I love potions! on Potions

Professor Fawcett

September 07, 2011 10:50 AM

Lesson II for Beginners (1st and 2nd Years) by Professor Fawcett

"All right, everyone, settle down," John said as the bell rang to begin his beginners' class. There was a line to walk between having high standards even for his youngest students and being overly severe with them, but in the matter of insisting on starting classes in a timely manner, he didn't think he was in any danger at all of crossing it.

Of course, he thought with a hint of pride, this group, by and large, was one that he didn't worry too much about at all. There were several who showed real promise as potioneers or scholars or both, and he was quite looking forward to getting those in his Advanced class. He would be sorry to see some opt out, and the current group of Advanced students he'd taken under his wing and the group he was expecting to have in the next few years were both also good classses, but John had always found himself dwelling on the future and past as much as the present in his occasional idle moments regardless of the context. As far as it went, he thought there were worse flaws to have.

Once the room was quiet enough that he could speak easily without raising his voice, he began their lesson. "Much of our work this year has been with simple potions for healing minor household injuries," he said. It was a good topic for beginners, he thought, since they were simple potions, the kinds of things the average person would brew more than anything else as an adult, and generally not too likely to poison you even if something went wrong. "We will continue in that theme today. Today's potion is one I'm sure most of you will find some need for before you finish studying Potions - one to soothe simple burns."

He picked up a small potted plant which had appeared on his desk. "A severe, or even moderate, burn would require greater care, but for - say - touching a finger to the side of your cauldron, this will suffice. Some of you may have used aloe - " he slightly lifted his plant - "for sunburn and such at home. Extract of aloe will be one of your components today, along with all-heal to prevent infection, which you'll need to boil down yourself, and just a touch of clove oil.

"Those are the basic ingredients. Instructions for thickening this into a topical mix, to be applied to the skin, along with other directions are on the board and in your books, page 97. Once you are done with your potions, you will begin your compositions on the brewing process and any errors you made - " he found this an effective tactic for keepng students from making the same mistakes too many times over - "and on the differences between topical and ingested potions. Consult together if you wish, though remember that you will take your final exams as individuals, and begin."

OOC: Standard posting rules apply for credit. Part two will be up shortly, but you may post here as well for House points. Have fun!

Subthreads:

I love potions! by Regina Parker with Josephine Owen, Josephine

Its just like cooking, oh wait, I can't cook either by Katrina (Kitty) McLevy - Aladren with Derry Four, Teppenpaw, Kitty

0 Professor Fawcett Lesson II for Beginners (1st and 2nd Years) 0 Professor Fawcett 1 5

Regina Parker

September 07, 2011 8:46 PM

I love potions! by Regina Parker

Reggie was all sorts of excited for Potions. This was usually the case for Reggie. Years of her father teaching her the fun aspects of the talent erased any annoyance that most people seemed to obtain when it came to the more detailed parts of the job. Regina was well aware of how important the small things were when it came to making a potion, her dad had done his due-diligence with explaining everything to her, but she was also aware of how accomplished she could feel when the product was completed and completed perfectly. That was where the fun came in. She could make a game out of creating the potion while still doing everything correctly. She wasn’t so sure Fawcett would agree of making it fun, but he could at least appreciate the fact that Reggie was learning and doing with the outcome the same while still enjoying herself.

This year was an easy one for Reggie. Her father’s specialty was Healing potions since he worked in the hospital. These were some of the first potions that her father had ever taught her. Growing up, she could remember him taking great pleasure in showing her how to cut each root precisely, or crush which ever bug was needed, or grind up a flower. They would spend hours together working meticulously over a cauldron. They started with the easier potions for healing, like these lessons, and then working together on the harder ones. Her father did most of the work on those, but she got to help some.

She knew that there was a large chance that she would continue with Potions long after she left Sonora. She would find a career in it. Her father had shown her a reason to love it and that passion was continuous in her. She wished she had some passion for her mother’s job, but the truth was that the idea of chasing bad guys just didn’t sit well with her. Her mother spent 365 days out on the run chasing them. No time for family or friends. Rarely a vacation, if ever. Reggie went months without seeing her and though she had grown accustomed to that sort of relationship, she did not want it for her future self.

Flipping through her book to page 97, Reggie set to work on her potion. Pulling her back into a careless ponytail, Reggie lit the fire beneath her cauldron and then began to sort through her ingredients. “Oh…” Reggie turned to the person next to her. “Do you happen to have extra aloe? I seemed to have used all of mine.”

6 Regina Parker I love potions! 187 Regina Parker 0 5

Josephine Owen

September 08, 2011 7:53 AM

I'd like to love potions by Josephine Owen

There were still some aspects of potions that Josephine didn't enjoy, namely slicing up insects and parts of rodents. She was more than happy to stomp on a spider and squish it into oblivion, but cutting up other creatures - even dead ones - made her insides feel funny. She also hadn't really gotten the hang of slicing things so equally that her potions were perfect, but she wasn't by any means stupid - she did okay in the subject, as she did in any other. She'd always been lazy with her work, usually being able to pick up concepts more quickly than her counterparts, and the pecari was more than content to put in the minimum of work required for a passing grade. If she really pushed herself she was sure she'd be top of the class in just about everything, but what was the point?

At least Professor Fawcett was okay. He didn't do anything to particularly endear himself to the students, like give out house points easily, or bring baked goods to class, but he didn't do anything unreasonable, either. He gave the instructions clearly and had been firm but fair on the couple of previous occasions that Josephine hadn't been bothered to do her homework on time. She was trying now to be a better student - she didn't want to have detention, after all, and if she didn't pick up the slack somewhat then a couple of professors had threatened her with the punishment. So it was that she took proper notes instead of doodling on her parchment (well she did a couple of spirals but that was all) and she even made a note in her diary about what they were doing in class today, so she could check back if necessary.

When it came to beginning to brew the potion, Josephine looked in her own humble ingredients kit and dropped one side of her mouth into an uneven frown. As usual, she didn't have the requisite composites (and those she did have were looking past their best). No matter; the school had supplies for students like her to use. The second year had pushed her chair back from the desk ready to stand when her neighbor, Reggie, asked if she had an extra aloe.

"No, I'm all out, too," Josephine replied. "I'm just going to get some from Fawcett, so I'll bring you some back, too," she offered. "Is there anything else you need?"

Returning to the desk having collected everything she and Reggie would need, Josephine carefully deposited the ingredients, and hoped Reggie wouldn't notice that she'd had to collect just about everything for this particular potion (or that if she did notice she didn't immediately realize that Josephine's family was simply too poor to keep topping up her potions kit every holiday).

0 Josephine Owen I'd like to love potions 196 Josephine Owen 0 5

Katrina (Kitty) McLevy - Aladren

September 11, 2011 3:12 PM

Its just like cooking, oh wait, I can't cook either by Katrina (Kitty) McLevy - Aladren

Potions, its just cooking really, and anyone can cook. Yeah, right, everyone but me. Kitty thought gloomily as she took her seat with a small hop. Her homework for this class was always very good, and that might be the only thing that saved her from flunking the class all together. Theory wasn't the problem, it was in the making. It seemed like no matter how hard she tried it always got messed up somewhere along the line. An entire litany of how and why was growing in her mind every time she had to write out what went wrong this time: one stir to many, or too few, or the wrong way, too much of one ingredient, not enough of another, it simmered too long, it was too hot, or not hot enough. Potions required a degree of precision that the young girl simply wasn't capable of yet.

She had too much energy, too many thoughts going though her mind at any one time to excel at a task as detail orientated as potions. And to add insult to injury, she couldn't cook either. In fact, she'd been banned from her mother's kitchen when she almost burn the house down getting distracted with the recipe and others in the book instead of watching the pan like she should have been. Right, its just like the professor said its SIMPLE for gods sake. I can do this. I WILL get it right this time. Kitty vowed as she carefully read over the directions twice before even getting her ingredients together.

Focus, focus, focus Kitty chanted silently in her mind. Her normal smile had been replaced by a grim scowl of determination. The playful glint in her sky blue eyes had shifted to one of narrowed concentration as Kitty carefully began working. A small huff of aggravation escaped the tiny girl when, not seven minutes later, the brew turned a funny purple looking color. Glaring furiously at the bubbling purple sludge Kitty turned to the student next to her and almost wailed "Why isn't' this working?!?"

0 Katrina (Kitty) McLevy - Aladren Its just like cooking, oh wait, I can't cook either 0 Katrina (Kitty) McLevy - Aladren 0 5

Reggie

September 13, 2011 7:05 PM

It's really not so bad by Reggie

Reggie was about to frown when Josephine said that she didn’t have any spare Aloe. It really didn’t surprise her. They had been doing so much with healing potions, that Reggie was surprised she hadn’t run out any sooner. With Jessie having stayed with her over the Holiday, Reggie had forgotten to ask her dad to stock up her kit. That was so silly of them to have done because her father always said how important it was too keep it full and fresh. But, Jess had been Reggie’s guest and she had spent much of the break entertaining her and trying to make her feel at home. She thought she did a good job of it, but there were moments when Jess seemed… distant, so Reggie tried extra hard.

“Oh, okay, thanks!” Reggie exclaimed when Josephine said she’d bring her some Aloe back. She reviewed her kit and the list of ingredients needed and asked Josephine for a couple more items. When Josephine returned, Reggie placed them in her kit and then turned to the book to figure out the steps. “I’ll have to owl my dad and have him send my some more ingredients. We were so wrapped up in the Holiday that we forgot all about school supplies.”

Reggie set up a small beaker to boil down some of the ingredients to extract the serums that were needed for the potions. While that was heating up to start the boiling process, Reggie reviewed the book once more. She knew this potion, but she liked to make sure she was still doing everything from the book. She didn’t like to make mistakes when it came to the potions she brewed. Her dad was a little obsessive when it came to the perfection of potions. Reggie had a little of that in her.

She turned to her Aloe plant that Josephine had gotten for her. Taking her knife, Reggie carefully split on of the plant down the middle. Taking a small vial, she began to squeeze the extract from it. She watched as the liquid fell into the vial. “I really wish there was an easier way than this.” Reggie muttered to the girl beside her. She knew there was a magical way of doing it, but her Dad didn’t like to use it. He said it was more of an accomplishment when they created a potion from scratch and doing it the long way.

6 Reggie It's really not so bad 187 Reggie 0 5

Derry Four, Teppenpaw

September 15, 2011 12:19 PM

I haven't tried cooking by Derry Four, Teppenpaw

Derry Four treated every potion brewing as a seriously dangerous enterprise. Since the beginning of his second year, he was aware that none of his family had actually died in a horrible potions accident, but he'd spent the first eleven years of his life believing as much, so he found it difficult to treat the classroom practicals with any less careful precision now. The potions brewing in the cauldrons still had every potention to explode they had before and just because his brother hadn't died that way after all didn't mean he couldn't have.

Derry didn't think Fawcett was very impressed by his theory work (the biography project he'd done last year with Arnold had gotten a very strange expression that Derry still didn't know how to interpret) but the professor had no cause to reprimand Derry's practical work. The belief that any misstep could cause a catastrophic reaction went a long way toward making Derry into a brewing perfectionist.

He was still in the preparation stages for his own potion (he was measuring out the aloe extract to the exact amount and having a little bit of trouble getting precisely 6.000 - his scales kept fluctuating between 5.998 and 6.001 when he added or removed a drop) when the girl sitting beside him made an alarming exclamation.

Glancing up, he recognized his neighbor as Kitty, his opponent in the Joust. Since he had been named Champion from that encounter, he felt obligated to act bravely instead of moving out of the way in case her potion blew up. Insteady, he couragously leaned closer and looked into her cauldron to see an unnatural purple sludge attempting to breath and gain life.

He leaned away again, trying not to let it look like a fearful retreat. In a calm voice that even his dad would be proud of him for, Derry asked in a voice that did not sound at all like he was terrified that they were all about to die, "Did you put in the clove oil?"

1 Derry Four, Teppenpaw I haven't tried cooking 189 Derry Four, Teppenpaw 0 5

Kitty

September 15, 2011 7:47 PM

It’s great fun…if not always edible by Kitty

“Um..” Kitty said as she thought furiously. Had she added the clove oil? Sky blue eyes glanced worriedly back at the bubbling purple sludge before they darted to the recipe mentally checking off steps to see where the heck she was at when things got messed up. “I…think so?” Kitty said, the doubt clear in the hesitant way she answered.

Really, she thought she’d added it, but one of the girls behind her had started whispering about the ball and who she wanted to go with. That got her thinking about it too, and maybe she forgot, it was only a few drops though, how important could they be any way? By the way Derry was staring at her caldron Kitty thought that maybe it was important after all.

Starting to feel a bit panicky Kitty’s eyes slanted back over to the recipe. Seven drops….right, okay I can fix this. With that thought in mind Kitty snatched up the small bottle containing the clove oil and opened it, the dropper was full and with a slightly panicky squeeze she accidently added the entire dropper full, the oil jetting out in a thin stream instead of easy to count drops. “Uh oh.” Kitty said with a gulp, large blue eyes widening.

0 Kitty It’s great fun…if not always edible 0 Kitty 0 5

Josephine

September 27, 2011 10:31 AM

I just need more practise by Josephine

"We were so wrapped up in the Holiday that we forgot all about school supplies," Reggie said.

"Yeah," Josephine readily agreed, happy to borrow someone else's excuse for her lack of potions ingredients, rather than admitting the real reason. With nothing further to add, and no inspiration for changing the subject that didn't seem obviously contrived, the pecari instead set about getting her own ingredients ready. She glanced occasionally over at Reggie, and thought that the other girl seemed to be getting along much more fluidly, almost as if this came naturally to her. Josephine was clumsy when it came to potions, which she found frustrating, because she had very hands-on hobbies - things like paper crafting and jewelry making - that drew on her ability to be creative and precise. Why this didn't translate into potions brewing was anyone's guess, and Josephine found it most annoying.

"I really wish there was an easier way than this," Reggie commented as she worked with her aloe.

Josephine watched the liquid trickly neatly into Reggie's vial, and replied, "You seem to have a pretty good hang of things. Look how straight your cut is," she focused on just one aspect of her peer's superior work. "Mine is all wonky," she held up her own plant to show her failed attempts at a neat slice, which had resulted in the liquid spilling down the sides of her container, only around half of it making its way safely into the vial. "You just seem to be naturally good at this," the second year commented wistfully. She knew that she was lucky in being naturally clever in academic subjects - she didn't even need to study for the frequent tests and reviews their professors gave them - but it always hurt when other people could do things easily that she couldn't herself. It never felt fair when she had to work for things that other people didn't; she simply didn't notice the injustice when it was the other way round.

(OOC: I forgot this thread was still going on when I replied in CoMC. Fuzzy time ftw!)

0 Josephine I just need more practise 0 Josephine 0 5