Lesson 7 - N.E.W.T. Level

''Your father? If your father's a Goyle too, then I don't care that much'', Doyle remarked and looked around the class. ''It's always the father, isn't it'', he then remarked in a darker tone, remembering why he got fired the first time. Oh, how he despised nepotism. But, this was a completely different situation so he returned back to his normal state. ''I actually did, Lyons... a good remark. But, it seems that I have to stop doing so because you all are still... INACTIVE'', he said, shouting in the end. ''You're ghastly folks, really... I should bring the White Rabbit from Alice next time so you can hurry up and do your tasks... maybe you'll listen to him bothering you... now, do wrap it up'', he said.

Amelia found herself blatantly staring at Athena when her screeches echoed throughout the dungeon, her long dark hair dripping with the water that had come from the headmasters cruel form of punishment for her blatantly rude attitude. The Ravenclaw couldn't help but feel a bit of schadenfruede at watching the Slytherin girl get some comeuppance for her "I'm the queen of the world" lifestyle, but the headmaster had definitely crossed a line this time. As Athena corrected her soggy state and screamed her way out of the room, Amelia felt a little guilty for having taken pleasure in her state - but not guilty enough to follow her and face her wrath. Athena had never even deigned to speak to her, so why did she care so much?

Shaking her thoughts of moral responsibility from her mind, Amelia heard the professor comment on what she had said to Ariel (meaning he had heard her, obviously), and thanked her lucky stars that he hadn't taken house points from her for talking in class. She looked down at the table, and grabbed the last ingredient she needed for the potion - finely shredded ginger root - and tossed it into the cauldron. After a few stirs, the potion took on the color and consistency described by her textbook, and Amelia was satisfied with her work.

"Does that look about right to you?" Amelia asked Ariel, not wanting to call the headmaster over to critique her work unless she was completely certain she had it right. She didn't know why she thought Ariel would be any more knowledgeable - he only seemed to care intermittently in classes - but he was closest to her, so it was at least convenient.

Athena was an insufferable brat that seemed to have forgotten that the Goyle’s weren’t exactly royalty within the Pureblood hierarchy. Here Ariel stood, a half-blood carrying both werewolf genes and the lycanthropy disease, amused by the plight of the Pureblood woman. He wasn’t paying much attention to the Wolfsbane bubbling away in the cauldron. It was the first thing his mother had ever taught him to brew. She was adamant that he didn’t end up without the simplest of knowledge to look after both himself and those around him during the Full Moon. As it was, Wolfsbane did nothing for him. He had a much better relationship with the animal when it wasn’t confined. Sure he had to fight for control but he didn’t mind so much about that. The wolf wasn’t too bright and would just be content chasing its tail or winding up the centaurs; unless of course someone was infringing on territory, that never went down well.

Doyle’s comment was a half-compliment. It made Ariel smirk. He’d be mortified if he got this of all things wrong. He knew the potion like the back of his hand though so unless something went fatally wrong; it was clear sailing for him. Stifling a yawn, Ariel cast a glance inside the cauldron. He rubbed his eyes and looked over at Amelia. He smirked at her and shook his head before looking inside her cauldron. Ariel made a face, as if he could taste the potion on his tongue, and shuddered before pulling away. “It’s brilliant,” he murmured, twirling his finger over the top of his own cauldron. The rod began to swirl within the liquid and he made a face before sitting down. He might have been good at brewing the potion but that didn’t mean a thing. It just felt weird having to make such a potion when he knew the implications of not using it. He was just lucky that he had a stupid dog instead of a blood thirsty one.

''Your time is.... up!'', Doyle said as he jumped from the desk on his feet, starting to limp around the classroom. ''Now, considering all the circumstances and everything that has happened during this class I am happy to inform you that all of you have failed...'', he said during his walk. ''With the exception of Miss Lyons...'', he continued. He walked for a few moments and then stood behind the boy. ''... and Mister Greyback, of course'', he said. He then continued walking and sat back on his desk. ''The two of them shall receive the highest grade and 30 points for their houses. To the rest, you can consider yourselves lucky not to lose any points. Now, get out, class dismissed'', he said. ''Of course, Miss Lyons, I shall require your presence for a brief moment'', he said, limping back to his seat.

Amelia nodded gratefully when the headmaster deemed her potion fitting of his praise, glad to had at least proven herself in that regard despite her tardiness. She also found herself pleased to see that Ariel also received top marks; sometimes, the headmaster could be prejudiced against the Slytherin boy because of his last name, which frustrated Amelia, though she never said anything. Amelia had been labeled all her life because of her bloodline (not in the same way as Ariel, of course), and had expectations placed on her because of those five letters that followed her first name.

Not that she needed reminding, but the headmaster repeated his request for Amelia to see him after class. Amelia uncorked several empty flasks from her potions kit and, with a wave of her wand, siphoned her finished potion into them for storage. She herself did not have any use for wolfsbane, but she did know that a correctly brewed batch of it could fetch a high price if she was ever in need of extra spending money.

After magically scouring her cauldron and packing up the rest of her things, Amelia snapped the lock on her potions kit and put it into the cauldron for storage. After that, there was nothing else left to pack up, and even though she had been extra careful in her packing to make it take longer, it seemed her meeting with Doyle could be delayed no further.

The Ravenclaw girl left her things on her table and approached the headmaster, inclining her head with respect.

“I apologize again for my tardiness,” Amelia began, wary that there may be more to this meeting than just further scrutiny for being late, “I assure you it will not happen again.”

He looked at her with a dose of bewilderment. ''You were late? Oh... right, you were late! It seems that you have learned your lesson. Now that we have gone through that...'', Doyle said quickly, looking at his pupil with an analytical expression. ''As you may have deduced, I have something important to tell you. Now, I know about the internship program and I do know that you have chosen to train to become an Auror. I don't know your mentor, but I doubt that she has the skills of several people I know. But, that is not what I am trying to say. You may or may not have read it, but you have been appointed as Ravenclaw's Dueling captain which is why I would like to... ask you for... help'', he said. ''Amelia, this is not a demand and you are free to decline at any time without any problems, but I would still like to ask you. You have seen how things in the school work... you have heard about students being taken and tortured and... well, all the ghastly stuff the Dark Army does. The three of us, Wilson, McCoy and myself, are trying as much as we can, but even we can't control everything. While throwing away Majere's files, I came across a certain Imperium Squad file with your name on it. I observed it briefly and it was enough for me to understand what it was. You still have those... roaming rights when I am concerned. Now, to get to the point. Amelia, I would like you to help the three of us... in any way you can. You would also receive extra lessons with professor Wilson, if needed... and I am sure you will need to master at least the Dark Magic part of his class... You don't have to answer right now, you can, but you aren't obliged to... I shan't be able to monitor you as I am the Headmaster and they still keep an eye on me, which is why I had to wait for a... mistake of yours, and that was hard enough, so you will have to report to professor Wilson. If you accept, just visit him at his office... if not, everything is fine. I wouldn't normally ask a student for such assistance, but I trust you and sour skills enough to do so'', he explained.