The students were meeting in the Danger Shop today, which looked quite a bit like the school library, but with enough computer terminals for about half the class. "If you haven't had to do research yet in the course of helping your friend or coworker or whoever it is you have in mind, I can almost guarantee you will at some point or another," Hermione began. "In fact, should there be any sort of invasion or islandwide problem while you're here, there will probably be an opportunity for you to use this skill. Information is very important. You want to be as prepared as possible for any situation in which you might find yourself, because that will give you the start to solving the problem. Personally, I'm used to using books for this sort of thing. I know now you're more used to computers, which is something I'm still getting used to. I know that doesn't mean it's not a useful tool. Just know that whatever's out there can be put up by anyone, and it might not always be the most accurate information.

"Now, for class today, I'm going to give you things to research. Since we're in Egypt, I changed my original plan at the last minute and found some ancient Egyptian artifacts for you to learn about." Hermione maybe sounded really excited about that, even picking up speed when she talked. "You're going to pick an item to research and find out everything you can by the end of the class period. What it is, when it's from, what it's used for... You can use the computers or look things up in the stacks here, but please note that there are only so many computers and either you'll have to take turns, or some of you will only be looking in books. I'm also not going to assign something specific to any of you, so you can pick whatever you're most comfortable with, and you can ask others for help. Sharing information is another very good way of getting information. Just don't spend the whole class gossipping, please."

Just as she was about to let them get to work, she stopped and said, "Oh, and keep in mind that not everything in ancient Egypt was exactly... pleasant to research, so if you're looking at anything about mummification, try to keep the 'ew's to a minimum."