Shrinking? Aren't I small enough? on Potions

Professor Connell

July 18, 2006 1:12 PM

Lesson I- Third and Fourth Years by Professor Connell

Marian Connell generally attempted to get to her classroom before her students began to arrive. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust her students (well, it wasn’t that she didn’t trust the majority of her students. There were always a few whose motives were slightly suspect. But that was beside the point.) Far more than a lack of trust, she merely liked having a few minutes to prepare herself and add any final touches to the lesson before the throng of students started to arrive.

Unfortunately, she had overslept this morning, and by the time she managed to gather everything for her first class of the day, the third and fourth years, and got to the room, class had already officially started, so almost all of the students were already seated and chatting with those around them.

She let them continue talking as she hurriedly put her books and papers on the desk and began flipping through her lesson book until she reached the correct page. By that time, the few remaining stragglers had all entered the classroom and taken their seats as well, so she turned to face her class and waited until the noise began to die down so she could start the actual lesson.

“Welcome back. I trust that all of your summers went reasonably well. Today you will be learning to make the shrinking potion, also called the shrinking solution. As the name suggests, it causes items to shrink, but it also reverses the aging process for anything that’s alive.

“The ingredients you will be using, which are in the cabinet in the back, are chopped daisy roots, skinned shrivelfig, sliced caterpillar, one rat spleen, and a dash of leech juice. You should work in groups of two or three. You may pick your groups, but I want there to be at least one fourth year and one third year in each.

“Finally, I’ve gathered some toads for you to test the solution on. They’re in the storage room right now, but will be on my desk by the time you have a final product. If you made the potion correctly, it should turn back into a tadpole. If it does, than bring the animal back up to my desk to show you’ve completed the assignment, give it a few drops of the aging potion that will be sitting beside the box, and put the toad back. You may begin.”

As she headed to the storage room to collect the amphibians, she wondered, as she had been wondering ever since she had decided to do this, just how good an idea it was. While it was no doubt an excellent way for the students to test their potions themselves, and an incredibly simple way for her to grade, having live animals in class could also turn out to be very, very bad. Still, it was too late now, and the only thing she could do was try and keep as much control as possible over the students, and hope for the best.

OOC: Alright, you should know the drill by now. At least 2 good-sized paragraphs, although more would be greatly appreciated, use as many details as possible, feel free to have spills, minor explosions, whatever floats your boat. Just be creative, and have fun.
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Subthreads:

Shrinking? Aren't I small enough? by Zack Dill with Anne Wright

Why must we always work in groups? by Jenna Howard

Oh Liz.... She said to go for what floats our boats by Ash with Lizzie

Tagging Stephen (for very different reasons!) by Sorrel with Stephen Baxter

Looking for a third year I can stand... by Lily Collins

This could be a problem by Jennifer Zucchero

0 Professor Connell Lesson I- Third and Fourth Years 0 Professor Connell 1 5

Zack Dill

July 18, 2006 6:41 PM

Shrinking? Aren't I small enough? by Zack Dill

Zack was a little surprised when he walked into his first potions class of the day. He was roughly 4 minutes early, about his average time of arrival seeing as how it wasn't as important in potions that he get his favoured seat on the left side of the front row. The class was usually group work and he sometimes ended up moving anyway. So he was there at his normal time, and his covetted spot was clear.

What was surprising was that Connell wasn't around. He'd been in her class for three years now and it was very rare for her not to already be there when he arrived. He stopped just in front of the door, blocking the way from any of his classmates who might be right behind him, and stared at her abandoned desk. This was not good.

The aliens had been very quiet last year. Did this ominous absense forebode their return? Nervously, he looked around the room, but there were no signs of a struggle. He concluded that she hadn't been snatched from here. Surely, she wouldn't have gone down without a fight. She was a teacher. Even the ancient Headmistress had eventually been able to escape their grasp, though admittedly, she'd had the help of a walking plant who clearly must have secret powers that Zack had previously been unaware of. On the other hand, Professor Connell was much more fit for defending herself. So there would have been evidence of a struggle if she'd been taken from this room.

Which meant it was probably safe to continue inside, at least until someone came to say otherwise. Hopefully, that someone wouldn't be holding a ray gun and imply it simply by existing. But for now, this room was the only one in the school that Zack was confident hadn't been the site of an alien abduction, so it was here he'd stay until a better idea revealed itself.

He moved further into the room, going for the middle of the room instead of his normal choice of seat. If the aliens burst through a wall or window, he didn't want to be right next to their opening salvo.

Agitatedly, he pulled out his notebook. There was still a remote chance that she'd just been held up and hadn't actually been abducted, and class would begin at its scheduled time. Frequent glances at his watch soon proved this to be an overly optimistic assumption. The new hour came and went without so much as a glimpse of the missing professor. One minute late. Two. Zack fidgeted terribly in his seat, trying not to act too scared. He was a fourth year now, and one of the oldest students in the room. He'd be fifteen in just a few short months. (Seventy six days, actually. Not that he was keeping track or anything.) He was responsible now. He would not incite a mass panic by screaming that their teacher had been abducted by aliens and why were they all just sitting there chatting like nothing was wrong?! He wouldn't. No matter how much he wanted to.

And then she walked in.

A little frazzled, maybe, but not like she'd just escaped death or living autopsy.

Zack slumped in his seat, so relieved that he didn't even think to find his pen until after she'd already started her lecture. Fortunately, he was able to repress the urge to run up to her and act all stupid like he had when the Headmistress got back from her ordeal. But then, the Headmistress had actually faced aliens and had been gone for almost a year, while Professor Connell was only unaccounted for for about, he checked his watch, eight minutes, counting the four she'd not been there before class began and assuming he'd only zoned out for about two minutes in his relief.

But then he remembered that she was talking already, and he hurried to locate his pen and start taking down notes. He'd completely missed the first bit, and he hoped he'd be able to get that part from Zoey or Anne later. He left room for it at the top of the page and starting writing as fast as he could, using the Basic alphabet instead of his usual mix of languages to speed the process.

He didn't know what kind of potion he was writing about until she neared the end of her lecture. The information that they'd be turning toads into tadpoles rather gave it away. So he wrote it at the top of the page, "De-Aging Potion". In Basic, of course, because consistancy was important and it would look weird if only the title was in Kling-on. Besides, he would have had to call it 'bastard child creating weapon of liquid' which kind of lost something in the translation. Or, more accurately, added something that it really wasn't supposed to imply. Sindarin probably would have been better than Kling-on if he wasn't stuck using Basic. Then he could call it 'Reverse Maturity Potion' which at least didn't sound like it would make people pregnant.

None of which really mattered because he was using English in the Basic alphabet.

When he finished writing down what notes of the lecture he could, he looked around for parnters. They were required to find at least one person in the other year, so that immediately suggested 'Anne Wright' to Zack's mind. Two or three partners, though, still left room for another person from his year, which offered two additional names to his short list; 'Zoey Welsh' and 'Stephen Baxter' either of which might know a third year to join them.

He got up and looked around for the first of those three to fall into his line of sight.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

1 Zack Dill Shrinking? Aren't I small enough? 40 Zack Dill 0 5

Jenna Howard

July 22, 2006 8:36 PM

Why must we always work in groups? by Jenna Howard

Of all the things that Jenna had missed at Sonora, potions class was probably one of the things that she missed the most. No more inconvenient ten minute trips from her room to the ingredients closet and back again. No more trying to hide all the samples of her potions. No more of her mother threatening to take her cauldron away if Jenna wasn't more lady-like. She was finally free.

She'd picked out a seat in the second row, her usual haunt for this class. A textbook, a quill and a scroll were quickly produced from her bag and onto the desk as she pulled out a magazine. Usually, this would have something to do with potions, but not today's.

This one was a travel magazine, focusing on Egypt. It was a wizard's magazine, of course, but the name slipped her mind, seeing as the cover had been torn off of the publication. She'd put a cover from Witch Weekly around it instead, so as to hide it from her parents. Travel was not something that was supposed to interest proper pureblood ladies.

When the teacher finally came, she put the magazine on her desk, unrolled the scroll of parchment onto her lap, quill at the ready. Leaning on the back to legs of her chair, gray eyes looked forward, hoping it would be interesting, and not some basic potion.

Shrinking. She'd taken a stab at it before, but it had come out kind of weak, and she wanted to try it again. Not bothering to write anything onto her parchment, she flipped through the index of her textbook, then found the shrinking page. It would be simpler just to look at the textbook and take it from there.

Turning back her attention to the teacher, things were going just fine, until the teacher announced they had to work in groups, which was bad enough, and with at least one person in the other year, which was worse.

The only people in that year she knew of were Jordanna and her little friend, and they annoyed her. On the upside, Jordanna wouldn’t want to do anything, and wouldn’t bother Jenna while she did her work. What was that saying again? Oh yeah- too many cooks spoil the pot.

Well, no use worrying about groups. If she was lucky she would go unnoticed and get to work alone. Meanwhile, she’d go over to the back cabinet and choose the best for herself. Jenna was certainly not going to work with left overs. She had standards, you know.

“Roots, fig, caterpillar, and the bug juice,” she checked off, once she had brought the ingredients back to her desk, “So what am I missing? Oh yes, rat spleen. Yum,” she commented sarcastically, then noticed someone standing to her right (which was kind of rude, if not weird, because people rarely just walked up to her), and turned to them somewhat defensively and asked, “Excuse me?”\n\n

0 Jenna Howard Why must we always work in groups? 46 Jenna Howard 0 5

Ash

July 23, 2006 10:37 PM

Oh Liz.... She said to go for what floats our boats by Ash

True proof that Ash had become a fully fledged Teenage Boy, as if more besides the scruffy appearance and inarticulateness was needed, was that the first thought that ran through his head when Connell named the potion they were making today was that he was going to keep it well away from his crotch. The second, when she told them to go into pairs or threes, was that this was a perfect excuse to try and chat to Lizzie a bit. Partnering up gave him a legitimate excuse to talk to her on her own. Not that he couldn't talk to her anyway normally. She was his friend. Of course he didn't need an excuse to talk to her. But it gave him one. He didn't really care enough about what Connell would do if she caught them without a third year to let it affect his decision.

"Hey, Liz," he said, going over to her. This was just to straighten out in his mind after all the crud Stephen had filled it with. Not because what Stephen said was true, right? Well, he guessed he had a point about Liz being sort of a hottie. But that was Stephen's opinion, not his. "Do you want to do it with me?" She'd know he meant the Potion, right? "-er make it with me," he tried to clarify. That was no better. This was Stephen's fault, all of it. If he'd never said that stuff Ash wouldn't have felt tongue tied coming over here! He muttered something that sounded like 'Hug a Stephen' (only not quite). "Not literally," he added. He didn't want Liz thinking he wanted to do THAT with Stephen. Especially if Stephen was queer. "Do you want to be my partner?" he eventually managed. "For Potions," he clarified.

This really wasn't going well. Though there wasn't a way he was wanting it to go. Just not looking like a twat was good as far as he was concerned. And, thanks to Stephen filling his head with rubbish about Liz and him and... STUFF - he was making an idiot out of himself like he did actually fancy her. Which was ridiculous. He looked around desperately for something which would make conversation. Good, non-able-to-be-misinterpreted conversation. His gaze flitted to the window. Window. Outside. Quidditch. It was a nice, mutual, safe topic they always talked about. He was saved!

"Don't you wish we could be fooling around on the Quidditch Pitch right now?" he asked. \n\n

0 Ash Oh Liz.... She said to go for what floats our boats 0 Ash 0 5

Sorrel

July 23, 2006 10:54 PM

Tagging Stephen (for very different reasons!) by Sorrel

Sorrel glared out of the window at Connell's remark that she 'trusted they all had good summers'. She hated when teachers tried to be all matey with you. Especially when they said things as stupid as that. For all she knew, their parents were drunken child beaters and she was bringing back painful memories with her stupid, hollow sentiments. She bet Connell cared about as much about their summers as she and Ash had about the main event event of theirs. Her mood improved with the list of ingredients they'd be using. She enjoyed Potions, and the grosser the ingredients, the more - perversely - it cheered her up.

"No, it's fine... I don't want to be your partner anyway," she muttered, as Ash turnred away without so much as a glance at her. Ok, she didn't really care. The staff kept telling them to pair new people anyway, and occasionally they enforced this. It was a rule they noticed you breaking too. She was just annoyed at Ash not even giving her a backwards glance. Still, she had Stephen. She hoped. She stalked over to him, slamming her bag down on the desk next to him.

"Ash seems fairly intent on pairing off," she said pointedly. Something muttered but inaudible followed. "Never mind, eh?" she asked. Stephen had begun to talk to her again at the end of the feast but there was still a little uncertainty in her eyes, and she was definitely, subtly seeking an acceptance of her as partner, whereas she normally would have just got straight on with it. \n\n

0 Sorrel Tagging Stephen (for very different reasons!) 0 Sorrel 0 5

Stephen Baxter

July 24, 2006 12:36 AM

just as long as it isn't one of those plastic things by Stephen Baxter

Having arrived before Professor Connell, Stephen had snagged himself a nice desk and settled down to working on what had been his main project for the last few days. Writing poetry, he had found, wasn't quite so easy as he'd previously expected. His tongue protruding slightly from his mouth as he concentrated, he frowned and scrunched up his last effort, pulling out another piece of parchment even as Connell entered the room and started talking. Stephen looked up for a second, then figuring that there'd be instructions written on the board and probably a partner to explain what they were doing bent his head and started writing again.

When did you get so hot?
What rhymed with 'hot'? Shot!
With one of those arrows I've been shot,
I bet you're really soft to touch,
I'd like to try that very much,
And maybe even try to french,
How about up on the bench?

While the idea was certainly appealing, Stephen suspected that it might not quite make it as a convincing piece of work. It followed the previous effort into his bag and another piece of parchment was pulled out.

That you have been sick is an absolute disaster,
If it was a cut on your knee we could fix it plaster,
I hope that the doc gets you fixed up real quick,
cos I hear kissing is hard when your nose is all thick

Suicide, Stephen decided, chucking it and starting again as people started to move around the room.

Princess I like your eyes,
They are brown, not black like flies,
Now they don't hide behind your glasses,
You'll knock all the guys on their asses-

There was a loud thump, and Stephen reacted by dropping his quill and slipping the piece of parchment he had been writing on hurriedly under his potions text.

"What?" He turned around to see what she was pointing at. "Oh, Lizzie. Go Ash," he grinned wolfishly. "Ten bucks says he's got her going off into the labyrinth gardens with him before the end of the day." He turned back to see Sorrel standing there looking at him and raised an eyebrow. "You going to sit down or just stand there all day?"\n\n

39 Stephen Baxter just as long as it isn't one of those plastic things 49 Stephen Baxter 0 5

Lily Collins

July 31, 2006 6:51 PM

Looking for a third year I can stand... by Lily Collins

Lily sat in her regular back-of-the-classroom spot, where she tried her best sit at all times. Potions wasn't generally a subject she minded much. In fact, there weren't any subjects Lily had a problem with. While not being prejudiced against muggles or non-purebloods, (which would have been rather hypocritical since she wasn't a pureblood herself) she identified with and embraced her magical side. She tried much harder at school than she ever had in elementary school, where the words "Does not live up to her potential" appeared under comments on Lily's report card an awful lot. Her old guidance counsler there seemed to even have the idea she was a sociopath. She found it all rather amusing. Magic, on the other hand, Lily had more enthusiasm for.

She groaned inwardly as Professor Connell announced that fourth years had to work with third years. Lily had very little desire to do so. The last thing she wanted to do was work with one of the prissy third year Crotali. She knew the little snots probably wouldn't want to touch the ingredients because they were dirty and she'd have to do all the work. Earl had already proved himself completely unreliable and every bit has spoiled as the girls and Lily would have the urge to kill him if she had to work with him. She might be able to tolerate Gwen and she wasn't sure about Asher. The girl was apparently friends with Earl, so Lily wasn't sure she had the best judgement.

Perhaps she could work with one of the third years from one of the other houses. Lily didn't even care if she worked with one of the people in her own year, at least they weren't prissy snobs.

She sighed and went to look for a partner.
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11 Lily Collins Looking for a third year I can stand... 45 Lily Collins 0 5

Anne Wright

July 31, 2006 11:28 PM

Some higher power must think not. by Anne Wright

Anne caught herself drumming her fingers against the tabletop in front of her and immediately clasped her hands in her lap. Her attempt to make a show of reading the potions textbook look convincing was turning out to be more difficult than she had expected, and the longer Connell stayed gone, the harder it got to seem totally engrossed in a book she suspected she had read through at least once over the summer. She didn't like playing up the House reputation so blatantly, especially since the family's only other Aladren was viewed as a time bomb at the end of his clock, but it had been a way to pass the time. A way that was now backfiring, if the past few minutes were anything to go by.

Connell's entrance was immediately used as an excuse to put up her book that didn't include small talk with the people sitting around her. If she didn't talk to people now, she wouldn't give them a reason, if one of them wound up partnered with her, to deliberately sabotage her work later if she botched things. Pulling out a folder that, now empty of the first two years' notes, felt unnaturally light, she began taking down the details of the lesson. By the time she got to the ingredients, she was in something approaching a good mood. Ever since the practice had been introduced in Mr. Barrett's fourth-grade class, taking notes had been one of her preferred ways of acquiring information.

Age-reversal in living creatures. If there was anything she hadn't thought a Shrinking Potion would do, that was it. A grim smile at the thought of what a fool a five-year-old version of Annie would look trying to give her and her cousin Gray the Somethingth a lecture about upholding the dignity of their first names turned into a faint frown at the questions it provoked. Would the Little Annie still have the mind of the adult one? Toad to tadpole indicated be de-aged to or almost to the beginning state, but would it affect different species' differently? Did the amount consumed have anything to do with it? She was sure there was some reversal potion, but could an organism grow back to its original age without it...

Practice before theory. Those were theoretical questions that, in practice, probably couldn't be answered; she was pretty sure that there were laws about testing potions on people and that trying out unsanctioned experiments would break every one of them. It might be something to look up on her own time, but this was Connell's time. Finishing her notes with a flourish, she began looking around the classroom for someone to work with. Those who sat and waited for someone to walk up and offer to partner up ran the risk of being landed with the sort of partner who hindered far more than he or she helped.

Since being landed with one of those really wasn't an option, she began trying to work out her odds of landing someone she both knew and got along with. The list was on the short side, but it existed and she could tolerate three if she had to. She'd tolerated more, albeit with less grace. Three would be manageable if they couldn't be gotten around. With that conviction in mind, she intensified the partner-search and soon found herself looking at Zack.

He was a fourth year, he was supposedly at the top of his class, and he was definitely on the 'good' list. Available evidence did not indicate that anyone else had claimed him. That was a better combination than she had expected to get, and the only sane thing to do was to figuratively jump on it before someone else could.

The hard part consisted of approaching the target and asking politely. Even when it hadn't been two months since she put an effort into having polite, much less friendly, interactions - the scene at the Feast didn't count - she had yet to finish outgrowing a reluctance to start conversations. Speeches and questions and their like were usually fine, but outside of that, things got less fine, especially when she cared if she stayed in the person's good graces. With the traditional methods out of the running, Anne settled for the next-best thing. Catching Zack's eye, she raised her eyebrows inquisitively and gestured first to herself and then to the closest cauldron. Her mother had taught her enough manners for her to know that she wasn't supposed to point at him.\n\n

16 Anne Wright Some higher power must think not. 59 Anne Wright 0 5

Sorrel

August 01, 2006 2:09 PM

Of course not! by Sorrel

"Absoltely not, that's my brother you're talking about," said Sorrel, sounding rather disgusted. "I want no part in any bets that involve his tongue being anywhere except firmly in his own mouth, capiche? Anyway, you've already bagged the option I'd think would win," she added. Her tone was bland, and it was hard to tell how she felt about the prospect.

Her mood lightened, though to most it hadn't visibly darkened, when Stephen offered her a seat. Things had been getting back on track towards the end of the feast, but she was glad they definitely seemed normal again. She wasn't sure she could have borne public rejection.

"Sure, I'll just grab our ingredients while I'm up," she nodded, "If there's a third year aroud you know, grab it. We may as well if one's readily available," she shrugged, heading for the ingredients cupboard. She peeked through the gap in the hinges at Ash and Lizzie, though - she realised - she hadn't needed the subterfuge. It didn't look like her brother would be in teasing distance any time soon, so she began to gather the ingredients she and Stephen would need.

"Everyone was fighting over the presliced ones," she announced to Stephen by way of explanation as she dumped a scalpel onto the desk with the ingredients, along with several whole catterpillars, wiping her fingers on her robes before setting to work. She sliced off the heads and flicked them onto the floor in one deft movement per caterpillar, as they only needed sections from the body. The eyes and stuff would probably mess it up. \n\n

0 Sorrel Of course not! 0 Sorrel 0 5

Stephen

August 08, 2006 8:40 AM

Good. Those things are so tacky :-p by Stephen

Stephen just grinned as Sorrel went on about the idea of Ash and Lizzy being something where bets weren't going to happen. He knew better, there had to be someone out there daft enough to take him up on that one.

"Er, yeah sure," he said as she headed off to get the ingredients. Probably for the best anyhow, as he didn't have a clue as to what was needed. He waited a moment to be sure she wasn't watching and then pulled out the last piece of parchment. He pulled a face, stuffed it back into his bag and got a new piece, checking again to see where Sorrie was first. She was at the cupboard, but looked distracted. He picked up his quill, thought for a second and then started writing.

I dunno why Sorrie seems to hate you
Cos I know that I don't cos I like you
And I wonder if maybe you like me too
Which you should, you know, I vote that you do

Frowning, he glanced up to check on Sorrel. She was getting things out of the cupboard. He flipped the page over and wrote on the other side.

If my potions should explode
I hope that you'd miss me a load
Although I don't want you to be sad
So with any luck something that bad
won't happen today
especially before I get to say
wanna go out with me?
I know this great spot, out under a tree...

He glanced up again, and Sorrel was heading back. The parchment was pushed back under the book. For a moment, while she was explaining the thing with the caterpillars, he wondered why he was so... hesitant to have her know he was writing poetry. Or trying to write poetry. Then she started to cut the heads off an he remembered. This kind of thing seemed to lead to Sorrel not talking to him.

Or being a bitch.

Comments on which led to fights with Ash.

Which just meant life was a pain in the neck.

Easier this way.

"Yeah right," he said. "Like you'd pick a presliced bug when you slice and dice one yourself. So what're we making anyhow?"\n\n

39 Stephen Good. Those things are so tacky :-p 0 Stephen 0 5

Lizzie

August 09, 2006 8:28 PM

What am I, a mass of water? by Lizzie

It was a well-known fact that the class of Potions was not a forte or a favorite of Lizzie Lavine. Thus, the casual student observer would find it to be no surprise that Liz was seated at the mid-back of the classroom, a completely unengaged look upon her face. Her mind was clearly elsewhere, and at the particular moment that Connell rushed into the room and delivered her class-lesson spiel, said mind was busy daydreaming. With a slight groan of discontent, Liz accepted the fact that she would have to work during the class period and noticed Ash was already making his way over to her desk.

"Hey Liz,"

"Hey Ash," she said as looked up at him, having a hard time concealing laughter as the next string of words came from his mouth. It was hard to miss all the inuendos that were seemingly stumbling out of the boy. With a slight roll of the eyes and a quick laugh, Lizzie nodded her head, and pulled out the chair of the desk next to her.

"What was that about Hugging A Stephen?" she asked, blue eyes dancing, "Oh yeah, quidditch..."

Just saying the word took her mind completely away from the boy sitting next to her, which considering her current feelings for the boy was quite impressive indeed. The travelling mind landed her back home on their pitch in New Orleans in the middle of the night with her brother Brett. The two had had one of the most intense and fun one-on-one matches of quidditch. Not to mention it was the first time in years that she'd seen her brother relax completely and remember that he was only 24 years old. The slight euphoria from that night flooded back to her as she gazed past Ash and out towards the outdoors.

"Yeah..." she finally said, her reverie fading ever so slightly, "Anyway... so, Potions."

It was at this moment that Lizzie remembered who she was talking to, and out of nervous habit, her hand reached back behind her to tug on the ends of her now mid-back length hair. The locks were really getting to be ridiculously long, and no matter how long it grew, it still managed to remain straight and completely boring. Lizzie glanced about the room a bit, noting the awkward silence that was falling between them. The thought finally occured to her that this must have something to do with the earlier conversation they had in the commons.

"Whatever, this is so boring. I hate this class." Liz finally exclaimed to break the pause, slouching in her seat.\n\n

0 Lizzie What am I, a mass of water? 0 Lizzie 0 5

Jennifer Zucchero

August 10, 2006 5:46 PM

This could be a problem by Jennifer Zucchero

When Jennifer first entered the potions classroom, it didn't appear that the days going to be a particularly difficult one. Actually, it didn't appear that there was going to be any potions-making going on that day, since Connell wasn't even there, and the students might just be allowed some free time. But she then realized how silly a notion that was, since no one in their right mind would leave a group of fourteen and fifteen year olds alone for any length of time, and so she decided to just find a seat and chat with some of her friends, as a few others had started doing.

Unfortunately, as soon as she managed to spot anyone, Connell emerged from her office and Jennifer automatically slid into the seat nearest her at t he time. She doodled on her potions book as everyone got the standard start-of-term lecture. Potions was one of her favorite classes, but the lecture hadn't changed in the past few years all that much, so she didn't see the point of listening to it once again.

She continued half-listening as instructions for today's potion were given, flipping absent-mindedly to the page given. She scanned over it a little as Connell droned on, but was interrupted out of her slight daze when she heard the word toad, eyes widening as she learned just what they were going to have to do with the disgusting creatures.

It was funny, really, how Jennifer felt about toads, frogs, and most other slimy amphibians. One would have thought that it would be harder for someone to deal with one of those species when they were dead, and that Jennifer, used to having some part of a dead specimen in a solution, would be just fine with handling a live one. This was, unfortunately, not the case.

For some reason, the creepy little hopping animals had always scared Jennifer fiercely, to the point where she wouldn't even eat a chocolate frog because of the way it moved. Trapped in horror at the thought of actually handle a live toad, she missed the entire last part of their instructions.

When she finally realized she was actually going to have to go find a partner, preferably one who would be willing to work with the amphibian instead of her, other students had already started pairing up. Lizzie would have been her first choice, but then she looked back at her friend and saw that Ash had gotten there first, and appeared to be having a few difficulties in asking her to work with him. Storing that bit of information for another time when slimy, warty things weren't going to be in the vicinity and she could grill her best friend properly, Jennifer continued her search, looking for someone, anyone, who might be willing to do her dirty work for her.\n\n

0 Jennifer Zucchero This could be a problem 48 Jennifer Zucchero 0 5