Participants:
| Scene Title | Poisonous Protest |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Snape's substitute makes her first appearance in the classroom with an interesting lesson. A revolt ensues. |
| Location | Potions Classroom |
| Date | February 20, 1995 |
| Watch For | CHAOS. |
| Logger | Tiana-rama |
Word has been spread throughout the classes that the first Potions class of the week is to be shared among all the years. The Potions classroom is open, but empty. The room has been magically enlarged and the tables have been pushed to line the walls. Benches are lined up facing the professor's desk and blackboard, but in order to fit, the kiddies are going to have to squish. At first, it seems nothing is out of the ordinary, because there is no professor to be seen. Maybe those rumors of a new professor were just rumors after all…
Then again, there's a good deal of truth in every decent lie.
Mei comes into the class, not early, but not late…as usual. Heading to an empty bench, the girl takes a few moments to pull out her potions manual, and then the funny little notebook that she writes in. Funny as in she always writes back to front and spends a bit of time writing in it. Then again, she is strange to begin with.
Brian isn't much behind Julian. He's heard the rumors too, and is very curious. To that end, he picks one of the front benches. Perhaps not a wise move, but ah well. He flips his potions book open and begins to read as well, waiting for everyone else to trickle in.
Amber hasn't been a great presense among the potions class this year. She's quiet. A background-type. Content to watch, but not to be heard, and so as she arrives, she eyes the larger classroom, and finds all the desks moved. Well, that's a little odd, but she's heard the rumours that they have a new professor. With a "Hm," she takes a seat on one of the benches.
Aston enters into the potions class carefully he looks around who knows could have been a trick to see if they'd act up and than reaaaly be in trouble. The first year relaxes with a few other familiar faced students. He moves towards the benches as many others are doing to find a place to sit down.
Melissa definitely wanted to come in early, since she had to come all the way down from the Ravenclaw tower, Potions is one of her best classes, and those rumors… well, as much as Melissa admires Professor Snape's knowledgability, he could be a bit hard to work with sometimes. An odd layout, Melissa thinks as she looks over the room. She sits down at the end of a bench, wondering what's going to happen.
Julian wanders into the room and frowns. "Looks like something's up to me." He finds a spot near the front, setting his bag beside him just so. He pulls out his book and begins to read while waiting for the rest of the class, including the teacher, to arrive.
Ginny has been curious about the next Potions class. Snape, supposedly, was no where to be found. So who was the replacement? Speculation had been running wild around the school, but there was only one way to find out for sure. She moves to take a seat at her usual table, only to find it.. wasn't there. None of them were! Maybe there was someone different behind the curtain. Looking around to see who else had arrived, Ginny takes a seat upon the middle bench, placing her bag next to her feet.
"This feels much too communal for a potions room." Rene comments after following Julian inside, his eyebrows quirking enough to make him look skeptical as he examines the benches put out. He sits next to Bean, as it always is. "I feel like I am at a church." Not sure he likes this- this is odd for the dungeon.
Egbert needs a distraction today, and looks satisfied with the ability of this new class to deliver. "I knew the building moved," he says to the student right behind him, "but I didn't know it could expand, too. You think it could shrink as well?" He looks nervous about the idea, barely looking at the bench as he takes a seat.
Stepping into the Potions clasroom, Ron takes a quick look around, noticing the lack of tables. Odd, for a Potions class. It looks like they're not going to need their cauldrons— which is just was well, because Potions aren't all that fun to brew. Moving to the back of the classroom, he takes a seat at the last bench, the very end, placing his bag on one of the tables off to his left so he can keep an eye on it.
Luna was in that awkward third year of classes. Old enough that she was starting to grow a bit, but still classified in the 'kiddie section'. Humming happily as she goes along, the girl adjusts her bookbag on her shoulder. With the classroom filling up, Luna glances over the heads of the collected students, and considers. Moving slowly, her hum grows a bit slower, and more thoughtful, and then she slips into one of the benches. Incidentally, the bench that Melissa sat at the end of. "I'm rather excited." Luna says to Melissa. "A new teacher is so interesting, although I am worried about Professor Snape. With the Rotfang Purge of the past few months…" Luna says, turning her eyes away from her fellow Ravenclaw, to stare forward, expression displaying thought. "… no, it's just silly to think Snape was one of /them/." she says, more to herself.
Neville isn't late! The portly young boy steps to the classroom, not exactly relishing his accomplishment. It's still potions, after all. He's considerably brightened, however, when he sees the lack of table stations. Even so, Neville hesitates on where to sit. "Is it… is it by year or house or…?" he frets to anyone who is casting an ear his way, attempting to avoid getting pushed and shoved too much by the flow of students into the room.
Angelina enters quietly with a few of her quidditch teammates, all talking quite animatedly under their breath. Pausing to take in the room, and tipping her head, Angie then moves toward the back of the benches available. The smaller ones won't be able to see around her if she sits up front, after all. Once settled in, she sits quietly, not talking or writing or pulling out books.
Potions. Danny likes Potions. He is pretty good at Potions. So he doesn't creep and stalk and look like he's being led to the Gallows when he arrives, taking a seat at one of the benches and squishing in between a couple of giggling students of the same year. He sets his books and parchment out in front of him, craning his neck to get a look around.
Once the students are assembled on their benches, the door swings open to admit… Definitely not Snape. The woman who steps to the front of the class is quite possibly the wet dream of every boy in the room. Black hair falls in soft curls down around her shoulders and her skin is pale and unmarred; it looks extremely soft. Eyes of icy blue flick among the students and she curves full lips in a rather alluring smile.
Old habits are hard to break.
"Your previous professor, as you may have heard, is unavailable for an indeterminate length of time." Her voice is a soft soprano, accented quite heavily with a Slavic flavor. "For those of you who haven't met me yet, my name is Professor Moldavia." Her gaze travels over the faces she recognizes from the battle in Hogsmeade and she nods sharply to herself; apparently some decision has been made. "My predecessor was not kind enough to leave me access to his notes, so we will have to make do. Can anyone tell me the last set of potions you were studying with Professor Snape?"
Mei doesn't look up at Neville when he enters, though the fifth year pauses in her writing in the notebook to pat the bench beside her in some kind of invitation before going back to taking more notes about something. Looking up at the board, she cocks her head to one side and then the other, trying to make light of something on the board, or lack there of before sighing to write notes.
Looking up to the professor, the girl shrugs. The last class Mei was in the infirmary after learning the hard way that steps, are hard. Steps that vanish as you move down them, are harder. Plus, it's not the fall that hurts, just hitting every god forsaken step on the way down, and having Peeves add insult to the injury.
A woman that every girl would aspire to be like, perhaps? Maybe those who favour beauty over brains. And Amber has to admit, she is very pretty, though she will continue to keep her head down, opening her book where there's a couple scraps of parchment. From out of her bag, she draws a small quill, and starts sketching a Quaffle across the paper she'd otherwise use for notes. She's a goood student - to a degree - but substitute teachers are usually pushovers. Today, Amber will be playing the roll of the stereotypical jock - make it through the class, endure it, then go to practise.
"Like a church?" It takes Bean a moment, since most of the time he was in a church, it wasn't the sanctuary part. "Oh, right." He sees the resemblance now. He mutters to those around him. "Not sure it matters where we sit. As Luna enters, Bean mouths to Rene, "rotfang conspiracy?" He's certain that's just one of those 'Luna things.' Then, the teacher enters. "Wow. That ain't Snape." Moldavia. He rolls the name aruond in his head, even hearing how she says it. The teacher's question goes unanswered, at least from Bean. He doesn't want to think about previous classes. Here's hoping his luck changes with the professor.
Aston looks up as the door opens and no definitely not Snape by any means. The first year looks about the other students a moment to perhaps before looking back to the teacher as she speaks. He raises his hand "We did a beautification potion professor."
Melissa nods absently to Luna. "Well, anything's possible," she says, pushing up her glasses a bit. "I'm just wondering how we're going to do potions like this," she adds. "Or maybe it's going to be another quiz or something…"
Neville takes the patted seat offer, slipping down and turning with a quick thanks at Mei. He twists his head, looking at the new professor with somewhat of a struck gaze. No Snape? "I'm dreaming," he whispers. Finally Neville pulls out some parchement and a quill from his bag, balancing the items on his knee a little awkwardly.
Egbert blinks, tilting his head to consider the question. That's as many as seven answers— who goes first? Ah, low to high will work nicely. "And we were working on a Hair-Raising Potion," he adds, raising his hand briefly, "but we didn't get to finish because—" Well, never mind that rumor for now.
Ginny is about to wave Neville over when he takes a seat near Mei. Directing a smile to him, she turns around to look at the rapidly filling classroom. And then her eyes widen. Whoa. "Um. We did a Beautification potion the last time our years were combined, ma'am." Ma'am? Where did that come from? Ginny isn't sure, but it seemed appropriate.
Ok. Wow. Potions just got a whole HELL of a lot more interesting. Brian fought to keep his eyebrows from heading for the ceiling as Tiana walked in. He remembered her from the fight in Hogsmeade. How she'd gone after Greyback. /Odd/ woman. Beautiful, but odd. Since the others have answered the question, he doesn't chime in, just closes the book resting on his knee for the moment.
Whoa, no Snape? So the rumors were true? This is Ron's lucky day. Not only is there no Snape, that teacher is hot. He sits up a bit straight on his bench, reaching out and grabbing his bag from the table against the wall, and depositing it at his feet. He may as well be at the ready for anything that could happen, because you never know with new teachers, substitute or not.
Luna, for her part, pulls her potions book from her bag and sets it on her lap, letting her bookbag fall to the floor between her feet. Turning her head towards Melissa, she smiles widely, "Well, perhaps she's introducing herself, and we'll do potions later. It does seem silly to hold potions without potions, afterall." Luna says. It was only then that she looks towards the professor, tilting her head owl-like to regard the woman. "Oh…" she says, sounding a little bit more faraway than normal with that sound.
Angelina watches the woman walk into the room, one brow raising. She remembers the woman from Hogsmeade, of course. And she knows how Snape left, as well. She remains quiet, being the others are all answering, so there is no reason to speak up at this time.
It certainly is! Rene even mouths back 'Luna thing' when Bean questions it silently. As Professor Moldavia enters, Rene turns his head to look like many of the others. His eyebrows arch up in sync. No, definitely not Snape. After a moment, his observation of her ends when she asks the question, and he adopts a plainly unimpressed expression to mask over any immediate interest in where she may have come from. And frankly, he has a better question. Why isn't Snape here? He's at least hoping she will say- however unlikely that is.
Danny leans forward on his table to wave to Ron, perhaps trying to wave past him to someone else but it looks more like he's saying hello to the Wheezy. He sits back up to mark some things down on his parchment: Professor Moldavia - Not Snape.
Somehow - and no one is really sure how - Tiana's wand suddenly just appears in her hand. "Unless you would prefer that I spell away your ability to speak, you will be silent until I call on you." She never raises her voice above a sing-song purr. Somehow that's even scarier than if she'd yelled. Still, the offered information is processed and she nods thoughtfully. "Not where I preferred you be, but no matter."
With a wave of that wand…well, two waves of that wand - it's being troublesome today - suddenly the tables along the walls are full of…stuff. There are two flasks at seperated 'stations' spread out along the wooden surface. "Today, I will be teaching you about poisons."
"Some of you saw a very frightening side of war this past weekend." She looks to Neville, Ginny, Angelina and a few others. "But what you may not be aware of is that there is another side to war that lies completely in shadow." Hands on hips, she paces slowly, her open robes swirling around her rather tight trousers and boot-heels click-clacking against the stone. "I can slip a draught into your tea that will boil your insides to liquids that will run out your ears; your mouth." Her voice drops a little lower here, starting to drive the point home. "I can sprinkle powder on your brush or comb that will cause your brain to disintegrate into dust over the course of the next month. I can kill you, maim you, strip you of everything that you know, think, are; everything that makes you human with just a simple drop of poison." There, let that sink in a moment.
"But I can also protect and cure you from them."
"That's what we'll be doing today. In a manner of speaking." She gestures towards the tables. "At each station is a poison and its antidote. I want you to experience the effects of these potions so that you know just precisely what your tolerance for them is, and what the early warning signs are for your individual body chemistry." And now the grin is gone. "This is no game. You could die if you wait too long to take the antidote. Younger students pair up with an older one. I want no accidents."
"Is that clear?"
Looking at Neville, Mei shows more compassion. Smiling faintly she rummages through her book to pull out a leather bound (and rather HARD) notebook of parchment and offers it to Neville, adding in a conspirital whisper "Keep it. It should be easier to take your notes on anyway." Looking back up at the professer she just waits to see what happens. Maybe someone will get turned into a ferret. Hearing the professor speak, she goes quiet, nodding idly as she takes a few notes. Looking up to the potions she sighs some and would mutter under her breath, but knows far better.
Bean, however, is a little bolder. "Just my luck." He glances around the room, not seeing anyone he really would trust with this, at least that he knows. He follows the professor's gaze and notices who is singled out by her glance. He frowns, and turns, looking toward the older students before making a decision. He stands, moving toward Angelina. "Mind working with a snake?" He'd work with someone from his own house, but … he can't seem to see anyone he would trust with this, especially with Noble in the hospital wing.
Egbert draws into himself as the new professor speaks up, and more so as she goes on at length about her craft. Glancing around at those around him, he scrawls a few words down on his parchment, then rests his hands on top of it and waits for the commotion to settle down again.
Holy hell, Amber thinks to herself as she looks over her shoulder at the tables. Either the professor is showing off, or she hadn't noticed all that stuff there before. She doesn't particularly like the idea that they're going to be learning about poisons, either. Snape always made them test their potions, and Amber's not so sure she wants to play a game of roulette with her life in quite that manner. The image in her head of her brain turning to dust is a scary one, and blue eyes are now completely on their professor.
Usually silent, she stands up, quiet voice ringing in the ears of some for perhaps the first time. "Pr'fessor, this doesn't seem like a good idea." She hopes she speaks for more than just herself. "We already lost someone in our 'ouse this week. I dunnae think we need to lose someone else." She looks around. Someone agree with her. Please?
Neville shoots a grin at Ginny, scooting a few inches enough to be able to keep her in view. "You doing o.k.?" he mouths to her silently. There is general worry on Neville's face, his brows knitting at the sign of his younger friend. For sure a sign that if Ginny allows it, he will fuss over her. Without much time for charades, Neville attempts to split his attention at least partly back on the potions class. He takes the offered hard book and cracks it open. "Wow, really? Thanks!" Neville says happily. The mood is put on the backburner as the Professor mentions the events in Hogsmeade. Gulp.
Amber is definitely getting backup. Brian looks … completely horrified. And pissed. "If you think I'm going to willingly ingest a poison … " He starts, glaring at her. Professor be damned. He doesn't care if he gets detention for the rest of the YEAR. Just … NO WAY IN HELL. He's glaring fit to kill, not that it'll scare Tiana.
Rene is listening all too well, but that does not mean he likes what he hears. The blond boy has has fists balled on his lap, feet only brushing the floor and his features the picture of dire distaste- eyebrows furrowed, small mouth creased in a frown. Even his face is tilted forward as he listens to Professor Moldavia finish. The only one that voices what he is thinking seems to be Amber first. Not a good idea. Not a good idea at all. Plus, he's not a fan of poisons, from a personal standpoint. But, really, he will let others speak out of turn. For now, Rene stays seated and quite rigid with something fluctuating between irritation and anger.
Aston listens to the professors words carefully getting more and more iffy on this class as it goes on. He has seen how the classes with Snape went and first years were often the target of bad very bad things. He none the less isnt scared and sits waiting to hear what the method of this will be he is perhaps young enough to go for it.
Danny opens up his book, flipping through the pages. Rather than, you know, protest and end up having to do it anyway he's going to prepare and be ready with an antidote so he doesn't, y'know, die. Note: TAKE ANTIDOTE.
They are the only ones arguing this class. Angelina gives a faint smile to Bean. "Hold on just a moment, alright? I will work with you, if I do it. But I don't plan on it." Angie rises as well, turning to the professor. "I'm sorry, Professor. But I am not taking the poison either. I don't think this is a good idea, older students here or not. I will not drink poison, even with an antidote right there."
Luna, for her part, looks a bit shocked. Shuddering visibly at the professor's graphic explanation, the girl hugs her schoolbook to her chest, glancing about the classroom as it seemingly erupts with protest. Lowering her voice to the point where it hopefully won't be heard in the clamor, she whispers to Melissa, "Well, it's frightening - but Professor Snape's potions were as well." she pauses, however, turning her head to glance towards Tiana, canting her head the way opposite she initially did.
Melissa has out her pad and takes some notes on what the professor says, before she rereads it and realizes exactly what's going to happen. The students were going to poison themselves on purpose, and not take the antidote immediately? She looks at Luna, a bit worried, and nods affirmatively when she speaks. She would have accepted this from Professor Snape, having seen how quickly he came to the rescue of students who were in trouble, but a brand new teacher? Even so, she doesn't rise to join the protest… after all, she must be qualified somehow…
Ginny nods in reply to Neville's question, giving him a thumbs up and a grin, then gesturing for him to turn back around. Tiana's instructions cause chills to go down her spine, and she visibly pales. Um. Um. Can she have Snape back? Please? Because that sounds really good right now. But.. still. Ginny had gotten a healthy dose of Reality in Hogsmeade, and she didn't want to be caught unawares ever, ever again. If this is what it required, Ginny would.. Ginny isn't entirely sure what she'd do. While she's thinking about it, there seems to be an Uprising.
His attention completely caught by the teacher, and not because of her good looks, there's an audible gulp from Ron as she lays out the various things she can do to them with poison. He looks around the classroom, spotting Danny just in time to catch his wave, andhe raises his hand quickly in a semi 'you snogged Hermione I really don't want to wave at you but I have to' kind of way. His attention turned back to the professor, he jumps slightly when the various flasks appear along the tables, scrambling a bit to get away from them, pushinig whoever is next to him on the bench. If they can do all of that stuff, he certainly doesn't want to be close to them. He has to agree with Ginny on this one. Can we have Snape back, please?
"I hate to be the one to have to burst your bubble, Miss Johnson, but you are not being given a choice." Tiana's voice is still quiet, still calm, and seemingly unruffled by this Student Uprising. "Just like you will not be given a choice in the real world." Striding back over to the desk, she leans her hips back against it, arms folded over her chest. "Here, I am giving you warning and you have the antidotes handy." One shoulder lifts and falls in a shrug, as if she could care less. "If you know that when you feel your scalp start to tingle that you should go and be checked for the Dustbunny Brain Balm, your chances of survival when encountering this particular poison are quite high. If you do not, then you will perhaps buy Head and Shoulders and think the problem well-solved, only to die in a body that no longer resembles anything but a vegetable."
"Here you have save environment and antidotes handy. When I was trained as an Auror, we did this very same exercise." She examines her nails then, seemingly unconcerned. "Any student who still does not believe this lesson is 'appropriate' for them may find the door just there." She gestures towards the door.
Mei sighs some, looking at the rest of the class and then slowly shaking her head. Who would have thought that the gryffindors might be…afraid? Taking a few notes in her book, the girl sighs some more and then just watches. Idly thinking to tick off when someone leaves, but opting not to do it. Besides, do they really think Snape would let this woman kill students? What fun in that? No more tormenting them for him. No, it's better to let them suffer of course. Looking at her own nails she notices her polish is peeling somewhat. Still she sits.
"Looks like we'll be working together after all…" Bean suggests, then wonders if the girl is going to leave the classroom. "Unless you are going to leave, in which case…" He looks around again. "Please don't, though." Manipulation pure and simple, but he's not above it. "I don't trust many in this class, with Noble in the hospital wing, and…" He gestures around. "I'm sure we'll be fine, if not…" The mediwitch here is really good. She took greenery out of his ears just the other day.
Amber's still vaguely horrified by the idea of allowing herself to be poisoned. It's … well, it's dangerous. Looking back at Brian, giving him an 'oh god, what am I getting into' look, she just shuts her mouth and decides that she'll stay it out. But if she dies, she's not gonna be happy.
Standing, she heads back to the Gryffindor. Not exactly a whole lot older (or younger, for that matter) but she feels a lot safer around someone of her own level. Motioning to herself, then at Brian, she asks the question with her eyes. Do you mind if we work together? At least they're both people who really are against this. Maybe that'll make them do better in the long run.
Brian … is spitting mad. "And we're just supposed to trust that you haven't monkeyed with the potions … poison OR antidote, in any way?" He asks. Evidently, Moody's rubbed off on him. He is not at all pleased about this. "We're supposed to trust that you have the right antidote paired with the correct poison?" He continues. "Maybe if it was Dumbledore teaching, I might consider it. Maybe. But you? I don't know you from a hole in the ground." This has nothing to do with being a coward and EVERYTHING to do with caution. This is stuff that could /kill/ them if anything goes wrong. He nods towards the tables. "Test a set yourself, and I'll play. Otherwise, I'm out of here." If she's willing to swallow the damn shit she's brewed, there's a higher chance everything will be ok. He glances over at Amber, grim-faced, before turning that 'I really want to kick your arse right about now' glare back on Tiana. When Amber comes over, he pats the seat with a nod.
Rene stays seated and silent the whole time. He hates this idea- but he does not want to walk out of a class either. His only saving grace is Tiana claiming that she took the same tests during her training as an Auror. Maybe this is the root of CONSTANT VIGILANCE! But then again, how do they tell if she's even safe? Same concept applies! Really! The boy makes no move to get up and go, nor find a partner. Still sort of wary.
Neville is caught up with a bad case of the shivers. He isn't mad, or upset, but boy has Neville lost all the color in his face. It's really beginning to be a case that Neville is more ghost white than not these days. His grip tightens on his quill, snapping the stem of the feather with a spurt of pressure. Neville's eyes resemble dinner plates now, and he starts to look around, hoping someone is there to save him.
Egbert is still too shell-shocked to argue the point. He follows Bean's glance toward the stairs, ready to make a mad dash for the hospital wing himself in case anything goes wrong, but beyond that— "I'll do it," he mumbles.
Danny begins to look around for someone to team up with as they've been told to by the Professor. His mouth is something of a grim line but something in him suggests that not arguing with their new teacher might do more to ensure their survival than arguing with her. He shuffles along the overcrowded bench …
Angelina shakes her head at Bean. Nope. She's not taking it. "No offense, Professor, but it has been pointed out to me several times over the last few days that I am NO Auror. I am a student. It is all well and good that this was part of your Auror training, and maybe in time, it will be part of some of ours. But I will not stand here and just drink poison. It makes no reasonable sense to me." Angie bends and grabs her bag, and heads for the door.
Aston gulps at all that's going on, but the first year decides he is staying however a bad idea it might be. He waits to be partnered or whatever will come next. His gaze on the teacher as he waits patiently.
Ginny looks around as some students start to leave, her eyebrows raising. She waffles for what feels like ages. Stay, or go? Leave, or remain? Synomyms run through her head until, finally, she nods to herself. Okay. You can do this, Ginny. Just.. find a partner, and go from there. Brown eyes scan the room for someone to pair up with, and they land on Neville. Yes, Neville. Without letting herself hesitate, she leans forward and jabs Neville in the back. "Psst. Neville. Partner with me?" Her voice is low.
At the scuffle and the rebellion on the most part of the students, Hermione frowns and then does something very much unlike her - except in something along the lines of Divinations. She quickly and resolutely stands up and moves to be paired with Danny. Looking over at Angelina in a surprised look, she looks puzzled at her fellow Gryffindor's actions. In a rather loud voice, she adds, "What with all that's been going on lately, I think it would be good to know what we may be in for. Professor Moldavia wouldn't let us do this if she thought we'd die and Professor Dumbledore wouldn't let her be here if he thought she'd kill us. If we're going to train to protect ourselves better against spells, we should learn the effects of everything else that may kill us as well. We were Imperius'd in Professor Moody's class, I'm sure there are enough Bezoars here for all of us." Smiling at Danny, she says softer, "I'm sure you won't let me die."
Standing from the bench, Ron pushes his bag under it with his foot, moving towards the back of the classroom as things… well, sort of explode. With some of the students refusing to take the poisons and leaving, and others trying to find partners, he doesn't do much but stand at the back of the classroom and wait for a partner to come to him. Besides, if he doesn't have a partner? Maybe he won't have to drink any of the poisons, and he can simply watch… Hermione smile and Danny and say something softly to him. He rolls his eyes, shaking his head. If Harry were here, he would partner up with him, but he's up in the Hospital Wing escaping all of this madness.
Gathering up her books and bookbag, Luna slings them over her shoulder, glancing about for someone unattended. Moving slowly throughout the crowd as she does so, her blue gaze flickers over the various groups, bringing up a finger to tap against her lower lip. Although in all the motion in the classroom, her humming was mostly quiet, she somehow ends up standing next to Ron. Leaning towards him, she lifts her voice and asks, "Do you think she looks much like someone who would enjoy membership in the Rotfang Conspiracy?" she asks, turning her eyes back towards Tiana. "I know it's mostly just in the Ministry, but they could be branching out to Hogwarts, you know." she says, her voice lilting.
When Brian's outburst reaches her ears, Tiana's wand moves swiftly in a downward motion. "You should not speak to your betters that way, child." Tiana folds her arms again and shrugs. "However, I will of course demonstrate the safest manner in which to proceed." Then Angelina makes her stand, and Tiana turns a lazy gaze towards her.
"If you cannot see the sense in this exercise, Miss Johnson, you will make a truly pitiful Auror. However, the choice is yours." As the Gryffindor passes through the door, however, there is a muttered spell and suddenly where before there was a student, now…
There is a hippopotamus.
Smiling just a little to herself, Tiana arches a single brow and returns her focus to the rest of the class. "Thank you Miss…Granger, I believe? That is precisely the point I was trying to make. Now, if you all are quite through with your hysterics?" Tiana pauses for a moment and then steps over to the first of the poisons. "The flasks are charmed to refill themselves. Pour just a swallow into the small cups provided and drink." She does so, tossing it back without hesitation. "You will wait to see at least the first two symptoms. While each poison runs a specific gamut, your bodies will experience them in differing orders. If you feel particularly curious, you may wait to experience the third, but you must take the antidote then." She'll be moving among them to make sure. "When you've reached the proper point, you do the same to the antidote. One swallow into the cup, down the hatch." Her skin - so naturally pale - flushes a bright pink and her eyes turn an unhealthy yellow. At that point, she drinks the antidote, sighing blissfully as both skin and eyes return to normal.
"Be sure and take notes on your reactions to each. Your memories are not perfect after all." Moving to the front of the classroom, she gestures for them to stand and then Banishes the benches.
"You may begin."
"Nope," Danny promises Hermione, returning the smile as he reaches for the cup and tries for a moment to discern just what sort of potion it is from the pages. Amazingly enough, partnering up with Hermione has put him in the mood to entirely fail to notice hippopotami. He looks carefully over the array of paraphernalia set out before them by the new Professor, "I wouldn't. I'll get your antidote for you … "
Well, Bean can't partner a hippo. So, he scans around, and near the back of the room, there's another Gryffindor. He's the one that hangs around Potter. So, Julian figures he'll kill two birds with one stone. "Weasley?" That's the other thing. It's pretty clear what his name is. "Would you work with me?" Yes, he's a Slytherin, but he's small and cute and… "We're to work with older students." He gives his poor little boy face, and waits for a response. "I'll even go first."
Picking up her pad, Mei sighs. Smacking Neville lightly with it she nods in the direction of the potions before peering at the boy. "I'll go first…" looking at him for a bit she adds "You sure you shouldn't be in my house? You're shaking like a leaf." Still, ignoring the boy she stretches and heads over to the first station, ignoring the rest of the class (or Nevs for that matter.) Picking up the liquid she hmms, swirling it a bit before peering back at the…big fat ARSE now heading out of the room. "That's different…" Turning back to the poison she waits to see if the Gryff boy grows a spine.
Oh sweet, sweet salvation. Neville twists, looking to Ginny with surprise. "Oh yeah!" the Gryffindor sighs with reflief, hooking his leg up over the bench over clumsily to join Ginny. "You're a life saver, Ginny," he whispers to her. However, in mid-bench hop, they're gone. Neville drops like a dead frog, rolling into a few feet before sitting up slowly and looking around. "I'm okay!" he insists to no one in particular as he stands. "Huh," he mumbles, rubbing the smacked shoulder.
Brian opens his mouth to say something else … and nothing comes out. At all. His glare upgrades from 'want to beat your butt' to 'want to kill you … and you gave us the MEANS TOO, TWIT!'. He huffs a silent sigh, then motions towards the tables before grabbing a piece of parchment. 'Bloody bitch took my voice' He writes, showing it to Amber. Then he gets a look on his face more befitting a Slytherin caught mid-plotting.
A hippo? Rene watches Angelina leaving, only to blink abruptly when she triggers an apparent trap. And then the bench is gone- and having not stood, the boy plops onto the floor like Neville- though by far, much more gracefully, and with an indignant little noise. He mutters and stands up, making a show of dusting himself off and peering around for an older student without a partner, doing so very half-heartedly.
Egbert peers into his cup. Can he figure anything out by looking at it? No, it looks identical to everyone else's… at least to his barely-trained eye. Nodding to the student across from him, he pours a sip and downs it in turn. After a second, he blinks. "Is it supposed to take very long?" he asks, as his face starts turning a luminous electric blue found nowhere in nature. "I don't feel any different."
Leaning against the backwall and crossing his arms over his chest, Ron is just as content to remain right here while everything is going on. Heck, maybe no one will try to partner with him, either! Then he could just stand here and watch, and not have to take any poison. Which, even though it is class and under the supervision of a teacher, he would rather not do. As Luna makes her way over to him, he starts a bit, giving her a confused look. "Rotfang Conspiracy?" he repeats, looking back and forth between the professor and Tiana. "Um— sure?" And then Julian is here, as well! His plan is falling through! It's okay, though. He has a plan! "Oh, um— well, I wasn't really planning on… I mean, I was just going to fake it, if I had to. Like this, watch!" Grabbing a random vial, he tips it towards his mouth, pretending to drink.
Amber isn't without a little bit of wit herself, despite some peoples' dislike of hufflepuff House. She can think for herself, and certainly doesn't want to be a hippo. However, it's almost preferable to ingesting poison. How long would she have to remain a hippo? Bother. "Well, if she'll do it, I will," the Hufflepuff says, trusting, despite the fact that it's poison. Her voice is quiet, almost inaudible except for Brian, who's sitting right next to her. Smiling, giving the Gryffindor an encouraging look, she pats his arm. At least they're on more equal footing now. She doesn't talk much, he can't talk… Pouring some of the poison into a cup, she looks at it…
Hesitates.
And drinks it. It's not too long before she feels cold, a sensation that can also be felt on her skin. As well, her vision starts to darken as her eyes turn black.
Too trusting, this one. Amber reaches for the antidote, but it doesn't seem like she can find it!
Luckily, Angelina was already mostly through the door before the transfiguration took place, so she is able to get out of the room. She can be heard heading up the stairs.
Oh, poor Neville. Ginny had failed to rise in time, as well, and winces as she ends up on her bum. After a moment, she gets the breath back in her, and clambers to her feet. Well, there's nothing like doing! With a smile to Neville, she beckons for him to come to one of the unoccupied tables. "Do you want to take a poison first, or shall I?" She murmurs to him.
Luna purses her lips at Ron's insistence. Glancing towards Tiana again, the girl looks at the professor in a new, if slightly suspicious light. So intent was her look upon Tiana that, when Ron says what he says, Luna wasn't quite paying attention, but some part of her mind registered that Ron was trying to speak to her. "Sorry?" she asks, turning her attention his way, but then pauses. "Oh, hello Julian." she says, conversationally, letting a brilliant smile touch her lips.
Already, something is wrong! When sharp eyes see Amber struggling for the antidote, Tiana moves quickly and pours a little into a cup before pressing that into the girl's hand and directing it up to her lips. "This is why I said to partner up with an older student, Miss…?" She doesn't know all of these little critters by name yet! "Be more careful next time." She makes sure the antidote makes it into Amber, and then steps back to continue prowling observations.
Mei takes a sip of her own poison, holding the antidote in her hand. Pursing her lips she hmms softly. "First symptom…my lips are numb. Curious…" Canting her head to one side, the girl hmms and then starts. to turn. Peering curiously at Egbert she ahs somewhat. "I think…" the girl muses, adding "you drank the antidote." Blinking she holds her hand to her face, hmming. The girl starts to speak, only to realize she's forgotten english. Completely. So while her mind starts to say "I feel a bit funny…" It comes out as sounding somewhat exotic, and VERY rude in Chinese. Wrinkling her nose she drinks the antidote right away. Though, as such things are, she still can't speak English yet. Nasty poison that. Probably does that to keep the person asking for help.
Melissa moves up to Luna. "Ah… would you partner with me, Luna? I think you could handle it if anything goes wrong…" She had noticed that Luna seems to take everything in stride.
Julian starts to watch Ron avidly, not just because he told him to, but because he wants to see what this stuff does. Although Ron intended to fake it, one is never sure how the odd liquid will react on the other boy's skin. "Be careful…" He doesn't really care about house differences when it's life on the line.
Neville brushes himself off, gathering his things and moving after Ginny. "I guess," he says, swallowing a lump of nervous spit, "I guess I can." Longbottom shoots a look to Ginny, hoping for reassurance. He reaches with a timid hand for the poison. "Ready?" he wonders with hoarse voice.
Egbert blinks, looking around for the source of that voice. "Sorry, what?" But so many others were talking at the same time, and now she's unable to repeat herself. Or maybe there's a problem with his ears instead? That, and noticing that the blue has spread to his hands— he reaches for the other container, taking a sip of it as well. Two things happen at once: his partner starts gesturing wildly, having just realized the same thing that Mei did, and Egbert himself jumps backward as the blueness is replaced with a fast-spreading sunburn.
Ginny nods to Neville, doing her best to put on her Most Reassuring face. "You can do it!" She cries enthusiastically, though quietly. Just in case, though, Ginny stands right next to the table with the antidote, ready to pour it as quickly as humanly possible. Ginny finds herself bouncing nervously on the balls of her feet, and stops. It'll be okay, Gin. Just make sure Neville doesn't die, and you don't die, and everything will be fabulous.
Brian is a touch too slow getting to the table to stop Amber from guzzling the poison, but he's there by the time she starts getting cold. And then Tiana is there, scolding, and Brian gives her a death glare before grimacing sympathetically at Amber. He's so mad he can barely see straight, but thanks to Angelina, he knows he's trapped here. It's just as well she hexed his voice, or he'd give in to the temptation to attempt hexing her. Bloody bitch. Dumbledore … hell, the entire /staff/ … is going to find out about this. See how long she has a job then!
Within moments, there's another crisis. Muttering something in Slavic to the effect of 'Are all British students really so inept?', Tiana swiftly moves to stand next to Egbert. Sharp blue eyes dart from the empty cups to his rapidly changing skin and she has to resist the urge to follow through on a self-harming habit picked up from Tonks. "Accio bezoar," she calls calmly, watching as the small stone flies into her hand. With strong, nimble fingers, she pries his mouth open and pops the small stone in, reaching down to massage his throat until he swallows. Once he is out of the woods, she glares down at him. "Ten points from Hufflepuff for not having the sense to read the labels before you drink." And with that, she's up again and moving around, more vigilant than ever now; no telling which idiodic way these children will find to kill themselves next!
How on earth did they survive this long?
AAH. She's starting to feel the third symptom - now that she's completely blind - as the antidote is pushed into her hand. Said third symptom is deafness, and so she has to trust that whatever is in her hand is not more poison. A shaking hand raises to her lips, and she downs the contents of the cup, instantly starting to feel better. She's still cold, but that will go away with time.
She's also angry. There's no yelling. That's not her style. She does give Brian a look as she leans there, almost breathless, and then…
Well, maybe she got the antidote too late. Anything's possible. She drops to the floor, eyes open, still pale - though that's possibly just from the poison. The thing is, it doesn't look like she's breathing.
Mei peers at Tiana, saying something in her native Chinese before just giving up. Pursing her lips she opts to STARE at Tiana. Turning away she mutters in a pretty steady stream, leaving no illusions to the fact that she's either perturbed, or…oh screw it. Knowing her, she's pissed, or annoyed. Since her native language makes her sound constipated in the first place, it's anyone's guess what she's saying.
Sometimes (always, it seems, in Potions) it just doesn't go your way. The vial Ron grabbed, its stopper wasn't exactly on tight for some reason, and when he goes to fake down it… well, the stopper falls right into the back of his throat, along with the rest of the poison. Coughing, bringing a hand up to his mouth, he's forced to swallow it all, taking a large gulp that makes him cringe. "Blimey," he says weakly, wiping the back of his mouth with his hand— and then stares in horror at the empty vial he's clutching. He looks around wildly for the antidote, only he has no idea which poison he took. Why was he stupid and decided to fake it! He should have just left class like Angelina. "Um--" he begins, looking at the vial again. "Well.. I don't…feel anything…" he says to no one in particular. "Maybe this is anti—" Cue the poison. Ron doubles over, gripping both hands at his stomach, the vial falling to the floor and shattering. Not long after that, he falls to a knee, wildly slapping at his arms. "What is this?! Get 'em off get 'em off!" Seems something is on him, but it's the least of his worries, as he begins to convulse widly on the floor, foam slipping out of the side of his mouth as he struggles to keep his convulsing body on his hands and knees… which isn't working all that well as he falls even further to the floor, still shaking violently.
Neville takes several, deep breaths. With Ginny's support, Neville tips the poison up, letting it slide down his throat. He gags for a moment, choking and wheezing that the foul stuff. As the boy goes pale from the poison Neville leans against the table, which is suddenly a lot taller than he remembers. "Ginny!" Neville manages to say, voice much higher than usual. The table is now at eye level. For some reason—whatever reason… Neville Longbottom is shrinking at an alarming rate.
Frowning at the hippo that Angelina turned into, Hermione turns that expression toward the professor. "That's not a proper way to punish anyone, professor," she tells the woman she just attempted to defend. That's simply disappointing. There shouldn't be a punishment for not wanting to take poisons. However, she smiles at Danny, most of her normal mindset being focused on him once they're seated close together. She doesn't even notice the rolling eyes of Ron. Taking up one of the poisons, she frowns and takes a drink of it. It's not long before there's a sharp pain in her stomach and she feels nauseous. Without much warning, she turns to the side of the aisle and throws up.
As soon as Danny takes his potion, he winces at the pains that are wracking him as well. But with a glance over to Hermione and spotting the trouble she's in, he fumbles around with the vials to try and find an antidote for her. He'll worry about himself in a minute. As he watches her throw up, he passes her a small bottle while simultaneously conjuring a handkerchief with the Gryffindor Coat of Arms on it so she can clean up a little.
Oh, no. Shrinking? Ginny had not expected that. However, she'd expected something, so she's quite ready with the antidote in its little cup. Crouching down to properly be on Neville's level, she helps his small hand clasp the - luckily equally small - cup. "Here, Neville, drink this as soon as you feel the second symptom, okay?"
"Oh?" Luna says, blinking as her attention turns away from Ron to Melissa. In spite of unofficially sort of standing by Ron, the whole partner thing never quite was settled. Giving Melissa a bit of a smile, Luna turns towards the tables. Right at the moment that Ron, her partner, starts to go into fits. Well, at least Ron had Julian too, yes? "Well, come on then. Let's pick a bottle and see what awful thing happens." Luna says, crinkling her nose cutely as she gives Melissa a longer look. "Perhaps it'll even be harmless."
That answers that question.
No sooner than Amber hits the floor does Ron start…hallucinating. That's not a reaction she was prepared for. Thing is, she knows she got the antidote into Amber. She knows it with the certainty her job has given her. No time for second-guessing. "Aguamenti!" she casts at Amber's face, spraying a jet of icy cold water down onto the student's face. If she's fainted - or faking - that should take care of that.
And then there was Ron. Shoving a student to one side - hey, isn't that the small one she punted into the snow last weekend? - she kneels next to the Gryffindor and grabs his face in both hands. "Which station were you at, child?" Shaking him, her voice gets a little harder, a little louder. "Which. Station."
Mei peers at Ron and then sighs. Looking about she wrinkles her eyes and then tells Tiana just where Ron was. OH yeah…she doesn't speak ENGLISH. Bloody hell when is that antidote going to take effect? Grumbling some she gesticulates wildly, trying to either swat wrackspurts, or to suggest Tiana just look for a nearby empty bottle of poison. Yeah, probably wrackspurts.
As soon as the bezoar is crammed far enough down to do its thing, Egbert drops to his hands and knees, waiting for the residual pain and suffering to die down some more before he struggles back up to a sitting position. "Th-thanks," he offers the professor. Yes, she saddled young and old alike with this insanely open-ended danger in the first place - and yes, she just took points from his house, for which he's sure to catch some hell from his classmates later - but the most important thing right now is that she made bloody sure that he lived through it.
"The /second/?" Neville squeaks, looking much like a toddler now. He's constantly pushing his wizard hat, now far too big for him, up out of his eyes. He then begins to hiccup uncontrollably. "Is -hic- this the -hic-" it takes a moment for him to get the rest out. "The second one, Gin— hic!" He swims in the flood of clothes made for someone far larger than his current self.
Luckily, Bean is an observant little bugger. "Second station, fifth bottle over, Professor." He gestures to the spot where there's a space between two other bottles. "Which one is the…" He can't see a pattern to the antidotes, at least not one that makes sense to his overly logical mind. "Which antidote, Ma'am?" He shuddlers. "Looks like rabies, a little." He remembers seeing a couple cases of that as well. "The brain expands and starts to work oddly…" He's stating facts instead of getting emotional.
This is her most genius stunt ever. Her best performance. She's quiet, but the girl has been on stage since she was very young. And it seems she's either fooled the professor, or seriously annoyed her. In any case, there's a flood of water suddenly splashing across her face. COLD.
There's a squeak, and she turns over on her side, glaring at the professor, blue eyes narrowed. Well, it was meant to teach the professor a lesson - you can't just, you know, have your students drink poison. And Amber feels like she really almost did die, so she had to do something. The ruse is over, though. As she wrings water out of her hair, she stands again. "Sorry, Brian," she states. "Had to be done."
And now Brian is torn between rage and panic. He drops to his knees next to Amber, getting soaked to the skin by Tiana's spell. He slams a fist into the nearest table, then wordlessly storms to the cabinet where the bezoars are and rips it open, grabbing as many as he can before racing to the nearest afflicted student.
Okay, Ginny, do not panic. "Yes! Yes, Neville. It is! Drink the antidote, quickquickquick!" She gestures with her hands to illustrate the speed, forgetting Neville can't see her. He's swamped in his much-too-big clothing at the moment. Kneeling now, she pushes Neville's oversized sleeves up on his arms, makes sure he's holding the cup, and waits. Yes, she's crossing her fingers.
Gesturing wildly (which, by the time he's done, he has pointed at every vial in the room), Ron tries to make sense even for the tiniest amount of time to help the professor figure out what he drank, but it isn't exactly working. Trying to speak, but getting nothing out but a small cry of pain, Ron continues to convulse, eyes rolling up into the back of his head as he writhes about the floor like a fish out of water. A very much in pain, terrified, poisoned fish.
"Perhaps…" she says with a slight smile. "Well, here I go…" she says, carefully picking out a poison and its corresponding antidote, pouring out a small amount into the cup and taking a sip, preparing her parchment for notes. Shortly thereafter, she notices that her hair begins to grow… and not just the hair on her head, but all over her body. "This is odd," she says, coughing a bit with the awful taste of it. She writes down a few notes. "Hair growth… all over body…" she says as she writes, but doesn't get much further than that in talking or writing before she suddenly doubles over, clutching her stomach with a grimace. She looks up at Luna, but she's now hardly recognizable. Not only is her body hairy all over, her face looks different too- a larger brow, for instance. And she seems a bit more muscled too. "Rrgh," Melissa grunts, as she takes off her glasses and looks at them curiously. "Rragh!" She roars, her voice no longer fully human-sounding, as she throws her glasses across the room where they clatter to the ground with a crack of one lens breaking.
She…really does not have time for this now. When she hears the crash of a punched table and of a broken cabinet, Tiana whirls around, wand pointed at Brian. "Petrificus Totalus!" Do not mess with the ex-Auror, guys. You will get frozed.
Thank Merlin for Bean. In a display of small wandless magic, she calls over a vial from a bag under her desk - no time to waste with this pouring business - and puts Ron in a headlock.
Yes, Ron. A headlock.
Pulling the cork off with her teeth, she pries his mouth open with her fingers in a decidedly quicker (though less gentle) manner than she had done with Egbert. The vial is shoved between his teeth and she tips it back. "Swallow. Now."
Neville does as he's told, taking the now-large cup of antidote and getting as much into his mouth as he can. There is a small, audible 'pop', and Neville's pile of clothes stop rustling. It takes a few, long seconds, but suddenly Neville is growing again, at an even fast rate than the shirking. Soon he's fitting back into his clothes, thought one of his arms gets caught up in the wrong hole. He peeks down, realizing his robes are all askew and somewhat backwards. "Oh bother…" Neville mumbles.
Oh, dear. Luna smiles reassuringly at Melissa as she starts sipping the potion, Luna thoughtfully reaching and obtaining the antidote beforehand. All in all, Luna thought she was doing rather well, and ready for just about anything. Except Melissa growing hair, becoming berserk, and throwing stuff around. "Hmmn." Luna says, thoughtfully. "I don't suppose you'd like to drink now, as opposed to waiting for the second effect?" she asks in her daydreamy voice, holding out the little vial with the antidote to Melissa.
A headlock! Ron still convulses in Tiana's arms, but the bottom half of his convulses a lot more than the top half. With the antidote poured into his mouth, he involuntarily swallows, having no other choice but to do so. The convulsing continues, but it isn't long before it begins to subside, until his body finally relaxes in Tiana's arms. After a few more moments, his eyelids slowly open, and he blearily gazes up at Tiana, blinking a few times. "… mum?" he says, swallowing— and then he promptly vomits all over the professor's robes.
Ginny breathes a sigh of relief as Neville is once more normal size. "You alright, Neville?" She asks, concern in her voice as she looks him over, carefully. The Molly in her is urging her to fuss, but she manages to resist. Well, almost - she does smooth some of his clothes, and adjust his collar, and okay maybe that doesn't count as resisting.
That done, Ginny moves on to the next table, straightens her shoulders, and fills the small cup with the poison. She gulps it down, and before she can wonder what's going on, vines pop out of nowhere, and begin.. well, they begin to squeeze her to death.
Julian starts scribbling down on his paper as he watches the whole scene. Because he's an observant soul, he has notes, fairly detailed notes, on several people. He doesn't know all of their names, so he writes down descriptive adjectives for them, some of them not too flattering. He continues scribbling, separating the students by lines, and gently tearing it apart. If anyone notices what he's doing, he might hand them the paper. He'll take his own turn in a minute, but not before finding the antidote before taking the poison.
That's two students who've lost their lunch, now. At least. Between that, and Merlin knows how many other crazy side effects, Egbert decides to get the heck out of the middle of the fray. Squinting, he bends down and picks up… Melissa's glasses, as it turns out. Acting on instinct, he takes out his wand and taps the hairline fracture. "Reparo!" Maybe he can at least get one thing right this session.
Neville is still fiddling with his clothing when Ginny becomes covered in vines. "Ah!" he yelps, starting forward. "I wasn't ready, Gin! You didn't say ready!" He leaps, wrapping his hands around his the wines and attempting to pull them off. He leans, reaching for the antidote. "C'mon Ginny. Stay with me…" He holds the cup out, still attempting to tug at the vines.
As Brian punches the table, Amber's eyes go wide, and she works on drying off her face with … well, the sleeve of her robe. Unfortunately, that's also wet, so her face doesn't end up any drier than it was previous to her wiping it off. As Brian is petrified, Amber turns and looks back at the professor. Man, she actually had it easy compared to some of these other people, but she's still cold, be it thanks to the water, or because of the poison. In fact, it kind of feels like she's getting colder. Not all poisons can be so easily countered with an antidote, even though Amber is out of immediate danger.
Melissa snatches up the vial and peers at it, giving it a sniff. Thankfully, cavegirl!Melissa doesn't immediately toss it aside in disgust, but instead glugs down the vial's contents before tossing it casually behind her. Quickly, her hair shrivels back down to its usual length and she regains normal human features. (Thankfully she didn't grow *too* much beyond her usual size so her clothes aren't damaged at all.) She shakes her head quickly and returns silently to writing… staying low over the page so that she can see it without her glasses. "It turned me into some sort of Neanderthal… I suppose it would be a good way of getting rid of someone you don't like without killing them…" She turns and gives Luna a bright smile. "Thanks, Luna… though I can tell right now what anyone who doesn't like me is going to be calling out at me the rest of the year…" She grins a bit. She's certainly taking this surprisingly well.
Lovely. Still, it's not anyone's brains and Tiana had those splattered all over her this weekend. "I am most certainly not your…mother." If Tiana's voice is a little shaky on those words, though, perhaps in the chaos no one will notice. Hefting him in her arms as if he were no more than a child - and wincing at the memory of another child she just carried this way - she adjusts her wand and casts a Featherlight Charm on him before handing him off to Amber. "You need to find a Pepperup Potion. Please be so kind as to escort him up to your Hospital Wing as well. I will be along shortly." After she takes care of this mess, that is.
"Students!" she calls. "Take whatever antidotes you still need and assemble in front of me, please." Though it is phrased as a request, the steel now present in her tone makes it evident that really, it is an order.
Julian exhales with relief. The class is nearly over, and he hasn't had anything odd happen to him. Perhaps she's a better teacher for him than Snape. At least he would think that way if he had a shred of superstition in him. As it is, he doesn't care, so he merely gathers up the pieces of parchment in his hand and walks toward the front of the room, lining up with the other students as ordered.
Amber's a Chaser, so she's actually pretty strong. Even with the hollows under her eyes, she blinks as Ron is handed to her. With the charm on him, he's carryable, at least, and, since Amber doesn't want to stay here another moment, she tosses the Gryffindor over her shoulder like a sack of flour (Sorry, Ron!), throws her bag over her shoulder, and hurries off, still shivering. She'll make it to the hospital wing, at least, and deposits Ron into a bed before finding one herself. One with a lot of blankets.
"Neville, the antidote would be.. good.. right about.. now." Ginny chokes out, her skin beginning to get closer and closer to purple. In addition, her skin begins to itch. Then tingle. Then burn. Assuming Neville gets her the antidote on time - and she has no doubt that he will - Ginny would slowly regain her normal colour, taking air into her lungs. That done, she'd walk over to stand in front of the professor.
"You had a lovely shade of fur, Melissa. I'm rather jealous, actually." Luna says, still in that dreamy, faraway voice, her eyes kinda looking past Melissa, like through her head or something. "Although, I wouldn't want to see how that potion progressed - perhaps you would have turned into a monkey or something." Luna says, letting a vague smile touch her lips. "Come on, then - a couple of the other students were dying while you were out, but everyone seems fine now." she says. "But we're to go see the teacher, if we're still alive, and I think we both are." Luna says, turning in place, and stepping up to join the line of surviving students.
"I know!" Neville whimpers. "I know, I know." He shaking shoves the antidote on her, pushing it to her lips. He backpedals, wringing his hands with worry. "You all right? Okay…" Neville says with a tired sigh, moving towards the Professor.
Melissa finishes her notes and moves toward the professor- at least she can see that much, she thinks. "Oh… thanks," Melissa says to Luna happily. "Yes, we're both alive… Not monkeys either."
Egbert pulls himself back up to his feet, walking over first to return the glasses, then to line up for Round Two. Houdini's hipbone, what's this crazy woman going to do for an encore after all that?
As the students assemble, Tiana Banishes the mess from her robes and then leans back casually against the desk, blowing a bit of hair out of her face. Once she has their attention, she smiles wanly. "As you have just seen, the effects of these poisons are far-reaching and can have devastating consequences." She pauses then, taking the time to look each of her remaining students in the eye. "These poisons were designed to have accelerated effects to allow for the time constraints. In the real world, they won't progress so quickly, but you will feel their effects much more strongly." She remains calm, but there's a weighted seriousness to her that was missing from her earlier speech. "If I've scared you…" She again looks over the class.
"Good. That's my job."
"You have to know what's out there or you'll never survive. And there are far better ways to die than by poison." She grins. "Trust me, I know." She pauses, as if about to say more, then shakes her head and smiles for real. It's a very pretty smile, one that actually seems…kind.
"You have all done very well! Now, I will need a foot of parchment detailing your reactions to each poison and listing the appropriate antidotes for each. Due next class, now go!"
Julian scans through all the notes. He'll have enough information on most of the students he observed to write a really long report. What each antitdote is will be a little more work, but it's worth it to know. There is a smile on his face for the first time coming from a potions class. He misses his Head of House, but this lady is a decent substitute, at least in his mind. "Thank you, Professor Moldavia." He echoes her name, including the accents. Might be a bit eerie for her. "C'mon, Frenchie. Let's go get some lunch." He's not fussed at all about what he's just seen.
Melissa listens carefully. Accelerated effects, that makes sense… She'll have to get some help from Luna on this assignment, she at least sounded like she was paying attention to the changes. But, as Tiana speaks, Melissa is reminded more of Moody than Snape. She said she'd taken Auror training… were all Aurors like this? she wondered.
Any additional notes fall to the bottom.