Professor Yu
September 06, 2014 2:10 AM
Intermediate Potions (Years III, IV, & V) by Professor Yu
Now that it was getting towards the middle of the year, Diana figured that her students would be getting more and more lethargic in their work. It tended to happen- even to the best of students, and she liked having her students alert in class. It was still a little bit weird to her that Sonora mixed the years up into beginner, intermediate, and advanced, but she understood the necessity of it- class sizes would be relatively small should the students be divided by year. In addition it promoted inter-year bonding in addition to inter-house bonding which Diana found to be useful- she thought it set the students up for what the Real World would be like once they left the protected walls of Sonora and started to work with people of all ages and backgrounds. As it was, when she had been homeschooled it had been alongside her brothers who- should they have gone to a regular school, would not have been in the same year as her.While she waited for the class to settle down, Diana smoothed out her dark blue robes. They were her favorite set- the color was rich and the fabric silky against her skin. She liked the way the ends rippled when she walked and the soft swish sound they made when she raised her hand to write something on the board to demonstrate something with her wand. She had neatly pinned her dark brown hair up into a soft twist so that it was out of her eyes and had used matching pins to keep her sleeves up and out of the way. She greatly disliked working with sleeves or hair in her way. At this point in her potions making career she had figured out that the best way to keep her robes rather clean was to cast an altered cleansing spell on them so that the result was sparking fire or loose potion would (mostly) be repelled from her robes. This was a great charm for her as she enjoyed wearing finer fabrics but given her profession had always been nervous to wear them.
Once the class’s allotted time began, Diana stood up and wrote the word “wit” on the board. “Can anyone tell me what this means?” She asked. She thought it was fun sometimes to test the intellectual level of students- seeing if they knew different words or even the origins or roots of certain words. It had always been a sort of hobby of her brother Stephen to discover origins and roots of words and test her on them and so she had developed an interest in teaching her students a few word origins every week. In general, her class did not disappoint- there were always a few students who at least appeared to be interested in the mini lessons and so she had continued to have them.
Once they had gone over the different uses of the word “wit” as well as the origins (Middle and Old English deriving from the Latin verb “to see” and the Greek verbs “to know” and “to see”) Diana introduced the potion for the day- the Wit-Sharpening Potion.
“The Wit-Sharpening Potion allows the drinker to think with a clearer mind as most of you should know if you did last night’s reading,” Diana said, repeating the basics of the potion anyway as she figured there would probably be at least one student who had forgotten to do the reading. She understood that they were young and had other things to do besides homework. “In order to brew this potion you will need ginger roots, armadillo bile, and ground scarab beetles.” She knew that some potioneers preferred to buy pre-ground beetles while others liked grinding them themselves as they felt the resulting potion would be that much stronger but she liked her students to have pre-ground so that it would be at the right consistency. “Please make sure to slice your ginger roots into precise and even pieces for the best results. Remember that cutting them haphazardly can result not only in injury to the self but also a weaker or even useless potion.”
Diana set the students to work, letting them pair up if they pleased, and got to passing out the homework from last week. It had taken her a little bit longer to get it graded as she had still been recovering from her nasty cold from a few weeks ago but she had been pleased with the overall outcome, finding that most students were continuously improving their marks.
OOC: Please remember posts must be kept as realistic as possible and be a minimum of 200 words. Feel free to tag Professor Yu if assistance is needed. Otherwise have fun— points are awarded for creativity and grammar.
Subthreads: *insert witty title* by Adam Spencer, Pecari with Ava Fletcher, Aladren, Adam Spencer, Ava Fletcher
Slow and steady usually wins. by Leo Princeton, Crotalus with Eleanor Vandenberg - Crotalus, Leo Princeton, Nellie Vandenberg
I hope it makes me witty (Tag Gemma) by Serena Brockert, Teppenpaw with Gemma Bennett, Teppenpaw
Ginger appreciation by Ji-Eun Park, Pecari
10
Professor Yu
Intermediate Potions (Years III, IV, & V)
0
Professor Yu
1
5
Adam Spencer, Pecari
September 06, 2014 4:40 PM
*insert witty title* by Adam Spencer, Pecari
Potions had always been a subject Adam regarded with fondness. His father had been, for a good number of years, the gatherer of potion ingredients for his grandfather's hospital. Henry had been sent on a number of business trips every month to gather rare ingredients from different countries for medicinal potions. His absence had always caused his mother to rely heavily on her eldest son and Adam had borne the burden graciously. His father had since been transferred to work as a mediwizard, a profession much more reputable and stable. Adam had once had dreams of following his father into the medical field as a medicinal potions brewer, but though he was fond of potions because of his father, Adam was not inclined to make it into a career.He was a fifth year now and still struggled with grinding his ingredients properly and understanding the incredibly volatile temperament of the ingredients. One drop of the wrong ingredient and the potion could prove fatal to the drinker. It was a risk Adam didn't like taking. Though he thought himself a rather careful wizard, he certainly had made more than one blunder in brewing potions. He took some consolation in his higher mark in Transfiguration, however, and knew he had to focus and work harder to do well on the Potions section on his CATS.
The mid-year lethargy was one Adam was no stranger to. He had been given two new responsibilities this year as Prefect and Assistant Captain along with the extra studying he had to do for his CATS. It was enough to wear him down with a full course load and hours of homework to do on top of that. And that wasn't even mentioning the ball which posed its own complications. If he, Ginny and Francesca couldn't come up with a practical plan to go together as a trio, he hoped one of them would be asked by someone else. They were both lovely witches and Adam thought any wizard would be mad not to ask them. Perhaps, if they decided not to go together, Adam would ask someone on the Quidditch team and forgo his group altogether. At least then he wouldn't be choosing one of his best friends over the other.
When he walked into class, Adam took a seat near the front of the room. The origins of the word 'wit' did not interest him and Adam had to work to pay attention. His thoughts, however, wandered to his sister, wondering if Emrys would ask her to the ball and if she would have a significant other before he did. That would be remarkable, his extraordinarily shy sister dating. Mum would explode with joy.
Professor Yu's words about the reading penetrated through Adam's daydreams. He had read last night, a faithful student to the last hour, and knew enough about the potion to get started. A Wit-Sharpening Potion would be most helpful during important exams, but Adam didn't think it was allowed at normal schools. No matter; he needed to do well by his own means and that would only come about with practise. Once Professor Yu had dismissed them, Adam received his marked homework from last week. He had improved slightly: an E was better than an A. Only moderately satisfied, Adam put it away into his book bag and set the fire underneath his small cauldron.
Adam enjoyed working with his peers and he turned to his neighbour with a smile. "Care to work together?" he asked. "I've already got my cauldron lit so you don't have to worry about setting yours up. Would you like to slice the ginger roots? I find when I cut them my pieces are never quite as even as I think they are."
0
Adam Spencer, Pecari
*insert witty title*
0
Adam Spencer, Pecari
0
5
Ava Fletcher, Aladren
September 09, 2014 6:52 PM
*insert witty response* by Ava Fletcher, Aladren
Potions had long been one of Ava's favorite subjects in the three short years and few months she had been there. She applied herself in all her classes, really, but for some reason when it came to potions she always pushed herself farther. Professor Yu was rather inspiring-- she and Professor Tallec were both so young and so successful. They served as constant reminders of how Ava wanted to be once she graduated-- in a different field, of course, but reminders all the same. She had heard some of the girls from her town talking about vision boards over the summer and while she thought the whole idea was rather ridiculous, she couldn't help but notice that some of the ideas had stuck with her. In addition to the figures of Professor Yu and Professor Tallec teaching in front of her nearly every single day, she had also decorated the space around her bed with photos of places she wished to go and lists of language and cultures she wanted to learn. In the middle of it all she kept a photo of her mother-- probably her favorite one, when she was a young, carefree traveler, arm slung around her father."Care to work together?" A voice interrupted her thoughts and Ava turned to see Adam Spencer, a Pecari Chaser, prefect, and older brother of Charlotte Spencer, the shy Crotalus girl who she maintained Emrys had a crush on. "I've already got my cauldron lit so you don't have to worry about setting yours up. Would you like to slice the ginger roots? I find when I cut them my pieces are never quite as even as I think they are."
Ava looked back towards her textbook where notes she had taken on the earlier lesson were scribbled in the margins and shrugged. She didn't mind partnering with people and besides, Spencer had always seemed like an alright person from what she'd seen in classes so far. "Alright, I can't promise perfection though!" She was pretty confident in her abilities to precisely slice ginger root, but she wasn't sure how well a confident response would be received. It wasn't that she was shy about being smart, she just didn't particularly want to tell someone who had just admitted a weakness that she did not have the same one.
Ava took some ginger root out of her potions kit and carefully removed the cover from her knife. She kept her potions knife clean and sharpened it when it looked too dull so she always had to be careful not to cut herself when taking it out to use. "How is it being a prefect?" she asked as she began to methodically slice the ginger. "I never really realized but next year my class will start getting handed prefect badges and I never really even considered how that whole thing works." She didn't necessarily want to be a prefect but she also thought it couldn't hurt to be prepared should the opportunity arise she was called on to be one or if one of her friends was.
OOC: Adam can just straight-up know Ava's name. I figure that since they've been in classes for a few years together now (two in intermediate and one in beginners) they'd probably know (at the very least) each other's names.
10
Ava Fletcher, Aladren
*insert witty response*
0
Ava Fletcher, Aladren
0
5
Adam Spencer
September 10, 2014 4:16 PM
We are two very creative people. by Adam Spencer
Adam smiled in response to Ava's comment. "That's fine," he replied, "so long as I can promise the same, Miss Fletcher." He hoped Ava was a little more than decent at slicing roots, otherwise they would have a little more to worry about than the potion's perfection. Adam readied his pre-ground scarab beetle by measuring it out. He didn't particularly enjoy grinding these ingredients himself as he often couldn't tell when to stop grinding to achieve a ground pile rather than a powdered mess. It was just another reason why Potions was not his strong suit.Ava reminded him of the shiny badge on his robes and he smiled as he concentrated on not spilling a grain onto the table. "Time really creeps up on you, doesn't it? I didn't really know much about it either, but I'm learning on the job. I enjoy it; it's a lot of responsibility, but working with the other Prefects and the Head of House is fun. I suppose I'm lucky, though, since two of my very good friends were made Prefect as well." He finished measuring out the pre-ground scarab beetle and closed up the jar. He looked over at Ava. "Let me know when you're ready with the ginger roots and I'll put the ground scarab beetles in." The roots needed to be put in right after the ground ingredients and stirred before the armadillo bile.
Still on the subject of Prefect, Adam continued, "I've got to learn how to manage my time better, though, being Prefect and the Assistant Captain now for the Quidditch team. I'd really like to keep all of my courses next year, but I'm not sure if that's possible with all that I'm involved in right now." He chuckled. "I'm not really sure how all of this responsibility suddenly came to me, but it's a challenge I heartily embrace. Are you hoping to be Prefect next year?"
There was really no advice Adam could give on impressing the professors and Headmaster. He'd maintained his marks, been a good citizen at school and was a part of the Quidditch team. He occasionally attended the Dance Club as well because of Ginny; it was a miracle Adam wasn't failing his lessons. At this rate his mark in Potions wouldn't improve if he couldn't spend more time on it. Managing his time better this term, he supposed, was the first thing he had to work on before improving anything else.
Adam didn't want to touch the armadillo bile until the very last moment. The stench of bile in itself was always putrid, no matter whose bile it was. He fancied Ava wouldn't like to touch the vile ingredient, and Adam thought it would be better for that reason for him to offer to measure it out. "Do you have any armadillo bile?" he asked. "If not, I'll grab a bottle from the cabinet and prepare it if you're willing to stir." He paused for a thoughtful moment. "It's amazing how some of these ingredients are collected. The gatherers must have strong stomachs." Adam's father certainly did.
40
Adam Spencer
We are two very creative people.
257
Adam Spencer
0
5
Leo Princeton, Crotalus
September 16, 2014 1:49 PM
Slow and steady usually wins. by Leo Princeton, Crotalus
Lately Potions was garnering more of Leo's interest because of how useful these brews were. He enjoyed brewing; there was something calming about it that allowed him to think whilst creating something that would be helpful to him as he studied his books or people. Not to mention brewing posed a more acceptable challenge than spells did, and there was something pernicious about certain brews that thrilled him more than DADA. Leo liked a challenge when he was interested in something, and he was somewhat surprised to find himself enjoying Potions more and more. Professor Yu wasn't a terrible professor either, nor as strict as some of the others.If he wasn't as interested in the course, the fumes from Potions would have worried Leo. He was a handsome lad who looked a little young for his age, but he was betting on his cherub-like features to eventually win the heart of some rich witch in the future. His face had also kept him out of trouble when he had been the cause of it. He had the perfect poker face, and it seemed odd to him that no one at Sonora seemed to buy it. The adults certainly did. It was most disconcerting, having no friends to call his own here. Leo regularly spent time in solitude at home, but here it was different. He didn't like being so left alone and disliked by his peers for no apparent reason, though he would never admit it.
Leo actually made it to class with a minute to spare, a large improvement from arriving five minutes after class had already begun. He always sat in the back of the room just in case it was a theoretical lesson instead, during which he would nod off, but today seemed promising. They'd read about the Wit-Sharpening Potion last night and Leo had taken the time to read. The potion would come in handy, he thought, when taking exams or reading a particularly dull chapter, like the chapter for Transfiguration that he was supposed to have read and hadn't.
The bit about the linguistic origins of the word 'wit' was interesting, but Leo didn't think he would ever really use that knowledge in daily life. He drew pictures of magical creatures as Yu lectured, keeping one ear out for anything interesting, but she merely went over information from the textbook and then sent them on their merry way.
Leo prepared his work station and set the fire underneath his collapsible cauldron. He'd gotten good at that part after four years of the same basic process. He began cutting the roots carefully, making sure he didn't cut himself and cut the roots evenly, but his nose wrinkled at the smell of ginger. He could hardly imagine what armadillo bile smelled like. He was half-way through his work, slicing slower than his classmates, when someone distracted him. He looked up, his knife poised over the root. "Sorry, did you say something?"
0
Leo Princeton, Crotalus
Slow and steady usually wins.
0
Leo Princeton, Crotalus
0
5
Ava Fletcher
September 18, 2014 9:28 PM
Indubitably by Ava Fletcher
Ava wrinkled her nose a little bit when Adam called her Miss Fletcher. He was probably only doing so to be polite as she knew that Purebloods tended to use that sort of nomenclature when talking to people but it made her feel old and weird, especially because her mother had left all that behind when deciding to marry her father. As she chopped the ginger into precise pieces, she glanced up a few times to see him measuring the ground scarab beetle. She was partially glad that Professor Yu asked for them to use pre-ground beetle as it would have been tricky to grind live beetle but on the other hand, she wanted to have the experience of it all in case she ever had to make a potion in which all she had at her disposal were live creatures. Then again, Ava reasoned, that would have been a whole other class in and of itself—How to Gather Potions Ingredients 101."Time really creeps up on you, doesn't it?” Adam asked. “I didn't really know much about it either, but I'm learning on the job. I enjoy it; it's a lot of responsibility, but working with the other Prefects and the Head of House is fun. I suppose I'm lucky, though, since two of my very good friends were made Prefect as well. Let me know when you're ready with the ginger roots and I'll put the ground scarab beetles in.” Ava nodded her head to show him that she’d heard and waited for him to finish. “I've got to learn how to manage my time better, though, being Prefect and the Assistant Captain now for the Quidditch team. I'd really like to keep all of my courses next year, but I'm not sure if that's possible with all that I'm involved in right now. I'm not really sure how all of this responsibility suddenly came to me, but it's a challenge I heartily embrace. Are you hoping to be Prefect next year?"
Finishing with the ginger, Ava wiped her knife down while she thought about her response to the questions. “You know, I’m not really sure,” she said, setting the knife aside. “I really was just wondering what it was like being a Prefect.
"Do you have any armadillo bile?" he asked. "If not, I'll grab a bottle from the cabinet and prepare it if you're willing to stir." He paused for a thoughtful moment. "It's amazing how some of these ingredients are collected. The gatherers must have strong stomachs."
Ava nodded her head. “I have some but I’m not sure if it’s enough. If you want to put the roots and beetles in while I measure it out then I’ll stir while you go get some more.” Armadillo bile did have an awful smell but Ava wanted to get used to it as she knew it would not be the least of her worries in her particular field of interest. As she measured out the little armadillo bile she had left in her Potions kit, it appealed to her to ask after Adam's own field of interest. "What sort of thing is it that you'd like to do once you graduate? Quidditch player?" she teased.
10
Ava Fletcher
Indubitably
258
Ava Fletcher
0
5
Adam Spencer
September 22, 2014 1:31 PM
Re: Indubitably by Adam Spencer
Adam noticed Ava wrinkle her nose at the use of her family name, but she didn't correct him or ask him to call her by her given name. Maybe taking her facial expression into consideration would be a better idea than asking if he could call her 'Ava'. It would be better, he thought in this case, to simply assume he ought to call her by her name; by her expression, she wasn't very fond of the less personal name. Adam knew he liked it better when his acquaintances and classmates called him 'Adam' rather than 'Mr Spencer'."Sure," he said when Ava offered to put in the armadillo bile herself. He was glad to get it off his hands, but surprised that she wasn't afraid of it. Not that he was afraid of it, it was just the smell he wanted to avoid. Adam thought about her question as he put in the ingredients. He smiled at her little quip. "No, not Quidditch player. I'm not competitive enough for that." He hadn't given much thought to what he wanted to do after he graduated now that he didn't want to be a Medicinal Potions Brewer. "Go to university, I think," he finally said. "I don't know what I'd study as of now, but I'm sure I'll find some sort of career path eventually." He was only a fifth year anyhow; he had time to think of something.
"The ingredients are in; I'll go get more bile." He grinned. "Never thought I'd say that in this lifetime." He went to the Potions cabinet and browsed through the phials, finally stopping at the right one and picking it off the shelf. It looked a bit thick inside the phial, but he hoped it hadn't gone bad, if such an ingredient could go bad.
He brought it back to his station and placed it next to the measurement Ava had already laid out. "Here you are. Have you finished stirring?"
Once they had started their respective jobs again for the potion, Adam picked up the conversation from where they'd left off. "You've still got some years to think about it, but what do you want to do after you graduate?"
40
Adam Spencer
Re: Indubitably
257
Adam Spencer
0
5
Serena Brockert, Teppenpaw
September 23, 2014 3:44 PM
I hope it makes me witty (Tag Gemma) by Serena Brockert, Teppenpaw
Serena had discovered that she kind of liked Potions, though not as well as Charms. Surprisingly to some, she actually didn't mind touching the ingredients some might find disgusting. After all, she'd grown up drinking potions for ailments of various kinds. The Teppenpaw could only imagine how Muggleborns reacted when they heard what was in them. She figured they'd probably be disturbed by it, just as she would be if she took whatever it was Muggles did for medicine. Serena really didn't know much about them at all. Her family tended to ignore non-purebloods unless they caused them trouble.Plus, Potions always tended to be done in partners and she could work with Gemma, unlike in Charms. Of course, it had been worth not being able to partner with the older Teppenpaw to make friends with Charlotte. Even though the lesson was generally an awful one. She'd never been so glad to be in the youngest year group there. The odds of her getting hurt had been significantly less than the fourth and fifth years and she'd really felt bad for them, especially her new friend who'd gotten upset. Serena had disliked seeing that so much.
That was another thing, unless you caused some sort of catastrophe or made something undrinkable, Potions was a fairly safe subject, so long as you paid attention to detail. The third year tried to as much as possible, very much wanting to make up for inferior to the rest of her family Transfiguration ability. Therefore, Serena overcompensated. She knew she didn't have to be perfect, but she wanted to draw attention away from the fact that she didn't get Os in Transfig.
Actually Serena rather liked Professor Yu, who seemed rather laid back compared to some professors. For such an...exact subject, she was rather relaxed. Not the typical image of one would have of a Potions professor. Plus, her lessons were reasonable and the mini-lessons interesting. The third year hadn't been the one to answer the question about wit, preferring to keep a low profile, but she'd known the answer. Wit could either mean humorous or being alert, without distracted. Given the lesson, Serena figured Professor Yu meant the latter. Especially when she said the potion would give them a clearer mind.
She'd made sure to sit by Gemma today. Usually she sat by either her or Charlotte. Or sometimes Duncan. Serena actually thought she might have more friends than he did. Which was kind of surprising as he seemed...more outgoing than she was, even if he had gotten Bashful along with her in the yearbook. She kind of figured it was somewhat by process of elimination because the rest of the guys in their class were...not bashful at all.
Serena turned to her friend and asked "Partners?"
11
Serena Brockert, Teppenpaw
I hope it makes me witty (Tag Gemma)
272
Serena Brockert, Teppenpaw
0
5
Ji-Eun Park, Pecari
September 27, 2014 5:43 AM
Ginger appreciation by Ji-Eun Park, Pecari
Ji-Eun always came to Potions well-prepared. This was true of most of her classes but this one was especially important, owing to it being the family business. She had read the chapter thoroughly the night before and was dressed appropriately for class. Under her robes, she was wearing a short sleeved t-shirt so that when she when she rolled the sleeves of her robes up her arms would be bare, and had paired this with comfortable leggings that were easy to move around in. Her hair was plaited into a coronet using one of the braiding styles Chloe had taught her.She diligently raised her hand when Professor Yu asked about the meaning of wit.
“Wit is like intelligence,” she replied, a little annoyed that now the words were out of her mouth it didn't seem to quite cover it as clearly and as concisely as she felt she knew it in her mind, “Like, if you're quick witted, you're smart.” English wasn't her first language (although she couldn't remember a time when she hadn't been learning and speaking it as well as Korean) but in some ways that made her more likely to know words than her peers as she was always pushing herself to learn new things, to read challenging books and to look up the words she didn't know. She had been doing it less since coming to Sonora, where she didn't exactly have to try hard to keep up her English skills. If anything, she needed to read something a little deeper than magazines in Korean to keep that up.
When they were set to work, she opened her Potions kit and took out the ginger and her scalpel. Her Potions equipment had to be some of the dullest things she owned as it was hard to customise and personalise the sterile metal objects. The wooden lid of her Potions box was covered in cheery stickers like smiling cupcakes and pictures of the popstars she admired but that was the only concession to her personality that it had been possible to accommodate. She expertly peeled the ginger and set her steel ruler on her chopping board although she could probably slice identical pieces by eye. Her parents' emporium sold both fresh and prepared ingredients but it cut costs to just buy whole stock and prepare it themselves. She had spent a childhood learning to slice, dice and powder. Professor Yu's preference for them using some prepared ingredients in order to ensure consistency was somewhat under-mined by the fact that any such ingredients in her kit had still been prepared by Ji-Eun herself, just at home rather than school. Her mother kept an eye on her work though and there was no doubt that anything she'd brought with her was done to an acceptable standard. She worked the scalpel quickly and efficiently, her ginger prepared in perfect pieces in a seriously short amount of time.
“Mmm,” she smiled, as she took in the smell of the freshly sliced root, appreciating the moment before the armadillo bile started getting splashed around, “The only trouble with using ginger in Potions is that it makes me want to cook instead. Or at least go eat,” she grinned at her neighbour.
13
Ji-Eun Park, Pecari
Ginger appreciation
268
Ji-Eun Park, Pecari
0
5
Eleanor Vandenberg - Crotalus
September 27, 2014 6:22 PM
Determination is the key. by Eleanor Vandenberg - Crotalus
The only thing that really interested Eleanor was the ball this term. She liked her classes well enough, even Potions, but she could spend months studying all the different types of robes and fashionable accessories. It was something she hoped to begin studying once she graduated from Sonora and finally went back home to England. Nellie loved making herself look pretty and enjoyed making others look good as well. She liked people that knew how to dress themselves, and that was one of the many reasons why Eleanor wanted to be closer friends with her roommate and some of the other pureblood girls at this school.There were several things besides clothes on Nellie's mind because of the ball. There were shoes to think about, her dancing, etiquette, and most important of all, the date. She was feeling more self-conscious and insecure about how much she clung onto Leo. She thought he was cute, certainly, but she could tell he didn't seem as interested in her as she was in him. It was disheartening, but what would she do if she couldn't secure him as a date to the ball and possibly as something more in the future? Her parents were expecting her to marry well; they needed her to for her own security after they passed on. Her paternal grandparents were hardly likely to give her a pence once her father died; they were still bitter about her father marrying a foreign witch and not a fellow Brit, and Nellie was the evidence of that.
It was depressing, seemingly not being wanted by anyone, but Nellie had a strong heart even if it didn't seem like it on the outside. She was determined to have a date to this ball and she would get it no matter what she had to do, save asking Leo or Tristan herself. Nellie thought Tristan was a nice boy. He might even be a better date than Leo.
Her fellow Brit and childhood friend, however, was the first person she saw in class and she went to go sit by him. She smiled at him in greeting as class started. Nellie usually paid close attention to her appearance, but she had been spending more time on herself these days in hopes of attracting boys to ask her to the ball.
The potion fumes were messing a little with her perfume and she was glad she had packed an extra little bottle in her bag. Once Professor Yu dismissed them to work, Nellie turned to Leo. He was already beginning his work and Nellie wondered if she ought to ask to work together or just assume that they were going to share the cauldron. After a moment, she made her decision and leaned toward him. "If you're cutting the roots, I can measure out the ground beetles."
Apparently he hadn't heard her, but at least Nellie had gotten his attention. "I said, if you've got the ginger, I can take care of the ground beetles." She brushed her long dark hair over her shoulder. "Anyway, if you cut any slower the water will be boiling by the time you're done." Eleanor turned away from him and began measuring out the ground mix. She was stupid to think he'd even pay attention to her, but she had to keep trying. She wasn't going down without a fight.
0
Eleanor Vandenberg - Crotalus
Determination is the key.
0
Eleanor Vandenberg - Crotalus
0
5
Leo Princeton
September 29, 2014 2:19 PM
Ambition along with it. by Leo Princeton
Leo had never really appreciated Eleanor as a friend. They'd played together as children, but Leo had hoped to make friends of his own once he came to Sonora and drop her. However, Nellie was the only witch who ever gave him the attention he wanted and deserved. His brothers had hardly looked at him twice whilst at school, but Eleanor had stood by. Leo didn't know how to be a friend, really, but at least he could practise with Eleanor.Eleanor was pretty and getting prettier as they got older. She looked different from the usual pure-blood witches Leo was surrounded by at home; more exotic, though she was only from England like he was. He had never really been blind to her looks, but there were so many lovely witches at Sonora and back home that he'd hardly cared. He didn't fancy her in that way, but he didn't mind the attention she gave him as much as he had in their first year.
She quipped at him before turning to measure out the ground scarab beetles, and Leo frowned before taking a look at the cauldron. The water was heating up rather quickly. He huffed and turned to cut just a little faster. He wanted to work in silence for a bit, at least whilst he worked on the ginger roots so he didn't cut his poor fingers, and when he finished he turned to look at his companion.
"Finished yet?" He dropped the ginger roots in and took out his bottle of armadillo bile. It had come with the standard pack of ingredients; never in any other circumstance would Leo ever carry around anyone's bile, whether it be man or animal. He dreaded opening the phial, but it had to be done. "Stir it, will you?" he said before holding his breath and uncorking the phial. He measured the three tablespoons as quickly as he could, spilling a few drops onto the table in his rush, and he had to pause and gasp for air, turning his face away briefly, before finishing the last tablespoon.
With the cork back in the phial, Leo wiped up the remnants of the ingredient off the table with a handkerchief and crumpled the handkerchief up to toss it into the bin once class ended. Leo waved his hand in front of his workstation to try and wave the odour out of the air or at least spread it around a bit more to let it disappear quicker. "That's disgusting," he said before looking into the potion. "That's it, isn't it? How long do you have to stir it for?"
40
Leo Princeton
Ambition along with it.
263
Leo Princeton
0
5
Ava Fletcher
September 29, 2014 9:43 PM
I'm impressed with your creativity, sir. by Ava Fletcher
Ava nodded her head in response to the university idea and continued chopping the ginger. The strong scent was tingling her nose and she desperately wanted to sneeze but also didn’t want to contaminate the ingredients and have to start over. She turned her head to the side a little and twitched her nose to see if she could get the feeling that was slowly building up to go away. To no avail, she let out a small achoo! in the direction of her school bag, and picked up her knife again. She was taking a while to chop the roots, she felt, but she was also taking it slow to ensure even cuts. “That makes sense,” she said.When Adam returned, she accepted the bile and put the correct quantity in. It smelled kind of funny-- not very good in the slightest, but it didn’t make her nose itch and it didn’t make her want to sneeze so there was something.
“You’ve still got some years to think about it, but what do you want to do after you graduate?” Adam asked her.
Ava put an elbow on the table and rested her head while she answered. “Well,” she said. “Ever since I could remember I wanted to be a mermaid. But then, once I realized short of selling my voice to a sea witch I’d be stuck in the body I’m in, I wanted to be a Healer, like my mom. She travels around and takes care of people who couldn’t otherwise afford to go to a hospital.” Ava picked up her quill and made a note in the margins of her textbook on the color and scent of the potion at this point in its stage. These sorts of things would help her figure out if something was going wrong later on if she decided to brew the potion again. If the potion turned out alright then she’d leave it as is. If it exploded or something in that vein, she would put a big ‘X’ through the note to indicate that the color and smell forewarned bad news.
“I think that would be the ultimate profession!” Ava exclaimed once she was done. “You’d get to see the world and help people at the same time!” She could envision herself thirteen years from then, returning to Sonora for her ten-year reunion, if the school did that sort of thing, looking dreadful in worn clothes and sunburnt skin, probably quite scruffy compared to the rest of her classmates. But in that vision she was smiling and entirely pleased with her life. Settling down was not something Ava planned on doing. She didn’t care if she spend the rest of her time living out of a suitcase-- so long as she was doing something with her life. Something important.
OOC: Sorry it took so long!
10
Ava Fletcher
I'm impressed with your creativity, sir.
258
Ava Fletcher
0
5
Adam Spencer
September 30, 2014 6:25 PM
That's what I was going for. by Adam Spencer
The process of sneezing was amusing to watch for the outsider, and Adam watched her nose do interesting things before she sneezed. "Bless you," he said in response, smiling a little. She was cute in a somewhat childish way, one that reminded Adam of his younger sisters. The ginger roots took Ava a little while, but Adam didn't mention it. The slices looked perfectly fine to him and he knew he would have botched it up if he'd had the task instead.The smell of armadillo bile wasn't pleasant, but it wasn't as terrible as Adam had thought it would be. Perhaps its label was worse than its bite, and if a Wit-Sharpening Potion would help him study better, he wasn't as opposed to using it in a brew. Once it was mixed in with other ingredients, it didn't seem so bad.
Ava's initial career path made Adam chuckle in surprise and amusement. She did remind him of his youngest sister Lily; Lily was beginning to grow out of that imaginative stage, but his sister had wanted to be a little boy, not a mermaid. A Healer was much more practical and realistic, though being a mermaid, or mer-man in his case, sounded lovely, save enticing sailors and drowning them in the ocean. Perhaps that was a different sort of mermaid; he didn't think that's what Ava meant when she said she had wanted to be a magical aquatic creature. He couldn't imagine any wizard or witch's life ambition being to drown Muggle sailors.
"My dad's in the same profession. He's a mediwizard for my uncle's hospital in London," said Adam with a smile. "He used to gather ingredients for medicinal potions so he went all over the world, but my mum didn't like it. Now he travels all over Western Europe to tend to injuries at different wizarding events. He once got my family tickets to a professional Quidditch match through his work." That match had been sweeter just because his father had been so proud to hand the tickets over, though his family easily could have afforded it. Ava, however, probably didn't care and Adam brushed his fingers through his hair, slightly embarrassed at digressing so. "Sorry, I got carried away," he said with a little laugh at himself. "Anyway, if you like travelling, that sounds like the perfect profession for you. It sounds like your mum does more than just healing, but actual humanitarian work. I think that's really noble of her. Do you see her often or ever go with her on her trips?"
Adam paused to look into the cauldron for a moment. They were supposed to let the potion sit for five minutes before stirring it three times at the end. Then they would be finished.
After Ava had replied to his previous question, he picked up his wand to stir. "We're almost done," said Adam with a smile at his partner. "If we do the last step right, this might be the best concoction I've made this entire term thanks to you."
40
Adam Spencer
That's what I was going for.
257
Adam Spencer
0
5
Ava Fletcher
September 30, 2014 7:27 PM
Well then, it was well executed. by Ava Fletcher
"My dad's in the same profession," Adam said smiling. "He's a mediwizard for my uncle's hospital in London. He used to gather ingredients for medicinal potions so he went all over the world, but my mum didn't like it. Now he travels all over Western Europe to tend to injuries at different wizarding events. He once got my family tickets to a professional Quidditch match through his work." Adam paused, combing his fingers through his hair. "Sorry, I got carried away. Anyway, if you like travelling, that sounds like the perfect profession for you. It sounds like your mum does more than just healing, but actual humanitarian work. I think that's really noble of her. Do you see her often or ever go with her on her trips?"Ava frowned and watched Adam watch the cauldron. She wasn't quite sure how she wanted to answer that question. She loved her mother but she didn't know how to explain to Adam that Charlotte had been absent for most of Ava's childhood. Ava didn't know Adam that well and so she didn't want him to think she resented her mother for something she obviously couldn't help-- like traveling for work. "Yeah, it's noble of her," Ava replied, echoing Adam's compliment. "She doesn't really spend a lot of time at home though. I really only get to see her on Christmas Day and also sometimes my birthday." Growing up, that had made hose two holidays extra special for her, but the weeks following were always full of disappointment as Charlotte generally promised to stay for a week and was most usually gone the next day, called away to work. Ava wasn't sure if it was because Charlotte was the only Mediwitch capable (or willing to work almost for free) that these people could call on or if it was because Charlotte was working off the guilt of not being able to save Ava's father by healing the rest of the world. "But this summer she promised to take me with her to Asia. She's mostly going to be doing round in Southeast Asia but she's also making a trip to Nepal so I'm really excited for that!" Focusing on the happy points with her mother had been a way for Ava to deal with the largely absent role that Charlotte played in her life.
"We're almost done," Adam said as he stirred his potion. "If we do the last step right, this might be the best concoction I've made this entire term thanks to you."
Ava rolled her eyes. "You did half of the work, you know. It's no fair to give all the credit to me." However, the small compliment pleased her-- Potions was something she worked hard at. It was important to her that she learn the different components that were vital parts of becoming an accomplished Potioneer.
10
Ava Fletcher
Well then, it was well executed.
258
Ava Fletcher
0
5
Nellie Vandenberg
September 30, 2014 10:22 PM
With a splash of creativity. by Nellie Vandenberg
Talking to Leo had once been a bright part of Nellie's day, but lately it was becoming more and more tiresome. She measured the scarab beetles quietly, silently pleased to hear him cutting a little quicker. She hummed in the affirmative when he asked and dumped the ground mixture into the cauldron after the ginger roots.Nellie knew she shouldn't have left her long hair down for Potions, but she liked how silky and smooth her hair was today. It wouldn't look or smell as nice, however, if she kept it down to soak up all the smells. Sighing, she wrapped her hair up into a bun and stuck her wand in to hold it together. She glared at Leo after he ordered her to stir it, but he was too busy with the armadillo bile. Now Nellie was really glad she had put up her hair. Any risk of having it touch the armadillo bile had been, thankfully, avoided.
He was being such a baby about the bile. It smelled awful and Eleanor held her nose with her fingers, but he didn't have to be so dramatic. It probably didn't even smell that bad. She was supposed to stir while he dropped the bile in, so Nellie stirred the five times a little slowly so the three tablespoons would have time to seep into the rest of the potion.
The worst part of the potion was over and Leo was trying to disperse the smell of the armadillo bile. Eleanor focused on finishing the stirs before taking the ladle out and letting it simmer. She lowered the heat so it wouldn't start boiling, and then Nellie sat back in her chair. "Yes, that's it," she said, looking at her manicured nails. Her favorite color was the color of emeralds. It was also the color of the stone on her favorite necklace. The necklace her father had gotten her for her eleventh birthday had a real emerald on it. It was the only present he had ever gotten her and the only accessory she hadn't brought with her from England. It was too precious to carry around like it meant nothing.
"We're supposed to let it simmer now for five minutes and then stir it again counter-clockwise twice before it's finished," she said before falling silent. Nellie and Leo were childhood friends, but she didn't feel like they were now. She didn't know what to say to him except to bring up the ball, but it was still too soon. Anyway, she wanted him to bring it up and ask her, as was proper. "How are classes going?" she asked, lifting her eyes to look at him briefly. "You don't seem to be doing too badly in Potions."
0
Nellie Vandenberg
With a splash of creativity.
0
Nellie Vandenberg
0
5
Gemma Bennett, Teppenpaw
October 04, 2014 9:52 PM
Me, too by Gemma Bennett, Teppenpaw
Gemma did, she realized after Professor Yu asked, have some idea what the word ‘wit’ meant, or at least thought she did. Her older siblings, Eliza and Paul, called her their pretty little dimwit sometimes, and she had read enough novels whose heroines were described as “witty” to know that it meant someone who was seen as very clever and funny, and not in the way her siblings sometimes found her funny. Heroines were funny on purpose, and only when talking about people the reader wasn’t supposed to like anyway.She didn’t offer to answer the question, though, both because she was pretty sure that saying “like a heroine in a novel” wasn’t quite the answer Professor Yu was looking for and because she wasn’t sure if ‘wit’ also meant “a small thing,” as when she heard people say they didn’t care either a whit or wit about something and she was not sure which word it actually was. If that was what the professor meant, then Gemma wasn’t going to embarrass herself by mentioning any version of the other definition, even if she could figure out a way to say it that sounded better than talking about her novels of manners. It turned out that had been a good idea, and she placidly took notes over the definitions offered by the wittier members of the class without venturing any comment of her own.
The point of the digression became clear when the reading – which she had forgotten to do – came up. Gemma was sorry to have not done the reading as the professor talked, both because it was bad of her to have forgotten her homework and because this actually sounded useful. A potion that could make her say smarter things at parties and remember what she read for classes, and to do her reading, definitely sounded like it had practical applications to her.
She smiled at Serena when the younger girl asked about being partners. “Sure,” she said. “Do you want to start getting things out while I go get the water?” she asked. Lugging cauldrons and water around was not one of Gemma’s strengths, not least because she was not very strong, but she figured she was older and should therefore do the heavy lifting. Somehow, it seemed like she would have done something very bad if she let Serena do it and the cauldron then fell on the younger girl’s foot.
0
Gemma Bennett, Teppenpaw
Me, too
251
Gemma Bennett, Teppenpaw
0
5