Potions that heal - Open to 5 (Potions - Winter Term)

Determined to make it to Potions class withouth getting sidetracked, the boy made steady progress. Normally he didn't like winter but it could be forgiven since there would be a break from school. A break where he would go home and visit his family, drink loads of hot chocolate, and of course presents! He couldn't wait to see the looks on his parents and beother's face when they opened the gifts he got them. With a skip in his step and a smile on his face he happily made it to his destination. He nodded politely to the professor and took his seat. Knowing better than to carelessly dump his bag, he set it on the desk. His gaze was immediately drawn to the shiny, eyes sparkling, his fingers twitched. He really really really wanted to snatch it and open it to see what was inside. H had to keep reminding himself he was in potions so it was best to be cautious and wait. That didn't stop him from squirming in his seat unable to take his gaze off the thermos.

Dominique walked into the potion classroom. As she was ready for Christmas break. But she knew that she would have to focus on her classes. Then she could worry about having fun later. She then pushed all of the things that she was thinking about aside. As she knew that she didn't want to be distracted. As she knew that this was important. Because next year was going to be her OWLS. And she knew that she would have to pay as much attention to her studies this year. Because she knew how stressful next year was going to be.


Looking around she saw that Mimosa was already there. So it was nice knowing that her friend was already there. Dominique was already in the zone. But she then gave a smile to Azalea. But she knew better than to call her by her first name. She then wondered if Mercy was going to show up. But she knew that there was still time.

Mariah trotted as fast as she could down toward the dungeons, her bag swinging awkwardly at her side as she tried to hurry in such a way that she wouldn't draw attention from the people she passed in the hallway. She'd been helping Lyra with her charms homework in the library and she'd lost track of time. She glanced at her phone as she reached the bottom of the stairs. She was already several minutes late, which meant class had probably already started, which meant she probably couldn't slip in unnoticed. She didn't want to interrupt - she briefly considered just skipping and getting the notes from someone later - but she really couldn't afford missing any potions classes if she wanted to pass her OWLs. And besides, Nikolai would have been her go-to person for notes, and she...didn't want to think about him.

So she took a deep breath as she reached the classroom and opened the door as quietly as possible, shooting an apologetic look at the professor (Harrington, not Blackwood thankfully - she found the other professor intimidating) as she skirted around the edge of the room and took a seat in the back. Once she'd settled herself, she looked around.

She must have just missed the instructions, because Professor Harrington wasn't talking anymore and a couple people on either side of her were now reaching for the Thermos flasks on their desks. She didn't know what she was supposed to do, but she watched as a Gryffindor boy in front of her twisted open his Thermos and brought it to his lips, taking a sizable gulp. As more and more people began to drink from their flasks, Mariah figured that was the right thing to do, so she tentatively reached for her own, twisting the cap off and peeking inside.

She couldn't see much. Some unidentifiable liquid. But, nobody else seemed to be gagging or choking or turning into frogs, and she trusted that Professor Harrington wouldn't tell them to do anything unsafe, so she sniffed it first, then took a small sip.

The taste of warm cocoa met her tongue. Despite the fact that the liquid wasn't quite the right consistency for hot chocolate, it tasted exactly like the Colombian cocoa her moms liked to make on Christmas - complete with a hint of whipped cream and a dash of cinnamon. Weirdly enough, exactly what she had been craving as the holiday season rolled around.

Or, maybe not so weird. It was magic, after all. Maybe that was the point. She took another sip.

It took some coaxing but eventually, a few brave souls managed to take a sip. Her own daughter was among the first to reach for her flask, demonstrating that House Slytherin was not without its courageous individuals. When it looked like as many of them were going to drink as they had, Azalea began to speak once more.

"See, no harm done, and those who took a sip without knowing the contents get an additional fie points. As some of you may have begun to guess, its enhanced with a flavor charm to taste like your most preferred beverage. However, the potion in essence is a healing one."

The brunette waited a moment for the after affects to kick in. Anyone suffering from general pain and aches would feel slow relief while perfectly healthy students would feel more refreshed. The potion targeted specific neural pathways, refreshing and rejuvenating the drinker to various degrees.

"So, can anyone offer common ingredients found in healing potions? Just raise your hand and say it out. Let's see if we can get half a dozen in before we reveal the actual recipe for today."

Jurian snorted when the professor said that most of the class would rather be outside, he wouldn't! Who in the right minds wanted to be out in that cold wet stuff at the mercy of the older students. Shuddering the boy kept his wide hungry gaze on the shiny object in front of him, clutching the seat of his stool tightly in order to keep from opening the thermos early, nodding to what was being said. 'Come on, I wanna open it!' Then the professor said the magic words! Grinning from ear to ear, the boy reached out and snatched at his thermos before pausing and taking a sniff at the seal, just in case any aroma leaked out to clue him in what could possibly be hidden in such an innocent container.

"No smell..." That could mean nothing or everything! He glanced around and frowned in disappointment. It seemed like a lot of people had decided to chance it. What put him out though was that nothing was happening! Glancing up to the professor when said it was a healing potion, his eyes grew thoughtful as he pushed the thermos towards his bag. He would continue to do that gradually throughout the class to try and nick it for later.

Tilting his head in thought, Jurian's brow wrinkled. His mind was on what the professor said earlier so automatically thought about what was in the drink to make them like it and with a raised hand blurted out, "Ashwinder eggs." He would love to actually see a firey snake!

The class had started just as promptly as it always did, and the class fell in to a quietened concentration as Professor Harrington began. The notion of tea being a potion had been... not surprising to Nikolai, but just an angle he had never looked in to before. He supposed, though, the logic in that had been quite true in that moment. The mixing of ingredients to get a drink that was to the personal preference of the individual made sense, especially when you compared the various ways his own family took the drink.

But the boy put the thoughts in to the back of his mind, instead focusing on what the professor was saying about the Thermos flask. Which was, without exaggeration, nothing.

The Slytherin had simply paused in that moment, contemplating the flask before him and eyeing others around the room to see if they would drink it. Of course, Mimosa hadn't thought twice as she disentangled her hand from his, and promptly opened the Thermos, drinking from it without a second thought to the possibility that Professor Harrington might have been lying. Nikolai remained reserved, waiting for Mimosa to start choking, or changing colour... or some visible effect, but nothing happened.

At all.

Frowning, Nikolai opened his own Thermos, bringing it up to his nose to smell it. Nothing of note came to his senses in that moment, so tentatively, the boy brought it up to his lips and took a small sip. Expecting to find a thicker, and not quite so easily manageable liquid, the boy was quite surprised in the first instance, lowering the Thermos and then looking at it curiously. Was that... oranges... a frown touched his features before he brought the Thermos back to his lips, tasting it once more and getting the distinct fizzy feeling of his favourite soft drink, Fanta.

That was not what he'd been expecting and despite himself, Nikolai took another mouthful to be sure, only managing to duplicate the results once more. Peering in to the flask, Nikolai could see it wasn't his favourite drink, and thus he was perplexed.

"As some of you may have begun to guess, its enhanced with a flavor charm to taste like your most preferred beverage. However, the potion in essence is a healing one."

Nikolai looked up anew when the professor started talking once more, understanding dawning on his features as the ache in his shoulder began to fade away, and they seemingly lowered from the release of tension inside him. The information made sense, and he mentally kicked himself for not having worked that out for himself, but instead listened as the professor continued on the lesson.

The first answer that came was from the younger Ravenclaw, and Nikolai wasn't sure he was right with his answer. Instead, raising his own hand, Nikolai offered his own answer. "Dittany is used in most common healing potions."

Other hands went up around him, as usual, but Nikolai's focus remained upon the new feeling of... not feeling like crap, and savouring that feeling whilst it lasted.


OOC: Sorry for the late post, muse is an itch with a b!

"Well done both," the witch complimented the boys on their answers. the Ravenclaw had offered a particularly little known ingredient, at least healing wise. "Points to both of you. For those who don't know, Ashwinder eggs are considered to be the most effective treatment for Ague. Though I'm afraid they don't cure much else."

Moving towards the blackboard behind her dark, she tapped it once to reveal the list of ingredients they would be working with today. "Now as you can see, there is no one general healing potion. While there are variants that target general symptoms like headaches and muscle pains, most healing potions are targeted at certain kinds of illness and ailments. Today your task it so choose one of the solutions listed on the board and brew it as accurately as you can." Giving everyone a minute to go over the dozen or so healing remedies listed on the wooden surface, seh continued.

"You'll work in teams of two to brew one of the solutions but pick wisely, and remember, no two groups are allowed to brew the same thing. It keeps our class interesting and provides out school nurse with a better variety of potions to treat her patients with. Please go ahead and pick a potion, and a partner, work with. I'll be coming around to take a peak at what you guys are up to."

The witch had considered this the best course of action given the different skill level of the pupils in her class. The younger students would be alright picking simpler potions while the older students were welcome to challenge themselves with soemthing more complex.