* Harry Potter; Mauraders' Era; lunch (next muggle studies);

[Psychopathic Sanity]

Lily looked over at Narcissa's table and clucked her tongue. Cheating, how ridiculous. If she had just been paying attention, she could do the potion easily.

She shook her head, finished taking her notes, and headed up to grab the ingredients. Potions was far easier for her than most, but it definitely wasn't her best class.  

[un de plus pamplemousse]

Severus continued working on his potion, smirking to himself whenever the potion turned colours or textures, for he knew, from the descriptions in the book and from skill, that he was proceeding through each step correctly and concisely. He plucked the last ingredient--a sprig of mint-- off the table and carefully added it to the mixture, then immediately stirred it exactly twenty times--no more-- as per the directions. He then let it sit for exactly ten minutes to boil, and then put out the fire beneath it and taking the cauldron off the heat.

At about twenty five minutes to the end of the class, he had finished his potion. He grabbed the flask to which he was supposed to add a sample of his potion and filled it, then set about cleaning his area and putting away any extra ingredients he happened to have. He was usually always one of the first, if not the first, person done with their potions. His mouth twisted into a smirk when he noticed that he was finished before everyone else. Figures, he thought, these imbeciles hardly know what they're doing. I'm suprised nothing's exploded yet.

He stood up and brought his potion to Slughorn, who accepted it, inspected it, and nodded his approval. Then, he returned to his seat, waiting quietly, if not patiently, for the end of the period.  

[Psychopathic Sanity]

Lily added the last of the ingredients into her potion, looked at it for a moment, then grabbed her flask to pour some in.

``Perfect``, she said to herself and smiled happily. She popped the stopper back into the flask, and stood to bring it up to Prof. Slughorn.

She placed it on his desk, and cleaned up her desk before sitting down.

Perfect.

Just like her.  

[Ky Jelly]

Rita sat and watched her simmering cauldron, stirring it twice counterclockwise every three minutes, waiting for it turn turn pale pink. She glanced arond the class room and noted that Bellatrix and Sirius were not sitting very close, but Sirius seemed to be enjoying himself with his fellow Gryffindors. Rita also noted that Narcissa Black was sitting with Servus Snape, letting him do all the work, which could be expected. But there seemed to be a few people missing. 'I wonder what happened to them . . .' Rita thought absentmindedly. The potion slowly turned pink, causing Rita to burst into action, adding the last few ingredients. As soon as she could turn this in, the more time she would have to be about her own business. She poured a fair amount into a vial and handed it into Slughorn, gaining a nod of approval. Returning to her seat, Rita pulled out a blank notepad and quill and began taking notes about the class.  

[Freak Show Excess]

Sirius finished brewing his potion and sat back in his chair, satisfied. The colour and consistency looked almost perfect as he stirred it around in his cauldron. He decided it was time to add the last ingredient: a bit of mint to taste. He put in two sprigs and stirred clockwise until it dissolved into the solution. Nodding in approval, he picked up a crystal phial and poured a bit of the mixture inside it, making sure not to fill it too full. He stood up, stoppered the bottle, and walked up to Slughorn's desk, handing it to him.

On his way back to get his things, he stopped by Bellatrix's table and prodded her shoulder. "Bella, can I talk to you after class? If you aren't busy that is. I'll wait outside for you," he said, before walking away, slightly self-conscious. He knew people would wonder what he'd said to her, because of yesterday's incident on the train, but at this point he didn't care. He just wanted to get the incident cleared away. He sat back down at his desk and looked over to see Remus almost finished with his potion. He thought that it was a little strange that Remus had been extremely quiet all during class. His stomach performed a little flop of unease, hoping that Remus wasn't upset about what had happened last night. He put away his ingredients and his books and sat back in his chair, waiting for Slughorn to dismiss them.  

[un de plus pamplemousse]

Slughorn checked the time, noting that they were dangerously close to the
end of the period. He stood, addressing the students. "It is very nearly the end of the hour. You have ten minutes to finish your potion, and ten minutes after that to clean your area and bring a bottled sample up to me. Flasks are located up here at the front of the room, if you did not grab one already." He sat back down, noting, with interest, that many of the students seemed to have not only gotten the potion mostly correct, but were also done brewing it. A few students approached the front of the room, grabbing their forgotten flasks and heading back to their desks. "After you turn in your potion to me, you may leave. All of you who have already done so are excused."

He then went about inspecting the potions as the students handed them to him, watching as the students trickled out until none were left in the room but he. With a flick of his wand, he scourgified the classroom tables and, with a satisfied smirk, exited the classroom.

________________________________
[OOC: You may make a post saying that your student is finishing his or her potion and bringing to Slughorn, but please either make a post about leaving the classroom or else assume that you are already finished, cleaned up, and out of the room. Thank you!]  

[ieatwood]

Bella worked quickly and quietly during the class period. She was always diligent with her schoolwork and honestly didn't feel much like talking. By the time Slughorn was standing she had just finnished pouring her potion into the test vial. It didn't take her much longer to clean up her desk and put the rest of her things away, shouldering her bag, she took her potion to Slughorn, who nodded approvingly and squeezed her way out the door. At least her favorite class, Defence Agaisnt the Dark Arts was next.

She waited out in the hallway for Siruis, since he wanted to talk, finally.
((-edit- wooah i totally missed siruis's poke))  

[comfylove]

Remus ripped off the top of the muffin and stuffed it in his mouth. "Thanks, Sirius," he said through a mouthful of bread as he started getting to work. Potions was definitely not his best subject. He tried and tried to perfect his potions, but he'd always find himself accidentally skipping a step or two somewhere around the middle the the procedure so that he couldn't really fix anything. He knew that Sirius would want to talk to him, and especially after he finished his potion, but Remus really needed to concentrate if he wanted good marks and he knew if he would talk to Sirius then his mind would wander.

Shifting in his seat, he drew his leg up, sitting on it as he bent over his potion, sniffing it as he stirred in the right direction. Looking over at Sirius, he could feel the hair on his forehead and the back of his neck sticking to his skin due to sweating from the steam emitted from his cauldron. "D'you know if I am doing this right?" He asked quietly, trying to rush to get done in time. He heard Slughorn's voice, telling them that they had only ten minutes left, and before Sirius had time to respond Remus dropped his stirring rod as he ran up to the class to collect his flask and rushed back. "Sorry, I forgot to get one. Er, you can leave if you want since he dismissed you. This potion, I am sure, is past useless."

He had overheard that Sirius asked Bellatrix for a word, and Remus didn't want to be a pest. He knew that they'd have to talk eventually and it would be better to talk sooner rather than later. Remus dumped a sample of his sorry potion into the flask as he set it aside, clearing and cleaning up his working area.  

[Mistril]

Narcissa had been watching Severus make his potion very carefully so that she wouldn't mess up. He finished before her, of course, but that was to be expected. She added the last ingredient, stirred it, and then let it sit. Once it was the color she wanted, she picked up a vial and filled it with the mixture. She took it to Professor Slughorn, then cleaned her area and had someone who was walking by put her extra ingredients up for her. She then gathered her things and left the class, still wondering where Lucius had run off to.  

[Mistril]

Venatici had made his potion flawlessly, which he was very happy about. He quickly poured the liquid into a vial and handed it to Professor Slughorn. He then put his extra ingredients into the cabinet and finished cleaning up his workspace. Once he was done, he heard Slughorn say that they were allowed to leave, so he gathered up his things and left for his next class.  

[ElDot]

Gideon stared through the haze of fumes rising from his cauldron at the blackboard, sweating profusely. What was making his potion turn gray and smoky...?
He found out just as Slughorn said, "Time. Hand in a vial to me on your way out."
He had completely forgotten step three, which was to add Graphorn and stir three times. The steps, now out of order, had completely ruined his solution.
Hell of a way to start off, thought Gideon, as he corked the heavy, useless substance, and handed it begrudgingly to Slughorn with downcast eyes.  

[Mmm Bop]

Gilderoy slowly put down the now read article, tears filling his eyes. "I can't believe someone in my own year had to endure such hardships! Something must be done to ensure that no Hogwarts student has such a plight ever again!" The gears in Gilderoy's head were already turning and slowly forming a plan of action. He pulled out a quill and began jotting these ideas down in haste. He was just putting the finishing touches on the list when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning, he saw Dempsy smiling at him, holding two sets of DADA books and a small bag. "Ah, Dempsy, I'm so glad you're here! Did you by chance read this article?" he asked, picking the offending paper off the table. “One of our classmates has had to endure hardships that most muggles no nothing about. Something must be done about abomination!”

Dempsy nodded eagerly at Gilderoy’s enthusiasm. “We shall have to discuss this matter after class. Right now it is time for Defense Against the Dark Arts. I already have your books for you,” he said, handing Gilderoy his books and the small bag with them. “This is a light snack for you. I’m sure you hadn’t gotten a chance to make it down to the Great hall to eat.”

Gilderoy beamed at Dempsy. “Always so thoughtful. I do not know what I would do without you at this point. DADA is after potions this morning? Then we shall have to make haste. I already botched one entrance this morning, I would not like a repeat performance in the same day. Perhaps you could tell me about potions this morning on the way?” Dempsy nodded then led the way toward the DADA classroom.  

[Freak Show Excess]

"Er, you can leave if you want since he dismissed you. This potion, I am sure, is past useless."

Sirius was hard-pressed to keep the grin off his face as he looked into Remus' cauldron. He knew his friend was rather sorry at Potions, but he hadn't expected the congealed mass of grayish goop he saw to have come from Remus. Seeing Remus set to work cleaning up his station, Sirius tipped the contents of Remus' flask back into his cauldron, looking around furtively before scooping some of his own potion into the now-empty flask. He couldn't bear to see Remus get bad marks when he had worked so hard.

"There we are, mate," he said, grinning and clearing out both of their cauldrons with two flicks of his wand. "Ol' Sluggy will never know the difference." He winked and stood up, shouldering his backpack. "I hope you don't mind if I take you up on that offer; I... need to get some things cleared away with Bella. See you next class." Sirius looked quite uncomfortable at the thought of what he was going to say to her, but he gave Remus' shoulder a gentle squeeze and headed out of the classroom.

Once outside the room, he saw Bellatrix waiting for him. He stopped next to her and smiled weakly. "Bella, I... I wanted to apologise about what I said on the train. I didn't mean to go mental, but... you have to understand that you blabbed my private buisiness in front of my friends." He paused, realising that he wasn't really going about apologising in the best way. Clearing his throat, he continued, "Um.. but when I read that article, I realised that part of it was right. You are the only one in the family that does seem to still care about me. And... It's... it's nice. So.. um... I'm sorry and, well... thank you." He coughed and looked at his feet, a slight tinge of pink highlighting his cheeks. He didn't before realise that saying "I'm sorry" could be so embarassing. He looked up at her sheepishly, not really knowing if she was going to be annoyed at him or if she would accept his apology.  

[ieatwood]

Bellatrix leaned against the wall as Sirius approached her, stiffening up at 'blabbing my personal..', that hadn't been HER fault. She sighed, shaking her head, carefully checking down the hallway to make sure nobody was near them before she spoke, "Look, I asked you to meet me in a compartment so we could talk about it in private, I haven't seen you since you ran away a month ago. Believe me, I hadn't wanted the entire school to read about it in Rita's smear sheet."

Her shoulders slumped a little as she thought about Sirius on the streets by himself, "I'd just wanted to know if you'd gotten on alright, I don't even know where you went when you left home.."

She sighed a little, seeing how much it took for Sirius to apologize, even if he botched it a little by accusing her of letting the whole school find out. She shook her head, her hair falling arouund her face in dark waves, pulling away from the wall she gave Sirius a tight hug, "Just take care of yourself, I know you aren't going to come back and apologize to Auntie, I doubt she'd want to hear it anyway unless you came crawling back, which I wouldn't ask you to do. Even she doesn't deserve that much from you."

Bella walked down the hall, towards the stairs, before Sirius could so much as muster up a reply.