Lesson: Potions Lesson: Draught of Peace

[PhoenixRising]

Monday mornings were always a challenge for lessons but the first Monday after the Christmas break was no doubt one of the hardest. Especially when it came to something as tedious as Potion brewing. But Professor Adara was well equipped for today's lesson and general exhaustion today would no doubt bring. She would have included leftover Holiday Chocolates should they needed a pick-me-up, but having a strict no food or drink policy in the Potions laboratory negated that. She was more than willing to offer them in her office or corridor should they need.

As far as ingredients on display - there was only a handful of ingredients - how curious indeed as the ingredients appeared to be unlabeled except for a letter on each that the professor knew what was in each container

"Good morning, welcome back. Take your seats and we'll begin shortly."



Lesson Progression
* Question 1: what potion we're brewing today? If no ideas on the potion, if you noticed the ingredients are unlabeled. Any ideas what you could use to help identify the ingredients?
* Potion brewing: steps 1-5; steps 6-14; final steps 15-18 + bottling and sampling if you'd like
*

[Nordic Witch]

So far so good, no explosions. Adding her next stewed mandrake she waited for the liquid to turn a nice shade of yellow that made her think of fresh lemons. Using her spoon she next stirred CCW until the yellow turned over into a green colour. Keeping her mind from wandering Rose silently said a few choice words as she picked up and shook her third mandrake for the day until it turned very mushy. Adding it into her potion she noted with satisfaction that it took only moments before her liquid turned turqouise.

Rose did a silent cheer as she thankfully was done shaking mandrakes. Her tired arms agreed. Next she let her potion simmer for a few minutes, watching as the turqouise colour was replaced by a deep purple shade. Flashing a glance at her instructions she next carefully measured up 7gs of powdered unicorn horn which she then poured into her potion, and waited until it turned pink.

Rose allowed herself a breath before she took her spoon and stirred CW until the potion turned a nice gryffindorian red. Letting her potion simmer she used the time to cross off all the previous potion steps. She had not missed one step thankfully and that was a success.

When the potion turned orange which made Rose immediatly think of halloween pumpkins she looked up the next step. Using a dropper she next poured in exactly 7 drops of powdered porqupine quills and the potion turned from orange to white. Adjusting the flames to low on her cauldron Rose let her potion simmer for 7 minutes keeping time on her wrist watch then she stirred 7 CCW with her spoon, counting them off in her head.

As the last step Rose added in the right amount of syrup of hellebore and watched triumphantly as her potion turned turqouise again and she was done! Success! She poured up some of her potion into a waiting vial, which Rose carefully labelled with her name, house and year. Then she debated with herself, should she try the effects of her potion or not? Yes, she should try it.

Pouring the rest of her potion into another vial Rose lifted the vial to her lips and drank the liquid. She managed to set down the vial before her legs, gave way and she slumped to the floor, banging her head on her workstation on the way down, causing a nice big swelling bulb to erupt on her forehead in a matter of seconds. Rose however had no knowledge of this since she was now lying on the floor, sleeping deeply with her legs spread out and her arms close to her chest.

[PhoenixRising]

SPOILER!!: Ary

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

Facial expressions were more difficult for him to hide but Ary did appreciate Adara’s encouragement. At the words of the potion almost being completed, he couldn’t help but feel relieved. That meant that any chance that he would screw up was low.

Using a dropper, the Slytherin dispatched seven drops into the cauldron and immediately after the final one, the white colour appeared. To commence the simmering, the burner was adjusted so that the flame became low. While the seven minutes were waited out, Ary once again cleaned his workstation. It was always easier to focus in a clean environment.

Once the time was up, seven counterclockwise stirs were done before the syrup of hellebore was added. With the turquoise colour achieved, Ary knew that he had been successful overall. It was quite a triumphant feeling. Not feeling the need to try the potion now since his success had erased his earlier bad mood, he vialed a sample for Adara, labelled with his name and House. “Professor, can I take a vial for myself to use another time?” Because Gobstones sometimes stressed him out and the potion would be nice to use after a particularly trying match.

Amelia had her gaze between the students and the clock, so when Ary spoke up after handing a vial for her to inspect, she blinked in surprise. Even though it really shouldn't have been a surprise. She had asked for a sample of their work when they were finished and on appearance it initially seemed to be good. But she knew better than to place full confidence on a first brew. "You may but I highly recommend you're not alone, preferably in the presence of an adult when you try it out." Although she couldn't control him, it was just her recommendations and based on two other student's brews it seemed a reasonable one at that.

SPOILER!!: Beauden

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zoe

Beauden's potion bubbled and frothed with each rapid stir, a whirlpool forming in the cauldron. The potion smoothly transitioned to the intended green, with a slight shimmer on the surface. He let out a quiet laugh, half-impressed that his experimental stirring hadn't backfired. The swirling green seemed stable, until what must have been one or two stirs too many caused the bright hue to darken ominously. Well, it was still green, he reasoned.

Professor Adara's voice cut through the classroom, delivering the final steps in the brewing process. Realising he had fallen behind, he hastily grabbed another stewed mandrake, tossing it into the cauldron without a second thought. The swampy green liquid swirled dramatically as the mandrake dissolved, turning the potion an eye-catching turquoise, only to deepen into a teal. His head tilted slightly as he pondered the difference between turquoise and teal—were they really that different? Maybe not enough to matter.

The thought of asking Professor Adara briefly crossed his mind, but the Gryffindor decided that everything was perfectly fine. After all, there wasn't enough time to start over if it wasn't. Letting the potion simmer, he observed as the colour shifted from teal to a rich, almost regal purple, or maybe it was more of an indigo...

Shrugging off the doubt, he added precisely seven grams of powdered unicorn horn, watching with mild interest as the potion glowed a rose-gold colour rather than the expected hot pink. His brow burrowed, tossing in another pinch of powder, hoping to brighten the hue, but the change was minimal. After some clockwise stirring, the brew shifted once more, this time to a deep crimson, though whether it was the right shade was anyone's guess.

So far, no explosions. That was a victory in his book. Beauden let out a relieved breath as the potion simmered, slowly reaching its next stage, a rusty burnt orange. Now came the delicate task of adding porcupine quills. He dropped them in one by one, mesmerised by the swirl of colours that followed each addition. But somewhere between the dazzling hues, he lost count. Was he at five drops? Six? Or had he already added seven? The blond couldn't say for sure, but the potion had now was an off-white colour. He lowered the flame beneath the cauldron, hoping for the best as he watched the liquid simmer.

The minutes ticked by slowly, and rather than cleaning his workstation like his classmates, Beauden couldn't bring himself to do anything but pace nervously. His eyes flicked back and forth between his cauldron and those nearby. Had it been seven minutes yet? Could he start stirring? Seeing others begin to stir, his mounting impatience got the better of him, and he began to do the same, moving the spoon in slow, counterclockwise circles. One, two, three—his mental count blurred as the spoon swept through the thickening liquid. By the time he reached seven rotations, the potion seemed to have reached its final form.

A steady stream of syrup of hellebore dripped into the potion, and the liquid shifted to a rich teal. Beauden squinted at Professor Adara's instructions to check if that was the desired colour. Teal, turquoise—close enough, right? He shrugged, deciding it was too late to fret over minor colour discrepancies that surely were subjective anyway.

With an air of confidence, he ladled a portion of the teal potion into a vial, the liquid swirling inside the glass. Without hesitation, he raised the vial to his lips and swallowed, feeling the potion slide down his throat. The vial clinked against the workstation as he set it down.

"Professor, how long does it take for the potion to take effe—" Beauden's words were abruptly cut off as his legs gave way beneath him. One moment he was standing tall, and the next he crumpled to the floor like a rag doll, limbs sprawled out in every direction. A loud snore erupted from his throat.

As she was about to answer him on the effect of the potions, her periphery caught sight of something else, seeing the older gryffindor beater crumple to the ground. Although the deep sleep wouldn't - shouldn't - last more than thirty minutes, if he had any lessons later today she wouldn't want to be blamed for his lateness. "Rennervate." she cast to awaken him, as it would be a quicker route than the potion antidote.

SPOILER!!: Rose

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nordic Witch

So far so good, no explosions. Adding her next stewed mandrake she waited for the liquid to turn a nice shade of yellow that made her think of fresh lemons. Using her spoon she next stirred CCW until the yellow turned over into a green colour. Keeping her mind from wandering Rose silently said a few choice words as she picked up and shook her third mandrake for the day until it turned very mushy. Adding it into her potion she noted with satisfaction that it took only moments before her liquid turned turqouise.

Rose did a silent cheer as she thankfully was done shaking mandrakes. Her tired arms agreed. Next she let her potion simmer for a few minutes, watching as the turqouise colour was replaced by a deep purple shade. Flashing a glance at her instructions she next carefully measured up 7gs of powdered unicorn horn which she then poured into her potion, and waited until it turned pink.

Rose allowed herself a breath before she took her spoon and stirred CW until the potion turned a nice gryffindorian red. Letting her potion simmer she used the time to cross off all the previous potion steps. She had not missed one step thankfully and that was a success.

When the potion turned orange which made Rose immediatly think of halloween pumpkins she looked up the next step. Using a dropper she next poured in exactly 7 drops of powdered porqupine quills and the potion turned from orange to white. Adjusting the flames to low on her cauldron Rose let her potion simmer for 7 minutes keeping time on her wrist watch then she stirred 7 CCW with her spoon, counting them off in her head.

As the last step Rose added in the right amount of syrup of hellebore and watched triumphantly as her potion turned turqouise again and she was done! Success! She poured up some of her potion into a waiting vial, which Rose carefully labelled with her name, house and year. Then she debated with herself, should she try the effects of her potion or not? Yes, she should try it.

Pouring the rest of her potion into another vial Rose lifted the vial to her lips and drank the liquid. She managed to set down the vial before her legs, gave way and she slumped to the floor, banging her head on her workstation on the way down, causing a nice big swelling bulb to erupt on her forehead in a matter of seconds. Rose however had no knowledge of this since she was now lying on the floor, sleeping deeply with her legs spread out and her arms close to her chest.

And there was another sleeping student, this one she noticed hit her head on the way down which how she was alerted to look over at the fourth year gryffindor's direction. "Rennervate" she cast on the girl, as far as the swollen bump on her head, there was something else she had for that which was a variation of the deflating draught but in ointment form. Making her way over to her supplies of ready-made potions and creams, she selected the one from the shelf. "Here, rub some of this on your forehead dear."


"Alright if you haven't done so already, a sample of your potions please for me to run some testing and quality evaluations on." Amelia stated, "And then you're free to go unless there are any further questions."



ooc: formal closing post even though the lesson has theoretically been closed since last week, but a few days slipped away from us Thanks again for your participation / cooperation and official dismissal. Thread will close tomorrow morning