Potions Championship I Cheaper Than Therapy Finished

This week would mark the beginning of Cyrus's strengthening epoch. It was different from his determination period in that he was less focused on making others proud, and he was now focused on forcing himself to be strong for others. So far, it was not going so well. He had not spoken very many words during his stay at Hogwarts, a far cry from the usually-bubbly Cyrus. So, here he was, ready to brew a potion. He wasn't really a potions guy; he much preferred spellwork. However, he figured potionmaking was similar enough to cooking, and his uncle used to say that cooking was like therapy. So if he couldn't have therapy at Hogwarts, he supposed this was the next best thing.

He wasn't bad at learning. He wasn't even bad at memorising things. Once he decided he was going to compete, he made sure he had committed a few potions to memory, and then once he saw the task for his year group, he decided, well, he might as well have some fun with this.

He pulled on a pair of gloves with a small, wryly uncharacteristic smile on his face. Perhaps the best thing about this competition was that all of the ingredients were provided. He didn't know where else he would have gotten this, given that some of his stuff was, well...

It was best he didn't think about that! Happy thoughts, happy thoughts, like the duck song...

He had readied his little area with a standard size cauldron, and he had set his ingredients in relatively-organised groups around him. Two sprigs of peppermint, one fire seed, one ginger, one jar of honey, four sprigs of lavender and one tablespoon of flobberworm mucus adorned his table.

He plucked the sprigs of peppermint from their old home on the table and added them to the cauldron. Almost immediately after, he dropped in the fire seed. And then there was the heating. He used a quick fire-making spell to warm the cauldron to low heat, and then he realised... right. He had to wait.

At least peppermint smelled good. He kept an eye on the potion for all sixty minutes, scrupulously staring at his fanciful pocket watch until the hour had finally passed. With a small sigh of relief, Cyrus began to chop the ginger root, his smile becoming far more warm as he smelled the vegetable's aroma. It reminded him of his aunt's kitchen. He scooped the pieces into the mortar he'd set near his cauldron, and he began to grind it into a paste as was required. It smelled just like his aunt's cooking, so much so that it nearly set his stomach rumbling. What he wouldn't have given for her homemade soups!

Not letting himself lose focus, Cyrus added the paste to the cauldron and dutifully picked up his spoon. He held up his pocket watch to check which side was anti-clockwise, and he stirred five times in that direction. He used another incendio to heat the cauldron to medium, after which he unscrewed the lid on the jar of honey.

He loved the smell of honey, too. This potion would soon become one of his favourites, he thought fondly. It was a good thing, too, that the smells of food were distracting him from the fire he was using to brew with.

Cautiously, he poured the honey into the cauldron, taking extra care to ensure it went in slowly. Once again checking the direction on his pocket watch, he stirred five times, this time in the clockwise direction. He took his wand and waved it over the cauldron, and once more, he pulled out his pocket watch, this time to wait the designated fifteen-to-twenty minutes.

Once that time was over, he took his four sprigs of lavender and added them to his mortar, where he crushed them together before adding them to the cauldron. He checked that his earlier measure of one tablespoon of flobberworm mucus was accurate, and upon ensuring it was, he added it to the potion, too. He checked his direction once more before stirring the potion anti-clockwise three times, a pleased smile gracing his features. He murmured, 'Extinguo,' to 'turn off the heat', and then he waved his wand over the potion to finish it.

He really did feel better, especially after smelling the aroma of the ginger, lavender and honey. Maybe brewing really was like therapy!