A Welcome State of Peace [Advanced Students] on Potions

Mary Brooding

March 07, 2019 7:48 PM

A Welcome State of Peace [Advanced Students] by Mary Brooding

If Mary was being honest, she might've selected the day's lesson as much for herself as for her students. With the upcoming exams and gradations on their minds, and a wedding, Dorian, and everything else on hers, there was no dearth of stressed out Sonoran residents. Beyond that, Mary suspected Tabitha would like something to take the edge off everything, and Mary would like it to be something a little less harmful than firewhiskey. Everyone could use some relaxation.

With the introduction of Mr. Row to the staff, Mary was confident that some of the students' academic stressors could be manage, but there was hardly any comfort in that for those whose issues extended far beyond the classroom. As a result, Mary had decided that today would be a good day for her students to relax a bit.

As they made their way into the room, the advanced students were probably surprised to find that the entirety of the potions classroom had been redone for the day. Instead of their usual standing desks, students were greeted by low, plush cushions, soft blankets (charmed to be fireproof, of course), and cauldrons on the floor. The lights in the room weren't quite dimmed, again, for safety, but there was something more soothing about them than usual. This effect was courtesy of the diffused lantern shades pulled over most of them. The room felt perfectly suitable for a relaxing evening and the presence of lemon water and squares of cake made it even more so.

"The most important thing anyone can ever teach you," Mary began as her students took their seats, "is that you matter. And I hope to high heavens that you've realized you're the best teacher on that subject.

Today's lesson will be focused on self-care and the idea that it is important to take care of yourself. I wanted to make sure you could do so in a relaxing environment; please let me know if you're uncomfortable with these surroundings at all and I'll do what I can to mediate that for your work area. Furthermore, the odds of you always having a fully stocked potion lab upon graduation are slim. It is good to become used to brewing potions in more typical environments, while remaining mindful of safety protocol."

Turning, she allowed her hand to drift in front of the chalk board and reveal the day's lesson: the draft of peace. The steps appeared there, as well as on the usual scrolls that Mary prepared for her students and that were available at each work station. Multilingual textbooks and ingredients were available, as per usual, and Mary didn't waste her advanced students time in saying so, simply gesturing to the front of the room.

"Take what you need, ask what you'd like, and enjoy your time today, class," she said. "I'll take a sample from each of your potions for grading and I'll give you a small vial of my own preparation of the draft in return. I'd like you to benefit from the potion." She hated to think of the dangers of allowing stressed students to drink their own stress-made peace drafts, and preferred to use her own concoctions.

OOC - This one actually has a recipe!

1. Add powdered moonstone until the potion turns green.
2. Stir until the potion turns blue.
3. Add powdered moonstone until the potion turns purple.
4. Allow to simmer until the potion turns pink.
5. Add syrup of hellebore until the potion turns turquoise.
6. Allow to simmer until the potion turns purple.
7. Shake powdered porcupine quills vigorously until they are ready and then add until the potion turns red.
8. Stir until the potion turns orange.
9. Add more porcupine quills until the potion turns turquoise.
10. Allow to simmer till the potion turns purple.
11. Add powdered unicorn horn until the potion turns pink.
12. Stir until the potion turns red.
13. Allow to simmer until the potion turns purple.
14. Add more powdered moonstone until the potion turns grey.
15. Allow the potion to simmer until it turns orange.
16. Add more powdered porcupine quills until the potion turns white. Stirring
17. Simmering lowers heat. Add exactly 7 drops of hellebore.

22 Mary Brooding A Welcome State of Peace [Advanced Students] 1424 Mary Brooding 1 5

Amelia Layne, Aladren

March 08, 2019 1:51 AM

Let us eat cake. by Amelia Layne, Aladren

At the welcoming feast, Amelia’s name had been called and she had nearly fallen over her own feet in shock. It had been such a shock, in fact, that it had taken her a day or two to even really feel pleased - or, more importantly, write to her family so they could also be pleased.

They had been pleased. She had been pleased. Everything had been great. For a few more days.

The trouble, Amelia thought, with these appointments was that they happened right at the same time that school got a lot more difficult. She couldn’t say for sure that the new role would have been easier to adjust to as a fifth year, but she was pretty sure it wouldn’t have been any harder. Last year she had had to deal with CATS, but this year she had to deal with Advanced, which was a whole new world of difficult.

She was an Aladren, though. Problem-solving. That was her jam. And when one of one’s cousins had gotten a badge the day before all the adults vanished for a few months, one really did not get to complain too much about things being too hard, at least not in her family - she got Alicia and even Rachel, who had had a much less remarkable time in student government, held up to her as examples quite enough as it was. So she had buckled down to it, reminding herself that if she could just plow through two years, she’d be well on her way to a moderately successful life.

A spa day did sound nice, though, and so she supposed it was a bit ungrateful to look at the layout of the Potions room and only think of what an epic fit Uncle Geoff would have if he saw this. Her uncle was fanatical about clean, orderly, safe work environments, especially for a wizard whose work environment sometimes by definition involved crocodile organs, and cake would have gotten her banished from the premises forever.

Here was hoping Uncle Geoff was just displaying the typical Layne perfectionistic neuroticism, then.

Draught of Peace. Cool. There was probably a thriving underground market for this stuff in Advanced years that she didn’t get to know about because of the prefect thing, but she thought she’d prefer drugs produced by a teacher anyway. Especially since they were all going to produce these in a non-standard environment like this.

She smiled at another student as she moved her slice of cake further away from her cauldron. “So, this is different enough,” she observed.

16 Amelia Layne, Aladren Let us eat cake. 360 Amelia Layne, Aladren 0 5

Emerald Brockert, Aladren

March 12, 2019 5:19 AM

Yummy yummy cake by Emerald Brockert, Aladren

Emerald didn't blink as she entered the potions classroom. Professor Brooding was a tad on the odd side for Potions professor. She was nice, and the Aladren liked her all right but she wasn't....a strict, cold methodical type like Emerald expected of one with her job. Potions, after all, had to be done with precision.

But cake was always welcome.

She grabbed a piece of red velvet cake and settled on a pillow. She took a bite as the professor began to talk about self care, a topic Emerald felt was valuable. For her, this meant being in quiet place-generally the library at school and her bedroom at home-alone, with a book. No plethora of siblings bothering her.

Of course, this was less of an issue now that she was at school most of the year and right now, only Ruby and Topaz were here. Sapphire would be next year but it would only be one year and Emerald would be graduated by the time Jasper and Amethyst started school.

On the other hand, one of those siblings that was here was Topaz . And she was in Emerald's house too. Her sister knew she liked peace and quiet and when the second year wasn't torturing her roommate or Allegra, she occasionally decided to bother the older girl.

And there was also a thing as too much self-care really. Mother was always needing spa days and "me time" and time away from them. While Emerald could understand wanting to get away from the lot of them-she herself did as well-if Mother found having six children so stressful, she shouldn't have had six children. The sixth year would say that it would have been different if Topaz had been a boy-she didn't want to get rid of Ruby-but then after her parents had gotten the boy they'd been trying for,they'd gone on to have Amethyst.

Professor Brooding announced they were doing the Draught of Peace and Emerald was sort of relieved. For a moment, she had half-wondered if they were going to do any actual brewing and weren't just going to sit down and share their feelings or something silly and inappropriate for a Potions class. That would be hardly relaxing.

“So, this is different enough,”

Emerald nodded at Amelia. "Yes, it's kind of nice. Especially the cake bit." She smiled at her roomate.

11 Emerald Brockert, Aladren Yummy yummy cake 358 Emerald Brockert, Aladren 0 5

Amelia

March 20, 2019 7:35 PM

So sugary sweet. by Amelia

“Cake is always a good idea,” agreed Amelia. The thought of the pained expression this idea would no doubt bring forth from her uncle prompted her to add, “as long as we don’t drop any crumbs in our cauldrons.”

Her roommates were one of the aspects of becoming a prefect which, if she was to be honest, had caused Amelia the most stress. Obviously Flo was going to be jealous; possibly Flo was now going to feel left out, which, while Amelia was no Teppenpaw, was also kind of sucky and not to be desired in anyone, much less someone Amelia lived with. Emerald, too, already had the honor, and Amelia had worried that she might not particularly like sharing with another sixth year, much less with – well – Amelia. Flo’s family was, at least, rich, even if something scandalous had evidently happened to them at some point. Amelia was…herself. And ‘herself’ was someone very much not in their social class.

However, if Emerald was deadly offended by the staff’s inexplicable decision to appoint a second prefect in their year, she didn’t really seem to be taking it out on Amelia. Which, since Amelia was not particularly strong in Teppenpaw traits, was the essential thing as far as Amelia was concerned.

“A lot of days a good piece of cake, though, I’d take it over the Drought of Peace,” she continued. “Not least because it’s easier to make. But I guess sugar’s not that good for you and all.” She opened her Potions book. “I like the setting, but it’s going to be kind of weird prepping ingredients on the floor.”

16 Amelia So sugary sweet. 360 Amelia 0 5