Sabel returned Arya's smile before drawing his attention to the class. For once, there was no worry in him when Lafay announced the topic of discussion, though glancing around there was more than one student who looked stark terrified. Instead of agreeing with them, he felt a little sorry for Lafay that everyone was intent on viewing her with fear. Not that she didn't give them reason to, but her reasons for doing so weren't the same as he had seen them before.

It was because of that new perspective that he couldn't help but smile at some of Lafay's comments, especially those to Destiny. The Professor had a different way of handling the situation, that was for sure.

Lifting his eyes and his hand, Sabel offered his own answer to Lafay's question; only once his expression was level and solemn again. "Some cardiogenic toxins are poisonous. Such as those in the Doll's Eye plants; the tissues contain specific toxins that sedate cardiac muscles."

Sweet Merlin!

Destiny didn't even have a chance to answer Patroclus before Lafay started to go all crazy and threaten the class with poison. Of course that's not what was really happening, but Destiny was a little to HORRIFIED at what the Professor was doing to that chocolate cookie to think otherwise.

Her eyes were wide as the woman explain that she had just POISONED the thing and she quickly shook her head at the mention of summoning a rat to test it. No way! What if the rat that was summoned was her rat!? No way was she going to let the Professor KILL Marcus.

And just to be on the safe side, Destiny sent a little glaaaaare at everyone. She was watching them all.

Until Lafay was all up in her face and even though she knew she was Lafay's favorite student, it was rather terrifying. Especially those whispered words.

SO SCARY!

Her eyes were even wider as the Professor walked away and she glanced around the room once more. Did anyone see that? No? Good!

Destiny was kinda scared to answer the next question. Merlin knew what Lafay was going to do if she answered the question wrong, but she HAD to answer. She needed to REDEEM herself! She raised her hand slooooowly. "That cookie is poison." Duh! "And it can be found in your drawer."

Luin nodded and jotted down the answer in her book, and then looked around as some people started to name off some other poisons. She then raised her hand, sorting out her thoughts a little, "Professor, there is Atropine. One plant which it can be extracted from is the Mandrake, and other plants in the same family."

Evan looked at Jake for a moment, before nodding slightly more to himself, though Jake could still take it for himself. Yeah, surely nobody was going to ask for a proof, were they? He was definitely taking her word for it, and so should everyone.

Raising his hand to give an answer, he said "Ammonia is a highly poisonous substance..." Pausing for a moment to remember all, he said "And it is even produced by all the animals... but then most of the animals change it to urea immediately." God bless his liver.

Kita frowned. Poisons. Why was it that lessons were turning dark all of a sudden? Or maybe that was just her...

And then something hit her. "Professor," she said, raising her hand, "I don't know if this can be called a poison but carbon monoxide is pretty harmful. And all i know is that you can find it in cigarette smoke."

Spike thought for a moment, before raising his hand. "Death cap mushrooms are poisonous," he said softly. "I don't know exactly what the poison in them is called - amanit...something, maybe? - but it mainly affects the liver and kidneys." Or at least, that's what he'd been told when his father had found some suspicious looking fungi in the woods where Spike had his den.

And as for testing it on a rat... Spike's eyes narrowed. He wasn't a fan of rats, but then many people weren't fans of tarantulas - and Spike definitely wouldn't have allowed that. It was still innocent. And it wasn't for another useful reason either. He crossed his arms across his chest. She'd better not test the poison, even if she was just stringing them along.

Charley tried to think about her mother's gardening; there was sure to be something other than the already-mentioned mandrakes.
"Many of the plants in the genus Digitalis, or foxgloves, are poisonous."

The Third year has been quiet for the first part of class, but she couldn't wait any longer. They were talking about poisons, which seemed a bit creepy but it was probably good to know about the poisons and the antidote's if there was one.

Emma sat and watched Droo dip the cookie in a delicious liquid, which also happened to be poison. The young Malfoy could smell the poison from where she was sitting. It smelt like the chocolate raspberry cake that her mother use to make when she was little. Better not touch or eat anything in any of her classes, thought Emma as she watched Lafay ask everyone to name a poison. A poison. Hmmmm.. LEAD! LEAD POISING! She remembered hearing news about it, when she read the muggle newspapers, not that she told anyone about it...

The blonde raised her hand. "Lead is a poison. Well, if its inhaled, or if its contaminated food or water supplies and a person or animal has eaten it. Lead pigments were and are found in lead paint of old houses. Lead paint was used on Muggle children's toys. " she said, confidently and then wondering what the Potions teacher would say in return.

What? She was going to test a poison on an innocent rat?
She quickly looked around to make sure no-one asked her to do it.
Good. Everyone else seemed to be worried for a rat too.

Now for the question.

"Um. Does poison Ivy or poison oak count?" she asked nervously "You can find them mostly in woods, but even your garden and fields."
Please don't shout at her scary potions mistress!

Nika watched the cookie in Professor Lafay's hand. YUM! She watched her pour the poison unto the cookie and her smile fell. "What a waste of a cookie!" Nika was so tempted to run up and eat it, but it was poison and she knew better than to try it out. Nika turned her attention back to her professor and let the cookie thoughts go to the back of her mind. "I think Mercury is one. You know that stuff they use for thermo-mom thermometers." She struggled in saying the word.

Kurumi's jaw dropped when Dragon Lady revealed a COOKIE and announced to the class that it was a poison. A COOKIE! That had to be illegal to make a COOKIE a poison. Kurumi continued to stare for several moments unable to believe that the COOKIE was what the Potion's Mistress said it was and was about to raise her hand and ask just how the COOKIE was a poison when she heard the woman speak again about summoning a rat from the walls.

No thank you...Kurumi really did not want to see a rodent's life leave its body right in front of her eyes. Still...how could a COOKIE be a poison?!

Kurumi shook her head to wake herself up from the shock when Dragon Lady addressed the class once more. "Professor, non-magical people have developed many types of poison to kill unwanted things One of those it called herbicide and it kills unwanted plants which is why it is also called a 'weedkiller'," Kurumi explained before returning her hand to the table. Was that the connection? All classes had something to do with the non-magical world this term after all.

Lexi raised her hand once more and cleared her throat before calling out, "Professor, the Oleandor plant is considered the most deadly in the world. Belladonna, or Deadly Nightshade is among the top five as well."

Did anyone else think it was a bit unsettling that the little Gryffie seemed to know so much about poisonous plants? Heh. Beware ye who maketh this child mad.

Sitting in the back, dark, corner of the room, sat "Master" Benjamin Trevors. He was getting immensly bored of this Potions class, since they weren't brewing anything. But, he was comfortable leaning back in his chair, watching the class as it progressed, listening to all of the absurd answers they were giving seeing as they were all magical beings, and all. He quickly dropped the chair back on all fours and had his hand raised.
"Professor? I believe there is one answer that hasn't been observed yet." He looked around at all of the purebloods and half-bloods who claimed they were so smart. " That answer is the bite or stab of a basilisk tooth. No matter how old it gets, it still keeps the venom. Same as an acromantula."

...she smiled? Lafay had smiled at her?

Sierra had arrived at this school with the goal of impressing her Head of House. She'd sought approval from her, even during the times when she could have cared less what anyone else thought. That smile, that tiny little indication that there was some sort of approval there, left Sierra with a mixture of shock and pride.

She briefly returned Lafay's smile before putting all her attention into whatever was about to happen to that cookie. She watched with fascination as the professor turned a single, delicious-looking cookie into a poison. It was a good demonstration, and one Sierra would remember forever. Another question had quickly been asked, though, and the cookie had stored away for another day and another time.

"All parts of the Moonseed plant are poisonous," she said, her hand raised. "I think the parts are even used in a poison called the Moonseed Poison." She didn't really know much about the Moonseed Poison, but she'd heard it mentioned a time or two--probably by her sister, who was also a Potions Mistress. "It's found in woods and hedges."

Mia's eyes almost bugged out of her head when Lafay suggested poisoning a rat. If she did that then she was out of there. There was no way that she could sit there and watch an animal die because of an experiment.

She gulped a little when she covered the cookie in a poison and placed it in front of Destiny. Merlin! She hoped her friend could control herself with that sweet sitting in front of her.

At the question, Mia raised her hand in the air. "Weedosoros, I believe is a poison." She really hoped they weren't going to practicing on animals.

Simon took down defintitions given and approved by Professor Lafay, staying mostly quiet during the time watching and listening carefully instead. He agreeded with the class that no demonstration was needed, no need to kill a creature needlessly to prove a point, however he couldn't help glance at Kurumi for just a moment at the sight of the cookie and wondering her reaction since she was such a fan and expert of the baked good.

Turning his attention back to the class as a whole, Simon heard the latest question, taken down the poisons already listed as he thought of an answer. "Poison ivy by its very name is a type of poison ," he replied after raising his hand.

Emily could have listed at least a hundred poisons, but decided to go with her favourite.
Raising her hand, "Larkspur is poisonous, particularly the young plants and seeds. The effects include nausea, muscle twitches and paralysis and is often fatal."

Wowza!

Lafay knew how to really scare people, Patroclus the Brave however was not scared, Lafay would never hurt him, he was.....with Desting, her favourite Snake! A snake which was currently in danger, as a chocolate coated biscuit had been placed before her.

Smiling at her to say, 'You can do it! You are strong enough to say no!' he watched on to make sure she didn't try to eat the cookie.

"Professor, the use of an un-matured Veritaserum to can also be classifide as a poison!"

Jaina thought of the poisonous plants that she knew. She raised her hand and said, "There is poison ivy which causes a VERY itchy rash!" She didn't know any wizarding plants that were poisonous, but she knew plenty of muggle ones that were!

Jaina heard Ben speak from the back of the classroom. He still insisted upon sitting back there. She got a smirk on her face and just to give him a little hint that she was thinking about him, she gave herself a pink streak in hair on the back of her head so he could see it. She made a mental note to ask what those creatures were.

"Yes Miss Hopkins, some venoms are more poisonous than others though..." She said and nodded.

"It is indeed. It is found in lima beans... as well as bitter almonds, root of cassava, which is used to make tapioca and finally in apricot seeds... We all ingest just a little cyanide." She said nodding. "It affects some more than others."

She rolled her eyes at the kid. "I know it's a plant. I think we all do Morgan." She said and summoned some to show. "It is poisonous, however we use it all the time in potion making. Not to mention it's what Wolfsbane potion got it's name from."

...

Was that a joke? She glared at the boy. "It is poisonous. You should never anger those creatures..." She said in a low voice.

"Chocolate can be fatal in abnormally large quantities..." She said to the girl.

"Very good, that's a creepy looking plant too." She said to the boy.

"Shepard." What was the use... "Yes... and now I'm going to take care of that." She took the cookie out of her drawer and set it on fire in her hand until it crumpled up to nothing. No one could eat it now.

"Yes. Very good." She said nodding.

"Very good. That's why we need our liver and kidneys..." She said nodding.

"It's a gaseous poison, you are correct." She said and moved to the next person.

"Amanita... yes, a lot of mushrooms are poisonous." She added.

"Yes, they are very high in toxicity..." She said.

"Very good." She said nodding. "Lead is very dangerous."

"Poison Ivy and Oak are poisons... they are very commonly found." She said.

She raised her eyebrow... waste of a cookie... She sighed.

"Yes, Mercury... that's why pregnant women don't eat fish..."

"Yes weedkiller is a poison." She said.

... "Oleander and Belladonna. Good." She said.

Hecate sat back, "Basilisk venom is a dark ingredient... Good. Steer clear of it." She said

"Moonseed Poison is fatal." She said to the girl. "Good."

"Very good, Miss Gibbins." She said to the girl.

"Poison Ivy was already said, but yes. It is a poison." She said.

"Good, Larkspur is indeed poisonous." She said.

"Very good, Prefect Hudson." She said to the boy.

Hecate rolled her eyes. "Miss Maloney, not only was Poison Ivy already said, but can you please refrain changing your hair colour?"

She showed the poison she had pulled from her desk. "Daphyr Poison," She said showing it. "It hasn't got a colour... though it's a little pink in shade... and it smells like your favorite sweet. It makes you want to eat it." She put it back in the drawer, "It was the first poison I ingested. Took me a few weeks to get better..." She said "Has anyone been poisoned?"

Well...this certainly was a cheery subject to be discussing...

Kurumi's eyes widened when the Potion's Mistress mentioned that it was the first potion she had ever had. Did that mean...she had had more? Kurumi suddenly had the image of her using first year Hufflepuffs to taste all her dishes before she ate or drank anything. Wouldn't put it past her to do that..."P-Professor," Kurumi said raising her hand. "You said the first...how many poisons have you ingested?" and how did you survive them?!

"Pregnant women don't eat fish? Wait what does that have to do with Mercury exactly professor?" Nika was confused. Nika watched as Professor Lafay showed the class the vial of poison that she had added on the cookie. Boy did she want that cookie badly. "Well does food poisoning count? I ate some bad sushi once." Nika suggested.

Sierra didn't receive a smile from Lafay this time, but really, she was perfectly fine with that. After all, she didn't expect a smile every time she opened her mouth to answer. Just one smile alone had shocked her enough, after all. She nodded her head once in reply to Lafay's comment and then listened as the professor moved on with the next question.

Had she ever been poisoned? No, she hadn't. Not unless having a twin brother get sorted into Hufflepuff counted as a poison. She had much better sense, though, than to share that answer in front of the entire class. Having nothing else to add, she just stayed quiet and waited to hear what her classmates had to say.

She did, however, wonder why Lafay had ingested a poison at some point in her past. Had she just been testing it, or had it been for something else?

Samira had been quiet the entire class so far. Potions made her somewhat uneasy. She didn't like being in the proximity of anything that could explode in her face. When Professor Lafay asked if anyone had ever been poisoned, Samira raked her brain. Samira never really did over-dangerous stunts, and was very careful. It was one of her many Slytherin Traits: self-preservation. No, Samira wasn't stupid enough to get herself poisoned. So she sat back and prepared herself to be entertained by some amusing "This-Is-How-I-Got-Poisoned" stories.

Were they going to brew something this lesson?

It was still interesting, talking about poisons, but a part of Helena wanted to learn how to brew more potions. But of course, there was the other part that didn't quite want that, just thinking about how many other creatures are going to die in that classroom.

But anyway. Helena's eyes grew wide the moment professor Lafay mentioned something about the first poison she ingested. How MANY did she ingest until now? As for the Daphyr Poison... smelling like your favourite sweet.

She didn't answer the woman's question, because she has never been poisoned. Buuut she had another question. "Professor?" The girl said, raising her hand. "Let's say that my favourite sweets are... Bertie Bott's beans," they really weren't, but that was the first name that came into her mind, "how can I tell if they're poisoned or not when I want to eat them?" She hoped her question was clear enough.