Elektra sat back in her chair as she ran her fingers through her hair. Truth serum...hmm... Elektra began to think two things; One was what answer she was going to give to Lafay and the other was if she was successful with this truth serum...would she use it to her advantage? Elektra raised her hand and said, "Truth Serums are usually used to make a person answer questions truthfully. It's a neat trick of getting answers out of people who normally keep a lot of things to themself."

"Yes... technically that's the goal the potion has..." She said.

"You are partially correct Master Barrington... it certainly forces them to tell the truth, but if the drinker believes the lie, they will just repeat the lie." She said.

"Yes, it allows you to gain the upper hand." Good...

"Very good. It strips them of their will and forces them to tell the truth..." She said and then addressed the whole class.

"Truth serums sedate the drinker and lulls their brain into an subconscious false sense of security. This allows the brain to release any information is has and impedes that reactionary thing that makes you feel you need to cover up the truth." She said and pulled a vial of what looked like water out of her desk.

"Veritaserum" she said making it levitate to the middle of the classroom. "It is THE most powerful truth serum known to wizard kind. The ministry often uses it for interrogations. You are forced to answer the questions, and although there are some methods of resistance, the more you resist the more pain you will be in. Resisting this potion can severely damage your brain, so if it's ever administered you should just let the truth fly. The use of this potion, as most of you have already said is strictly monitored by the Ministry of Magic. And yes. It is illegal to use on underage wizards." But why would that stop anyone?

"We are NOT brewing Veritaserum. It is a very hard potion to brew, and only those who are Masters at their craft can brew it. It also takes a full moon cycle to brew, and frankly... I don't have the time to wait to grade your work." She made it sound like it was merely an inconvenience... and not like she may not be alive next month....

"We will be brewing, Lingualaxus. It is a good truth serum, though weaker. Junior Aurors are given it to begin their training on fighting the effects of truth serums. It is still not easy, but it does not cause damage to your brain. Like most truth serums, this potions loosens the tongue, has no taste, no smell, no color, but it has no immediate side effects. Most important, the victi-drinker has no recollection of having revealed anything and felt afterwards as if they has a nice long nap."

She held her stomach a moment and then said "Who can make an educated guess what may go into this potion?"

Scribble. Scribble. Scribble.

Ella took notes feverishly, trying to get all the information Lafay was giving them down before she moved on to the next bit. She knew quite a bit of the information already, though it was still important to mark it down. Her eyes grew a bit wide at the mention of Veritaserum, knowing that was quite powerful and...a bit scary. She was relieved when Lafay confirmed they would be unable to brew it here, for several reasons. PHEW.

Lingualaxus, now that was one she'd never heard of before. Though if it were a milder version of Veritaserum, it probably had the same basic ingredients. One of which was...Jobberknoll feathers. GULP.

O____O

Ella's eyes suddenly scanned the room for Oakey or Elliot or that older girl. Were they a bit freaked out about this too? After hearing the screams and seeing all those...dead Jobberknolls in the barn. It was just A LOT to take in. And now to be brewing a potion that might use the feathers? It was... odd.

Raising her hand, Ella fought back the weird feeling in her stomach and decided to share her answer. "Professor, Jobberknoll feathers..." Blink.Blink. "They are known ingredients in truth serums."

Alexa listened attentively as the Potions Professor began speaking about the Veritaserum. She had a feeling it was powerful but not like that and it just made her want it even more. What would an 11 year old want with such a thing? Nothing at the moment but she was one to plan ahead and she knew for a fact that somewhere in the future she would need it. Hence her undivided attention on the Professor.

Her face dropped when she learnt that they wouldn't be making it and thought to ask why but then that was answered in the next sentence. It was simply a case where the Professor couldn't be bothered to make her happy! Honestly, couldn't they think of the little guys for once? It wasn't all about what they wanted. Nope. It was about what she wanted. Though clearly she wouldn't be getting what she wanted this time.

Lingualaxus?

She scribbled it down along with the little facts being mention. Okay. So this one could work too. It was a start afterall.

Her eyes widened a bit when she saw the Professor holding her stomach. She thought to ask if she was alright again but felt this would annoy her more than any pain she was feeling so she kept her mouth shut and just stared. Until a question was asked at which point her hand flew up.

Wait...educated guess...her hand lowered slowly.

Nevermind.

Lingualaxus? She thought. She scratched her head for a moment trying to think of what was used in this potion. If this was like a truth serum, it should ahve some of the basics that any other truth serum would have. She then raised her hand, "Jobberknoll feathers. They are used in truth serums so it would be used in this truth serum as well right?"

Sierra jotted down a few notes as the potion was described. It was really a shame they couldn't use the most powerful potion out there. It's be hilarious to hear people spill the beans on things they'd normally not say in a room full of people. Heh. Who knew, though. Maybe this potion would live up to those same expectations. It'd be fun to wait and see. All of the sudden, her quill stopped moving, and she just stared at her mother. Did she just say she didn't have the time to grade something that would be finished in twenty-eight days? She had all the time in the world to grade, unless...did she mean she didn't expect to be alive in twenty-eight days?

A feeling of dread washed over Sierra. She couldn't decide if she was hurt or just angry, but in the end, it felt better to be angry. She met the woman eye to eye and asked a silent question--what did you mean by that?

She finished writing then raised her hand. Jobberknoll feathers were the most obvious answer, but some Puffer had already said that. Merlin. See, this is why she should have been the kind of student that eagerly raised her hand the second a question was asked. Raising her hand, she said, "Bees and dragonflies both symbolize truth, so maybe we use some of their parts in this potion. Say...stingers or wings?" Maybe even both. It would sort of represent the goal of the potion. "Sting" a person with this potion and cause their truths to just fly out their mouths. Heh.

Linguala...What?

That was one heck of a tongue twister. Instead of even trying to finish of the name, Ness pouted her lips and tried to think of what this potion's ingredients could be. Hmmm..What would make you tell the truth? She wasn't sure, nothing came to her. She thought a little longer now thinking about what the Professor had said more.

You didn't remember anything afterwards, it was like you had a long nap. That's what Lafay had said. Pout. A

Aha! She had a guess now. She raised her hand politely and waited her turn. "Professor, wouldn't there be sedatives? You know, because as you said it feels like the victim's had a long nap." It made sense to Ness, but only the Proffessor knew what was entirely correct.

Eliza found it very troubling to know the Veritaserum could cause damage and pain if the drinker tried to fight the effects. She hadn't known that before. No wonder it's so dangerous, she thought. Thankfully they would be brewing a weaker version today. She still hoped they wouldn't all have to take it if they didn't want to, but she supposed it would be good practice, as Lafay had mentioned. She wondered what other types of difficult training aurors must have to go through.

Quote:

Potions Lesson 2 - Notes
Lingualaxus - Truth Serum
Weaker than Veritaserum

Since the professor mentioned it sedated parts of the brain, she raised her hand with a guess as to an ingredient for the serum. "Could it have valerian root in it? Last class I think we learned that it acts as a sedative. It could relax parts of the brain for this serum," she stated in a sort of question sounding tone of voice. She didn't want to just cheat and look in her book, so her slightly educated guess would hopefully be on track.

Oh maaan, Theo quite liked the idea of brewing Veritaserum, but oh well... he had a whole life time to learn awesome potions like that. And he WOULD use them at some point, that was a promise.

He missed the first question, only because it was an obvious answer and all of the brain-boxes raised their hands within seconds. Theo suppressed an eye roll at those people... As for the next question, well, it wasn't as obvious, so he wished he had answered the first one instead. Taking guesses were always appreciated, right? Theo would try that.

"Water?"

To dilute the potion and stuff. What a good guess. O_O

Sarah wrote furiously, her new school year resolution to write neatly faded quickly. Oh well, she may have to rewrite the notes tonight.
Sarah's hand shot up. "Jobberknoll feather. They are used in truth serums owing to the fact that a jobberknoll is a type of bird that does not make a sound its whole life" much like some people wished Sarah did "and then write before it dies it repeats all the sounds verbitum that it has ever heard in its life time." She was still convinced that it was her fault that the jobberknolls were dead... she had written about them in a report last year... about harvesting them.

She was glad they were making Lingualaxus and nothing stronger.

It was somewhat of a relief that veritserum was not the intended objective for the class. Not because of its difficulty, no Gideon hoped to be able to brew it eventually in his studies. But more for the fact that there wasn't the chance of anyone having to test it out. There was no telling what would have happened especially seeing as the seventh year had an inkling Lafay wasn't the type to worry about the rule about underage drinkers.

Lingualaxus...he wrote down on his parchment for notes, making sure to think of looking it up in further detail after class. Now as for ingrediants there was undoubtedly jobberknoll feathers, that was a given. However the class seemed to be well-versed in that ingrediant. Gideon tried to think what else could be a part of the truth serum other then the sedative already mentioned as well.

"Leeches might be used," he finally answered after raising his hand. "They are often included in potions requiring jobberknoll feathers. " Such as confounding solution among others.

*smirk*

Perhaps the professor could read his mind as she smirked. Hehe. This felt soo Slytherin but there was something that bothered him; the woman did not look good. Not even a bit. He wondered why she was still teaching in that condition of hers. It made him almost feel guilty; because he was one of the a class of students who apparently made her come here and teach. If that was her personal preference though, he had nothing to do but to respect.

He then turned to Ariana and simply...smirked as he always did. He really found it enjoyable when she called her with his last name. While he thought she would be a nice partner when it would come to brewing the potion, there were things he did not want to encounter. Like...what if the professor would ask partners to use the potion on each other? The more the professor told about the truth serum, the more stressing that thought got.

He raised a hand.

''What about Valerian Root, professor?''

From his note taking, Vickers looks up just as the Potions Mistress moved to her next question. He eyed the way she held her stomach-- was she gonna lurch or was there something... someone?... growing in there. He flipped through his textbook and glanced over a few pages before raising his hand and offered this "Professor, what about Alihotsy leaves? They're used in the Babbling Beverage."

Oops.

Lewis had just been about to agree with what Kurumi had suggested when Professor Lafay called them out for whispering. Blushing just a little bit as well, he held Kurumi's gaze for just a second longer - smiling slightly for no particular reason - before turning his full attention back to the professor who had just started the lesson. As long as she didn't faint or anything of the like there was probably nothing she would allow them to do to help her.

So Kurumi's idea was probably the best they could do right now.

Raising his hand for the professor's most recent question, he considered it for a moment longer before saying, "Valerian sprigs, maybe? Because they are used in the Forgetfulness Potion and...you mentioned that the drinker doesn't remember anything afterwards." It was just a guess though so he wasn't entirely sure. Plus he was still somewhat distracted by how unhealthy Professor Lafay looked today.

And also by the fact that Kurumi had moved her chair a little closer to his earlier.

Belle took notes down on this subject. She learned to never resist veritaserum. Even Aurors began their training on fighting the effects? Jeez..this is a powerful spell. It can even damage your brain? Belle shook her head at all the side effects she heard and wrote them down.

Belle was glad they weren't brewing the exact thing. It would take too long. Belle chuckled to herself about getting all nervous about it.

Then she heard the professor ask them a question. What ingredients could be used in truth potions? Belle did not really know...maybe she could make a guess..that is all the professor wanted. "Professor, i think jobberknoll feathers can go into the potion. But i have heard of Valerian springs may be able to go in as well?"

Well, at least their Professor wasn't MEANT to use it... Though Seri had the suspicion that this Professor did not have a hue regard for the law. Seri had heard she'd set students on fire before... Merlin how could she have got away with it? WAIT- Oh yeah, she was The Minister for Magic's Wife yeah? Ugh.

What went into it? WHERE DID SHE GET THE IDEA SERI KNEW?

"What goes into the bottle Professor?" Seri questioned, spinning the question to her liking and pretending the Professor hadn't even mentioned a potion of any sort, "Well, I would put a potion in there, but perhaps the bottle could be used for perfumes or medicines? I can't say I've studied much about bottles and their uses as containers..." Seri supressed a grin. See? No-one could say she hadn't at least attempted an answer. Even if it wasn't to the right question.

Well this seemed like it was going to be an interesting lesson. She did not know that Veritaserum could cause brain damage if somebody fought against it. Maybe that was what happened to some of these puffers around here. It made sense to her.

She hated guesswork. She had a fear of saying the wrong thing and feeling dumb. She had a reputation to uphold you know! The only thing she knew for sure was the
Jobberknoll feathers. She had other guesses but they were just that...guesses. "Professor I think Jobberknoll feathers go into it." She really didn't know what else so that answer was just going to have to do.

Oh dear, Olivia had messed up. She had not intended to cause trouble, but yes. The professer should be called by her correct title. Please don't be mad at me other snakes, Olivia thought. Internally bashing herself for loosing points. She scribbled the information differenciating Veritaserum and Lingualaxus.

Lingualaxus, seemed nearly undetectable. Someone could pour it into a cup and pretend it is water. Maybe water was a main ingedient? Water is used for a base ingredient in many things, plus if the potions consisted of all these Jobberknoll feathers and bee wings; wouldn't something have to be added to make it a liquid. She raised her hand, "Water?". And um, humm lets see; what else is clear "and bee or scorpian venom?"

Taylor was happy that Professor Lafay seemed to have dropped the lecture. She raised her hand, "Professor is chamomile in it?" She thought she remembered that, that herb caused tiredness but she could be mistaken.

Nigel had no idea what was in this potion. He could not even say the name of it. He was just going to say the most obvious ingredient.

"Water"

Every potion had water in it. So he was technically right.

SO...the Ministry uses this Lingualaxus Potion for Junior Aurors. That got Mordred’s attention and sat up straight in his chair and took down notes. He stopped midway when Lafay said that they won’t be doing the Veritaserum and eyed the small bottle that was hovering in mid-air. True, it was a hard potion to make... “Imagine what I can do with it. Colorless, odourless...I can slip it anyone’s drink.” He thought as he looked down at their professor and continued to write down notes.

“What about Lavender, professor?” he raised his hand and shared his answer. “I think it’s enough to calm the drinker.” Putting the person in a state of peace and quiet, and not put the victim to sleep.

Minerva grabbed her quill and began taking some notes on the truth serum. Why were they making this Lafay? Can't remember that they told the truth? This was not something you gave teenagers.. Not at all. In the wrong hands it could be so dangerous. Minerva wasn't sure why a small smile crossed her face, but she glanced at Elliot and pictured her telling all the truth in the world that she is hiding.

Looking back at Lafay she still worried why they would be doing this potion. What could go into it. Hmmm.. She had no clue and wasn't going to answer, just listen to everyone else.

Settling into her seat a little more and her quill back in her hand, Kurumi first set to catching up on her notes first. She had heard what Professor Lafay had asked about ingredients, but her thoughts could only linger on jobberknolls and how ALL of the ones at Hogwarts had died.

Which made her quill stop quite suddenly in midsentence and for her to glance at Lewis briefly out of the corner of her eye. Poor jobberknolls...Kurumi was more upset about it than she thought she would be. Just...WHAT had caused all of them to drop dead like that?

Sitting back and just listening to other people answer blushing a bit at Lewis who was just brilliant at Potions Kurumi waited a moment before raising her hand. "Are other parts of....jobberknolls used? Their voice box perhaps." And IF they were using jobberknolls...did that mean that they were contributing to the cause of killing them off?!

Jory wrote his notes at top speed as Professor Lafay spoke then he turned his attention to the question.
The Puffer raised his hand. "I think Valerian Roots, Professor,'' he said.

Whoa. Was that really veritaserum she was levitating in mid air? The Ravenclaw stared at it almost longingly. Everybody knew it was a very powerful potion, but dangerous nonetheless. However, she wouldn't deny the fact that if given the chance, she'd want to get her hands on that potion. Seriously, who wouldn't?

Sadly though, they weren't brewing it this time. Lingualaxus, that was what the Potions Mistress called the truth serum they'd be brewing this time. Lingua. It meant tongue..and laxus..which meant loose.. So loose tongue. That potion would loosen the drinker's tongue so he'd reveal the truth. Wonder how strong the potion is....would Professor Lafay also let them use it on their peers? Her gaze rested on the Slytherin Captain beside her....was there something she would want him to tell her?

Beezus held her thoughts as soon as the next question was asked. For a while, she listened to her classmates' answers before raising her hand, "Wormwood Professor, possibly.." she said. That plant causes one to fall into a near-sleep state, so perhaps, it was an ingredient?