N.B. Characters may be late to this first class if you must, but for later classes, I'm sure Penny will start taking off points. It's better if they arrive on time. If you get behind in posting at the start of the class, feel free to post as if they were already in the room! Thanks!

[Outfit]

The Potions dungeons had been way too cold for Penny's health. She felt like she was going to catch pneumonia, so she had decided to light the fire place to the left of the room so heat would generate through the class. Why did England have to be so cold compared to Salem? Maybe it was the chill of some of the Hogwarts staff. The young professor couldn't help but laugh at that thought while she tugged the denim jacket over her body tighter. Her stomach was twisted in knots. What if students couldn't stand her because she was a...what was the word? A Yankee? Something like that.

The bell rang and students, she had observed on her first day, would pour out of the Great Hall in to her freezing dungeon. The morning class would start with first years: a bunch of adorable 11-year-olds that were going through an awkward stage in their life of choosing between childhood and adulthood. They'd be going through this phase for seven years--if some of them hadn't matured early. Penny wrinkled her nose up to block out the memories of some of her worst problems with being a teenager.

As the students would pour in, they would see a bunch of tables that could each seat four or five at a time instead of desks; the center of these tables had candy! A pile of candy, in fact, that ranged from Cauldron Cakes to Pumpink Pasties to Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans. Penny had tried one of those and didn't much care for it. At the front of the class was a table set about four feet away from the blackboard on the wall. Catty-cornered to the left side of the classroom was Penny's desk decorated with interesting trinkets (for instance a bobble-head of Gwenog Jones, Seeker for the Holyhead Harpies). In the center of the classroom was a large cauldron with a thick, orange liquid bubbling within. Penny stood in front of the classroom with a warm smile on her face to greet all of them.

"Good morning," she grinned at the tweenies, not realizing how thick her American accent was. They looked rather confused at the woman. "I guess the staff didn't tell you guys you're getting new teachers. That's okay, though! My name is Penelope Elaine Darling, but I prefer Penny Lane. I guess in your case, you have to call me Professor Darling--but not if you don't want to. You can just call me Miss Penny or Miss Darling if you have to be formal."

She picked at the dirt underneath her fingernails anxiously, still unable to wipe her smile from her face. This was so exciting! Penny was actually teaching a class! How fun this was going to be!

"I'm sure you've noticed the candy on your tables and you're more than welcome to it. Be sure to share, though. I should probably start off by mentioning that you don't need to take notes. I hear mid-terms are coming up--ooh, scary thought, huh?--but don't be alarmed. I'm not going to make you brew a Polyjuice Potion or anything." She giggled. "Don't worry about mid-terms in here, though. You'll be taking them--it's mandatory that I give them to you, I think--but I'll be winging it. So for those of you who study extra extra hard, you can relax in this class because it won't be too difficult at all."

Penny walked along the wide space dividing the tables towards the cauldron, inspected it briefly, and grinned up at the back of the class.

"On with the lesson! There are a few classes you will be taking here at Hogwarts that work closely with potions: Herbology, Astronomoy, and should you choose to take it in your third year Care of Magical Creatures. I'm better at herbology than I am potions, but because I've learned so much about herbs while I was in school, I decided to try the career of a potioneer. Luckily, it lead me here to Hogwarts! You use herbs, magical creature parts, and the rotation of stars, planets, and especially the moon to brew potions. It can be very dangerous, but don't be afraid: I'm not going to let you guys brew a potion that's dangerous. You're first years, so we're going to take it slow and easy. Have some more candy, don't be shy!"

The professor (what a great title for her!) casually and slowly weaved her way around the tables to get a closer look at her students. They came in all shapes and sizes, freckles, proper, lazy; she adored them all! They were so cute and young and it reminded her of the days when she was that age: nervously scribbling down what she could to scrape by on her exams.

"All right, can anyone tell me what the potion is in the cauldron? You're more than welcome to get out of your seats and gawk at it if you want to figure it out. I'll give you a hint: it's a common, easy-to-brew potion."

Penny waited patiently to see if any of the kids could get it right the first turn. She was going to see first-hand who were the know-it-alls and who didn't answer questions period. The girl hoped she could switch it around in her class over time; she really wanted everyone to participate and have fun.

[OOC: The potion in the cauldron is a Warming Potion. When drank, it can warm the user's body for several hours so that they don't get cold. She thought it was appropriate since it's winter.]

Eirene couldn't help but stare at the new potions professor, intrigued by her accent and wondering if her American-ness had anything to do with her strange attire or the woman's fondness for candy. She'd expected someone in robes, someone with a properly stern and an authoritative presence, but this professor wasn't like that at all.

She was thankful for the fire, however, and studied the candy nervously. Was this a test? Did the new professor expect them to use the candy in their potion? She hadn't read anything about that! Or was this supposed to weed out the gluttonous students from the ones with control? Eirene self-consciously crossed her arms and wrested her gaze away from the enticing pile of sweets. Her frame still had the dreaded 'baby fat', as her mother called it, and lately her uniform had not been fitting well in surprising areas - the bum and the bust, for example. Eirene wished she looked like most of the other girls in her year.

Eirene mused over the professor's name, wondering if she was somehow related to Wendy Darling, and forgetting for a moment that Sasha had told her Peter Pan was a fictional muggle story. Then the professor informed them that they could eat the candy, but Eirene only glanced at it warily, still convinced this was some kind of test.

She listened, growing confused by the professor's assurances that they shouldn't worry about the midterm, and that this class wouldn't be difficult. But... no! Eirene had studied hard! She wanted to show off how much she'd learned, and she couldn't do that if this class was going to be an easy O for everyone!

She shot up and hurried over to the cauldron when the professor said they could, staring at the bubbling, orange liquid with intensity. It looked familiar, and the professor said it was a simple potion. Eirene glanced back at the fire, then put her hand over the cauldron, raising it high enough to avoid getting singed. The heat radiated up and warmed her hand instantly.

"Oh!" Eirene flung her hand high in the air. "It's a warming potion!" She declared proudly, casting a smug glance at the students around her and then looking back at the new professor.

-- Uniform. --

Aglaia wasn't exactly expecting Professor Gunnar to leave so soon... But a woman Professor wouldn't be so bad, would she? The Knight girl followed the rest of the first years into class, expecting a proper woman who knew exactly what she was doing. But as soon as the snobby girl's eyes landed on the new Professor, dread filled her. She dressed like a lunatic. And what was all that candy crap? Aglaia only ate the finest desserts. Bertie Bott's was definitely not "fine". Even then, Aglaia was probably the only twelve year old that lacked a sweet tooth. She sat in the center, as always, and clicked her tongue impatiently. She didn't like this class already.

When the woman spoke, her American accent merely made Aglaia dislike her more. Like her brother Callum, she wasn't that opened minded about other people from other countries. Not only did she dress like a weirdo, but she spoke like one. And not only that, she was staring at them all like a lunatic. And not only that! She wouldn't stop talking about her name! Professor Darling. That was all she needed to say.

Like Eirene, Aglaia pulled herself out of her chair to look at the potion. Only Aglaia walked more casually and merely glanced inside of it. Truth be told, she didn't care for the potion because she didn't care for the Professor. But she took another look... She read about warming potions before. That was definitely what it was, right? But before Aglaia could even speak, Eirene spoke. Which was completely fair, but blind fury still blazed inside the Knight girl.

"Good job, Eirene!" Aglaia told her friend with a fake smile. She never complimented people. Hopefully Eirene would understand that she wasn't actually complimenting her, but using completely disguised sarcasm. If it weren't Eirene, Aglaia would have already pushed her aside with her hip to answer first. She would let the Ravenclaw have this one. Next time, though, a quick scolding would do.

Candy! After breakfast?? Venora had no idea that was even allowed. At home, she wasn't allowed to have candy until later in the day and only if she had been good. Had they been good?

The Hufflepuff eagerly looked to the lone authority figure in the room and curiously regarded everything from her dress to her stature. Even before the Potions professor spoke, Venora had a feeling that she was going to like her.

Venora settled into her seat and cautiously reached out to take a few Bertie Botts Beans, still fearful that her father or her grandmother would burst out of the shadows at any moment and scold her for doing so at such an early hour.

She put one in her mouth and suckled on it as the teacher started to speak. The accent she had wasn't totally foreign to Venora, who had relatives who were from Canada. Plus, Dahlia and Ayla were from there too. She actually liked the sound of it.

Venora also liked the sound of Professor Darling. Such a pretty name. And the teacher was so pretty too. So young looking.

Venora was relieved that they wouldn't have to take notes. She was tired of doing so. And she was tired of studying extra, extra hard. She would let others do that.

Venora scooted up so that she could peer into the cauldron but she didn't have an inkling as to what it might be offhand. Luckily, she didn't have to struggle to figure it out because Eriene was happy to supply the answer. Good. She didn't have to work so hard now.

Impulsively, Venora expectantly looked at the professor and asked, "So we can drink it, right?"

Charles had hoped to answer the question before Eirene, but alas, had been unable to. This new Potions professor would be interesting, and Charles thought it said something that the turnover of professors recently had been almost complete. Charles thought it was only the Transfiguration teacher that was still in her post.

Dahlia was actually dreading Potions. She hated that it was her worst subject, she couldn't even explain why she was so bad at it (and bad by Dahlia standards meant only getting Es) She supposed there was some kind of subconscious reason that was holding her back, something to do with it being Ayla's best subject, there was something so infuriating about watching her older sister coast by in school yet pull out Os in potions.

Dahlia looked even more prim and proper than usual. Her uniform was pressed, the crease in her dress pants still standing out, her shoes shined and her long black hair had been tightly wrapped into a halo of a braid so that it was completely out of her way. The only thing about her that looked out of place were her bloodshot eyes. Dahlia was still prone to bouts of tears after her confrontation with Ayla. She had never seen her sister so angry, she had even told her she never wanted to see her again. It had been seriously affecting the young girl.

Normally Dahlia would have been pleased at the sight of the new Professor but she just couldn't lift he spirits, especially considering how much the older woman's fashion sense reminded her of Ayla. As the rest of the class rose to goggle at the large cauldron in the middle of the classroom Dahlia stayed seated looking at the bowl of sweets. She didn't have a sweet tooth, never had. She was more one to snack on crisps and pretzels, anything that was salty really. She had lost her taste for sweets when she was nine, Ayla had come home from her first semester at Hogwarts and had made Dahlia and Erik test all the sweets she had made. Apparently Ayla was not only good at potions but she was incredible when it came to turning those potions into edible candy, cookies and cakes. Ever since Dahlia hadn't been able to trust candy, especially not candy given to her by a master potioneer.

Serenity Lee bounced in with Dahlia and Venora. Like the more zealous of the two, she also leered hungrily at the candy and started ripping open a Pumpkin Pastie the second the woman said they could. She didn't even get a chance to look at the new professor until she was halfway finished with her first piece of candy. The small first year nearly dropped it when she saw the American.

One time, Serenity Lee had seen a picture of her mother when she was younger and working in America. This professor looked the same way: brown hair, cutesy American clothes, and cute! At least, that was what boys called girls who weren't stunningly gorgeous like... Well, Serenity Lee imagined someone like those Slytherin girls. They were 'stunningly gorgeous'. Someone like her mum and she expected Venora & Dahlia would be considered 'cute'. Not herself, though. She hid her face with her hair for a reason--and it wasn't because Aglaia Knight called her ugly! It was just that Serenity Lee didn't think she was pretty or cute. Not ugly, just not...un-ugly.

"It can be very dangerous, but don't be afraid: I'm not going to let you guys brew a potion that's dangerous. You're first years, so we're going to take it slow and easy."

Thank goodness for that! Anyone who might try to force them to brew something more advanced would be extremely cruel. But if they weren't going to brew anything dangerous, what would they be brewing? The woman asked a question and, as always, Eirene answered. Aglaia complimented her; that was a new one on Serenity Lee. That horrible Slytherin girl... Serenity Lee did her best not to look at the girl because if she did, she'd glare at her. Since the snotty pure-blood had started picking on her, Venora, and Dahlia lately, Serenity Lee had been secretly wishing Mairead would just vent her Irish tantrums on her instead of Eirene. If Aglaia kept it up, the Ravenclaw wondered how much longer it would be before she was throwing punches like the Gryffindors.

Serenity Lee looked around to try and spot her idolized Gryffindors, but instead she found Dahlia. She stepped away from the cauldron to sit down beside her friend and rub her back.

"Are you okay, Dahl?"

The answer was obvious: of course she wasn't. That big fight between her and her big sister had been really bad it seemed. Serenity's older sister, Elle, had told her about it and since that night, it seemed like Dahlia did nothing except cry. She would have to do something to cheer Dahlia up, but what could she do? The only thing Dahlia enjoyed doing was gaining as much knowledge as possible.

"Do you want to go to the library on our study break?"

That didn't sound like it would be able to knock Dahlia out of her depression. They needed to do something really fun that would get her to relax and forget about the fight. For the next five minutes, Serenity Lee tried to think about things she did to get her mind off of her mean sister. Elle and herself fought every day at home, it seemed, because Elle was always teasing her. It made Serenity Lee mad and she would do things to take her mind off it. Usually have a fun day with her younger sister, Faythe. They'd dress up and pretend and...oh! Maybe Dahlia, Venora, and Serenity Lee could go have an adventure? Yeah! They could go look for something! But what?

"Hold your hippogriffs, Dahl. I'll be back!"

She hopped out of her seat and scurried over to Venora to whisper in her ear. Eirene and other know-it-alls had answering questions covered for now and it gave the rest of the students a chance to relax. To Serenity Lee, this was relaxing!

"Ooh, Venora," she whispered, "we need to take Dahlia on an adventure! What can we do? Do you have any ideas of where we can go or something we can try to find?"

Noriko had been on edge ever since she'd entered the classroom.  Even after taking a seat at the same table as Eirene and Aglaia, her eyes had been fixed on the new professor, watching her like a wary hawk.

Something had to be causing all of these new professors.  She had heard some of the older students talking at the Slytherin table one morning, and judging by what they said, so many fresh teachers coming in wasn't normal.  No one had told them why there were so many changes, and some of the professors - like Professor Storm, whom Noriko was not-so-secretly terrified of - had even forbidden them to talk about it.

For her part, Noriko had decided that it had to be some sort of infiltration.  Someone had to be kidnapping all of the good professors and replacing them with something awful!  Professor Storm, she was convinced, was part ogre, and from the looks of her strange clothing and the sound of her funny voice, this new professor wasn't a real witch either.  Noriko worriedly wondered whether the Headmistress knew that most of her staff was being replaced with student-eating monsters, until she remembered that Headmistress Snark was supposed to be new, too.  Was she the one who had invited the monsters to invade the castle?

Noriko had been sitting at the table, nervously wondering whether she ought to warn Professor Morrigan and Professor Bombay to be careful over the holiday break so that they too didn't get eaten by a monster, as the new professor continued her introduction to Potions class.  When she encouraged them to eat the candy, Noriko eyed the treats at the center of the table suspiciously.  She knew the story of Hansel and Gretel, who found a gingerbread house inhabited by an evil Muggle.  She wasn't about to let this professor fatten her up so that she could cook Noriko in her gingerbread oven!

When Professor Darling had indicated the mystery potion, Noriko had intended to stubbornly remain in her chair.  She didn't want to call attention to herself in front of a Muggle!  But both Eirene and Aglaia had gotten up to investigate, leaving Noriko all alone and the perfect target.  Hurriedly, she gulped and rushed over behind the other two girls.

Eirene had already identified the potion as a Warming Potion - which, Noriko thought suspiciously, would be perfect for turning students into stew.  She had just been about to nervously point this out, in the hopes that her friends would catch on and begin to back away, when Venora spoke up and asked if they could drink it.

Noriko stared at the other girl, horrified.  "You can't just drink potions!" she put in anxiously.  Didn't any of the other students realize what was going on?!  "What if it's something awful?  It could turn you into a frog, or make you grow another head, or get you cooked for dinner, or -"  She broke off with a terrified squeak, realizing that she'd just told the evil Muggle professor that she was on to her.

Dahlia could have burst into tears when Serenity Lee sat down and rubbed her back. How did she end up with such amazing friends? At least if she never got back into Ayla's good graces again she'd always have Serenity Lee and Venora. That's all she really needed in life, her two best friends. It was just so unfair how Ayla was treating her. She had been defending her honour, making sure the Dark sisters never bothered her again and instead it had somehow all become Dahlia's fault.

She smiled weakly at Serenity Lee's attempt to cheer her up and her eyes brimmed with tears. She didn't want to cry in the middle of class, especially not in front of someone like Aglaia Knight - who was just horrible on a good day. She was actually glad that Serenity Lee ran off to talk to Venora. She felt that if her friend had stayed there wouldn't have been anything that would have kept her from bursting into tears in the middle of the Potions Dungeon. This was a horrible way to make a first impression on their new teacher.

Not five minutes after she had asked the question, a hand popped into the air. A Ravenclaw girl. She was adorable and very precise with her answer. A Warming Potion.

"Correct!"

The only list of notes she had bothered to look at of the previous professor's were the notes on the third and first years. Why? Because they were still learning how potions worked. They were at the fundamentals and it was important to know how each person in the years were developing. Since this little Ravenclaw seemed so keen on answering questions, from the notes Professor Gunnar had left, that meant she was Eirene. For the life of her, Penny wouldn't be able to pronounce the girl's surname.

"So we can drink it, right?"

Her warm gaze lingered on to the Hufflepuff. What a silly little girl. Penny laughed at the girl's question. It wasn't a mocking laugh, either; just a genuine laugh at something the professor thought was funny. Unfortunately, before she could answer, a frightened mouse of a Slytherin piped up.

"You can't just drink potions! What if it's something awful?  It could turn you into a frog, or make you grow another head, or get you cooked for dinner, or -"

A strange squeak came from the girl. Penny had known a girl in her class that squeaked like that back in Salem Academy; she'd been called 'Mouse' because she was so small and shy that she squeaked whenever she spoke out loud. 'Mouse' might be appropriate for this little girl were it not for the fact that she seemed deathly afraid of Penny. The American looked rather confused, but smiled kindly anyway.

"Actually, this potion is for the third years. It's not ready yet because I still need to add a couple of ingredients. They'll receive a sample of it as a reward for whoever brews the best tonic."

Her gaze spotted the girl who looked like she was about to cry. From her robes, the professor could see she was a Hufflepuff. She considered consoling her and asking what was wrong, but recalled how embarrassing it was for her in class whenever her friends had drawn attention to her being upset in class. None of those occasions were pleasant because a great deal of the teachers who had taught her had only given off the impression of 'suck it up, deal with it. Life's tough.' and whatnot. Penny gave her a sympathetic smile from across the room.

"A Warming Potion is used to warm a student whenever they feel extremely cold. Since Winter's upon us and it's a lot colder here than it is where I'm from, I thought a Warming Potion would be appropriate as a reward for brewing the best potion for the third years. For you first years, I have something a lot better in mind for a lesson. Take your seats, please, and help yourselves to more candy."

Ooh, this was exciting. It was like sitting around a campfire eating marshmallows and smores. In order to be closer to all of these little first years, Penny dragged up a chair and sat in it right beside their desks to close the huddle the room made around the brewing cauldron of warming potion.

"What I would like today is to learn more about you students through potions. You don't have to raise your hands for this, by the way, just don't interrupt when someone is talking. You can ask each other questions when a person's finished if you'd like and I'd love it if everyone shared. I want you all to tell stories about experiences you've had with potions. Any potion at all at any time of your life. Who wants to go first?"

Eirene was completely oblivious to any underlying warning behind Aglaia's compliment, and thanked her, face beaming. Since Aglaia never complimented people, Eirene felt like she must be really special, an amazing friend, if Aglaia would make an exception like that for her.

And the whole class had heard the compliment, too!

Eirene's grin grew when the professor told her she was correct, and then Eirene stared at Professor Darling expectantly, waiting for house points. When she received none, a small frown tugged at her lips, and she kept looking at the professor, hoping if she stared hard enough that the woman would remember. She was new, but still! Surely someone had explained the important concept of house points to her?

Eirene paid little attention to the other students, and took her seat when she was told, still disappointed about the points. Perhaps she'd needed to give a more thorough answer, or - oh! She had to introduce herself! How could Professor Darling know whom to award house points to if she didn't know her name?

Her hand shot up automatically when the professor asked them to share stories. It was an ingrained habit. Eirene lowered her hand a little and began talking fast.

"I'll go! I'm Eirene Antonopoulos by the way, professor. A-n-t-o-n-o-p-o-u-l-o-s. Antonopoulos," she repeated helpfully, as if this were a spelling bee.

"I've had lots of experience with potions," she glanced around at her classmates with a proud expression. "My mother's a healer at St. Mungo's, you know, and she works specifically with plants and potions, so I've learned so much from her." Eirene paused. That wasn't entirely true. Her mother didn't mind telling her stories from work, but she rarely let her do anything practical.

"One time, when we went out to dinner at La Petite Maison," Eirene paused again, certain that at least one of her peers would recognize the name of the fancy restaurant in London. "Someone at another table was allergic to the clams, and his face broke out in hives and he started wheezing!" Her eyes widened dramatically at the image. "People started shouting 'is there a healer in the house?' and of course, there was! My mother keeps a few potions in her purse, just in case, so she gave one to the man, and the hives went away and he got better!"

Eirene grinned at the professor, then glanced smugly around the classroom. "And later, when we got home, she explained what was in the potion and how it worked."

Venora knew about Dahlia's rift with her sister, since they were dormmates and even in their short time sharing such close space, she could tell when something was wrong. Venora decided it was best to walk a fine line between trying to sooth her friend's mood and exacerbating it.

So when Serenity Lee came over and made a suggestion as to what they could do to help, Venora was relieved. Her Ravenclaw friend was so smart! Surely she would know what to do. (But she still should be in Hufflepuff!)

Venora had already made her exclamation about drinking the potion and had gotten mixed responses about it from her classmates. But Lee Lee's question was already distracting her from becoming too defensive about it being shot down. "Hmmm....maybe we could go build a snow fort down near the lake." She wrinkled her nose as she glanced over at Aglaia and whispered back, "And we can make a sign that says snobs are not allowed."

Venora's attention was diverted once again back to the professor as she told them that they would not be able to drink the potion. Venora's face fell with obvious disappointment. It was as if someone had teased her with having a tea party and now they had just told her there wasn't any tea.

With a sigh, Venora looped her arm through Serenity's and walked with the dark haired girl back to their table where Dahlia still sat. At least they would get to talk more instead of working.

When Professor Darling posed the topic to discuss, Venora thoughtfully reflected on her short life up to that point, trying to recall different times when magic had been used in their house. It took her a while, but eventually she came up with a story about potions that was essential to her existence.

She almost blurted out to speak like she often did but stopped herself. When she was certain she could go without interrupting anyone, she cleared her throat and said, "Well, I've never used it, but my grandmother talks all the time about how she used some type of a love potion on my granddaddy to make him fall in love with her. They eventually got married and my daddy was born. So without that ever happening, I would not be here today."