Really? on Potions

Professor Fawcett

November 22, 2010 6:00 PM

Intermediate Lesson II (3rd-5th Years) by Professor Fawcett

John enjoyed Christmas. Of course he did. It was unnatural to have a faint distaste for events that involved excesses of his father-in-law, nieces, sister's latest toy boy, and brother's ego. Quite wrong to, nursing a faint migraine by the second hour of his father-in-law's increasingly senile ramblings, wish that there was some diplomatic way to tell both his family and Allison's they would prefer not to put in their appearances at the Fawcett and Wagner and Fawcett-Howard-Stewart events. And since John prided himself on being fairly normal and almost always being right, he enjoyed Christmas.

He was still, however, quite relieved to be back in his classroom. There was nothing unnatural about that. His students were adolescents - every day he wasn't forcibly cramming information down their throats was a day they were happily forgetting everything he had ever tried to teach them. Every day sooner they got back was one more day he had to repair the damage before they had to move on, lest the CATS catch them.

"Good day, students," he said loudly, cutting through any catch-up chatter. He would have thought they would have all seen each other at some point before this, but supposed the year mixes could account for some of it. There was sometimes mingling between the years in these large groups, though he understood he wasn't the only one who had begun to differentiate upon occasion. He might have to speak with Professor Levy about the effects on her test scores to see if they should suggest a more general program. "I trust you all had enjoyable holidays, as I did." Well, he had enjoyed getting to see Carlene, when she was minus Toy #4 of the year, and his father, and Allison, of course. "But the time has come to put all that behind us and return to our labors here in the classroom.

"As I'm sure the fifth years among you will soon become especially tired of hearing, exams will be upon us far sooner than you expect. For our fifth years, that means the CATS, but the rest of you should take your finals equally seriously. Not only can your performances now influence whether or not a professor chooses to admit you into an advanced course after your fifth year, you will likely find that the more effort you put forth now, the less difficulty you will have preparing for your major examinations. And, even if you choose not to pursue a subject beyond the CATS level, the less difficulty you will likely experience in the adult world."

For a moment, he was able to clearly remember what it had been like to be a student when teachers went on these apparently unimportant rambles. The uncomfortable stools, an open notebook and quill at the ready for when something important actually came along, but his mind less than half on whatever it was. He had never really experienced exam anxiety until very shortly before the exam in question, making these kinds of speeches entirely pointless. He decided to move on.

"Today, we will review. You will have some choice about how you do that. You may, singly or together, re-brew potions you feel you had difficulty with, take a writing prompt from the selection on top of the book case if you feel you need more work on the writing portion of exams, or discuss topics in potionmaking or subjects you have struggled with in pairs to small groups. I will, however, be moving around the room, and at the end of class require each person to hand in a written summary of your activities and what went on during them, so please do not assume this is a time for you to socialize. You may feel free to ask for my input or advice as you work, and you may begin."

OOC: Standard posting rules apply. Have fun and get creative, and tag John if you need him.

Subthreads:

Revising Draught of Peace by Dana Smythe

Looking for someone whose struggling. by Quentin Melcher, Aladren with Jethro Smythe, Jethro

Really? by Juri with Charlie Abbott, Charlotte

Bored by Alessa Hinckley, Aladren

Re: Intermediate Lesson II (3rd-5th Years) by Pippa Brockert, Teppenpaw

Issues in Potions Discussion - Mulitple Particpants Welcome by Edmond Carey

0 Professor Fawcett Intermediate Lesson II (3rd-5th Years) 0 Professor Fawcett 1 5

Dana Smythe

November 23, 2010 4:32 PM

Revising Draught of Peace by Dana Smythe

There were several occasions when Dana wished she didn't have to take an exam in potions, and she really didn't appreciate it when Professors thought it a good idea to remind the fifth years they had exams at the end of the year. Therefore a review in preparation for her potions exam was really not what Dana wanted to do right now. Actually, she wanted to sleep. But the fifth year knew that wasn't really an option during this class, so she sighed and thought she may as well make use of the valuable revision time. She flicked open her textbook and thumbed through the pages until she found a potion she'd struggled with in the past. That's to say, one she struggled with more noticeably than her usual level of muddling through potions class. It wasn't long before she came across the Draught of Peace. Yep, that one would do.

While she began to gather ingredients, Dana left her textbook open, making it quite obvious which potion she was planning on making. If someone wanted to do the same potion it would make sense for them to work together. She was perfectly happy working on her own or with a partner, but it seemed nonsensical to ask someone to be partners in a class where they might not want to be studying the same thing. So if someone approached Dana then fine. And if not, well, that was fine, too.

As she set to work, Dana tied her light brown hair back out of the way, and cleared her desk. The potion she had planned to make was supposed to induce peace and tranquility. She could use something like that. She had the essence of Belladona, ginger roots and unicron hair in her own potions supply, but she had to collect the powdered moonstone, syrup of hellebore and scurvy grass from the supply cupboard. Then, once she got everything together and had lit a fire underneath her cauldron, dana set to work slicing the ginger root into equal pieces.

0 Dana Smythe Revising Draught of Peace 142 Dana Smythe 0 5

Quentin Melcher, Aladren

November 29, 2010 7:34 PM

Looking for someone whose struggling. by Quentin Melcher, Aladren

Some people would say Midterm had been eventful for Quentin but he would not. The only thing that had really happened was that he had found out about his betrothal and eventful meant there was more than one event. To be honest, finding out about it wasn't an event. Having a party or something to celebrate was an event but the Aladren couldn't imagine his parents doing that since the Melchers thought parties were frivolous and only good for making social contacts.

Quentin wasn't sure how he felt about the situation. He didn't even know this Cassondra Knight and what he'd heard about the Knight family wasn't that good. They seemed to be very much the snobby types of purebloods, but then, one could say the same about the Melchers and he didn't think of himself as a snob, at least not in the sense of judging people for their blood purity. His two favorite people at school were his halfblood cousin and Marissa, who was muggleborn.

Actually, Quentin considered himself to be pretty nice and accepting. The only type of people that irked him were the vapid ones, and the stuck-up ones. To be honest, some of his muggleborn roommates seemed to be more stuck-up than some purebloods he knew. It wasn't entirely fair to think only purebloods could be snobby.

But his family was and so was that of his betrothed. Quentin could only hope Cassondra was different, just like he was. Well, different from her family, just like he was from his. He didn't want her to be that different from himself, though he knew all people were different from each other in some way-though some people at Sonora seemed very similar to each other as did some of the pureblood girls he'd met at parties. What Quentin meant was that he wanted someone who was intelligent and kind.

Now, however, was not the time to think about it. He was in Potions right now, and Quentin felt it was important to give all his professors his full attention. That had been instilled in him since birth.

As it turned out, they were going to be doing review. Quentin didn't know exactly what he was going to do. Professor Fawcett had said to work on something he'd stuggled with and the Aladren hadn't struggled with anything. He supposed he could discuss Potion making or perhaps help out someone else.

Yes, that was it. Quentin turned to the person next to him. "Do you need help with anything in Potions? Because I'm willing to work with you. " He assumed that if the person did, they would be working on it as instructed.

11 Quentin Melcher, Aladren Looking for someone whose struggling. 129 Quentin Melcher, Aladren 0 5

Jethro Smythe

December 02, 2010 8:20 AM

I meet that requirement by Jethro Smythe

Being in Professor Fawcett's class was always an interesting experience for Jethro. He found the professor easy to understand because he didn't mix class content with anything else - some professors liked to talk about their personal lives, or tell jokes when they were trying to teach. Jethro found this incredibly distracting, because his mind would inevitably attach more firmly to the unimportant details and often missed the class assignment entirely. On the other hand, Professor Fawcett was quite formal; he could be referred to as strict. He reminded Jethro of the men in his family - his own father was tolerant as a father could be, but Jethro's uncles had the tendency to make him nervous. In potions, Professor Fawcett's presence was sufficient to ensure Jethro understood what was to be done, and he was suitably apprehensive of the consequences of gettin it wrong that his work was usually of an acceptable standard. It might even be his best class by grades.

Today, Jethro was ready for another class that followed the same predictable and reliable pattern he'd come to expect from Professor Fawcett. He was therefore mildly surprised when there was no lesson presented at all. Jethro was the sort of student that never profited if left to his own devices. He needed direction. If he were to start going back over all the potions he'd had some trouble with, he'd have to repeat the past four years' work. On the other hand, as he'd brewed them all to an acceptable standard, it could be argued that he needn't recover any. In truth, Jethro supposed that his main weakness in potions lay in his written work. He wasn't sure he could do anything to improve that. He hadn't much improved in four years of instruction, and he doubted that the year an couple of months remaining before he had to sit his examinations would provide enough time for him to develop further. His sister Cynthia had always told him that he was slow and that his examination grades didn't matter in the slightest, so Jethro wasn't concerned. he trusted his sister implicitly; she'd always taken care of him.

His contemplations hadn't allowed him to make a decision on what to do for the rest of the class. He was idly looking through his textbook, in a manner than suggested he was looking for a suitable topic to revise, but which was actually a sign that he didn't know what to do with himself. He was therefore not at all displeased to hear the voice next to him offering help.

"I know I can improve but I don't know whether help from a classmate will do me any good," Jethro replied to the question that had been asked. He was talking to someone called Quentin Melcher in Aladren, which he knew because Cynthia had made him learn personal details of everyone in his classes. "I'm willing for you to work with me, too, and if you want to suggest a topic I wouldn't mind that, either."

0 Jethro Smythe I meet that requirement 146 Jethro Smythe 0 5

Juri

December 02, 2010 12:59 PM

Really? by Juri

The holidays had ensured that Juri would be in an uncharacteristically good mood upon return. While the timing hadn’t quite been the best for some, though perfect for him, it had been determined that they would be moving. He wasn’t really a fan of the entire moving thing, but North Carolina was boring! There was very nearly nothing to do in their small town except for the wholesome activities that the place seemed to force down upon them. Of course, he had found some less than wholesome activities to do, which might have lent itself to the reputation of being a juvenile delinquent, but whatever. Soon, they would be moving!

And where would they be moving? New York! The blonde was ecstatic. Finally, he would be back up north where it was a little more normal. He would actually be able to have a decent conversation instead of waiting three minutes for the next word out of the person’s mouth. And there would be things to do! Movies, concerts, bookstores (yes, he was a closet nerd), and more. It was like going back to civilization. He didn’t understand how Delilah couldn’t be excited. Sure, her bratty sister was going to stay with their grandmother, but as far as he could tell that was a bonus.

Not even the idea of CATS looming around the corner could bother him this fine day. However, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t pay attention. Most people didn’t know it, probably because he didn’t brag about it like some, but he was a rather good student, one that had no intention of letting his Potions grade slip since he planned on taking this course next year. With that, he took out his notebook and a pen, ready to take notes on whatever the professor decided to divulge, but was sorely disappointed when it was merely a review. Hadn’t they gone over the material enough? Couldn’t they just take the test now? He was ready!

Giving a disgruntled groan, Juri flipped through the book in an attempt to find a potion that he might have trouble with. Deciding he would be fine, he opted for the writing portion. If nothing else, he could perfect a general outline of how he would approach the subject material, no matter what the subject material was. And it was certainly better than working in groups to discuss things. Beginning to write, he was interrupted by someone nearby. He turned and raised an eyebrow in question when he saw who it was.

0 Juri Really? 0 Juri 0 5

Charlie Abbott

December 02, 2010 1:17 PM

Yes. Really. by Charlie Abbott

Potions was a class in which Charlotte felt she really ought to do well. It was sort of in the family. Not her parents, of course, because they liked to pretend that things like potions didn’t exist, but her Uncle Raymond was a renowned potioneer. Plus, of course, Oliver liked to think himself some sort of potions genius. That was the problem with having older siblings, Charlie mused. At least she was different enough from Julian that they didn’t really compete in anything, but at Sonora the Crotalus was always going to be getting potions grades that ‘weren’t as good as Oliver’s’, and she often worried that instead of being known as Quidditch Captain in her own right, she might still be though of as Oliver’s sister. Just as well she didn’t have any older sisters, or her dancing skills might be called into question, too. She already had Lita around, who was far better at dancing than Charlotte could ever hope to be.

That was beside the point - the point was that she had to do well in potions. Luckily, it really did seem to run in the family, because Charlotte had never had trouble with it. In fact, the brunette didn't have a great deal of trouble in any class. She wasn't drawn to any subject more than any other, like many of her classmates, neither did she consider herself to be an indoor or outdoor person, particularly feminine or tomboyish, sporty or bookish. She spent equal amounts of time in the library as she did on the pitch, as as much time dancing with Lita as... well, no, she didn't spend time with Dmitry any more, since they'd broken up. Or, more accurately, Charlie had dumped him. Again, this wasn't the point. Professor Fawcett wanted them to use this class time to improve on any area they chose. Charlie hated classes like this at the same time as loving them. She appreciated having extra time to study what she chose, but already did this in her limited free time. As such, she didn't have a burning desire to revist anything in particular.

After considering her textbook for a while, the Crotalus decided she could possibly revise antidotes. Maybe she could practise answering exam questions on the topic, or perhaps discuss it with a neighbor. Looking up, Charlie discovered that her neighbor was Juri Dahlgren. Oh, this was just too good! Over midterm Charlie had stayed with her best friend, and Lita had mentioned (after lots of prodding from Charlie) that she sort of liked Juri. She was very vague about it, and in fact Charlotte thought her friend might have been hiding more than she was saying. It had been enough for Charlotte to recognize the crush, at any rate. She actually hadn't been surprised. She didn't know Juri very well - he was probably the person in their yeargroup that Charlie knew least. He'd been very quiet in the lower years, and the two of them, despite sharing a friendship with Lita, had barely spoken. It was the very least Charlie could do to make sure her best friend's crush was worth her time.

Leaning over towards his desk, Charlie gently poked him with her pencil. "Hey there, mysterious stranger," she said with a smile. "Fancy a social chat under the guise of discussing antidotes?" She didn't really expect him to agree to her proposal - she'd always imagined him to be the studious sort - but at least he'd react. Then she'd have an opening.

0 Charlie Abbott Yes. Really. 0 Charlie Abbott 0 5

Alessa Hinckley, Aladren

December 02, 2010 6:19 PM

Bored by Alessa Hinckley, Aladren

Alessa sighed to herself. Reviewing, how boring! She didn't really want to be in Potions at all, it was so gross, though she was decently good at it, the practical part anyway. She just didn't really feel like being in this class at all. Alessa thought she might have been able to deal with Charms or Transfiguration or-if they still had it-History but she was not in the mood for the rest of her classes.

Truth be told, Alessa was feeling just a tiny bit bored of school. Sure, she was an Aladren but that didn't mean she loved every little thing they were taught. Potions tended to be the dullest class, aside from Care of Magical Creatures and even that was made more interesting on occasion. Potions was simply a very dry subject in general and was only made slightly more interesting when they learned something new...and even then it was definitely not her favorite class. Alessa didn't have a favorite class anymore. Not since History was cancelled.

She sighed to herself again. This was going to be an especially dull lesson today. Alessa wanted to learn something new today, if she had to be in class and not out doing what she was interested in doing at a given moment, not review the same old stuff. If Professor Fawcett wanted to give the fifth years time to practice for CATS, he could at least give the third and fourth years a new potion to do, a seperate lesson like he had done in the past.

It wasn't as if Alessa actually needed to practice any potions anyway. She had them all mastered, even though she wasn't that interested in the subject and she wasn't supposed to be. After CATS she was just going to drop the class, along with COMC and DADA.

They were given the option of working on writing, and truthfully, Alessa knew that was what she should do. She wasn't as good on essays as she should have been. The third year had a tendency to either go off on tangents or do the opposite and not write enough. Really, Alessa didn't see the point of taking several words to say what could be said in just a few. She often had a hard time explaining things and it got very frustrating.

However, she didn't want to do this either. It was very hard for Alessa to work on writing with so many people around, with their various conversations. It was distracting to her.

Instead, the Aladren girl decided she would grab some writing prompts later and work on it in a quiet corner of the library. She decided that right now, she would try to make a new potion. Alessa opened her book until she came to a potion they hadn't done yet, got out her potions kit and began to work.

11 Alessa Hinckley, Aladren Bored 150 Alessa Hinckley, Aladren 0 5

Juri

December 07, 2010 11:49 AM

Sigh. by Juri

For the life of him, Juri could not fathom why Charlotte Abbott would be talking to him. She was a princess type, the type that didn’t give the time of day to guys like him, the type that always got what she wanted. Case in point – every guy that she ever seemed to talk to for any relative length of time ended up dating the girl. If he was correct, there were only two guys in their class that she hadn’t had some sort of relationship with. Quentin was one and he was the other. He didn’t imagine that she was over here to pursue a relationship, so why would she be talking to him? It just didn’t make any sense.

No, it did make sense. The end of the world was coming. It had to be. His family was moving back north. Charlotte Abbott was talking to him. Yes, the end of the world, but he wasn’t quite that dramatic or pessimistic, so he thought perhaps instead he was dreaming. Though, why he was dreaming that he was talking to Charlotte Abbot was a complete mystery to him. Maybe it had something to do with Lita? He couldn’t imagine what though. He didn’t think he had been obvious about his crush on her and he wasn’t about to say anything to Charlotte. That would be a big mistake.

But that didn’t mean the Aladren wasn’t game to hear what the girl had to say. “I suppose so,” Juri answered slowly. He would have preferred to work alone than to pretend to do work, but really talk to Charlotte yet that didn’t seem to be an option. If she wasn’t Lita’s friend, he probably would have been more likely to be rude to her, but for Lita’s sake, he wasn’t. He didn’t want Charlotte to go running to Lita and badmouth him. Or did he? If he did, then maybe Lita would hate him and he could get over her. He knew he had to. He would never be any good for her, but thankfully so far she hadn’t seem to noticed his interest in her and he wanted to keep it that way.

0 Juri Sigh. 0 Juri 0 5

Pippa Brockert, Teppenpaw

December 07, 2010 10:22 PM

Re: Intermediate Lesson II (3rd-5th Years) by Pippa Brockert, Teppenpaw

Midterm had passed as usual for Pippa. The usual decorations, usual gifts, usual family visiting...the usual stress of Tawny being Tawny. Aside from this last thing, Pippa really didn't mind. She loved her family holiday traditions. In fact, she loved the holidays period.

Of course, the fifth year couldn't say the same for Potions. She felt bad about it, like it would somehow hurt Professor Fawcett's feelings but Pippa couldn't help how she felt. She hated the thought of using animals for potions that weren't absolutely necessary and she hated making potions that could potentially hurt people. Pippa wasn't like her younger sister that way.

Nor did she even have Melora's curiosity about such things, the Teppenpaw believed hurting people was just plain wrong . She knew she didn't like to be hurt by things Tawny did so why would she want to hurt anyone else?

Still, even though Pippa didn't like the class, she gave Professor Fawcett her full attention. It was the right thing to do and besides, she wouldn't want to get today's instructions wrong somehow. Pippa would hate to do a bad job, even in a subject that she disliked. She still wanted to do well and make her parents happy. Sure, they didn't want her to have any interest in Potions, but they wanted her to get good grades.

It turned out they would be reviewing today. Pippa couldn't help but be relieved. Not because it was review so much as because she had a choice. She didn't have to do an actual potion and that made Pippa happier. She walked over to the writing prompts and picked one out.

11 Pippa Brockert, Teppenpaw Re: Intermediate Lesson II (3rd-5th Years) 132 Pippa Brockert, Teppenpaw 0 5

Edmond Carey

December 09, 2010 1:43 PM

Issues in Potions Discussion - Mulitple Particpants Welcome by Edmond Carey

The holidays had been uneventful. Julia had insisted he go to a few parties, Morgaine had insisted he go to Mass with her twice, but Edmond had spent most of the time away from school studying with the introductory philosophy tutor his foster parents had engaged to correspond with him and Jane for the rest of the term and work with them in the summer. It wasn't a field either of them expected to enjoy a great deal, but he had to study it, and Jane either wouldn't let him suffer alone or refused to let him know something that she didn't. Even here, she tried her best to learn all his lessons instead of her own; he confidently expected her to be the first Teppenpaw in some years to leave school first in her year academically.

He was going to have to see if there was nothing he could do about her marriage prospects. The main difference they had - in lifestyle, anyway - was that she wore dresses; a situation where Jane was expected to spend some twenty to fifty years being purely ornamental, or even acting so in public to mask efficiency, would be intolerable to her. A pity she couldn't remain unattached, as Morgaine did...

But she couldn't. Even Morgaine was usually seen as half under the protection of the Carey patriarchs, and Jane's situation was different. He'd gradually come to see that his biological sisters had effectively raised themselves while Father and Gwenhwyfar's guardians paid them little attention, a world away from the focus Julia had on each aspect of his and Jane's development. Morgaine had come, somehow, out of it self-sufficient; he and Jane were, he was sure, always going to require a family. And while he would have no objection to Jane living with him once she left here, other people might think it was strange since they weren't blood siblings. She'd have to marry someone and hope for the best.

The options, as a simple look around the room proved, were limited, though. Maybe Jethro Smythe. He was, Edmond had a vague idea, only a minor member of his family; ties to both the Virginia Careys and to - well - Edmond would be almost as much as he could hope for even if he had not apparently had a...problem. Edmond doubted he would really notice her or care what she did, so that would work out nicely. Maybe he could mention it to Julia sometime. It would please her that he was taking an interest.

After, of course, he got to know Jethro a bit better, just to be safe. Looking after Jane was supposed to be a secondary duty for him, and perhaps one day it would feel that way, but at the moment, the Savannah Careys could whistle for a future leader if it truly came down to fulfilling his obligation to them or his obligation to her. As little as he liked the literary distinctions she liked to make, the matter hinged on one: they were his blood, but she was his family.

He had expected class proper to begin again as soon as Professor Fawcett could get them all in a room, but it seemed the Potions master was willing to give them something of a break. It seemed a little wrong to not want to learn more, but on some level, Edmond was grateful. Some of his extra studies, the ones Julia assigned for him, were proving difficult to teach himself at this level, and any little thing that made something easier to handle was welcome. The writing option was, no doubt, the one he needed the most work on – he was an adequate writer, but not truly outstanding – but the discussion option did sound appealing. It was a pity there was no way for a few of them to sit around in a circle, having tea and civilly debating something….

Or was there? There was nothing he could do about the tea, he’d need more work in Charms and Transfiguration before he could Transfigure something into a lasting tea set, conjure enough water for a pot of tea, and then Transfigure the water into tea and charm the temperature, and the circumstances – crowded classroom, square furniture – weren’t ideal, but still. That wasn’t insurmountable. And besides, people did keep saying he should show more initiative. This would do.

Now for the slightly complex part: defining what it was he was going about in a succinct manner. Brevity was not his strong point; he thought he put in the bare minimum amount of information at all times, but his papers inevitably ended up too long, and he was often accused of going off on tangents. Frowning a bit from concentration, he took out his wand and began to write in the air in front of him.

Issues In Potions Discussion – Multiple Participants Welcome

The improper grammar wounded him, but it would take too long to write out the incidental words.

0 Edmond Carey Issues in Potions Discussion - Mulitple Particpants Welcome 143 Edmond Carey 0 5

Quentin

December 17, 2010 12:45 PM

Good by Quentin

The person Quentin was talking to turned out to be Jethro Smythe. That was probably for the best come to think of it. The fourth year, as mean as it felt to Quentin to think it, was not exactly the smartest person in the Intermediate group. Granted, that could be said about several people as only one person could be the smartest, which was probably James Anthony. Or at least, he supposedly got the highest grades anyway. So James was the smartest if one used solely that measurement of intelligence.

Jethro, on the other hand, wasn't even close to being the smartest. Fortunately, the younger boy seemed to realize it seeing as he thought help from a classmate would not necessarily do any good. Quentin disagreed. While he might not have had Professor Fawcett's qualifications, he thought himself perfectly adequate to help Jethro. He was pretty good at Potions.

"Well, is there a potion you're having particular trouble with?" Quentin asked. He, of course, had no way of knowing what particular thing was difficult for the Crotalus but Quentin really wanted to help Jethro. Someday he was going to be working in the education field, at the school his family had run for generations. He knew his father didn't do much one on one helping the students nor did his grandfather but Quentin wanted to be different. He didn't want to be so...well, non-helpful and uncaring. He wanted to be better than that.

Not that Quentin thought himself better than other people. Maybe at certain things, he was certainly better at Potions than Jethro, for example which was why Quentin thought he might be able to help the younger boy. However, he didn't act superior like some people, like his roommates Daniel and James and Quentin's parents and grandparents. It still irked Quentin to no end the way the rest of his family treated Kirstenna and her parents.

Nor would they treat someone like Jethro Smythe very well either. Oh, the fifth year knew how his father and grandfather could be. There had been a student once at the Melcher Academy named Barney Donovan who could easily have been considered Jethro's peer in terms of intellect, except Mr. Donovan had been a halfblood whereas Jethro was pure-something that made no difference to Quentin but he knew did to his parents. Anyway the young Barney Donovan had been failing all his classes and no matter what anyone did he couldn't be helped. Quentin's grandfather and father had routinely made cruel jokes about the boy, ridiculing him behind his back. Well, not necessarily behind his back because Barney wasn't in the room but definitely not where Barney could hear them. When Barney's parents had come to get him some extra help, they'd were told that the boy was beyond it and there was nothing they could do and recommended a "special school." Barney transferred out shortly after.

Quentin, however, didn't agree. He believed that they should have done more to help the boy. Barney certainly didn't deserve the ridicule and someday, Quentin was going to make sure students felt comfortable getting help. The Aladren hadn't believed Barney had considering how derisive the elder Melchers had been.

For right now though, Quentin couldn't do a thing about his family's school was run, even though someday it would all be his. He turned back to Jethro. "What about the Shrinking Solution? Do you need help with that?" Quentin asked.

11 Quentin Good 129 Quentin 0 5

Charlotte

December 20, 2010 5:35 PM

Smile. Relax. by Charlotte

Hey wow, he accepted her proposal. She was surprised, and pleased. "Oh. Excellent," she said, spreading her textbook open to a page on antidotes and taking up a quill and some parchment. She had to at least look like she was studying in Fawcett's class, or he was one of the staff members that might actually call her on it. She had a clean record so far, no detentions to tell her parents about, and she'd like to keep it that way if she could help it.

"So," Charlie said, keeping her voice to a suitable volume that could be believed as discussing potions - there were enough people actually discussing potions, and in fact making potions, for her words to be nicely hidden under classroom noise - "we've been in the same class together for five years now, and I feel like I barely know you," she said truthfully. "That's mostly because you used to creep me out a bit," she admitted converationally. "Anyway, you;re Lita's friend, and we have that in common, and I thought maybe we should, you know, at least have a conversation." It did occur to her that she had always been a particularly social creature, and that other people might not share her viewpoints on things like needing to become acquainted. However, such trivial things had never stopped her before, and she didn't think they were going to bother her any time soon.

Idly turning the page as if she'd been skimming whilst talking (which she sort of had, out of habit), Charlie thought she'd give Juri an opening of his own. "Plus I get this feeling that you don't like me very much," she said, sounding more amused than hurt by the prospect.

0 Charlotte Smile. Relax. 0 Charlotte 0 5

Jethro

December 27, 2010 1:46 PM

Yes by Jethro

"Well, is there a potion you're having particular trouble with?" Quentin asked.

"No," Jethro replied, and that was exactly his problem. "I have made satisfactory versions of all the potions we have been set, but none of them have been any better than satisfactory, nor any worse." Therein potions had been a marked improvement on his other classes because he frequently couldn't get spells right, and in fact often got them wrong. It helped, he was sure, having the instructions written down clearly in front of him, and sometimes working with a partner had helped, too. Of course in the examination he wouldn't have that luxury, which did cause him some mild concern. He still had a year to learn some well enough to try and remember them to brew them correctly. he hoped he could learn sufficient information to get him through the exam.

"What about the Shrinking Solution? Do you need help with that?" Quentin asked.

"As much as I need help with any other," Jethro replied. "maybe I could make it and you could see if there's anything you think I should do differently to make it better?" Jethro suggested. "Or help me think of a way to remember how to make it without the textbook in front of me," he said. "I don't think I'm going to be able to remember any of them in an exam," he admitted. It was nice of Quentin to offer to help, especially as he was in the year above and so would have exams to take himself in just a few weeks. Jethro still had a whole year, and he needed it, that much was obvious. he could only hope that one more year would be enough to let him pass at least a couple of subjects.

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