Did he smile at her? She almost fell over in disbelief, not only that she had answered when it wasn’t necessary, but she hadn’t been wrong. Once Professor Noble’s eyes left her, she let out the nervous breath she had been holding and continued on with the activities instructions. Just before continuing, her eye caught Chloe’s grin and she smiled back brightly. The day was one for the record books.

She picked up her still cool cauldron and gave it a swirl to move the oil up the sides. Her swirls were nice and gentle, just as he had demonstrated. No tilting or turning, just swirling with both hands, before returning it to the stand. However, the next step was one she always feared. Lighting the burner. She knew it had to be done, but she hated setting any sort of fire. Especially after the Derf incident. Emmalyn counted down in her head, three, two, one, and lit the fire. Thankfully, it went well.

Her kit was already out and ready, so she measured out the five teaspoons of beetle eyes and started grinding the five whole beetles in her mortar and pestle to a fine powder. Check, check, and check. She glanced over her notes to make sure she hadn’t left out a step before pausing to wait for the next set of instructions.