22 May 2022, 18:48
Notes of First Year Potions - Cure for Boils
September 9, 2021 - Thursday
It was finally potions day. The first potion of the year - the first potion of her wizarding life. She had, of course, seen her mother brew a potion or two - although her mother was more of the herbalist type. But all her mother had ever allowed her to do in terms of help, who's to add a measure or two or sprinkle of something or other into the cauldron at specific times that her mother specified.
In class they had studied this cure for boils over the past few days. But thankfully the class went by fast and it was not long into the first month of the school year that the day came where they would be finally practicing the actual recipe they had been learning about. The professor mentioned that it was an elementary recipe, meaning it should be fairly simple. But she wasn't so sure of that as it would be her first potion ever. She of course, hoped that she would prove to be a natural born potion maker as she had dreamed though deep into her mind she was a bit doubtful.
The professor had set them loose at their desks to begin the process brewing a cure for boils. Mireia had her textbook of Magical Drafts and Potions open to the correct page, splayed out on her desk for easy reference.
She first placed her cauldron on the fire, she knew she needed to heat the first portion of her brew to 250. She allowed the cauldron to preheat while she worked with the first ingredient.
Snake fangs. The class had gone over this ingredient quickly in the past few days leading up to today's work. It was a brief lesson as it was not a very complicated material. They were simply fangs harvested from the mouth of a nonvenomous snake, as she recalled in her notes.
The first step of the potion was to crush these fangs into a fine powder. Thankfully, using a mortar and pestle - or mocajete as her mother called it - was not new to her. Back home her mom very often used one to crush her various herbs for teas, tinctures, as well as simply to transform them into a sellable state. It was snot uncommon for Mireia to be roped into service and spare her mom from the hard labor of using the mocajete for hours at a time.Snake Fangs
Harvest from only non venomous snakes
Used in potions such as:
- Cure for Boil
- Strength Potion
- Wideye Potion
She grabbed six fangs from the classroom stores and dropped them in to her mocajete. Weidling the pestle she began to crush them into a fine powder. It took a while - but that gave the cauldron some time to heat on the fire.
She made sure that no large bits of fang still existed in the mocajete. If she could see their sides, it was too big. She kept grinding until her arm hurt, the muscles aching.
When the fangs we're as fine as sand, and the cauldron heated to 250, she measured out exactly four measures of the power and dropped them in to a separate small bowl. She was careful the level out the sand in the spoon, and scrape off the excess so that it was exactly equal to the four.
After the four measures were all in the separate bowl, she transfered it to the hot cauldron so the fangs would all enter the cauldron at once. She did not want to heat some of the fang powder for longer than others by adding it to the cauldron per spoonful. This way all the fangs went in at the exact same time.
Once in, she began to count.
1...
2...
3...
4...
5...
6...
7...
8...
9...
10...
Immediately upon 10 she waved her wand at the pot. They had studied the exact movement of the wand for potion making over the past few days and Mireia was extremely careful to have mastered this movement.
Once the wand was waved, the mixture had to brew for, according to her text book, 33-45 minutes. She did not appreciate the range of minutes, rather than a specific, exact, time. But this did give her some time to gather and prepare the rest of the ingredients during that time.
She set her time to 33 minutes and began in the next step while it counted down.
Last edited by Mireia Sangre-Tenebri on 8 Jun 2022, 01:51, edited 3 times in total.
23 May 2022, 00:44
Notes of First Year Potions - Cure for Boils
Her timer was ticking so she rushed to gather the remaining ingredients. The next bit of the potion was rather simple, and the hard part would be waiting for her 33-45 minutes to be up.
Looking around Mireia noticed that many of her classmates had begun their brew quicker than she did. That meant she spent more time grinding the fangs than most of her classmates did. She felt a pang of nervousness, did she waste time? Maybe she crushed them too much?
She shook her head, no she had to have faith in herself. The recipie said 'fine powder' and the more you grind the finer it gets. It would be right if her to grind more than necessary, rather that hurt herself by not grinding enough. Potions were precise and she knew she could handle it.
Glancing at her timer she had 30-42 minutes left. She wondered if, at exactly what time in that range, she should complete the next step. In the meantime, however, she rummaged through the classroom stores for the rest of the ingredients.
The immediate next ingredient were four Horned Slugs. She checked her notes to refresh her memory of the ingredient they had gone over in a previous class.
She had made sure to clean out the bowl prior, though, she didn't want any fang residue to stick to the slugs and then in to the potion. She had no idea if that would have any effect on the potion, but she was not taking any chances.
Still 25-37 minutes left.
Looking around Mireia noticed that many of her classmates had begun their brew quicker than she did. That meant she spent more time grinding the fangs than most of her classmates did. She felt a pang of nervousness, did she waste time? Maybe she crushed them too much?
She shook her head, no she had to have faith in herself. The recipie said 'fine powder' and the more you grind the finer it gets. It would be right if her to grind more than necessary, rather that hurt herself by not grinding enough. Potions were precise and she knew she could handle it.
Glancing at her timer she had 30-42 minutes left. She wondered if, at exactly what time in that range, she should complete the next step. In the meantime, however, she rummaged through the classroom stores for the rest of the ingredients.
The immediate next ingredient were four Horned Slugs. She checked her notes to refresh her memory of the ingredient they had gone over in a previous class.
A pretty simply ingredient. They were stored in a huge jar in the classroom, hundred of them limped together in there. She wondered how they lived like it - or if they were living at all. She grabbed four from the hard and placed them in the same small bowl she had the fang powder in previously.Horned Slugs
Black in color, purple varieties exist.
Used in potions such as:
- Cure for Boils
She had made sure to clean out the bowl prior, though, she didn't want any fang residue to stick to the slugs and then in to the potion. She had no idea if that would have any effect on the potion, but she was not taking any chances.
Still 25-37 minutes left.
23 May 2022, 01:24
Notes of First Year Potions - Cure for Boils
Only one more ingredient left for the Cure for Boils. Again, another simple ingredient. Much like the snake fangs, this was also a non magical ingredient, porcupine quills. Only two. She went to grab them from the stores, but glanced again at her notes once more.
She found the jar in the classroom stores rather quickly and went to snatch two. Being the inpatient girl she was she dipped her hand in too quickly, felt a prick and with a small gasp pulled her hand back out, empty.
She stared at her finger. She had pricked herself on one of the quills. A tiny dot of blood had already formed, pooling into a beautiful sphere on the tip of her finger.
She glanced around at the classroom. Had anyone seen what had happened? No, it appeared all the other students were still busy with their own potions. She sighed in relief.
Now, which one had pricked her? She held her face to the jar trying to see, to pick out which one had done her harm, so she knew not to choose that one.
"Hey I need some too - hurry up." She heard a voice just behind her. Nearly jumping from her skin, she looked and saw a boy. She was not sure of his name but he was obviously a classmate in need of the quills. "Shoot", she thought to herself, now she was ending rushed.
She nodded at him and looked back again into the jar, searching desperately for any sign of the done-some-harm quill. And just as she heard the boy clea this throat behind her, she spotted a bit of blood on one of the quills. She grinned and quickly plucked two different quills from the jar.
She skipped back to her cauldron with a smile on her face. Her ingredients were gathered. And with over 15 minutes left to spare.
For a few years of her childhood she had a porcupine pet and whenever he shed quills, Mireia would gather them. She remembered her tiny vial of a few dozen quills that lay back in her desk at home. She chastized herself for forgetting to pack them. Maybe she would remember next year.Porcupine Quills
Harvested from porcupines
Used either whole or powdered
A quill that has done no harm are more likely successful
Used in potions such as:
- Cure for Boils
- Elixir to Induce Euphoria
- Hair Raising Potion
- Draught of Peace
She found the jar in the classroom stores rather quickly and went to snatch two. Being the inpatient girl she was she dipped her hand in too quickly, felt a prick and with a small gasp pulled her hand back out, empty.
She stared at her finger. She had pricked herself on one of the quills. A tiny dot of blood had already formed, pooling into a beautiful sphere on the tip of her finger.
She glanced around at the classroom. Had anyone seen what had happened? No, it appeared all the other students were still busy with their own potions. She sighed in relief.
Now, which one had pricked her? She held her face to the jar trying to see, to pick out which one had done her harm, so she knew not to choose that one.
"Hey I need some too - hurry up." She heard a voice just behind her. Nearly jumping from her skin, she looked and saw a boy. She was not sure of his name but he was obviously a classmate in need of the quills. "Shoot", she thought to herself, now she was ending rushed.
She nodded at him and looked back again into the jar, searching desperately for any sign of the done-some-harm quill. And just as she heard the boy clea this throat behind her, she spotted a bit of blood on one of the quills. She grinned and quickly plucked two different quills from the jar.
She skipped back to her cauldron with a smile on her face. Her ingredients were gathered. And with over 15 minutes left to spare.
7 Jun 2022, 05:11
Notes of First Year Potions - Cure for Boils
She had to be patient. She found, that while what recipie called for waiting between 33-45 minutes, Mireia was impatient - a bad trait for a potion maker but that was neither there not there - and always wanted to add the slugs right at the 33 minute mark. But she thought the best practice was to wait exactly 39 minutes and then finish the potion before the 45 minute mark. This way the potion was not brewing for longer than what the recipie called for.
So she stewed in her thought for those 6 minutes and once her timer hit 39, she dumped her gathered slugs into the cauldron. Four of them to be exact. The next step was to remove the cauldron from the flame before adding the next ingredient. Mireia did not do so immediately, however, she thought that allowing the slugs to brew for a couple minutes was best. Once that time had passed she turned off the flame and removed the cauldron from it as well so that it was not set on the desk.
The next step was just as easy, place the two porcupine quills into the brew and then stir. The stiring motion was very specific and so just a few moments after she dropped in her quills, she stored the potion exactly 5 times in a clockwise direction. She had actually drawn arrows in her notebook that showed her, visually, which way was clockwise. Not that she didn't know, but sometimes her brain mixed them up and it was better to be safe than sorry.
Once she glanced at her notes to confirm her motion was correct, she stirred. This was the end of the potion and where Mireia got the most nervous. Cure for Boils was kind to the brewer because at the end it told you immediately if it was created correctly or not. If it was brewed right, it would emit a pink smoke. If it was brewed wrong it would emit - or not emit - something other than pink. This way she knew right away if it was good or not, rather than having to test it. But this immediate success or rejection created a lot of pressure.
Once she made her final round of stirring she picked up her wand and took a deep breath. One little wave and she would know if she succeeded or not. Closing her eyes she made the movement - the wand momevent itself she had beyond mastered and was not worried about doing it incorrectly so sight was not necessary - and waved.
Her eyes remained closed for a breif moment and with one more deep breath she opened them. Before her, with much glee and pride, she was greeted with a lovely pink haze rising from her pot, the color lifting into the air before dissipating. She had done it!
So she stewed in her thought for those 6 minutes and once her timer hit 39, she dumped her gathered slugs into the cauldron. Four of them to be exact. The next step was to remove the cauldron from the flame before adding the next ingredient. Mireia did not do so immediately, however, she thought that allowing the slugs to brew for a couple minutes was best. Once that time had passed she turned off the flame and removed the cauldron from it as well so that it was not set on the desk.
The next step was just as easy, place the two porcupine quills into the brew and then stir. The stiring motion was very specific and so just a few moments after she dropped in her quills, she stored the potion exactly 5 times in a clockwise direction. She had actually drawn arrows in her notebook that showed her, visually, which way was clockwise. Not that she didn't know, but sometimes her brain mixed them up and it was better to be safe than sorry.
Once she glanced at her notes to confirm her motion was correct, she stirred. This was the end of the potion and where Mireia got the most nervous. Cure for Boils was kind to the brewer because at the end it told you immediately if it was created correctly or not. If it was brewed right, it would emit a pink smoke. If it was brewed wrong it would emit - or not emit - something other than pink. This way she knew right away if it was good or not, rather than having to test it. But this immediate success or rejection created a lot of pressure.
Once she made her final round of stirring she picked up her wand and took a deep breath. One little wave and she would know if she succeeded or not. Closing her eyes she made the movement - the wand momevent itself she had beyond mastered and was not worried about doing it incorrectly so sight was not necessary - and waved.
Her eyes remained closed for a breif moment and with one more deep breath she opened them. Before her, with much glee and pride, she was greeted with a lovely pink haze rising from her pot, the color lifting into the air before dissipating. She had done it!