potions class#2

Hallie Cooper, seventeen and blonde, paced down the spiral staircase into the dungeons - a third year Ravenclaw hurrying past her as she did so. Hallie knew she was already late and thought the extra two minutes it took her to walk at a more relaxed paced wouldn't make much difference. In her hands she had her essay out, which she'd spent almost five hours writing. Seventh year really was getting to her.

Alas she had reached the classroom door. I wonder what monstrosity we'll be brewing today. She silently thought, skimming over the conclusion of last weeks homework before turning the handle and entering the classroom. Already the potions dungeon was trapped in a vivid scent. The concoction of stale boomslang skin and armadillo bile crept up her nostrils, tingling her senses.

Hallie handed Professor Granger last weeks essay before perching herself on a stool by a bench on the right side of the classroom. She usually chose this spot. It was furthest from the younger students who congregated on the left and was closer to one of the sinks. Not that the Gryffindor hated the younger children but with her NEWT's coming up in a few months she needed all the time to concentrate on her own potion rather than engaging in conversation.

Hallie loved to chat whether it be in The Great Hall or breakfast or over a simmering cauldron. The temptation really got to her at times, she felt like a recovering alcoholic obeying by the t-total rule whilst trapped inside a chamber of campaign. However, it had to be done. The seventh year couldn't afford to waste time anymore, not if she wanted to secure the grades to be accepted onto auror training.

Hallie turned to page 804 of Moste Potente Potions and read over the list of ingredients and instructions before anything else. So we'll be working on this potion for about a month. The seventeen year old thought. So chances are it wont be coming up in our NEWT practical. Not unless the examiner wants to sit around the castle for a thirty days.

Her lips curled at the corners as she read the effects of the potion. Hallie had heard all about the polyjuice potion in previous lessons and pamphlets about auror training - it was once mentioned in her NEWT Transfiguration class. To Hallie this potion seemed extraordinarily fascinating, it'd give her powers to metamorphose. Another method of sneaking out of the castle for a wander in Hogsmede began to bubble in her brain.

Rika tiptoed inside the dungeon. She sneaked a glance at her watch and breathed out a sigh of relief- not late. She didn't know if she could tolerate the Professor humiliating her or doling out a detention in her first class, in front of everyone. Already the students reaction to her hadn't been all that pleasant. Sure, there was that friendly meeting with Kate, and an almost polite conversation with.....Vivianna? But most had either outright avoided her, or stalked her everywhere. And of course, the icing on the cake, her own personal she-demon: Henrietta Finch.

Her eyes flicked to the occupants of the class and she sighed, no she-demon yet. She lit her cauldron, polished the edges, took out her books, checked the instructions......Rika beamed. Potions was an excellent first class. She knew this potion well, and best of all: no wands required. Humming under her breath slightly, she traipsed to the supply cupboard and gathered the necessary ingredients. She got to work almost absently, beginning with washing the lacewing. Lost in the monotony of the task, she wondered about Brenda; she hadn't talked to her the whole day. Probably sulking, the idiot.

"Of course Bertie," Vivianna smiled, patting the seat next to her. "And if you need help or anything, just ask," she added softly. The witch was aware that she could probably be brewing both hers and Bertie's potions at the same time and still get decent marks. That wouldn't be needed though, Bertie was intelligent. Besides, the teenager had already decided that this potion would be done at her usual perfect standard.

Out of the corner of her eye, the Slytherin glimpsed an older Gryffindor taking a seat on the other side of the classroom. She was disregarded when another student walked in shortly after her. "Hey Erika," Vivianna said absently, as the Ravenclaw got to work. The new student had placed her stuff not far from where Vivianna herself was sitting.

Bertie smiled as Vivianna allowed him to sit by her, she was there if he needed help. Not that he would be in a huge pickle, he was relatively smart and could get decent marks by himself but small tips about what size is best to slice caterpillars or how best to stir the mixture at different stages that Viv usually gave would be useful in later life.

Bertie pulled out his box of ingredients and potion book, turning to page for the calming draught. It looked simple enough, the only complex bit was the towards the end. Giggling to himself he stared down at his essay. Two toad prints were signed at the bottom where Snidget had hopped form the jar of ink onto the parchment - luckily Bertie had caught him before he went ink crazy. Usually the Ravenclaw would have rewrote the entire essay but with his imagination being elsewhere over the weekend he hadn't had time.

'Here you are, Professor.' Bertie said politely, handing his parchment to Professor Granger before returning to the stool besides Vivianna. There he set up his cauldron full of water, igniting the underneath with incendio to turn the temperature up and getting the water simmering before he started adding the ingredients.

Henri flounced into class, laughing at the stupid joke one her girl-posse had just retold, forgetting that she had told her the joke. "That'd be soooo hilarious, Ally, if I hadn't told it to you yesterday!"

The other brunette immediately colored while the rest of the girls snickered and laughed at their comrade's expense. Henri smiled triumphantly and looked about.

"Ugh."

Yes, the sight of Erika Dixon was enough to incite a verbal confirmation of disgust from the American girl. She waved the other girls off and looked about for an opportunity - and it was there in the form of one Vivianna Varnes.

She rushed to the empty seat on Viv's other side, and leaned over as though to conspire. "Hey, V. You're rocking the blue." She saw that Viv was not alone, so she jerked her head at the boy, flicking him a flirty look. "Hey." She turned back to Viv and motioned to Erika, who was returning to her seat. "Have you met the new girl? She's so tragic. Practically begged me to be her friend when we first met, and I said yes, of course, because I'm not cruel. But the other day, she saw me sitting at lunch with my other friends and totally flipped out on me. She's so tragically alone that she's a bit... off."

Ignore. Ignore, ignore, ignore: went the chant running through Rika's brain. Even if she flounces in looking like the most annoying she-demon ever to grace this plane. Even if she whispers trash into the ears of the one person that didn't quite freak out on her. Even if she......, wait, what did she just say?

Tra-....tragic?

That's why Brenda existed, you know. Finch wasn't the first asshole she had ever come across. There had been other, non-magical versions who had pointed their perfectly manicured fingers and pitched out their fake giggles. Rika didn't want to invite trouble, so Brenda would flame up inside her head, growl out unheard insults and plot their demise. It was a remarkably effective way of calming her down. But now, Brenda was silent; and Rika waited in vain for that snippy, sardonic voice to deride Henrietta Finch....and was greeted by nothing but silence.

".....practically begged me to be her friend when we first met.......she's so tragically alone that she's a bit... off."

Rika clenched her teeth, tightly. She breathed deeply, exhaling puffs of air, flexed her fingers and smoothened her face. It wouldn't do to show Finch how much her words had actually affected her. Correction, how much her words had annoyed her to pieces. She breathed, once more, then giggled. Tittered really, and Rika flattered herself by thinking it was nowhere near Finch's operatic, ear-drum mauling cackle.

Off, am I? As you wish then.....

"Honestly Bren, be nice." She reprimanded half-heartedly among chuckles, as if to imagined words. Funny thing was, this time they were imagined words, Brenda had said nothing. She shook her head lightly, face a picture of innocence, "Some people need the attention, their lives are that....ah, pathetic, that their entire self-confidence depends on people's attention. Its probably psychological, she must have been starving for it while she was growing up....." Another light shake of the head. "Poor girl." And she continued washing her flies unaffectedly.

The water in Bertie's cauldron had now began to boil. Removing a moonstone from a tray in his standard potions kit he examined it. It was grey, hard and speckled. It reminded Bertie of an ordinary pebble he saw when going for walks on the stoney beach down the road from his house. Although this wasnt an ordinary stone, unlike the pebbles by the shore the moonstone had properties to help calm and ease the mind, serving to be a key ingredient in the calming draught.

Bertie dropped the moonstone into the cauldron with a plop, grasped a the ladel and began to stir, watching the moonstone slowly dissolve. Whilst gently stirring the ladel he looked up as an older student came across to Vivianna's other side. Bertie knew her to be a fellow Ravenclaw who went by the name 'Henri Finch'. He doubted whether she knew his name, even if they were in the same house. When she nodded flirtatiously at him a faint pink flourished through his cheeks.

Oh well. She'll forget who I am by lunch time. Bertie thought, returning to his potion to see that, alas, the moonstone had fully dissolved. Bertie wasn't bothered if Henri didn't know him. Yes he thought she was pretty but didnt everyone? Besides he was too wrapped up in his own imagination to worry about getting a gift for a girlfriend on valentines day or treating her to a new quill whenever they visited Hogsmede. Not that he wouldn't like the chance to do that in the future, but right now his mind was far away from girls.

Vivianna had been about to respond to Henri, when Erika herself spoke up. But Erika wasn't attempting to defend herself, she was speaking to Bren. The Slytherin knew Henri well enough to be aware that what the older Ravenclaw had just said would not be taken lightly.

"Thanks Henri," Vivianna spoke up quickly in a lousy attempt to distract the girl. "I really like it, you were right," as the witch said this, she pulled on a blue-dyed strand absently, "I have met Erika, she helped me collect potions ingredients the other night." Her words would have to do, the teenager hadn't stood up for the new girl, but hadn't agreed with Henri either. Clearly there was something going on between the two Raveclaw girls, and hopefully Vivianna would be able to stay as neutral as possible.

Dropping her prepped boomslang skin into lightly simmering liquid, the girl nodded to herself as the potion began to change shades. Stealing a quick glance over at Bertie's caldron, she threw the boy a smile when it looked to be correct. Half her attention on her own potion, and half her attention on Henri, the Slytherin could only hope that the wild girl wouldn't cause a scene too large.

Henri was a bit disappointed that Viv didn't bite and her expression may have briefly displayed the emotion, which was odd for Henri. For her to actually allow sincere emotion that she was feeling to become visible really made it clear that whatever situation she was in, it was somehow significant to her.

"She is a sweet girl," she said, recovering. "I'm worried about her." She felt as though she needed a quick rebound so she looked about and straightened up. She glanced around and caught sight of someone she had yet to meet. She bounced off towards the girl, an older looking blonde girl, and sat down next to her. "Hi! I'm Henri!"

Padril sat quietly in the corner of the class, concentrating on the textbook in front him. Polyjuice was more of the more complicated potions, and a single mistake could ruin the whole thing. On a piece of parchment, he made some notes for himself on the brewing of the potion with his quill. Re-writing the instructions, with little reminders, always helped me stay on track in this class. Potions was one of his favourite subjects. Like Transfiguration, it had its own internally consistent logic that he could reason with. It was still a challenge, but it was something he could write home about and have his parents comprehend him.

He looked over his list of ingredients, then moved up to the Professor's desk to retrieve fluxgrass, lacewing flies, and bicorn horn. As he turned to move back to his seat, he spotted Hallie, absorbed in her own work, with another young girl leaning over to speak to her. Not wanting to distract them from their conversation, he quietly moved past them back to his table, a little disappointed. He had a good conversation with Hallie in the dungeons the other day and had been hoping to build a friendship from it, rather than just a friendly acquaintanceship. But of course she had her NEWTs and her own friends, so she probably make any time for a new friend anyway.

Padril measured his fluxweed and bundled his knotgrass into appropriate quantities before dropping them both into the cauldron. As he began stirring, he glanced up and around the classroom. Not a lot of Hufflepuffs in NEWT-level Potions. Disappointing, he didn't really know anyone except for Hallie.