Sebastian looked around he room, he had to admit despite some of the actions the kids had done the two who had cleaned for detention had done a fine job, the room was at last clean to his standards and all of it pristine. Now to see how well the students kept it that way.

He could hear them moving in the hall, part of him truly wanted to clean that as well but that was the caretakers job, he would simply have to find a way to politely request it to be done a little better. Just because it was a dungeon was no excuse to have it dirty. Sebastian was use to his manor a bit and ever since he had converted part of it to a hospital and now a Werewolf  half-way house it was kept sterile and clean.

He opened the door, detecting only a slight squeak now and gave the students there a slightly Veela enhanced smile. Watching the effect on both guys and girls alike. "Come on class and find a seat please, let's get to mixing up some potions!" He walked back into the room and took his seat, watching as a few students jockeyed for the front tables.

Potions was one of the classes about which Gwenna had never been quite sure how to feel.  On one hand, it seemed like it should be very similar to Muggle chemistry, which she loved.  She'd guilted her father into buying her a chemistry set once, but her career as a world-renowned chemist had only lasted about a week until her mother (who completely lacked any appreciation for science) had taken it away after she'd managed to explode something in the kitchen.  From then on, chemistry had been banned in the Trevelyan household.

Potions, somehow, was not nearly as fun.  Gwenna loved cutting things up into very small pieces, concentrating and peering over them to ensure that they were all exactly the same size, but all the rest of potion making -- waiting, counting the number of times she stirred something, following endless directions, waiting, and trying to remember which ingredients she needed to add in which order -- was simply boring.

Still, they had a new professor this year, and maybe he would make it more fun.  He smiled at them as they entered the room, and Gwenna's face flushed.  She hurried up to claim a desk at the front, elbowing another student out of the way.  He looked a little bit like an elf from Lord of the Rings, Gwenna thought, eyeing Professor Darkfall as she slid into a seat.  She'd never really had much interest in Legolas before, but now, suddenly, she could understand a little bit more why some of the older girls at school had clung to folders and rucksacks with his face on them.

“He’s a veela.” Noah muttered from behind Gwenna as he dropped his bag to the stone floor with a thud that made it quite clear he was carrying far too much around with him. Professors may have liked to believe that the bag was full of textbooks for lessons and from the library. Gwenna, his best friend and chief annoyance would certainly know different.

“Dad says if ye stare too long they’ll steal yer soul and eat it.” Claiming the stool, Noah leaned forward and rested his elbows on the wooden bench before them. “He don’t look ‘ungry though.” From the bag, his quill and some parchment floated out to lay itself on the bench. “Thing is, Dad also says it about yer pa ‘cuz he’s ginger.” The boy shrugged, his own gaze sweeping over the new professor stood at the front of the potions lab.

“Why’d ye ‘ave to rush to the front, Gwen? Now we’re gonna’ ‘ave t’engage.”

Once they were settled in to seat Sebastian opened up a cupboard and began placing two baskets down in front of each students. "We are going to jump right into it today,  study the two baskets on each of your desks by the cauldrons. I want all of you to pay close attention because I need you all to select a set of pristine fairy wings." He said as he placed the last basket down. "At this point most of you have been able to make passable potions, but now we move on to where they become harder and you have to take more care with your ingredients. While studying the baskets I also want you to pull out your books and read on Girding potions."

He went back to the front of the class and looked at all of of them studying the wings. "In your baskets you have two very similar type of ingredients. One of them is fairy wings, which is needed in your potion, and the other in Cornish Pixie. Keep studying them and some one tell me what a Girding potion is used for?" He looked at the few hands that were up and pointed at one of them.

Professor Darkfall called on Frank, who had his hand dutifully raised.

"The Girding potion makes you stronger - actually, it's more like endurance. It's like you don't get tired as fast."

Frank Sellaphix took Potions very seriously, so he was doing his best to ignore the Gryffindors who were whispering about something. You see, Frank Sellaphix was the son of apothcaries who owned one of the old shops in Knockturn Alley. His older brother was going to become a Daily Prophet reporter so Frank considered it now his duty to take over the apothecary when he got older.

He and some of the other Ravenclaws had been reading ahead in the Potions text book, so he had an idea of what might be coming.

Sebastian nodded. "Correct Mister Sellaphix. five points Ravenclaw. Yes the Girding potion does increase your endurance, you can stay awake for days without issue, or run for miles with out feeling it, However it is also a dangerous potion you should never take large amounts,  I would only take two vials at maximum,  if you use it try and stay around  a half vial. Taking more than two vials has been known to cause long stays in ST. Mungo's"  He walked around the table and took a set of wing from the basket on his desk.

"Today we have to look at our ingredients, and make sure that we are using the right ones. Some ingredients can look a lot like others, so we need to always need to double check them often. You have had time to look at the wings in the baskets. Who can tell me which ones are the fairy wings?" He held both sets of wing up in his hands and looked at the students. He dropped and hand briefly to point at a hand that was raised.

Why had she rushed to the front?  Gwenna blushed.  She wasn't sure what a veela was, unless it was some kind of very blond elf, but she rolled her eyes at Noah nonetheless.  "Your dad thinks everything will eat his soul," she hissed back at him, kicking her feet under the desk.  She sat in the back during classes like Defense Against the Dark Arts, where she wanted to have her back to a wall just in case Professor Storm got any bright ideas and tried to kill them, but in classes with less evil professors like Potions, she liked to sit where she could wave her hand and easily get attention to be called on.

Especially now that Potions was being taught by a Legolas look-alike.  Gwenna quieted down immediately as Professor Darkfall began talking, looking between the two sets of wings that he held up with interest.

The Girding potion sounded exciting.  If they learned how to make it properly, maybe they could use it to stay out exploring the Enchanted Forest all night, and then still make it to classes the next day.  It had been a few days, but Gwenna still hadn't forgotten the warning that Headmaster Greyfriar had given them at the Welcoming Feast.  Sooner or later, she was determined to find a way into the Forest.

Sellaphix had gotten to answer the first question, but Gwenna was ready for the next.  When Professor Darkfall posed it, her hand immediately shot up.

"Those are the fairy wings, right?" she asked, pointing to the delicate wing that he held in his right hand.  "They're a little bigger, and they look kind of like a rainbow, if you squint at them."  She squinted to demonstrate. 

Sebastian chuckled. "Good guess Miss Trevelyan, but your reasons are wrong. Both wings can give off a rainbow shimmer, and  being bigger doesn't mean what most people think. Now, if you look you will see they are very similar but a trained eye will spot a few things right away.” He held up a set of wings. “A fairy wing is wider at the base than a pixie wing. Both shimmer but a pixie wing has small hexagon like patterns where a fairy wing has none.” He walked to each table show one of each wing, so they could all see these facts for themselves.

 “There are a few more things different of course, like the fact that the pixie wing has a light dust on it but that falls of as they age so remember the first two things and you should be fine.” He  walked back to the front of the class. "I know some of you have studied history so let's test you on some shall we. Who can tell me who Airmid is and why she is important to potions?" He looked around the room and waited.

When Gwenna's answer turned out to be incorrect, Frank turned around slowly with a sarcastic smile on his face. He wasn't usually the type to tease his classmates, but Gwenna was kind of a wierdo and a little bit easy to set off. Plus, Frank had got his question right.

He snapped back to attention as the Professor came around with the wings, and he leaned forward to get a good look. Pixie wings, pixie dust. Makes sense, he thought, and recorded it in his notes. 

At the professor's next question, Frank's eyes narrowed in thought. Airmid. Airmid? He couldn't remember, but soon the Professor was calling on someone else. He turned to see who remembered who Airmid was.

After a few the young lad in the back Sebastian pointed at answered "Professor, I have never heard of any witch named Arimid.". Sebastian looked about the room for a moment at the faces of the students "No one?  Well then I will  mention her briefly. Arimd was one of the Tuatha Dé Danann  part of the Irish legends. With her father Dian Cecht and brother Miach, she healed those injured in the Second Battle of Magh Tuiredh.

After her jealous father slew her brother, Miach, Airmid wept over her brother's grave. Watered by her tears, all the healing herbs of the world 365 in number - according to the number of Miach's joints and veins, sprung from the earth over Miach's body, and Airmid collected and organized them all, spreading them on her cloak. Once again, their father lashed out, and scattered the herbs. For this reason, no living human knows all the secrets of herbalism. Only Airmid remembers."


He walked between the desks. "The Tuatha Dé Danann are worshiped as part if the wizarding world in Ireland, some say they were some of the first Irish wizards and witches, some say they were Gods. The reason I mention her is in Ireland most of our Potions come from our teachings of the Herblore of Airmid. Her lesson are why Irish Potions Masters tend to do things a little different than English Potion Masters." He looked at the students and gave a smirk and a wink. "And of course I'm Irish so you can expect us to do things slightly different."

With a slight chuckle coming from some of the students Sebastian pointed his wand at a board and the ingredients appeared



"OK class I want you to all once again look at the wings on your tables, select the ones you are sure are the fairy wings and then gather the rest of the ingredients and we will begin."

Frank watched in awe as the Potions Master spun a tale so fantastic that Frank hardly believed it could be true. A tale about a powerful, ancient witch who was mother of Irish potion-making. He forgot to keep taking notes halfway through, his quill also entranced by the story, if it was possible. He quietly mouthed the word 'wow'.

He laughed with the rest of the class at Professor Darkfall's declaration that they'd be doing things the Irish way this year. Frank shrugged. He'd do it. No problem.

And with new instructions the class began clamoring with new movement and chatter as everyone rose to assemble the parts and pieces for the potion.

Frank's own workspace was always rather tidy. He kept the ingredients separate, had what he hoped were all the little tools he'd need on hand, and his book just off to the side.  His station done, he craned his neck to check on how everyone else was doing.

Gwenna had been stewing a little over being told she was wrong, but she found herself listening to the story, fascinated.  This sort of potions lesson, with stories about injuries and war and death, was much more interesting than simply trying to mix a bunch of ingredients together because their professor said so.  The Gryffindor sat with her chin in her hands, clearly entranced.

As the professor began to give them instructions, she sat bolt upright in her chair.  Okay!  This time she would get the wing question right.  She immediately began studying the wings, trying to select the ones that were slightly wider at the base, like the professor had said.

As she glanced around the room to see if anyone was ahead of her in the process, she noticed Frank Sellaphix peering about as well.  Gwenna shot him a dirty look, hunching her arm over her workspace to protect it so that he couldn't see how she was sorting the wings.