Professor Branxton waved his wand at the blackboard and highlighted the ingredients:
"For homework, I would like you to describe the ingredients, their magical properties, and why we use them in this potion. I will leave the classroom open for those who wish to work jointly. I encourage you to work with your classmates, especially those from other houses, as learning to work with all kinds of people is a valuable asset when you finally leave school for the real world. I will be here or in my office if you have any questions or concerns," he said and paused to clean his glasses and allow time for questions.

Jaren noted the homework down, after having labelled the vials containing his potion.

Describing the effects of potion ingredients had never been his strong suit.

Ginn got up from her seat and watched Professor Branxton head to his office. She gathered her belongings and followed behind him a short time later.

Ozzy figuring that the Professor had not heard him scribled the homework assignment down and made his way toward the door. "great Lesson Professor."
He said and dissapeared behind the door.

Nadia watched Braxton deal with the mess, the cauldron had stopped sending potion around and she considered safe to sit up. Terry Weasley must have put the quills before time, Nadia thought as she watched the girl pass by.

Actually and in all honesty, she would have considered doing that to Terry's potion on purpose only to make up for the pranks she had pulled on her. If only it was another circumstance and another time, right. Braxton already hated her, she wasn't as avenging as when young and... there were people who influenciated on her way too much.

Terry had been looking her way. Nadia frowned, remembering her past with the girl, wondered if she would be blamed for it nevertheless.

At the time there was more important things to do. She went over to her notes and her quill and wrote down the homework in a spare parchment. Once done, she looked up at the classroom. The professor said something about working in groups, but since most were done she didn't get what they were suppossed to work with. Just in case, she waited a bit more to see if there would be anything else to do.

Xavier jotted down the homework. It looked like it would be fairly easy so he quickly packed up his bags and headed towards the door.

Violet wrote down her homeowork. She started working on it so if she has a question she could work with others.

Alex jotted down the homework rather hesitantly. She didn't know if she would be able to describe them to the best of her abilities, but she would try, none the less.

She grabbed her bag and left the classroom but not before giving a quick nod to the Professor.

Now that his potion had cooled, Zekke carefully took a sample and labeled it and left it on the professor's desk. As he made his way back to his desk, he pondered on whether or not he should stay after to talk to the professor.

Before the potions incident, he had had the mind to have a chat with the professor, but seeing how things were going...

He cleaned up his equipment, put his things away, took down the homework assignment, and... waited.

When it looked like everything had calmed down and most of the students had left, he made his way to the front of the room and approached Branxton with a respectful, "Professor?"

Noel hurried out of the classroom after jotting down the homework quickly.

Professor Branxton waited as most of the students filed out, no doubt wishing to get to their next class or work alone. He was about to retire to his office when one of the Slytherin prefects approached him. "Yes, what can I do for you?" he asked.

"Professor Branxton, I was wondering if you might have a few minutes to discuss NEWTs Potions examination preparation with me," Zekke inclined his head.

"My name is Zekke de Barticot and I'm a seventh year student and I'll be taking my NEWTs at the end of this term. I'm interested in becoming an Auror and I understand that having a strong background in Potions is extremely important, hence the necessity to do well in both the classroom and in the exams."

The statement concerning his year should have been obvious because of the mention of NEWTs, but introductions weren't quite complete without the statement of year to go with the name - at least... not in first introductions.

He finished his thought with, "I'd be very grateful for whatever advice and guidance you can give me, Professor."

"Ah yes, Professor Airlia thought very highly of you. I am sure you will do quite well on your examinations but, I would be glad to advise you," he replied, hoping Airlia's praise was not unfounded. Mr. Barticot had been her favorite student.

"Thank you, Professor Branxton. Much of the credit for my success goes to her; if she hadn't encouraged me to advance in my studies as much as she did, I doubt I would be as enthusiastic as I am now," Zekke smiled, his eyes warmer at the mention of Airlia. It gave him a sense of comfort to know that Branxton knew Airlia and that comfort allowed him to relax a bit.

"I was wondering if you might be able to give me a mock potions practical or theory assignment before the NEWTs begin.

One of the biggest reasons I enjoy Potions so much is the sheer number of possibilities one can concoct with any number of ingredients. It's fascinating how one stir in the other direction can change a potion's properties and it's even more interesting how one plant can be used for multiple purposes.

At the same time, though, that's also my problem - determining just which property of the plant a potion would need. It seems that the more advanced the potions get, the more possibilties one has to misbrew something because of the higher chance of selecting the wrong ingredient."

He shrugged a little in acceptance of that fact and continued. "I've learned that practice, in a lot of cases anyway, makes perfect. But at the same time... I don't think it's a terribly smart idea to try practicing on one's own considering that many of the advanced potions can produce rather... unwanted and risky side effects if misbrewed."

He smiled at Branxton, a genuine but serious sort of smile and nodded, his eyes determined. "I do believe I have a strong foundation in Potions, but applying the wrong theory can be disastrous, especially in advanced potions. I was hoping you might be able to help me in this."

"Yes, that is exactly why I requested that students not attempt brewing potions outside of the classroom, though I've made myself available for such experimentation. Too many students are either incapable or attempt a potion too advanced for their level of experience. I would, of course, be more than happy to assist you. However, I must warn you that potions is more art than exact science once you reach a certain level. You can only apply theories to a certain extent and then you must rely on intuition, something you either have or don't have because, as you said, it can be quite dangerous to just 'practice.' I'm sure Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, and many others would turn over in their graves for me saying this but, in this respect, potions is similar to divination, though not quite as exclusive," he explained. "When would you lie to begin?"

Zekke couldn't help but chuckle a bit as he nodded. "My father has said something similar about Potions not being an exact science, though compared to the rest of the fields of study, it's about the most exact as one can get."

He considered Branxton's question thoughtfully for a moment before answering. "Could we start once the apparition lessons are over with? I've heard that learning to apparate can be quite tiring and I'd rather work on Potions while my mind is clearer."

"That would be quite acceptable," he said, nodding his head, impressed with his foresight. This was definitely one of the more mature and intelligent students he'd met so far. "Just come to my office when you are ready and we can begin."

luna scribbled her homework on a spare peice of parchment then headed out of the classroom

Zekke brightened and he seemed to stand just a little bit straighter if that was even possible. "Thank you very much, Professor. I will most certainly do that."

He inclined his head respectfully and with an air of good cheer, shifted his satchel to a more comfortable position over his shoulder and exited the Potions classroom.

Lee sighed as the class came to a steady end. Looking up at the board and back to the professor he jotted down the announced homework onto a piece of parchment. "Wonderful! Sounds like a challenge," Lee said in a sarcastic tone.

He packed his stuff and swung his bag round his shoulders. He gave his desk a quick brush clean with his hand and then turned on his heal and headed out the door.

Zekke returned to the Potions classroom after dropping off some homework for another class and making a quick run to the Boys Dorm to get some texts.

It seemed that the classroom was empty, but he settled down at a desk anyway and pulled out his stack of Potions texts. He opened up one that was more or less a study guide for the written NEWT Potions exam and silently began to review...

And as he reviewed, he wondered if anyone else would stop by to study.

Between several other activities, Jaren decided that he had best allocate some time to Potions, one of his weaker subjects, lest he wanted to fail his NEWT spectacularly. He arrived in the classroom with his Potions text and some parchment to make notes with and sat down some ways away from Zekke to study in silence.

Ahhhh... so Jaren had arrived.

Zekke's face lit up a bit when he heard the familiar footsteps approaching. He looked up with a knowing grin and nodded in greeting. Remembering something Jaren had told him before in regards to Potions, he pulled out a book and held it up.

Potions - in Not-So Theoretical Terms.

"J, catch."

When he got Jaren's notice, he tossed it over in an easy lob.

Jaren looked up and barely managed to snag the book in time before it hit his nose--it seemed as though he was far more tired than he was letting himself show. He nodded briefly at Zekke and opened the book to read.

Zekke's eyebrow escalated. In any normal circumstances, Jaren would be able to hex him silly if he were to try and pick a fight with him or intrude on his personal space, but right now...

Geez, but it looked as if just a by-the-way poke in the ribs would send him toppling over.

Ignoring his books for a moment, he kept his eyes trained on the boy across the way and opened himself up so he could feel the other.

In normal circumstances, he wouldn't dare do this either, but Jaren didn't look like he would stand up for a long study session, much less a good round of dueling, and Merlin only knows what would happen if he tried to apparate in this condition.

Not that he didn't trust Jaren to judge for myself, but... Somehow, he got the impression that until the other prefect was out cold - as in got himself beaten to a pulp or got petrified or stunned without being Ennervated - he wouldn't take it easy and even then...

He made a face and before he realized what he was doing, he opened his mouth to speak.

"J..."