 ~ Mrs. Steve Harrington ~ It be like that sometimes.
And…
The bit of confidence that he had worked up deflated somewhat. But Ary quickly pushed that away and focused on the more important aspect: Professor Adara knew best. “Half the amount of water,’’ he repeated. “Got you, professor. Thank you.” He offered her a grateful smile then headed off to begin the task of brewing his potion.
Why did he have to be so nervous?
The Slytherin began by gathering and prepping the ingredients. He always found this was the best course to go, rather than prepping them while brewing the potion. Sometimes it was easy to get sidetracked in keeping a close eye on the cauldron and its contents. Soon enough, he had the ingredients ready. Next, the equipment was set up - like the cauldron, stirrer and so forth. Having such a clear and precise order to get this project down actually helped Aryan in ceasing to be so anxious.
Now it was time to move onto the most major step: the actual brewing.
The reduced amount of water was poured into the cauldron {after magically cleaning it} then a flame was magically lit on the burner. Ary adjusted the burner to low heat so that the water would come to a slow boil. It took a minute but eventually bubbles began forming on the surface which signified boiling. Next, one tablespoon armadillo bile went into the water and this was quickly followed up with one, two, three counterclockwise stirs {of course, with an also magically cleaned stirrer}. The next step - the one involving boom berries - was a rather laborious one in Ary’s opinion. Five of the berries cut into four pieces each meant that there were twenty pieces. And each piece had to be dropped into the cauldron individually. Ary guessed he’d better get started! One, two, three…
… nineteen, twenty!
Phew! All done!
But that relief did not last long at all. Instead of burgundy, the cauldron’s contents had turned a bright shade of red.
Uh oh.
This was fine. It was all fine.
Maybe as the other ingredients were added, the potion would come back on track. It was with this heartening thought, he pressed on. The root pieces were added then waited on needles and pins for ten minutes. Five clockwise stirs were completed with the stirrer. The last of the armadillo bile was placed into the mix, and a second later so was the goosegrass. Ary then started stirring counterclockwise, scarcely breathing and hoping feverishly that at the end of the three minutes, steam would rise in the spiral shape. Unfortunately, this was not to be. The steam rose and scattered everywhere like some chaotic steam monster. It got in his face, in his hair... Ary was sure he felt all the moisture evaporate from his hair. Huffing in annoyance, the teen added the Flobberworm mucus then crushed lionfish spine. Instead of bright orange {Dad Adi's favourite colour, a little fun fact}, it turned cement gray.
And that was it. That was the moment that all Ary's hope left his body and his annoyance hiked up a couple of notches. Now, his movements became robotic, only focused on brewing the potion to complete the assignment. This entire potion was a bust and he didn't care about it anymore. He stirred once clockwise then once counterclockwise, added a drop of neem oil. This step was repeated six other times {for a total of seven}. The crushed fangs joined the cauldron contents and only then were they stirred for minute.
At precisely one minute, there was an almighty POOOOOOF and a cloud of deep green coloured smoke enveloped Ary and his workstation. Vigorous coughing and fanning of his hands ensued.
His potion had definitely not gone according to plans.
Last edited by FearlessLeader19; 07-28-2024 at 04:32 PM.
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