They also had managed to convince the half-blood potions teacher from the Montréal École de Sorcellerie, Madeleine Dubois-Volkov, to consult for the Order. Her mother was a French-Canadian witch, her father a Russian scientist who had worked in chemical weaponry in the motherland. Dubois-Volkov had gone to a Muggle University once she had finished her wizarding education and studied chemistry. Once she had completed her studies she had apprenticed to a talented potion master, and then eventually gained her teaching position. Her free time over the years had been spent trying to successfully blend muggle chemistry and magical potions together, to create more potent weapons and cures.