If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above.
You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed.
To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.
It’s a cold December morning, but the usual chill of the dungeons is kept at bay in the potions classroom by the burner Noble has lit at the front desk. The room is also noticeably brighter than the hallway, the floating orbs suspended from the ceiling shining at their fullest luminescence for today’s class. Noble was particularly keen that everyone would be able to see clearly - and be clearly seen - for today’s topic.
The man himself is stood at his desk at the front of the classroom, a large polystyrene lidded box beside him. Never one for nonsense, there was something about his gaze that was especially focused and stern today. Had last week’s homework been collectively that bad? Or was something else on the man’s mind?
Regardless, his instructions to the entering students were clear. “Pick up a lab coat and safety glasses on your way in, and quickly and quietly take your seat.”
Perserved specimens? It sound riskfree but Cole was going to be super careful anyway. He didn't want to repeat some of the messes from last year. He wanted a good potions grade on his upcoming OWL exam. Deactivate and reactivate? What was professor Noble talking about? Trying to not to show his confusion Cole did as instructed and started to practice the incantation for the new perservation spell out loud. "Con-ser-vay con-dee-o!" It was a mouthful. "Con-ser-vay con-dee-o!" he repeated again hoping that he pronounced correctly. Next he practiced the tap and and flick movements as he spoke the incantation into thin air ”Conserve condio.” With any luck he'd get it to work when they got to work with their specimens as long as it wasn't dragon claws or something similiar.
Puff by day, snake by night | Mj's bestie | Always UP to Something...
Was it her or was this class just feeling like it was getting worse or was it her stomach that kept feeling worse? She was good at potions and never minded them much, but today seemed to be a different story, she didn't like thinking about preserving anything really and now she was going to deactivate it, what?
Watched the professor she took out her quill and wrote the spell down and the movements so she wouldn't forget and she watched a few moments as he demonstrated what to do. It seemed easy enough and Chloe wasn't really afraid of doing the spell, she was the sixth year, after all, it was what the spell did that made her a bit queasy.
Taking out her own wand she did the movements to practice, "Conserve condio".
Noble let them practice for a few minutes, eyes moving from student to student as he monitored their progress. It wasn’t too complicated a charm, and no one seemed to be having too many problems – at least, no moreso than usual – so before too long it was time to be moving on. He clapped his hands together to gather their attention.
“It seems like most of you have the hang of it…so, let’s move on.” He moved around his desk, pulling on his own lab coat and a pair of dragon hide gloves. Things were about to get a whole lot more serious. “Today we’ll be starting to learn how to dissect and harvest organs from one of the creatures mentioned earlier: frogs.” He opened the lid of the box, pulling out one of the frogs and placing it on a dissecting tray to show them. Honestly, about now was when he expected the protests to start…if not some retching noises too. “The frogs we’ll be using are American bullfrogs, Lithobates catesbeianus, an invasive species in the United Kingdom that predates on our own indigenous frog species. They are fresh from the source in South England, killed humanely and then preserved under the same charm you were just practicing.” So responsibly sourced, and good for the environment to be taken from the wild.
He straightened the dissection tray on the desk in front of him, before continuing. “You will each get a frog to work on over the next couple of lessons – I want you to be able to take time and care over your work.” If possible, his expression then turned more serious. “Before you get one though, I have some ground rules. This lesson is a privilege, not a right. Poor behaviour will not be tolerated, nor is any wastage. I welcome enthusiasm, but not stupidity. Any ingredients you harvest are to be bottled for later use, and any other loose parts are to stay on your dissecting tray.” His gaze briefly skimmed the room, pausing on a few he thought might have problems taking this seriously. They knew who they were.
He also knew that for all of the students disgusted by the thought of even seeing a dead frog, not alone dissecting one…there were a number eager and ready to get started. So…best get to it. “For the dissection, you will need dissecting scissors, pins, a probe and forceps.” He held them up in turn as he spoke, so they could identify which was which in case they weren’t sure. “If you don’t have these in your standard kit, you will find some in the cupboards at the back of the classroom. I also recommend that you open your textbook to page fifty-seven before starting, where you’ll find a couple of handy reference diagrams of what you’re looking for.” And best to do that before their hands were gross.
“Once you’ve laid those out neatly on your desk and have your protective equipment – lab coat, safety glasses and gloves – on, you may proceed to collect a frog on a dissecting tray. Whilst you’re waiting for everyone to get theirs, try and identify some of the external features listed in your textbook: the mouth, external nares, tympani, eyes and nictitating membranes.”
He’d lead them in lifting the preservation spell and making the first cuts momentarily.
ooc: if you would like a visual guide for the dissection, the link I'm using is here
They were going to do what?? It's not that Blake was all 'frogs are people to' it's just that ... he didn't want to do this. He was sure that the ingredients they were going to collect from these frogs could just certainly be bought already removed from the frog right? Right??? ... plucking up some courage Blake opened his book to the appropriate page, you know so his hand weren't gross touching his book.
Then he applied all the right safety gear, and wen to get a frog. Though he had not done any form of outward physical protest .. his stomach had other ideas... and he was unsure weather or not he would or could push his stomach through this.
__________________
Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Honey!
is a "Carol never wore her safety goggles. Now she doesn't need them" poster in here?
Professor Pink | Mrs. Bruce Wayne | I'm on a Goat | Glitterpuff | Dumbledore's Defense Squad | BHB
Why did Bernie feel like the professor's speech about 'enthusiasm, not stupidity' speech was directed at her????
The second year stared at the professor for a few moments longer than necessary, as though to REALLY emphasize that she was going to REALLY try to rein in her enthusiasm and stupidity THIS lesson. She was going to C O N C E N T R A T E here. Then she zoomed off, to go collect ALL THE THINGS she needed. She even snapped her goggles onto her face because SAFETY FIRST. Oh, and gloves. OH, and PAGE NUMBER FIFTY-SEVEN. Had to get THAT ready, too, before she could get her frog.
Bernie wasn't sure how she felt about operating on animals, like, R E A L animals, but she figured that as long as the smell wasn't too bad, she might be okay....? She'd have to see, though. Her tummy could get upset easily.
__________________
yeah, there's one thing about me that you should know________________________________ __________________________________________that I can't help from speaking my mind
Sardine VIP || Shark Attack! || D A R T E R || Captain Oblivious
Valencia was probably one of the only people that was excited for this opportunity. She was curious how things worked and the chance to see how a frog worked was very interesting.
Having none of the dissecting tools, she went to the cupboard and grabbed some. She then retook her seat, flipped open her textbook as instructed, and then got situated with her equipment.
__________________
I'll Spend Forever Wondering If You Knew__________________________________ _____________________________________________I Was Enchanted To Meet You
dream until your • dreams come true ~ Human pygmy puff
Naya felt like she had a good handle on the spell. It was a good thing too because it was time to move on to the next activity. The professor began to explain what they would be doing and.......then.......They would be doing what now? No no no no no. They were not going to dissect frogs today. Just no.
Naya was not a particularly squeamish person, so that wasn’t exactly the issue. She just didn’t expect that this was the way the lesson was going. They would be harvesting potion ingredients,yes, but she just didn’t expect this. And how did one humanely kill animals anyway? How was that even possible. Taking frog parts out of a bottle, well then you didn’t have to think about where the parts came from. When you had to get them yourself, you couldn’t help thinking about the obvious. Couldn’t they just get the hair of some animal? Something simple and non-invasive?
Naya didn’t know how she was going to be able to do this. She had to, but it would not be easy. In the meantime, she put on her lab coat and goggles.....slowly. She opened her book to the assigned page, delaying the inevitable as long as possible. After going to get the supplies that she did not have, Naya put on her gloves and took a deep breath. Then she went to get.......a frog.
__________________
Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Salt!
Puff by day, snake by night | Mj's bestie | Always UP to Something...
She had fears that this was where the lesson was going, but when it fully came to light they were going to be dissecting a creature, frogs, Chloe was not liking it. The fact that he just said they were killed humanely to her meant they died just for this purpose and that really upset her. They should not be killed just for students' and professor's pleasures, which is what she felt this was. They could easily learn from a book what they needed to know and this was not something she cared to do.
But how could she get out of it? She knew to argue was disrespectful and she wasn't going to disrespect a professor, but how okay was it to force a student to dissect something they really didn't want to. NEWTS or not she wasn't okay with doing this and honestly, she wasn't going to Uni for anything she needed potions for, she just liked the class and kept taking it for her own interest.
Instead of opening anything or getting her safety goggles on she put her hand up and waited on the professor. "Professor Noble, sir, if there are students that don't feel comfortable dissecting a creature, is there something else they could do for this. Maybe writing a report on it?"
~ Mrs. Steve Harrington ~ It be like that sometimes.
Indeed Claudine was one of those who got the hang of the spell. She was sure that when it came to actually casting it, she was going to have some trouble. But she’d cross that bridge when she got there. Oh… they’d each be harvesting from a frog. A dead bullfrog… killed humanely. Claudine was unsure of how to feel because while she was glad the frogs had been killed humanely, she was still sad that they were dead and that they as students, would be invading its body, scavenging for parts. To make matters worse, it seemed they would be working on this for a few lessons to come.
Claudine happened to be one of those eager and ready-to-get-started students despite her sadness for the frogs. She was not grossed out by the thought of the lifeless bodies, but she was a little nervous about dissecting it. She did as instructed, opening her text to page page fifty seven then peering down to the diagrams. Those tiny organs…
Now, the Snakette quickly laid out the tools that had been shown to them then pulled on the coat, goggles and gloves. Now to collect a frog. She joined the line to get one as she absently thought that naming the poor frog she got was not going to be a good idea. That would just make things more difficult to get through.
Made of Awesome | Ern-la the Best-wa | TZ's Apogee
YES! HARVESTING TIME! Phoebe went from wilting flower to bouncy ball in a second, and she scurried to retrieve her supplies. First, she checked her own kit to make sure she'd packed everything the professor expected her to find there. Considering she only packed and unpacked it in the Potions classroom, it wasn't surprising that everything was there. Phoebe admired her big teeth in her scissors blade before putting the things on her workstation top.
Then her textbook. And then... "I need a FROG, please." And just a reminder, Phoebe James, but do not name it and do not make up a story about it and tell people about the frog and then feel bad when it had to lose its spleen.
Hiss!Roar!Growl!Caw! | Hermione's Double | The Little Three | Alecate
Isla watched as the professor got on his lab coat and dragonhide gloves. Things were apparently about to get underway.
...
Eww. They were going to dissect frogs? She'd never had to harvest her own ingredients, and the thought of actually cutting open a frog and getting out its insides turned her stomach. She tried not to think about it, though. It was silly to be squeamish over something she used all the time. The way he said loose parts wasn't helping matters, though.
Isla tried to follow along and remember everything he was saying as he showed them the dissecting scissors, pins, probe, and forceps. She should probably go get those from the cupboard in the back, seeing as there was a reference diagram back there and all. The first year collected the tools she needed then laid them out neatly in front of her. Then she slipped into her lab coat and pushed her dragonhide gloves onto her hands. With that, the she sighed and went to collect a frog. This should be interesting... Seconds later, the poor, dead creature lie in front of her. Eww.
So...now what were they supposed to be doing next? External features, hmm?
♣ Heejin here | Did somebody say coffee & cakes? | cat lover ♣
Dissection time.
Jillian didn't mind dissection, it was these animals getting dissected that she doesn't enjoy like but this was a class and she understood that harvesting organs were part of the process of Potions. She finally wore her goggles and gloves because there is a possibility that splatter may happen- hopefully it won't. She's hoping for the best in this activity. She placed all her tools (forceps, pins, etc.) on her of the table. When she's finished, she stood up to get the frog- American Bullfrogs to be exact.
Frogs are usually not the best looking creatures. They're neither fluffy nor cute. So she can only imagine that most students feel sick at the sight of it and dissecting it is not going to make it any cuter. She can understand this. After getting the frog she dashes back to her seat and returning back to reading her already opened book on the table. The professor did say that they should familiarize themselves with the parts, plus she underlined the important parts before she immediately just dives into the cutting and harvesting of organs.
Catching up and all that. Sorry about the length *facepalms*
Arts TRANSPONSTER!
Catherine did turn ever redder when the professor mentioned her name and said what she had said out loud for the rest of the classroom to hear. Although he was doing that with everybody else's answers, she still felt very self conscious and would've rather continue to pretend she wasn't there. Hopefully no one was looking at her as she took more notes about the ingredients being mentioned, especially as professor Noble developed some people's answers.
The Ravenclaw also took notes of what everyone was saying about the advantages and challenges of using animal-derived ingredients. That obnoxious of a troublemaker older Gryffindor boy did have a good point, for once, and Catherine couldn't help but nod a little bit as she wrote things down on her parchment, continuing to listen to what everyone was saying, but more importantly, what professor Noble had to say about any of their answers.
As the man spoke, the first year continued to nod because it was all so... correct. Obviously, but it all just really resonated with her, and she did love the way he put it all so plainly and how he was just so straight forward. Catherine did approve of his no nonsense approach to teaching. If only all other professors did the same.
The girl made an extra note regarding the black market mentioned and how not only was that not ideal for ethical reasons, but also because some of the ingredients might not be what they were claimed to be at all. Nod, nod, nod, write, write.
The fact the specimen they'd be working on today was preserved and they'd be briefly 'un-preserving' it and then preserving it again made Catherine perk up with interest. She made quick - yet neat - notes about the incantation and wand movement before trying it out a few times, first only mouthing the incantation and doing the wand move separately, then doing both in conjunction. Definitely something that would be useful in the future, she knew it.
Catherine paid close attention when professor Noble got the frog from the box and started giving a bit of information about that specific species. She made sure to write it all down because not only was it fascinating, it was also very useful to know all that. She was even more interested when he mentioned they would each need a frog to work on over the next few lessons. That was great, as they would probably be harvesting it completely and not just a single organ.
As each needed equipment was mentioned, Catherine's eyes sparkled more and more. She couldn't wait to get started, but was also hanging on every single word the man was saying. Page fifty-seven of her textbook was open in no time and she quickly skimmed through the information as she continued to listen to what the professor was saying.
Her workstation was already very much organised, but she made double sure she had everything she needed laid out in an accessible way for her to work with without anyone's help. She placed her safety glasses back on and waited for a few people to go and get a frog before getting up to retrieve one for herself. Already examining it on her way back to her station, Catherine tried to identify everything professor Noble had just mentioned. Fascinating. What a truly useful lesson.
__________________
AT THE HOGWARTS YULE BALL, YOU'LL BE HANGING OUT WITH....__________________ Maybe you'll dance, scour the buffet, or end up gossiping talking amongst yourselves!
You're happy to go with the flow and see where the Yule Ball takes you!
Noble had definitely seen Bernadette’s steely gaze, and he hoped that meant the Gryffindor had heeded his words. She certainly seemed to mean business as she set about getting ready for the practical. And as she set off to get her things, Noble was distracted by the first students coming to retrieve their frogs. “Here you go,” he said, passing Blake, Naya and Claudine their specimens ready laid out on the dissecting tray. “Ready for your frog, Valencia?” he asked, seeing the Ravenclaw’s equipment all prepared and waiting. Perhaps she was just waiting for the queue to die down, given he had a sense she was one of the students who would truly appreciate this experience.
And, of course…it came as no surprise that Chloe was the first person to speak up about not doing the activity. Not after her naivety earlier. “In my opinion, there is no better way to truly appreciate your ingredients, than by getting hands on,” Noble replied, disappointed she wasn’t even prepared to give it try. Because, no, this was not about pleasure – though a good dissection could be rewarding in its way. It was about a learning experience, an opportunity to see how a living organism worked. "Seeing a specimen in the flesh can teach you in one lesson things several years staring at a textbook won't…and since you can ensure minimise wastage, is one of the best ways to source your ingredients.” Stores could be ever so wasteful to turn the be profit. “However, if you are absolutely sure you’d rather not take part, you may instead write a full report of how you would go about a dissection of frog, complete with detailed anatomical diagrams. You may wish to go work in the library.” She might find it a bit more comfortable there. “And the same goes for anyone else who might have qualms about our dissection.”
That said, he turned back to the others in the room. In particular, Phoebe, who, for the moment at least, seemed pretty pumped to come get her frog. “One frog just for you, Phoebe,” he replied. And frogs were also distributed to Isla, Jillian and Catherine – Noble being particularly impressed by the organisation and preparation of the latter two. For all her shyness, Catherine sure seemed to be showing promise.
And with the frogs distributed, it was time to move on. “Now, hopefully you’ve all had chance to look at the external features. Before we can start dissecting, we need to deactivate the preservation charm. Just as you all practiced…Conserve condio." Noble cast the charm with a tap of his wand. "If you were successful, you should notice a slight sheen appear over the surface of the specimen. which then dissipates. The muscles should also relax somewhat, like the difference between frozen and thawed meat.” If they’d ever helped out in the kitchen at home to know what that looked and felt like. “Once you’ve done that, carefully turn your frog over onto its back, and pin its legs out to the side.” He did so as he spoke, tilting the tray to show them how he meant. “Then you want to find the cloaca, located between the hind legs…” He picked up his scissors, and used the point of the closed blades to point out where it was, before using them to start making the first cut. “Carefully cut all the way from the cloaca to the lip in a straight line. You should then be able to turn back the skin flaps either side, and pin them out of the way.”
Professor Pink | Mrs. Bruce Wayne | I'm on a Goat | Glitterpuff | Dumbledore's Defense Squad | BHB
Uhhhhhh, man. Were they moving fast or was it just her? Bernie could feel a little sweat beading up under her goggles, and was tempted to touch them and wipe her brow, but then she remembered she had gloves on, and how cross-contamination was a real thing, and that she'd already touched the frog a little with these gloves on, and so if she touched her head now, she'd get frog juice (possibly) in her hair, and she didn't want THAT to happen, so, whew, she'd better just take a breath and cool down. She had nothing to be nervous about; they were just doing simple S U R G E R Y on a F R O G G Y, that was all!
"Wheeeeeeeeeeweeeeee," the second year murmured to herself, taking her wand out and getting ready to tap it on the frog, "Con-ser-vay-con-dee-o!" She watched with a slightly horrified expression as the frog seemed to relax onto its back, its legs all splayed out horribly.
She gulped and looked up, where the professor was already pinning this and that in place. Bernie flipped her frog over with a big SPLAT and winced at the sound. She was NOT going to make it to NEWT-level Potions, she could tell this already. Were Potions really that important for Auror training anyway? She debated the merits of pursuing this course as she found the frog's bum and then began cut-cutting away at it.
Ewwwwhuuhuhuhuuu. This was weirdly like spatchcocking a chicken even though she had never done that either.
__________________
yeah, there's one thing about me that you should know________________________________ __________________________________________that I can't help from speaking my mind
Assistant Forum Manager Quibbler & Newbie Mod DMLE & DMT
Ashwinder
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: #6e5f57 |#ff5470
Posts: 13,676
Hogwarts RPG Name: Alfie Adair
Hufflepuff
Second Year
Hogwarts RPG Name: Laini Gracae-Ryans
Slytherin
First Year
Ministry RPG Name:
Tomasz Łaska
Law Enforcement
x10 x1
doesn't proofread tweets | #wrongaboutcereal | #siriusly? | emo to the extremo
No.
No. No. No. No. No. No. NO.
Nina hated every single part of this and she made sure to show it with the frown she wore. Everything Professor Noble said was making it even worse. Dissection was horrible enough, but they would be using the frog for MULTIPLE lessons? She was gonna yack.
But drawing attention to herself by asking to be excused, would be absolutely mortifying and even worse than having to dissect. Maybe. Nina couldn’t think of a lot of things worse than this, actually. Was Noble actively seeking to torture them!?! This was absolutely cruel Not to the frogs, but to THEM. The students!
Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew.
Nina stared at the gross frog, making a FACE as she did. She probably looks so stupid with these glasses on too. This was the worst lesson e v e r. With one hand plugging her nose, Nina tapped her wand, “Conserve condio.” EW EW EW EW EW EW EW. Though she was sure her spell worked (they always did), she didn’t look closely for the slight sheen. In fact, Nina was trying to avoid looking at the frog as much as she possibly could. Maybe she did want to partner with Kodee after all.
…………….. They had to pick it up?????
”Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew,” Nina whinged under her breath as she flipped the SUPER GROSS frog onto its back. Ew. Ew. Ew. EW!!!! It was so slimy. And despite having a hand plugging her nose, she could STILL smell it. Yeah. She was definitely going to yack.
………………………. They had to CUT IT OPEN??? Right now?????
She looked over at Kodee to see if he was enjoying this. On the off chance that he was, maybe she could just tag along with him and do absolutely nothing. As the Slytherin turned her attention back to her frog (ew ew ew ew ew), she couldn’t help but wish she sat next to Eiji, who would likely be all too pleased to have the opportunity to do ALL the work himself. Ew. Ew. EW.
Still with one hand plugging her nose, Nina picked up her scissors and…. tried to cut as best she could. Of course she was making a face the entire time. And of course she was still whispering disgust under her breath. EW EW EW EW EW EW EW.
__________________
Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Lemon!
Rhibear ~ Madam Solo ~ Dark Brooding Girl ~ Accio Jedi ~ Gryffinclaw ~ Just a doll
Text Cut: Before main activity
Heath was relieved to hear that his answer had been correct, but he didn’t have much time to dwell on it before Professor Noble asked another question. Advantages or challenges of animal ingredients? He bit his lower lip, lost in thought. It seemed the biggest challenge was how to harvest the ingredients without hurting the animal (or the harvester). Trying to harvest from a live creature sounded dangerous, especially if that creature was something like a dragon or an acromantula, and… Heath shuddered as another, worse thought occurred to him. Some ingredients would be impossible to harvest from a live animal… like his earlier example of bat spleens and wings. The image of a poor bat trying to fly without its wings popped into his mind, and it made him sad to think about. He didn’t like the idea of animals having to be hurt or killed for potions!
Heath remained silent for the second question, too caught up in his rising emotions to form any coherent words. Besides, his answer was probably too obvious anyway. He busied himself taking careful notes as the professor spoke. The more he heard, the more he didn’t like where this was going. Heath’s eyes nervously flicked toward the box at the front of the room. Were they going to harvest ingredients from… whatever was in there? He wasn’t sure which possibility made him more uncomfortable: harvesting from a live creature or harvesting from a dead one. His heart sank as the professor confirmed what he already suspected; the moment he heard the words preservation charm, he knew whatever creature they were working with was already dead.
Heath paid careful attention to Professor Noble’s spell demonstration, jotting down the incantation and wand movement in his notes, though it did nothing to ease his mind. Practicing spells in the classroom setting was not his strong suit at the best of times, but the thought of eventually having to perform the spell on some poor dead animal had his stomach in knots! He raised his wand, practicing the tap and flick movement, but when he tried to say the incantation, the words wouldn’t come. “C-con-ser-vay con-dee-o,” he finally managed to stammer quietly. “Conserve condio, conserve condio…”
Heath’s eyes widened in horror as he watched Professor Noble placed a frog from the box on a dissection tray. Frogs… they were dissecting frogs. Just the sight of it made his stomach turn. Hearing that the frogs had been humanely killed didn’t mean much to him; just the fact that they had to die at all for this activity didn’t sit right with him! He wanted to look away, but he forced himself to keep his eyes glued to the professor as he talked. Oh Merlin, how was he going to get through this? It was bad enough that he was already terrified out of his wits of this professor and the thought of making a mistake in front of him, but now he was feeling sad and squeamish on top of that. It would be a miracle if he made it to the end of class without crying or vomiting!
Despite his heightened emotional state, Heath showed no outward sign of protest. He took a deep breath, trying to steel his nerve for what was about to happen as he went to collect the materials he needed from the cupboards. He carefully laid out the dissection scissors, probe, pins, and forceps in a straight line at his station. Now if only he felt as confident about the actual dissection as he did about his tidy workstation! After opening his book to the correct page and putting on his safety gear, the moment Heath had been dreading finally came: frog time. He trudged to the front to claim a frog, handling it with the utmost care as he returned to his seat. He didn’t want to harm it any more than he had to!
Heath’s eyes darted from the frog to the page in his textbook and back several times, noting the external features. He looked up as Professor Noble started speaking again, paying close attention to the next set of instructions. As soon as they got to go ahead to begin, he drew his wand, aiming it at the frog. His hand trembled slightly as he tapped the frog and said in a small voice, “Conserve condio.” Did that work? He looked at the frog, but no sheen appeared over it. Of course it hadn’t worked. When had he ever got a spell right on the first try? Story of his life… After taking a quick moment to steady his hand, he tried again. “Conserve condio,” he said again, a little louder this time.
Heath gasped as he watched the frog’s muscles relax. Even though he knew it was coming, it was still disturbing to see! Gathering his courage, he gently picked the frog up and turned it over on its back. He reached for a pin, and… He couldn't do it! All Heath could think of at that moment was how he’d feel if someone pinned his legs to a dissection tray. He didn’t want to do that to another creature, but he didn’t want to get into trouble with Professor Noble either… which was probably what would happen if he didn’t get that frog’s legs pinned and fast! I’m sorry, Mr. Frog, he thought as he pinned the frog’s legs to the side. I’m so sorry I have to do this to you…
Heath was able to find the frog’s cloaca, but that was as far as he got before his nerve finally failed him. His hands shook so violently that he could barely hold on to his scissors, let alone cut in a straight line! He wasn’t going to even try cutting until he’d calmed down a bit; he’d probably accidentally shred the poor frog to ribbons if he did! Normally when his emotions became too much to handle, Heath retreated into his acting, but there was no part he could play that would make this feel right. He took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself enough to steady his hands, and looked at the frog again. If I don’t dissect it, it will have died for nothing, he thought. That thought was the only way he could go on with this! Before he could talk himself out of it, he cut into the frog, slowly but surely making a line up toward the lip. Now what was next? Right, pin the skin flaps.
__________________
Old voices I had thought long since dead whisper of another life I might have led If I could take that second chance, If I could make my life anew, If only dreams came true...
Blake stared at the Professor with his mouth open slightly ... he wasn't exactly squeamish .. it's just that .. he wasn't sure he wanted to do this. He wasn't against the dissection of frogs either, he knew they were unharmed in the making of this experiment ... but ... to actually cut open a frog ...............
"Conserve condio" Blake said wincing as he did it ... seeing the muscles relax as they should he pinned it's limbs out of the way as instructed.... Okay ... now it was time to make the first cut ............. Blake had to take three steadying breaths before he could bring himself to do it ... but none the less he made the first cut which seemed to match what the professor had done ..... and waited for next instructions, making sure to look anywhere but at his frog in front of him.
__________________
Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Honey!
♣ Heejin here | Did somebody say coffee & cakes? | cat lover ♣
Jillian was still skimming the page in her book even when the professor started to talk. Yes, she was both listening to him and reading at the same time- multitask was it? She needed to finish reading the last paragraph, underlining the important procedure then returning her focus solely on the professor, who is now ready to cut the animal.
Oh goodie, just in time for that.
Jillian peaked at his demonstration, trying to remember what he's saying and what the book said. She is making sure that she won't be too overwhelmed with the activity. There was no need to jot down notes since she is already wearing her gloves and these gloves has touched the live specimen... Nope. Not going to happen.
Moving on, she took her wand and tapped it lightly on the frog “Conserve condio.” she muttered. She watched as the frog's muscles became all relaxed- or as the professor mentioned 'thawed meat'. She's cooked enough meat to know what that would look like... UHHHHH NOOO! She's not supposed to think of food when she's going to dissect this thing. Associating it with food is a big no-no. Her father told her this one time when he asked her how she was at potions. She shook her head immediately and focused on the frog. F O C U S !
She carefully moved the frog and pinned it's leg. Poor thing. She mouthed a sorry before taking a pair of scissors and tried to look for cloaca which is found all the way down, in between the hind legs. Pressing the blade onto the frog's body she then carefully incised it all the way to lip. Jillian made a face upon opening skin. She can see the internal organs and it does not look pretty at all.
Anyway, she pinned the skin flat on the tray like the professor did.
dream until your • dreams come true ~ Human pygmy puff
Naya looked in her textbook and proceeded to identify the frog parts. This was the easy part. Having to do it on the real and very dead frog was another story entirely. Then waaaay too soon, she had to go and get her frog. The professor handed one to her and Naya reluctantly accepted it. She went back to her work area and just stared at the poor dead creature. Then brave Chloe asked if they could write a report instead of dissecting the frog and the professor actually agreed. Naya was this close to taking him up on the offer and heading to the library. She really did not want to autopsy this frog.
After thinking about it for what seemed like a long time, Naya decided to at least give the dissection a try. It was going to take everything she had to get through this, but she was going to try. Tapping the frog with her wand, she said, “Conserve condio”. A sheen did appear on the frog and the muscles relaxed. Did the professor have to use the frozen meat, thawed meat comparison? That just grossed Naya out even more.
Carefully and respectfully, Naya turned the frog over. She couldn’t help but wince as she pinned the frogs extremities down. The next part was even worse. She just kept picturing the frog alive and hopping around. Now she was going to have to cut it open. Naya took deep breaths, probably a few too many. Before she started to hyperventilate, she took the scissors, found the cloaca and began to cut. Was it getting hot in the room? Naya was starting to feel awful. Hoping to get it over with quickly, she peeled back the skin and pinned everything down. Then she turned away from her frog. She would stay that way until they had to move on to the next step. Hopefully she could get herself together by then. Hopefully.
__________________
Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Salt!
~ Mrs. Steve Harrington ~ It be like that sometimes.
Claudine accepted her frog with a murmur or thanks to Noble. She stared down at the dead, little creature. Poor thing. It was dead and now she was going to scavenge its body parts. But would she rather go write a report? No, she could push through all her feelings, she was sure. Instead, she waited slightly impatiently for Noble to move them on.
The first of the instructions came and the Snakette picked up her wand once more. “Conserve condio.’’ Everything was done as she had practiced earlier but like she had suspected, the spell did not immediately work for her. “Conserve condio.’’ There was no sheen, however slight, that appeared. “Conserve condio.’’ Oh. Was that a sheen? It was gone soon enough and the frog did look different than it had been a few seconds ago. Claudine supposed that meant that she had finally been successful.
She glanced at Noble’s pinned frog to get an idea of what next to do. Her own frog was gingerly put on its back before one, two, three, four pins were used to place the legs in place. Claudine winced with each pin she used to get the job done. Next, her attention moved to her textbook to locate that cloaca Noble spoke of. Once she did, Claudine followed the instructions, using the scissors to cut from there to the lip. It helped a lot that she had a pair of sharp scissors. Next, she gently peeled back the two flaps of skin. She pinned them down; this time she did not wince. Now, she was looking down at the insides of her frog.
Ew, ew, ew. They were going to be dissecting dead frogs? What a disgusting way to spend a lesson! Wasn't there some sort of way to harvest ingredients humanely without having to touch it? Reluctantly, Avalon prepared her supplies, placing her probe, pins, forceps, and scissors neatly on her workstation. She opened her textbook and propped it open against her bag, trying not to think about the fact that the diagram on the page was about to become very real. Tugging on her coat, glasses, and gloves, she was grateful that at least her robes would be protected from any frog...liquids.
Once she had her frog in front of her, she stared at it for a few moments, steeling herself for how to begin. Staring at the frog's lifeless, slimy body, Avalon briefly considered giving up and doing the alternate assignment. She didn't really mind writing reports. But Professor Noble was obviously irritated with Chloe's suggestion, so Avalon figured that she better just grin and bear it to stay on the professor's good side. Plus, she didn't want everyone to think she was a wimp.
Taking a deep breath, she tapped the frog with her wand, murmuring, "Conserve condio." Instantly, the frog relaxed, and a slimy-looking sheen appeared Gross. She gingerly picked up the frog, narrowly avoiding a wince, and placed it on its back. Then, she pinned it to the tray, trying not to think too much about the squishing sound the pins had just made as they pierced the frog's skin. She picked up her scissors and cut in the direction Noble had instructed. Was this what it was like to be a Muggle surgeon? At least there wasn't a lot of blood involved in the frog since it had been preserved. Avalon couldn't imagine what it would be like to do this to a person. She wanted no part in it.
They we're really going to be harvesting and dissecting organs from a creature? Cole didn't like seeing the insides of a fish, how would he react to a frog? This lesson had the makings of becoming something horrible. Would he make a fool out of himself and throw up again in front of his peers? There was a definite possibility. They we're going to be using this frog for SEVERAL lessons? Could Cole please be excused now from all potions lessons? With a large sigh he got the scissors, pins, probe and forceps out of his potions kit and placed them on the table. Flipping open his textbook to the right page Cole got a too nice view of what they we're going to be doing from the colourful diagrams. This was disgusting, horrible and he knew very nauseating.
Cole quietly put on his lab coat, safety goggles and gloves before he got up from his chair to get a dissecting tray with his frog on it. Very uncomfortable he shot Ewan a look of despair before he did as instructed and identified the mouth and nares. He stopped a took a shaky breath as he looked at the eyes, they we're open......."Are the eyes supposed to be open?" he asked slightly shaken to nobody in particular.
Grabbing his wand Cole uttered "Conserve Condio!" as he tapped the frog seeing with some relief that the sheen over his frog made it close its staring eyes. What they we're supposed to do next made him shake his head in protest...."Nooooo. I can't..." he whispered to himself. This would end in disaster, he knew it. In a trance Cole turned his frog around onto it's back and then pinned it's legs out to the sides of the tray...Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! What professor Noble then wanted them to do took all the prices. He didn't know how, but with nausea growing in his stomach Cole cut his frog from the hind legs up to the mouth...
Made of Awesome | Ern-la the Best-wa | TZ's Apogee
And there it was. Her frog. Phoebe dropped her chin close to the container and studied it closely. Do not name the frog. Do not befriend the dead frog. She sat back up and grabbed her wand. Maybe casting the charm would also make it stink a bit, and she'd be able to distance herself emotionally from the frog. "Conserve condio."
The light over the frog sort of rippled, and the frog flopped a bit. Like thawed meat. Gross, but effective as a description. Wand away, and gloves went on, and Phoebe was ready to handle the frog. She flipped it over and pressed a pin gently through the legs. Yep, still gross, although she couldn't for the life of her explain what exactly she objected to. She was interested in learning more about the guts of a frog, so why would she find it disconcerting just to put a pin in a foot?
There were a growing number of queasy faces in the room, and a fair bit of wincing too as legs got pinned, but though he definitely noticed them, Noble hardly felt need to address it unless one of them did actually vomit. They all seemed focused enough, and he’d given them an out, should they really wish to take it. He was surprised more of them hadn’t, honestly. Especially Heath…though, admittedly, the Ravenclaw did look like he was having second thoughts.
Meanwhile, there was one Slytherin that really starting to get on his wick, between her disgusted muttering under her breath, and the plugging of her nose. “That’ll be five points from Slytherin, Nina,” Noble said, steely gaze watching her. “I said I would not be tolerating of stupidity….I would have hoped that by sixth year you might’ve had the sense to use a bubblehead charm on yourself, rather than attempt a complicated procedure one handed.” If she was that disgusted by it, why was she making it ever harder for herself to get it over with? “Oh, and another five points for that whinging. I can hear you, you know. If you don’t want to be here, then I’d prefer you leave than distract everyone else.” Goodness knows Kodee was easily enough distracted as was.
That said, he glanced round at how the other students were getting on. “Gently, Bernadette,” Noble reminded the Gryffindor as he heard that loud splat, before round to check how the other second years were doing. So far so good, and he glanced over to Cole at the boy's question. “It doesn’t matter,” Noble replied. “We’ll harvest them eventually, but you may gently close them if you’d prefer.” It didn’t bother him either way.
He glanced at his watch, somewhat surprised when he saw how little time they had remaining. He’d hoped they would at least getting to identifying the internal organs, but he’d rather not have them rush the opening of the chest cavity. Better to just leave it all for next class.
“It looks like that’s as far as we’re going to get today, folks,” he announced to the room. “To finish up, recast the preservation spell over your specimen, write your name on your dissection tray, and go put it neatly on the side bench. We’ll be continuing next class.” When he had a funny suspicion several students might be feigning illness in the hospital wing. “Your homework is to write a 12 inch essay on ‘Plant-based alternative for creature-derived ingredients’.”
ooc: That's a wrap! Thank you ALL so much for coming to play, I've loved seeing your responses <3 I'll leave the thread open for another day or so in case you want to finish up.
.jpg)
Potions Lesson 1 - ribbit ribbit 
x3
x9
