Potions Lesson One - First to Fourth Years

Naomi slipped into the Potions classroom, a little uneasy to see that she was first. The professor wasn't someone she knew or was familiar with, and he seemed agitated, tapping his fingers impatiently. She slunk to a table in the middle, too scared to sit in the front, but not wanting to be all the way in the back either.

Potions wasn't her favorite subject, but she liked it well enough. She could follow the instructions fine, even if her potions never seemed to come out just right. Her problem last year had been with the overly rigid professor and she hoped this professor would be better.

After reading the name of the potion of the day, Naomi decided to flip to that page in her textbook and read up on the instructions. Until Finley came in, she really didn't have anything else to do, so she might as well be informed on the lesson.

Potions seemed irrelevant. Almost as irrelevant as Care of Magical Creatures was. Except Valentine's class was even more irrelevant. However, Bennett still made his way to Potions class right after Valentine's class had ended. He wasn't too excited for this one, so he took his time getting to class. Swinging his backpack over his shoulders, Bennett took the long way and stopped at the Great hall for a pear. Veganism was a hard lifestyle, but since Bennett grew up in it he often made stops at the Great Hall to help himself to furits or vegetables, to calm his snacking desires. The walk to the dungeons wasn't smooth, lots of people in the hallways crowded the school and the older the students the louder they were, which was surpring to Bennett. Usually, the younger students were more talkative, more enthusiastic about the term.

As he walked in, he saw a girl he'd seen around only a few times. She was in some of his other classes, but he never paid attention to her because she was quiet and...well, usually invisible to him. However, he decided to give her a polite smile in greeting before walking up and taking a seat at the front row, glanckng over at the professor. He anxiously tapped his fingers on the desk, so Bennett commented, "We're not going to eat the textbooks and set the room on fire, sir." Well, at least Bennett wasn't going. Despite not likinbg the subject much, Bennett was quite good at it.

Potions was probably one of the classes that made her nervous the most. She wasn't very good at cooking things nor was she good at reading recipes, however, this was not cooking, it was making potions and she hoped it would be a bit easier. She wasn't very fond of the need to travel to the dungeons, as she thought it was Slytherin territory and Slytherin's were sort of scary and mean, so when she had seen that Potions was in the dungeons, she'd bit her lip. Her legs felt like bricks as she forced them to move down the stairs, her heart fluttering to the beat of a different drum.

When she had arrived at the classroom, she was relieved to see that t wasn't too close to where the Slytherin's were located and it made her feel just a tad better. However, her mood sunk down again when she walked into the class and took a seat next to an older girl in the middle of the classroom. The professor look irritated and it worried her. Would he take it out on them? She looked to the board at the potion they'd work on, but it didn't sound familiar. She hoped he'd have patience with her. After all, she was new to this whole world.

Alberi wasn't sure if he liked Potions or not. Though it seemed interesting to learn, it wasn't very challenging for Alberi, not from what he read for this year. It reminded him of Chemistry, except that it was with magical ingredients and used magic. And Chemistry had a reason for why something happens, while this had none. And Alberi always searched for a reason for something, though sometimes he had problems. Like how some people can be such idiots.

He found his way to the classroom quickly, mostly because it was in the dungeons, which were fast to find, though it took some time to navigate through them. He liked it there, though. Isolated, quiet, away from the others. He was sure that, if he had the time (which he was sure he would have), that this will be the place for him to read and plan. Maybe even meditate. He could pretty much do anything he wished to do here.

Entering the room, he greater the professor before sitting down at the front of the room. Another boy was at the front, so he sat at a table which wasn't taken. After getting ready for class, he looked at the board. The Wideye Potion? Easy enough! He already knew what it did, how to make it and so on. He just hoped that actually making it will turn out alright. Though he had fate in himself. So he was 99% sure he will do great.

Dan didn't hate potions. He really didn't. But he didn't like them either. Despite the fact that he'd never actually brewed a potion, he had a feeling it was rather similar to cooking. Cooking was tedious and required someone with a longer attention span than Daniel possessed. So, he reluctantly trudged down to the Potions classroom, nearly dragging his book-bag on the stone floor in his distaste. This class would likely be his worst. With a heavy sigh, he slumped into a middle seat and tugged out his text book.

The Wideye potion? Dan desperately hoped it did as the name suggested, and also that it was fairly simple. Failing on his first day would not present a good first impression and he desperately wanted to at least pass the class with respectable marks. His parents might not know much about this world, but he was sure they wouldn't like their son failing any of his classes.

The door closing practically had her jumping out of her seat. As she listened to the professor speak, she thought and thought about the potion. The more she thought about it, the more she vaguely remembered hearing about it somewhere. She wasn't sure whether it was Daddy who had told her about it or if it was from all the reading through her books that she had done before arriving. When Professor Balan asked if there was anyone who knew anything about the potion, she began to raise her hand, but then, he asked them to stand and fear struck her.

She looked around the room and saw no one else move for what seemed like a long time, though she knew it wasn't that long. Stand up? In front of everyone? She wasn't entirely fond of that idea, however, that didn't stop her body from doing what it was familiar with and standing up. "Emilia Delacroix, Sir," her once quiet voice was a little louder, enough for everyone to hear her, "the Wideye potion is also know as the Awakening Potion and it can prevent someone from falling asleep as well as it can wake them up." Her cheeks were quite hot as she sat back down and it took everything she could to keep facing the front of the room as opposed to staring at her table.

The people in the classroom were mostly pretty young. First years, Bennett concluded. He didn't mind it, bit the older students were better to hang around. Shrugging to himself, Bennett sat back on his chair. Finally, the professor stood up, closing the door as he did. Of course Bennett knew who he was....Professor Balance. Or at least Bennett knew it now. No matter. It wasn't a requirement to pass the class.

It seemed as though the Professor was giving them all a pep talk, which Bennett didn't mind but did find a bit boring and unnecessary. It wasn't like Bennett would be the only kid to fail. If anything, Bennett would be the only student of his to pass the class. He was a great student, and he was older than these first years, so unless they were all child prodigies they would have a harder time than Bennett would. It seemed scary that as Bennett was thinking on that, Professor Balance warned about cockiness. Chuckling, Bennett agreed. Of course he wouldn't go around bragging about his talents, he only bragged and judged people in his mind. Never had he actually said such things outloud. Well, he had said them to his father but that was it.

Of course Bennett had lots to learn, his path was still miles long. He didn't deny that. As the professor continued the lesson, in pretty much the same way every professor ever did, Bennett looked at the words on the board. The Wideye potion. Bennett knew basics, mainly what it did and some of the ingredients but not the procedure. Since they had to stand up and introduce themselves, Bennett decided it was best for braver students to do so. He didn't mind that whole scene, but he would rather wait for someone else. When a very shy, Hufflepuff girl stood up, Bennett gave him a small smile for her courage. She probably didn't see him, but it was alright.

Standing up after the girl, Bennett said, "The Wideye potion uses snake fangs, Billywig stings and Wolfsbane among other possible ingredients I still don't know." The professor had asked for anything and that was all Bennett had to offer.