5 Feb 2024, 08:08
Double, Double Toil, and Trouble
It was that time again. Dennis made his way to the dungeon for his weekly Potions class. It wasn’t that he didn’t find potions interesting or useful, but it was by far the most complicated subject. Everything else was a swish, a flick, and some mumbo jumbo, then presto - magic! There was just so many variables to making a potion, he didn’t think his first year little 11 year old brain would ever wrap his head around doing it properly.
He found his table and waited for his partner. He heaved a heavy sigh. At the beginning of the year he was super stoked to be partnered with a Slytherin. After all, the classroom was in their home turf, shouldn’t that mean it’s their specialty? Dennis quickly found out that he wasn’t the only one whose brain shut off when he heard all the ingredients and instructions. His partner was Ulysses and though he couldn’t remember a time when they got a single potion right, they never intentionally screwed each other up. He appreciated that about his partner - at least their mistakes were honest.
While he waited, he looked at the board. There were going to be two potions today!? Geez, it was hard enough to do one. The first one at least seemed manageable if he squinted really hard. Antidote to Common Poisons was written on the board. It sounded both important and something he shouldn’t mess up. Maybe this time…this time they would finally make it correctly!
@Ulysses Drake
He found his table and waited for his partner. He heaved a heavy sigh. At the beginning of the year he was super stoked to be partnered with a Slytherin. After all, the classroom was in their home turf, shouldn’t that mean it’s their specialty? Dennis quickly found out that he wasn’t the only one whose brain shut off when he heard all the ingredients and instructions. His partner was Ulysses and though he couldn’t remember a time when they got a single potion right, they never intentionally screwed each other up. He appreciated that about his partner - at least their mistakes were honest.
While he waited, he looked at the board. There were going to be two potions today!? Geez, it was hard enough to do one. The first one at least seemed manageable if he squinted really hard. Antidote to Common Poisons was written on the board. It sounded both important and something he shouldn’t mess up. Maybe this time…this time they would finally make it correctly!
@Ulysses Drake
Adult: Makaio Kāne | iNPC: Maria Leung de Almeida
12 Feb 2024, 06:34
Double, Double Toil, and Trouble
u l y s s e s —d r a k e . ———
date. [ ?/??/24 ]——word count. [ 289 ] ——
The young boy slumped his way into class, school robes against his growing frame as he dropped his books onto their usual table and the Slytherin took a look at Dennis and gave him a typical, silent greeting. It always took Uly a few moments to adjust to the low light of the Potions classroom and when he saw that they had to make two potions the boy let out a loud, audible groan. “ Merlin, you gotta be kidding me. Two potions! That’s bollocks. ” Turning his head to Dennis in sheer frustration, the wizard brought a hand to his forehead and ran his fingers through his wavy hair in an attempt to ease the nerves that had been bubbling up.
“ Have we even made these before? ” He squinted at the first potion and flipped through his notes, seeing that he had written it down fairly legibly when they learned the potion a few weeks ago. “ I guess the good news is I take pretty insane notes. ” Tapping the parchment excitedly, but the instructions were never the problem. Something just seemed to always go awry, luckily Dennis was pretty cool with the consistent mess ups, despite being a Ravenclaw.
“ Guess we better get started, huh. ” Ulysses brought his notes in closer, finger pointing at the ingredients they’d need for their first brew.
mentions. @Dennis Tumbertonnotes. no notes.
15 Feb 2024, 05:41
Double, Double Toil, and Trouble
Dennis was happy to see Ulysses make it to class. Last thing he wanted to do was try to handle two potions by himself. He was libel to just spill his cauldron trying to crush ingredients by bumping it with a wild elbow. At least with his partner here, the mess would be at a minimum. Ulysses nodded silently. So cool. Like a gangster from the movies he’s seen.
“We haven’t made these yet. She’s really making us work for it this time,” Dennis sighed as he also wrote down the ingredients so he wouldn’t forget them on his way to the supply cabinet. The lesson was pretty straight forward. Professor Regan had the students pass around a few of the new ingredients and talked about them. His interest peaked at the mention of the unicorn horns but he easily got distracted.
Now it was time to actually practice making the potions. “I swear the older the professor, the more work they actually make us do,” Dennis said under his breath, definitely calling the Potions Professor old. He then left to grab the necessary ingredients: 1 bezoar, 2 measures of standard ingredient, 1 piece of unicorn horn, and 2 mistletoe berries.
He put the bezoar in the mortar as directed and kind of smacked it with the pestle. He gave it a few good churns but was harder to break up than he thought. Curse his weak arms. “Hmm…maybe you can get this ready?” Dennis asked sheepishly as he passed the mortar and pestle to his partner. “Maybe I can heat up the cauldron.” Dennis suggested. Luckily it was already on the burner when they arrived and he just had to light it. The other ingredients were already ready, so long as Dennis remembered to properly measure them out.
Interacting with @Ulysses Drake
“We haven’t made these yet. She’s really making us work for it this time,” Dennis sighed as he also wrote down the ingredients so he wouldn’t forget them on his way to the supply cabinet. The lesson was pretty straight forward. Professor Regan had the students pass around a few of the new ingredients and talked about them. His interest peaked at the mention of the unicorn horns but he easily got distracted.
Now it was time to actually practice making the potions. “I swear the older the professor, the more work they actually make us do,” Dennis said under his breath, definitely calling the Potions Professor old. He then left to grab the necessary ingredients: 1 bezoar, 2 measures of standard ingredient, 1 piece of unicorn horn, and 2 mistletoe berries.
He put the bezoar in the mortar as directed and kind of smacked it with the pestle. He gave it a few good churns but was harder to break up than he thought. Curse his weak arms. “Hmm…maybe you can get this ready?” Dennis asked sheepishly as he passed the mortar and pestle to his partner. “Maybe I can heat up the cauldron.” Dennis suggested. Luckily it was already on the burner when they arrived and he just had to light it. The other ingredients were already ready, so long as Dennis remembered to properly measure them out.
Interacting with @Ulysses Drake
Adult: Makaio Kāne | iNPC: Maria Leung de Almeida
19 Feb 2024, 08:39
Double, Double Toil, and Trouble
u l y s s e s —d r a k e . ———
date. [ ?/??/24 ]——word count. [ 364 ] ——
" She's out to get us man, I just know it. I heard she's a dhampir too, she got caught flying in the air and now that's why flying is only allowed in the Quidditch Pitch. " Uly wasn't afraid of Professor Reagn but she had to have been at least 40 with how calm but sinister she was. Of course, these 12 year olds had no good judgement of age but, Ulysses was pretty certain he was right on the nose with the Potions Professor.
Ulysses nodded as he took the mortar and pestle and with a few slams the bezoar turned into much more of a powder then when Dennis was doing it and then he kept it up until it was absolutely turned into a fine powder. The perks of his own strength, he supposed. " Yep, and the recipe is to now add four measures into the cauldron. " Ulysses passed it to over back to Dennis without saying much as his hand fiddled with the temperature and he nodded, ready to lit the cauldron up to a medium temperature not realizing he had already moved it up so that the cauldron began to boil without any ingredients inside of it.
" Oh, I got the other stuff. " Ulysses grabbed the standard ingredients from the table and held one in each hand ready to throw them into the pot as soon as Dennis measured out his cup full of Bezoar powder. The best example of the blind leading the blind.
mentions. @Dennis Tumbertonnotes. no notes.
20 Feb 2024, 06:34
Double, Double Toil, and Trouble
Camaraderie was important when you had a partner, especially in potions. You had to have trust that the other person would definitely not screw up at all. Dennis took the bozoar and he checked which measure he should use to measure the powder. He didn’t notice that Ulysses had increased the temperature again. When he finally finished fumbling around to get a measuring spoon, he saw that the cauldron was boiling. He checked his notes. It all looked right to him. It said right there that the cauldron had to heat up nothing more heated than boiling so nothing amiss there! What were instructions except vague guidelines anyway.
“Thanks, mate!” He said as Ulysses grabbed the standard ingredients. Dennis scooped up some of the bozoar powder. It was almost perfectly level with the measuring cup. “So we need four but…” Dennis looked on concerned as he scooped four perfectly measured servings of the powder and dumped them into the boiling cauldron. There was still a lot left over, probably half a measure!
“We shouldn't waste the rest of this, I don’t want the professor yelling at us because we were wasteful with our ingredients right? She is already cranky enough!” He rationalized as he went ahead and dumped the rest of the powder into the brewing potion. “Besides more stuff means more potion.” He said confidently with a nod.
Now all they needed to do was put the standard stuff in and wait an incredibly long time. What was with potions and having to wait anyway? Magic should be instant like a charm or a hex. Surely some extra stuff and some extra heat wouldn’t be a bad thing. Extra was the best. Like getting extra ice cream or getting extra points.
@Ulysses Drake
“Thanks, mate!” He said as Ulysses grabbed the standard ingredients. Dennis scooped up some of the bozoar powder. It was almost perfectly level with the measuring cup. “So we need four but…” Dennis looked on concerned as he scooped four perfectly measured servings of the powder and dumped them into the boiling cauldron. There was still a lot left over, probably half a measure!
“We shouldn't waste the rest of this, I don’t want the professor yelling at us because we were wasteful with our ingredients right? She is already cranky enough!” He rationalized as he went ahead and dumped the rest of the powder into the brewing potion. “Besides more stuff means more potion.” He said confidently with a nod.
Now all they needed to do was put the standard stuff in and wait an incredibly long time. What was with potions and having to wait anyway? Magic should be instant like a charm or a hex. Surely some extra stuff and some extra heat wouldn’t be a bad thing. Extra was the best. Like getting extra ice cream or getting extra points.
@Ulysses Drake
Adult: Makaio Kāne | iNPC: Maria Leung de Almeida
26 Feb 2024, 09:03
Double, Double Toil, and Trouble
u l y s s e s —d r a k e . ———
date. [ ?/??/24 ]——word count. [ 274 ] ——
“ I mean, that makes sense to me. Maybe this’ll be the extra credit I need to bump my grade up. ” The boy nodded at their twisted logic, seemingly making sense to him as he grabbed his wand and tapped the cauldron loudly in a way that he probably shouldn’t have done anyway.
“ See, that goes in there and we just do a little magic here. ” His wand waving was quick, a little rigid and quick as sparks began to sputter from the tip of Ulysses’ wand as he aimed it for the cauldron. “ Sure, sure. That must’ve been good and what was supposed to happen. Now, it says we wait. ” The Slytherin huffed at how long they were meant to stay idle.
“ Hey Dennis, you think if we turn up the temperature, we can finish our potion faster? Makes sense to me. ” And people really acted like this wizard stuff was hard, Uly felt like a complete natural in this moment with him and Dennis simply failing forward without rhyme or reason to follow the recipe as instructed.
mentions. @Dennis Tumbertonnotes. no notes.
28 Feb 2024, 01:07
Double, Double Toil, and Trouble
For once, Dennis thought they had done a great job! Everything seemed to be coming up aces for the pair. They did even more than was asked of them - a rare bit of insight for the normally underachieving duo. Pot was boiling, more ingredients than necessary and Ulysses’ wand even did a cool sparkling trick. That had to add like, extra magic into the potion. Now they were supposed to wait a whole 30 minutes to continue? That seemed like an absurdly long time to not only Ulysses but also to Dennis. He was glad, then, when his partner turned the fire up even higher. They would definitely be the first done. That meant they would win at potion malinger. Right?
Dennis next grabbed the pinch of unicorn horn and waited expectedly. He figured that a higher temp meant a faster brew so it would only need a few minutes instead of the half hour recommended. However, there was a problem that Dennis had not anticipated. He was holding the powder instead of having it sit on the table. What if he needed to sneeze? And sneeze he had to do. He huffed and puffed and tried to hold it in as best he could. He panicked and tried to hand Ulysses the powder, when the table was right there. He couldn’t hold it in anymore and sneezed loudly, blowing the powder into the cauldron and lightly dusting the rim. He stared wide-eyed at the potion brewing for a moment and checked their station, it seemed like most of it went in.
“Sorry, Ulysses. I shouldn’t have been holding the powder so close,” Dennis said sheepishly as he looked around for me. He managed to retrieve roughly the same amount as last time and followed up with, “I should add more just in case it didn’t all go in.” He then dumped a healthy measure of unicorn horn into their already overzealously made potion.
@Ulysses Drake and @Méabh Regan
Dennis next grabbed the pinch of unicorn horn and waited expectedly. He figured that a higher temp meant a faster brew so it would only need a few minutes instead of the half hour recommended. However, there was a problem that Dennis had not anticipated. He was holding the powder instead of having it sit on the table. What if he needed to sneeze? And sneeze he had to do. He huffed and puffed and tried to hold it in as best he could. He panicked and tried to hand Ulysses the powder, when the table was right there. He couldn’t hold it in anymore and sneezed loudly, blowing the powder into the cauldron and lightly dusting the rim. He stared wide-eyed at the potion brewing for a moment and checked their station, it seemed like most of it went in.
“Sorry, Ulysses. I shouldn’t have been holding the powder so close,” Dennis said sheepishly as he looked around for me. He managed to retrieve roughly the same amount as last time and followed up with, “I should add more just in case it didn’t all go in.” He then dumped a healthy measure of unicorn horn into their already overzealously made potion.
@Ulysses Drake and @Méabh Regan
Adult: Makaio Kāne | iNPC: Maria Leung de Almeida
4 Mar 2024, 20:29
Double, Double Toil, and Trouble
Oh, how nice it would be to have super hearing and be able to overhear the muttered conversations going on between the students... The muted gossiping between Dennis and Ulysses would have entertained Méabh greatly. Well, except for the old part, perhaps. If the dhampir rumour had reached her - disappointingly average - ears, she might even have turned her eyes red for their benefit; but then, they should be aware she was a metamorphmagus at this point. She really wasn't very secretive about her abilities, after all. As it was, she was not blessed with supernatural senses, but those weren't needed to notice that something was going awry in their little corner of the classroom. The almost palpable heatwave, overly enthusiastic bubbling of their potion, and little cloud of unicorn dust were indicator enough for even the most oblivious person to notice, and Méabh was far from that.
An eyebrow quirked up; the two of them really didn't have much of a knack for brewing potions, but by pure luck, they should have gotten at least one potion right by now. Apparently they were determined to continue defying the odds, however. She gave an approving smile to the student she was standing next to, then headed over to the corner of chaos. "You know," she said idly, glancing down into the happily boiling mixture that was as far from an antidote to common poisons as the blended teas Méabh sometimes made for her grandmother. "Not that I don't appreciate a little imagination, but if you were looking for the creative recipes writing class, I think you might be in the wrong room." She raised an eyebrow at the two boys, then nodded at the merrily roaring flames. "I'm not sure what medium temperature means to you, but this isn't what most people would understand it as. And..." Méabh eyed the slight dusting of unicorn horn powder that seemed sprinkled across the table and the kids' robes. "If that was thirty minutes on your clocks, you might want to have your watches checked."
Dipping a ladle into the potion, she examined the contents, then sighed internally. Yeah, there wasn't much she could do in the way of saving that. She shook her head. "Really, you're not making this easy for either of us. If you want to keep working together, I recommend that you actually try following the recipe for once, and leave the improvisation for when you have a good grasp of the basics and how potions work, hm?" She flicked her wand, and with a muttered incantation, the flames below the cauldron died down.
Scrunching up her nose, she gave the failed potion another look. This was the point where she was supposed to hand out some remedial homework, right? She'd tried going easy on them, but it didn't appear to work very well. "Let's see, you can... either attempt this again at some point during the next week, or write an essay about where you went wrong brewing it this time... or something like that." She waved her hands vaguely. "Make it interesting, eh?"
@Dennis Tumberton and @Ulysses Drake
Raphael Aveline | Méabh Regan | Dealla Prince |