Beginner Potions Lesson 1

Matt strode into the classroom and stood at the front of the class. He had set the classroom up with cauldrons at every second desk. The students today would be creating a Potion, but working in pairs, not individually.

He leaned against his desk haphazardly and waited for the students to arrive.

(Post your arrival, I will begin the class when the majority of students have arrived. Please state in your post, in bold who your partner is going to be)

Ethan was excited for this first Potions lesson. He really had no idea what he was going to be doing, nor did he really know anything about Potion making at all, but he was definitely excited to start learning.

Ethan entered the classroom and almost squealed when he saw cauldrons set up. Awesome, he though. A chance to make a right royal mess!

Standing behind one of them, Ethan smiled nervously up at the Professor, who, in Ethan's opinion, looked harsh enough to cut glass on. Oh well... He couldn't be too mean, surely.

(My partner will be Makayla Hall)

Hester slipped into the classroom. There was only one other student in it so far; Ethan who had found her reading in the clock tower.

She found herself an empty desk. There was one cauldron on it so Hester guessed that they would be sharing. She was excited to be making a potion; these things still thrilled her even though she was third year.

She dropped her bag underneath the desk and took out her wand and her potion kit. Then she paused. She should probably get out her quill and parchment and stuff as well in case the teacher wanted them to write notes first. She wouldn't put it past him.

She knew that Lavender was taking this class and she hoped that she would want to work with her.

((My partner is Lavender Parkinson))

Gwen entered the room and shot the professor a smile and sat down. Okay, it was all she could do not to scream,
"I`M IN SECOND YEAR! I`M IN SECOND YEAR!"
Reeeeaaaally loudly.
She was a bit sad though, some of her friends had left Hogwarts.
But she stiill had a few, like Hes, she was great. And Em, her bestie. And Tom and Peter and Nessa.
So she was happy afterall.

(My Partner is Tom Celare)

Lavender wondered into the classroom, she was quite tired, sleeping had been difficult for her of late. Though she wasn't sure why. There were a few students in already, one being Hester. She sighed with relief and quickly took the seat next to the red head.

"Hiya," Lavender smiled, stoking the girls elbow as she sat down. Her bag was quite heavy so she dropped it to the floor and took her things out.

Partner: Hester Alderman

Lachlan walked into the Potions classroom, a little uneasy about being in the dungeons. It was damp and dark down here. Lachlan didn't know how Leighton managed to live down here. Lachlan could only assume that it was an acquired taste.

Noticing how the class had already had a few students in it, Lachlan sat toward the middle back. Lachlan knew that Leighton wasn't one for sitting close to the front. Lachlan just hoped that Leighton would be her partner for class. Of course, if her friend Alyssa showed up, Leighton might be her partner.

Pulling out her things, Lachlan waited for class to begin. She was gonna force Leighton to be her partner, whether she liked it or not.

((Partner: Leighton Vladimir))

Leighton walked into Potions, a smirk on her face. Leighton didn't know who her partner was going to be, but she hoped it wasn't any of the girls that had gotten on her bad side earlier. If Leighton was forced to deal with one of them, then she might kill herself. Literally.
When Leigh entered the classroom, she spotted a mane of curly brown hair. Her dear cousin Lachlan had already made it to class. Leigh knew she wasn't the best at making it to class on time. The fact that so little people were there made Leighton fell accomplished.
Walking over, Leighton pulled out the seat next to Lachlan. Leighton knew that Lachlan hated school and Leighton couldn't let Lachlan struggle on her own. Leigh felt the urge to help her favorite cousin. It was only logically.
"Lach," Leighton said while ruffling Lachlan's already curly hair. "I hope you are ready for your favorite subject!" Leigh exclaimed ironically. Leighton very well knew that Lachlan never understood Leigh's love for Potions. Lachlan hated the subject. It was funny actually.

((Partner: Lachlan Normandy))

Kyra slipped in the Potions classroom, not wanting to be seen. She loved Potions, and was kind of good at it too, but she was nervous, seeing how this was the first lesson of the year.

She sat down at a random desk, not caring who it was close to. Her bag was getting unnaturally heavy and she was already tired. She put her head down, trying to get a little bit of sleep before class started. Sometimes she hated school.

((My partner is the lovely Liz McCutney))

Liz walked in hesitantly, making her way to an empty table; she was relieved to find that she was neither the first nor the last in the room. She slipped into a seat next to Kyra behind one of the two-person desks, instantly brushing off the table with her arm. The girl looked like she was trying to sleep, so instead of trying to start a conversation, she whispered an amused, "Hello, Kyra," and turned to the desk. If you looked closely, you could make out writing on the wood, though Liz certainly wasn't going to look too closely; who knew what the sixth- and seventh- years had thought up. Shivering slightly, she reached over and began to take out her books--just in case.

(Partner: Kyra Henderson)

Terry skipped in, smiling weakly at the ones she was friends with while sitting down at an empty desk. Dropping her bag on the floor, she took out her book and potions kit, flipping through the book,bored, as she waited fore Ivy to arrive. She was pretty sure her cousin was taking potions this year.

(Mah Le Partner: Pierre Korsten)

Pierre entered the dungeons, looking around briefly before sitting down next to Liza. "Hey," he whispered quietly. Waving slightly at Ki, who was sitting next to a Ravenclaw, he took out his book and potions kit and set them on the desk, eying their cauldron warily.

(My Partner: Terry Berbatov)

Sami walked in, a bit flustered as she searched for some parchment in her bag. She was positive that she had stuffed some in the night before and was confused as to why it wasn't in there now. She was almost always prepared for stuff like this, and hoped that she had simply misplaced it. Deciding that finding a desk was her first priority, she lifted her head up and scanned the desks, thankfully seeing an empty one near the back of the room. She sat down, took out her book, and began scavenging through her bag for her lost items.

The chair next to the un-prepared Ravenclaw scraped the floor and made a hiss-like noise, announcing the presence of another student. She gave a small nod of the head, not wanting to seem all too rude, and went back to searching.

(Partner: Anyone who'll take me.)

Jenn walked into her first potions class. Everything needed was in her bag, somewhere. She searched the room. Most people seemed to already be partnered up. Before sitting down, she grabbed her book, parchment, a quill, and a bottle of ink. There were a few seats not already occupied, so Jenn pulled back the chair of one and sat down.

(Partner: Anyone who wants to be)

Ainslee walked into the Potions classroom, her palms sweating. The classroom was dark and smelled awful. Who would want to live down here? She wondered, remembering how the Slytherins' dorms were in teh dungeons.

She was nervous beyond belief. Not only did she not know a lot of people, but she had no clue what this class was even about. Potions seemed like a vague title to Ainslee. She had no clue what Potions consisted of.

Ainslee saw that Lachlan and her cousin were sitting next to each other. And Lavender and Hester were sitting next to each other. For a second, Ainslee began to panic. But then she noticed a Gryffindor sitting by herself, Ainslee let out a little sigh of relief. Hopefully the girl wouldn't mind her sitting next to her.

Taking a seat next to the girl, Ainslee smiled politely. "'Ello," Ainslee said cheerfully even though she felt sick with nerves. "I'm Ainslee James." She introduced herself. Maybe siting with a fellow Gryffindor would make this class less frightening.

Jenn looked at the new voice, Ainslee James, who was now sitting beside her. She smiled at her for a second, "Hello, I'm Jenn Black. It's nice to meet a fellow Gryffindor." Jenn really was excited to hopefully get to know this girl a bit better. "Would you like to be partners for this class, because we're supposed to have them and . . . yeah." Jenn smiled at the end. She was never the best with meeting new people, gets kind of nervous. But once you know Jenn, she talks more.

Caden walked into Potions, a smirk on his face, Hopefully this class would be enjoyable. He was actually looking forward to this class. Maybe he would be able to sit by someone not annoying. Looking around the classroom, he could see Lachlan and Leighton. Unfortunately, they were sitting next to each other. Those were about the only girls he knew, oh and that Lavender girl was also there sitting by a redhead.

Sitting at the table behind Lachlan and Leighton, Caden hoped that Paul would be in this class. He was the only boy that Caden has met so far. He was tolerable enough. A Gryffindor, but still tolerable.

Caden pulled out all of his things, and began examining his wand. That was the only thing tha the could do until the class started.

(Partner: Paul Richards)

Andy walked into the Dungeon and grinned. Awesome, he thought as he saw the cauldrons set up. He moved over to a free desk wondering where James was, who was meant to be his partner for this lesson. Probably still sleeping, the lazy arse.

Andy drummed his fingers on the wooden table and waited for either the lesson to start, or for James to get his extremely lazy body out of bed and down to class. Knowing Andy's luck James would take forever to arrive, and Hamilton would pair him up with someone else. Andy swore under his breath, wishing he had a punctual friend.

(Partner: Brianna Carter)

Makayla felt awful. She raced down to the dungeon, knowing that she was so late, the class had probably started already. She pushed the heavy door open, waiting for the scolding from the Professor but received none. She sighed in relief and looked around for Ethan, who said would be partners with her for this lesson, thank goodness. If he didn't, she really didn't know who she would work with, not knowing anyone else really.

Makayla walked up to the boy and smiled. "Hey, I'm so sorry I'm so late. I hope you haven't been waiting long."

(Partner: Ethan Carter)

Bri showed up a bit later than she would have liked, but she'd never taken potions before and she'd gotten a little bit lost as she wandered around in the dungeons looking for their classroom. She spotted her cousin and gave him a little wave; she was glad to have someone that she knew in the lesson. Then she realized that almost everyone was sitting in pairs and she realized that they needed to have a partner. Luckily, she spotted Andy sitting by himself, which meant that she could probably pair up with him. "Hey, mind if I join you?" she asked him with a smile.

(Partner: Anthony McGuire)

James woke up with a start and swore rather loudly; he was so super late for Potions. He raced down from Gryffindor Tower and opened the door, slightly out of breathe. James had arranged to be Andy's partner for Potions this morning, but as James was so late, he expected Hamilton to have paired him with someone else. James groaned, hoping that he wouldn't have to be paired with someone annoying, like a certain Ravenclaw he had to do a detention with.

He looked around and saw Andy sitting with Brianna, and figured that they were partners. James shrugged and stood behind an empty cauldron, praying to whoever was up there that he got a decent partner.

(Partner: Alli Walker)

Alli took her time to get to Potions. She wasn't running late; in her mind, everyone else was just early and she would get there just in time (or perhaps right after the professor started). She preferred to make an entrance when she could.

Once inside the room, it was clear that they were going to be doing partner work. Options for partners were pretty slim. She saw Sami sitting by herself and honestly would have rather fed herself to the giant squid than work with someone so annoying. Then she spotted James. He would do. Maybe she could get him to light Sami's hair on fire or something... That would be interesting.

She took the seat next to him and nudged his arm. "Look who doesn't have a partner," she nodded her head at Sami.

(Partner: James Wilson)

Matt looked around and deemed that the lesson should commence. He surveyed the room, seeing a few students without partners.

"Miss Cooper, Miss Criss and Mr Callaghan; you three may work together until Mr Celare and Mr Richards decide they wants to join us this morning."

He leaned back against his desk. "Right. Today we shall be brewing, hence the cauldrons. You will be working in pairs to create the Shrinking Potion, also called the Shrinking Solution. Both names will crop up in texts but are the same product. This potion's main use is to shrink items in size. Before we begin, can anymore tell me what other use this Potion has?"

Bri raised her hand after the Professor asked his question. She'd done enough studying over the summer to be confident in her answer. She could see the page on Shrinking Solutions clearly in her mind. "The Shrinking Solution can be used to reverse age to some degree. For example, it can reverse the age of a frog back into that of a tadpole," she said somewhat quietly because the professor was a little intimidating.

Matt nodded as the Ravenclaw spoke. "Well done, Miss Carter," he commended. "Take 10 points for your answer." The uses for the Shrinking solution appeared on the board behind him.

Shrinks items in size
Can be used to reverse the aging process

"Precise measurements and preparation skills are needed to properly create this potion. You will be given amble time to prepare your ingredients so I will be less than impressed if you cannot all create this potion successfully. From the cupboard, one person from each pair, or group, shall gather the following items." Matt turned to the board again and wrote:

4 Daisy Roots
1 Shrivelfig
1 Caterpillar
1 Rat Spleen
1 Small vile of Leech Juice

"Following instructions to the letter is as important as the preparation. One mishap, and your solution can turn poisonous. Please take down these instructions and get to work. Remember that only a dash of leech juice is needed."

1. Prepare your ingredients. Daisy roots need to be chopped evenly. Shrivelfig is to be skinned. Caterpillar sliced evenly.

2. Place cauldron on high heat, stirring clockwise until water begins to boil. Add the daisy roots and the caterpillar at the first sign of boiling water. Turn cauldron down to low, and allow the roots and caterpillar to simmer, stirring anticlockwise for 5 minutes.

3. After 5 minutes, add the Rat spleen. Colourisation of solution should be pale green. Stir continuously for 15 minutes in a clockwise motion.

4. Turn cauldron up to a medium heat, adding in the Shrivelfig slowly. Stir 10 times clockwise and 10 times Anticlockwise for 10 minutes.

5. Turn the flames down to a low heat, immediately adding the dash of leech juice. The colour of the solution, at this stage, should be a bright acid green.

6. Allow the solution to simmer at this stage, allowing it to stew. 20 minutes or so should be amble time.

7. Extinguish the flames after the allocated stewing time. The solution should be safe to be drunk.

Lachlan glared at her cousin once she sat down. Yes, Leighton was her favorite cousin and they got along most of the time, but Leigh knew that she hated her hair being ruffled. It was one of her pet peeves. Leighton knew that she is terrible at Potions. Leigh liked to flaunt the fact that she was superior at Potions than Lachlan was.

"Hey Leigh, pleasure to see you." Lachlan sang sarcastically and with a grin. Lachlan was glad that Leighton was her partner though. Lachlan knew that she would fail this class without her. "You want me to get the things? Since you are gonna have to hold my hand through this lesson?"

Without hearing her response, Lachlan stood up and went to grab the materials. She walked toward the cupboard and opened it. Looking back at the board, Lachlan gathered all of the things in her arms. The materials looked confusing and all of this made Lachlan's brain hurt.

She set the things down on the table, Lachlan sat back down and smiled brightly at Leighton. "Well," she drawled. "Do your thing!" Lachlan sang, leaning into Leighton. Lachlan knew that she was probably getting on Leighton's nerves. But, Leigh would deal with it.