Despite what most would say, Eiji considered himself to be rather transparent when it came to likes and dislikes. Especially when it came to his ambitions and Professor Noble had been dealing with him and alchemy since he was 11-years-old. And Eiji, when he wanted something, was persistent. So it was no wonder that the Potions Master knew just how to lull his undivided attention and put a bit of burn paste on his Slytherin emo.

"I'll stop by after class, professor," he replied without missing a beat nor needing any time to think about it.

Then class began, and Eiji was pulling at straws trying to associate the topic with dissection and collection. In some ways, a soothing solution made perfect sense for it all...but that also implied some inhumane means and Eiji knew Professor Noble to be above that - as was himself.

Ironically, this was a topic best suited for his little sister who he was sure was rambling off flowers and scents somewhere in the classroom while he instead set his gaze down to his parchment and began listing herbs for relaxation on it. But this was Potions class and it was almost impossible for him NOT to speak up - even when he felt crestfallen - so his hand went up and h offered a herb most familiar to him because of his mum's useage of it on the dragon reservation.

"Schisandra, professor. Stewing the berries for a tea or consuming whole dried ones tends to be my mum's favored methods."

Potion ingredients that will help in relaxing? There's a ton of herbs that are known to help relieve stress, her father likes drinking them as far as Jillian can remember. She was quick to raise her hand up to answer "Ashwagandha, Professor" she uttered. She has read about them and has seen this type of herb being used a lot in Asian countries."I was told that this specific plant helps in managing stress and also in balancing the immune system." It's a possible answer. She would love to drink this if it didn't taste like the ground- well, like most tea. "For Ashwagandha the supplements come in extracts or powders from the roots or leaves" that's how they prepare it.

Looking at everyone who knew these fancy terms of ingredients, Curtis wondered if some of these people lived in the forest where all these plants would be easy to find. He knew the simple ones like Chamomile, Peppermint and Lavender, of course. He couldn't top any of the other ingredients listed.. But there was one in mind he could add.

"What about Chocolate?" said Curtis, when he had his turn to speak. "I don't know all the ingredients in chocolate, but I read that it's a great relaxer, especially after emotional trauma like when facing a Dementor." If he was wrong and off the mark, eh, oh well. It wouldn't be the first time.

It was only as Heath finished organizing his supplies in front of him that he got a good look at the plants at the front of the room. Hmm, if those plants were what he thought they were, he had an idea of what kind of potion they’d be brewing today… an idea that was all but confirmed when Professor Noble addressed the class. Heath considered the question carefully as he listened to the other students’ answers, jotting down notes on what was said.

His initial thoughts turned to lavender and chamomile, like the plants at the front, but that seemed way too obvious! Besides, they’d already been mentioned a number of times. Then he thought of valerian, but again, that had already been said. So what else could he say? Heath wracked his brains for an answer until he remembered the herbal nighttime tea his grandpa drank. He tried to recall the ingredients label on the side of the box. There was lavender, chamomile, and valerian, but there was something else too, lemon something. Lemon juice? No. Lemongrass? Not that either. Lemon balm? Yes, that was it!

So if lemon balm was an ingredient in tea to help people sleep, it stood to reason that it had properties that eased stress and promoted relaxation, and if it could be dried and put into a tea, it seemed the same method would be effective in a potion. Did that make sense? Heath wasn’t so sure that it did, so he decided to keep quiet for now. The more he thought about it, the more out there his answer sounded, and in this class, more so than any other at Hogwarts, it was important to find just the right balance between an obvious answer and an outside-the box-one!

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy

Heath’s brown eyes darted apprehensively around the room as he entered the potions classroom. He half-expected to see the all too familiar trays of dead frogs, but to his relief, there were none to be found, just a cauldron on a burner and some potted plants. Thank goodness! Granted, potions class always made him nervous, no matter what they were doing, but cutting up that poor frog broke his heart. He didn’t want any part of anything like that ever again!

Now where was Professor Noble? As Heath made his way farther into the room, he saw the professor at the back of the room. Er… should he say hello or -? He looked sort of busy. Heath didn’t want to disturb him, but it seemed rude not to say anything. “Hello, Professor Noble,” he greeted quietly before scurrying off to his usual place at the back of the room.

Charlie had entered the room, not at all accustomed to the damp feeling she always got when she entered the basement, or the depths of no return to her. She glanced around the room and didn't see Noble anywhere. That was odd, he was usually glaring at the students from the front of the room. Quickly glancing around she noticed Heath. She had tried to get to know him more and more as the term rolled on since they were paired together for the Muggle Studies assignment. "Care if I join you?" She was always afraid he would say no. It was her biggest fear.

SPOILER!!: Noble and Heath

Quote:

Originally Posted by hermygirl

With everyone sat down, and for the most part organised, it was time to begin. Noble did his usual hand-clapping for their attention, before picking up a piece on chalk and twirling it between his fingers as he pondered their first question. He wanted to get them to thinking a little creatively, and encourage the more advanced students into thinking about potion invention as well as fundamental brewing technique.

“If I was looking to develop a potion that aimed to soothe and relax…what ingredients do you think might be a good starting point? Which of their properties in particular might you want to infuse, and what sort of preparation – dried, fresh, chopped, ground and so on – might help with that?”

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy

It was only as Heath finished organizing his supplies in front of him that he got a good look at the plants at the front of the room. Hmm, if those plants were what he thought they were, he had an idea of what kind of potion they’d be brewing today… an idea that was all but confirmed when Professor Noble addressed the class. Heath considered the question carefully as he listened to the other students’ answers, jotting down notes on what was said.

His initial thoughts turned to lavender and chamomile, like the plants at the front, but that seemed way too obvious! Besides, they’d already been mentioned a number of times. Then he thought of valerian, but again, that had already been said. So what else could he say? Heath wracked his brains for an answer until he remembered the herbal nighttime tea his grandpa drank. He tried to recall the ingredients label on the side of the box. There was lavender, chamomile, and valerian, but there was something else too, lemon something. Lemon juice? No. Lemongrass? Not that either. Lemon balm? Yes, that was it!

So if lemon balm was an ingredient in tea to help people sleep, it stood to reason that it had properties that eased stress and promoted relaxation, and if it could be dried and put into a tea, it seemed the same method would be effective in a potion. Did that make sense? Heath wasn’t so sure that it did, so he decided to keep quiet for now. The more he thought about it, the more out there his answer sounded, and in this class, more so than any other at Hogwarts, it was important to find just the right balance between an obvious answer and an outside-the box-one!

Charlie hadn't greeted Professor Noble but, she noticed he was busy and decided against it. She tried to wait for Heath to answer her but with Noble quickly moving on to start the lesson, she sat down and waited for a chance to apologize. She heard the things people were saying, while it all made sense, she wondered if chamomile was something you could use in a potion to de-stress. She raised her hand, "could chamomile be an addition?" she wasn't sure but she seriously almost always felt nervous answering anything that Noble asked.

On the whole, Noble thought their answers were pretty decent, and covered most of the major points. Though he was left wondering whether Rainwater had been teaching them herbology or aromatherapy of late, as there was a distinct preference for plants of the herbal variety. Something which Tom had felt the need to mention. “I’m sure you can come up with something more specific than that,” Noble told the Gryffindor first year, a less than impressed look on his face.

The other answers, he wrote up on the blackboard as they went. First of all: valerian. Both sprigs and roots were acceptable answers, and Noble nodded at Fiona and Isla in turn. “Indeed,” he replied. “Valerian is a sedative and can also help ease muscle spasms. Notably, for the topic of today’s class, the roots are used in the draught of peace, and sprigs of dried flowers in sleeping draughts…from which you could infer – correctly – that the roots contain the more potent sedative.” That said, he moved on to Chloe’s answer, which covered another known sedative. “You’re correct, passionflower can also aid in sleep and relieve anxiety. However, in large doses it can cause drowsiness and it’s rather fallen out of favour in recent years…especially for sort of potion we’ll be brewing today.”

The next two answers were hardly a surprise, given the two plants on his desk at the front. He brushed his hand through the one with the lilac flowers first – lavender, clearly – as Cole and Phoebe spoke. “Another mundane herb, lavender is probably best known for its distinctive flowers and relaxing scent.” Which those in the front row could probably now smell. “It’s most common to use the dried flowers in potion-making, but sometimes you’ll find the essential oil used too.” He turned his attention to the other plant on his desk now: chamomile. “Another herb known for it’s relaxing qualities and use in tea is chamomile, as Naya, Bernadette and Charlie mentioned. It’s easy to store in dried form, so that’s what most potions call for. It can also be used fresh, however…both the leaves and the flower heads.”

Moving on, Noble added Lucas’ suggestion of peppermint to the board. “Peppermint – and mint in general – has a both a calming, but also refreshing effect, which can help combat the stuporific effects of some of the other suggestions mentioned.” Since soothing and relaxing didn’t necessarily need to make one sleepy at the same time. “And yes, fresh leaves are much stronger than dried ones, which can quickly degrade and lose their calming properties.”

As he glanced back over his shoulder, it was no surprise that Eiji had thought a little further afield with his answer. “Also known as the five-flavour fruit, I do believe,” Noble replied. “Since it possesses all five basic flavours.” And hopefully they’d remember that, when he came to teach their ‘bewitching the senses’ module in a few weeks. “It can help with relieving stress…and as a result, can boost the immune system and endurance. Not something we need for today’s brew…but a useful ingredient all the same.” And Jillian followed up with another stress reliever. “Likewise, with ashwagandha.”

And finally, a completely out of the box answer. Though, perhaps surprisingly, Curtis wasn’t wrong. “Chocolate can indeed have relaxing properties, increasing the endorphins in the brain. Particularly dark chocolate.” Which he was rather partial to, by the way.

With Cora and Heath staying quiet for now, Noble put down his chalk, and moved around to the front of the table. “Today we'll be making a soothing solution…a potion closely related to the standard calming and sleeping draughts, but with a less potent formulation that means it can be safely used to settle young children and small animals.” So, it was quite likely that several of them would find an easy and obvious practical application of it with Schmoe’s assignment. And Noble would definitely be encouraging them to take a vial or three with them, so everyone could finally get a decent night's kip.

“To start, you’ll need to heat 70ml of flobberworm mucus in your cauldron over a low heat. You’ll also need to come cut yourself three heads of lavender flowers, leaving yourself five inches of stalk, and four decent sized leaves from the chamomile plant.”

Fiona listened to Professor Noble's instructions and then began to grab her cauldron, measuring beaker, tongs, and a couple of Petri dishes and a pair of scissors for the lavender flowers and chamomile leaves. She used a non-verbal cleaning spell in order to pre-clean her equipment before placing her wand back in the inside pocket of her robes.

Fiona placed her cauldron on low heat as she measured 70ml of flobberworm mucus before adding it to her cauldron. Grabbing the two Petri dishes and scissors, Fiona made her way to where the flowers and leaves were and carefully cut three heads of lavender flowers, leaving five inches of stalk as per Noble's instructions and placing them in one Petri dish. She used her wand to clean her scissors before cutting four leaves from the chamomile plant and placing them in the other Petri dish. She then returned to her work station and decided to write down some notes.

Chloe wrote down her notes as others said different plants. She knew most of them and the ones she didn't fully know she marked to read about later. As he moved on to what they were would do for their own potions, Chloe pulled her wand to turn on the heat to the correct degree and then pulled her cauldron on top of the heat.

Measuring the flobberworm mucus and making sure she had 70Ml she dumped it into the cauldron. Moving to the front of the room and using her wand to cut the lavender, she took off the needed amount and then picked carefully the leaves of the chamomile.

Headed back to her seat she waited for the next steps.

Maybe tea was such a horrible answer that it wasn’t worth wasting time on. Claudine simply blinked at Noble but chose not to say anything. Instead, she pulled her note book closer, scribbled neatly the solution they would be covering and the bit of information about it being less potent. Then she got to the real work.

She checked to ensure her cauldron was clean before proceeding to measuring out the required 70 millimeters of flobberworn mucus. The burner was ignited using magic and set to low. When she made her way to the front of the class to collect the pieces of the plants, Claudine hovered about as she waited for others before her to finish. But soon, she was back in gear using a clean knife to cut away at the lavender flowers. The chamomile leaves require less effort to acquire.

Soon, she was back at her desk with three heads of lavender flowers cut as required and four chamomile leaves that she deemed ‘decent- sized’.

A Soothing Solution sounded interesting. She wondered if her mom or dad had ever used it her or her siblings? Maybe she would shove it down Ellie's throat (her baby from the Muggle Studies project). Did it even have the same effect on realistic baby dolls? She doubted it.

Isla used a quick cleaning charm to make sure her cauldron and all her supplies were free from dust or whatever else might have settled on them. She placed her cauldron on the burner and exactly 70mL of flobberworm mucus. Yuck. Useful, but yuck. Once the mucus was safely inside the cauldron, she turned the heat to a low setting.

With that done, she began cutting the three heads of lavender flowers in a way that'd leave her five good inches of stalk. She did the same with the chamomile plant. Once she finished with that, she stood back and surveyed her work. It all looked right to her. Mmkay. Next step!

Was Eiji glad to get brewing? But of course. Was he particularly pleased about the end product? Not particularly. He would honestly much rather be harvesting than brewing something like this, especially with it being referenced to those bloody baby dolls, but he could see the other benefits of this brew and knowing how to make it. Not to mentioning the recipe and how he could alter it according to his own needs.

Setting aside the first set of ingredients, Eiji cleaned his cauldron first and then added the flobberworm mucus and set it to a low heat before getting up to cut himself three heads of lavender and four leaves from the chamomile plant using his silver knife. Though, before he even did this he cast Emfanizou Arithmou on each flower and each leaf to ensure he selected the BEST from the selection. Which meant he spent a fair bit of time scrutinizing the numbers as they hovered above each before vanishing them with another wave of his wand. Offering no apology for holding up the queue, why would he need to?, the Slytherin took his flowers and leaves back to his table and set the bowl they were in aside while he checked on his cauldron and then tended to his notes.

Quote:

POTIONS || SOOTHING SOLUTION
a potion closely related to the standard calming and sleeping draughts; safely used to settle young children and small animals

ingredients list
+ 1 clean cauldron
+ 70 ml of flobberworm mucus
+ 3 lavender flower heads; ~5 inch stalks
+ 4 (decent) sized chamomile plant leaves

brewing instructions
+ heat flobberworm mucus in cauldron over low heat

Tom listened to the Professor, he wasn't sure if he liked this Professor, he had answered the question, but he wasn't going to dwell on the situation instead he listened as the Professor told them that they were going to brew a potion, awesome his favorite kind of activity.

He looked at his cauldron, obviously it had to be spotless otherwise something might go wrong, once he was satisfied he made sure to heat it up, setting the burner on a low heat. He then measured out the flobberworm mucus, once he had the correct amount he put it in the cauldron.

He then walked over to the front of the class and made sure he did what the Professor asked cutting off three heads of lavender flowers. He made sure to leave five inches of stalk. He then picked four decent sized leaves from the chamomile plant, before heading back off towards his desk, waiting for the next set of instructions.

And thus begins the activity part, which is Jillian's favorite when it comes to Potions. Last potions class they did the harvesting and although she was up for it, she certainly did not enjoy it at all. Good thing they're not going to continue any of that instead they will be brewing a good relaxing potion.

With a quick scourgify spell on her instruments she then turned on the heat. Making sure that her measurement was correct, she poured 70 ml of flobberworm mucus into the cauldron and while she is waiting for that, she got out of her seat and got herself some lavender flowers and four chamomile leaves of course still following the same amount as the professor told them. She set them aside and awaited for the next steps.

Charlie has at least been some what onto the mark with chamomile. That made her feel better, not that she was sure Nobel noticed, and she sure wasn’t going to tell him. He still intimidated her, but she did want to learn. Writing down the steps she made sure she clearly had everything marked correctly. ”Okay okay heat flobberworm mucus.” she mumbled under her breath.

But first she needed to get three heads of lavender flowers and the stalk. Walking to the front she used scissors instead of her wand because she wasn’t totally comfortable with the severing charm to get her three heads of lavender. Turning she was about to walk back to her spot when she remembered she needed chamomile. You know the same thing she mentioned earlier about being soothing. Hello earth to Charlie. Grabbing the chamomile she finally turned back to heat the flobberworm.

Naya took notes as her classmates gave their answers and added to them when the professor began to speak. Finally though, it was time to get brewing. They would be making a Soothing Solution. Naya could thing of several situations where that would come in handy, for her anyway.

She wrote the instructions down and checked them once she was done writing. You had to get the details right or the results could be disastrous. When she was finished, she cleaned her cauldron, scissors, measuring cup and a container to hold her plant materials. Naya set her cauldron to low heat and then measured out the proper amount of the dreaded flobberworm mucous. She poured that into the cauldron, as she was told and then went to gather the rest of her supplies. Naya cut her flowers and got the stalks and leaves that she needed. She returned everything to her work station and waited for the next set of instructions.

Things seemed to be progressing well enough, with Fiona, Isla and Jillian notably taking the time to clean their cauldrons before progressing, and Naya taking the time to prepare her equipment too…though Tom seemed to just be staring at his. “Either clean it, manually or with magic, or start gathering your ingredients already,” Noble told the Gryffindor. It wasn’t like the boy would be able to see all evidence of contamination anyways.

Meanwhile, Eiji’s quest for perfection had seemed to hold things up in front of the two plants. Not that Noble could complain; the boy’s attention to detail was what made him such a superb potioneer. Also noted was Fiona’s diligent use of Petri dishes to hold her ingredients - unnecessary but organised, he supposed - and Claudine’s decision to use a knife for cutting the lavender flowers as opposed to scissors, or the more obvious option, her wand. At least Charlie had opted for the more sensible option. “Take another chamomile leaf,” he said as she returned to the desk, noting that she’d underestimated what he’d meant by ‘decent’. The four she held in her hand would not add up to the required one tablespoon when chopped. “Same for you, Chloe. I’ll think you’ll come up a little short when you chop your leaves.”

Which, funnily enough, was the next instruction. “Taking your silver knife, finely chop your chamomile leaves. I find this easiest by scrunching them all up into a bundle, and slicing them all one way, before gathering all the shreds back up and cutting them the other way with a rocking motion.” He demonstrated the technique for them as he spoke. “Once you have them chopped, measure out a tightly packed tablespoon, and sprinkle them over the surface of the flobberworm mucus…then simmer for 5 minutes.” Effectively making a tea, he supposed, for all those who had mentioned that before. He added the leave to his cauldron, before reaching to turn over his five minute timer. “Once you’ve set your timer, take your three lavender heads. We’re going to braid the stalks together.” He held up the three pieces, flowers to the ceiling, stalks pointed towards the desk. “Fold the left over the middle, then the right over the middle…left over the middle, right over the middle…and keep going to the end. It might be a bit awkward initially, and try not to damage your flower heads…but once you’ve got a start, it’ll get easier. Once you've got to the end, use one of the stalks to tie a knot round the others to help hold the braid in place.” Once again, Noble demonstrated as he spoke. “Drop the whole braid into the cauldron once it’s had the five minute simmer, and stir twice clockwise.”

Hopefully they'd all got that? It shouldn't be too difficult.

She already had her knife present and ready for further use. So, it was grabbed again after bunching the chamomile leaves together and holding them down with her left hand. The entire rocking motion that Noble spoke of… well, what did Claudine know of that? She was not that professional with a knife so she cut her leaves as finely as she could using her own method. Once done, she located her tablespoon from her supplies and measured the ‘tightly packed’ amount. Next, the spoon was shaken over the mucus in the cauldron, with Claudine moving the spoon in the diameter of the cauldron.

During that five minutes while the contents simmered, she carefully set to work by braiding the lavender leave stalks. Now she (and everyone) knew why the long stalks were required. Since she braided her own hair, this bit was very easy for her. Even the bit of tying the end of the braid was easy. The timer went off shortly after which meant that her braided stalks were dropped into the cauldron. “Professor.’’ The second year’s left hand went up as the other reached for the stirring instrument. “Why do the stalks need to be braided?’’

Now…

One clockwise stir. Two clockwise stirs.

Just as she was back to her seat Chloe heard Noble and looked at her leaves, shrugging she headed back up to get some more. Once she had a decent amount she returned to her seat just in time to hear the next step. She pulled out her clean knife and began chopping the leaves. This part was easy for her not only did she like to collect herbs, but she also helped her mom do this in the kitchen.

Packing leaves into a tablespoon she began to sprinkling them into her cauldron. Setting her timer she picked up the lavender and set it on the table in three rows. Taking the left one she placed it in the middle, then did the same with the right, next she repeated the motion. Doing this over and over until she came to the very end. It was awkward at first, but braiding her own hair and friends, it got easier as she went.

Tieing it at the end and waiting for the timer Chloe finally set the lavender down in her cauldron. With it in place she began to stir, once and then twice clockwise.

Fiona watched Professor Noble go through the next lot of steps for making the Soothing Solution. She then grabbed her silver knife, quickly cleaned it using a cleaning charm and began to finely chop her chamomile leaves. When she had completed doing that, Fiona grabbed a clean tablespoon and measured the right amount of leaves before carefully sprinkling the leaves over the flobberworm mucus in her cauldron.

She set her timer for five minutes and then grabbed her lavender heads and carefully braided the stalks together. Fiona had completed the braiding a minute before the timer had finished so she spent the final minute cleaning the tablespoon and retrieving/cleaning her stirrer. When the timer indicated the five minutes were up, Fiona dropped the lavender into her cauldron and stirred twice clockwise.

She quickly added to her notes.

Quest for perfection indeed. Eiji demanded nothing but the best when it came to the subject and that was why he was particularly selective when it came to his table partners in the class.

His silver knife already out since he had used it in his initial collections, Eiji began chopping his leaves with a Michelin chef's precision. How many of his classmates chopped with their index finger sticking out along the blade? Pfft. Amateurs. Tapping the wooden spoon with his other hand, he carefully sprinkled all of the chamomile a top the simmer flobberworm mucus and then eyed the lavender stalks.

Braiding. This was right up Rebecca's alley with her flower crowns and daisy chains. Now he found himself wishing he hadn't constantly turned his nose up at her when she had asked if he wanted to make them with her. He had NO idea how to brain ANYTHING. Thus, a scowl appeared across the Slytherin's face as he made a real honest effort at it...and snapped one of the heads right off. "...bloody hell," he grunted in aggravation as he rose to collect another fresh stalk of lavender from the front of the classroom. "...broke one," he muttered in explanation to Professor Noble before heading back to his station and giving the braiding another go.

How did people DO this? Why couldn't his fingers work the way he WANTED them to?

Glancing at his timer was only stressing him out more as his fingers continued to have performance issues and he squished two lavender heads and their stalks in his second attempt. He could surely use these for another brew...but not this one. Clearly.

So up he went again and, this time, more haphazardly picked two fresh lavenders to try for a third time at a braid. "...stupid...urgh..." grumbles to himself.

Quote:

POTIONS || SOOTHING SOLUTION
a potion closely related to the standard calming and sleeping draughts; safely used to settle young children and small animals

ingredients list
+ 1 clean cauldron
+ 70 ml of flobberworm mucus
+ 3 lavender flower heads; ~5 inch stalks
+ 4 (decent) sized chamomile plant leaves

brewing instructions
+ heat flobberworm mucus in cauldron over low heat
+ use a silver knife to chop chamomile leaves (finely)
+ add a tightly packed 1 tablespoon and sprinkle into cauldron
+ simmer for 5 minutes
+ brain lavender stalks; tie off
+ add to cauldron
+ simmer for 5 minutes
+ 2 clockwise stirs

Ah! There was so much to do already! Bernie always panicked a little in Potions class when they had about 5,000 steps to do and she felt like she didn't know all the steps and hadn't had the time to read through the recipe four times before beginning and hadn't asked at least eight unnecessary questions of the professor before starting and all of that.

She took a breath, though, reminding herself that she was nearly a big, bold thirteen-year-old, and that she could handle a few directions and a little dash of the unknown. She cleaned her cauldron first and then added precisely 70 mg of flobberworm mucus, which was disgusting but necessary, and set her cauldron to simmer. Feeling nervous, she headed for the front of the room to gather her chamomile leaves, but not before taking an obvious detour past Eiji Rasting's desk so that she could take a goooooood long look at his notes.

What? There was nothing to see here. Nothing weird about this idea. The boy was obviously related to some Potions god like Severus Snape or something. They exuded that creepy Slytherin superiority in subjects like this one, and she'd be stupid not to take advantage of her friend Becky's brilliant elder brother's notes.

Satisfied that she was doing everything properly so far, Bernie gathered F I V E fat chamomile leaves, since they'd be chopping them anyway, and three lavender flower heads with stalks that were at least five, maybe six inches in length. Once she was back to her station, she tried to rewrite her notes so that they resembled Eiji's, and then began dicing her chamomile with beautiful knife strokes. Easy peasy. Just like cooking, right? She dumped them into the cauldron and set her timer for five minutes.

The Gryffindor then braided her flower stalks like this was something she did every day; to be fair, she had made many a daisy chain when she'd been in primary school and they'd tried to make her do S P O R T S outside. It was a bit tricky to get the stalks tied at the end, but she finished that and waited for her timer to go off before she added those too.

THEN she stirred it all together, twice, going clockwise for both stirs.

Text Cut: TOTALLY ORIGINAL NOTES

Potions Notes ~ Wed. 16 Feb. 2101

Ingredients

• clean cauldron
• 70 ml flobberworm mucus
• 3 lavender flower heads w/5 inch stalks
• 4 (decent) sized chamomile plant leaves

Instructions

1. Heat flobberworm mucus in clean cauldron over low heat.
2. Use a silver knife to finely chop chamomile leaves.
3. Tightly pack 1 TBS of leaves and sprinkle into cauldron
4. Simmer for 5 minutes. Set timer!
5. Braid lavender stalks; tie off.
6. Add lavender to cauldron.
7. Stir clockwise TWO times.

She had collected her lavender flowers and even started to heat the flobberworm mucus (even if she had measured the wrong amount) and that was as far as Cora got before she started to zone out. The zoning out was a common occurrence and to be honest, it was lucky she'd gotten this far already.

Was Noble talking again? She vaguely heard instructions on chopping and braiding something or other but Cora had soon found other uses for her silver knife and was too busy carving her initials into the desk to carry out any other task.

Isla picked up the chamomile leaf and scrunched it into a bundle. She'd never tried it this way before, but Noble knew best, and that was what he had recommended. She began to slice all in one direction, and then she gathered all the shreds and sliced in the other direction, too. She paused and looked at the leaf. It was about as finely chopped as she could get it.

With that done, she packed the leaves into a tablespoon and then sprinkled everything over the mucus. She set the time for five minutes then moved on to the next step while everything simmered together. She collected the three lavender heads then started the process of braiding them together. She'd braided her little sister's hair before, so this wasn't too different. Maybe a little harder to do, but not too different. She knotted everything together then dropped the whole braid into the cauldron.

By this time, her timer was going off, so she stirred twice in a clockwise direction. All caught up!

Carsyn was totally not distracted. She was totally not thinking about the fact that OWL examinations would be just a few short months away. She was also not thinking about the ominous C and O doodles on a certain Hufflepuff's parchment. It didn't mean anything, right? The C could have referred to any number of students here. Of course Carsyn had no idea if he was / had snogged anyone else. She also knew Hufflepuffs were nothing if not the most loyal of all the students. But Orion wasn't a normal Hufflepuff, was he?

Soothe and relax. It was almost as if Professor Noble knew that by this point in the term tensions were high. What helped her most was baking and really nothing to do with ingredients, but that wasn't what the question was about, so instead the fifth year just sat quietly, listening.

Until the time came to start the potion, to which the Gryffindor Prefect methodically poured the flobberworm mucus into her beaker, measuring our 70 milliliters and adding it to her cauldron, adding a low flame. While that was heating up, she cut herself three heads of lavender flowers with some stalk and plucked four leaves from the chamomile plant. She wasn't sure about flobberworm mucus but suddenly she had the craving for a bath soak with lavender salts.

Taking her silver knife, once back at her seat, she finely chopped the chamomile leaves, feeling as if it was oddly resembling tea leaves which was ... soothing. Yes, preparation was almost more relaxing than the actual ingredients themselves. Taking a tablespoon, she packed the chopped leaves onto it and then sprinkled them into her cauldron onto her mucus. Time set for five minutes, she took her three lavender heads and had to smile at the next task - braiding the stalks together was something she could manage. It was just like braiding hair, which having a sister and cousins and all sorts of females in her life was something she could do with her eyes closed. If it didn't put the flower heads at risk for being damaged. Braided stalk accomplished and with that she dropped the whole thing into the cauldron, with a satisfying plunk and waited.

Jillian checked most of ingredients especially the flowers and the leaves as Professor Noble gave out the next instructions on what to do. Her hand quickly grabbed her silver knife and placed it right next to the chamomile leaves that she set in front of her. The way the professor demonstrated cutting it is the same as when you are cutting herbs when cooking, something that she is used to doing. She bundled up her chamomile leaves together and positioned her handle on top of it- three fingers down with the index and thumb securing the leaves. This was the easiest and fastest way to chop anything. Then piled them all up to dice it in a rocking motion- as the professor put it. She took her teaspoon and scooped the chopped leaves then sprinkling them over the flobberworm mucus. AAAAANNND set the timer to 5 minutes.

On to the next were the braiding of the lavender leaves. She was quite happy that she cut the stem a little bit longer- hooray for instincts perhaps. To braid these stalks you need at least 3 to 5 inches in length so it will not be short nor break easily. She held 3 of the lavender flowers together and placing a string around the pedicels and tightly knotting it. This would make it a lot easier on her part when she's braiding the stems. She carefully folded the left over the middle, then the right over the middle- repeating these steps simultaneously until she reached the end. With a little bit of stalk left she made a knot on the end and making sure her braid was tight. She cut the string around the pedicel with her scissors then drops the braid into the cauldron.

Since she's just waiting for the ingredients to simmer for 5 minutes, she wrote down a bunch of stuff on her notebook- mainly just the procedures for this activity. As soon as it was 5 minutes already she took out her stirrer and
stir clockwise... one.... two...