Lesson II for Intermediates (3rd-5th years) on Potions

Professor Fawcett

July 11, 2012 8:40 PM

Lesson II for Intermediates (3rd-5th years) by Professor Fawcett

If John had an objection to the midsummer events, it was how they tended to distract the students in the last stretch of the year, which also, unfortunately for everyone involved, also led up to exams. Several students seemed very stressed just now, and the last thing he wanted in his laboratory was a group of teenagers teetering near their breaking points. Such people mixed poorly with fire and occasionally explosive ingredients.

CATS, however, were coming, and so the Intermediate class moved on. “Welcome, welcome,” he said to the students, waving the last few through the door before proceeding to his own desk. “I hope everyone had a pleasant weekend, and remembered to finish correcting your essays on calming versus cheering draughts – if you haven’t already, go put them in the tray now, please.” He normally would have told them to do it at the end of class, but another thing students under pressure were known to do was work on homework during class, which was also another thing he didn’t want to see in his lab. They needed to be focused on their work in here.

“As a reminder, your mini-essays for or against the use of prepared ingredients in medical potions are due next Friday, those need to be at least a foot long. I will hold lab hours during office hours this and next Tuesday and Thursday if anyone wishes to come in to test things out with actual potions as you formulate your arguments.” There was a good-sized body of literature on the subject, and he had pointed them toward age-appropriate resources on that topic, but doing the practical work to test it out themselves could not hurt.

“For today, we will be looking at the Strengthening Solution,” he said. “Which, I must inform you, is among the substances which may not be consumed before sporting events.” He did not think many of the Quidditch players in this room would cheat, but then, a good many of them were for his team, and besides, it was always best to be clear about what was and was not acceptable. “As it can be used on a person who has been weakened in some way to return him or her to normal levels of strength, or on someone who is at such a level to increase endurance.

“It is a fiddly potion – which you should all be used to by now. It is of the utmost importance to perform each step precisely, and combine the ingredients exactly as directed. Do not add the pomegranate juice before the salamander blood; I suggest you don’t even leave them close together at your stations. The heat must also be kept very even the entire time you spend brewing, and the stirring orders observed precisely. This requires a few days to mature, so you’ll have to wait until our next session to know how well you have done, but your potion looking orange at the end of the period is a good indication that you’re on the right path. A smell of burned rubber is less promising. You may work together on this – “ it was nearly the last potion he really meant to give the fifth years, at least, that option on, as they would have to work independently on the Potions portion of their CATS, but in the interests of fitting everything into one class and allowing them enough time to clean up here today, he was offering them that option today at least – “and begin.”

OOC: All posting rules apply. Tag Professor Fawcett if you need him and have fun!

Subthreads:

I am Michaelzilla - fear my mighty strength! by Michael Grosvenor with Maximilian Joshua McLachlan, Josh McLachlan

What a pain in the ear. by Valerie Lennox, Crotalus

0 Professor Fawcett Lesson II for Intermediates (3rd-5th years) 0 Professor Fawcett 1 5

Michael Grosvenor

July 13, 2012 5:40 PM

I am Michaelzilla - fear my mighty strength! by Michael Grosvenor

Michael quite liked potions, as far as he was willing to admit that he liked a lesson. It was usually a lot quieter than other classes. The pace was also a little more relaxed. True, in charms or transfiguration, you knew immediately whether you'd failed and you could just go start again. Potions, you could work all lesson and then have diddly squat at the end. But it just made it a lot less frantic. He liked less frantic. And he liked quiet.

Plus, potions could do some pretty cool things. Not that charms couldn't but he definitely liked the sound of today's lesson. Strengthening solution. The professor didn't specifically mention any situations outside of sports where it wasn't acceptable, though he imagined it violated the wizarding “you mustn't tell people about us or show them magical stuff” laws to go and, say, pound on a load of Muggles who'd made your life hell at your previous school. But you could still totally fantasise about the idea. What he wouldn't have given, back then, to just be able to turn strength on, like a switch.

Professor Fawcett gave them the usual spiel about following instructions carefully. Michael couldn't help but feel that anyone who hadn't learnt by third year that you had to do what the book told you was probably not worth reminding. He pulled the book towards him, actually reading carefully, unlike his other classes, where he tended to skim. He'd been caught out before by finding that he should have done B whilst A was happening, not after. Or that he needed something ground, which he just found easier to do beforehand, so that there was no time pressure. Once he felt he'd got to grips, he turned to the person next to him.

“So, do you want to guard the fruit juice or the salamander blood?” he asked, pushing his book to one side and opening up his potions kit.

13 Michael Grosvenor I am Michaelzilla - fear my mighty strength! 199 Michael Grosvenor 0 5

Maximilian Joshua McLachlan

July 17, 2012 7:55 PM

Fear my meticulous potion skills! by Maximilian Joshua McLachlan

The weekend had been really uneventful, but Josh was glad for it. Any eventful weekends meant too much to worry about the coming week and he didn't want anything to keep him from focusing on his studies, even this Midsummer Event. The essay they were supposed to correct for this class had been easy, and now he was ready to turn on his top-notch work. He was getting better and better at dealing with his workload.

Josh walked into class early as usual, keeping his bag beside him and taking out a quill and parchment for notes. After that came out collapsible cauldron. Potions was his favorite class of the week. Now that he was sure that he wanted to become a Potions Master someday with his own apothecary and all, he had to pay closer attention to the ingredients he was brewing with. Magic came naturally, but knowing all of this information about it and using it correctly took hard work. Josh had been reading a prestigious potions magazine for the past week or two. He had just subscribed to it and was loving everything in it. He wanted his experimental potions to be in there when he was more experienced himself.

It was only obvious that Josh, the only teenage orphan in the infamous McLachlan clan, was going to receive no inheritance. After his friendship with a muggle-born had gotten back to his uncle at his old school, Josh had come to hate his uncle and all of his relatives with a silent passion. It could never be voiced or he'd risk death or something worse. McLachlans were known to turn on each other. But because he would be getting none of the enormous McLachlan fortune, he would have to work himself whether it be at a local apothecary or not. It would give him a reason to go home during the breaks though he dreaded the thought of going back to Australia and back to his uncle's family. He wanted to stay here until he graduated.

Class began and Josh turned in his work and sat down again. There was nothing really to scribble down for memory sake. He knew what a Strenghtening Solution was capable of; he had never used it himself personally, but he had looked at it before when he'd read through his textbook at the beginning of the year. His uncle also used it during Quidditch matches with his friends back in Australia. Josh called it cheating, but his uncle called it a fair advantage.

It came time to doing the potion. Josh wished he could be just one year older so he'd be able to take exams. He enjoyed being tested on what he knew especially when he was prepared. Practical exams were his favorite, but the Scottish Aussie could stand theoretical exams too.

Flipping open his worn textbook to the right page, he studied the ingredients before being interuppted by the person next to him. The only bad thing about this class, and most of the classes he had ever taken, was that they had to work in partners. Josh enjoyed working on potions alone which explained why there was always a curious smell in the Aladren fourth-years' room. He liked to make potions on his own. It made room for experimentation that classes did not.

"Salamander blood," Josh said. His own potions kit bag held phials of weirdly-colored potions that he was going to test later. He couldn't risk anyone taking a peek at that so he didn't usually open up his bag in public. Any empty phials he carried in there had to be taken out quickly. He was glad they wouldn't need it today. He poured three and a half cups of water into the cauldron and lit the fire underneath with his wand. He put his hand over the heating water. The book said to keep the ingredients at a slight simmer, but if the heat was a little cooler, the ingredients would have more time to be mixed and absorbed therefore prolonging the Strengthening Solution.

He didn't bother telling his partner this. If he asked, he would be glad to let him know. For now, Josh scribbled his hypothesis on the parchment and turned to his partner. "Do you have a Griffin claw or should I get one from the cabinet?" It didn't matter who crushed it to a powder, but Josh wanted to make sure that it was perfect. He couldn't stand ruining textbook potions especially because this was going to be his career in the future.

Though the fourth-year had only been attending Sonora for a few months, he had already gained a reputation of being the standoffish transfer. He wasn't exactly trying to get rid of it, but his personality did come out more in Potions class. Surrounded by his elements, by the magical liquids and the strangely shaped ingredients, one of the few things he could control in his life, he felt more comfortable and, dare say it, happier. He didn't smile at all still, of course, but his gray eyes brightened considerably if nothing else.

19 Maximilian Joshua McLachlan Fear my meticulous potion skills! 184 Maximilian Joshua McLachlan 0 5

Valerie Lennox, Crotalus

July 22, 2012 12:19 PM

What a pain in the ear. by Valerie Lennox, Crotalus

Valerie's ear was hurting bad. It was like she was being stabbed repeatedly in it. Like an ear piercing, but more painful, she assumed, and on the inside rather than the lobe. Plus, walking here had made her a little dizzy and nauseated, though that would hopefully go away after she sat for a bit.The Crotalus was used to it but it didn't mean it didn't make her completely miserable.

It also made it nearly impossible to concentrate on what Professor Fawcett was saying. Valerie knew it was important to pay attention in Potions or the results could be a disaster. She did not want to cause an explosion and hurt herself or others. As it was, she was going to have to go to the Medic after this class anyway, but she didn't want to have another reason on top of the probable-and likely certain-ear infection.

However, Valerie did not want to leave class. She had missed quite a lot a lately due to a bout with a stomach bug and she was trying desperately to catch up as it was. The Crotalus knew her grades would never be great because she would only wear herself out striving for all Es and make things worse but Valerie didn't want to get so far behind that she'd never get caught up and end up failing her classes.

She rubbed her ear, it was kind of like a bad itch that she just couldn't scratch and rubbing wouldn't relieve the pain either. When the third year had tried putting ear drops in them earlier, it had only made things worse, causing a burning pain. Valerie didn't like them anyway, because she had to lie on her other side to allow the medicine to get in to her ear.

The Crotalus forced herself to listen to Professor Fawcett, even though the earache made that kind of difficult. He was not one of the easiest professors at Sonora but Valerie didn't find him to be too unreasonable. Melanie had mentioned a situation in her class before midterm between Ryan's sister and another student that the Potions professor had handled with utmost fairness. She had done the corrections to her essays with a bit of help from Melanie and Ryan both, though the latter insisted that the former was likely way better at essay writing, but he had to work on the essay too. Valerie didn't think she'd ever heard the older Crotalus say anything nice about himself.

Her lips almost twitched into a smile at the mention of a Strengthening Solution. She, who was probably the physically weakest person in the whole class both in terms of resistance to disease and overall muscle strength, was going to be making a Strengthening Solution? Valerie contemplated taking it. Her immune boosting potions had to work similarly, maybe if she took it, she could recover more easily from illnesses. Or at least function more easily in order to keep up with her work.

First, however, Valerie had to actually make it and she didn't think she could really do it herself. She turned to the person next to her and asked "Will you please work with me on this?"

11 Valerie Lennox, Crotalus What a pain in the ear. 204 Valerie Lennox, Crotalus 0 5

Michael Grosvenor

August 02, 2012 2:30 PM

I'm more scared by what I've heard about your social skills by Michael Grosvenor

OOC – would Josh have requested teachers to call him 'Josh' when calling the register, or would he still be Maximillian on it? Have written as if the latter but please correct me if wrong.

IC
There wasn't a lot Michael knew about the boy next to him. He knew that he was a transfer and, from hearing the register called, that his name was Maximillian. Michael didn't tend to gather much from the gossip circuit but even he had picked up that Maximillian wasn't particularly friendly. He wondered whether the other boy knew anything about him. His hearing aids were obscured by his hair and, as Maximillian didn't seem to have made best efforts to integrate himself into school life, Michael doubted he knew that there was a deaf kid, much less who it was. He positioned himself, as usual, on the opposite side of the bench to his partner, whilst the other boy busied himself setting up. If he found it odd, he could ask. Michael didn't feel the need to announce anything to someone who was known to be somewhat hostile.

He caught that Maximillian wanted to guard the blood. He then asked Michael whether he had something or whether they needed to get one from the cupboard. Michael had most things a basic potions kit needed. However, he hadn't quite caught what the other boy had asked for.

“No, best get one from the cupboard if you're all out too,” he replied, hoping that Maximillian had indicated that he would go and get it. He might well expect Michael to, as he was younger, and then get all huffy when Michael didn't move. Plus, if he really pushed him to go get the stuff, Michael would have to ask what he was getting, and then the other boy would think he was stupid. He didn't like this whole dealing with someone who was out of the loop thing. It reminded him of being in first year, when he'd tried to bluff his way through everything. It was hard work. He began setting up his scales and weighing out the nettle leaves in the hope that his occupation with this task would prompt Maximillian to go ingredient hunting.

13 Michael Grosvenor I'm more scared by what I've heard about your social skills 199 Michael Grosvenor 0 5

Josh McLachlan

August 06, 2012 7:16 PM

No comment... by Josh McLachlan

OOC: Josh would not have corrected the professor, so yes, your assumption is correct.

Josh prided himself in being the kind of boy who observed his environment more than participating in it. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to work too well nowadays, especially at this school, but he'd try to blend in more. Apparently being standoffish made him stick out more. From the roll call, he knew his partner's name, but that was all he'd caught. He'd been too busy this class period to really pay attention to his partner as he would have other classes. The Potions journal had distracted his thoughts.

So far Michael Grosvenor didn't seem like a horrible partner. Hopefully he wasn't bad at potions. Josh nodded and got up to get the Griffin claw. When he came back, he saw Michael weighing the nettle leaves. It had first been hard working in pairs for Josh the perfectionist, but he was learning to let it go a little. Even back when he'd made potions with Cecilia at his old school, he had only let her hand him ingredients. Of course, it led to a lot of arguments, but she could understand him. There was no one like that here and maybe that was for the best.

"Do you have the salamandar blood out?" he asked as he checked the heat of the cauldron again and lowered the flame a little. This wasn't one of the potions he knew like the back of his hand so it would be good to periodically check the directions for this potion. He did that now, scanning the textbook page before looking over at Michael expectantly. First was the salamandar blood. Next the nettles. And then the crushed Griffin claw.

He cleared his throat, adolescence still making his voice, though deep, crack easily. "Would you like to crush the Griffin claw? If you don't want to, that's fine too." It was quite a surprise, Josh offering the job he enjoyed to someone else. Sacrifice for the happiness of others was what Cecilia called it. He had been so selfish and self-centered before he'd met her. What had happened in that summer between transferring schools? Well, that was a dumb question. Lots had happened. Things he didn't want to think about. Clearing his mind, he thought of what he'd recently read about in a DADA textbook. Occlumency, it was called. He wanted to learn it, but it would take a lot of time and it was hard work. Still, Josh thought it would be prudent as a McLachlan to learn to push down his sensitive thoughts around his more dangerous relatives.

0 Josh McLachlan No comment... 0 Josh McLachlan 0 5

Michael Grosvenor

August 09, 2012 2:44 PM

Suits me fine. by Michael Grosvenor

Michael was fairly sure that, when Maxamillian returned, he asked about having the salamander blood out. Michael had assumed that they'd be using the other boy's, seeing as he'd said he'd take care of it, so he wondered whether he'd misheard. He could ask Maxamillian whether they could use his but he didn't want him to think that Michael expected him to sort out everything. Plus he was better saving those tactics for times when he was really unsure. If he used too many in a row it became suspicious.

“Here,” he said, handing the vial over. If he'd got it wrong perhaps it wouldn't be such a bad thing. He might be able to explain his hearing impairment without it being such a weird thing to bring up. Perhaps they could just work in agreeable silence though. If what he had heard about Maxamillian was true, he wasn't one for a lot of conversation, which would suit Michael just fine.

He was glad when Maxamillian cleared his throat before making his next remark, as it gave Michael notice to look up and focus on his partner's face, although he usually tried to keep a corner of his vision on it whatever he was doing, so as to be able to pick up when someone started to speak. Would he like to crush the Griffin claw? The other boy seemed to offer this rather stiffly, though Michael picked that up more from his body language, as tone of voice was something that was often lost to him. He wasn't really sure how to take it. It seemed like it was a big deal to the other boy, he could tell that much. But what he didn't really know was whether he was supposed to accept. Did Maxamillian want him to crush the claw, and the stiffness was caused by being polite about it, or did he want to do it himself and was being tetchy because he felt he had to offer it to Michael? Michael didn't really see that it was a big treat nor a particularly dire task and he really couldn't be bothered with second guessing.

“I don't mind?” he offered, it coming out slightly more tentatively than he'd intended, hoping that that somehow wasn't an offensive response.

13 Michael Grosvenor Suits me fine. 199 Michael Grosvenor 0 5

Josh McLachlan

August 15, 2012 3:32 AM

... by Josh McLachlan

Josh took the offered vial and put it to the side so he could put the salamander blood in as soon as Michael started to crush the Griffin claw. It was important to put the ingredients in exactly as directed, as their professor had said, and Josh didn't want to give the potion any room to mess up.

His partner's response to Josh's question was foreseeable, and Josh didn't hold it against him. It didn't seem like an odd question to him, but to others it could. He wasn't very adept at conversation or social interactions, so Josh couldn't really speak for other people. He could sense peoples' emotions and thoughts, but he didn't know how to react to them correctly. Only when it came to defending himself. However, this was no duel and so he put the Griffin claw in his mortar and pushed it over to Michael. Was there something he was supposed to say? Josh had no idea. "I'll put in the salamander blood and the nettle leaves."

Trusting that his partner would crush the claw correctly and had measured the nettle leaves correctly too, Josh measured the salamander blood before pouring the measured amount into the cauldron and stirring it clockwise twice. Then he soaked the nettles in a glass of cold water for one minute before scooping them out and dropping them carefully into the cauldron. He made sure no excess water dripped into the potion. Too much water would ruin it.

He checked the heat with his hand near the cauldron and lowered the fire just a little bit more so it would stay even. Overheating the cauldron was always very easy to do.

One of the reasons why Josh had been hesitant at first to let Michael crush the Griffin claw was because it was the most temperamental ingredient in the potion. Josh glanced back at the textbook. After that, they had to stir it five times counter-clockwise. In Josh's mind, making the potion work "even" was fair. Josh didn't believe in fairness when it came to potions, but he thought he ought to try since he had three more years of this partnering up. "After you put in the crushed Griffin claw, the textbook says to stir it five times counter-clockwise."

0 Josh McLachlan ... 0 Josh McLachlan 0 5