Before The Flame | Potions Lesson 1

Thursday, September 15, 1921
12:00 PM
vibes

She wasn't feeling well.

Julia stood quietly at the front of the potions lab, her hands steadying herself slightly against her desk as she waited for the last of her students to arrive. The smells of the various ingredients were turning her stomach and sending her head into a dull roar. She hadn't slept well the night before, restless and plagued with a mind that wouldn't stop its inane rambling long enough for her to rest. By this morning, she'd risen more out of stubbornness than readiness.

It was a small mercy that she wasn't ready for her students to jump head-first into the cauldrons just yet. She couldn't imagine trying to endure not only the smells, but the mishaps that were bound to happen when she felt like this. She should have asked Roisin to take her class today - the woman knew well-enough about healing methods and could manage substituting for two hours.

But Julia was incessant about her work. To her own dismay.

“Long before wizarding education was formalized, potion-makers were apothecaries. Among the Celts, the Gaelics, the northern clans, knowledge was kept by those who tended the stores - who dried the plants, preserved them through winter, and knew by touch and scent whether an ingredient was fit for use.”

Julia stepped away from the desk, her hands folding behind her back as she moved between the benches.

“They understood something modern practitioners often forget: a potion fails or succeeds before it ever reaches the fire. Improperly dried leaves, poorly stored roots, seeds crushed too soon. Any of these can turn a restorative draught into a poison.” She was direct and economical with her words today. There was no indulgence for theatrics, no room for error.

Since the Ministry had seen fit to relieve her of her Dark Arts course - never mind that it had been Thayer who proved the danger, not her - she now found herself reassigned to Potions. And if anything, the margin for mistakes here was narrower still.

A miscast spell might be reversed. A poorly brewed potion rarely was.

"If you cannot be trusted with the ingredients, you will not be trusted with the potion. Today, you will prepare, as ancient apothecaries did." Julia gestured toward the workstations laid out around the room - mortars and pestles, small knives and folded cloths, scales and shallow bowls.

“You will learn to identify dried herbs by scent, texture, and feel. You will strip leaves from stems, crush roots, grind seeds, and reduce them into powders suitable for storage. You will learn the distinctions between infusions, decoctions, tinctures, and dry reserves. Not as definitions to be memorized, but as practices.”

Her gaze returned to the class.

“By the end of the lesson, each of you will prepare an herb pouch of your own. Properly broken down, properly preserved, and maintained well enough to be used in future brews without risk.”

Julia selected a small jar from the shelf, holding it up between two fingers.

“If I handed this to you,” she asked, “how would you determine whether it was safe to use?”

---

*OOC: Hello Friends! Welcome to the first Potions class of the 1921-1922 term! I'm so excited for this new journey and hope you'll have fun with me as we roll along.

For now, have your character come on in, get comfy, take the lay of the land and listen up! How does your character feel about Potions in general? Are they excited for this lesson? Are they already bored? Are they ready to test Julia's already waning patience?

Next Update - January 11, 2026. <3

Walking into Potions was bittersweet. While she was looking forward to Julia’s take on the subject, not having Ren by her side twisted her stomach. She missed him something terrible. Letters were great, but nowhere near the real thing. It wasn’t just the fact that he was her boyfriend, but he was also her best friend. When Rae and Benji spent all their time together, she had Ren.

Entering the class, Tilly sighed. The smell of the herbs, sulfur, fire and something purely magical filled her senses. She loved it.

Taking a place at her desk, Tilly put everything away smiling and sending a little wave at Julia. Benji’s mom was one of her favorite adults in the castle.

“They understood something modern practitioners often forget: a potion fails or succeeds before it ever reaches the fire. Improperly dried leaves, poorly stored roots, seeds crushed too soon. Any of these can turn a restorative draught into a poison.” The basics of the lesson were beginning to take shape and Tilly was thrilled. While she liked brewing potions, the process of prepping the herbs and other ingredients was where she excelled.

If it involved plants in anyway, she was a step ahead of most.

“You will learn to identify dried herbs by scent, texture, and feel. You will strip leaves from stems, crush roots, grind seeds, and reduce them into powders suitable for storage. You will learn the distinctions between infusions, decoctions, tinctures, and dry reserves. Not as definitions to be memorized, but as practices.”

A smile spread over her face, everything about this lesson was up her alley. She could identify plants with her eyes covered and her hands tied behind her back.

“If I handed this to you,” she asked, “how would you determine whether it was safe to use?” Julia held a small bottle in her hands, from this distance Tilly wasn’t sure what the contents were.

Raising her hand, Tilly said, “Specialis Revelio can be cast on the potion to help discern what it is. From there, you can work out what a freshly brewed potion would look like and compare.”

The more they discussed the lesson, the more excited she got, which was rare for the Gryffindor. She would much rather be in Herbology, but potions was soon inching into the number two spot.

Her head hurt.

A lot.

There was a lot of buzzing. Almost a constant hum. On more than one occasion Ever flipped her hands around her head trying to swat the bee away.

There was no bee.

The nightmares were worse. Sleep was happening in short bursts. Most nights she moved to the common room so that her dorm mates could get some well deserved sleep. Ever didn’t like sleep. Sleep brought memories, or were they dreams? Flashes of moments that made no sense.

Alice was there sometimes. Her Dad played a staring roll in more than one memory. Her mom was a silent character in the background, which was pretty accurate to their real life, which made Ever think maybe some of the flashes were real. Then there were the memories of the dark tower. Screaming, watching Rae and Maevie being tortured. The feeling of her body locking up, then the desire to toss herself out the window. Those memories were still fresh, vivid, she could smell the tower.

Classes had become a joke. Why Ever was even in the castle was the question whispered among students whenever she was near.

She doesn’t remember how she got into the potions classroom, but Alice was there. Alice was always there. She made it better. Ever felt safe with Alice by her side.

Professor Laurence was speaking. Ever wasn’t listening. It hurt to listen. When she tried to concentrate, take in the words that were strung together to make sentences, they went in one ear, got tossed around like a bag full of marbles, then tumbled out the other ear.

Instead, Ever sat with her head down, hand clutching a muggle pencil until her knuckles were white. Ink was messy and quills were flimsy. Alice had bought her a supply of pencils when she realized the need. The lines on the page were taking shape, it was dark, not much detail, but a tree was visible. The lightning bolt told the story of a storm. Only Alice would realize what the picture meant, if she remembered back to the night in August where the tree was hit with a big boom. A lot changed that day, and not for the better.

Rae had never liked potions. Neither the art of potion making nor the professors who'd taught it had ever held any appeal for her. The last professor had been downright creepy, and it cost her any wonder she may have had when it came to just swallowing blindly and waiting to see what would happen.

This term, there was another new professor – well, sort of. Julia wasn't new, but she was new to the dungeons with their noxious concoctions and dried, sometimes macabre ingredients. It helped, Rae realised. In a manner similar to the way having Ro just a few seats away had, it helped the girl to have someone she was so fond of in an environment she was not. Brews would never be her. That mad scientist pouring things into a cauldron with a wild cackle and intent was beyond anything that could stir her interest.

It was spells all the way for her.

Not that it mattered. Potions wasn't an elective. There was no opting out. Even worse, it was the year of her Potions OWL, one of the subjects that St. Mungo's really cared about when assessing who might be fit to join their training programme. Unfortunate as it was, Rae could no longer afford not to know what happened when you added powdered asphodel to a brew.

Holy shit...she...actually didn't know.

Huh.

Maybe she'd ask Julia later when she turned up for her shift in the library. It was occurring to her that she would need to be seeing a whole lot more of the woman this term. Potions was one of her weakest subjects. It had started from her inability to read – potions were largely about following recipes after all – and by the time she'd caught up, most of her classmates had already had them memorised and were proficient.

“You will learn to identify dried herbs by scent, texture, and feel. You will strip leaves from stems, crush roots, grind seeds, and reduce them into powders suitable for storage. You will learn the distinctions between infusions, decoctions, tinctures, and dry reserves. Not as definitions to be memorized, but as practices.”

So...doing the job of the herbalists in the hospital wing? Like the apothecary, Rae didn't spend much time in the greenhouse. It wasn't her pace, and now, with how much more she was doing to help the new healer, there simply wasn't enough time.

While the professor continued, Rae packed out the last of her class materials onto her workstation, nudging them to the side to keep them out of the way. When she next looked up, Julia held a jar of sorts in her hand.

“If I handed this to you,” she asked, “how would you determine whether it was safe to use?”

Matilda's answer was as practical as the girl was. Rae had simpler means.

"Feed it to a first year and wait to see what happens." With any luck, they'd be fine. With even greater luck, she'd have a new patient.

Speaking of, Rae raised her hand a second time.

"Are you alright, professor? You're looking a little pale. I could fetch you something from the hospital wing, if you'd like." What might have, in other classes, been an earnest attempt to ditch was a genuine offer when it came to Julia. The woman had been in her corner since she first started working in the castle, and with recent events, it was safe to say their worlds had become tangled.

It wasn't a complaint. Good adults were so hard to find that when you ran into one, it was always a treat knowing they would stay.

Alice walked into the Potions room and was hit with a wave of… something. She frowned at Professor Laurence as she made her way to her seat, Everleigh following like a zombie behind her. She felt heavy and just… not well.

It didn’t help that Alice was usually around her sister and her sister’s feelings – she still didn’t have a word for it yet – always affected her. Somehow. But the whole not feeling well – the extreme fatigue was different from how her sister felt.

She bit her lip and glanced at her sister’s paper she was drawing on. The girl hadn’t drawn much in the past, but it seemed to be her best outlet. So Alice let her. And she’d usually end up asking what the picture was of because her drawings were more abstract line drawings than actual drawings.

The one she was working on now though… she thought she saw a tree. Alice forced herself to look at their professor, trying to put the other things she was feeling in a box in the deep recesses of her mind. So she could focus. For once.

“...well enough to be used in future brews without risk.”

What? Alice watched Professor Laurence pick a jar from the shelf she was standing by.

“If I handed this to you, how would you determine whether it was safe to use?”

Alice looked over at her cousin as the girl responded. Tilly was always on top of it. She frowned.

Brown eyes moved back to her sister’s page, recognizing the new lines. Lightning. A tree. Her stomach churned a bit as she thought back to the night in their father’s office. He’d obliviated Everleigh. She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling panic – her own, this time – begin to rise up.

Thursday's were hard, not just because they weren't Fridays, but she had potions before lunch, it made the wait for lunch unbearable and even she wasn't irresponsible enough to eat in the potions room. She dragged herself to the lesson, she didn't hate potions, she might scrape a pass in her OWL's. Well she probably would of last year. This year well that was a different story. She had been thrilled to find out that she didn't have Professor Laurence for DADA anymore, it wasn't a surprise especially as they had learnt more dark magic last term than how to defend against it. However when she discovered she was the new potions professor there had been much swearing. Her sisters hadn't shared her apprehension, Rose was over the moon to have her favourite professor back. Briar was excited as based on what they'd learnt last year no doubt Proff Dark witch would teach them how to brew poisons. And Poppy, well she just wanted to blow things up.

Tulip was still miffed about what had happened at the end of last term, how in Merlin's beard had she ended up on the honour list for DADA? It was like the professor had done it just to mock her, had made sure her name would be forever associated with a positive achievement. Well she best not think that was going to happen in potions, she'd take a leaf out of Poppy's book and make things go boom.

Tulip had made her way to her usual desk, noticing the various workstations at least today would be a practical lesson. She made eye contact with Briar who actually looked happy like she was about to get the keys to a poison cabinet.

“They understood something modern practitioners often forget: a potion fails or succeeds before it ever reaches the fire. Improperly dried leaves, poorly stored roots, seeds crushed too soon. Any of these can turn a restorative draught into a poison.


“You will learn to identify dried herbs by scent, texture, and feel. You will strip leaves from stems, crush roots, grind seeds, and reduce them into powders suitable for storage. You will learn the distinctions between infusions, decoctions, tinctures, and dry reserves. Not as definitions to be memorized, but as practices.”

Tulip rolled her eyes, this sounded very much like a first year lecture, so they were going back to very very basics. Briar would be disappointed and Rose would say it was the best lesson ever. Tulip could at least spend the lesson trying to work out how much more money her and Bear could make if they were back doing the easy stuff, she wouldn't have to concentrate too hard.

“If I handed this to you,” she asked, “how would you determine whether it was safe to use?”

Tulip watched her hold up a jar and then heard what was probably a text book answer from Tilly, although the Professor would probably tell her it was wrong and the actual answer was to rub blood into it and ask the plants in the moonlight.

But then she heard Ruth's answer, it was pretty much what she was going to say, but well, why not.

"Feed it to a first year and wait to see what happens."

"Oh come on..." she said in reply to Ruth, "The firstie's aren't that stupid, you have to hide it in a sandwich or something." she added. "And you forgot the important part Ruth, you have to document it, it's not a true potions experiment unless you document it, it's just dicking around."

As far as classes went potions was one of his favorites. Most the risk was in the actual consuming of the potion not the making it. Which meant he could just not drink or try the potions he made and all was good. Or if he really had to try it he could test it first.

Yes, it would look odd when he put a drop of a potion on his skin. However, like a poisonous plant if his skin broke out in a rash it was a quick sign a potion was bad. Then there were other tests one could do. To him a potion was just like a potentially poisonous plant that if one was in a survival situation one had to decide if was safe to eat.

With that reassurance in his mind he walked into the classroom and took a seat at a station next to Tulip. Of the subjects he was taking this term this was one of the safer ones. Even if sitting next to Tulip was always a risk. One only worth taking due to the fact that Tulip usually made classes entertaining and he had a gut instinct today would be a good day for entertainment.

An instinct that was proven right the minute the lecturing began. Then his classmates responses had been predictable with him chuckling at the hand it to a first year comment. Shaking his head he said quietly in a joking tone to Tulip “ You telling me I got to check my sandwiches now? “

With a shrug he said “ I think it’s always wise to treat all potions like they are a weird plant when you are camping and debating if it is safe to eat. “ This was also how he didn’t worry about potions class.

Hopefully, his classmates didn't cause him to start worrying about this class too.

Just like any other class, potions had been to Maevie a thing straight out of a fairy tale and therefore captivating and fascinating solely for the fact alone it based on principles of magic.

Not much about that had changed since then, all of it still held her attention for the most parts, at least for like the first fifteen minutes of any lesson. Her attention often drifted, requiring a professor's reprimand and reminder to refocus on the subject at hand instead of doodling, leafing through her books, or blabbering to whoever her neighbour happened to be that day.

It didn't happen out of disinterest or bad intentions. It was just the way her brain worked, distracted easily and thoroughly, no matter how much she vowed to stay present.

Unless the schedule read History of Magic. That put her straight to sleep.

Professor Laurence's potion lessons managed to keep her attentive better than others did, likely thanks to the mysterious, sort of creepy aura she hadn't shed since last term. Although Maevie had enjoyed having the woman teach DADA, after everything that had happened, she supposed it was for the better this way.

With hands gripped around the edge of the workstation, Maevie rocked her chair backwards onto its two back legs until her own lifted off the ground, eyes on the professor, listening intently to what she was saying. So far she hadn't spent much thought on where the ingredient she used came from, let alone how they were prepared. They simply existed, right there on the shelfs, ready for her to use.

Learning how these things ended up in their neat little jars might be interesting. It sounded quite tedious though.

A small container was held up at the front of class combined with a question, and Maevie squinted her eyes, trying to decipher what it might be. She had no idea though, probably wouldn't if she held it in her own hand, but that's not what Professor Laurence asked anyway.

Tilly mentioned some spell Maevie had never heard off and that she had forgotten in the next second, Rea suggested trying it on a first year to determine its safety which was immediately supported by Tulip, just a bit modified.

Maevie was glad she wasn't a first year anymore.

Releasing one hand from where she held onto to raise it, Maevie spoke up next. "I would find an older, more competent peer and ask them for help," she offered, still rocking on her chair.

“Specialis Revelio can be cast on the potion to help discern what it is. From there, you can work out what a freshly brewed potion would look like and compare.”

Matilda had the right idea. Revealing spells were often the first thing most witches or wizards turned to if they were unable to decipher what something was by first glance. "Definitely," Julia agreed, giving the girl a small nod. "And if you don't have your wand on you?"

She needed them thinking beyond their wands; there was a reason after all that she was taking them back to basics. If they learned to follow their own knowledge, their own intuition first and foremost, then they already had a head start above other magic users.

"Feed it to a first year and wait to see what happens."

Despite the way her head throbbed, Julia couldn't help the small smile that cracked across her lips when Ruth offered her cheeky response. "It would work," she agreed with a small shrug, "but I imagine you have better things to do with your life than sit in Azkaban on a murder charge, Miss Elliot."

Apparently Tulip did not.

"The firstie's aren't that stupid, you have to hide it in a sandwich or something. And you forgot the important part Ruth, you have to document it, it's not a true potions experiment unless you document it, it's just dicking around."

"Thank you for that deeply unethical refresher on why consent exists, Miss Asquith," Julia said, ignoring the curse that fell from the Gryffindor, uninhibited. Somehow, like Benji, the Headmistress saw it fit to name Tulip as a prefect this year, and Julia had more than enough evidence to suggest that the girl fit squarely in the category of "bad idea". Still, she wasn't entirely off-base.

“That said Ruth and Tulip, points were made. Badly. But made.” She leaned against the desk, posture loosening. “If you don’t have your wand, you don’t suddenly become helpless. You have eyes. A nose. Fingers. A brain I know exists, because you keep using it for nonsense.”

Her eyes moved to Bear, who seemed to be the one to catch on the fastest, while Maevie thrust her job off on someone more competent. A great business executive she would be someday.

“Very good, Bear. It's important to treat potions and their ingredients with respect, especially when you're unsure what they are. Color tells you age. Thickness tells you concentration. Sediment tells you whether it was rushed. Smell will tell you half the ingredients if you’re paying attention - and yes. As Miss Asquith said, you write it down.”

A brief pause as she smiled at Maevie, "Help won't always be available to you. It's vital you're confident in your own skills of deduction and reason, especially around potions where things can go south quickly."

Ruth's offer to fetch something for her from the Hospital Wing was sweet, but unnecessary. Julia only needed to get through the class and she'd take the rest of the day off. "Thank you, but I'm fine." She placed the bottle of dried basil back on the shelf.

“And for the record, if any of you do try the first-year-sandwich approach, I’ll make you grade first-year essays for a month.”

---

On the blackboard, the following had been written:

• Infusions - For What Yields Willingly. Cold or warm bath steeping. Used for delicate ingredients.
  
• Decoctions - For What Must Be Coaxed. Hot water / boiled steeping. Used for more dense ingredients.
  
• Tinctures - For What Must Be Preserved. Alcohol steeping for potency and long-lasting.
  
• Dry Reserves - For What Must Endure. Dry preservation through the seasonal months.
  

Julia gestured toward the workstations now clearly laid out around the room. "Each table has a selection of dried plants. Leaves, roots, seeds. You will identify your materials by scent, texture and structure. Strip what should be stripped. Grind what should be ground. Leave intact what must remain whole." She moved between the tables as she spoke. "You will decide whether an ingredient is suitable for infusion, decoction, tincture or dry storage. You'll prepare them appropriately, label them and keep them for yourselves."

She gave a slight wave of her hand. "Begin."

---

*OOC: Each table has the following ingredients:

• Sage
  
• Bitter Root
  
• Wiggenbush
  
• Shrivelfig
  
• Antimony (Solid Form)
  
  It'll be up to your students to figure out which would be best as infusions, tinctures, decoctions or dry reserves. No real right or wrong answers, just different processes for each - some that would work better than others! There is also alcohol available for tinctures as well as plenty of water and all the tools you'll need to process them.
  
  Please don't assume their results. Right now you're just looking over the ingredients and processing them.
  
  If you have any questions, let me know! Next update will be 1/16!
  

"Oh come on... The firstie's aren't that stupid, you have to hide it in a sandwich or something."

Rae laughed. Tulip had always had a good sense of humour, one that mimicked hers closely—never mind how serious she'd been about her solution. "I never said how I'd feed it to them. Very few of them are willing to guzzle potions they know nothing about." Which, naturally, would've called for some creativity. There were sandwiches, as the girl had said, ice cream from down in the kitchens, someone's dinner while they chatted away over their meal, failing to pay attention to their plate. One would be surprised at how carefree many of the students within the castle where when it came to their food.

"It would work but I imagine you have better things to do with your life than sit in Azkaban on a murder charge, Miss Elliot."

"I suppose your right," Rae conceded with a whimsical sigh as she leaned forward onto her workstation. "At the rate the ministry's trying to lock people up, I reckon it'd be better to get someone else to feed it to 'em." The farther removed she could afford to be, the better for her own outcomes.

Rae listened through the responses of her other classmates, not at all surprised by how responsible Bear's had been. The boy was forever the responsible Ravenclaw with the practical ideas. Depending on the topic, he even had information to back it up. Then there was Maevie who went a route she herself would've gone when she was younger, especially in potions class.

Strange potion? Take it to Rocio and see what she said it was. Whatever her older friend said would be gospel and that would be the end of that.

But Julia was right, there wouldn't always be help. Rocio wasn't in the castle anymore and Rae was once again floundering when it came to the more technical parts of brewing. Sure, she could follow a recipe now, but if you showed her mixtures, she'd be hopeless at identifying most of them—forget knowing how their ingredients were prepared or their optimal cultivation environments. Give her instructions and let her work. Leave the rest for the alchemists.

Unfortunately, that wouldn't be the plan for the lesson.

Julia had been very serious about getting back to the basics and the more she explained, the worse Rae's eyes glazed over.

What a time to not be sitting next to Bear. Ugh.

"Begin."

Well, if she insisted.

Rae didn't know the answer, any of the answers. The beauty of that? At least she knew that she didn't know the answer which could only be a step in the right direction if you asked her. It meant she wasn't under any illusion that she'd get any of these right and wouldn't suffer any sort of embarrassment when the woman smiled warmly at her while telling her she'd, perhaps, get it next time. It was fine. This was fine. Not everyone was meant to succeed in potions.

Getting to work, Rae ground both the sage and the bitterroot because they were the two sitting closest to her mortar and pestle.

The wiggenbush? Oh, she stripped that right down to nothing. The girl paused a moment, taking in the current set up of her workstation before deciding that, actually, the shrivelfig could be stripped, too.

That only left the antimony, so, she left the antimony. Nice and whole, just the way it (probably) should've been.

When it came time for the preparation phase, Rae went and got herself a bottle of alcohol to delay the inevitable. The water, she produced from her own wand. By the end, the shrivelfig and sage had turned into tinctures, the bitterroot an infusion, the wiggenbush a decoction and the good 'ole antimony left to dry for storage.

Rae never bothered to look at her notes, neither did she try to make eye contact with this professor.

This was fine.

Tilly listened in abject horror at the murder plots going on around her. She was also mildly intrigued, but she wouldn’t be alerting the others to that fact. Although, Tommy from Ravenclaw would be a fabulous test subj…. NO, Murder was bad. Even on the most wicked.

Words appeared on the board, Tilly looking over the information with genuine interest. Last term, during the magical sabotage in the Hospital Wing, Tilly had made multiple batches of homeopathic treatments. Not magical, but herbal. Tea’s tinctures, salves, simmer pots, infusions and for years she had been making batches of dry reserves. It was just smart to have ingredients prepped correctly.

One area she didn’t have a ton of experience was decoctions. It seemed to be a lot like making tea, but with harder, more dense ingredients: roots, bark, seeds. Things that would take more than a little boiling water and five minutes to get the medicinal properties out.

"Each table has a selection of dried plants. Leaves, roots, seeds. You will identify your materials by scent, texture and structure. Strip what should be stripped. Grind what should be ground. Leave intact what must remain whole. You will decide whether an ingredient is suitable for infusion, decoction, tincture or dry storage. You'll prepare them appropriately, label them and keep them for yourselves."

Deciding to go in with decoctions, Tilly looked over the ingredients and began to identify what they were working with. Sage, Bitter Root, Wiggenbush, Shrivelfig and some form of metal. Plants she could figure out, the metal was an anomaly.

Thinking about the options and what ingredients would need more help releasing their medicinal properties. Picking up the bundle of sage, Tilly took a good whiff of the herb, loving the strong smell and velvety touch of the leaves.

Tilly had done a massive amount of research into the medicinal properties of plants, both muggle and magical. Sage was one that could help heal many things. It could be used in many ways to help with brain health, digestion, or for its anti-inflammatory properties. The leaves were stronger and thicker than the average herb, and took more to extract what was needed.

Taking a bundle of sage, Tilly first used a mortar and pestle to break up the leaves. Just that one simple action filled her space with the herby scent. While you might only need a teaspoon in a recipe, Tilly added a good sized handful, then another sprinkle, into her cauldron with water. Lighting the fire underneath, she started the process of boiling down the leaves. This wasn’t just steeping like a tea, but boiling the liquid down into a concentrated liquid. Ideally, she would love to get it to a syrupy consistency, but there may not be enough time for that.

Looking over the other ingredients, Tilly took the bitter root, another ingredient that would aid in digestion. Cutting the root into slices she added them to the cauldron, now simmering with a deep herbal scent. If everything went correctly, she would have a strong digestive syrup at the end of the class. Or, a disgusting mess.

Time would tell!

She was of the firm believe her plan was a pretty solid one. Tilly sure made the impression to know what she was doing when it came to plants and before she had to look through twelve books, it'd be quicker to ask the older girl for help instead.

She'd still learn through asking, right? But...faster.

It wasn't like Maevie didn't want to learn. Quite the opposite. She was still very keen on soaking up as much knowledge as she could, and that included potions and their ingredients. And it was true there might not always be help available but identifying and judging usability did sound hard. Her mum had taught her some things about plants but Maevie had always struggled to remember. They just all looked the same, kind of.

Thwacking her chair back to the ground, Maevie pulled a piece of parchment forth, jotting down the information that had appeared on the blackboard. She was anything but confident in her skills of deduction and reason, she'd learned that much over the past year, but writing things down had proven to help. Although keeping those notes in order or retrievable was a whole different story.

As she approached a work station then and regarded the different plants laid out there (and a block of metal?), Maevie knew she was completely lost. She recognized the shrivelfig, simply because it was the funkiest looking one of the bunch. What the hell to do with it was out of her grasp though.

The rest...

One sure was a root, even she could determine that much. And that other thing...

Unsure, Maevie scratched the top of her head, face scrunching into clueless indecision as she looked from plant to plant, skipping over that metal thing. But she didn't want to look stupid and Professor Laurence had said there wouldn't always be someone there to ask so after a moment of consideration, Maevie reached for the root.

Dense, was what came to mind. With a quick look over her shoulder towards the list on the blackboard, Maevie confirmed for something dense, a decoction was best. Grabbing her cauldron by both handles, she heaved the thing to the sink and let it fill by three quarters.

But it was so heavy now that she barely managed to lift it up, so instead she pulled her wand forth, eager for a perfect excuse to practice her levitation charm. Incantation spoken, tongue clamped between her lips, Maevie concentrated like hell as she hovered her cauldron ahead of herself, all the way across the classroom.

It wobbled the entire trek back to her work station, sloshing water over the brim left and right, leaving a trail in her wake for anyone to slip on who didn't pay attention. As she reached her destination, the thing was about halfway filled.

Good enough, she deemed.

Unable to conjure fire -- even if she could, she wasn't sure she'd wanted to -- Maevie struck a match to light the flame under the cauldron. Heating the water took about forever, so Maevie kept herself busy by playing around with the various tools provided for preparation. Only when the water finally, at long last, began to bubble did she remember that they were supposed to prep their plant too.

Still not knowing what the hell it was she held in her hand, Maevie decided cutting the root up a bit would probably help. She chopped it in smaller chunks and finally added it her cauldron.

And then she guessed she just needed to wait. Or something.

He was late, and fairly certain his mum was going to have his hide for it. Where she generally took a softer approach with his classmates, she was all business with him when it came to her class and the duties she assigned Benji around the castle.

He hadn't been distracted he would say. Moreso, that he'd just lost track of time and had spent a little longer than he intended in the kitchens, stuffing himself with the desserts Toddles had made for tonight's dinner. The house elf always sat a good five or six cauldron cakes aside just for Benji, and who was he not to partake?

Of course with Toddles's panic that he was going to be late and shooing him right out the kitchen door, Benji had groaned, mouth full of chocolate and toffee and raced down the corridors towards the Potions classroom, thankful that the kitchens and dungeons were on the same level.

He slipped in, avoiding his mum's gaze as he took his seat next to Rae, giving his other classmates a quick grin. "What'd I miss?" he asked quietly, dropping his bag to the floor and watching while Rae threw some stuff into various boiling containers. Another quick glance around the room and he could see everyone breaking down various ingredients for...storage he guessed?

This was good. He knew how to do this. Working as an Herbalist for the past two years had led him to having a decent hold on various flora and how to harvest and store them. He could figure this out. He was no brewer - he'd had a friend for that - but this was stuff he'd done before.

"Not a fan of the antimony, hmm?" he asked, giving his girlfriend a wide grin, before plucking the small piece of metal from the desk and giving it a once-over. "This stuff has to be broken down. Probably into smaller pieces and then boiled with a solvent over high heat." He glanced at the board. A tincture was probably closest, but even then, he didn't think it applied here. "We don't have the sort of heat needed to break this down and even if we did," he tossed the little rock back onto the table, "it's pretty potent stuff." Was his mum testing them to see if they'd try poisoning themselves with noxious gas? It seemed like something she'd do.

He'd just...leave that as it was.

Choosing the bitter root first, the boy scraped the roots with the edge of his wand, gathering up the juicier parts of the plant and discarding the rest. When he had a light simmer going in one of his smaller cauldrons, the boy used his fingers to nudge the puree-like root into the shallow bit of water and let it do its thing with a quick stir.

Next he took on the Wiggenbush. Knowing that the branches were just as useful as the leaves, he cut a few smaller twigs and dunked them into the rolling boiling water, leaves and all. Bark was harder to break down, so a decoction it was.

Shrivelfig was one of those plants that could be used dry or could be extracted into a juice. In this case, he'd decided dry was easier better. He laid out the plant in front of him, and flicked his wand for the hot air charm. A gentle warm gust fell over the plant, shriveling it slowly until it was brittle and delicate to the touch.

The sage? Well he'd just say he worked with Rae on it. Being late hadn't provided him the same amount of time as the others. "We did that together," he said nodding towards her sage tincture.

Julia let the murmurs die down as the students began moving about the classroom, retrieving various tools for the work that needed to be done. Many of her students were older and had had experience prepping ingredients before, but a refresher at the beginning of the year could only help - and it gave her insight into where each of them were in their capabilities.

She walked slowly between the tables, not in a rush, not interrupting hands in motion unless she absolutely had to. Apothecaries, ancient or otherwise, were made in observation as much as action.

She stopped first at Rae's station.

Her attention lingered there longer than it had anywhere else so far, eyes moving deliberately over the choices Rae had made rather than the results themselves. Alcohol-based tinctures sat beside lighter preparations, some ingredients reduced aggressively, others barely touched at all. It wasn’t neat. It wasn’t especially elegant.

But it was decisive. And there were results.

"Effort is ninety-percent of the battle," she said with a small smile. "And you've done well overall. Instead of grounding fresh bitter root next time, I recommend slicing it. Easier to work with. Grounding is better for already over-dried ingredients." There were no mishaps that she could determine as the ingredients came together, other than the bitter root seeming to tantrum a bit in the alcohol. Likely more due to the process that came first than the actual alcohol boiling.

If anything, it would be a little more temperamental when she tried to use it, but not dangerous in any way.

Her gaze shifted to Benji who seemed to want to believe she hadn't noticed his late arrival. Something she would address with him later. Instead, she took in his work quietly - the bitterroot reduced cleanly, the wiggenbush treated with care, the shrivelfig laid out patiently to dry. No rushed decisions. And, notably, one ingredient left entirely untouched.

Her gaze settled on the antimony that both he and Ruth had left alone.

“That one gives most sensible people pause,” she said, tone light, almost conversational. “For good reason.”

She looked back to Benji then, expression open rather than evaluative.

“You did the right thing leaving it alone. Knowing when not to process something is just as important as knowing how.” A small tilt of her head. “Especially when you don’t have the proper conditions.” She nodded at them both with approval. Her attention shifted to the rest of her son's work. "Familiarity makes hands steady, but it also can make the mind complacent." It was all she offered, ignoring the confused look on her boy's face.

He'd figure it out when his Wiggenbush turned an unhealthy shade of gray.

Julia slowed again as she reached Matilda’s table, the rich herbal scent drawing her in - and turning her stomach - before anything else did. She leaned slightly closer, not intrusive, just attentive, watching the way Matilda monitored the simmer rather than the clock.

A small smile tugged at her mouth.

“You’ve done this before,” she said. “You’re thinking about what the ingredient needs, not what the recipe expects,” she continued. “That’s how apothecaries worked long before anyone started writing this down in textbooks.”

She tilted her head, thoughtful. “A decoction here isn’t wrong,” Julia added gently. “Sage can take the heat, just be mindful how far you push it." There was no reprimand in her tone. Only refinement.

Julia straightened, hands loosely clasped as she looked around the room once more.

“What Matilda is doing well,” she said easily, allowing the observation to carry to the others, “is paying attention as the work changes. The moment an ingredient starts to behave differently, you should be asking yourself why.”

Julia paused last at Maevie’s table.

She didn’t look at the water marks on the floor first, or the slightly overworked cauldron. Instead, her attention settled on the girl herself; the way Maevie hovered uncertainly over her work, as though waiting for it to prove her wrong. “You didn’t freeze,” Julia said as her gaze moved to the root Maevie had chosen, then to the simmering water beneath it.

“You recognized density,” she continued warmly. “You checked the board. You made a decision.” An approving smile touched her mouth. “That’s how apothecaries learned before there were instructors to correct them every step of the way.” She leaned in just slightly, lowering her voice — not secretive, just reassuring. “The mistake most people make at this stage is assuming confidence comes first,” Julia said. “It doesn’t. Confidence comes after you’ve tried, and adjusted, and tried again.”

Her fingers tapped the edge of the worktable once, light and deliberate.

“Next time, you’ll prep before you heat. You’ll fill less water. You’ll spill less.” A pause, and then her voice grew lighter. "For the record," her smile grew a little wider, "every apothecary I've respected has flooded a workspace at least once."

The girl would find that her decoction would yield decent results for her first try - if not a bit impatient when she tried to use it. It would likely result in a faster brewed potion than she intended, but nothing entirely out of sorts.

Turning back toward the room, Julia gestured to the shelves waiting nearby.

“Now that you’ve all made your choices,” she said warmly, “we move into the part that determines whether those choices hold.”

Her eyes flicked briefly toward the shelves where jars and tins waited.

“Storage.”

---

OOC: Alrighty! Long post but my girl's a gabber and insisted she needed to address every one of you. If you missed this update, no worries! Just hop on in as if your character has been working the entire time. <3

We're still in the processing phase of the practical. For this post, please have your character continue working with the ingredients as they are now; finishing any preparation they’ve started, making small adjustments based on Julia’s feedback, and reacting (internally or outwardly) to her observations. It's a good moment to show your character's mindset. They might slow down, reconsider a choice, or notice something subtle about how an ingredient is behaving. Have fun and feel free to be creative with it. No wrong interpretations here.

We'll be moving into the storage phase on 1/21. <3

“You’ve done this before,” Julia said looking inside her cauldron. “You’re thinking about what the ingredient needs, not what the recipe expects. That’s how apothecaries worked long before anyone started writing this down in textbooks.”

Matilda didn’t look up at the Professor, she needed to keep her attention on the simmering concoction in front of her. This was one of those situations where the slightest distraction could have destructive consequences. “A decoction here isn’t wrong, Sage can take the heat, just be mindful how far you push it." She nodded, still not averting her eyes. She gave Julia a small salute with the hand not holding the spoon and said quietly. “Aye Aye Captain!”

“What Matilda is doing well, is paying attention as the work changes. The moment an ingredient starts to behave differently, you should be asking yourself why.”

Her face filled with color. She was not one to get praise in classes. Sure, she wasn’t an idiot, but unless it was Herbology, her studies were just ok.

With the praise fresh in her mind, she was even more determined to do well. Watching the cauldron and the ingredients simmering inside, she paid close attention to the liquid level and smell. The water was evaporating, leaving behind the syrupy consistency she was looking for. Lifting the spoon, the decoction slid off the wooden surface with ease. It needed longer.

Sage had a distinct smell that Matilda loved. Earthy, herbaceous, woody and somehow warm all at the same time. It reminded her of cooking with her mother and gardening in the summer. Smells had a fabulous knack for bringing up vivid memories.

With a turn of her wand, Matilda lowered the temp to barely a flame, finishing off the decoction with a very low heat. Burning it at this point would have been more than annoying. And that smell would have stuck to her clothes for days.

“Now that you’ve all made your choices,” Julia told the class, “we move into the part that determines whether those choices hold. Storage.”

Thinking about the storage options made Matilda wonder about straining the decoction. For some, you would want the herbs left inside the liquid to add more potency over time, but she wasn’t sure about this one. “Professor. When it’s time to store the decoction, will me need to strain the herbs out? Or leave them in?”

Look who'd decided to show up for class.

Unfocused as she was, Rae didn't miss the way her boyfriend slipped in, acting like he had a whole disillusionment charm on him that might save him from what they both knew to be his mother's sharp and watchful gaze. Come to think of it, why didn't he come in invisible? It was a spell she was nearly certain he could cast. They'd practised it together before, but in typical Benj(amin) fashion, he didn't think he needed to think things through.

Life would just figure itself out.

"What'd I miss?"

A casual shrug rolled off her shoulders. His guess was as good as hers. Julia had told them to work with ingredients and make decisions about them. Rae couldn't have been more lost if she'd shown up to class blindfolded.

"Not a fan of the antimony, hmm?"

The what now?

"This stuff has to be broken down. Probably into smaller pieces and then boiled with a solvent over high heat. We don't have the sort of heat needed to break this down, and even if we did, it's pretty potent stuff."

Dark mahogany eyes glazed over as he spoke, blinking in their attempt to unfreeze her mind that was slowly shutting down. If she thought she'd been confused before, Benji had unlocked a new level. Nothing like a good 'ole potions lesson to remind her that she wasn't nearly as smart as she'd begun to feel once she'd gotten settled into her school year. Every time she entered the dungeon classroom, she may as well have been relegated back to her first year.

"When...did you learn to speak French?" There was no way any of that had been English. When did he find the time to dabble in other languages – or pick up his potions textbook?

As with the son, so with the mother. Julia walked over, saying things that sounded very sure and intelligent.

"...Uh...sure...?" The woman received the same glazed-over stare that made it clear everything had gone in one ear, scrambled her brain, before skipping out the next ear.

The one thing she gained? Slice the bitter root. Rae nodded slowly, waiting for the professor to move along to making someone else feel inept before turning her attention back to Benji.

"Do you know Spanish, too?" she asked as she reached for some untouched bitter root. Sliced. Sliced she could do.

And now that she knew Benji spoke in foreign tongues, she'd leave the business of storage to him. The boy couldn't have shown up to class at a better time.

As for the rest of the preparation, she slid all her stuff closer to him. Apparently, he knew what to do.

Time was going by torturously slowly when all you had to do was wait for water to evaporate, Maevie found. Even the various tools scattered about the work table didn't provide much distraction. Her eyes were glued to the bubbling contents of her cauldron, feet bouncing as she watched impatiently.

At least it hadn't exploded though, so she supposed that was a good sign.

Professor Laurence came by and Maevie couldn't help the small smile as the woman pointed out that she hadn't done it all wrong. Her words were quietly reassuring, filling her chest with renewed eagerness and something like confidence.

She nodded in response, putting the professor's instructions for the next time to memory. Giggling a little she looked over her shoulder to glance at the trail of water she had left. She hadn't even noticed it through her concentrating efforts to not let the whole cauldron drop.

She made a mental note to clean that up once they were done.

The water had boiled down pretty far by now, the root looking like it had softened through the process and the water no longer clear. It smelled a bit earthy but not bad. Hopefully it actually did something too, which made her realize she still didn't know what it even was that she had grabbed there. A root, yes. But what kind and what it did still eluded her.

"Professor, what is this thing, anyway in my cauldron?", Maevie asked abashedly as she her on the way to get a jar for her decoction. "And what does it do?" Maybe she should have asked that sooner but better than never.

From the shelf she grabbed herself a jar that looked big enough to hold her concoction, making her way back.

Tilly's question made her perk up in curiosity. That was a good question she hadn't even thought about. Her gaze moved to the professor, expectantly, jar in hand, waiting on what to do.

"Familiarity makes hands steady, but it also can make the mind complacent."

Huh? What the hell did that mean? Benji blinked, not understanding the reprimand that came after his mother's praise, but decided against asking for clarity lest she come back. He'd gotten away with coming in late and didn't want her spending any extra time on him in case she'd realized.

"When...did you learn to speak French?"

"Never," he answered his girlfriend with a grin as he gave one of his pots a little stir with his wand. "But spend two years in the greenhouses and making potions with Cass and - " he stopped mid-sentence, and averted his eyes back to his ingredients. There was a sudden churning in his stomach, realizing how easily his friends still came to mind. Faster than his brain could remind him they were gone.

"Nevermind," he said, forcing his voice to sound lighter than it was. He turned back to Rae, watching as she went to work slicing up the bitterroot. "Smaller pieces," he told her. "Brews faster, like potatoes, you know?"

"Do you know Spanish, too?"

It brought another grin to his face as he tapped his spoon on the edge of the cauldron and dropped it haphazardly on the desk. "Only enough to talk to Rocio in her native language." He raised an eyebrow at Rae and gave her a little nudge. He was teasing of course. He barely knew more than to ask where to find the nearest loo. Everything else had been gibberish, he was certain but the girl had humored him. As much as Rocio had humored anyone, he supposed.

He wondered how she was doing these days.

"Alright pretty, snuff out your flame," he instructed her, rising from the table in preparation to fetch storage stuff. "And c'mon. I'll show you what you need."

“Professor. When it’s time to store the decoction, will me need to strain the herbs out? Or leave them in?”

A good question - one that was subjective. "It all depends on what you plan to use it for. For medicinal purposes, straining the herbs is preferred to integrate it better into a tonic. For basic potions usage, most will leave the herbs in for potency." It was a question debated by many alchemists, potioneers and apothecaries - none of the methods particularly wrong, just various outcomes.

Potions was a science, but the execution could still be considered somewhat of an art. It was why some apothecaries were more renowned than others, and why there wasn't a mass market for these sorts of products.

"...Uh...sure...?"

Julia smiled, noting the baffled look on Ruth's face and moved on quickly. The girl had done well and really needn't trouble herself as much as she appeared to. Now if she managed to blow things up when they moved onto hearth and home potions, perhaps Julia would reconsider that notion.

Benji, as expected had nothing to offer in response. That boy would be the death of her if the lack of sleep and nausea wouldn't be.

"Professor, what is this thing, anyway in my cauldron?"

"What you have is called Bitter Root. It comes from various medicinal plants. This one particularly from Comfrey. It's not to be confused with the Bitter Root plant, which we'll study later on down the road[/i]." She realized it could be confusing, but they'd learn with time. "[b]Bitter Root when its in this form is good for healing potions regarding stomach upsets and digestive issues. Tastes exactly how you'd think it would too."

Maevie was always full of questions and seemed eager to learn, which Julia could certainly appreciate. Perhaps in the coming terms as the girl grew in her abilities, she'd take her under her wing and see what really peaked the girl's interest. Muggleborns had it harder than their pureblood and halfblood peers, having no one at home to teach or tutor them.

In any case, it wouldn't hurt.

"Alright," Julia said, indicating to the wall of containers behind her. Jars tall and squat, tins dulled with age, cloth pouches, corks, wax seals, labels stacked in uneven piles.

“Storage isn’t glamorous,” she said lightly. “No sparks. No dramatic color changes. But it’s where most apothecaries either prove they understand their materials or ruin them.”

She stepped closer to the shelves, running her fingers briefly along a row of glass jars. “Glass preserves clarity, but it doesn’t forgive light. Tin protects from heat, but traps moisture if you’re careless. Cloth breathes, which helps keep things dry, but it also allows scents to travel and powders to escape." A small smile. “Everything is a trade-off.”

Julia turned back to the class, looking over them as they finished the last of their adjustments.

“You’ll need to consider what you’ve made and why you made it. A decoction meant to be diluted later will behave differently than one meant to be consumed as-is. A tincture sealed too tightly may continue extracting long after you intend it to stop. Dry ingredients stored warm will sweat, and once they sweat, they mold.”

She gestured toward the cauldrons still bubbling faintly.

“Let your preparations cool before you store them. Strain if you’ve decided potency has peaked. Leave solids in if you want continued extraction. Neither choice is wrong, but you should know what you’re choosing.”

Julia reached for a stack of parchment labels and held one up.

“And label everything. Name. Preparation method. Date.” Her brow lifted faintly, looking pointedly at her son who seemed to enjoy cutting corners. “If you don’t know what you did, you won’t know what went wrong later.”

She stepped aside, clearing the way to the storage wall.

“Take your time,” she added, “Talk it through if you need to. Ask questions. Watch how others decide. Ancient apothecaries worked communally for a reason.”

---

*Final update! This one is fairly simple and really up to you! You'll choose various methods of storage based on what ingredients you prepared (or all of them). Once you've chosen, have your character pack their ingredients, label them and set them aside. You can RP this however you like. Did everything store easily? Did a tincture hiss when you tried to seal it? Was a decoction a little too warm and burn your fingers when it filled the jar? Was your infusion too cold and create condensation?

Totally up to you how you play it! Class will be dismissed on 1/27. <3

Bitter Root. Huh. Well, it sure smelled like it, that much was for sure. Not terrible but also not particularly great. If what Professor Laurence said was true -- which Maevie supposed was, she was the professor for a reason -- then her desire to know what it tasted like was leaning towards zero.

Hopefully she wasn't about to get stomach issues and had to force bitter medicine down to help. And hopefully she hadn't jinxed herself just now.

Eying her decoction, Maevie considered. Leave the bits in or strain? She supposed leaving them in might be the better option, considering the professor had just told her that the way she had prepared her root, it'd be better for potion usage and for potion usage, she had said, it's better to leave them in for potency--

Or something like that.

She gathered her materials. A label, a quill and ink, her glass jar, a ladle.

Restraining herself from pouring the liquid over right away was something akin to torture, the time it took to wait for everything to cool down seemingly endless. It was like watching paint dry or grass grow. Absolute horror for a girl that couldn't sit still for longer than two minutes.

She managed eight.

Eight minutes of walking around the classroom and looking into her peers' cauldrons, checking out what they had been up to. Tilly's was by far her favourite, smelling like it could free someone of their ails within a heartbeat.

She wondered if she'd be as good at this whole potion thing as the other's were one day, even Benji's stuff looked pretty neat. To her, it all sounded like the most complex and complicated stuff ever and all she had done this lesson, was to wing it and hope for the best.

Maybe when she was a fifth year though, she'd be better too.

For now, Maevie determined her decoction had cooled down enough. With the ladle, she carefully transferred as much as the jar would hold before realizing she needed a cork to seal it all off.

It took a while of running back and forth to find a fitting one but once she had, Maevie quickly finished off her work, labelling as they had been instructed to. Holding it up in front of her face, she inspected the murky stuff, the pieces of bitter root sunk to the bottom. Looked good enough for her first time. If it was any good was another question.