Lesson Two, Beginners on Potions

Professor Fawcett

July 30, 2012 11:10 PM

Lesson Two, Beginners by Professor Fawcett

Near the end of the year, the Concert fever seemed to be in the air. John couldn’t blame the students, especially the younger and the more involved ones, as they were not only going to be putting on a show for their teachers and classmates, but also for their families this year, an innovation of which he approved. Though some parents were themselves problems – apparently, Miss O’Malley’s mother wasn’t even permitted at the event, and one never did know exactly what was going to happen with some pureblood parents anyway – there was still something to be said, he thought, for more parent involvement than they generally had the ability to provide for their students here at Sonora.

Lessons, though, went on. “Good day, class, good day,” he said, gesturing them to their seats. “I think you’ll like the one we’re working on today, though hopefully none of you will require it after your Concert acts.”

He held up a large bottle of the potion so all the class could see the dark green solution. “This,” he said, “is the Awakening Potion. It’s often used to prevent sleep, though it can prove harmful or ineffective if it is used too often, if a person goes too long without sleep. In medicine, it’s most often used to treat concussion.” Hence his remark; he hoped that no one’s act would go so poorly that they ended up with a concussion, but it was also possible. There were any number of ways for students to get injured during a magical education; the wonder was that they did not have more emergencies. The Sonora type seemed to be fairly responsible, though whether that was through the nature of the students or through environmental influences, he didn’t know.

“For it, you will need six snake fangs, six billywig stings, a couple of springs of wolfsbane. You’ll need to heat the ingredients before adding them to the cauldron. Stir clockwise, perform the setting charm, and let it simmer for the remainder of the class period – I suggest you work on your homework on this subject, or at least revise for your final exam together, while also keeping a close eye on the potion – and by the last five minutes you should be ready to give it the last few stirs, set it, and bottle your samples. Good luck, and I am here if you require my assistance.”

OOC: Usual posting rules apply, and tag Professor Fawcett if you need him. Happy posting!

Subthreads:

The Awakening... by Megan Brownbriar, Teppenpaw with Waverly Canterbury - Pecari, Meggie

Yay new potion by Clara Abernathy, Pecari

Awake My Soul. by Cepheus Princeton, Crotalus

0 Professor Fawcett Lesson Two, Beginners 0 Professor Fawcett 1 5

Megan Brownbriar, Teppenpaw

August 01, 2012 7:08 PM

The Awakening... by Megan Brownbriar, Teppenpaw

Megan Brownbriar was getting antsy. She’d decided on doing something for the Concert that she was sure her father wouldn’t approve of. There was that fact that made her really not want to be in Potions class that close to the event. She wanted to be practicing.

The days and days of flight she’d had gave her the adrenaline she knew she needed. She was like her older cousin that way… Unfortunately, her cousin was disowned or something of the like as well. But that didn’t mean I would be, right? she thought to herself as she shrugged. Walking into Potions class, Professor Fawcett started speaking. He told them that he was sure they’d like the potion they were working on and then explained it. The Awakening Potion seemed interesting and she wondered if Briar took that ever. She looked across the room at Gareth and waved emphatically at him. He’d looked tired to her, but she shrugged it off. He’d been busy as he had to play in the finals and he was probably seriously lacking sleep. She took note of that and wondered if he needed some of the potions that would be brewed… She took notes about what the potion is used for and what she’d need to put in it as well as how to work the potion itself. “Hm. Interesting…” she said soft enough for only her desk neighbor to hear.

She turned to them and asked, “Ready?”

0 Megan Brownbriar, Teppenpaw The Awakening... 0 Megan Brownbriar, Teppenpaw 0 5

Clara Abernathy, Pecari

August 01, 2012 11:11 PM

Yay new potion by Clara Abernathy, Pecari

Clara walked into Potions class with slight trepidation. A new potion to do...oh yay! Clara rolled her eyes as she took her seat and tried not to look nervous over the new potion. As she studied the green substance in the vial she listened closely as Professor Fawcett explained what the potion was and what it did. She nodded silently in agreement over his comment about hopefully not needing it after their performances. She thought briefly about hers, Waverly's and Brielle's piece and silently prayed he was right and that they didn't need it. She listened to him give the directions for preparing the potion and made a few notes. “For it, you will need six snake fangs, six billywig stings, a couple of springs of wolfsbane. You’ll need to heat the ingredients before adding them to the cauldron. Stir clockwise, perform the setting charm, and let it simmer for the remainder of the class period – I suggest you work on your homework on this subject, or at least revise for your final exam together, while also keeping a close eye on the potion – and by the last five minutes you should be ready to give it the last few stirs, set it, and bottle your samples. Good luck, and I am here if you require my assistance.”

Clara went over to the cabinet with the list of ingredients and collected up what she needed. She brought the items back to her table and began preparing them as instructed. She wasn't quite sure what he had meant by "heating them" before putting them into the cauldron. She thought it over for a moment before deciding to try the warming charm that Waverly had taught her in Baking Club. She cast the warming charm on the items before placing them inside the cauldron and hoped they were warm enough for the potion. She stirred it as instructed, cast the setting charm and left it to simmer while she did her homework for class. She kept an eye in it and periodically wondered if she should go ahead and finish it up. She looked up at the time and realized that it was still too early for that so she had to let it sit.

She glanced up at the clock again and noticing that there was only five minutes left in the class she went ahead and began finishing up her potion. She stirred it the last few times, set it and bottled it as instructed. As she put the stopper in the bottle she wondered if she had done the potion correctly. She handed the potion bottle to professor Fawcett and taking her bookbag with her she headed out of the potions room. She hoped as she walked down the hall that the potion didn't blow up or something when he unstopped it. SHe was fairly certin if it did she would certainly hear about it soon enough.

0 Clara Abernathy, Pecari Yay new potion 232 Clara Abernathy, Pecari 0 5

Waverly Canterbury - Pecari

August 02, 2012 8:31 PM

...for the Concussed. by Waverly Canterbury - Pecari

The jitters Waverly got whenever she thought about the concert was getting to her studies. She had tried her hardest not to obsess over the piece she would be playing, but it was hard. She wasn't doing very well in keeping up with her homework, but she was trying to make it up by doing better in class. However, it was almost always a fail in potions somehow. Even if she was close, she hadn't brewed a totally perfect potion yet. One would think that, as a decent baker, she would be able to excel in this class. Alas, that wasn't the case.

Waverly sat down next to a girl she recognized as being in her year but had never really talked to before. She smiled at her before class began and listened closely to Professor Fawcett whom she had gotten to talk to a lot since he was the adviser for her club too. She couldn't help her mind as it began to wander back to the concert. She was just envisioning the twinkling lights that she was in charge of when the whole class began to stir. People were getting up and she quickly took her textbook out of her orange backpack and flipped to the potion they were making today.

The Awakening Potion. Sounded interesting enough. She narrowed her eyes at it as if to soak it into her brain with just a look. Obviously it didn't work that way, so she took out the ingredients from her little kit. She had most of them. She was just missing the snake fangs. Who carried snake fangs around with them? Ugh, dumb question. Everybody, probably.

Waverly heard her partner whisper something under her breath and she turned. "Yeah, I'm ready! My name's Waverly, by the way. I've seen you around. Second year, right?" She smiled. "Okay, I have billywig stings and wolfsbane. Do you have enough snake fangs?" She hoped that she would gain a new friend. As much as she loved the people in her house, she liked making friends with people outside of her house too. She took her collapsible cauldron out of her bag as well, glad that she had all of her supplies today. She was about to suggest that her partner light the fire underneath if she wanted to, but remembered that she had to tie her hair up. She had a nasty habit of letting her loose hairs fall into the potion. She tied back her rich brown hair into a bun and made sure it wouldn't come loose before setting up the ingredients. "Do you want to light the fire?" she asked courteously. She hoped her partner was better at Potions than she was. She'd definitely need help with studying for her Potions exam.

0 Waverly Canterbury - Pecari ...for the Concussed. 0 Waverly Canterbury - Pecari 0 5

Cepheus Princeton, Crotalus

August 05, 2012 3:15 PM

Awake My Soul. by Cepheus Princeton, Crotalus

The Midsummer Concert was on Cepheus's mind as well as his house's loss to Aladren. He still couldn't get over it. He'd seen the Snitch, had dove for it, but Carey had gotten it first. Next year, he promised himself, he'd get it. The stress of the end of the year had made Cepheus moody. He enjoyed working with his friends, but these days found him either in the library studying or in his room running over the skit he and his mates were going to perform or the failed Quidditch match he had lost. It was a stressful week for the second year and he walked into Potions class hoping to alleviate some of the burden on his shoulders.

His parents and brothers were going to be attending the concert. Though Grandfather had wanted to come just to see Cepheus fail, he was sure of it, only immediate family members were allowed. Cepheus was glad for the protection the school offered him for at least this. But his immediate family was still coming which still put pressure on him to perform. Rupert had also gotten a camera for his eleventh birthday so he was bound to take some photographs. Even better. Sometimes just thinking about it too long gave Cepheus nightmares.

Ceph sat down in his regular seat near the front. He had his cauldron out as well as his kit of ingredients quickly. He didn't bother taking out his quill or anything since it was rare there were notes to take down during class. It was all in the textbook. He turned to the Awakening Potion. He knew they had some at home that Mother sometimes brewed for Father when he had loads of paperwork to do from the family business. There was also some at the hospital his family owned for, obviously, the concussed. He wondered briefly if he could brew enough for his mates and they could spend extra time practising their skit.

Brewing the potion wouldn't be too difficult, and Cepheus got started setting up his silver cauldron and lighting the flame underneath. He turned to his partner and gestured to his ingredients. "We can use my ingredients. I've got all we need." After winning his first Quidditch match, his father had bought him his own enormous lot of potion ingredients and the silver cauldron he was using now. "As for heating the ingredients, do you know a heating charm?" Cepheus himself didn't know the heating charm very well. If neither he nor his partner knew, they could always just warm it in the flame underneath the cauldron.

0 Cepheus Princeton, Crotalus Awake My Soul. 0 Cepheus Princeton, Crotalus 0 5

Meggie

August 10, 2012 2:28 PM

Yay for the Concussed?? by Meggie

"Ready?" Meggie had asked the girl next to her. Megan recognized the other girl, she thought she was a Pecari, but the Teppenpaw couldn't be sure of that fact. Meggie waited for the other girl's answer but as she waited her mind ran with thoughts of the concert. Her flight pattern was getting more and more permanent in her mind and she felt better and better about it by the day.

"Yeah, I'm ready! My name's Waverly, by the way. I've seen you around. Second year, right?"

Waverly smiled at her and Meggie nodded. "Yes, I'm Megan Brownbriar of the Wales Brownbriars." she said ever so politely, she didn't know if Waverly was a pureblood, but if she was, she'd have to introduce herself correctly. If not, how ridiculous she sounded didn't matter right or left.

Waverly went on to tell her what she had and asked about the snake fangs. Meggie wrinkled her nose a little bit, but nodded her head anyway. "We can share mine. My father's just sent me more stores for my kit." she said, words not entirely her own, but she still wasn't sure if the other girl was pure or not and didn't want to ruin her chances (or rather her sister's chances, she couldn't care less about her own) for good relationships when they got here.

Meggie watched as Waverly took out her cauldron and tied her hair up. The second year thought she'd better do the same, so up went her own light blonde hair into a perfect pureblood bun like her mother had shown her years before. She'd taken to leaving her hair down since she started flying in the MARS rooms, and wondered if anyone had noticed the difference she knew was inside of her at that very moment but she was almost sure nobody had.

"Do you want to light the fire?"

"I guess I can." Meggie answered as she pulled out the fangs they'd need to add to their potion before picking up her wand and setting the fire under the cauldron.

"Well..." she said, looking at Waverly. "The directions say to do what next?" she asked, knowing Waverly had her book open in front of her.

0 Meggie Yay for the Concussed?? 0 Meggie 0 5

Waverly

August 15, 2012 3:11 AM

Well...yay that they have a healing potion! by Waverly

It was clear to Waverly that Meggie was a pureblood just by the way she introduced herself. Hopefully she wouldn't be all offended or something once she realized, or figured out, that Waverly wasn't one. There was nothing wrong being a muggle-born, so Waverly had come to terms with. Though she wished she could have grown up with magic, she loved her parents and her life the way it was. Even adding magic to the mix could ruin it. Sometimes she thought that purebloods lived really dramatic, stressful lives.

"It's nice to meet you Megan." She also wished she was rich like Megan seemed to be, but she guessed that all purebloods were rich. At least all the ones she'd met at Sonora, anyway. They all also seemed to come from old families who knew each other which made it harder to integrate herself into their society, but Waverly could try. She had friends who were purebloods anyway so she knew people like that existed. It was comforting.

Waverly was glad that Megan had all the things for their potion. Her store had been running out and her parents didn't really know how to buy their daughter her potions stuff. They didn't know what to buy either since muggles couldn't easily get their hands on snake fangs, lacewing flies, and other things like that. They were disgusted by it like Megan seemed to be by snake fangs. Waverly was a littel bit more squeamish when it came to eyeballs and such, but fangs didn't seem that bad.

Megan asked her a question and she quickly looked over at the textbook. "It says to finely crush the snake fangs in the mortar, add the six billywig stings to the cauldron and heat it for 30 seconds. Then add four measures of the crushed snake fangs to the cauldron and then stir it three times clockwise." She nodded and then smiled apologetically at Megan. "Sorry, you didn't ask me to read you the entire thing. Do you want to crush the snake fangs while I heat the billywig stings? I suck at crushing things correctly." Hopefully Megan would be better at it than her.

0 Waverly Well...yay that they have a healing potion! 0 Waverly 0 5

Meggie

August 17, 2012 1:54 PM

Heal me... by Meggie

Meggie wondered why all the fuss about blood status. It had never made any sense to her. A person was a person, and just because she was a girl she wasn’t allowed to fly? What? Was it going to break a nail? OH NO! she thought to herself, dripping in sarcasm. Her mother was pureblooded, and SHE was the one who’d taught Meggie flight in the first place that day at their picnic… Before she died…

Flight was the only thing that relieved any of the pain that still sat inside Meggie. Her father ignored his own pain, not to mention hers or of the other brothers and sisters. And she just couldn’t take it anymore. That was what had made her mind up on what she’d do for the concert. She knew her mother was watching her and that clenched the deal. Just because I’m a girl… thoughts started rumbling around in her mind when she heard Waverly next to her again. That was when she’d remembered where she was….

Potions class…

Meggie smiled at Waverly, “You can call me Meggie if you want…” she said, trying to forget the thoughts that were just in her mind. Waverly looked back at the book and read out the rest of the directions to Meggie. “Oh, right.” she said, trying to remember all that, but knowing that missing her mother would stop most of the recipe list from staying in her mind. “It’s okay, it happens…” she added when Waverly apologized. “Sure, I guess so.” she answered and pulled out the snake fangs, crushing them hard, wishing she could fly, thinking about how much she missed her mother…

0 Meggie Heal me... 0 Meggie 0 5