Lesson 1: Introduction
Chapter 1
With the Lights Out, It’s Less Dangerous
~Misuse of classroom instruments or inability to heed basic safety will result in expulsion from the classroom or more serious repercussions.
~Dress code: Sufficient covering and closed-toed shoes. Do not wear overly bulky garments. Remove any long-hanging jewelry and pin hair back. Jewelry as a whole is discouraged. Wear dragon-hide gloves as necessary, and always wear your goggles while working with potions.
~Wait until you have received all of your instructions before beginning your brewing.
~In the event of an accident, do not panic. Take precautions to ensure your own safety first, and then find the professor. If you see a fellow student sustain an injury, do not immediately run to help them. Call the professor for help.
~Never point your wand directly at yourself or at anyone else during Potions.
Introduction to Potions
~A potion is defined as a magical mixture that combines both magical and mundane ingredients.
~The term “potion” is rather generic, as it represents any magical combination of ingredients that has been brewed to achieve a certain effect.
~These effects vary drastically, however, from aiding headaches to increasing energy, causing a part of the body to swell, changing eye color or appearance, and even providing strong psychological or poisoning effects.
~The difficulty in brewing a potion is equally varied, and while some potions can take only twenty minutes to brew, others can take more than twenty-four hours in total.
~Only a witch or wizard should ever ingest or apply a potion, regardless of the circumstances.
~Before the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy of 1689, certain magical and non-magical communities lived in close proximity and in some cases, magical people even held places of high esteem.
~At that time, there is evidence that Muggles may have been slightly more tolerant of potions and elixirs.
~Ancient Muggle and wizard accounts recount cases of shamans and priests creating love potions and similar products for Muggles to use. These potions may have been real “love potions” in some form, or it is possible that they used mundane ingredients that replicated the psychological and chemical effects of magical love potions.
~Unfortunately, most ancient civilizations did not provide definite accountings of the ingredients and magic used in many potions.
~Subsequent to the Statute of Secrecy, many Muggles continued to take advantage of the popularity of potions, and some sold fraudulent liquid remedies to other Muggles at high prices for their “magical powers”.
~The term “snake oil salesman” still applies to those Muggles who sell goods with false information about their effectiveness, particularly “Cure-All” liquid remedies of no use.
~ Aside from the few instances with Muggles and potions that have gone horribly wrong, this is further evidenced by the exceptions where Muggles have continued to be exposed to magic secondarily.
~These are the exceptions to the rule of Muggle intolerance to potions, and only slight exceptions, at that.
