Potions Class 1 : Sixth Years

Yes, this was the class she was looking forward to the absolute least.

Look, she hadn't taken this job out of a love for educating the youth, or to make a difference, or because her passion for potions just had to be shared. It was a means to an ends, this job, and she felt like the students always expected a professor whose passions were limitless and whose dedication to their craft was boundless. On this expectation alone, she was going to fail. That much was clear. She was a strong potioneer. She was a clever witch. But she felt no obligation to share these skills.

She was pointedly reading through her potions book as the sixth years entered. Their task for the day, the Draught of Living Death, was written on the board, so part of her was half convinced she wouldn't have to say anything, or look up, or deal with them at all. Surely, they knew the routine.

But so did she, and the first day of class required something to be said.

Once it seemed the class was full, she closed her book and stood. "Hello. I am Professor Potter, this is Potions, glad to see you all recovered from a turbulent summer." Ace needed to stop staring at her right now. "This class will run simply. I will give you a task, you will accomplish it. For those of you with no interest or a weakness for the subject, your job is to follow the instructions to the letter, and you will pass. For those who need a challenge, or would like one, I encourage investigation and experimentation, though I ask that you consult with me, as unguided experimentation can prove..." Was he looking at her? No. Where was she? Oh, Merlin. "Bad."

She cleared her throat. "Right. Well. The recipe is in your book. The storeroom is yours to use, not yours to abuse. You may work in pairs, though each person needs their own potion. I will be around to check in and answer questions. Get to it."

And she sank back into her chair.

[[Feel free to interact and talk as you please. Lily doesn't care. Socialize, let the potionmaking be a backdrop for whatever your character is going through

Because this is after OWLs, Lily has limited this class to only those who got at least an A on their OWLs.]]

Apollo had always liked Potions the best. It had a great deal to do with the career path he intended to follow, yes, but it was always just so easy. Follow the instructions, mix the things together, and thus: potion. But still, this year was particularly interesting, in ways he hadn't expected until quite recently.

As they filed into class, he didn't sit where most of the students expected him to: the front, in clear view of the professor so he could ensure his house a fair round of points each week. They probably were counting on him by that point. But, alas. He had slunk to the back, next to where Christian tended to sit for fear of being caught when he messed up.

The introduction for the class was, as ever, awkward. Not only because the professor always had to come up with something new and potentially interesting to say, but this year more than ever it was bizarre. So, rather than make a big deal out of the class, or what had happened over the summer, Apollo made a point of flipping through the pages of his book - quietly, mind, so the page-turning wouldn't distract - rather than really listening. He just wanted to get to the task at hand and get it over with.

She faltered at one point, and he flinched. Instinctively, sort of, but also for fear that he was irritating already. His fingers released the book.

Then she said they were allowed to work in pairs. Breaking form yet again, though with just as much purpose that time, he turned to the next table over before his brother could do anything about it. Christian hated this class before and undoubtedly did even more so, now, so he hadn't exactly jumped at the cue to to get going.

"Longbottom. Come on, then."

He stood and walked over to them, gesturing for Christian to get out of his chair. His, obviously, because he now said so. Christian, irked quite rightly, glared for a moment but got up to see if Charlotte had decided to continue on in Potions. He was still trying to work out whether or not she was invested in the PA, so at least he could do some digging while pretending he understood the subject.

So Apollo plonked down onto the stool, dropping his book in front of him and reaching forward to get his cauldron's base lit. Turning to Ace, he leveled her with an entirely serious though quietly proud look.

"Do you want to collect the supplies, or shall I?"

Potions are probably one of the rare subjects Charlotte actually likes here.
Probably because she heard a lot of fairytales while she was a child and in that stories, witches were almost always making some potions in their cauldron.
So she decided to continue with this class even if the new professor was really young, or at least she seemed to be like, 18 years old most.

Professor said they could do this potion in pairs, but of course, Charlotte didn't want that.
She likes to work alone, without everyone who could mess up things.

But before she was even able to find the recipe in her book, Christian was looking for her.
She wasn't sure how he could help her, but she remembered she promised herself she would give him a chance. After all that happened during the summer, she supposed they can be some kind of friends.

"Hey, Christian, have the pair already? We can work together if you want" she heard her own voice and then she forced herself to smile. Maybe he would agree to let her do all by herself, and they can tell Lily they did it together. After all, everyone needs to have their own potion at the end of class.

Lucky for Christian, Charlotte was thinking the same thing. Or, at the last, she saw him going for it and decided to say it before he could. He was certainly convinced that she liked having her say, so he didn't comment on that part, but he certainly smiled.

"That sounds good," he replied, sitting down next to her and setting his things down on the floor beside his chair.

He passed a glance over at Ace and Apollo, though, trying to determine what they thought of the assignment, among other, more obvious things. Besides, he didn't particularly like the idea of whatever argument would undoubtedly come out of Apollo poking his nose into places he wasn't wanted.

So as he flipped through the pages of his textbook, he knew he had to tell Charlotte something.

"I should probably admit that Potions is one of my weaker subjects," he told her, glancing to the side. "I don't know what I'm going wrong, since I always try to follow the steps, and it just... doesn't work. So you'll probably not want to follow my lead on this."

Well, he decided, Charlotte may not have liked him very much, but at least he was honest.

[This one is bad and short, I'm sorry]

She moved her chair a little when he sat next to her and the looked at him.
Christian seem to look at Ace and his brother, a lot, but she didn't say anything about that. Sometimes is better not to know some things.

Charlotte looked at him and pretended to be shocked when she heard his words.
"You? Not really good? How is that possible?" she decided to ignore the fact she thought that Christian Zabini is one of worst potioneers she ever met.

"It's okay. Try to follow your instincts more that recipes. That may help you. But I must warn you about something too; if you make something that will explode and ruin my hair, I will curse you. Or kill you if you are lucky enough." she tried to stay serious but she started smiling after few seconds. She would never say that aloud, but Christian is actually a really cool guy and she liked him in some way.

"Okay, let's start." she found recipe in her book and then looked at him.
"We need six ingredients. I will go for them and then give it to you to put them on the table, just read to me what we need" she got up and went to take the water.

Ace knew Lily did not a shade of the glare that had settled onto the blonde's face, not really, but she could not get it to soften. Sure, Lily was going to help them, and yeah, they were basically cousins or whatever. But Lily had thrown a bit of an inconvenient wrench in her otherwise simple partnership with the Zabini boy, and she wasn't even sure how or why. From an objective point of view, the addition of Lily should change absolutely nothing with her dynamic with Christian.

But it somehow had, and she was certainly not subtle enough to figure out why. She only knew that Lily was somehow the cause for Christian's anxious, moody behavior and therefore it was all the Potter's fault.

A voice roused her from her bitter musings and she turned, jolting to reality as she realized it was the green-and-silver-clad brother who had addressed her.

"What?" she demanded, not understanding why he has asked her.

She turned to point out Christian, claim he was her partner (she had called it for infinity) but he was beginning to pair off with Waldorf. She clamped her mouth shut and her eyebrows knit together in confusion. "I guess I will."

She stood up, the chair groaning as it skidded across the floor, and headed for the storeroom.