First Years - Lesson five!

[Cello Evans]

Cello walked into the Potions Classroom and strode straight up to her desk. It had been a long weekend and now it was back to lessons. She was quite tired but didnt really mind because she felt glad to be back in the Potions classroom. Sitting down on her chair she took out a stack of papers from her bag and started marking them with a peacock feather quill.

She done this for about fifteen minutes before deciding to put the instructions on the board. Standing up, she raised her wand and gave it a slight flick and the instructions appeared on the board for todays lesson.

First Years - Lesson five: An introduction to potions.

Todays lesson will not consist of making a potion but will revolve around learning about them in general. I will post certain questions once in a while and i want proper answers from all of you. If this goes smoothly then i may allow a potion to be brewed in the second half of the lesson. Please take a seat and take out your quills and equipment.

After writing this she sat down once again and continued to mark her papares, waiting for her class to arrive.

[OOC: You have 24 hours to arrive]

[beck]

Beck took a seat right in the front row, his large brimmed hat, casting a shadow over his face. In his gloved hands he held a battered notepad and pen, always wondering why the wizarding race subjected them self to such obsolete methods of writing. Regardless he had a quil and ink bottle just in case it was some sort of rule. With his chair tipped on it's back legs he balanced carefully whilst he waited for the class to fill in. Maybe he would meet the vampire he girl he met in the common room. His left hand clutched the note book on reflex, the familiar wieght of his staff woefully missing. He despised the rule against bringing it to class.

'Today will be the day I begin to think out side the boundaries of average magic.'

[keladry]

Well she was going to her first lesson. So late in the year, and she was begining her lesson at lesson 5. Shaking her head as she slowly picked up her books off the floor of the dormitory. Slipping the books she would need, or assumed she would need into her bag pack, along with her quill and parchment, and some drawing paper. Looking in the mirror and fixing the small strand of raven colored hair as she desented the stairs to class.

Walking along the dungeons floors, she found the place eerie, the cool temperature of the lower level of the school was not comforting. Wrapping her arms across her shoulders, she walked on, finally grasping the door handle as she admitted herself into the class room. Eye adjusting to the light she found Beck already there. "And he say's he's not a Ravenclaw" Kel thought to herself as she took a seat across from him. Remaining silent she looked up at the board, doing as she was instructed she placed a quill and parchment in front of her. Laying her hands in her lap she waited for the class to begin.

[josie]

Josie groaned as she piled her things in to her bag ready for the days lessons. She picked up her potions book and had to physically stop herself from throwing herself on to her bed, burying beneath the covers and staying there till the day was done.

Potions, argh her first lesson and she had no idea what to expect, she had never had a lesson in potions and to make matters worse she was taking her first class when everyone else was taking their fifth.

She had stayed up half the night looking over her potions book, trying to get a feel for the subject before her first lesson, hoping to make up some ground but alas the notes had eluded her the diagrams had baffled her and trying to make sense of it all had given her a monster headache.

She didn't feel this was going to be her strong subject and she felt sick thinking about sitting in that cold dungeon trying to make sense of it all.

Taking a deep breath she shouldered her bag and made her way to as she saw it her doom.

The corridors leading to the classroom did nothing to dispel her fears, cold dank and murky she felt the chill as soon as she entered the dungeons.

A chill went up her back and goosebumps broke out over the bare skin on her arms and legs. She jumped at the slightest of noises and mentally scolded herself for being so foolish.

Get a grip! She told herself, I'm sure there are others in the same boat as you and I bet they're dealing with it a lot better

She straightened as she reached the door to the classroom and took a deep breath before entering, taking the nearest seat she sat down and pulled out her text book, parchment and quills before reading the instructions on the board.

She almost laughed as she read the words Not Consist Of Potions Making all that worry for nothing.

She pulled her Potions book before her and opened at where she had left off the previous night, she was determined to do her best and didn't see the harm in getting a little extra reading in before the class started.

[Pierce James]

All right, so Pierce wasn't in the best of moods today. He was tired as hell and definitely was not in the mood for classes. And the odd thing was, he really had no reason to be in such a bad mood. He didn't want to take notes, participate in extra chattering, or really any class-related talk. It was potions class; how exciting could it be? Considering the board said they wouldn't be making anything, he couldn't help but feel like the class was pointless. It was just an off-day.

Walking into his potions class, Pierce gave a short glance to the board, then out to the other students that had arrived. He recognized only one, Kel, but wasn't in the mood to start off a conversation with her. He quickly took a seat apart from the other students, letting his bag drop with a loud thud to the ground. Crossing his arms on his desk, Pierce lay his head down, shutting his eyes. He would wait for class to start until he took out his notes.

[paulkong]

"Oh bollocks." Alex said to himself as he skidded to a stop outside the potions classroom. "Why couldn't they make a bloody map..." He mumbled to himself and looked in at the few people already sitting there. He wasn't sure if he was late or not, having left his watch next to his bed. He walked in quietly and sat down next to a girl in Hufflepuff robes, he surveyed the note on the board, "Well thank god for that..." He mumbled to himself after reading the part of the instructions that said "todays lesson will not consist of potion making". The last thing he felt like doing was making a cauldron explode in a room full of people he'd never met before.

He pulled out a piece of parchment and his quill and sat silently, waiting for the class to start.

[Cello Evans]

Cello smiled and greeted each student as they entered the room and she walked around her desk to stand infront of the class. Before starting to speak, she looked over and out the window where she could see a thestral in the distance soaring over the trees. Of course, she wished she couldn't see them because of the situation that had happened that allowed her too but she couldn't help it now.

Quikcly snapping her self back into reality she shook her head and clapped her hands together.

"Ok class, first question of the lesson! Were starting off really simple today! Who can tell me, what is a potion? I want a good answer!" she said.

[OOC: You can look these things up online! Simply do a google search and then put your results into RP style here =] ]

[paulkong]

As Professor Evans asked the question Alex marveled in both the simplicity and complexity of the question. On the one hand it was a very simple question, a potion was simply a mixture of different ingredients to create some sort of solution. In the magical sense of the word it was infinitely more complex. Sure, it was still a mixture, but, at the same time it was so much more. A potion could make someone love you, kill them, even completely forget who they are.

As he finished formulating his answer, Alex raised his hand and waited for her to recognize him. When she did he began, "Well, simply put, a potion is a mixture of different ingredients to make a solution to serve a specific purpose. Different ingredients will yield a different result, such as a sleeping draught or a love potion." He finished and wrote down his answer on a piece of parchment as well. It was a quirk of his, he liked to keep track of his thoughts and conclusions. That way if he found out something was wrong later on he could look back at his thoughts and find out why he was wrong.

He sat back in his chair when he was done and waited patiently for the professor to continue on.

[Cello Evans]

Cello beamed at the first year boy when he answered her question. She was hoping she would get an answer like that and not just simply.."A potion is a potion miss".
"Two house points to you! I cant give alot out because i'll be giving them out for each question but keep answering and you will earn alot more!"

The other members of the first year class were sitting there silently, apparently waiting for the next question. She quickly opened her mouth and spoke again.

"Right!So the magical properties of a potion come from the ingredients used. The way in which those ingredients are prepared and mixed define each potion and a small mistake can be...disasterous, to say the least. Since I'm sure none of you wish to melt your cauldrons, I'm also sure you'll pay careful attention to any instructions that are given.
So, about these ingredients. Many ingredients occur naturally in the world. If a muggle were to pick up the same ingredients as a wizard or witch, would they be able to brew a potion as well?

[paulkong]

(OOC: If you want me to take this down so someone else can answer just let me know)

Alex waited for a moment to give someone else a chance to answer, he didn't want to seem like a know it all. After a moment of waiting for the other students he raised his and began to answer. "I would say no, because its probably not just the ingredients that make the potion is it? You need to know what to add when, kind of like baking a cake, you need to do things in a particular order, you shouldn't put the icing on the cake before you bake it. A muggle could use all ingredients but it won't work unless they actually know how to do it."

He finished and looked around, all the students looked back to the professor. He hoped someone else would have an answer for her next question, right now it was more of a conversation than a class.

(OOC: Like I said, just pm me if you want me to take it down so someone else can answer)

[Cello Evans]

"Excellent answer! You have the potential to be an excellent potion master! Three house points to Gryffindor!" she said with a smile towards the first year.

She looked down at her class sheet and looked up again. "Alexander isnt it?" she asked the boy.

"Ok lets move on class! There is more to brewing potions than just the ingridients. A certain...ability...is also required. It has been suggested that a muggle wouldn't be able to achieve the same results as a full fledged witch or wizard could, owing to their inability to pull out certain magical properties that the ingridients have, but muggles have made tremendous progress over the years, much of that success based their adaptation of things considered magical. Just a question for thought, What about a squib? A squib is a non-magical person (or, I am thinking, a person with very limited magical capabilities) born into a wizard family. Chances are that they would have grown up familiar with such things as potions ingredients and would understand their properties, but could they manage to successfully brew a potion?"

She stood and waited for an answer.

[OOC: Dont worry Alexander, if you have the answer then answer the question. Its first come first serve after all Lol!]

[Tanus Harrab]

Tanus walked into the Potions classroom a little late.So then he, sat down by the door.He got out his items for class, then he started to write down some notes.In case that, he would need them later on.Once he was done, Tanus looked up and listened to the T.A. and the lesson.

[jarodlacroux]

Oh that's right, he still had another class to attend. Potions sounded exciting. Maybe he'll be able to brew something explosive. Jarod could only imagine, well if he wanted, but he headed out of Charms to go down another corridor that hopefully led to the Potion's classroom. But on his way, he became distracted by the portraits. "Oh wait, right, class is this way." He chuckled to himself.

Such a knuckle-head, he continues down the corridor, following the latest Gryffindor who arrived before him into the classroom. Already there was some discussion going on, but Jarod didn't mind. He'll just have to make up for it during the rest of this lesson, or perhaps the next? He quietly took a seat in the middle of class, taking out parchment and his ink-filled quill. Yay, notes and discussion galore!

[cremefilled]

Sev came into the classroom and took a seat. He was still trying to adjust to this new schedule. When he was homeschooled, he wouldn't have to wake up until 9 or 10 o'clock and he could just go into the living room in his PJs. Now, he had an actual schedule. But he was excited for potions. He could think of his mother brewing potions in their house all the time even though his grandmother often complained of the odor. Sev smiled as he thought of his grandmother.

[beck]

Beck sat silent, taking in the basic information with cliff notes. He was never one to actually answer questions but these house point things sounded fun. "Well muggles haven't played with eye of newt since the dark ages while squibs know the specific screwy ways you need to cut a stalk of magic grass. Also muggles like to call themselves chemists, a great name if you ask me. So yeah squibs can manage potions, I would say they would be better given it's their only chance at being considered magical." His statement was only loosely based on his limited knowledge but he was confident it would do well enough. Just in case he was wrong he tilted his large hat's brim down to hide a possible blush or emotion. Folding his arms he continued to observe.

[Cello Evans]

"Ok thats a good answer Mr Ekanharde! So now, let's step back to ingredients for the moment.Ingredients can come from many...sources....but can roughly be sorted into two distinct categories. Is anyone willing to take a guess at what these two categories are?"

[josie]

Josie sat listening intently to the discussions going on around her.

She glanced at the door every time someone came in late, she couldn't help it she was so easily distracted.

FOCUS She mentally scolded herself, this wasn't the time to daydream, especially if she wanted to do well.

She found herself smiling as the teacher voiced the latest question, she had a limited knowledge of the subject but she was pretty sure she has the answer to this one.

"Is it ingredients that come from plants and ingredients that come from animals?" She asked second guessing herself before the words had even left her lips.

Usually a confident person, Josie found herself way out of depth in this classroom and could feel her cheeks flushing as she waited to be told if her answer was right or wrong.

[Cello Evans]

"Yes, that is one of the answers Miss Felling! Well done! Three House Points to you! Some others also include, Deadly and Non Deadly and Powders and Liquids.And, of course, we must prepare these ingredients in certain ways, depending on just what potion we intend on brewing.
Who can give me one way that an ingredient can be prepared prior to adding it to our mixture?"
(For example: Diced....though don't use that one for one of your answers).

[paulkong]

Alex thought for a moment, diced could be one but he wanted something a bit more original. He thought for a moment then spoke up, "I suppose that some beans might have to be ground, if they have some sort of juice that needs to be used in the potion. Another way might be to peel, it seems like a cooking idea but you might peel a potato. You could also have to peel some sort of magical agreement to use the fruit or something inside of it. In other cases you might need the skin itself." He said then finished, hoping that he may have been right since he basically stole ideas from cooking.

[mileena]

Hannah walked in the room quickly. She beat herself up mentally, she just had to stop by the library. Taking a seat at an empty table she got her things out. She was trying to listen to what was going on so that she wouldn't be too confused when she started her notes but, nothing in particular stuck out. Muffling a sigh with her hand she sat with her head in her hand then looked around the room.