When Cutty noticed the Potion's master looking his way he went into a mode I like to call 'automated liar' where his expression went neutral and he was ready for anything. This was because he thought he'd be reprimanded. It had sort of become the status quo between he and Cosgrach Culloden. Or so he thought. Maybe Culloden had been looking out because the boy's mother had put him up to it. She did things like that and Cutty resented it.

For now, though, he was in a perfectly good mood to accept the points. "Thanks, Professor. Me moohm does it when she's making dinner sometimes." And curling her hair. That one especially.


Turning back to his potion he looked in on it to see that in appearance and smell it appeared normal. He then looked at the clock. Fifteen minutes. Damn pewter. More even cooking but also more timely a process. That gave him time, though to work with the sprig of mentha piperita.

Taking out his cutting board, Cutty wiped it over once and hit it with a cleansing charm. He gave the sprig a whack against the palm of his hand to clear it of bugs and slapped it onto the newly cleaned surface of the cutting board. Then he took out his blade. He thought it more sanitary to chop and cut things with his wand. Quicker and safer as well, but he'd found in his independent brewing that there was nothing like stirring the essentials which were released from a slower more diligent process like cutting it with a knife.

He cleaned and sterilized his knife and began chopping away at the sprig taking his time to get the stem and the leaves evenly chopped. He looked down after a while and scraped the choppings into a small pile on his cutting surface. Going over them once more for evenness. He looked up at the time. One more minute as he he'd lingered on his chopping. It was just enough time to get out an empty phial and scourgify it.

After the fifteen minutes were up, Cutty lifted the cutting board and scraped the evenly chopped peppermint into the cauldron.