Grandest Gains Activity

"Thanks, kid." Dmitri said from the doorway as he took a crate of potion-trays filled with rows upon rows of Pepperup Potions from a bedraggled-looking second year. The contents of the crate clinked softly as he carried the load towards a large table at the center of the Potions classroom. The Slytherin boy set the medium-sized wooden box beside a container of pre-sliced Mandrake roots and a glass tank filled to the brim with octopus tentacles--delivered earlier by a pair of soaking wet first years.

It was refreshing to see students of all four houses banding together and helping each other out at this time. This was due to the fact that recently, there has been a fairly large outbreak of a highly-contagious disease--a virus-caused respiratory illness--in the Muggle world.  

It was bad. 

Already, close to a million people have fallen ill and a great number have been unfortunate enough to succumb to the virus. Muggle London was in utter chaos dealing with a steadily-growing amount of infections each day, and it was at this knowledge that Hogwarts--led by the resident Potions Master and Professor, Elliot Price--initiated a plan to mass-produce a potion well known to cure even the most fatal of respiratory tract diseases: the Grand Pepperup Potion. It was a major act of sympathy and solidarity that Dmitri could get behind--and so he was here doing his fair share of work, instead of having his nose buried in his textbooks.

All around the room, students who also chose to volunteer and spend their day helping out are all huddled around each of the numerous small tables scattered around the area (though there was a major lack of the more prominent pureblood students, unsurprisingly). The sound of gentle chatter and the soft bubbling of brewing potions made for a surreal-yet-solemn environment. For most of them, this job they were doing was a matter of life and death, and the students' demeanor reflected that fact.

Dmitri strode back to his own table bearing a few more ingredients to replenish those that he had used. Being one of the students who arrived earlier than most, he had already brewed a few batches of the potion and has now started a new one after a brief break. Unstoppering one of the phials of Pepperup potion would let out a soft hiss of steam that dispersed gradually after the Slytherin poured it into the copper cauldron. He left it to heat for a bit before picking up one of the fresh octopus tentacles (so fresh they were still wriggling) to add into the cauldron.

After the octopus limbs were fully incorporated into the bubbling substance--signaled by a slight darkening in color--Dmitri then waved his wand and let it simmer by itself for a short while. The timer he set told him he was left to his thoughts for approximately 7 minutes.

He was working alone as per usual. No one really needed anyone hovering over their shoulder while they worked with a volatile potion. However, a few interspersed laughs around the room from conversing students seemed to make this a moot point. It was probably personal preference but he figured productive potion prodigies should prefer peace. Though he was far from being one, the point still stands.

The raven-haired boy didn't get to dwell around this thought so much as his timer set off a few high-pitched beeps. This last part of brewing the potion was quick and easy--he just had to dump all the other ingredients into the simmering potion and wave his chestnut wand. Which was exactly what he did. In one swift motion, he added a portion of pre-sliced Mandrake root, a pinch of Wartcap powder, and two measures of dried Boomslang skin into the mixture and watched as they coalesced and dissolved into the bubbling liquid.

A simple wave of his wand thereafter yielded a perfect batch of shimmering amber-colored Grand Pepperup Potion. Separating the solution into a few glass phials and this batch was done.

Now, if anybody needed assistance, he'd definitely help. But for now, as he is done with yet another batch, Dmitri guessed no one would complain if he helped himself to the pumpkin pie someone graciously brought from the Hogwarts Kitchens.
Word Count: 713 Words

Was waiting for more people, but paper-trailing that 3 House Points have been disseminated as well as the Black Candle.

Serena had absolutely no idea what she was actually doing here. She was not the most skilled potioneer and she was sure that others would be able to produce something far better quality than her, much more quickly and efficiently than she could. At first, the whole thing confused her. As a pureblood, most of the people that she knew outside of school were not affected by the thing that they called 'COVID-19'. But Serena did know muggleborns or halfblood students. It made her sad to think that her friends and their families were in danger. That knowledge was enough for her to act.

She read up about the illness that was affecting people everywhere and decided it was time for her to do something. However, if she could help to alleviate the symptoms for people, she would do what she could to help. If nothing else, she was definitely a Hufflepuff through and through. The third year entered the potions classroom, greeting and smiling towards anyone who locked eyes with her. There was a cheery smile on her face, trying to stay positive in these trying times.

Grabbing a handful of ingredients from the shelves, she gathered everything she needed knowing that today they were making the Grand Pepperup Potion. The classroom was relatively quiet but it was probably a good thing. Trying to make a potion that could easily go wrong was difficult enough without attempting to do it in utter chaos! Dropping her ingredients carefully onto the table, she picked up her cauldron and flipped open the textbook to the correct page.

Words: 265/400

It was crazy learning more and more about what was happening to muggles in their society. They were being affected by this invisible monster left to right and could not take hold of it. When she learned that they were able to help them, Bloom was on board. She hardly paid any attention in class or on her studies, but when someone needed help, she always wanted to at least try, even if she may not succeed or do a good enough job.

Bloom was never good at potions, but she was decent at paying attention to the smallest of details. Perhaps if she partnered up with someone to make the Grand Pepperup Potion, she could do more of putting together the ingredients while they did the brewing. But who would be a good partner?

Walking into the Potions room, Bloom looked around and saw two others who were making the potion: Dmitri Jones and Serena Towers. She hadn't seen Dmitri in a very long time. She remembered seeing him in the halls once upon a time ago when they were first years. He definitely grew up a little bit. As for Serena, they were on and off good friends. Not because they got into fights but because they were always busy with their own things. Sometimes it was difficult to closely connect with those from different houses.

Bloom gave a small wave at Dmitri with a small smile. It seemed as though he was done with his brewing of the Grand Pepperup Potion. It was only natural then, that Bloom walked over to Serena who seemed to just begin brewing. "Hey, do you want to partner?" she asked the Hufflepuff.

Word Count: 282/400
Will complete Potions Y3L1 shortly.

Serena glanced up as she heard a voice approach her. A smile appeared on her face. Bloom Silverton. They had been friends - for the most part - since first year. After everything that happened to them both, things kind of drifted apart as they focused on themselves. However, Bloom was always someone she considered a friend and would stick up for, no matter what. Things that just been a little rough for them both after the whole mess of a first year. "Bloom, hi! Of course!" She replied enthusiastically, agreeing to working together. Looking around she wondered how to split this up best. Then nodded to herself, as she confirmed the thought.

"I can start it off, do you want to start preparing the mandrake?" She asked as she set up the cauldron, pouring a regular pepperup potion into it and lighting a fire underneath it. Serena busied herself in reading the recipe, throwing in the ingredients for the first step and waving her wand over it to start the whole progress. It took her a few minutes to get everything done but hopefully Bloom was able to start gathering the ingredients for the second step by that point. Either way, they had a little time as the potion was left to simmer for a short while. "How have you been doing? It's been a while..." Serena asked the Ravenclaw with a soft smile on her face, hoping for a positive answer that was far better than the last time they had properly hung out. She did really care about her. And now was a good time to start catching up, since they had a few minutes to just leave the cauldron to simmer.

Words: 265 + 285 = 550/400

Even here, sequestered in the walls of Hogwarts, Adam had heard about the pandemic sweeping the world. It had tested the wizard community, but they'd been able to beat it back with the help of the Grand Pepperup Potion, the magic cure. For the Muggles, no such cure existed. They were working as hard as they could out there to stop the spreading of a deadly virus, thousands of Muggle healers putting their lives on the line to protect their neighbors as much as possible. Adam didn't know when the outbreak had started, but when substantial news of it finally reached him in April, he'd racked his brain for something he could do to help. The leaders of the magical world would surely be stepping up to lend their support as best as they could. Was there some way that he could add to that from inside his school?

Apparently, there was. The professors had put out a call for help to the whole student body, dividing up tasks for every class and imploring them to join the relief effort. The third years had been asked to come to the Potions classroom and help brew more Grand Pepperup Potion, to be distributed to the Muggles discreetly and give them a much-needed boost. Adam knew he was no potions master, but he couldn't back away from such an important chance to help. As soon as he got a break in his classes, the Ravenclaw boy made his way to the dungeons and put himself to work.

The details of the particular Potions lesson where they'd learned about the cure were foggy in his mind, but luckily there were recipes waiting for students to take and follow. Adam grabbed one and headed towards an empty workstation, flashing a smile and a wave at Serena Towers as he passed by. He didn't want to disturb her or her partner as they worked on their potions, but it was good to see that she was helping out too. Once he was situated at his station, Adam took a deep breath and focused. He was going to have to get this potion right if it was going to do anything to combat the virus. Trying to clear his head as much as possible, he rolled up the sleeves of his robe and read the list of ingredients at the top of the recipe.

It took a few trips to get everything he needed back to his workbench, but eventually Adam had all of the supplies laid out in front of him. The lesser Pepperup Potions looked just like vials of water, but he knew that they were ten times more important, and he set them down with care to make sure they didn't roll across the table and smash on the floor. The octopus tentacles and boomslang skin, though definitely not items you'd find in any old kitchen cabinet, seemed pretty normal after three years of working over a cauldron and Adam handled them with much more aplomb than he had on his first day. A pinch of wartcap powder was a little challenging to measure out, so he'd brought over more than he needed just to be safe. The last ingredient was the mandrake root. Remembering how dangerous this particular plant could be, Adam said a silent thank-you to the first years that had taken on the job of uprooting them from the soil. He was relieved not to have to hear the plant's piercing scream again. The pile of pre-sliced mandrake root was much more tolerable, and he swiped one from the table before returning to his station. It was time to begin.

Checking to ensure that his cauldron was the correct size, Adam nodded in satisfaction and uncorked one of the prepared vials, peering at the Pepperup Potion within. He was glad that the second-years had been able to make these and pass them along; it saved them a lot of time to work in levels like this. Tipping the colorless liquid into the cauldron, he shook as much as he could out of the vial and turned up the heat to a level that he felt was adequately "medium". He watched flames lick at the underside of his cauldron and picked up an octopus tentacle, tossing it into the vat. The tentacle sank to the bottom of the cauldron and Adam waved his wand over it like the recipe told him to. Just like that, part one of the potion was complete.

Seven minutes felt like a lot longer than Adam had assumed it would be, and he found his thoughts wandering to the next steps after these potions were complete. How were they going to distribute them to the Muggles without raising suspicion? He was sure that the professors had a plan, but it felt like a rather hard mission to pull off in a time of such elevated caution. Well, he supposed that they were wizards -- they had the advantage of magic on their side. Somehow, their potions would reach a few of the Muggles in need, maybe even save someone's life. The idea of being a bright spot in such a dark time was nice. No one needed to know where the help had come from, as long as it was received.

Adam's timer let him know that the next phase of the potion was ready to begin, and he shook himself back into reality, reaching for the Mandrake root and letting it drop from his fingers into the cauldron. The rest of the potion was pretty simple: just a matter of putting in the right ingredients at the right time. He dipped his fingers into the wartcap powder and pinched them together, flicking the substance into his bubbling mixture and dusting off whatever tried to stay on his glove. Putting the boomslang skin onto his scale, Adam fiddled with the amount until it was just about two measures' worth, and sent the final ingredient chasing after the wartcap powder into the cauldron. He was done! Oh, except for one last thing. He picked up his wand and waved it over the cauldron a second time, peering down into the amber-colored substance inside with a smile. Now he was done.

Adam jogged over to grab a few crystal vials and got to work bottling up the contents of his cauldron, making sure he didn't spill anything as he transferred the potion. He set the capped vials carefully into a rack and cleaned up the ingredients he hadn't used, trusting that one of the house-elves or professors would come by to take care of his cauldron with a spell. Now that he'd done his part, he supposed that he would just have to wait and cross his fingers that his potion made a difference. He hoped that the staff would keep them updated on the situation out there, as much as they could. His family was protected, but there were thousands out there that weren't. With just a little extra work from Adam and his classmates, maybe the Muggles' burden would get a little lighter.

This was what magic could be at its best.

[WC]: 1196

The pureblood aristocrat was usually not up to date with Muggle world affairs, but news on the pandemic had inevitably reached her ears. Something about a lethal virus of sorts they called the corona. Moreover, Aurelia had heard about the errand, Gryffindor could use a couple more house points. Besides, the fourteen year old had not much to do that weekend. In the afternoon, after lunch in the great hall, Aurelia gathered the necessary potions ingredients in her bag and made her way into the potions classroom.

Aurelia had expected more students to be present for the end as there were for most other errands. Then again, there were not many third years in hogwarts. By the door, a younger student handed her a vial filled to the brim with a bright orange liquid which Aurelia assumed was the pepper up potion. She then claimed her seat on a brewing table next near the door. Taking her time, Aurelia set the potion ingredients in front of her. Consider the monster hunter particular, but the third year prefered her things neat and organised. She produced her potions textbook and flipped to the page which contained the information on the option she was about to brew.

Granted, potions was not her favourite subject. Defence against the dark arts was. But she did fairly well on the subject regardless. Following the instructions, she began by pouring the pepperup potion into the cauldron over the heat of the flickering flames emitting from the bunsen burner. With a gloved hand, Aurelia pulled a single, slimy octopus tentacle from the jar and tossed into the brew with a small plop. She then grasped her wand and waved the tip over the pot. She then waited patiently for 7 minutes as stated on the page. Passing the time, in the third year's opinion, was the hardest part of potions.

Lucky for her, the mandrakes roots had already been prep, which meant that she did not need ot go through the hassle of harvesting a screaming plant. The girl then added the rest of the ingredients, wartcap powder and bloomslang skin. Once. more, she lifted her wand to finish the process. With a skill fully cast extinguo, Aurelia waited from the potion to cool down. She took and cleaned a glass vail thoroughly with the scourgify spell and ensured it was dry. Only after the vial was complete did she remove the pot from the stand and carefully filled the vail with the liquid. She then sealed the vail with a cork. Viola, her potion was complete.

wc=430/400 |

@Aurelia Notrésvace
@Adam Harringtom
@Serena Towers

The above have reached the word count requirement and have been given 3 House Points and a Candle.

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Not long ago she had been devastatingly sick herself, of something different—more of a magical taste to it—and now she was back here brewing antidotes for others. This kind of irony... she might have laughed, if she wasn't already smiling. Oh, sure, she stayed caught up on assignments and theoretical learning back home, but being away from here for so long reminded her of how much she valued learning here and hands-on. Contrary to most peoples' expectations, Cel didn't learn best by reading. She learned best by doing, and she missed that.

Empty glass bottle dangling from between her ring and middle finger—not the most careful way of holding it, definitely not the way she would've held it last year, but at this point, if she dropped it, she'd probably blame it on lack of practice—the girl counted off the other ingredients she'd gathered by her cauldron, ensuring she had enough so that she wouldn't have to get up to get more later. Roots, powder, skin, plus all the tools she needed to prepare them... yup, everything was there.

Peering up at the clock, she was pleasantly surprised to discover that there were only thirty seconds left until the tentacle-and-potion mixture in her cauldron was done simmering. With care, Cel gathered the slices of Mandrake root, frowning a little at the imprecision despite the fact that she would probably do worse, and slipped them into the cauldron close to the surface of the bubbling tincture, making sure to prevent any splashes.

She hummed Hey, Jude under her breath as she let a pinch of Wartcap Powder fall evenly onto the surface of the potion-to-be, watching it disappear as the particles first darkened as they soaked up the liquid, then dissolve into the mixture. Apparently working at home opened up a variety of music choices, even while sick enough that her vision swam every time she moved more than three inches at a time, and this song been stuck on loop in her brain ever since she got back. Sure, there were magical music-playing devices in the Wizarding world, but there was nothing quite like exploring song choices on the internet. Cel rubbed her hardened fingers together. How strange, to feel the crust over her skin—almost like the effect that hardened superglue had on skin.

Just one more ingredient and she'd be finished—although this one took a bit more work than the others. Crushing the dried Boomslang Skin with her mortar and pestle, she idly wondered what color the Boomslang this skin had been taken from had been. Bright green, like the emerald tree snake, or darker and more brownish, like the variety that had been shown in her textbook? Did it match the faded verdant color on her snake hide, or had it been brighter before? Would a shed snakeskin do for this, or would the snake have to be killed, and if so didn't that violate endangered species protection acts? Most likely the snake would have to be killed, judging from the skin she was grinding up at the moment.

Carefully, the girl leveled out two measures of the powder and dumped them into her cauldron, allowing it to fade into the murky liquid before scrambling to get ahold of her wand and wave once over the panacea. Amber-colored, like bubbling whiskey, the potion looked like a success. She turned off the heat to pour the heavy cauldron of potion into a couple of smaller bottles, yelping as she spilled—this was arguably the most difficult part of the brewing process for her.

Actually, no, she lied. Now it was time for cleanup. She harrumphed, but allowed herself to enjoy the process of cleaning out her mortar and pestle, her scales, and her cauldron—it didn't take as long as she remembered it did, surprisingly, and she found herself packed and ready to leave much sooner than she expected. Surveying the room once more, packed chock full of quietly chattering students brewing the same potion, she slipped out the door, leaving the white noise that she couldn't even remember having gotten so used to behind. Hey, Jude continued to float through the air as she started towards the stairs, this time with softly mumbled words.

WC: 707/400 COMPLETED

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