Emma van Elst
well, that didn't go as planned ... 𝜗ৎ Y1
TIMESTAMP ; february 24, 2026 . morning MENTION ;@Cecilia Merrick
𝔈mma was so tired.
She had stayed up late the night before, unwilling to go to sleep for hours on end. As a result, she was zoning out when she was normally laser focused on the schoolwork at hand, and almost falling asleep constantly. She barely registered her own two feet moving her across the potions classroom and to her normal seat, as she set her bag down and leaned her head on her hand.
The other students went through the same procedure, making their way to their seats as Professor Asmaralaya emerged from his office and headed to the front of the room to start class.
Within the few minutes that Emma was (uncharacteristically) checked out, she completely missed the Professor’s opening ramble. She only perked up right at the end, as he urged the students to find a partner.
People made their way across the room, pairing up with people they didn’t seem to know very well. Emma assumed this was a part of the assignment.
She squinted up at the chalkboard that Professor Asmaralaya wrote on, which detailed their making of a Dizziness Draught. Go figure.
Emma threaded through the mass of kids pairing up, looking to find partners.
She needed to be with someone who knew what they were doing, because the trust that she normally had in herself to brew these types of concoctions had been unexpectedly nerfed the second she woke up this morning.
And that's when she saw her.
Last edited by Emma van Elst on 23 Jun 2026, 17:58, edited 1 time in total.
well, that didn't go as planned ... 𝜗ৎ Y1
made by ; adeline spinks
| ── | Sleeping in the dungeons meant that Cecilia often failed to concoct any reasonable excuse for her tardiness. While that realisation never stopped her from trying her luck, she had recently found a purpose for punctuality – Nibbles! Who was arguably the most precious plant in all the castle. After arriving early enough, she skipped over to the familiar flora and beamed. “Good morning, Nibbles.” Cecilia, in all her vanity, decided that she was quite fond of her hands. As such, she never forgot to slip on her gloves before offering Nibbles a little snack. Upon request to the house elves, she acquired some drumsticks to cater to its carnivorous diet. Although some students shot her an odd look, she paid them no mind. Once the plant began grooming itself, Cecilia returned the gloves to where it was found before having a seat. Once class commenced, she lazily flipped her potions book open and rolled some parchment out onto her desk. Dizziness Draught. Brilliant stuff. What wasn’t so brilliant was learning to brew it. With her chin resting on her palm, she propped her elbow onto the table. Her quill was brandished as soon as the professor began speaking. Perhaps this casted the illusion that she was a studious girl, but by the end of the lecture, her parchment was covered in incomprehensible doodles and blotches of ink that dripped haphazardly whenever she spaced out. Alas, this was something that many did not notice. The time for the practical portion rolled round, calling for pairs. That seemed reasonable enough. Fewer numbers would potentially minimise disaster. However, Cecilia was in a precarious position. Brewing always seemed to demand three things: precision, patience and perceptiveness. These were all qualities Cecilia Merrick feared she would never possess. She sighed, gently tapping the tip of her quill on the inkpot rim before placing it down. Her gaze lazily drifted over the room until it met a pair of blue-grey eyes. A volunteer, perhaps? It felt like a presumptuous assumption, but Cecilia would not give her time to explore her other options. She quickly rose from her seat, hooking one finger into her book as she closed it and approached her potential potions partner. The faint scent of rose and vanilla tickled her nose, complementing the herbal aromas drifting in the classroom. “Hello, there” Cecilia greeted with a bright grin. After placing the book onto the table, her right hand stretched out, offering a handshake. “I’m Cecilia. Care to brew with me? I think we’d make a fine pair.” |
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| ──notes: @Emma van Elstso sorry for the late reply! | word count: 422── |
Emma van Elst
well, that didn't go as planned ... 𝜗ৎ Y1
TIMESTAMP ; february 24, 2026 . morning MENTION ;@Cecilia Merrick
Just before Emma was about to rise from her seat (begrudgingly, she really needed some coffee…) to walk over to her, she watched as the girl immediately made her way towards her instead.
Emma figured that she may have just found a potential partner. And whoever it was, she really, really hoped that she knew what she was doing.
“Hello there,” the girl beamed, placing her potions book on the table and holding out her right hand. “I’m Cecilia. Care to brew with me? I think we’d make a fine pair.”
“I think we would,” Emma shook her hand politely, returning her smile.
She spun back around to her seat and gathered her stuff from sprawling all over the table so she and Cecilia would have a neater working space.
Merlin, she was so messy– it was an embarrassing habit, one her mother constantly berated her for. She didn’t even intend it either, just somewhere between sitting down for class and now she’d managed to spread two books and a jumble of papers all around.
But she tidied herself quickly and made her way back to their seats, motioning for Cecilia to sit beside her, and opened her potions textbook to the correct page, looking over the ingredients and instructions.
“It seems our first ingredient is … three measures of fire whiskey,” Emma spoke.
well, that didn't go as planned ... 𝜗ৎ Y1
made by ; adeline spinks
| ── | Cecilia smiled upon hearing the girl agree with her. As she tied the pile of books, her gaze flickered towards them. That was rather thoughtful of her. However, the sight was rather familiar to Cecilia. She was often guilty of piling things onto her vanity desk. “Oh, don’t trouble yourself with that,” she said reassuringly and wave her hand, signalling dismissal. Once Emma motioned for Cecilia to sit, she obliged with a bright grin plastered on her face. It was pleasant to be working with someone so welcoming. “Three measures of fire whisky,” Cecilia repeated softly. That seemed like a lot, didn’t it? How the hell did one measure that anyways? She was certainly not qualified to be judging these standards, so she simply shrugged it off. Her gaze then drifted over their work station in search of the ingredient, though she would quickly find that there was none. Perhaps the realisation would have occurred sooner if she had actually listened. Oh well. She then acquired the portions in the manner that was permitted. “Eugh,” she immediately recoiled upon sniffing it. “This stuff smells horrid. Let’s pour it in right away.” Cecilia pinched her nose as she stretched her arm out in an attempt to distance herself from it. It turned out that alcohol smelled exactly like, you guessed it, alcohol. “So, what may I call you?” She asked absent-mindedly. “Brewing buddy doesn’t quite have the ring that I thought it would,” she added with a short laugh as she poured what she assumed to be three measures of fire whisky into the cauldron. That seemed easy enough. While glancing at the textbook, Cecilia placed her finger on the page. Her attempt to decipher the next step was pathetic to say the least, but she did not convey any signs of confusion through her expression. She positively had no clue what was going on, but would continue to behave as though she did. |
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| ──notes: @Emma van Elstso sorry for the late reply! | word count: 317── |