When everyone had given their answers and the professor had finished talking about metals, it was time to move on. Naya listened carefully as the professor explained what they would be doing next. It was an experiment and it sounded like fun. The Gryffindor wrote notes and copied the information from the board. She did not want to forget anything while she was going through the process.

Now it was time to get to work. First, Naya put on her goggles and placed a heat proof mat at her work station. Then she went to get a dry spill. She lit it from the flame in the front of the room and then returned to her area to light her burner. Once that was done, Naya went back up to get her pre-moistened spills. She dipped them one by one into the powders, making sure to get enough powder on them while keeping them in order. When she got back to her burner, she lined the spills up, so she could remember which one was which.

Naya opened her textbook to the assigned page and saw the table of colors. She put the book nearby. Then starting with the first spill, Naya placed the tip into her flame. It turned blue-white. Checking her book, she saw that it contained lead. After setting the spill on the mat, she wrote the information down in her notes and proceeded to the next spill. Spill number two burned purple and that was potassium, according to the text book. Naya continued with the next three spills and found white-magnesium, red-iron and green-copper. Each time she rested the burned spill on the mat when she was done and wrote the details in her notes. When she was finished, Naya wished she could light all of the colorful sparklers at the same time. That would be cool to see. Unfortunately, she knew that wouldn’t be a good idea. Finishing up her notes, she waited for any additional instructions.