After lunch, Colin and Ginny made their way down to the dungeons for their first potions lesson with their new teacher, Professor Brian Brew.
As Colin and Ginny entered the dungeons, the first thing they noticed was that the longer and wider desks had been replaced by many desks for one.
"It looks like Professor Brew has the same idea as Professor Lupin about doing our own work, " observed Colin.
"Yes, " said Ginny approvingly, "If we are to hone and master the craft of potion making, we must each produce our own potions without the assistance of others."
"Well said, Miss Weasley, " beamed Professor Brew as he entered the room and took his place at the teacher's desk, ''By making education individualized, I as a professor can see exactly where each of my students stands and how much progress he or she has made."
Professor Brew next waved his wand and a set of instructions appeared on the board.
"Today, " said Professor Brew excitedly, "We are going to brewing a new potion that, after a long testing period, was just approved for marketing and sale this morning. The potion is simply called Liveliness Potion. This is a potion that will give energy to lethargic people. I suspect a lot of witches and wizards who aren't morning people will be using this potion. The instructions are on the board. You have thirty minutes. No talking during these thirty minutes. Good look and do your own!"
The first line of the instructions read: USE ONLY PEWTER CAULDRONS WHEN MAKING LIVELINESS POTION! In testing the Liveliness Potion was only attainable when brewed in pewter cauldrons. Attempts to brew this concoction in other types of cauldrons resulted in nothing but liquid mess.
As Hogwarts students' cauldrons were required to be pewter, this was a non-issue. While most potions could be brewed in any cauldron without making much difference to the final result, potions that did need to be brewed in a specific cauldron most commonly needed to be brewed in a pewter cauldron, hence pewter cauldrons being the standard cauldron for Hogwarts students.
The second line said to fill the cauldron three fifths full of water and put it on heat until the temperature reached 350 degrees with a warning that BE CAREFUL TO TURN OFF THE HEAT BEFORE ADDING THE NEXT INGREDIENTS! EXPLOSION CAN OCCUR IF MORE INGREDIENTS ARE ADDED WITH THE HEAT RUNNIING!
The third line read: Add one ounce of dragon liver, two tablespoons of juice of the firefly, and one cup of crushed sunflower seeds.
The fourth line read: Let mixture sit for ten minutes and then wave wand over cauldron clockwise three times to stir mixture.
The fifth line read: To finish, add two dried billywig stings and wave wand over cauldron clockwise three times to give final stir.
Colin, Ginny, and the rest followed the instructions on the board as best they could. When there thirty minutes were up, Colin's potion was the bright yellow color of the sun whereas Ginny's potion was bright orange. Most of the other students' potions were anywhere in brightness from Santa Claus red to Minnesota Vikings purple.
"Now, " said Professor Brew the nanosecond their thirty minutes were up, "If you have the followed the instructions correctly, you should have a sun yellow potion."
"Excellent!" beamed Colin, "I did it!"
"Look here, Mr. Creevey's done it, " said Professor Brew brightly, "How splendid."
Looking at Ginny's potion, Professor Brew said, "Miss Weasley, yours would have been just as good, but you forgot to add the sunflower seed."
"Damn!" said Ginny fretfully, "One mistake kills a potion!"
"Potions is a fiddly subject, " admitted Professor Brew, "But you were still better than anyone besides Mr. Creevey."
"Hold your head up, Ginny, " said Colin encouragingly, "This was both our first class with our new professor and our first attempt at brewing this concoction. You should be proud of how good your potion was. Some of our peer's potions are purple!"
"Well said, Mr. Creevey, " said Professor Brew encouragingly, "Miss Weasley, I think you can be an O student in my class. You have the skill. You just made one lapse in concentration. Instead of fretting over that mistake, learn from it."
"Don't worry about your potion being useless, Ginny, " began Colin-"
"How did you know that's what was bothering me?' Ginny asked Colin.
"For a minute I was looking you eye to eye, " explained Colin, "When that happened, I could sense your feelings and emotions and I can hear you saying to yourself, one damn mistake made my potion useless."
"Even your potion can't be used, Mr. Creevey, " said Professor Brew sadly, "Only potions made by a licensed potion maker are allowed to be sold or used. Classes are for learning and the potions made by students are required by law to be disposed of."
"But that's so wasteful, " said Ginny with a cold edge voice to her voice, "Why should Colin's work be wasted because he's only twelve or isn't a professional maker? If his potion really is perfect, it ought to be used rather than wasted."
"It's hard to argue against that, " admitted Professor Brew, "I'll speak with my contacts at the Ministry and see if they could amend the law. The whole point of that law is to prevent witches and wizards from taking improperly made potions. But if a student can make a proper potion, it really should be used rather than wasted."
"I'll put an Anti-Theft Charm on my potion and keep it in my trunk until a final decision can be reached, " suggested Colin.
"That's a good idea, Mr. Creevey, " agreed Professor Brew.