AJ was not going down with a fight. Adi had totally stopped all of his grinning and was fully concentrating on using all his strength. He couldn't believe it but AJ was actually pushing his hand back up to the starting point! After all that time he was pushing her hand down she was not turning the table on him!

Adi grunted and increased pressure on AJ's hand, pushing it back upwards. "I'm not giving up, Valentine,'' he breathed. That was all talk. AJ's hand didn't seem to want to budge! It remained right where they had started.

"I drank just enough," Mo took up Cat's hand, giving the top a brief kiss before settling his elbow squarely on the tabletop. He was going to beat her. Embarrassingly, which was why Mo intended to give her some time to fight valiantly before he took her down.

He didn't even strain at first as he let Cat take the lead, but when she nearly wiped out out immediately, Mo found that he actually had to put forth some effort. More than some... a lot of effort. He frowned slightly when he realized that she was actually quite strong. Of course she was.

"I guess... our potions worked, hmm?"

Was a Mr. Adi nervous? She could tell that he was tensing up and was definitely using more concentration this go round. She had him right where she wanted him and she was thinking that she may actually pull this out. Under normal circumstances there was no way that AJ would have beat him. He was older and had practice with waaay more potions than she had in her time. It really was just bad luck that Adi's potion was most likely better than hers therefore it made her stronger than him. At least that was her theory as to why this was taking place.

Adi was not having any luck with pushing her arm back down so she mustered up all of her strength once again and pushed as hard as her little hands would allow her. She could see Adi's are going down, but was it enough?

Well gosh. Normal strength boyfriend could have flattened her arm in a second, super strength boyfriend was obviously much harder to beat, but Cat really really really wanted to beat him. Mostly because it was pretty much her only shot to beat him. "Uh huh." Was her only reply because she was concentrating on focusing all her new strength into pushing Mo's arm down and BEATING HIM.

Push, Cat! Push! Was this what childbirth was like? This yelling in your brain telling you to push? She put all of her might, concentration (Which was a feat in itself. Concentrating Caterina.) And pushed against him, slamming his arm against the table.

......................

!!!!

"Promise you didn't just let me win."

He wasn't really good at serving or whatever, so Dima sat back and watched his partner ready both of the potion glasses. After watching her drink his own brew, the first year peeked into the cup he was meant to down. And... he still didn't want to do it. Still.

"I'm not drinking that," he stated for Lex's benefit.

And then he poured the whole thing onto the tabletop and practiced that new spell he had just learned.

"Scourgify!"

Magic was handy, man.

It was like the Professor said, you could kinda feel the potion taking effect and that was what was happening right now. It was kinda odd she'd admit...like a somewhat nauseous feeling...only not really. Finally when her head got back to normal she was ready to give it a try, happy she hadn't dropped dead in the seconds it took to get the potion circulating.

Her eyebrow rose at Dima's declaration that he wouldn't be drinking it. Well fine he didn't have to if he really didn't wa--

....

.......

He didn't. -___-

This bloody son of a garden gnome did NOT just WASTE her potion. SUCH a waste, something the Gryffindor didn't tolerate, not when HER efforts were the one being thrown across a table and vanished like she hadn't spent nearly the entire hour brewing. Lex. Was gonna try out the potion. On. His. FACE.

Deep breaths Lex.

Don't break his face, don't hex him into next year, don't get thrown in detention. Just don't. Alexa finally did take that deep breath then got up without another glance at the wasteful boy--who could have shoved the potion back TO her instead of THROWING IT AWAY--and headed for the muggle thing Collarbin had been on about.

She didn't care whose turn it was next, Lex stepped to the front and grabbed the hammer to the side. Really it was the bell or Dima so......The Gryffindor gave it all she had, feeling satisfied only after she'd heard the dinging of the bell. Huh, would you look at that. Wasteful Boy had use.

When nothing wrong had happened, Benny clocked the next 10 minutes, taking a breather and trying to calm down. Brewing potions always made him nervous and this time was no different. He was glad when the time was up and they could move on, the sooner they finished, the sooner he could escape until another class.

One Snake fang into the liquid. Turn the fire off. And the other snake fang.

Seemed simple enough and the third year managed each in time with the directions. The professor having no need to be upset with him like a few others in the class. A relief, even if Culloden wasn't half as scary as Lafay had been. Again another stir this one a single counter-clockwise movement, the rod already inside the potion lest Ben be tempted to clean it again. No need for redundant work.

Now he just needed to find a potion he could test. His bestie already occupied with his own partner.

"I didn't just let you win," Mo swore solemnly as he rubbed his aching arm. All that stress on the joints wasn't good, and he had to remind himself to ice both their arms lately.

She'd beaten him. Perhaps he shouldn't be surprised, since both of them were fairly good at potions and probably had concoctions that were pretty evenly matched. Mo likely was stronger on his own, but his potion may have given Cat a boost too. It was awfully hard to know for sure.

"Congratulations," Mo offered his hand and cheek, for both a kiss and handshake from the victor. If that was ok in Potions class.

Dima KNEW she would be angry but didn't really care because he wasn't going to drink it and that was that. Still, he followed her to the muggle thing like a good little kid who had drank his potion and waited his turn. Would an apology help, like what she'd done earlier?

Eh. Maybe later.

After Lex had taken her turn, he went for himself. It was quite hard for his puny arms to pick up the hammer without the extra strength of the potion, and it was even harder to swing it. The bell didn't ring at all, making it look like the Prefect's potion was one of the weakest.

He would have had more repentance if she was a bit nicer about it.

"Sorry." Y'know, for wasting her potion. And stuff. Oops. Whatever. Wasn't like she didn't have a whole CAULDRON of it left.

Even as his arm was back in the upright position...which was no easy feat as Jasmine was no light weight when it came to arm wrestling, Cris could feel his arm tiring. At the rate both of them were holding up, it would take another couple of hours before either one of them threw in the towel. So to speed things up, Cris decided to up the ante.

Cocking his head at Jasmine, he began crossing his eyes and pursing his lips like a fish, at her. His intention? To make her laugh before he did. He could see that she was trying to hide a smile. Was she planning on distracting him too?

"Hey let's see who can make the funniest face while arm wrestling?" Cris suggested with a grin.

Having no partner, Marigold decided to just drink her own potion. She poured a cupful into her cup, then moved it closer to her mouth. She took a sip, then grimaced. She could taste pomegranate, sure, but it wasn't all too pleasant. She downed the rest of the cup in one go. She shuddered a little. After the shivers had run out, she wiggle her fingers and tried folding her quill.

... Which then snapped in half. She winced and cast a quick repeating charm on it. Okay, she was strong.

Now for the game?

He didn't have to?

OH YEAH!!! Kyroh GRINNNED at the man. Full force, teeth showing, eyes almost closed and everything. The hurt look on the Professors face went completely unnoticed by the first year.

Pssh. Empathy? Yeah right.

His grin did falter though when the man kept talking. Instead Kyroh stared up at him completely confused by his words. "A sissy?" Uhhhhh. "Isn't that what people call their sisters? I don't have a sister sir. Plus i'm a boy." Yeah. Didn't he LOOK like a boy? Did Culloden want proof?

Aww. Culloden was sighing. Kyroh jumped off his chair and made his way over to the Professor. Without much thought he wrapped his arms around the mans stomach. LOOK hug! Okay? Don't be sad. "I'll still play with you Professor! Don't be sad!" Also. "I think I can still beat you without the potion anyways. I'm pretty strong." He was! GRRRRR!

.... right. He'd not said anything about sitting it out, he'd just prefer to drink his own potion. Had Culloden been this... unbalanced last term? He'd not noticed it. Apparently Alice kept him distracted about everything.

Aaaand... he wasn't sulking. And wouldn't sulk. Good thing he couldn't read the professor's thoughts or Culloden would be getting a baffled look right about then.

"It was just a question. I wouldn't sit out."

He turned his attention to Ravenclaw!Sophie though. "If Mo trusts you, then I trust you." It was fairly simple. So sure. He DID give her potion an eye though... looked alright.

"Swap then?" Cup for cup.

Sophie definitely appreciated Culloden's vote of confidence, but what was even better was West trusting Sophie solely because Mo did. That was a high compliment, wasn't it? Maybe not to her, but to Mo, and that was nice. She liked that West had said that.

She liked it when people liked Mo as much as she did.

"Cool by me," she grinned, hurrying over to West's desk and offering him her potion-filled cup. "I'd already have trusted you, but... good point that Mo's a pretty good judge of character. I'll trust you based on that, too." She gave him a knowing sort of grin, then, and subtly eyed his potion. He had kept a clean work station, hadn't he? At least the potion looked the right color and consistency - certainly she was worrying for nothing and needed to trust in Mo's choice of friends. He wouldn't be bros with someone who'd brew a potion that could kill someone, right?

West took the cup and shrugged one shoulder. "Y'know he's my cousin, yeah?" Just saying. He saluted Sophie with the cup she just gave him and then downed it in one, not particularly wanting to mess about with it or overthink it. It tasted definitely metallic... which made sense given all the blood in the thing....

....

Was it working?

"Y'know, I'm not sure arm-wrestling would be fair. Maybe we should do the hammer thing." Grin.

Seeing that he still doesn’t have a partner, and that the time was ticking, Ethan decided to drink his own potion. He wanted to try the hammer thing so bad! The young Slytherin brought the cup to his lips when he saw a boy—about his age, who seemed to be looking for a partner to swap cups with. Ohey! Hai! Over here!

Ethan got up, made his way to the said boy and stood in front of his workstation. “Haaaai!” waves and a smile for you, young sir. “Wanna trade?” Semi-serious face. Please say yes? Please?

Just then, Cutty seemed to have taken Kevin's cup and he pushed his cup to him. The second year grabbed it and drank it in one go. His throat BURNED because the potion was still hot and the boy hiccuped when he was finished drinking.

All of the sudden, he didn't feel right. Kevin leaned against the table, one hand supporting his body and the other went to his head where the Professor's writing was still on it After some time, the dizziness felt less and he lifted up his head and looked around. "I don't know about you but i'm trying out that muggle thing over there" he didn't want to arm wrestle because what if he lost?!

Would the professor be mad if he drank his own potion? Would he even notice? Benny was about find out as he gave up finding a partner and moved to take his own cup. Only to be interrupted by another boy...looking for a partner. "Um...sure..." he said handing his over to him and expecting the other in turn. Some one else's strength potion couldn't be too bad...right?

Even if everyone's potion didn't look or smell all that appealing.

Leah kept her eyes down, watching the older girl's potion sliding back and forth. It was probably better than hers, and the Hufflepuff started imagining the power she would have when drinking that. She was expecting at least being able to lift Professor Culloden. The second year's head snapped up as the other girl responded. Yay, she said yes!

"My name is Leah," she said. The two names somehow sounded alike. Leah felt more at ease, whether or not it was because of this fact. "Um, I'm thinking of doing the hammer thingy." Because she was afraid of getting flattened by Lily and breaking a bone or two. But meh, her own potion would not be that strong. Anyway. "So," she said, passing her potion to Lily and reaching for the older girl's. "Cheers," Leah raised the cup once and drained it.

Did she mention that she hated drinking hot stuff, especially if it tasted like METAL? And even more EWWW, this contained dragon heart!

"Yeh, let's do it. Get a bit of pent up aggression out." Or Kevin could if he had any as Cutty veered toward the passionless. He just wanted to see how strong the potion was. Standing from his seat, he brought the little cup up to his mouth, then imitating a trick he'd seen his father do with a tiny glass full of fire whiskey. He brought the cup to his mouth, tossed back the liquid into his mouth and rolled the cup off the lower side of his face then dropped and caught it with the other hand.

Oooh, but that tasted not too unlike a bloody nose to Cutty. He did not find it unpleasant. Perhaps, just a little on the salty side. At least it was the yellowy colour Culloden had mentioned on the board. He hadn't really considered Hirase's strength as a brewer of potions, but judging by Kitridge's reaction to Kevin at the Book Club meeting he couldn't have spent much time in the library.

Or maybe that was exactly why.


Cutty felt his legs want to go to jelly on him. Then the same became true of his arms as if he were experiencing some sort of all over invisible massage. He took a deep breath and the next thing he knew he felt like he'd had the best sleep of his life. Approaching the High Striker, Cutty grabbed hold of the hammer and SWUNG down on it happily, watching the little piece go up and threaten to hit the bell. Next time he'd get it. He released the hammer and stood back wondering just where he'd be if he weren't using the potion.

All right! "Here you go." Ethan placed the his cup on his workstation and he got his partner's. There was a nagging sensation at the back of his head-- as if to warn him not to trust anyone. But then again, this was just a class and Professor Cosgrach did supervise everyone with eagle eyes. So...yeah, it was safe to assume that the other boy's potion was okay to consume.

The young Slytherin brought the cup to his lips, but then paused.

Where was his manners??! Of course! Introductions!

"I'm Ethan, by the way. Third Year." No need to say his surname since it's just going to confuse the other kid. There was another Mordaunt in the room, yeah? And most probably he's friends with him too. Anyway! Back to the potion. Ethan raised his cup as if to toast. "Bottoms up!"

Glug glug glug.

"Ah..." Ethan savored the taste, and made a face after. "I say, we should more pomegranate in there. More flavor, no?" Ethan plopped down on a chair and waited for the potion to take effect.

"Lalalala." Nothing.

Hmm. Maybe he should wait more.

This arm wrestling business was hard work. Jasmine had stamina, but she was starting to fatigue a bit. She kept pushing, but did not feel like she was gaining any ground. There was no way she'd be up for a third round if it came to that. The next thing she knew, Cris was making fish faces at her. No he didn't. He was going to try to make her laugh and lose concentration?

Jasmine suppressed a smile that came out looking like a smirk. "Really dude? That's all you've got?" Looking at Cris with his lips all pouty was funny, but not funny enough to push her over the edge. Jasmine knew a way to end this match real quick, but no.........she couldn't do that. "So you're making this a face off, eh?" Surely she couldn't make Cris laugh with a bad pun so she went with the silliest face she could think of. Taking a deep breath, puffing out her cheeks and bugging out her eyes, Jasmine was sure she looked crazy. This was a rather hard face to pull while still trying to push Cris's arm down. Were they going to have to call this one a draw?

Great. Fantastic. Gross. But at least she'd done it right... She tapped her fingers gently on the table, waiting for the potion to take effect, but then Theo stood up and...

Well, that would mean her's had worked too, right? She stood up and, in her willingness to get to her feet, managed to knock the empty cup off the desk. She just about caught it - lightning fast Quidditch reactions - but she must've grabbed it a little too hard, because it cracked in her grip. "Oops... but I think it worked." she said, quickly repairing the cup with her wand.

Right, well, she was all strong and stuff now. Cool. "Yeah, let's go." Cause at least then she could go and wait for this to wear off in private. There was something disconcerting about it, okay? She watched Theo flex his muscles for a second... "Okay, very impressive, come on." She shot him a grin then walked over to the muggle thingy, rolling her sleeves up as she did. Lets go.

Let out some pent up aggression. ... dude...should he be nervous now? Did Cutty have some pent up aggression and would he snap once he drank the potion? He raised an eyebrow at him. Dude you got some serious issues... Kevin did not have any pent up aggression himself. He just was a bit agressive ... like a lion rawr!

The second year walked with the Slytherin towards the High Striker. Making sure to leave a bit of space between them because of his comment earlier. Kevin still wondered if he had spoken his feelings or if it was just a saying... he folded his arms as he watched him pick up the hammer and hit the High Striker. The force looked amazing from someone concidering his body type but he didn't hear a bell ring. "Let me try" he said and grabbed a hammer.

He spread his legs to stand in a better position and swung the hammer over his head but he used a bit too much of his strength and the fact that his hands were a little sweaty , made him let loose of the handle of the hammer and he watched it CRAAAAAASH in to the High Striker. ".....woah..oops?" The High Striker was okay though. Not a scratch...and the Gryffindor was pretty sure that was because of magic.

Marigold was still feeling strong, so she decided to get the hammer. She held it above her, ready to hit the thing they were supposed to hit. She swung it down with all her force - then immediately dropped it. Because it was going to hit her foot. She stood there for a second, breathing rapidly because that would have hurt so much. Then she picked it back up and swung it not as hard. Bingo. The force wasn't great enough to beat the game, but it came close.