In my element on Cascade Hall

Josh S.,Lila St. M., Paul T., & Eavan.

October 07, 2009 5:53 PM

Academic Activity: Potion Competition by Josh S.,Lila St. M., Paul T., & Eavan.

After spending the last few months working with Lila St. Martin (again), Paul Tarwater, and Eavan Valentine, Josh could say without a doubt that if he didn’t have to face them ever again, he’d be more than happy. It wasn’t that the transition for everything went smoothly (for the most part it had), but all of them were working on RATS level material, along with Prefect duties, on top of other clubs they may have been on, college applications, and social lives, they were scrapped thin while working on these bonfire activities as well.

But it can all be said and done now that the Rocky Mountain International was on their school grounds and they could actually sit there and say they’ve done a fine job of picking out the potions and then actually creating the potions.

Because there were two categories, they had six different kinds of potions. The first group of potions were for the First through Fourth years. The first potion was a rather simple potion and most used amongst those who liked to keep lots of memories. Although muggleborns were still getting used to the idea, those born within magical families only considered this potion to be a regular household potion when it came to reviewing their memories. Simple to make, the potion consists of 8 cups stream water, 7 powdered shrivelfig pits, 2 boiled murtlap leaves, 32 crushed fairy eggs, 5 hippocampus scales, and 1 unicorn tail hair.

The second potion allows for those who take it to think more clearly, of course, only if it’s make correctly. The potion itself is just enough advanced to make a person double check all the work, but not too difficult to know that if you made a mistake, someone would get hurt. The ingredients for this potion are scarab beetles, daisy roots, armadillo bile, and essence of belladonna.

The third potion was chosen as a sort of play on the second because the effect was the exact opposite. But it was also chosen because it is taught in their first years and should be easy enough to figure out. Well, at least for those who haven’t taken it and who have paid attention in their Potions lessons. The ingredients are minced fluxweed, sumac, and doxy blood.

The potions for the Fifth through Seventh years were far harder to decide between and to create. Although all of whom were working together on this project had the knowledge to create these potions, they still required absolute precision to make correctly due to their effects on living beings. But, because they had months to work on these potions, they had the chance to make sure all the potions were perfect.

Thankfully, the first potion they decided on for the older students actually had a look to it that allowed them to know whether or not the potion was made correctly. Mixing the ingredients that include powdered moonstone and syrup of hellebore correctly, a silvery vapor should begin to exude from the potions surface. After completing the potion, that silvery vapor calmed Josh’s nerves for more than the potion actually could, even if it was created specifically for that.

The second potion that was decided upon was one that changes another person’s physical characteristics into whomever they so chose. The potion actually took quite a long time to brew based on the various stages that occurred. It also was one of the more advanced potions that they had to learn. Although, they couldn’t exactly test the potion on themselves, they had to assume that the look and smell of the potion was enough for the other students to be able to determine the name of the potion. The potion is thick, dark, and mud-like in appearance while it bubbles rather slowly.

The last potion that they picked was also somewhat picky in how each ingredient worked with the last. But the end result was a perfect and rather beautiful shade of turquoise. The ingredients to this potion included salamander blood and pomegranate juice and only took a couple of days to mature.

“Alright, everyone. Welcome to the Academic part of the Bonfire Activities.” Josh announced to the students who gathered around their area. “What we have here is a competition involving potions. There are two separate groups for this competition. The first group is for the first through fourth years and the second group is for the fifth through seven years.

“The object of the competition is to determine what exactly are the three potions that are currently resting in front of you. Once you have believed that you have figured out the answers, please write them down on the piece of parchment that we have provided you along with your name, school name, and year and give the parchment back to one of the four of us standing up here.

“After everyone who has decided to play has finished, we will review each piece of parchment to determine the winner of this competition. There will be two winners from each school. One from Sonora and one from Rocky Mountain for each group. We will contact the winners later in the day and present the prizes to them.” Josh finished his spiel and looked to his partners to see if they had anything to add.

On his right, Lila was smiling brightly, but had a rather glazed look in her eyes that was out of keeping with her fanatically neat appearance. “May the best students win!” she said, clapping her hands slightly in front of her and trying not to giggle. A few more hours, and this whole thing would be over! It was almost enough to sustain her in the face of sharing a tent with other girls.

Paul stood, hoping to be the unnoticed face of the crowd. He kept his head down, dark hair, recently grown in, slipping over his face. He needed them to be cut soon. Clasping his hands together tightly, he watched as they paled from lack of blood flow, and the boy looked up at the others through his eyelashes. He chose to not speak, hadn’t he done enough already? He helped make the potions, he did his work. But, once Lila finished with her little addition, Paul did lift his head to give an acknowledging nod to everyone out there. Yes, let the games begin. Stupid.

Eavan noticed Lila's dazed look on her left and thought she looked about the same. When this bonfire was over, Eavan would be sleeping for days.

OOC: We will be determining who the winners are OOC based on creativity and details within each post. We will announce a winner at the end of the bonfire activities. Please note that the ingredients would not be known to the students but were only provided so that authors have something to base their searches on when trying to determine that potions we have selected. Also, the first potion described for the 1st-4th years is not a Penseive. Please remember it’s a potion that has to do with capturing a person’s memory. Good luck and have fun!

Subthreads:

Think I've got these sorted... by Ivy Tallow (RMI sixth year)

Making a full sweep by Daniel Nash II, Sonora 2nd Year

In my element by Keith Blackburn [RMI 2nd year]

Representing my school... by Elly Eriksson (Sonora 6th year)

0 Josh S.,Lila St. M., Paul T., & Eavan. Academic Activity: Potion Competition 0 Josh S.,Lila St. M., Paul T., & Eavan. 1 5

Ivy Tallow (RMI sixth year)

October 09, 2009 12:05 PM

Think I've got these sorted... by Ivy Tallow (RMI sixth year)

Neither the obstacle course nor the broom racing event held any interest for Ivy: she disliked the unpredictable and hated flying. The academic competition on the other hand, that caught her interest. So once general milling around had finished and Sonora prefect-led activities began, Ivy headed towards the potions competition. Although it wasn't her best subject (that was Charms - she loved it and got the highest grades in her year) she was taking higher level potions and thought she could make a decent attempt at identifying those laid out before her. Nodding politely in greeting to Miss St Martin, who Ivy had seen very occasionally at social gatherings, she took to the task at hand.

Having selecting a piece of the parchment that had been provided, and a charcoal pencil, Ivy approached the first cauldron. Its contents were shimmering lightly, with a cloud of silvery vapur rising gently from the concoction. This narrowed it down considerably, and the fact that the vapor was random, rather than spiralled, excluded Amortentia from the list of possibilities. There were no large bubbles on the suface, so it was not a Befuddlement Draught, and the fact that it was held in a cauldron indicated it was not corrosive. Lightly biting the inside of her lip, Ivy was fairly sure what the potion was. As a final check, she leant over the cauldron and lightly inhaled the rising steam. Feeling at once more relaxed, Ivy smiled to herslef and wrote on her parchment Draught of Peace.

The second potion was instantly recognizable: Ivy's stomach did a backflip as she realized this was the same potion she had in her bag, currently hung over one shoulder. She had received the potion as a gift at hristmas, and until this morning it had been safely hidden under her bed in the Cetus dormitory. In a rare moment of recklessness, Ivy had seized the small vial and packed it along with her pajamas. The potion must soon be nearing the end of its shelf life, and Ivy considered she would get into far less trouble using it off her school grounds (even if this did happen to be the grounds of a different school). Besides, there were so many people here and so much going on that who would notice? Ivy stayed around the second cauldron a little while longer, in faux contemplation, before writing Polyjuice potion on her parchment, and progressing to the final cauldron.

The third potion was a stunning color - one that Ivy liked but was nowehere near brave enough to ever wear. She tended to stick to calm pastels, or occasionally navy blues if the occasion called for a more sombre appearance. The color of this potion alone made it fairly distinctive - if it had been brewed correctly, that is. To be sure, Ivy gently dipped the corner of her parchment sheet into the mixture. It didn't melt or burn, and when Ivy tried to rip the corner off she found it wouldn't be torn. Ivy wrote Strengthening solution in the final space, completing her parchment. It was pleasing to know that her hours sitting alone in the reference center were at least paying off. Ivy handed in her completed entry to the Sonora prefects, and wandered back outside for some fresh air after being indoors with all those fumes.

0 Ivy Tallow (RMI sixth year) Think I've got these sorted... 0 Ivy Tallow (RMI sixth year) 0 5

Daniel Nash II, Sonora 2nd Year

October 09, 2009 4:55 PM

Making a full sweep by Daniel Nash II, Sonora 2nd Year

After the broom race, Daniel moved indoors to (a) grab something to eat, and (b) join the academic competition that his House association all but required him to participate in. Potions was one of his favorite subjects anyway, so it was hardly a chore. Still, as he listened to Josh Santoro go over the rules, he reflected a little on the notion that for somebody who claimed only a mild interest in the Bonfire, he was probably one of a very small minority of students who was trying out all three of the prefect led activities.

Moving to the table with the potions for the younger years, Daniel looked over the first one and frowned. He could recite ingredients and steps for how to prepare a dozen or so potions off the top of his head, and provide detailed trivia about the origins and properies of about fifty different ingredients. Never before, however, had he been required to identify a potion in its final state. He wasn't sure even where to begin.

Well, color and consistency would at least give him a starting point. Even with that, there were still a half dozen potions that he could think of off the top of his head that the first cauldron might contain. He leaned in and gave it a sniff, and pulled back again almost immediately, eyes wide. The smell of fairy eggs was unmistakable, and a memory of buying that particular ingredient to replenish his supplies struck him more clearly and in sharper detail than it had since it happened, several months ago.

Well, that cleared that one. Potion 1: Memory Review Potion he wrote down on his answer sheet.

Feeling more confident, he moved on to the next one. He inspected the color and noted how transparent it was. He could make out the details of the cauldron's bottom easily. A sniff of the potion's vapor brought the distinctive tinge of a potion that contained some form of bile, but which was tempered by the sweeter scent of some kind of plant. Belladona maybe? Combining that with the crystal-clear appearance cinched this one. He'd just been reviewing it that morning. With a smug sense of certainty, he wrote out Potion 2: Clarity Potion.

The last one, he was surprised to recognize right off. They'd just made this in class a few weeks ago. There was no mistaking that cloudiness. Potion 3: Forgetfulness potion, he wrote before leaning forward to take a whiff and risking forgetting what he was doing. He sniffed, trying to identify the sumac, but couldn't seem to remember what sumac smelt like. That might have been it.

He looked at his sheet and was glad the forgetfulness one had been last. He brought the paper up to nearest of the prefects and turned it in.

1 Daniel Nash II, Sonora 2nd Year Making a full sweep 130 Daniel Nash II, Sonora 2nd Year 0 5

Keith Blackburn [RMI 2nd year]

October 13, 2009 10:36 PM

In my element by Keith Blackburn [RMI 2nd year]

Originally, the dark-eyed Draco had no intention of participating in any of the Bonfire Activities. Team Player was hardly one of his best qualities—if it was a talent he possessed at all—and Keith had simply planned on waiting out the visit in his tent, or perhaps watching the action on the Obstacle Course; ostensibly to support RMI but essentially to look like he was less antisocial than he actually was. This plan, of course, had been formulated before Keith had known there was a Potions Competition going on; as soon as he got word of this, the academic proceeded immediately to Cascade Hall, only asking for directions once. After receiving a parchment from the prefects who were heading the contest, Keith approached the cauldron containing the first potion he was supposed to identify.

This first potion was unfamiliar to the Floridian; he could detect the distinguishing scent of fairy eggs, but he was certain his class had never brewed this before. To Keith, smells of potions were nearly as memorable as peoples’ voice colors, and he knew he had smelled this brew before, but he couldn’t quite place it…after hovering around the cauldron for several minutes, Keith decided that he would come back to this one later. Noticing the throng of people surrounding the second potion’s cauldron, the black-haired boy skipped this and went to the last cauldron for his age group.

This third potion was much simpler to recognize, and Keith took care not to breathe the fumes in as he wrote Potion Three: Forgetfulness Potion at the bottom of the provided parchment. He was fairly certain that the paper had been spelled to defend against cheating. The second-year was intrigued by this sort of magic, though he got the impression from the nature of the enchantment that it was a Charm. Barring Defense Against the Dark Arts, which sometimes gave him bother, Charms was the only subject which stubbornly and consistently refused to function for Keith. He insisted that he did not need tutoring, though, and there was not much point in asking because Professor Foster was leaving at the end of the term. Perhaps the new Charms professor would have a teaching style that suited Keith more than Foster’s had.

Adjusting his silver-rimmed glasses, the twelve-year-old—his birthday was not until June fourth—moved to the second cauldron he was supposed to examine. The crowd had thinned somewhat and Keith was able to get rather close to the brew. He recognized it instantaneously; while Keith himself had not made it, he had seen it in Professor Audrey’s room once, left over from a fourth-year class, and the color was unmistakable. Using large and small capital letters—his usual writing style, which had irritated and distressed his elementary school teachers—Keith wrote Potion Two: Wit-Sharpening Potion in the middle of the page.

Back to the first cauldron. If he was any more antsy, he would have been pacing around it. Where had he seen this before? Not in Potions class, no—could he have seen an upperclassman with it? But which potions could students safely possess? He had heard that, two or so terms before he had come to the school, a Lyra first year had accidentally taken too much Befuddlement Draught and wound up in the Hospital Wing.

Something in his last thought had stirred his memory, but when he thought back on it, the recollection was gone. Knowing better than to dwell on the lost thought—it would come back eventually—Keith stared at the cauldron.

What was I thinking about? Dangerous potions…Hospital Wing? But I’m fairly certain this cannot be a Healing potion, usually they do not contain fairy eggs… He tried to remember what had triggered the recognition. There was no chance of Keith giving up now. It’s not a Befuddlement Draught, I would know if that was it, you can always smell the sneezewort, and I would recognize that from the Emotion Potion that the girl who worked with Simon took—some first-year in Lyra…

Lyra.

He remembered now. Last term, he had been walking to the library and had nearly collided with a Lyra sixth-year running in the opposite direction, towards her Common Room from Professor Audrey’s classroom. She was carrying a vial of potion, and Keith had inquired as to what it was since he did not recognize it. Giving him an incredulous look, the doubtlessly wizard-born upperclassman had informed him that the potion was used to develop photographs, because the special solution made the occupants of wizarding pictures able to move.

Keith did not know the technical name of the potion, but he wrote Potion One: Photo-Developing Potion above his second answer and hoped that this was a good enough response for the judges. Surely they would know what he meant. He turned in his response sheet, making sure his name, year, and school were written at the top, and then left Cascade Hall. Perhaps he would see the Obstacle Course, after all…

0 Keith Blackburn [RMI 2nd year] In my element 0 Keith Blackburn [RMI 2nd year] 0 5

Elly Eriksson (Sonora 6th year)

October 26, 2009 4:48 AM

Representing my school... by Elly Eriksson (Sonora 6th year)

Running one of the activities didn't really present itself as an issue to Elly - she was going to take part in the others, regardless. The broom race was practically a given, as she was an avid Quidditch player and it wasn't exactly a secret that she had House pride by the bucketload. The potions competition held her interest because potions was her best subject by a long shot - it always had been. Elly's competitive nature meant that she had pushed herself harder in this class, too, because there were certain individuals in the year above that had held a sort of reputation for being excellent potioneers: Elly would like to be considered on the same level. She'd never really excelled at anything academically before, and she'd discovered a liking for it.

As it turned out, the potions competition offered four prizes, with each competing student only being eligible for one. Selecting a quill and an answer sheet, and scribed her name, year and school at the top of it before making her way to the first of the higher level potions. The surface of the liquid contained in the cauldron shimmered a little, as a silvery vapour was emitted. This potion was familiar, not just from classes, but because several of the seventh years seemed to have their hands on some in their commons, or the corridors. Elly couldn’t blame them; she wouldn’t fancy taking her RATS right now, either. Luckily she was in sixth year, not seventh, so a calming draught wasn’t considered necessary at this stage. Come next year, she might take to carrying around a bottle of this solution, too. Putting pen to paper, Elly wrote draught of peace in the first blank space, and moved on to identify the next potion.

Unlike the first, which could be considered quite beautiful, as far as potions go, this second concoction didn’t have any aesthetic appeal. It bubbled most unattractively, was murky in colour, and the fragrance emitted was reminiscent of muddy boots left for too long before being cleaned. Elly hadn’t ever brewed this potion herself, but the textbooks she’d read on the subject had been rather graphic in their explanations of quite how many things could go wrong if polyjuice potion was ingested after being incorrectly brewed. It was almost enough to put Elly of the idea of it completely... but only almost, because how amazing would it be to turn into someone else for a while? Just imagine the pranking potential! Scribbling down polyjuice potion for the second potion, Elly moved onto the third and final piece of the puzzle.

It was back to being beautiful, and Elly failed at suppressing a smile. This was the colour she would paint her bedroom, if ever she got one again. Bright turquoise! Assuming she had identified it correctly (and the shade rather gave it away), this wasn’t a potion Elly would really consider ever using. For a start, charms worked so much faster than brewing a complication potion, and there were many charms to increase strength, to both people and objects. As an additional consideration, Elly couldn’t really forget the time they had brewed this particular potion in class: so many things could go wrong! Luckily her own attempt had merely looked a little on the weak side, but someone somewhere had gone quite wrong and filled the classroom with the not so delectable scent of burning rubber. Elly almost gagged just thinking about it. Writing Strengthening solution in the final space of her answer sheet, Elly turned on her heel and handed her answers back in to her fellow prefects.

0 Elly Eriksson (Sonora 6th year) Representing my school... 0 Elly Eriksson (Sonora 6th year) 0 5