A Potion Pick-me-Up

Jack sighed, and set his book closed to the side of him. He looked at the professor, still confused on why she had received a job as Potions Master. Though Ravenclaws were known to be smart in different ways, she was far to young to get a position, in his eyes. He looked around the class, and watched as they slowly filled the seats. He then realized there were a lot of younger kids here. Practically standing up when raising his hand, and though he could most likely figure this out on his own, Jack wasn't above taunting the teacher. He waved his hand around.

"Senora, Miss, Professor Amelia! Why are the N.E.W.T. level students and the Basics ones combined into one class?"

Amelia was not surprised to find Keith one of the last students to enter her classroom, nor was she particularly shocked that he had a ridiculous excuse for being late – which he belatedly realized and corrected with his specific brand of humor. Although she hated to admit it, Amelia had always had a bit of a soft spot for Keith, despite his antics being much less couth than she would have preferred from a Ravenclaw student. Sometimes she questioned the applications he made of his intelligence.

“I doubt Professor Wolfen will be any more convinced by that excuse than I am, but as you do not require one in this instance, why don’t you take a seat?” Professor Lyons responded, though not without a smirk of amusement on her lips.

As the clock on the wall ticked down the final second before class was to begin, no further students entered the room. It seemed this would be the extent of the crowd for today, and Amelia wasted no time waving her wand in the direction of the door to the dungeon in order to swing it closed and lock it. If anyone wanted to gain late entrance to the classroom, they would be asking permission from her directly.

Clearing her throat and looking directly at her students in order to gain their attention, most of the conversations that had been going on in the room quieted down. This subtle call to attention would never have worked in the first semester she had been teaching, when she had been forced to raise her voice several times just to get them to be quiet, but now that she had gained a bit of footing, her former peers were beginning to lay off a bit.

At least most of them were.

Jack Kubin, on the other hand, disrupted her silence classroom the moment it had become that way, and not in a respectful tone, either. His disgraceful list of titles made Amelia’s lips narrow into a thin line, but she waited until he was done with his mundane question, and a few uncomfortable seconds afterward, to respond.

“Well, subordinate, outranked, mocoso,” the young professor said directly to Jack, loud and clear enough that everyone in the classroom could easily hear her, “The classes have been combined today in the hopes that the older and younger students can learn from one another. Though I hope no one here takes notes on your disrespectful behavior. You will do well to call me Professor Lyons, or not to address me at all. Five points from Ravenclaw.”

Throughout this, Amelia had not cracked a smile or made any other gesture to indicate she was anything other than completely serious. She was not going to tolerate Jack throwing her classroom back into chaos just as she was beginning to get control of it.

“Now, to begin our lesson,” Professor Lyons began, turning her attention away from Jack to indicate there was going to be no discussion on the matter, “Having already addressed the fundamentals of potion making in the Fall term, we will be moving on to creating complete and complex potions in our courses this term. Today’s lesson will focus on a potion designed to improve the mood of the drinker – can anyone name this particular brew?” Amelia asked, addressing the room at large.

[OOC: "mocoso" = little brat (Spanish)

House Points:
Ravenclaw: -5
Gryffindor: 0
Hufflepuff: 0
Slytherin: 0]

The boy looked down at his desk somewhat bored. Okay, so maybe the hospital wing wasn't so bad. Maybe he shouldn't have convinced the nurse to let him come to class. He had told her he was fine and not in pain but he actually was still in pain, though not enough to cause him any trouble. He should probably still be in there though, but because he had thought it was too boring in there he'd decided to go to class.

He half listened, half ignored what the Professor was saying to the other student, although the names she was calling him made him smirk. The other kid deserved it, he guessed, and he gave a small shrug to himself pushing those thoughts out of his mind. Now the lesson was finally starting and he picked his head up off the desk to make it seem like he was interested.

Ryo thought about the Professor's question for a moment, searching his memory for anything on a potion like the one she had just described. Finally, not really knowing if he was right or wrong, he raised his hand. "Wouldn't that be the Elixir to Induce Euphoria, Professor Lyons?" he asked more than stated.

It was surprising to see that Ryo was the one to answer her question, as the Hufflepuff boy did not always seem altogether invested in her class - Amelia may not have called him out on it, but she was too hyper-observant to be unaware of it - but his answer was correct, and she indicated as such.

"Yes, Mr. Hiroku, that is precisely the potion to which I was referring," she said, nodding approvingly in his direction. It was validating, as a professor, to finally draw out some answers from her more disengaged students, even if they were basic answers, "Five points to Hufflepuff."

"Knowing the name of today's task," Professor Lyons continued, leaning further back on her desk as she addressed the room again, "Could someone please describe for your classmates a brief description of the potion? A physical description and one of its typical outcomes should suffice."

[House Points:
Ravenclaw: -5
Gryffindor: 0
Hufflepuff: 5
Slytherin: 0]

The Elixir to Induce Euphoria huh? It sounded like a really useful potion for a lot of people. Her included probably. Too bad she wouldn't be able to make it yet, well by herself. It would sure help with everything she had gone through, and it would probably help Sophia quite a bit too. Maybe she should tell her about it the next time she saw her. She was sure Sophia would be able to make that potion, even if it was difficult to make. There was just one thing that surprised her right now. The fact that Ryo had actually answered a question. The Gryffindor girl stared up at him for a moment, wondering why he chose now to participate, but soon she just smiled at him and looked at the Professor.

She had asked for a description of the potion and she looked down at her desk for a moment. She knew somethings about the potion, but not many. Still she should be able to give a pretty decent description of the potion, maybe. Hitame raised her hand as she thought of what she should say about the potion. She bit her bottom lip a bit as she thought.

"The Elixir to Induce Euphoria is typically Sunshine yellow in color. It is sweet and aromatic. It is used to cure depression and one of the side effects it has is that it causes the drinker to sing excessively." she explained somewhat quickly before she looked down at her desk a bit.

"Very Good, Ms. Higurashi," Professor Lyons commented, making an effort to sound more complimentary than usual, because the young Gryffindor girl seemed unsure of her answer, although it was complete. Amelia knew that as a student she had never sounded unsure of an answer, because she either knew for certain or she didn't speak at all. However, she had to give this girl credit, both for her knowledge and her help in keeping the class moving.

"Five points to Gryffindor," she added with an approving nod, about as close to a smile as she came in her classroom.

"Now that you are all vaguely acquainted with today's lessons, I encourage you to take out your books and supplies. You will be brewing this potion today, and although it is meant to have a mood lifting effect, its brewing process is not to be taken lightly. You will need to concentrate and pay a good deal of attention to detail in order to produce the desired results."

"I will now ask you to pair with another student and complete your potion. You are expected to pair outside of your normal classes - that is, NEWT students with Basic students, and vice versa. This is so you can learn from one another, as you each had very different lessons in the Fall Term."

"If you have questions, I will be walking around," Amelia said dismissively, in a tone that let them know it was time to begin.


[OOC: Pair up with other students not in your class (NEWT with Basic, and vice versa) until there are no other RPers left that fit the opposite criteria. Then, any students left will have to write as though there is an NPC student they are working with. This is your incentive to reply and find a partner sooner!

House Points:
Ravenclaw: -5
Gryffindor: 5
Hufflepuff: 5
Slytherin: 0]

Miseria groaned quietly as she took the last and final breathe before she reached out for the door and tryed to open it. But surprise-surprise! It didn't open. Miseria raised her eyeborws and looked around. She was sure that the potion's class was the first in line today. Could it be that she wrote down the wrong day's schedule? Strange.
She frowned a bit, feeling disappointed, and then she took out her parchment with the timetable, and ran her fingers through her hair when she saw that potions, indeed, was the very first lesson today.
Miseria knocked on the door with one hand. With the second she put the parchment back into her bag. Hopefully they didn't have a lesson somewhere else. She'd have to run around in the castle searching for the right classroom whole day!

Or maybe not.

Though Mis liked making potions, skipping one lesson wouldn't kill her. Neither would the professor die.

OOC: Sorry for short reply. I was busy all this time and I had no idea what to write or how to pop in. >.<

As the first of the students were beginning to get up from their desks to locate a partner from the opposite class level than their own, Amelia's ears beheld the sound of a knock coming from the door to the classroom. Looking down at her roster, this was unsurprising, as there were quite a few names that had not been checked off from the list of students.

Sliding gracefully through the milling of students - or as gracefully as possible. She stepped on one first year's toes without meaning to - he was so short she had completely missed seeing him - and flipped the latch on the door to the dungeon, opening it to reveal Miseria.

"Miss Lupin, you're late," Professor Lyons stated the obvious, "I assume you have a good reason for that, which I would love to hear, along with a brief description of the Elixer to Induce Euphoria. I can't have you coming into the lesson without the proper background knowledge you have missed in the first ten minutes of class."

Amelia was not kidding, nor would she admit Miseria without the proper answers. Lateness was one of Amelia's biggest pet peeves, because she felt it portrayed a lack of respect for those you kept waiting. The young professor had demanded respect from her students at the beginning of the year, which she returned when it was given. Miseria knew that, and should understand the reasoning behind Amelia's questions.

Miseria took one step back when the door suddenly open and she looked up at Amelia. Sometimes Miseria hated that she was too short. People always looked down at her as if she was a lowe lifeform. Meaningless and powerless against them.
She frowned but then her facial expression changed and her lips were formed into a soft smile. Although she never spoke to Amelia; she was close to her only when they were fighting against werewolves, and when she was graduating.
Funny, but it was good to see her.
"Yes, and I'm sorry for that," she said softly. There was no reason to ruin Amelia's first day as a teacher. And there was no reason for Miseria to act disrespectfully either. "I felt sick in the morning and I had to visit the hospital wing." That wasn't a lie. Her body was still aching but the pain was now slowly going away. She woke up coughing heavily, fearing that she'd cough out her blood, or even better, lungs.

"Elixir to Induce Euphoria is a yellow colored potion that makes the person, who drinks that potion, happy. Excessive singing and nose-tweaking are possible side-effects. As an elixir, this potion should smell aromatic and taste sweet."

She raised her eyebrows when she was finished. Was this enough for Amelia or was she supposed to add something else in this description? Miseria smiled again.