Practice and Conversations
Reducio@Renelle Dalton
ReducioMarch 3rd
Reducio
ReducioIt was another fun day in Potions, at least in Kaitlyn’s opinion! While they weren’t set to learn anything new in this class, they were reviewing brewing the Confusing Concoction. It gave her an excuse to practice, which was always welcome. Besides, she was never a fan of trying to practice on her own … if only because she feared a potion accident. Thankfully, she was doing pretty well in Potions.
A soft hum escaped her lips as Kaitlyn returned to her assigned station, carrying her ingredients. Three sprigs of Skurvy Grass, two sprigs of Lovage, two measures of Standard Ingredient, two sprigs of Sneezewort, and one sprig of Fluxweed. Her cauldron was already boiling at her station, as well.
As carefully as the young Slytherin could, Kaitlyn chopped the Skurvy Grass into small pieces and added two measures into the cauldron. Next came her mortar. She placed the Lovage inside the mortar and ground it, working diligently until it turned into paste. She added the Standard Ingredient into the mortar upon reaching the correct consistency. Using the pestle, she combined the Standard Ingredient with the paste from the Lovage.
The contents of which were gracefully emptied into her cauldron. Using her giant soon, Kaitlyn stirred the mixture five times, clockwise. After the fifth stir, she slid her wand out of her skirt pocket and waved it over her Potion. She slid her wand back into the pocket and glanced at her Potions textbook, verifying each step. So far, so good. Next came a period of waiting. Fifteen to thirty minutes. She resisted the urge to take out a book to start reading. Instead, she sat on a stool, gently cleaning her nails as she paid attention to the time.Word Count:
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Note: 290 words
Practice and Conversations
banner tbaRenelle was dead.
No, not literally. However, her social life very much was. It was a mystery even to her as to how this had happened, since things had actually started off pretty well. Back in the first half of her first year, she’d hung out with Astra regularly, got into shenanigans, and regularly met new people, however involuntarily. There was even the Quidditch team and Headliner, and although she had no idea how it happened, Renelle had even become a Prefect. All in all, things were looking pretty bright.
But sophomore slump was not a myth, as she had quickly discovered. Here she was, halfway through the school year and Renelle truthfully could not come up with a single memorable thing she had done so far. It felt like the days were just an endless cycle of; show up to class, do homework, go to bed- rinse and repeat. She’d never thought she would ever become the perfect embodiment of a Hogwarts stereotype, but here she was, socially recluse Ravenclaw extra-ordinate.
And while she certainly did not use to have a reputation for being overly academically gifted, Renelle honestly thought she’d gotten better at it in the past few months. After all, it wasn’t like she had much else to do all day. But the current class she was in seemed intent on proving her wrong.
It was Potions, and they were doing a sort of review lesson, of sorts. Why that would take place in March, she had no idea, but far be it for Renelle to question the professor’s endless wisdom.
The Confusing Concoction ought to have been a breeze, considering it had been taught the previous year. Renelle had somehow mixed up the scurvy grass and fluxweed, muddled up clockwise and anti-clockwise, then zoned out and left the potion to brew for half an hour more than instructed. She was getting more and more frazzled by the minute, and at this point, the potion was bright pink and she was really just hoping it wouldn’t explode.
A cursory glance to her left did not make Renelle feel any better. Her neighbouring cauldron had been left to brew, and the contents fit the textbook description without fault, just sitting there neatly. The owner looked exactly like her work; orderly and tranquil, hair woven into two ridiculously elaborate braids. Ugh. Slytherins.
Renelle looked back at forth from the two cauldrons for a few moments, mentally taking note of the many contrasts. Well, that was depressing.
"How are you doing that?" She blurted out.Interacting with @Kaitlyn Connor
From sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes
Practice and Conversations
Reducio@Renelle Dalton
ReducioMarch 3rd
Reducio
ReducioAs her potion brewed, Kaitlyn squinted at her nails. ‘I’m going to have to paint these again. It appears to be about time. I may try a clear coat on my nails again and on my toes. I liked how it looked last time,’ she reflected before setting her blue eyes on her potion, watching its liquid bubble to the surface. Despite being in a room with her classmates, she felt oddly relaxed, staring at the brewed liquid. She couldn’t place why, but she certainly liked the feeling! She made a mental note to revise her notes again later.
Kaitlyn glanced at her Potions textbook to review the next step when suddenly a voice sounded next to her right. She visibly jumped at hearing the girl’s voice … supposedly directed at her. Her eyes quickly darted around, assuming it was for someone else, but quickly deemed that it was meant for her. She wasn’t used to being talked to too much. Aside from a few friends, she mostly stayed by herself. It certainly didn’t help that she kept to her dorm room a lot during most of her second year already. All of that was due to her first-year exam marks … which weren’t even that bad. Yet, she thought she could do better. So, she spent the vast majority of her time studying since being back at Hogwarts. She wanted to change that now and maybe even with being more social. Hopefully, this interaction proved to help with that aim.
A light flush bloomed on Kaitlyn’s cheeks. “I …. Um, sorry?” She glanced at her potion again, her brows furrowed, unsure of the reference. Mentally, she double-checked the steps. Yet, she knew each was correct so far, and her verification reflected that line of thinking. Unable to find it, she glanced over at the girl. “I’m sorry, I’m not sure what you mean,” she replied, her voice quiet and shy. “I’m confident I did the first bunch of steps right … and I know I’m not finished with the initial brewing yet ….” She gently shook her head, her braids swaying. “May I ask what you mean?” She requested, politeness ringing in her voice.Word Count:
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Note: 365 words
Practice and Conversations
banner tbaThe girl quite literally jumped when Renelle spoke, visibly shocked. Her eyes darted around nervously, a light flush filling her cheeks. Renelle resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Had this girl never heard people speak to her before?
She had to lean in to hear what she was saying, since the girl seemed intent on speaking in the volume of a pygmy puff despite all the racket going on in the Potions room. That did nothing to soothe the Ravenclaw’s mood.
"Oh, I know you did the steps right." Renelle glared at the offending cauldron as if it might somehow shrivel up under her gaze. "Look at it, it’s perfect. I just mean," She stressed, gesturing wildly toward each station, "We obviously followed the same instructions, but the end result is very different! Like," She paused. "What’s up with that?"
She leaned forward to look at the Slytherin’s potion with a covetous gaze. She sighed, then abruptly turned to face her. "Mine is quite literally pink! I mean, I like pink, but not when it’s about to blow up in my face."
Honestly, Renelle’s level of irritation at this whole situation was surprising even her. She always fancied herself a reasonably calm person, and random minor outbursts over a potion was uncharted territory. Maybe it just wasn’t her day.Interacting with @Kaitlyn Connor
From sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes
Practice and Conversations
Reducio@Renelle Dalton
ReducioMarch 3rd
Reducio
ReducioKaitlyn nodded her head as she quietly listened to everything the girl said to her. No interruptions. No extra movements. Absolutely nothing was done other than watching the girl speak and nod. A replica of what she was taught at her muggle school. The art of active listening. It was one of the things she was pretty good at, and she liked to use it to show that she was actually listening. Naturally, she didn’t have extra distractions here like a muggle smartphone or technology, which made the exercise that much easier. Although, the noisy Potions classroom still had plenty of other distractions.
Once the girl was finished speaking, which Kaitlyn followed up with a few extra beats of silence just in case, she looked over at the other cauldron. A pretty pink liquid, which looked nice but wasn’t right. It would be quite a shame if it did blow up. After all, that would likely mean that Kaitlyn would also get hit by the liquid bubbling. She tilted her head to the side as she watched the liquid for a few moments.
“Right. I certainly hope it does not blow up,” Kaitlyn replied, stepping back to her cauldron. “How finely did you cut the Skurvy Grass? Oh, and the Lovage paste. That ingredient took the most work for me … especially to get to the right consistency. If you don’t mind me asking, how did yours come out?” She asked, her voice calm with a helpful tinge. She didn’t want to come across as condescending or anything.Word Count:
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Note: 258 words