Potions - Fifth Year (Second Lesson)

I know I said we would be working on the Invigoration Draught, but I've changed my mind. Yes, I told you to spend the break studying up on it, though I highly doubt any of you actually did anyway. I feel the Draught of Peace is more difficult and at your level. Are you having a bad day, perhaps? Maybe an upcoming exam, or someone else stealing your girlfriend or boyfriend? This potion will sooth you, make you calm. It's honestly very helpful if you have had a stressful week and just need to relax. The ingredients are listed on the board.

Powdered Moonstone

Syrup of Hellebore

Powdered Porcupine Quills

Valerian Root

Powdered Unicorn Horn

Listen to me very carefully. This potion won't be easy to make, and if even one small part is off, you may put someone in a sleep, that will be impossible to wake up from. Now, do exactly as I say, without any screw ups.

Add seven pinched of the porcupine quills, and heat on high for thirty seconds. While it is heating, stir it two times clockwise and then turn the heat off. Five pinches of the powdered moonstone, sprinkled in a circle inside the cauldron. Turn the heat to medium, and add the Valerian root. Let it sit for five minutes, before you stir clockwise again, five times. Next, you add fifteen spoonfuls of the unicorn horn. Exactly fifteen, no more, no less. Then stir counterclockwise seven times and reduce the heat to just a simmer. Wait seven minutes, and add the hellebore, and tap your wand against the cauldron.

If you have done this the way it is meant to be done, you will notice a silvery vapour. Anything other than this, and we will know that the potion was not made correctly.

Eileen, sitting attentively towards the back of the classroom, perked up a bit and put the cloves she was gnawing on back in her sack when Professor Grimstone started the lesson. She folded her hands gently and squinted as she listened. Oh. Ok, no more Invigoration Draught. Excellent. I mean, yes, it was useful but he was right, she didn't even look at her book. How could she during salt mining season?

Potions. Instructions. Methods. Step-by-step stuff. They were bad. And the Slytherin just actually realized that she wasn't meant for the subject now. Sure, she was good at it in her previous years. But now? How could she have more patience? How in the world can she recall the ways to be done correctly and precisely? She could make the cauldrons explode, kill someone (which was not really a negative idea), or worse, fail the subject and the rest for her O.W.Ls. But she thought back, regarding that she had taken the subject, and for the rest of the year, because she had once bet that Grayson will take it too. And she hoped that in an instant, her best friend would turn up in the room.

Shaking her head as she ran away from her hacked mind, Frances glanced back and forth on the board and repeated the directions silently. She opened her new book she had bought when she had the reunion, and readied the materials on the table. She narrowed her eyes as she read the text, making sure that she had enough patience and determination to do them in the correct way, and started pouring the different ingredients then stirred as they were told a couple of times just like the professor said when she wasn't listening.

After she have dropped in fifteen spoons into the boiling cauldron, not exactly in full measure, she stirred in counterclockwise seven times, aching her arms more, and let it simmer in the end. Waiting for the seven minutes to pass, Frances sat and watched the clock tick by, as she went back into her reckless wanderings,

Letting someone fall asleep and not waking up again anymore is a pretty good one. I can use some of it.

Tshering had prepped the ingredients... mentally. As soon as she was allowed to stand up, she got all of the ingredients in a jiffy, moving around from cupboard to cupboard as swiftly as a flash flood. Once she had prepared all of those on the desk, she smirked.

She began by adding seven pinches of porcupine quills and keeping them on a heater, counting the seconds mentally in her head.

Hades walked into potions and stopped in his tracks. Yes there was more girls here. He hoped one of his friends were atleast here with him. He wouldn't even mind Caleb, even though he can be somewhat annoying but he hasn't really seen Caleb since he started going out with Angel LaRue. Hades took a seat and looked at the board. He got out his stuff for the class. Hopefully it wasn't going to be a boring lesson.

She got up from her chair as her mind whispered to get the potion wrong for another attempt of accepting death. She shook her head furiously, battling out her stupid thoughts, and decided to drop the last ingredient before tapping her wand for the finalization.

Frances heaved a sigh and let the hellebore from her hand drop into the cauldron. Watching it dissolve against the boiling mixture, she tapped her wand on the rim, and started to pack the ingredients up. As she did so, she took one glance at her work, and saw gray, not silver, smoke emerging from it. She grunted, rolled her eyes, and settled for what failure she had done.

Probably her mind was right. And she was. She'll get it wrong and test the potion on herself. But not now, she'll keep it for sooner shortcomings.

Thank Merlin Tshering remembered to stir the potion twice in time, and once she did she let out a sigh of relief. Once she had finally counted to thirty, her fingers swiftly turned off the potion. Finally... when it counted, her mind chose to be organized, like a filing cabinet. She gathered her moonstone, sprinkling it across the cauldron roundly as she counted in her head. One. Two. Three. Four. Five.

There. She should be done.

Turning the heat back on, she blinked when her fingers set it to the right temperature. Merlin... this automatic adjustment really, really scared her. She was clever, she knew, but... she wasn't used to being hardworking. She then sat by her potion, counting the minutes on her watch.

Damian paid no mind to the rest of the class, focusing instead on his work. Brewing the Draught of Peace over Invigoration Draught was a welcome change. The Invigoration Draught was... simplistic, particularly in comparison with more advanced brews. The Draught of Peace was actually challenging.

Deftly setting up his supplies, Damian started in on his work. Adding the seven pinches of porcupine quills with one hand, he set the heat on the cauldron to high, giving two precise clockwise stirs with his other hand over the course of thirty seconds before turning the heat back off again.

The five pinches of moonstone were next, sprinkled with a circular motion as dictated by the directions. On the heat came, again, to medium this time, the Valerian root added with care. Five minutes passed as slow as they ever did, Damian remaining mindful of the ticking seconds as he allowed himself a cursory glance about the classroom. Once they were past, however, he was stirring clockwise, one, two, three, four, five.

The fifteen spoonfuls of unicorn hair were added with great precision, the seven anticlockwise turns of the stirring rod no less exact. As he finished stirring, Damian reduced the heat on his cauldron to a simmer, patiently waiting the seven requisite minutes before adding the syrup of hellebore to the concoction. Taking up his wand, he tapped it against his cauldron, careful to stand back so he didn't get a face-ful of the silvery vapor which rose from it.

Work completed, Damian patiently waited for further direction, now waiting for class to draw to a close.

Caleb walks into potions ready for anything thrown at him. He ends up taking an empty seat and getting situated before starting his assignment. Caleb added seven pinched of porcupine quills into his cauldron and put the heat on high for thirty seconds. He stired twice clockwise and then turned the heat off. Caleb added five pinches of powdered moonstone. He turned the heat to medium and added valerian root. He let the unfinished potion sit for five minutes before stirring clockwise again, five times.

He then added fifteen spoonfuls of unicorn horn, he then stirred once more counterclockwise seven times and lowered the heat so it simmered. Caleb looked at the clock and waited until seven minutes was up. When those seven minutes were up he added hellebore and tapped his wand on the cauldron. Caleb was satistfied.