Tales of Elderbrooke

Introducing: Alabastor Watkins

The twins woke with positive anticipation for today's lessons. They were set to be with a professor that had yet to meet face to face and if they was anything like the previous three teachers, he'd no doubt be anything less than stellar. But they were unfortunately wrong. Professor Alabastor Watkins was remarkable by many standards. He showed exceptional talent with the poised craft necessary for teaching potions while also being a thorough mentor through the precarious art of dark magic. But this was due to his number of years as a professor at the Academy and his fierce dedication to acquiring knowledge as a young man. What could be a wise mentor is instead a bitter, spiteful old git who was ready to move on from the mortal realm. Headmistress Holloway offered for him to retire over four decades ago but he didn't think she could find a suitable replacement for his position. So instead he remained and became more ill-tempered and petulant by the year. The younger students had known to fear him, but Alice and Oliver were blindly walking into a shark's territory and no one knew if they had the guts to handle such a contentious enigma as Professor Alabastor Watkins.

Oliver knocked softly on the door to the Professor's room. "Enter," croaked a deep bass voice. The twins were the first to arrive at class, which was a first, usually, they're the last. An ancient-looking man sat behind a desk at the front of the room. He had a long graying beard and looked well over 100 years old physically. His grey eyes had sagging skin and were nearly completely covered by his overgrown bushy eyebrows. Most of his skin drooped off his bones and what sparse hair he had on his head was pure white. Thick-rimmed glasses sat on his comically large nose which attached to a chain around his neck. A large discolored mark was blotched near his eyebrow and upper cheekbone as if burned by acid, giving the man a frightening appearance. The classroom smelled of something foul despite no one preparing any potions yet. Alice shrunk back at the sight of the intimidating man said to be their professor. She had begun to choose a seat in the front row but was interrupted by a tugging on her sleeve. Oliver nodded towards the back of the room with pleading eyes. After one more look at the creepy man only a few feet away, she followed her brother to the very last row and unpacked the items she was told to bring for the lesson. The rest of the Danes trickled into the room and sat in seats that looked to be assigned. Serena chanced a wave at the twins before promptly sitting a few rows before them. Once everyone was settled, the professor rose from his chair and tapped the blackboard with his wand.

Water Repelling Potion wrote itself in chalk and Professor Watkins looked over the class with a dull stare.

"Get out your textbooks and turn to page 156. There you will find the recipe for a water-repelling potion and I expect you and your partner to make it by the end of class. Do not ask other groups for aid, keep the voices at a minimum. Anyone who cannot recreate this potion will get a 0 for the day. And as you should all know, but a few of you may not," he said turning his beady eyes to the twins, "More than five zeroes in one term will result in a failing grade and you will need to retake this course. So, pay attention and get working." The students quickly began unpacking their pouches and started measuring out different ingredients. Alice and Oliver were lost as they hadn't received a potions textbook yet while the rest of the kids had one book for each pair. Before Alice could even begin to worry, a towering figure appeared in front of their desk. It was the Professor and he was even scarier up close. Wrinkles took over his face, his teeth were coated in grime, and his ears had tufts of hair overflowing. The professor revealed one last textbook in tattered condition and placed it on the desk. Alice smiled, well more like winced, at the man before flipping through the fragile pages. Notes were scribbled in the margins and a lot of the recipes seemed pretty extensive. Finally, she found page 156 and looked at the ingredients.

"Mugwort, katniss roots, beetle dung, dew drops, cattywompuss blossoms. How is any of this supposed to make something waterproof?" She asked exasperated. Half of the items weren't on the list Lady Thornsbury gave them, and she had no idea where to locate them. She feared asking the professor, he didn't seem like the helpful type, so she instead turned to her peers.