. Spells that're legally considered dark arts are those whose only or primary purpose is causing harm. Only a few dark spells are actually banned in Britain, though - usually the thing that's illegal is actually attacking someone without provocation or a declared duel. Still, attacking someone with dark spells can move something from 'assault' to 'aggravated assault.'"

"What's the difference between changing appearance and form? Doesn't changing behavior or capabilities usually involve doing that too? What's the technical difference between light and dark magic? What are wizard trials like?"

She grins broadly.

"Appearance transfigurations are superficial and wear off more quickly. The majority of them are actually considered illusions - properly, only illusions should be in that class, but convincing wizards that non-illusion changes to things like color involve changing form has been an uphill battle. Form transfigurations change the actual structure of an object, and they can last longer. You can't make appearance transfigurations permanent, though even making form transfigurations permanent is an extremely advanced skill."

"You can change behavior without changing form - for instance, if you levitated an item, or froze it in place. But, yes, things like changing a person's behavior naturally involves changes in their brain - but most wizarding theorists think neuroscience is a bizarre field probably irrelevant to their own."

"The technical difference between light and dark magic is that dark magic requires sacrifices, and light magic does not. This is, you will note, almost entirely incongruous with the legal definition, except inasmuch as a sacrifice definitionally harms something. There are actually a large number of European countries where the legal definition matches the technical definition, and many outside of Europe think that particular division is stupid. Historically, dark magic was actually rooted in a different magical practice that predated the invention of wizardry - which is part of the reason for the stigma, though deep dark magic is legitimately harmful, and even mild dark magic is riskier to experiment with than light magic. Sacrifices can be of magical energy, of blood, of objects, of obligation, of memory, or of life, plus some other more obscure elements. Most dark spells you will encounter sacrifice energy, though dark rituals - which are an obscure field - have a wider variety. Also, the definition of a 'sacrifice' is debated - some theorists insist that all harmful elements of a spell are sacrifices, making the technical category of dark arts simply somewhat broader than the legal category."

"The academic definition of the dark arts is also often somewhat strange - my position is as professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, where 'dark arts' are mostly loosely defined as 'dangerous things you might encounter.' Different schools have different things under the heading of 'dark arts.'"

"Additionally, creatures and sapient beings may be considered dark, as may witchcraft - dark witchcraft is simply witchcraft harmful to humans, whereas dark creatures and beings are those the Ministry thinks are dangerous to magical humans. Which is a somewhat silly category subject pretty much solely to politics. There's no actual technical division there, though."

"And wizarding trials vary with the severity of an offense. Magical people have the right to a trial at all and to know what they're accused of, but not to legal representation, nor to a speedy trial, nor to a jury, nor any of the other myriad rights muggles have enshrined. They're rather far behind muggles, in that. Most trials are solved by a single judge, though severe or politically contentious trials can go before the legislative body of the Ministry, the Wizengamot."

"Magic is strange and wizards are weird," Ellie diagnoses.

She laughs, at that.

"Just wait until you see their fashion sense."

"I don't think I'm qualified to comment on fashion."

Soft smile. "Wizards are often - extravagant. And, yes, weird."

"Hmm."

The boat drives on.

"We'll be taking a magic bus to London, once we're somewhere with roads," she comments. "I imagine you're tired?"

"A bit."

"We'll be somewhere with beds soon."

The boat gets to shore rather quickly, at least. Professor Reynolds taps it, making it fold up, and then leads Ellie over to the road. She raises her wand -

And with a soft crack, a double decker bus appears.

"This's the Knight Bus," she says. "It can be a bit disorienting to ride, because it can slip through spaces smaller than it is, but the inside doesn't actually move around. It moves quickly, too."

She hops on, greeting the driver cheerfully (he's apparently one of her ex-students) and paying the fare for both of them. "Off to London for us," she says, "The Leaky Cauldron, preferably," receiving a nod.

Most of the seats are open.

Ellie hesitates, waiting to see what Fay does.

She sits near the front, nodding to some of the other passengers. (No one else actually talks to them, though.) Rather than traditional bus seats, most everything's arm chairs and the like, arranged around small tables. No seat belts.

Ellie takes a seat next to her.

Small smile, as the Knight Bus takes off. (The view out the windows is, indeed, massively disorienting, though it doesn't alter what's inside at all - which barely feels like it's moving.)

"The Leaky Cauldron usually has rooms for rent. I figure we can spend the night, and head to the bank - and to get you more things - in the morning."

"And - if there's anything from your house that you're missing, I can go fetch that."

"No, I don't- have things."

Serious nod. "You'll have your own things soon enough, then."

That's a nice thought. But she is actually realizing she is very tired.

Yawn.

Professor Reynolds lets her doze.

They're pulled up outside of an anachronistically old tavern soon enough - startlingly quickly, given the distances involved. The professor steers Ellie into the inn, quietly asking the girl tending the bar for a suite with two rooms.

The room Professor Reynolds leads Ellie to is small but cozy - no signs of modern technology, here or elsewhere in the Cauldron, and the windows and furnishings look downright medieval. But the bed's soft, and the door locks.

From the inside, even. Isn't that something.

Bed.

She isn't disturbed at all overnight, or even in the morning - Professor Reynolds seems content to let her wake up on her own.

She wakes with a start around dawn, blinks blearily-

-then tugs the curtains shut and goes back to sleep. She doesn't put a toe outside her door until midmorning.

There's a note on the other side of the door - Professor Reynolds is apparently down in the actual tavern room.

Probably there's food down there too. Okay. Let's go.