Potions Lesson 1

Drumming his fingers impatiently on his desk, Severus checked the time again. Only a few moments left till his first class would begin. He sighed. The first week after the holidays was always the worst, as the students had to get used to getting up early and studying again.

Maybe this year there would be someone actually skilled at his subject, he thought, knowing that it was far more likely that he would have to teach students that had not the slightest feeling for the subtle art of potions.

Steeling himself for a full day of madness, Severus pulled himself out of his chair and walked up to the still closed door of his classroom. Let's see if all students are on time or if I have to deal out the first detentions already, he though smirking. With a flick of his wand, the door banged open.

Mio leaned against the cold wall in the dark corridor which was only lit by a few candles. He really didn't like the dungeons much, it was always dark and cold down here and it only increased his nervousness. In a few minutes he would have his first lesson with his father and he really didn't know what to think of it.
Mio was just about to turn to one of his classmates, when the door banged open and his father looked down at them, his black robes making him look even more intimidating than usual. He swallowed hard and waited to be led inside tha classroom.

Rowan waited in the dungeons for Potions to start, well, more for them to be allowed in. It was spooky down there, but she was starting to get used to it. Spotting Mio, she inched over towards him and was just about to say hi when the doors to the classroom slammed open revelaing Professor Snape in his dark robes. Swallowing hard, Rowan chose to stay quiet and wait until they were allowed inside.

Neville was standing next to his fellow Gryffindors while they were waiting for their first potion lesson. He was biting his lower lip as he thought of the Potions Master. Neville had seen him during the sorting ceremony in the great hall and the man looked very scary.
Suddenly, the door to the classroom slammed open and Neville pressed himself against the cold stone wall in fear of the tall dark wizard that looked down at them. Oh please, don't let him notice me..., he begged to Merlin and whoever would listen.

Misha stood few steps from the rest of the class, leaned against cold stone wall, reading new potions book and not really paying attention to other students. She knew professor Snape was very proud of his skills. And he expected his students to be only the best. Typical Slytherin, she smirked for herself, waiting for doors to open finally.

Edward walked up to the potions classroom and saw already a few first years. When he just wanted to lean against the wall, the door already slammed open and he smirked. 'Ohh boy, professor Snape is in one of his moods again.' Edward thought and he followed the other students inside.

Ian jogged down the stairs that led to the dungeons and stopped next to another Hufflepuff boy to wait for the door to be opened.
He looked around to the other students and noticed that the two Gryffindors looked rather nervous. He chuckled softly, knowing that they did better behave themselves around the professor as he was not known to let disrespect go unpunished.
When the door banged open, Ian looked up to his professor waiting to be led in.

Harry stood next to Ricky and Adrastos, and they engaged in conversation, silently though, before Snape allowed them to enter. Ricky and Harry heard closely as Adrastos described what Snape was like, and the two boys had mixed reactions. Harry was clearly startled, but made no big deal of it, as Adrastos could be exaggerating just to scare them. Ricardo however, grinned, and waited patiently for Snape to begin his lesson.

Kain and Atticus stood against the wall. That week was going by fast, and they had been talking to one another, and were slowly forming a friendship. They weren't sure the other was enough to be their friend though. But that was what was bringing them together. The fact they thought the same. 

Malphas stood with his gang, Mulciber, Archard and Lucius, at the start of the hall, and they walked through it, many slytherins waving, and others from other houses cowering away. As they all arrived, Snape opened the door, and with a bang, everyone, from Malphas and his gang, to Kain and Atticus, to the three gryffindors stopped to look. Malphas hid a small smirk, as he had gotten used to this after two years.

Black seemingly emotionless eyes took in the students, huddled togther in the corridor in front of the classroom. As expected, some of the first years seemed rather nervous as they were about to face his class, but they would soon realize that their nervousness now was nothing compared to how they would feel once the lesson had started.

With a jerky motion, Severus moved away from the door to let the students in, though he remained standing next to the entrance. "What are you waiting for? Get to your places and take out your supplies. Now!" he said sharply. His voice, although low, could clearly be heard even for the student standing the farthest away. Severus didn't bother telling them that now the time for chatting was over.

Harry, Ricky and Adrastos, quickly walked in, and smiled as they noticed Gryffindors had been the firsts to walk inside Snape's classroom. They quickly sat down close to each other, and Adrastos aided Harry in placing his cauldron correctly, and the three took out their supplies.

Atticus and Kain followed their lead, and sat down next to one another and they took out their supplies. Malphas motioned for his gang to go in first, and they all did, and respectfully bowed their heads at Severus. Malphas came in afterwards, and smiled slightly at the professor, "Professor Snape," he tipped his head respectfully, and then headed inside, and instead of sitting with his group, he winked at them, and sat beside Atticus and Kain.

Not wanting to anger his professor, Ian quickly made his way into the classroom and sat down in the front row of the room. He thought that he might actually enjoy potions and didn't want to be distracted by anyone.
Pulling out his stuff, he kept his eyes to the front, awaiting the start of the lesson.

Neville had to bite back a whimper when the professor's black eyes surveyed the students. He really was even more scary when you were so close to him in these dark dungeons than when he had seen him in the cheerful atmosphere of the great hall.
When the teacher finally stepped back, Neville tried to walked into the classroom without getting to close to the man by walking next to one of the other students. Suddenly, though, he tripped and stumbled straight into the room, falling on his behind.

Niraeya jumped as she heard the loud bang of a door during her rush down the hall to get to potions; the dungeons were already disturbing enough. She quickly found that the bang had been the door to the potions room and she tried not to let her nervousness show as she took note of the professor. A friendly guy he was not, from the looks of it anyway. She just wanted to take her seat. Yet before Nira could enter, the boy before her fell on his butt.

She bit her lip to keep from giggling. More from the suddenness of it than anything. Though she quickly reached down a hand to help the Gryffindor up. She'd never even been within two feet of the professor before now and she could already tell he would be less than friendly about the boys fall. "Are you alright?"

At Professor Snape's order to get inside, Rowan quickly moved to her seat following the small group of Slytherins and Gryffindors, tipping her head respectfully to the professor as she walked by. Taking a seat towards the middle of the class at a table that didn't have anyone at it as yet, Rowan quickly got her things out and settled for class. She took out a piece of parchment and quill with ink, making a note of the class and the date on the top. Then she sat and waited.

Hearing a small ruccus, she turned and saw the same Gryffindor from Care of Magical Creatures had tripped and fallen to the ground. Glancing at Professor Snape, she hoped that he wouldn't be hard on him. She didn't know much about this professor, but she had heard rumors that he could be quite the hard one to get along with...

Magnus strolled into the classroom its cold, damp, and dark atmosphere bringing a small and grim smirk to his face. As he walked to a seat in the far back of the class he noticed that everyone already had out the books and the lesson had already began. He was late another grim smirk glanced across his face once more as he took his seat and opened his book, his eyes honed in on the Professor. A dark and hollow looking man Magnus thought the two would get along just fine.....

Edward looked at the first year hufflepuff that stood next to him, he led him go before himself and walked inside, He walked to the back of the class not even noticing that something at the front of the class. When he sat down he saw what happened and shook his head. 'They better behave, keep themselves together before Professor Snape let them stay for detention.' Edward thought. He could remember his first day in his first year pretty good, professor Snape was one of the many students he didn't want a fight with and with every year he got worse.

Mio followed the other students' example and passed his father, giving him a subtle nod before taking a seat in the front of the classroom next to one of the Hufflepuffs.
Then he waited for the lesson to start. His head spun around, though, when he heard a crash and winced when he saw Neville lying on the ground. Oh no... please be nice, dad, Mio thought.

Although his face remained impassive, Severus was pleased to see that his students all seemed to know to keep their mouths shut around him.
Still, he could almost smell the fear on one of the young Gryffindor boys and his black eyes narrowed on him.
Longbottom. Severus did never have anything to do with his parents, though he knew that both had been aurors and members of the order of phonix. Their son did not seem to have inherited any of their bravery, though, Severus thought, as he watched the boy try to walk around him like a mouse that was terrified of a cat waiting to strike...or a snake, more like.

Severus had to supress the urge to roll his eyes, when he saw the boy fall to the ground, but he could not keep the cold sneer of his face. "Longbottom..." he drawled. "I don't think, I gave you permission to take a nap on my floor."
Severus swept over to the boy and glared down at him. "I hope you do not always behave like a klutz or you will not survive one week in my classroom. Now get up and stop trying my patience."
With that Severus strode up to the front of the class and waved his wand to close the door.

"Now..." he started, his eyes gliding over every single of his students. "Some of you did already have the pleasure to be instructed by me. To those that are new..." Severus let his eyes rest a bit longer on the Gryffindor first years, "I do not tolerate laziness or any kind of disrespect from my students. You will be on time, you will work hard and you will address me as "Sir" or "Professor". If you fail to follow even these simple rules, you will face severe punishment." Severus voice sounded bored and slightly detached, but his eyes promised a dire fate for those who would dare to cross him.
A sinister smile appeared on his face as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Any questions?" Severus asked silkily.

Rowan jumped slightly when Professor Snape began to speak. At least he didn't go too hard on the boy she thought to herself. As he explained the rules of the class, she found them to be simple enough to follow. However, she did wonder what he meant by severe punishment... Unless you really wanna know, Rowan, keep your nose clean... At his asking if there were any questions, Rowan's brown eyes glanced to the students in front of and beside her to see if any of them had any questions before looking back at the professor and waiting for him to continue.

Ian looked up when one of the Gryffindors sat down next to him and nodded with a small smile before turning when there was a crash. Ouch...he thought, when he saw a boy fall down.
He remembered the boy from earlier this that when they had gone to charms together and Ian felt quite a bit bad for him.
The professor approached the Gryffindor and Ian watched on in apprehension, expecting the worst, but luckily nothing happened except a few sarcastic remarks by their teacher, so he relaxed again.
The rules Professor Snape listed, seemed sensible enough and Ian shook his head to show that he didn't have any questions.

Nevill felt his face heat up with a horrible blush and he bit his lip in embarrassment. No no no no no! he thought, panicking slightly. Why did he always have to be so clumsy, and especially now when he wanted nothing more than to be invisible for his teacher.
He shrank back slightly when he heard the cold voice of his professor. The way he had said his name, like something vile and below his notice. Neville shuddered and stared in fear, as Professor Snape approached him. Would the man hex him now? Oh Merlin, please no! the boy begged in his mind.

When the dark man moved on towards the front of the room, Neville almost fainted in relief. He was still alive! But not for much longer if the professor's words were anything to go by.
Suddenly a hand was held out to him and Neville looked up at a Hufflepuff girl with a timid smile as he took the hand and pulled himself up. "Thank you." he mouthed and then hurriedly took the seat that was closest to him, as the professor had started to talk again.

Emrys silently entered the classroom, having been with the Deputy Headmistress for the better part of the morning she was now tired and not wishing to make trouble. Nodding to her Aunt Marvolo's friend and her professor she walked over to Rowan's table and pulled up a stool.

"Everything ok?" Rowan asked hardly louder than a whisper as Emrys sat next to her. Glancing at her friend, she offered a small smile.

She sighed in relief, it wasn't as bad as she feared. Niraeya gave a small smile to the boy before he scurried off to his seat and because the professor had already begun to speak, she took the seat beside the Gryffindor instead of taking the time to look for another. She stayed silent, having no questions for the man.

While he was waiting for possible questions, the door to his classroom opened and one of his Slytherins slipped in. He have her a short nod to let her know that her lateness was excused.

Seeing that obviously none of the students had any questions to pose, Severus slipped into lecture mode. "Very well. As this is the first lesson of term and I have no doubt those of you that had ever the slightest knowledge of potions have lost it over the course of holidays, we will cover some basics today." he drawled silkily.
He would not start with any practical tasks, as he did not have a wish for dealing with their imbecilic attempts at brewing on his first day back in the classroom. No, it was much better to test their knowledge, no matter how meagre it may be.

"Now then, who can list the uses of Valerian in potion making?" Severus asked, expecting to see several raised hands, at least from the older students.

Magnus was flipping through the pages of his potions book when he heard the dull thud of a small first year Gryffindor falling to the ground, his head shot up out of his book as he scanned the room. His eys locked in on the boy and a cruel smile danced across his face as he watch the professor swoop over him like a hawk over its prey.

After turning back to his book he heard the professor speak again and this time his attention snapped onto him, "Now then, who can list the uses of Valerian in potion making?" The professor asked the class, Magnus was about to open his mouth to answer him when a warning bell went off inside his head. 'Remember what mum said about professor Snape,' at that moment his mouth snapped shut and his hand in one smooth and swift motion raised into the air waiting to be called on.