SnitchSeeker.com - Introduction to Alchemy

SnitchSeeker.com (https://www.snitchseeker.com/forum.php)

- Term 31: May - August 2012 (https://www.snitchseeker.com/term-31-may-august-2012/)

- - Introduction to Alchemy (https://www.snitchseeker.com/term-31-may-august-2012/introduction-to-alchemy-89842/)

Text Cut: Kurumi

The professor got a nod after she answered Lily's question, but then got a certain blank stare since the second year hardly understood anything of what was said.

Why was alchemy so difficult?!

Lily's hand was scribbling furiously as she took notes on the subject matter, only pausing occasionally to stare up at the professor in awe... well, maybe not awe, but certainly confusion. The only was she was gonna learn anything from this class was through the notes she took... Merlin help her if this showed up on the OWLs or NEWTs once she got to that point.

OH... handouts... Once the Gryffindor prefect made her way around to Lily's table, she carefully took one of them and placed it down next to her notes. "Thank you..." Back to taking notes...

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie (Post 11065100)

Rising from her seat ~~and reluctantly letting go of Lewis hand again~~, Kurumi approached Professor Schirmer and gawked for a moment at the rather large stack of paper she was being handed. Merlin did she hope that she didn't drop all of these as she made her way around the room. Holding her arms out, Kurumi accepted the handouts and nearly fell over backwards from their weight. Merlin...Merlin Merlin Merlin...

"I....believe....that....Chang Tao Ling.....was....an....alchemist..." Kurumi huffed as she attempted to stable herself and the papers.

Turning around, slowly, the sixth year began to walk, almost waddling like a penguin with the stack of papers in her arms, around the classroom. "If you could just take the topmost handout," she instructed as she passed each student. There was no way she was going to risk removing one of her hands and having the entire stack scatter all over the room. The windows were closed, right?

SPOILER!!: symbol handouts

Ira looked on as Kurumi brought over the HUGE stacks of paper. Just blinking her eyes, Ira wondered what all that could be..

Ira nodded at Kurumi, and as told, took the topmost work sheet and muttered "Thanks Kurumi.."

Was she really supposed to read and understand all his? How?!?!

SPOILER!!: Professor Tegz

Blinking back at the Professor, Dylan moved a hand up to muse his hair...She was starting to lose him a bit...

Attempting to shake it off, he pulled his notes forward, writing as quickly as his fingers would allow. She was saying something about all these different cultures and how each individual branch, basically, had different practices.

Hmm.

...Glancing around at the others in the room, they seemed to know much more about alchemists than he did...Dylan didn't recognize any of the names being mentioned. Well, he did know who Issac Newton was. In the muggle world...that guy was mentioned quite a bit and had even been on the cover of Time Magazine, a muggle publication. Dylan remembered asking his mother who the old guy was...and she'd explained some nonsense that he couldn't clearly remember at the moment.

The others, though? Not ringing any bells.

Of course, he did remember one. It was the name on that book he'd been reading in his mother's office a few years ago. Naturally, he didn't know if the guy was actually an alchemist...but if the book talked about alchemy and his name was in the title, perhaps that meant something. "Robert Boyle, miss..."

As far as his achievements went and what he'd contributed to the study of alchemy...Dylan had no idea.

SPOILER!!: Cookie Girl

Then Kurumi was passing by...

Taking the handout packet from the very top, Dylan began casually flipping through them...

Of course, he wasn't prepared for all the...symbol-age he was seeing.

If I wasn't lost before, this should do the trick...

SPOILER!!: Dylan's Notebook

The Goals of the Alchemist

--find the panacea
--find the alkahest
--turning things into gold (chrysopoeia) and other noble metals

"I think you can all see already that there is much within the pursuit of Alchemy, that even simplified it is complex field. Aside from the detailed symbolic meanings, which must be studied in order to gain an understanding of the processes involved in Alchemy, there are a lot of new words and terms that you'll come across too which have meanings specific to Alchemy. For instance we've already mentioned The Panacea, The Alkahest, and chrysopoeia, the Philosophers Stone and the Elixir of Life, and that is just in response to the simple question of the purpose of Alchemy."
-- Professor Althea Schirmer

Definitions

Alkahest - Believed by Paracelsus to be the Philosophers Stone, or an element of its creation. This is a hypothetical universal solvent, having the power to dissolve every other substance, including gold.

Azoth - This serves as the essential agent of alchemical transformation, and embodies the concept of the main goals in Alchemy it is a possible universal medicine, universal solvent, or Elixir of Life. It is a name for Mercury as cardinal principle of Alchemy.

Chrysopoeia - A symbolic representation of the Philosophers Stone, chrysopoeia means transmutation into gold, from the Greek khrusōn, 'gold', and poiēin, 'to make'.

Panacea - also called the pancrest, or Panakeia in Greek, is named for the Greek Goddess of universal remedy, she supposedly had a magical medicinal substance which could cure all ills. It is a remedy that is supposed to cure all diseases and prolong life indefinitely.

Spagyrics -the production of herbal medicines using alchemical techniques such as fermentation, distillation and the extraction of mineral components from the ash of a plant.

The Cardinal Principles of Alchemy
The Alchemical trinity of principles.

"In alchemical terms, all things are composed of three parts- Sulphur , Mercury, and Salt. The alchemist separates and recombines these three cardinal principles as often as necessary until they are in perfect proportion and harmony, and the raw material has been reduced to its purest essence."
-- Professor Althea Schirmer

Mercury
- principle of fusibility and volatility
- represents water element
- represents the life force

Salt
- principle of fixity and in-combustibility
- represents earth element
- represents the physical body

Sulphur
- principle of flammability
- represents fire element
- represents the soul or individualized essence of being

The Alchemy / Astrology Relationship

Sun - Gold
Moon - Silver
Mercury - Mercury
Venus - Copper
Mars - Iron
Jupiter - Tin
Saturn - Lead

The Three Major Strands of Alchemy
Distinguishable as relatively independent from one another.

Indian Alchemy

Chinese Alchemy

Western Alchemy
--Hellenistic Egyptian Alchemy
--Islamic Alchemy
--Medieval European Alchemy

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie (Post 11065100)

SPOILER!!: symbol handouts

Spike took a worksheet off the top of the pile, and his eye widened as he saw what was on it. Was that even readable? It looked like a load of squiggles and latin to him. He'd been hoping the worksheet might have made this all a bit more understandable, not worse. There wasn't even much of a margin for doodling in.

Sigh.

Anyway...alchemists. He listened to some of the other students answers, wondering how they knew all this stuff. It definitely wasn't on the standard syllabus. It was days like today that really made him wonder how he'd come to be in Ravenclaw. His own answer was based on a chocolate frog card - a rare one he'd never seen for himself, at that.

"Was Agrippa an alchemist?" he answered, hand raised.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie (Post 11065100)

SPOILER!!: symbol handouts

Sarah a handout. Thank G-d she never had towrite it. Her hand was ACHING already from writing.

Sarah had originally thought of Nicholas Flamel, but he was mentioned by others. She thought of another person."Samuel de Falk was an alchemist in England in the 18th Century."

Silvia had only heard of one or two alchemists, and they had already been mentioned. So she remained quiet and continued to take notes until the Gryffindor prefect had come by with the handouts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie (Post 11065100)

SPOILER!!: symbol handouts

"Thanks," she murmured as she took a copy from the top of the pile. She looked over it.

O__O

She could see why alchemy lessons were usually reserved for older students. It would take ages to learn all these symbols and latin terms. Silvia was usually good at memorizing, but this might be above her current skill level. Well, it's a good thing this is just an introduction seminar and not a regular class, she thought.

SPOILER!!: individual answers

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vanillasweetheart (Post 11064061)

Does Chelle know any famous alchemists?
Why, yes, she does.

She has grown up listening to her best friend talk about Isaac Newton and how he's an alchemist as well as a scientist. Gosh, Jake perceived Newton as his God, which only made sense, given that he was an Atheist and that Physics was his passion.

"Professor, I know that Sir Isaac Newton, despite being a world famous mathematician and scientist, had a certain fascination with Alchemy. He practised the art with passion, and this fact was not known to the rest of the world until after his death," Chelle said.

"If I'm not wrong, one of Newton's main goals was to obtain the Elixir of Life through Alchemy. Also, he believed that metals possessed a certain form of life, and I have heard something else as well, although it might be a myth." Or she had read in a book, rather. "I've heard that Newton also successfully converted lead into gold."

"Thank you for sharing a bit about what he is famous for." Even if Newton had been mentioned. Oh well. Lucky for them she wasn't in a bad mood, not with her plans for the rest of the day keeping her smiling.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RachieRu (Post 11064134)

Oh. They had to say if they knew any alchemists. Indiana thought for a few moments. She was sure that she had read about them. A few anyway, when she'd been reading random books in the library. She liked the library. Hmm. But now she needed to think about one to talk about. Ooh. Wait. Why was she thinking about a muggle alchemist when she knew a wizarding one. Indy smiled, raising her hand. "Nicholas Flamel." She'd read about him, and that famous stone he'd invented. "He was a famous alchemist, and he invented the philiosopher's stone, which he used to make his wife and himself immortal. Well until he chose to destroy the stone." Which seemed kind of weird. Why not live forever? She chose not to stay that though, because she didn't think it sounded too good.

"Yes that's right, he's very famous in the Wizarding world of course. Even Muggles know who he is."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meizzner (Post 11064188)

Nigel was a little weirded out that these alchemist would play with poison.

But whatever, he had a question to answer.

Nigel raised his hand and said. "Professor, one alchemist is John Dee, he was an adviser to a Queen."

"Its interesting I think that many Muggle Monarchs had Alchemists as their advisors." Althea noted and smiled. Yes he was right. John Dee.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lislchen (Post 11064212)

[COLOR="DarkRed"
Lewis raised his hand when she asked them about alchemists they'd heard of. "There's Cleopatra." He'd read about her since he'd always thought it was funny how she had the same name as- Oh, maybe he should clarify a little there actually. "N-not the Egyptian Queen. Though, she was from Egypt too. And I think Cleopatra wasn't her real name actually." But none of that had anything to do with her achievements. "She's said to have been one of the people who knew how to make the Philosopher's Stone." One of the few women actually.[/COLOR]

"That's right. Mr Rasting. She's one of the earliest recorded Alchemists."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steelsheen (Post 11064327)

He sat unblinking when the blonde considered his question Only if she was so inclined and had time to spare... He nodded his head and thanked her. At least it wasnt a flat out no, but he had remind himself that the former Charms Professor does work for the Ministry now.

Famous Alchemists? Vickers clenched his eyes shut, trying to remember the name he was forgetting earlier..... the guy had such a long name he ended up with a moniker of his own making. After tossing a few clue words in his head he finally got his answer. Up goes the hand "Professor, that alchemist I referred earlier-- the one who believed that Alchemy should primarily be used for creating medicinal cures --his name was Paracelsus. "

"Yes, Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim. He's on a chocolate frog card, I believe."

Quote:

Originally Posted by TakemetotheBurrow (Post 11064350)

While waiting for the handout, Ella thought about the famous alchemists that she had read about during her many trips to the library. There was one in particular that she remembered...someone from the middle ages. "Professor, Albertus Magnus was a monk and I believe he was the one who first identified arsenic...which I guess is kind of unfortunate because isn't that-or wasn't it used a lot for murder?" *Shudder*

"Yes that's right and it was, but it is also medicinal. Many medicines can kill in high doses."

Quote:

Originally Posted by nups21 (Post 11064373)

This was one question and one part of he lesson that Ira understood and knew something. She raised her hand up and answered, "Professor there's Pseudo-Geber.." Yeah.. a false name, because, no one knew who the actual scientist was, though there were some speculations. "He was the one who first discovered Aqua Regia"

"That's right." Allegedly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CJP (Post 11064464)

Merlin! Charlit responded. Not to mention That this was a difficult agonizing question to answer, and Merlin was the only person of whom Charlit thought might have used alchemy. He was a famous wizard, but seemed very framiliar with the future so alchemy was probably somewhat involved in his work.

"Don't forget to put your hand up." Reminder. Hmmm. Or else, given the answer, one could almost assume that she was cursing. "But yes, Merlin."

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoseMalfoy (Post 11064569)

Desiree added on to her notes and waited for a handout to come to her. At least this time she was actually able to follow what Professor Schrirmer was saying. She felt like she should contribute something, so she twirled her quill thinking..

She raised her hand, "Professor, Salomon Trismosin was a legendary German alchemist and teacher of the equally famous Paracelsus, who invented spagyric alchemy" which the professor mentioned earlier, "Salomon is probably most famous.." she thought for a second, "for his book, Splendor Solis, which talks about the Philosopher's stone" Which she hadn't read.. but it was in her sister's bookcase.

"Absolutely right. Good answer."

Quote:

Originally Posted by FireboltAvis88 (Post 11064616)

Alyssa looked through her textbook but was having problems finding another person that she had not already named until she remembered someone very very very old back who lived in Greece. So she raised her hand and answered.

"There was this man called Zosimus of Panapolis. He lived sometime around early mid 200-300 A.D. Anyway, he collected all the knowledge about the subject and wrote a 28 volume encyclopedia about it. These are believed to be the oldest known books regarding Alchemy." She paused to think what purpose that served.

Then she remembered, "It was because of him that we know what we do about Egyptian/Greek alchemy."

"Good, Miss Potter."

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie (Post 11065100)

"Yes, Chang Tao Ling." Althea agreed, not commenting on the lack of a raised hand for obvious reasons.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anna Banana (Post 11065170)

Okayyyy.

Sierra didn't know any of the people currently being named. This was her first experience with Alchemy ever. Well, except...

...there was that time. Hmm...

"Professor Althea Schirmer," she said, raising her hand. "That's my answer I mean. I've never really had any experiences with Alchemy. Only the ones I've had with you, so...you're my answer." Lowering her hand, she added, "So I guess I'll share why your accomplishments stand out to me. You once gave us an assignment to take care of a metal egg. I thought it was useless at first, but in the end, it really helped me understand more about the properties of metal." She shrugged. "I don't get too overly excited about things, but I thought the fact that we all got a metal animal in the end was pretty cool."

Her's had been a metal porcupine that shot actual spikes. Perfect metal creature for Sierra. Brilliant, it had been.

That made Althea smile. "Well, in some ways yes. Though I'm a Magical Metallurgist by trade. I'm not particularly known as an Alchemist, but I'm certainly experienced in the field."

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19 (Post 11065466)

Jory raised his hand. "There's Acharya Nagarjuna, Professor,'' he said after listening to a few students giving their replies. "He's well known for founding a School of Buddhism.''

"Yes, that's right."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bazinga (Post 11065663)

Minerva threw her hand up, she might not know much about this subject, but there were other things she liked to read and she remembered. "Professor I read once that Albus Dumbledore was one." She then turned noticing the Kurumi skipped over her."Kurumi, can I have a handout please?" She didn't mind that she skipped over her with this many students it was bound to happen to someone, so if it was Minerva then it was Minerva no big deal.

"Yes, he was."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Miss Marilyn (Post 11066982)

Hmm.

...Glancing around at the others in the room, they seemed to know much more about alchemists than he did...Dylan didn't recognize any of the names being mentioned. Well, he did know who Issac Newton was. In the muggle world...that guy was mentioned quite a bit and had even been on the cover of Time Magazine, a muggle publication. Dylan remembered asking his mother who the old guy was...and she'd explained some nonsense that he couldn't clearly remember at the moment.

The others, though? Not ringing any bells.

Of course, he did remember one. It was the name on that book he'd been reading in his mother's office a few years ago. Naturally, he didn't know if the guy was actually an alchemist...but if the book talked about alchemy and his name was in the title, perhaps that meant something. "Robert Boyle, miss..."

As far as his achievements went and what he'd contributed to the study of alchemy...Dylan had no idea.

SPOILER!!: Dylan's Notebook

The Goals of the Alchemist

--find the panacea
--find the alkahest
--turning things into gold (chrysopoeia) and other noble metals

"I think you can all see already that there is much within the pursuit of Alchemy, that even simplified it is complex field. Aside from the detailed symbolic meanings, which must be studied in order to gain an understanding of the processes involved in Alchemy, there are a lot of new words and terms that you'll come across too which have meanings specific to Alchemy. For instance we've already mentioned The Panacea, The Alkahest, and chrysopoeia, the Philosophers Stone and the Elixir of Life, and that is just in response to the simple question of the purpose of Alchemy."
-- Professor Althea Schirmer

Definitions

Alkahest - Believed by Paracelsus to be the Philosophers Stone, or an element of its creation. This is a hypothetical universal solvent, having the power to dissolve every other substance, including gold.

Azoth - This serves as the essential agent of alchemical transformation, and embodies the concept of the main goals in Alchemy it is a possible universal medicine, universal solvent, or Elixir of Life. It is a name for Mercury as cardinal principle of Alchemy.

Chrysopoeia - A symbolic representation of the Philosophers Stone, chrysopoeia means transmutation into gold, from the Greek khrusōn, 'gold', and poiēin, 'to make'.

Panacea - also called the pancrest, or Panakeia in Greek, is named for the Greek Goddess of universal remedy, she supposedly had a magical medicinal substance which could cure all ills. It is a remedy that is supposed to cure all diseases and prolong life indefinitely.

Spagyrics -the production of herbal medicines using alchemical techniques such as fermentation, distillation and the extraction of mineral components from the ash of a plant.

The Cardinal Principles of Alchemy
The Alchemical trinity of principles.

"In alchemical terms, all things are composed of three parts- Sulphur , Mercury, and Salt. The alchemist separates and recombines these three cardinal principles as often as necessary until they are in perfect proportion and harmony, and the raw material has been reduced to its purest essence."
-- Professor Althea Schirmer

Mercury
- principle of fusibility and volatility
- represents water element
- represents the life force

Salt
- principle of fixity and in-combustibility
- represents earth element
- represents the physical body

Sulphur
- principle of flammability
- represents fire element
- represents the soul or individualized essence of being

The Alchemy / Astrology Relationship

Sun - Gold
Moon - Silver
Mercury - Mercury
Venus - Copper
Mars - Iron
Jupiter - Tin
Saturn - Lead

The Three Major Strands of Alchemy
Distinguishable as relatively independent from one another.

Indian Alchemy

Chinese Alchemy

Western Alchemy
--Hellenistic Egyptian Alchemy
--Islamic Alchemy
--Medieval European Alchemy

"Yes, Robert Boyle."

ooc: Imma steal your notes FYI XD heh.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hermygirl (Post 11067005)

"Yes, he was." She smiled encouragingly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Princesspower (Post 11067149)

"That's right."

"Sir Isaac Newton, Nicholas Flamel, John Dee, Cleopatra the Alchemist, Paracelsus, Albertus Magnus, Pseudo-Geber, Merlin, Salomon Trismosin, Zosimus of Panapolis, Chang Tao Ling, Acharya Nagarjuna, Albus Dumbledore, Robert Boyle, Cornelius Agrippa, and Samuel de Falk, are all famous Alchemists, some muggle, and some magical." She paused to allow them to catch up and gauge who was paying attention and who wasn't.

"I think many of you know more about Alchemy than what you think you know, but likewise, I'm aware that much of this is brand new information and it can be overwhelming. Remember this is just an introduction, and your notes, and the symbol handouts that Miss Hollingberry are passing out, are an overview of the field. The idea is that you can refer to these to aid you in future research or decisions regarding whether or not you think it'd be an interesting subject to learn more about. You'll also find that the optional homework that I will assign at the end of this seminar will be easier if you refer to your notes." At least there wouldn't be an exam?

"So these Alchemists, and the many others which have made advancements in the field, are all associated with different cultures, or different strands of Alchemy, as I mentioned before." And would add to the notes soon, once she was sure people had caught up some.

"You see on your tables, some.... odd equipment. These items are Alchemical instruments. If you take a look at your symbol sheets, there are symbols for many of that equipment. We're going to do a quick activity and look at these items, and then identify what symbol represents it or is associated with its use."

She paused again and then continued. "What I want you to do, is have one person from your table stand up, and I will call on that person and explain what the instrument on their table is and what it does. Then as a class, you'll each look through your symbol sheets and see if you can identify related symbols. You may have noticed the symbol lists aren't in English, but you are all familiar enough with Latin by now that you should be able to deduce which is correct. So one person from each group please stand up and we'll get started."

OOC: Remember how I requested you sit in groups/tables of 2-5 people? Well if you have a group/people you're sitting with, one person should stand up (the others don't need to) and Althea will call on them and talk about the object on their table and I'll provide a picture too. If you don't have a group but want a different item, you're welcome to stand up and assume you're at a different table than other people. Likewise if you don't want to stand up you can assume that you're at a table where someone else is standing. We'll get to the identifying part after people start standing and Althea talks a bit about what is on their table.

Louisa and Nessie

He nodded his head and scribbled down a few more on his notes. Oh yeah, Paracelsus was at the back of the Chocolate Card, now wonder he sounded vaguely familiar but couldnt quite figure out why when he does his readings ~~not really a card collector this one~~

Then they needed a volunteer from each group. He looked at Louisa and Nessie with a quick nod and a mouthed I'll do it then stood and approached the former Charms Professor.

Selina, Alyssa, Oakey---Volunteering

Gideon had been doing his best to follow along with the seminar, taking notes as the discussions went on but staying relatively quiet unless to add something he managed to actually know like the famous alchemists question. Writing down a few extra he hadn't been familair with, he almost missed the fact that they were moving on, finally catching the former professor pointing out the instruments at each of their desks.

Right...alchemy instruments...made sense.

When Schirmer described the activity and what she expected from each of the groups, the prefect looked to Alyssa, Selina and Oakey of his own quartet to see who might be interested in speaking up from their number. Should he or shouldn't he...he mused to himself before finally standing up himself.

Lead by example...right?

Zhenya and Desiree

Desiree smiled to herself when the Professor said her answer was good, and that she was absolutely right. She didn't even know how she remembered things like that, but she was glad she did. She took notes as the Professor talked. And when she looked up at her table, she saw it was just her and Zhenya working together. That was ok with her!

SPOILER!!: Symbols

Desiree looked down at her handout again, which they were apparently going to be using to identify the things on their table.. the Alchemical instruments or something like that. She looked at Zhenya to make sure it was ok, and stood up so the Professor could give them more information about their object.

Minerva looked at her group, "Who would like to stand up? I can if you both would want me to, but I have to admit I am pretty lost at the moment." She looked at the other two hoping they were understanding better, but she would stand up if they felt she was the best in the group to do it.

Isidora, Lily and me!:)

Ira nodded her head and listened to others' answers. And wrote down some more notes. And her notes were becoming pretty much long! And almost half of it, was out of bounds for her!

Alchemy instruments? What? She looked at Dora and Lily sitting across her at the table. Were they understanding all this or were all three in the same boat?

Anyways, on hearing Professor Schirmer, she looked down into her worksheets. Nope, she definitely didn't understand all that. But she could try. Of course she would try! No harm in trying right?

But she would have much more preferred that Lily or Dora would have stood up. After all, they were Ravenlaws! The ones with brains...

But anyways, Ira stood up, smiled nervously at both of them, and waited for Professor Schirmer to continue.

Sitting back and listening to what was being said around her, Lana remained very quiet. The whole subject did interest her and she really did want to read more about it once she could get to the library. Waiting to add more notes to her notes, she took the handouts and looked them over. At first, they looked a bit confusing to her and she wasn't sure about them. Taking a closer look at them, she began to kind of understand them, but it was still a bit of a challenge. She was always up for a challenge, so she was determined to understand them now.

Adding the handouts to her notes, she turned her attention back to what was being discussed and listened closely. Upon hearing mention of the objects atop of the tables, she looked to the one on the table before her and tilted her head slightly. She would be lying if she said she wasn't intrigued at the moment.

Looking back to the handouts, she looked at the once again and then to Chris beside her. "I'll stand up for our group," she smiled. For some reason, she felt that she was probably was more up for the challenge of volunteering and that was fine with her.

Slowly, she stood up and gave Chris a semi-nervous smile as she waited for other volunteers to stand as well.

Paulie and myself/Stella ^_^

Stella had continued looking over the worksheet of symbols after she'd gotten it from Kurumi, still seeing how much of the Latin she could identify as she waited for the seminar to continue. It had seemed for the pmost part that everyone had given up on suggesting alchemists, after all, so it was easier to just wait for Professor Schirmer to speak again. Plus, Paulie had been quiet pretty much the entire lesson, it seemed, at the table with her, and she wasn't about to risk angering the professor by poking him to make sure he was still awake. Something told her random noises probably wouldn't be taken well, and she assumed that would have happened if the head boy was asleep and she startled him.

She'd looked up again as the professor had finally spoken again, setting her worksheet down as she went back to taking notes. At least noting down all the names that had been suggested, as she figured the rest might be put on the board eventually for her to copy down. She wasn't going to look like she wasn't paying attention, after all, not when it was her favorite professor overseeing things, and definitely not considering she wasn't as sure about the topic as she was some others. And she'd glanced at the apparatus on the table she was at as it was brought up again. So one of the symbols might represent this?, she thought, glancing down at her worksheet again before it registered that someone was going to have to volunteer. She still wasn't sure where her partner's attention had gone, so her dark eyes went to him once more to hopefully let him know what she was going to do, before she stood up. Volunteering it was, but then if it helped her understand what exactly was sitting on her table that she was trying to avoid touching, she'd do what it took. She didn't think she'd have to answer any questions, either.

ZOMG I dunno who I'm sitting with... Any volunteers?

Michelle started looking around the room. She was confused.

Confused. Yes, that was the right word.

Mainly because she had absolutely no idea what kind of instrument was on the table, and what she was supposed to do with it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bazinga (Post 11069489)

Ella looked at Minnie, actually quite relieved she had volunteered to sign up. Sure Ella had read a bit about Alchemy but these symbols were just plain confusing looking. If anyone could be a good leader for the group it would be Min and definitely not Ella. Though she said she was lost too so was it really fair to make her stand for the group? Probably not. Swallowing nervously, Ella smiled weakly at her group mates. "I'll do it. I mean I'm not exactly a fan of standing up in front of people but I have to start some time, yeah? Is that alright with you guys?" And that way Minnie wouldn't have to do it, especially since she had the impression Minnie took on the leader role a lot during group work. It must get exhausting after a while. "Thanks for volunteering though, Minnie."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vanillasweetheart (Post 11069662)

Oichi noticed a girl at her table who seemed of confused as she was. She turned to her and said, "Hi, I'm Oichi and I think I am about as confused as you are but. I wanna give this alchemy thing one more shot so I will volunteer for our table. Oichi raised her hand and said, , "I will volunteer volunteer for my table professor.".

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rosa Chispa Princessa (Post 11069816)

Chelle jumped as a Gryffindor girl started speaking to her. It took her a moment to grasp the fact that she was about to volunteer for their table. Their table. A grin slowly broke out on her face.

She had a partner!

"Hi Oichi, I'm Chelle," she replied.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nups21 (Post 11069498)

Her quill sure was glad for a break when the professor stopped with all the information giving, or taking a break. This had to be a pity break. But they were FINALLY getting to the items on their table, and Dora almost jumped up to volunteer except her table buddy got up before her.

She was so fast!

The first year's hazel-green eyes jumped from Ira to Lily to the instrument on the table to the professor and BACK. She was waiiiting so patiently for this explanation.

Her partner could do it good too, she was so sure!

SPOILER!!: Gideon

Alyssa was glad that the Gryffindor Prefect had volunteered for their group. Alyssa had gotten most of her information from her book, but now was practical which would require everybody to participate and put on their thinking caps. She just hoped that this part wouldn't be too difficult.

Jezzabelle looked around at her table at Kurumi, Kate, and Lewis, "I'll do it. I really don't mind at all." Sure she was completely and utterly confused about most of the information that had been presented but she would take the risk. She stood up and gave the Professor a semi confidant smile.

Text Cut: table buddies

Ok... so they were going to need to figure out what the items were on their table...

Lily was glad when Ira stood up to represent their table. Even though Lily was a ravenclaw, she felt way unprepared to try and volunteer for this project. She could tell right away that Alchemy wasn't her class.

So sitting there, she smiled up to Ira, before looking over at the firstie sitting next to her. Maybe their table would have a decent shot at figuring out what their items were and what they were used for.... maybe...

OOC: if you guys missed the post with the handouts you can find it right here.

After everyone had received a handout, Kurumi returned to her seat with her arms hanging loosely by her sides. They felt ridiculously light all of a sudden, having the large weight of papers lifted from them, but it was also a rather odd feeling. Flopping down in her seat beside Lewis once more, Kurumi began to massage her right arm to try and relieve some of the soreness when Professor Schirmer asked for a volunteer. She would have offered, but seeing as she had just handed out papers it was best for someone else to give it a go. Kurumi glanced at their table and was just about to ask who wanted to volunteer - didn't seem like too difficult a task they were being asked, so anyone could do it really - Jezz spoke up.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HOPEendures (Post 11070214)

Smiling at the second year, Kurumi nodded and returned to massaging her arm. Maybe she should have asked if she could have performed a Hover Charm on the stack. Oh well, too late now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TakemetotheBurrow (Post 11069741)

Minerva smiled and felt relieved someone else took the leader role in this. She was nervous to completely screw it up. She had never been so confused about a topic it was strange. "Ella if your really sure, then yes please go ahead and stand. We will be here to help you so your not going to be doing it alone." She was so confused as to the items that she just looked at them and looked at the handout they were given. "Yeah hopefully we can help you." She smiled reassuring her friend even though she didn't feel very confident.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HOPEendures (Post 11070214)

For some reason, Kate was expecting LEWIS (that was his name) to stand up, since Kurumi was busy with the handouts...then the other Prefect ~~who was also a male~~ would be standing up for them, correct? Wrong.

But it was all okay, because Jezzabelle was volunteering...

You know what? Next one to volunteer would be Kate. Surely.