Norah put her quill back to the parchment to write down what was written on the board. Poisons! Cool. Very cool.

How could they combat poisons? Waaaait they could combat poisons? NO WAY! Guess they weren't kidding about the whole "stopper in death" thing. Crazy. The second year rolled her quill over in her fingers and listened to the other answers.

A smile and a wave from Grayson? Well, Toby smiled and waved right back. He wondered how obvious it was, how much he sort of wanted to properly befriend to Slytherin boy, but only let his mind linger on that for a moment, seeing as they were in the middle of a class and all.

Toby took his time copying down the stuff from the board, and heard those around him offer their answers as he did so. When Eden gave her answer, Toby glanced up and tried to give an encouraging sort of smile, because she seemed a little... off? Un-Eden? All slinking down and stuff. Again, Tobias tried not to lose his focus on the lesson for too long because Merlin knew once he was properly distracted he'd be more or less out of action for the rest of the lesson.

Once all that information was copied down, Toby sat up again and finally raised his own hand.

"Maddie mentioned Golap-... Gollopalot-, no... Galopa-..." Ahem. "She mentioned that one law." Names and words were difficult, okay? "Well, there's a sort of process that's something to do with that law, where if you have the poison in front of you, you can sort of work your way backwards and find out what you're working with. If you can separate the components of the poison and all that, you know what's needed to counteract and overpower it, and then you can work out the specifics of the antidote that you need to make, or something."

It was a very vague answer, mainly because Toby really didn't have a clue what he was on about. This was all stuff he'd gleaned from his textbook, which barely made sense at the best of times. It was pretty advanced stuff, and not anything Tobias had practiced before, and all the knowledge he was confident about came from his practical work. Still, worth a shot.

The fidgeting was starting to kick in properly. Toby twirled his quill around and through his fingers, faster and faster, while the fingers of his other hand quietly drummed on the desk and his head nodded along. Hidden from view by the workstation, Toby's feet tapped. He was sort of edgy, ready for some practical work; all this sitting down was never good for his brain or his body.

Cosgrach nodded at them. "You're right. So, to sum up, there are these certain antidotes that someone found or created, and we can obtain their ingredients from plants or animals." What he said appeared on the board.



Cosgrach opened his mouth to answer the Gryffindor boy back, whose name eluded him, but the boy thankfully understood what he meant, so he smiled at him and AJ. "So there are also muggle ways," he said and nodded. Good.



Cosgrach allowed himself a smile when Toby couldn't pronounce 'Golpalott'. "You're right and mentioned something very important: you cannot create an antidote by simply adding all the counter ingredients, you need something more to bind all of these." Did everyone note it down? He hoped so. It even appeared on the board and all.

"Now, last question before we begin the activity," he smiled mischievously, "What is the essential part of most antidotes?"



OOC: I'll post about 15 hours later.

Agatha made a face at all the silly people - almost everyone -, especially at that Gryffindor kid who said something about accidentally drinking bleach. ...Who would even DO that? Gryffindors. Of course they would.

Eye roll.

Poisons were an interesting topic, though, and Agatha was paying attention. She didn't know that much about them, unfortunatelly, but she was eager to learn. Who would've guessed there would ever be a professor at Hogwarts who would teach them this interesting stuff.

Gabriel had been doing loads of writing since the class began...and then cross referencing what his classmates had been offering by way of answers via the textbook. It was important that that his notes be correct....because of OWLs this term. He was aiming for all twelve...not to seem like an over achieved...but because his options would remain open....as for as a career went. Though, Gabe already knew what he wanted to do.

Anyway. Yes, professor....he was listening. When he posted a complete list to the blackboard, Gabe made the appropriate adjustments to his own notes and continued writing for a spell. When he finished, he also had an answer....and he was surprised no one had mentioned it.

"Phoenix tears?.....from a phoenix. History says it saved Harry Potter from death by basilisk venom."....and there wasn't supposed to be a cure for that....

Oh......

"Mandrakes....."....as the essential part bit.

Whoooooa, this class was starting to move fast. Lux didn't have enough time to finish writing notes from the first question before the second one was being asked. Eh, it wasn't as if she wouldn't have her chance with other ones and there was also an activity to do.

Raising her hand she said, "I think the Mandrake is an essential part of most antidotes." If she could remember correctly.

Oh. So... he'd been more or less right. Nice one. AND this was the last question, so they'd be getting on soon which was super good news to Toby, despite the fact that this was worth a large part of the final grade. He just wanted to get moving, y'know? Yeah.

Okay then, so the essential parts of the antidotes. Mandrakes? Yeah. Seemed a lot of people were going with that, and Toby did remember something along those lines too. He had another answer as well though, and stuck his hand up to give his input.

"Cauldron, too." Usually.

He totally missed that mischievous look on Culloden's face at the implication of mandrakes. Though perhaps even if Toby had spotted it and thought something of it, he'd not have been too worried. Right now, Tobias was actually bouncing ever so lightly in his seat, eager to get started.

The first answer that actually came to AJ's mind was not to panic, but that obviously wasn't what the professor was getting at considering the way everybody else was answering. So what to add?

AJ swung her feet back and forth underneath her desk as she tried to think about what else could be essential. Nothing was coming to her. All of a sudden an idea popped into her head. "Clean equipment." You didn't want to go and poison yourself further, now did ya?

Angel smiled when she saw her sister answer the question that was amazing. "The part that saves the person is the most important." Angel was sure that everyone else would agree with that.

Norah dutifully recorded what the Professor wrote on the blackboard. It was all new information and everything, which was cool except that it meant she didn't have an answer for any of the questions. Ho hum. At least he said they could start soon!

The second year shifted in her seat, cheek resting on her hand, and listened to everybody else give their answers. How did they know all this stuff anyway? She knew allll about Mandrakes, 'cause THEY were part of Herbology and she actually liked to read about that...sometimes, but the antidote part was all new. Oh, well.

Kace was glad he got the first question right about the Basilisk fang. He knew stuff about creatures and what they can do. He heard the second question and he was gonna say something about Bezoars but he heard Grayson say it and why bother repeating what he said right? Now onto the third question and he wondered what is the essential part of most antidotes? Kace looked through his book for answers because he didn't know any of the top of his head plus the ones he wanted to say student's already said.

Flip....flip....flip....

He found a lot but some are for specific potions for the antidotes. He heard Lux's answer about mandrakes. "Professor I think the most essential part of any potion is to know how to counteract what is causing the effect like if you drank skele gro it can grow broken bones.." he shrugged just thinking logically.

Maddie gave Toby a smile for adding on to what she'd said. He was smart, that Hufflepuff. The brunette was glad for ally status and perhaps in time he'd be bumped up to full-fledged friend. Who knew, right? It COULD happen.

Anyway, after scribbling some things down and underlining others, the thirteen year old raised her hand. She had another thought in regard to the question that had been asked. "Knowledge, Professor. If you don't know what you're doing, you'll surely fail at making an antidote."

Adi saw Grayson smile at him and his answer to the previous question and grinned. He wondered if the Slytherin had been about to give the same answer as him.

He listened to the others give their replies then made more notes from the blackboard. Then there was another question. The Hufflepuff chose to listen to answers this time around as he really was not sure what was the most important part of antidotes. But he really liked Angelfish's answer.

Ohh...but wait! He thought of something. Adi raised his hand. "The most essential part would be the ingredient that fights the poison.''

Right then....having been shooed from the table by Collarbin, Lex took her seat and waited for something spectacular to happen. Whatever was under that sheet was rock solid which could have meant just about anything and in fact wasn't very helpful at all when you thought about it. What WAS under there and why'd it have to stay covered?

Such were the questions in the Gryffindors mind so when it came to the discussion, she didn't even notice it was about poisons--an admittedly very interesting topic so long as they wouldn't be learning the watered down versions.

While the others spoke, Lex absentmindedly took her quill and began scribbling down the information in the event she'd be needing it for later. One of these days she'd actually start studying notes couldn't hurt to have.



Most important part of the antidote though....hmmm...she'd never actually thought about that but again, something that could come in handy so she wouldn't dismiss it just yet.

"Magic? Magic binds things, so maybe that's the essential thing?" Yes? No?

Phoenix was a little surprised he hadn't just been shot down at that... With the muggle thing... He very rarely got stuff right in classes, but that felt... good.

As for the next question. He was completely and utterly clueless... But he might as well have a go, it'd worked for him last time. So he thought about it instead of listening to everyone else, and instead of noting it down - his quill lay forgotten on the parchment - and then he thought of something...

"Isn't it all essential? Like if you missed bits out it wouldn't work, or it'd explode, or poison someone more?"

He knew about accidentally exploding potions.

One of his tutors had quit after a particularly spectacular one...

Oops.

Zhenya's eyes widened. Last question before the activity. Of course she was looking forward to the practical component of potions, but she was also a bit nervous. She had a think about the question, after writing everything down on her parchment, but wasn't sure. The most essential part? Whatever it was that allowed it to counteract the effects of the poison. She was sure that was too easy though. And that would be of ALL antidotes, not just most. She wasn't sure what else though. Was he looking for an ingredient? A method? Storage? She raised her hand rather slowly, "Professor, the most essential part of antidotes is… unicorn horns?" Was it? She was sure that might be the case for potions, but perhaps not for muggle brews. How would they get unicorn horns? "And also some way of preserving it…" she said rather quickly, putting her hand over her mouth. She didn't mean to say that, she was just thinking it! In her nervous state, she just… thought it out loud! How embarrassing… But, obviously you wouldn't want to use an expired antidote which wouldn't work.

The essential part of antidotes...oh man. Caleb had no clue. He felt like his brain was just drifting in and out of this lesson, even though he'd definitely taken down notes. He just could really use a nap right about now...or a cup of tea. Did something happen when you turned 15 that just made your brain turn like...OFF?

Anyways, back to the question at hand. He sat up straighter and raised his hand. "Um, isn't it mandrake essence or something? I think most antidotes require mandrakes in some form..." he muttered. Shot in the dark here, but he hoped it would work.

It was incredibly interesting to Sophie that Culloden kept using the word activity instead of saying they were going to be brewing a potion.

Veryyyyyyyyyyyyyy suspicious.

The options for combating poisons were super obvious, though, as was the obtaining of the substances, so Soph just busied herself taking notes on all the sorts of poisons people had mentioned and the specification of amount and situation being important.

The textbook answer of the essential part of most antidotes she knew to be the mandrake, and someone was quick to say that, but others were giving up other interpretations - some of them were being HUGE suck-ups, too, with answers like 'knowledge' and other such out-of-the-box answers that she KNEW Culloden was going to eat right up. Because he was a big ol' cheery potions nerd today.

Ordinarily, Soph might have tried to top them all and give THE biggest suck-up of an answer possible and take home the cake - instead, she had chosen to focus on the sheet-covered tray on the professor's desk and ponder all the things that could be under that sheet. There were a few potentially obvious answers, like perhaps a mandrake or something of the sort, but... just what COULD be making Culloden so delighted? And what would he have planned for them that he would call an ACTIVITY, rather than just calling it brewing a potion?

Sophie didn't know.

This was hard. HARD QUESTIONZ!.......... What was essential in an antidote???

....

Was this a trick question????

WAS IT?!

Cause either it was a trick question, or he was officially stupid, and neither gave him much confidence as far as responding out loud was concerned. He listened to some of the things the others said, though he wasn't listening all too carefully... his mind was busy thinking up responses too.

In the end he raised his hand, "Every antidote is different, so the most essential parts of them will depend on the poison you're trying to counter. But... basic equipment and knowledge helps, maybe even water?" Was it water? Water was in lots of things, and in lots of places, and generally to make a potion or antidote you had to have liquids, and water was a good liquid. Not to mention water also CLEANED, which was important too.

The most important part? Well there were a couple of routes that Culloden could be taking with this question and each one was trickier than the next. The first being a simple answer like those actual ingredients. Something you'd find in a textbook, the cookie-cutter answer, if you will. The next option would probably be one of those more obvious ones like "magic" or "the cauldron" like a few others mentioned. And then lastly, something like that one girl said about knowledge. Normally, Zander would've tried an answer at least.

But the last few times he tried to say something to the Potions Professor he got into trouble some how.

So you know what.

Quiet. And that's all he'd get.

Activity? That made him look up. Although it were just his eyes that did at first but he was slowly sitting more upright now. Actually paying attention again because he was sure that an activity would cheer him up. Maybe there'd be another troll and this time he would NOT just hide but fight as well!

"A mandrake is used in almost all the antidotes right?" he asked, forgetting to raise his hand again. Well, not forgotten ..just didn't feel like it. At least he was paying attention again!

He looked at the blackboard briefly to check for mistakes, and grinned innocently at the class.

"Now that we know more about the poisons and antidotes, let's move onto the final." He ceremoniously moved to his desk and lifted the blanket. Below were small bottles of 5 different potions - or rather, poisons in this case. The bottles were all black not to reveal what was inside them, and were labelled with only numbers.

"Partner up, get a bottle from here and drink it. I promise none of them will kill or incapacitate too much. Then, while fighting the effect of your potion, I want you to discover what your partner has consumed and brew an antidote for it. But do not give it to them without my approval. When you are done, bring them to me first." Easy enough, wasn't it? HEHE.

He sat down on his chair, very pleased with himself, and watched them.

OOC Explanation
The activity is what Cosgrach said: partner up, pick a number and drink it, then brew the antidote for your partner.
Please title your first post with which potion you have chosen.
I'll grade it mostly depending on how well you RP your potion's effect and trying to brew an antidote for your partner. The IC success only accounts for 5 of the overall 25 points you can get from this activity, so please do not worry about your character's succeeding to brew a fully complete antidote.
To get credit, you should post at least 4 times. There is no maximum limit.
The deadline is November 19, 23.59 GMT/18.59 EST.
I looked up the antidotes from Harry Potter Wiki and SS Potions Recipe Book; however, if you have a different source, I'm also open to them as long as you tell me where you got it from.
The list of potions:

#1: Fatiguing Fusion
#2: Love Potion (the person will fall in love with the first person s/he sees instead of the brewer)
#3: Physically Weakening Potion
#4: (Too Much) Happiness Draught
#5: Common Poison (should cause a headache, light tremor to hands and nausea)

Have fun!

Zhenya groaned softly to herself. Partner up? But she didn't have any friends! She slowly made her way to the front of the class and chose potion number five, quite randomly. She was quite nervous about this, but she had to trust the Professor that none of the potions would kill her. She took it back to her desk and looked around for a partner. She turned and asked someone, "Will you be my partner?" Hoping someone would respond. It was, after all, finals. She sat the potion in front of her. Obviously she wasn't going to swallow it before she had a partner to help her!

........................they were going to have to drink one of those posions? Had he forgotten one of the rules of NEVER drinking a potion if you don't know what it is? Cool!

He wasn't a Gryffindor for nothing and things like this made everything even more exciting. Just the not knowing what would happen made him really curious but the joke was on the Professor though because he was pretty good at identifying different kind of potions so if he thought hard enough he would surely remember which potion was whi...... He stopped thinking when his eyes landed on the black potion bottles. Of course.... he should have known that that was going to happen.

But first he needed a partner though, something he did not want to but there had to be someone who could give him an antidote . Wait....would they make it or would they leave him like that because of all the things he had done? He gulped nervously at the thought but then shook his head. Naaah, they wouldn't ....right?

"Anyone needs a partner?" he called out to the class, secretly hoping that no one would and he could just brew a random potion or something? yeah...

Jasmine was busy thinking about the essential part of most antidotes when hands shot up all around her. Mandrake was clearly the most popular answer, but that seemed to be too easy. Was this a trick question? Since that answer had already been given, Jasmine kept quiet. She listened to the other answers that her classmates presented and wrote notes as the conversation moved along. Everyone made good points because there were many ways that you could interpret that question.

When the last answer was given, Professor Professor Culloden weighed in on the responses and revealed their final activity. O______O Was he kidding? They had to drink poison and then brew an antidote for their partner......while feeling the effects of their potion. Seriously? This did not sound like fun.......at all. On top of everything, they had to work with a partner. Jasmine preferred to work alone, especially in Potions. There were fewer distractions and she was able to concentrate much better that way. Oh well, she really didn't have any choice this time, did she? Jasmine looked around the room, trying to find someone that she could partner up with. This was going to be a challenge.

Hearing a girl ask for a partner, Jasmine turned to her. "I need a partner, would you mind working with me?" She hoped not because she really wanted to get started on this task and get it over as quickly as possible. "I'm Jasmine", she said to the girl. Was she good at brewing potions? Jasmine hoped so because she didn't want to be under the effects of a potion any longer than necessary. The Professor would help out if there was any problem, right?