Aileen sighed, knowing she was interfering too much, but she solidified into a teenaged girl, strawberry blonde hair, summer sky blue eyes, wearing a navy blue sweater and jeans. "Calm down, everyone, he just passed out!" she shouted above the pandemonium. "Shut it, you're giving me a headache and I can't think straight!" Everyone quieted down slowly.
Aileen dragged the professor to the back and tossed Floo powder in. "Madam Pomfrey's office," she said quietly, sending Snape through the fire. She turned around and eyed the first years that were staring at her.
"First things first. Harry, Hermione, tell me EXACTLY what you did," Aileen said, walking to stand behind them.
"We added the quills after the boiling stopped, and it started smoking. So we used a bit of unicorn tail and it quit smoking, but turned bright red. To counteract that, we found some acromantula venom and poured about three drops in. This-" Harry gestured to the cauldron- "is the result, Aileen."
"My name isn't Aileen, it's Irene. Close, but not quite," she said with a sly wink. Harry barely nodded back.
Aileen walked to the front of the room. "For the remainder of the hour, we'll go over plant and animal parts with their different properties. Harry, Hermione, Neville, bottle a small amount and copy down the exact steps you used to make that potion. I have reason to believe that Saint Mungo's might be interested in that."
Aileen wrote her fake name on the board. "I'm Irene Shallowstones. If anyone asks, I don't exist. Alright?"
"Yes Miss Shallowstones," everyone chanted- except for Harry, Hermione and Neville. They were busy writing down the process.
"It's Irene. I'm not that old yet," she said teasingly. Then she erased her name and the lesson began.
"Now, who can tell me what this is?" Aileen asked, holding up a thin, silvery white thread.
One of the Ravenclaw girls raised her hand steadily. "Yes?" Aileen said.
"Unicorn tail hair. It's supposedly used to heal wounds just by touching them," the girl said.
"Ten points to...?"
"Ravenclaw. I'm Lisa Turpin, Miss Irene," the girl said.
"Well done, Lisa. As a matter of fact, that is actually true. Anyone know how to get these successfully?"
A boy's hand slowly went up. "Yes?" Aileen said, pointing at him.
"Ernie MacMillan, Hufflepuff. You must ask them nicely or otherwise collect them from tree branches. If they're cut they lose all healing properties, which makes gathering a risky business. That's why you must ask, because you have to pull them out."
"Well done, 10 points to Hufflepuff. Some do consider the gathering of this a barbaric practice, but it's so useful that the pros outweigh the cons. I always carry one or two of these around. Another thing in my magical first-aid kit is..." Aileen held up a tiny vial of a pearly white substance.
Three people, a boy and girl from Ravenclaw and a girl from Hufflepuff all raised their hands. "You," Aileen said, confidently pointing at the Hufflepuff.
"Susan Bones, Miss Irene. It's Phoenix tears. But they're really rare. How did you get those?"
"10 points to Hufflepuff. Professor Dumbledore has a phoenix named Fawkes that live in his office. He cries every once in a good long while, and I bought these from Dumbledore. I never go without them." Aileen gently set them down and pulled out a book. She stepped to the board and clearly said "Simple Healing Potion." A list of potions appeared and Aileen selected the simplest and easiest potion- a potion to cure fever.
The ingredients appeared. Aileen turned back to the students and clapped her hands twice. "This is the new potion. Almost all the same ingredients in the potion for boils are in this potion. We'll go through this step by step. Ready to begin?" Everyone nodded and Harry, Hermione and Neville placed their potions and instructions on the desk.
"Thank you. Alright..." Step by step, Aileen led the first years through the potion. It was simple enough to where even Neville succeeded at creating it. Each bottled their results, which were exactly the same, and put them on the desk. Aileen smiled as she bottled her own result and slipped it among them. She then placed them in a traveling case and readied them for a Floo trip.
"Miss Irene?" a soft voice said. Aileen sent the package through and turned around.
It was a young girl who had shyly raised her hand. "Yes?" Aileen said.
"Um... Where did you come from? I haven't seen you around here and you aren't wearing a uniform," the girl said very softly.
"Good observation...?"
"Sally Anne Perks, Hufflepuff," the girl said.
"Good observation, Sally Anne. No, I am not a student here. I live across the country and was visiting a close friend of mine. I noticed you needed some help, and... Well, here I am!" Aileen said, just as the bell rang. "Homework! One foot on the properties of unicorn hair and phoenix tears!" she called over the din of people packing up. "Hermione, please stay behind for a moment. I'd like to discuss your homework assignment."
Harry lingered as Hermione bounced up to the front of the class. "Go on, Harry. She'll be fine." Harry nodded reluctantly and walked out.
