Finally!! The class she has been waiting for since she came to Hogwarts. P O T I O N S!! The eager fourth year walked into class carrying her things as she tucked a piece of her blonde hair behind her ear. She made a promise to herself that was she was going to stop being anti-social and actually participate in classes, especially the classes she really loved. Seeing the professor she gave a soft smile and said, "Good morning Professor. I hope you had a great summer." and walked to find a seat and set her things down before pulling her hair back in a slightly messy bun and sat back comfortably in her chair waiting for the lesson to start.

...he got up and closed the door to indicate they were starting.

"Good morning again," he said and smiled as he stood in the middle of the front of the classroom, "for those who don't know me, my name is Cosgrach Culloden. New students can write their names on their desks for me to know them.

"Today, we're going to learn a rather interesting type of potions," he said as he started to slowly walk in the aisles and tried to make eye contact with some of them, "This type of potions have a base that can be stored for a long time, and changes its effect according to what you add after creating that base." Wasn't that EXCITING? It meant that the potion could do ANYTHING. Well, in its limits, of course. "What we are going to learn from that type," a short pause here and a geniune show of modesty, "is my own invention. It's a half-dark potion and you should use it responsibly. I'm going to teach how to get someone out of its effect," he said, then paused to build the suspenssssssse, "it changes emotions. It can make you completely sad even though you were crying tears of joy only a moment ago." This was why it was dangerous. "But only that - changing your emotions. With this in mind, can anyone guess why it's considered 'half-dark'?

"And, another question before we begin: Can you give an example of someting that can be consumed that induces an emotion? For example, tea of Melissa is used to calm people down."

OOC: The class has begun, so please do not post your characters late!

Only ONE example per person, please!

We'll continue 18-19 hours later.

Toby wasn't sure how long Culloden had been talking for or when the lesson had started, all he knew was that when he looked up again the class was more full and the Potions Master was already teaching. Oop. OKAY. Okay. He was back in the room, focusing, yeah.

Except...

Mood potions. Emotion potions. Potential commotion. What a notion.

Talk of SADNESS and stuff, too. Guh. Instantly Toby was wondering if they were going to have to practice these potions on themselves, because it sort of wasn't a good idea for him to be testing out potions that affected mood, especially ones that might be botched, for reasons.

But. He'd cross that bridge when he came to it, yes.

For now, the Hufflepuff raised his hand. "Um. Elixir to Induce Euphoria?" he supplied, the biggest, most innocent (but totally not) expression on his face. "Makes people super happy. In the right doses." Heheh.

Ohhh! They were going to be brewing a complicated potion today, huh? "Really? I am looking FORWARD to it, Professor!'' Bring on the most complicated potions and this Puffer had the patience to brew them ALLLL. Yesh! Adi grinned. "Glad to hear it.''
....................

Adi squinted. "Nats? Is that you?'' He would recognise the anywhere since he had grown accustomed to it though the mumbling made it hard for him to be sure. "Why are you wearing THAT on your face?'' he asked. Was there a start of an airbourne epidemic he had no idea about? Oh and hello, AJ! A wave for the girlfriend.
....................

The door was shut!

WOOT!

It was time to get started. Adi settled back with excitement in his seat but then sat forward, totally perked up. What did Culloden just say? Was that what they were going be working on today? SO COOL! Except about the part where the potion changed their emotions. Er.... no thanks. He liked his bubbly self. It sure sounded as though it would have came in handy last year for a particular two weeks.

So why was the potion ''It might be because since it can change emotions,'' Adi began, his hand up, "It can bring up reallyyy bad emotions, like rage and can make the person who took the potion do bad stuff. They have no control over what they do and can cause harm to others.'' Oh and as for the other question... "Eating sweets make me happy.'' Mhmm.

Echo smiled at Professor's Culloden's response, and then he got into what they were learning today, Potions weren't her strongest subject but she was going to try her hardest. She didn't know why it was called "half dark" but she was sure going to give an example of changing of emotions.

"Professor, a love potion would do that wouldn't it... make you love someone even though you might not?" hopefully she was right at some point right now as she giggled at the thought of someone using a love potion on her,

He liked this Professor already since he bowed back to him. Maybe Professor Culloden seemed strict at the first impression but he could be nice, right? Jackson wasn't a judging type of person that judged somebody from his or her first impression. Grabbing a parchment, he wrote down his name there and put it on the desk (though actually he did already introduce himself but... perhaps he forgot his name).

Quote:

Jackson Hwang - Fifth year.

A half-dark potion? Maybe because the color was dark? Nope, silly! "I uh.. I think because it could affect somebody's emotion so... it can be used for something bad?" He tried to answer as his hand was up in the air. Maybe it didn't make sense but... At least he had tried. "Also, I believe eating dark chocolate can make you happy because of se... sero..." Okay, he didn't remember exactly but chocolate contains a chemical (or hormone) that could light up his mood.

Marsha couldn’t help the large smile that lit up her face as the Professor waved back at her. How cool was that? She smiled happily at him before she turned back to Rusty. ”Aww, its okay Rusty. They are all dead… and if you really don’t want to do anything then I’ll help you.” She said with a smile to her fellow red-head.

Oh, they got to make plaque type things again.

OH!

Class time. Yay.

As she listened to the man, she leant her chin against one of her palms, drawing into the lesson already. ”I agree with Jackson, I think it’s because you can affect the emotions and actions of the person in ways that uh… you don’t mean too?” Right? Right. Maybe. Heh.

Oh! What changes your emotions. ”Professor, one of my uncles mentioned a truth potion? It began with a v… but I can’t remember the name of it. He said that if the user took it they had to tell the truth regardless of it they wanted to tell it or not…” Nibbling her bottom lip, Marsha lowered her hand and let the others in the class give their ideas.

Lux was always smiling and AJ was glad that she chose a spot beside her. The wide grin the professor gave to Angel did not go unnoticed. What was that about? The man was always happy go lucky, but it seemed like he reserved a special smile for Angel. Hmm... Maybe she would mention to Angel later. There wasn't a need to butter the potions master up in hopes of getting a love potion out of him now that Benny and Angel were dating. What else could it be?

No time to ponder because the lesson was starting. Ohhh... a dark potion. This sounded interesting. They hardly ever focused on anything that could be considered dark. You had AJ's attention professor. The lion had to agree with her boyfriend's explanation with the whole emotion thing. It could get ugly really quickly.

Everybody was taking her answers for the other question. What else could she add? A smile spread across her face as she thought the Divination lesson she had. Consuming lots of tacos could make you feel panicked because of all the farts that would be trying to escape, buuuuut that probably wasn't what he was looking for. "Don't oranges make you feel less stressed because of the vitamin C or something?" was vitamin C related to helping stress in any way, shape or form? AJ had no idea, but it sure sounded good.

.

.

Well, then.

Gabriel glanced carefully at certain people and then back at Professor Culloden. It was neat they were going to be learning something that he'd concocted himself...To the Ravenclaw, that was the absolute best thing...but he'd have been lying if he said he wasn't slightly uncomfortable at the moment. Not on a grand scale...but Gabe's emotions were mostly a mess as it was. Artificial emotions were already a very real thing here.

"...because emotional manipulation is one of the most dangerous things a person can be submitted to."...In the sense that...if you wanted someone to truly suffer, damage them emotionally. Those marks were felt much deeper than physical wounds...and for a much longer period of time.

Speaking from personal experience.

.

.

"...There's a potion made with Alihotsy leaves that will induce hysteria...Actually, just the leaves themselves would have the same effect..."

...and Gabe visibly CRINGED at the love potion mention. VISIBLY. Maybe he'd publish a PSA. Soon.

Oh. Oh. Professor Culloden noticed, apparently. Weeeelll then, so much for being invisible. Norah neglected to consider the fact that her bright purple trainers with the sparkly laces made it essentially impossible to be invisible, because she was far too busy listening to the Professor LAUGH at her. LAUGH. He LAUGHED. She considered sticking her tongue out at him but she LIKED him (and she'd probably get kicked out or something but that was a whole nother story), so she instead saluted him and said, "At least crawled instead of cartwheeling." At least this showed she had a BRAIN and stuff, 'cause cartwheeling in the potions classroom was probably one of the worst ideas ever, right after vegetable-flavored ice cream. She sure hoped nobody's even invented that.

She dipped her quill in ink and wrote 'PROFESSOR CULLODEN'S SUPER COOL FANCY SHMANCY POTION STUFF' on the top of her parchment with a flourish. Alrighty, she was SO ready. The fourth year surrounded her notes with some little ink flowers as she tried to come up with a good answer. There was no use embarrassing herself in Potions, Professor Culloden was way too cool for that. "I guess it's half dark because if you do bad things to somebodies emotions it'd be really really bad. Like if you gave somebody a potion that made them sad all the time it'd be completely horrid 'cause imagine being sad all the time! Everything would be terrible. So yeah, not very nice." She shrugged again, but her wand was safely NOT behind her ear now so there wasn't any dropping or crawling. So there. "And I think there are potions that make you have a restful sleep, and I know sleeping isn't an emotion probably but I think you have to get pretty un-worried to sleep restfully and if worried is an emotion then un-worried is too." It was only fair....if worried even was an emotion which according to Norah it was.

Kace heard the door slam and man things were getting real. The lesson was starting and he heard Professor Culloden giving them an inside scoop on the lesson. He heard they were learning about a half-dark potion? Interesting concept. Culloden wanted to know why it was considered half dark. I mean I guess Kace can give a guess right? "Erm Professor I think it is considered half- dark because the concept of changing someone's emotions is kind of a cruel thing in my opinion like Gabe said.." he said referring the Ravenclaw Prefect. They were on the same page.

Now onto examples. Kace already had one up his sleeve. He raised his hand and answered the second question, "Professor I know there is Calming Draught which is a potion that can calm shock, trauma and such. Shock can be an emotion like fear." I mean it made sense right? Let's see if the puffanova was right.

They wouldn't actually have to test this potion on themselves or a partner would they? Hady wasn't so sure she'd enjoy that part cause what if it made a friend really upset or angry or something? She knew it would only be the effects of the potion but still she wasn't to fond of the thought. Making the potion she didn't have any problem with doing.

Shifting about in her seat she sat up and listened silently as those around her began to give their answers. "Maybe since it changes emotions it can make someone act or say things they normally wouldn't and depending on the situation that might end up being a really bad thing." She answered as she lifted her hand into the air. It might not have been the clearest of answers but yeah it was all she had.

"I think there's a potion called Peaceful Draught or something similar to that but it helps people with anxiety." That one would probably be rather useful at times.

Oh....

She noticed the smile disappear. Opps, right away she knew why the smile had disappeared. Sticking to Professor C then. Right. That was cool right? She knew other students called him that. She shot him a innocent little smile. Not like he'd believe it. No one did anymore. Hehe. Hummm she made a mental note of this and shrugged it off. Then headed off to a seat.

Ahhh everyone was here and class was starting now. She listened to the professor. Interesting, she tilted her head curiously as Culloden explained the lesson. Things to induce emotion. She smiled at Echo's answer the girl was so smart for a second year. "Hate potions. It's basically the opposite of a love potion. It changes your emotions to hate instead of love. So yeah."

The door closed, which meant the class was officially starting. And the blonde might have been getting a tiny bit excited, if only because they got to mix stuff up and always learned cool things in here. This wasn't a boring class, was what she was saying. And if she learned to be patient and follow directions, Ophelia might even find herself being good at the material.

A Professor-made potion? Okay, this was interesting already. This was the first time the blonde remembered doing a professor made potion in all of her three years at Hogwarts, which made her wonder what the special occasion actually was. Did he just want to show off his potion making prowess, or did he have an ulterior motive. She was watching you Professor.

Upon hearing the question, the thirteen year old sat back in her chair and thought. This was a deep question for early in the class. Though it wasn't a tough one. Just deep. Like meaning of life deep. Listening to her classmates form their answers, the grey eyed girl formulated one of her own between the headmuck that surrounded her brain.

RAISE HAND.

"Like the other two said (Kace and Gabe) messing with a person's emotions is kind of cruel. It's like messing with who they are, really. And like, what if there was a person who wanted to get someone mad at someone else. They could break up a friendship or a relationship or something. It's manipulation." Not to mention the fact that the next step Ophelia saw this going was violence. Manipulate a bunch of people and get them angry and there was no telling what would happen next! The short girl shuddered just thinking about the consequences.

Wait, now she had a question. A question in response to his question? Or was she tacking the question onto her own question. Sigh.

RAISE HAND.

"Professor, why is it only called a HALF-dark potion. Everyone keeps saying bad stuff that can happen, is there any good to a potion that just does awful things?" Now Ophelia was getting deeeep. Meaning of life deep. BAM. Look who was doing awesome in potions class.

And about any other drinks that can change emotions, she had no clue. So after the question, she remained quiet and continued to listen to her classmates answers.

Torie beamed at the professor when he waved back, and waited for class to begin. He listened as students answered the question but thought on his own answer waiting for his turn and raised his hand "My mum always chocolate is good for calming." he said brightly. Well it was, and it was nommy too! He liked chocolate though he never really noticed if it did anything to calm him. He thought it made him a bit more hyper.

He took his quill though and moved to write his name on the desk 'Torie Yenorin, 1st year'.

Angel got a smile and a wink, now that was weird... had she done something wrong, she was a bit scared now... maybe the Professor could read minds and realised that she had skipped a lesson last year because she was just bored and didn't want to come, now that would be scary but she was here now right and that was just as good as coming last year right.

"Eh!" Angel raised her hand whilst she was still trying to figure out what the wink and crazy smile was about. "Eh doesn't honey supposed to make you feel relax because that is why people give you honey tea when you get stressed out."

These questions were hard. Zahra tried though, thinking with GUSTO and looking as if the process actually physically hurt her. She finally raised her hand.

"I don't know if this is what you're asking for...," but she was giving it a try anyway, "but Mum is a HUGE believer in lavender. She says it make the "Most Moodiest of Mondays" all better or something. She's got a whole garden of or it something. Sometimes my Pig gets in it and takes a nap."

...hehe. ALSO HEY PROFESSOR POTIONS. LOOK WHO IS BACK! She griiiiiiiiiiiinned at the Professor. She ALSO was smart enough to not actually sit with her LONG LOST NEWLY RETURNED BOYFRIEND. Wisdom with age, right here.

Natalia raised an eyebrow at the way Adi squinted at her as if she was... a strange creature he had ever seen before. "Yes," Natalia muttered, her lips brushing against the soft material of the mask that muffled her voice. "it is I, the Incredible Natalia." The fourth year announced softly in her most authentic Eastern European accent.

"This-" Natalia pointed to her lovely face mask, which was, sadly, hindering her speech. Irritated by the hindrance, she finally pulled her mask down (not off, just down below her mouth) so she could enunciate better. "This," Natalia repeated, "is a 'surgical' face mask, though it's not really for medical purposes. It's actually more like designer fashion back in China." Except wearing it for aesthetic purposes wasn't the reason why she wore it today.

Before Natalia could take another breath, class had begun.

What could change emotions? EASY.

Forgetting that she still had her face mask down to her chin (but away from her mouth), Natalia raised her hand as she thought she had the PERFECT example. "Chocolate has euphoric effects!" With a beam, Natalia began to daydream about all kinds of chocolate: dark chocolate, milk chocolate, COCONUT CHOCOLATE... Soon enough, the Lioness had forgotten all about class and drifted herself into Cocoa-land... With her face mask dangling about her chin and eyes wandering around the classroom, Natalia appeared to be in a state of euphoria just from thinking about chocolate.

The lesson started, and Lux thought it was adorable how happy Culloden was. Awww, that baby high didn't seem to be going away and she was more than fine with it.

Smiling to herself, she opened her notebook to a new page as she listened to the explaination of what they would be doing today. Sounded pretty interesting though she wasn't sure how she felt about something considered to be half-dark. Changing emotions wasn't always a good thing, and she raised her hand to answer the questions. "I think it is considered to be half-dark because changing someone's emotions can be a dangerous thing. People can do terrible things when driven by emotions - things they wouldn't normally do." Did that make sense? Sometimes Lux had a little difficulty articulating her thoughts.

Anyway, moving on to the next question. "Elixir to Induce Euphoria causes a person to feel really happy." That was a NICE emotion to induce, which is why she chose it as an example.

...half dark? This was already a running theme in the lessons it seemed, and Rowan didn't have an answer for that question, because she didn't really understand dark magic yet... Or whether there were any specific definitions.

The next one though, she knew a lot about. Her hand shot up, only narrowly missing Marsha's face. "Professor, ecinacea is a herbal remedy for anxiety and stress." Yep. They had things in their herbal remedy cabinet back home like that.

Well Dante did remember that potion they did last year. About the confidence and such. But Dante did not know if that was a emotion or not. Well it was the only thing he had. So might as well say it.

"Well there was that potion last year with arrogance and self confidence. I forgot the name of it though"

It is on the tip of his tongue.

Ooh a rather INTERESTING potion? That got Zhenya's spine itching to start brewing it. How great, though, a potion whose base could be stored for a long time. Saves people making up a base every time they needed a potion requiring the base. Especially as Zhenya was looking at a career as a healer once she left Hogwarts, in mere months, these things would totally help her. But even better - Professor Culloden's OWN inventions! Wicked! Wooooooow though, emotion changer. She could see when that would be useful, so long as they could control the emotion they were changing. Or was it just opposites? Zhenya raised her hand and waited for Professor Culloden to call on her. "Professor it's perhaps called half-dark as it's manipulating ones emotions." That was definitely bad, if someone else was doing that. How easy would it be to just slip some potion into a cup of tea and give it to someone else? "Sir, does the potion change the drinkers emotion to an opposite emotion, or is there some way of choosing the emotion?" Her brain was itching to know.

But an example of something that can be consumed to induce an emotion? She had a thought, a few things rushed to her mind but every time she went to suggest them, someone would get to it. Hmm… She raised her hand again, "Er… poppy seeds were once used as pain relief, and can induce a state of euphoria."

Half-dark? How could something be HALF dark? In Caleb's mind, you were good or bad...no real gray area there, especially when it came to curses and potions. It was either dark magic, or just normal magic used for good. But half-dark? Was that even possible?

He ventured a guess. Hand in the air, he cleared his throat. "Erm, could it be considered half-dark since it can obviously be abused? And used for dark purposes?" he suggested. Although then, didn't that mean EVERYTHING could be half-dark? Gah this was confusing. "And wouldn't a love potion manipulate someone's emotion? Even though it's not real," he explained.

Oh this was going to be interesting. They were going to learn about Professor Culloden's original potion. But why was it considered half-dark? That was the question. Janelle thought about it for a moment and then raised her hand.

"Maybe it's half-dark because when you start playing with people's emotions, you might be able to control them.......and if you control them, you can do bad things to them or get them to do bad things." That was her thought anyway.

As for the second question, well that answer didn't come to Janelle so easily. She wasn't sure whether the Professor was looking for something magical or non-magical for an answer. Her classmates had given both types of answers, but Janelle couldn't think of anything that hadn't already been said. She decided to pass on the second question, unless she had a sudden spark of inspiration.

As Professor Culloden had addressed her, Brooklyn had sat up even straighter. Even though she’d noticed Lux’s wave earlier, it had gotten forgotten with the start of class, and she’d sat there focused on the discussion. She hadn’t seen the need to scribble down any notes yet, since so far they hadn’t really seemed like they’d discussed the exact potion they were going to be brewing. Just concepts, and she didn’t particularly care about concepts.

She still raised her hand as others had offered their suggestions as to the questions that had been posed. “I would think it’d be half-dark because when someone’s emotions aren’t their own, they can do things they wouldn’t normally do.” Like hug people. “And they also could be made to do things they wouldn’t normally do, by someone else. Bad things, even.” Not that she cared about what was considered bad or good. If it benefited her, she wanted it. “Oh, and camomile can be used to calm people down. Some Muggles drink chamomile tea to help them fall asleep.” There. She’d participated.