Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth on Potions

Professor Mary Brooding

October 18, 2018 11:55 PM

How Confusing [Intermediates] by Professor Mary Brooding

Mary was halfway engaged. That was a whole lot more than she'd expected to be as the new term began, and she certainly hadn't anticipated such life changes as far back as six months or a year. There was something to be said for the incredible combination of acting without thinking, letting things play out naturally, and planning everything very carefully that had brought her and Tabitha to this point, and this was particularly evident to her as she entered the Potions classroom for her intermediate lesson.

It had been a few days back already but the feeling of newness was still heavy in the air and Mary was excited to do something a bit more hands on with her students. Besides, she was hardly calm enough these days to simply sit by while they worked. She wanted something interesting to happen.

Perhaps it was a side effect of dating the Defense professor, but Mary felt responsible to her students in terms of preparing them for possible dangers in life after graduation. While she hardly expected anyone to find themselves poisoned or otherwise tampered with, it was possible. In any case, preparing for such possibilities also helped prepare students for charms and spells that worked in similar ways, and for the daily challenges of life. Critical thinking was never in excess.

Hence today's lesson.

Each desk, prepared for two students to work together, was complete with a vial each of Confusing Concoction and Confounding Concoction, as well as vials of the antidote for immediate relief. As students gathered into the room and took their places, Mary greeted them with her usual smile, although it must've been particularly bright against her freshly tanned skin. Winter or not, Christmas abroad certainly made for a blossoming oak color in her cheeks. Ailuros was the other giveaway that her Christmas had been an exciting one, as she sat perched on Mary's desk at the front of the classroom, pretending not to notice the students. Except Dorian. Ailuros had fallen in love with Dorian the first moment she'd laid eyes upon him and that hadn't changed in the few days since then.

"Hello my lovely intermediate students," Mary said, making a point of acknowledging each face with her gaze. "It's such a pleasure to see each of you again and I'm particularly excited about today's lesson. I wanted to make sure everyone has a chance to use their strengths today, so you'll all have opportunities to be observant, daring, helpful, scholarly, and more." While these traits were simply the first to come to mind, she couldn't help being a little pleased that they aligned with each House as well.

Mary gestured to their work stations and spoke as a piece of chalk wrote her directions on the board. "You will work in pairs and take turns with each potion. One is a Confounding Concoction and one is the milder Confusing Concoction. They are both labeled and the recipes can be found in your books. You'll go one at a time and whoever is not under the influence of a potion will make notes and take observations based on the symptoms they see. You'll do this four times because you'll each try both potions. The antidote should be enough to remove the effects when you're finished with each turn.

"When you're done, I want you to discuss your notes and compile them into a list of points and considerations answering the following questions: how does each potion behave differently? how do different people react to each potion differently? You should also consider how each of your confusion appears in response to the observer asking things like 'what is your name, what house are you in' compared to 'what is your favorite food, what do you think about Quidditch' etc."

She was terribly afraid this would confuse the students, ironically enough, but thought it was probably clear enough and they could always refer to her notes if anything arose. She shot a look at Ailuros who seemed ready to pounce on the chalk as it alighted back in its tray, apparently unconvinced that it wasn't something more delicious than calcium carbonate.

"If you have any questions, you can let me know now or as you work, I'm happy to help."

OOC - Yay! Have fun. :) The only things of real importance logistically speaking are that the confOUNDing potion is stronger than the confUSing potion, and that psychology (in real life) suggests that we are more likely to forget factual information than autobiographical information like likes/dislikes, etc. People with dementia often show preferences for certain kinds of foods but don't remember eating them before, etc. That may or may not play into this, so I leave it to you!

Subthreads:

Tell me about it by Isaac Song - Pecari with Amelia Layne, Aladren

What am I getting myself into here? (Tag Parker) by Dorian Montoir, Teppenpaw with Parker Fitzgerald, Pecari

Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth by Jasmine Delachene, Crotalus with Kir McLeod, Teppenpaw

Also alarming. by Simon Mordue, Crotalus

Confusion is nothing new to me. by Tatiana Vorontsova, Pecari with Peyton O'Malley, Crotalus

22 Professor Mary Brooding How Confusing [Intermediates] 1424 Professor Mary Brooding 1 5

Isaac Song - Pecari

October 21, 2018 2:27 AM

Tell me about it by Isaac Song - Pecari

Potions was definitely Isaac's favorite class because he loved mixing together the ingredients and seeing what he got to create in the end. It was a lot like, well, magic, except this skill could be translated into cooking as well, one of his favorite hobbies. Isaac didn't get too much time to practice cooking while he was at school, so he fueled that passion into potion-making. That meant he received pretty awesome grades, which made his parents happy.

He sat down in his seat, saying hi to everyone he knew, and took out his notebook and pen. Maia had brought him back a cutesy yellow Korean pen, and while it was embarrassing to use, it reminded him of her. Plus, it wrote really well, and he liked the thin lines. He didn't get to see Maia very often, pretty much only twice a year. Using the gifts she gave him always reminded him to write to her, and that he needed to work on being a better older brother.

The lesson today sounded interesting, and he leaned forward a little as Professor Brooding gave her intro. The thought of tasting potions was a little scary, especially those two. He didn't want to forget things, or be confused. But, at the same time it was really intriguing. She was right; this was going to be an exciting lesson. At least they wouldn't be trying each other's brewed potions and antidotes--that would've been really nerve-racking.

Isaac was curious to know how he was going to react to the potions, and since he and a partner would both be drinking them eventually, he wanted to go first. That would give him some time to experience it and then think of questions to ask his partner afterwards. He turned to someone near him and asked, "Wanna be partners? I can drink the potions first, if that's OK with you. I'm really curious to know what'll happen when we drink it. I've only read about it, never seen it in action."

He flipped through his book to find the chapter on Confusing Draughts. "Well, the Confusing Concoction is supposed to be milder, so I guess we could start with this one first?" he said, holding up the vial. "The book says it's supposed to cause confusion in the drinker. Or we can go with the stronger one and see if it does make either of us act recklessly."

19 Isaac Song - Pecari Tell me about it 375 Isaac Song - Pecari 0 5

Dorian Montoir, Teppenpaw

October 21, 2018 7:48 AM

What am I getting myself into here? (Tag Parker) by Dorian Montoir, Teppenpaw

Dorian almost exclusively sat with his friends in class, a pattern that had been strongly reinforced by moving up to the intermediates, where a large number of the students were unfamiliar and also a lot bigger than him. He felt pretty intimidated by the majority of the fifth years, and saw little point in trying to get to know them - they would be disinterested at best, and annoyed by him, or actively hostile at worst, and next year they would be gone anyway. He just wanted to keep his head low enough that he didn’t get any trouble from them, and wait for them to go away.

Today though, he was pushing his comfort zone slightly, in that he had chosen to sit next to Parker. The Pecari was not someone Dorian knew very well but they had had a couple of pleasant interactions the previous year - enough so, that Dorian now felt neutral, verging on positive in regard to him. This perhaps did not sound like a glowing endorsement, but Dorian was pretty guarded with people outside of his friend circle, and tended to be a little bit anxious regarding most people, until they proved that he ought to be otherwise. Parker had intimidated him, both for the fact that this was the default position where people started in Dorian’s estimations, and by virtue of being a Quidditch player - a genre of people not exactly known for their tolerance of shy, bookish types, and a genre of people that Dorian had had repeated bad experiences with growing up. However, Parker had done enough to overcome those initial obstacles, and thus Dorian felt he should maybe try to get to know him a little better - he was a nice person and they were yearmates, and so it would be courteous to do so; Parker’s little sister was Tatya’s little sister’s roommate and he had to look after Katerina because she was in his house and it would be sort of rude to do so without vaguely keeping an eye on Lyssa too or something (that one was more confusing but he was just used to the Pureblood mindset of thinking that Connections Mattered, and Lyssa being Katerina’s roommate somehow made him and Parker closer in his mind). There was also the slightly more selfish motivation that Parker was a solid source of information on things like lelectricity and just how dangerous it was, and if Dorian was going to, at the very least, make sure Jehan stayed safe on his ventures into the Muggle world and maybe possibly one day work up the nerve to go with him, then Parker was a very useful ally to have. Mostly though, Parker was just generally nice, and Dorian did not wish to be unfriendly.

He threw a smile to Professor Brooding and Ailuros as he sat down. Her introduction was… intriguing. He hoped they really all could play to their strengths rather than needing all the traits she had listed. He definitely wasn’t daring. As he took notes on the day’s lesson though, he felt a growing sense of discomfort. The experiment sounded interesting from a theoretical perspective. He would very much have liked to read some accounts of people’s behaviour under the different potions, or to hypothesise about what might happen. He really did not want to experiment on himself though. He really, really did not want to experiment on himself around Parker. He had not chosen to sit next to Parker in a class like Defence Against the Dark Arts or Charms because both of those had a high chance of having to use magic on each other. Whilst Dorian hated having to turn his wand on his friends, he only managed to handle those classes knowing that the wand being turned on him in return belonged to someone he trusted. He had thought Potions would be safe. They were usually just brewing, often doing that solo with the option to talk. He had pictured being able to make casual conversation as he sliced up daisy roots. He had figured that he had an easy get out of pretending he was concentrating on his work if he ran out of things to say to Parker. Now they were building a whole class around talking to each other, whilst under the influence of a potion that made them vulnerable. It sounded like Dorian’s idea of Hell, and he felt almost betrayed by Professor Brooding for plunging him into a situation that made him feel so uncomfortable. The fact that Professor Brooding would not do that helped him get some focus back. Obviously, this was safe, or she wouldn’t be making them do it. It did not help a lot though. He still didn’t want to be doing it, and not with Parker. But he knew Parker just well enough that he thought it would be pretty rude to just run away from him.

“Hi,” he said, turning to the other boy. He gave him a very brief smile, one that was a quick upward turn of the lips, and which did more to amplify the impression that he did not want to be here than to hide it. “You would like to work - I mean, would you like to work together?” he added, correcting his question structure halfway through. With other people he might have let it slide, assuming they would figure out what he meant, but he didn’t want to seem like he was presuming that Parker wanted to work with him. Maybe he wouldn’t. Dorian wondered whether to hope for that or not, because if Parker said ‘no’ and all Dorian’s friends had already paired up with each other, then he might have to work with a total stranger, maybe a fifth year, and that was so, so much worse.

13 Dorian Montoir, Teppenpaw What am I getting myself into here? (Tag Parker) 1401 Dorian Montoir, Teppenpaw 0 5

Amelia Layne, Aladren

October 24, 2018 9:49 PM

I usually feel reasonably confident. by Amelia Layne, Aladren

In theory, there were four Houses at Sonora. For the Layne family, however, there were two. Lionel, like their mother, had been an aberration – Mama by being a Squib, Lionel by being a Pecari – but as a rule, if one was a Layne, one was either an Aladren or a Crotalus.

Amelia had been Sorted into the first camp, but suspected it had been a fairly close thing. As she heard Professor Brooding’s description of the lesson, she thought she was feeling more in common with the Crotalus side of the family than usual in response. She definitely felt more wary than intellectually curious at the moment. Confusing potions. It was hard to think much beyond this is gonna suck.

Maybe it would be more funny than awful. Or at least whoever she worked with might say something dumber than whatever she said before consuming an antidote.

A Pecari boy proposed becoming said partner almost as soon as Professor Brooding stopped talking and, even more in his favor, offered to go first. Amelia smiled and nodded, relieved she wouldn’t have to make that call one way or the other.

“Sure,” she said. He did have a question, but she found it easy to answer. “I’d go with starting with the milder one,” she recommended, getting out parchment and pan to take notes on his condition after he drank one or the other. “But you’re the one drinking it, so, your call really. How are you with ‘what is your name’ for a first question?”

OOC: Feel free to have Isaac drink the potion and then godmod Amelia asking the question again to keep things moving.

16 Amelia Layne, Aladren I usually feel reasonably confident. 360 Amelia Layne, Aladren 0 5

Jasmine Delachene, Crotalus

October 25, 2018 10:44 AM

Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth by Jasmine Delachene, Crotalus

Jasmine arrived at her potions lesson in a good mood. She was doubtful the mood would survive chopping up bat spleens or whatever, but for now, she bounced lightly on her feet, and smiled at all of her classmates, even the ones she didn’t know or like all that well, and settled down into an empty seat. She honestly had no idea why she was so happy today. She’d just woken up after a really nice dream, had a lovely breakfast, DADA hadn’t been terrifying, Charms had actually been fun, she’d gotten a surprisingly good grade back on her Transfigurations essay, lunch had served her favorite food, and it just seemed like today was magically charmed, like someone had slipped a few drops of felix felicis into the water glass she kept next to her bed at night.

And it kept getting better! No brewing meant no chopping up dead animals! Jasmine beamed up at Professor Brooding. This was the Best Day Ever! The only thing that could make it better would be if a boy asked her out!

And since Jasmine spent most of her Charms and Transfiguration classes in a perpetual state of confusion, she didn’t see how spending a few minutes in that state by artificial means was anything to worry about.

She smiled cheerfully at the person seated next to her. “This should be interesting.” With how lovely the rest of the day had gone, she had no doubts that their experiments wouldn’t turn out excellently as well. “Do you want to drink first, or should I?”

1 Jasmine Delachene, Crotalus Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth 1397 Jasmine Delachene, Crotalus 0 5

Kir McLeod, Teppenpaw

October 29, 2018 8:21 PM

I think we might be about to feel like rooms without rooves by Kir McLeod, Teppenpaw

Kir took a seat in Potions feeling pretty cheerful. He was generally quite a sunny person by nature and it was also hard not to feel buoyed when you were greeted as 'lovely.' He did sometimes wonder whether, as Potions mistress, some of Professor Brooding's cheer was chemically enhanced. He wasn't convinced it should be possible to maintain that level of positivity whilst teaching teenagers. Weren't they meant to be a horrible species? Not him, obviously. He was a freaking delight (unless you didn't want your lesson disrupted by discussing human sexuality of course...) but he thought that if he had to look at Winston's smug, snot-nosed face all the time, he would lose his chirpiness pretty quickly.

The plan for the lesson only furthered his... curiosity about Professor Brooding. On the one hand, this was an interesting research project, with several clear questions for them to answer. On the other hand, it did not follow the scientific method. He was a little shaky on articulating what exactly that was, and where this fell down, or what they would need to do to fix it. But he knew enough to know that that wasn't it. There wasn't a hypothesis for one thing, and he thought there might be supposed to be something called a control group, though that just meant not doing the thing, and they all had been solidly not taking confusing solutions up until this point so maybe that didn't matter. Maybe his life until now was his own control group. He would ask Zevalyn when he was doing his write up. But if this was not being conducted in the name of Proper and Serious Research, then it basically amounted to getting a room full of teenagers to tank themselves up on loopy juice and see what happened. It seemed controlled enough, and safe enough. And it definitely sounded interesting. He just wasn't sure he had expected it to happen in class.

He was next to a third year, Jasmine, whom he had never really had any kind of interaction with before, but she seemed chirpy about the whole thing and nice enough. Whilst he was curious about the class experiment, there were certain people he would not have wanted to lose his wits around.

"I'm happy to go either way," he shrugged, when she asked about the potions, enjoying the little joke he was making for his own benefit. "Though maybe we should come up with some things to ask each other first? I should be deeply familiar with the oeuvre of the wonderful Katy Perry - she's a Muggle popstar. Try asking me if I know all the words to 'Firework.' If you want to confuse me... See what I can tell you about Amber the Valorous, and whether you can convince me she's real. Just as suggestions. You're really welcome to ask me anything you like. Is there anything you'd like me to specifically ask you, or anything that's off limits? Do you want me to actively try to trick you, for example, and what does non-confused you regard as embarrassing things that you would not want to do in front of the class?" He wasn't sure what the exact difference between confused, confunded, and drunk was, but he knew the latter to be lacking in inhibitions, and if someone was very, very confused he wondered whether it might be possible to convince them that the assigment was to do their best and loudest chicken impersonation. He cited this as an example to Jasmine of something she might prefer he didn't do to her. "I have literally no shame, so I don't mind. So long as it only embarrasses me - I don't want to gossip or do things that would cause distress to others." Much. He wasn't counting singing Katy Perry as distressing, even when he was the one doing it, because Firework was such a happy song. He mostly meant that he didn't want to talk too much about other people's business or hit on boys who might get in trouble for being associated with that sort of behaviour.

OOC - if Jasmine decides Kir should go first, I give you permission to god-mod him drinking the potion, assuming enough prep has been done.

13 Kir McLeod, Teppenpaw I think we might be about to feel like rooms without rooves 366 Kir McLeod, Teppenpaw 0 5

Simon Mordue, Crotalus

October 29, 2018 11:19 PM

Also alarming. by Simon Mordue, Crotalus

Ladies were meant to be pleasant and positive, of course, and less serious than gentlemen, but something about Professor Brooding’s chirpiness struck Simon as inherently suspicious. Nobody was always that happy. Nobody. It was not possible. Plus, why was the cat here? Cat hair could contaminate potions. This could affect Simon’s grades. If Winston beat him because of the hair of a cat the professor had in the room for no apparent reason….

Perhaps that was the challenge for the day – in the real world, after all, they would have to account for things getting in the way. It hardly seemed fair to grade them on that, though, when there was no way to account for whose desk the cat might accost and who might go the entire class period without incident. If Winston beat him because a cat shed on Simon’s sleeve and not Winston’s – well, then he would have to get his father involved, which would be a problem on two levels, because on one hand he felt ill just thinking about the prospect of telling his father that he needed help (what if Father was disappointed in him for not being in control of every situation at all times? Simon knew he would be disappointed in himself, but that didn’t matter – only Father’s opinion mattered) and on the other hand there would no doubt be complications with the school, it would resent him, and that was to say nothing of the Pierces and how they might think of it – it did seem like the kind of thing that might cross the line between a friendly rivalry and just a rivalry –

”You will work in pairs and take turns with each potion. One is a Confounding Concoction and one is the milder Confusing Concoction.”

He glanced toward Winston, wondering if the two of them together could exert enough influence to somehow circumvent being forced to participate. It seemed – just – possible. They were, after all, both the heirs to important families. His had had difficulties because of Uncle Nicky, of course, plus it was small, and Winston did have his three cousins competing with him and his father, but still. They were very important people. Very important people did not put up with things like this. Did they?

He looked around the room, taking in various students of no import…and then Emerald Brockert. The headmaster’s granddaughter. She didn’t look like she was planning to walk out in protest. This meant they were probably all hopeless.

At least, he thought as the professor continued, she was telling them questions to ask. If he could just keep his mouth shut when not responding directly to a question, he should be safe from any more embarrassment than was experienced by all. Keeping his mouth shut was something Simon was good at. He could do that. If he was confused in the ordinary course of things, after all, it was his default strategy. He could do this.

It was still, however, with a certain grimness in his eyes that he selected a partner and asked, “Shall we?”

16 Simon Mordue, Crotalus Also alarming. 369 Simon Mordue, Crotalus 0 5

Tatiana Vorontsova, Pecari

October 30, 2018 12:00 AM

Confusion is nothing new to me. by Tatiana Vorontsova, Pecari

Tatiana was sure she had had some thought inside her head when she entered the Potions classroom, but she had no idea what that thought had been. It had been quickly replaced by a single word when she had put her things down at a desk and looked up toward the front of the room and seen -

“Kotenok!” she said excitedly, lapsing automatically into her native language.

As soon as she was excited about the presence of a kitten, however, she then became concerned. Sometimes they chopped up dead things in Potions. Surely they would not have to kill and chop up the kitten? That would be awful. Tatiana was sure the class would revolt at the very idea. Even some of the boys would join in – Tatiana began assessing her classmates, making lists who would support the resistance. Dorya would be on board, of course, both because he was a sweet person and because he had his own cat – resistance was not his nature, but Tatiana thought she could get him to go along with her in such an extreme circumstance. Jehan was also sweet, but not as soft as Dorya, and would follow her and Dorya. Jasmine – well, she might faint, but if she didn’t, she might as well….

Of course, none of them were particularly impressive persons, but Tatiana thought they could make enough chaos to draw in some of the other students who’d just want to participate in a little destruction, and that would get class off-task if it came to that. Probably though, it wouldn’t. Especially since, she noticed, there were already potions in front of them. It was quite possible they would have to feed the potions to the kitten, but it stood to reason that none of them would do permanent damage – otherwise, they would have problems, as there was only one cat in the room and many more students.

Reassured, she put her mind to what was usually the most daunting part of any lesson: listening to the teacher talk. She picked up the word dare-ring - she had gotten confused by that one, among others of its sort, often because ring was the word for the things she wore on her fingers, but it could also just be the end of some words in English, including that one, a word she had read in some descriptions of her House. Helpful, full of helping, she knew that one too. Were they practicing for emergency situations here, or were they supposed to show off for their Houses somehow?

She put together the next part, about drinking potions, and that the potions would make them confused, but she wasn’t sure what that had to do with being daring and helpful. Perhaps she should ignore that part? They were to take notes and discuss them. She understood that. It seemed to be the task. The first part had probably been English-babble, words for the sake of words – Americans talked like that a lot. It was irritating.

She turned to another student when she recognized one of the stock phrases used to set them to work. “One of us drinks, the other asks question, writes?” she asked. “That is question – that is what we do, yes?”

16 Tatiana Vorontsova, Pecari Confusion is nothing new to me. 1396 Tatiana Vorontsova, Pecari 0 5

Isaac

October 30, 2018 12:59 AM

Uh... wait what are we doing? by Isaac

"Sounds good to me," Isaac replied with a smile. He uncorked the Confusing Concoction, making sure he had the right one, before he raised it towards her. "Bottoms up." He took a brave swig, drinking the whole thing in one gulp. It wasn't much, but the speed in which he downed it seemed to correlate with how quickly it hit him.

Isaac felt lightheaded first, and shuddered involuntarily. Then he couldn't seem to comprehend where he was and what he was supposed to be doing. There was a book on the desk, and his whole body felt weird, like it was too heavy for him. He looked at the girl, and he registered that her mouth was moving.

"What is your name?" she asked.

It was a simple enough question, and one he knew the answer to. "Isaac Song. My Korean name's Yi Jung, but nobody calls me that except my grandparents and my dad. Sometimes." Isaac blinked and looked at the book on the desk. They were supposed to be doing something, he was sure of it; he just couldn't figure out what. After thinking hard, he could tell he was in Potions class, but that was about it. He didn't want to ask and feel dumb though, so maybe the other girl would just keep asking him questions.

He looked at the empty vial in his hand, uncorked and clearly just drunk. His eyes widened. "Oh shoot, did I drink that? We're not supposed to do that!" He put the vial down on the desk.

"Pleaaase don't tell the professor, I can't get into trouble," he said, putting his hand on his chest. He felt something on his robes and looked down. There was a badge attached to him, a Prefect badge. He looked at the other girl's robes, which lacked them, and he looked back down at his. "What's this for? It's shiny." He took it off to examine it clearer. "Wow, I like it. Where did I get it?"

OOC: Feel free to ask Isaac any questions before giving him the antidote!

19 Isaac Uh... wait what are we doing? 375 Isaac 0 5

Parker Fitzgerald, Pecari

October 30, 2018 4:06 PM

You're getting into an adventure!... I think by Parker Fitzgerald, Pecari

Parker had gotten used to sitting next to Cleo during classes again this year. There were classes where he either arrived too early or too late and sometimes had to sit down in the closest seat he could find or they just didn’t have tables set for two. Parker had found most of his classmates friendly and usually helpful, having more background magical knowledge than himself. Still, it was a bit of a surprise when he walked into the Potions class to find the tables set up like his old school’s science lab.

He had sat down at the table second from the door and waited for Cleo to come in. Parker began to rummaged through his backpack and pulled out his book and a note book while searching for a pen. When he looked up he saw that Dorian had come in and sat down next to him.

Parker smiled at Dorian. He had always enjoyed his interactions with Dorian when he had them. At one point last year Parker had even thought that Dorian might want to be his friend even though Dorian seemed to spend most of his time with Tatya or the other boy, who Parker knew by sight, but not by name (Parker was sure that the boy’s name started with a J). So having Dorian sit down next to him was a pleasant surprise and he knew that Cleo would understand if she came in.

Plus, Parker had begun to realize, he didn’t really socialize with anyone in Lyssa’s house, and so unless he sought her out he could still go days without seeing her. Parker was fairly certain his mom would not be happy about that. So having Dorian sit next to him seemed like a stroke of good luck.

Parker raised his left eyebrow while listening to Professor Brooding. He didn’t see much in front of him and so the idea that he might be able to be daring seemed both intriguing and a bit surprising. Still as the Professor went on smile spread across his face. This class would be about drinking things and making notes of what Dorian said.

That sounds easy enough.

Parker opened his text book.
Person may forget things. jumped out at him when he looked down. What kind of things would people forget he wondered?

Guess there was only one way to find out.

Parker turned towards Dorian. “Ya, I’d love to work together.”

Parker picked up the closest potion and read the label, ready to take a swig. Parker was curious how you were supposed to observe and so wanted to be the first one to take a drink and mentally track how Dorian observed him.

“Confusing Potion. That’s the weaker potion right? I think that might be a better idea to start with. What do you think?”

Parker opened the top and began to bring it to his lips and then stopped.

“Wait, where is the antidote?”

41 Parker Fitzgerald, Pecari You're getting into an adventure!... I think 1402 Parker Fitzgerald, Pecari 0 5

Dorian

November 01, 2018 9:10 AM

Oh. Oh dear. by Dorian

Parker declared that he would love to be partners. Dorian did not think there was much about him that would warrant quite that much specific enthusiasm from Parker and chalked it up to Parker being a generally enthusiastic person, but at least it was positive, and supported his current theory that Parker was probably quite nice. He managed a small, shy smile in return.

“Yes, that is correct. Both are yes,” Dorian answered Parker’s questions regarding confusing solution being the weaker of the potions and the better place to start. He was aware his grammar was a bit off but wasn’t sure he could make an attempt to fix it without digging himself into a deeper hole, so instead pulled his textbook and a blank sheet of parchment toward himself, planning to read the descriptions of both potions and see if it gave them any helpful hints for the types of questions they should ask. Parker’s movement, of reaching for the bottle instead caught his eyes. Dorian had not managed to do more than make a strangled half noise trying to work out an appropriate word of caution before the other boy rethought and, to Dorian’s relief, lowered the vial again.

“Maybe we make a plan?” he suggested hastily, concerned that the second he pointed out which one was the antidote, Parker would see no reason not to down the potion. He regretted the words almost as soon as they were out of his mouth. Parker was a Pecari. He probably thought making plans was very boring, and was going to start assuming that Dorian was a wimp. And the worst part of that thought crossing his mind was that it was, as ever, followed by the question of And am I?

Once again, he had the sense that he was out of step with the rest of the world... There had to be a dividing line between bravery and just... recklessness, or plain insanity. But why did everyone else seem to want to draw those lines so much further back than he did? Jehan, wandering off into Muggle New York with no plan and no knowledge. Parker, ready to down potions that were going to screw his brain up without a moment's thought or hesitation... Everyone else seemed so ready to jump into the unfamiliar and think it was such fun, whilst he stood nervously back wanting to make sure they had thought it all through, and usually deciding (once he had) that he would really rather just keep both feet on solid ground if he could. Give him a fireside, and cuddles, and a nice book and he would be more than happy. Why did everyone else seem to find that boring, and want to insist that he was being pathetic by not wanting to put himself in situations where he could get hurt or be frightened? Why was being either of those things such a desirable goal? He could not see anyone who was willing to court such risks as anything except a bit mad, and yet he was the one that everyone thought was peculiar. On the one hand, he was relieved by Parker's willingness to go first. It spared him, and gave him a chance to see what he was getting himself in for. On the other, it increased his nervousness about working with the other boy. He had learnt that other boys could smell fear,and that they picked on it. Now, in addition to having to worry about the class assignment itself, he was afraid to show just how afraid he was of this whole thing because apparently that was not the expected reaction.

“Uh, this one is the antidote,” he added, feeling it would be rude to ignore Parker’s question any longer. He pushed one vial out of line with the rest, before picking up the remainder of the vials and putting them firmly on his side of the table. He did not specify his reasons, but it was hard to disguise the fact that he was making sure they were out of Parker’s range. He did not want the confused Parker reaching for the wrong vial and heaping a confunding potion on top of a confusing potion.

“I… I am not sure what things I should ask you about. I… I don’t know you so well,” he added, trying to justify his request for a plan somewhat. In his mind, he had envisaged carefully prepared interview sheets, perhaps even with the standard, expected answers in order to make judging the other person’s level of confusion an easier task. “For example, look here…” he gestured to a paragraph of the textbook, preferring not to read out loud, especially without any rehearsal time, or a chance to read it in his own head first. Autobiographical information should be more stably retained than learnt information or performance based tasks, though a number of factors such as age of acquisition, degree of skill, etc will further influence each of these areas. He would have preferred to read that over carefully a few times, properly digest the meaning, and discuss it. However, he now felt the need to think quickly so that Parker didn’t become bored with him and thus annoyed.

“So, you should remember things about yourself. Provide me one thing you normally would be knowledgeable about or do well and one thing you cannot do or explain well normally? Then I guess we begin.”

13 Dorian Oh. Oh dear. 1401 Dorian 0 5

Jasmine

November 01, 2018 10:58 AM

Sounds confused enough to be possible by Jasmine

Her partner for the day was that boy from DADA. She couldn’t remember his name. K-something, maybe? Ken? No it was stranger than that. Cory? Something like that, but she still didn’t think that was right. Oh well, it probably didn’t matter. He was a fifth year, she was sure of that, and she’d only have fifth years in her class for another few months. Then she’d probably never see him again.

Being a fifth year, though, he did seem to have a better grasp on what they were supposed to be doing and some of the potential pitfalls than she did. More proof her day was charmed, even if he did use words in ways she didn’t understand. What was an over? She obviously knew what over was as in going over the mountain, or something going over her head, but what was an over like Katy Perry had?

“I’ve heard of her,” Jasmine admitted, and while she would probably recognize the song Cory was talking about, she didn’t know it all that well herself. It hadn’t featured in any Disney movies. “My mom is a muggleborn from Hollywood,” she added by way of explanation, because it was hard to tell at Sonora what kind of muggle knowledge most people had.

She did write down his suggestions for things to ask him about, so she wouldn’t forget. Then it was her turn to offer ideas. “I am deeply familiar,” she copied his phrasing, “with the Disney princess collection. If you can mess me up about anything involving a Disney Princess, that would be a very powerful confusing potion. And I would rather not do anything like clucking like a chicken,” she told him very seriously. “If you want me to convince me that my chair is a flying carpet and that I should sing A Whole New World, though, I am fine with doing that.” It wasn’t something she would ordinarily do, of course, but she thought it would be excusable if she was under the influence of a confounding solution.

“I don’t think there are any subjects you need to avoid asking me about, but if you ask me about Transfiguration or Charms theory, you’re going to get a confused answer whether I’ve taken the potion or not.”

She picked up the Confusing potion. “I can go first, I guess,” she said, because being confused sounded a lot easier than asking questions and trying to figure out what the potion’s magical effects were. “Are we ready for me to do that now?”

OOC: She takes the potion if Kir gives her an affirmative answer.

1 Jasmine Sounds confused enough to be possible 1397 Jasmine 0 5

Parker Fitzgerald, Pecari

November 01, 2018 3:35 PM

What's the worst that could happen? by Parker Fitzgerald, Pecari

Parker mentally slapped his hand on his face. If he didn’t have a potion that might have unknown results in his hand he probably would have hit himself in real life too. Parker always knew you should plan, especially in classes, but it was usually not the first, second or even fifth idea that came into his head. That is unless it was in regards to sports, or planning an adventure outside with Cleo.

Parker slowly put down the small bottle.
“You’re right,” Parker said with a slight sigh, “Sorry. I don’t always think before I act.”

He pulled out his book back toward him. He felt stupid for having jumped the gun and felt a bit ashamed for not thinking through everything. Parker knew that in the Muggle world that jocks were known to be stupid. Though Parker took offense to such ideas, he knew that if the Wizarding world had similar thoughts, his actions might not help curtail those thoughts in Dorian’s head. Parker felt angry with himself but tried not to showcase that to Dorian.

Instead, he smiled as Dorian pushed the antidote towards him.
“Thank you,” Parker said.
He felt for sure Dorian now thought he was a total moron since he was moving the other bottles away from him. Probably thinking Parker would start drinking all the potions. Which to be honest, might have been something he had done if he hadn’t stopped. Parker could feel his flush a bit from the embarrassment.

And with Dorian’s next words Parker realized how close his action had taken them to this being a complete waste. Parker had acted rashly, as his mother had often told him not to do. If he had, Dorian would not have known what was true or not.

“You are right. We don’t know each other well,” Parker looked down to where Dorian was pointing.

Autobiographical information should be more stably retained than learnt information or performance-based tasks, though a number of factors such as age of acquisition, degree of skill, etc will further influence each of these areas.

“Ok. Let's get to know each other,” Parker said looking up at Dorian. Parker took a breath and started speaking slowly, hoping the right words would come out as he was talking.

“Right. I would remember facts about myself. My family, where I am from, my birthday, things I like to do, friends. I probably wouldn’t remember the information I’ve learned, especially recently. So I wouldn’t be able to answer a lot of questions about the magic world, well the information I know that is… which isn’t a lot.”

Parker picked up the potion bottle again.

“So before I take a swig of this. Let's talk a bit about families maybe?
You already know my friend Cleo so that you can ask me questions about her. I already know your friends Tatya and Jehan, I can ask you a question or two about them. But let’s also talk about family. That should all be things we remember.”

Parker took a deep breath and thought for a second. He realized he was about to talk about bringing up his brother for the first time to someone at school besides Cleo. He didn’t need to go into in-depth detail with Dorian, but still, it wasn’t something he had widely informed other students about.

“So you know my sister Lyssa. She’s in your house here as the first year. I also have an older brother who…,” Parker tried to figure out how to word the next point, “is not here. His name is John Jr. That’s because my father is also named John. John Sr. He is an architect. My mother is a nurse. She loves gardening. We live in Northern California near Nevada. I only found out I could do magic when a man appeared in my kitchen.” Parker stopped suddenly. He had been moving his hands during the conversations, gesticulating wildly. He was worried he would start talking about the circumstances around him finding out he was a wizard.

Parker had tried to speak slowly but had realized near the end that he had started speaking faster trying to get information out. Parker turned to Dorian with a slight smile on his face.

“Sorry, Dorian. Was that too much information or too fast? I sometimes talk a lot.”

41 Parker Fitzgerald, Pecari What's the worst that could happen? 1402 Parker Fitzgerald, Pecari 0 5

Amelia

November 01, 2018 8:40 PM

Hopping around like a frog on a hot rock. by Amelia

Isaac Song. That sounded certain enough. Amelia noted it down, then paused when Isaac continued, telling her his Korean name and the occasions under which it was used. He sounded sure about that, too, but she didn’t speak Korean and so had a suspicion that any attempt she made to write the name phonetically would come together offensively. Omitting it altogether, however, might have the same effect. Hopefully she’d have time to tidy up these rough draft notes.

For the moment, however, she had other problems to address. Isaac was asking questions about random things that caught his attention - the bottle of potion, his own badge. She put her hand on his wrist as he examined the badge to catch his attention again.

“It’s your prefect’s badge,” she said. “Remember?” she didn’t know if she was asking if he remembered his own badge or if she was asking if he even remembered what a prefect was. “It means you’re a leader in your House. Do you remember which House you’re in?” This was biographical information, as Amelia understood it, like a name, but if he didn’t recognize his badge, he might not recognize the whole concept of the House either. It was not, after all, something that really existed outside of the school walls, and while to Amelia the parts of her life which passed outside the compound seemed brief and insignificant, she had gathered they made more of an impression on most people’s sense of identity.

16 Amelia Hopping around like a frog on a hot rock. 360 Amelia 0 5

Isaac

November 02, 2018 8:49 PM

Ribbit ribbit by Isaac

The badge was shiny and super nice. It didn't look brand new, maybe a little worn, but still well-kept. Isaac looked down at his robes, having already forgotten where he'd unpinned it from. He put the badge down on the table and brushed out his uniform, wondering why it looked wrinkled.

The other girl seemed pretty interested in what he had to say. She kept taking notes, and then grabbed his wrist to get his attention. Isaac looked at her when she did so, and then nodded slowly when she told him what this badge was.

So Isaac was a leader in his house. His... house in Los Angeles? No, he wasn't in Los Angeles. This was a little confusing, since this clearly wasn't his own house. No; houses had something to do with school. And school was... somewhere else. "My house?" he asked, blinking. "Yeah, I'm in Pecari," he replied after a moment. "I don't remember what that means though. What do the houses represent? All I know is that I'm a proud and true Pecari. So does this badge mean I'm a leader of the Pecari house?"

Isaac looked at the other students in the class. "Are my sisters here too? Lauren isn't super into potions, but she always helps me out when I need it. And Maia makes me laugh sometimes." He sat down in his chair, suddenly feeling despondent. "I miss my sisters."

19 Isaac Ribbit ribbit 375 Isaac 0 5

Dorian

November 03, 2018 11:02 AM

Death. Death is usually the worst case scenario. by Dorian

“It is ok,” Dorian shrugged gently when Parker apologised. Luckily the reaction was fairly standard when given an apology, otherwise he might have been rather lost for what to say. Certainly he was thrown. He had only really come across three types of people - boys who were not at all like him and tended to make that a very big problem, boys who were like him and therefore nice to him, and girls. The middle category consisted almost entirely of Jehan, and sort of Vlad - Vlad had less in common with him than Jehan, but he did not share significant overlap in his interests with the people who had made Dorian’s life a misery, and thus Dorian had always assumed there was some kind of relationship between unlike-me/doesn’t like me, and not-unlike-me/willing to be nice. Parker was all kinds of opposites to all kinds of rules Dorian had thought he had.

He watched as the other boy looked over the textbook with him, noticing the slight flush in the Pecari’s cheeks. He recognised embarrassment when he saw it - after all, he felt it often enough, even if he was mercifully unprone to going noticeably red. He felt horrible at having caused such a feeling because he knew how caustic and unpleasant feeling embarrassed could be. He was also slightly amazed that Parker, the easy going, sports playing Pecari, was feeling that way. And not only that, feeling it because of something he, Dorian, had said. Dorian was quiet and weird and bookish and his opinions only registered with people like Parker if they were lame enough to warrant making fun of. Or rather, he had thought so. He was again pushed towards the conclusion that Parker needed to be in a new category of boy that he was not yet familiar with. Dorian wanted to say something comforting but he wasn’t really sure what. The only thing he could think of was trying to assure Parker he had nothing to be embarrassed about but that involved pointing out that he appeared to currently be embarrassed and that would potentially cause further embarrassment.

The way Parker put himself down at the end of his next sentence didn’t go unnoticed either. That was easier to challenge, and Dorian made a point to do so because he didn’t like the idea of someone else feeling bad about themselves. For all Dorian was exceptionally hard on himself, he was the first to step in whenever any of his friends bemoaned their lack of ability or dared be critical about themselves.

“I think you probably know many things. More than you think. You are here in third year, same as us all, yes? And you are good in Herbology, for just one example,” he added. This last one was a bit of a gamble, but Parker had mentioned more than once being interested in plants, and it was hard to imagine Professor Xavier ever really making anyone feel like they were doing a bad job in his class. He suspected Parker knew more about Quidditch than he did too, but he was avoiding that subject for as long as possible. “But probably yes, the time for any of us to do class tests is not when we have confusing solution,” he added, almost smiling.

He nodded along carefully with what Parker said, trying not to feel uncomfortable about the idea of discussing his friends or his family whilst under the influence of a confusing potion, both being topics he did not want to get particularly personal on. He supposed that was not limited to friends and family - he did not really want to get personal about anything. Parker turning to face him full on and boldly declaring ‘Ok, let’s get to know each other’ had made him have a little flutter of butterflies (the bad, nervous kind) because his default reaction to that kind of offer was to want to mumble down at his shoes that there wasn’t much to know, or let the other person do all the talking about themselves and hope they found an interesting tangent to wander down. But the subjects of friends and family contained the two bits of information he was least happy disclosing to another person - namely, that his feelings for Jehan extended beyond friendship, and that his relationship with his brother was a mess.

“Yes, we can ask some facts about friends and family,” he agreed, emphasising the word ‘facts’ a little, and hoping that they could stay on solid, boring information. He supposed it was both factual that Matthieu kept hitting him and that he had tried to kiss his best friend, but he hoped that he wouldn’t somehow leap straight to those points from being asked their dates of birth.

He began scribbling as Parker began talking, making use of his Chinese as it really was a lot quicker to jot down 哥哥 and 妹妹 than cumbersome English phrases like ‘older brother’ and ‘younger sister,’ although he left the space next to the latter blank for the time being.

He wondered for a moment what the hesitation meant when Parker mentioned his brother. He had set phrases that he used about Matthieu, which were well rehearsed. Pleasantries that he could trot out when required to be diplomatic and not just say that his brother was a Meathead or a jerk. He’s a great Quidditch player. He is very good at being heir. Other people are always very impressed by him. But when Parker finished the sentence with ‘not here,’ Dorian wondered instead whether Parker had thought Dorian was going to judge him over his brother’s lack of magic. He supposed that some people from his background judged people from Parker’s background. He tried to look at himself through Parker’s eyes and wondered for just a moment whether the reason they’d never really spoken was because Parker thought Dorian might be Like That. Jehan had thought it possible, and Jehan knew him better than anyone. Dorian sort of wanted to ask - had he ever made Parker uncomfortable, and did he think he was a racist because, by the way, he definitely wasn’t - but you couldn’t really just say that kind of thing. And also it was hard to really imagine that Parker’s avoidance of him until now had been anything other than a lack of interest in someone so quiet and bookish. The thought of anyone finding him, Dorian, in any way intimidating was just too odd to consider.

“I have, I think…” he assured Parker, when he asked if he had talked too much or too fast. “Just please… spell ‘Lyssa’ and spell and explain ‘nurse’?” he requested. He could have taken a guess at the name but misspelling people’s names felt rude to him. “I am not sure… we have not this job in the wizard world or I just not know the English. Sorry,” he added.

His sheet of parchment was a little on the messy side. Ideally, he would have made subject headings, and a list of questions and then he could have duplicated the sheets, so that Parker could fill out identical information for him, but he had been focussing on getting it down, and thus it had too much French and Chinese in it to be useful to anyone except him, and was also already full of information about Parker.

“We have the same family,” he reflected, looking at the sheet in front of him. He supposed it wasn’t the world’s most amazing common ground, but it was a nice surprise to find something. “I have also like this - older brother, smaller sister. Matthieu et Émilie. Here, I spell for you,” he added, taking the blank of parchment for Parker’s notes and adding his siblings names, plus their birthdays in brackets.

“So… more about me now?” he added, returning the parchment to Parker. He fidgeted a little in his seat and began with a little “Um…” and not managing to shake the air of self-consciousness that being asked to talk about himself had produced. “So… Same as you, I should know… family. Friends. ‘Hometown’ is maybe the best way of asking where I am from. It can be… complicated answer even when not having the Potion. Simple answer, from outside of Montréal, Québec.” That was the short answer. The kind he would give when introducing himself or talking with someone he didn’t really know. It was the answer he would normally give someone like Parker, although he wasn’t sure what he’d be like once he got confused. “My father… does a business job. I cannot explain well even in French. Mama is looking after us.

“My activities at school… I can write?” he asked, reaching again for the parchment, “It is not the real club, but when we do languages all together - with me, Tatya, Jehan and Vlad - we call ‘Club of Tongues.’ Or we call in any of our languages. I… I hope I remember that I must speak only English to you. But… it is very normal for me to mix together my languages,” he added, looking anxious and pre-emptively apologetic, “I write all its names for you, so you can know what I talk about.” He noted Club of Tongues/Club de Langues/Yǔyán Jùlèbù/Yazyki Klub on the parchment. Beyond that, his school activities were being a library monitor, and hanging out in MARS with Jehan. The former, he thought he was unlikely to mention in any language other than English, so he added only ‘library monitor.’ The latter, he really did not want to talk about with Parker. He wasn’t sure how to explain MARS time. Jehan and I hang out, read poetry and snuggle… It sounded like something it was not a good idea to admit to other guys even if he managed to forget and thus omit the fact that he had almost tried to kiss Jehan. He considered whether there was a title he could give the section he’d just written that would include the two listed things but exclude MARS - for example, if Parker were to ask him about his involvement in school clubs, he would be less likely to mention MARS. But being a library monitor was not a club, and Club of Tongues was not official. They were both more hobbies. Which didn’t really preclude MARS.

He skimmed the information in the book again. He wasn’t really sure what ‘performance based tasks’ meant but he readily understood ‘age of acquisition’ and the idea that some of his knowledge would be more vulnerable than others.

“So, things that I know from when I am small… They shall be easier than more recent. For example, to count one to ten in my own languages, and to count it in Russian?” he suggested. He added to the notes for Parker, so that he would know whether Dorian was getting it right or not.

French: Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf, dix
Chinese: yī, èr, sān, sì, wǔ, liù, qī, bā, jiǔ, shí
Russian: odin, dva, tri, chetyre, pyat', shest', sem', vosem', devyat', desyat'

“This is... Ok?” he asked tentatively, pushing the sheet over. He recalled Parker’s earlier self-doubt and felt bad. “Sorry - I… I am not trying to do showing off,” he added. The way his arms crossed over his stomach as he spoke and how anxiously he regarded Parker all inherently suggestive of the least likely person imaginable to be caught doing such a thing. “It’s just… it’s just how it is, in my head. It’s… it’s just full of things that are not English.” He took a breath, trying to work out something to say something that sounded less stupid than that. “You also know many things, but I suppose I cannot really ask about the things you know well cos I do not really know them. Things like… lelectricity. And post stamping. I… I suppose I can ask, but maybe I cannot judge well your answer,” he gave a little shrug that indicated it was up to Parker. Even if the other boy didn’t want to take him up on that offer, he hoped that he had at least reminded and reassured Parker that he had plenty of strengths, and knew about plenty of things, even if they weren’t things he could use right now.

Unless there were any further things Parker wanted to add, Dorian felt the sheets were finished, and he supposed he was ready for Parker to drink.

13 Dorian Death. Death is usually the worst case scenario. 1401 Dorian 0 5

Amelia

November 05, 2018 8:22 PM

Indeed. by Amelia

Despite her reservations about undergoing the experience herself, Amelia had to admit that this experiment was fascinating to watch. It took Isaac a moment to remember what his House was…to an extent. How did he remember he was proud of something without remembering what that something was? Wasn’t that...kind of…backward to how pride even worked?

“Yeah,” said Amelia. “It means you’re one of the student leaders in Pecari. I – “

She paused to try to think of how to describe Pecari – she didn’t really know what Pecari represented; all she had the impression Lionel represented was a lack of ambition, which was not the nicest thing to say – but before she could come up with anything, he was off on another tangent, remembering that he had sisters. The name Lauren rang a vague bell; the name Maia did not.

“I think Lauren used to be, but she’s too old to be here now, I think,” said Amelia. “I don’t know Maia, I’m sorry. Do you know how old Maia is?” she asked, wondering if that kind of detail might stick, or even if he knew if this sister was older or younger than he was. She didn’t know if Isaac was Muggleborn or half-blood, plus even the purest of the purebloods sometimes produced Squibs. Amelia’s family was not That Kind of Family, but Squibs could happen anywhere – her mother was one.

16 Amelia Indeed. 360 Amelia 0 5

Kir

November 06, 2018 8:38 AM

Let's find out... by Kir

“Hollywood… That’s the place movies come from, right?” he asked. His aunt was Muggleborn and his family had pretty close ties with the Muggle Cultural Center in Boston, so he sort of knew stuff. It felt as if he’d studied Muggle as a foreign language, and gained enough proficiency that he could get by but was clearly not going to pass for native. His pop culture references were also solidly grounded a generation out of date. He didn’t particular assume any association between Jasmine’s mother and said movies, just that it was what the place she came from was known for. His state was famous for maple syrup but it didn’t mean his family worked in its production.

If Kir could trip her up on Disney princesses, it would not only be a very powerful confusing potion but he would be the world’s best ad-libber, seeing as the knowledge he had to work on was pretty limited. He guessed that kind of worked… Anything he could tell Jasmine was almost bound to be wrong by virtue of the fact he was more or less making it up on the spot, which sort of worked in his favour. He thought he might have had a better shot at convincing her if he seemed knowledgeable about them though. Most of what he knew came from James, and he had just tended to rate them on how much he wanted their clothes and their respective princes which weren’t exactly useful plot pointers. But he could always throw out an opinion or two of James’ to see how far Jasmine agreed, and then perhaps try to defend himself. His nominal favourite (chosen for him by James) was Belle, who ranked low in the fashion stakes (except that cape, James would totally rock a fur trimmed cape) but high in the prince ones, but who got to be Kir’s favourite because she was bookish. He guessed James hadn’t exactly been wrong with that pick, though if memory served him right, Belle was a brunette, and Kir seemed to have a definite preference for blondes...

Jasmine, it seemed, had little in common with Belle. Kir’s first reaction to that announcement was to want to find out what part she’d had trouble with and explain it, especially if it was that day’s Transfiguration lesson because it had been very interesting and actually pretty straightforward really- but then he remembered they had a Potions assignment to do, and perhaps Jasmine didn’t want tutoring advice right now, or indeed in general. In fact, he wasn’t sure he wanted to get pulled into helping a less than academic third year… He wanted her to understand the course material, because he felt fundamentally sad for anyone who didn’t see the beauty in transfiguration theory, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to be the one to help her get there. He wondered briefly about his house placement… But she was practically a stranger, and they were probably going to find little in common outside of this lesson. He wasn’t a terrible person for not really wanting to help her. And for preferring the idea of discussing theories with Zev, who would actually have a stimulating conversation with him. He was also trying to work out whether talking nerdy to her got him better post study-session kisses or whether it was actually counter-effective because she got distracted by the academics but that needed more research. And he was pretty sure that wanting to research that instead of tutor Jasmine was as close to being a normal teenage boy as he’d ever come.

“No clucking,” he promised, “Perhaps light singing. I’ll make sure you are confused but not embarrassed, as far as it is within my power. Drink up when you’re ready.”

He watched as she tipped back the little vial, trying not to feel like he was getting a third year drunk. It hadn’t been his idea. Professor Brooding was the one inebriating a bunch of minors. And Jasmine appeared to want to go first. At least he knew he was a relatively responsible older student who was going to look after and not take advantage of her. He tried not to let his focus drift around the classroom, wondering whether there were any pairings of people he was particularly worried or curious about - he had to keep his attention here.

“Hi,” he stated clearly to get Jasmine’s attention, “Do you remember your name and know where you are?” he asked.

13 Kir Let's find out... 366 Kir 0 5

Isaac

November 07, 2018 1:50 AM

Ugh, my head by Isaac

Being a student leader was pretty cool. He was sure it came with more responsibilities, and that meant people looked up to you.

After Isaac mentioned his sisters, the other girl seemed to know Lauren. Right, she was too old to be here now. She was working a job back home, helping their mom out somehow. Isaac didn't remember the specifics of it, like what she even did, but it seemed a little more flexible. Isaac slouched into his chair quite uncharacteristically.

"Maia's my younger sister. She's, uh..." Since Isaac had trouble remembering Maia's age even without the Confusing Concoction, he really had a hard time under the potion's influence. "I, uh, don't know... but she's old enough to go to school. Like, just a few years younger than me. But she goes to school in Korea, where my dad lives. She moved there a few years ago. I wish we weren't so far apart, but there's no way I'd live in Korea. My dad had to move there to run his huge family business, but my parents are still together. They just have to work in different countries, which sucks."

Isaac's grandfather was a Muggle, and he was part of a huge electronics corporation in Seoul. The business had been in the family for generations, and when Isaac's dad had popped up as a wizard, it had thrown that side of the family into chaos for a little while. But magical or not, the family business had to continue. His mom, on the other hand, had grown up magical and worked as a apothecary for the magical world and as a pharmacist for the Muggles. She was really into medicines.

Isaac did not, of course, think of all this. Instead, he remembered the stories of how his parents' forced separation had caused a lot of turmoil for them, but had also made their marriage stronger. Right in this moment, he only remembered the peaceful conversations and ecstatic reunions between his family members. "It's hard living an ocean away, but it makes seeing each other again sweeter," he said.

He yawned suddenly, feeling a little light-headed. "Man, I'm getting kind of tired." It was a good thing he was already sitting, or he might've fallen over. He flicked the vial off the table just because he felt like it, and it rolled off the desk and broke on the floor. He laid his head on the table and groaned audibly. "I feel like I don't know where I am," Isaac said, feeling disoriented again. "Why do I feel like this?"

19 Isaac Ugh, my head 375 Isaac 0 5

Parker

November 21, 2018 1:02 PM

Death comes for us all eventually by Parker

Caught off guard with the question Parker was silent. A nurse was like a doctor. No doctor was from the parent world. No, a nurse was like a healer. That's it, or as close as he knew.

" Umm, so a nurse is like a muggle healer. They use potions, but they call it medicine. They also set bones if they break, calm patients down, and generally run hospitals." Now that Parker thought about it, the only thing he could think that doctors could do that nurses couldn't from his experience was prescribing the potions.

"And Lyssa is spelled L.Y.S.S.A. That's Y as in..." the words that came to Parker were all words like Yonder, which he didn't think Dorian would know. "Yule time. Y like Yule time, not I like interests." Parker had heard his mother say this speech enough on the phone.

Parker looked on in amazement as Dorian began to fill in Parker's blank sheet of paper. First off, Dorian's handwriting was so lovely and clean. Second, Dorian was writing down the information Parker would have, just faster. As Parker saw Dorian write dates next to the names Parker assumed they were dates and grabbed Dorian's paper to put his siblings birthdays too. As Dorian wrote, Parker filled in Dorian's paper.

On Hometown Parker Wrote Reno, Nevada, which he guessed was as close to accurate as one could get.

Parker let out a short laugh at the name 'Club of Tongues'.
"I like the name. It's apt." Parker wrote down Quidditch, Dungeons and Dragons and then paused. He wanted to write Gardening Club, or as he called it the Adventuring Club. But it was only ever just Cleo and him walking through the Labyrinth, gardening here and there. Though now it was usually with an elf or two around, just to be safe.
He paused cause he didn't know how much he wanted to talk about his interactions with Cleo. He knew she was his friend, possibly his best friend, but he also knew how it might look now that people knew about her mother. They might think he was under her spell, and Parker guessed he was in some way. Just not in the Veela mind controlling way, more in the way she was what came to his mind when people (his friends from back home mainly) asked what he looked for in a girl. He wasn't sure what that feeling was, but it made him want to improve himself. Almost make himself worthy of her friendship.

"I do Quidditch, I play Dungeons and Dragons with some students in the library sometimes..." he decided to go for it, " and I am in the Gardening Club, though that's just two people right now, I think." He finished as he wrote Gardening club on his paper.

Languages were not something Parker had ever put his mind into, but he felt a small thrill when Dorian wrote out the languages and let out a short whistle.
"Impressive," he said. He would have to ask Dorian to write out this again on a sheet of paper that didn't have Dorian's personal information. Parker could then practice. Maybe his breathing exercises could be in different languages! He got momentarily excited by the thought of using different languages to count down from ten and wasn't paying attention till Dorian said lelectricity.

"Good point. I can talk about muggle things like TV and the internet and cell phones."

Parker wrote down "Cell Phones - a machine you use to talk to someone in real time over great distances.
TV - I think short for television. Has moving pictures and plays. I liked a show called Sponge Bob Square Pants... don't ask.
And then internet - use a machine to talk to another machine in real time. People send messages, like an owl but quicker. Can also watch videos (tv) on as well."

Parker paused for a second. He'd never thought about how many of the other students knew (or didn't know) about the muggle world. Nor about how many might have questions they wanted to be answered about the Muggle world. With a shock, Parker realized he knew a lot, as he knew about both worlds, and moved through both. The Bird-Fish.

Sliding his paper back to Dorian and Parker reached for the first bottle Parker said," Once we are done drinking these you should feel free to ask me about anything related to my life before school. On the condition that I can come to you with questions about the Wizarding world."

Pulling out the cork for the second time Parker looked to Dorian.
"We ready?" Parker took a deep breath and began to raise the bottle to his lips, then put it down slightly, "Maybe ask me where we are to start?"

41 Parker Death comes for us all eventually 1402 Parker 0 5

Dorian and Parker

December 06, 2018 6:36 AM

A confusing thread by Dorian and Parker

[OOC - this thread was continued during Fast and Furious. The middle section can be read here. The following installments are being cowritten by both authors

IC
Dorian started off fine. Kind of. Explaining what they did at school. It was Parker’s fault. He had not been specific, and he was realizing that he needed to be specific with Dorian when it came to the questions that he asked.

“You know me,” Parker said in his calmest voice as it seemed Dorian was getting a bit nervous.
Suddenly Dorian seemed to be going downhill fast. Like dangerously fast. A bike without breaks fast. This startled Parker so much that for a brief moment he was stuck like a deer in headlights. Parker couldn’t make out what Dorian was saying, but was sure it had to deal with the languages. The Club of Tongues Dorian had mentioned earlier. But it sounded like he was moving from one to another in quick succession, and then Dorian stopped.

Dorian seemed confused. Like someone who’d just woken up from a nap while in a car and was unsure of where they were now. The question brought Parker back to his senses as well. Parker made notes on his paper as quickly as he could.

Dorian wanted to protest that he did not know Parker properly and that meant… that meant… something. It was important. It was important to know people properly before talking to them. But they had already done a lot of talking, so… that either meant that Parker must be ok or that Dorian had made a mistake. He wasn’t sure which it was. But Parker was writing and Dorian did not want to interrupt so he just bit his lip nervously, waiting to see if Parker had found his answers acceptable.

“Yes. Yes. You answered wonderfully Dorian,” Parker reassured him, “Thank you. I am sorry for having bothered you so much, but I appreciate it.”

“That is ok. I…” he thought he might not have done well at the questions, but he decided that as his thoughts weren’t working very well he should maybe just stop. He shrugged and looked down at his hands, hoping that things would start making sense again, like Parker had promised.

Parker reached towards the antidote. He didn’t want Dorian to stay in this stay for any longer. Even if Doiran hadn’t answered all the questions, it seemed almost cruel to Parker for Dorian to stay in this state.

“Here you go Dorian. Drink this, it will help. I’m sorry if that was difficult.”

“Thank you,” Dorian nodded, taking the vial. He still did not know what to think about Parker. It seemed like he was being nice though. Dorian looked down at the vial. It said ‘antidote’ in a writing that he definitely recognised and trusted, so he uncorked it and drank.

Parker thought back on his own experience of the drink. From what he remembered his had been different, but possibly it was the same in many ways.

Parker turned back to his notes and wrote up some more observations. When he was done, Parker checked to make sure Dorian had drunk the bottle, and looked up.

“Sorry…” Dorian mumbled. He was not quite sure how to categorise his behaviour. Whiny? Pathetic? He wasn’t exactly keen to point those things out to Parker even if he knew they were true. “I think I am… kind of difficult?” he tried instead.

Parker laughed. He hadn’t meant to, but the change in Dorian had been apparent, and he was surprised, by it.

“Sorry. Not laughing at you. You were not difficult, more…” Parker had a hard time thinking of the word he wanted to use. Brainy came to mind. But that might be seen as a negative by some people, and overly cautious was correct, but not something he wanted to enforce for the next, more powerful potion.

“Thoughtful. You were more thoughtful. It was like you had multiple languages going in your head and you were trying very carefully to keep them all straight. To be honest, it looked a bit exhausting. Like a work out, but for your brain.”

“Thanks,” Dorian smiled weakly. “You are patient with me. I… It’s nice, and I appreciate,” he added, mostly addressing the corner of his parchment, which he was folding back and forth whilst he talked. He still wasn’t really sure how open to be with Parker but he felt he owed him some kind of acknowledgement. He’d been really nice, and gentle. Was still being. And it was still a weird juxtaposition with the fact he played Beater. That was seeming to matter less and less though. He jotted down a few quick notes on what he had felt the potion had done to him, then turned back to Parker.

13 Dorian and Parker A confusing thread 1401 Dorian and Parker 0 5

Peyton O'Malley, Crotalus

December 18, 2018 7:39 PM

That must suck by Peyton O'Malley, Crotalus

Now that Midterm was over and the fair was fast approaching, Peyton had to decide what she wanted to submit to the cooking competition. There were a few different culinary events but some of them were like making their own meats and cheeses which wasn't exactly something that the Crotalus knew how to do. Maybe there'd at least be a demonstration to show her. That would be really interesting.

Anyway, she was going to enter a baking competition for people around her age and she wasn't sure what to make yet. It was down to gingerbread, brownies and chocolate chip cookies. Peyton was leaning toward gingerbread people so she could ask Jasmine to help her decorate them.

Professor Brooding began the lesson. Even though Sophie wasn't here anymore, Peyton still really enjoyed Potions. There was something so extremely satisfying about brewing something correctly. As it was similar to cooking and baking, she usually did really well in this class too. Though cooking and baking were better because people got to eat what she made. Even with her potions done correctly, Peyton couldn't imagine people being too crazy about ingesting something made by a third year. Especially if it was something with an unpleasant effect to begin with. Still, it was nice to get good grades.

And speaking of unpleasant potions, apparently they were going to have to take turns drinking counfounding potion and confusing potion and asking each other questions-and there wasn't any actual brewing involved. How in Merlin's name did that play into Peyton's strengths? And Professor Brooding had specifically mentioned being daring which was like, the antitheses of what Crotali were. Cautious was right there in the house description.

Unfortunately, that was rather what this lesson was, as well as scholarly. Peyton couldn't figure out exactly how being helpful figured in. Maybe she was supposed to give the other person clues.

She sighed and Tatiana Vorontsov spoke up next to her. "Correct." The Crotalus replied. And then, because she generally tried to be nice and accomodating, even though she wasn't a Teppenpaw and perhaps to combat some of the more negative stereotypes associated with her house, she asked "Which do you want to do? Drink it or ask questions?" Peyton rather hoped, as Tatiana was a Pecari, she would be, well, daring and choose to take it.

11 Peyton O'Malley, Crotalus That must suck 1403 Peyton O'Malley, Crotalus 0 5