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XanaSnape · 07-19-2009, 10:43 PM

The room remains mostly unchanged from your previous class. Although still housed in the former ancient runes classroom, the potions classroom still manages to retain its musty, creepy, dungeon atmosphere. Perhaps it is due to the way the flickering candlelight glints off the hundreds of potions jars and containers and vessels. Perhaps it is merely reflecting the somber attitude of the ancient and temperamental Professor Kazimeriz as you enter his domain.

The main floor of the classroom is filled with large work tables, each accompanied by two stools. Each seat in the class has a stand suitable for a standard cauldron and a small bunsen burner for a fire source beneath it.

The walls of the room are lined with shelves, laden with jars of every shape and size. The entire room is fastidiously neat, and all the jars have been organized according to size and shape. Each have uniform, detailed parchment-coloured labels describing their contents.

Most of the jars appear to be filled with innocous liquids or plant materials. However, many of the jars house more insidious ingredients: there is one jar that appears to be filled with bloated pickled toads, another stores fat eyeballs from an unknown mammal, and still others seem to contain the visceral organs of animals - spleens, newt tails, a whole jar filled with tiny black beetle eyes, and wriggling, fat flobberworms. There is one jar that appears to hold some sort of severed hand,suspended in gelatinous fluid as though it is waving to the class.

Black marble shelves alone the perimeter of the classroom hold a host of common lab equipment: stills, crucibles, mortars and pestles, an open jar filled with glass and wooden stirring rods, empty phials and corks, knives, evaporating dishes- everything a young potion maker may need is on hand. There is also a fairly large collection of ancient books on potion making at the back of the class.

At the front of the class, there is a chalkboard, a lectern, and a large locked cabinet which houses the more dangerous potion-making supplies and brewed potions. There is also a shelf lined with cauldrons that are steaming and bubbling, brewing whatever the professor is working on. A large worktable has been placed at the front of the class; on the left, there is an assortment of bottles and containers of varying sizes and shapes. Clustered to the right is a far larger grouping of bottles, containers, and phials.

The Professor is nowhere to be seen. The chalkboard reads simply:

Quote:

Originally Posted by CHALKBOARD NOTE

POTIONS 2: INGREDIENTS & PROCESS
Please take a seat, take out your texts and prepare to take notes. The professor will be with you momentarily. You may study your ingredients lists or you may talk quietly and respectfully amongst yourselves until I begin the class. PLEASE BE CERTAIN THAT YOU ARE WEARING LOOSE FITTING CLOTHING YOU ARE COMFORTABLE IN AND WHICH YOU DO NOT MIND DAMAGING. If you are not, please go change before class begins. Thank you.

ooc: Please go ahead and RP entering the class, but remember, the professor does not appear to be present! Class will start as soon as we have a fair number of students in the class and will run for at least 48 hours to give every time zone a fair chance for participation (and probably longer, knowing me.

) You may talk a fair bit between one another, but please don't make this a chat thread or I'll delete posts without further notice.

Thanks! ~Xana~

Lissy Longbottom · 07-21-2009, 06:42 PM

Jack thought about his answer long and hard...he felt like scowling at the old professor--didn't he know it was OWLs time? His mind was running at the moment with spells and wand movements for his upcoming Transfiguration OWL, not with potions ingredients or theories. Sigh. Either way, he had given the answer his best attempt, so he was happy with himself. Now, would the professor accept THIS answer?

He raised his hand. "While not many people would consider this an ingredient, wouldn't human hair count as an ingredient that causes change? I believe the text refers to it as "a bit of someone you want to change into" but hair is usually the common choice. It is the last ingredient in Polyjuice potion, and without it, the potion would be useless. It also changes the potion depending on whose hair you add in there, so you can tell if the hair has been added or not by looking to see if the potion is a dark, bubbling mud type potion, or if it has changed color to something more pleasant--or, in some cases UNpleasant."

Boy Wonder · 07-21-2009, 07:51 PM

Aaron didn't know what the ingredients had effect on the person who takes the potion, (if that makes sense) but he knew what they did to the potions themselves. So he raised his hand. "Professor, Flobberworm mucus is used to thicken potions. I don't know what it does to the effects of the potion, but it thickens it."

Aaron also had a question. "So if the mucus is used to thicken potions, couldn't snail mucus be used as well? I know it would probably change the effect of the potion, but would BOTH thicken the potion?" He hoped that the professor understood what he was saying. Aaron even confuses himself sometimes.

Mugglemad · 07-21-2009, 10:31 PM

Victoria put her hand up "Professor, the Mandrake root is a powerful restorative and it is used in Mandrake Restorative Draught returns people who have been Transfigured or cursed to their original state."

TeafortheSoul · 07-21-2009, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XanaSnape

Kazimeriz looked around the room. "The gold stars have significance, in case you were wondering. You will want them; the reasons why will be apparent later. Now... First, let us address our ingredients. Based on what you learned from studying your potions text, who can name a potion ingredient that causes an obvious effect when used in a potion and state what the ingredient's effects are? I will start with an example from the last class: fluxweed, or false pennyroyal, is a component that may cause change when used properly in a potion."

ooc: Hold hands, y'all, we're venturing into a world where there are fewer right-and-wrong answers. Please feel free to interpret ingredients as best you can based on what we DO know from the HP Lexicon site, trying to keep it to canon and use critical thinking/logic wherever you can but have fun while you be creative to get those gold stars. But please... name only one ingredient per post so everyone gets a fair shot at playing, k? Thanks.

See this part of potions Cela didn't mind so much, studying and reading her textbooks was something she did as a matter of course. It helped that Nicholai wrote a whole bunch of extra notes in the margins of the textbook she'd gotten from him.

She raised her hand, "Murtlap tentacles, professor? If you strain and pickle them, the resulting solution soothes wounds and also promotes resistance to curses. Murtlap essence made from pickling the tentacles is used in several healing potions and can be safely added to others to increase the... um... efficacy. Potions like boil-cure potion, burn-healing paste, bruise-healing paste, Dr. Ubbly's Oblivious Unction and also in several antidotes for longterm curse treatment. The essence is also a thickening agent and is naturally yellow and can be used as a colourant."

XanaSnape · 07-22-2009, 03:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dingDong

WHAT? GOLD STARS?! Cam desperately wanted a gold star above his head toooooo! That was so awesome. He needed to get the right answers--or well, he won't get a gold star. Pout. He wasn't even sure if half of his answers would be right but eh, he'd have to give it a shot if he wanted that gold star. He raised his hand. "Umm... would lovage count? It does weird mumbo jumbo stuff to your brain so most use it in like confusing potion...draught thingies."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anna Banana

Anna's jaw dropped in awe as the professor casted a spell that left a gold star dangling just above her head. In all her years at Hogwarts, she'd never been awarded a gold star quite like this one. She wished she could see it, but being that it was on top of her head, that would be a bit on the impossible side right about now. Lucky for her, though, Diane recieved one, as well, so she was able to get a look at her friend's star. She smiled in appreciation at the professor, wondering all the while just what significence the gold stars would eventually have.

A potion ingredient that causes an obvious effect...hmm. There were actually quite a few ingredients that could fall under that category. Raising her hand, she said, "Glumbumble secretion causes melancholy. It's used as an antidote to cure a person who's consumed Alihotsy leaves, leaves which cause hysteria, of course." As she spoke, she recorded notes on separating brewing processes into two different stages and stirring clockwise and counter-clockwise. Below her notes, she began a list of ingredients known to cause an obvious effect. "How ironic is it that a creature whose name begins with the word glum, meaning sad, produces a secretion bearing the powers to make a person melancholy...," she added.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pR!nCet0ng!rL903

Krizza thinks she might answer this one.
She raised her right hand , almost toppling her seat. and when her name was called she stood up, tripping unto the hem of her robes.
Blushing, she said, "Professor, is Fluxweed included? When flexweed was picked at full moon, it is used in POLYJUICE POTION. "Flux" means constant change or flow, which is appropriate for a potion that changes a person's appearance."
She feels happy that she answered that one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leeness

Varius read over his textbook at the list of ingredients that were before them. It was all very well them being there in print, but what the HELL did it DO to you? That part was rather unclear. "Doxycide, bubotuber pus... oh wait, jobberknoll parts, hmmm."

"Sir, jobberknoll parts are used within memory potions and truth solutions, that would indicate that certain parts of the jobberknoll may heavily manipulate ones brain in order to get the desired effect... for instance, disabling the brains ability to seek out lies... maybe."

Quote:

Originally Posted by dan arjay

Daniel scratches his head and looked puzzled. How does the old man know what he is thinking. He doesn't even mention the words cooking in his statement earlier. he just shook his head and thinks for an answer.

He then raised his hand, "Professor, will peppermint count? A sprig of this is used in the Elixir that Induces Euphoria. If no peppermint was used, the elixir will have a side effect of over singing and excessive nose-twitching. The sprig of peppermint, added during preparation counteracts this side-effects." he paused a moment and then continued, "And from what I know, peppermint have the property of anesthetic and it can relieve stress and tension, making it a great addition to the elixir."

Quote:

Originally Posted by LizzieEvans

Lizzie finished writing down what the professor had described, adding his notes from the board. As she put down her quill she heard his last words, and after thinking for a while she raised her hand slowly and said Sir, I think that The Mandrake root is a powerful ingredient in brewing. It's cry can kill a person, while you can use it in the Mandrake Restorative Draught to restore people to their original state. She hesitated, not sure if this was the kind of information the professor had asked for, or if she needed to get deeper into the properties of the ingredient..? She decided to add something, and said Also, sir, the Mandrakes are interesting since their roots have the shapes of human babies, and they grow older until they're ready to be used in the potion. So they are dangerous both as babies and grown ups, but as they grow up they become useful too. She didn't really know anything else about Mandrakes, and hoped it was enough. Actually, the professor had been a little unclear about what he expected..

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tomasina Riddle

Paris raised her hand. "What about dittany sir," She looked down at her book to make sure she said everything right. "It's a powerful restorative. Using it makes skin stretch over a wound, and after the application, the wound seems several days old. But shredded dittany is used in Wiggenweld potion. Also known as Burning Bush, and it can sometimes release flammable vapors." She said pretty proud of herself for remembering all of that. Well it wasn't remembering it that was the problem it was reciting it back to Professor Kazimeriz.

The man was creepy enough to make a tombstone shiver.

He was the Antidiva.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monkey Princess

William bit back the retort that was inches from his lips. He didn't need a detention or worse. Taking a deep breath he put his hand up, which was beginning to shake just the slightest and said "What about Wolfsbane, which is a highly dangerous plant? It's the main ingredient in wolfsbane potions, which can alter the effects of being a werewolf. Well not alter them but make it more ... easier to go through the transformation. Wolfsbane is also known as Aconite or Monkshood. " he trailed off, his head drooping. Why did he even bother anymore he wondered, even if he gave the most correct answer ever it would still be wrong. Face it Cullack, this just isn't your game he thought ot himself, wishing it would be over soon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mugglemad

Victoria put her hand up "Professor, the Mandrake root is a powerful restorative and it is used in Mandrake Restorative Draught returns people who have been Transfigured or cursed to their original state."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Celandine

See this part of potions Cela didn't mind so much, studying and reading her textbooks was something she did as a matter of course. It helped that Nicholai wrote a whole bunch of extra notes in the margins of the textbook she'd gotten from him.

She raised her hand, "Murtlap tentacles, professor? If you strain and pickle them, the resulting solution soothes wounds and also promotes resistance to curses. Murtlap essence made from pickling the tentacles is used in several healing potions and can be safely added to others to increase the... um... efficacy. Potions like boil-cure potion, burn-healing paste, bruise-healing paste, Dr. Ubbly's Oblivious Unction and also in several antidotes for longterm curse treatment. The essence is also a thickening agent and is naturally yellow and can be used as a colourant."

Quote:

Originally Posted by rubindo

Aaron didn't know what the ingredients had effect on the person who takes the potion, (if that makes sense) but he knew what they did to the potions themselves. So he raised his hand. "Professor, Flobberworm mucus is used to thicken potions. I don't know what it does to the effects of the potion, but it thickens it."

Aaron also had a question. "So if the mucus is used to thicken potions, couldn't snail mucus be used as well? I know it would probably change the effect of the potion, but would BOTH thicken the potion?" He hoped that the professor understood what he was saying. Aaron even confuses himself sometimes.

"EXCELLENT! You all are thinking about not just the fact that the ingredients are called for, but considering what they actually do. Every ingredient in a potion has a specific reason for inclusion... Be it to cause an emotional change such as glumbumble, lovage, alihotsy, jobberknoll a physical change, such as accompanies dittany, murtlap essence, mandrake, or a change to the actual process or qualities of the potion: fluxweed enacts change, peppermint tames the harshness of a potion's effects, and thickening the potion with flobberworm mucus actually extends the life of the potion and also extends the length of time the potion will be effective for the drinker." Kazimeriz nodded, drawing his wand with a sharp upward flick , sending a gold star up to hover above the head of each student who answered.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Miss Lissy Lou

Jack thought about his answer long and hard...he felt like scowling at the old professor--didn't he know it was OWLs time? His mind was running at the moment with spells and wand movements for his upcoming Transfiguration OWL, not with potions ingredients or theories. Sigh. Either way, he had given the answer his best attempt, so he was happy with himself. Now, would the professor accept THIS answer?

He raised his hand. "While not many people would consider this an ingredient, wouldn't human hair count as an ingredient that causes change? I believe the text refers to it as "a bit of someone you want to change into" but hair is usually the common choice. It is the last ingredient in Polyjuice potion, and without it, the potion would be useless. It also changes the potion depending on whose hair you add in there, so you can tell if the hair has been added or not by looking to see if the potion is a dark, bubbling mud type potion, or if it has changed color to something more pleasant--or, in some cases UNpleasant."

"Thinking outside the box! Indeed it is an ingredient, and it definitely plays a huge part in human-transfigurational potions like polyjuice. Good job, Fritzera!" Professor Kazimeriz said, cheering up tremendously. He waved his wand and three gold stars shot up over Fritzera's head. Kazimeriz loved to see his students really thinking.

"It seems you are all capable of understanding the basic concept that ingredients have specific effects that they cause within the potion- some work independently, while some work in concert with others... For example, if you have a potion like a calming draught, a tiny droplet of glumbumble fluid is used but is balanced with an alihotsy leaf-- keeping the drinker from becoming depressed."

Kazimeriz began to pace-shuffle around the room, his cane making sharp clomping sounds on the stone floor. "Now, let us speak more about process. You all know that alternating directions in stirring, at the proper stage in a transformational potion, helps to infuse the potion with your intent for change. For example, if stirring your potion in a clockwise direction is used during some stages of potions for potions that enact a positive change, so what would stirring counter-clockwise likely do? Can anyone venture a guess as to what other brewing techniques might cause specific effects, and speculate as to what the effects might be?"

ooc: Again, there is less absolute right-or-wrong here, so feel free to be creative in your answers; speculate and get imaginative like whoa, keeping an eye toward known canon and what seems feasible within the wizarding world that we DO know. If you have questions you can also always PM me.

Lissy Longbottom · 07-22-2009, 03:50 AM

Three gold stars? WOW! That had just made Jack's day, that was for sure. He grinned and raised his hand again...this question was actually easier for him than the last. "If clockwise is positive, then I'm guessing that stirring it counter clockwise would create a negative change." he said, answering the first part of the professor's question before continuing.

"Another important part of the process is your flame underneath your cauldron. You use it to increase or decrease the temperature at certain times, which, if not done correctly or during the right stage, could have horrible consequences," he replied. "Maybe if you didn't make the flame strong enough, the ingredients wouldn't melt together enough?" he wondered aloud, trying to speculate what would happen. He didn't know the specifics about the consequences of potion making--he just knew that you had to follow the steps, or something bad would happen. "So um, that's another technique that might cause certain things to happen."

Tommehbell · 07-22-2009, 04:01 AM

She smiled as she got a gold star. The color of it reflected off her face really well. She stopped herself from preening and besides she had lost her lucky compact and she couldn't preen properly without it. her hand shot into the air. "Well sir most complex potions require adding one or more ingredients at the full moon. Like the ploy juice potion. And the full moon is the rebirth of the month and its a powerful time of the month so picking something or adding it at the full moon is releasing its full potential and power. Artemis the Greek Moon goddess was also a protector of nature and many of our modern potions are some of her own concoctions. So she could have been pulling on her own power and we just kept up with the tradition as a sort of homage to her. " She added. She loved the Amazons and they praised Artemis for her strength and swiftness.

TeafortheSoul · 07-22-2009, 04:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XanaSnape

"EXCELLENT! You all are thinking about not just the fact that the ingredients are called for, but considering what they actually do. Every ingredient in a potion has a specific reason for inclusion... Be it to cause an emotional change such as glumbumble, lovage, alihotsy, jobberknoll a physical change, such as accompanies dittany, murtlap essence, mandrake, or a change to the actual process or qualities of the potion: fluxweed enacts change, peppermint tames the harshness of a potion's effects, and thickening the potion with flobberworm mucus actually extends the life of the potion and also extends the length of time the potion will be effective for the drinker." Kazimeriz nodded, drawing his wand with a sharp upward flick , sending a gold star up to hover above the head of each student who answered.

"It seems you are all capable of understanding the basic concept that ingredients have specific effects that they cause within the potion- some work independently, while some work in concert with others... For example, if you have a potion like a calming draught, a tiny droplet of glumbumble fluid is used but is balanced with an alihotsy leaf-- keeping the drinker from becoming depressed."

Kazimeriz began to pace-shuffle around the room, his cane making sharp clomping sounds on the stone floor. "Now, let us speak more about process. You all know that alternating directions in stirring, at the proper stage in a transformational potion, helps to infuse the potion with your intent for change. For example, if stirring your potion in a clockwise direction is used during some stages of potions for potions that enact a positive change, so what would stirring counter-clockwise likely do? Can anyone venture a guess as to what other brewing techniques might cause specific effects, and speculate as to what the effects might be?"

ooc: Again, there is less absolute right-or-wrong here, so feel free to be creative in your answers; speculate and get imaginative like whoa, keeping an eye toward known canon and what seems feasible within the wizarding world that we DO know. If you have questions you can also always PM me.

Celandine blinked slowly, trying to process all this. She'd remember it and sort through it in her head later... but for now...

Cela raised her hand again, "I don't know if I'd say counter-clockwise stirring enacts a negative change exactly, since usually when you do that you are intending for the change to have negative effects which for the potioneer is a positive change really." Celandine hesitated, hand still raised, "But counter-clockwise stirring helps with brewing any 'undoing' potions, like antidotes. Potions that are used mostly to fix or negate symptoms or effects that the intended taker is presenting."

What else was in the textbook?

"Tea! Tea is a good example of how different brewing techniques can apply; whether you are brewing an infusion or a decoction it can change how strong the resulting liquid is and whether or not the original material can still be used for other purposes or if it will disolve and break down. An infusion is when the material you are brewing is stro... more potent and releases its active ingredients more readily and you tend to add the boiled or hot water or oils to the materials and let it steep, whereas a decoction is where you add the materials to the boiling liquid and keep it on the boil to release the active ingredients, you boil the liquid down and often end up with a more syrup-like result than you do with an infusion."

There was a bunch of stuff about doing that with different poisons and antidotes written in her margins but Cela didn't dare repeat any of that stuff and she didn't have the book in front of her anyways.

Anna Banana · 07-22-2009, 05:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XanaSnape

"It seems you are all capable of understanding the basic concept that ingredients have specific effects that they cause within the potion- some work independently, while some work in concert with others... For example, if you have a potion like a calming draught, a tiny droplet of glumbumble fluid is used but is balanced with an alihotsy leaf-- keeping the drinker from becoming depressed."

Kazimeriz began to pace-shuffle around the room, his cane making sharp clomping sounds on the stone floor. "Now, let us speak more about process. You all know that alternating directions in stirring, at the proper stage in a transformational potion, helps to infuse the potion with your intent for change. For example, if stirring your potion in a clockwise direction is used during some stages of potions for potions that enact a positive change, so what would stirring counter-clockwise likely do? Can anyone venture a guess as to what other brewing techniques might cause specific effects, and speculate as to what the effects might be?"

Anna beamed upon hearing that she'd just received a second gold star. She still wondered what they were for, but she knew that they'd find out all in good time. Raising her hand, she suggested, "The most likely scenario is that stirring counter-clockwise will enact a negative change. However, it could also be used as a means of balancing a potion to where it's neither too positive nor too negative. For example, if we aimed to create a potion which would succeed in putting a person into a rather normal mood, we wouldn't want too make them too happy or too sad. In that case, it might do us well to stir in both directions to balance out those two moods."

"As for additional brewing techniques that might cause specific effects, I'd say that beginning the brewing process by adding water into the cauldron would be classified under that category. Water has the ability to neutralize substances, and without it being added, we could have very dangerous side effects brought forth by acidic ingredients," she said. "Maybe the acidic ingredients, without the water, would destroy other ingredients you add, rendering the potion useless. The destroying of other ingredients could also change the effects the potion brings to a person. It could result in something like an Elixir to Induce Euphoria making a person extremely hyper or entirely too happy. It could also result in a Calming Draught making a person too sad or too depressed. Therefore, I'd say water is a brewing techinique that in so many ways saves the potion...and the one who consumes it."

Mrs. Weasley · 07-22-2009, 05:05 AM

Abby opens her potions notebook and writes down what has been said. She then raises her hand. "The way we prepare the ingredients should effect how the potion is brewed. Items that are kept whole generally do not disolve completely into the potion, nor are they immediately incoporated in it. Instead the essense of the ingredient is incorporated into the potion over a prolonged period of time. When we chop an ingredient up, we are releasing some of the magical properties of the ingredient before the ingredient is added to the potion. It then can more easily incorporate itself into the potion. The magic is also infused in the potion instantly when the ingredient is chopped or smashed." Professor Kazimeriz may not want to acept it, but cooking and brewing have a lot in common.

Golden Monkey · 07-22-2009, 06:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XanaSnape

Kazimeriz began to pace-shuffle around the room, his cane making sharp clomping sounds on the stone floor. "Now, let us speak more about process. You all know that alternating directions in stirring, at the proper stage in a transformational potion, helps to infuse the potion with your intent for change. For example, if stirring your potion in a clockwise direction is used during some stages of potions for potions that enact a positive change, so what would stirring counter-clockwise likely do? Can anyone venture a guess as to what other brewing techniques might cause specific effects, and speculate as to what the effects might be?"

ooc: Again, there is less absolute right-or-wrong here, so feel free to be creative in your answers; speculate and get imaginative like whoa, keeping an eye toward known canon and what seems feasible within the wizarding world that we DO know. If you have questions you can also always PM me.

William beamed; he just couldn't help it. Looking up he saw the gold star and gave himself a pat on the back. Oh yeah he was getting it! Calming himself down, lest the gold star turn into something that would terrify him he put his hand up again. "If stirring counter close-wise enacts a positive change, then stirring counter-clockwise would enact a negative change. Which is why we do it both times in cases of tranfigurational potions, so it has a positive and negative effect." He replied, before thinking of the second part.

"What about potion making and than injecting the potion into the item you wish to use for whatever reason, like let‘s say putting someone to sleep or changing their physical body into something else. Not only would the potion work, but it would also change in a way. Especially if the ingredients in the item you were using, like let‘s say a muffin or piece of cake had magical properties the baker didn‘t know about. Not that I intent to do anything so disrespectful as that to someone, unless they asked me too." he took a breath, frowning at his words. Sure he knew what he was talking about in a way but the question was, did it make sense? Picking up his quill he write down notes in his journal, making sure to underline certain points.

LizzieEvans · 07-22-2009, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XanaSnape

"EXCELLENT! You all are thinking about not just the fact that the ingredients are called for, but considering what they actually do. Every ingredient in a potion has a specific reason for inclusion... Be it to cause an emotional change such as glumbumble, lovage, alihotsy, jobberknoll a physical change, such as accompanies dittany, murtlap essence, mandrake, or a change to the actual process or qualities of the potion: fluxweed enacts change, peppermint tames the harshness of a potion's effects, and thickening the potion with flobberworm mucus actually extends the life of the potion and also extends the length of time the potion will be effective for the drinker." Kazimeriz nodded, drawing his wand with a sharp upward flick , sending a gold star up to hover above the head of each student who answered.

"It seems you are all capable of understanding the basic concept that ingredients have specific effects that they cause within the potion- some work independently, while some work in concert with others... For example, if you have a potion like a calming draught, a tiny droplet of glumbumble fluid is used but is balanced with an alihotsy leaf-- keeping the drinker from becoming depressed."

Kazimeriz began to pace-shuffle around the room, his cane making sharp clomping sounds on the stone floor. "Now, let us speak more about process. You all know that alternating directions in stirring, at the proper stage in a transformational potion, helps to infuse the potion with your intent for change. For example, if stirring your potion in a clockwise direction is used during some stages of potions for potions that enact a positive change, so what would stirring counter-clockwise likely do? Can anyone venture a guess as to what other brewing techniques might cause specific effects, and speculate as to what the effects might be?"

Lizzie smiled brightly as a golden star appeared above her head. Oh how she loved potions..! It truly was her favourite subject this term too, even though the professor was creepy.

Thoughtfully eyeing the pages in her textbook, Lizzie raised her hand and hesitated only for a second before saying Sir, I think that stirring counter-clockwise in this case would cause negative effects and changes. That is, if the stirring clockwise is used to give positive changes to the brewing. She'd said this without finding anything about it in the book, so therefore she only hoped she'd thought right.

Also, I think that other brewing techniques that influence the outcome of the potion, could be for example the heat of which you're making the potion boil. Too much heat might cause the ingredients in the potion to simply "boil away", maybe like water.. she speculated. And you spoke of how the ingredients interract with each other and how some ingredient's right effects only have potential when used in combination with others. So what if the first ingredients you added were too heated? That would certainly cause a problem. Realising she might be taking up the professor's time by babbling on about this, she quickly added her last thinking. And then, additional to the stirring and the heat, I think that also the way you prepare ingredients effect the potion. Cut, crush, break, squish, blast or stamp? She smiled at the professor. That might be the difference in how well the ingredient is used in the potion, and its possibility to absorbe the other ingredients... I mean, maybe it has to be crushed to be able to interract with the other ingredients? She took a deep breath after talking for so long, and waited to see if they professor thought this to be knowledge or just plain stupidness. One could never know before he'd replied.

Paintbrush · 07-22-2009, 02:20 PM

Natka thoughtfully bit her lip. Well, the first part of that question was easy enough, if one applied some common sense.

"Professor, stirring in an anti-clockwise direction would therefore cause a negative effect of the potion. However, wouldn't stirring in a clockwise direction a certain number of times, and then stirring in an anti-clockwise direction the same number of times, result in neither positive nor negative, just neutral, effects of the potion? Wouldn't they cancel each othr out?" she asked as an afterthought. It made sense, logically, but then again logic and magic did not always walk hand in hand.

As for other potion-making techniques... that was a harder one.

"Perhaps the various temperatures used while heating the potion? And the amount of ingredients used... well, these are not alays proportional, are they? I mean, say we have a list of ingredients to make a certain amount of the poition, but we want to make twice as much. Would simply doubling all the ingredients do the trick? Or would we have to just make the poition twice?"

Letting her hand fall out of the air, Natka realised she was asking more questions than giving answers. Why was it that half the time she gave answers in class, it was in question form?

Oh, well, let's hope that won't really matter... I am answering the question... sort of, she thought.

dan arjay · 07-22-2009, 03:06 PM

Whoa! A gold star! He was very proud of himself.

He would answer about the stirring part, but all the good ones have been already said, so Daniel raised his hand.

"Professor, I believe that part of the potion making is the preparation of the ingredients. And of course, from what we have learned, the way we prepare and handle the ingredients greatly affects the outcome of the potion." he then paused and scratched his chin, "Like for example, if we are making a Shrinking solution, we need to cut the daisy roots evenly or we must not add too much rat spleen for it can make the potion poisonous. These and a lot more are the result if we don't follow the procedure diligently. And then we have the right order of putting such ingredients." he paused, "It is not only important that we prepare the ingredients in a manner the is instructed we must follow the correct order in which they are instructed."

Mrs. Weasley · 07-22-2009, 04:47 PM

Abby is getting confused by this clockwise/counter clockwise discussion. From her brewing experience, certain potion recipes called for clockwise stirring and counterclockwise stirring while other call for only one type of stirring to be used. In the process no one had explained why we need to stir a certain number of times. "Professor Kazimeriz, does the ingredient that is put in the potion before stirring have something to do with whether we stir clockwise or counterclockwise? I'm also curious about the number of times we stir clockwise or counterclockwise. If I remember correctly from Arithmancy class, numbers have their own magical properties. I would imagine that the number of times we stir and the way we stir plays a role in adding magic to the potion we are brewing, or does it increase the magical powers of the ingredients used to brew the potion?

PadfootAndTheWolf · 07-22-2009, 05:58 PM

Chris Potter raised his hand. "Well Professor, would the flame intensity have an effect on the potion traits besides the temperature? Perhaps the more intense the flame burns the stronger something will become." he thought it out carefully before voicing his thought, he didnt want to sound stupid in front of Kazi.

Boy Wonder · 07-22-2009, 09:53 PM

Aaron raised his hand again, while looking at Fallon with a face that said Sorry. "Sir, the speed of the turning would also change the potion, too. I don't know why, but could it be that the longer it takes to blend, the more time the ingredients have to mix with each other?" Aaron hoped this was right. it sounded right... Right?

She-Who-Is-Not-To-Be-Psycho! · 07-23-2009, 01:31 AM

Diane had been shocked enough that something got shot into her forehead, she had been touching it trying to disern what it was and had not spoken in a while. Being rather distracted when instructions were delivered, she listened to other people's answers rather than heard the question from the professor.

Diane raised her hand. "The negative-positive are used to refer to contraries, as ying-yang, passive-active... well, actually, ying-yang would be a good metaphor for stirring generally... but clock and counter-clockwise motions can also refer to the passing of time, as the name tells. To make a youthening potion, for example, we use counter-clockwise motions. Also, time dictates the heating intensity by prolongued influence of the flame, the numerical quantity of passing minutes between each stage, the ingredient influence - like in the example before mentioned of a tea bag."

XanaSnape · 07-25-2009, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Miss Lissy Lou

Three gold stars? WOW! That had just made Jack's day, that was for sure. He grinned and raised his hand again...this question was actually easier for him than the last. "If clockwise is positive, then I'm guessing that stirring it counter clockwise would create a negative change." he said, answering the first part of the professor's question before continuing.

"Another important part of the process is your flame underneath your cauldron. You use it to increase or decrease the temperature at certain times, which, if not done correctly or during the right stage, could have horrible consequences," he replied. "Maybe if you didn't make the flame strong enough, the ingredients wouldn't melt together enough?" he wondered aloud, trying to speculate what would happen. He didn't know the specifics about the consequences of potion making--he just knew that you had to follow the steps, or something bad would happen. "So um, that's another technique that might cause certain things to happen."

"Fritzera, you are on fire today!" Kazimeriz smiled, shooting two more gold stars above the boy's head.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tomasina Riddle

She smiled as she got a gold star. The color of it reflected off her face really well. She stopped herself from preening and besides she had lost her lucky compact and she couldn't preen properly without it. her hand shot into the air. "Well sir most complex potions require adding one or more ingredients at the full moon. Like the ploy juice potion. And the full moon is the rebirth of the month and its a powerful time of the month so picking something or adding it at the full moon is releasing its full potential and power. Artemis the Greek Moon goddess was also a protector of nature and many of our modern potions are some of her own concoctions. So she could have been pulling on her own power and we just kept up with the tradition as a sort of homage to her. " She added. She loved the Amazons and they praised Artemis for her strength and swiftness.

"Excellent-- it is true that sometimes the lunar cycle can affect an ingredient's efficacy or even the entire potion itself." He shot two more gold stars above Ms. Greenwood's head.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Celandine

Celandine blinked slowly, trying to process all this. She'd remember it and sort through it in her head later... but for now...

Cela raised her hand again, "I don't know if I'd say counter-clockwise stirring enacts a negative change exactly, since usually when you do that you are intending for the change to have negative effects which for the potioneer is a positive change really." Celandine hesitated, hand still raised, "But counter-clockwise stirring helps with brewing any 'undoing' potions, like antidotes. Potions that are used mostly to fix or negate symptoms or effects that the intended taker is presenting."

What else was in the textbook?

"Tea! Tea is a good example of how different brewing techniques can apply; whether you are brewing an infusion or a decoction it can change how strong the resulting liquid is and whether or not the original material can still be used for other purposes or if it will disolve and break down. An infusion is when the material you are brewing is stro... more potent and releases its active ingredients more readily and you tend to add the boiled or hot water or oils to the materials and let it steep, whereas a decoction is where you add the materials to the boiling liquid and keep it on the boil to release the active ingredients, you boil the liquid down and often end up with a more syrup-like result than you do with an infusion."

There was a bunch of stuff about doing that with different poisons and antidotes written in her margins but Cela didn't dare repeat any of that stuff and she didn't have the book in front of her anyways.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mrs. Weasley

Abby opens her potions notebook and writes down what has been said. She then raises her hand. "The way we prepare the ingredients should effect how the potion is brewed. Items that are kept whole generally do not disolve completely into the potion, nor are they immediately incoporated in it. Instead the essense of the ingredient is incorporated into the potion over a prolonged period of time. When we chop an ingredient up, we are releasing some of the magical properties of the ingredient before the ingredient is added to the potion. It then can more easily incorporate itself into the potion. The magic is also infused in the potion instantly when the ingredient is chopped or smashed." Professor Kazimeriz may not want to acept it, but cooking and brewing have a lot in common.

"Absolutely! Understanding your treatment of ingredients- be they raw, chopped, crushed, infusions, decoctions, etc -- is critical because the way you process the ingredients affects their strength and their effect. For example, boomslang skin when in temporary transfigurational potions like polyjuice must be shredded - by doing so, you release the magical properties that allow for the drinker's physical appearance to metamorphosize and return to its initial shape when done. For example: Boomslang skin must be crushed into a fine powder for use in potions that cause permanent metamorphosis, such as a weight reducing potion or a nose-reshaping potion, as the change should only occur once." Kazimeriz nodded and walked around the room, pausing to send two stars up above Miss Wright's head and three over Miss Toussaint's for including the mention of decoctions and infusions.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anna Banana

Anna beamed upon hearing that she'd just received a second gold star. She still wondered what they were for, but she knew that they'd find out all in good time. Raising her hand, she suggested, "The most likely scenario is that stirring counter-clockwise will enact a negative change. However, it could also be used as a means of balancing a potion to where it's neither too positive nor too negative. For example, if we aimed to create a potion which would succeed in putting a person into a rather normal mood, we wouldn't want too make them too happy or too sad. In that case, it might do us well to stir in both directions to balance out those two moods."

"As for additional brewing techniques that might cause specific effects, I'd say that beginning the brewing process by adding water into the cauldron would be classified under that category. Water has the ability to neutralize substances, and without it being added, we could have very dangerous side effects brought forth by acidic ingredients," she said. "Maybe the acidic ingredients, without the water, would destroy other ingredients you add, rendering the potion useless. The destroying of other ingredients could also change the effects the potion brings to a person. It could result in something like an Elixir to Induce Euphoria making a person extremely hyper or entirely too happy. It could also result in a Calming Draught making a person too sad or too depressed. Therefore, I'd say water is a brewing techinique that in so many ways saves the potion...and the one who consumes it."

"Very good, Miss Greingoth. Water is used to dilute potions, to activate certain dry ingredients. Some other subcategories of potions include tinctures-- which can be brewed to help a potion remain effective longer -- and ptisans, which are essentially herbal infusions. The thing to note about tinctures is that they are not water based, but rather have an alcohol base." Kazimeriz shot two stars above Greingoth's head.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monkey Princess

William beamed; he just couldn't help it. Looking up he saw the gold star and gave himself a pat on the back. Oh yeah he was getting it! Calming himself down, lest the gold star turn into something that would terrify him he put his hand up again. "If stirring counter close-wise enacts a positive change, then stirring counter-clockwise would enact a negative change. Which is why we do it both times in cases of tranfigurational potions, so it has a positive and negative effect." He replied, before thinking of the second part.

"What about potion making and than injecting the potion into the item you wish to use for whatever reason, like let‘s say putting someone to sleep or changing their physical body into something else. Not only would the potion work, but it would also change in a way. Especially if the ingredients in the item you were using, like let‘s say a muffin or piece of cake had magical properties the baker didn‘t know about. Not that I intent to do anything so disrespectful as that to someone, unless they asked me too." he took a breath, frowning at his words. Sure he knew what he was talking about in a way but the question was, did it make sense? Picking up his quill he write down notes in his journal, making sure to underline certain points.

"Absolutely! There have been many known instances of people infusing treats, baked goods, and beverages alike with potions... It is critical, as I believe many of you will remember from my teachings in DADA, that you are careful as to where your food and drink have been so that you do not become a victim of someone's potions tampering mischief. CONSTANT VIGILANCE must be your mantra if you are to survive in our society, students. Remaining aware will save your life." Kazimeriz gave the boy four gold stars, hovering high over his head, for tying in the safety lesson.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LizzieEvans

Lizzie smiled brightly as a golden star appeared above her head. Oh how she loved potions..! It truly was her favourite subject this term too, even though the professor was creepy.

Thoughtfully eyeing the pages in her textbook, Lizzie raised her hand and hesitated only for a second before saying Sir, I think that stirring counter-clockwise in this case would cause negative effects and changes. That is, if the stirring clockwise is used to give positive changes to the brewing. She'd said this without finding anything about it in the book, so therefore she only hoped she'd thought right.

Also, I think that other brewing techniques that influence the outcome of the potion, could be for example the heat of which you're making the potion boil. Too much heat might cause the ingredients in the potion to simply "boil away", maybe like water.. she speculated. And you spoke of how the ingredients interract with each other and how some ingredient's right effects only have potential when used in combination with others. So what if the first ingredients you added were too heated? That would certainly cause a problem. Realising she might be taking up the professor's time by babbling on about this, she quickly added her last thinking. And then, additional to the stirring and the heat, I think that also the way you prepare ingredients effect the potion. Cut, crush, break, squish, blast or stamp? She smiled at the professor. That might be the difference in how well the ingredient is used in the potion, and its possibility to absorbe the other ingredients... I mean, maybe it has to be crushed to be able to interract with the other ingredients? She took a deep breath after talking for so long, and waited to see if they professor thought this to be knowledge or just plain stupidness. One could never know before he'd replied.

"Absolutely, your process will affect things, and that does include heat, and interactions and the way you process or treat your ingredients. Very good." Kazimeriz nodded, sending two more stars up above the student's head.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paintbrush

Natka thoughtfully bit her lip. Well, the first part of that question was easy enough, if one applied some common sense.

"Professor, stirring in an anti-clockwise direction would therefore cause a negative effect of the potion. However, wouldn't stirring in a clockwise direction a certain number of times, and then stirring in an anti-clockwise direction the same number of times, result in neither positive nor negative, just neutral, effects of the potion? Wouldn't they cancel each othr out?" she asked as an afterthought. It made sense, logically, but then again logic and magic did not always walk hand in hand.

As for other potion-making techniques... that was a harder one.

"Perhaps the various temperatures used while heating the potion? And the amount of ingredients used... well, these are not alays proportional, are they? I mean, say we have a list of ingredients to make a certain amount of the poition, but we want to make twice as much. Would simply doubling all the ingredients do the trick? Or would we have to just make the poition twice?"

Letting her hand fall out of the air, Natka realised she was asking more questions than giving answers. Why was it that half the time she gave answers in class, it was in question form?

Oh, well, let's hope that won't really matter... I am answering the question... sort of, she thought.

"Excellent question- it actually varies, for you are right- sometimes doubling a potion does affect it poorly and it must be produced in smaller quantities, and therefore if you need twice as much you must brew twice. This is especially true in potions that make strong use of infusions or decoctions, because in some materials the magic does not disperse properly in a larger quantity of water, even if you have twice as much of the ingredient in the cauldron to balance out twice as much water-- unlike in cooking, where the elements of an herb might infuse water at an equal ratio, the magic of some materials will only infuse liquid that are within a certain distance of the item's core. This is particularly true of ingredients like dragon heartstring and unicorn tail hair, and it can cause a weaker potion if you try to double the potion instead of making two smaller cauldrons of the potion." Kazimeriz nodded at the student, sending three gold stars over the young one's head.

"I know this concept sounds devastatingly complicated to some of you, but take heart: you will not need to learn how this works in detail this until your NEWT level seventh year classes, and then only if you are focusing on a career with a strong focus on potions. Which reminds me: if any of you are on a career track in potions or related disciplines-- including being an Auror, which requires strong potions background -- please visit the lab where I can assist you in understanding these concepts. It will help you a great deal in your post-Hogwarts studies."

Quote:

Originally Posted by dan arjay

Whoa! A gold star! He was very proud of himself.

He would answer about the stirring part, but all the good ones have been already said, so Daniel raised his hand.

"Professor, I believe that part of the potion making is the preparation of the ingredients. And of course, from what we have learned, the way we prepare and handle the ingredients greatly affects the outcome of the potion." he then paused and scratched his chin, "Like for example, if we are making a Shrinking solution, we need to cut the daisy roots evenly or we must not add too much rat spleen for it can make the potion poisonous. These and a lot more are the result if we don't follow the procedure diligently. And then we have the right order of putting such ingredients." he paused, "It is not only important that we prepare the ingredients in a manner the is instructed we must follow the correct order in which they are instructed."

"Very good. Your process -- and being careful to detail -- can make or break a potion. You give good examples of this, thank you." Kazimeriz gave the boy two gold stars.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mrs. Weasley

Abby is getting confused by this clockwise/counter clockwise discussion. From her brewing experience, certain potion recipes called for clockwise stirring and counterclockwise stirring while other call for only one type of stirring to be used. In the process no one had explained why we need to stir a certain number of times. "Professor Kazimeriz, does the ingredient that is put in the potion before stirring have something to do with whether we stir clockwise or counterclockwise? I'm also curious about the number of times we stir clockwise or counterclockwise. If I remember correctly from Arithmancy class, numbers have their own magical properties. I would imagine that the number of times we stir and the way we stir plays a role in adding magic to the potion we are brewing, or does it increase the magical powers of the ingredients used to brew the potion?

"Excellent point, Miss Wright- numbers have power, as those of you who selected an arithmancy option know. Seven, nine, three, six and twelve are all particularly powerful numbers in potions, and oftentimes you will find that potions will specifically call for a specific number of ingredients parts or times you stir your cauldron. Be very careful to do this properly and cautiously. As students, I suggest that before you begin you use your wand to mark a spot above the edge of your cauldron -- use a simple marking charm -- and use that as a visual reference point so you know how many times you have stirred your cauldron precisely. There is a huge difference between three stirs and three and a quarter, in potions." Kazimeriz gave Miss Wright another two stars.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanialRadFAN01

Chris Potter raised his hand. "Well Professor, would the flame intensity have an effect on the potion traits besides the temperature? Perhaps the more intense the flame burns the stronger something will become." he thought it out carefully before voicing his thought, he didnt want to sound stupid in front of Kazi.

"Very good-- the temperature of the potion is important. Typically, higher heat awakens or stimulates ingredients efficacy while cooling calms them, though there are exceptions to every rule." Kazimeriz nodded, giving him two gold stars.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rubindo

Aaron raised his hand again, while looking at Fallon with a face that said Sorry. "Sir, the speed of the turning would also change the potion, too. I don't know why, but could it be that the longer it takes to blend, the more time the ingredients have to mix with each other?" Aaron hoped this was right. it sounded right... Right?

"It can, indeed. Especially in a calming potion, you would want to stir slowly, and in any potion that uses exploding fluid or erumpent horn you want to stir verrrrrry slowly or you risk blowing up your cauldron." Kazimeriz nodded and gave the boy two stars.

Quote:

Originally Posted by She-Who-Is-Not-To-Be-Psycho!

Diane had been shocked enough that something got shot into her forehead, she had been touching it trying to disern what it was and had not spoken in a while. Being rather distracted when instructions were delivered, she listened to other people's answers rather than heard the question from the professor.

Diane raised her hand. "The negative-positive are used to refer to contraries, as ying-yang, passive-active... well, actually, ying-yang would be a good metaphor for stirring generally... but clock and counter-clockwise motions can also refer to the passing of time, as the name tells. To make a youthening potion, for example, we use counter-clockwise motions. Also, time dictates the heating intensity by prolongued influence of the flame, the numerical quantity of passing minutes between each stage, the ingredient influence - like in the example before mentioned of a tea bag."

"Very good -- you do seem to understand the reasons for the processes involved. Excellent!" Kazimeriz noticed he had accidentally affixed the star onto the girl's head and moved it to hover ABOVE her head, adding two more to it for her answer.

He surveyed the room. "Well done-- Professor Forrester could almost hold an astronomy course in this room, from the galaxy of glowing stars I see above you all! But who will be top student? Who will take the prize?" Kazimeriz smirked as he returned to the front of the class, shuffling slowwwwly over to the table with the two sets of ingredients.

"I am certain that the sharp-minded among you have been wondering why I have set these ingredients out. What you see here are some base ingredients that we will be using in the practical part of this class. I trust everyone has their cauldrons and equipment ready to work? Very good." Kazimeriz looked around at the students, noting that some of them were unprepared but knowing they would hustle to prepare now. "We are going to play a little game."

His dark eyes sparkled, the lights reflecting off them in a whirling way that might have suggested genius, or perhaps lunacy. "Each of you are to take out your potions journals, for you must take EXTREMELY CAREFUL notes as you work. Every part of your process- ingredients, quantities, what you did to them, order you added them, heat levels -- everything must be documented."

"What you are to do is this: First, you are to write a potions plan in your journal." He pointed his wand to the board, which changed:

Quote:

Originally Posted by CHALKBOARD

POTIONS PLAN

Your name:
Your House:
Your Year:
Type of Potion you are Making (choose ONE):

Physically Altering (Simple Transfigurations ONLY: Do not attempt polyjuice, this class will not be open for 21 days!)
Emotionally Altering
Behaviorally Altering

Intent (what you think the potion you make should do):
Ingredients:
Process:
(include what you do to the potion ingredients, your brewing process, and what you observe. Did it change color at one phase? Did it boil, or steam, or have other observable effects?)

"Second, you are to collect the proper ingredients of your choosing that you believe you will need to brew your potion based on what you have studied in your texts. If you need assistance in knowing how much of an ingredient to use or which ingredient might best suit your particular plan, I will assist you, though I expect my NEWT students to have a rudimentary grasp of these concepts already. For example, moonstone, fluxweed, knotgrass, and graphorn horn are all agents of change; you will use ingredients like these with other ingredients to form a two-step potion as we did in the previous class, but this time what the potion does will depend on what you choose to invent."

"You will combine ingredients designed to incite 'change' from this table with ingredients that you choose that will hopefully create the change you intend. You can find these ingredients along the side walls of the classroom and may freely use any except the poison ingredients which are all in my locked cabinet. Please do not try to make anything fatal! You may use your primary text freely as a reference. There are other books available at the back of the class if you like, as well. "

He pointed to the back of the class, on which there was a bookshelf with texts such as Magical Drafts and Potions,
The Potions Scholar's Encyclopedia of Ingredients, Potions Simplified, Bontanicals and Ancient Potions , and Everything You Wanted to Know about Anything But Weren't Wise Enough to Ask.

"Younger students who lack confidence may use a potion out of the books as a guide, but please document in your journal if the potion was based upon a published potion. Older or confident students will invent their own potion entirely, even if it has the same effect as a common or published work."

"If there are no questions, you are free to begin. Oh-- and take care to record EVERYTHING YOU DO. Let me know if you have questions, and you have two hours to brew. When your potion is complete, bottle a phial of it and raise your hand." Kazimeriz smirked. This was going to be a very good lesson for the students... nothing taught you how to brew and how to respect your ingredients like having to be inventive. Even if that meant things went horribly, terribly wrong... which would not surprise the old man.

He was coming to really enjoy teaching potions.

ooc: Go ahead and RP your charrie inventing a potions plan to create a potion that changes someone physically, emotionally, or behaviorally. Then gather ingredients and brew to your heart's content! You may get as creative as you like-- yes, including blowing up your cauldron if you wish (that is, if you use exploding fluid or erumpent horn )-- but please, let's keep it SS friendly always... and stick to HP canon where you can.

The potion you invent and its intended effect/your adventures or misadventures are all up to you... Leave me written clues as to how competent your student is in your RP, and we'll see how you did when we reach the final phase of the class! If you have questions please feel free to PM me or ask Kazimeriz IC. This portion of class will last the remainder of the weekend. HAVE FUN! ~Xana~

PS: Kudos to the brilliant biochemkris for the SS-based potions 'text' links. THANK YOU KRIS for letting me borrow your brilliant writings!

dan arjay · 07-26-2009, 03:40 AM

Daniel almost clapped from the compliment that he got from the Professor. And now was the time to prove to himself that he was like his mother.

His mother was a good potions woman and had invented some good potion and was the one that killed her. That day marked the time when his confidence with potions diminished. He regained that confidence when he made, under the supervision of his godfather, a super slug-repellant.

He then raised his hand and said, "Professor, can I do something that is patterned to an already existing potion but I would add an effect to it? I am planning to make a Wit-Sharpening Potion that can also boost confidence and courage to the drinker." he said. While doing so, he is carefully opening his journal and taking down notes on what he would do.

XanaSnape · 07-26-2009, 03:54 AM

Kazimeriz smiled at the lad, the first one to contribute. "Absolutely! That's exactly the sort of thing I am looking for. Develop ideas; try to think about your process and what the ingredients do and come up with something you think would be intriguing." Kazimeriz shot the boy an extra gold star above his head. "For your initiative, Kaiser." he nodded with approval as he eyed the students as though challenging them to get brewing. He looked around at the students. "Kaiser is in the lead, but only barely. Who will brew a potion that will be worthy of enough stars to beat him?" he speculated out loud, smirking.

Golden Monkey · 07-26-2009, 04:13 AM

Setting his potion journal onto his desk he was just about to ink his quill and begin writing when a question popped into his head. William knew exactly what kind of potion he wanted to make. The only problem is he wasn't exactly sure on one aspect. Putting his hand into the air he said, in a slightly hesitant voice, "Professor I was curious about something. I want to make a physically altering potion but I was curious on one thing. Could you use magic inside the potion? Like after the potion is finished, casting a spell into the potion which would alter it to a certain point." He asked, wondering why in the world he was even asking it.

dan arjay · 07-26-2009, 04:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XanaSnape

Kazimeriz smiled at the lad, the first one to contribute. "Absolutely! That's exactly the sort of thing I am looking for. Develop ideas; try to think about your process and what the ingredients do and come up with something you think would be intriguing." Kazimeriz shot the boy an extra gold star above his head. "For your initiative, Kaiser." he nodded with approval as he eyed the students as though challenging them to get brewing. He looked around at the students. "Kaiser is in the lead, but only barely. Who will brew a potion that will be worthy of enough stars to beat him?" he speculated out loud, smirking.

And that was what in his mind. Daniel opened his journal to a clean page and wrote the following.

Quote:

POTIONS PLAN

Your name: Daniel Robert James P. Kaiser
Your House: Gryffindor
Your Year: 4th Year
Type of Potion you are Making (choose ONE): Behaviorally Altering

The Boost Potion

Intent: A potion that will boost the concentration, confidence and esteem of the drinker
Ingredients: *water (500mL)
* scarab beetles (coarsely ground; 2)
* ginger root (cut; 5g)
* armadillo bile (9 drops)
* aloe juice (2 drops)
* skinkroot (10 slices)
* lavender (1 pinch)
Process:
Preparations:
1. Coarsely grind 2 scarab beetle.
2. Cut 5g of ginger root evenly.
3. Skinkroot is thinly sliced. You will need 10 slices.
4. Crush a pinch of lavender.
5. Crush aloe and get the juice.

After writing the ingredients and the preparations. He stood up and gathered the needed ingredients.

XanaSnape · 07-26-2009, 04:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monkey Princess

Setting his potion journal onto his desk he was just about to ink his quill and begin writing when a question popped into his head. William knew exactly what kind of potion he wanted to make. The only problem is he wasn't exactly sure on one aspect. Putting his hand into the air he said, in a slightly hesitant voice, "Professor I was curious about something. I want to make a physically altering potion but I was curious on one thing. Could you use magic inside the potion? Like after the potion is finished, casting a spell into the potion which would alter it to a certain point." He asked, wondering why in the world he was even asking it.

"Some potioneers do incorporate incantations into their potions. However, this is extremely tricky business and this level of interdisciplinary study is not appropriate for this assignment; the purpose of this lesson is to get the effects you seek from the properties of the ingredients and how you process them. Good question, though." He cast the boy a gold star, adding it to the small constellation over the boy's head.

highjinx · 07-26-2009, 05:04 AM

OMG like A LOTTA people already had more than one gold star! Cam was jealous of their ~~nerdiness~~ intelligence and wanted more gold stars tooooo. Why? 'cause they were made of galactical awesomeness, no duh. He wasn't an expert or anything in Potions but he did try his best, and his best just wasn't enough obviously. Sniff. Gold stars. Can't Kazi just give him a bajillion gold stars above his head for no reason at all?! He stared at all of the other people and sighed.

He looked at the professor, who was slooooooowly making his way to the two sets of ingredients. Huh? A Potions Plans journal? OMG AWESOME. He'd feel like some sort of a scientist or something, writing out all of the observations and such! Awwe yeaaaaah. Books. Ugh, he needed some help with the booooks! Cam skipped to the shelf of books and decided to take the Magical Draft and Potions textbook, then going back to his desk and reading the content. Eh. Boring. Boring.

OOOH. Tickling Tincture? OMG, it seemed totally perfect. Reaching out for his journal, he quickly wrote down well, what he needed to write down. Hmm. Well he liked happy people didn't he?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plan

Your name: Cameron Karsten
Your House: Slytherin
Your Year: 2nd Year
Type of Potion you are Making (choose ONE):

* Physically Altering (Simple Transfigurations ONLY: Do not attempt polyjuice, this class will not be open for 21 days!)
* Emotionally Altering
* Behaviorally Altering

Intent (what you think the potion you make should do): Based on the Tickling Tincture, it'll make the user laugh and feel all happy--and hyper, all at the same time!

Ingredients:

Same ingredients used in Tickling Tincture:
• water (500 mL)
• ginger roots (cut; 10 slices)
• Wartcap powder (1/8 teaspoon) DO NOT GET ON SKIN!!
• chicken feathers (5 down feathers)
• black pepper (ground; 1 teaspoon)

Process:
* bring water to a boil
* add ginger and Wartcap powder, stir counterclockwise for 5 minutes
* add chicken feathers and black pepper, stir clockwise for 2 minutes
*remove from fire and stir clockwise for 3 minutes

Hmm. But he wanted to add some things too. Cam reached for the other textbook and skimmed through the ingredient pages. UGH why did this researching have to be so hard?! But well, he WASN'T going to give up. Nope. He wanted those gold stars. And he was gonna do whatever it took until he got more of 'em. They looked awesome. And he wanted some awesomeness. Because he was awesome... correct? Add in more awesomeness and he'd be radioactiveee! WEEE.

Cam made some corrections and added a few more, possibly helpful ingredients.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plan

Your name: Cameron Karsten
Your House: Slytherin
Your Year: 2nd Year
Type of Potion you are Making (choose ONE):

* Physically Altering (Simple Transfigurations ONLY: Do not attempt polyjuice, this class will not be open for 21 days!)
* Emotionally Altering
* Behaviorally Altering

Intent (what you think the potion you make should do): Based on the Tickling Tincture, it'll make the user laugh and feel all happy--and hyper, all at the same time!

AKA HAPPY-GO-LUCKY POTION

Ingredients:

~~Same~~ Same&Additional ingredients used in Tickling Tincture:
• water (500 mL)
• ginger roots (cut; ~~10 slices~~ 20 15 slices--JUST TO BOOOST UP THE HAPPINESS)
• Wartcap powder (1/8 teaspoon) DO NOT GET ON SKIN!!
• chicken feathers (5 down feathers)
• black pepper (ground; 1 teaspoons)
• alihotsy leaves (ground; 1 teaspoon--will cause slight hysteria, will be used to add in the HYYYPEERNESSS&excitement)
• lovage (ground; 1/2 teaspoon--will cause a bit recklessness, to add in with the hyper)

Process:
• Start grinding the pepper, alihotsy leaves, and lovage (seperately)

• Bring water to a boil

• Add ginger and Wartcap powder, stir counterclockwise for 5 minutes

• Add chicken feathers and black pepper, stir clockwise for 2 minutes

• Mix grinded alihotsy leaves and lovage, pour into cauldron, and stir clockwise for 10 minutes

• Remove from fire and stir clockwise for 3 minutes

Ugh. Cam still wasn't sure. From what the Potions textbook said... He rechecked over the instructions and tried to make sure he didn't leave out any instructions or ingredients. GUH. What if the potion poisoned someone?? THERE WAS NO AMOUNT OF ANY POISON IN THE INGREDIENTS, RIGHT? He rechecked it for the third time. What he was doing for fun and gold stars would eventually turn out into a REAL scientific-ish experiment. No no no no no no noooooo.

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