Xerxes opened the door to the dungeon classroom and walked in. The vapor hung thick in the air and glass jars adorned the walls, each with a small pickled slimy thing. Xerxes walked over to his usual table set up his cauldron.

"Good Morning Professor." he said, greeting his Potions teacher. He then took a moment to observe the ingredients and......fireworks?!?!? that were on the tables. What an interesting combination. Xerxes took his textbook out of his school bag and sat it on the table next to his cauldron.

Jan arrived along with his Snake bestie, Ary, into the familiar dungeons. His long hair was tied back into a low ponytail. Inside the Potions classroom, the room looked neat as usual. "Good day, Professor." He then surveyed the tables and, bingo, next to the side of ingredients were fireworks on display. A little smile emerged, some fond memories of when his parents took them to see a show when he was little.

After a glance, Jan walked over (giving a friendly smile to the small Hufflepuff) on his way over to his station. It looked to be a very interesting lesson was in store for them.

It was time for one of Aurora’s favourite classes, and she was looking forward to seeing what they would be doing today. Especially if it was learning a potion that she’d never brewed before.

”Hello, Professor Carter!” she said pleasantly. Xerxes got a friendly smile and a wave as did Jan. Aurora wasn’t too familiar with him, but she knew that he was Id’s older brother.

As she made her way over to her workstation, Rory took a glance at the side tables. Ooooh fireworks! She was really looking forward to this.

Whereas Ary thought Jan's hair looked quite neat and on point, his own was quite messy. Perhaps it was because he kept dragging his hand through his dark strands. It was definitely a style his Dad Adi sported back in the day when he was at Hogwarts. But the important thing was that he was here, just a step behind the bestie as they moved into the classroom. Professor Carter got the usual finger wiggle-wave. Xerxes got a smile while Rory got a light poke in the arm when he moved closer in her direction. “Hi, my French friend!” His childhood friend was not actually French but Ary still liked to tease her about it since she had attended Beauxbatons previously.

The Slytherin selected a workstation beside Jan, which was also close to Rory. Only then, as he set up his materials out for the lesson, did he study the two tables. There were familiar ingredients and fireworks, the latter which was not what he would expect.

Very interesting.

It was only mere minutes after Casen had opened the door to the classroom that the students had begun to arrive for the days lesson. This was always a refreshing sign, them showing up early. While the occasional late arrival did happen, he was glad it wasn't often. When it came to potion brewing even the smallest distraction could be disastrous.

As the first young student entered the room, Casen's straight faced look shifted in a pleasant welcoming grin. He may look stuffy at times but truthfully their professor was a very relaxed kind man. "Good day to you, Mister Cadwallader. Ready for our lesson I presume?" He made a slight incline of his head towards the textbooks the young man had already placed on his workstation.

"Good day Misters Grunt and Atreyu-Rehman." He greeted them both as a pair having already learned that they were nearly always together along with .. yup, and there she was not too far behind them, Professor Paton's daughter. Seeing the students arriving in their friend groups always reminded him of his own days as a Hogwarts student. Ah, yes, let him not forget to return that finger wiggle wave towards Aryan as well

A smile and wave for the young Miss Bay. "Hello Miss Bay." She looked as ready as she always did for the day. Exactly what he liked to see. He was just going to wait another minute or so for anyone else before he began.

The classroom door swung closed with a gentle click being magically set to do so for every lesson. "I'm glad everyone's here and ready to get started. As I'm sure you've all noticed by now I have set up a table with plenty of potions ingredients and another with all kinds of muggle and wizarding fireworks." This much was surely clear, no need to say otherwise. "You're all welcome right now to get up and have a good look at all the items on both tables. If you feel inclined to do so you may bring a couple of the fireworks back to your stations for closer inspection. Once you've done this, I would like for you to answer me this... Why might these things be in our classroom today? What might we be brewing up??" It seemed plenty self explanatory to him but the students may come up with other ideas.


OOC: Hi there! Thanks for coming to Potions! We have now begun and the instructions are simple.. students should have a look at both tables, and answer the questions if they have an idea on what they are doing today xD

The fact that professors - with the exception of Burbage - usually returned his finger wiggle-waves were a fun sight. It made Ary feel a little more at ease with them, as he was only completely this way with professors Paton, Feirgrund and Khanna. Anyway. Now he had all his books and writing apparatus at the ready though he was still highly curious about what the fireworks meant. He trusted that Carter had taken the necessary steps to ensure they didn’t spontaneously go off.

Having surveyed the ingredients and fireworks enough from afar, the sixth year wasn’t inclined to go have a closer look. Not to mention he could still see them quite clearly. That is, until some of his classmates began crowding the tables. So instead, the questions became his focus. The salamanders reminded him of the CoMC lesson a few terms back when Aunty Hady had taught about the various types, one of them being the fire type. He also recalled that they could live off of peppers for a bit… maybe that would explain the jalapeno peppers?

Ary raised his hand the moment his memory dredged up something he recalled Aunty Lux talking to him about. “We just might be brewing a magical fireworks potion, professor.” He was grinning; even if his answer was incorrect, Ary was pleased with the way he had put his CoMC and Potions knowledge together. He couldn’t have done that without Bry’s or Rory’s mums!

Ary got an amused eye roll and was poked in return. Aurora would have teased him back, but the lesson was starting. Professor Carter was telling them that they could go over to the table and see what ingredients were out, but she didn’t need to. She already knew them all. She also didn’t feel all that inclined to grab a firework. Rory immediately raised her hand when they were asked what they might be brewing today. ”It’s magical fireworks.”

Xerxes got up from his seat and walked around his station, making his way to the front table. He picked up a firework and examined it. It was of decent size and had a fuse on the end of it. He took the firework back to his station and decided to rifle through his Potions book for ideas. He didn't read each page in depth, but merely perused quickly through it.

Xerxes raised his hand and said, "Perhaps we are going to brew an Ignition Potion to light the fireworks. Or maybe we are going to make a Flame-Retarding Draft, to make us temporarily immune from fire, burns, or explosions."

Nod nod nod. It was quite refreshing that several of the students already knew what they would be brewing. As for the ones that didn't, not to worry. All in do time would they too be able to know what certain ingredients laid out together could create. As for now, Casen was proud of the responses he had received. "Very very good answers everyone. I love all your thoughtful responses. However there are a few of you that guessed correctly." The man paused to look over each student in turn. "In celebration of the upcoming holidays, you all will be brewing your very own fireworks today!" Now what did they think about that?! Fun, yes?

Casen walked over towards the table that contained everything that was needed for the potions brewing. "However, before we begin I want you all to think about each item on the table here. How might they be used to create our own magical fireworks? For instance how might the fire salamander skin be useful? What about the tissue paper?" Casen picked up one of the jalapeno peppers and turned it over in his hand. "Every component used in a potion serves a purpose. Adding too much of something or too little could result in a failed brewing attempt." This is why it was always so important to pay close attention while brewing anything at all.


OOC: Great answers everyone! Casen would like to know what the students might think some of the ingredients may be useful for in their potion. They can pick one ingredient or all to talk about if they like.

Excellent!

Ary had been correct and he was most pleased about this. The next question from Carter had him thinking a lot more deeper. His mind continued to hone in on the salamander lesson Aunty Hady taught. Perhaps he could draw a link between the fire salamander skin and the jalapeno pepper? He thought further before raising a hand.

“Fire salamanders can survive on jalapeno peppers if needed…” He paused to further gather his words. “The salamander skin combined with the peppers could offer the fireworks a little extra kick when it explodes. In other words, make them explode with more energy? Enthusiasm? Force?’’ Yep, that sort of thing.

Finished now with his answer, Ary dipped his quill into his jar of rarely used invisible ink to scrawl a message on a tiny piece of parchment to Rory. It read "Quit copying my answer, my French Friend ” He then slid it over on her workstation with a grin. Since both of them had given the same answer earlier, he just wanted to tease her.

Xerxes raised his hand in response to his teacher's question. "Well the tissue paper might act as a combustible material, or fuel source. Like wood would be in a real fire."

Xerxes sat and wondered about the Magical Fireworks Potions. He was still a novice at Potion-making, but he was deeply curious and hungry for knowledge. While this wasn't the potion at top of his cosmic wish list. It was still very interesting.

When Ary slid a piece of paper towards her, Aurora raised her brow and grabbed it. Seeing that it was written in invisible ink, she took her revealer out of her bag and used it to expose what he had written. She snorted and shook her head at him. She’d definitely be teasing him back after class. As it was she was looking forward to making magical fireworks. She’d done it numerous times, and they were always fun.

As the lesson moved on, she raised her hand so that she could add on to what her classmates had said. ”The wick acts like a wick for a candle or lamp works. It delivers fuel to the flame.”

Just like with any other class, he always asked questions that got the students thinking. He felt it was important to understand why particular ingredients were used over a different one. Even the smallest change in a potions recipe could have big effects. Getting the students to really think about, and consider each ingredients benefit to what they would be brewing hopefully would help them to create their own potions at some point.

"Fantastic reasoning Mister Atreyu-Rehman. This is all true. The connection between the fire salamander and the jalapeno pepper will do exactly that. It heat from both will also help with igniting our magical fireworks." There would be no need at all to touch the fireworks to light them, making it so much safer.

Such a fine answer right there! From a first year nonetheless. Casen nodded. "In most cases it would be highly likely that's what the tissue paper would be used for, so excellent guess Mister Cadwallader. Today though we will be using it for another reason which you'll all see soon."

"It most certainly does, Miss Bay and that's exactly what it will be used for today." Unlike some ingredients where it took thought to assess what it was used for, other ingredients were used for their exact purpose.

Setting the jalapeno down on his desk, Professor Carter clasped his hands in front of his once more. "Alright everyone. What I would like for you all to do now is to set up all your ingredients.. should you not have everything you need please come up and gather what you are missing now. I will post everything on the board now.' With a wave of his wand all the ingredients were nearly written out on the board beside his desk.

"Once you have everything you need at your workstations ready you may fill your cauldron roughly halfway with water and start a fire beneath the cauldron." By now they all should know how to magically do this, if not, he had no trouble in assisting those that needed it. "Bring the water to a boil before adding the dried fire salamander skin. After doing that go ahead and dice up the jalapeno pepper and slowly add it into the cauldron." He will he walking around to keep an eye on things as per usual.


Sorry for the delay! Annnnnd we're onto brewing! All needed ingredients have been listed as well as the first for steps xD

Xerxes listened to his Professor speak and even smiled when he heard his name mentioned. Then he set to work completing the instructions given to him. Xerxes walked up to the front table and took all of the needed ingredients. He then returned to his seat.

Xerxes filled his cauldron (about) halfway with room temperature water. He then stood back and took out his wand. "Incendio!" he said, pointing his wand at sticks in the fire pit beneath his cauldron. At once, a roaring fire appeared there.

Xerxes waited a few minutes for the water to come to a boil, then added the dried flakes of salamander skin. When he did so, the mixture sparked and turned bright red.

While that stewed for a bit. Xerxes chopped up the jalapenos into uniform tiny cubes. He then added them to the potion as well. The concoction bubbled ominously and then turned darkest green. He stirred the potion a few times to keep it from congealing while he awaited further instructions to be placed in the blackboard.

Rory’s reaction made Ary grin in amusement. The snort… he’d have to tease her about being a little piggy later on. Thank Merlin she had a wonderful sense of humour and didn’t take Ary seriously. Their friendship was a carbon copy of the one his dad and her mum shared. Having no doubt that Rory would get him back later, the Slytherin turned his attention back to Carter.

He would say he was having an excellent time so far with this lesson. His reasonings to each question asked were on point and for the second one, he nodded at Carter in acknowledgement to the response given. Then he busied himself with gathering the ingredients as listed on the board, with the exception of the water, naturally.

Back at his workstation, Ary set the tray with the ingredients down before magically cleaning the equipment he’d need for today’s brewing. “Aguamenti,’’ he said, completing the wand movement. Once the cauldron was halfway filled. “Finite! Incendio.” The flow of water ceased then the wand was immediately directed to the burner to ignite it. While waiting on the water to boil, the Slytherin scribbled the list of ingredients and current steps in his book. This was always a great way to pass the waiting time during a Potions lesson. After the water came to a boil, Ary scooped the dried flakes of salamander skin in. The jalapeno pepper was handled gingerly because… who would be keen on having their fingers ringing with a burning sensation? But at least he could magick his knife to do all the cutting and then levitate the diced pieces into the cauldron. This was exactly what was done then Ary hastily cleaned the jalapeno juices and escaped seeds away from his workstation.

Aurora smiled at Professor Carter and listened as he continued to speak to the class. Finally it was time for them to begin. She kept her potions ingredients well stocked, so there was no need for her to go and grab anything. Instead she laid everything out on her desk, minus the water which she would get via Aguamenti. Once everything was laid out in front of her, she began.

She grabbed her wand and performed the wand movement. ”Aguamenti. Once the cauldron was half full, she performed Finite and moved on to lighting the cauldron. ”Incendio,” she said as she drew a flame with her wand. The burner now alight, she waited for the water to start to boil. Then she added the dried flakes of salamander skin. She diced the jalapeño pepper being careful of its juices and added it to the cauldron. Once she was finished, she cleaned her hands, the knife, and the workstation.

Aurora knew all the steps to the potion and could have easily went on from there, but she waited for the lesson to continue instead of jumping ahead.

Up and down the classroom Casen slowly walked. Doing his best to keep an eye on what each student was doing. While he believed full heatedly that they would learn from any mistakes that they made, he could stop and potential disasters that may cause more than simply a ruined potion, he would do so. Most looked to be doing quite well so far. There were one or two that could be headed towards issues if not watched.

"Keep in mind that the instructions for a potion are exactly that, the instructions. You don't want to stir a potion if it doesn't say to do so as this could change the entire outcome of the brewing process." Potions instructions were meant to be followed very closely.

"I'm going to post the remainder of the brewing process. While this potion isn't very difficult it's a must to follow it closely." With that said a light wave of his wand in the direction of the board revealed the what was left. Though it may look like a lot of steps, most of them were very easy as long as done in order.

Quote:

Last remaining steps!
•Stir 13 times anti clockwise
•Add a dash of sheep bile. This will make your potion turn gray and become the consistency of liquid concrete, so it will be harder to stir.
•Add three grains of salt
•Stir 4 times clockwise until malleable
•Mould it into any forms that you want (circle, star, dog ECT) (should be able to make more than one!)
•Put one wick into each firework
•Wrap each in the coloured paper

"Remember it's okay to ask questions and ask for assistance if you need it."


OOC: Here's the final instructions for the potion! You're welcome to complete it all in one post or as many as you like

As soon as the last set of instructions were on the board, Aurora got back to work on her potion. She stirred the potion exactly 13 times anti-clockwise while counting in her head. Then she added the dash of sheep bile and watched as the potion turned grey and became a lot thicker. One, two, three grains of salt were added, then she stirred the potion four times clockwise until it was malleable. Now was the time for her to shape the fireworks. Rory decided that she was going to do a few different shapes and make each firework a different colour.

First she made a star, carefully shaping it until she felt pleased with the result. After that she made a flower. Then a heart. And lastly she made a cat thinking about her pet. Once her shapes were done, she placed a wick in each one. Now for the tissue paper. She had taken out a variety of colours, so there was a number to choose from. It made sense to make the star yellow, and the heart red. For the flower she went with purple. Her cat was black and white, but she didn’t want to use either colour for the firework, so she shrugged and went with blue.

Satisfied with her work, she took out a piece of paper and grabbed her invisible ink. Quickly she wrote a note saying want to head to the kitchens after class? then slid it towards Ary. She was planning to get him back, and figured she could do it while also eating. She was getting hungry.

Oh yes.

Following instructions to the letter was key; this was something that had been taught to Ary when he was way younger. It was therefore embedded in him to do exactly that. This is why he stirred the required thirteen anti-clockwise times, taking the time to carefully count. Next, the dash of sheep bile went into the mix and Ary watched with interest as the contents of the cauldron went into that grey, liquid cement-like texture described. Three grains of salt were then counted and thrown in. Turning the mixture four times clockwise, the Slytherin agreed that indeed it was difficult to perform the action. Luckily, over the years he had taken strides to strengthen his arms so it wasn’t like he ended up panting now.

The next step was going to be tricky since they hadn’t removed the heat from under the cauldron, the mixture would be hot. So, he decided to use only his wand to complete the task. It wasn’t that tricky given that Ary’s magical skills had improved over the years. In the end, he had managed to shape a Mooncalf and a Hippogriff, both slightly lopsided. But he was pleased with the outcome nevertheless as the the two were wrapped in separate coloured paper - green for the Mooncalf, yellow for the Hippogriff.

At that moment, Rory slid a note towards him. Smirking slightly because he was thinking that she was now copying more than just his answer, he retrieved his own Revealer and scrubbed at the message. A trip to the kitchen? He looked over at her to give her two thumbs up. Yes, he could do with a snack and a tall glass of iced tea.

Professor Carter continued his quiet observation of each students potion brewing as he walked slowly around the room. Encouraging words were given to each student as he stopped near them. All of them were going incredible work today and he was proud to see that they've all accomplished the set end goal. To create their own fireworks. And ahead of schedule as well! As a simple glance at the clock on the wall told him so.

"Excellent work everyone! Absolutely marvelous! I want you all to take a brief moment right now to admire what you've all created." A little appreciation for their own work was well justified after each brewing session. It helped them all to be able to see how well they did, if corrections needed to be made next time or not. One could learn a great deal from simply assessing their own work
"According to the time we still have a little time left. If you have any questions at all about today's lesson now is the time to ask... For those that don't have any questions you are welcome to pack up your things and be on your way." No sense in having them sit around doing nothing.

"If you would like to test out your fireworks please do so only outside in the open space of the grounds." As always, safety first. Otherwise they were free to go on about the rest of their day.


OOC: Thanks for coming to Potions! I'll leave the thread open for a bit longer for anyone who has questions or wants to post their kiddo leaving xD

Ary was already admiring his work. He wasn’t the artistic type but he certainly had done a passable job with his little creature creations. After a moment, he elbowed Jan lightly. “We should test our fireworks out later. Reckon Professors Feirgrund and Khanna would want to be there? Just in case we run into trouble…” He didn’t want to set the Topiary Garden on fire or anything.

Did this Slytherin have any questions for Carter? Nope, so he began clearing up his workstation and cauldron after repacking his bag. It had been another good Potions lesson; he just hoped that his fireworks would be proper little displays against the night sky.

When she got two thumbs up, Aurora beamed. They were definitely going to have some fun. Professor Carter was speaking again, and yes, her fireworks did look very good. Or at least she thought that they did. It would be fun to use them.

She didn’t have any questions, so she started clearing her workstation and packing everything up. Aurora waited for Ary so that they could leave together.

Xerxes had JUST put the final ingredient in his potion when the Professor called the class to silence and announced that they were out of time for today. He was made it, but just barely.

Xerxes packed up his belongings and headed for the door. It was been a tough lesson, but a rewarding one for sure. "Have a good evening Professor." he called over his shoulder as he exited the dungeon, heading to the Great Hall (and dinner).

Viv was sweating profusely as she leaned over her cauldron, the jalapeño fumes biting at her nose. She diced the pepper with determination, hoping she didn't mess this up, and added it to the shimmering water. The fire salamander skin had already turned the potion a brilliant orange-red, and Viv had to admit that it was rather mesmerising. But there's no time for romantic stargazing. She gave the mixture one last cautious stir, just as Professor Carter announced that time was up.

Phew. She wished the professor a good evening as she hurriedly packed her parchment, gloves and goggles into her bag. She caught up with the rest of the class on the way to the Great Hall, her stomach growling louder than her cauldron. She had no idea if her potion would sparkle, boom or fizzle.

Almost like her own fireworks.