With all the ingredients collected, Vi lead the way back to the batcave Potions laboratory with the one and only Tenacius Salander. "Okay, so we have the items?" she said, glancing up (because Ace was A LOT taller than her now- seriously how did he grow so quickly these days or maybe she was just shrinking??) at Ace, to make sure they had everything before running through the list one last time.

Once the list was checked not only once but twice, Vi approached Professor Reed. "Hello Professor! Now that was fun," she said with the biggest grins. She was seriously enjoying this class. How creative indeed!

Returning to their workstation, Vi began unpacking the ingredients that she and Ace had gathered. They had accomplished their task so efficiently and quickly. #RelationshipGoals. "Y'know... We make a good team," she mentioned to the handsome curly haired Prefect as she began placing the buckets and then bowls on the workstation table.

If this was a Wellness Activity, he would've allowed this young man to continue eating his Cauldron Cake, and then tell him off about the extra calories it had, but this was Potions. And he did mention it in his rules. "Hmm. Perhaps reviewing my rules or any rules for that matter will benefit you in the long run." Rules were put in place for a good reason.

With a nod, he watched Matt as he partnered up with a younger student.

Good.



While the rest of the class geared up and looked for partners, River found his way to where the BoGer sat, and offered her a kind smile as he caught on what she said, "Oh, of course, Mrs Hutchinson. I can ask the elves to bring us lunch back at my office, and discuss your observations there. Is that acceptable?" He wouldn't miss his food over an audit when they can casually go over it anyway. Besides, it was a misfortune that the audit had to happen in a double period.

While he waited for Addy to answer, River held his hand up in apology as he turned to one of the students not wearing the required gear. "Lab coats on please, thank you."



River turned his attention back to the BoGer, and had his jaw drop slightly as he witnessed the Baron brush past his visitor. If he was going to be honest, he did not have any control over these ghosts. It really wasn't a good time but...that's Hogwarts. "My apologies," River quickly muttered to the woman, and walked towards the Baron up front where he waited.

Bore him with what now? Personal matters? With Lady Helena? What was he now, a love doctor too?

River had a confused look on his face, as he stuffed his hands into his trouser's pockets, WONDERING if this was some sort of prank from Hirsch. For the record, Roderik was the best person in this castle to ask love advice from.

"I am not certain if I will be of any help Baron, but I am willing to hear you out." It had been years since he conversed with the Slytherin House Ghost. He wondered too if he could still remember him as the boy who always lurked around the Astronomy Tower at night whenever he found it difficult to sleep. "However, I'm in the middle of a class here. You can stay here until we're done though." Really, he wasn't in the position to banish a harmless, wandering soul.




Shifting his attention from the Baron to Remy, River nodded at the boy and noted the smile on his face. The Healer couldn't help but chuckle, given that it was almost the same look he wore whenever he accomplishes something profoud in the Hospital Wing. "Welcome back, Mr Edwards." he said as he approached the tall student and took a peek at the ingredients he harvested.

And of course, a question. "No, it doesn't have to be on fire, but it should maintain its heat until it's time to use it, that's why casting Chaudensis on your container is very important." River gave the young man a single pat on the back before moving on to the next student, "Well done, Remy."



Ah yes, the Head Girl. "Hello, Head Girl. Welcome back." It was expected of her to get her ingredients without running into much trouble, but it seemed that she did. "Did you now? Well, climbing all those stairs should help you stay alert until lunch time at least." River offered her a kind grin. "Thank you for assisting your fellow students, Ms Valentine."



Katy's smile was reciprocated with his own and went on to quickly check her ingredients. "You're welcome, Ms Toussaint." Blood pumping, blood circulating, these students should be awake now. Not that Katy was sleepy moments ago. Brown eyes then inspected Katy's ingredients and nodded. "I don't mind, Ms Toussaint..." River continued while he mentally catalogued this request. Stargrass was virtually harmless on its own.



Looking up, he turned his attention to Julie and Jessa. "Yes, Ms Bellaire?" River then started to walk towards their workstation and...hmm. "Oh, I did ask to provide the class, meaning if you were to harvest the ingredients with a partner, the amount should be doubled." And here he thought he'd been clear. Perhaps he was the one lacking sleep? He doubted.

Was that his apology though? Perhaps, it was.



Was it now? Good! That means these kids brains have jump-started. Hopefully, it was the same case for the others. "It seems that you didn't just enjoy the hunt, but you learned a thing or two as well." he grinned at the Hufflepuff and extended that impressed smile on her partner Katy. "Hold on to that information, Ms Kemp."



A grin and a nod was given to the next couple group that entered the room to acknowledge their accomplishment. "That's good to hear Ms Holden," Now, what about that look, hm?



OOC: You're all doing well, folks! ^^ You have 6-7 hours left to complete the mini-activity! :-D

And.....relief! He'd made it back on time, judging by the fact that no one seemed to be brewing quite yet. Success!

He hurried back to his seat, setting the bucket of fireseeds on his desk and searching through his bag for the other two ingredients. Once he'd found those containers, they joined the bucket in its desk-sitting. And brewing ready he was.

Text Cut: links

• Five betony leaves
• Thirty-two grams stargrass
• Five fireseeds Pt. 1
• Five fireseeds Pt. 2

Thankfully, Stasya didn’t have to wait a long time to get an answer from Emmeline regarding if they’d work together. Of course, she hadn’t really thought t hat her bestie would say no, and not just because the other girl was one of those who knew what she was going through. No guilt here. She wasn’t looking for pity, she just knew they worked awesome together and she’d grinned back when her question had been silently answered. Yay. Now they just needed to figure out where to start, and probably make sure they knew exactly what they were looking for. Except she still wondered if Derf still had his fireseeds too. Or if whatever potion Healer Reed wanted the ingredients for needed really fresh ones since he’d mentioned fires. Not seeds that had been stored.

Plus, she’d glanced in the Ravenclaw prefect’s direction as she could’ve sworn the girl had said something to them, but got distracted as Henry had wandered over and she’d grinned. “D’you really think I look like a troublemaker?,” she asked him, even as Emmeline had agreed to let him work with them too. Decision made, and now she really knew they’d do awesome. “Maybe the library?” Because that was where Kitty had mentioned, and it made as much sense as any. Even if there were a ton of fireplaces in the castle. Unless they wanted to look for the garden place first? She was ready to go either way.

Daisy finally made her way back to the Potions classroom with her ingredients, feeling a bit frazzled. "Hello again, Healer Reed!" Daisy said rather breathlessly. Sitting back down in her seat, Daisy placed her newfound ingredients on the desk in front of her.

”Thank you, Sir.” Remy said easily as he slipped back into his seat to wait for the others to return. He gave Beau an easy smile as everyone started to return, the container lid carefully placed over the smouldering hot seeds so that if someone carelessly pushed it, they wouldn’t fall out and burn someone.

However, the classroom was still quiet enough that when Julie and Jessa asked their question, Remy looked up suddenly with wide eyes. He hadn’t thought of that. Blinking as he waited for a reply, he shot Beau a look - oh no. Doubled. He didn’t double anything. Raising his hand, he called out. ”Sorry Healer Reed, I’m with the girls on this one… I assumed those ingredients were required per pairing.” Thinking that the amounts collected per pair would then divide perfectly between the students in the class. Who knew? Remy didn't. Oh well, Beau could do the potion with him if he wanted too.

Glancing at the time, he very much doubted he had time to run back to the library and the hospital wing to get another set of ingredients. Whoops.

Holding the hot bucket with one hand, Matt strolled through the dungeon's door and went to finally grab a seat. As he had been working with the younger boy, he decided to sit near him because why not.

"Mind if I sit with you?" The sixth year asked juuuust to be polite as he didn't wait for an answer before sitting down.

He placed the bucket on the desk and then proceeded to pull the betony leaves from his bag, placing them between his workstation and Kyle's. There, enough for both of them.

TEAMWORK! Between a Gryffindor and a Slytherin too. It WAS possible, rah!

Charlotte, with some effort, managed to rein in any comments about the Hufflepuff Common Room and what she had or not seen heard was present there. Wouldn't want to get the Head Boy in trouble now, would she? "This is going to be FUN. I don't think we have time to collect dragon eggs though!" Teasing. Gentle teasing.

"Ready to go?" She made sure that he was before shepherding the younger student out the door, her bag slung over her shoulder. Here was hoping they didn't get distracted on the way? Because that was a risk. Then again they had a double lesson, and obviously it wasn't expected to take too long to get this done, so probably it would be okay...... probably.

One thing was for sure.... Rhea was definitely more awake after that trek.

With the ingredients in tow, the three girls returned to the Potions classroom. Rhea suggested grabbing seats where they could all sit together because, even though they had harvested enough of the ingredients for all three of them, they still needed to be shared out. She then took the Stargrass from her bag and placed it somewhere on the table that they'd all be able to reach.

Betony & Stargrass #1
Betony & Stargrass #2
Fireseeds #1
Fireseeds #2

He was eternally grateful for the fact that Junia did NOT pry on their way back.

Returning with her AND all the required ingredients, Cameron felt like they had definitely lost time somewhere. They'd been the first to arrive at the Hospital Wing but now they most definitely were NOT among the first to make it back to the Potions Classroom. Not that this was a competition or anything. It COULD have been though.

Plus, he was still a little annoyed that he'd forgotten his scales.

Luckily they worked in pairs though. Speaking of, Cameron looked over at Junia who had not set up her workstation near his. "Do you want to sit together?" They had in fact brought enough for both of them but that didn't mean they couldn't still work together when brewing the potion right? They WOULD be brewing the potion today, no?

SPOILER!!: Links

Herbal Garden: 1, 2, 3, 4
The Fireplace (Library): 1, 2, 3

Junia returned and gave Professor Reed a small smile. She'd actually enjoyed getting out of the room and moving around a bit before having to brew the potion. If she was tired before, she didn't feel that now. She was awake and present and ready to work. Clever of him to make them harvest their ingredients. She was impressed.

Hearing Cameron, the brunette moved towards him and nodded. "I was going to ask you the same thing. Great minds." She smiled a little and joined him at the table he was closest to, starting to unpack her things. So far, so good.

"Hello again Ms Swann." River grinned at the tiny Hufflepuff and eyed her carefully. "Deep breaths young one," he added as he noted just how frazzled she was from the hunt.



River too, checked his watch and tilted his head on the side. Well, there will always be a couple of students who'd misunderstood instructions. Had they clarified earlier, then they wouldn't be in such predicament. "Not to worry, Mr Edwards. I do have a contingency plan." he said nodding to the young man.



*****


A couple of minutes later, when all of the students have returned, River went back to the front of the classroom and signaled them that they are ready to continue.

"Now that you have the missing ingredients with you," he said, tapping the blackboard behind him and revealed the complete recipe of today's brew,"What kind of potion do you think we will be brewing in class today?" he continued as he looked at the class. "Your textbooks should give you a clue if you know where to look..." And if they have a strong command in Herbology. "Anyone?"



OOC: We're now moving on to the first question! Catch-up posts ARE ALLOWED / can still be done for the Mini-Activity. If you really can't finish it, it's fine to jump into this portion of the class and play like they already have the missing ingredients with them. We will continue in 24 hours after this post. ^^

WERE THEY BACK ON TIME? Who even knew, honestly, there definitely seemed to be a full class when they made their way back into the potions room.

Right back to the desk at the front of the class. She unpacked the betony leaves from her pocket, trusting Derf with the bucket of fireseeds and the stargrass. The greenery she arranged in neat piles on their desks and then put her hand up.

"We got a bit extra, Healer Reed, in case anyone needs any or had any mishaps along the way." Or you know, in case they had any mishaps themselves, which they hadn't, but still! Someone might have use for them, right?

And... err... were they late? OH HE WAS TALKING. He wouldn't be maaaaad right?

She put her hand up.

"I have some questions? If that's okay? We weren't sure what pieces meant in regard to the fireseeds? So we got whole fireseeds? But.... was it supposed to be pieces of seeds?" DID THEY DO IT WRONG? It wasn't clear!
"Same with the Betony leaves, we got whole ones." AND LOL NOPE SHE HAD NO IDEA WHAT THE POTION WAS. Except...... some of those ingredients... Her hand stayed up, wavering slightly before she hesitantly attempted an answer. "Is it a healing potion? Betony is a healing herb... and so is Dittany and Boom Berry is a restorative...? So some kind of restorative potion?"

Luci followed Rhea and Miranda into the classroom, taking a few deep breaths of air. Her brain and eyes were definitely more open now. She sat next to Rhea and looked up to the board as the professor started assigning the next activity. She wasn't to guess what they were going to do, so she just looked through her book for the potion they were to brew this time. She was ready.


Library 1
Library 2
Herbal Garden 1
Herbal Garden 2

Oooh, she DID want to sit with him.

Cameron actually smiled at Junia then, setting down the bucket on his workstation but close enough for her to reach it too. This was HER work after all. Plus, they were partners. This was going to be great. Whatever Professor Reed would throw at them, they'd handle it!

....that is until he asked that question.

Hmm. Reading over the ingredients, Cameron took a moment to write them down. He was pretty sure he'd never heard of the potion before so he flipped through his textbook in search for it. Or for anything that would give him SOME indication as to what it was. "Wiggentree bark is also used to revive someone. Or wake them up." He finally offered after raising his hand, adding to what Charlotte had said.

Bucket still in his grasp and leaving a little trail of water in his wake as he followed Charlotte back into the classroom, Derf quickly flopped back down on his stool and JUST in time as it seemed like they were moving on. Thankfully his partner had voiced some of their questions and concerned because, er, he was kinda out of breath and SWEATING from carrying around the bucket of fire seeds and the prolonged exposure to the heating charm and stuff was kinda tiring, you know?

So he just nodded along to what she asked and pondered over Professor Healer Man's question. Of which, er, he had absolutely no idea whatsoever thus his textbook flipping open and him idly turning pages looking for something - anything - that may help him. He was going to latch on to what Cameron was saying though with Wiggenweld and go from there, mostly because the Slytherin had JUST spoken and thus the Hufflepuff's attention that way. But other did and maaaaaaaybe he could piggy back off some of it? Consensus seemed to be thus far that they were brewing some sort of healing potion though. Restorative and all. "Boom Berry is a fruit!" he offered after a moment with his hand raised. "I think...it pairs with Wiggenweld? Also restorative soooooo...I reckon we're brewing something that...fixes stuff...or maybe wakes us up because morning classes are HARD so...waking up potion..."

.....yes.

SPOILER!!: Posts

Char:
Fireseeds 1
Fireseeds 2
Betony and Stargrass 1
Betony and Stargrass 2
Betony and Stargrass 3


With Derf:
Fireseeds 1
Fireseeds 2
Betony and Stargrass 1
Betony and Stargrass 2
Betony and Stargrass 3

Miranda and her team mates made their way back to the potion's classroom with all of their ingredients in tow. She was quite proud of how efficiently they had worked together.

Oh Merlin, they DID need two sets off each ingredients. Jessa's heart did something of a dip at the Healer's words but at this point, the man was ready to move the lesson forward...and she....didn't wanna have to climb all those stairs again. "Is it fine that we brew together then?" She asked, not at all keen on all this leg work. Bless those who woke at odd hours to go jogging around the grounds, she was not one of them.

With the full list of ingredients revealed, Jessa found herself with the same question the Healer Professor had asked. What potion?

Before she could crack open her textbook, answers began pouring out all around her. Things like healing and restoration sticking out. What really got her however was the mention of revival which had the girl now practically bouncing on the seat she'd just taken.

"ARE WE BREWING A POTION THAT RESTORES DEAD ORGANISMS AND RETURNS THEIR DECAYED FORM BACK TO SOMETHING MORE WHOLE AND NORMAL AND NEW??????" It was only after the outburst that the young girl caught herself, hands now firmly clamped over her mouth but blue eyes sparkling like she'd gotten an early glimpse of Christmas.

"I don't mind if they're only sorta restored, just something for dead things?? To make them not look so dead anymore??" There was still the matter of getting the circulatory system going again first but she now had options for that and this class was sounding infinitely more useful to her necromancy study.

Please let it be the answer, please please please.

Dora had slipped back into her seat just before Healer Reed began to speak... okay cool. So she wasn't late. Setting the bucket and leaves down Dora squinted at the blackboard a bit. Hmmm. She wasn't sure what the potion was, but Char was right about the healing and restorative properties of the plants and such. Hmmmm. It could be a number of things, really. But because her cousin was here, she did NOT want to say anything wrong... so she opted to stay quiet. But if the potion had dittany, then she was sure it was a healing potion of some sort.

Could it heal a broken heart, she wondered? That would be handy. He could make a KILLING with a potion like that. Or... she could. Project time!

HAving shadowed a few of the kids around the castle to collect their missing ingredients, Addy was... something. Unimpressed?
Worried? Irritated? Understanding? Trying to be cool? All of those things.
She GOT it. The want to make the lesson fun, but really. She felt like...well,
she felt a lot of things. And it was doing her no good if she kept it to herself right now. Having put her quick quotes quill away, the blonde lady grabbed a fancy looking quill from her bag now and unrolled the official Goverbors parchment with a sigh.

Contrary to popular belief, she just wanted these kids to get a great education, not knock the professors... or healers. But it was her duty to be honest and merciless. With those thoughts in her mind, she began to scribble on the parchment.

"Sure, that'd be great!" Kyle smiled and divvy'd up the stargrass he'd collected, giving half to Matthew. Then he went to wash his hands before coming back and sitting at the station.

Text Cut: Links

Herbal Garden 1
Herbal Garden 2

Fireplace 1
Fireplace 2

Kyle timidly raised his hand. "Stargrass is good for relaxing organs, and boom berry is restorative... Dittany helps heal wounds... Wiggantree bark is used in healing potions... And betony is often used on wounds and sores to help them heal. So, I'm guessing a general health or healing potion."

He was grateful for his dad teaching him about herbology all of a sudden. It gave him a little bit of insight. At least, he hoped he remembered stargrass clearly. He also didn't remember his father using fireseeds in any potions, just that he did have a bush and often harvested them for various other reasons.

Beau honestly had given up with the whole attention thing as he and Remy raced back to the potions classroom and had taken to leaning against the desk whilst waiting for the rest of their classmates to get back with their ingredients. He actually hadn't even acknowledged that he and Remy had gotten the incorrect amount of things for both of them to be brewing a potion, but that was okay because in Beau's mind...they were going to be working together anyway.......right?

That's what partners did??

NOT that his partner was excellent, but he was beTTER THAN SOME -- that some being the ones who took so LONG to get what they needed, wow oH WOWWWWW.

OH OH OH. Beau wanted to have a GUESS. His hand SHOT UP right into the air and it WAVED AND WAVED AND WAVED until he was called on. HELLO PROFESSOR HEALER MAN. All these other kids had suggestions like healing and blah blah blah but that was SO obvious because the Professor was the HEALER of the school -- actually, who was his deputy if something happened to him or he was teaching??? The thought ended up being his answer, because he'd forgotten exactly what he had wanted to say.

"HEY. Who helps people get BETTER if you're HERE. Teaching ME?!" Yeah. WHO?! Who was it??? HMMMM??? Surely not ALL of their Professors knew EVERYTHING about magic othERWISE they could ALL teach ALL of the subjects and thAT WOULD BE BORING.

Maybe that was why the LIBRARIAN was teaching them about the STARS.

He'd OBVIOUSLY read a book.

............ Did that mean Beau didn't need to go to classes??????????!

Julie Bellaire was mortified. Absolutely and completely mortified, miserable and- and- and- There wasn't a word in the english language to express her embarrassment, disappointment, misery and pain as Professor Reed signaled the end of her life with a damning confirmation. She opened her mouth only to close it again, and then repeated the action several times more.

Open. Close. Open. Close. She was libel to catch flies this way, but Julie didn't care- nothing mattered.

The Slytherin's head shot to the side as Jessa spoke, asking thew question the brunette was not ready or able to ask herself. This wasn't fair- she'd done the work- climbed he steps- endured the ringing of the fireplace and hadn't even complained about it- They'd done everything right and with minutes to spare and it all boiled down to....

to...
To a silly miscommunication??? Her stomach was in knots, didn't they know failing wasn't an option? Julie wanted nothing more than to crawl into a ditch and remain their for the rest of term. Okay, maybe not a ditch- Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, perhaps.

She opened her mouth again, hoping that the argument she'd been mentally preparing in her head would surface but nothing- absolutely nothing. Julie was, for once, speechless. Unceremoniously, she fell into the seat by Jessa and laid her face on the table. Not even the mystery lady with her clipboard could rouse Julie from her angst.

Indeed it was fun going out and getting the FRESHEST ingredients for their cooking potioneering activity today. "Yup all here..." he nodded as he set their tray onto their workstation. He smiled at Vi's comment about them making a good team "I disagree..." pause for suspense "....we make a GREAT team." Its pretty clear by now isnt it? They just get each other.

SPOILER!!: the posts

Herbal Garden #1
Herbal Garden #2
Herbal Garden #3
Fireplace #1

Alright now that they were back, the Gryffindor Ace decided to really prep himself properly for the task ahead. Handwashing, reset the headscarf in his hair and make sure his labcoat wasnt tracking any contaminant from when they were going about the castle. Plus scourgify that self stirring pot.

It was then that the Potions Master revealed the rest of the ingredients on the board-- and sprang them their first brain teaser. What is it that they would be cooking making given those ingredients?

Gosh what a time to hit the books. He flipped through his Potions and Herbology textbooks and started to realize something "Professor, over half of these ingredients are meant to treat penetrating trauma-- like lacerations, internal bleeding, that sort of thing. Then there are some key ingredients usually used for Wiggenweld potion too. Are we creating a kind of potion-equivalent to Vulnera Sanentur, which is a spell used to mend laceration victims of Sectumsempra?"

After setting out the ingredients and once again taking out her parchment, Rhea spaced out until the Professor started speaking again.

His question was one she'd seen coming and she'd already thought up a possible answer, but she let others answer first. While they did that, she wrote down the ingredients of the potion they'd be brewing today. It confirmed her suspicions - as did the other students' answers. Rhea put down her quill and raised her hand. "I also think it probably has healing or restorative purposes." She didn't know enough potions to narrow it down more than that but oh well. She'd know what it was soon enough.

Aymeric sat at his workstation,rather miserably. He had an unpleasant encounter at library, in addition to his feelings towards potions and his presence in the dungeons. He was not enjoying himself. If he could he would leave. He even let out a sad sniff of the nose (since he had a nearly teared up moments ago)

But that wasn't going to happen. He needed to focus in order to do his best at the lesson. Giving up won't help him.

He placed the ingredients he collected on the table. He placed the charmed bucket, with the fireseeds, at the corner of his statiom - he didn't want to set class on fire. He crossed his arms and leaned them on the table - he certainly lacked motivation. He sat, sulkily, listening to the Professor.

The Ravenclaw opened his textbook at a random page, and 'looked' to see if there were, as the Professor said, clues. After carelessly turning two pages of the book, he came to the conclusion that his actions weren't benefiting anyone. He gently closed his textbook, and took out of his bag his shared "History of Magic" and "Potions" notebook (he simply writes so little in those to lessons). He began writing down the ingredients on the blackboard.

He observed the list of ingredients that he had written. It caused him to cross his eyebrows, something was peculiar. He was familiar with most of the ingredients, from his mother's store.

Hmm... Liquidated Antimony was the ingredient he was thinking about. He sat up straight in his chair, his eyebrows still crossed, and surprisingly raised his arm. "Ermm.. Sir, whilst some of the ingredients have some sort of ehhh..." he thought for a brief moment,"healing properties. Isn't antimony, er..." he tried to be as secure as possible, but his voice pitched, "dangerous? I think I heard t'is poisonous." It didn't add up in his head, since the potion they will be making will most likely be a healing potion. Maybe this lesson would be, at the very least, interesting after all.

Posts:

Fireseeds