Year Six, Lesson One

[snape]

Professor Severus Snape was in a fowl mood. His head and neck hurt him massively from some of the activities he was forced to do the night before, so one the first day of term for the Sixth Year students at Hogwarts, class was not going to be pleasant. He entered the room, waving his wand to shut the blinds, knocking out the light so it was even more dim than usual. His eyes glanced around and fell on several different students, he had not brought his lesson plan, but did not really need one for this class. He thought it was going to be simple to wing it through this first lesson. As his eyes crawled over those present, he sneered, and put his wand away.

"As you know, wands are not needed in my class room. For that matter, nor are cheeky children whom should know better than to talk out of turn, or to get under my skin. All of you have had the pleasure of my company in previous years..." Severus' words trailed off as his eyes fell on a new student he had not known i the past. A Hufflepuff no less, and this one was to be expected to keep up with the lessons, in what could be the most difficult class at the school? He strolled over to look down on her, examining her almost as he sneered.

"Ah, a new student everyone. And in such a prestigious House, no doubt. Tell me child, what is your name?" He tilted his head as his long hair fell over his face. He was interested in quizzing this one immediately so that he would know if she fit in to his class or not. Severus glared down at Alyssa, his lips quivering slightly in his impatience.

[Alyssa Weller]

Alyssa looked around the class. She didn't really know anyone there. She bit her lip, nervously as she continued to look. It seemed like the professor wasn't there yet. She looked at where she was seated. It seemed like a good spot. She could see the front clearly, but hopefully the teacher couldn't see her. Alyssa prayed to herself that she wouldn't be noticed. One thing she couldn't stand was being in the hot seat.

She heard that Potions, was a difficult class. She had taken Chemistry in her previous (muggle) school, and she did fairly well. The only thing that annoyed her was the annoying mathematical equations and formulas. But she doubted that there would be any formulas involved in this class, she hoped. Alyssa had read up on potions in some old textbooks her father had, so she wouldn't feel so stupid if everyone knew an answer to a question.

Alyssa looked up at the front when she room suddenly got darker. She noticed that the professor had shut the blinds and turned off the lights. How was she suppose to study in this kind of light? She wondered to herself, worried. She listened quietly as he spoke. Then she thought that Snape had looked right at her. Alyssa sat up straight and starting picking on her sleeve, feeling uneasy. Then he started to walk towards where she was sitting. She was getting tense. She looked down on her lap as he told the class that there was a new student, her face getting hot. Alyssa glanced up at the teacher. "Alyssa Weller, professor." She said politely.

[snape]

He glanced down at the Hufflepuff and watched her become appealingly nervous. It was funny to him what only his words could accomplish. He was not sure she could cut it in his class, so he thought to test her. He smirked softly, and then looked to the rest of the class, deciding to add them into the conversation.

"Fine, shall we review? I want you each to take out a piece of parchment, right now. Write down three potions, and tell me what effects they have on a witch or wizard. I shall collect these, and pick a few, then we shall see how well you make the potions you mention. This will be a full class assignment, so I expect you to do your own work. And no talking. You have fifteen minutes."

The Potions Master turned and went to his desk to sit down. He was not sure what the class might, or might not come up with, but he was curious to see what they could get done in fifteen minutes. He crossed his arms over his chest, settling his hands into the sleeves as he watched them begin the assignment.

~OOC~ Okay, this is where you do the assignment required, and post it here. Role play like you are writing the parchment, but also make sure you add in what you wrote down. Enjoy!~

[Rory Kraven]

Rory opened the door to the Potions classroom as quietly as she could. She was panting, as she was out of breath from running to the class from the Library. She shuddered as she knew that Potions was the worst class to be tardy to. Plus the fact that Snape wasnt too fond of Rory to begin with didn't help much.

Rory looked around the room and noticed that everyone had their quill and parchment out and they were all writing what she knew had to be homework. Great! Now I'm not going to know what to write. Well, this is going to be a fun class. Great going, Rory. she thought as she looked around the room to find a seat to sit down. Rory glanced at Snape and saw that he was looking at something on his desk and she took that opportunity to quietly creep over and sit next to a Gryffindor boy that was sitting by himself. She smiled as she reached the desk, thinking that she had gotten in without being noticed.

Rory then went to sit down and she kicked the desk and then the chair made a loud noise as it scraped across the floor. She swore under her breath as she sat down, only imagining what was coming next. She put her head down on the table as she waited for Snape's reaction.

[Alyssa Weller]

Alyssa breathed a sigh of relief when he continued on with his class. He had told them to write out three potions and their effects. This seemed easy enough, Alyssa thought to herself. Thank goodness she had read up on some of the potions. But she couldn't really remember all their effects. Hopefully the ones she wrote down would be correct. She pulled out a piece of parchment and dipped the tip of her quill into the bottle of black ink and began to write.

Befuddlement Draught- This potion causes the drinker to become confused.
Draught of Peace- It helps the drinker calm down and soothes agitation.

Alyssa looked at her paper. She had 2 down and she needed one more. She had more on her mind, but she couldn't remember the effects it had on a witch or wizard. She looked around, getting worried that time was almost up. She looked back down on her sheet. She felt like shrinking down in her seat. Did snape give this hard assignment on the first day to see if she could keep up? Or was it expected of students to know potions by heart? Then her mind caught on to one word. Alyssa dipped her quill again and continued writing.

Shrinking Potion- Shrinks the drinker and possibly reverses aging.

[/color]
Alyssa looked at her finished work. She hoped everything on the parchment was right. She read it over and over again, checking her work. Then, a loud sound had broke her concentration on her paper. It came from a gryffindor. Alyssa glanced back to Snape. She wondered what Snape was going to do to the girl.

[Jayden Hawls]

Jayden had made sure that he gave himself plenty of time before his first Potions class of the year started. That being said, it still didn't help that he wasn't exactly sure where he was going. He held his books in one hand as he craned his head this way and that, eyes passing briefly over students who were also in the Dungeons. Most of them happened to be Slytherins, so his dark blue robes stood out in stark contrast to their green ones.

He finally found the classroom with still fifteen minutes to spare. He had heard that the Potions master was a tough teacher from many difference sources, so he was prepared for the worst. Then again, he probably couldn't be worse than some of the teachers at Durmstrang or Beauxbatons. He settled down in a desk near the middle, dropping his books and all the ingrediants he would probably need next to him. He leaned slightly back in the chair, watching the rest of the early-comers.

He didn't recognize anybody, although this wasn't exactly a surprise. After all, this was his first class. He felt slightly uncomfortable, knowing that the style of teaching would probably be drastically different than at his previous school. The Potions master at Beauxbatons had preferred notes and formulas as opposted to actual potions, and they had only made roughly fifteen potions the entire year. At Durmstrang, it had been quite the opposite. They cared far less about numbers and measurements and far more about the actual result. He really wasn't sure which was better.

With about five minutes before class started, he watched yellow-trimmed robes whip passed him. As he looked up, he caught a look at someone with brown hair that he thought he recognized. When she sat down a few rows away, he realized that it was Alyssa. Smiling at her, he tried to catch her eye as she looked around the room. He wasn't sure if she was going to see him, but he thought he would try nonetheless.

Once class actually started, he heard Professor Snape deliver a small speech that seemed to be intended to intimidate them. He blankly stared at the teacher, not exactly scared by what he had said. He had heard far worse stuff, and even said it himself, when the Death Eaters had come calling. All because of Raven. Trying to brush away these thoughts as one would a fly, he refocused his attention back at the front. Suddenly, Snape lunged out at Alyssa, demanding the name of her. His eyebrow raised, he watched the exchange, trying to keep his face placid. Two minutes into class, and he was already bullying poor Alyssa.

He shook his head in exasperation, trying once again to catch Alyssa's eye to shrug his shoulders. A girl came bursting through the door and Jayden turned around as a scraping noise could be heard from under her desk. No doubt her chair had made the noise as she pushed it aside to sit on. He felt bad for both girls, as he could tell that this wasn't going to be a pleasant class. Next, Jayden heard the Professor tell them to get out a piece of parchment and write down three potions and their effects.

Rummaging around, he grabbed a piece of parchment and his quill and began scribbling down potions that he could think of. This was fairly easy work, although usually the Professor simply talked for the first day while you listened. Obviously that was not the way things were going to be run in this class. The three potions that Jayden thought of were:

[glow=blue,2,300]Polyjuice Potion: Transforms the drinker into another shape or form, ususally used to impersonate somebody.

Veritaserum: Illegally used to force the drinker to tell the truth no matter what the circumstance.

Amortentia: Although called a love potion, it makes the drinker think that they are in love with the next person that they see.[/glow]

After this, he put down his quill and waited for further instructions. He wondered briefly if the Potions master was going to look over all work and critisize each one. He hoped that the descriptions he had put would be adaquate.

[snape]

~OOC~ Brilliant Jayden, as usual! And for this, I am forced to do the things I did not want to do the most... Hee Hee!~

Severus glanced up as Rory charged in, hitting her knee he thought with a sigh. He was almost prepared to give her a detention, but then thought his own schedule was filled, with one detention already, and him wanting to be away from the school for his own affairs later on this night. He ticked off to the last second as the students rushed to do the assignment, his eyes crawling over each of them. He smirked slightly as he saw a few get done with time to spare. He nodded in appreciation to the students remaining quiet and actually follow his lesson. Maybe this year would be different for him, and he might actually get to teach these little beasts something after all. Although he doubted it.

His forearm itched slightly and he glanced to it. Some one required his attention, and he knew it would have to wait. He stood, back to the class and rolled his sleeve up slightly, touching the NeoDark Mark with his wand he whispered something no one could hear, and then pushed the silky black back down. He turned suddenly on the class.

"Time is up. Quills down. I take it you did not get here on time to do the assignment Rory? Typical of a Gryffindor, I assure you it will not happen again. As it is, I expect a roll of parchment on you from today's lesson. If this is not enough to assure you get here on time next lesson, I shall give you extra potions in private, in my office. Now, with what you wrote on your parchments, I want you in turn to stand and name one of the potions, with it's use." He walked around his large desk, and looked at the class, his arms crossed on his chest as he moved.

"The one potion you name off your list, shall be the one you make for me, for a grade for the remainder of the lesson today. Be sure you know what you are talking about, the one you name had best be one you can create, or make a reasonable attempt to prepare." He looked to the new face of the male Ravenclaw first, pointing slightly. He sneered as he walked to stand in front of Jayden, looking down at him through his long strain of dark hair.

"You, I take it, are new here too? I noticed you were one of the first to get your assignment complete. I assume you know what you are talking about on that list?" He gazed over the list Jayden made and nodded. "Very well, you shall make the third item on your list now, I do not even require you to speak out, just get to it, and lets see what you can do." With that movement he walked to where Rory was sitting.

He looked down at the late comer, and shook his head slowly, disapproving of the way she had came in late, but not giving her a detention. Yet. He stood by her a moment, and then spoke to her, directly. "I want you to turn to a random page in your text, and make the first potion on that page. If you had never done this before, it is your own fault since you saw fit to be late for this lesson. Now, let's see that creative Gryffindor mind get to work on something other than being high and mighty, shall we?" He sneered slightly and walked away.

Standing to Alyssa's side her looked down on her. "I am surprised you got this small assignment done so quickly. And from what I see of your list, I can not say I am not impressed. I was not expecting you to do good today, I admit. Even a Hufflepuff seems to have surprised me. Much more than some in this class. So, if you would go ahead and make potion number one on your list, I will not require you to speak out either. Let's see if your abilities with a cauldron matches your abilities to write. Go to it then."

Severus went around the room in much the same manor, pointing out other students and making them recite a potion, and sending them to work on them. He finally got done with the last student and then waved his wand. The closet at the back of the room came open with a snap. He looked down on several of the students sitting around blinking not knowing where to begin. He sighed lightly, and rubbed his temples.

"The room in the rear of class holds many different herbs. Be assured that all of these are labeled and counted. Take only what you require to make the potions you have been assigned. If you do not already hold some of the ingredients that are needed. I shall sit here, and if you do anything so stupid as blow up my class room, be prepared for a nice detention. I am known to be very creative, when dealing with stupidity. Each of you have shown me that you are capable of simple thoughts, so now we will test your abilities with a cauldron. I am prepared to be disappointed." With this and a sneer, Severus took his perch on top the stool behind his work station.

He lined up several bikars, and glass vials for them to place some of the contents of their individual projects into, and once again folded his arms across his chest, letting his hands come to rest within the silky robe sleeves. He watched each one, through the part in his hair as they got to work. He was expecting almost anything, a fire, a burn out, maybe even some bad smells as the first potions making got under way. He was assured that no one would get their's exactly right. But if they did, he was also ready to give house points. After all, he was here to teach, they were here to learn, and this was part of the learning process.

He looked to the water clock on the over sized mantle, holding no fire place, and ticked by the seconds, wondering who would mess up their project first. He would have guessed the Hufflepuff, but she was actually showing some talent thus far in the class. The sole Ravenclaw he was not sure about, the child seemed a little too sure of himself, somewhat cocky in Snape's opinion. This was actually alright, potions required a certain level of confidence. It was the ones who were unsure of their work that made the Potions Master nervous. These were the ones who made mistakes, and ended up in the hospital wing. This was something he wished to avoid this term.

Last term one student had stupidly sampled some of his own potion, and it had made his ears grow longer than his desk, and he had tripped sending the desk, the student, and the potion falling over all those in front of him. It was a large mess that had required a lot of time and energy in the clean up. If Severus was forced to do this one more time, he was going to have to make the whole class participate in the activity. It would not be the first time he had given a whole class a detention.

Two years ago, the entire first year class had a detention and ended up searching the Forbidden Forest for mushrooms that did not exist. Severus' evil sense of humor had them all scared, alone, and worried about not appeasing the Potions Master. Of course, Dumbledore gave him a lecture for this, but that old school master was a dolt, and had no real clue how to deal with students. It was amazing that he was still teaching here, as Severus smiled to himself. Soon, he might not be the Headmaster, as Severus' own plans had already begun to form and take hold.

But these thoughts were not for the students. To those brave enough to glance up to the Professor, it appeared he was staring at them in return. Regardless of who looked up, Snape's eyes happened to be on them. It was a little mind trick Severus had used in many situations, and would continue to use to his advantage in many more situations as this. He knew this class could not see through the illusion and this appealed to his sense of superiority over them. And that was one of the things Snape craved most, superiority. He was not above making a student feel like a fool to make himself look and feel better. Another evil quality that had not died from his youth. And probably would not die until Snape himself did.

"You have half an hour, I suggest you work a little faster now." His voice was cool, and filled with loathing that he hoped they picked up on. As he made sure the words dripped with venom. He was known as a tough teacher, and he liked this fact. It was usually the tough teachers that taught the most. And years later, when these same students had moved on to whatever life they would carry outside of Hogwarts, these lessons would stick with them. And he would have done his job.

Regardless of what anyone thought of him, or what his future plans were, he did actually enjoy teaching, and molding young minds such as these into something useful. If only one student got one potion from this class that they could use in their later life, Snape would be happy. He would feel like he had accomplished something. In his own mind, he thought that being a tough teacher was the key to earning respect, and getting through to this new age of witch and wizard. He never once stopped to consider if he was right or not.

A cool breeze blew through the dungeon as the cauldrons burnt with soft light. He knew that they were working hard, and at least giving their potions a shot. This pleased him, and he turned his mind to other things. He let his mind go out and touch another mind that was in the school to see what this one person was doing. He saw a little of what this person was going through and smiled lightly. He was well pleased his spell was working and the student had no clue that he was under the control of the NeoDark Lord. A name Snape had given himself, but would dare anyone to try to take away. He now knew power that these little potions would not even match too. Like a candle flame to the burning cornea of the sun, he compared the magic of Hogwarts to the magic he now had under his control. If any student in the room knew of this, they would show a lot more respect.

After all, Snape was much more than the Potions Master he portrayed to the others around him. He was now in charge of the NeoDeath Eater regime, and controlled the dementors. He sneered as the water clock clicked down the minutes to the end of the lesson. He was looking forward to being away from Hogwarts tonight, and things were looking good for his first step in his master plan to begin to take effect. He shifted on the stool and looked over the students, his lips curled into a light smirk.

~OOC~ Sorry, if this is too long... I was forced to, so to say. Now feel free to role play the making of your potions. Enjoy!~

[Alyssa Weller]

((OOC: OMG. This was like a typing contest?? xD. @_@ I was thinking, when will the purple text stop?!))

Alyssa looked up, startled, when Snape had said 'Time's Up'. Thank goodness she was done. She was quite surprised when the professor didn't immediately, hex the Gryffindor. Maybe he wasn't that 'evil', as some students had labeled him. She read over her parchment for the last time and took a deep breath, hoping that the professor wouldn't criticize anything on her sheet. It all seemed correct to her, but who knows?

She turned around and saw Snape commenting on a Ravenclaw's paper. That Ravenclaw looked familiar. She blinked a few times, noticing it was Jayden. She smiled at him, happily, and mouthed out 'Congrats' (She referred to Snape's generous comment). Well, at least now she knew she had a friend in the class- and a knowledgeable one at that.

Alyssa had continued to give Snape her full attention and noticed him walking towards the late comer. Was he going to give her his punishment? She curiously wondered what he could come up with. Alyssa felt sorry for Rory when she heard his punishment. That was so bloody harsh, she thought. She wouldn't want to be in that girl's shoes.

She quickly turned around when she noticed that he was walking towards her. Alyssa gave her sheet her full attention, trying to see if there was any mistakes in it before Snape came. She breathed a sigh of relief when he said that she had impressed him. She felt quite annoyed when he said he expected her to do badly. She pushed those feelings aside and nodded quietly when he told her to make the first potion on her list.

The befuddlement draught. She tried to remember the ingredients needed for the potion. She saw as some students went into the room at the back of the class to gather their items. Alyssa wrote down on her parchment what she believed the ingredients to be. Sneezewort, scurvy-grass and lovage. Were there only three ingredients involved? Alyssa stood up from her seat and walked to the rear room. She looked for the three ingredients. She managed to find them all and she brought them to her desk.

What was she supposed to do? She thought, worriedly. She had only read up about the potions and their ingredients, there were no steps to making the potions. Should she just chop them up and throw them in her cauldron? Alyssa ran her fingers through her brown hair. and pushed her hair out of her face. She started to chop the three herbs and once she was done, she placed them to one side of the board. She took the powered leaves and threw them into her boiling cauldron, looking away, hoping to not cause an explosion. The cauldron seemed stable, it wasn't shaking or anything like that. She took a deep breath, feeling slightly relieved. How would she be able to tell if it worked? There was no way in hell she was going to drink her own concoction. Alyssa decided to just leave it alone. She sat back down on her chair and looked back to see how Jayden was getting along with his potion.