Sebastian  carefully set the  baskets on each table. Making sure they were clean and empty. his robes moving it the breeze as he walked the room. He had spent most of the last few days scrubbing it until the room was clean to his standard for a proper class. "How these other professors work is such squalor, I will never know?" He said to himself as he saw a spot he had  missed and scrubbed it away. All of the jars of pickled animals had been taken out. Now in their place were clean jars of growing herbs,and while some still held animal part pickling they were now behind colorful but opaque glass.

He wanted the class to feel more relaxed than with previous professors. He was after all not like many others in his own right. He went to the now bigger and brand new students cupboard, checking to make sure there was enough for today's lesson. He heard feet coming down the hall, He walked to his desk and sat down. As the students came in, he marked them on his list and said. "Find a seat and put your wands away, we will not need them today, just a quill and parchment for now please."

Oh Potions!

Elaine knew all about potions, of course.  Well, their ingredients, at least.  And, what were potions at the end of the day if not a mishmash of various ingredients?  She reckoned she had a strong advantage over her classmates in this class.  After all, how many of them had seen a real claw from a Chinese Denglong?   Or, the pelt of sea spirits from the southern Pacific?  Or, a real life kraken breach on the southern seas? 

Well, Elaine had never seen the last, either.  But, she had heard stories from sailors who had and that was the next best thing!  She was destined to be the shining star of potions. 

The newly fledged Slytherin settled primly in her seat, legs crossed at the ankles and set her hands on the desk.  She cast a bright smile at the professor before turning towards her neighbor.  "Won't this be grand?" she offered, excitedly.  As instructed, she began retrieving the necessary items from her bag.  A bright blue macaw feather quill, a gift from her father's last trip up the Amazon, and a black-leather bound book of blank parchment.  "I'm Elaine, by the way!" she added, offering another bright smile.

Feliks understood Potions and Herbology more than he did many of the wand subjects - growing up around squibs put him at a disadvantage there, but cauldrons was commonplace. He entered the dungeon classroom with a glance at their professor. He seemed welcoming compared to the deputy headmaster. But then again, who didn't?

As everyone took their seats, Feliks spotted his housemate Elaine introducing herself to someone. He sat behind them and began to take out his things. His parchment was blotchy with ink, as the bottle had spilled in the bag during lessons yesterday. He reminded himself to learn a good scouring charm.

"We are not brewing today, Professor?" Feliks raised his hand, wiping the other ink-stained one on his robes.

Sebastian looked at the boy who spoke up and smiled. "Have no fear in that mister Spectre, we will be brewing today but there are somethings we need to go over first before when it come to proper potion making. "He looked at the room. "For those who don't know yet. I am Professor Sebastian Darkfall. Welcome to potions. Some of you will no doubt feel lost in this class. But as long as you truly try I will do everything I can to get you through." He stood up and started walking between the tables "Potions is not like other classes, very seldom will you have your wand out for more than a few moments. Some of you may even find yourselves thinking this isn't magic, but muggles can't brew potions even if they sat in here and followed ever single step perfectly."

He stopped at Feliks' table and saw the ink stains, he pulled out his wands and with a quick wave vanished the ink for him and his bag. "Potions can do somethings that normal spells can not. You can't cast yourself lucky. no amount of waving will wake someone who had drank from a Draught of Living Death. Potions are amazing and beautiful, and dangerous. I am going to be showing all of you that wonder and danger for at least the next five years." He returned to his table at the front and smiled at the class, putting just a hint of his Veela charm into it. "Now can anyone tell me what Dittany is used for?"

Sulwen glanced around the clean, organized dungeons with approval, her unease about the class fading to the back of her mind for now. She rarely saw her parents create their own potions. Her mother bought them, and arranged the pretty jars in a locked cabinet which her daughters were never to touch. Sulwen had respected that, as she tried to respect most rules, but she was curious about Potions, especially since her eccentric Head of House taught it. She wanted the professor to think well of her.

Taking a seat next to Elaine, she quietly set out her ostrich feather quill, its plume dark against the wooden desk and the few pages of thick parchment she'd stacked.

She eyed Elaine's vibrant quill and felt a flicker of envy. The quill was bright and vibrant, much like the girl.

Sulwen turned her head at Feliks' question, arching an eyebrow at the copious ink stains already coating his parchment and clothes. First impressions were so important, and he was squandering his. This was acceptable from other houses. Not from Slytherin.

Professor Darkfull cleaned up the mess discreetly, full of smiles and chatter. She went back to watching the professor, wondering how much of his friendly demeanor was an act.

Sulwen straightened at his smile. Slowly, she began to raise her hand.

Wesley sat next to the boy sprouting ink stains, confident that Spectre wouldn't mind if Wesley himself spilled something. He wasn't so sure about the tidy Slytherin girls seated in front of them.

The professor reminded him of a hero from a storybook, with his Legolas locks and courtly bearing. He spoke in warm and friendly tones, however, and Wes listened, his fingers curling the edges of his cheap parchment, his quill looking like a ragged hairball on his desk.

Dittany, dittany, ditt-a-ny. That sounded so familiar. His mother had grown the plant, hadn't she, and preserved shredded pieces of it. She'd once used it to heal a particularly nasty scrape on his knee. He remembered a scab growing over the wound, his knee prickling, and then feeling good as new a few days later.

Wesley raised his hand. "It heals!" He announced happily, without waiting to be called on.

"It farts green."[1]

He kept a straight face for a few seconds before breaking into a sheepish grin.

It was true. He spoke the truth.

1.	Greenish smoke

Several students laughed at his answer, Sebastian did too. "Well, I wouldn't have put it like that, but yes you have it right. Dittany is a plant that on it's own can heal wounds rapidly. And yes a green vapor is often seen when used directly. You can also eat it for shallow wounds. But in the future please Mister Wold raise your hand." He walked over to Sulwen and gave her a smile "Miss Reid, since you raised you hand I will have you answer the next question. What kind of fangs are needed for a potions that cures boils?"

After Wold's outburst, Sulwen soon regretted drawing attention to herself. She wasn't sure why she'd done it, except the professor's smile had seemed so encouraging.

She'd known about the dittany, but not about this one. It wasn't as if anyone in her family were ever afflicted by something as embarrassing as boils. The Reids caused boils, at least during their school days.

She glanced up, her quill in hand, searching for the answer on his pleasant face. There were spider fangs, snake fangs, dragon fangs, wolf fangs, crocodile fangs, bat fangs.

"Spider fangs, perhaps, sir." Her voice sounded clear but a little flat, attempting to hide her uncertainty.

She'd just jotted down a few quick notes about the dittany potion, and if anyone laughed at her, Sulwen would make a mental note of it.

The Hufflepuff boy who sat next to him looked friendly. And he was clever, because he responded Professor Darkfall's question with only a little time to think - Feliks couldn't help but laugh at his answer. He made a note on his now clean parchment, about the dittany, not the farts, although he was partially distracted by the following question. Boils! Eugh!

Those were bad. And there was a word for them in English... septic? Feliks knew because sometimes the other children where he grew up would fall ill and develop boils. They were painful. He wrinkled his nose at Sulwen's answer.

"Snake fangs," he corrected her from behind and speaking out of turn."Almost all spiders are venomous, you should not use them to cure boils!" Feliks explained as if it were obvious, before he could stop himself. "You must use fangs from snakes without venom."

Sebastian looked at Feliks and nodded. "You are correct as well. Mister Spectre, however I will say the same to you as to Mister Wold, raise your hand before answering. And don't expect any special treatment for breaking rules because you are from my house or who your family is. I expect better of Syltherin students than to interrupt. But like I said you are correct. Class write this down, When collecting snake fangs be careful of which kind you get and use in potions. Venomous fangs have different properties than non venomous. If the ingredient list doesn't say use non venomous fangs." He look at Sulwen  "Miss Reid while you were incorrect, don't take it to heart, like I said Potions is not as easy as people think." He gave he a gentle pat on the shoulder.


He walked back to the front of the class and looked at them all. "Ok now we see some of the things that can change potions and some things that can be used with out any potion work. Today we are going o see what happens when you change a potion directly. Open your book to page 242 and we will begin making a Wideye Potion for today, however I will be having you all change one thing in it's making just to show you what different ingredients can do when used."

He  went to the board and waved his wand, the ingredient list appeared there


He looked around the room as they read it from the book. "Here we have those pesky snake fangs again. in the book like on the board you will see it only says snake fangs,  now normally this would mean to use a non venomous fang, but when you gather your ingredients, I want each table to select a different type of venomous snake fang. You will find them in the cupboard well labeled and which are venomous and which are not. Start gathering class." He said and went to the cupboard to open it as they stood, a few he corrected in gathering other ingredients but for the most part he simply obsevered.

Here they were then, their first Tuesday ever at Hogwarts, and it began with double potions. Aoide tried to size Professor Darkfall up. He had arrived last minute to the feast and was the Head of Slytherin. It could mean he was a bit strict, and he could play favourites.

“Some of you will no doubt feel lost in this class. But as long as you truly try, I will do everything I can to get you through.”

Aoide let herself be open to finding out what kind of teacher Darkfall became once they got going. Nobody could be worse than Professor Storm, could they? He started asking questions, so they’d know in a moment.

“It heals!” Wesley shouted out, “It farts green.” Aoide giggled in amusement. Luckily the Professor didn’t deduct any points for the enthusiasm or humour. Instead, he posed a question back to Sulwen who was sat in the front row with Elaine, two Slytherin princesses in a pod, Aoide thought, though she had done her best to be nice to them.

“Spider fangs, perhaps, sir.”
“Snake fangs. Almost all spiders are venomous, you should not use them to cure boils. You must use fangs from snakes without venom.”

Feliks sat behind the girls with Wesley, across the table from Aoide. Unlike the fancy blue quill Elaine had, Aoide had a standard one with her parchment. She didn’t want to get anything mucky in Potions.

“… don’t expect any special treatment for breaking rules because you are in my house or who your family is…” The Professor warned. Aoide gave a sidelong glance at Feliks, wondering what the Professor meant by ‘who your family is’. She didn’t have long to ponder, as the Professor began to explain their practical tasks.

Aoide hopped up quickly to join the rush to the store cupboard.
“Alright, there’s Jararaca,” Aoide pointed to a jar labelled Bothrops jararaca. “Puff adder,” Bitis arietans, “Australian King brown,” Pseudechis Australis “and uhmm… Malayan pit viper,” Calloselasma rhodostoma[1] “they all sound chompy.”

1.	I searched for what might be ‘common’ on List of Dangerous Snakes

He was glad when Professor Darkfall laughed, and he gave Feliks a sympathetic look when the professor scolded him for doing the same thing Wesley had. The castle was fascinating and huge, the classes were exciting, and he understood what it felt like to blurt the wrong thing out at the wrong time. He often did so during the most mundane of times.

Sharing a look with Aoide, he too wondered what the professor meant by not playing favorites. Wesley had assumed all the professors treated all the houses the same way. They were professors. They just wanted the students to learn.

He left his secondhand book open, the cover flopping over the edge of the table. Wesley sidled up next to Aoide and pointed at the second fang.

"Puff adder for Hufflepuff," he suggested with an easy smile.

Sulwen turned her head to the side, offering Feliks the slightest acknowledgment that he was speaking, and unintentionally giving Elaine a full view of the irritation flickering across her face. It rankled that the inky one was right, too. She wrote down the professor's information, and faced forward when the professor reminded the boys yet again not to interrupt.

Before she could feel smug about it, Professor Darkfall thought she needed coddling. That would not do. Sulwen stiffened, and simply nodded at him, attempting to look grateful but probably looking like she had indigestion.

He claimed not to care about their house or family name. He certainly didn't run in her family's pureblood circles. While that worried her a little, she felt an odd twinge of relief as she opened her book. If what he said were true, everything she accomplished in this class would be on her own merit. He had not offered or deducted house points as of yet, and Sulwen hoped that meant he was more interested in their brewing skills. She'd never brewed before, but she was much better at doing than speaking up.

She strode to the cupboard with a confident air, and then waited behind the Hufflepuffs, mindful of the professor watching. Glancing at Elaine, she wondered if the girl would have a preference. The fangs were all the same to her.

What a peculiar misfit collection of classmates.  Elaine had watched with unveiled curiosity as the swabby-looking ink boy from their house was cleaned off by the professor and both boys proceeded to speak out of turn.  She'd shaken her head disapprovingly at their antics, offering the same little disapproving sigh she'd heard her mother use a a number of times.  With other people, of course.  Never with Elaine. 

She caught sight of Sulwen's look of irritation as she turned back towards the front and had scowled back in a mixture of confusion and surprise.  Had she done something to annoy her roommate?  "What?" she had mouthed when the professor had turned to write the day's potion on the board. 

But, without saying a word, Elaine turned her attention to the day's lesson and made notes about the snake fangs.  With that in order, she joined the line of students making their way to retrieve their potions ingredients.  Including the fangs of their choice, of course. 

"Puff adder for Hufflepuff."

Elaine sniggered and glanced at Sulwen with a sly grin.  "Why don't we make our ingredients choices based on rhymes?  I'm sure that will help us ever so much to brew the best potion, don't you agree?"  As she waited for the Hufflepuffs to make their choice,  Elaine lifted up on her tippy toes to peer at the choices. 

"Shall we do the coral snake?" Elaine suggested to Sulwen, pointing over Wold's shoulder towards a small jar with minuscule hooked fangs.  "They'll be easiest to grind," she whispered under her breath. 

            "And don't expect any special treatment for breaking rules because you are from my house or who your family is."

Fleetingly, Feliks thought of his mother with a a flicker of panic. He quickly realised that this didn't make sense: the professor had meant his oma, the Arithmancy teacher. Feliks smiled sheepishly at the head of Slytherin and went to join the other two from his table. Aoide was already ahead, naming the snake fangs. He liked her. They had met on the train to Hogwarts and she had been very excited and welcoming.

            "Puff adder for Hufflepuff," Wesley was happy to answer.
"Why don't we make our ingredients choices based on rhymes?  I'm sure that will help us ever so much to brew the best potion, don't you agree?" quipped one of Feliks' housemates behind them.

Why was she in a bad mood? Did she forget breakfast? He glanced over his shoulder at her, forming a forked snake tongue in his mouth and rudely sticking it out at the redhead. "The point is to brew a potion wrongly," he told her. "You don't have to be boring about it."

He realised he meant boorish, belatedly, but decided that boring also worked. Rhymes were fun.

"Let's do puff adder." Feliks turned back to Aoide and Wesley, reaching past the former to carefully count up three pairs in the centre of his palm. "I read about them. They are very bad-tempered snakes and hiss at everyone." He glanced at the two witches on his way back to the desk.