Falling at the first hurdle (?Tag Professor Fawcett) on Potions

Professor Fawcett

September 26, 2012 9:14 PM

Lesson I for Intermediates (3rd-5th Years) by Professor Fawcett

When the students had returned at the first of September, the last of summer had still been hanging in the air, but time had passed, and now fall was definitely making its presence known. Soon enough it would fade into winter, and then half the school year would be past.

It would seem like a lifetime had passed to the first years, no doubt, but to John, and perhaps some of the older students, it would seem like only a moment had passed since they arrived and began to work again. Somewhere between having long since begun to think of the year in terms of semesters, with the winter and summer holidays largely excised from his concept of them, and being far closer to eighty now than he liked to admit, John thought that for him, a whole year had started to seem like little more than the blink of an eye, at least whenever he paused to notice the date. For a moment, that would make him poignantly aware of his own mortality, and then he would snap out of it and focus on a more practical consideration, which was how much closer they were to the major exams.

With the intermediate class in particular, there never seemed to be enough hours in the day. The third years raced through material while he crammed as much detail into the fifth years as possible, and he sometimes worried that he didn’t pay enough attention to the fourth years in the middle of it all. He had some of his brightest and best students in the group, but at times, when he felt more old than he did competitive, he found it difficult to enjoy the experience due to the nature of the class. That, however, was not the students’ fault, and he was as careful as possible to keep them from knowing about it as he did the best he could with ‘em.

“Good morning,” he said to the class, looking around for empty seats which were usually filled. He would, of course, check the attendance roster against the faces while the students worked, and note any latecomers, but looking around was a habit, especially in a morning class full of students at the sleepiest time of their lives. “I hope you all have your wands today, as we’re going to make a potion which involves charms.”

He tapped the board with his wand, which began to fill itself with an outline of what he said. “The potion we will work on is a Memory Draught, the procedures for which are on this handout.” He flicked his wand again, sending a handout to each student. “The ingredients you will require are a spoon full of digitalis lutea, powdered root of wild carrot, dried thorn apple flowers, blueweed seeds, and valerian sprigs, and the incantations you will need are misceo, for combining ingredients, and constituo.”

The chalk paused for a moment, then began to draw a diagram of a hand holding a wand. John used his own to animate it so it repeated the appropriate motion. “To perform the first spell, you will extend your wand straight in front of you and over the cauldron, like so, and move your wand in a clockwise circle over the potion, finishing with a flick of the wrist. Your hand should be palm-up at the end of the motion.” He demonstrated over his own, pronouncing the incantation precisely; a flurry of bright, silver-white sparks fell from the tip of his wand, and the half-finished potion within bubbled for a few seconds before beginning to swirl slowly inside the cauldron. “For the second, you will only need to make a counter-clockwise circle, followed by a clockwise one, while using the incantation. Also, take great care in preparing your potion, as it can easily become poisonous if poorly done.

“As part of your homework, you will need to consult your Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs, Intermediate Level to determine if this is a potion for memory enhancement or memory suppression. I’d like a composition of at least one foot to explain why you came to the conclusion you did. I will move around the room as you work; please raise your hands to ask any questions about what you are doing. You may begin.”

OOC: Welcome to Intermediate Potions. To earn your House points, please follow all posting rules; you will earn more points through detailed, creative, and realistic posts. Tag Fawcett if you need him, and have fun!

The handout’s instructions are: combine chopped wild carrot root and blueweed seeds in mortar and crush to a coarse powder with pestle. Slowly add two tablespoons to cauldron. Warm gently for five minutes. Add a single valerian sprig and use misceo.. Add one tablespoon of digitalis lutea and give the potion four strong clockwise stirs, keeping consistent heat. Add three dried thorn apple flowers (whole) and give the potion three slow counter-clockwise stirs before using misceo. Add another sprig of valerian and stir seven times, the first counter-clockwise and alternating after, before using constituo. Take cauldron off heat and allow to cool completely before placing into flasks.

Subthreads:

Can I please just live here? by Maximilian Joshua McLachla - Aladren with Arthur Carey, Aladren, Josh McLachlan

Falling at the first hurdle (?Tag Professor Fawcett) by Henny B-F-R, Aladren with Professor Fawcett

This class needs something fun... by Jorge Garcia, Pecari with Eris Ackart, Jorge Garcia

They solemnly convene to make a scene by Michael Grosvenor with Valerie Lennox, Crotalus

Learning Quickly. by Cepheus Princeton, Crotalus with Nora Dobson, Aladren

This sounds difficult. by Hope Brockert, Teppenpaw with Addison Thornton, Teppenpaw

Magic potions. by Russell Layne, Aladren

Thoughts with a cold. by Alicia Bauer, Aladren

0 Professor Fawcett Lesson I for Intermediates (3rd-5th Years) 0 Professor Fawcett 1 5

Maximilian Joshua McLachla - Aladren

September 27, 2012 1:59 PM

Can I please just live here? by Maximilian Joshua McLachla - Aladren

On principle, Josh practiced not giving his heart away to just any old thing, whether it was an object or a person. There were, of course, a few exceptions to this principle, one being a girl he was not allowed to see and the other being his academics. Potions, however, he included in its own category altogether. If he was feeling really sentimental, he privately liked to call it his first love. Even before Cecilia, he had loved the smell of brewing potions and the art of putting all these ingredients together to make something totally different. Magic had its uses and was essential to know, but making potions was Josh’s passion.

The journal he usually carried around with him like the Bible was left in his room. He couldn’t really fathom how he could have forgotten to take it in his rush to leave before his roommates woke up. He tried not to dwell too long in the room with them there, usually sleeping much later than them in order to brew his experimental potions in the middle of the night and waking up much earlier in order to escape the palpable tension that always seemed to be around especially after Russell had been made a Prefect.

The bruise that had surrounded one of Josh’s eyes had healed completely over the course of the term with the help of two girls and their bruise balm. It was a little disconcerting that they were so willing to help him despite his and his family’s reputation, and it was also a little weird that they carried bruise balm in their bags. They both had stories about it, but Josh wasn’t sure if he totally believed them. It didn’t matter, though. Josh had sent Henny’s bruise balm back to her via one of the school owls. Josh’s personal owl had been killed back in England before he was sent to live in Australia, and he had never bothered to get another one. He just didn’t see the point.

Josh walked into Potions class five minutes early as always, his book bag heavier with all of his potions supplies. Though it was heavy, he carried it gladly. He dropped his bag onto the desk and sat down, feeling slightly awkward with his long arms and legs. He was six feet tall and still growing, though it had slowed down a lot since his growth spurt at thirteen. He was thankful for at least that.

He stopped thinking about his height as soon as class started and paid close attention to what they were doing for today. Josh didn’t know a witch or a wizard who didn’t carry his or her wand with them all the time. Josh had his wand with him: red oak, 13 inches, and phoenix feather. It was a really handsome wand in his opinion, and it was one of his most prized possessions, a close and reliable friend in troubled times. Josh hadn’t had many of those.

There was a story about the Memory Draught Uncle Inigo had once told him back when he was still a fun bachelor. In the early 20th century, the McLachlans were known for brewing illegal potions and poisons for their clients before two of the Scottish brewers were caught and sentenced to the Kiss and the others dispersed. But one of the popular poisons that people seemed to enjoy were the Memory Draughts gone wrong. There was a way, according to his uncle, to make the draught look extremely similar to what it looked like as a regular draught even though it was a poison. Only a careful potioneer would be able to tell the difference. But people would buy it and give it to the people they wanted to get rid of, telling them it would enhance their memory. And then they would be dead.

Josh himself had worked on the Memory Draught on his own a few times when he wanted a more challenging potion to work with. His first few attempts, his draught had turned into a foul-smelling, poisonous thing, but his last attempt in his dorm room before classes had gotten too busy had been almost perfect. Now would be the time to make it perfect, and Josh’s heightened interest in the subject helped motivate him.

As soon as the professor dismissed them, he began his work taking out the ingredients and taking out the necessary tools. He lit a fire under his cauldron, making sure to keep it small so the cauldron would warm slowly. By the time the wild carrot roots and blueweed seeds were crushed, the cauldron would be warm enough to warm the mixture.

Josh began chopping the wild carrot roots with surprising speed. It was clear that he was very comfortable chopping up ingredients with his paring knife. There wasn’t much else to do for his partner, he realized as soon as he finished chopping. Josh was getting better at sharing his space with someone else, but he was still slightly awkward in his social interactions. He didn’t really know what to ask his partner to do, or what job to give them. Once he was a potioneer, maybe then he would be allowed to work in solitude, only telling his assistants to get him certain ingredients. At the moment, Josh knew that everyone in this class considered themselves a potioneer. “Can you put a handful of the blueweed seeds into the mortar?” he asked as he brushed all the chopped up carrot roots into the bowl.

0 Maximilian Joshua McLachla - Aladren Can I please just live here? 0 Maximilian Joshua McLachla - Aladren 0 5

Henny B-F-R, Aladren

September 28, 2012 2:13 PM

Falling at the first hurdle (?Tag Professor Fawcett) by Henny B-F-R, Aladren

Henny normally like Potions and normally liked a challenge. Today, however, she could have done without either. Going off site for counselling once a week was useful but not exactly restful. The process itself was tiring and yet she never seemed to rest well after it as she couldn't help but keep going over things in her head. She dragged herself rather unenthusiastically to class, feeling that she would rather have liked to hide in the back row. However, by this point in the term, most people had their habitual places, and she felt obliged to take her usual place at the front. She was forced to suppress a couple of yawns as Professor Fawcett spoke, covering her mouth with her hand and hoping that he wouldn't notice. Her eyes spoke volumes of apologies and the dark circles under them, along with her usual conduct, should have been enough to convince him that this was genuine fatigue and not a gesture of rudeness, if he happened to notice. The Potion sounded amazing. It was everything that she wanted her intermediate classes to give her; there was the combination of brewing and wand work, which was a whole new area, along with a high complexity level. She knew the negative consequences of getting it wrong in this scenario were the same as any of her previous classes; she would merely receive a poor grade, as it wasn't as if the Professor was going to line up their pets or nearest relatives for testing, just to give them the added incentive. But the fact that they were being given a Potion where mistakes could be so serious felt like an increase in responsibility. It also felt like something she couldn't live up to right now, and she was fairly sure the result was going to end up toxic. Remembering their current Defence curriculum, she tried to banish those sorts of thoughts. She doubted Potions were as sensitive to negative thinking but this one also involved wand work and, in general, believing something would be bad did not tend to result in one's best work, even when no magic was involved.

Knowing she should banish those thoughts was easier than doing it though. Apart from her slouched appearance and other outward signs of tiredness, someone would have to be a very careful observer to notice any difference. But she could feel it. It was little things, like having to double check a weight or measure because it had gone out of her head by the time she'd got the ingredient, though that might have been something to do with the fact that it was taking her longer to find things, as the alphabet seemed to have switched around and everything seemed to be just a couple of places out from where she thought it should be. Everything was weighed carefully, her usual precision and care were taken. It just seemed so much harder than usual to achieve.

Once she had got everything weighed and measured, she rechecked the instructions. The first stage was slicing. She set about it slowly, which was not unusual for her, as handling the scalpel always made her a little nervous. Sharp things, as a rule, were bad. As if to confirm her long-standing suspicion of this, the hand holding the scalpel slipped and the blade caught the edge of the finger which was keeping the carrot root in place.

“Ow!” she cried, more out of surprise than real pain, although probably still loud enough to attract most people's attention. She sucked the cut clean and examined it. It wasn't deep and Professor Fawcett could probably heal it, or she could quite easily be fixed with a sticking plaster, although perhaps if she was failing at the first hurdle it should be taken as a sign that she shouldn't be entrusted with potentially poisonous draughts. What was going to take a little more time to heal was her embarrassment – her cheeks were probably redder than her finger – and her annoyance with herself for being so sloppy. And her mistrust of the scalpel.

OOC – as noted she is not badly hurt and requires very minimal attention from you - I don't mind if you want to OOC to say that you fixed it or gave her a plaster without actually replying properly, though am just as happy if you want to do it IC. I just assumed her yelp would have been loud enough for you to hear and that a teacher would be unlikely to ignore it.

13 Henny B-F-R, Aladren Falling at the first hurdle (?Tag Professor Fawcett) 211 Henny B-F-R, Aladren 0 5

Arthur Carey, Aladren

September 28, 2012 7:57 PM

I wouldn't recommend it by Arthur Carey, Aladren

He was tired, his neck and shoulder feeling stiff and useless as he put his things down and refused to try to work them, but Arthur was in a pleasant enough mood as he took his seat in Potions and flipped through his slightly worn copy of the syllabus to refresh and confirm his memory of what they had in store for them today. Last night had been tiring, but very successful; they had had some initial problems with pronunciation, since neither he nor Jane really knew Old English, and one of the spells they had tried had nearly gone very wrong, but now things were back on track, and nights when he was too excited about something to sleep were what they made alertness draughts for.

On one level, of course, he was a little embarrassed about being too excited by anything to sleep – it struck him as a very juvenile thing to do, something only appropriate for a small child waiting on Christmas morning. On another, though, the things he was doing were too exhilarating for him to really care. He had known from the start that he was telling the truth when he pitched the venture to Jane as the search for forbidden but important knowledge, and if he was honest he would admit that he had suspected it might relieve some of his boredom, but he hadn’t foreseen this. Even just thinking about it – the faded inks, the lights and suspense, the risk, Jane’s voice, low and harsh in languages a thousand years dead – made the world around him seem sharper somehow, less monotonous. It was utterly thrilling. He wondered if this kind of thing was what other people had in mind when they talked about something making them feel really alive, because that was how it was for him: like most of his life had been spent sleepwalking and he was only now really doing anything. His classes had always been the highlight of his time at school, but now, they often just felt like so much going through the motions until he could get back to important things, rather the way he felt about most meals. It was somewhat unusual for Arthur to have any memory of what he ate on any given day, since he usually ate it quickly, thinking about other things while he did, and then got back to business.

Today’s class, however, was analogous to a feast, something he thought he was going to remember. Arthur took out his wand – elm and dragon heartstring, nearly fourteen inches; he remembered thinking when he was first offered a try with it that it was too long, but the handling of it had come easily from almost the moment after he had that thought, and he had grown much taller since then anyway – and listened, much more of his attention than usual focused on his Head of House, as Professor Fawcett explained the lesson, complete with helpful animated chalk diagrams and a demonstration. Regardless of what some research into herblore and procedures told him about what this potion did to memory, it sounded extremely useful, and it was complex enough to present a challenge. An at least slightly better than lukewarm ripple of contentment went over Arthur as he looked over the handout. Two good days in a row, then; he was almost afraid to get up tomorrow, or thought he should be.

When they were dismissed to work, Mr. McLachlan, who was seated beside him, began to work with his own ingredients without comment, and so Arthur did the same, setting up the cauldron before measuring out blueweed seeds and trying to recall properties of the plant. He had read a set of instructions a few weeks ago which involved the root, but the seeds were slipping his mind at the moment. Unperturbed, he began to chop wild carrot roots, and it was then that his roommate chose to speak.

“I have,” he said, pointing to his mortar. “Together, then, or shall we make a contest of it?” Professor Fawcett had not, after all, said they must work together, and they wouldn’t be able to if they wanted to during the CATS. Besides, he was curious to measure himself directly against Mr. McLachlan, who had the unflattering habit of trying to make potions when he assumed the rest of the dorm was asleep. Arthur found this most unsporting of him. He, too, practiced magic and potions in unapproved environments, but he took care not to do so around his roommates, particularly the prefect.

0 Arthur Carey, Aladren I wouldn't recommend it 0 Arthur Carey, Aladren 0 5

Jorge Garcia, Pecari

September 30, 2012 5:08 PM

This class needs something fun... by Jorge Garcia, Pecari

Jorge made his way to the Potions classroom with an air of someone who would rather be somewhere else. It wasn’t to say that he hated Potions or was terrible at them, because that was not the case. He didn’t necessarily enjoy Potions, but he didn’t hate it, and, although he wasn’t the greatest at them, he certainly wasn’t the worst. He was probably slightly above average at them. He honestly didn’t mind Potions over all, but… it was just so boring. He would never do this for a job. He understood the importance of Potions and all that they could do for society (both the good and the bad), but he just couldn’t really sit through all of this without getting distracted and bored and wanting to do something else.

If he were being honest about things though, he could probably say the same for all his classes.

He had top marks in his classes, not that he would ever tell anyone that. His smarts seemed to have followed the same paths as his sister, Dulce, but he didn’t really want people to know that he did well in school. It wasn’t necessarily because he was embarrassed by it, he just didn’t want to raise anyone’s expectations of him that they may have.

Today’s lesson perked up his attention just a bit because they would be using charms. He didn’t remember ever using charms in Potions before… this could be fun. Jorge reviewed the handout provided to them by the Professor and jotted down the wand movements as Fawcett demonstrated them to the class. Well, it wasn’t exactly all that exciting since they were just charms to stir everything together, but he didn’t see the point of just not using a spoon. Oh well, it was still something different. He also wrote down their homework for the night; shouldn’t be too difficult.

Now that his lecture was over, Jorge started to prep his area for the potion. First he set up his cauldron and filled it a bit with water. Then, he lit the fire beneath it and kept the flame low so as to just warm the water and not boil it. Once that was set, Jorge pulled the wild carrot roots to him and began to chop them. His Maternal grandmother’s side of the family owned a famous restaurant chain in Spain. It had been around for centuries and how the Chevez’ gained their riches. Jorge sometimes helped his Abuelas’ in the kitchen when he went to visit them, so cutting, chopping, grinding, etc. never really bothered him.

Having chopped the roots with as much precision as a 13 year old boy could do, he put the roots in his mortar and mixed in the blueweed seeds, preparing to crush them. The hair on his neck stood up and he realized that the person beside him was watching him. His face heated slightly in embarrassment because he hadn’t noticed until now. “I’m sorry, did you want to work together?”

0 Jorge Garcia, Pecari This class needs something fun... 0 Jorge Garcia, Pecari 0 5

Eris Ackart

September 30, 2012 11:17 PM

How about an awkward tablemate? by Eris Ackart

Oh, Potions—Eris’ worst subject. There were few things in life that the third year approached with a complete lack of enthusiasm, and this was at the top of that list. She knew why it was important to know how to make some of the basics, but every time she tried to concoct something, it was a disaster. Back at her old school, she always partnered up with her friend Abigal. Even when they were 11, Abigal had the dream of being a healer someday, so potions was a particularly important course to her. Eris was lucky enough to have a friend who’d let her ride their coat tails just a little.

But this wasn’t her old school.

Eris had trouble working up the energy to get out of bed and get ready for class. She piled her hair on top of her head in a messy bun, and slipped into the grey pleated skirt from last year’s uniform. For a moment she considered wearing a pullover and sweatpants under her robes, but decided that is would be slightly inappropriate for class. Comfy—but inappropriate. Once she finally finished getting dressed, she trudged to class, smiling at the occasional passerby to try and mask the utter doom she was feeling inside.

She picked a seat next to a Pecari student,and settled in as well as she could. She didn’t know the boy, but then again, the number of people she didn’t know outweighed the number of those that she was at least familiar with. Eris figured that if she was going to make a terrible fool out of herself she’d rather not do it sitting beside Michael or someone from bookclub.

The Teppenpaw girl took notes as the professor explained what they would be doing for this lesson. She too was excited about using charms in this class, but was slightly disheartened when they weren’t told what the second charm did. From the sound of it, it seemed to be some sort of finishing spell, but the third year couldn’t be completely sure without some research—which she would immediately forget to do the moment she walked out of the potions room.

The boy beside her started working right away, before Eris had even stopped to consider the instructions. She was so engrossed with his work that she didn’t even notice she was staring—until he essentially called her out on it.

“Oh, um, oh…” She started, a lovely shade of pink appearing on her lightly freckled cheeks. Eris looked down at her hands in her lap and clenched her eyes shut before returning her gaze to her tablemate.

“Yes, please…sorry…I didn’t mean to stare, I was just—er…you’re quite good at that.”

0 Eris Ackart How about an awkward tablemate? 0 Eris Ackart 0 5

Michael Grosvenor

October 01, 2012 5:51 PM

They solemnly convene to make a scene by Michael Grosvenor

Potions was Michael's favourite subject but that didn't mean he actively wanted to be there. There were things he would rather be doing, such as sleeping or people watching. The necessity of sitting in the front row, due to his hearing impairment, meant that the latter wasn't an option, and the former was pretty hard to get away with wherever you sat, especially in Fawcett's class. Michael had always been a bit of a people watcher – it was easier on the ears, for starters – but his interest seemed to have surged over the summer. Where they'd camped, there had been a family with a couple of girls around his age. They'd played games, tennis, boules or just chucking a frisbee around. It had been fun to watch them. And he'd found the same since he'd come back to school. There were people he'd always liked hanging out with, like Mellie and Brianna, and who he took an active interest in. Even when they weren't working together, he liked seeing what they were up to, watching all their little mannerisms. But there were also people he'd never really thought about before, like Nora and Cherry. He found them catching his attention, even when they weren't doing anything very much. Just walking by in a corridor, making notes in class.... He wasn't quite sure what about them caught his attention. People were just interesting, he guessed.

His attention snapped back just as Fawcett mentioned 'the first spell,' and his brow furrowed in confusion. He glanced about. This was definitely the Potions lab. Fawcett mentioned something about casting over the cauldron so he guessed they were doing some weird hybrid task. He hadn't known that that was a thing. He scribbled the homework on the edge of his parchment, where he might well forget about it until just before next lesson. Except that he knew Fawcett always set homework, so he would know that he needed to do something. He supposed he should be grateful for the reliability but he somehow couldn't bring himself to be overjoyed about it. He also assumed most textbooks would tell him what the Potion was for, so it didn't seem like much of a task. Maybe looking it up wasn't in the spirit of the homework task but it seemed the obvious thing to do to him.

He set up his cauldron, moving around to the opposite side of his desk so that he could get an easier view of the person next to him's face. They didn't necessarily have to work together, or even speak, but it usually seemed to end up with at least the latter happening.

“Hey,” he smiled at the person opposite, deciding to crush his seeds first, as it was easier to maintain eye contact whilst doing that. “Sounds like a pretty full on Potion, doesn't it?” he asked.

13 Michael Grosvenor They solemnly convene to make a scene 199 Michael Grosvenor 0 5

Jorge Garcia

October 01, 2012 6:30 PM

I can handle awkward. by Jorge Garcia

Jorge realized that the girl beside him was the new girl. The Transfer. She was the second one that Jorge could recall ever having. The first one was a boy a couple of years ahead of him, but he hadn’t necessarily heard good things about him. But, looking at the girl, she didn’t look all that bad and he was pretty sure he embarrassed her by even talking to her.

He smiled, amused by her current state. Having been in Pecari with girls like Waverly and Jade, it was hard to remember seeing anyone blush. They never seemed to get embarrassed (or, if they had, he wasn’t around to see it), so it was sort of cute to see it on someone of the female gender. Sometimes Jorge wished he had been sorted into another house. He liked Pecari just fine and considering he doesn’t like to get bored, it was the best house for him to be in, but the girls (except for maybe Theresa) were too weird sometimes.

He heard a sudden cry close by and turned to see Henny looking at her finger. She must have cut herself. He thought about checking on her, but since they weren’t friends and Jorge didn’t have any Band-Aids on him, he didn’t think he would really be of help to her. Looking away, Jorge scratched a hand through his curly brown hair as he gave everything a quick thought. He had no problem working with someone on his potions project.

Jorge laughed when she told him he was good at chopping things. “I come from a family of multiple talents, but one of the main ones is cooking.” Jorge explained to her. That was probably the most honest thing he could say about his family. With two sisters who were extraordinarily talented in their fields (Lita in dance and Dulce in music), a mother who was once a Ballerina, a grandmother who could whip up any meal, a grandfather who was a famous Lawyer (an Uncle who was closely following behind him), a famous Quidditch playing Uncle, A Super Model Aunt, and an underground famous Musician Aunt… was only scratching the surface of the talents that his family held. It was also probably why Jorge was having so much indecision of figuring out his own abilities. Growing up around all of that could probably give anyone a complex. Right now, he wasn’t too concerned. He was only bored.

“Well, other than the crushing of this, the rest of the potion is just adding things when they need to be added and using the charms when necessary.” Jorge commented as he looked over the handout. “Did you want to alternate?” He asked her and then realized he never found out her name. “Oh, sorry, I’m Jorge Garcia. My Ma would probably smack me for not introducing myself sooner.”

6 Jorge Garcia I can handle awkward. 220 Jorge Garcia 0 5

Professor Fawcett

October 01, 2012 7:10 PM

I'd say it was more of a very minor setback by Professor Fawcett

John was surprised to hear a cry of what sounded like pain so early in the class – minor cuts and burns were an inevitable part of the class, but usually occurred a little later, once students were more comfortable with their work and started being less careful – but he paused in his round and turned toward it without any anxiety. It was not hard to tell the difference, with any reasonably-minded student, between an emergency and a small problem, and he did not think he had anyone that overly dramatic in this class. If someone was seriously injured, he was sure there would be much more noise, both from the injured student and from the students around that student as they began to see what was going on.

He was proven right about his assessment of the injury, though he was surprised again to see who it had happened to. He’d noticed that Miss Boxton-Fox-Reynolds looked unusually tired during his speech, but she was normally precise. “Let’s see that,” he said, waving his wand toward his desk. A small bottle of a purple potion, which smoked slightly when poured from its container, floated over to him, neatly avoiding anything in its path until he came to rest in his right hand, allowing him to use the wand again to uncork it. “A drop of this should heal that up,” he said.

Up close, she looked tireder. Either one of the ordinary occasional bad days of life or the stress of moving into the intermediate classes, he supposed, and at least she had someone to talk it through with if the second was the case. John hoped that worked out well, because though he knew any number of things could happen and change his mind over the next two years, he preferred her, at this moment, for her year’s prefect. Miss Bauer was a bolder personality, certainly, and Mr. Pierce would have an easier time gaining respect among the purebloods, but he thought Henny was more likely to be deemed approachable by younger students and that she might well be more grounded, too, quite apart from his own prejudices about not letting families dominate such things.

“Take care with the scalpel,” he said mildly. “And be sure to get plenty of rest. I’m sure we’d both prefer not to meet under these circumstances again, hm?”

OOC: I’m guessing, as Henny’s head of House, that Fawcett would know about the off-site counseling; if not, just ignore that part.

0 Professor Fawcett I'd say it was more of a very minor setback 0 Professor Fawcett 0 5

Eris Ackart

October 02, 2012 10:02 AM

I should warn you though, I'm rubbish at potions by Eris Ackart

Eris’ attention shifted toward Henny as Jorge turned to see what had happened. The third year winced as she deduced what had happened and turned back to the potion assignment as Professor Fawcett rushed to the girl’s aid. Maybe it wasn’t going to be a terribly uneventful lesson after all.

“I hope she’s alright.” Eris said, regaining her composure and normal pallor in her cheeks. She knew Henny from book club, and would make a point to check in on her later. Hopefully the injury wasn’t too serious. Michael’s entrance wasn’t lost on Eris, and she smiled as he took a seat near the front. She thought about waving or calling out to him, but was unsure if he’d even seen her or not. Realistically, she should have been sitting up front too, so she was forced to pay more attention. She’d made her choice, however, and the Pecari boy was nice enough to offer to work with her, it'd be poor form to run out on him now.

“Multiple talents, huh, do you have a big family then?” Eris started, letting her chocolate brown eyes read over the assignment again. “I should probably warn you, the best I can muster in the kitchen is toast. Burnt toast.” She added with a smile. It wasn’t entirely true, she could bake well enough, but that usually just involved mixing and adding ingredients. The truth was, she didn’t need to know how to cook. Her mum stayed at home and did all that. Not for the usual pureblooded reasons, of course, she just preferred it, and no one really complained. Dad didn’t anyway, and that was what mattered.

The Ackarts also weren’t one of those families that still practiced arranged marriages, so Eris was more concerned with having fun and being herself at thirteen than prepping herself to be the perfect pureblooded baby making machine.

“Charms, and stirring, however, I can do. So, yes, alternating sounds lovely.”

Eris laughed at Jorge’s comment about his mother. It didn’t really bother her that he hadn’t bowed and offered his hand the moment they locked eyes, but she figured it was a matter of manners.

“I won’t tell her if you don’t. I’m Eris, Eris Ackart.”

0 Eris Ackart I should warn you though, I'm rubbish at potions 0 Eris Ackart 0 5

Henny B-F-R

October 02, 2012 10:24 AM

That's very kind of you to say... by Henny B-F-R

OOC - I would assume so too :-)

IC
“Yes, professor,” Henny nodded, when Professor Fawcett warned her to be careful, “Sorry,” she added. The rational part of her knew that cuts and burns happened in potions and that she really had not inconvenienced him a great deal. Rather than telling her off for her carelessness, he seemed concerned. Rationally, she knew that he was being kind. However, she felt horrible about it. She very rarely made mistakes and therefore felt them incredibly keenly. She felt like everyone would stare at her and whisper about it. That the ones who regarded her as more intelligent would take pleasure in her downfall and that those who regarded her as their equal would move her down a peg or two in their estimations. Worse than that though, she felt that she had let Professor Fawcett down. She rather wanted to cry but she knew that that was ridiculous and would only make the whole situation worse. She was a very thin skinned creature. Any fall from the high standards which she had for herself, any word of rebuke – even if given softly and out of concern – felt like failing.

She turned back to her work station, attempting to find something else to focus on. She ran one of her other fingers over the one which had been cut. She couldn't even tell any more. This was fairly mysterious and fascinating to her. Of course, she knew that many things could be healed instantly but it wasn't an approach her parents tended to use. Magic was often a very quick fix, especially for the very minor injuries accrued by the typical small child. However, that could lead to the expectation that everything could be solved that way. That, with a simple wave of a wand or drop of a potion, anything could be made better. Letting children's scraped knees or bruised shins heal by themselves was a good way to teach them patience and appropriate expectations of the role of magic. Henny had not particularly needed these lessons. Having had both her parents die at a young age, she had been very brutally confronted with the truth that a simple spell could not fix all things. No one had been able to click their fingers and bring her mum and dad back. No one had been able to wave a wand and make all of the hurt heal up and stop. She had had to let time do the healing. And it had. The second, more practical reason why her parents did not overly rely on magical fixes was because that if a particular draught or spell was used repeatedly the body could, in time, become too accustomed to it, lessening its effects. They did not want to heal every little climbing frame scrape with magic only to find, years down the line, that a serious cut was more difficult to work with as a result.

Henny scraped her carrot roots into the bin. She didn't think any blood had got on them but it was better to be on the safe side. Even the slightest drop of blood could cause a very tame potion to become volatile and strange. She didn't dare to think what it might do to this already complex and potentially poisonous one. She washed the chopping board and scalpel and then prepared to start again. She weighed a new set of roots and, taking a deep breath, picked up her scalpel. She sliced even more slowly than before, once bitten, twice shy, but managed to make neat julienne roots without further incident. With a sigh of relief, she added them to her pestle and began grinding them up with the blueweed seeds. She was relieved to find that they were fairly yielding. She hated when they had to grind tough ingredients and the result of one's Potion – supposed to be a test of precision and skill – became instead one of brute strength, something in which she was sorely lacking.

13 Henny B-F-R That's very kind of you to say... 211 Henny B-F-R 0 5

Cepheus Princeton, Crotalus

October 03, 2012 5:53 PM

Learning Quickly. by Cepheus Princeton, Crotalus

Of all the intermediate classes Cepheus had been looking forward to, Potions would be high on his list. He was perhaps just a little more interested in Astronomy at the moment for more than one reason, one of those reasons being to learn more about the stars and his family's obsession with constellations. He wasn't sure why constellations had been chosen as the 'right way to go,' but that was what the Princetons thought. Who was he to judge his ancestors?

This Potions class had proved to be more challenging, which was exactly what Cepheus had been expecting. Cepheus didn't enjoy being challenged as much as he enjoyed competition, but either way, he could pretend he was competing with the rest of the class to brew the best potion. It did help motivate the third year quite a bit.

Class began just as Cepheus sat down at a desk towards the front of the classroom. At the professor's introductory comment about wands, Cepheus nearly scoffed. What respectable witch or wizard didn't bring their wand with them at all times? It was ridiculous. Without a wand, one couldn't control their magic as well and left one vulnerable. It was one reason why Muggles and the lives he assumed Muggles lived didn't make much sense to Cepheus. How did one live without magic? It was simply inconceivable.

Before he knew it, Professor Fawcett had set out all the directions, handed out a handout and had sent them all to work. It would be difficult, but he would just have a partner who was good at these kinds of spells. Though he had been in this class for a good while now, he still hadn't bothered to really analyse everyone's potion-brewing skills. To keep it easy, he just turned to the person sitting next to him. "Shall we get started, then?" he asked, smiling a little to be friendly. "We can use my cauldron."

Cepheus's silver cauldron was less new now, but easier to carry around since he had learnt the shrinking and enlarging charms. He took it out of his bag and enlarged it now before placing it on the desk in front of them. "Let's partition out these duties," he said, looking down at the handout. "I think I've got all the ingredients in my kit, and you're welcome to use them. I can measure out the latter ingredients if you want to chop the wild carrot root." He looked up to goad his partner's reaction to his suggestion. Partitioning things out always made potions work go faster.

0 Cepheus Princeton, Crotalus Learning Quickly. 0 Cepheus Princeton, Crotalus 0 5

Josh McLachlan

October 04, 2012 4:43 PM

Why ever not? by Josh McLachlan

It was something of a relief that Arthur didn't, or hadn't, expected them to work together. He had already started on his own and Josh wondered if his roommate usually did the potions on his own in class without a partner. It made sense to do individual practices now with CATs coming up and the pressure to perform individually on them.

Josh wasn't an inherently competitive person. He liked to be in the shadows more often than not, but a potions competition sounded inviting. As long as Josh didn't have to rush in order to finish it, he would be fine. He enjoyed taking his time with potions and making sure everything was perfect, something he was sure Arthur would understand. Josh knew that, intellectually, Arthur was his equal, or at least close to it. It would be challenging, to say the least, especially because the Memory Draught wasn't Josh's strongest potion. The practice would do him good.

"A contest," Josh said, nodding at Arthur. He thought about mentioning prizes, but he didn't care for those. A friendly contest was good enough for him, and knowing that he had made the best potion would be a prize in itself. "May the best potioneer win," he said cordially, nodding at Arthur again. Potions class suddenly had a different air after he uttered those words, and he began concocting his potion, taking the handful of blueweed seeds and placing them into his mortar and crushing them. Periodically, he paused and rubbed the mixture between his fingers, feeling the consistency of the powder before crushing it again. The constant motion put Josh into his own world as he worked, concentrating on nothing but his work. Once it felt like a coarse powder, he stopped and then took out his tablespoon.

It was simple perfectly measuring out the powder and dumping it into the cauldron with care. The cauldron was warm enough now that it would stay a consistent heat for a little while, for five minutes at least. Josh had five minutes to wait now, and he checked his watch to make sure he would know exactly when the five minutes would be up.

The minute hand had reached five, and Josh dropped in the valerian sprig and used "misceo" with the hand movements. The wandwork was familiar to him, and he watched as the solution bubbled, then swirled around just as Professor Fawcett's had done. Satisfied with that, he put one tablespoon of the digitalis lutea he had previously measured out into the cauldron and stirred the potion clockwise four times with his wand. He put his hand near the bottom of the cauldron, feeling the heat, and lowered the force of the fire underneath a bit to keep the heat consistent. The rest of the world had become background noise. This was what Josh excelled at, closing the world off to him and settling in his own zone of focus.

OOC: Shall we continue on with the thread, having them work in solitude, and have them finish up the potion and see who won at the end?

0 Josh McLachlan Why ever not? 0 Josh McLachlan 0 5

Valerie Lennox, Crotalus

October 07, 2012 4:10 AM

I'd rather not do that. by Valerie Lennox, Crotalus

In some ways, Potions was one of the easiest class for Valerie. She was pretty decent at wandwork aside from that she got tired very easily, because she always seemed to be recovering from or coming down with something, but in Potions there was no running around, they were usually sitting and brewing, something the Crotalus preferred. It wasn't good for her to exert herself especially times like right now when she was still getting over bronchitis.

Today, though, she was feeling a little better. Not great,as she still had a bit of a cough but then, she never really did. What was good for Valerie was mildly yucky for others but she still very much cherished those moments. She liked being somewhat functional. Being ill was so unpleasant, she hated feeling bad so much, being achy or feverish or tired, unable to read or knit. Valerie hadn't made much progress on her quilt at all, she was still trying to get caught up on her make-up work and keep up with the new stuff.

It wasn't always very easy for her to do so and she was often overwhelmed, needing her sister and cousin to help her. Melanie was two years younger but she was smart and good at researching. Still, Valerie rarely had time for anything but studying when she was reasonably well. There was, of course, time she went without doing much of her schoolwork, but it wasn't as if she was deliberately putting it off, she just wasn't up to it.

She took a seat next to Michael. Valerie felt much more comfortable sitting by someone she felt might actually like her rather than worrying about whether or not she'd contaminate them. Sometimes, she was concerned that they didn't like her or want her around but the Teppenpaw at least seemed to not mind her being so. Besides, if Valerie sat in the front, she wouldn't have to walk as much.

The Crotalus gave Professor Fawcett her full attention as he began the lesson. It would never do to be less than perfectly prepared in Potions. A potion that went wrong could be ineffective or worse. She was personally not willing to let anyone but a skilled potioneer brew the ones that she took daily. If they didn't work, it would be a disaster.

Valerie smiled back at Michael when he turned to face her. She didn't spend nearly enough time with him or Brianna, the two people here that she sort of considered her friends even though they weren't the most proper ones, due to her many ailments. "It sure does." This potion seemed quite difficult but at least the class wouldn't be strenuous.

11 Valerie Lennox, Crotalus I'd rather not do that. 204 Valerie Lennox, Crotalus 0 5

Nora Dobson, Aladren

October 07, 2012 7:45 AM

That is the best way to do it. by Nora Dobson, Aladren

It was hard for Nora to pick a favorite class. She enjoyed them all so much. If she really had to choose, she might have chosen DADA because they got to talk about dark things, though she did wish Professor Levy would talk more about the psychological aspect, the lesson on mindsets had been a good one, or Transfiguration because, well, it was in her blood. Nora was certain that her great-great-great-great-great grandfather, Silas Brockert had won the western states using a good deal of it.

Potions, though, was high on the list and Professor Fawcett was definitely the fourth year's favorite professor. Part of it was Aladren loyalty. She wasn't sure exactly what House he'd been in in school, but he was their Head of House now and Nora figured the odds that he'd been in Aladren himself were pretty good. The other thing was that the professor was intelligent, a well respected magisociologist. While she had a greater interest in psychology, sociology was also fascinating, as it was like, the psychology of a particular group, and Nora had every intention of asking to take an independent study in it and, if possible, psychology too.

She sat in rapt attention as usual. Today's potion sounded like an interesting one, in terms of brewing. It definitely sounded complex, and combined using potions and wandwork. Nora never minded academic challenges, she even welcomed them and was usually quite satisfied when she did well. Which she always did. She had yet to find one that she hadn't been successful in meeting. Even the homework sounded fun and the Aladren could see the benefits of both enhancing and suppressing memories. The former was useful for either old people who were senile or those who were just plain forgetful. On the other hand, there were memories sometimes that could upset a person and affect them deeply. Nora felt that might help quite a few of her relatives.

The person next to her, Cepheus Princeton, turned to her and began to speak. The fourth returned his smile. She sort of liked the Crotalus, he might not have been quite as intelligent as Sally or Arthur Carey, but nor was he stupid. Plus, she'd heard he was betrothed to Meggie, who was to be Nora's sister-in-law someday. Which she was quite frankly surprised about. The different Briar branches had sort of a double standard when it came to flying and Quidditch. Boys were expected to play and girls weren't allowed. Meggie had flown during the concert last term and Nora was surprised she had gotten betrothed at all. At least that it happened so soon after the Teppenpaw had publicly misbehaved and to someone who'd always seemed a very proper sort. Perhaps Mr. Brownbriar was trying to 'fix' Meggie into being proper by betrothing her so quickly but Nora still didn't see why the Princetons wanted it.

Either way, she was sure to be seeing a lot of Cepheus in the future. "That sounds perfectly fine to me." If he wanted to use his ingredients that was all right with her, even though she had plenty of her own and splitting duties was the standard way of doing potions. Nora took out the carrot root and began to chop. "So, how are you getting along with Meggie so far?"

11 Nora Dobson, Aladren That is the best way to do it. 197 Nora Dobson, Aladren 0 5

Jorge

October 07, 2012 2:37 PM

We'll balance each other out. by Jorge

“I’m sure she’ll be fine. She doesn’t seem to need the Medic, so it can’t be too horrible.” Jorge commented when the girl showed concern for Henny. Jorge was honestly surprised there weren’t more injuries in this class. They were asking eleven and twelve year olds who didn’t have much by way of attention spans (himself included) to chop up things or throw them into a bubbling cauldron. There were bound to be accidents. But, there never really seemed to be. Maybe people were more focused during this lesson than he thought. Of course, now that he was an Intermediate, maybe it was going to be easier to focus than he had need in the past.

He wasn’t going to start holding his breath though.

“You can say that.” Jorge said with a chuckle. “My immediate family isn’t that large. There are five of us total. My parents and my two older sister and me. But I have lots of Tias and Tios, and los Abuelos, and Los primos. The list goes on.” Although Jorge was born and raised in San Francisco, his mom was a first generation American and had spent much of her life struggling to perfect her English. Jorge didn’t always have an accent, although it definitely came out when he spent summers with his Mexican family as well as his family in Spain. He spoke Spanish as clearly as he did English because he was one of the lucky few who had been in two different worlds. His father’s family was only half Mexican and had been in America for quite a few generations. His father had to struggle to learn Spanish in order to understand the family.

“Mama was a Ballerina and my oldest sister is studying in Julliard for dance because she wants to be a Ballerina. My other older sister is in college for performing arts. She can play any instrument after hearing it once. Mama says she is a protégé or something. But Dulce doesn’t really care, she just enjoys playing.” Jorge shrugged. When he had talented sisters and a mother, it was hard to really find something that he was good at too. “I’m like my Dad, nothing really special, I just like to do a bit of everything.” It was true, he dad was a desk guy. He, as far as Jorge knew, had no special talents. “And that’s just my immediate family.” If she wanted to know about the others, he’d be happy to assist, he enjoyed talking about his family since they were all very close, but he didn’t want to bore her with it at all. “What about you? Do you have a large family?” Asking because it was polite but also because he was curious.

“I like burnt toast.” Jorge commented as he returned to the crushing part of the potion. He honestly did like burnt toast as well as burnt popcorn. Maybe that was weird? His sisters seemed to think so, but he thought they were strange too. At least she seemed alright with how the potion could work for them, that was good. Sometimes girls were frivolous and only wanted to sit back and watch. That was annoying. Jorge didn’t mind the work, but he did mind someone else getting equal credit for it when they had done nothing to earn it.

“It’s nice to meet you, Eris.” Jorge commented. “You’re from England?” He asked, based on her accent. “I have family in Spain. They own Botin.” Botin was one of the oldest restaurants in Spain and had grown to be the most successful for the Magical world. They had three restaurants total around Spain and were planning on possibly opening up more restaurants throughout Europe. “If you have ever been, I mean.” That was how the Chavez’ became one of the most influential Pureblood families in Spain and earned their riches.

(OOC: I have no claim to Botin and it is purely just for fun of RP)

0 Jorge We'll balance each other out. 0 Jorge 0 5

Eris Ackart

October 07, 2012 10:32 PM

Fitting, since you're a Libra and all... by Eris Ackart

Eris was satisfied with Jorge’s assessment of Henny’s injury. Somehow, people seemed to get injured all the time at her old school --some in the most random fashions. She honestly wouldn’t have been surprised if someone spontaneously combusted at some point. Given these experiences, she was always prone to assuming the worst when it came to class time injuries. Thankfully, this wasn’t her old school.

Eris didn’t know a lot of Spanish, with translation spells, she didn’t really need to. Considering the context, she assumed it had something to do with his extended family. Jorge’s immediate family wasn’t much smaller than hers, but from the sound of it, the Garcia clan likely outnumbered the Ackarts. Having a particular fondness for the arts, Eris found listening to Jorge talk about the talented women in his family quite interesting. She couldn’t help but feel that Jorge was selling himself short, however.

“That’s really great about your sisters! And your mum as well. Dancing is something I’ve never quite mastered; sadly I think I was born with two left feet.” Eris replied with a smile. “Personally I don’t think there is anything wrong with being good at multiple things instead of excellent at one.” She added with a shrug. Her family was pretty ordinary by Garcia standards. Leander was good at getting hurt—and had seen the inside of St. Mungo’s more than any other member of her family. Everyone else was pretty average talent wise. “I can fly well enough, and enjoy painting—but I really excel at putting my foot in my mouth.”

Eris was slightly taken aback when he hinted that his extended family possessed more talents. That couldn’t possibly be fair for one family to have so many extraordinary people it. Sure, she had a cousin that played Wizard Chess competitively, but other than that—the only special person in her family was Mad Cousin Alice.

“I have three older brothers, but they are in England going to uni for different things. Here it’s just Mum, Dad and me, but I guess a family of six is generously sized. I don’t have a massive extended family or anything either. Just a dozen or so relatives back in Europe.

The Teppenpaw laughed at Jorge’s comment about liking burnt toast and watched as he proceeded with the crushing phase of the potion making.

“Then I guess we might be well suited after all. I’ve never met anyone I felt comfortable cooking for until I met you, which I am pleased to have done.” Eris said with a smile. “Picked up on that, did you?” She added, teasingly when he mentioned her accent. “Yes, I am. Just hopped off the ship, as it were.”

“Wait, your family owns Botin? The world’s oldest restaurant, Botin?”

0 Eris Ackart Fitting, since you're a Libra and all... 0 Eris Ackart 0 5

Hope Brockert, Teppenpaw

October 09, 2012 11:11 AM

This sounds difficult. by Hope Brockert, Teppenpaw

Potions was not a class that Hope had any intention of continuing after CATS. She always passed everything but she wasn't honestly that good at it. The Teppenpaw was just an above average student, not amazingly smart like a lot of her close relatives were. Not that most of them realized that they were. Well, actually, they were at one extreme or another with Adam and Autumn not seeing themselves as particularly smart at all and Chelsea and Nora seeing themselves as exceedingly so. The two Aladrens had never had any self-esteem problems while the two Crotali had
plenty.

Which was odd, given how some people thought Crotali were full of themselves. That had never been the fifth year's experience and she thought it sad that her brother and cousin had such problems. They were wonderful people with a lot to offer. At least Adam was doing well as a wandmaker now. Autumn...well, as long as she was eating. She still didn't seem particularly happy though.

Hope took her seat and the professor began to speak. She often found Potions to be too precise for her liking, everything had to just so and for more complex ones it was easy to mess up steps. She was sure she'd pass CATS on it but she didn't expect to excel. The Teppenpaw was far better at wandwork and enjoyed it more than she enjoyed the careful brewing process of Potions. Plus, Professor Fawcett was one of the more difficult professors and Hope just didn't know that she had what it took to keep up with this class at the Advanced level.

Looking at the handout, she frowned. This sounded like another extremely challenging potion, simple to miss a step and screw the whole thing up. Hope would never want the responsibility for making sure that a potion that someone was going to use turned out okay. She didn't want to worry that she would seriously harm someone and this one could become poisonous . That was honestly a little much for her and it would only get worse after CATS.

The Teppenpaw sighed. She was going to need a good partner for this class. Someone smart. Hope didn't know if she was capable of this on her own. She didn't really suffer from low self-esteem but she knew her limits and she really didn't want to end up making something lethal. Spotting someone reasonably intelligent, Hope made her way over and asked. "Would you like to work with me?"

11 Hope Brockert, Teppenpaw This sounds difficult. 186 Hope Brockert, Teppenpaw 0 5

Michael Grosvenor

October 09, 2012 2:05 PM

At least it says 'solemnly' by Michael Grosvenor

Michael smiled when he found himself working with Valerie. He tried to give his friends equal-ish time in class, although he had to admit that Mellie probably got more time than other people. Valerie probably got less because she wasn't always in class. It wasn't exactly that she missed her turn, as Michael did not have his friends on some kind of rota system. Just that it was harder, if upon realising that he hadn't worked with her for a while, to remedy that when she wasn't there.

“Hey,” he smiled at her. Throughout first year, he had slightly worried that Valerie was about to drop down dead or, at the very least, need taking to the hospital wing. She'd told him that she got sick more than most people, which meant that he'd been waiting for the day when she came in looking well. It hadn't happened and so he had worried. After entertaining the theory that Sonora was making her extra sick, he had eventually concluded that 'looking well' was a relative thing for her. “You look good,” he smiled at her, meaning that she looked pretty healthy. He immediately regretted his choice of words, “I mean, like, you look healthy. I wasn't calling you pretty,” he explained, “Not that you're not pretty,” he hastily backtracked (or was it forward-tracking again, now that he had changed direction twice?), “It's just, I mean... I wasn't trying to... I..” he floundered. He had to hope against desperate hope that Valerie somehow simply understood. She was from a different world. She was expected to be seen with a different sort of person. Michael didn't really consider whether Valerie was pretty because he sort of felt like he wasn't supposed to. He wasn't even really sure how much he was allowed to be her friend. “Sorry if I've offended you,” he decided on. He wasn't sure whether he was apologising for implying that she wasn't pretty or for telling her that she was. Either way, apologising in the face of the unknown was usually a good tactic.

He continued to crush the seeds up. He probably needed to move on to the carrots but to do that he would need to halt their conversation for a bit. Much as wanted to stop it – to in fact stop, rewind and start again – he knew that he couldn't. The most he could do would be pause her briefly before she could reply. And then, when he hadn't finished the task, the reply would still be there waiting for him. It was best to just get it over with.

13 Michael Grosvenor At least it says 'solemnly' 199 Michael Grosvenor 0 5

Jorge

October 09, 2012 8:33 PM

I am predictable that way... by Jorge

Jorge grinned at Eris and let out a chuckle. He was not born for dancing either, minus the occasional Cha Cha whenever he was with his extended family, but that was Latin music and something he had always grown up around. Ballet or Contemporary dance or whatever, just wasn’t something he could or would ever do. As for music… he could play the guitar, it was one of those things that he had wanted to learn, so Dulce had taught him. He was pretty okay at it, but he got bored and stopped playing it after a few years. Every once in a while, he’d pick it up again and then would get bored again. It was a vicious cycle.

“Yeah, multiple talents are good.” Jorge agreed and then laughed when she admitted to what she was good at. “At least you know your strengths.” Jorge joked. He felt that Eris would get on pretty well with Waverly, and, to some extent, Jade. Eris seemed like the sort of girl who embraced her faults the way that Jade never cared about her differences or poor behavior whereas, Waverly was just one of those happy-go-lucky type of girl. Too bad Eris wasn’t in Pecari. She’d probably have more fun with all the girls. Jorge could only recall Meghan in Teppenpaw and she didn’t seem all that fun. Of course, Jorge has never really spoken to the girl, so he could be completely wrong (but he highly doubted that he was).

“It’s probably better to have a smaller family.” Jorge commented. “Sometimes when we’re all together, it gets to be a mad house. My Mama goes crazy, which can be fun to watch. And most of my Tias and Tios haven’t even had kids yet.” His sisters were the oldest of his generation, followed by him, Pedro, and Ria. Tio Jose was bound to have kids soon because he’d been married forever and Tio Jake was getting married, so kids were going to happen for them at some point too. But, since his Mother was the eldest of the nine, she of course, had babies first. “She ought to be used to it though, she’s the oldest of nine. My dad’s an only child, so it’s all her fault.”

Jorge tipped his head to her when she said she was pleased to meet him. He wasn’t exactly sure how true that was, but it was nice to hear just the same. Her reaction to hearing the name of the restaurant had Jorge laughing again. He had never really had a reaction like that… not that he had ever told anyone. Most people around here were American and those that weren’t were the snobby Purebloods. Jorge was a Pureblood by definition, but he didn’t exactly hang in that crowd. “Yeah, that one. It’s how my Abuela’s family made a name for themselves. I take it that you know it?”

0 Jorge I am predictable that way... 0 Jorge 0 5

Addison Thornton, Teppenpaw

October 14, 2012 10:37 AM

Very difficult... by Addison Thornton, Teppenpaw

Addison was very rarely found without her nose in a book anymore. There was something about that terrifying test looming in on the fifth years that made her do this. She even had books to study with while she ate in Cascade Hall. Classes were both important and an inconvenience (more of an inconvenience though) to the fifth year both because they interrupted her study time and added to the things to study. Part of her wanted to spend more time than ever by herself, part of her didn’t ever want to be alone again. Her moods swung like her mother’s had with every new little sibling they got and though she knew she wasn’t pregnant by any means, she had a feeling it was just the serious stress she was under with the tests coming.

Addi walked into Potions class one morning shortly after returning back to school and Professor Fawcett told them good morning and siad he hoped they had their wands. The fifth year was never without hers, she knew better than that, so she pulled it out of its protective wrap and set it on the desk in front of her before she pulled out her supplies.

The professor tapped the board and an outline filled the board. Oh Merlin’s Beard… she thought as she tried to read it.

“The potion we will work on is a Memory Draught, the procedures for which are on this handout.” He flicked his wand and they each got a handout as he kept talking. “The ingredients you will require are a spoon full of digitalis lutea, powdered root of wild carrot, dried thorn apple flowers, blueweed seeds, and valerian sprigs, and the incantations you will need are misceo, for combining ingredients, and constituo.”

The chalk paused and then drew a diagram of a wand hand. The professor’s wand animated the wand on the board and he spoke again. “To perform the first spell, you will extend your wand straight in front of you and over the cauldron, like so, and move your wand in a clockwise circle over the potion, finishing with a flick of the wrist. Your hand should be palm-up at the end of the motion.”

Addi’s eyes widened and she shook her head fast. Merlin’s Beard… Merlins’ Beard… She bit her lip and her left leg shook underneath the desk. I’m never going to get through this… Never… I’m a failure, that’s all I am, just a failure! she thought as a flurry of silver-white sparks fell from the tip of his wand. The half finished potion in the cauldron bubbled and swirled slowly as he spoke again.

Addison was very rarely found without her nose in a book anymore. There was something about that terrifying test looming in on the fifth years that made her do this. She even had books to study with while she ate in Cascade Hall. Classes were both important and an inconvenience (more of an inconvenience though) to the fifth year both because they interrupted her study time and added to the things to study. Part of her wanted to spend more time than ever by herself, part of her didn’t ever want to be alone again. Her moods swung like her mother’s had with every new little sibling they got and though she knew she wasn’t pregnant by any means, she had a feeling it was just the serious stress she was under with the tests coming.

Addi walked into Potions class one morning shortly after returning back to school and Professor Fawcett told them good morning and siad he hoped they had their wands. The fifth year was never without hers, she knew better than that, so she pulled it out of its protective wrap and set it on the desk in front of her before she pulled out her supplies.

The professor tapped the board and an outline filled the board. Oh Merlin’s Beard… she thought as she tried to read it.

“The potion we will work on is a Memory Draught, the procedures for which are on this handout.” He flicked his wand and they each got a handout as he kept talking. “The ingredients you will require are a spoon full of digitalis lutea, powdered root of wild carrot, dried thorn apple flowers, blueweed seeds, and valerian sprigs, and the incantations you will need are misceo, for combining ingredients, and constituo.”

The chalk paused and then drew a diagram of a wand hand. The professor’s wand animated the wand on the board and he spoke again. “To perform the first spell, you will extend your wand straight in front of you and over the cauldron, like so, and move your wand in a clockwise circle over the potion, finishing with a flick of the wrist. Your hand should be palm-up at the end of the motion.”

Addi’s eyes widened and she shook her head fast. Merlin’s Beard… Merlins’ Beard… She bit her lip and her left leg shook underneath the desk. I’m never going to get through this… Never… I’m a failure, that’s all I am, just a failure! she thought as a flurry of silver-white sparks fell from the tip of his wand. The half finished potion in the cauldron bubbled and swirled slowly as he spoke again.

“For the second, you will only need to make a counter-clockwise circle, followed by a clockwise one, while using the incantation. Also, take great care in preparing your potion, as it can easily become poisonous if poorly done. As part of your homework, you will need to consult your Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs, Intermediate Level to determine if this is a potion for memory enhancement or memory suppression. I’d like a composition of at least one foot to explain why you came to the conclusion you did. I will move around the room as you work; please raise your hands to ask any questions about what you are doing. You may begin.”

Addison looked down at the handout and read it a little bit slower, but stopped partway through. Combine chopped wild carrot root and blueweed seeds in mortar and crush to a coarse powder with pestle. Slowly add two tablespoons to cauldron. Warm gently for five minutes. Add a single valerian sprig and use misceo.. Add one tablespoon of digitalis lutea and give the potion four strong clockwise stirs, keeping consistent heat. Add three dried thorn apple flowers (whole) and give the potion three slow counter-clockwise stirs before using misceo. Add another sprig of valerian and stir seven times, the first counter-clockwise and alternating after, before using constituo. Take cauldron off heat and allow to cool completely before placing into flasks.

There were so many words there that all reading this paper managed to do was make the larger fifth year’s heart pound. I’m smart… I’ve been studying… I can do this… she thought in a sort of a chant, over and over again as she looked towards the voice who’d spoken to her.

"Would you like to work with me?"

“Really?” Addi said, in complete surprise.

0 Addison Thornton, Teppenpaw Very difficult... 0 Addison Thornton, Teppenpaw 0 5

Eris Ackart

October 14, 2012 6:05 PM

Families and food by Eris Ackart

“I’m equally aware of my weaknesses.” Eris said with a grin, peering into the mortar to see how things were coming along. “This is definitely one of them, though I’ve never really figure out why, if it’s just following directions. I guess I find all the stirring and waiting a bit dull. So, what do you like to do?” She asked, realizing that based on their conversation, she knew more about Jorge’s family than she did about him—and that was poor form. Jorge seemed interesting enough; he had an interesting family at least, surely some of that must have rubbed off on him.

“I don’t know, I think big families could be fun, assuming you all get along. Maybe just on the holidays though. I can see how having everyone around constantly could be a bit of a headache.” The girl reasoned, letting her imagination wander a little. She assumed that as some point her brothers would get married, and if they each had four children, she’d have 12 nieces and or nephews. That didn’t include any children she would have. Maybe there was something to Jorge’s comment about smaller families being better. If her future nieces or nephews were anything like her brothers, they would be terrors.

“I can’t imagine having eight siblings! Three is bad enough.”

“I’ve never actually been there, but my parents have. It’s Mum’s favorite, and it’s quite popular where I’m from. I hear the food is phenomenal though, your Abuelo must be really proud.” She said, not sure if she’d used the proper term or not, but trying none the less.

“This may be a silly question, but have you eaten there?” She asked, genuinely interested. She wasn’t quite like other girls when it came to food—she didn’t feel like she needed to hide the fact that she ate from people, more specifically from boys. She had a fast metabolism, and that gave her the freedom to eat whatever she wanted and she definitely took advantage of it.

0 Eris Ackart Families and food 0 Eris Ackart 0 5

Valerie

October 15, 2012 1:57 PM

I'm not sure how one does that. by Valerie

Michael began to stammer and Valerie's face flushed. She looked down at the ground, embarrassed. Not because she thought less of him in anyway or was ashamed to be seen talking to him or anything. She valued any friend she could make and it wasn't many. The Crotalus wasn't really able to get close to many people because of her illnesses-and not because she was afraid of spreading or catching something.

Truthfully, she wasn't just embarrassed, she was confused. Surely, Michael could not possibly have meant it when he said she looked healthy. Meaning that she looked pretty wasn't something that Valerie thought was possible either, because she was too pale and sickly, but it was more believable than her looking healthy. That was the one thing that the fourth year never looked.

That meant, it was possible that he did think she was pretty and that was what made her blush and feel awkward. Maybe if Valerie wasn't sick, she could have been. Still, he thought she was? Not that she and Michael could ever be more than friends. Their different backgrounds wouldn't allow it. Still, it would be awfully flattering if he did find her attractive.

She wondered if she'd ever be betrothed. It wasn't as if a lot of the girls in her class were, as far as she knew, only Nora Dobson was. Still, it was something that Valerie worried about. Who would want someone as sickly as she was, even though there wasn't anything wrong with her ability to give birth as far as she knew. The immune system had nothing to do with that and that was a comforting thought. It would help though if someone at the very least thought she was pretty.

Her friend seemed awfully flustered and Valerie felt bad for him. "It's all right." She assured him, not the least bit offended, even if she was certain he was just trying to make her feel good. The Crotalus looking healthy-though perhaps better than she had recently-was ridiculous . And he'd probably said that Valerie was pretty because he hadn't wanted to insult her because he thought what he'd said sounded wrong.

Michael started to work on the potion and crush the seeds. "I can do the carrot root." Valerie offered. "Chop it up I mean." She just had to be careful not to cut herself. "So, how have things been for you lately?" She was eager to catch up with the Teppenpaw. She felt she didn't spend nearly enough time with him. At least with Brianna, she was Valerie's roommate and the fourth year saw more of her. With Michael, that just wasn't the case and she was worried all the time that he wouldn't want to be her friend anymore. Not that Valerie didn't worry about that with her roommate too.

11 Valerie I'm not sure how one does that. 204 Valerie 0 5

Arthur

October 15, 2012 6:53 PM

The first year classes would get annoying eventually by Arthur

Arthur smiled politely and inclined his head slightly, acknowledging both the challenge and the respect implied in it, a respect he returned. He did not feel a great deal of affection for this roommate, but he did respect him, at least academically. Mr. McLachlan came from a most unfortunate family, and he was not gifted with great personal charm, but he was a formidable wizard with an impressive intellect, and those were traits which Arthur highly valued, too. “May he do so,” he echoed, and turned his attention to his own potion.

The temptation in Potions was always, for him, to fall into something like a trance as he worked. It was comfortable to do so, but not at all safe. Success with Potions involved not only precision, but sometimes, for the less specific directions, speed and alertness too, as well as just a feel for the ingredients. A great potioneer would need to be intimately familiar with the qualities of every item in his supply closet, which, at this point, Arthur was not; the best he could usually do was quickly reading summaries for the more obscure ones from his books, then trying to remember the answers next time, along with anything extra he managed to learn between classes where the ingredient was used. He reminded himself to be patient. Acquiring knowledge was a process, and not a mad, self-destructive one like a Quidditch game. He had time enough. For now.

He carefully added in the thorn apple flowers and, his arm bent at an uncomfortable angle, stirred the potion slowly before removing the stirrer and performing the charm over his cauldron. Once the brew settled again, he added the valerian and began to stir again, his eyes screwed up tightly in concentration as he kept up with the stirs, putting one finger of his free hand down against the table for the first stir, then two for the second, and so on, until he had to start over for the last two.

The one problem, of course, would be if he had lost focus and had two of the stirs go the same way. Biting his lower lip, absorbed enough in his work not to notice or care, he performed the final setting charm and stood back to watch what happened, holding his breath for a moment as bubbles popped and he waited to see if he had gotten it right.

It was, he thought, a little too dark, in the final analysis; either it would lighten as it cooled, or he had been a little too heavy-handed with the blueweed seeds in the beginning, or perhaps had just a hair too much or too little digitalis in the spoon. He glanced at Mr. McLachlan’s cauldron, which looked a bit better, and he inclined his head again, again in acknowledgment, though this time, less agreeably to him, in acknowledgment of another's superiority.

“I believe you will prove the victor,” he said agreeably, beginning to tidy his station. They had to wait for the potions to cool anyway, and he did not like to leave tasks until the last minute. “Of course,” he added casually, though the twisted smile which accompanied his words most likely gave him away, “you do spend more time than most of us practicing your potions, don't you?”

0 Arthur The first year classes would get annoying eventually 0 Arthur 0 5

Michael Grosvenor

October 18, 2012 9:16 AM

By being silly but looking very serious and sorry about it? by Michael Grosvenor

Michael was relieved when Valerie gracefully accepted his apology. For all the objections one could find to Purebloods – even in the cases of nice ones, like Valerie, he wasn't really sure he agreed with some of their attitudes and ideas, like girls not being able to play Quidditch and having their marriages arranged for them – there were some advantages to having had etiquette rammed down your throat since you could talk. One of those advantages was being gracious and graceful in awkward situations. Some people got that wrong. Theresa Carey, for example, had brushed the situation aside but had taken him with it. She had made him feel small. Valerie hadn't done, and would never do that. She was good at being calm and sweet and making people feel alright. He wanted to tell her this because it was always nice for people to hear nice things about themselves, and he rather suspected that Valerie needed that more than some other people. However, he had already got himself into bother by trying to pay her a compliment so he decided to keep his thoughts to himself.

“Thanks,” he smiled, simply accepting her forgiveness instead.

“That would be really helpful,” he nodded, when she offered to cut the root, “I left it cos I wouldn't be able to listen and chop at the same time, cos I would have to look down,” he added. He didn't think Valerie thought that he was just too stupid to be able to manage both things at once, and she was used to what he needed in order to be able to listen, but he wanted to be clear. He could talk whilst she chopped though, and so he turned his attention to her other question.

“Things are good,” he smiled, continuing to crush the seeds. Although they weren't very resistant it would still take some work. That wasn't a very detailed answer and he tried to think what he had done. The same thought struck him as had done when he was speaking to Eris... He didn't really do much. He and Laurie had been planning their mad escapade around the world but he could hardly tell Valerie about that. It wasn't that he didn't trust her, just that he and Laurie took the position of it being a secret. Plus who knew who might overhear in a classroom? “There's a new transfer student in our house. She seems nice,” he commented. Eris was awesome. She had actually been interested in how everything to do with Michael's hearing worked, right down to whether being hugged would cause feedback. It had made him feel special and interesting, things he had not experienced in a positive way relating to his hearing beforehand. He wondered whether Eris would be equally fascinated in Valerie's immune system, and whether Valerie would be equally happy to answer... It probably wouldn't be the first thing he'd bring up if introducing them... 'Eris, this is Valerie. Valerie has an immune system.... thing. Valerie this is Eris. Eris loves asking questions.... He smiled slightly to himself at the thought. “She's over there working with...” he searched for a moment. The boy was in the year below, so it had been a while since they were in classes together, and he was in a different house. “Thingy Garcia,” he said, remembering that they were near each other on the register, which in turn triggered the memory of his surname.

“Let me just fill the cauldron up, then I can give the roots and the seeds a bit of a mash together whilst you tell me how you are,” he smiled. Pouring water into the cauldron was a noisy process and one he needed to keep his eye on. Once it was complete, he turned back to Valerie, ready to receive the sliced carrot roots and her news.

13 Michael Grosvenor By being silly but looking very serious and sorry about it? 199 Michael Grosvenor 0 5

Russell Layne, Aladren

October 18, 2012 10:10 PM

Magic potions. by Russell Layne, Aladren

Potions was only rarely what he would call a boring class anyway, but when he heard Professor Fawcett say they would need their wands for today’s class, Russell found himself more intrigued than usual. He didn’t remember much using magic – at least, the wand, point-and-incant kind of magic – in Potions before, and was interested to see what this introduction to their rules and procedures for brewing might involve and lead to.

Along with the rest of his class, he got out his wand – pine and phoenix feather, twelve and a half inches – which had been in his bag. He liked his wand well enough, but he didn’t feel a sense of deep attachment to it, either, exactly; it was a comfortable partnership at this time, he knew from being sent to get one or the other of his parents’ a few times over the summer that his definitely was more comfortable just in his hand, never mind to try a spell with, but he didn’t feel the need to keep it on his person at all times. At least in his bag, yes, but that was a matter of practicality; it was helpful to have his wand, and since he was in school, he never went very long without needing it, either, be it for class or just to summon a book he couldn’t figure out where he’d put around his room. Right now, he put it down on his table and didn’t look at it again, more interested in hearing what they were going to use their wands for than in using his.

The answer for why they needed them wasn’t as interesting as he might have hoped, or come up with, but it was pretty darn practical, and that was something he could approve of, so Russell carefully watched both Professor Fawcett and then the moving diagrams as he imitated the wand movements he was going to have to use a few times, getting the feel of them while he mouthed the incantation and was surprised to see a few sparks fall from the end of his wand as he did so. A little unnerved, he got down the rest of the notes, including the homework, before turning his attention to the handout.

It was a fairly complicated potion, something that looked like it would be good fun to work on. He had not gotten far into it, though, when there was a bit of a disturbance involving one of the girls from his House – a third year, he thought – cutting her hand and being patched up by Professor Fawcett. Feeling a little obliged, as a prefect, he kept an eye on her for a moment, but she seemed to do okay from there, and he went on with crushing up his own blueweed seeds. The work would have gone more quickly with a partner, but he wouldn’t have that option during the CATS at the end of the year - a time he knew was far closer than it felt right now, though it already seemed far closer than it had at the beginning of the year - and he knew he needed to adjust to working alone and learn to do so more quickly right now.

16 Russell Layne, Aladren Magic potions. 183 Russell Layne, Aladren 0 5

Alicia Bauer, Aladren

October 23, 2012 4:18 PM

Thoughts with a cold. by Alicia Bauer, Aladren

Schemes, resentments, lies – all of these were things Alicia regarded as normal, which she didn’t even think much of having in her life anymore. There were a few things, though, which could distract her from even them. A severe cold was one of them. The Pepperup Potion had finished its work, she could breathe easily again and the smoke had finally stopped pouring out from under her thick dark hair and giving her something of the look of a settling volcano, but she still felt tired and drained and less interested in the world around her than usual. Other people could have happy lives or go hang themselves today and she’d not blink either way.

Even intellectual curiosity was at a low point, though not as low as some things. She was interested in the assignment, she really was – she just wished they could have gotten it tomorrow, rather than today. Even so, though, she took careful notes; her chin was propped on her hand as she did, but her notes were up to par. Even if she had been really sick, slacking off in Fawcett’s class was not something she would have ever dreamed of doing, since he was her Head of House and this was one of the most useful subjects they had in her opinion.

As she wrote down the homework, she looked at Thad for a moment, wondering if she should take the easy way on her own account and look up the potion in the library, suggest that way to him, or try to engage him doing the assignment properly. Something was going on with him; she didn’t know what, but she knew it was there, and that made her uneasy, about both of them, which was frustrating.

One of the real downsides of having a real friend, she thought, was that she sometimes found herself divided in her motivations like this. There was part of her that wanted it to be all right for his sake, because she did care for him, and there was another which was just worried about saying the wrong thing and ending up cast into the outer darkness – a part which was itself divided, half thinking that way because he was a valuable ally, and half doing so because she just didn’t want to lose the relationship on its own merits. It was stressful, thinking two ways at once, then sometimes even trying to figure out which one was more important to her. Just one more thing to hate her parents for.

She looked over the handout, reading it once through without taking in a word and then going back to try again. This time, she got some sense out of it, and began to take out her ingredients. She could pull the potion off by herself, anyway; she was good at Potions, and it was never too early, when she got the chance, to think about CATS. Those were not at the top of her priority list, but they were definitely already on it.

16 Alicia Bauer, Aladren Thoughts with a cold. 210 Alicia Bauer, Aladren 0 5