SnitchSeeker.com - View Single Post - Potions Lesson 1: The One with All the Stirring

Felixir · 05-11-2016, 06:04 AM

So it was just an aging potion? Oh. Daxton slumped a little at his workstation and took a few moments to look around the room. Just brewing potions was boring, though, and they could do all this on their own with textbooks. Daxton would know; he spent the majority of his time skipping his lessons under the guise of claiming he was unwell, and working on spells and potions in his own time, as well as the more interesting stuff. Interesting stuff like finding out what happened when he substituted various ingredients, measurements, number of stirs, directions of stirs, and anything of the sort. Interesting stuff like trying to predict, using scientific methods, what might happen if he combined two potion recipes in one way or another. Interesting stuff like studying each potion ingredient or component in excessive detail, and whether it might have other uses, or researching the mathematics and science of why the precise amount of stirs was so important. Interesting stuff like creating whole new potions using all that in depth information.

That was the kind of thing Daxton liked to focus on in his private study time, but he supposed that actively attempting to brew a pre-established potion could have its uses. Still, he was half-tempted to brew an exploding potion instead, and liven things up a bit. The only thing that stopped him was that he quite wanted to steer clear from chaos today. So... he decided to give brewing the planned potion a real attempt.

And... maybe he would tweak the ingredients here and there. For science.

After washing his hands and potions equipment (including his obscenely old and very pre-owned cauldron) (all in the non-magical way, for reasons), Daxton opened up his notebook and pushed the pen out of the binding to write down what was on the board. He did not necessarily need to take any notes, nor did he think it that important to do so, but if he was going to make any adjustments, it would help to have something to refer to or do some working out on.

SPOILER!!: Notebook

He started, naturally, with collecting the ingredients. A quick rifle through his almost totally depleted potions kit told Daxton two things. One, that the only ingredient he himself owned that went into this potion was the bat tongue, and two, he would need to acquire replacement ingredients soon, one way or another. Taking out the vial with the one remaining bat tongue, Daxton kept it in hand to make sure nobody else could take it, and went to collect the rest of his ingredients. A little extra of each component, too, including one more bat tongue, for reasons.

First, he prepped the bat tongue, dicing it as per the instructions, and leaving the extra one untouched. Daxton was tempted to slice the second and add that instead, but he had still not gotten around to researching the implications of slicing versus dicing, and so decided against it. He washed his knife - non-magically, again - and returned to slice up the next ingredient: five grams of caterpillar. Lining them up on his chopping board he sliced them up meticulously, spending an excessive amount of time ensuring that each slice was exactly the same thickness as the last - that was, almost impossibly thin, and as sliced as they could get.

Without washing the potions knife, he turned it over in his hand to hold by the blade, and focused his attention now to the hairy fungus. Using the handle of the knife, he mashed up the fungus inside of its container, relentless and unforgiving, until it was nothing but a disgusting sludgy mush. The red wine and prune juice had been measured into 100ml and 10ml respectively when Daxton had collected them.

Next, the shell. Daxton retrieved his clean mortar and pestle, and set them down on the workstation. He had deliberately avoided using them for the fungus, knowing he would need to re-use the equipment for smashing up the shell. Seeing as he could not cast the Scouring Charm, it would mean a lot of work and wasted time to clean both mortar and pestle to be re-used, and Daxton was willing to bet that the fungus spores would cling to both far too firmly. It was easier and quicker this way, given his drawbacks.

Placing two grams worth of tortoise shell into the mortal, Daxton gave it a few good hard whacks with the pestle, and set to work crushing it into the finest powder he could manage.

05-11-2016, 06:04 AM	#131 (permalink)
Felixir Forum Manager Book Club Mod Alley Proprietor Banshee Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Posts: 50,162 Hogwarts RPG Name: Charlie Upstead Gryffindor Fifth Year Hogwarts RPG Name: Aurelio Kaiser Slytherin Third Year Hogwarts RPG Name: Alexei Petrov Slytherin First Year Hogwarts RPG Name: Yves Flamel Slytherin Sixth Year Hogwarts RPG Name: Achilles Zacharias Ravenclaw Third Year Diagon Alley Proprietor: Ezekiel Ransom-Kruus Ollivanders x12 x12	1 Lovely™ \| Captain Hurted \| Ariana's Bane \| Resident Antagonist \| Unparalleled Delight So it was just an aging potion? Oh. Daxton slumped a little at his workstation and took a few moments to look around the room. Just brewing potions was boring, though, and they could do all this on their own with textbooks. Daxton would know; he spent the majority of his time skipping his lessons under the guise of claiming he was unwell, and working on spells and potions in his own time, as well as the more interesting stuff. Interesting stuff like finding out what happened when he substituted various ingredients, measurements, number of stirs, directions of stirs, and anything of the sort. Interesting stuff like trying to predict, using scientific methods, what might happen if he combined two potion recipes in one way or another. Interesting stuff like studying each potion ingredient or component in excessive detail, and whether it might have other uses, or researching the mathematics and science of why the precise amount of stirs was so important. Interesting stuff like creating whole new potions using all that in depth information. That was the kind of thing Daxton liked to focus on in his private study time, but he supposed that actively attempting to brew a pre-established potion could have its uses. Still, he was half-tempted to brew an exploding potion instead, and liven things up a bit. The only thing that stopped him was that he quite wanted to steer clear from chaos today. So... he decided to give brewing the planned potion a real attempt. And... maybe he would tweak the ingredients here and there. For science. After washing his hands and potions equipment (including his obscenely old and very pre-owned cauldron) (all in the non-magical way, for reasons), Daxton opened up his notebook and pushed the pen out of the binding to write down what was on the board. He did not necessarily need to take any notes, nor did he think it that important to do so, but if he was going to make any adjustments, it would help to have something to refer to or do some working out on. SPOILER!!: Notebook Aging Potion Ingredients - 100ml Red Wine - 10ml Prune Juice - 2g Hairy fungus, mashed - 2g Tortoise Shell, powdered - 5g Caterpillar, sliced - 1 Bat Tongue, diced Instructions 1. Prepare all ingredients as listed in the ingredients list, weighing and measuring each carefully. 2. Slowly heat the red wine and prune juice and begin stirring clockwise until you can just see bubbles starting to form. (The mixture will be dark purple/brown) 3. Immediately add the Hairy Fungus and continue to stir clockwise for ten minutes. (The mixture will slowly fade to a lighter purple/brown) 4. Continuing to stir clockwise, add the tortoise shell. (The mixture will be a creamy color) 5. After eight minutes, remove the cauldron from the heat and add the caterpillar and bat tongue, making sure to continue to stir the solution in a clockwise motion for five minutes, until it changes to a creamy green colour. 6. As the potion cools, it will turn emerald green. Once it is completely cooled (about fifteen to twenty minutes), you may cease dispense the potion into appropriate vials for storage. Characteristics: Emerald Green Level: Advanced Information: The effects are dosage based; the more ingested, the older one will age He started, naturally, with collecting the ingredients. A quick rifle through his almost totally depleted potions kit told Daxton two things. One, that the only ingredient he himself owned that went into this potion was the bat tongue, and two, he would need to acquire replacement ingredients soon, one way or another. Taking out the vial with the one remaining bat tongue, Daxton kept it in hand to make sure nobody else could take it, and went to collect the rest of his ingredients. A little extra of each component, too, including one more bat tongue, for reasons. First, he prepped the bat tongue, dicing it as per the instructions, and leaving the extra one untouched. Daxton was tempted to slice the second and add that instead, but he had still not gotten around to researching the implications of slicing versus dicing, and so decided against it. He washed his knife - non-magically, again - and returned to slice up the next ingredient: five grams of caterpillar. Lining them up on his chopping board he sliced them up meticulously, spending an excessive amount of time ensuring that each slice was exactly the same thickness as the last - that was, almost impossibly thin, and as sliced as they could get. Without washing the potions knife, he turned it over in his hand to hold by the blade, and focused his attention now to the hairy fungus. Using the handle of the knife, he mashed up the fungus inside of its container, relentless and unforgiving, until it was nothing but a disgusting sludgy mush. The red wine and prune juice had been measured into 100ml and 10ml respectively when Daxton had collected them. Next, the shell. Daxton retrieved his clean mortar and pestle, and set them down on the workstation. He had deliberately avoided using them for the fungus, knowing he would need to re-use the equipment for smashing up the shell. Seeing as he could not cast the Scouring Charm, it would mean a lot of work and wasted time to clean both mortar and pestle to be re-used, and Daxton was willing to bet that the fungus spores would cling to both far too firmly. It was easier and quicker this way, given his drawbacks. Placing two grams worth of tortoise shell into the mortal, Daxton gave it a few good hard whacks with the pestle, and set to work crushing it into the finest powder he could manage. __________________ Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Chocolate!