29 Jan 2022, 06:05
Professor's Office
Upon opening the door to the office, the first thing a potential visitor would be greeted with was the sheer cacophony of smells. The remnant vapours of brewed potions linger in the air, where they overpower the faintest hint of pipe-smoke, before intermingling with the fresh scents constantly erupting from the various pots boiling and brewing throughout the office, portable stations evidently set up for that sole purpose. A series of cauldrons bubble away regularly in various parts of the office, although one stovetop instead bears the unmistakable shape of a coffee pot, for there is only so much a house elf can do to match a perfect cup of gold brewed by one’s own hand, its unmistakable odour intermingling with the rest in their grand, perfumed dance. The heavy scents stain the furniture and fittings, before they too inevitably join with new scents. The overall experience is not unpleasant, for none of the various scents can be described as such, but it is overwhelming.
Similarly, the appearance of the office is equally cluttered. A large oak desk and chair, the latter covered by velvet worn through from years of use, face the entrance directly, so that the office’s inhabitant can make eye contact with those who enter immediately after they do so. The desk itself is equally cluttered, parchment, quills and ink pots strewn about in reckless piles, with more than a few heavy tomes scattered among them, their pages dog-eared and aged. Only a few items are given any form of place of honour, all of them frames bearing photos. Two of said photos are of the wizarding kind, showing laughing children, a boy and a girl, whilst the third does not move, the red-headed family frozen in their pleasant smiles. Beneath such chaos, beneath the desk itself, sit two locked cabinets, positioned in such a way that no entrant could possibly see them. Also oak, they hide those personal objects the potionmaster has not seen fit to advertise to her students. A series of Islay single malts, a pipe and its associated leaf, and more than a few texts describing draughts that were far too dangerous to risk even a chance look from young eyes.
The more age appropriate texts instead lay strewn across the shelves that seemed to line every wall. Some of those shelves had been there since before Professor Wickham-Deakin had arrived, the pieces of furniture antiques in their own rights, others yet had been brought with the woman, none of which seemed to match any of the others. Books fill many of the shelves, most relating to the craft to which the professor had been hired to teach, and yet more than a few detail other areas of magic, with a scant few merely being well-beloved tales. Those empty spots that remain are filled with potion ingredients, carefully preserved in glass jars or the occasional stone urn, their positions determined by an organisation method utterly arcane to any but the professor who had devised it.
Such was the scene that awaited one who knocked upon the door that lay after staircase upon staircase, provided that they were granted entry.
“Come in,” Professor Wickham-Deakin’s voice would ring out after the knock sounded, evident distraction upon every word.
Intently writing something, she would look up only to greet them, her hand still paused mid flowing script. The chaos of the room and its unique mixture of scents entirely lost on her, only her work and her visitor capturing her attention, “Can I help you?”
OFFICE: CLOSED
This thread is an IC RP thread where you can interact with the Potions professor. Accordingly, all regular site rules with regards to roleplaying will be in force and all posts must be at least 200 words. Only one student is allowed at a time, and Professor Wickham-Deakin will only be available for interaction when the office is marked as open. As a reminder, please do not god-mod the professor, outside of what has been written in the opening post, or ask questions about the OOC homework system.
The soul becomes dyed with the colour of its thoughts
31 Jan 2022, 01:05
Professor's Office
A new potions professor always meant new opportunities. For Juni, this one was to big to ignore. A fresh slate, a professor who knew nothing of her chaos and trouble! She might as well be a nerd to this professor if she acted like it in front of her. And she wanted something so she would act like a very good kid. Of course she didn't fully know how that worked, but she would manage. She made sure she didn't look or smell like she's been throwing dungbumbs and brought a potions book with her for a good measure. What else did smart, good kids do? She combed her hair and instead of wearing her muddy doc Martin's, she put on her white sneakers. She definitely looked smart, with her gray sweater on and her two-toned jeans.
She marched to the potions office and didn't hesitate to knock loudly before entering as the professor allowed. "Hello professor. I'm Juniper Kelly." So far, so good. She wrinkled her nose slightly as the smells of potions brewing met her nose. She looked around at the cluttered place, everything about it reminding her of her grandma's house. "you have a great taste in decor." She said with a forced smile. She turned back to the professor and cleared her throat. "i wanted to talk about how students don't have access to all the potions and ingredients as first years. " She peeked at her hand , which had smudged writing. "students could get more practice and- and-" She peeked at her hand again. "Better knowledge on potion making." She peeked at the professor's face. "How is this going so far?"
5 Feb 2022, 01:37
Professor's Office
Magdalena placed her quill down, the hastily scrawled recipe for a half-remembered potion that a Javan wizard had taught her some three years back finally completed. Granted, she wasn’t entirely sure whether the man had meant dragon blood or komodo dragon blood as a binding reagent, nor could she remember the precise measures for the various herbs that he’d used, but there was plenty of time over the weekend to experiment with the various combinations that the recipe could be. That would have to be good enough for the moment. She only hoped that such experimentation would leave her with eyebrows.
With that sorted, she returned the quill to its ink pot, her attention turning from the paper to the student who had answered her greeting. A young girl, with vibrant red hair, by her height and youthful appearance, Magdalena mentally placed her in her first year.
“Pleasure to meet you, Miss Kelly,” Magdalena responded, a motherly smile touching her eyes, at least the girl was polite, even if the wrinkling of her nose somewhat betrayed the falsity of her words. She really did need to get around to cleaning up.
Of course, politeness did not grant one the ability to ask sensical questions. Magdalena frowned at the query, before allowing it to fade somewhat as she reminded herself of the girl’s age. Not to mention her evident nervousness, by Jove, she was reading notes off of her hand.
Magdalena formed a steeple with her hands, resting her elbows on the desk as she did so. There had to be a way to break this to the girl.
“It went very well,” She responded, “But I’m not going to allow you further access to ingredients.”
“It’s a good question, a fair question. Unfortunately, a lot of the potions and ingredients we have are extremely dangerous, so we can’t allow students access until we’re sure they’re capable. Think of a house, you need to put the foundations at the bottom, then the bricks, before you put the roof on.”
Magdalena’s eyes shifted sideways, evidently thinking, “If you were to put the roof on first, everything would collapse. We wouldn’t expect you to take your NEWT now, so we can’t expect you to know all the rules about how to handle the potions safely.”
“Does that make sense?” The professor asked finally.
The soul becomes dyed with the colour of its thoughts
11 Mar 2022, 19:01
Professor's Office
She hid her hand behind her back and stood to her full height (still not very tall) to seem like she was confident in her argument. She smiled at the professor whilst she let her think about it. A sigh of relief followed the professor's response and Juniper grinned.
“But I’m not going to allow you further access to ingredients.”
Her smile fell for a moment and Juniper shifted. The professor proceeded to explain why she had said no and Juniper listened to every word. However her mind was else where, searching for an argument to the words her professor said. "Yes- yes but-" She raised her pointer finger up and opened her mouth to speak. "Well I- Yes but- " She frowned and tapped her lip. "Well actually I suppose you're right. But what if-"
The explanation made sense and Juniper put her hands on her hips. That made sense, you really can't put the roof on first. "What if you were building one of those upside-down building things? Like, think about it- You would put the roof first in the design.
She knew it made little to no sense as an argument at all, she fully doubted it would work. "Well can I at least ask about why we can't have the ingredients for potions we already know more often?" She finally thought of an argument. "What if I needed to make a swelling solution but no one else was around to help???" She spoke with a little more enthusiasm than she meant. She straightened her shirt and cleared her throat. "What if we need to make a healing potion or something? And we're only first-year students? How are healing potions dangerous?" She raised her eyebrows at the professor. Well hmm? hmm?? She thought in her mind, considering saying it out loud.
17 Apr 2022, 12:36
Professor's Office
Magdalena’s lips pursed into a half-smile, a twinkle of amusement dancing behind her eyes, Juniper Kelly was certainly persistent. Even if that persistence was founded in misinformed childish foolhardiness. Still, it was no crime to be curious, especially not when one was so young. The professor understood what the first year was getting at, and could comprehend her desire to make an argument to gain access to more dangerous ingredients and potions. Still, that did not mean that the Potionmaster had any desire to allow the girl access to the more dangerous items that filled the shelves of her classroom and office.
“Miss Kelly, I’d rather you not try to make any potions when no one is around help,” Magdalena’s voice was tinged with gentle reproach, her fingers idly tapping at her notebook as she spoke, “It isn’t so much the effect of the finished potion that we’re worried about, but the process. A lot of healing potions operate through changing the fundamental properties of already dangerous ingredients. Well-seasoned wizards have become injured, or worse, through failing to fully understand the potions that they are attempting to brew.”
“Remember that if a potion is not brewed to the letter,” Magdalena’s finger rose as if to emphasise the point, “You risk just creating a poison.”
The professor leant back in her chair, her posture slackening slightly as if to demonstrate that she meant not to reproach the girl, merely educate, “Also, if a house is built with its roof at the bottom, then this theoretical house would be supported by the roof, no? Therefore, the roof would serve as foundation as well, in much the same way that your first year potions courses serve as the basis of your learning.”
Even with that said, the professor leaned forward once more, “And in case any of that did not persuade you, the simplest answer is it’s against the rules, and I’ve no intention of changing them.”
@Juniper Kelly
The soul becomes dyed with the colour of its thoughts
17 Apr 2022, 12:38
Professor's Office
Juni has deactivated, so she is presumed to have left and the office is once again OPEN.
The soul becomes dyed with the colour of its thoughts