Elise blinked. Had she heard right? Did Professor Lafay really give them a compliment? Maybe it was just a statement of fact... Or Elise was hallucinating. Probably the latter.

Pulling out her wooden spoon, she cleaned it before looking back up to see what Professor Lafay was saying. Three spoonfuls. Dipping her spoon into the jar, she scooped up one spoonful of the liquid. It looked delicious, Elise mused as she watched it slide off the spoon. Taking another spoonful, she allowed that to slide into the cauldron as well. Last one. Scoop and let it slide into the cauldron and off the spoon.

Five basil leaves, thinly sliced. It actually reminded Elise of things her mother used to help her cook. Plucking five leaves, she set them on her previously scourgified cutting board. Taking the cleanest silver knife she had and scourgifying it again, she sliced them thinly using the tip of the knife. Some of the slices were actually so thin that Elise could barely see them.

Now for the papaya. Wait. One whole papaya?! Shrugging, she followed the instructions. Raising the knife, she trust it into the soft skin of the papaya. Pulling the knife out, she eyed the wound for a moment, trying to decide how much basil to stuff in. Taking just about enough, she pushed the slices into the hole and turned the papaya around slightly.

Stabbing some more, she added the basil until there was none left to be added. Satisfied, Elise picked up the papaya and added the whole holey thing to the mixture. This was one strange potion indeed.