This was mad weird. Why were there movies playing? It made her slightly on edge, like when someone is really nice all of a sudden and the betrays you immediately. But. She enjoyed this class. The professor was one of the few professors she still respected, and therefore willing to address with a title. "Hey Professor Varma." She actually smiled. She recognized some of these movies. Maybe this class wouldn't be too bad. She took a spot near the front. It's going to be okay.
Okay?
Okay.

Even before they'd stepped completely into the classroom, Nem could see something was different, what with the lighting. They glanced very briefly at Varma before turning their attention to the clips being projected onto the wall.

Stopping in place, still close to the door and half lit up by the glow of the projector, Nem looked towards Varma again.

"Muggle stuff?" This was probably sanctioned, and there was likely a point to this, in the same way that so many lessons this term had been anti-muggle, but Nem just wanted to bring it up anyway. Maybe it wasn't sanctioned. Maybe there'd be trouble. Nem knew which eventuality they preferred, but didn't bother hoping.

Not that it mattered. They were a very proactive individual, after all.

Once the handlers allowed the Room students into Potions, Bernie looked around and frowned, and of course her frown today was because of what the projector was playing. Why was she doing this? Why was she showing M U G G L E motion P I C T U R E S?

This likely wouldn't end well. Berns tsked under her breath to herself but remained standing beside Nem, because of course she did, and also because they were much better at potions than she was. It was practically a tradition by now to stick with Nem in Potions. Could she really be blamed for wanting to partner up with Upstead? Also, did she look like she cared that she was nearly clogging up the doorway?

Besides all that, a greeting was in order for the pretty professor. "Hi," Bernie stated flatly, then added one for Nem. "Hello."

Potions. One of his favorite classes next to Defense Against the Dark Arts....when Headmaster Trent had taught the subject. Minjae approached the dimly lit classroom with a scowl on his face. No matter how many times he had gone through it, he still was not used to Rosier's guards escorting them from place to place. This was not a school anymore, it had become a prison for the muggleborns and some trouble makers

"Professor" he greeted, his gaze towards the floor and his hands in his pockets as he passed the woman . At first the Hufflepuff did not even realize that a projector was projecting clips on a loop on the walls until he looked up. He recognized the Star Wars one but the others were a complete mystery to him. Not that he cared. He stopped caring about a lot of things lately. Also why were Bernadette and Nemesis just standing there and nearly clogging up the doorway? "move it" he said as he send both of them an annoyed look before he pushed himself in between the two to get to his table.

Violet found herself feeling just a bit more interested in life as she entered the Potions classroom; it was her favorite subject, and brewing always made her feel better. She edged around the students standing in the doorway and made her way into the room, but stopped in her tracks as she saw the new setup. What was going on? Films were playing, and Muggle films at that--Violet recognized a few of the titles and had seen one in rerun on the television in her father's motel room. What did those films have to do with potions? (And how did Professor Varma dare to show them this year?) Still looking at the moving pictures in puzzlement, Violet made her way to one of the potions stations and waited for class to begin.

Claudine recognised the Star Wars characters the moment she happened to glance to the front of the class. Thanks to Heath, of course. Her nerdy boyfriend’s obsession with the movies and characters had of course been shared with her. Most of the other movies were not recognised. But was it a good idea for Varma to be showing these scenes? Claudine looked nervously at the woman. “Hi, Professor.” Choosing not to say anything about the scenes playing, she moved further into the classroom.

The Slytherin followed Minjae to a station, ignoring everyone else. She dropped her bag on the ground beside the station, eyes fixed on the cauldrons. Um… were they going to be changing into the person they were sitting with? Was it a good idea to sit with Minjae then? Um…

Phoebe was so busy babytalking her wand and coddling it once it was handed over for class that she barely noticed the projector running and the movies on the screen. It was more the tension that she read from classmates that finally drew her attention, and even then, it took her a moment to understand why they were so stressed. Muggle stuff. Was that what she'd heard Nem say when they spotted the screen?

Muggle stuff. "Hello, Professor!" Phoebe took a spot at one of the desks and peered into her cauldron. So... polyjuice smelled gross. Hopefully they'd brewed it right, because she wasn't interested in ingesting whatever this was and having it NOT work.

Ivy carefully slipped around Bernie and Nemesis at the doorway, her brow furrowed upon seeing the film scenes playing on the wall. Muggle films obviously. Professor Varma surely would've had to get Rosier's permission for this but...for why? Why would he allow it?

She was...very curious about this. It was so unexpected, and even a little bit comforting, seeing short clips of films she had watched with her family.

"Hello, Professor," she said before grabbing a seat at one of the work stations.

Entering the room, Fiona was slightly confused at the sight of the Muggle movie moments being screened. It was a rather odd sight.

"Good morning, Professor Varma," Fiona greeted before finding herself a spot behind Claudine.

Atlas had been miserable the entire month, ever since they had started brewing their respective polyjuice potions in fact. The Gryffindor hated it...everything about the assignment now that he knew what he knew. Someone had brewed this very thing...and gone around as his own father for who knows how long. He felt nauseous even thinking about it...how many times this impostor had hugged him and Aries, listen to them cry over whatever, pretending like they cared. Then there was the whole headmaster polyjuice situation which, thankfully in retrospect, the Gryffindor had very little experience with. It was just another harsh reminder that what they were brewing with for a CLASS and for HOMEWORK was...harmful. Unfathomably so.

And stepping into the classroom to see all these ancient films being projected on the screen was not helping maters...nor was the fact that Nemesis Upstead still lurking in the general doorway along with Bernie.

Did this mean he...shouldn't sit either? With Professor Williamson under lock and key especially, the first year wanted to continue to trust Professor Varma...but this polyjuice business felt like it was inviting...bad things. After all, everything could possibly go wrong with a bunch of teenagers and polyjuice. So ... all in all he did not end up offering any sort of greeting and instead sort of just lurked behind Bernie and Nemesis like a little Gryffindor shadow.

He was also pretty sure that his potion was not even remotely brewed correctly.

What were they doing?! Move...move move! Will was getting really frustrated with the fact that Nemesis, Bernie, and ...uh Flamsteed twin...just stood there in the doorway. He had to get into the class because he was just given his wand and he wanted to go and sit and just quietly watch these movie clips there were playing in the class. This was the closest thing to entertainment that he suspected wouldn't last long in the class.

He pushed past Flamsteed Twin then the two older fifth years and grabbed an empty station with the Polyjuice Potion they had worked their butts off making in front of them. William found Potions class to be the next best thing he could begin to like from last year. Potions was similar enough to cooking and he might as well figure it out. But Brewing polyjuice potion was a slog of a task and he hated every step of it.

Now he had to deal with it's smell while he attempted to concentrate on the films playing before him.

Potions. Not one of her top three lessons but also not her least favorite either. It fell somewhere in the middle which wasn't too bad of a spot to be in. It was one of those lessons where she didn't love it or hate it, she was simply not the greatest at it. She was trying her best though and with any luck it showed.

Dahlia quietly made her way towards the classroom having become increasingly more used to being ushered around the corridors by Rosier's Hooded Minions. The situation was what it was and she was doing her best to take it all in stride. Much easier said than done. Despite the front she was trying to put on anytime she was outside of The Room, Lia was still very much a mess. A small, young, quiet, broken mess.

Silently side-stepping around those lingering near the doorway, Lia moved further into the room quickly taking note of several key things. One, the potions brewing at each station which were most definitely the ones they had been working on all month. Polyjuice potion. She was sure that she was somehow going to mess it up even though she was paying as close attention to all the instructions as possible. Second, the movie reel playing very old but nonetheless still classic movies. It was this second thing that unnerved her even more than the potion. Muggle movies in a Potions lesson. Why? It didn't make sense to her eleven year old self and it made even less sense with everything that's taken place this term. What was the point of this?!

Having to pull her gaze from the movie clips, Dahlia forced herself to move more quickly towards her work station. "Morning, Professor Varma," she greeted only loud enough to be heard as she sat down on a chair.

With every passing day spent in The Room, Heath became a little sadder, a little angrier, a little more broken. He massaged the back of his neck, hoping to get rid of the crick from sleeping on the floor as he made his way to potions alongside the other students being escorted, but the pain in his neck was nothing compared to the pain in his heart. He stopped short of running into a group of students gathered in the doorway. Why were they-? Never mind, he didn’t want to know. Whatever this was, he wanted no part of it! “Excuse me,” he mumbled, stepping around the others.

It was only as he stepped farther into the room that he noticed the films playing… Singin’ in the Rain, The Sound of Music, The Wizard of Oz, The Breakfast Club, and… Star Wars, specifically The Empire Strikes Back. Of course. As an aspiring actor, he’d spent many hours studying great performances of the past, so he knew all of them. Had this lesson happened prior to his imprisonment, he would’ve felt a rush of excitement and probably started quoting the lines from each scene, but now it just reminded him of his own folly… how he cast aside his muggle interests, like acting and the Star Wars franchise, in a misguided attempt to get in Rosier’s good graces. But it had all been in vain.

“Hello, Professor,” he greeted flatly, looking at her just long enough for the pain in his eyes to show. Then he stalked away to a workstation in the back.

A quick peek down the corridor showed that everyone had arrived, so Shreya closed the door quietly—taking care not to let it slam. Didn't want anyone getting alarmed by sudden noises. She waited at the back of the room until the current rotation of the montage finished before waving her wand. The movie stopped playing, the screen rolled up, and the lights in the Potions lab flickered back on.

"Good morning, everyone," she greeted them again, as she made her way toward the front of the room. "As you've probably deduced, today, we'll be really diving into our Polyjuice unit. Your potions have been brewing for a month now, so they are finally ready to use." How exactly they would be using them, Shreya would let them know soon. She paused for a moment, furrowing her brow as she contemplated her next statement. "I'm sure you may have recognized some of those film clips. Absolutely disgraceful attempts at acting from Muggles," she started, the words sounding foreign as they came out of her mouth. Her voice even sounded far away. These were some of her favorite films. Acting was an art. She loved Muggle theater and movies. And now she was bashing it.

Though she deeply hoped that showing the clips, if only for a few moments, brought a brief moment of enjoyment and comfort to the students. Even though she had to ruin it now with a Neo-Alliance explanation.

She swallowed, forcing herself to go on. "And again, it just goes to show how inferior they are. Trying to convince their counterparts that they can be someone else. In the Wizarding World, we have much better option at our fingertips. One that puts Muggle acting to shame." She looked at the class, her eyes filled with sadness. She hoped they would someday forgive her. Really hoped.

"The Polyjuice Potion." She motioned to their cauldrons, relieved that she could move on to the first question. Perhaps she could turn the mood of this class around now. "But before we begin, I'd like to ask you all something." She took a seat on top of her desk, letting her legs hang over the side. "If you could be anyone in the world for a day, who would you be and why?" Shreya just hoped that the students wouldn't mention any Muggles. That could end poorly.

OOC: If you're just joining us, feel free to play as if you've been here all along, unless you would like IC consequences. We'll move on to the next question in approximately 24 hours!

Violet had by now noticed the potion simmering at her station and recognized it as Polyjuice Potion--she'd leaned over and examined it carefully to make sure it was really hers, she didn't want to continue this work with some other student's possibly less well-made potion. Then she stepped back as Professor Varma began to lecture--another anti-Muggle speech, every class was full of them. Surely the potions professor didn't believe that, of all people! Or were they all so afraid of the Neo-Alliance that they felt they had to go along? Violet realized that they were all heavily outnumbered by the non-Hogwarts people by now, so she supposed that was the case. But just how far were the faculty and students prepared to go in please these intruders?

Listening again, Violet caught the remark about putting Muggle acting to shame. She's had a chance to see some Muggle theatre by now, and she was really interested to hear what Professor Varma thought the wizarding world had that put it to shame, because Violet had always thought that the Muggles really had an edge on them when it came to entertainment. Certainly she'd never seen or heard anything in the wizard world that could compare to Shakespeare, or even come close.

Hmmm....who would she be if she could be anyone? Someone not locked up in a dark, dank little room in a castle under seige, that was for sure. Once she might have said a famous witch or wizard or a renowned author, but today, she would just like to be someone who was free and confident and able to handle anything the world threw at them. And the person she knew who was all those things the most was...."Miss Jane Howard, my former governess," she replied. "Because she's always calm and confident and in control. And she knows how to do everything, practically, and has studied alchemy and potions and arithmancy and know all sorts of ancient, secret things." And she's free out there, and not locked up in here.

Whether or not that the Hufflepuff had been rude by shoving the two fifth years away to get through was none of his concern. He walked to a station and unceremoniously dropped his bag next to it. There were only books inside anyway and who cared about books?

Minjae looked to his side to see Claudine standing next to him. Perhaps it was due to recent events but he had noticed that she had not called him ‘rich boy’ in a long time. ”Hey” he greeted, looking away from her and inside of the cauldron.

Another lesson bashing the art of anything muggle related. He wasn’t even paying attention to what the Professor was saying nor to the clips of acting playing. He looked like he wasn’t even present, lost in his own thoughts.

He did get glimpses of what was being said though and he also caught the end of the first question. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what kind of question she had asked though and after some careful ‘thinking’ which was more zoning out realy Minjae raised his hand. ”Albus Dumbledore” he said. Because wasn’t he the one who defeated Grindelwald? The same person these neo-alliance idiots were so obsessed over? or at least his goal? Yeah it would be cool to transform in to him and pretend to feel powerful for a change instead of the hopeless mess he was right now. ”Because he had long silver hair and beard and who doesn’t want that” he lied.

Mamie hadn't really paid attention to who she sat near in potions today. She had not really paid attention to most things recently. Charms, sure. She paid attention in Charms. They got to move around a lot in charms. But she had pretty low expectations about potions. Sitting in her chair, where the main motion was stirring or adding to a cauldron? How could they expect her focus to stay there?

Plus, she tended to underestimate the usefulness of potions. New spells? Yes, generally they were obviously helpful. But when would she ever need, say, the polyjuice potion? She liked being herself, thank you very much.

Mamie still did not really like the Muggle bashing that was occurring in all of their classes, but it no longer got under her skin. She wasn't a Muggle, after all. And, words couldn't hurt her. Well, unless the words were spells. That sticks and stones may break my bones phrase really was better suited for the Muggle world than the wizarding one, wasn't it? She sighed, then tried to pay attention to what Professor Varma was actually asking.

She thought on it for a moment. Who would she want to be for a day? Or rather...who should she say she wanted to be for a day? That was still somewhat true? She knew it was not good to name a Muggle, but she had precious little knowledge of what wizards might be interesting to be. It was a pity she was terrible at history, or she could have chosen some historical figure. And, like, she knew she couldn't say Aguilar because he was a Muggle-born and that was also "bad." Was Peralta Muggle-born? She didn't want to show favoritism for a particular professor, though, because then Professor Varma might feel bad. Mamie fidgeted with her wand while she pondered the decision, then finally raised her hand.

"I would want to be Aboli for a day," she said, "because she's good at everything, and she's nice."

Oh. Apparently they were doing more muggle-hating today. She held back tears. It wasn't the professor's fault. itwasn't itwasn't itwasn't. "I would be my boy- bestfriend." Close one there. "I wanna be him because I think his life is better. He goes--- to a different wizarding school." Untrue, actually. He was a muggle, plain and simple. "Are we doing wizard acting today?" She crossed her arms. It was weird, but the tiniest little thing could still set her off. You'd think living horribly would change things, but it really just intensified them. She pictured her friend. Light brown hair. Sparkly eyes. Nice smell. Radiant smile. And most importantly, a better life. Maybe she did want to be him. She was glad that he was doing fine, but now she couldn't be him. Which meant she had to be her. Which she hated, by the way.

With Varma’s encouraging smile tucked into her memory {Merlin knew that she needed every bit of good vibe to keep herself in check these days}, Claudine gave her attention to Minjae. Did he know that she was going to miss him when he graduated? It was true but it wasn’t the time to get all sentimental. Maybe if they both survived this ordeal she’d start calling him ‘rich boy’ again. The nickname was one hundred percent likely to stick with him. “Hi again.’’ Had he forgotten they were Rommies and she saw him earlier?

Now seated, Claudine had her gaze fixed on the potion in her cauldron. Without raising her gaze as the lesson got started, she registered a hint of relief to hear Varma diss Muggle acting. The girl felt for Heath; it must be heartbreaking to hear such words spoken of Star Wars and acting. She felt for him indeed.

Who would she want to be? Claudine could think of no one; she liked being her. Though, if she had to make a selection, Williamson was one who would be at the very top of her list. The man was so knowledgeable, cool and a great professor. He was also a great, big grump but the fifth year adored him very much for taking a chance by trusting him with the Hogwarts creatures. Not that she was ever going to tell him that. It probably wasn't a good idea to voice this particular choice out aloud.

A hand went up, her gaze finally shifting. “Newt Scamander, I suppose. Because of his extensive knowledge of creatures and his fondness for them.’’

Bernadette wasn't satisfied with the potions professor's justification for the Muggle movies, she simply wasn't, and the connection to the Muggle actors both concerned and disappointed her. Berns LIKED the potions lady, okay, and did not want to see anything happen to her. Her stern, unsmiling face said something like this as she moved to a seat in the back, nodding to Atlas the shadow to follow her, if he wanted to. Nem would... well, who knew if they wanted to sit beside her. Bernie made sure to throw a snide glare Minjae's way as well, because RUDE seventh years were RUDE.

Now as for this question... well it sucked, didn't it? To think about being someone else for a day, and all you got was ONE day when conditions were terrible as they were here? Her first inclination was to answer MALACHI TRENT, because she missed him loads and wanted to know where he'd gone and why he'd abandoned them all. And also, he was the best at her favorite subject and she wanted him to come back and and and if she could be him then she could probably break out of here and maybe break Rosier's nose in the process and all she needed was a day t---

But no, Bernie's childlike proclivity for impulsive answers had been replaced in recent weeks by a tendency for sulking and moody responses, one of which she gave now. "Tom Riddle," she declared without even the slightest hint of irony in her voice, "would be great to try out with polyjuice potion. And I'd want to become him when he was young, maybe a seventh year at Hogwarts, maybe when he was Head Boy. He was smart and powerful back then, and hadn't been defeated by a bunch of schoolchildren."

She had a lot of reasons for her interest in Tom Marvolo Riddle but this was just one of them. Annandale, per the other kids' answers, they didn't have to pick someone alive, did they? Oh this could be fun, this hypothetical exercise. It could be like that one time, in Divinations class....

Right, there was the Muggle hating as usual, but it still didn't fully explain what the connection to the lesson was. What did these films have to do with the Polyjuice Potion?

Maybe it would make more sense later? Because right now Ivy had to think of someone she'd like to be.

Her first thought, actually, was Rosier, but only so she would then be able to tell all the creepy followers and hooded squad it was time for them to leave Hogwarts forever and actually this whole Muggle hating thing was dumb anyway and they should all just do everyone a favor and throw themselves into Azkaban where they belonged.

But, y'know, that was not an answer she could say out loud - even if it was a little bit tempting, even with the whole being stuck in the Room situation - so...she needed to pick someone else.

Finally, she raised her hand. "I think it'd be interesting to be Luna Lovegood." Technically Scamander, but her maiden name was cooler and more fun to say. "She discovered a lot of new magical species, so it would be neat to see one of those moments firsthand." Not to mention all the other things she had accomplished before then too.

If they were picking someone they wanted to be for a day, did that mean they were literally in their shoes? Or disguised as someone else but really they were still themselves? Because she wouldn't pick a very famous WWN star if it meant that she was stuck at Hogwarts looking famous, or stuck in front of the screen with no actual singing ability.

Phoebe decided it probably wouldn't matter at all. Any answer was a good answer... as long as she didn't fangirl over a Muggle. She listened as her classmates shared their ideas, and then Phoebe raised her hand. "It might be interesting to be a professor, right? To know SO many interesting things and to be able to shape young minds." Or whatever.

Nem afforded Bernadette Grantham a just-barely-lingering look when she joined them by the door. As more students arrived and passed through or around them, they made no attempt to get out of their way, especially after that first shove - plenty of space to get through, as so many had proved. They simply made note of the lurking Flamsteed Clone, then turned their attention to Varma again.

"Right." Couldn't wait to hear it. "Might also want to consider reminding some of your muggle-born students about manners, too. Never know who might be watching." Nem looked away, at the back of Yoon's head, then at that second year, Stover. "At least Williamson tried to play along." 'Try' being the operative word; Merlin knew the man was hopeless. All the same, favouring muggle-borns was not the look to go for this term, everyone ought to know that by now. Hardly advanced alchemy.

And wouldn't it just be so unfortunate for Varma if one of her students was reporting back on that kind of thing.

Following Bernadette Grantham to the back of the room, regardless of whether the Clone went too, Nem took a seat, propped their head in their hand as always, and listened. The explanation for bringing muggle culture into the castle, something which could have been covered in a simple explanation, was a weak one. It was any wonder how this had been approved, if it had been approved at all.

Nem opted not to answer the actual question, not just because there was simply nobody they were interested in being for the day, but also because even if they was, they weren't about to share the who or the why. Too many kids in this place were willing to give revealing information about themselves, even now, and in a lesson about Polyjuice Potion, of all places.

So they said nothing, but did shoot Bernadette Grantham another glance when she gave her answer. That was all. Just a glance.

Who would they pick to be polyjuiced as?

Save the whole Muggle hate on for later. Will did actually put some semblance of thought into this. He tried to think of any of the Magical Witches and Wizards he had read about during one of his History of Magic book read-a-thons but none really stood out to him. He didn't really want to pick another wizard either. Being one himself was already a terrible thing why pick someone else with magical blood too?

Then he heard Mamie mention Aboli's name and that changed his direction of thought entirely. Sure picking another student didn't seem like a bad idea. Maybe he could pick one of the students who wasn't currently in the room. Doubt that would let him get away with escape long enough since the potion only lasts an hour. Also Escape?! YEAH RIGHT...Everyone in that room was doomed and he knew it.

But if he had to pick. "I'd be Nemesis." Will said for his answer. What was their deal anyways? It would perhaps give him a chance to really walk a mile in their shoes.

The cold glare he got from his Upper Classmate sent some shivers down his spine....Can he change his answer!? What could possibly go wrong?!