The door is closed and locked though the professor is in. Once you knock the professor will allow you to enter. The walls are lined with bookshelves, but on them no books. There are various rare ingredients in jars and bottles. A desk and a chair behind it, books and papers on the desk. There is a workstation with a pyrex cauldron on a burner. There is always something burning. A very uncomfortable chair is set in front of the desk. This makes it hard for a student to spend too much time in her office.

What was that? A knock? Maybe... Truebridge bringing her something to welcome her... Hmmm.

Hecate opened the door to her office and looked out... then looked down... Children? Already? Sweet Circe! She walked back into her office, and her voice carried backwards. "Well? Come in then!" Merlin!

Sidney looks up when Professor Lefay opens the door. She smiles sweetly. Then the professor turns around and walks back in her office. Sidney didn't expect a dozen roses or welcome, welcome, welcome, please come in, but she did expect something more than being totally ignored. Even Professor Kazimeriz didn't ignore her. He sometimes make her feel like she had no business being here at Hogwarts, but Kazi didn't ignore her. Sidney walks in when she hears Professor Lefay tell her to come in. Sid studies the walls with interest. The shelves are full of interesting looking things. They don't even look like Kazimeriz's old shelves. Sidney never realized how much she liked Professor Kazimeriz. She finds herself hoping to find his ghost still here in his office. What Sidney finds is a cold, unfriendly place sort of like its owner. She hopes first impressions aren't correct. Sidney sits down and quickly stands up again. She turns around to check the seat. Sidney swears something crawlly was sitting on top of the cushion. Nothing is there. Carefully she sits down again. Unsure what to do now, Sidney decides to speak first. "Hello, Professor Lafay, welcome to Hogwarts." Sid stares at anything but the professor. This one is more frightening than Kazimeriz which surprises Sidney.

She sat in her chair and looked at the girl raising an eyebrow. "Is that all you wanted to say? You couldn't have sent me an owl?" She wrote up a note and then said. "What's your name, Hufflepuff?" She asked.

Sidney looks at the professor confused. "Sidney Marlowe Ma'am. Why would I send you an owl when we're in the same castle? The poor creature would meet himself coming and going." This one isn't much of a people person. She probably gets along better with her test tubes. Sidney is impressed by Professor Lefay's potion set up. It reminds her of her mother's work room. Sidney used to sneak in there and pretend to make potions. Boy could she makes some messes, but her mother never seemed to mind even while she was yelling at Sidney about it.

"Miss Marlowe," she said glaring at the girl. "You are young, and I am new so I will overlook your smart mouth... but if you smart off at me again, I'm taking off points. I don't tollerate rudeness." She said and wrote more on her parchment.

"Yes Ma'am. Sorry Ma'am." Sidney's not sure what she should do now. Professor Lefay seems like the kind of person who asks the question, and you answer them. Still it seems odd to send an owl to greet someone. "Ma'am may I ask you about the Potion Lab? Are we going to have one this term?" Sidney squirms in her seat. She not sure if it's the cushion which is scratching her legs, or Professor Lefay. She does seem to go out of her way to make one feel uncomfortable and unwelcome.

"The potions lab is open and down the dungeon corridor on the right. You may practice past potions there or create your own. And please don't blow anything up. I loathe filling out 'death and dismemberment by cauldron explosion' paperwork." She said and wrote a little more on her parchment.

"Yes ma'am. I'll try to keep the explosions down to a minimum. It was nice meeting you." Sidney knows Professor Lafay doesn't seem to bother with pleasantries, but she was raised better. She stands up and waits to be dismissed.

Hecate finished writing on her parchment and conjured a file. The Name "Sydney Marlowe" Appeared on the file and she placed the parchment inside it... and then the file vanished... filed no doubt in one of the drawers. "Well? Don't just sit there like a lump... Go." She said shooing the girl with her hand.

"Thank your for seeing me. I'll check out the Potion Lab as soon as I can. I hope you have a nice day." Sidney picks up her bag more scared than before about the first Potion Class. "Don't blow anything up. I hate filling out Death and Dismembermement by Cauldron Explosion." Why do I feel like I've had a curse placed on me. When the cauldron explodes, I'd prefer death to being yelled at by you. Well, so much for a career in potions. Sidney leaves the professor office feeling like this is going to be the worse term at Hogwarts and probably her last.

Was that another knock? Another student? Oh Merlin in his hut! "Enter!" She said to the new student.

Kylie walked into the new Professor's office. "Hello," She said, calmly. She didn't exactly have the most welcoming memories of this particular room.. but she had no idea who this new professor was. She could be nothing like Kazi... or exactly like him.
"I just wanted to formally introduce myself, prior to the first class, and bring you some flubberworm mucus from Spain and fluxweed I bought in Germany... although I think it's actually from America. Just a welcome gift from my summer travels." She took the jar out of her bag and lightly set it on the new professor's desk. She hadn't known Kazi wouldn't be back. Regardless, she got this stuff to give to her potions professor... whomever said potions professor may be..."My name is Kylie Matthews, third year, Hufflepuff." She put a polite smile on her face.

She didn't know exactly what to do... she took a couple steps back from the desk, hoping her gift was appreciated.

Hecate looked at the girl, ready to make this girl cry where she stood... but as she received her gifts, the professor smiled. "I could definetly use the Flobberworm mucus... the spanish kind has aphrodesiadic qualities..." Oh dear was that even a word? It was to her anyway. "I will test the fluxweed to see if it posesses the same properties as the soil in Germany... if it's American I can only hope it's from California and organic, if not I'm sorry to say it will be the same as your regular brittish fluxweed. Thank you." She told the girl. Smart kid thinking to bring her something to appease her temper. "It is nice to meet you Miss Matthews. I am Potions Mistress Hecate Lafay, you may call me Professor Lafay. Now that we have indeed been aquainted, you are dismissed. Unless you have something else?" She said gently.

Kylie smiled, the teacher didn't seem like the wicked witch of the west at all. Sure, very stern... polite... rule-abiding. But hardly someone to fear, or someone truly cold-hearted. Kylie smiled a heart warming smile, "No Ma'am. That's all. Thank you so much for your time."

She smiled politely again before slightly curtsying--although it was more of a graceful head bobbing--and leaving respectfully. There was absolutely no need to test this woman's patience or generosity. She'd done what was intended, and that's all.

Good. Hopefully all children who came to her office were like this one... bearing gifts. She escorted the girl out of her office...

... What in Circe's name was THIS! More kids? "You." She pointed to the boy... "You stay here, until this one" she pointed at the weird haired girl, "is done."

"You." She said to the weird haired girl, "You wanted to see me?" She said walking into her office. "Well? Don't doddle!"

Lina was a little surprised, but quickly entered the office. "Professor, I am sorry if this is an inconvenience, however I would like to discuss possible extra lessons." She pulled the vial from her robes, and set it down on the desk. The modified wit-sharpening potion. Thanks to Kazimeriz's help, it had turned out excellently, and with her care and precision was expertly made. She figured it was one of the best examples of her work to date. "Because of what is involved in the OWLs year, I was not allowed to take the exams early and skip my fifth year. However, regular lessons are often lacking, as I am not on the level of my peers in potions, nor do I wish to be. What is presented to you is one of my experimental works... only experimental because I haven't had a good test selection yet to call it complete. It is a modification of the wit-sharpening potion along the lines of my study potion, which allows for an extra sense of awareness. I ask that you examine it and its effects and please consider me for extra lessons in potions, as well as supervise some of my experimentation and subsequent tests. I had made this arrangement with the prior Potions professor, however I don't know if you would be willing to continue that arrangement, or if he's even left you any information on it."

Quick, concise, and to the point. She hoped, anyhow.

This kid knew how to talk. A lot. "Stop." Hecate said taking the vial from her and brought it to a testing bowl. She dropped a drop in the bowl and began casting on it... It was a good wit sharpening potion. She turned to the girl and said "Start over..." and proceeded to guide her. "Good morning Professor Lafay, My name is..."

She blushed a little, but recovered and still did her best to look professional. "I am very sorry. Good morning, Professor Lafay. My name is Arline Materia. I'm a fifth year student." She paused, making sure she was doing things right this time. Speak when spoken to, right?

"Fifth year... Slytherin?" She said eyeing the girl's robes. "Very well... This IS indeed an advance potion, but what makes you think that you are better than the students in your grade? And let me ask quite frankly, as you have yet to be my student, what makes you believe MY classes will be lacking?" She asked with a hiss to her tone.

"Because I assume that you will be teaching the fifth years OWL-level lessons, as our OWLs are this year. I do not assume that your regular lessons will be lacking for that purpose. However, I made that potion at a NEWT level," which she assumed the woman would have noticed, however, "and have been doing NEWT level potions since my fourth year. The previous professor has consistantly made exceptions due to my skills. I have agreed not to only attempt NEWT level work and classes, to make sure that I do not miss anything in my OWLs year, however anything less than NEWT level potions and experimentation are far less than satisfying. I also had to learn potions brewing early on, as I was responsible for obtaining my own books and supplies, and have been doing minor brewing for my guardians at St. Mungo's by the way of healing potions since my first year, and assisting them before then. My potions and experiments have paid my way through school up until now."

"Lets get things clear. I am NOT the previous professor and I do not make exceptions. I recognize you are advanced, but just because you know long division, doesn't mean you can skip addition and subtraction." She sighed. "You may brew advanced potions in the lab, and you may ask for my assistance if you must, and I will come and supervise." That was the best 'yes' this kid was going to get.

Oy! Wasn't she listening? She'd promised that she wasn't going to skip anything, since Kazimeriz had told her not to. She just wanted something extra on top of that. However, in the end that's pretty much said what she would do... she just wouldn't get the extra lessons as well. And she would be able to keep her promise not to experiment on other students without supervision. She nodded and bowed to her a little. "Thank you, Professor Lafay. I am grateful that my experiments will not have to be stalled." She waited patiently for any other comments, or to be excused.

"Very well..." she said shooing her away with her hand. "Go on now... go..." She told the child. "I am a very busy woman and I have detentions to tend to."

She nodded, bowed, and scurried from the room. Done! Time to go study!