Grandest Gains Activity

| WC: 750/400 |
permission to control @Dmitri Jones has been granted

Alan showed up when he heard about the task or activity. Apparently the muggle world required a bit of assistance from the wizarding world for a disease that has been spreading around. It was no problem for the wizards to overcome, since a single potion is what it took to nullify the symptoms and source of the ailment. It had been important to him when he saw that it would be of importance; a cure.

As he stepped into the classroom he caught sight of not too many students who were busy brewing or already bottling up their concoctions. One student stood out, a familiar face at that, who stood by the site munching on what appeared to be pumpkin pie. Taking a deep breath to encourage himself to approach the brisk Slytherin, the third year finally walked over and greeted him by his first name. He hoped he was not interrupting the kid, busy stuffing his face with this delicious treat. He appeared to be halfway done with eating anyway, making Alan wonder whether he should just join the kid and take a serving of the cake himself.

Alan however was greeted with a raised finger and he knew the gesture well enough. He let his gaze drift over to the students who were in the class, but none of them seemed very familiar and he doubted that Aurelia might have the patience to explain and help him with a potion. So Alan would wait as the taller kid shoved more of the pastry into his face, the finger still raised into Alan's direction which could have made Alan chuckle if he was not so nervous about brewing a potion.

As soon as Dmitri was done eating the piece of pie, he lowered the raised finger and looked down to the Gryffindor. "Pardon me. Hi! Can I help you?", he asked and a slight wave of relief flooded through Alan as he politely smiled back at the taller kid. "Y-yeah! I was w-wondering, i-if you could help m-me to brew m-my potion? Th-this subject s-seriously i-isn't my strength-", he muttered, tucking a loose strand of hair behind his ear lightly. "No problem! Just got done with my latest batch so I could spare some time!", was the response he got and this reassurance calmed Alan as the two looked for a free desk to get to work, where all of the ingredients were already displayed, ready to be prepared and used for the Grand Pepperup Potion.

While Alan was brewing the Slytherin proofed to be quite kind and helpful with the situation, instructing Alan and correcting him when necessary. Sometimes he would even show Alan how it had to be done. He started by telling Alan to add a vial of the already prepared Pepperup Potion into the cauldron after putting it the fire on medium heat. When Dmitri told him he would have to add a octopus tentacle to the potion, he scrunched up his face before doing as instructed. Now he would only have to let it simmer.

But he didn't get a break, Dmitri just handed him a pair of earmuffs, reminding him to make sure Alan put them on correctly. The lion nodded as he placed the fluffy earmuffs on top of his head and made sure his ears were covered well. Now that he couldn't hear Dmitri anymore the Slytherin actually showed him with gestures and demonstrations how he had to prepare the mandrakes and Alan did his best to get behind it, before thinly slicing the dormant root.

The threat of a screech was over, so Alan pushed off the earmuffs, before adding the prepared mandrake to the simmering mixture. After adding a pinch of Wartcap and further in, two measures of dried up Boomslang skin, he would wave one last time over the cauldron and watched as the bubbling concoction turned into a amber hue. "I-Is this r-right?", he turned to ask the Slytherin as he stared at what he just brewed. "Yes, it looks fine.", was the response of the helpful, moody kid. The two boys took the time to bottle up the freshly brewed potion, filling it into crystal vials that they could later on give to the professor in charge. Since they were done, Alan thanked the snake with a light smile, wishing him a nice day. He was glad that he had met the kid again, he seemed nicer than Alan had expected. Perhaps it was worry after all.

Bloom was so thankful that Serena had agreed to partner with her. Bloom would never have been able to do the potion on her own. Listening to directions? Not her thing. Doing the homework correctly in class? Also not her thing. She knew that Serena would be very detail-oriented from what she remembered in years past and she was always talked about as being smart. Bloom couldn't agree more and now she was going to catch up with her. Rekindling friendship was something Bloom was looking to do anyways.

Start the Mandrake..., Bloom thought to herself. Snaps! Bloom had no idea how to prepare the Mandrake. She looked over at the many pots that were in the room. Inside were Mandrakes sleeping so soundly in the soil. She had to pull them out and then do what? Was she supposed to whack it? Maybe she is supposed to scream back at it? Oh gosh... What did Professor Price say about them? What about Professor MacTavish? Bloom took a deep breath and a big, grand fake smile. "Sounds good!" she said and made her way to the pots.

Putting on gloves, she looked over at other students, wondering how they got their Mandrake's prepped. It seemed like everyone already had them sliced. That was fast..., she thought and as she was putting on the earmuffs, she saw another student go to a table that had various ingredients on it. On the table, there was what looked like sliced Mandrake already prepped and ready to go. Bloom tilted her head in confusion and took off the earmuffs from her head and the gloves from her hands.

She walked over to the table and saw that there were Mandrake slices plated in bowls. Giving a sigh of relief, Bloom grabbed a bowl and brought it back to where Serena was working on finishing the first step of the potion. "Did someone order Mandrake Slices?" Bloom joked.

It had been a couple of years and she had no idea what to say to Serena. What was new with her? At school, absolutely nothing. But at home, there was a new addition in her family. Maybe that is something she could share. "As of last summer, I have a new baby brother," she said, a small smile appearing on her face. Bloom often went back and forth in how she felt about her family adding another sibling into the mix. She already felt like she wasn't getting the attention she wanted because of her sisters, and now a baby boy? Bloom sometimes felt nonexistent at home. But she struggles because she absolutely loves her baby brother.

"What is new with you?" she asked back, looking at the Hufflepuff and then back at the potion. It was definitely simmering. Bloom had no idea when the next step of the potion was to be conducted.

282 + 478 = 760/400
Completed but will still keep roleplaying!
@Serena Towers

Serena grinned and nodded at her friend, who headed off to prepare the mandrake slices. Whilst Bloom was away, she busied herself in preparing the first part of the potion. In time, she quickly pulled her wand out of her pocket and waved it over the cauldron. Once she had done that, she cast her eyes over the recipe, making a mental note of what was next. A few more ingredients would be required. The Hufflepuff moved to the storeroom, grabbing the last two things that they would need once Bloom had sliced the mandrakes.

Once she returned, she checked the time. There was still some time left before they had to continue to the second stage of the potion. Knowing she had a few minutes for it to simmer, she sat down and rested.

She cast her eyes over the recipe once more. Honestly, at this point, she was just scared of doing it wrong. Serena reread the recipe over and over, even though it was not actually going to change. "Heck yeah!" She grinned as Bloom returned, "I think we're almost ready to add them!" She continued, standing up and peering into the cauldron. Though she kept her distance, not wanting to stick her head into it.

"You have a baby brother?! That's so cool! What's his name? How old is he now? Like almost a year, I guess then right since it's summer in a few months, duh. But I mea- ah- that's cool! Do you like him?" Serena babbled on, wondering what he looked like. She asked some odd questions, not quite realising it was a bit odd but did it anyway, wondering if they got along. Bloom seemed to be pleased so that was something special.

Scratching the back of her head, "Oh uh, not much. I've just mostly been playing quidditch and training I guess." She admitted. Quidditch had become her life. There was a reason school made her happy again - Quidditch was it. Being the seeker was the most enjoyable thing there was. It was probably a little sad to admit that but that was how it went for her. It had been a while since she found something she was actually good at. Well, this might be the first time. But she was good. She finally found something she could do. Playing quidditch was it.

Completed errand already. Just continuing RPing

When Bloom brought the mandrake slices back to the table, she felt a sense of pride in helping make the potion. She knew that Serena was doing more of the work putting it all together, but she was helping the best way she could. Bloom knew that she would be unable to do this on her own. She was thankful that there was someone as kind and brilliant as Serena Towers.

After sharing her news of a new brother, Serena showed a lot of sincerity and care. Bloom missed having some sort of proper interactions with another person. Her other interaction that she can think of at the top of her head was with Donald Fisch and how annoying of a person he was. This... This was peaceful.

"His name is Austin. He's turning one in July," she answered, a small smile on her face. Bloom was glad that during his infant years she was at school away from the chaos. She remembered how tired she was with Bella keeping her up all night with her wails. Now it was Bella's turn to be up all night by Austin.

"OH. I thought I saw you playing Quidditch. I don't go watch often, but I went one day and saw a Hufflepuff player that looked oddly like you! How do you like it?" she asked, wondering how Quidditch really was. Bloom was never a Quidditch person herself, although she had moments of wanting to try out. She just knew that it wasn't for her. "Do you want to do anything with Quidditch when you graduate?" she asked, knowing that many Hogwarts Quidditch players tend to keep going into collegiate.

Lately, Bloom had no idea what was for her anymore. She was lost in finding herself. Perhaps reconnecting with Serena (and maybe other rekindled friendships) might help her!