Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Chapter 5

The next morning, Albus, Peter, Derek, Holly, Andrea, Samantha, and James were sitting at the breakfast table eating, well, breakfast. Albus noticed that Samantha kept looking at Andrea cautiously, and Andrea seemed very uncomfortable.

"Are you all right?" Albus asked as she began to cough. Andrea nodded and took a drink of orange juice.

"I'll be fine," She said between coughs.

"Maybe you should see the nurse..." Peter said slowly. Andrea shook her head.

"I'll be fine, don't worry." She said. Somehow that didn't make Albus feel any better.



The first years had Potions that morning, so they all trudged down to the dungeons. Andrea was in the lead, followed by Peter, then Holly, Derek, and Albus. Holly looked at Derek.

"Oh, Derek, what should I do about...her?" Holly asked quietly.

"Just be pleasant and maybe she'll return the favor." Derek replied.

"But she's just so mean!" Holly stopped and frowned at Derek. "I wish we could change partners." She mumbled. They continued walking, and before long, they had reached the door to their class. The door opened and the gathered first years went in. Proffessor McGlinnin was at the front of the room already, waiting for them.

"Good morning, class," He said with a smile. Albus noticed that his eyes landed on Andrea and stayed there as she walked past his desk. Albus and the rest of the class sat down at their assigned seats and pulled out their potions books. Albus looked over at Andrea as she began coughing again. Proffessor McGlinnin walked over to her and spoke to her quietly, patting her on the back. He nodded his head then went back to the front of the room.

"Today, we'll be learning about certain potions effects on the nervous system." McGlinnin began. Suddenly, a diagram appeared on the blackboard behind him. It was a diagram of the human nervous system.

"As you can see, the nervous system is a complex thing. It looks quite a lot like wiring going through a house. Now, certain potions, like water or fire and a house, can damage the nervous system or just make it function wrong for a period of time. Today, I'll only be telling you the name of the potion and it's effects. You will not be learning how to make any of the more dangerous ones, but we may look more into some of the milder ones." He finished, then pulled a small vile out of one of his desk drawers.

"Now, who can tell me what this is, just by looking at it?" Andrea's hand shot up and McGlinnin smiled. McGlinnin nodded in her direction, signaling that she was allowed to answer.

"It's the potion 'Aravere'" She answered proudly.

"Well done!" McGlinnin said, then took the top off of the vile. He held it out from himself at arm's distance.

"Now, who can tell me how it works?" Andrea's hand shot up again.

"It can enter your body by touch or smell or taste, therefore, it's rather easy to get into someone's blood stream. It gives the body a tingling sensation that gradually increases in strength. It doesn't do much else than that." She finished then smiled.

"Very good," McGlinnin then put the topper on the vile again. Albus sighed and wrote down most of what Andrea had just said on his Potions scroll. He glanced over at Holly to see her slumped over in her chair with her arms folded and her eyebrows close together. Peter was whispering to his partner, and Derek looked like he was doing just fine. Albus looked at his own partner and decided that, although his partner wasn't completely evil, Potions wasn't one of his favorite classes.

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