Lesson one: Potions

Sanguini sat at the front of the class on a stool, she was dressed in deep blue, nearly black robes and her arms crossed while she waited as her classroom filled up with students. The blackboard sat behind her and the tables were set up to seat two students per table. The curtains in the room were pulled as far closed as they could be without making it complicated to perceive a person’s surroundings, however the lighting was perfect despite the lack of sunlight. Her eyes gleamed and looked over the group she would be teaching for the term.

“Hello class, I am professor Hazelwood. I teach Potions and History of Magic here at Hogwarts. Now I know that the rules should be apparent but still I have to go over them anyways.” She removed her wand from her robes and waved it at the chalk board as the rules wrote themselves.

“There will be no wand use unless it pertains to the potion we are making; this class will consist of discussing potions, ingredients, techniques, outside of class reading, homework, and actual brewing in class. Homework will be questions and essays, actual brewing will only take place in class. If anyone would like to brew outside of class they may come to discuss it with me.”

Her eyes scanned the room.

“Brewing can be exceptionally hazardous if one does not follow directions and remain aware. The recipe for what we are brewing will always be on the board, and the ingredients are located in the class storeroom to be found at the back of the class. You will work in pairs at all times if feasible and everyone is to be safe in this class room, no pitching in random ingredients or attempting to sabotage anyone’s work, and I will not tolerate any House rivalry in my class, is that clear?” She sent a warning glare towards the class, her eyes flashed.

She stood up from the stool, uncrossing her arms and walked towards the chalk board.

"I am not fascinated in petty hostility or verbal cruelty, now prior to beginning the first lesson is there any questions?" She raised an eyebrow and waited.

Zoya shook her head in answer to the query, she had no questions. Well, technically she did have one but she doubted Professor Hazelwood would appreciate her asking when exactly the lesson would begin. Waiting for affirmation from the rest of the students, she began to arrange her lab coat and lab glasses on the table. They were muggle instruments but Zoya found them very funny so she kept them around. Plus, her motto was safety before disaster and no amount of snide comments from the Slytherins would stop her, even if she did look slightly comical in them. once done, she looked around the class, wondering who exactly would be her partner this year. She hoped it was Rabastan again but since Marvolo caught his interest, she was sure he would choose her. And technically, he should, going by the way that Crouch guy behaves around her, She thought, her eyes glazing mildly as she scanned the class.

Jocelyn was sitting at the back of the class, ducked in her book. Potions were her least favorite subject, her mother is very good at it and one time she could try and followed the exact instructions her mother gave her but she managed to blow up or make an unknown poison. This year this class will be a disaster and the next couple of years as well.

Jocelyn wanted to grab her stuff for potions but she grabbed her wand and let it fall on the ground, a white spark came out of the tip of her wand and Jocelyn widened her eyes. Is her wand broken?

Jocelyn grabbed her wand but nothing happened, she felt relieved and she settled her wand carefully on the table in front of her.

Severus sat in the front row as always and paid close attention to his teacher. Potions was one of his most favourite subjects and he couldn't wait to start with another year.
Every few seconds he would turn around to see if Lily had arrived already, but she was nowhere to be seen. This happened quite often lately and Severus wondered if their friendship was really that strained from his interactions with some of the other Slytherins.
Shaking his head, he turned back to the front as the Professor had started to talk. He snorted slightly when she told them about the rules, as if he didn't know them by heart. And of course he would brew outside of class, potions was his life after all.
Severus pulled out his book, some parchments, his quill and a bottle of ink and waited eagerly to begin with the lesson.

Eric took a seat beside Staz the only fellow Gryffindor in the room so far. "Alright Staz?" He took out his potions kit and placed his wand on the desk. He glanced around the room at the others but quickly returned his attention to Professor Hazelwood. He began tapping his fingers against the desk waiting for her to talk . He hated potions it was his worst subject and the dungeons were not to his fancy. They were to dark and stuffy whereas he preferred the outdoors.

Celania sat in her seat slightly zoned out as Professor Hazelwppd repeated rules that were said in the previous years as well. Potions had always been an interesting subject to Celania; whether it was the type of potion they were brewing or if the potion happened to go wrong and exploded in someones face. She grinned at the thought. Shaking herself out of her reverie, she focused once again on the Professor as she finished speaking.

Selena slipped into the classroom just as the clock told them it was the start of class. She smiled shyly at her professor and looked around till she found an empty seat right in the front. She sat down next to the older Slytherin, Snape... she thought and sighed. Selena had heard of him, though not much good.
Nevertheless, she was very openminded and would give everyone a chance and gave th boy a gentle smile. "Hi, I'm Selena." she introduced herself as she pulled out her stuff.

Severus looked up when he heard a person approach him and came face to face with a young Gryffindor witch. His brow furrowed and he looked at her suspiciously, as normally no Gryffindor beside Lily would even so much as look at him. Except the Marauders of course, though Severus could live well without them noticing him.
While he thought this, a glare had slipped onto his face, so he quickly smoothed it over and forced his face into a neutral expression. Severus watched the girl seat herself next to him without asking and was about to point out that the seat was supposed to stay empty for his friend, but then changed his mind.
Obviously, Lily wasn't going to turn up, so why should he turn away this girl. It was not an everyday occurance that someone actually smiled at him and Severus had to admit that he girl was very pretty. Not like Lily with her pale skin and bright red hair and of course her beautiful green eyes. It struck him then, that the Gryffindor next to him was actually quite the opposite with her dark black hair and tanned skin. Her eyes were dark brown and gave her an exotic appearence. The only thing similar to Lily was the warmth in her eyes and the gentle smile.
Shaking his head, Severus realized that he had been staring at her and was glad that he didn't blush easily. Selena, she introduced herself and he memorized the name before introducing himself.
"My name is Severus Snape." he told her slightly stiff.

Selena dropped her potions book on the old wooden desk and layed out her parchment and quill before turning back to her classmate. She noticed that he was glaring at her with an unreadable expression which threw her off-guard. She felt the smile slide off her face for a second, but used her Gryffindor courage to put up a brave front.
Smiling came easily to her usually, so it didn't take long for it to reappear, especially after Severus had wiped off the glare. Waiting for him to say something, Selena started to feel a bit weird as he was just staring at her without any movement, obviously deep in thought.
Finally, he seemed to snap out of it and she had to fight off a smirk at his expression. "Nice to meet you, Severus. I heard you're very good at potions? It's one of my favourites as well." Selena told him smiling.

Raising his brow slightly, Severus couldn't help but feel surprised to hear her say that she enjoyed potions. That was very rare in all students, but especially Gryffindors seemed to be averse to the precise art of potion making which fascinated himself so much.
"Is that so?" he spoke in a silken voice. "It's rather uncommon for members of your house. Have you got this interest from one of your parents?" he asked her interestedly. His own mother enjoyed potions as well and had several books at home which he had read when he was very young. "It's my passion, you see. There is nothing more fascinating than to brew a complex potion or to invent a new draught. Create something completely new. This is a sort of freedom for me." he stopped himself. Once his interest was spiked he could talk for hours just about his passion but most people seemed to think that either annoying or him beng a show-off.

Selena listened to him talk about potions with a calm expression. It wasn't hard to see that it was his passion, as his eyes that were normally dark and almost black now lit up with excitement. She could imagine from what she heard about him, that Severus didn't have many people he could talk to about this, but as she enjoyed this subject as well, Selena was more than happy to listen.
"I know, most of my house think it's boring, but I really enjoy it. It is somehow very calming for me to brew a potion. And it has such a variety and all other subjects kind of are important for it as well which just proves how important it is." she said, an excited smile on her face.
When he asked where she got her like for potions from, she sighed sadly. "I don't really know where I got it from, my mother died when I was just a toddler and I don't even know my father." she told him in a quiet voice.

Her answer completely threw Severus out of line. He hadn't expected her to join him in the discussions of potions, as he had thought that she only told him it was her interest to brag. Eagerly, he nodded his head and a small smile was shown on his face.
"I completely agree, you need knowledge in herbology, astronomy and charms, sometimes even some of the other subjects can be helpful in the process if brewing or inventing a potion." he said quickly. The only other person he could talk with about his passion was Lily, but she had been staying away from him lately, so he was glad to have someone to talk to. Severus would never admit it, but sometimes he felt really lonely and isolated, so it felt good to get this chance of maybe making another friend.
Kicking himself for bringing up the subject of her parents, Severus felt bad at seeing the sad expression on the girl's face. "I...I'm sorry. I didn't want to say anything wrong." he said apologetic. "Where do you live then, may I ask?" Although most of the time, he cursed his parents, Severus was glad to have his mother, though he could easily live without his father.

Sirius walked in the room, hoping he wasn't late. He hadn't looked at any watch in a while, as he had been relaxing in the common room. As he arrived, he sat down on the farest corner of the classroom. Although he wasn't in the mood for anything, he did get captivated by seeing Severus talking to a Gryffindor. What in the world? Sirius looked a little dazed. She probably has no idea who he is.

Angel silently walked into class, an annoyed look on her face. Most people would find it wierd if they ever heard of a Ravenclaw who hated going to class and doing anything academic.Lazily she seated her self next to a Gryffindor,dismissing the urge to put her feet on the table and fall asleep. Glancing at the boy next to her Angel noticed he was staring at two students who were deep in conversation. Shrugging Angel turned back to listen atothe Professor but immediately lost interest." I guess I'll have to find some other way to stay awake in class" Angel muttered to herself glancing around at her classmates.

Ginny entered the class, nervously. She wondered where to sit and saw a nice looking Ravenclaw nearby. She took a shaky breath and sat down near the Ravenclaw. She looked up at the professor listening. She heard the girl mutter. She whispered back. "You could always pinch yourself." She said.

Angel rolled her eyes at the Hufflepuff," Or I could steal some chocolate from the kitchens, but that's not happening either," Angel whispered back as she pulled out her potion's textbook. She stifled a yawn as she tried her best to pay attention.glancing back at the girl, Angel felt a pang of pity. Even though she wasn't in the best mood right now, Angel didn't want to upset anyone." I'm Angel," She smiled hoping the girl wasn't mad at her.

Ginny smiled. She saw the girl return to her book, so she did the same, thinking the conversation was over. Suddenly, the girl spoke. "I'm Ginny." She replied, smiling. "You think you'll like potions?" She asked. She thought this class was a bit boring.

" Depends," Angel muttered," I don't usually judge a class till its actually over,"

Sirius was hearing the conversation, and couldn't be more annoyed. Why didn't James come?I feel so alone here. With all these damn kids around. Sirius looked at Angel. "Well...Angel, Potions suck! There, happy?"

Scarlett entered the Potion classroom shyly, hoping not to disturb the class and its lesson that was being taught. Taking a sit next to a sweet-looking Hufflepuff that seemed to be making small chat with an older Ravenclaw student. Feeling that she should pay attention to the professor, Scarlett took out her Potions book and turned to the correct page, reading the first paragraph silently.

" Did I ask for your opinion," Angel said shooting the boy a death stare," But for some reason I think you might be right," Angel looked outside at the vast sky and perfect weather. Why can't I be on the quidditch field right now

"Well you should be a little more respectful. I talked normally towards you didn't I? And of course I'm right. It's potions." Sirius muttered a swear and looked outside. He placed his feet on the table. Wondering when quidditch practice for Gryffindor was gonna be.

Scarlett looked up from her book, surprised that such a remark came out from a student. Shaking her head disapprovingly, Scarlett tried to return to her book for she was on the fifth paragraph of the lesson. Then suddenly a Gryfindor placed his feet up on the table, making her book jump a couple of inches off the table. Gently closing her books frequent binding, she began to state, "I don't think putting your feet on the table is necessary!" she said in a quiet voice yet steady voice.

"Well I do! Got a problem with that you can just go to a certain place I know of. Freaking 1st years thinking their people." Said Sirius in a loud tone. Scratching his head, he kept looking outside, his mind slightly wondering of, thinking of what would James be doing. "He must be freaking flying and I gotta be here, doing potions. Great!"