Not waving but drowning on Potions

Professor Fawcett

August 11, 2013 12:24 AM

Advanced Lesson II (6th and 7th Years) by Professor Fawcett

Classes always – perhaps in part simply because of the cold inspiring him to drink more coffee, which recalled something of the feeling of being twenty-one and addicted to the stuff as he plowed through a double major on four or five hours of sleep a night – seemed to take on a new sense of purpose and urgency in John’s mind after the midterm break, but the Advanced class was one where he was sure the impression was not false. Half the class was composed of sixth years, who were safe for the moment, but the other half had RATS, which would determine at least some things about their immediate future possibilities, looming before them in just a few months, and those who had not thought about that yet were likely going to start soon. John was sure they existed, most things did, but he could not remember ever meeting anyone who believably claimed not to be a bit nervous about the thought of the RATS.

Nothing to do about it but what he did with the CATS students – keep an eye out for signs of slipping grades or impending breakdowns, address those issues with the students privately if they arose, and otherwise keep going through the material. He finished his third coffee of the morning so far and surveyed the Advanced class.

“Good morning, everyone,” he said agreeably. “Open your books to page 467. We’re covering Golpalott’s Third Law today.”

As he saw a few people ceasing to turn pages, he asked, “would anyone care to read us the definition?” and pointed at a raised hand to get the printed text: the antidote for a blended poison will be equal to more than the sum of the antidotes for each of the separate components. Then he nodded. “Very good. Now, however, we must discuss what this means.

“For a blended poison, simply combining the two antidotes is not sufficient, because the two components, by their combination, have created a distinct entity. Creating such complex poisons is seldom as simple as merely mixing, say, belladonna and wormwood in a vial, and we will discuss it further in the next week, but that is as much as you need to understand of that for now. In general, in these antidotes, the antidotes for individual poisons will still be present, but with an outside ingredient which brings the whole together in an almost alchemical process.

“Finding this last component is, of course, the challenge. One which I suspect you have guessed already that I will have you attempt today. When I finish speaking, each of you will come get a vial containing a blend of three poisons. You must first break them apart, determine the individual antidotes, then deduce how to produce an antidote for the three combined. I do not foresee anyone completing the task today – we will continue with the subject, discussing next time what went right and what went wrong today and making another attempt later. For now, though, you may begin.”

OOC: As usual, all site posting rules apply, more creativity and realism equals more points, etc. Tag Fawcett if you need him/are in danger of blowing up the classroom, and have fun!

Subthreads:

Not waving but drowning by Michael Grosvenor with Brianna Japos, Crotalus

Finally an exciting task. by Maximilian J. McLachlan - Aladren with Linus Macaulay, Josh McLachlan

0 Professor Fawcett Advanced Lesson II (6th and 7th Years) 0 Professor Fawcett 1 5

Michael Grosvenor

August 13, 2013 2:09 PM

Not waving but drowning by Michael Grosvenor

Michael suppressed a groan as Professor Fawcett told them what they'd be studying. 'Law' was just another word for 'theory.' There was probably a difference between why some things were theories and some were laws but he had no idea what it was and his brain was already struggling with everything he was supposed to understand without posing it extra questions like that. They both meant complicated ideas, which used big long words and complicated sentence structure, that made his head hurt. Today didn't look to be much of an exception.

He stuck his hand up, volunteering to read in the hopes that – if this class involved a protracted period of people being called upon – he would have done his duty and would be safe from being picked on for anything more arduous and complex. He read the words evenly and slightly mechanically, not really taking in their meaning, but not stumbling or hesitating too much, and not letting his confusion show in his voice.

Very good. Now we must discuss what this means.

That was probably the only 'very good' he would get from Professor Fawcett in his life, and he doubted it was all that sincere, as his reading hadn't exactly been moving. Professor Fawcett then proceeded to chatter on, cramming a lot of words into a small space, before telling them that that was all they needed to know for now. Michael felt that that was unlikely as – at present – he knew nothing, apart from the fact that he wasn't just combining belladonna and wormwood in a vial, and that he wished to God that he was a first year again, or even back in Muggle school.

He collected a vial of poison (had maths been so terrible, really? He couldn't recall ever having to work with an equation that could have killed him, or made him vomit out his own intestines or whatever the combined ingredients of this were designed to do) and gingerly poured it into his cauldron.

He returned to the textbook, silently rereading Golpalott's third law. It remained as inscrutable as before. With somewhat glazed eyes, he skimmed the rest of the page. The reference to Scarpin's Revelaspell slipped his notice, and would not have meant a lot to him anyway. He hit a list of common antidotes and realised that meant he was probably past any useful information on how to identify the poisons. It merely reminded him that this, apparently, wasn't the main hurdle but that, in addition to the 'obvious' ingredients, he had some kind of mystery ingredient to find at the end of it all. It was all a bit like some kind of crazy treasure hunt. Only not fun.

He glanced anxiously between his classmates. Valerie wasn't here, and she was about the only person he would be comfortable admitting to that he had no idea what was going on. He was about to resort to the last ditch attempt of just copying someone else – the class was small and quiet enough that he might be able to pick up on what they were saying – when the person next to him spoke, causing him to jump slightly.

13 Michael Grosvenor Not waving but drowning 199 Michael Grosvenor 0 5

Brianna Japos, Crotalus

August 17, 2013 1:40 PM

Just kick your feet, you'll stay afloat. by Brianna Japos, Crotalus

Despite one of her best friends being a Potions expert and experimenter, Brianna was not very good at them. She had only managed to do average on the CATS examination because of Josh and her study sessions with him and her friends. She had only continued with the class because she knew that poisons and antidotes were extremely important for the law line of work. Specifically, Aurors, which she was not not studying to be, but she was going to go to college for undergraduate program in Criminology and knowing everything she could in all subjects and following the same lessons as that of an Auror she felt would be in her best bet. Her graduate program would be Law School. She felt these two programs went hand in hand, but she might also attempt a minor in Public Affairs since the Law also seemed to be about politics too.

But that was in her future. For now, she needed to concentrate at the task at hand. When Brianna had first begun potions, she knew the subject was difficult, but she never considered it to be as challenging as it had become for her. She thought that as long as she followed the directions provided, she would get through it without much problems, but as she grew older, the lessons became more complex and she had a difficult time with them. Today’s lesson was no exception.

The idea that a person would take the time to mix various poisons together seemed rather extreme to her. Wouldn’t one poison be sufficient enough to do whatever it was that a person would need it for? Why mix them at all? On top of that, with the mixed poisons there was no way to really fix the issue if the antidote for the individual poison no longer was effective. This was all so in depth that Brianna wasn’t even sure where to begin.

She stared at her vial for a long moment trying to figure out what to do with it. She could have asked Josh for help, but this subject was his absolute favorite, his obsession, and she didn’t want to disturb him. Her mix of poisons had a lovely purple shade to it. This made her feel like Nighshade might be a key ingredient in it, but she could not be too sure. She poured the contents into one of her smaller side cauldrons and smelled a sickly sweet scent as she did so. That was another hint. Possibly hellebore.

Brianna sighed, pausing in her writing and rubbed her head. She was going to need all week just to get the first part of the assignment done. Her brown eyes glanced around the room at the others to see what they were doing. Some people seemed to be working right along. They were probably at home with their cauldrons. Others, like her, seemed to be having trouble. One face stuck out though, it might have been because it was only a desk away and the seat in between them was empty or because she had taken the first step in healing the past with him.

Shifting between the seats and moving closer to him, Brianna commented on the lesson they had for the day, but he must have not been prepared for anyone because he jumped as though she had frightened him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. You looked concerned about the lesson. I was wondering how you were doing with it.”

6 Brianna Japos, Crotalus Just kick your feet, you'll stay afloat. 0 Brianna Japos, Crotalus 0 5

Maximilian J. McLachlan - Aladren

August 17, 2013 9:53 PM

Finally an exciting task. by Maximilian J. McLachlan - Aladren

Coming back to classes was a joy and gave Josh a sense of comfort. His midterm had been exhausting both mentally and physically, but at the same time rejuvenating. Though he had traveled almost nonstop for the entire midterm, he hadn't had to worry about keeping out of the way of his crazy aunt. He could never do anything right in her eyes and he knew she still blamed him for her stillborn child almost seventeen years ago. He had only been there for a summer, but he never wanted to go back there ever again.

The subject for today was one Josh was already quite familiar with. He had studied Golpalott's Third Law extensively when his interest in potions had first sprouted, but he had never tried to make a potion according to that law. For his term-long project last term he had thought of trying it, but he had ended up experimenting and researching puffer fin juices. The theory had already been proposed by one of his favorite potioneers, but Josh had wanted to go deeper with it. His side project of researching aconine leaves had not really happened with how busy he was last term, but he was determined to research it this term. Now would be the perfect time.

Josh did not volunteer to read the law out loud, but he could mouth along with it from memory. Most of his potion experiments had been Josh playing it safe or getting to know specific ingredients and their uses. His nose was very sensitive now after years and years of training and he could now tell almost every ingredient just from its smell. When it was mixed in with something else, it was sometimes a little more difficult to tell, but there were some ingredients with distinct smells that he could pick out almost immediately.

The challenge Professor Fawcett was giving them excited Josh tremendously. He loved learning and trying new things. He didn't worry much about his RATS. He was studying all he could and he soaked it all in. Magic was something Josh would never get tired of learning about and he didn't want to forget even the tiniest detail about it. Once the professor had finished speaking, Josh went up and took a vial for himself. As soon as he went back to his seat, he popped open the cork and took a careful whiff. The color of the poison was a dark brown with a slight sheen to it when light hit the vial in a certain way. He frowned and then poured it into a larger glass to see it better. The smell was a little pungent and another whiff of it suddenly made Josh's spirits drop. The feeling reminded him of Weedosoros and Josh wrote it down before he proceeded to experiment with it.

Breaking down the potion would be easy, but understanding what the different poisons were would take some time. Josh had been mastering the art of casting spells nonverbally and his attempt with Scarpin's Revelaspell was successful. He found at least a few handfuls of ingredients, all of which he wrote down quickly before he forgot it. He had to cast the charm a second time to get the full list, but once he had it he began trying to piece the ingredients together. The first task was to see which ingredients were compatible and which were not. His intense study of potion ingredients for the past several years had paid off in that aspect. He hoped no one asked him for advice; the task Professor Fawcett had given them for today was intense and something Josh himself had never tried before today. It was exciting and he wanted to put his full concentration into it.

0 Maximilian J. McLachlan - Aladren Finally an exciting task. 0 Maximilian J. McLachlan - Aladren 0 5

Linus Macaulay

August 21, 2013 3:16 PM

Care for a side of conversation? by Linus Macaulay

Linus had never held any particular regard for potions in either pole of preference; he respected the professor and found the subject material interesting from time to time, while brewing was often a refreshing change to wandwork. Meanwhile, some concoctions were distinctly unpleasant, the textbooks were overly wordy and often required further clarification from external resources, and Linus found less satisfaction in the lengthy completion of a successful potion than in the instantaneous results of a well-executed spell. However, he had maintained good grades in the subject throughout the lower years, and, leaning as he was towards a career in Healing, Linus knew it was a subject in which he must excel. Therefore he continued his efforts to perform at a higher-than-average standard, and tried not to let the more perplexing aspects of this class perturb him.

Today it sounded as though Linus' resolve would be tested, as Professor Fawcett explained their assignment associated with Golpalott's Third Law. While the sixth year was familiar with the concept, he had never encountered a practical application of the theory, and wasn't convinced the next week of potions classes was going to be an entirely stress-free experience. Nevertheless, he collected the requisite vial of blended poison from the professor and returned to his desk, his class textbook already open to what he considered to be the most appropriate starting point for researching the task.

It was only after Linus had returned to his station that he realised he had seated himself next to Joshua McLachlan. Theoretically, Linus ought to hold the Aladren student in friendly regard, acknowledging that they had an interest in common. Yet it was this common interest that caused Linus some uneasiness in the presence of the seventh year. Admittedly, he had no inclination to like Joshua even before he became acquainted with him through Brianna, but instead of strengthening any possible relationship they might have had, Linus found Joshua's friendship with Brianna to be a point of contention.

Loathe as he was to initiate conversation with someone he usually avoided wherever possible, Linus couldn't deny it would seem petty not to at least engage his neighbour. Besides, a quick glance in her direction informed him that Brianna was conversing with Michael, so maybe it was the day for odd encounters. "You seem to know what you're doing," Linus said by way of greeting, graciously acknowledging a skill he knew existed, as Brianna had told him as much. He had never inquired how she and Joshua spent their time together, but she spoke of him occasionally, anyway.

0 Linus Macaulay Care for a side of conversation? 205 Linus Macaulay 0 5

Michael Grosvenor

August 23, 2013 4:58 PM

I'm trying... by Michael Grosvenor

I'm fine was the first response that sprang to Michael's mind, perhaps a little defensively. People had often had the default assumption that he was useless, and so he'd always been rather sensitive to it, or to any form of criticism. The trouble was, he really was about as much good as a chocolate teapot at present, and that would become immediately obvious when he turned back to his cauldron and had no idea what to do. The back of his neck prickled uncomfortably at the idea that he was about to lose face in front of someone. Someone who didn't seem to have the greatest opinion of him anyway.

“Not great,” he admitted, very softly and awkwardly. “I... I used to be ok at Potions but I was never much good at the theory. And now... now it's like you have to understand the theory to unlock the practical part,” he sighed. He thought of Brianna as very bright – he knew she'd been studying for her CATS well in advance, which to him spoke of someone dedicated and highly academic. Someone who knew how to use their time, which was another thing he was struggling with. Still, he didn't really have much choice but to be honest – on top of everything else, he was a terrible liar, in spite of what Brianna thought about that. He went all red and got his words out even less coherently than usual.

He tried to find a bright-side to look on. Even if it made him embarrassed because he had to admit his short-comings, it was nice that she'd come over. Since her letter, he had been wondering what, if anything, he should do next. He was scared of making a wrong move, but the feeling that making no move might start to be the wrong thing had been nagging at him. They were out of their weird sort of stalemate now, at least. Things could now get better. He tried not to think about the unsettling possibility that they could all blow up and get worse, reopening old wounds again because that made him want to keep avoiding her. And, if there was a chance for good things to happen, then he wanted to try.

“How about you?” he asked.

13 Michael Grosvenor I'm trying... 199 Michael Grosvenor 0 5

Brianna

August 25, 2013 10:10 PM

Trying is a good start. by Brianna

Brianna wasn’t sure if Michael was going to answer her at first. Maybe it had not been a good idea to have bothered him. She had received a couple of pieces of fudge back when she had first owled him. When the owl had returned, she had been confused, thinking he hadn’t liked her gift and was sending it back, but the letter contradicted that and then she had remembered what she had said. So, she assumed he too was working towards healing the past. But now maybe she had been wrong.

Then he started talking and Brianna felt relief. She hadn’t wanted to be rejected, certainly not publically. And definitely not in front of Linus and Josh. They both seemed to want to keep her protected and if she were humiliated, she didn’t know how the two of them would respond.

She nodded along to what he was saying, completely understanding where he was coming from and gave him a small smiling of sympathy. It was awkward having a conversation with him. Their last actual face to face conversation happened in the hospital when he had broken her already damaged heart and she had thrown him out of her life. She had been in a very dark place back then and she had felt that he hadn’t bothered to understand that. Brianna always felt that Michael never liked to see the picture as a whole if it meant having to see things he didn’t like. To live blissfully unaware of things must have been a nice cozy little place, but it wasn’t a place Brianna could ever be.

But she was in a better place now. Most of the time she was even quite happy too. They weren’t likely to ever really understand one another, but she could at least move on from the past as best as she could and know that she had tried to right the wrongs.

“Not so good. Potions was never my best subject. I only passed the exam because of Josh. Of course, now I’m stuck trying to figure all this out.” Brianna looked back at the small cauldron with her poison mix in it. “I know that we have to separate the ingredients before we can actually work on the antidote, but I haven’t learned the spell to do that yet and the book only mentions the name, but not the wand movement. So, now I have to figure out the ingredients based on my senses, but that’s not the easiest thing to do, until I can get to the library to do research on it.” She held back a sigh. It would have been easier to just ask Josh, but him and Linus were talking and Brianna was loathed to look any weaker in front of Linus than she absolutely had to.

6 Brianna Trying is a good start. 0 Brianna 0 5

Josh McLachlan

August 26, 2013 5:53 PM

Would it make a difference if I said no? by Josh McLachlan

It was unfortunate—really, more than unfortunate—that Josh had ended up next to Linus. He had done his best to not notice him and concentrate solely on his work. As he was getting into the groove of it, Linus interrupted him. Josh tried to make it a positive comment in his head. He didn’t want to dislike Brianna’s boyfriend simply because he, Josh, was a naturally suspicious person. He had asked her, probably more than once, if she was happy with Linus. He knew of how much abuse Brianna had endured before and he would have no qualms with showing Linus the business end of his wand if he hurt her. But she had seemed happy and if Linus was the one making her happy, Josh had nothing but gratitude to show him.

It was with this conclusion that Josh took the pains to lift himself up from the bent-over position he had been in before. “Yes. I’m very familiar with Golpalott’s Third Law. I was thinking of doing my project on his law last term, but I ended up doing something else.” He hoped Linus didn’t try to flatter him into giving answers. Josh looked at his scribbled list of ingredients. Piecing them together to learn what poisons were in the vial would be much easier than creating an antidote in itself. Josh, however, had studied much for his own benefit and it would help him immensely in this class. This was all simply training for the future and Josh was delighted in it.

Josh had a gift of successfully shutting down every type of conversation imaginable, but he had to get used to making contacts and friends at potion conventions and the like. Practicing at Sonora, a place he had been for the last three years, would help. It was better late than never, anyway. “Are you a potions man yourself?” he asked, wondering if they shared a common interest. As Linus replied, Josh went back to piecing together his puzzle though he kept his ears open. They needed to work and conversation could accompany that. It was unfortunate, however, that he wasn’t able to put his full concentration on this. He highly doubted that he could finish all this in one class period anyway.

0 Josh McLachlan Would it make a difference if I said no? 0 Josh McLachlan 0 5

Linus

September 02, 2013 9:20 AM

Not sufficient difference to alter my actions. by Linus

He was almost disappointed that Joshua had decided to reply, as this now presented the conundrum of conversation. While Linus would have been undeniably irked to be ignored, at least the pains of verbal communication would not have been an issue. Linus nodded, not sufficiently enthused to comment on Joshua's knowledge of the subject of the assignment. Fawcett seemed to enjoy setting them projects; Linus' focus earlier in the term had been on medicinal potions, in preparation for any college essays he may need to write on the topic in the future.

"Not especially," Linus denied being 'a potions man,' as Joshua put it. "There are certain aspects of the subject I enjoy," he elaborated as he began to scribble down some characteristics of the potion, such as its colour, scent and viscosity, all of which might hint at its contents, "but I prefer wandwork overall." In any situation where there existed a spell and a potion to arrive at the same end, Linus saw sense in performing the spell for instant results, rather than having to waste time and resources in brewing a redundant solution.

Ironically, he was not so skilled with Scarpin's Revelaspell as he would have liked, yet it seemed a sensible early step in potentially identifying the contents of the vial. Linus cast the spell, took from it what he could, and readdressed Joshua while he contemplated what to do next. "Are you continuing to study potions once you graduate?" he asked, only mildly interested in the answer. It would always be beneficial to have contacts across a range of fields, so providing he and Mr McLachlan continued to tolerate, if not befriend, each other, then maintaining some limited sort of correspondence might be favourable.

0 Linus Not sufficient difference to alter my actions. 0 Linus 0 5

Josh McLachlan

September 08, 2013 9:53 PM

It was worth a try. by Josh McLachlan

There was little concerning magic that Josh did not excel in. He studied hard and genuinely enjoyed learning and mastering all that he could. Wandwork came a little easier than potions, however, and perhaps that was why Josh preferred potions more. It gave him more of a challenge while wandwork was just a necessary skill to possess and nothing more. There were experts in certain spells, sure, but there wasn't a real challenge to it unless he wanted to create his own spell. Potions were challenging, interesting, and he felt like one could tamper with potions where spells were less malleable.

Josh could understand why wandwork was preferred, however, and he just nodded, having nothing else to say. Wandwork was convenient, but Josh could spend hours working on potions or, quite literally, months and be content. It was the process that fascinated him just as much as the result.

The looming decision of what Josh wanted to do after he graduated and escaped, hopefully successfully, from his family's clutches was still a big question. He had wanted to alter his records and tests to the name of his new identity after graduation, but if any universities looked into it, they would find he really did not exist in any school records. The name might, but he personally would not.

Josh had decided to try and attend university classes through post or attempt to informally attend classes. But what he really wanted to do was open up his own potion's shop and get started on his research and attend Potion Conventions and the like. He wanted to get started right away and he had enough ideas already to begin with. He just needed funding and that would come from his shop, hopefully.

But answering Linus's question was a little tricky. He wanted to continue his studies, but he really didn't think it was going to happen in a classroom. And as of now, he had no one to study under. His best bet would be to either ask to apprentice at another potion master's shop or start a shop of his own as inexperienced as he was. However, though his future studies were uncertain, that seemed to be the easiest answer. That way Linus wouldn't start asking where Josh wanted to open his shop and potentially look for him which would be detrimental to Josh's entire scheme of disappearing.

"Yes, I'm planning on it at a university back in Australia," was all he said. Josh knew of one university back in his hometown, but it wasn't exactly known for its strong potions background. It would do for an answer, though. Josh knew where he was going, but he did not want anyone else to know. "Are you planning to go to college after Sonora?"

0 Josh McLachlan It was worth a try. 0 Josh McLachlan 0 5

Linus

September 14, 2013 4:06 PM

I commend your efforts. by Linus

Admittedly, having a contact who was knowledgeable in potions might not prove to be such an advantage if said contact resided on the other side of the planet. On the positive side, he would be less likely to suffer any misgivings regarding Joshua's relationship with Brianna if he were living several thousand miles away. That was a comfort.

"I am planning to train as a Healer," Linus answered the most recent query in a more or less direct fashion. He had always known that he wanted to help people in some direct fashion, but he hadn't been certain on the form of his future career before he had attended Sonora - childhood had not, unsurprisingly, provided all the solutions to adulthood - and had been thrown when he realised that there was literally another world of options available to him as a wizard. His decision to become a Healer had only recently come about, when he'd begun to consider what he would do after graduation; where he would go to college, what he would study, and what it would lead to. It had hardly been a search, in Linus' opinion, as the moment he'd discovered the function of healers, and the path to becoming one, he had known, instinctively, that it was right for him. It was as if part of him had known all along, but he'd only recently become consciously aware of the knowledge. "So yes, I'm going to college," he clarified unnecessarily.

Linus separated his potion, carefully pouring a small amount of it into a small but solid vial with a thermometer, which he held with tongs over a flame until its contents began to boil. Linus noted the temperature, and then safely set this down to cool. In the meantime, he took up a chameleon tail and dipped it carefully into the potion. The tail turned red; Linus noted this down, too, and then turned to his textbook for clues on what this revelation might mean. He hesitated his reading briefly as he turned to glance at Brianna, concerned that her partnership with Michael might turn sour at any given moment. It was only natural that he would feel protective over her, and as previous conversations with Michael had ended in her upset, he felt he was justified in monitoring them when in class.

0 Linus I commend your efforts. 0 Linus 0 5