Lesson for Sixth and Seventh Years on Potions

Professor Fawcett

June 27, 2009 9:38 PM

Lesson for Sixth and Seventh Years by Professor Fawcett

Though he did, sometimes, have doubts about whether or not he really ought to be teaching them, John always liked the Advanced classes above all others. It was, perhaps, not an appropriate attitude for an educator, which was why he had a policy of keeping his thoughts on that to himself, but a fact was a fact. The first years, just getting their feet, were endearing; the seventh years could analyze. He supposed it might just be that half-buried magisociologist in him talking, but John enjoyed hearing others analyze a topic almost as much as he liked to do it himself.

The intermediate class had been told to impress him, and he now wanted the Advanced class to entertain him. Since their RATS would involve essays, in which they would be asked for a stance and a logical supporting argument, he felt it fell under the category of acceptable classroom activities. So - after roll call, of course - he handed back the latest pile of essays with grades and comments and, once they'd had the requisite moment to glance through and see what he'd had to say about their work, announced, "Today, class, we're going to talk about drugs."

If that didn't get their attention, he doubted much would. He pointedly did not look to see if anyone looked a little worried or guilty as they processed that. Feeling a majority of his audience was now tuned into the lecture of the day, he went on. "Throughout your years here at Sonora Academy, you've touched regularly upon potions that aim to alter the drinker's mental or emotional state. Since we've just finished our work on an elixir to induce euphoria, it seems an appropriate time to discuss the ethics behind the use of it and other mood-altering potions, such as Calming Draughts. This is a topic that often comes up in the RATS, and one that may be of professional interest to many of you in a few years."

It was, perhaps, unkind to remind them of their RATS, but a guess said the seventh years were probably becoming numb to the reminders. There were only so many times the mind would let a word cause significant blood pressure spikes, which - at least in his experience - were dangerously regular for a few weeks after beginning seventh year. Instead of taking a formal seat behind the teacher's table, John brought around his stool to the front of it to face the students.

"We'll focus, for the moment, on potions meant to elevate a person's mood. Cheering potions, the euphoria elixir...that sort of thing. Under what circumstances should such potions be used? Anyone feel free to jump in with an answer or make a rebuttal."

OOC: I'm sure you all know the standard posting rules drill by now, so have at it and feel free to ask questions.

0 Professor Fawcett Lesson for Sixth and Seventh Years 0 Professor Fawcett 1 5

Lila St. Martin

June 29, 2009 12:11 PM

My two knuts worth. by Lila St. Martin

As she entered the Potions room, the only thing Lila wanted more than to put her head down on the table and sleep was a free pass to go back to bed. After hours of obsessing about her unfinished Charms paper, Lila had gotten exactly enough hours of deep, blissful sleep to ensure that her entire day would be spent feeling exhausted and irritated. She was not the sort for any physical displays of temper - violence was so unladylike - but the first thing she'd done this morning was throw her screaming clock across the room.

Sadly, it hadn't broken.

Though just sitting up in bed had made her feel like a few dozen pairs of knitting needles were being shoved into her skull and eyes, Lila had then forced herself to get up and hobble over to her closet, where she had started her usual morning routine. It was important that she look perfect at all times, and this counted as a time. Those who looked at her closely might have noticed that she was a little paler than usual beneath her make-up, but she was otherwise just as she was on any other day, right down to her ballerina's posture.

Though it still involved things she'd rather not touch with her bare hands and had lots of concepts so complex that she frequently got dizzy trying to understand them, Potions had become Lila's favorite class because of one simple fact: in the entire Concert act, John Fawcett had only been insulted once, and no one had pretended to be him. That meant he had less of a reason to hate her than all of the other teachers did, which in turn meant that Lila could worry less about a demonstration involving her being poisoned. She knew how to be grateful for small favors.

This lesson, however, did not seem to be willing to provide her with any of them. The fumes and heat of a regular class would have been bad, but no one really expected quality out of her anyway and Lila felt she was tough enough to stay on her feet and not faint. The word talk, however, gave her a bad feeling, and then Fawcett went on to confirm what she feared. Instead of making a pain potion she could steal some of at the end of class, they were going to be having a class discussion. He was going to make her think.

Okay. She could do that. She could think. She wasn't stupid at all - she just didn't care most of the time. Pushing her dark hair off her shoulders to put maximum distance between its floral scent and her nose, she pulled together what she hoped was a half-decent answer. "When someone's always in a bad mood, they probably need something to cheer them up."

Okay. Not her best answer ever. Hopefully, it would be just enough to get her participation points for the day, because she didn't think she was up to a sustained debate on topics she knew about. This wasn't one of them. Lila didn't need a potion to distract her from how pathetic she was, and how a person who did should handle that wasn't her problem.

16 Lila St. Martin My two knuts worth. 80 Lila St. Martin 0 5

Morgaine Carey

July 04, 2009 6:59 PM

Jumping into the arena by Morgaine Carey

"Today, class, we're going to talk about drugs."

That was not a statement Morgaine had ever expected to hear in a classroom, and it jarred her. She was surprised enough to look up from the still-shining book she had propped open in front of her, her expression incredulous. The bottles in her pockets felt suddenly heavier than usual.

Don't be stupid, she told herself. Fawcett does not know. No one does. Even if, by some weird chance, the sub was a trained Legilimens, there were ethics about that sort of thing, and he had no reason to pry around in her head. She'd had some issues with authority during her first year or two, but that had been over long before his time. As far as he was concerned, Morgaine Carey was just another unfriendly rich kid with unusually good grades.

The logic comforted her. When he resumed his lecture, she had her quill in hand, all ready to take notes.

Her mood lifted slightly as she realized the purpose of the lesson. If there was ever a topic she could discuss, it was this one. Ever since the latest issue of Healing for the Household had arrived, Morgaine had been reading all of the material she could find about long-term effect of using non-controlled pain potions on a regular basis. She thought it was perfectly natural to take an interest in what taking the potions she needed to work was doing to her kidneys and liver.

The class discussion was actually about the responsible and proper use of mood-altering potions, but Morgaine felt that was inconsequential. She could tweak her thoughts enough to make it work and raise no suspicion, and all potions killed you eventually. Some just took longer about it than others.

Before she could come up with a good opening statement for the conversation, though, Lila chipped in with what had to be one of the most inane comments Morgaine had heard in an Advanced classroom. She couldn't help rolling her eyes the tiniest bit. And people wondered why the Council felt that Sonora needed watching. Lila and her ilk could not be good for the reputation of the old place.

"So, what are you saying?" Morgaine challenged her, leaning forward so she could see her stepcousin. "That if I stub my toe and make an A on my Transfiguration test, I should take a cheering potion to make it all better? Sounds like a good way to get addicted to me."

0 Morgaine Carey Jumping into the arena 81 Morgaine Carey 0 5

Lila St. Martin

July 08, 2009 8:26 PM

Watch out for lions. by Lila St. Martin

Beneath her dark sweater-vest, Lila's shoulders slumped the tiniest bit at the sound of Morgaine's voice. If she'd ever had a moment of just wanting to strangle her stepcousin, it was this one. She was not up to Morgaine and her ridiculous sense of intellectual superiority and - and - whatever else Morgaine was currently doing that was infuriating. Lila was sure there was something. Her brain just wasn't functioning well enough for her to figure out what it was.

Unless it was just existing, but Lila was pretty sure that it wasn't. That would mean she cared what Morgaine did out of her presence, which she didn't. Morgaine didn't deserve that kind of attention from a person like Lila.

"No," she said, annoyed. "That's not what I meant. I mean - " she glanced at Geoffrey Layne, hoping against hope that he was in a chivalrous mood and might tell her what on Earth she was trying to say, but he just looked amused. She looked away before she lost it and started to yell at him - or cry. Great Merlin, she needed sleep. "People who nothing cheers up. Like - " you and your worthless crazy thrown-out mother and psycho father - "people with problems or something."

Somehow, she found the energy to throw the younger girl (it was not customary to consider eleven days as 'younger', but Lila had held those eleven days over Morgaine's head for as long as she could remember) a smirk. No one else would pick up on it, but Morgaine would get the reference. That 'fine' mind of hers definitely had its uses.

16 Lila St. Martin Watch out for lions. 80 Lila St. Martin 0 5

Elly Eriksson

July 11, 2009 4:10 PM

And Tigers and Bears. by Elly Eriksson

'You're playing with the big boys now.' Despite having shared classes with the older year for her entire time at Sonora, Elly couldn't help that line from jumping to mind. She hadn't really appreciated the older year before, as happy as she was to partner students from her own yeargroup during potions lessons. Yet here she was now, with her two usual potions partners gone away, and she could suddenly acknowledge the class of seventh years: the big guns that included legendary potions students like Geoffrey Layne and Morgaine Carey. Elly knew her stuff in potions; it was just one of those things that made good sense to her. She was itching to prove her worth in the advanced class. therefore she couldn't help but be disappointed when Professor Fawcett denied her that opportunity.

Still, she could understand the point of the class. Plus, she had some related experience: Saul had cast a cheering charm on her once without warning. Elly's briefly explained to him the morals of such a thing at the time. She figured that similar rules would apply. She just had to form her thoughts into coherent speech... and interrupt a Carey - St Martin discussion. Gulp.

"Maybe in addition to um, counselling or therapies," she added onto Lila's suggestion. "As a temporary relief from um, prolongued distress." Elly had wanted to offer mood altering potions to a couple of her friends on occasion, but she, perhaps egotistically, had hoped that her own company had offerred at least some small comfort.

0 Elly Eriksson And Tigers and Bears. 92 Elly Eriksson 0 5

Amber Carey

July 24, 2009 4:35 PM

Oh, my. by Amber Carey

In the Carey family, many things were complicated. On a few occasions, Amber had wondered if the men picked wives based on nothing more than bloodline and ability to live the life of a crooked politician on overdrive. Certainly she had yet to see anyone who didn't seem to take right to the game. In the few weeks between her father's wedding and September 1, Amber had already seen Cath receiving owls she didn't speak about later.

Other things, however, were less complex. Or at least had a way of looking that way. Her feelings toward Morgaine Carey were a prime example. The full nature of Morgaine's problem with her was more elusive - Gwen assured her that blood was only the smallest part of it, but wouldn't be more specific than that - but their behavior had devolved into what might have been the simplest means of dealing with people you had an aversion to the universe had ever come up with: they did their best to pretend that the other didn't exist. While it lead to occasional awkward moments when one would speak and the other would act as if the remark had never been made at all, it worked better than anything else Amber could figure out.

It was, she was sure, how she was surviving Potions. She'd done her best to avoid scheduling overlaps with her cousin this year, but this one had been inevitable. Her Advanced-class options had been limited, and she'd needed the third class. Her father wouldn't have heard of any less even if, for some reason, the administration would have.

At the moment, she didn't think it would have, since it was clearly out to get her. She could deal with Morgaine when a potion was being brewed because they sat on opposite sides, but it was hard to ignore and be ignored during a big, for-credit whole-class discussion she and the Queen of Darkness both had to participate in. Fawcett was nice enough, but it just wasn't likely that he'd have a lot of tolerance for an array of Carey shenanigans. She barely did, and she was one of the shenaniganizers.

Lila St. Martin, of all people, started them off. Amber was surprised by that, but then, she was also surprised to find Lila in the class. She just didn't seem like the sort to be in Potions, since girly-girl behaviors were usually seen as firmly in opposition to dead bugs. Amber might have thought Morgaine was helping her - they were related or something - but Morgaine seemed to like Lila about as well as she liked Amber.

She proved that pretty directly, though she did at least have the decency not to outright call Lila a moron right before the whole class. Amber chalked it up to Lila being a pureblood, because she was sure she would have been afforded no such courtesy in the Crotalus girl's shoes. Her name would have been mud. Between them, they managed to turn the class into a discussion of mental illness, which struck her as ironic for some reason. After Elly, a much, much braver person than Amber would ever hope to be, got into the middle of the possibly-budding catfight, Amber screwed her courage to the sticking place and jumped in.

"And for - um - like, depression that's just based on chemical stuff," she said, wincing even as she did. Yes, she was going to be called a moron. She could hear it coming a mile away. "An imbalance instead of a problem, or something like that. If it's serious, then it should be ethical to treat it with potions."

0 Amber Carey Oh, my. 84 Amber Carey 0 5

Helena Layne

July 24, 2009 8:37 PM

Yeah, that sums it up pretty nicely. by Helena Layne

Helena couldn't beat her brother in Potions, but she could beat him to class each day. That, at least, she did. She'd only taken the class because he had been so confident that she wouldn't, and it was a real challenge for her. She had to put more work into this than into anything else to keep her average at an E; at times, she hadn't managed to do it for a while, and would count herself lucky if she finished the semester with one.

Geoff, of course, had a perfect O. She tried not to grudge him that. When she failed, she then thought about being in Transfiguration, which he hadn't continued. It didn't seem that a gift for Potions and a gift for Transfiguration was a common combination, because there wasn't much overlap in the classes.

When she realized they were to discuss instead of brew, she wasn't sure if she should be pleased or not. On one hand, a mistake was less likely to result in disaster. On the other hand...She was going to be talking with the likes of Geoff, Morgaine, and Elly about their subject. That was not a situation that promised to be very gratifying for her.

Lila, of all people, started them off. The comment she made was very...simplistic, as even Helena, who was no star with this material, could recognize. Elly interrupted Morgaine's likely assault on Lila before it could happen - Helena was, frankly, surprised her brother hadn't joined in on the fun, but grateful he hadn't - and then Amber added her bit. That almost took the topic off-track, and it came a little close to home for her and, by the look on his face, Geoff. Helena decided it was time for her to speak up.

"So..." she said, twirling her quill between her fingers in a nervous habit. "Do we have a consensus about how at least the stronger potions should be primarily used for medicine, and under supervision?" It was, she knew, putting a handful of words in their mouths, but it wasn't her way to state an opinion openly. Doing so made her feel all wrong, somehow.

16 Helena Layne Yeah, that sums it up pretty nicely. 88 Helena Layne 0 5

Morgaine Carey

July 24, 2009 8:58 PM

I'd agree, but...it's Amber. by Morgaine Carey

Against the table surface, Morgaine's right hand clenched into a fist. For one crazy moment, she considered getting up, walking over there, and slamming it into Lila's face. She could see the spoiled little princess falling off her stool as she did, and even almost hear the exact pitch of her shocked shriek.

It was not an unamusing visual.

Instead of indulging her fantasy, though, she put in enough effort to control herself. Physical assault wasn't quite an activity proper purebloods engaged in, and besides...it was the middle of class. She was over if she punched Lila right in the middle of class. Actually, given how the family felt about her and her father right now, she might well be flat-out disowned if she punched Lila in the middle of class. It was a suicide mission, and she wasn't suicidal. She smiled, as blandly as possible, at her stepcousin. The nonreaction, Morgaine knew, would faze her more than anything else.

Restraint was the key. Lila was one of that kind of Crotalus - the ones who believed they were residing in the only decent House, and that all other Houses were a den of barbarians with no self-control. The calmer she was during this class, the more paranoid Lila would become. It took an effort, but she didn't even pick on Amber when she spoke up; it helped that putting that exact statement on a RATS exam paper would probably make Amber fail. When Geoff Layne's sister, who Morgaine would always remember for her nerve in mocking Fox in the woman's presence, went into an organized-Crotalus mode, Morgaine nodded.

"I think so," she said. She did not sound pleasant - that, she knew, would be too much - but she was undeniably calm. She leaned forward to look around at Geoff. "But we should ask your brother, at least, his opinion before we decide." It wouldn't do to let a sixth year get on too high a horse during class with seventh years.

0 Morgaine Carey I'd agree, but...it's Amber. 81 Morgaine Carey 0 5

Geoffrey Layne

July 25, 2009 12:59 AM

This is the best thread ever. by Geoffrey Layne

When it came time for Potions, Geoff became an only child. In some ways, he was more competitive about the class than he was about Quidditch, and while he might well have taken a Killing Curse for his sister, he was even less likely to show her quarter in Potions than he was anyone else.

He had never really thought about Helena as a rival before she signed up for Potions. It had long since become rather clear that he had always underestimated her, but...she was still primarily his baby sister, and not a threat. Now, he was being forced to reevaluate that, and he didn't like it at all.

As close as they'd been, they had both always had their own things. Potions was his thing, and seeing that Helena could at least hold her own in it while he was fairly sure he had never had a chance of doing the same in hers (Transfig) was disturbing to him. It implied that, while he was brilliant, she had more of a range of competency. That could lead to a situation where she was more likely to succeed than he was. And Geoff wasn't used to losing.

The class Fawcett had for them seemed designed to exaberate this conflict. This was a discussion of ethics, and Helena, sadly, was the better talker. Hell, Helena had written most of the speech that got him elected as Head Boy. The one big thing working in his favor was that she was one of the most frequently dispassionate people he had ever met. Sometimes, people didn't respond well to that, and while the topic for the conversation was suited to that...People still might be turned off by it.

When Lila started the conversation, though, Geoff all but forgot about his sister. Morgaine, the St. Martins, and a class setting had a history dating back to the first week they'd all spent at Sonora, when Morgaine had referred to the Teppenpaw, Allie, as daft in front of Kijewski. This, he suspected, was going to be a good show. Lila trying to visually enlist his aid just confirmed it.

...Except it didn't turn into a free-for-all. The gaggle of sixth years (bless them) saved the situation and got it all back on track. Disappointing, to be sure, but the only real surprise came when Morgaine calmly accepted it - and asked, of all things, for his opinion.

He and Morgaine had a pretty straightforward relationship, as did he and Devian and, to the best of his understanding at the moment, did Devian and Morgaine. They all wanted to be first in the class, and they would all happily cut each other's throats on any day of the week to reach that goal. So Morgaine practically throwing a chance for Geoff to one-up her at his feet was a little unusual.

He decided to be nice, for once. "I think we can all agree that the use of any strong potions should be regulated," he said with a nod. "What's more interesting is how strictly, and what to do about the weaker potions."

He wasn't going to be too nice. This was an Advanced class. Everyone who was here had chosen to be here, and that meant playing the hands they were dealt without complaint. If the challenge didn't suit them - he found he was looking at his sister, who was giving him a look of death - then it was in the best interests of everyone that they learn it before he killed someone for melting his new cauldron.

16 Geoffrey Layne This is the best thread ever. 72 Geoffrey Layne 0 5