12 Dec 2024, 19:43
Trouble is Definitely Brewing
Inventorying and Inspecting Equipment
Interact: @Colin McCoire
Mention: @Simon Kincaid
Wis 10 °▪︎ Arc 6 °▪︎ Acc 12 °▪︎
October 2024 - The International Potions Championship
It was finally here - the International Potions Championship. She hurried into the Great Hall and immediately started looking for Colin, who was never hard to find... unless he chose to be. AngelFyre had been looking forward to this day for a good while. She and Colin were paired up to compete in this year’s International Potions Competition, hosted by Hogwarts, and they would be slotted with teams comprised of other students also in their third or fourth years, at least in terms of what they would be expected to brew. Technically they were competing against everyone, so as a team in the middle, they were punching up, down, and laterally.
It was an exciting day, but a day that had a pall looming over it as most of the student body, and visiting guests, were still reeling from the absolutely devastating attack in Hogsmeade on the day the international students arrived. One death would have been a tragedy and one too many on its own. This was more though. There was not a word big enough to express the surprise, fear, sadness, anger, and growing mistrust amongst too many. Even Simon was feeling it, and that boy was just the perpetual epitome of a Hufflepuff; positivity positively radiated out from him, but even his lumens were a bit dimmed recently.
AngelFyre suspected the other schools would have turned heel and gone back home were it not for this competition. Staying, and possibly risking more lives for a Ball, would not normally seem the wisest of moves in anyone’s book, but this competition had taken on the aura of the Olympics, to her way of thinking anyway. Maybe if such devastation was going to occur, it could not have happened at a better time. The Olympic Games, in the Muggle world, were all about promoting peace and solidarity through sport. Most impressive is that the Olympic Games were the only event to faithfully unite the world every two years in peaceful competition. It was a brilliant concept actually, because, of course, peace and solidarity go hand in hand with both the protection and advancement of human rights. She prayed fervently that, given all the hot tempers waiting to combust at the slightest provocation, along with the open vitriol that had been spewed lately regarding half-bloods, some reconciliation and the same spirit of cooperation and peace might be brokered during the Potions Championship.
Teams were comprised of students from different schools, some presumably with friends from Hogwarts. How many might be shocked to know that one or two of their current potioneering buddies might be a half-blood? Would that change how they felt about their friend if they knew? Them finding out at 12:01 a.m. one morning that a friend was a dhampir or a werewolf would not change that friend in any fundamental way from who they had been at midnight. What could change would be a prejudice, and the person who carried it, but that would be a personal choice. It was always a choice to be good or better. Better was almost always harder, but it was worth it in the end.
Looking over at Woofy, she knew they both wanted to win, but she wanted it especially for Hogwarts. It would be a win for both Colin and Simon, and every other half-blood who attended Hogwarts. She felt the weight to “represent”, and she knew she would do her best, but this felt more important than any competition she had ever taken part in up to now. “We have this, Woofy! That Golden Cauldron is going to look fabulous in my dorm room. I am happy to let you have it over the holiday breaks,” and she chuckled as he let out a feigned grumble of disappointment. “The school can display it in the Trophy Room over the summer if they wish, but come next school year, it will be wash, rinse and repeat,” and she winked at him.
“I am counting on you and that fabulous sniffer you have to pick out the best ingredients. Looks like we have some stiff competition, so any edge we can get anywhere along the line will be great.” AngelFyre then put one hand out, as if to shake his hand, waiting for him to put his hand in it. When he did, she then reached across their arms, in a criss-cross, offering her other hand to him. He looked puzzled, but went along and put his other hand in hers. Then she started moving their arms up and down and giving a private little cheer for the two of them, but honestly, she used it as a ruse to check the boy’s hands. She had nothing against good old dirt, but it could contaminate and ruin a potion in nothing flat. “Your hands look impeccable, Woofy. If I checked behind your ears, would I still be as impressed or would I find potatoes growing back there?” and she smirked.
The two were standing ready at their station, but they did not know what the task was yet or what they would be brewing. As they waited, AngelFyre scanned the stands off to the side to see if she could find Simon. As she looked for him, her hand reflexively went to her badger pin and she rubbed it, as she always did, for good luck before a competition. Before she could finish scanning the stands, Professors Regan and Lennox entered and welcomed everyone. After a few minutes of explaining the Rules, the Professors made their exit to the sidelines and AngelFyre and Colin immediately turned to each other.
“Ashwinder eggs and parents?!? Yikes! And a wooden cabin. Do you have any idea what potion we should brew?” She immediately started twirling a ribbon of her hair around her finger, a sign she was in deep thought. She stopped after only a few seconds and turned towards Colin again. In unison they both whispered, “Black Fire Potion.”
Colin, ever the exuberant one, let out another OWooWoo, but it, too, was (somewhat) subdued given that others around them were also working and thinking. “Do you remember the recipe? I do, but if they have the recipe up there, grab it. Otherwise we can go by memory.” One thing AngelFyre was blessed with was a fantastic memory, and this potion was not that long, so her confidence in their chances was rising by the second.
“Okay, Colin. You go get the ingredients for a Black Fire Potion and I will start checking out our equipment to make sure it is all accounted for and that it is all clean and ready to go by the time you get back.” They had pre-determined some things, a few days earlier, based on their strengths. Colin was a tracker, so it made sense to have him go for the ingredients, no matter what they would have been brewing. He had teased her a number times that she should take care of the equipment as a Seer, since she would be the one most likely to see a wayward eyelash in their mortar or a tiny bit of schmutz [1] in the cauldron or on a knife. “I am pretty certain that is not what my sight is meant to help with, but I agree I should be the one in charge of our equipment since I am not the one who usually packs a garden’s worth of soil under my fingernails each day,” and she laughed good-naturedly. “Hey, speaking of hands, be sure to take these for the Wartcaps,” and she tossed him the pair of Dragon Hide gloves sitting on their station as he hurried off to gather everything.
As Colin left to do his part, AngelFyre started in on hers. She ticked through the recipe in her head and physically examined each piece of corresponding equipment as she came upon it mentally:
Mortar and Pestle – “Che -….” Whoa. Maybe Colin was onto something about her sight. She reached into the mortar with a clean cloth and wiped the tiny eyelash out. “Got ya!” Continuing on, Mortar and Pestle – “Check.”
Measuring Spoons – (1) set wiped off and “Check.”
Cauldron – (1) wiped off and “Check.”
Cutting board and knife – (2) of each, all free from any schmutz[1] and “Check.”
Grandmother’s wristwatch – (1) with seconds hand, last wound evening before and “Check.”
Spurtle – (2) wiped down and “Check.”
Eyedropper – (1) wiped down and “Check.”
Dragon Hide Gloves - (1) pair here and (1) pair with Colin and “Check.”
Clean cloths – set of (4) “Check.”
Funnel – (1) wiped down and “Check.”
Glass phials – (2) amber bottles and “Check.”
Pliers – (1) pair in good working order and “Check.”
Blank Labels, Quill, and Inkpot – “Check.”
She looked up to see Colin racing back to their station and smiled gleefully. “Battle stations ready, Woofy! Now we win this thing!”
------- ---------- -------
1 schmutz – Yiddish for a dirtying or soiling substance.
ReducioOOC: Colin and AngelFyre have given permission to each other’s writer to godmod their characters.
For Moderation: Link to Potion I sign up with division of our actions
Last edited by AngelFyre McCubbin on 15 Dec 2024, 00:11, edited 4 times in total.
The magic is real.
12 Dec 2024, 20:28
Trouble is Definitely Brewing
“We have this, Woofy! That Golden Cauldron is going to look fabulous in my dorm room. I am happy to let you have it over the holiday breaks,” AngelFyre began. Of course, this whole Potions Championship thing had been her idea. Colin couldn't, for the life of him, figure out why, of all people, she chose him to be her partner. Not that he was complaining! They had really only just gotten back together in the last fortnight or so, after months of being separated in time and place. They hadn't even really had time to just talk the way they used to. Up in the sacred place, high above the castle and far away from the school grounds. She continued. “The school can display it in the Trophy Room over the summer if they wish, but come next school year, it will be wash, rinse and repeat, and she winked at him.”
"H-Hang about!" Colin tried to get a word in edgewise, but, as was often the case where girls were concerned, he'd been left behind. What was all this about the golden cauldron adorning her dorm room!? For the whole year? Or rather, Colin found himself swept along with the plans! And boy, did she have this all planned out! He really would have to revisit this whole 'I'm keeping the golden cauldron for myself, my precious' thing once they'd won the thing. But for now, here in the Great Hall, there wouldn't be any time for that! For now, before the event officially started, it was their time for quick thinking and feverish planning. It wasn't even really clear what was going on, only that they'd be brewing potions and competing in some kind of Quest.
Colin was all for a Quest, so naturally, he'd said yes to Fyre before thinking things through. Here amidst the other competitors, the equipment, the ingredients, the very magic of potioneering, Colin could see only a long string of his own failures: explosions, melting cauldrons, fizzled potions, trips to hospital wing after things went wrong... Welp. AngelFyre was a seer. His seer. She must have seen something that gave her the confidence to include him. And not just include him, but something that instilled confidence in their success.
And of course, all of this was taking place just days after the attack in Hogsmeade and a few days before Slytherin's race against Ravenlcaw and the ball to follow! He couldn't help but wonder if something worse would happen right here in the Great Hall. After all, if they could attack students in Hogsmeade, they could certainly attack students in Hogwarts!
Fyre distracted Colin as they did some kind of weird Muggle thing with their hands. She had stuck her hand out towards him, and he took it, unsure. Then she crossed her other arm over it and took his other hand. It was all very confusing! She pumped their arms up and down and did some kind of cheering thing! Colin laughed! He had no clue what this was all about, but, whether it was a Muggle thing or a Hufflepuff thing, Fyre seemed happy to be doing it, and that was enough for Colin.
She gave him a smirk as she looked at his hands and asked if behind his ears were clean. He gave her a puzzled look. "I- Of course?" He wasn't sure how to answer that question! "I mean! I'm all scourgified good and proper!" It was then that Professors Lennox and Regan started their speeches. Colin listened attentively, eying AngelFyre to gauge what her thoughts might be. "Hmm. Retrieving ashwinder eggs. From actual ashwinders! In a wooden cabin... That's not sus at all, Fyre." Colin looked at AngelFyre. His mind churned with possibilities. She looked at him. They both smiled. As one they whispered to each other excitedly: "Black Fire Potion!"
"OWOOO!" Colin felt relieved! A potion that he had actually brewed successfully! Well. Successfully in terms of it not completely exploding in his face on the first go! Once that was settled, they quickly divided up what they needed to do. Colin had insisted that AngelFyre take on the task of making sure all their equipment was ready and in tip-top shape. In part, he knew that he'd probably end up choosing a cracked cauldron and off center scales! She's have a much better chance of seeing anything that could go wrong. He's take care of 'sniffing out the ingredients' as she put it. He narrowed his eyes as she reminded him of the often dirty nature of his finger nails. He rolled his eyes. It wasn't his fault that the dirt back behind the greenhouses where he liked to hunt was so, well, dirty!
She reminded him about the wartcaps, those dastardly little mushrooms. He nodded with a smile as she tossed him a pair of dragon hide gloves and he was off! He kept the ingredient list in mind: 3 Sprigs of Mint, 2 Bursting Mushrooms, 1 Fluid Ounce of Salamander Blood, 2 Dried Wartcaps. He nodded with firm purpose. He made sure to handle the bursting mushrooms and the wartcaps very carefully. The last thing Colin wanted was to end up in hospital before the competition even began! he carefully sniffed around the mint. There were different kinds of mint, of course. He smirked. It was a bit of a risk, but he chose peppermint.
Colin returned triumphant to their shared brewing station. "Fyre! Good call on the gloves! Last thing I need is a case of thick crusty skin from the wartcaps! But! I remembered something! I didn't need to worry too much about the bursting mushrooms --- they're already harvested, so they won't explode! Still, I made sure to sneak up them all stealthy like, just in case one of them decided to wake up."
Setting out the ingredients according to how they'd be added to the potion, the pair got to work. AngelFyre set to work mashing up the peppermint in the mortar. Colin took a deep breath. The mint smelled so good and strong! "That peppermint will make a fine black potion, Fyre!" He passed her the teaspoon and she carefully scooped up the paste and dropped that into the cauldron. Then it was on to the bursting mushrooms! AngelFyre sliced up two of those, very cautiously, and took hold of the spurtle and stirred the mixture thrice clockwise. Colin waved his wand over the mixture and let it brew on a high fire for ten minutes.
AngelFyre lowered the heat to a slight simmer. Colin shook up the salamander blood, making sure it was a well mixed and homogenous liquid before letting his partner draw up one fluid ounce of the stuff. That she did and added it to the cauldron. Colin was eager to see how this would turn out! So far, neither of them had caused their cauldron to explode, and Colin considered that a victory in and of itself! Taking the spurtle in their hands again, AngelFyre guided the stirring: eight times, anticlockwise.
Colin remembered to don the dragon hide gloves before tipping two dried wartcaps into the mortar where he crushed them into a fine powder. AngelFyre nodded when the time was right. Colin carefully tipped the contents of the mortar, all of the powder, into cauldron. They made sure not to stir this time. AngelFyre counted down the seconds slowly as their potion brewed on a low fire, looking at the watch strapped around her wrist. Colin let out a slow breath. Twenty seconds seemed to last forever and Colin kept looking over Fyre's shoulder to see how much progress the second hand was making! It was sooooo slooooowwww! But at last, Fyre counted down the last few seconds!
Colin immediately cut off the fire, and together they held the spurtle again, stirring seven times clockwise. At the last, Colin waved his wand over the potion and poured into their vials whilst it was still hot. He let out a breath. It was all done! Black Fire Potion! He gave AngelFyre a fierce hug! "We did it! Now we just have to win it!"
Last edited by Colin McCoire on 15 Dec 2024, 01:25, edited 1 time in total.
Keep your mind in hell; and don't despair.
Cursa McCoire
Rigel McCoire
14 Dec 2024, 00:12
Trouble is Definitely Brewing
Inventorying and Inspecting Equipment
Interact: @Colin McCoire
Mention: @Simon Kincaid
Wis 10 °▪︎ Arc 6 °▪︎ Acc 12 °▪︎
October 2024 - The International Potions Championship
Colin arrived triumphantly with their ingredients, and immediately started placing them on the workstation in the order they would be needed for a proper brew. AngelFyre was already very pleased with her potion partner as he returned with peppermint rather than spearmint. She had forgotten to ask him specifically to grab that, and it was a show of their great teamwork from the start that he had done so without a reminder. They had this!
“Great call on the peppermint, Woofy,” she enthused while breathing in its calming aroma. Spearmint would have been fine, but the peppermint had a higher concentration of menthol. That one choice alone meant they would receive a boost to the cooling effect they would experience in their potion if they were unfortunate (careless?) enough to be flamed by any ashwinders. As Colin continued to lay out the ingredients, he said rather proudly, “I remembered something! I didn't need to worry too much about the bursting mushrooms --- they're already harvested, so they won't explode! Still, I made sure to sneak up them all stealthy like, just in case one of them decided to wake up.”
That made her giggle as she pictured Colin sneaking up on the wartcaps, much like the kittens back home would often “sneak” up on a shoelace or a piece of string lying on the ground. She would sometimes have one end in her hand and would keep very still as the predator-in-the-making would approach cautiously. When they got just close enough (some brave souls would even raise a paw and slap at it!), AngelFyre would take great delight in wriggling it and hissing a little, watching the little darlings spit and leap backwards, transforming themselves into the feline versions of a pufferfish.
“I imagine you, sneaking up on mushrooms, must have been quite a sight,” she chuckled mirthfully. “Honestly, I was not certain if the organizers would have harvested them or not for us. It is a little unclear to me how much of our knowledge about potioneering is being evaluated here, but it would have been ne - … uhmmm … it would have been nice to have witnessed that little bit of theatre.”
Real smooth, AF! Not! You have to be more careful!
She forced herself to smile casually at him before reaching for the three (3) peppermint sprigs and dropping them into the mortar, crushing them with abandon. She hoped he missed the beginning of the magnificent blunder she had nearly blurted out, and his deep inhalation of the mint permeating the air around them gave her some hope he had.
"That peppermint will make a fine black potion, Fyre!"
“You are right on that, Woofy.”
Her original, unstated thought had been that it would have been the height of negligence for the organizers to have anything that might burst or explode around an already jumpy student body, clearly on edge given recent events. Her goal today, one of them anyway, was to give Colin a little mental and emotional break from stewing over the Hogsmeade attack and his personal losses. She wanted to make this a fun adventure for him, to the extent that “fun” was even possible for him right now. AngelFyre had been nowhere near Hogsmeade that day, but she had heard enough to know she was sorry, for Colin, that he had been. She was equally certain that as sorry as she was he had been there, others must have been equally grateful for his presence.
When her crushing produced a lovely, green paste, he handed her the measuring spoons and she scooped a teaspoon’s worth, leveling it with the smooth, straight side of one of the knives. AngelFyre then tapped the teaspoon on her index finger and watched as the paste made a very satisfying splat directly on the bottom of the cauldron.
She then grabbed a brand new clean cloth and wiped the back of the knife clean of any mint paste that may have been on it. As she began to gingerly slice the bursting mushrooms, she struggled internally with the idea of sentient ingredients. She was not being careful with them because she was concerned that they might burst, but because of a deep-seated worry that their sentience was still, somehow, operational and they were aware of what was happening to them. These kinds of thoughts always crossed her mind and moved her heart when dealing with animal ingredients or sentient plants, and there was no denying that it always disturbed her conscience.
When she had sliced the two (2) bursting mushrooms into fairly even slices, she scraped them off the cutting board and into the cauldron. She reached for the spurtle and let it hover above the cauldron, calling for Colin's attention. This was another one of their pre-planned moves, designed for ensuring the highest quality of their end product while eliminating careless mistakes along the way. Any time something needed to be stirred for a specific number of revolutions and in a specific direction, a test-run would take place. When Colin looked over, AngelFyre said, “Okay, I am to stir three times in a clockwise direction,” and she moved the spurtle in that direction in mid-air so they were in agreement as to which direction to move once she lowered the spurtle inside the cauldron. When approval came, down it went it into the cauldron, and she counted aloud to three (3) as she made each clockwise revolution.
No sooner had the last revolution been made than Colin waved his wand above the cauldron and set the flame beneath it to high as required. AngelFyre cast a quick glance at her grandmother’s watch and took note of the time and handed it over to him. "It was 9:23 and 21 seconds when you set the flame to high Woofy. Here. You can keep time on the 10 minute brew with this," and she handed over her grandmother's watch with the seconds hand. Colin would have to pay close attention as it was not a watch that had an alarm on it, so if he let it go too long, that could be a failure right there. He reached for a quill and wrote down 9:33 and 21 seconds on one of the numerous blank labels sitting before him. This was not the time to take chances.
Smiling happily over their progress so far, they both started cleaning the equipment and workstation in the interim 10 minutes. A number of Scourgifys could be heard, followed by the silence of a few extra wipe downs with a cloth. All was spic and span in no time. She looked over at Woofy and asked him, “Since we have a few minutes, we should consider what we want our second brew to be. I have a thought, but wonder if you have a better one?” she asked, and then they huddled closely together, whispering their ideas, so as not to be heard. Their heads shook back and forth and their hands moved frantically as ideas were expressed and ultimately cast aside. Colin kept looking down and glancing at the watch in his hand to see the time. Finally, with a little over a minute to go, they agreed on their next brew. “Perfect!” she exclaimed, “And look at that! We still have over a minute,” she stated as she leaned over to take a sneak peek at the time.
They both turned back to their workstation. AngelFyre had one hand ready to set the flame to a simmer while Colin's eyes were on the watch as he watched each incremental movement of that second hand tick… tick… tick away. When it struck 21 seconds after 9:33, Colin told her Now!' and AngelFyre lowered the flame to a simmer. Colin had grabbed the glass tube of Salamander Blood and had shaken it before handing it over to her, along with the watch. Once the flame was lowered, she grabbed the eye dropper, sucking up one (1) fluid oz from the tube. As she squirted the blood into the cauldron, Colin grabbed a clean spurtle once again and handed it over to her.
They repeated the mid-air test run as they had the first time, Colin looking on as AngelFyre circled the spurtle above the brew before dipping down into it. She got his nod of approval, so this time she stirred eight (8) times in a counter-clockwise direction while they both counted to eight. Before they hit the magic number, AngelFyre had made certain that his pair of Dragon Hide gloves were within easy reach for the next step. She withdrew the spurtle from the brew and wiped it off on a cloth before setting it down. He slipped the gloves onto each hand and grabbed the wartcaps as AngelFyre slid the mortar and pestle his way. She smiled as she watched him mash up the caps with a great deal of focused concentration.
“You know, Woofy, you are not as bad at potioneering as you like to think you are. Sure, you may have melted a cauldron or three in your time… who amongst us here has not? Oh, right. Me. And oh, look over there… her. And him. Definitely not those two way down at the end. Gosh, I guess most of us have not, come to think of it,” and she grinned slyly after delivering that last little jab. “But that is all beside the point. The point is that when you focus, you are quite excellent at this. I am glad that you are my partner today. I have missed doing this kind of stuff with you.”
He kept his eyes down on what he was doing, but even so, she did not miss the roll of his eyes as she teased him. His head always made a slight, certain circular movement whenever he rolled them, followed by a little wobble. The eye roll was accompanied by a somewhat indignant huff as she pointed out just a few folks, from a verrrrrry long list of folks, who had never melted a cauldron. What she also caught though, was the curve of his wide smile. It played there a few moments, spreading across his face, before it was wiped off as he crushed the caps a little harder. She had seen it just the same and that was enough.
When he had finished his pestle work, he lifted the mortar to dump the contents into the cauldron. “Try not to breathe any of that powder into your lungs, Woofy. The last thing you need is crusty lungs, yeah?” she said as she stepped back a couple of paces, relieved to see him turn his head, take in a deep breath, and then hold it while adding the wartcap powder to their brew.
No stirring needed to be done, but AngelFyre had picked up the watch before she had stepped back so as not to breathe in any of the wartcap powder herself. She stepped forward immediately after he had dumped the powder into the brew and turned the heat to low. Then she began counting down the 20 seconds of having their brew simmer on low. His impatient self was practically vibrating while looking over her shoulder at her wristwatch, acting as if the seconds hand was moving at glacial speed. Now it was her turn to roll her eyes, metaphorically speaking anyway. She did not have the luxury of being all dramatic like her bestie since she needed to be precise here with the time.
“Get ready, Woofy. Almost time to turn off the heat. Three… two… one and off!” and Colin extinguished the flame. AngelFyre grabbed their second spurtle, the clean one, and she held onto it for the last time, practicing the clockwise movement she would be making, and plunged it into their brew, counting out seven (7) clockwise revolutions. As she withdrew the spurtle, Colin already had his wand at the ready and waved it over the steaming brew, imbuing it with his magic.
At the start of the brew, while checking the equipment, AngelFyre had placed the funnel in one of the amber glass phials readying it to receive their potion. She now watched Colin pour the licorice black potion into the first phial, and his hands were quite steady, even if his dexterity was somewhat limited by the dragon hide gloves. She grabbed the pliers, using them to transfer the funnel from the first bottle to the second in preparation of his second pour. Colin then stoppered both bottles because they were hot, and he was still wearing the gloves.
And that was it. They were done. Well, 99.999999999% done. She would put labels on later, after the bottles had cooled to the touch and could be cleaned of any spillage.
Colin let out a very relieved breath, leading AngelFyre to think he truly had been concerned, on some level, that something was actually going to go awry with their brew. He was all smiles, and wrapped her into a hug. She laughed and hugged him back, grateful this seemed to have been the distraction for him she had hoped it would be. Plus, it was a good bonding experience for them since reconnecting after too much time apart.
"We did it! Now we just have to win it!" he said.
“That is the plan, Woofy. I am feeling good about our chances. And before you ask, no. I have not seen the outcome.” But no matter how it all turned out, this was already a huge win in her book.
------- -----
Follow this link to Part 2 of the Championship and see how they do with their 2nd brew, AFTER reading Colin's post below! - 'Twould Be A Folly OtherwiseReducioOOC: Colin and AngelFyre have given permission to each other’s writer to godmod their characters.
For Moderation: Link to Potion I sign up with division of our actions
Last edited by AngelFyre McCubbin on 11 Feb 2025, 01:03, edited 7 times in total.
The magic is real.
14 Dec 2024, 04:02
Trouble is Definitely Brewing
Colin lived for a frantic pace of action. And whilst the breakneck slowness of the subtle art and exacting science of potioneering paled in comparison to, say herbology or reading about yet another goblin revolt --- how many revolts can goblins have in 1746 anyway!? --- there was something satisfying about a job well done. And there was no doubt about. He and AngelFyre had done some seriously good potion work here so far!
He looked up into the stands, actually amazed to see quite a large turn-out. Liam, of course, was there! He had written "ANGELCO IS ON FYRE!" in fiery letters on the stone wall above the stands. Colin beamed. Who he really wasn't expecting to see was a certain red haired boy, a couple rows in front of Liam. Cursa. After what happened just a couple days ago, well, Colin knew he would have hidden himself away in the deepest dungeon he could find to sob out his grief. And hadn't he done just that this last summer? But here Cursa was, and he wasn't glaring or anything.
In fact, Cursa actually gave Colin a small smile and a quick nod. He returned the gesture with a bow and a smile. He was not sure at all where he stood with this strange American boy. One thing he did know: next time he was home, he and Liam were going to have very strong words indeed with Alex and Angus. Even if it meant crucioing the truth out of them.
As Colin and AngelFyre talked afterwards, waiting for the judges to send them on to the next task, Colin's mind couldn't help but replay a few choice moments. He knew in his heart that he really wasn't cut out for potion making. Yet, all through this, AngelFyre was nothing but encouraging. Great call on the peppermint, Woofy. Colin couldn't help but smile at the memory of her saying that. You know, Woofy, you are not as bad at potioneering as you like to think you are. Even if she was just trying to bolster his confidence, Fyre had a way of finding and using gentle humour to make her points. I am glad that you are my partner today. I have missed doing this kind of stuff with you.
“That is the plan, Woofy. I am feeling good about our chances. And before you ask, no. I have not seen the outcome.” Colin shook his head. Some seer! AngelFyre feeling good about their chances was as good as a ringing endorsement in Colin's books. He gave her a smile. Truly, he hadn't felt this good --- about himself, about anything --- in a really long time. He realised, again, that his bestie really did bring out the best in him.
"Aye, lassie," he said. "I'm really glad ye roped me into this insane competition Fyre! Let's just hope our crazy plan works and I don't end up blowing us both up!"
Keep your mind in hell; and don't despair.
Cursa McCoire
Rigel McCoire