Your pov
According to the directions Ismene gave me, potions class should be in the east wing of the school. The entire school was made out of white marble, a material that has small amounts of mana infused in it. Thus making it stronger than normal materials, such as wood or steel. With how many students that attend this school, I could only guess that there's a cleaning system and/or enchantment to keep these halls clean. Regardless of that fact, I was giddy to have a class, even though technically it was meant for second years.
The classroom was made out of the same white marble, prevalent almost everywhere in this school. With the cafeteria, library, and other rooms built out of different materials. Unlike what potion rooms are believed to look like, Professor Lir's classroom was bright, built out of clean marble, with large arched windows letting in the warm sunlight.
(Below is a general idea of what the potion room looks like, using a program called: Homestyler, to create this room.)
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted something green. Greeting Professor Lir, a middle-aged male with mostly brown hair, and fair skin. "Ah, you must be (y/n). Give me one moment to set up." He said, rushing towards the back of the class to grab a few miscellaneous bottles. Hanami jumped off of their stick, bouncing towards Professor Lir's desk, where a bottle familiar tried to levitate its way from them. This familiar, which I'm guessing would be Professor Lir's, bumped into my chest, trying to hide from Hanami.
"Hanami calm down, you're scaring Professor Lir's familiar," I told them, they stopped in their pursuit. Matcha bounced forward to lend out his wing. Curious and afraid, Professor Lir's familiar sheepishly floated forward, eyeing the others. Matcha carefully patted the bottle familiar's smooth, glass-like surface. Almost immediately the two became friends, much to the jealousy of Matcha's brothers.
"It's wonderful that they get along so well, my apologies, Arcane, my familiar is scared of many things." Professor Lir informed me, in his arms were a few textbooks and glass bottles.
(I drew the picture below. :D)
"I should be the one to apologize." He smiled at my answer, beckoning me to stand behind the teacher's desk. From there, I saw the entire classroom, from his perspective. Although, at the moment, it was only him, our familiars, and myself present.
"About Arcane, is he/she an F rank?" I asked since it seemed too perfect for a professor to have a familiar that directly matches the class they teach.
"Sharp eye, yes, Arcane is an F rank, just like your familiar. However, I've only managed to raise him to D rank, with my magic rather limited, that's sadly where Arcane is stuck at the moment." Professor Lir answered, sighing at his limitation.
"D rank? But I thought all teachers were at least A rank themselves?" I asked. Professor Lir smiled at me softly, in a quiet reply he confessed that he was a D rank when it came to magic.
"Anyone below B rank tends to find interest in alchemy, potions, plants-arts that they are able to excel in. Of course, I can't speak for every teacher in this academy, but for Professor Lineage, Lumin, Firma, and Faira, we all are exceptions to this "ranking" system among teachers. While we aren't able to fight off strong monsters with our low-ranked spells, we are incredibly good at the subjects we teach. Despite the myth that masters mistreated or even destroyed their own F rank familiars. You'd be surprised by how many there are in this academy, you just have to keep an eye on which one was originally an F rank."
"But the reason why the academy was unprepared for your arrival, was simply because the headmaster never expected for a student to choose an F rank. With its dark history, many are put off of summoning one, but just so you know, only the staff knows of Arcane's past. So please, keep this a secret." Professor Lir asked I nodded, watching Arcane play with Hanami. "Before we begin, are there any questions you'd like to ask?" he inquired.
"Ah yes, um, er, why is this room decor-free?" I inquired, noticing the blank wall to the left of the classroom.
"Let's just say, I had to deal with very opinionated paintings for a few months." He said. I smiled at his discomfort but hiding it as best I could. Since we were about to begin, I washed my hands and took cautious safety measures. Having dealt with plenty of potion burns in the past, during my tutoring session with other students. "But it's also a safety hazard, so I tend to keep my classroom spotless, if possible," he added, nodding at my proper safety protocols. "If only there were more sensible students like you," he muttered, although standing next to him, I was able to hear it.
3rd pov
Professor Lir enjoyed teaching (y/n), he was quite sensible and dependable, a worthy student to teach his expansive knowledge of potions. Besides what was 'academically' needed, he taught (y/n) all sorts of potions, from ones that shot out fireworks, to ones that produced something resembling coffee.
"There's one thing to note, Alchemy and potions aren't the same things. While it's easy to confuse the two, Alchemy is the transmutation of two objects, such as water to wine or common objects to gold. Whereas potion making is focused on liquids, with parts of alchemy being a subgenre of potions that have... effects that we don't need to cover." Professor Lir, showing his obvious distaste for potions that he thinks, is a disgrace against both Alchemy and potion-making.
Said potions were Love, death, and poison, just to name a few. While these were known as 'Enhancements' and were taught as an elective, by Professor Firma, there was a lot of turmoil between Firma, Lir, and Professor Slain, the Alchemy teacher. Many times when they crossed paths, students of either teacher would note the tension between them.
(y/n) took notes of what they did, with Hanami even helping him with the potions. By this time, they were able to cast small amounts of spells, being fireball, icicle, and... whatever Matcha was trying to do. Ichigo kept the fire, beneath a small cauldron on an iron stand going. Yuki helped produce tiny icicle shards that proved useful when creating potions that needed to be kept at a lukewarm state.
Even Arcane felt comfortable enough to help out, using some of it's magic to stir the liquid, using liquid manipulation. Noting that Arcane was a water-type familiar, (y/n) asked Professor Lir if he specialized in water magic. "Yes, potion-making does require a bit of water, and in times where taking water from a nearby lake would be a bit impossible to do. That's where my very limited spells come in." Professor Lir laughed lightly, watching (y/n) work calmly. Adding finely, delicately sliced pieces of orange peels along with toad skin into the cauldron. While it might seem disgusting to say the least, the orange peels, along with a few dozen other additives were used to mask the smell and flavor. So that the consumer wouldn't have to force down a potion that tasted like toad skin, skunk spray, and spider mush. That alone was a disgusting image, so in times of ignorant bliss, might save someone's life.
Although lessons were generally only an hour, (y/n)'s happened for nearly 4 hours. He found complete enjoyment in learning potion-making from Professor Lir and was able to help expand Lir and his own knowledge about a variety of things. In the end, while the two made their way to the cafeteria for dinner. Professor Lir asked if (y/n) wanted to assist him with some of his classes. Having talked it over with Ismene, she didn't mind, only if (y/n) spent most of his time in the library.
At the staff table, Professor Slain mulled over his offer to teach (y/n) alchemy. At first, he thought to see what talent the male had when it came to potion-making but to see the slight smirk on Professor Lir's face. As if to tell he had a hand over him, Professor Slain rethought his choice. Checking his schedule, he smiled, finding that he would have a chance to see (y/n) in action.
Published on January 13, 2020