It's a briskm windy day near the end of March. Greenhouse No. Five is the smaller one usually reserved for student projects and special experiments and plantings for N.E.W.T. herbology students and Professor Tapio, himself. Today, however, it's been rearranged to house one of the professor's alchemy seminars. Normally reserved for the upper class students, today's session is open to all grade levels. It is, in fact, a continuation of an herbology class Tapio taught back during the fall term.

Inside, any projects and plants have been moved off to the dimly perimeter of the room, and out in the middle the classroom is setup with worktables and stools. Up at the front of the seating is a small, scuffed up wooden cabinet, containing all the tinctures from the previous class. Tapio has maintained these in stasis, waiting for a convenient day to hold an alchemy lesson--one which happens to be on a Wednesday near the full moon.

Professor DeVries is standing in the front of the class near the cabinet, looking much more cheerful than he did back in the fall. Feel free to say hello to him before finding yourself a seat. Class will begin shortly.

Greetings and first question
Answers and second question
Answers and Mini Activity
Mini Activity cont'd
Main Event, part one
Main Event, part two
End of class (Thread will stay up for another day)


[OOC: Class will begin tomorrow (March 12) in the afternoonClass has ended This is a continuation of the previous Herbology class on tinctures. If you remember, the students were supposed to shake their mason jar containing the tincture once a day for two weeks--you can decide whether your student did this correctly or not, but incorrect procedures will affect how successful the next steps will be.]

A ponytail. That was the only acceptable way to deal with one's hair in this wind. Unfortunately, it also left one's neck exposed to the briskness that said wind was bringing to the air. Such was the dilemma that Kalie was dealing with as she made her way to Greenhouse Five. She did have her robes pulled up on her neck, but as she'd gone with the thinner ones for warmer weather (they were closest as she'd dashed out of her dorm), they weren't doing as good a job at blocking the wind.

Which was why she was looking a bit grateful as she entered the greenhouse. Glass was much better at blocking the wind. "Hello, Professor DeVries," she greeted, finding her seat.

Had she been remembering to shake her jar?

Ary was quite pleased with how diligent he had been with shaking the mason jar that contained his tincture as required during the weeks. It had easily become part of his everyday routine even if now he was trying to adjust to not having the jar in his possession. He arrived at Greenhouse Five with this feeling of accomplishment soon enough. Ary was quite curious about today’s Herbology activity; he was quite curious about alchemy in general.

The second year paused to observe the set up of the Greenhouse, noting the work tables and stools, the cabinet and everything else. Of course there was the Professor; he received the usual greeting of a finger wiggle-wave from the Slytherin. On his way to take a seat, he shot Kalie a wave, and once seated, he attempted to locate his jar.

Hello, Miss Carter-Hope-Gellar," replied Tapio with a smile. "Lovely brisk day, isn't it?"

"Good day, Mr. Atreyu-Rehman," Tapio greeted the finger wiggle with a small bow. "You'll find your jar safe and sound and all labelled with your name, right there in this cabinet. You may come get it and take it back to your seat, if you like. You, too, Miss Carter-Hope-Gellar," he added, looking over at Kalie.

Tapio waited a while for students to arrive and then began the seminar with some questions. "Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to another exciting venture into the world of Alchemy. And welcome to our younger students and to anyone who is new to our seminars. And to help them alone, I think it wouldn't hurt to go over some basids. So--what can any of you tell us about Alchemy? Where did it come from, what does it mean, and what kind of practice is it?"

[OOC: Class has started, but feel free to catch up on your student's entrance (or maybe you've been here all along...) Class will continue tomorrow afternoon.]

Bry had remembered to shake the mason jar each day that housed her tincture. Well, mostly. She had started off very strongly.. and then slipped a little bit, needing gentle reminders from Ary and some other herbology loving friends. So hopefully thanks to them all, she hadn't messed this up.. too badly. That had been the thought in her head when she had entered Green House Five.

The usual Bryony greetings were given, bright smiles and finger wiggles as she found a spot right beside the bestie. The second year remained in her seat, waiting to see if she needed to be called up to get her jar from the cabinet rather than just getting up to go get it like she normally would've done. There were things she was slowly learning. Learning to be more patient was one of them.

Erm, was she meant to be included in that statement of 'younger' students or was DeVries speaking of the first years? Because she wasn't that young anymore.. little yes, but not young. That wasn't what she was meant to be focusing on though, was it? Bry did her best to focus on a few of the actual questions, crinkling up her nose a little bit as she raised her hand and waited to be called on. "Doesn't it have to do with Chemistry, Potions and transformation magic? It's not easy, to learn I don't think." Which was likely why it wasn't typically taught until at least sixth year. And for anyone curious about how she even knew this little bit of information, having older siblings and cousins really did come in handy for picking up things. Not that she always remembered it all correctly but that was an entirely different matter for another day.

Now, Archie was certainly no professional in the slightest when it came down to the subject of Alchemy. But, that wasn't to say he didn't at least know the very minimum basics on it. For he did; it was certainly one of those classes where even now, years before he'd be able to venture deeper into he foray of Alchemy's depths, the Slytherin would be much more suited on the theory of this class rather than the practice of it.

Setting the mason jar of the tincture made in the one Herbology class a few weeks ago on his desk, the teen would listen to the questions asked of them alongside one of the others answering what the subject was on. So, with a hand raised, Achibold would intend on giving the answer to the who/where. "I believe Dzou Yen is accredited as the first Alchemist, at least in written history. He was from China sometime in the fourth century B.C."

Oh yes. Ary had played a part indeed in helping Bry with her tincture. Not that he had minded because they were a team and they usually helped each other when it was needed. But as they sat together right now, he was quite pleased that they both had been able to successfully follow the instruction given to them by DeVries earlier in the term. The second year eyed his mason jar fondly which now sat on the table before him.

So… Alchemy. Unless he was mistaken, Keighley’s boyfriend had taken the subject while he had attended Hogwarts. Ary could be wrong though. Maybe Bry knew for sure. After a moment, he raised a hand and waited for his turn. “I think it has something to do with turning something into gold?’’ If that was the case, then alchemy sounded super complicated.

"Yes, it has to do with all those things, and more!" replied Tapio, warming to his subject. "Metallurgy, transmutation, experimental magic--all these are included in the study of Alchemy."

Setting the mason jar of the tincture made in the one Herbology class a few weeks ago on his desk, the teen would listen to the questions asked of them alongside one of the others answering what the subject was on. So, with a hand raised, Achibold would intend on giving the answer to the who/where. "I believe Dzou Yen is accredited as the first Alchemist, at least in written history. He was from China sometime in the fourth century B.C."

"Yes, Dzou Yen is said to have been an alchemist, along with being the founder of Chinese scientific thought, though it's hard to pin down who was the first, since alchemy developed in many different cultures--China, India, and the Western tradition. Many alchemists were wizards or witches, but many have also been Squibs or even Muggles."

Ah yes. Tapio had been waiting for someone to bring up gold. "Yes, that's probably one of the best-known aspects of Alchemy. Through the creation of the elixir, or the Philosopher's Stone, it is thought to be possible to transmute, or change, base metals into gold or silver. This has caused a lot of people to try to practice the art of alchemy for all the wrong reasons, and such attempts were doomed to failure, because emotions like greed for gold or fear of death are like the base metals, which can't change into something nobler unless the alchemist first tries to improve and purify their emotions.

In a nutshell, alchemy is an ancient Art and Science concerning the Mysteries of Life, of Consciousness, and its Evolution. It is based on the principle, "As above, so below." What that means in this case is that what happens in the physical world affects the spiritual aspects of life. The idea was that the alchemist had to work physically in the laboratory, changing and purifying certain chemicals or plants, and at the same time practised things like meditation. And at the same time as the substances used in the experiment were perfected, the alchemist was also made better. I know all that sounds a bit esoteric, and it certainly takes a great amount of dedication and courage to practice alchemy. But there are many of its practices that have practical uses that can be enjoyed fairly quickly.

Now, my next question--does anyone know what is meant by the word Spagyrics? What are the three principles of alchemy? And what might this have to do with your tinctures?"

Although Desiree had limited experience with alchemy, she was eager to learn more about it. Anything that could someday help her in her career as a healer was worth knowing, and even if she never used it as a healer, she might pick up some interesting information long the way. She’d made her way to Greenhouse five at the appointed time, immediately noticing the change in Professor Devries’s demeanor from last fall. Nice to see him looking more cheerful!

She’d greeted the professor and other students with smiles and waves, taking her seat moments before the seminar began. She considered the first question carefully. If she recalled correctly, Alchemy combined elements of potion-making and transformation with chemistry, but that was one of the first things said. Didn’t alchemy also involve an element of philosophy? She thought it did, but wasn’t confident enough to voice that answer.

Desiree sat quietly, listening as Professor Devries went on. “Esoteric” wasn’t quite the word she’d use, more like confusing! What did one’s emotions have to do with one’s ability to practice alchemy? Totally lost, she focused on the next set of questions instead. Were the principles of alchemy the same as its goals? If so, she knew that one of the goals was to create a remedy to cure all diseases. Unsure if that was the type of answer the professor was looking for, she focused on the first question instead. She raised her hand and said, “Spagyrics means plant alchemy, does it not?”

That was a lot of information. Aryan did his best to write as much down as possible in a clear and concise manner. Should he decide to further his studies with Alchemy in the future, they would be quite handy to have. Then came those questions. The second year’s quill hovered just above the page of his book as he stared blankly at DeVries.

Nope.

He had no clue about anything asked. Sorry, professor, but he was going to have to remain silent now. Aryan was ready to take more notes, however.

Oh dear. From the utterly blank look on Ary's face, Tapio concluded that he had no idea about any of this. Well, that's all right, that's what seminars are for, and at least he was taking notes.

Tapio beamed. "That's exactly right! Spagyrics, from the Greek word sphakter, or "to separate," is the branch of Alchemy dealing with plants. That doesn't involve making gold, so it's less well-known, but it does involve the creation of elixirs which can be of great healp in healing, one of the other goals of alchemy."

After there seemed to be no more questions, Tapio moved on. In a nutshell, Spagyrics involves extracting the spiritual essence form plants, minerals, and other substances through a combination of physical, chemical, and spiritual techniques. It's rooted in the philosophy that "All is One," meaning that all aspects of Nature--physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual are connected. Spagyrics captures these energies to use in rituals and elixirs. And it's worth noting that when talking about living things in Alchemy, this includes things not ordinarily considered to be living, like stones and metals.

Another topic I wanted to touch on was what is called the Three Principles of Alchemy. These are Sulphur, Mercury (or Quicksilver), and Salt, represented by the colors Red, White, and Black, which correspond (in reverse) to the three major phases of the alchemical process: the Black, White, and Red stages. Philosophically, Sulphur represents the Soul, one's unique and indivual character; Mercury represents Spirit, the universal vital force; and Salt represents the physical body or vehicle. In Spagyrics, the Body, or Salt, of a plant is its physical body: color, texture, growth patterns. Its Spirit, or Mercury, is the alcohol made from that plant, like the tinctures we made in Herbology class. And the Soul, or Sulphur, of a plant is its essential nature, the memory of its unique species.

Now, before we get started with the practical work, I want to introduce a spell we're going to use in class today. Older students may already be familiar with it, while younger students will probably need to come up to the front and practice it in the cast-iron stove over by the wall."[/b] Tapio gestured to one wall of the greenhouse, where a small stove stood; this was used to contain the Blue Bells flames used to keep the greenhouse warm in winter. "I've written the incantation, its pronunciation, and its wand movement on the white board here." Tapio waved his wand and his ever-present whiteboard slid across the floor to the front ot the class.

"Now pay attention," went on in a louder and more serious-sounding voice. "Under no circumstances is anyone to practice this spell at their worktable or anywhere else in this class except up here at the stove. And if you already know it, you don't need to practice, unless you want to or wish to help a younger student. We won't take long with this practice; you'll all get to use the spell shortly for real." Tapio really hoped nothing was going to go wrong with this part--he'd debated whether he should let the younger students join them for this, but he hated to deprive them of the second half of the experiment if they wanted to attempt it. Hopefully all the precautions he'd taken would be sufficient.


[OOC: This is the first part of the mini-activity and it really won't take long; class will continue with the next part tomorrow, same spagyric time, same spagyric channel...]

Off Ary went making more notes. He found it interesting that not all methods of Alchemy involved gold, like this process DeVries was explaining. There were so many words from the professor that he tried his best not to zone out but he sort of failed. As a general rule of his life, he disliked talking much and he disliked it when anyone else as well {with the exception of his best friends}. Too many words was a huge sensory overload for some students; hadn’t professors learnt this yet?

Fortunately, the Fire Making Charm was one that Ary had already mastered so he wouldn’t bother practicing this time around. This meant he would hopefully zone back in fully to the activity.

Feeling it was time to move on, since not all students were practicing, Tapio decided to introduce the next activity. "For those who are finished practicing and ready to go on, the next thing we're going to do before working on the tinctures is--meditate!

I know some of you are wondering what your own emotions and state of mind have to do with working with plants and elixirs. If, according to the philosophy of alchemy, everything in nature is connected, then that includes you. When you practice alchemy, you yourself become a part of the experiment, and so it's important to try to clear your mind of any thoughts and emotions that might influence the experiment and create a neutral state. Once we remove the silk wrappings from the tinctures, they will no longer have its protection and any disturbance might affect them.

There are many forms of meditation, but what we're going to do is a very simple kind, just something to help you balance your feelings and still your thoughts. First, find a comfortable place to sit. There are some large pillows up here for you to sit on. Take a pillow and sit on it so your hips are a little forward and your back is straight.

Next, close your eyes. breathe out through your nose, and focus on your breath. Focus your mind on the spot where it enters and leaves your nose and try not to think other thoughts. We'll do this for just a little while, and then we should be ready to get on with the main event." Tapio pushed a pile of wide, flat pillows over to the center of the room and waved his wand to move aside the whiteboard and cabinet to clear enough space for people to sit down. Meanwhile, he kept a watchful eye on the little stove on one side of the room to make sure anyone didn't conjure a fire in the wrong place. People who said teaching was dull just didn't know what they were talking about.


[OOC: This continues the mini activity and will continue until tomorrow afternoon, when the main activity will begin.]

Meditation.

Ary felt a pang go off in his heart. Grandma Rehman used to rope him into this activity before she died and now he was suddenly reliving all those memories. Not wanting anyone to detect his change in emotion, he continued his note taking. These were the same emotions he had felt last term when Professor Khanna had did their activity of Concentration Meditation: sadness and heartache. Still…

Ary followed the present instructions by first selecting an orange pouf and sitting in the required position. He always felt quite affluent in meditation and despite his other emotions, felt this at the moment. There was no sort of hindrance in him doing the breathing correctly. What was difficult, however, was not focusing on his thoughts since he could quite clearly picture his grandma’s kind face.

Students were starting to move on to the meditation activity, Tapio observed, with more or less success. This was to be expected; to really do the meditation needed for alchemical workings correctly, a person needed to practice a lot more than 5 minutes in a classroom. Still, it was better than nothing. Aryan Atreyu-Rehman seemed to be doing quite well; he had probably done this sort of thing before.

While the students finished up their spell practice and meditation, Tapio turned and waved his wand to enchant the whiteboard to display the first instructions for the next step--Calcination!

Tapio turned away from the whiteboard and silently cast a spell that caused Greenhouse Five to suddenly grow dim, for the glass panes that normally let in the sunlight had been darkened. In its place, dozens of globes of light floated all around the work area.

"As you can see, you're going to take your tincture and strain the liquid from the crushed herb. All the extra equipment you need is right up here on top of this cabinet. You'll keep the liquid to use later, put the herb in your mortar, take it outside the greenhouse, and set it on fire. I'll be coming with you to make sure nothing goes wrong. Older students, try to help any younger students who need it. And don't worry, I took the precaution of soaking the grass before class so we don't set the grounds on fire."


[OOC: Okay, here it is, the big event where the students get to set stuff on fire!! This part of the experiment will continue a couple of days, until afternoon on March 18 . Have fun! (and please don't burn Hogwarts down)]

Truthfully, Ary wasn’t satisfied with the level of effort he had put into his meditation but he had tried his best. He supposed that was what counted the most. But since they were now moving on with the activity, there was no time to dwell on his performance. He headed back to collect the necessary equipment from the cabinet, taking in the spheres of light bobbing about. Once the three materials were grabbed, Ary returned to his original seat.

Then the work began.

The instructions were very simple in his opinion. The mason jar was carefully unwrapped after the stocking was placed over the opening of the empty jar. Only then did he draw on his dragonhide gloves. Once the first jar was opened, Ary tipped the contents slowly onto the stocking. The pleasant sound of the liquid filtering through the stocking could be heard. With the first jar empty, he lightly patted the herbs on the stocking which allowed a trickle of the liquid that had been withheld to fall into the second jar.

The stocking was removed and the herbs upended into the mortar, and holding it in both hands, the second year took it outside. After locating a proper spot where too much wind wasn’t going to get to him and the mortar, Aryan murmured the incantation for the Fire Making Spell; the herbs were immediately set ablaze, the flame dancing merrily in the mortar. The scent emitted was sort of pleasant so overall, he enjoyed watching the herbs burn. Before long, there was a little heap of grey ash sitting in the mortar; this left Ary pleased since he was able to follow the instructions completely. Smiling to himself, he headed back into the greenhouse.

Desiree beamed back at the professor. She was relieved to hear her answer was correct; she wasn’t 100% confident when she said it. She blinked, slightly confused as the lecture continued. So if the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual were connected in Spagyrics, did that mean that one’s alchemy would be less effective if one was sick or in a bad mood? She had no idea!

Ohhhh, so alchemy’s principles and its goals were not the same thing. She was glad she hadn’t tried to answer that part of the question! She took careful notes on the three principles and their corresponding colors and meanings, finishing just as Professor Devries gave the next set of instructions.

While Desiree didn’t understand all the alchemy stuff yet, casting Incendio was something she could do! She was confident in her spell casting abilities, but she supposed a bit of nonverbal practice couldn’t hurt. Putting on her dragonhide gloves, she moved to the stove. Incendio, she thought, focusing all her concentration on her target as she made the upward arc and jab wand movement. A moment later, a little flame burned in the stove. She extinguished it and stood aside for the next person who wanted to practice.

The next set of instructions answered Desiree’s earlier question. Apparently one’s emotions did affect one’s results in alchemy. That was interesting, but she didn’t dwell on it for long. Focusing on the next task, she selected a pillow, pink because it was her favorite color, and sat with her hips forward and back straight. She closed her eyes and breathed through her nose, trying to block out thoughts of everything except her breath. Was that it? Did she do it?

Desiree opened her eyes as the professor spoke again. She copied down the instructions in her notes the best she could in the dim lighting and set to work. She retrieved her tincture and other necessary equipment, neatly setting everything on her work table before her. With careful, deliberate movements, she unwrapped the jar containing her tincture and stretched the stocking over her empty jar. Donning her dragonhide gloves once more, she unsealed her tincture and poured it into the stocking, taking care not to spill a single drop.

When the liquid stopped running, Desiree gave the herbs a gentle squeeze to extract more. She set the liquid jar aside and picked up the herbs, placing them in her mortar. Carefully carrying her mortar outside, she set it on the ground and aimed her wand. Incendio! She thought, making the wand movement. She watched the herbs burn until the fire at last went out, leaving whitish ash behind. Placing one hand near the top of her mortar to guard against anything blowing away, she returned to the greenhouse. “Does anyone need help with Incendio?” she asked, looking around.

"You now have the 3 key principles of Alchemy in your experiment," Tapio said by way of explanation. "The filtered tincture, which is the Sulphur and Mercury of the herb, mixed together, and the ash you just produced from burning the herbal residue, which is the Salt.

"Now normally, after Part 2, you would store the tincture away for another two weeks to let it "digest," but since we don't have that much time, we're using a rather new spell to magically "age" the mixture for two weeks. This spell is Promovere Duo and the instructions are on the board; it's relatively simple. The result won't be quite as potent as if you did it the natural way, but then again, elixirs are rather potent anyway, so it's probably just as well that you don't end up with a very strong one this first time.

"Once you're done, bring your jars up here--labeled with your names--and store them in the cabinet to sit a few hours to stabilize. I'll bring the finished elixirs to dinner tonight in the Great Hall and hand them out to you." Tapio always like classes that included a 'takeaway'; he thought that kept the students more engaged.


[OOC: This is the last half of the experiment, so have at it. Class will continue until Wed., March 20, probably late afternoon.]

Back at his seat, Ary paid rapt attention to DeVries. He found it interesting that three principles of Alchemy had already been experienced. It was pretty cool if you asked him. And since they were now going to be using another spell, one that Aryan hadn’t used before, he needed to practice for sure.

So, he muttered the incantation under his breath for a few minutes until he was satisfied, until it just rolled right off his tongue.The wand movement was fairly easy so he focused on the next aspect: the ash that he had newly acquired was tipped into the mason jar with the filtered tincture, closed it then gave it a hearty shake. Replacing the jar on the table, Ary took his wand. “Promovere Duo.” The wand movement followed: starting with the wand to his left, pointing at the jar and drawing a horizontal line from left to right. This was followed up by another shake of the jar.

Trusting that the spell had worked, the jar was opened. With two coffee filters in the funnel, the funnel was put in the dropper bottle. Dragon hide gloves in place, the tincture was poured into the filter-funnel. DeVries was right: Ary did scrape enough to fill the dropper bottle. The herbal ash was set aside and Ar proceeded to seal the tincture. Last but not least: he labelled the tincture jar with his name and then headed over to place it on a shelf of the cabinet.

New spell? Never one to resist learning new spells, Desiree’s curiosity piqued at those words. Promovere Duo… she’d never heard of that one. How did it work? Did it alter its target’s properties to appear older, or did it somehow manipulate time? Probably the former, she reasoned, although the latter would be awesome! Either way, she was excited to try it.

As with any new spell, she thought it best to practice the incantation and wand movement individually before trying it for real. “PROH-moh-veh-reh Duo,” she said quietly under her breath. “Promovere Duo, Promovere Duo…” Feeling confident with the pronunciation, she moved on to the wand movement. Left, point, horizontal line left to right… that was a bit more complicated than most wand movements but nothing she couldn’t handle!

Desiree glanced at the instructions on the board as she finished her practice. She carefully poured the ash into the jar containing her tincture, put the lid on securely, and gave it a shake. Now came the fun part: trying the new spell. Starting with her wand to her left, she pointed it at the jar and drew a horizontal line from left to right. “Promovere Duo,” she cast confidently. Did the spell work? She hoped it did, but couldn’t tell for sure.

Hoping her spell had been successful, she retrieved two coffee filters, a funnel and dropper bottle. She carefully opened her tincture and placed the filters in her funnel, which she in turn placed into her dropper bottle. Donning her gloves once more, she poured her tincture into the filters, taking care not to spill a single drop. There was exactly enough to fill the bottle. When she finished, she labeled the bottle with her name in pretty pink French script and placed it in the cabinet to stabilize.

SPOILER!!: Desiree's signature

Glancing at the sun on one of his trips outside, Tapio noted that it was about time for class to end. Ah well, all good things...

Walking back into Greenhouse Five, he made sure all the students were nearing a stopping place, then stood up at the front of the class. "Thank you, everyone, for joining me on this foray into the mysteries of Alchemy. I will be bringing your final elixirs to you this evening at dinner in the Great Hall, after they've had a few hours in the dark to stabilize. You can use this elixir whenever you need the qualities of the herb that you used to make the original tincture. Remember--an elixir is the most potent of medicines and it should never be taken straight. You should only take one drop, or two at most, mixed in a glass of water or juice.

"All right, clean up after yourselves when you've finished and then feel free to make your way back to the castle."

[OOC: That's the end of class. I'll leave this thread open for another 24 hrs or so for anyone who needs to catch-up or finish, or who wants to rp leaving the class, etc. Thanks to everyone who stuck with it!