Sophie grinned at being called "Tiny" - she loved that, did he know? - and watched, an amused smile on her face as he pretty cheerfully greeted the rest of the class as they entered. Someone was in a good mood today, hm?

She was satisfied by this - and she came to a quick conclusion that he was probably relieved to not have to yell at anyone for explosions or mistakes with brewing an actual potion today - and settled into her seat, her textbook open to the index so she could... hunt for an answer if she really needed to. She didn't think she would, but just so he saw her actively trying to provide good answers and all.

At his question, Soph pursed her lips, a little distressed by ALL THE POSSIBILITIES of how to answer the question. Merlin. It was just like the way the herbology professor had started that first lesson out, and Soph gripped her textbook with both hands, trying to... figure out WHAT to say. Something... impressive. Or... thoughtful. Out of the ordinary. Something the others weren't already saying and would make Culloden smile and be proud that she was his favorite.

...Her expression turned mellow at the sudden pressure she felt, Sophie kept her hand down and her mouth shut. Nope. Not gonna answer this one. Hopefully since she was RIGHT there in front of him, he wouldn't look at her at all and would just look right over her head at everyone else, yeah?

It was Flamsteed's class all over again.

So...they'd be having a theoretical Potions class...when Aladdin would rather prefer to make potions instead. Knowing barely little about the topic he obviously was nose-deep into the textbook reading through it. Scanning he was searching for general information about potions. Looking at most of the others who were answering they seemed to be raising there hands...that was a weird thing to do. Why not just shout out the answer? But he'd better follow THESE classroom rules because it seemed that this person didn't come from the book.

Raising his hand Aladdin stated "A potion is a concoction brewed with different types of ingredients and can have a positive or negative effect." That summed up what a potion was at least. Hoping this would go by relatively fast he started to gaze into space. Snapping out of it, he turned around to see what the man and red had to say about the question.

Eden raised an eyebrow...he called her by her first name? WEIRD. "Eden McGee, Professor Culloden--but Eden is fine as well." She said. Whatever. If he was cool with calling her Eden, fine. She was glad he knew her NAME. Hehe.

Potions. Right. This was...an odd angle, eh? She raised her hand slowly and sighed. "Potions are liquid things that are magical and..they can do something." Yep. That was Eden's great answer. She sighed and blushed a little...she was glad this class was being NORMAL okay? She was tired of the chaos. It was ANNOYING.

After greeting and seating, the look on Cutty's neutral face bent slightly toward satisfaction. A theoretical class. He expected this to be inspiring. Herein would be all of the little loopholes for exploiting and exploring. All the marked places for further study and investigation. Not to mention bending and refracting some of those rules were possible or challenging and calling them into question. Ink, parchment and quill were out. But first....a simple question.

There were many ways of defining what a potion was as various books including their assigned text recommended. Cutty could've used one of the verbatim definition, but instead rephrased it as what he thought was the more encompassing idea. Hand up and this he offered, "A potion is a combined substance of one or more ingredients in order to produce one or more magical effects when administered."

He got up and walked to the front of the class to look at the blackboard.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackboard

-Similar to work in chemistry amongst muggles
-Brewed in a very specific way
-Negative or positive effect
-A mixture
-Brewed with different ingredients

"Most of you said it's liquid, while some opted to leave that vague. It's not only in liquid form. They can also be a paste." He paused. "Now, these are the properties some of you mentioned." He gestured at the blackboard. "To make it a sentence..." He waved his wand again, and there appeared a phrase underneath:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackboard

It is a mixture brewed in a very specific way with different ingredients to cause a magical, negative or positive outcome; similar to the chemistry of muggles.

"That's the most thorough definition, I'd say." Did they want to copy it down? He paused briefly again before asking the next question.

"What are the types of potions?"

Hugo wondered if this was their very first lesson because the professor was asking what a potion was. But who cares. The boy took out his notebook and wrote the date and title on top of the page. What is a potion?

After that, he raised his hand ready to answer but with random ideas. "It is a...liquid substance with magical powers, you drink it and you can do magical things" ahh so clever you are Hugo, so clever.

The second question came very quickly and he just scribbled some ideas of what a potion was. Again, the boy raised his hands to answer "Hmm...well, I'm not sure but, there is a love potion that I have heard it is very strong and the hate potion we did last class and the one you use to transform into someone else physically." he had forgotten the name. Heh.

Wait was he asking because he didn’t know? Or because he wanted to make sure they knew? She hoped it was the former…cause a potions that would be bad – she didn’t answer…not yet, he had moved on before she had time to. Okay. Now he was asking about types of potions...she he wasn't loony-mc-brainless-pants. He was just...questioning them.

THE NERVE.

Raising her hand hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh into the air Puck waited (very impatiently) to be called on. "There are types that you eat or drink and others that you don't. The ones that you don't typically are called balms or unctions." She set her arm back down and glanced around the room.

Sophie relaxed considerably when Culloden moved on without getting an answer from her - in fact, it seemed that he hadn't even noticed that she was silent. Or sitting there at all.

It was perfect, really.

She took her notes, though the information provided was nothing she didn't already know, and was a bit confused by his question. What did he mean by type? Just... generalized KINDS of potions? She could offer one of those up, if that's what he meant. She raised a hand, "There are healing potions, sir?" Still not entirely sure if that's what he was looking for, but...

Simple and to the point.

So his answer was sort of correct. That was okay with Adi. They were all here to learn after all. But he did make careful notes. This would come in handy for OWLs next year. Better to be prepared than to be caught by surprise.

Types of potions? Hmmm... Adi was unsure. That fourth year Gryffindor mentioned unctions. Maybe that was a type? And so was the liquid form? Anyway, the Hufflepuff chose to remain silent this time around.

Yup yup yup, Toby was getting that down, even if he was fidgeting a bit and letting his focus wander every now and then. Pretty normal for him, really. He was still writing when the next question was asked, and that gave him a bit of time to think over the answer... though THAT made the note-writing take longer still.

Eventually that was done, and Toby dropped his quill, stretched out his fingers and raised his hand again.

"Maybe... truth serums? Which aren't like beauty serums. You drink truth serums instead of rubbing them on your face or hair, like you might do with beauty serums." WHICH was a distinction it had taken Toby a little while to understand at first, when he'd attempted Potions reading as a first year.

Raising his hand Cyprien answered "There are numerous types of potions. Some you can drink while there are others that you can apply in a topical fashion." That was all he knew at the moment.

Maddie HAD slept well, thanks for asking. She also had decided NOT to answer the first question given others had done a PRETTY solid job of covering what a potion was on their own. She did take notes, though. Doodled too because she was a particularly fast writer, one of her MANY talents.

The second question left more room for a variety of answers and the thirteen year old raised her hand, waiting for her turn to share.

"Antidotes are a type of potion that reverse the effects of a potion you've already taken. For example, the Antidote to Veritaserum."

Hmm so they were having a theory class. That didn't sound too bad. He noticed Puck was sitting with someone else and he encouraged it. He gave her a wave and smile to let it know it was okay. She was allowed to sit with others. As he got his potions book since the professor encouraged it, he heard the most basic question. What is a potion? Hmmm...how would he describe it in his own words? Kace looked through the book, he knew what it was but it was hard to describe in his own words.

He raised his hands and put it into his own words, "Erm Professor I think a potion is a substance you can add things to, for better or for worse. It depends on what you created to have the effect on the drinker." That was his way of describing it in short simple terms.

Silas furrowed his brow slightly as people statted calling out different potions... was that the question? He was confused. " Um... drafts, potions, unctions? Or like... posions? I'm confused? Polyjuice potion! "

Yeah he was confused.

Kyroh wasn't really in the talking mood. Or question answering mood. Or doing anything mood really. Resting his face on his hands, he shifted in his seat and glanced up at Culloden. Oh. He kind of knew the answer to this question. Maddie had a good answer. He had a thought as well. The second year took a large breath and after much consideration he raised his hand slowly. "Professor, are Draughts considered a different type of potion?"

Ian watched as the professor put snippets of their answers on the board. He was pleased that his mention of muggle chemistry made the cut. Then the professor made the words change until there was a coherent sentence on the board summarizing what others had said. He began to feverishly scratch out the words on his parchment, to save it for posterity (and later, test-taking preparations).

The professor asked what types of potions there were. Certainly it was a bit odd to be asked so many questions, but Ian guessed the professor had a reason for ensuring they had a theoretical understanding of potions. Something must have gone BAD wrong somewhere.

Ian listened to the others and thought to himself this was an overly broad question. I mean were types based upon ingredient, function or some other thing. Perhaps he could break out some Socratic method and start questioning the questioner. That might however upset the professor unless he declared it was for clarification. Ian decided that he'd just sit on his question and if after the next response from the professor didn't clarify, he might ask.

The wording had been tricky. Yes, there WERE balms...AND salves...but in Gabriel's mind, he didn't classify those as potions. Just balms and salves. Sometimes, his brain was too literal about these things...but something he hadn't noticed about he situation...He hadn't flushed with embarrassment for giving a partial answer and being called out on it.

It was learning. He wanted to learn. That was all.

After amending the working in his notes, Gabe kinda raised his hand. A little bit. He was closer to the front of the room...So, he didn't need to stretch it too high. Thankfully. Nor did he need to speak as loud.



"There's the sleep potion, that manipulates your mind and body into thinking it's tired; which then makes you sleep. So, that would be a mental potion. Veritaserum is also one of those."...because someone else had just mentioned it...but not really the type of potion it was. And Gabriel wasn't shouting...but speaking directly to the professor in a low voice. It wasn't stressful this way. Others sitting behind him...might not have heard his answer.

The professor's comment about her answer made Agatha smug. And how he corrected some of the others who only mentioned liquids made her feel even smarter. Hah. She had gotten it right while the others hadn't. She was brilliant.

She copied down the words from the board and raised her hand. She didn't want to repeat what others had said but she actually didn't know much about the subject. Hazarding a guess would have to do. "There are... um, elixirs." Agatha hoped that was what he was looking for.

Marigold's ear was still ringing, and now she had a headache to boot. She opted out of the first question, scribbling down/copying down the professor's summation of everyone's points.

SPOILER!!: Marigold's notes

Potion:
-Similar to work in chemistry amongst muggles (solutions v. mixtures?)
-Brewed in a very specific way (skipping steps = bad)
-Negative or positive effect
-A mixture
-Brewed with different ingredients

She raised her hand, very aware about the previous lesson's potion. "There are potions that...like... deal with emotions and mental states? Like love potions versus hate potions, euphoria potions..." Right?

Kevin had seen the dissapointed look that the Professor had given him. But honestly , he did not care. And theory was something he did not care about either but he was sure the man was going to ask questions once they met in the Room of Requirement again in a week time.

At the next question, Kevin scratched the back of his head frustratingly. He had to say something. A good answer because what if the man decided that advanced potions was too difficult for him? Because it was nooot! As long as it was practical he was good... But first he was stuck in this theory class. "You mean like, Antidotes, Elixers, Draughts or Tonics and such?...or not?" FRUSTRATED FUTURE POTIONEER RIGHT HERE!

Potions was AWESOME. The theory NOT. Well, every theory that required opening a book was not his style.

When Zander walked to a desk, he was still confused. He hadn't even said anything when Professor C took his cauldron. It'd be a burden to have to keep it around for the whole lesson anyways. But, he'd give it back at the end right? ........ Right? Or would it be like that time that he promised to come get Z in the common room for the bed thing, but then never showed up? HM? Yeah. Still haven't forgotten about that one, Professor.

As for the next two questions though, he didn't raise his hand. Normally, he'd try to guess an answer. But this theoretical stuff was clearly messing with him. As if potions was hard enough, now they had to turn it into words and stuff. So nope, he'd just sit here and be quiet.

'Cept he also took his notebook out and the quill too. Cause theory meant notes. And notes meant blah. Scrrrribbbllleee Scribblllleeee Scrriibbllllleeeeee. Yeah, okay he'd wait for confirmation before writing stuff down because listening to people is super confusing. MHM. And SEEE Kevin looked kinda confused too (sort of) and he actually loved potions!!!

Jasmine took notes as Professor Culloden talked about potions. Then he asked about types of potions. Well there were several ways you could interpret that question and she wasn't exactly sure which type of answer the Professor was looking for. Based on the responses that her classmates were, giving, they seemed to be interpreting it differently.

In the time that it took Jasmine to ponder this, someone had given her possible answers. She decided to sit quietly and take notes, for now.

Devlin listened to everyone's answers, trying to keep in mind their own individual answer, in hopes of not repeating himself. When he thought of an answer, and one he believed hadn't been said yet, he lifted his hand up into the air to be called on, and then spoke.

"There's the shrinking potion. Obviously, if you drink it, or any, to give it in general terms, you'll shrink in size. I'm not really sure how it can be useful though. Can't do much when you're tiny, sorry small people." He said with a casual shrug. Sucks to be small, wouldn't it? But those were just his thoughts and answer on the shrinking potion. If other people had anything else to say about it, Devlin would listen in.

Benny listened to his classmates try and describe a potion, most seeming at least mostly right. When Culloden had condensed them all into one sentence, the fourth year copied it into his fresh notes for today's lesson. As for types of potions, he tried to think on what that could mean, hearing various versions or ways of viewing the question coming from different parts of the classroom.

He had been about to poisons as it came to mind after someone said healing potions but a fellow lion had beat him to it. Finally he raised his hand at another idea that came to his thoughts. "There are solutions," he said before lowering his arm. A mixture of something soluble.

There appeared to be two kinds of interpretation, as was usual. He simply waited for everyone to speak, eyes on the blackboard, and while they did, the charmed blackboard added what they were saying. His wand moved with each word to organise everyone's idea in two columns.

...

Once everyone was done, he eyed the blackboard again and added a few words that were missing.

"So, I believe it is in order to have 2 categories: Types of potions according to how they alter something and according to... what they are." The blackboard added what he said too as titles, and he paused to let them copy it.

Text Cut: Blackboard

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackboard

Types of potions according to how they alter something/someone
-Physically altering: Healing, beauty, polyjuice, sleep, shrinking
-Emotionally altering: Love, hate, euphoria
-Behaviourally altering: Truth, sleep

Types of potions according to what they are
-Balm
-Unction
-Serum
-Antidote
-Draft
-Poison
-Draught
-Elixir
-Tonic
-Solution
-Mixture
-Beverage
-Paste
-Concoction
-Essence (of something)
-Salve

"I know there are many many more potions. Those are just the ones you mentioned." He looked into a few eyes and started walking the classroom.

"It will be your homework to find out what these words mean," he said before anyone could ask him, and went on without a pause.

"Can a muggle brew our potions? Do they have potions of their own?"