I...am just waiting for the trap to spring, here. on Herbology

Nathan Xavier

March 20, 2023 10:57 PM

Advanced: Herbology in Medicine by Nathan Xavier

Nathan Xavier stood amid the Advanced students who had chosen to continue into the RATS level. It was often a small class, which Nathan was actually glad about, because it meant he could give each student individual attention and he'd be able to react quickly if there was trouble from one of the students' specimens, particularly since advanced herbology units generally had one of two qualities that made them 'advanced' - the plants themselves were dangerous, or there was a high risk of something going very wrong if the witch or wizard did not follow instructions exactly.

They'd already covered the carnivorous plants, and the volatile plants that reacted with violence or poison either in self-defense or just because that was how they were. They'd also just finished the unit on highly sensitive plants that needed to be cared for just so or they either produced weak or even harmful potion ingredients, or didn't produce anything at all. As the days began to grow longer and the walk to the greenhouses became less of an attempt by Mother Nature to turn them all into icicles, the advanced Herbology class was beginning its final unit before the RATS exam preparation took over the class.

"Hello, everyone," he greeted once the full class had arrived in Greenhouse Two. Along the walls, there were no venomous vines reaching for anyone, no sharp teeth gnashing at the students. Neither were there any wilting stems or rotting fruits because it dropped two degrees too cold overnight. In fact, the shelves along the greenhouse walls were quite barren today, save one that had been filled with a collection of teapots and teacups in a wide range of colors and designs. "As you probably know, we'll be starting the unit on Herbology in Medicine today, which will be somewhat less practical than most of the units we do here."

"This will be our last full unit before RATS prep begins, though I have scheduled several lessons throughout the spring for revisiting our last unit, to work with a few plants that need more direct sun than we could provide during the winter months." Weather was an obvious factor in that point of scheduling, but he'd also planned it that way so they'd get to do some practical work even through this mostly theoretical unit, and to keep those skills fresh as they moved toward the seventh years' exams.

"As I'm sure you've heard from the other professors who have a Healing unit," specifically Charms and Potions were both very important prerequisites for anyone going into a medical field of study, "it is difficult to practice healing arts without running into ethical dilemmas, so this will largely be a theoretical unit, though we will definitely be going out into the gardens to learn which wild and or common plants could be used in the case of a medical emergency, with or without any brewing. Seventh years, you did this last year in the fall, but what is available or useful in the fall is not always so in the spring, and there will be other options available soon, when everything is fresh and new."

"Generally speaking, herbology in medicine is used mostly for first aid, or minor ailments, as there are almost always charms and potions that work better and faster than raw plants for most medical conditions. Nobody at a hospital is going to give you a lavender leaf to disinfect your cuts. They'll give you a salve that may have lavender in it, but it certainly won't be recognizable as its original plant. You're not going to learn formal medicine in this class. What we are going to do today might be a more useful life skill though."

He waved his wand and murmured a spell, and burners like they had in Potions floated from behind his desk and landed in front of each student. "Potions are not the only way to brew plants. Who here has ever had tea when they felt sick or even anxious? Today, we're going to brew some lavender tea. It's good for relieving stress and anxiety, improves sleep quality, and can help boost your immune system and soothe headaches. Obviously, there are medicinal charms and potions that are better at any resolving any of those symptoms, but tea has many fewer side effects and doesn't require any special medical training to make. So if your symptoms are mild, a cup of tea may be all you need."

"Here we have some lavender blossoms," he used another spell to deliver a couple of fresh flowers to each student. "Obviously, these are what you would pick right off the plant, not what you normally brew in a teapot, as they are much more potent when dried. You'll only need a small amount in your tea, and you can mix it with some other flavors as well, as it can be a bit bitter on its own. I have some mint leaves, rose petals, and chamomile as well, if you would like to create a blend. Each of those have some minor healing properties of their own, and I'd like you to write a short essay on medicinal teas for homework this week, about which ingredients you can use and what effects they can have." He put out small tubs, clearly labeled, with the other ingredients where the students could all reach them.

"You all remember the leaf drying spell you learned for the CATS, right?" It had been part of the unit on preparing potion and herbal ingredients. "Assicco, with a long sweeping wand motion. That will work on these lavender flowers as well. The teapots are on that shelf there." He pointed them out for anyone who had missed them. "Pick one that takes your fancy and brew your tea. Instructions are on this sheet, for anyone who hasn't brewed tea before." He distributed copies to each student. "Honey, spoons, sugar, infusers are there." He indicated a table off to the side of his desk. "As this is not a restricted substance, and safe to drink even if you don't have any symptoms, you are permitted to drink your own tea this class.
You may need to try a few different combinations to find a blend that you don't immediately want to spit out, though. Bad batches can be dumped in that bin there. Unless anyone has any questions . . . ?" he held the question and looked around to see if anyone did.

"You may begin," he concluded, once there seemed not to be any more forthcoming.

Subthreads:

Teatime! by Valentine Duell with Ian Malone

So not what I signed up for by Oz Spellman with Billy Cobb

I...am just waiting for the trap to spring, here. by Graham Osbrook with Lavender Brockert

1 Nathan Xavier Advanced: Herbology in Medicine 28 1 5

Valentine Duell

March 21, 2023 7:05 PM

Teatime! by Valentine Duell

If she had to be honest with herself, Val was looking forward to graduation and moving onto the next stage of her life. That was probably a good thing, because it was going to happen whether or not she wanted it to. Her school days had been filled with friends and good times, but she was anxious to see what the future held. Once she got past the RATS.

The last section they were going to have, didn't really interest her much. Val knew perfectly well how good it was to have a healer around, and a small bit of that knowledge was better than none. But she was taking Herbology to learn more about the nature of plants and their role in wand making. That mostly leant itself to tree woods, but not entirely. The previous section on caring for and identifying plants had been more relevant.

As usual Professor Xavier was there to greet them, and she responded in kind. Val's first impression of the greenhouse was that it was really empty compared to how it had been for their previous units. The things that were there looked awfully familiar. She smiled as he talked and explained the day's task.

Val had, in fact, brewed tea before. Tessomancy lessons for the past few years had prepared her well for class today. The main difference here, other than the medical angle, was drying the leaves first. So she cheerily got to work, picking out a teapot, selecting a mixture of ingredients, and drying them. There hadn't been much need for the leaf drying spell lately, but she was pleased with the ease at which she cast it.

It wasn't long before her concoction was setting over the burner, starting to heat up. While it did so, she turned to a nearby fellow classmate. "This makes me think of Divinations class," she said with a smile, then continued with a slight giggle. "Perhaps these tea leaves will tell me that we won't have headaches in the immediate future."

2 Valentine Duell Teatime! 1490 0 5

Oz Spellman

March 23, 2023 4:14 AM

So not what I signed up for by Oz Spellman

Oz took a seat in herbology. It still weirded him out a bit that he had made all these significant choices that were supposed to influence his future. Herbology had been an easy-ish pick, in that it translated into a job he actually understood and could see himself doing, namely manual labour. Being a dragon tamer would be cool too but he wasn't sure what the odds were on that, and given that some of the advanced herbology plants fought back and had teeth, it wasn't necessarily that much less bad-ass to do landscaping. Although, he wasn't sure how that worked in the magical world. If people could just magic their gardens into being and move trees around with a wave of their wand, was there such a thing as grunt work? He still found his own physical strength useful in class - if you needed to move a big sack of fertilizer, you could featherlight it, move it, and un-featherlight it again which was like three steps, or - if you were him - you could just move it. But maybe that just meant he was still a Muggle at heart, even after all these years. Physical strength and magical strength weren't linked, according to most people, so maybe anything he could move, some skinny kid with suped up superpowers could move better. Some days, taking herbology felt like a solid move. Other days, it felt like learning a lot of Latin plant names for no reason.

Today felt like one of the days where it was less than stellar move, less because of the content and more because of the buttons that content pushed. People didn't just go around swallowing plant pieces instead of proper medicine... Not unless regular medicine was failing, they had been pressured to get better or continue being misjudged, and had resorted to swallowing anything that might help. Still, that episode was behind them. Xav had made some insanely risky choices but they had both survived it, both literally and also without getting expelled. And Xav had moved on to staring obsessively into crystal balls and, lately, stressing about the results.

Apparently, Oz was going to learn to fix that today. With tea. Given the complaints Xav had made against having to drink tea for divination, it didn't seem likely to help. Though if it was remotely effective, Xav would be snorting crushed lavender in no time...

Oz frowned at the tiny flowers that got deposited on his desk. This seemed like a pointless waste of time, both because it was at once too easy (they were putting unreactive flowers in water, after six years of brewing actual potions) and also literally impossible (they had been tasked with not making it taste like butt water, which was never going to happen, however much honey you put in it). Oz glanced over the instruction sheet, and figured he may as well follow that to the letter and call it done. It wasn't going to taste good to him no matter what he did, and he hated wasting things, even if it was just stupid flowers.

He dried them easily and began setting up the tea things.

"Who wants to drink flowers?" he asked his neighbour. "To 'relax.' Guarantee, if you try to make me drink flowers, I will get way more unrelaxed in a hurry."

13 Oz Spellman So not what I signed up for 1514 0 5

Ian Malone

April 08, 2023 7:08 PM

Hopefully a nice time by Ian Malone

For just a second, Ian felt delighted that they were going to start a Medical Herbology unit-and then Professor Xavier immediately put a damper on his hopes by saying it would be mostly theoretical. The sixth year sighed to himself. After having to go through all those units on dangerous plants, that he very much did not want anything to do with, given that he wanted as little danger in his life as possible, they could at least teach him something useful for Healing.

Ian was, of course, well aware of the ethical problems involved in teaching medical things. Like they couldn’t break the bones of one of his classmates, and let him set one or give medicinal potions to people who weren’t sick or make people sick so he could brew up a Healing potion and give it to them. That would be wrong.

However, as far as Ian was concerned, it was also unethical to expose people to dangerous things where they could get hurt or at least become traumatized. And even if someone did get hurt, they had to go to the medic as it was unethical for someone like him who did not have a medical license to treat them.

So,right now, he felt like he was sort of wasting his time, not really learning anything especially useful while having to deal with dangerous things, both here and elsewhere. How to practically defend yourself or deal with harmful things when Ian was never ever planning to be around said things. Like, he needed to know how to make antidotes for people being poisoned, not how to take care of poisonous plants or carnivorous ones. If those somehow had a practical healing use, like producing an ingredient that could be used in a potion that boosted the immune system, then it was someone else’s job to harvest them while Ian diagnosed patients and figured out what would work best for their conditions.

Yet, the Teppenpaw had to do practical work with plants that could maim or kill him, risking injury himself but on something that was actually useful to him, he could only do theory work. Which he devoured like the plants wanted to devour him.

To be fair though, as bad as venomous and carnivorous plants were, they still weren’t as traumatic as DADA and having to duel and be active and have everyone see how bad Ian was at all things athletic. He always worried about people laughing at him as usually the people who continued that one tended to be more on the athletic side. Although some of the people in it were nicer ones, like Phillipe and Val, he still felt like people wondered why he was even there and were secretly mocking him and thought he had no place being there. That said, Ian sort of agreed on that last bit other than learning about the maladies caused by dark magic and dark creatures and theoretically learning how to treat them. He had no place dueling or fighting dark creatures or anything else that involved being fast, tough or strong.

Ian also cringed to hear RATS mentioned. Yes, of course the sixth year was worried about them already. He’d only been worried since he’d gotten his CATS scores. While DADA was the one he was most worried about for obvious reasons, he was obviously worried about the others too. Worrying was just his natural state of being. And what if he got an examiner next time who was mean and became an examiner out of sadism? Just because Mr. Barba was nice and understanding did not mean they were all like that. What if his DADA examiner was one of those jock alpha male types who wanted to be a Quidditch player but wasn’t quite good enough and took out his frustrations on students, especially nerdy unathletic ones like the Teppenpaw?

Also, Ian did have to agree with Professor Xavier with regards to Charms and Potions being more overall useful in Healing than Herbology, and he personally was likely not going to be out in a dangerous situation where he had to know how to use them in their raw form. Ian needed to know how they combined to treat various conditions.

He was not at all upset to find out what they were actually doing, however. Especially when Professor Xavier mentioned the parts about “boosting the immune system” and “relieving stress and anxiety,” the latter of which was more pertinent at the moment given how Mom wasn’t there to give tea that boosted her immune system-he would remember that for later though-and anything that made Ian less anxious was probably a good thing.

The sixth year got his ingredients and began to brew, finding a spot next to Val. He gave a small smile at her words. “I actually didn’t take Divination.” Ian replied. “Nothing against it.” He quickly added, because Professor Duell was the older Teppenpaw’s aunt and he didn’t want to offend her. “I just had too many other classes that I need for becoming a Healer, and while I’m sure Divination has legitimate uses, that’s typically…not what’s used to diagnose people.” He looked back at his classmate. “I also hope nobody gets a headache.”It wasn’t as if he could do more than identify what would help. “Although what I’m really hoping for is the calming effect.”

11 Ian Malone Hopefully a nice time 1522 0 5

Valentine Duell

April 10, 2023 8:55 PM

Those are always nice by Valentine Duell

Divinations was not a large class, none of the advanced classes really were, so Valentine was not surprised when Ian responded that he hadn't taken it. She smiled at him as he did the social niceties to ensure that she knew that he thought it was alright that she did something that he hadn't done. "Everyone has their own path to walk," she stated kindly, doing her part to acknowledge his part in the verbal dance. "The path of the healer is a hard but important one, I have no doubt that you will do great things," she added sincerely.

There had been a very brief time when she had thought about going along the healer route. That was an excellent path to helping people when they often needed it the most. However, she just didn't think she actually had what would take; facing the sickness and injuries everyday, all the time. Having to face people at their near physical worst, confronting the pain an agony all the time? She just knew she didn't have what that would take. She was glad that Ian did.

Her head bobbed in agreement to his statement about nobody getting headaches. "True, but I will take a headache over some other ills that could befall a person." Val paused slightly as a thought occurred to her, "I wonder if we'd be allowed to have some of the nice calming tea with us during the RATS? That would be nice."

"Oh," she continued as her mind wandered back around to where they had been before as she watched her kettle continue to cook, "There apparently is a very small section discipline in divination that specializes in diagnosing people. As with anyone in divinations though, not to many folks think much of them, but sometimes desperate sick people will call on them." She shrugged and began to get her cup ready. "Are you all ready to move on from Sonora or are there still things you need to get ready next year? Do healers go for apprenticeships after this level of education?"

2 Valentine Duell Those are always nice 1490 0 5

Ian Malone

April 12, 2023 4:49 PM

Very much so by Ian Malone

Ian blushed at his housemate’s kind words to him. “Thank you.I’ve never wanted to be anything else. My mom has had an immune deficiency her entire life.” This wasn’t exactly private information and Val was hardly the kind of person who would say anything mean about it. “and I just want to help people like her.” He added “She does have a potion she takes, that helps but it's expensive. I mean, it’s not a big deal for us, but there are people who can’t afford it.”Granted, even if there was a different potion that cured people completely, it would likely be too expensive for some people too. That was a highly depressing thought.

The fifth year nodded in agreement. “So very true. Most headaches can be easily treated and aren’t a big deal. Although, migraines can be pretty terrible from what I’ve read.” He had never had one, but obviously Ian knew an awful lot about different medical conditions. Even a seemingly minor condition like seasonal allergies could be dreadful. Uncle Ryan had them and they made springtime a thing to be dreaded. His CATS examiner had seemed to be pretty miserable too. “Plus, a headache could be a symptom of something worse. In that case, tea probably wouldn’t be much help other than maybe temporary relief.”

Ian paused. “Sorry to be a downer. I just…think about this stuff a lot.”He smiled sheepishly. “Like medical knowledge, diseases, injuries is sort of my…thing.” The Teppenpaw was constantly thinking of potential calamities, ways that any sort of thing could be dangerous and how people could be seriously injured doing them. And also was well aware of disease symptoms. Then Ian realized what a weird thing that was to say, to be interested in. He quickly added. “Because I want to help sick people of course.” The moment he saw someone around him wasn’t well, all that he wanted to do was fix it. “ But you’re right, most headaches are annoying but innocent. And it’s much better to get a headache from stress than, say, being attacked by a poisonous plant.”

He continued. “Oh, Merlin, yes! I’m already worried about RATS and I don’t even have to take them until next year. Maybe you can have a cup at breakfast the morning of the exams and that will help, I mean, I don’t think it would be construed as cheating to take something to keep you from freaking out.” Ian’s own routine the morning before CATS had been nothing but a complete disaster. He had barely slept the night before, a mixture of feeling he hadn’t studied enough and needed to do more and being way too anxious and keyed up to sleep. The next morning, he had been seriously nauseous, both from lack of sleep, which tended to make the Teppenpaw queasy and, of course, nerves.

Granted, part of the problem was that the Challenges had been last year, which had taken up valuable study time, and next year, with RATS, they wouldn’t be, but honestly, Ian would likely still be freaking out and feeling like he couldn’t study enough. That was kind of just how he was.

“That is very true.” Ian stated. “I mean, even though I plan to go the traditional route, I can definitely see why someone who is desperate would choose that method for diagnosis. I’ve read about people who are definitely sick but Healers can’t figure out what’s wrong with them, and then there are people who get misdiagnosed or even told that they have a mental illness rather than a physical one. Plus some diseases are actually hard to diagnose and people can go years without finding out what’s really wrong with them. Meanwhile, they’re suffering and can’t get appropriate treatment.”

This honestly bothered Ian to no end. He hated that these people were in so much pain and couldn’t really function well. He supposed his mom was at least lucky that way, they knew what was wrong with her and could treat her.Still it had caused her and everyone who loved her misery. “Also, there are times when you know what someone has and can only do so much to treat it.”

“So, what do you want to do when you graduate?” Ian asked Val.

11 Ian Malone Very much so 1522 0 5

Billy Cobb

April 16, 2023 5:19 PM

It's not? by Billy Cobb

Billy had taken the class because it seemed like something he should take. Also, he really wanted to see what sort of super-exciting dangerous plants the wizard folk really had that the professor kept referencing. As such, the carnivorous and volatile plant section had been great! The section about super picky, sensitive plants had been tremendously boring. If there was a lot of that sort of stuff on the big test next year, he didn't think he'd have much luck with passing. Not that he was entirely concerned about that at all at this point. He just wanted to know what he should watch out for when he went off to explore the world.

He found a seat next to Oz, because it was Oz. They were supposed to be doing some healy things next, and the professor quickly confirmed that. Billy was on the fence on the topic, it surely wasn't as much fun as playing with the really dangerous plants, but it might hopefully be more useful than the previous stuff. Turns out they were making tea today. Well... that was not super high on the excitement meter.

Oz got to work beside him, so he did likewise. He chuckled once his friend finally commented on the task at hand. "Yeah," Billy responded, "I could think of some better stuff to drink." He dumped his dried, crushed plant bits into the tea thingys and set the fire to heat the water. "You figured out what you're doing for the bonfire yet?" He asked on a completely off topic subject that had wandered into his head. He wasn't entirely sure of his own plans. Apparently getting a tend with Ray wasn't allowed for some reason.

2 Billy Cobb It's not? 1519 0 5

Oz Spellman

April 19, 2023 4:36 AM

No one would by Oz Spellman

Oz quirked his eyebrows as Billy referenced better things to drink with a chuckle. Sometimes, the isolated life Billy led on the mountain could lead to him being utterly clueless of what Oz regarded as 'common knowledge.' On the otherhand, it could swing hard in the other direction, with rules that had age limits in other places seeming to be irrelevant. It was therefore impossible to know whether Billy was referencing a tasty thick shake or something stronger. The chuckle was inconclusive because he laughed at basically everything.

"No one could possibly like this," Oz argued further. "They must just think it's healthy or something." 'Healthy' wasn't a concept Oz was against at all. He had spent most of his childhood terrified of getting ill, and not able to do much about if he did, unless it wasn't going to get better on its own, in which case he felt guilty about it. Even now, with the stress of medical bills removed from his life, he liked being in shape for Quidditch, especially the fact that he could eat more than other people, and have a lot of it be protein. There was just a strong difference between things that were healthy and things that woowoo fitness weirdos selling diet plans thought were healthy. He was putting drinking flowers firmly on the second list, and wasn't going to trade steak and pasta in for it anytime soon.

"Henry and Xav," he answered the bonfire question. That was easy. Though he recognised that it threw off their roommate dynamic, potentially leaving Billy and Gus scrabbling for a third. It wasn't his first choice to share with all of them but he also wasn't going to leave his friends hanging or having to mop up some loser beginner kid that they didn't even know. "You?" he asked.

13 Oz Spellman No one would 1514 0 5

Graham Osbrook

April 19, 2023 10:11 PM

I...am just waiting for the trap to spring, here. by Graham Osbrook

Lately, at the end of his primary school education, Graham had begun having weird feelings of déjà vu. He did not, however, think he was developing some kind of late-onset divinatory abilities. It was just that at the beginning of his education, he and his sister had often sat at a table doing different lessons at the same time…and this year, he and Claire were once again often sitting at a table, doing different lessons at the same time.

Even deep into the panic of RATS prep (his teachers seemed to think there was a little while left before he needed to sink into a full panic; Graham…thought otherwise), he had still wondered what was up with Claire for that to happen. Claire, after all, wasn’t in a major exam year, and he had trouble imagining her batting an eye at the prospect of her CATS even once it was next year and they were a more immediate threat to her well-being. It just wasn’t her style, and so he’d asked, once, when it had actually occurred while they were in the same spot instead of drifting through his mind later. Her response had been to look at him, completely straight-faced, before saying that it was so she could avoid the temptation to plunge into hopeless, torrid love affairs; he’d gathered from this that she was all right basically and gotten back to work, but he wondered anyway. It was…off, somehow; he couldn’t imagine Mom really putting her up to monitoring him to make sure he studied enough, but….

The sight of nothing visibly violently dangerous in the greenhouse was enough, though, to take his mind right off the subject of anything else. This was not the normal state of the Advanced greenhouse. At all. Were the teapots some kind of plants that could shape-change, looking like something innocuous until it turned out the handles were actually mouths? Had someone – what – cross-bred boggarts with the venomous tentacula? It was with great care that he tried to find the spot with the perfect balance between distance from the nearest wall and distance from the exit he knew, due to having come through it, was least likely to be booby trapped, looking around anxiously and waiting for the other shoe to drop.

When Professor Xavier began his lesson, though, Graham wondered briefly if he was joking. They were making herbal tea? Herbal. Tea. In class. RATS level class. For their nerves. Then he wondered if this was a sign something worse was around the bend – that Wright or Skies had tipped him off that they were likely to drive someone to a nervous breakdown this week, or that the next Herbology lesson was going to be something far more dangerous….

He tried to shake aside these paranoid fantasies, telling himself to get it together and try to remember if either of his grandmothers had ever baked with anything Professor Xavier had just mentioned, or if he’d ever seen it in some blend of herbs around the workshop at home. He had a vague memory of some would-be-purple cheesecakes from one Easter, which he was at a loss to even describe, but he thought that might have been Claire’s fault and therefore probably not a good example of what lavender actually worked in food. He also thought he had refrained from trying them, assuming they had even been real and not the product of a bizarre dream.

“I guess now I know why my grandmother makes lavender-scented ink in colors other than lavender,” he remarked to a neighbor, taking up portions of lavender and camomile. The latter, he knew, was good for helping people sleep, and didn’t have an especially strong taste, so at least it probably wouldn’t clash too badly. Mint seemed like a good idea on the face of it, since mint was sweet and the purpose would be to counteract the bitterness of the lavender, but it felt too easy, like a potential trap; he put a couple of fresh flowers and a couple of mint leaves together experimentally in a measuring spoon and tried to determine if the combination smelled pleasant. It wasn’t a guarantee, but if they did, then they might work together okay in their dried-and-boiled forms, too. “I wonder if they’ll let us use that on RATS, or if the examiners pick the ink we use, too.” He knew about the quills, but had never thought about the ink. He couldn’t remember that detail from CATS either, actually. That seemed ominous. Was there anything in Professor Xavier’s stash of drinkables that enhanced the memory while being relaxing? Or at least just didn’t also key a person up further; just being able to remember more clearly would be relaxing if it didn’t have side effects….

Either way, he made a mental note to scribble a note to his grandmother. Their stationery shop wasn’t large enough to win a bidding war for a contract to make ink for exams that might or might not help students relax a little, but he thought it would make the family happy to see that he’d had an idea. Or even just been interested enough in the business to remember it existed while he was at school. It was, he knew, baffling to most of them that he had no interest in either writing supplies or the intricacies of the human mind, and therefore was not really in a position where he seemed too likely to follow either parent’s path.

16 Graham Osbrook I...am just waiting for the trap to spring, here. 1498 0 5

Lavender Brockert

April 21, 2023 4:34 AM

I hope you don't consider it being sprung now by Lavender Brockert

As the second half of her final year wore on, Lavender was feeling more and more stressed out, probably like most of her peers. Unlike them though, RATS was not the main reason. Of course, she was worried about them somewhat , like they were harder than CATS and she might have a mean examiner this time. And she did want to do well on them, but after CATS had been less terrible than she had been expecting-which, to be fair, Lavender had been expecting something that only an actual genius and a magical prodigy could pass-she was less worried about RATS. Especially since two of the ones she’d kept were Transfig and Herbology, the two that came the most naturally to her.

Although she was a bit worried that taking five RATS level classes had not been the best idea,although so far it hadn’t been a huge issue for her. Lavender could not remember what had possessed her to take so many. She wasn’t Ivy or Gabriel. And she did not want to end up like Chaslyn, or look like a show-off , but here she was.And she knew she probably wouldn’t get Os in all of them for RATS. But she really did believe she’d get that in Transfig and Herbology and Es in the rest.

That was all good, but just like two years ago, she still worried about her friends. Merlin knew that Lavender didn’t want them to end up like Chaslyn either and it was something she worried about with Val all the time. More so than with Graham. The other Crotalus seemed to be worried about RATS like most people, but he did not have Val’s…social life. Which Lavender did not mean in a negative way, she was sort of glad because well, then he could spend time with her. Even if it was spent studying for RATS.

Still, she was much less worried about RATS then she was about the Bonfire. The seventh year knew she just could not share a tent with just Val and Bonahelle. She’d rather listen to Lenny sing than do that. So currently, Lavender was trying to get up the courage to talk to Val about at least that subject.

However, that was not the only thing on her mind. She was beyond worried about losing her friends and having to make brand new ones,something that was not super easy for her. Honestly, it was sort of unfair that Val was a social butterfly who struggled academically but had to do well on RATS and in school in order to do what she wanted in life, while Lavender was born to a lifestyle where she’d be a socialite even though she sucked at it but could do all right academically.

Of course, she didn’t really think that she was all that smart and sometimes people did well academically because nobody liked them and they had nothing better to do. And the crappy thing was that, once college was over, she would not even have any academics to occupy her. Hopefully, Lavender would find someone special by then. Someone who loved her and wanted her. And she supposed there were always hobbies. She was going to end up an amazing oboe player eventually.

She still didn’t want to be alone, and she didn’t want to lose the friends that she had already. Who were important people that she liked and cared deeply about . And she was terrified that they wouldn’t want to keep in touch with her. Like maybe they didn’t value her the same way and that she wasn’t a good enough friend. Like, Lavender wondered if she was not being a good friend to Val by not at the very least admitting to her that she was worried that wandmaking wasn’t the right career for her because of it involving subjects she wasn’t good at, mainly Transfig. Lavender wasn’t against wandmaking obviously, it was a very respectable field. She just hated seeing her friend work so hard and overextend herself. She was also worried that Val would be too busy for her after graduation, that the Teppenpaw would not make time for her, because she wasn’t worth it.

Graham was arguably less complicated. Mostly because he wasn’t simultaneously dating both Lavender’s cousin and her mortal enemy. Still, there was all those blood status politics. Which she actually kind of hated. However,she would be happy to use any connections her family had to help him out. Unfortunately, the world was based on who people knew, regardless of whether or not that was right.

Lavender listened as Professor Xavier gave today’s lecture. So, they were making tea. Out of her namesake plant. She actually sometimes felt weird when it came up in class. The joys of being named after an object. Amethyst wore amethysts and Lavender got to be part of a calming tea. That tasted bitter. Making people calm, especially now with Big Scary Tests coming up sounded like a good thing, but bitter tastes? Considering all the animosity she felt towards Bonahelle, she wondered if people would indeed make jokes about her being bitter although she was pretty sure nobody knew the depths of her hatred towards the Aladren. Which she still felt were pretty reasonable but others might not see it that way.

Still, today was a day to stick with a friend. Actually, Lavender tried to do so most days, since her days to be with them seemed numbered and also because she felt more comfortable with them.So, she joined Graham by the ingredients. She smiled in response to his comment about his grandmother. “That’s cool.” She replied. “And I am pretty sure that they provide the ink, since they provide us with the anti-cheating quills.”

Lavender looked at her friend. “Um, I was just wondering…if we can keep in touch after we graduate? I’ve been thinking about it an awful lot lately.” She confessed.

11 Lavender Brockert I hope you don't consider it being sprung now 1504 0 5

Valentine Duell

April 22, 2023 10:08 PM

Do you plan on having more? by Valentine Duell

Valentine listened as Ian talked and encouraged him on. He never seemed to be one to talk a lot, so she certainly didn't want him to stop if he wanted to talk now. She thought that it was both fortunate and a bit unfortunate that she didn't have any family relations in a similar situation to Ian's mother. It would be nice to be able to say that she could relate to that, but her family was in pretty good health and didn't need to take medicine like that all the time. From the sounds of it, that was a good thing from a health and financial point of view. Mama and Papa did well enough to have a comfortable lifestyle, but they sure weren't in Ian's family's league on that front.

"It's alright," She responded when he apologized, "These are things that are important to you, that you are passionate about. That's important to have, that drive will help you to do great things." She smiled at him. For all she knew, he'd revolutionize wizarding medicine in the next few years.

"Hopefully it won't come to freaking out, but I may have a cup of tea for breakfast that morning." She thought just a moment about her own situation. "I'm trying to become a wandmaker. Assuming I do well enough on the RATS, I have an apprenticeship lined up." Her smiled turned a bit nervous, "Wandmaking needs a little bit of almost everything, so while I don't need to do outstanding on the RATS, I need to be at least competent in most of the core subjects and divinations. The only one I don't really need is potions." She did miss potions class a bit, it had always been a fun one.

Valentine's tea was beginning to steam and she took it off the heat. "Do you have any other interests or hobbies? Dedication to your main goal is good, but I've heard it said that it's good to have other pursuits when you need a break." It was odd, it seemed like she should know some of this about Ian already, but it seemed like he never had been one to talk much, to her at least. Maybe he talked to other people more.

2 Valentine Duell Do you plan on having more? 1490 0 5

Ian Malone

April 23, 2023 6:49 AM

I really really hope so by Ian Malone

Ian’s blush only deepened as Val complimented him about his passion for healing and his drive to become a Healer. It was just about the most important thing to him ever and he was glad that someone else thought it was a good thing. Well, someone else who didn’t have to. Obviously his family thought it was great and were proud of him, that he wanted to help his mom and do something that was just otherwise unambiguously good. Nobody became a Healer so that they could harm people.

Still, Val did not have to compliment him or encourage him at all. Ian did not feel that he could expect things from his classmates as he did not have many close friends, if any, other than maybe some of his cousins and his roommate.And it was all due to his goal, his life mission. The sixth year was so determined to be a Healer that he’d failed to have much of a social life.

Of course, Ian probably also didn’t have much of one because he was really shy and had a hard time talking to people. He was kind of afraid they’d reject him as nerdy and uncool because he was so…well, nerdy and uncool. Ian was just never going to be the sort of guy who was good at things like Quidditch. Or interested in them either.

So, he appreciated that his classmate thought that his passion and dedication was a positive thing.”Thank you.” Ian replied.

“Oh I hope so too,” He said. “I mean, for both of us. I mean, last time, my routine wasn’t so great. Obviously I know what I should do,with getting enough sleep and eating a good breakfast, but that wasn’t what happened at all. I would like to believe I learned my lesson and will do better next time, but to be honest, I’ll probably still end up stressed out, panicked and expecting the worst.” Which was arguably Ian’s natural state of being “I’m pretty sure the only lesson I actually learned was that not all examiners were ogres, but I’m still rather afraid of getting one that is.”

Ian continued “Although at least when I go for my RATS, I won’t also have the Challenges going on so that will be an improvement . You’re so lucky not to have them the same year as a big test.” The overall experience of the Challenges themselves had not been terrible, for the most part, but had seriously impacted his ability to study for CATS because they’d take time away from them. Obviously, that was what Ian had focused on. Becoming a Healer was much more important to him than the fact that they’d gotten third place. Although, that had felt nice for a moment, and his family was proud of him. Still, he’d quickly moved on to freaking out about CATS.

“That’s a very admirable career choice too.” Ian told Val. “I mean, wands are as essential as it gets. What made you choose it?” He asked, genuinely curious. “And I get it, I basically need all the core subjects except COMC. Although I need more than basic competence unfortunately. I mean, I really need to be good so I don’t kill anyone.” The idea honestly terrified him.

Ian considered Val’s next question. “I do like to read, not always medical stuff or school stuff. However, I really don’t get to do so much.” He realized, with some horror, how little he actually did get to relax. Or even was able to relax since he spent most of his time tense and worried and just plain wound up. “You’re absolutely right though, but honestly, if I ever get time for recreation, I think I need something very low key. Like, I expend so much mental energy in general, that I would want to just lay around listening to the wireless or reading something.” He replied. “So do you have hobbies that you get to do? You seem fairly busy too.”

11 Ian Malone I really really hope so 1522 0 5

Billy Cobb

April 27, 2023 6:07 PM

You're probably right by Billy Cobb

Billy was unsurprised by Oz's bonfire plans. "I dunno," he responded to the question, "Apparently I can't get a tent with Ray." He shot his roommate a wink and a grin. "I may see what Gus is up to, not sure if he's got any plans yet." Billy considered his options for a moment while he watched his assignment heat up over the fire. There were some other options, some more interesting than others. "If all else fails, I'll probably just take a single tent and have it all to myself." He shot Oz a playful grin. "It might be nice to not have anyone else around, don't gotta worry about putting up with all that snoring like normal. I might actually get a decent night's rest."

He was glad he wasn't Henry, he really would not like to be stuck in a tent between Oz and Xavier. Ugh, that would suck. "Everyone is figuring out sleeping arrangements, for the bonfire. You know if there is other stuff happening that don't involve sleeping? I assume they're gunna have piles of food, you hear anything about other stuff going on?" Billy wasn't sure, it may have been announced at some point, but he didn't always pay the best attention when teachers and folk like that were talking.

Billy's water was beginning to boil, but he just let it set and wondered how violent the teapot would get with the escape attempts of the water. Drinking the stuff wasn't super high on his list, it sounded like Oz was of a similar mindset.

2 Billy Cobb You're probably right 1519 0 5

Graham Osbrook

May 10, 2023 12:02 PM

Oh, no, not at all! by Graham Osbrook

Graham had no idea how, exactly, he’d ended up...friends, or something...with Lavender Brockert. He knew how they had become acquainted – Val Duell, the most terrifyingly competent person on the planet in all things except magic, it seemed, had simply plopped down in front of him at the table and asked if he would ask her friend to the Ball. However, he had gone into that episode half-convinced he was waltzing into disaster, complete and utter disaster, because – well – how could he be doing anything else? And that had been before Claire had decided to photograph the occasion and occasionally mock him about his ‘girlfriend….’

He supposed there was a chance it made him unique in the annals of brothers, but he really wished Claire would get a close friend who was a guy and therefore give him an excuse to return the favor. Heck, even an actual boyfriend to poke her about would be fine; he’d always found it sort of...odd...to contemplate considering Claire’s business in that area anything even remotely similar to his business. He might not want to be friends with anyone who ever hurt her, of course, but she was probably more than capable of hexing anyone who deserved it on her own, and if she did need an assist, she could always just...ask?

As for whether he could do likewise...he didn’t really want to find out. It seemed better for everyone involved that way.

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” he agreed with Lavender now. “After all that time I spent thinking about CATS, I, uh...don’t really remember anything about when we really took them,” he confessed. “I don’t know if I hope it works out the same way for RATS or not...guess it depends how I do on them, huh?”

He was glad he wasn’t drinking tea when Lavender brought up another topic, because he might have choked on it. That would have been both embarrassing and unpleasant. He wasn’t displeased by the request, he just wouldn’t have expected her to make it….

“Funny you ask, because I was thinking about the same thing,” he said. “I mean, not thinking about it this exact minute, you know, but I’d...thought about it before. Yeah, that would be cool, if, you know, you want to.” He grabbed some dried rosebuds just to keep his hands busy. “What do you think you’ll be up to?” he asked.

16 Graham Osbrook Oh, no, not at all! 1498 0 5

Valentine Duell

May 10, 2023 7:26 PM

That sounds like a good plan by Valentine Duell

Ian could apparently be quite a chatterbox when he wanted to. Valentine couldn't help but smile at the thought. It was good when people felt comfortable to talk and get to know one another. She could relate to most of his experiences with taking these tests.

"Yeah," Valentine agreed. "I know I was too nervous to do anything right. Fortunately they went well enough to keep doing the classes I needed. Hopefully this time will be better and have at least the same results." She was incredibly thankful she only needed to show basic competence, and not get everything perfect. As for the lesson that Ian had thought he had learned, "Oh I doubt many of them are ogres. They are just doing their job as well. You can't fault them for that."

Val nodded in agreement, "Yes, I got super lucky and got those challenges right between my testing years." She imagined that the challenges would have been a distraction from studying, but there actually hadn't been much one could have done to prepare for them. The hadn't known what the challenges were until they arrived to do them. But that didn't stop people from trying to figure them out and prep ahead of time anyway.

Ian's question sent Val back mentally a few years. "I like people." She started, just in case he didn't know. "I wanted to do something with them, to help them, but I knew I wasn't cut out for the road you are taking, or some other ones." She remembered sitting in Mr. Row's office and looking through options. "When Mr. Row and I were looking at options and wand-maker came up, I remember going to get my wand. It was such a neat experience finding something wondrous that chose me and bonded with me. It was almost like my first friend."

"The idea that I could possibly create things that could do that was something that I couldn't ignore. It was almost like making characters for people in the gaming club. Making something that would resonate with someone at a fundamental level." She was going to get these RATS right and pursue her dream.

Val almost giggled, "I used to have a lot. I was in most of the clubs the school had." She sighed, "Then studying for the future took priority. I'm still technically the head of the game club, but that's about it these days. It's fun and is a nice change of pace from studying. "

2 Valentine Duell That sounds like a good plan 1490 0 5

Ian Malone

May 11, 2023 9:48 AM

Thanks by Ian Malone

“Oh, I know, but I actually did pretty well.” Ian replied. “But I thought I was going to screw up so badly that I wouldn’t be able to take what I needed, especially with DADA.” Thank Merlin that he hadn’t had to duel in order to pass! “Admittedly, I still worry about that class more than others. Especially since what I really need training in, they can’t ethically teach me much practical stuff. I mean, I’m glad they aren’t hurting people or making them sick so I can treat them.”

Ian did all right in it, actually, when they were doing things that didn’t involve active combat against each other or simulated dark creatures. He could do spells that he was asked to do and the theory was no issue whatsoever. It was just things like dueling that not only required athletic skills like being quick on your feet but went against everything that Ian stood for. He might not be an actual Healer yet, but he lived by the motto ‘First do no harm.” He didn’t want to hurt people even if he could manage to fire first.

“True. My examiner was really nice actually.” Ian replied. “Though I spent the entire time wanting to make him a potion for his allergies. Unfortunately, that wasn’t on the exams though.” Honestly, his instinct when he saw someone who was sick or hurt was to want to fix them. Like how he wanted to fix his mom. He loved her so much. She was sweet and gentle and caring and just overall a wonderful mom despite her poor health. She did not deserve to suffer the way she did.Not that Ian believed anyone did really.

Apparently, the older Teppenpaw didn’t think most examiners were ogres either. Which seemed to be so very Val to assume the best about people. Ian had to admire that about her. She probably wasn’t completely wrong in this case though.”Honestly, I was terrified of them though it might just be what they represent and projecting my anxieties about how important these tests are and potentially failing them.”

Ian nodded. “You really were. I spent a good deal of time while we were doing the actual Challenge events worrying that I really should be studying.” That was the thing. While he had not wanted to let his teammates down-especially considering what Samara’s mother might have done to him if they did poorly-his goal of becoming a Healer was more important to Ian and he put a lot of pressure on himself to make sure he did well enough to obtain it. Plus, the professors were constantly mentioning them and making them sound like life and death. Which in Ian’s case, they sort of were..

Then Val explained why she wanted to make wands, starting by stating the obvious, which was that she liked people. “Wow, I’ve never actually thought of wand making that way.” The sixth year replied. “My wand was made by my distant cousin. He’s sort of the opposite of you. Like, I don’t think he actually hates people but he’s pretty shy. So another cousin,like, actually talks to people and helps them with wand selection.” Ian understood that, sometimes talking to people was kind of difficult. He was doing all right here, but he generally had trouble initiating conversations. Also, he was super busy studying all the time. “That’s really cool though.”

He nodded. “I so totally understand that. I’ve been consumed by studying since the beginning. I’ve never really had time for clubs or much of a social life. Though, to be fair, there haven’t been any clubs that have especially interested me anyway.” Ian especially certainly wasn’t about to join Duelling, Performing Arts or Speech and Debate! Those were all the things that terrified him or that he wasn’t good at. Or in the case of Dueling, something he was morally opposed to.

11 Ian Malone Thanks 1522 0 5