Final Concoctions
Sorting Ceremony ...revisit his past...
"You will now prepare to brew. Follow the written instructions to the letter. Improvisation, deviation, or foolishness will not be tolerated. You are not here to amuse yourselves. You are here to master control over volatile, dangerous substances. Begin," rang the firm, even words from Professor Samuel Sauber as they reached the brewing phase of their final Potions class of the year. Sauber had established his reputation as a no-nonsense educator in Hogwarts and was one of Luca's favorite professors for various reasons. However, the young wizard couldn't help but feel excited for the end of his classes. He loved Hogwarts and everything it taught him, but two feet of parchment, sometimes from more than one class, had become tedious.
Date: May 30th, 2025 Time: Early Morning « Preceeding | Following » OOC Note: This thread is open to First Years from the 2024-2025 school year, so anyone who recently graduated to Second Year.
Luca looked around at the ingredients laid out before him, which he had become quite familiar with over his first year in the castle. The boy's interest in becoming an Auror, combined with Sauber's earlier mention that potions in thin vials could be used as weapons, piqued his curiosity about the class. Not to mention, falling asleep or losing focus could get him killed—something Sauber emphasized multiple times during his lectures.
Luca first took note of the ingredients laid out for Muffling Draught: Lethe River Water, Bat Spleens, Eel Eyes, and Leeches. He had his page turned to the instructions for brewing before preparing and pulling up his sleeves slightly. The first step, he noted mentally, was to add four drops of Lethe River Water to the cauldron. Noticing that some other overzealous students had already turned on the heat, which wasn't until step four, he expected Sauber to be breathing over them within a few moments. The young wizard was by no means a Potions Master, but he wanted to maintain his high marks of Exceeds Expectations and Outstanding.
Once his Lethe River Water drops were in the cauldron, he recalled the second step from memory but checked just to be sure. Reaching for a sharp knife provided by the potions classroom, he started to finely dice two bat spleens before scooping them up with the back of the knife and guiding them down the back of the blade into the cauldron. After this, he read again to see the next step and began to stir evenly, clockwise, two times, no more, no less.
Luca looked around at his classmates, sharing the brewing station with them, to see how they were doing and if anyone wanted to have a quiet chat.
STA: 7 • EVA: 10 • STR: 0 • WIS: 7 • ARC: 2 • ACC: 9 Parselmouth • Evasive Maneuvers PC: Luca Corranado | OOC Notes: Always open to interactions. "His story continues" means Luca is no longer there! iNPC: Silvio Accardi |
Final Concoctions
may 30 - potions class
Muffling Draught. The first potion didn't sound terribly difficult; there were just a lot of precise steps that would need to be followed to a T. The Ravenclaw grimaced slightly. Unfortunately, Avis was not necessarily the most avid observer when it came to detail. She tended to impulsively blow through things and deal with the consequences later. Yet on the other hand, her one-sided competition with her older brother (who had been adept at potions at her age) had gotten her through the class so far with flying colors in her determination to beat him at everything possible. It truly was competitiveness vs impulse when it came to this particular class and what Avis was realizing over the past few months was that perhaps she was rather too competitive. But now was no time to tone it down.
Minutes later, she found herself attempting to finely dice bat spleens while keeping a careful eye on the contents of her cauldron which (so far) was just the river water. Reaching for the second spleen, Avis picked it up carefully with a gloved hand and gagged as it slipped out of her grasp and landed with a squelch on the cutting board. One thing was certain about this potion: the ingredients were by far the worst combination she'd heard of.
She swallowed, lifting her knife over the spleen and wincing as she made the first cut. "Merlin's Great Bollocksing Beard," she muttered absentmindedly as she chopped, struggling to keep the tiny squares even.
Finally, she dumped the diced bat spleens into the cauldron, stirring it two times clockwise and setting the heat to high. Sighing, she twisted the dial on her timer and pulled the gloves off, grimacing slightly at the smell in the room. Perhaps it was originating from the eel eyes. Or the leeches... She shuddered.
Soon enough, bored curiosity inched its way into her head and Avis found herself studying other students' work tables. The aggravating Italian she'd dealt with earlier that year was on the other side of the room, thank Merlin, but besides him and a few other Ravenclaws she recognized from the common room, Avis realized she hadn't exactly made an effort to get to know anyone in this particular class. She'd been so focused on maintaining a perfect 'O' (her brother had never dropped below one in Potions) that she hadn't had much time to divert her attention to anything else.
Her gaze shifted to the students at her worktable: a blonde Gryffindor, and another boy who seemed to have finished with his bat spleens as well and was milling about. She studied him closer. A rather tall posh-looking Slytherin, by the looks of it. Avis absentmindedly drew herself up, her mind impulsively measuring her own height in comparison as a tall first year herself. A good few centimeters difference. She resisted the urge to frown. For some reason in her head, being taller than someone meant she'd won at something. In this case, it seemed she had lost.
Realizing she'd probably been staring at him for an uncomfortable amount of time at this point, Avis cleared her throat and glanced at her timer. Her heart dropped. The blasted thing had never started. Bloody hell. How long had it been? She glanced around the room wildly for a clock but there was none to be found. She'd have to resort to someone who'd started their timer around the same time she had... or tried to.
The Ravenclaw glanced back up at the Slytherin, an idea forming in her head. She acted on it without another thought.
"Oi," she hissed at the boy, attempting to keep her voice down to avoid unwanted attention from Professor Sauber. "How long have your spleens been brewing for?"
It was only after she'd spoken that she realized how strange that question might have sounded in any other context.
@Luca Corranado & @Isabella Bernard
sta 8 | eva 8 | str 3 | wis 7 | arc 6 | acc 10
inpc: bastien archambeau
Final Concoctions
Everyone was eerily focused on the task at hand, showing the aura that Professor Sauber had earned through his time as the potions master. There was a little chatter, but it was mostly quiet, and his table was silent, but one brunette-haired Ravenclaw seemed to be looking around and then at him. Is she staring at me? Did I do something wrong? the boy wondered as he looked back at his cauldron. He caught her eyes for a moment because they were a striking blue that complemented her fair skin. After what felt like an eternity of locking eyes, Luca finished dicing his bat spleens with such precision that he stuck the knife tip into the cutting board with enough force to make the blade stand erect after moving the spleens into the cauldron. Had he done that unconsciously as a subtle way of flirting? He didn't remember ever doing that before.
Date: May 39th, 2025 Time: Early Morning « Preceeding | Following »
Once his stirs were complete, the next step was to turn the heat under the cauldron to high and let it brew for a full 10 minutes. His confidence was high for his last class, so he decided to skip the timer and watch the clock instead. The young wizard looked at the clock every minute, it seemed, but he managed to prepare the ingredients for steps six and eight in a neat row with the required equipment nearby. Just as his mental ten-minute clock-watching game was about to end, he heard the Ravenclaw's voice. Had he ever gotten her name? Or introduced himself? He didn't remember that either. The focus was on brewing, and brewing alone.
She asked how long his spleens had been brewing, and his eyes darted to the clock one last time just as the second hand swept over the 12 at the top of the block.
"Long enough; yours too, I believe," Luca said with a cheeky grin, noting that her timer was also not going. The boy lowered his head to simmer before dropping the Eel eyes into it with a soft plop that didn't create any mess. Next, he stirred twice counterclockwise before moving the mortar in front of him with his three leeches on one side. This was going well.
STA: 7 • EVA: 10 • STR: 0 • WIS: 7 • ARC: 2 • ACC: 9 Parselmouth • Evasive Maneuvers PC: Luca Corranado | OOC Notes: Always open to interactions. "His story continues" means Luca is no longer there! iNPC: Silvio Accardi |
Final Concoctions
Avis swallowed, her throat dry. She'd been embarrassed to have been caught staring, but even more unsettled by the prolonged eye contact, specifically the blue of his gaze that had cut right through her as easily as the knives they used in class.
In fact, she was so distracted by the strange but not necessarily unpleasant experience that she almost didn't catch the boy's helpful response. She blinked, her eyebrows furrowing as she was dropped back into the present moment. Avis vaguely noted the Slytherin's grin as her eyes shifted to his workstation, his actions satisfyingly efficient.
"Er... right, thanks. I hope so. Lost track of time..." she replied, shooting a glare at the useless timer sitting unassumingly next to her cutting board. As the girl turned back to her cauldron, she couldn't help but throw another glance in her classmate's direction. Avis could've sworn she'd seen him around school before but couldn't imagine she'd forget him so easily. Lost in thought, she added her own eel eyes to her cauldron and stirred twice anti-clockwise. Why was so she distracted? This was very unlike her, especially in potions class. The only thing that usually distracted her was how she'd done in Quidditch practice that day, or how cold it was in the bloody dungeon. She sighed in annoyance, knowing her curiosity wouldn't let her rest until she'd scratched the itch. After picking up her leeches with a disgusted expression, she dropped them into her mortar for grinding. Without another thought, she opened her mouth.
"What's your name, by the way? I'm Avis. You're in Slytherin, no?" she said, trying to seem as indifferent as possible as she applied her pestle to the nasty creatures she was supposed to mush into oblivion.
@Luca Corranado
sta 8 | eva 8 | str 3 | wis 7 | arc 6 | acc 10
inpc: bastien archambeau
Final Concoctions
interaction: @Avis Greymond@Luca Corranado
Potions was a subject Victoria usually truly enjoyed. Mixing a few ingredients to create a new liquid was something she found oddly satisfying. But right now, she had a problem—her mind was far too crowded, and she just couldn’t focus on her potion.
The dungeon classroom was dimly lit by flickering lanterns, casting shadows across shelves cluttered with jars of strange ingredients—pickled roots, shimmering beetle wings, and vials of substances that pulsed faintly. The air was thick with the scent of burning herbs and something vaguely metallic. The potion hissed softly, sending up a faint curl of grayish steam. The scent was all wrong—sharper than it should be, almost metallic. Around her, cauldrons bubbled in rhythm, parchment instructions floated in midair.
Victoria bit her lower lip in frustration. The more she failed, the worse she felt. She furrowed her brows, trying once again to concentrate on the potion in front of her. Still, the color was never quite what it was supposed to be. What was wrong? This never happened to her. Her fingers tightened around the stirring rod. She didn’t realize she was holding her breath until she exhaled sharply, shoulders slumping.
Lifting her head, Victoria noticed a girl with deep green eyes and brown hair chatting with a dark-haired boy nearby. Neither of them looked particularly unfriendly—maybe she could ask for help? Normally, her pride would never allow her to admit she was struggling. But right now, she was on the verge of losing her mind. She sighed quietly and gently interrupted their conversation.
“I’m sorry if I’m interrupting,” she said softly. “Uhm—there’s something wrong with my potion, and I can’t quite figure out what. Would you mind helping me?” Her blue eyes were cold and distant, yet kind as usual, a shield she wore without thinking. Still, her fingers fidgeted at her side, and she avoided meeting their eyes for more than a second,it was clear that she was a bit panicked. She hated how awkward this felt—like she was giving away something personal.
Final Concoctions
Luca couldn't stop the sudden urge to look down at his uniform, pausing briefly from grinding the pestle against the mortar with the leeches in between, expecting the question from the brunette-haired girl to be redundant. The young boy wore the standard Slytherin robes that were the usual attire for all classes: a white shirt, a satin silver and green tie tucked into a dark grey sweater brimmed with green, and black robes with a green inner lining. He looked back up at the young witch and seized the moment to tease her a little as he continued to crush the leeches into oblivion, ensuring that he didn't go paste sticky paste into the realm of evisterated bits of leech.
Date: May 30th, 2025 Time: Early Morning « Preceeding | Following »
"What gave it away?" Luca said with a playful flicker of his eyes at her, even as his head was down, focused on the pestle and mortar. His voice was somewhat hushed, and his head was bowed almost as if he knew they were becoming the loudest, albeit still quiet, table in the dungeon. No one wanted to incur Sauber's wrath, but sometimes silence was deafening. After his leeches formed a sticky paste, he set the mortar down and introduced himself, offering his hand in a gesture that was somewhere between a proper greeting for a lady and a style suitable for potions class.
Normally, he would follow etiquette and softly kiss the back of the girl's hand if it was offered, but that didn't seem appropriate for a potions class. Instead, if the young girl offered her hand, he would simply gently hold her fingers between the first and second knuckle for a moment with appropriate pressure, a charming smile, and a nod before releasing. If she didn't seem interested after a moment, he would go back to his work.
"I'm Luca. Luca Corranado, pleasure to meet you, Miss Greymond," the wizard said as his mind suddenly informed him that he'd heard her get called on by Sauber in the past, so he knew her last name at least. After their introduction, Luca followed the next steps and put three spoonfuls of the paste from his mortar into the cauldron. Following that, he started to stir five times counterclockwise. As he was finishing the final stir, another dark-haired girl spoke up in a slight panic about her potion.
"What have you done so far?" Luca asked her after setting his cauldron's heat to medium and starting a thirty-minute timer. He was distracted now by the conversation, so he didn't want to lose track of time.
STA: 7 • EVA: 10 • STR: 0 • WIS: 7 • ARC: 2 • ACC: 9 Parselmouth • Evasive Maneuvers PC: Luca Corranado | OOC Notes: Always open to interactions. "His story continues" means Luca is no longer there! iNPC: Silvio Accardi |
Final Concoctions
Avis smirked at the boy's sly joke and rolled her eyes as she spooned her smashed leeches into the simmering contents of the cauldron in front of her.
"Your bubbly personality," she shot back with an amused snort. To be completely honest, she was mildly surprised that he was sociable at all, considering her past opinion on Slytherins which had originated almost entirely from her brother's experiences. She'd met one or two decent ones already but for some reason, continued to be surprised when having a civil conversation with one.
As he stated his name (and surprisingly her last name as well, observant bloke), he delicately extended his hand and Avis took it in her own not necessarily lady-like grip. She'd never really learned etiquette like that considering she'd grown up spitting loogies off brooms with Will and his friends and so when he showed obvious knowledge of the subject with his grip and a charming smile, she wrinkled her nose in light confusion. Bit posh, wasn't he? Regardless, she returned the smile.
"You as well," she replied and turned back to her potion to finish stirring and brewing.
A voice interrupted her careful concentration and Avis glanced up with light exasperation which turned to concerned sympathy when she saw the Ravenclaw girl with a doll-like face imploring the two of them for help. Luca asked a helpful question in response and Avis nodded along.
"I think we can help," she added, stepping back from her cauldron as she let the contents brew. She glanced at the timer for a moment before making a face at it. She'd just go along with Luca's timing again she supposed.
@Luca Corranado & @Victoria Blythe
sta 8 | eva 8 | str 3 | wis 7 | arc 6 | acc 10
inpc: bastien archambeau
Final Concoctions
Luca quickly expelled air from his nostrils, which flared ever so slightly, while his lips formed an amused grin. Was she flirting back? Father told me something about flirting, but I wasn't listening. I should have listened, but I am on my own now, the Corranado boy thought to himself as he finished preparing his portion for the long brew. He stole a few glances at the Ravenclaw girl between steps, making his own somewhat successful attempts to hide that he was doing so. Occasionally, his eyes darted around the room to clock Sauber's location, ensuring they wouldn't be targets of his sharp words. "One of my many charms," the young wizard replied almost as quickly.
Date: May 30th, 2025 Time: Early Morning « Preceeding | Following » OOC Note: I discussed with Victoria what was wrong with her potion before this post and rolled to see if Luca would figure it out.
Something inside him felt a sense of relief when she accepted his hand, because being denied in front of a group of students would have been hard to hide, as would the accompanying embarrassment. After a fellow Slytherin recruited the pair for help with her potion, Luca began to scan the witch's station with practiced eyes... for a first-year potion student. He noted the river water, remnants of bat spleen in her mortar, the eel eyes, the powdered jobberknoll feather? That wasn't in Muffling Draught. He picked it up and asked her quietly, "Did you put any of this in? Jobberknoll feathers aren't in Muffling Draught."
STA: 7 • EVA: 10 • STR: 0 • WIS: 7 • ARC: 2 • ACC: 9 Parselmouth • Evasive Maneuvers PC: Luca Corranado | OOC Notes: Always open to interactions. "His story continues" means Luca is no longer there! iNPC: Silvio Accardi |
Final Concoctions
interaction: @Avis Greymond@Luca Corranado
Victoria felt a sudden wave of relief wash over her as the people she had asked for help responded positively. The tension in her shoulders loosened, like a string finally untied. Around her, the low murmur of other students brewing potions created a soft background hum, punctuated by the occasional pop of bubbling mixtures. She took a deep breath—part to calm her nerves, part to fill her lungs with something other than panic—and stepped back to let them look at the potion.
The boy—despite being a first-year—scanned Victoria's ingredients with an ease that made it seem like he'd been brewing this potion for years. His brow furrowed only slightly, his hand moving with quiet confidence as he looked at the ingredients. Victoria nervously played with the hem of her robe. Asking for help from strangers was hard enough—but now she was going to make herself look like a fool. She mentally kicked herself.
She snapped back to reality at the boy's question, her blue eyes widening slightly, a small frown appearing on her pale face.
“...Ah..?”
Her gaze dropped back to the open book on the table, eyes scanning the neat, slanted handwriting. And there it was—clear as daylight. Her stomach dropped. She’d used the ingredient of another potion. Not this one. The page might as well have been screaming at her. She should have focused on the potion instead of filling her head with other things during Potions class.
“...You're right. Alright. I'm sorry for troubling you with this,” she said, her fingers tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, but the rest of it fell forward, forming a curtain that shielded half her face. She didn’t want to see his reaction—not if it was pity, or worse, amusement. The cauldron hissed beside her, a loud, mocking sound that made her flinch. It was almost like it knew she’d messed up.
In the gleam of the cauldron, Victoria caught her reflection—distorted, pale, and anxious. Her eyes looked too wide, her mouth pressed into a hard line. She looked… weak. And she hated that. She quickly tried to pull herself together, her blue eyes turned more distanced - but she still felt terrible.
Final Concoctions
Avis followed Luca's gaze to Slytherin girl's table and sucked in a breath at his observation. How in seven hells had jobberknoll feathers ended up in there? And on their final day? She shook her head slightly and peered a bit closer at the girl's pale face. Merlin, she looked stressed. Avis felt a pang of sympathy. She'd never struggled much with potions but Herbology, well, that was a different story, one that had led to a tutoring session every Saturday for the past term. Long story short, she knew what it felt like to mess something up academically, even if one thought they knew what they were doing.
She gave the girl a small encouraging smile when she apologized for bothering the two of them.
"No problem...?" she paused, waiting for the girl to say her name. "Can't say I've never messed up a potion in class. But maybe we can figure out a way to fix it? I dunno if we should ask Sauber..."
Avis glanced dubiously at their professor and then back at her two classmates. Her gaze moved across her station and a jolt of anxiety shot through her when she remembered the potion actively brewing in her cauldron. She moved towards it, checking it over for a moment before looking up at Luca. She grimaced.
"I most definitely have been basing my time off of you, by the way. And apparently I'm a bit more distracted than usual because I've forgotten what the potion's s'posed to look like before we add the final touch. Think it's done?" she asked sheepishly, gesturing towards the blue-gray vaporous mixture in her cauldron as the girl's cheeks heated with embarrassment.
Avis grimaced again. She never truly got embarrassed, so what kind of reaction was this? She frowned, her eyebrows furrowing, suddenly wishing to be done with her Muffling Draught and out of class as quickly as possible.
@Luca Corranado & @Victoria Blythe
sta 8 | eva 8 | str 3 | wis 7 | arc 6 | acc 10
inpc: bastien archambeau