Potions - FourthYear (Second Lesson)

If any of you are big readers, then you know what this is. It may not have gotten as much...coverage in the history books, but it is a vital potion. You all know of Harry Potter and his story don't you? In his second year, he encountered a Basilisk, which was petrifying the students, ghosts, and animals alike. I'm not going to bore you with history, that's not my job. My job, is to teach you how to brew potions. This particular potion, was the reason all of the petrified people came back from their comatose state.

But when are we ever going to come across a Basilisk, you might ask. That is not what this potion is solely useful for. This will restore anyone who has been transfigured, or cursed to their original state, regardless of what it has happened. It's a potion with only one ingredient. That ingredient is the root of a matured Mandrake. Luckily, your Herbology teacher has given us a few for the class, so we won't have to mature them ourselves.

What I want you to do, is take your root and slice it up into very small pieces. A quarter in diameter is preferred. Once this is done, crush the pieces into a fine powder. Dump everything into your cauldron, and turn it on high. Stir clockwise for ten minutes, then counterclockwise for ten minutes. Your arm may start to hurt, but there's really no getting around it.

Next, turn the heat completely off and let it sit until it cools, then wave your wand over it. If you did this right, you'll get possibly the worst smell you can imagine. Luckily, the people you give this to, aren't going to be in any position to argue.

Aragorn sat at his desk patiently as he read the instructions for the class today on the board. It wouldn't be too hard, at least he would hope it wouldn't be. Potions was his second best class, of course, and he loved it genuinely. Quietly he pulled his cauldron closer to him, collecting all of his ingredients quickly, and setting to work.

He didn't want to talk to anyone, and he didn't care if anyone tried to talk to him. He didn't like talking when he was working in Potions, or Divination. He started to slice his root carefully, to nearly the exact size needed. He tossed the roots into a bowl and began crushing them into fine powder, maybe a little too fine.

He dumped that and the rest of the ingredients into the cauldron on high, stiring clockwise as instructed. He switched it up sometimes, adding a half turn counterclockwise in along the way and continued to do clockwise after. After the ten minutes of work, he was happy with it and started doing the same thing as before but counterclockwise.

He turned the cauldron and watched the others around him, curiously searching for someone who had also came up with the same colour and smell. Unfortunately, he couldn't see anyone else's cauldron but his own. He sighed and turned the heat off as he finished, waiting until it turned warm to wave his wand over it. If Gorn weren't so impatient, his potions may have came out better in the past.

It didn't smell nearly as bad as the board said it would, and he knew he'd done it wrong. He slumped back against his table and ignored his cauldron now.

Quinn was up and ready to start the day. She was always like this when school started but then when she'd come back for school she'd just be annoyed and tired of coming. Quinn walked in and saw only one other student there. She gave a slight wave and took an empty seat in the middle of the class.

She looked up at the board to see what was today's lesson. 'Seemed easy enough' Quinn said. She got out her things for the class before she begun. She looked at the first step and did it with ease. Now all she needed to do was do the rest. She liked potions, it wasn't easy but she was focused enough for it.

Quinn added the other incredients and stirred it softly. She waited until the potion was supposed to be finished. She could wait though. She stirred counterclock wise until she was satistfied. She lowered the burners until it was completely off. She looked to see another student done. He was from ravenclaw and she believed is name was Aragorn. Quinn looked back down at her potion, it looked right.

Alex got up a little late but it didn't bother her. Usually the professor got in late so she wasn't in a rush. She arrived to class and saw that their were two other students here. She looked at the professor and then at the potion on the board. She mentally groaned and took an empty seat in the back. Alex opened up her book and looked at the potion ingrediants.

Alex took root and cut it up into small pieces. When she was satistfied with the size she crushed it up until it was powder. She placed it into the cauldron in front of her. She turned her cauldron on high and started to stir clock wise. When the ten minutes was up her hand started hurting. She switched hands and went counter clock wise for ten minutes again. When that was finished she turned off her cauldron and waved her wand over the potion. The smell hit her nose and she almost gaged. It smelled terrible. She tried not to seat so close to it, so she leaned back in her seat.

Juliet listened to to the man speak, her quill doodling absent-mindedly on the page. She supposed since this was often her worst class she should pay the most attention but... what was it really worth?

She paid attention and still constantly almost blew up a potion.

Still once they were done, she carefully went through the instructions as she had managed to listen to them. Humming slightly to herself as she did it, she was surprised when she was complete to find a rather unpleasant stench coming from her cauldron.

Tabi walked into potions just in time for the professor to speak about the mandrake potion and this was another potion that Tabi had no problem brewing. Sometimes Tabi had a habit of getting cocky but that was just the way she was.

She gathered up the ingredients and began the potion. She cut up the mandrake and the crushed it and jumped everything in the potion and began to stir setting her timer for 10 mins. She wished she was at the shop because her father would set the stirring spoon to stir itself.

After the first 10 mins the potion was a light brown and then she started the stirring the other direction watching it turn a dark brown. Next she turned off the heat waved her wand and thought she was going to loose the luch she hadn't eaten yet.

Danni managed to walk in just behind Tabi and spied Aragorn and slid into a seat next to him and smiled tiredly. He got his supplies out and rolled back the sleeves on his robe and sighed quietly. His first class of the entire year just had to be potions.

he progressed intpo making his potion. it began to turn brown and he cringed as it changed. The smnell was rancid. he hated it. He just hoped he was doing things right

Leshia was able to sneak in and was by Tabi. She was hoping that she didn't miss too much. But she was sure that Tabi would catch her up if she was behind. She had been sleeping a lot since she was up most of the night. And she still haven't gone and seen the healers like Tabi wanted. Leshia didn't think that it was a big deal.

She then whisper to Tabi for help. Leshia was alright with potions. But it seemed that Tabi was a better one. " Tabi what has happened?"

Tabi noticed that Leshia had come into class late looking a little wear for tear again. Tabi swore she was going to be forced to kick her sister's butt if she didn't pull it out of her butt.

"We are working on the Mandrake Draft." Tabi whispered, she thought maybe she would use the mental connection but Tabi was still having headaches.

"By the way nice of you to show up." Tabi looked at her plainly

Aragorn smiled at Danni as well, wondering if he had always looked so tired in the mornings. He thought he should help him in case he was too tired to do it correctly but the image of his imperfect potion shook him from that lovely plan.

Leshia knew that she was late and hoped that house points wouldn't be taken off. And she knew that Tabi was upset because she hasn't done anything to help it.

“ Ah ok I know what Mandrake Draft is.”

She then whispered as she looked at her sister. “ I blacked out and have no idea why it happened.”

When Leshia said she knew what the draft was Tabi could not help but roll her eyes,

"I would hope so seeing is you are a potions masters daughter. It would look slightly bad if you didn't." Tabi said kind of smartly

Tabi turned and looked at her sister and almost cut her finger when she said she almost blacked out.

"Dang it Leshia, are you trying to kill yourself?" Tabi was mad "You were suppose to go to the mediwitch." Tabi was seething

Leshia then seen as Tabi rolled her eyes. It was something that she liked to make her sister do.

“ Yes that means I would have an advantage over everybody in our class. Working in a potion shop and cleaning up after you taught me so much.”

She then watched as her twin almost cut her finger because she told her that she almost blacked out.

“ Sorry but I have been so tired and catching up on sleep. I swear I will go after class.” Leshia could tell that Tabi was seeing red.

Tabi had been listening to her sister talk about going as soon as class was done and she was just seething that she had mutulated the ingredient she was chopping.

"You expect me to believe you, you tell me that all the time and yet here you are.". Tabi sighed

Tabi ran over to the cupboard and grabbed another belladonna leaf to fix.

"You realize that the longer you wait, the harder things get on me. I have been living on headache potions."

Leshia could tell that Tabi was very upset. Because she had been pushing this off for a while. And that is when she seen that Tabi and chopping wasn't working so well.

“ Yes this time I swear that I will go up. I just don't like the hospital wing.”

She then watched as Tabi went over and grab what she needed to be fixed.

She then started to sigh. “ I am sorry Tabi I forgot how hard it is on you.” Leshia sometimes from that they had a mental connection.

Tabi was putting the finishing touches on her potion and could not help but sigh as she listened to her sister.

"We are like 15 years old and have had this connection since we were like 9 how can you forget.". Tabi spat.

Leshia then seen that Tabi was finishing her potion and Leshia hadn't even started. But she could tell that Tabi was upset still with her.

“ Sorry sometimes slips my mind Tabi. I forget a lot of things like how I am treated at home. Well I want to forget about that but I can't because I have to go back this summer.”

Tabi sighed inwardly as she listened to Leshia, she was so tired of listening to her whine about things. She is the one who made the choices that she made. Just because she just want to get through the school year and then maybe Ivano and her could just go far away.

"You know you can change the way things are at home, just because you are in Hufflepuff does not mean you can't act Slytherin."

Tabi was bottling up the potion while she was thinking about her sister and the choices she had made.

Leshia was starting to getting very tired of all of this. Tabi didn't see where she was having a hard time with all of this. Home life was something that she didn't want to go back to. So running away seemed like a good idea. She would be far away from her

She then rolled her eyes. “ Tabi can you stop being a bitch? Nope didn't think so. I can't be someone that I am not.”

Leshia then watched as Tabi was bottling up her potion.

Tabi wondered why she tried with her sister, well because they were sisters that was why.

"Well I will always be a bitch and you know that all too well don't you." Tabi sighed.

"You can appear to be anything you want to."

Leshia was getting tired. She knew after class she would try and take another nap. But she knew Tabi would be upset if she did.

She then sighed. “ Yeah that is something that will never change Tabi.”

“ Yeah I am not like you Tabi.”

Jaiden walked into potions and took an empty seat. He grabbed out his potions book and looked at the ingredients. He then begins. Jaiden takes root and slices it up into small pieces, he then crushes them into powder. Jaiden dumps the poweder into the cauldron in front of him and turned the heat on high. He stirred clock wise for ten minutes, then when the ten minutes was complete he switched directions and stirred counter clockwise for another ten minutes.

Jaiden turned the heat off and let the potion sit until it cools. Jaiden picked up his wand and gave a wave over the potion and a god awful smell filled his senses. Wow, the book wasn't kidding.

Tabi sighed at her sister, here they were half way through their schooling and this is how they were.

"I imagine us not being a like is a very good thing Leshia. Looking the same is enough." Tabi smiled

Tabi heard a noise and looked up in time to see a Gryffindor come in the room. With everyone getting done with their potions the room was really starting to stink.

Jamie walked into the room. She was late and she so didn't care. She ended up finding Alex sitting at a table that was right behind Tabi and her twin sister. Jamie took the seat next to Alex. "Sup Alex, Tabs, and Leshia, I think your name is" Jamie said. She looked at the ingredients and opened her book. Jamie sighed and got started.

Jamie took her root and sliced it up into the smallest she could and then crushed it into powder when she got finished. Jamie than put all the powder into her cauldron and stirred clockwise for ten minutes, then she had to stir for another ten minutes counterclockwise. "Are you serious" she groaned when her hand started to hurt. Jamie turned off her heat and let her potion cool. Jamie waved her wand over the cauldron when it looked cool and than a horrible smell came her way. "Who the hell died" Jamie said loud enough.

Leshia then thought that they only had a couple more years left. And then her and Tabi was free and she had no idea what she wanted to do once she left.

“ There is nothing wrong with being the same. I mean you think it is a good idea when it is good for you.”

She then looked and seen a Gryffidnor come in. But then also someone that Tabi knew. Leshia was sure that her name was Jamie came and sat beside of them. “ Oh hello. Jamie.”