We stood outside the Potions Classroom, waiting for the magnificent iron doors to fly open and Professor Nivera to come sweeping out. Having only just finished Transfiguration a few hours ago, several students still have holes burnt in their uniforms or different shades of colour in their hair. Dian Frost’s hair had changed to brunette, but she had decided that she was going to keep it. As we stood there waiting, I ran through all the ingredients for different potions and the respective methods in my head. I was terrified to think what practical potion she was going to set us. As we stood shivering in the dungeons, the doors finally creaked open and in the doorway, dressed in a beautiful yellow dressrobe with her hair straightened over one shoulder, stood Professor Nivera. She smiled and held her arms outwards in an open gesture.

“Welcome to your Potions 101 Practical!” She said cheerfully, before standing to the side and motioning for us all to enter.

We entered in single file and took up our place at our own individual work benches, each containing two cauldrons and a series of ingredients. Face down on each table were two different sheets of paper and we all stood in silence as we waited for the remaining students to filter in.

“You will be brewing two potions today” Professor Nivera said as she waved her wand to close the doors and increase the lighting slightly. “Each student has two pieces of parchment on which are two different potions from a possible five. You will have exactly 4 hours and 15 minutes to brew both potions, bottle them and have them submitted. When the time begins you may turn the pieces of parchment and begin your potions.”

She walked around the room checking every student to ensure that they weren’t hiding any answers or extra ingredients on them. She then proceeded to the front of the class and as she got there, the great clocktower struck the hour and she motioned for us to begin. I grabbed the two pieces of parchment and turned them over as my cauldrons automatically simmered to life.

“Antidote to Common Poisons” and “Memory Potion” were written at the top of my two pieces of parchment and I panicked slightly, realising that I had only briefly studied the Memory Potion! I placed the Memory Potion parchment down and looked at the Antidote to Common Poisons.

- Unicorn Horn

- Mistletoe Berries

- Bezoar

-

-

Crossing my fingers, I began to compile the ingredients and mix the potion, watching as it changed between different hues and colours towards the desired teal-colour. Throughout the next four hours, I felt my hair swell to twice it’s size from all the steam and Draconus Nex managed to overflow his cauldron and transfigure the desk into a flock of birds. Aranya Felicin then got a shock with Professor Nivera watching her, and so dropped an entire vial of Memory Potion on the stone floor. The smashing then frightened Leah Miller who knocked her wand off the table and sent sparks flying that melted Holly Higgins’ cauldron. Needless to say, we all breathed a sigh of relief as we walked out of the examination and headed up the stairs towards dinner. Holly was terrified that Professor Nivera was going to completely fail her and so had lingered behind to try and explain. I walked into the Great Hall and walked over to sit with Arno Plas who was eating his weight in Chicken Wings and corn. He turned and smiled at me as I sat down next to him.

“How’d you find the exam?” I asked politely, as I pulled the steamed vegetables and roasted chicken towards me. He finished chewing and wiped his mouth on his sleeve before talking.

“It was alright” He said, as he bit another chunk of chicken off the wing, “I accidentally put Valerian Root in my Antidote for Common Poisons and so it was slightly off colour. What about you?”

“It was better than I expected” I responded, as I spooned salad onto my plate, “I got the Antidote almost perfect but think I completely messed up the Memory Potion”

“Ah” He sighed, “That’ll get ya”

I chuckled at his response and we continued talking briefly until we heard the tapping of a glass and turned to see Professor Balog standing at the front of the Great Hall.

“Attention students” He said, in his best attempt to sound authoritative, “I have just a few announcements to make. Firstly, to the students whom have been using the Arithmancy Classroom on the sixth floor and left the windows open overnight-”

He paused here and looked specifically down towards where Dian and the others sat.

“- Please make certain that you close them, as we have had an infestation of Cornish Pixies and Professor Quilmane and Professor Tudor are now going to have to spend their evening getting rid of them. Secondly, congratulations on completing your first day of examinations! Thirdly, please remember that all students are prohibited from going to the eighth floor at present. Thank you”

A few Slytherins stood up and cheered as Professor Balog bowed, however the quickly stopped after Professor Mae shot a death stare at them. I inhaled the rest of my dinner and proceeded to head up the common room. As expected, the common room was in a state of disarray with students attempting to study. One seventh year sat in the corner sobbing uncontrollably whilst two fifth year males attempted to console her. Melissa was sat on her own by the bookshelf studying for our History of Magic and Charms examinations the next day. As I walked over to the group of desks piled by the window, my Draconifors dragon (Ember) flew down and landed on my shoulder, nuzzling into my neck. I scratched his neck briefly and handed him a small piece of meat i’d saved from dinner, though he threw it off towards the fireplace. I sat down at the desk and opened my Charms notebook to beginning studying when suddenly Charelle and Holly stormed into the common room.

“I can’t believe Professor Black would just dismiss me like that!” Holly was yelling, “I mean, how hard is it to look into that silly crystal ball and tell me if I fail History of Magic or not? Then at least i’d know if I have to study tonight!”

“Who knows?” Charelle said as she scooped ice cream from the tub she was carrying, “My Grandmother did always say that Divination was a wishy washy subject anyway. But then again, she’s strapped down in the mental ward of St. Mungo’s”

Holly stormed up the stairs whilst Charelle came to sit with me, still eating ice cream from the tub she was carrying. I looked up and she gave me a melted ice cream smile.

“Where did you even get that?” I asked her, staring at the giant tub.

“From the kitchens” She said simply, “I had to punch an elf or two to get it, but I got it in the end. But do you wanna hear something?”

I half giggled knowing that it was about to be something silly, but smiled and nodded at her nonetheless.

“I heard a rumour from Aldana Suasnabar- or maybe it was Aranya Felicin… but anyway, I heard that Professor Balog owns all the house elves” She said very matter-of-factly, nodding her head in unison. “They say that the reason clubs and what not are banned at the moment is because he didn’t like the House-Elf activist groups”

I began laughing at her as she told this story, but a seventh year by name of Elizabeth LeVerre, who was one of our House Prefects leant over to join in.

“No that’s not true!” She said, shocked that Charelle had attempted to spread this rumour, “It was Professor Tudor who banned clubs because she wanted people to spend more time outside. Professor Balog doesn’t own the elves either; he simply cursed the walls of the kitchen so they can’t apparate in or out and he uses the Imperius Curse to control them. It’s the most obvious explanation.”

The two of them began debating about whether or not Professor Balog had ever been in trouble with the Ministry of Magic regarding his ownership of house elves. I, discreetly, packed up my books and placed Ember on my shoulder before scaling the stairs to bed. The next few days are going to be extremely long, yet I’m excited for what’s to come.

Until next time, the dragon tamer,

Genevieve Greenburg.