A lesson that's actually interesting. on Potions

Professor Mary Brooding

August 23, 2018 2:17 AM

Have your potion and eat it too. [Beginners I-II] by Professor Mary Brooding

Mary was all smiles as she stood in the Potions classroom and awaited the arrival of first and second year students. It was a red dress sort of day and her ruby gown and black hat was reminiscent of her romantic feelings of recent days. It had been a lovely weekend with a lovely woman and she would certainly call it a successful date. More than anything, it meant she had a friend again. Being honest with Tabitha about her feelings for the woman was one thing, but having someone to eat breakfast with and laugh with and talk with meant more than anything. The rest of the staff was nice enough about Tabitha was special and Mary was overjoyed to be in her good graces again. Hopefully for a very long time.

The beginner students didn’t look quite so exuberant as Mary felt, but she hoped to cheer them with a wonderful day of practical potion-making. Besides, she thought their flushed little faces were lovely and showed all the proper signs of excitement for a morning class, which was to say that they were awake and well-fed. That was the most she could ask for.

“I know you’ve just eaten,” she started when the students were all seated. “But I wanted to take some time to introduce the topic of Applied Potions-Making.”

Chalk magically wrote this term on the board behind her and wrote an outline of notes as she continued. A few books in a variety of languages flew to her desk and stacked themselves there, references for students who wished to read more on the topic. She thought of Mr. Montoir’s eagerness to learn and hoped to inspire the younger students to do the same.

“Applied Potions-Making includes the subfields of healing and medicine, defensive magic, and today’s topic: cooking. I think we can all agree that the best part of cooking is eating, so I’ve made sure there will be time for all of us to try our work today. The important thing to keep in mind when cooking with potions is that taste is only part of the battle. We must also keep in mind what we’ve learned about the ingredients we’ve studied, and what their affects are individually and combined.” A few more reference guides stacked themselves up. “An example of this might be the mandrake, which we know to have extensive healing properties and which may provide a hearty, rooty substance in a stew or other dish.”

Mary smiled at her students and waited while they scratched down some notes and spoke eagerly with each other. Well, mostly eagerly. She was sure it was still too early for everyone to be as excited for mandrake stew as she was.

On a table near her desk were three cauldrons, and she gestured to them next. They each had lids so as to avoid the scent of any one food dish overwhelming the others. Serving utensils and dishes were nearby, as well as napkins and cups for water.

She made her way to the table and removed the lid from each as she described its contents. “Toasted vegetable stir fry, vegan and vegetarian, and gluten free, with mushroom, alihotsy leaves. The last of these is an ingredient in the Laughing Potion and makes this a particularly cheerful dish,” she said first. “Creamy strawberry lemon bisque with morning dew, an ingredient in the Beautification Potion. This dessert encourages lovely dreams and healthy skin,” she said over the second. “And finally, lionfish stew with potatoes and mandrake, one to encourage healthy digestion, muscle relaxation, and general wellbeing.”

“I have some books here for reference,” she said, pointing redundantly at the various stacks on her desk. “And I’m happy to help anyone who’d like to ask some questions. I think it will also help a lot to speak with each other. I know you’ve not all had the opportunity to cook much at home, so working together will be very helpful. Please keep in mind the safety measures we’ve learned so far and let me know if you need any help managing your flames.” They shouldn’t need help. This was far from the first cauldron-work they’d attempted and nothing too extreme had happened so far. She was more afraid someone might get onion juice in their eye than anything else, but wanted to cover all bases.

“You can make a dish for any meal—breakfast, lunch, dinner or supper, dessert, tea, or something else—but I expect it to feature all the regular nutrients for the meal you choose. If you choose dinner, I expect some carbs, some proteins, etc. If you need help with that as well, or if you need ideas for meals based on dietary restrictions, let me know. Your homework will be a short essay explaining the importance of the ingredients you chose, examining their qualities as potion ingredients in particular. Go ahead and begin!”

(OOC: I definitely made this all up, but it is based on potions and ingredients on the Harry Potter wikia. I really just love the idea of slipping a Pepperup Potion into a holiday stew to keep off illnesses and what not.)

Students should definitely not be blowing anything up or anything crazy, although I wouldn’t be surprised at all if it tastes terrible.)

Subthreads:

A lesson that's actually interesting. by Julius Astley, Crotalus with Evelyn Stones

Real <s>Men </s> Humans Don't Cook by Beau Tate, Pecari

Do you realize what you've done? by Topaz Brockert, Aladren with Heinrich Hexenmeister, Aladren

Eating I can do.... by Katerina Vorontsov with Allegra Brockert, Crotalus

22 Professor Mary Brooding Have your potion and eat it too. [Beginners I-II] 1424 Professor Mary Brooding 1 5

Julius Astley, Crotalus

August 26, 2018 5:51 PM

A lesson that's actually interesting. by Julius Astley, Crotalus

Julius actually quite liked the subject of Potions. Making the different potions that all had different uses was fascinating. He actually believed that many potions were a lot more powerful than just simple wandwork. There was something wonderful about the way the potions bubbled when on heat and how they changed colour when you added an ingredient or stirred it in a particular way. There was something delightfully risky with potions as well, which Julius liked. How you teetered on the edge of perfection or disaster throughout the entire brewing process. One wrong ingredient or too much or too little could send all of your work down the drain. It gave Julius a thrill that he didn't experience with anything else.

So, yes, Julius enjoyed Potions, even if he did find Professor Brooding far too cheery, somehow even more so than usual in this particular lesson - perhaps she ate a lot of her toasted vegetable stirfry.

Her lesson today was as interesting as her others had been and what she was teaching had a very big practical element to it - adding potion ingredients to food. He wondered if you added valerian sprigs, used in the Draught of Peace and the Sleeping Draught (as well as the particularly lethal Draught of Living Death), if it would cause the eater to sleep peacefully as well as more heavily, resulting in a much more rested individual. He was also curious about whether adding Lethe river water to food would cause forgetfulness. He felt that this topic required much more experimentation than just one lesson and made a resolution that he would explore it all further in his spare time.

He thought the best place to start was to actually experience one of Professor Brooding's concotions and make a note of just how it affected him and how intensely and work from there. With that in mind, he set out his things ready to take notes before getting up and making his way over to Professor Brooding's meals. He chose the one that seemed like it would have an instant effect and decided on her stirfry. Upon opening the lid, he found the smell to be rather delightful and he had to admit that it did look rather delightful. He helped himself to a small portion before replacing the lid and also picked up a cup of water to wash his food down with.

He returned to his seat and unfolded the napkin and laid it gently across his lap, as was proper. Just because he was away from home and in class didn't mean he'd forget all of the etiquette lessons he'd had over the years. He took a deep breath before having a mouthful of the stirfry.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, slowly, a warmth blossomed in his chest and he felt the urge to laugh, like someone had just told him a particularly funny joke. He could feel his lips being pulled up into a smile and he felt very much like he was back home and having fun with his sisters. It was truly a delight and, as Professor Brooding had described, a cheerful dish.

He started to make notes about how he was feeling and couldn't help but have another mouthful, which seemed to increase the wonderful things he was feeling. He hadn't felt this cheerful since being at Sonora. He also felt the urge to share and spread his cheerfulness with his neighbour so he tapped them on the shoulder.

"Hey, have you tried this? It's amazing."

20 Julius Astley, Crotalus A lesson that's actually interesting. 1425 Julius Astley, Crotalus 0 5

Evelyn Stones

August 27, 2018 2:48 PM

A conversation that's really surprising. by Evelyn Stones

Evelyn was feeling a bit better now. It wasn't like her to stay mad at anybody for too long and she cared far too much about Ness and Malikhi to be too upset that they didn't care about each other much. Besides, they'd only been put together for a few weeks now. Time might fix that.

She'd been going to great lengths to try to encourage them to interact, sitting on one side or the other rather than in the middle, excusing herself for bathroom breaks, conversing with others where possible... it had been a good system. In this particular class, she was not bound to excuse herself. Potions were far too practical, and far too personal, for her to want to miss even a moment of class. She'd spent a lot of time cooking with her mom when it had been appropriate to do so and the idea of cooking with potions was particularly exciting.

When she was young, her mother had made potions with her and taught her all sorts of things about different ingredients and recipes. However, since coming to Sonora, Evelyn had in fact learned that her mother hadn't been entirely truthful. Potions required wands and spellcasting and since those weren't things her mom had access to, there was no way she'd been able to brew potions. Evelyn thought her mom must've known she'd be caught when Evelyn began classes at Sonora and so she hadn't written to say anything on the matter. As it turned out, fake potion making was still a favorite memory, and now she'd be able to take that into some real magic. She didn't mind, and her mom hadn't taught her anything terribly wrong.

Evelyn was sitting between Ness and another first year for today's lesson. She tried to balance between sitting beside Ness and sitting beside Malikhi, noting in particular that Malikhi was prone to jealousy. She wasn't sure whether he knew she'd noticed, but didn't say anything just in case. Nights in the Common Room were spent with him so she didn't mind spending a bit of extra time with Ness in class. Plus Malikhi's biggest problem with the Aladren seemed to be the tendency to just do well and know things. Maybe if they sat together, Ness would be able to rub off on Malikhi and he wouldn't have to worry so much about some of the theoretical parts of class. Vishnu knows Evelyn couldn't help with that.

In a lesson about cooking, however, Evelyn firmly anticipated some group work and she was excited to have some time with both Ness and Malikhi together today. She normally left her jewelry in her bag for potions lessons but today didn't seem so dangerous, so she left them in place. It was an exciting turn of events because she was wearing jewelry in Pecari house colors, and lipstick in Aladren colors. It wasn't her usual to wear blue and black at the same time, but she sort of enjoyed the mix, and the blue from her upper lip left a shimmery smear on the black of her bottom lip, which she thought looked rather nice. She hoped choosing colors for both of her friends would entice them to view her as exactly that: both their friends.

Instead, however, she was tapped on the shoulder by the student on the other side, who had never deigned to speak with her before. She was pretty sure his name was Julius, but he wasn't in Pecari so she hadn't gotten to talk to him much before. He was looking very proper and Evelyn wondered if he'd made many friends. She was well acquainted with loneliness.

She smiled ruefully at Ness and Malikhi before turning to the boy and replying.

"I haven't," she said. "I wasn't sure which one I wanted to have. Is it good?" He looked happy, which was more than she could usually say about him, and she smiled as she waited for a response.

22 Evelyn Stones A conversation that's really surprising. 1422 Evelyn Stones 0 5

Julius Astley, Crotalus

August 28, 2018 9:32 AM

A conversation I wish I hadn't started by Julius Astley, Crotalus

Julius was still smiling when Evelyn replied to him. He couldn't help it. He just felt so incredibly happy, all negative thoughts now banished from his mind. He felt as light as a feather, warm like he'd just drunk a full mug of hot chocolate, bright like the sun itself. His intention to record the feelings on his parchment was put to one side as he was sure that he'd never forget this wonderful feeling.

"I highly recommend it," he told Evelyn with an easy smile. "Professor Brooding is a wonderful cook. I am eager to try some of the others. Isn't this lesson just so interesting?"

Julius wondered if he would be able to recreate the cheerful dish. Maybe he could ask Professor Brooding for her recipe? Who wouldn't want it? If you had the opportunity to be cheerful all the time, like the blond boy - he believed his name was Malikhi - was, wouldn't you be? It seemed such a lovely way to be, always seeing the good in everything. His sisters were like that, especially Aelia. She was so young and so untainted by the realities of the world that she was generally so happy.

Then, Julius felt the positive feelings fade away and he felt a rush of several things at once. The first was emptiness, the warmth having dissipated from his chest. The second was embarrassment. He could feel a red blush crawling up his neck and across his cheeks. He had just behaved appallingly, even daring to interrupt somebody else just to let them know about some cheerful stirfry. What was worse was that it was the white-haired girl who was insistant on wearing all those ridiculous shades of lipsticks. She was so clearly beneath him and, before eating the stirfry, he never would have lowered himself to her standing. She was a commoner while he was an Astley. They were from two separate worlds that should never ever collide.

Yet, Julius now didn't know how to split them again. As he had been the one to clearly initiate the conversation, he couldn't very well brush her off now. His mother would fiercely disapprove of such a thing, regardless of whether she was from a lower social background than he was. It would be the absolute height of rudeness to just ignore her after starting to chat with her.

He frowned deeply and kept his eyes fixed on his previously discarded parchment. He wished he wasn't stuck in this exchange.

"I apologise for my behaviour," he murmured, feeling the need to justify himself. "I am not normally so..."

He trailed off, unsure how to finish the sentence but hoped it was clear enough for Evelyn to understand.

20 Julius Astley, Crotalus A conversation I wish I hadn't started 1425 Julius Astley, Crotalus 0 5

Evelyn Stones, Pecari

August 29, 2018 11:09 PM

Tough crackers, my new friend! by Evelyn Stones, Pecari

Evelyn turned her hips on their shared bench seats so she could angle herself more directly towards Julius Astley. It felt odd to even consider that she might ever have a conversation with him, let alone that she actually was in that moment. He was excited about potions and Professor Brooding, which was nice, but as Evelyn opened her mouth to respond, she watched his expression change. She stifled a smirk.

She'd seen a number of purebloods react similarly to her and it made sense than that the bite of stirfry Astley had consumed wasn't enough to maintain his high spirits for long. But now Evelyn was invested and, more than anything, she was curious. She was a well-educated girl from two strong pureblood families, regardless of what her mother was.

"No need to apologize," Evelyn replied easily, rolling her shoulders and preparing to make some food with this strange boy. "I'm not sure we've met. Allow me to formally introduce myself," she said, remembering the odd manners of family members at her grandfather's funeral. She tried not to sound so pretentious, though. "I'm Evelyn Stones, of the Washington Stones and the Oregon Watsons," she said, not actually sure if her family names meant anything. She dipped her head since curtsying wasn't an option while sitting, nor an option she would've chosen while standing.

"Which meal should we make?" she continued, letting her eyes smile while her mouth maintained a perfectly respectable position. The idea made her want to laugh and she hoped this boy could see all the humor in the situation.

22 Evelyn Stones, Pecari Tough crackers, my new friend! 1422 Evelyn Stones, Pecari 0 5

Julius Astley, Crotalus

September 02, 2018 3:08 PM

I think you'll be my first friend. by Julius Astley, Crotalus

Julius could've quite possibly fallen out of his chair with surprise when the white-haired, bright lipsticked girl intoduced herself in the way that all Purebloods did, though she didn't sound nearly so proud and conceited about it as they and, he supposed, he did. Perhaps because her family wasn't as well-known, as he'd never heard of the names. Julius, however, remained firmly seated as it would not give him a good reputation if he did proceed to fall and sprawl on the floor. He tried to hide his surprise by arranging his features into a neutral expression.

"I'm Julius Astley of the Californian Astleys and the Chasseloup de Laubats of France." He couldn't help it when his tone became somewhat pompous. He was proud of his family, being well-known in America and perhaps even more so in France, being descended from French royalty.

He turned his thoughts to her next question about which meal to make. He was interested in doing something that one might eat for dessert as he quite liked sweet things - the French were incredible dessert makers and he had to stop himself from salivating at the thought of them. "Maybe a dessert? Perhaps something with chocolate? As for what effect it gives... Desserts are nice things so perhaps a nice potion. I read about a love potion, Amortentia. How about that?"

From his reading, he knew that Amortentia was a dangerous and very difficult potion, as well as being very powerful. If they had been attempting to create the full potion itself, he might've selected something different but seeing as they were only going to be using an ingredient in their cooking from it, Julius was curious to attempt something that he hoped was unique.

"Pearl dust is used in all love potions, regardless of their strength. Rose petals could be a nice touch for decoration?"

He voice these thoughts aloud, keen to get Evelyn's thoughts on them.

20 Julius Astley, Crotalus I think you'll be my first friend. 1425 Julius Astley, Crotalus 0 5

Evelyn Stones, Pecari

September 03, 2018 3:28 AM

I am so sorry about that. by Evelyn Stones, Pecari

Evelyn sort of wanted to laugh, never having heard of the Astleys or the Something French Soundings of France. She also sort of felt bad for the boy who was clearly so desperate to prove that his family was important that he didn't seem sure how to actually just be important. She wasn't sure if it was in his favor or not that he seemed willing to accept her when he introduction made her worthy, regardless of the oddities of her appearance and behavior that he'd witnessed before. She wasn't sure if it made him open-minded or status-hungry.

"I love desserts," Evelyn admitted, surprised they had something in common. She was a bit uncomfortable with his suggestion they make something based on the low potion and wasn't sure if he was trying to mimic some weird form of flirting he'd seen his parents use or something, but it seemed more likely after a moment that he was just... a really eager baker. She wondered what his proud Pureblood father would think, and smiled at the thought of encouraging a defiant streak in her classmate.

"Amortentia sounds good," Evelyn agreed. "And since it has to be something we can make in a cauldron, essentially one big pot, what about something like rice krispie treats that don't have to be baked? That's only like three ingredients, too, plus the pearl dust which would be really beautiful." Deciding that she should probably contribute something more than 'pearl dust is pretty,' she thought about some other ingredients. "What about powdered common rue? I think it's in healing potions and liquid luck. Might go with the pearl dust and stuff well?"

Evelyn let Julius take the lead from there, more interested in what working with him would be like than on what they were actually making, although she was curious about that, too.

"Do you cook at home?" she asked.

22 Evelyn Stones, Pecari I am so sorry about that. 1422 Evelyn Stones, Pecari 0 5

Julius Astley, Crotalus

September 03, 2018 11:25 AM

I don't understand why? by Julius Astley, Crotalus

Julius was forced to admit that the girl didn't appear to be as silly and unintelligent as her ridiculous costume jewellery and lipstick colours might have suggested. In fact, she appeared to be rather respectable - though, with the way she was currently dressed, he knew that she'd never be allowed into his home, not even for one of their balls. Julius doubted that his father would even allow them to be acquaintances, never mind friends - not that they were friends.

"I... don't know what 'rice krispie treats' are..." he admitted, colour rising to his cheeks. He must've appeared so uneducated and resolved to find out what these treats were as soon as possible so that he wouldn't make such a mistake again. He moved on from that, when she talked about powdered common rue and he pondered this. "That sounds good... Murtlap tentacles are also used in both a healing potion and Felix Felicis, though I don't know how well they'd go in a dessert. Ashwinder eggs are also used in Amortentia and Felix Felicis. Perhaps we could experiment?"

Julius liked experimenting when it came to potions, safely of course. He liked to explore all the possible options one could do when it came to creating a potion or, as it appeared in this case, a meal. Though, Julius had never cooked before. That wasn't done, not in the Astley household.

"I don't," he admitted, while writing a couple of notes in his even, neat handwriting. "I used to watch our cook work when I was younger and she makes wonderful things, the smells from the kitchen are always sublime. My father, though, wouldn't approve. He teaches me politics and economics as they are more fitting to-"

He stopped suddenly, his eyes widening. He hadn't meant to say all of that. He mentally cursed himself for losing control of his mouth and his discretion. He gently set down his quill and took a deep breath. He had to move the conversation off him and back to her.

"What about you?"

20 Julius Astley, Crotalus I don't understand why? 1425 Julius Astley, Crotalus 0 5

Evelyn Stones

September 03, 2018 10:07 PM

You deserve lots of friends! by Evelyn Stones

"That's okay!" Evelyn said, bcaktracking. She supposed Julius was probably either highly sheltered from confections, or his family was simply above the gooey treat. "It's krispie cereal and marhsmallow and butter I think. Should be really easy to do in a cauldron." She smiled at the suggestion of using Murtlap tentacles. "I think that could be really fun to use tentacles," she said. "We could do a Halloween-themed dessert!"

Julius seemed so eager, both to start the task and to please. She was surprised that he would care so much about her perception of him, but she doubted whether he had the opportunity to meet many other people or impress others. In a first-year class including herself, Malikhi, and Ness, the Pureblood high-class crowd was sure to feel out of place. She smiled encouragingly as he began speaking about his life at home. Then she stopped when he did.

Her curiosity was way too strong to ignore when tact was hardly on her mind, so she pressed the matter.

"More fitting because you're wealthy? Or a boy? Or something else?" Evelyn said. There was no judgment in her tone, just open curiosity. "I read a lot and focused mostly on religion and lore, but politics are a huge part of that so I know a bit on the subject," she added, both to answer his question and to make him feel a bit more comfortable.

22 Evelyn Stones You deserve lots of friends! 1422 Evelyn Stones 0 5

Julius Astley, Crotalus

September 03, 2018 11:44 PM

You seem to be the only person who thinks so. by Julius Astley, Crotalus

Julius was very confused by the entire situation that he found himself in. When he had first seen Evelyn as orientation, he'd dismissed her presence, considering her to be beneath him. Yet, in the space of ten or so minutes, he'd discovered that she was not only Pureblood but also intelligent. She'd taken an idea that he hadn't really been sure of and come up with another thought and paired them together, creating something that actually held promise.

He hesitated when she questioned him about why learning economics and politics was more fitting to him than learning to cook. He wondered if he'd just be able to ignore the question and move on but given the fact that she'd deliberately pressed him on it, her curiosity showing clearly on her face, he knew that he wouldn't be able to get away with that.

"I am the only male heir to the Astley title and fortune. My father believes that I should learn them, in order to be able to capably manage the estate when I inherit and also understand the laws that govern the Wizarding World, perhaps gaining a seat in government."

As he spoke, he could feel the weight of his father's expectations of him crushing him but it felt somewhat nice to share it with someone. He was further surprised to learn that she knew a bit about politics - or so she claimed - and found himself relaxing a touch. They were by no means friends but she was tolerable. It was just a shame about the garish lipstick.

"Shall we start making your... rice krispie treats?"

20 Julius Astley, Crotalus You seem to be the only person who thinks so. 1425 Julius Astley, Crotalus 0 5

Evelyn Stones

September 04, 2018 3:36 AM

Well, today is a new day, my friend. by Evelyn Stones

Evelyn nodded, understanding as Julius spoke of his father's expectations. While she certainly held no claims to any fortune or title, she was well aware of the pressures of an unreasonable and unforgiving family patriarch. She grimaced a little at the thought.

"I think," she offered, leaning in as if she was telling him a secret. Perhaps she was. "That even government officials should know how to cook. No point waking the cook for a midnight snack when you could make it yourself," she smiled softly.

Julius suddenly didn't seem so pompous. More than anything, he seemed small. Evelyn wondered if she came off with such an air considering the similar pressures they were under. At the same time, she doubted it; heir to the Astley estate and heir to basic magical abilities were very different things to be born to.

"We shall," Evelyn agreed, smiling. She caught the professor's eye and the woman approached, smiling that weird smile she always wore.

"Is there anything you need help with? What are you thinking of?" Professor Brooding asked.

"Are there basic food ingredients in the cupboard too? Or do we ask you for them?" Evelyn asked, eyeing her. "We need marshmallows, rice krispies, and butter," she added, counting them off on her fingers.

Professor Brooding nodded. "That's lovely! I'll get those for you. You'll need to get the ingredients for Potions from the cupboard if they aren't regular parts of your kits," she replied. Then, tapping a blank space on the desk between Evelyn and Julius with her wand, she murmured something under her breath and the food ingredients appeared. "The Prairie Elves do such wonderful work," she said in a bubbly tone. "Let me know if you need anything else."

Evelyn watched as Professor Brooding walked away, not sure whether she was unconvinced by the display of cheeriness or just put off by it. Shaking her head, she turned back to Julius.

"Do you mind starting the cauldron?" she asked, trying to stifle a blush. The last thing she wanted to do was set their desk on fire or something trying to light the flames to cook their assignment. "We can get the ingredients together or one of us can go, either way is fine with me."

(OOC: I write Mary Brooding and Evelyn Stones, so this wasn't God-modding.)

22 Evelyn Stones Well, today is a new day, my friend. 1422 Evelyn Stones 0 5

Julius Astley, Crotalus

September 04, 2018 12:09 PM

Isn't everyday a new day? by Julius Astley, Crotalus

Julius couldn't keep the confusion from his face as Evelyn leaned in, telling him that cooking was okay and something about a midnight snack. Such a concept was as foreign to Julius as her rice krispie treats. Once dinner had been served in the evening, there was no more food to be had until breakfast and why would you eat in the middle of the night when you were supposed to be sleeping? Did Evelyn frequently have midnight snacks? What was the purpose? Julius had many questions but was reluctant to voice then. He'd already embarassed himself by not knowing about the existance of rice krispie treats, he was not going to make that mistake again. Instead, he settled for a simple nod.

Then, Professor Brooding approached the table and Evelyn requested the ingredients they required. He watched in fascination as the three things appeared on the desk and immediately reached for the rice krispies, curious as to what they were. They looked like a cereal which only served to confuse Julius further. Hadn't they agreed to make a dessert? Why were they suddenly using a breakfast item?

When he realised that Evelyn was looking at him, he abruptly set the rice krispies down, a blush colouring his cheeks again. She probably thought him to be so uneducated and stupid. He nodded when she asked if he'd light the cauldron, though he didn't know why - it was an easy and simple process which he'd completed quickly and efficiently before turning back to look at her. Then, she was asking about ingredient gathering.

"It seems sensible to go together," he told her. "Then, we don't risk dropping anything if we're carrying a lot and we might find something else to use."

20 Julius Astley, Crotalus Isn't everyday a new day? 1425 Julius Astley, Crotalus 0 5

Evelyn Stones

September 04, 2018 8:39 PM

Fair point, that. by Evelyn Stones

Evelyn wasn't sure if Julius was confused or if she was. He had a look on his face that made Evelyn confident either she'd said something stupid, or Julius' life experience was so radically different from her own that she just wasn't making sense to him anyway. She hesitated for a moment when he had no response to her previous comments and then decided that it was better not to keep pressing the matter.

In any case, Julius seemed excited for the cereal treats and Evelyn smiled at him. "It's awful as actual cereal, she explained when he put the box down. "But it's great for rice krispies. They're basically like... melted marshmallows and sweet cereal so it's just this big gooey bar thing. It's really great."

She agreed to get their ingredients together and resisted the urge to look back at Ness or Malikhi as she walked with Julius. "You're right, this does make more sense. I bet we'll find something good in the cupboard that we haven't thought of. Do we want to grab any of the books that Professor Brooding put out?" she added as they walked by the desk where the reference guides were. "What's your favorite dessert?" she asked him as they crossed the classroom.

22 Evelyn Stones Fair point, that. 1422 Evelyn Stones 0 5

Julius Astley, Crotalus

September 04, 2018 9:26 PM

It was well made, wasn't it? by Julius Astley, Crotalus

Somehow, the words 'big gooey bar thing' didn't fill Julius with much confidence in that their dessert would actually be any good. However, Evelyn seemed to know what she was talking about and given the fact that all of his ideas were rather complicated, he decided to just keep his mouth shut. If they did turn out to be a disaster, he could always try his own ideas on his own and outside of the classroom.

As they passed the pile of books on the Professor's desk, eyeing them more out of curiosity more than anything else, he shook his head and said rather plainly, "No, I don't think so. I have read many Potions books and I am sure I'll be able to recall any information we need."

He didn't seem to realise how arrogant he sounded, not how pompous he looked when he walked with his straight back, his shoulders pulled back, his head held high and his hands were clasped behind him.

He was momentarily surprised by the question about his favourite dessert, not used to having anybody except his sisters take an interest in his likes and dislikes. He shouldn't have been too surprised though. He was quickly coming to learn that curiosity was a part of Evelyn's nature and that she had a habit of asking many questions, inane or otherwise.

"Religieuse," he murmured, his French coming out smoothly, his accent perfect. "That is my favourite dessert. Two pastry cases, one larger than the other filled with a chocolate crème pâtissière and each covered in a chocolate ganache and decorated with a piped buttercream. The smaller of the two cases sits on top of the larger one. Traditionally, it is supposed to resemble the papal mitre, the traditional head dress of bishops and abbots in Christianity."

He paused just as they reached the shelves of ingredients and cursed the fact that he was blushing again and for losing control of his tongue. Yet, it seemed so easy to just talk to Evelyn, despite the fact that she probably had no interest in what he was talking about.

"I apologise," he said, keeping his eyes on inspecting the shelves of potion ingredients. "I like history... I know for some people, that is boring."

20 Julius Astley, Crotalus It was well made, wasn't it? 1425 Julius Astley, Crotalus 0 5

Beau Tate, Pecari

September 05, 2018 1:05 AM

Real <s>Men </s> Humans Don't Cook by Beau Tate, Pecari

Beau was less than excited about going back to school. He hated to have to go back to slaving away at school work after a summer of absolute total freedom. Summers were for hanging on the beach, staying up late and sleeping in and basically doing whatever he wanted. Practically no rules beyond not doing anything to embarass his parents and bring shame to the family and really, what could a twelve year old do that was that embarassing? Arianna was much bossier but they did their best to avoid each other at home as well as at school. Unless he was bored and wanted to irritate her.

School was full of rules and schedules and things one had to do. Beau rarely had to do anything at home. Now that he was older, he didn't even have a set bedtime there, just a general guideline for what would be sensible. His parents were much more interested in their own social lives and in his father's case, work then anything he or his sister did.

And Potions was one of his least favorite classes. Potions involved far too much...precision for his tastes, with little room for error. Plus, it was two hours long as well! Two hours was too long for any class. Beau had better things to do with his time.

To make matters worse, the new professor was a little...perky. Yeah, the Pecari didn't care for maudlin downers but Professor Brooding's cheeriness was a tad grating when he had to be somewhere he didn't really care to be.

As the lesson was announced, Beau was....well, horrified was too strong a word, but he found it ridiculous. Men did not cook . Humans didn't cook actually. That was for house-elves. It was servile and unmasculine-though he supposed male house-elves did cook. Still, the point was that he, Beauregard Michael Tate, did not cook.

To make matter worse, Professor Brooding was concerned about nutritional content. That was...so much more work than Beau wanted to do. He turned to the person next to him. "Can you believe we have to do this?"

OOC-Apologies for Beau being a spoiled, slightly sexist douche

11 Beau Tate, Pecari Real <s>Men </s> Humans Don't Cook 1416 Beau Tate, Pecari 0 5

Evelyn Stones

September 05, 2018 3:22 AM

I'll give you half credit. by Evelyn Stones

Evelyn's eyes flicked towards Julius when he said he would recall any information they needed. At first, she was prepared to laugh. Then she realized he was serious. She wasn't sure what exactly was so funny to her. Certainly she was used to being the nerdy one and she enjoyed potions enough herself that she might've said the same thing. Something about the way he said it, though, as if it was the most normal thing in the world to strut through a classroom and comment on having memorized first-year potions facts, made Evelyn want to laugh. Or scowl.

If anything was going to kill her this year, it was going to be boys.

"Not boring at all," Evelyn said, hoping to reassure this odd boy. She mirrored his posture, keeping her eyes focused on the shelves in front of them and reaching for the ingredients they'd discussed. "I love history. Like I said, I spend most of my time reading when I'm not at Sonora and the history of diverse global culture sis a favorite topic. History of Quidditch and the ways different cultures approach international competition, too. Stuff like that fascinates me." She wondered for a moment if Julius thought she was as odd as she thought he was.

"Honestly, I have no idea what that dessert is and don't know half the words you said," she smiled, managing to look sheepish. She didn't feel embarrassed to not know these things. She was embarrassed not to have been confident in casting flames under their cauldron, but her general knowledge wasn't a sore spot for her. However, she'd seen him use the expression and she figured it might make him more comfortable if he wasn't the only one. "But I love chocolate so and you said that a couple times, so I bet it's great."

"Is your family religious?" she asked, and then clarified. "Do you engage bishops and abbots or just eat their headdresses?" She smiled again, hoping desperately that he'd realize she was just joking with him. This was much more stressful than she'd expected, however much it satisfied her curiosity.

22 Evelyn Stones I'll give you half credit. 1422 Evelyn Stones 0 5

Julius Astley, Crotalus

September 07, 2018 4:31 PM

Uh, I think I deserve full credit, actually. by Julius Astley, Crotalus

Julius reached for a jar of pearl dust that shined when it hit the light. He didn't know much about jewellery but he knew that his mother owned several pearl necklaces and they were all very pretty. He considered how they would use it on their rice krispie cakes and thought that it was look nice as a decoration, dusted lightly over the top of their creations. He'd suggest it to Evelyn in a bit when it came to discussing how they were going to use each of their ingredients.

He was interested to find out that she enjoyed history like he did. Not even his sisters had been interested in the things he'd learned in books so to find someone else who didn't call him a dullard was... well, rather nice. Though, he had next to no interest in Quidditch. He didn't say that though and simply nodded as she talked.

"They were French words," he told her, reaching for some powdered moonstone. It was an ingredient used in Veritaserum and he wondered if it was possible, as an alternative to the potion, if one could create a food that forced the eater to tell the truth. It was definitely something that he thought was worth exploring. "And the religieuse is delicious," he confirmed again, the tone of voice indicating that there was absolutely no doubt in his mind about that.

"My family is not religious," he told her and then, Evelyn made a joke and Julius was momentarily confused. Then, understanding dawned on his face and he found that her pun was quite funny. He didn't laugh, as it had been drilled into him that raucous laughter was unbecoming so he simply allowed the corners of his lips to twitch upwards in a slight smile. "Though I believe my father knows a bishop. I've never met him and I believe he said that he found the man to be rather dreary and dull. I, on the other hand, would've liked to inquire about his church. Churches have fascinating histories."

20 Julius Astley, Crotalus Uh, I think I deserve full credit, actually. 1425 Julius Astley, Crotalus 0 5

Evelyn Stones

September 07, 2018 5:54 PM

You're so odd though. by Evelyn Stones

Evelyn blinked. Why was this boy, presumably eleven or twelve, so strange and reserved? Either he was trying very hard to be polite and feign amusement at her lame joke or he actually thought it was funny and was showing almost no display of humor. Either way it was strange. For a moment, Evelyn returned to her initial judgment that Julius was an arrogant, prideful Pureblood who cared too much about status. Then she thought again of his comments about his father and thought maybe he was a pressured, scared kid who'd been taught to care too much about status. She didn't often acknowledge that she was older than anybody in her year but when she was face-to-face with someone who seemed so young, like a child playing House or something, she couldn't help feeling a bit older than him.

"I agree," she said about Churches. She hardly paid attention to which ingredients she grabbed, although she did make a point of reaching for the Murtlap tentacles, her mind full of images of rice krispie treat octopi with squishy tentacle legs. "I think everything sort of does, honestly. At home, I climbed trees a lot, and it always helped remind me that people are only around for a short time. All those trees are so much older than us and they've seen so much more than we have. It's crazy to think about how small a point on the world's historical timeline each of us are individually." The thought helped her relax, although she was a bit sad to realize that she hadn't gotten to climb any trees since coming to Sonora. Perhaps there would be some forest-y areas near Ness' house for Christmas.

22 Evelyn Stones You're so odd though. 1422 Evelyn Stones 0 5

Topaz Brockert, Aladren

September 08, 2018 12:27 PM

Do you realize what you've done? by Topaz Brockert, Aladren

It had been fairly recent that the entire school had found out about Cleo James being a half-veela and Topaz found this utterly fascinating. She had many times experimented on less advanced life forms such as small animals, house-elves and her younger siblings, now here was an opportunity for her to try out things on a half-veela. All the Aladren had to do was figure out who Cleo was-she knew Emerald would never tell her but maybe she could trick Ruby somehow-and devise an experiment as well. Of course, she would have to figure out a control human too which she still had those Pecaris in mind for. And she'd have to get the school elves to help which they had to since she was the Headmaster's granddaughter.

In the mean time, Topaz was really looking forward to Potions. She'd already been able to do this some before school, concocting different ways to dose raccoons and squirrels for her taxidermy as well as seeing how the potions affected her siblings, cousins and house elves. Potions had to be one of her favorite subjects. Plus maybe she could spike Cleo too.

The fact that Professor Brooding wrote "Applied Potions Making" on the board thrilled Topaz further. That just had to mean that they'd be using their potions right? Applying them in some practical way?

She was disappointed, however, to hear what the professor had in mind. Cooking ? Menial house-elf work? Did Professor Brooding not appreciate her genius? Understand that Topaz was meant to do better, more important, more interesting things? That she had great contributions to make and that she couldn't be wasting her time on cooking?

But then the Aladren realized something. What better way to test potions on people then to slip them into their food? Which was what Topaz planned anyway, she just hadn't intended to make the food herself.

Unfortunately, Professor Brooding wanted them to worry about nutritional content. Ugh. Why would Topaz care if something had the right amount of carbs and proteins when she was going to slip in herbs that would make someone itchy? She supposed the easiest thing to do was to just make a stew and place in the ingredients in that.

Topaz got what she needed food wise from Professor Brooding and what she needed potion wise from her kit and began to work on her dish.

11 Topaz Brockert, Aladren Do you realize what you've done? 1427 Topaz Brockert, Aladren 0 5

Katerina Vorontsov

September 11, 2018 1:15 PM

Eating I can do.... by Katerina Vorontsov

Potions was, it had to be said, a class where Katerina thought she was more often than not going to be glad that she was alone in the midst of numbers. Being able to repeatedly pierce a scrap of fabric with a needle and change its shape to suit a pattern was an elegant thing to do with one’s hands; slicing apart a crocodile’s heart, not so much.

She scratched down notes obediently, but did not speak, eagerly or otherwise, to her classmates as she did so, needing her concentration for writing English and keeping her English handwriting neat. If she was to be honest, she had harbored a touch of a grudge against Professor Brooding from the moment she had recognized Cyrillic labels on the potion ingredients, despite their helpfulness – or even because of it. She did not want special treatment; it would give the others the impression that she was less accomplished than she really was, especially since she couldn’t even avoid using the extra labels as she could the tantalizingly near and impossibly far away Russian books on the shelves in other parts of the room.

From what she understood of the rest of the lecture, however, she did find herself somewhat intrigued by the concept. In her novels, the most sparkling parties, the most effervescent fetes and teas and balls until dawn, always involved beautifully-described dishes, and she could see how this could be a hostess’ ace up her sleeve. If the food literally made the guests more cheerful, or helped them sleep well on a long stay, why, of course the party would go better – at least if one did it very, very well….

Not, of course, that Katya herself would have to do all – or, for that matter, any – of the cooking, which did present a problem with this lesson. Katya’s longest single experiences in the kitchen had involved times Tatiana had insisted on trying to filch sweets. She knew the proper way to invite someone to have tea with her. She knew to never take her tea naked if zaruski - the array of small foods any polite host would offer with tea: things like caviar on blini, delicious little pancakes, for a fine occasion, and tiny cups of beautiful red chilled borscht and plates of marinated mushrooms and little vartrushki, cheese tarts, and piroshki for a tea which had been planned ahead of time, but always things like walnut crescents and poppy seed cookies and tea cakes even for a more spontaneous occasion - were offered with it, and to never risk giving offense by offering tea without zaruski. She could pour zavarka, the strong, strong black tea concentrate, from the small teapot into the bottom of a glass without dripping any from the spout of the little teapot and could stop pouring the moment her guest indicated he or she had all that was desired, and knew the most graceful and least burn-risking way to turn on the tap at the samovar to dilute the zavarka. The only step in preparation, however, which she had ever taken was measuring out spoons full of dark, slightly smoky-smelling leaves for the pot, and she did not think the times she had been allowed to measure out the spoons full of leaf for the zavarka pot counted as cooking.

She looked toward another girl, hoping to get some guidance. “Hello,” she said with a polite American smile. It felt strange, smiling when she had absolutely no feelings to speak of toward the other person, but Anton Petrovich said this was what polite Americans did and her own observations in books and, since her arrival here, in person supported his statements. “This is an interesting assignment.”

16 Katerina Vorontsov Eating I can do.... 1418 Katerina Vorontsov 0 5

Heinrich Hexenmeister, Aladren

September 12, 2018 1:03 PM

A taste of home by Heinrich Hexenmeister, Aladren

Heinrich liked potions. It was a clean (in a metaphorical sense if not always literally), straightforward subject that had little room for error or imprecision. If you followed the directions perfectly, you got a perfect potion. It was satisfying in its lack of sympathy, because if it worked, then you knew you did it right. There was no subjectivity, no room for misinterpretation. And the ingredients were all comfortingly familiar, even if the teachers here sometimes gave them different names. His kit and his book were both printed in German, though, so he didn’t have any trouble with that unless he needed to borrow something from the school’s stores.

And this year, Professor Brooding was even labeling those in German, too.

The worst part was the introductory lecture, which was unavoidably in English. Still, his understanding was getting quite good, even if his speaking left a lot of room for improvement, and he was usually able to follow at least the gist if not the whole thing. If he had questions, he came for office hours, but usually his German text resolved anything he didn’t fully catch during the lecture.

Today, though, there was no ‘turn to page this’ instruction, no clear recipe to follow with precise attention to detail. And she was talking about . . . soup?

This was not the script he had been expecting and he was having trouble keeping up. They were supposed to made food? But with potion ingredients mixed in?

He went up to the front, zeroing in on the book she offered for extra study that was written in German. It was indeed a cookbook. Okay. This was good. It had recipes with clearly defined steps and instructions he could follow. It was like brewing after all.

As he flipped through the pages, he was even surprised to recognize some of the dishes. His family’s elves had made some of these.

Cradling the book to his chest he brought it back to his desk. He was tempted by an apple strudel that looked just like the ones he and Hilda would swipe from the kitchen, but it had an awful lot of ingredients and all of the example foods had been cooked in cauldrons so he wasn’t sure if oven baking a strudel was even possible.

He flipped through a few more pages, and stopped at some mouth watering looking pretzels. He loved pretzels. And now he really wanted one. And the ingredient list was not so terrifying as with the strudel.

He raised his hand and asked the professor, “Can I a pretzel bake? Gives it an oven?”

Once he was assured a small fire oven would be available, he began collecting his ingredients. He mixed together his dough, including a dash of powdered dragon claw to give the snack an extra boost to the brain.

As he began mixing and kneading the dough into a uniform consistency, he glanced over at his neighbor to see what she was doing. He had selected her as a good choice to sit beside based on her Aladren badge.

“What makest d-you?” he questioned curiously, narrowly avoiding the use of the singular informal second person in German. He thought he might have blended German and English on the verb, too, but it was too late to fix that. He thought he recognized some of the herbs she was putting into her cauldron, but those were mildly poisonous so he was probably wrong. They probably just looked like some of the plants his mother had grown in her garden.

1 Heinrich Hexenmeister, Aladren A taste of home 1414 Heinrich Hexenmeister, Aladren 0 5

Allegra Brockert, Crotalus

September 13, 2018 2:28 PM

Are you sure you want to? by Allegra Brockert, Crotalus

When it came to classes Allegra tended to make sure to sit as far away from her cousin as possible and today was no exception. Instead she sat next to Katerina Vorontsov, the Russian Teppenpaw girl. She liked to sit next to Teppenpaws because she felt safer next to them. With people from any other house, they ran the chance of being mean. They weren't necessarily but there were Crotali who were snobby, Pecaris who were cocky and Aladrens who were, well, like Topaz. And with Pecaris, even if they were nice, they were usually quite rough. Besides her general model for Pecaris was Uncle Eustace who was the second scariest person she knew after Topaz. With Aladrens, she at least had Emerald to conterbalance her younger sister.

Allegra, however, very much fit the catious part of being a Crotalus. Years and years of torment at the hands of her cousin had made her extemely wary of people. She didn't trust easily.

Professor Brooding started the lesson and the first year winced instinctively. She really didn't mind cooking herself, even though she had zero experience with it and really didn't have a clue what she was doing. It sounded like as good a thing as any for them to do in Potions.

But did they have to actually eat what was made? Allegra very much didn't want to do this. She really didn't know anyone well enough to trust that they'd make something that wouldn't have horrific affects as potions were being added. That aside, as she doubted most people, even the non-purebloods, were really any more experienced than she was herself and for all she knew, she could be risking food poisoning.

Not to mention the one person she did know well, was someone whose food she definitely didn't want to eat.

Allegra went to go get a cookbook, looking for one that looked like it was meant for beginners. Once she found what she was looking for, she returned to her seat with it.

She had just opened the book when Katerina spoke up. Allegra gave her a pleasant smile. She was slightly nervous because, house biases aside, she still never knew what she was getting with people. "Oh yes. I've never cooked before though so I'm not sure how well my dish will turn out. Or what dish to make yet. What about you?"

11 Allegra Brockert, Crotalus Are you sure you want to? 1426 Allegra Brockert, Crotalus 0 5

Julius Astley, Crotalus

September 15, 2018 12:30 PM

You're not exactly normal yourself. by Julius Astley, Crotalus

Julius blinked, surprised at the deep intensity of Evelyn's latest comment. There were very few people - read: no one - that Julius had met that viewed their existance in such a manner. The only other place he had read about such a thing was in books, most of them written by philosophers who were far, far older than Julius and even his father. Julius was subsequently very aware of how short life was, how short his own life was. It frequently brought him to the question as to why anybody bothered to do anything at all. It seemed all rather pointless to do anything given how small of a speck in life's long road they were.

Yet, here they were, still living. His thoughts shifted focus from pointlessness to his mother and his sisters and his world seemed to brighten around the edges. Perhaps life, however brief, wasn't all that pointless if you got to experience the same happiness that Julius did with his mother, Aurelia and Aelia. It reminded him of a quote he'd read.

"'It's impossible,' said pride. 'It's risky,' said experience. 'It's pointless,' said reason. 'Give it a try,' said the heart." Julius murmured quietly, not really bothering with whether Evelyn heard him or not. He then voiced a thought, "Life, all life, eventually ends in death. Some people try to prevent it and others simply accept it but, in the end, we all die. So why... do we try to be happy if that happiness is not meant to last forever?"

It was a confusing thought. "Why experience good things when they are not meant to last? Surely that would simply cause people to want to prolong their life but for it all to end in disaster when their efforts proved unsuccessful. Also, I've frequently heard about not wasting time or to not throw away life. What isn't a waste of time? Do you have to be productive every day? If you don't achieve something every day, are you simply throwing your life away?"

He realised he was speaking out loud, something that did help him think. He had become a stream of consciousness that didn't really seem to want to stop. "Doesn't that then make any time I spend with my sisters or my mother a waste, even if that time is the very thing that makes me happy and happiness was supposedly important?"

He suddenly seemed to remember where he was and who he was with and abruptly snapped his mouth shut, frowning deeply. He had revealed far too much about himself. What a ridiculous, moronic thing to do. He should've had the sense to stop his mouth. Julius rather wished that they were no longer on this topic but it seemed rude to abruptly change it when it was something that he'd started in the first place. On the other hand, he had just embarrassed himself so what harm could it do?

"We'd better make these rice krispie treats..." he muttered, frustrated with himself.

20 Julius Astley, Crotalus You're not exactly normal yourself. 1425 Julius Astley, Crotalus 0 5

Evelyn Stones

September 15, 2018 8:06 PM

Perfect! Let's be friends, then! by Evelyn Stones

Evelyn watched Julius as he spoke, well aware that he didn't seem to be watching her. Or even noticing that she still existed in close proximity. Maybe at all.

He had a funny way of speaking, with no hint of the Californian rising tones she might've expected in someone who was so proud to say they were from there. Of course, she couldn't exactly picture Julius in Venice, either. She'd been there once on a trip with her mom and it was an accent hard to mistake for any others. There were certainly Californians without a notable tone, particularly in Arizona and Oregon, but Evelyn didn't think it was a matter of picking up something more neutral in Julius' case. She wondered what his father would think if he talked like some of the surfers she'd seen there.

"I like that," Evelyn said when he was done speaking and muttered something about actually doing the assignment. "I like that you think and I think it's important to be curious about that stuff." She turned to face him directly, arms full of ingredients. Their use for the cupboard was done and she was well aware that facing Julius made it clear she was keeping his attention on purpose. "Keep asking questions. The answers aren't the important part, finding them is. Be an adventurer," she insisted, putting a hand on her hip and grinning at him. "Adventurers make the best of friends, and then we can be friends and adventurers both."

Without waiting for his reply, she turned and led them to their worktable again, setting out the ingredients in her arms and considering Ness and Malikhi as she walked by. She'd been able to make a few friends now, and wasn't sure how that worked. Did she just...talk to them all whenever she could? Get them in groups and socialize that way? Whatever the case, she was far too interested in each of the people she'd met so far to give up just because she didn't have prior experience with friendship to draw from. She'd be the best friend she could be, even to Julius Astley.

22 Evelyn Stones Perfect! Let's be friends, then! 1422 Evelyn Stones 0 5

Katerina Vorontsov

September 20, 2018 2:52 PM

Not yet. by Katerina Vorontsov

Playing with Anton Petrovich’s daughters back home had taught Katya several valuable lessons. The first – probably not relevant here – was to refrain from asking too many questions she didn’t already have an idea of the answers to. The second was a lot of English vocabulary and colloquial grammar; she couldn’t use the latter in particular very well, but she understood it better than she thought she would have otherwise. The third was that one did not have to really understand every word of what someone said in English to get the idea, and that straining to translate every sound would just leave her asking them to repeat it far more often than just letting her brain capture what it would and put it together as best she could.

“I also do not know,” said Katya. “Do you think this book will help?” she asked, nodding toward the one Allegra had. Did books teach one how to cook? She had thought it would be like sewing or building a boat, one of those things a person had to learn from another person, but it made more sense for a potions recipe to exist in the context of a book.

“She says any meal, yes? I like teatime,” added Katya, thinking they might have some luck if they brainstormed together, but omitting the abstract ideas because those were inevitably more difficult to articulate in any way where an English speaker didn’t proceed to either look at her in polite consternation (Anton Petrovich, Vera Antonovna) or burst into laughter (Sofya Antonovna).

16 Katerina Vorontsov Not yet. 1418 Katerina Vorontsov 0 5

Allegra

October 11, 2018 5:49 AM

I am not so sure about anything by Allegra

Allegra replied. "I'm not completely sure but I hope so, I picked a book meant for beginners. I mean, generally cook books do so. All you have to do is follow a recipe. It's sort of like Potions.Only I don't have a lot of experience doing either though. Or any really. Our house-elves always do the cooking and...potions just isn't a hobby I've taken up." That was more Topaz's thing. Her cousin had also practiced with an old wand prior to attending school which wasn't all that uncommon among pureblood children but Allegra never had. She had too much anxiety that she'd end up getting into trouble, not from her parents, but from the law. She didn't want to have a criminal record!

Of course, in Topaz's case, practicing with an old wand was the least of her offenses. Probably the only one that was legally wrong instead of morally wrong. And that was a shame. It didn't seem right that some things that were perfectly morally okay were punished legally and some immoral acts were perfectly legal.

And although Allegra accepted pre-Sonora aged children not necessarily doing magic, she also didn't quite understand why they couldn't use their wands at home over break. Surely the extra practice could only help right? Of course, the Crotalus wouldn't. The idea of punishment was too great and besides, she didn't want to be, well, bad the way Topaz was. She could only hope that Uncle Zeke thought to lock up the Aladren's wand over vacations.

At Katerina's words, Allegra felt a little puzzled. Americans didn't regularly have teatime. There was breakfast, lunch, supper and maybe brunch on weekends. She had heard that the British had teatime but she didn't realize it was a custom Russians had as well. "I'm um, not sure what kinds of food are made for teatime. Unless you mean teas that women have sometimes. I think they have little cakes and sandwiches like cucumber and watercress."

She paused. "Do you have any thoughts? Or we can look in the book and see if there's anything appropriate. And we have to think of what kinds of potions ingredients to work in too." Allegra was beginning to feel slightly overwhelmed. She wasn't entirely sure what she was doing but hopefully she and Katerina could figure it out together. "Maybe you can tell me what kind of meals are served at teatime and we can see if there are recipes in the books for those dishes."

11 Allegra I am not so sure about anything 1426 Allegra 0 5