Order Only
May. 24th, 2009 07:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alt_poppyWell, I’ve spent a great lot of the day receiving and answering owls from parents concerned about their children’s exposure to mind-altering potions brewed by their peers.
Molly, let me set your mind at ease, if that’s possible: Horace and I have thoroughly examined samples of two different potions that were in circulation here at the school these past weeks, and I can assure you that even if one of your boys had ingested the stuff, it does not appear to be lethal and its properties are of limited duration. (The short effective life of the substances has been good for business, it would appear, as those students who used it would have needed a fresh dose every day in order to sustain the enhancement of their mental capacity.)
As the Headmistress must have made clear in her announcement before yesterday’s Quidditch match (I wasn't able to attend, alas!), these substances are dangerous. There have in some cases been some very unpleasant side effects, including projectile vomiting, sudden unconsciousness, vertigo, and excruciating headache, which hint at dangers we seem very fortunately to have escaped this year. I believe the Headmistress must have led students to understand that there IS a lethal potential to any illicit potion, and, if one may judge by the level of anxiety in today’s post, many students must have reported a rather excited version of this to their parents, who, in turn, shared their concerns with me.
For what it’s worth, the worst side effects have afflicted those who swallowed the potions and then also ingested certain not uncommon foodstuffs. Bertie Botts' fruit- and meat-flavoured beans, roasted turnips, and (transfigured) terrine of tuna are amongst the substances that appear to be incompatible with the contraband substances. (The first interaction came to light quite accidentally whilst pupils were sitting Wednesday morning’s Charms O.W.L.; the second and third came to our attention during Thursday dinner.)
I believe that knowledge of these interactions has been quite helpful to the Headmistress in her investigation.
I don’t know all the details of which students were culprits in the brewing and sale of these things, or how many of their peers may have been enticed to purchase and use them. As you all know, these sorts of things happen occasionally in a school, despite the staff’s best efforts to keep our students safe, and, of course, while certain of the ingredients came from my stores, they could as well have been brought from the outside. It really is impossible to entirely prevent this sort of entrepreneurial activity. In fact, certain of the key ingredients in this case were things available only from quite dodgy sources, certainly nothing we keep on hand here at Hogwarts.
That’s not to say that I have not done what I could to keep school supplies safe from unauthorised use--and, of course, I’ve done my utmost to assist in assessing the risks and treating those affected.
Molly, let me set your mind at ease, if that’s possible: Horace and I have thoroughly examined samples of two different potions that were in circulation here at the school these past weeks, and I can assure you that even if one of your boys had ingested the stuff, it does not appear to be lethal and its properties are of limited duration. (The short effective life of the substances has been good for business, it would appear, as those students who used it would have needed a fresh dose every day in order to sustain the enhancement of their mental capacity.)
As the Headmistress must have made clear in her announcement before yesterday’s Quidditch match (I wasn't able to attend, alas!), these substances are dangerous. There have in some cases been some very unpleasant side effects, including projectile vomiting, sudden unconsciousness, vertigo, and excruciating headache, which hint at dangers we seem very fortunately to have escaped this year. I believe the Headmistress must have led students to understand that there IS a lethal potential to any illicit potion, and, if one may judge by the level of anxiety in today’s post, many students must have reported a rather excited version of this to their parents, who, in turn, shared their concerns with me.
For what it’s worth, the worst side effects have afflicted those who swallowed the potions and then also ingested certain not uncommon foodstuffs. Bertie Botts' fruit- and meat-flavoured beans, roasted turnips, and (transfigured) terrine of tuna are amongst the substances that appear to be incompatible with the contraband substances. (The first interaction came to light quite accidentally whilst pupils were sitting Wednesday morning’s Charms O.W.L.; the second and third came to our attention during Thursday dinner.)
I believe that knowledge of these interactions has been quite helpful to the Headmistress in her investigation.
I don’t know all the details of which students were culprits in the brewing and sale of these things, or how many of their peers may have been enticed to purchase and use them. As you all know, these sorts of things happen occasionally in a school, despite the staff’s best efforts to keep our students safe, and, of course, while certain of the ingredients came from my stores, they could as well have been brought from the outside. It really is impossible to entirely prevent this sort of entrepreneurial activity. In fact, certain of the key ingredients in this case were things available only from quite dodgy sources, certainly nothing we keep on hand here at Hogwarts.
That’s not to say that I have not done what I could to keep school supplies safe from unauthorised use--and, of course, I’ve done my utmost to assist in assessing the risks and treating those affected.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-25 03:43 pm (UTC)I must confess that my biggest worry is for the twins. They don't care about their marks, but, well, they DO have an entrepreneurial spirit, I think. Over the Easter break Arthur was talking with them, asking whether they had any plans for the future, when they left school. Fred told him they had some ideas for going into business. They wouldn't tell him much about what they had in mind, but they did hint a bit that it involved Potions and Charms.
I don't think they would have been involved. (But of course mothers are sometimes the last to know when their children get involved in something reprehensible, aren't they?) I would have hoped that their upbringing with Arthur and me would have prevented it, but I don't know.
Poppy, you don't have any reason to think they're involved, do you?
no subject
Date: 2009-05-25 07:10 pm (UTC)I must confess, however, that from what I know of the twins, they have the ability and ingenuity it would take to cook up a scheme like this one, so I share your hope that their sense of integrity will prevent them from using their talents for dubious purposes.
This scandal might provide you with an opening for a pointed conversation with those boys during the long vacation ahead.