Lesson 1 - N.E.W.T. Level

''I said that you can't pose questions whether there is or isn't something... you either guess or shut up. That also means you have wasted your question about number five... and about number one also... that what you have just asked counts as a question... and the answer is yes, you may. You may guess at all three if you want, but once you fail... there is no second chance. It is up to you... Girl-Whose-Name-I-Do-Not-Know'', he said.

"Number one is Felix Felicis, number five is water. It could be Veritaserum, but I'm gonna say it's water since you're tricky like that. I don't have the answer to number four yet, but if I'm right about number five, I'll pose a question about number four" Brienne said. She was nervous, since Veritaserum was almost indistinguishable from water. Then, as an afterthought, she added "My name is Brienne Ravenquist". She looked over at Amelia and then at Professor Doyle, she was about to ask if the teacher and student were in cahoots, but decided against it.

''Oh bloody hell, you were meant to be the Girl-Whose-Name-I-Do-Not-Know, and you will, despite your name. Please'', he said. ''Now, as your first guess was that flask number one contained Felix Felicis I shall get to that first. No, it isn't... flask one contains water with some dirt in it, which was a trick I wanted you to fail with. Now, according to my rules... you lose. You made a mistake, it being speaking about the dubious flask first... thereby I am discarding your second guess without commenting it. Sorry, but those are the rules. Now, we only have two more flasks... one odorless and colorless liquid and... the orange liquid... the lot, INCLUDING THOSE WHO HAVE GUESSES CORRECTLY, can you tell you answers? For now, Red and Y are in the game for the prize... and please, do not keep silent... answer... work... function!'', he said.

When the headmaster revealed the contents of the third flask, Amelia was unsurprised by its contents, but still rather impressed with Jack’s ability to correctly identify the potion. Polyjiuce was not something one encountered every day, and from what Amelia had seen over the summer, she had thought Jack to be more lax when it came to her academic knowledge. Clearly, Amelia had been mistaken in this assumption, and gave an approving look at the fiery redhead who had correctly identified the potion.

The question Jack asked about the fifth potion, however, made Amelia question her motives – the contents were either water or Veritaserum, but both would be odorless and colorless, so asking that question gave little to no helpful information. Jack had probably realized this after the professor answered her question, because she did not venture a guess as to the fifth flask, but instead seemed to be pondering her options.

Shortly after Jack’s question about the fifth flask, the other Ravenclaw girl in the room proposed another inquiry, which was quickly shot down by the professor, leaving the girl no option but to guess blindly at the contents of the flasks. She made a guess at both the first and the last potions, having much the same ideas as Amelia. Amelia, however, still hadn’t burned up her questions about the flasks, and might have given the dark-haired girl – Brienne, by her own introduction – some insight if she had been patient enough to wait.

When the professor revealed the contents of the first flask, though, Amelia was glad that the other girl had guessed first, because given the same information Brienne had, Amelia would likely have guessed Felix Felices as well. The professor did not deign to provide feedback on her guess of water for the fifth flask, which meant it was still available for guessing.

Amelia thought carefully for a few minutes, trying to phrase her question in just such a way that she would be able to tell if the last flask contained a potion or just plain water. She knew plenty about Veritaserum, but which bit of information would be most useful in determining the actual contents would be trickier. She was quite sure the debate was between water and Veritaserum – she knew nothing else so clear and odorless – and thus she finally settled on a question she didn’t think would allow the headmaster to be intentionally misleading in his answer.

“Does the substance in flask five require an antidote to counteract its effects?” Amelia asked, raising her eyes from the flask in question to the headmaster himself, who seemed altogether pleased with himself for coming up with something so challenging for the first lesson.

Doyle laughed upon hearing Ameila's question. It was a brilliant one, there is no way she could not have guessed what it is after his answer. She truly was the brightest among them. ''And that is what I call a question, Miss Lyons! And the answer is... no... the liquid in flask number five does not require any antidote to counteract its effects... it is completely harmless. I do hope it is clear to all of you what it is now, but since Miss Lyons posed the first question, she will have the chance at guessing what flask five contains. I think that is fair. And, if she succeeds, she will have a bonus guess and a bonus question at flask four. If she misses, she will have a retry... which is why it is a bonus. If she guesses correctly... game over and she gets the prize. Miss Lyons... the stage is yours!'', he said with a dramatic gesture in the end.

Amelia swallowed hard at being put back on the pedestal by the headmaster, who seemed far too pleased with her performance thus far in today’s class. Yes, it was fairly typical that professors were aware of her intelligence, and had, from time to time, praised her for it; but they did not, typically, give her full reign of the lesson and expect her to perform on cue. She wasn’t much for an audience, as almost all of them knew.

“I believe it to be veratiserum,” Amelia said as succinctly as possible, wanting to get those ordeal over with quickly so she would stop feeling the pressure the was placed on her shoulders by the professor, and stop experiencing the sensation that came with 10 separate pairs of eyes focused on the back of your head. The sooner this was over, the better; she didn’t even care about winning the prize at this point, but she was too stubborn to intentionally answer incorrectly. She cared too much about fulfilling the expectations of the headmaster, her parents, and herself to do anything to put those in intentional jeopardy.

''Veritaserum? And I honestly taught someone was going to say water. I wouldn't put two flasks containing water... the Felix Felicis trick was enough. But yes, Miss Lyons, ma dear, you are correct. It is the dreader truth serum that we shall test on our future classes and yes, each and everyone of you is going to drink it. But now, another point and 15 points for my House. How very proud I am!'', he said, adding another dramatic gesture.

''Now, as for flask number four'', he said, taking it in his hand. ''An orange, or gold, whatever your brain sees it like... color with white foam on top? What could it be? A potion? A drink? But, never mind that now... Miss Lyons, as stated... you have one question you can pose about this flask. After that you have two chances. As a bonus, your first chance, if mistaken, will be disregarded and you will have another chance, but... between those two... anyone else who wishes to guess, and isn't out of the game, can... but, Miss Lyons has the first guess. Now, which question will you impose on the flask? And what does it contain?'', he asked.

As if Amelia wasn’t feeling nervous enough already with the amount of attention focused on her at the moment and the pressure to get the headmaster’s questions correct, Amelia felt herself visibly tense at the thought of having to take a dose of the potion she had just identified. She knew Professor Doyle would not be one to joke about such things, though he was facetious on other counts, and Amelia immediately contemplated being “sick” that day. She hated to even think what might come out of her mouth under the influence of Veritaserum.

Amelia’s muscles did not relax, either, when the headmaster picked up the fourth and last to be identified flask. When he held it up to the light, the red-haired girl could see all the qualities he was describing, but she was blanking on what the flask may contain. She could think of no potion that had those characteristics, and though she could not claim to be intimately acquainted with all potions, she had a strong base knowledge. The problem, though, was that she could think of nothing else that possessed the qualities she was turning over and over in her mind, though still coming up blank.

Amelia’s teeth found her bottom lip and she bit down lightly, a typical sign of concentration for her, and she stared intently at the little bottle. If she could get it right on the first guess, this whole ordeal could be over, but if she didn’t, it would look as though the professor had placed false hope in her, which would likely please some of her classmates to no end. She knew that many of them would think her to be a show off after this class, likely overlooking the fact that she hadn’t asked for this attention; no, it had been thrust on her without her consent, and if she could have avoided it, she certainly would have.

You still have one question about the flask… Amelia’s subconscious reminded her as she stared harder at the contents of the bottle, as if willing it to reveal itself verbally to her, At least get some more information before you tear yourself up over your guess.

“Where could the contents of this flask be most readily purchased?” Amelia asked, at least wanting to eliminate the possibility that what was in the flask was not a potion at all. If it was, the headmaster would likely say the Apothecary, and then Amelia would be stuck again, not having a clue what type of potion might manifest itself that way. If there was another answer, Amelia might be just as likely to be stumped, but at least she would have a larger base of information on which to base her guess.

Elijah yawned loudly from his place at the back of the class. He’d been left to his own devices at the back of the class and he couldn’t even do that so he began to lazily take notes on what everyone was saying and what the professor was antagonising. Potions had never interested Elijah. He liked the whole idea but he didn’t find much joy in it. Actually he didn’t find much joy in any of his classes. It was all a bit suffocating. Rob would ensure he got a passing grade...the Herbology teacher detested the position he was in and would gladly tutor Elijah if it meant he could stop talking about plants for five minutes. Rob had taught History of Magic at one time and now he was stuck with the mundane: Herbology. Elijah would have thought that the man would enjoy teaching students about where the potion ingredients came from but when he mentioned this Rob gave him a withering look and went back to his paperwork. Still, despite lack of involvement with the potions subject, a cauldron was always bubbling away on one of the desks and one of the Dent siblings would wander in every hour or so to tend to it.

The Slytherin bit the end of his quill and read over his notes once more. He’d been guessing the first few and for the most part he’d got them right but he was getting a little confused by who was referring to what. Elijah tugged on a lock of his hair and looked at the flasks. With a small sigh he took his quill from his mouth a put it down beside the parchment he’d been writing on. He looked up at the Professor then down at his parchment. He opened his mouth to say something but promptly closed it again, dropping his eyes to the page. He shook his head and put his quill down, his eyes returning to the flasks as he tried to figure the last of them out.

''An interesting question... where can you acquire this little thing? Almost in every store, except an Apothecary. It is very common, yet illegal if you're not the right age. You could find it even in Hogsmeaed... in those 'Three Broomsticks I like to call the Three Canes... also... in each and every liquor store in the world... even the Muggles drink it... although they have a different name for it... similar, just a little shorter... I think I have said enough... it is rather easy. So Miss Lyons, what is it going to be?'', he asked.