A Practical Start [Beginners, I and II] on Potions

Professor Mary Brooding

February 09, 2019 2:38 AM

A Practical Start [Beginners, I and II] by Professor Mary Brooding

October nodded crisply through Mary's window that morning, and she whispered a contented "good morning" right back to it as she disentangled herself from Tabitha's arms and legs and hair and warmth and scent. She was bloody perfect, but there were students to be taught and owls to send and papers to grade. There were probably things to plan too, but Mary had hardly stopped thinking of their wedding since it had been set and she was keeping those details out of her mind for now. There were only a few things that needed to occur, and the rest was just marshmallows on the hot chocolate of a perfect occasion.

Now, far away from the Defense classrooms and their lovely professor, it was the scent of something much heartier that teased Mary Brooding. She was excited for today's lesson and was dressed surprisingly sternly for it all. Her hair, which was typically kept out of the way anyway, was pinned particularly tight, and her usual wide-brimmed hat seemed to sit a little straighter. Her clothes were simple, black and brown leather, with gloves nearby, and the sort of pants, boots, and flaring overcoat - the sort that almost looked like a skirt anyway - that women used to wear to ride horses. Or dragons, if Tabitha had her way.

Mary was far too small to be intimidating, but as her first and second year students bobbled into the classroom, she was suddenly confronted with the fact that they were wee. Had 11- and 12-year-olds always been so wee? Pushing that aside as well, Mary focused her attention on her students.

"Good afternoon," Mary smiled, hoping to offer some light-hearted energy. She was well aware that beginners' potions was the 4th class of the day for this level, and the first class after lunch. It was the least favorite part of her schedule with first and second year students, and she wanted to ensure their time was spent together with wide open eyes and alert minds. "We're going to have a practical lesson today, you'll be doing a lot of hands-on activities, and making potions."

She'd long since been in the habit of repeating the meaning of phrases to ensure that all of her students - no matter what their home languages were - could keep up, but the chalkboard that offered "practical lesson" and the names of the potions they'd be working with in English, Russian, Chinese, French, German, and Greek (because of course it was in Greek) helped too. She was glad it was a large chalkboard.

"There are two key things to understand about potions," she said, the chalk ready to take notes as she spoke. "First of all, they must be done carefully. It's important to take time to prepare your ingredients and potion carefully, and follow each step. The second thing to understand, is that potions are practical. We make potions for reasons."

Sometimes, Mary's reason to make potions was because it was fun. However, that wasn't a lesson she could teach with words, so she just left them to find that out on their own.

"Working together or alone, whatever your preference, I want you to choose which of these potions you think would be the most helpful to you and begin working on it. I have scrolls here with detailed instructions for each in each of these languages, and your textbooks, as well as my collection of multi-lingual textbooks, are yours to use as well. I am also available to answer any questions I can."

For a moment, she considered the chalkboard.

Broom polish, sleekeazy hair potion, indigestion relief, a cleaning solution, a hair dye, and various others were all listed and available for student creation. She hoped this didn't go terribly awry . . .

"Please remember to review the safety procedures in your book before you begin," Mary added, eyeing long hair and long sleeves and people touching their faces. She sighed and then smiled. "We're going to do this together, so just let me know if you need me for anything. Enjoy!"

Subthreads:

Say no to sleekeazy's by Zara Jackson, Teppenpaw with Felipe De Matteo

Shall we? [Tag Julius.] by Evelyn Stones, Pecari with Julius Astley, Crotalus

Indecisive (Tag Katerina) by Allegra Brockert, Crotalus with Katerina Vorontsov, Teppenpaw

I don't think we have the same view of practicality by Topaz Brockert, Aladren with Jessica Hayles, Crotalus

22 Professor Mary Brooding A Practical Start [Beginners, I and II] 1424 Professor Mary Brooding 1 5

Zara Jackson, Teppenpaw

February 09, 2019 9:49 AM

Say no to sleekeazy's by Zara Jackson, Teppenpaw

Zara took a seat in potions. The super exciting new school vibe was wearing off slightly, she had to admit. It felt like a really, really long time since she had seen her family, but it was still even longer than that until she would see them again. Even though nothing bad was happening to her at Sonora, it definitely didn’t feel like home, and she was starting to wonder if she had been kind of crazy to sign up for this.

On the plus side, they had a practical lesson today. It was harder to let your mind wander when you were actively doing magic rather than reading and writing theory, even though she enjoyed both parts. Or rather, if you let your mind wander whilst doing practical stuff, it tended to have fairly disastrous results, bordering on the explosiony, especially in Potions. So, concentration time.

They also had a choice of what to work on, which in theory should have made it more interesting, although she couldn’t say any of the examples listed really spoke to her. She could fly, it was fun enough, but she wasn’t a broom nut. The hair ones were right out. She had no idea just how much sleekeazy’s it would take to get her hair straight and glossy but finding out was not high on her agenda, and she hoped her classmates had enough awareness to think before opening their mouths and suggesting she might like to try it. She took pride in her curls, even on their frizzy and badly behaved days. That also had her skeptical the hair dye. Sure, a magical hair dye might be handy, because certainly getting any colour into her hair without magic was going to be nigh on impossible, but she did not trust it. Chances were, that potion had been developed for Western hair. Dye, however magical, was usually drying and her hair needed moisture. Professor Brooding seemed pretty into catering to the diversity of Sonora’s population, and maybe that extended to different hair types as well but Zara wasn’t going to risk it. Sure, it’d be fun to rock some pink streaks for a bit, but she didn’t want to have to pay for that for weeks if it just didn’t gel with her. Cleaning and indigestion sounded the most practical, in that she supposed she might conceivably be able to use them one day, though they also sounded the most boring.

She gathered the recipe, and took it back to her bench, consulting the list of ingredients against her potions kit, and finding them mostly present. The recipe called for mint, stating ‘fresh if possible, but dried will work.’ She had dried, but thought she’d check the supplies in the corner. She doubted Professor Brooding kept many fresh ingredients in stock, but given that she had set them this potion, it seemed conceivable that she might have some today. And, indeed, she had. Fresh herby pleasantness secured, Zara made her way back to her bench. Step one was to crush the mint leaves. That sounded like it should be easy. Leaves were not exactly known for their toughness. But one thing Zara had learnt already was that crushing always took longer than anticipated. Sure, she could bash a leaf. She could bruise it, damage it, make it pretty sad looking pretty quickly. But to actually get it down to a fine smush…. She would be here a while.

“What did you choose to make?” she asked her neighbour. They hadn’t been set partner work but as she was going to be here a while, it seemed like more fun to pass the time in conversation.

13 Zara Jackson, Teppenpaw Say no to sleekeazy's 1444 Zara Jackson, Teppenpaw 0 5

Felipe De Matteo

February 10, 2019 3:19 AM

Well, naturally. by Felipe De Matteo

Practical lesson was precisely the sort of lesson Felipe was interested in when it came to potions. Although he enjoyed the subject on a whole, he was less interested in the theory of potion making than in say the theory of defensive magic or the theory of transfiguration spells. It was helpful to know the theory of potions when it meant that more creations could be thought of, but he'd rather learn those tidbits through hands-on activities than reading. If he had to read another stinking book. . . .

He focused on the tiny woman's speech. He'd come to appreciate her kindness as it did at least seem genuine. He doubted he'd ever manage such an affect, but it was good to see that it was possible. She also looked a bit like him. Sonora seemed to be a fairly diverse school, but not hardly diverse enough. It was nice to see another face a few shades darker than the others, and another wash of black hair to match his own midnight brown.

When Professor Brooding revealed the list of their options for potions in today's lesson, Felipe stifled a sigh. The variety of languages around the room, several of which he was fluent in and several others he could speak bits of, couldn't make his choice any better: he had to choose the indigestion relief. It was the only one that was particularly helpful to others and his father would probably appreciate the choice. If there'd been an option for fertilizer or pesticide, he might've considered that instead. As it was, indigestion was going to have to go the way of his excitement.

Irritated at his own sour attitude, Felipe took a moment to consider who might be an interesting choice of table-mate as he collected his recipe and ingredients, choosing the Spanish for good measure. When he saw another face that was several shades darker than either his or Professor Brooding's, he approached neatly and took the place beside her. It all seemed a bit rude but honestly, Felipe was just pretty well done with sitting besides blondes.

When the girl turned to him and didn't even offer a sample of her last name, Felipe about died of relief. Finally, someone stinking normal.

"Indigestion relief," he replied. He noticed that they had several of the same ingredients and parroted the question back to her.

"Do you like potions much?" he asked when she had told him which she was making. Then, suddenly deciding that this conversation was going to inevitably become boring, Felipe decided to preempt any misfortune by asking something more interesting. "I've been admiring Sonora's landscape and architecture; it must hold a wealth of ingredients. Have you gotten to explore much?" He was loathe to comment on his own interests first but providing some context seemed polite. Now to just hope that this girl wouldn't be as dreadfully boring as the rest. He didn't even care if she was nice so long as she was interesting.

22 Felipe De Matteo Well, naturally. 1434 Felipe De Matteo 0 5

Zara

February 10, 2019 6:41 AM

Was that a deliberate pun? by Zara

“Same,” Zara smiled, when the boy next to her revealed he was working on indigestion relief. She’d noticed him around in classes. He stood out for the same reasons she did, being one of the very few non-white faces the school had to offer. It was pretty weird after growing up in a diverse neighbourhood to suddenly be in a situation where someone could probably refer to her as ‘the black girl’ or (if they actually fancied being accurate) ‘the biracial girl’ and literally, across the whole seven years of the school, people would know who they were talking about.

“Fresh mint?” she offered, holding out a spare sprig.

“It’s ok,” she replied about potions. “She’s nice,” she nodded towards Professor Brooding, who had scored a number of points for checking the most boxes of ‘not being an old white man’ of any of the professors who taught them. “I prefer things that are a little quicker though. Like, with Charms you kind of know if you got it right away or not. With potions… you can brew for an hour, and then it turns out, you screwed up right at step one, which is sort of frustrating.

“I… I guess I haven’t,” she replied, when he asked if she’d explored much, “I mean, I took a walk around the gardes the first weekend… I guess I got kind of busy with settling in. Y’know, adjusting to living away from home, and making sure I was doing my homework and writing to my parents enough,” and somehow, in settling in, she had got too settled. Got into the routine, filled her time with work, write, sleep, eat… “Maybe I should do some more,” she grinned, the gap between her front teeth prominent as she did so. Exploration sounded like just the thing to shake her out of her rut. It was something to actually get excited for. “You?” she asked, wondering whether he was an expert or currently in search of a companion.

13 Zara Was that a deliberate pun? 1444 Zara 0 5

Felipe

February 11, 2019 5:53 PM

I wish I was that clever. by Felipe

Felipe was surprised to be offered a mint leaf and appreciated the gesture Moreno than Zara probably realized. As interested as he was in agriculture, the exchange of biological materials was meaningful. Of course, it was also going to cure a stomachache if they did this right. He smiled and held up his own sprig, tapping them together in a mimicry of cheers.

He considered Professor Brooding in a new light when Zara apprised her. He managed to keep the frown off his face, but he just wasn't convinced just yet. "Is she really that nice?" he managed to ask, looking back at his classmate. "I wonder at people who are so chipper all the time."

"I agree," he added about the nature of brewing potions. "I like that you can work backwards though, too. If something goes wrong with charms, it's hard to know whether it's something that went wrong with the incantation, the motion, or if there was interference somewhere from inside the caster." He shrugged, leaving it at that. Perhaps he was too analytical. He hoped it didn't push people away, as that was hardly nice of him. He also couldn't relate to wanting things to move faster. Things that moved fast couldn't be halted. "That's good though, right? I have something to learn from you," he said, offering a smile.

Zara sounded very sensible. He appreciated that about her and listened to her talk as he began working on crushing his leaves and things. "I like to explore," he conceded. It was a topic that he was passionate about. "I like to find the sort of hidden places. The places like... like mi propio lugar," he said, giving into his Spanish. Another shrug. It was a phrase his mother used often. "Finding my own Place," he said.

22 Felipe I wish I was that clever. 1434 Felipe 0 5

Zara

February 12, 2019 7:48 AM

At least you're honest by Zara

“Coming from the ‘nice’ house I officially have to be appalled at your cynicism,” Zara teased, the wide grin that continued to play across her mouth making it clear that she was joking. “Ok… so, realistically, no - no one is happy or chipper or whatever all the time,” she added, giving his comment some serious appraisal. Zara did enjoy a good chit chat, and much as she loved Johana-Leonie, she did find that she was building up excesses of words that needed to be let out to people who they weren’t going to overwhelm. “But it doesn’t mean it’s fake when it is out there. And nice is different to chipper. You can be as chipper as a chipmunk chipping chips and still be a grade-a ass of a human being. She tries. Look at all the multilingual everything. Actions speak louder than words, and that’s niceness.

“That’s true,” she acknowledged, when he made the point about working backwards, “I mean, nine times out of ten, it actually blows up in your face as soon as you get it wrong, and that’s a pretty big clue - or, like, something less dramatic but pretty obvious, like going the wrong colour. It’s just a bummer when that happens. I think I’d have more fun with that kind of puzzle and problem solving though - like, getting a bunch of messed up potions and trying to work out where it went wrong. Though maybe that’d just be a bunch of looking up common errors in a book,” she mused. Still, how and why things went wrong was at least as interesting as trying to make them go right.

“I think it sounds more like I have something to learn from you. Namely patience,” she shrugged, not quite sure what marvelous insight she had offered with her getting bored by things that took too long.

She considered the idea he expressed, about finding his own place. That resonated with her. School had been that. Doing something different, forging her own path. But… well, now she was here. She was here, and so was everyone else, and it belonged to them just as much as her. Moreso, in some ways, when they were older… It was nice to have people she knew around, and she was super grateful that Kir was always on standby to stop her getting lost but… Teppenpaw had been his home before hers. Ness had even referred to her as being in Kir’s house. And the library felt like Ness’ place. She had come on a voyage of discovery to school and now… well, now she had discovered it, and she needed something new.

“I’d like one of those too,” she decided. She would definitely spend some time looking. Though she liked the idea of spending time looking with a friend too. “Does it defeat the purpose of searching for our own places if I ask whether we can go exploring together at the weekend?” she asked.

13 Zara At least you're honest 1444 Zara 0 5

Felipe De Matteo

February 12, 2019 11:25 PM

I'm very policy-driven. by Felipe De Matteo

Felipe nodded, keeping a smile to himself as he looked down at his work. He enjoyed listening to Zara talk and appreciated her humor. When she decided that Professor Brooding's niceness was sincere on the inside at the very least, he acquiesced. "That's true." He considered the ingredients labeled in Spanish on his desk and knew Zara was right.

He also agreed about undoing potions and wondered if that would be something they'd ever get to do. "At home, my father would sometimes try to work backwards from potions to figure out what was harming the wildlife, the agriculture, or the residents nearby. Even the workers. I haven't learned how yet, but I think that would be a good challenge," he said. "He might use books, but I know sometimes he'll get little drops from the samples of different potions he's been working with and try them out on leaves or mix them with other potions to figure out what the reaction is." Felipe was proud that his father was so smart, but knew the man wouldn't appreciate being boasted of with too much pride, so Felipe kept his chest from puffing too much and simply smiled instead. It was a closed smile, the sort reserved for emotions other than joy.

When Zara suggested that Felipe was patient, he had to laugh. "I'm sure that my family would not agree that I'm patient," he said. That wasn't to say he thought Zara was wrong, of course. He did indeed think he was patient. But it would've been rude to say so. When she turned the conversation into wondering if he'd explore with her, Felipe looked up at her face to search for anything he could find.

"You'd want to explore with me?" he asked, truly surprised. His sister was the only other child he spent much time around, and she certainly wasn't interested in his adventures. Of course, they mostly ended with him drawing, painting, planning, reading, or something else equally relaxing and appropriate for his status. Leonor was much more interested in the sort of adventure that took her into the towns and away from home. Felipe's place was home.

Now, however, Felipe was not at home. He might never really be home again in the same sense, and the idea of maybe making a friend that was a decent person almost sounded too good to be true. He was supposed to be the nice one, why hadn't he thought to properly invite her first?

"I think that your place is much more important if it's someplace you share," he said carefully. "It's nice to have your own place that's just yours, but when la alma of a friend is there, it's better. That's much more special, to share your place." He hadn't meant to say so much and realized with some embarrassment that he hadn't even answered her question. "Would you like to go Saturday morning?"

22 Felipe De Matteo I'm very policy-driven. 1434 Felipe De Matteo 0 5

Zara

February 13, 2019 7:38 AM

What's your policy on adventures? by Zara

“That sounds cool,” Zara commented, when Felipe talked about his father working on Potions sample. Not a Muggleborn then. That didn’t matter to Zara in the way it Mattered to certain Purebloods but anyone who said race was irrelevant was pretty naive. Race informed interactions and was part of people’s identity. Anyone who said it didn’t matter had probably never had theirs thrown in their face. So, Felipe clearly came from a magical family. But apparently not one so far up its own backside that he felt he was above speaking to her.

“You like exploring, I like exploring - so far, you don’t seem to be telling me I talk too much, so yeah, I want to explore with you - why wouldn’t I?” The question structure was such that it could be taken as rhetorical if desired, as that question so often was, but it was asked with enough genuine curiosity that Felipe could venture an answer if he had one.

“I would like that very much,” she agreed, glad that he wanted to share special places. It might have been cool to have their own secret bases, and to try to find each other’s. Maybe they could do that too… But having a hangout space sounded nice.

“Hey look, crushed,” she added, holding out her mint leaves for inspection. “What’s next? I guess one advantage of doing the same but not working together is we can compare as we go, try to catch our mistakes.”

13 Zara What's your policy on adventures? 1444 Zara 0 5

Felipe De Matteo

February 14, 2019 3:27 PM

That they should never end. by Felipe De Matteo

Felipe agreed that it was quite cool what his father did. However, he could not be so enthusiastic about Zara's question. He treated it as rhetorical and did not answer. He was very important, very well-educated, very wealthy . . . and not very good company. The very fact that he was a De Matteo was reason enough for most people not to talk to him, and the fact that he was one of the least friendly of the bunch was another.

Felipe was sensible, the way an heir should be. However, he was hardly kind, the way a De Matteo should be. The question, while likely light-hearted, struck a cord for Felipe, and he merely offered a civil smile as he turned his attention back to his leaf-smashing.

When Zara said she'd like to find special places with him, the smile became warmer and his heart became lighter. Perhaps he wasn't totally awful at the interpersonal side of things. They had plans, now, and he was determined to give Zara no reason to change her mind. He wondered if that was self-serving, but pushed the thought aside. It was, if he was lucky, friendship.

"That looks great," Felipe said, admiring Zara's crushed mint leaves. When he looked down at his own, he realized his frustrations had not been entirely directed inward, as he'd managed to completely pulp his own leaves as well. He peered at the directions for the potion for a moment. "Dittany," he read to her. "And then fluxweed. Do you have those already?" he asked, gesturing to the table.

22 Felipe De Matteo That they should never end. 1434 Felipe De Matteo 0 5

Evelyn Stones, Pecari

February 14, 2019 3:42 PM

Shall we? [Tag Julius.] by Evelyn Stones, Pecari

Evelyn was not a particular fan of Professor Brooding's, but suddenly found herself liking the woman more when hair dye was added to the list of options for the day. Evelyn was pretty good at brewing potions, and confident she could have managed some of the others on the board, but if she could make a hair dye . . . the idea had never come to her before and now she wondered whether it would be allowed. She supposed she could make the dye now, and ask if she could use it later on. She could also just go for it, and find out the hard way. She was sure Professor Skies would be able to un-magic her hair back to it's natural white-blonde.

Collecting the necessary scroll - including a copy in Russian since she really was curious now - and the ingredients, Evelyn took a spot at the table beside Julius. They hadn't hardly spoken since the new school year and their summer communications had been minimal. He looked . . . good? He looked like Julius. That was more than she could say about Malikhi though. She glanced over at her Pecari friend before stifling the sadness in her chest and returning to the task at hand.

"Hello, friend," she said to Julius. "Mind if I work here?" Her things were already out and it was quite clear that she was sure he'd not mind. "It's so good to see you.
Mind if I hug you?" she added. A year ago, she might've just hugged him without asking first, but now she knew better. It was further proof that Ness was good for her.
"Since I didn't get to say hi properly yet," she explained.

22 Evelyn Stones, Pecari Shall we? [Tag Julius.] 1422 Evelyn Stones, Pecari 0 5

Zara

February 17, 2019 8:17 AM

Hmm... Do they involve nap segments? by Zara

Felipe didn’t offer an answer as to why someone would not want to walk the gardens with him. Zara’s mind whirred, trying to generate possibilities, and came up with three.

Option one - people are racist jerks. Given that Felipe spoke with an American accent, she assumed him to be a US citizen. And people could really be racist jerks. But she doubted anyone would assume she would be one because… well, her face.

Option two - a broader version of option one, he had been bullied in some way was used to people not liking him for some reason. The way he carried himself didn’t exactly suggest it was a lack of self-confidence behind his remark though.

Option three - he had a dark and terrible secret, and one that he half expected her to already know. Well, seeing as it couldn’t be one or two, that had to be it. How mysterious and exciting, even if it turned out to be entirely within her own imagination.

For now though, he didn’t want to talk about it, and she wasn’t going to pry.

“Sure, everything except fresh mint should be in here,” she added, when he asked about ingredients, sliding across her potions kit so that he could share.

“So, what’s your best discovery about school so far?” she asked, “Mine is that the jelly at breakfast changes flavour depending on what you ask the pot for.”

13 Zara Hmm... Do they involve nap segments? 1444 Zara 0 5

Julius Astley, Crotalus

February 18, 2019 10:39 AM

We shall. by Julius Astley, Crotalus

Julius always looked forward to his potions lessons. He found Professor Brooding to be somewhat too cheerful and positive but her lessons were always interesting and practical. Julius liked practical, he liked making things that would benefit him in some way. He considered the options listed on the chalkboard at the front of classroom and a frown pulled at his features. He certainly wouldn't have any use for broom polish - he didn't own a broom nor did he have any interest in owning one. Quidditch was a sport for fools. Sleekeazy hair potion and hair dye was also out. His hair didn't require any help to look as perfect as it did. At the words of 'indigestion relief', Julius pulled a face. He certainly didn't have any issues in that regard. What on earth would he need a cleaning solution for? Julius didn't clean. That's what house elves were for.

He sat and mentally discarded many options, growing steadily irritated the further down the list he went. Was there nothing on this list that would be of any use to him? He was just about to settle on brewing the Antidote to Common Poisons - while he already knew how to do and had some in his possession, one could never have enough to guard against the risk of being poisoned - when his eyes landed on the words 'Sleeping Remedy'. This gave him pause.

Since returning to Sonora, Julius had not been sleeping as well as he would've liked (not that he was letting it show, he had an image to uphold). He was a busy young man, what with being the editor of the Aronos and making sure all his homework was done on time. He was also still adjusting to being away from his two sisters and his mother again, something that he had gotten used to over the summer. He missed Aurelia's piano playing desperately and reading a book in the library didn't feel right without Aelia sprawled on the floor, drawing pictures. Perhaps a sleeping remedy would help improve his sleep?

He was just about to leave his seat to go and grab the necessary ingredients when none other than Evelyn Stones greeted him. He blinked in confusion, wondering why she had asked such a question - her things were already scattered across the surface of the desk, it was clear that she probably wasn't going to move even if he did mind. Which he didn't. She was a strange character, to be sure and Julius didn't particularly understand her but he didn't mind her. "I don't mind," he confirmed for her.

Her next question confused him further. Would he mind if she hugged him? Why on earth would she want to do a thing like that? Julius didn't do hugging, unless it was with his sisters or his mother. Everybody else generally received handshakes. He hadn't forgotten the time last year in Herbology, where she'd put her hand on his shoulder. That memory only helped to confuse him further - she hadn't asked then, she'd just done it. Why was she asking now and what was the correct response? If he said no, would she be offended? Julius wasn't even sure if he wanted to say no. They were friends. Didn't friends hug? Was there a book he could read on this sort of thing?

He cleared his throat awkwardly before nodding, "Sure. You can hug me."

20 Julius Astley, Crotalus We shall. 1425 Julius Astley, Crotalus 0 5

Allegra Brockert, Crotalus

February 19, 2019 4:41 PM

Indecisive (Tag Katerina) by Allegra Brockert, Crotalus

Even though Allegra was no longer a first year, and school wasn't new to her like it had been last year, she was still nervous about second year classes. Not because being in the older age group in a class would make her have to look like an example or because the work would sometimes be harder- though those things did not help-it was the fact that two of her friends were now in a different class and if Allegra worked with people who weren't proper members of society, said friends would get mad at her and probably not want to be friends with her anymore.

And one of the other few people that was considered acceptable to work with was Topaz. Something the Crotalus did not want to do in the least. As for the first years, she didn't know them, didn't know who was okay to work with in either the "socially acceptable" sense or the "nice person who will not hurt me" sense though in the latter case, the Teppenpaws were probably a reasonably safe choice.

That really only left Katerina to work with. Allegra generally didn't mind working with the other second year, she actually somewhat preferred it-especially if the alternative was her cousin-but sometimes the Teppenpaw was already working with someone else. However, whereas last year, in that case, Allegra could work with Caitlin or Sylvia, this year she didn't have that option. This time, she'd taken care to sit next to the other second year.

Professor Brooding began class and the Crotalus looked at the list on the board. What would be the most useful to her? Obviously, she didn't need broom polish, now that she was a second year and didn't have to take flying lessons anymore, Allegra didn't care if she ever got on a broom again. In fact, she'd be quite happy if she didn't.

Nor did she have any desire to dye her hair. She'd look weird with blond or red hair and unnatural colors were...ridiculous. Besides, she'd probably get kicked out of Gardenia Girls and have no friends since they were supposed to look pretty and presentable. Weird hair colors were neither.

So that left indigestion potion and cleaning solution. Either of those could be valuable. Allegra usually had house elves to clean up for her but she was at school right now and could not afford to look messy. As for indigestion potion, well, she might need that if Topaz decided to spike her food with something.

She didn't know what to do. She turned to Katerina and asked "Would you like to work together?" Maybe the other girl had an idea for what she planned to do and then Allegra wouldn't have to choose. Even if it was one of the ideas she really wasn't interested in herself.

11 Allegra Brockert, Crotalus Indecisive (Tag Katerina) 1426 Allegra Brockert, Crotalus 0 5

Katerina Vorontsov, Teppenpaw

February 21, 2019 2:48 PM

Being practical. by Katerina Vorontsov, Teppenpaw

Katerina smiled at Professor Brooding in her customary manner when she walked into Potions, but she noticed the difference in the professor’s customary dress style immediately and was wary of it. Professor Brooding was, she thought, built along similar lines to a proper Russian lady – if she was not brilliantly arrayed from top to bottom, there was almost certainly a good reason for it.

She read the board, forcing her eyes to move from one language to another. She didn’t read Chinese at all, but she recognized it, and worked through words in German and French, but was thrown by the end of the list. It almost looked like Russian…but wasn’t. For one thing, she was used to how Professor Brooding seemed to write Russian words. For another thing, she could see words in Russian and read them clearly. The letters seemed slightly off, but she could almost read them – they just didn’t make words she knew. Was it Ukrainian or Bulgarian or something along those lines?

Professor Brooding did not comment on the new language, but since she kept her speech short and clear, Katya decided that there were larger things to concentrate on in her evaluation of today’s class. She read over the list as she started taking out her safety items – ribbons to tie her hair back and her sleeves up, gloves for her hands – and smiled when Allegra asked if she would like to work together.

“This would be nice,” she said. She thought about the potions. Hair dye would, she thought, be simple – she had read of groups which dyed their hair, albeit badly, with simple herbs, so a potion dye would presumably keep it in place longer, or intensify the color, or perhaps make it look more natural. “I thought cleaning solution is good. It is good if we get stains,” she said, glancing down at her robes. The color was good for hiding many kinds of stains, but it was best not to let them set, and sometimes things showed up even on the green robes. “Do you like that?”

16 Katerina Vorontsov, Teppenpaw Being practical. 1418 Katerina Vorontsov, Teppenpaw 0 5

Evelyn Stones

February 24, 2019 5:21 PM

We shall hug! by Evelyn Stones

Evelyn smiled, glad to have the chance to hug her friend. She'd hug most people if she had the chance, but especially people who were her size and not scary. Julius was perfect for that. She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug and his response was...odd. Why was he so awkward about this?

"We'll have to practice that," she said, smirking playfully at him. "I get the feeling you don't hug people much? You're nice to hug," she added, afraid that she'd hurt his feelings. "I won't do that again if you don't want."

Not wanting to put him on the spot, and not minding either way whether he preferred or dispreferred future hugs, Evelyn turned to her ingredients. "It's so good to see you. How was your summer?"

It was such a banal topic that Evelyn almost regretted asking. At the same time, she knew that Julius was most comfortable with pleasantries and etiquette, a skill that she had learned (and rarely used) well enough to pull out when needed.

She considered his face and hair and everything. She really looked at him, letting her green eyes find everything there was to find in Julius Astley. there wasn't much he wanted people to find, it seemed, but there was much to be found regardless. He was dark, and she wondered how much of that was from the color of his hair and eyes, and how much of it was coming from the inside.

"You're taller," Evelyn said finally.

22 Evelyn Stones We shall hug! 1422 Evelyn Stones 0 5

Julius Astley

February 24, 2019 5:42 PM

Hugging is strange... but kind of nice? by Julius Astley

Julius was not one for hugs, either giving or receiving them. Therefore, when he felt Evelyn's arms slip round him, he wasn't quite sure what to do so he settled for an awkward pat on the back and tried not to think too much about his hugging inexperience. Of course, Evelyn then pointed out that it seemed like something they need to work on and Julius tried desperately not to blush.

"It's okay," he muttered and scratched the back of his neck, a nervous habit. He was nice to hug? "I only really hug my sisters and they are... smaller than you. It's different."

This felt like too much information to be sharing with Evelyn and he was glad when she moved into safer territory. Tedious conversation was something Julius was familiar with. It was a comfort zone and the reply came easily to him, practiced and polished, almost sounding rehearsed. "My summer was pleasant, thank you. My family and I spent a couple a weeks in one of our villas in St-Guilhem-le-Désert in France."

What he didn't say is just how much he enjoyed the holiday. St-Guilhem-le-Désert was one of Julius' favourite places, full of medieval history and buildings that had stood the test of Time. He had spent much of his time wandering through the village with his nose in a history book and exploring the local abbey, which had been of great interest to him. This was far too much personal information to share though, so he kept it to himself.

"How was yours?" he asked. It was always polite to show equal interest in the other person's life.

The moment of comfortable conversation was over when Evelyn pointed out that he was taller. Julius hadn't really paid much attention to such things - most of the clothes that he wore were made and tailored specially so his own measurements were something of a mystery to him. He wasn't really sure how to reply to such a blunt comment and looked awkwardly down at himself, finding a sudden interest in his polished shoes.

"Thank you?" he tried in the end. He really needed to write a letter home. Conversations at Sonora always seemed to throw such curve balls at him and he didn't know how to field them. He needed his mother's advice and input. He lifted his eyes to look at Evelyn. She seemed to be much the same but that, somehow, seemed rude to say. "You look... nice."

20 Julius Astley Hugging is strange... but kind of nice? 1425 Julius Astley 0 5

Evelyn Stones

February 28, 2019 1:48 AM

Like me! by Evelyn Stones

"Ooh, France!" Evelyn burst, excited at the prospect. "I'd love to travel. Tell me about it! It must be beautiful, right? What's your favorite part? I think I'd like to be anywhere in the world if I had a good book, but I'd imagine sitting in France, in a villa reading any book would be pretty amazing." She smiled encouragingly and hoped he'd talk more about his adventures. Adventures were the best things to talk about.

"Mine was alright," she said honestly. "I have a baby brother now," she added by way of explanation. It wouldn't do to say too much on that subject, and this was suitably ambiguous. "His name is Charles James, but we call him CJ. He's full of magic." She was proud of CJ and happy to see that he'd have an easier go of things than she had. She hated the resentful note that crept into her stomach -- and possibly her voice -- when she spoke of it though. CJ's life would be nothing like hers; he hardly had the same parents even.

When Julius seemed embarrassed by Evelyn's comment, she felt bad. She'd only meant it as an observation, and maybe a compliment, but certainly not as something to make him uncomfortable. When he responded with something that was definitely a compliment, she blushed. Was that just his civil upbringing that made him say she looked nice? Did she really look nice?

"Thank you," she murmured softly, smiling a little. She was uncharacteristically quiet as she considered him for another moment and then turned to her ingredients, chopping the first thing she recognized on her list of things to chop. "You, uh . . . you do too."

22 Evelyn Stones Like me! 1422 Evelyn Stones 0 5

Felipe De Matteo

February 28, 2019 1:56 AM

Naps are mandatory. by Felipe De Matteo

Zara looked very much like she was thinking, which made her dozens of times better than any of the other ninnnies he'd met at Sonora so far. Okay, they weren't all morons, but they certainly didn't hold water compared to his tutors and those he socialized with at home. Granted, there weren't many and they were mostly well-educated adults . . . perhaps some of these ninnies would became nannies and gain something interesting to talk about someday. For now, he preferred Zara's company.

"Thank you," he replied, grateful for her sharing her potions kit. He had his own, which made it even kinder. She wasn't sharing her kit because he needed her help; she was sharing her kit because it was the nice thing to do. He was gaining further reasons to support her Teppenpaw sorting and decided she was probably exactly the sort of person his father would want him to spend time around. That thought almost turned him off any developing friendship, but her next comments made him push that temptation aside.

"I love jams and things," he admitted quietly. "My mom always makes different ones from the crops every year so we can give them out to people, and hot jam fresh on the spoon is my favorite." A blush colored his cheeks, as he had not meant to say anything like that. "I think my best discovery is that people like you are here," he said, turning his tone. It was sincere at least. She really was a Sonoran treasure. "And also that the elves know some card games."

22 Felipe De Matteo Naps are mandatory. 1434 Felipe De Matteo 0 5

Zara

February 28, 2019 6:08 AM

Fully on board then by Zara

“Yum. What flavours does she do?” asked Zara, when Felipe mentioned his mother making jam. The sentence intrigued her… The image of Mama Felipe making jam and letting her kid lick the spoon was super wholesome and cute. But he had mentioned crops. Like ‘we have crops.’ Who in the heck had crops? That sounded… kinda extra. She decided to focus on the ‘mmm, jam’ part because that was way more relatable.

She side-eyed him when he called her the best part of Sonora so far, wondering if he was for real. He didn’t seem to be joking though.

"Thanks," she offered simply. She wasn’t sure what she’d done that was so bowl-him-over awesome. Her eyes lingered a second on the Crotalus badge and she found a small smile creeping onto her face.

“Not many adventure buddies in your own house?” she hazarded a guess. “And that’s cool about the elves,” she added with a laugh, really enjoying the mental picture he’d given her, “I’m picturing like… some super seedy, smoky room with you and the elves playing high stakes poker. All super secret, underground stuff, and one guy keeping a lookout in case the staff come by. At which point, you know they can pop-snap right out of the room and just leave you with all the incriminating evidence, right? You’d better watch how you go.”

13 Zara Fully on board then 1444 Zara 0 5

Felipe De Matteo

February 28, 2019 9:46 PM

Let the onboarding begin! by Felipe De Matteo

Felipe thought that Zara's question was very important. What flavors didn't his mother do? "It depends on the season," he explained. "She usually makes jam from whatever fruit we have. She makes a lot of salsa, too. We have mangoes a lot and she makes sort of a mango jam, sauce stuff. When the citrus crops are ready, she makes a lot of orange and lime jams, and some lemon spreads. Apricot jam is a big one, too, and apple jam," he listed, mouth watering at the thought. "It really depends on which crops have come in. My family--" Felipe paused. He had very nearly said something about the family estate, and realized that that was horribly pompous. If it had been a Mordue he was speaking with, he might've been happy to say such a thing. But with Zara? She was too real for such nonsense.

"My family lives in a big agricultural area," he explained. "Most of the people in our village and the surrounding areas have farms, including ourselves."

Felipe blinked at the description of what Zara imagined with him and an elf playing cards, and then laughed aloud. It was rare that something struck him as so funny. "Not many adventure buddies indeed," he said. "And none with your imagination." He chuckled to himself. "Me agarraste en curva," he said quietly. "I didn't expect that. Have you spent a lot of time in seedy, smoky rooms?"

22 Felipe De Matteo Let the onboarding begin! 1434 Felipe De Matteo 0 5

Topaz Brockert, Aladren

March 04, 2019 8:41 PM

I don't think we have the same view of practicality by Topaz Brockert, Aladren

Potions in general was a subject that Topaz adored even though she found Professor Brooding way too perky and cheerful for her liking. However, she had to admit that she found the fact that the professor knew so many languages somewhat admirable. Of course, that was assuming she actually knew them and wasn't just looking up the translations. And the fact that she was coddling the foreign students sort of annoyed Topaz. After all, they were the ones who chose to come to an English speaking school, that meant they should learn English .

Professor Brooding began the lesson and, at first, it looked good. After all, it made more sense to do things in class that had a practical purpose....though Topaz often did things because she could .

Then she looked over the list and resisted the urge to frown. Literally none of these potions where things that she needed. She didn't need broom polish because she did not usually ride a broom, as they were mostly a sport thing and sports were beneath her. Her hair did not need sleekeazy and she certainly wasn't about to dye it. Topaz didn't need cleaning solutions because cleaning was for house-elves and beneath someone of her intellectual abilities. As for indigestion potion....well, quite frankly the second year would rather give someone indigestion than cure them of it. That was more fun.

There was a sleeping potion, which did have possibilities, as she could try to find a way to dose Ness or the Pecaris with it so they'd be asleep and therefore less annoying.

It was just too bad that she couldn't do something that was more...advanced. There were some really good potions out there that would be so much fun! Like a Befuddlement Draught, so people would be reckless and confused. Of course, some people were already but again, a fun thing to do to her roommate. Or she could brew up a Beautification Potion. Normally not something Topaz would be interested in but there was a half-veela around and it would be interesting to see what that effect would have on someone who already had such powers-and of course, it's effect on the male population of Sonora.

But then she noticed the pet shampoo. Now Topaz didn't have pets per se but she did have to clean animals in order to do taxidermy and it was never anything she trusted the house-elves to do correctly.

And maybe she could...get someone to drink it somehow. Yeah, that would be fun.

Topaz set off to work. Since Allegra and Katerina seemed to already be working together, she decided to work by herself. Honestly, she didn't understand why her cousin never wanted to work with her. After all, she was utterly brilliant, shouldn't Allegra see what working with Topaz would do for her grades? Oh well, her loss.

11 Topaz Brockert, Aladren I don't think we have the same view of practicality 1427 Topaz Brockert, Aladren 0 5

Jessica Hayles, Crotalus

March 05, 2019 6:50 PM

There are many ways to look at it. by Jessica Hayles, Crotalus

Autumn deepens – or seems to fall
Thanks to the enchantment around my prison walls.
I close my eyes and try to imagine the open air
And let my mind, at least, roam freely there.

October was usually when the weather began to cool down at home, but usually not to the extent Sonora seemed to have done. Jessica did not know much about the weather in Arizona, but she assumed this effect was due to the enchantments the brochure said gave the school and its immediate environment the same weather as Ireland. To her, bred in the South, it just seemed unnaturally cold, as though she had fallen into the forest in Beauty and the Beast.

At least, she thought, with an attempt at humor, it helped the staff keep up the landscaping. Everything was very lush and green. All very pretty. Until she thought too much about how there was no way out.

It had been a month, and she had become sufficiently accustomed to her entombment here that she had started forcing herself to notice bright sides. She had, after all, always wondered what seasons other than ‘hot’ and ‘grey’ would be like. Of course, she had hoped to find out in New England, at a good prep school, but – well, at least she would know now. And she was unhappy all the time, which meant she was writing far more than usual, which meant she would improve more rapidly than she might have done otherwise. Poetry, after all, was not really something that could be taught – or at least, she had learned most of what one could from her language arts classes before she’d been placed here. The rest was just doing it over and over again until something good came out. And while she assumed there was some kind of surveillance on them at all times, just to make double-sure, along with the desert, that none of them managed to escape, at least it wasn’t quite as obvious as she thought it would be in a real prison or residential medical facility – there weren’t visible guards watching and dictating her every move, so she could at least decide whether to turn left or right on her own when she wandered around the grounds just to get away from it all. As long as she didn’t think too much about how depressing it was to get a thrill from choosing to turn right or left, she sometimes even felt better after her walks.

She refused, in the pursuit of yet another tiny thrill, to eat a full lunch unless she was absolutely starving, so she did not feel very weighed down as she settled into the Potions laboratory. Between the fact she had gulped down a peanut butter sandwich and the fact the lab was one of the spaces at Sonora where she felt most comfortable, she was in fact in about as a good a mood as she had been in over a month, though slightly sorry to see Professor Brooding looking so severe. Admiring Professor Brooding’s beautiful Victorianesque outfits was another pleasure of this class, along with not feeling ridiculous and thinking she might actually learn something that could be turned into money. Today, though, she looked all harsh and drab.

Jessica had to smother a laugh when she was informed that they made potions for reasons. I never would have guessed, she thought sarcastically. Everything that was done was done for some reason, after all. Jessica’s father had to deal with people who said cosmetics and skincare were without purpose, but women used them for reasons – to look better, to feel better, to get a promotion or a date or to prove a point or, in the case of skincare, to prevent skin cancer, or discomfort from dry skin, and so forth. Jessica herself maintained her skincare routine and painted her nails and curled her hair and spritzed on scent every day mainly for the reason that these things made her feel normal, made her feel she still had some tiny little slivers of control over her life and made her feel closer to her family. Eighty percent of what they did in the ‘classes’ did not feel like it happened for a reason, but the thing she liked about Potions was that it was impossible to imagine doing it for no reason.

As the list of things they could do appeared on the board, however, the expression in her brown eyes faded from amusement to interest and then concentration. Hair. It wasn’t her family’s specialty at all, but this was still something from within her world. Sleekeazy…stupid commercial spelling, name that implied things. Sleek – that would involve…what? Damage repair or concealment? Was it a treatment or a styling product?

Unfortunately, she couldn’t read any of the languages on the board, at least not well – she could recognize French at a distance, but it was far enough removed from Spanish that she thought she’d have little chance of following work directions in it. Since English was a proper option, however, she couldn’t show off without making an effort to let it be known she wanted to show off, and instead got to work sweeping her hair back in a velvet scrunchie and putting on gloves. As she pulled one on, her pen rolled across her desk and into another girl’s space.

“Oops,” said Jessica, reaching out and taking it back. “Sorry about that.” She smiled briefly. She had a feeling that Professor Skies was the kind who would regard Jessica being social as an important thing to consider when evaluating whether Jessica was getting better, so while she was going to make what she was going to make, she knew she should go through the motions of sociability and so added, “I don’t think we’ve met – I’m Jessica, I’m new here.”

16 Jessica Hayles, Crotalus There are many ways to look at it. 1442 Jessica Hayles, Crotalus 0 5

Allegra

March 11, 2019 4:18 AM

Being...accomodating? by Allegra

Allegra returned the Teppenpaw's smile as Katerina agreed to work with her. True, she could have worked alone but it would be nice to get to know the other second year better. She nodded in agreement. "Yes, it was one I was considering. It seems like the one I can find the most uses for."

Well, that or the indigestion potion. In all honesty, Allegra would have really liked to have warned Katerina about her cousin, however if Topaz found out that she'd done such a thing, it would be Very Bad for her. Plus, she wasn't sure the other Gardenia Girls wouldn't take Topaz's side because Allegra was the one speaking against one of them.

Of course, it was unlikely that her cousin would torment Katerina, considering that the Teppenpaw was a member of society. Topaz got away with most things but Uncle Zeke and Aunt Opal would be none too pleased if she caused an issue with others of their social standing. Plus, the Aladren had a roommate she despised and was probably more interested in torturing than she was Katerina. That made Allegra feel less overall guilty. She-even though she knew she wasn't supposed to-did feel a bit of pity of Nessa McLeod. It didn't matter who it was, the Crotalus was going to have pity for anyone who had to share a room with Topaz.

She opened up her Potions book and looked at the recipe, then checked her kit. "Do you have lemon juice? I have the rose petals." Allegra figured those were supposed to help things smell prettier on top of it. "I can crush those if you want to crush the moonstone. Or I could do the moonstone and you could do the rose petals if you prefer." For someone who was a a non-Teppenpaw,an oldest child, and a Brockert, the second year seemed to be very lousy at taking control and bossing others around. This was likely a side effect of dealing with Topaz. It seemed most things were.

Besides, Allegra really wanted Katerina to like her and telling her what to do was not the way to go about that.

11 Allegra Being...accomodating? 1426 Allegra 0 5

Katerina

March 20, 2019 8:28 PM

Doing likewise. by Katerina

“I do,” said Katerina of lemon juice, wondering idly what would happen if one put in fresh-pressed juice instead of some bought from the apothecary. She did not have the time or, frankly, interest in possibly looking foolish to try it, but she knew that fresh lemon dishes were better than those made with preserved juices; lemons did not grow where she lived, of course, so the lemons were never really fresh, but they had them imported when they were in season in the warm areas where they did grow and had them less at other times of the year.

Katerina nodded as Allegra spoke, going through the other girl’s suggestions to check that she understood what they meant as quickly as she could. She knew that she was hampered socially by this need, and by the limits on her responses that language created – a curse on Tatiana and Papa for causing her to end up here; in Russia, she was sure, she would have been much further ahead by now – and did not want to call further attention to her deficiency by asking for clarification or worse – guessing and finding out later that she had guessed wrong and had made some reply that Allegra regarded as utterly nonsensical or irrelevant to the question.

“I will crush moonstone,” she said, assuming that the suggestion Allegra had made first was the one which reflected the other girl’s preferences. Dried rose petals were easier to crush than moonstones, and though Katya would have to put considerable back into it, she thought she could. She did not think she would ever be a big, strong Russian girl, at least in figure, but she was careful with her diet and exercise, at least as far as she could be under the rigors of boarding school life and while not always knowing exactly what the contents of the available foodstuffs were. She enjoyed swimming, often with her sister, here, and that took strong arms. She thought she could manage the moonstone.

“This potion, it is made of pretty things,” she commented as she got out her mortar and pestle to address that task. Pretty wasn’t quite the right word for lemons, though they did have a lovely color, but there was blasted English again. "I have the moonstone in one bracelet. You do have any?"

16 Katerina Doing likewise. 1418 Katerina 0 5