Professor Fawcett
April 07, 2012 12:39 AM
Lesson I for Beginners (1st and 2nd Years) by Professor Fawcett
In his former career, as a professor of modern magisociology, John Fawcett had been considered, if he thought he did remember it right himself, an impressive figure among the small group of figures who populated his world: analytic, brilliant, possibly capable of recognition, after his death, in fields other than his own. It had been years since he more or less left that world due to the vagaries of university politics, but he still remembered it fondly. His hair had been darker then, and he thought he had been a better conversationalist, too, before he spent ten years sunk a bit too far into his books and papers, his mind all on his books and papers and without much attention to what was going on outside his window.Now, as a professor of Potions for a small but often remarkable segment of the eleven-to-eighteen year old population of the magical world, he was different, at least on this particular day, meeting the first years for their first lesson. The older students would know he could be sharp at times with those he did not feel were trying their best, and the oldest might even see him demonstrate signs of a sense of humor from time to time, but for the new ones, he looked more like someone’s kindly, if rather tall, grandfather.
Well, that was his intention, anyway. His hair was still perhaps a bit dark for the role to stick quite well, and his eyes behind his wire-rimmed glasses a bit sharp, but at any rate, he thought he did not look intimidating as the children came in and he greeted them, and that would do.
“Welcome, everyone,” he said once the bell rang and he’d given them a moment to get in their seats. “Welcome to Potions. I am, for those who have not me before, Professor Fawcett.” He straightened his glasses. “Now, everyone get out something to write with and make me a list, or a paragraph if you prefer, about what you believe you know about this subject – second years, give me a summary of what you believe you’ve retained – and what you hope to get out of this class this year while I call the roll.”
He ticked off each name as it answered and the rest stayed busy, and then he gave them another minute before he took up the papers and handed out syllabi in their places. He would look at the papers and perhaps make some adjustments as he saw more of how reliable their self-assessments were, but the syllabus gave the general outline of the course, along with all the major assignments for the first half of the year. For now, though, they had to go over the procedures, for both the first years and to review for the older ones. “Very good. Now, we will work on potions today, but first of all, a few basic rules.”
He changed his expression, now at his sternest as he looked around, as though he were looking directly at each student individually. “This is a dangerous subject,” he told them seriously. “We work with volatile ingredients here. We work with fire. Any misbehavior in this room will be punished severely. You have been warned.”
He relaxed slightly. “Now. We will begin with a simple potion to heal cuts and burns.”
He tapped the board, and a list of ingredients appeared there: jewelweed flowers, prickly pear (pad and spines), powdered joint fir seed, green lacewings, sennae sulphurs
“These are the ingredients you will need and will, if you do not have them, find in the supply cabinet. They are also mainly items which can be found in the deserts of Arizona, where we now are.
“Your first step – “ each step appeared on the board as John said it; that had been an amusing little trick to discover while fiddling with charms over the summer – “will be to crush five jewelweed flowers, then boil them in two cups of water. Be sure to strain that well so the flowers are out of the tea when you add it to the cauldron. From there, slice the prickly pear pads – those I will distribute to you, with the spines removed – “ he might have made the upper years de-spine their own, but not the first years – “in half and squeeze the juice from one half into the cauldron, then mix it with the jewelweed liquid by stirring it clockwise three times. Add four cups of water, then the packet of lacewings, and allow it to stew for four minutes before stirring it first nine times clockwise, then nine counter-clockwise. Add the packet of sennae sulphurs then, and stir three times counter-clockwise, then once clockwise. Grind the prickly pear spines, powder the joint fir seed, and combine them before adding about three tablespoons to thicken the mixture, stirring each one in as it’s added. Your potion should be a clear, light green when the potion is complete.”
He paused, then added, “These directions are also on page 223 of your textbook, if you would prefer not to read them from the board or remember them. Work in pairs, and raise your hand if you have a question. I will move around the room to monitor your progress. You may begin.”
He began to move around the room as they got started, looking for hands or signs of trouble and planning the timing and route of his next turn around the room already. He’d had few problems with students wanting to test the strict Potions professor, but there was always a first time, and moving in different patterns around the room on his rounds made it less likely that, if this was the year, someone could think they could pass something off as an accident because they would be able to predict he wouldn’t be able to see them at such-and-such a moment.
It was possible, too, that working with adolescents, despite his tendency to become fond of all of them over a little time, had made him a bit paranoid, but John thought paranoia was a perfectly defensible position when they were adolescents and therefore there was an even chance some of them might one day decide, completely at random, to really be out to get you.
OOC: Welcome to classes at Sonora! To earn points for your House, follow all site posting rules – at least two hundred words per post, good spelling and grammar, and controlling only your own character in particular – when writing your character for the lesson. Keep in mind, too, that your character is eleven or twelve years old; accidents and mistakes can happen, and there aren’t going to be many perfect potioneers. Keep it realistic and in character, and be creative and have fun!
Subthreads: My second first potion lesson. by Thad Pierce, Aladren with Elijah Errant {Pecari}, Thad Pierce
A Prodigy in the Making. by Cepheus Princeton, Crotalus with Ephanie Lucore, Aladren, Cepheus
Not so perfect potions... by Waverly Canterbury - Pecari with Jorge Garcia, Pecari, Waverly
Adventures in Potions by Clara Abernathy, Pecari with Angel Shield - Teppenpaw
Fire. And volatile substances. This is gonna be a blast by Sairahiniel Light, Pecari (Elijah Errant) with Carrie O'Malley, Crotalus, Sayre Light, Professor Fawcett
Trying to figure out if I can (Professor Fawcett) by Aria Yale, Teppenpaw with Professor Fawcett, Aria, Evan Brockert, Aladren
Starting easy by Gareth Whitebriar - Crotalus with Melanie Lennox, Teppenpaw, Gareth
This should be easy by Theresa Carey, Pecari
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Professor Fawcett
Lesson I for Beginners (1st and 2nd Years)
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Professor Fawcett
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Gareth Whitebriar - Crotalus
April 18, 2012 12:59 AM
Starting easy by Gareth Whitebriar - Crotalus
Last term, Gareth did fairly well in his classes, but in Potions, and DADA he excelled. When the Professor asked for a paragraph of what they’d learned last term, Gareth’s turned into nearly half a sheet of parchment as he wrote in his quick scrawl all that he’d recalled. He was forced to wrap it up rather abruptly when the Professor asked for them to pass up their reviews. There was just something about potions that was soothing to the large Crotalus and even though they didn’t always turn out perfectly, they still gave him a chance to just sit and relax and let his hands do the work.He listened with half an ear to the rules, already well versed in how to behave while working with potions. All it took was a single glance at the ingredients to cause Gareth to smile broadly. It was one of the healing potions that he often helped his mother make when he wasn’t busy. Potions was an area where all of Aeronwen’s children could bond with her while they helped brew simple potions. Some of his earliest memories were of holding her hand as they walked through the forest and her calm voice gently pointing out herbs for him to pick with his small pudgy hands. From gathering ingredients, to preparing and storing them, to actual brewing, he and his siblings all helped their mother with her hobby based on their age and skill level. It had instilled a working knowledge of Potions and Herbology in all the Whitebriar offspring.
All of the ingredients were ones he had in his Potions kit, so Gareth didn’t need to use any of the Professor’s stock. He gave the steps a quick review as he set up his caldron and put the two cups of water in to get it boiling before crushing the flowers. “Would you like to prepare the ingredients or stir?” Gareth asked the student sitting next to him.
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Gareth Whitebriar - Crotalus
Starting easy
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Gareth Whitebriar - Crotalus
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Melanie Lennox, Teppenpaw
April 23, 2012 2:23 AM
Sounds like the way to start by Melanie Lennox, Teppenpaw
Potions was a subject that Melanie had nothing but respect for. There was so many that did so many wonderful things to help people. She was pretty sure her sister would be dead without the ones she had to use daily to boost her immune system to even the point it was at so Melanie was pretty grateful for whomever created it. Losing Valerie was something that the Teppenpaw could barely stand to think about. Her sister was her best friend.At the same time, well, the first year wasn't sure she actually wanted to make potions. Melanie was a pureblood so she'd grown up with them and knew what went into them. The truth was...she didn't really like the idea of touching gross things, like bits of animals and bugs. She didn't really like insects very much, living or dead. Especially flying ones. The Teppenpaw had also grown up in a very much insect free house so seeing them really bothered her quite a bit.
Still, Melanie knew that she had to try her best in all her classes, even if they were disgusting and unladylike. She did want good grades after all, even if it was in a subject her mother didn't approve of. It wouldn't be the end of the world if she wasn't perfect academically but the first year had a need to try her best and would be quite disappointed in herself if she didn't. Sometimes, Melanie found herself being held to very high standards when it came to propriety, and holding herself to those standards had a tendency to spill into other aspects of her life, whether Mother thought girls should be good at Potions or not.
She sat straight at her desk, turning her attention to the task at hand. Most of what Melanie knew about was the different sort of potions used for healing or treating symptoms of various ailments or that boosted the immune system. She'd picked up an awful lot of that stuff, just not how to make any of them. The Teppenpaw also knew that there were plenty of potions that could be harmful as well, though Melanie couldn't imagine why anyone would make any of those. She also knew some of the ingredients that were commonly used in various things, and wrote down those too.
Satisfied, the first year turned her attention to the potion at hand. A potion that treated cuts and burns, that was something that at least sounded like a reasonable thing to learn even though she'd never needed it before. Proper young ladies didn't do the sort of activities that resulted in cuts and burns, though it was something she would like to know in case of an emergency. Valerie had said sometimes the lessons were more strenuous that was considered acceptable. The Teppenpaw was not very happy about that, not so much doing them herself, but she didn't want her older sister put in that situation. For Melanie, it was just something she wasn't likely to enjoy all that much.
The brunette's nose wrinkled with distaste at the mention of lacewings of any color. They were something that sounded far prettier than they were and truth be told, she'd rather avoid touching them unless she absolutely had to. Bugs just grossed her out, plus they carried all sorts of diseases. She'd wash her hands right after class, so infecting Valerie wouldn't be an issue, but still, just, ew.
“Would you like to prepare the ingredients or stir?”
Melanie turned to the boy sitting next to her who had spoken. "Stir!" She said, a bit eagerly. The Teppenpaw did want to pull her own weight. It was the right thing to do, when working in partners and treating others right was very important. It was just that Melanie wanted to do so in a way that didn't involve herself touching anything yucky. Oh, she'd do it if she absolutely had to, but if she was given an opportunity to be helpful without it, she was certainly going to take it.
"I'm Melanie Lennox, of the St. Louis Lennoxes." The first year introduced herself. That was one of the first steps to getting to know each other, after all, and make friends. Valerie might have been the brunette's best friend, but that didn't mean she wanted her to be the only one. "You may call me Melanie, if you'd like."
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Melanie Lennox, Teppenpaw
Sounds like the way to start
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Melanie Lennox, Teppenpaw
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Gareth
April 26, 2012 9:54 AM
Agreed by Gareth
The young brunette girl replied with stir! and Gareth gave her an amused smile. His sister always liked to stir too, though he wasn’t sure why. Stirring was the boring part. Maybe it was just a girl thing. The fairer gender was an endless source of bafflement to the 12 year old, and even though he had a mother and a sister, that didn’t lessen the mystery much. If nothing else it tended to increase it as he was forced to cope with the random nature of the female mind on a regular basis.“I’m Gareth Whitebriar of House Blackbriar. It’s a pleasure to meet you Miss Lennox, Melanie.” Gareth corrected himself. “You can call me Gareth if you like.” He offered in return. The last name was familiar, though not the girl. Suddenly he recalled the pale sickly girl from last term who often had to leave class early, wasn’t she a Lennox? Gareth hadn’t worked with her directly last term and he was sort of glad for it. She seemed like spun glass, something that might break into a million pieces if not handled in just the right way, and Gareth had unfortunate moments of clumsiness that could lead to disaster.
He set up a small caldron, big enough to hold two cups of water before turning his attention to the jewelweed flowers. Carefully he crushed the flowers before transferring them into the water. Next he cut the prickley pear pad in half as he waited for the water to boil. “Alright, while we wait for this to finish boiling, would you mind setting up a second caldron? We can strain this one over the larger one once it’s done boiling.” Gareth asked, easily taking the lead on the project.
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Gareth
Agreed
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Gareth
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Melanie
April 29, 2012 5:02 AM
Agreeing is good. by Melanie
Melanie smiled when Gareth said she could call him by his first name too. Despite growing up as a proper pureblood, the Teppenpaw preferred that. It made people seem nicer and more like equals. After all, Gareth and Lucille were supposed to be equal to her by everyone's standards, even that of her parents and society, weren't they?Besides, she really didn't like acting superior to others, -not that not calling someone by their first name unless she had permission was acting superior, that was actually what was considered polite-even when society told her that she was. It just seemed rude and nasty somehow. That was not the way to make friends with others. It was much better to treat them with kindness and respect.
In fact, Melanie was really not fond of the way people in society sometimes treated each other, gossiping and competing and backstabbing. Her mother could be like that, not to mention that Mother could be incredibly superficial and place her own desires for a social life ahead of the needs of her children, except when showing Melanie off like an accessory and using Valerie's illnesses to gain sympathy.
It was different with Father. Melanie knew Father cared, that the reason he buried himself in work was to get his mind off things that bothered him, that he really did take Valerie's condition hard. He tried to pay attention to them when he could, though more the third year than herself. Melanie was okay with that though, Valerie should get more attention. She required it.
On the other hand, Mother did tend to pay more attention to Melanie. Push her harder than the older girl, which the Teppenpaw supposed that she was personally more capable of handling. Still, it wasn't the kind of attention that she really wanted. It felt more like Mother wanted Melanie to be the perfect pureblood lady while writing off Valerie completely and Melanie didn't really like that.
What the Teppenpaw really would have wanted was a genuine loving mother-daughter relationship, just like she wanted genuine friends ships based on mutual fondness for each other, rather than societal positions. Melanie doubted she'd ever have that with her mother though, Mother was just too shallow and the first year just disagreed with her about too many things.
"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Gareth." Melanie replied. "Sure, I can handle that." She began to prepare the second cauldron. So long as she didn't have to handle bugs, the Teppenpaw would happily put forth any effort that she had to. She was certain Gareth would find working with her more acceptable and even pleasant that way. "So," Melanie began, trying to think of something to say. " How do you like Sonora? You're a second year, right?"
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Melanie
Agreeing is good.
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Gareth
May 03, 2012 7:14 PM
Better than the alternative by Gareth
A friendly smile curved his lips as Melanie agreed to continue on a first name basis. He did prefer it that way, it made people more open when they weren’t restricted by all the Misters, and Misses. “Sonora is pretty good so far, the classes are challenging without being impossible, and the other students are friendly.” Light blue eyes gave her a speaking glance, having placed her into the category of ‘friendly’ students. One of the benefits about his size was that even students who were not inclined to friendliness were still polite to him, wary of his youthful strength. Not that he would ever use it against anyone, violence was something Gareth preferred to avoid outside of the Quidditch Pitch.“Are you liking it so far? I know that we haven’t gotten far into the term but what is your first impression?” Gareth asked in return. The desert was still not something he was overly fond of due to dry heat that made his skin itch and his hair fluff un-fetchingly if he didn’t use a spot of oil to tame it. Aside from the climate, and the fact that he was honor bound to play Quidditch, Gareth found the school to his liking.
Once the jewelweed flower tea had come to a boil, Gareth squeezed one half of the prickly pear pad over the main cauldron. He gave a soft hiss of pain when a bit of the juice got into a paper cut that had happened in the prior class, but the pain was small enough to dismiss in favor of continuing the potion. Next, he carefully strained the jewelweed tea into the caldron, making certain that he didn’t accidentally allow any of the flower bits though.
“Okay, now just give it three clockwise stirs please.” Gareth instructed as he reviewed the next step. When she was done with the stirring, Gareth added another four cups of water before dumping n the packet of lacewings. “In four minutes you’ll need to stir nine times clo- no wait,” he blushed slightly as he stared at his notes, usually he at least could read them but he’d been rushing a bit to get it all down and now the last few lines looked like chicken scratch. “Um, did you get which way we were supposed to stir?” He asked hopefully.
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Gareth
Better than the alternative
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Gareth
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Melanie
May 06, 2012 9:43 AM
Indeed by Melanie
"It's been going pretty well so far." Melanie replied. "Everyone I've met has been really nice." Okay, so she'd only really met Gareth and her roommates and she wasn't really used to non-purebloods, so she wasn't quite entirely sure what to make of Aria or Brielle yet. Both seemed pleasant enough though and Melanie was willing to give them a chance. She was, after all, going to be living with them for the next seven years and it was best to get along. Whether her mother approved of them or not.And certainly, there were some things that the Teppenpaw didn't care for, such as well, handling bugs. Nor did she especially look forward to Care of Magical Creatures and flying lessons hadn't been Melanie's thing either. Still, so far none of these things had been so bad. It was nothing compared to what some people had to go through. Nothing that the first year couldn't handle-especially if Gareth was doing all bug related bits.
She felt a little guilty about that, leaving the second year with the yucky parts, but then Gareth was a boy and from what Melanie had been taught, it was more okay for boys to touch said things than girls. Besides, she'd been raised to think that bugs basically carried germs and it wasn't a good idea to touch them. Though, apparently, it was okay to drink them in potions.
Melanie had to wonder about that. She'd grown up drinking potions for any sort of medical issue that she might have had and while the idea touching insects still bothered her, she could only imagine what it was like for muggleborn students who had to get used to drinking concoctions made of lace wing flies and what not. That had to be a hard thing to adjust too and Melanie was glad to have grown up in the magical world so things weren't as different for her. Or for Valerie either. She liked to have things be as easy for her sister to adjust to as possible.
The first year nodded. "That's correct. Nine clockwise stirs, followed by nine counter-clockwise stirs." Melanie hadn't really needed to double check her notes but she did anyway just to confirm that she'd remembered it correctly. Doing a potion just right was extremely important, otherwise it might not have the desired affect at best or an even worse one. What if those who mixed up Valerie's potions screwed up? If her immune boosting potions failed due to someone not doing things correctly, she could get very sick and Melanie could lose her forever. She didn't even want to think about that. "And then you add the sennae sulphers." The Teppenpaw added.
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Melanie
Indeed
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Melanie
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Gareth
May 09, 2012 7:02 AM
It seems to be going well by Gareth
Gareth nodded. In his experience at the school most of the students were of an agreeable sort. He really hadn’t had a problem with anyone last term, and this term had been good so far. Generally, Gareth was an easy going sort, so it would be difficult for someone to ruffle his feathers to the point that he became truly upset with them. While his fellow students might get annoying at times, none of them had reached that level of annoying yet.The four minutes passed quickly, and at the designated time Gareth gave Melanie a nod to begin the stirring. He kept track of the number of time she stirred more out of habit than a belief that she wouldn’t stir the correct number of times. His sister was bad about that, always stirring one to few times. When she was done with the stirring, Gareth added the packet of sennae sulphers and began grinding up the prickley pear spines.
Once the spines were finished he powdered the joint fir seed. Though his hands looked too large for the task, Gareth handled the tools easily. Simple things like preparing ingredients had been taught to all the Whitebriar children at a young age and he actually found the task relaxing as the different shimmering scents of brewing potions began to fill the classroom. “Did you have much experience with brewing before school?” Gareth asked as he combined the two powdered ingredients and began measuring out a tablespoon.
Last term he’d found out that muggleborns didn’t have potions at all, so this was all new to them, but also that a lot of Purebloods didn’t have much brewing experience at home. That had been an interesting revelation, seems all the kids liked to help his mom out when she brewed healing potions more as a hobby than anything else. Then again, it made sense that not everyone’s mothers would be interested in brewing, thus not passing that on to their children.
“Alright, stir as I add.” Gareth directed as he slowly poured the powder into the bubbling caldron.
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Gareth
It seems to be going well
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Gareth
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