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Fireheart · 07-11-2021, 03:27 PM

It's a fresh, dewy spring morning as you make your way across the Grounds for Potions. A light breeze rustles through the budding trees, and the sun gently warms the grass. The perfect weather for an outdoor lesson.

When you arrive, you'll see a large obstacle course, consisting of various monkey bars, seesaws, balance beams, and hoops. Shreya stands next to a wooden table at the starting line, arranging various potion vials according to their labels.

There are no chairs to be seen, so just take up a standing spot for now. The lesson will begin shortly.

OOC: Welcome, welcome! Thanks for coming to our second IC lesson. As always, please familiarize yourself with the classroom rules before posting. We will begin in approximately 24 hours.

Lesson Progression:
Main Activity: Select a potion and complete the obstacle course.
Q1: What potion do you think you consumed?
Q2: What are some ways we can identify potions?
Mini Activity: Use Scarpin's Revelaspell to identify an unknown potion.

*Kolyander* · 07-17-2021, 02:08 PM

If only the dizziness disappeared as quickly as it made it's way through her system when she drank that potion. Laying there on the ground it felt like forever. Nothing she did changed how she felt either. Keeping her eyes closed, everything felt like it was spinning. When she opened her eyes, she felt like she was spinning. Spinning and tilting, flipping upside down and all around. Nothing she did helped. The nauseousness was still there. Her arm still her. Tears stung her eyes and threatened to fall were still present.

Slowly, much too slowly the dizziness began to fade away. The world around her once more was still again. Gentle blue eyes peeked opened cautiously, expecting the dizziness and nausea to return. It didn't. Very hesitantly, Dahlia sat up, biting the inside of her cheek to hide any discomfort from the pain in her arm.

Hearing Professor Varma call everyone back to the starting line and what she had to say about it, it all made sense. It made sense.. and it made her upset. This was just another learning experience. A trick. Now she can't sleep, she can't eat.. she can't trust a professor.. this was messed up. Did Varma know how messed up this was? Lia wasn't sure who she was more upset with, the women standing before them all.. or herself. She had taken the potion all on her own, she had trusted Varma. It was her fault for not paying more attention, not knowing the colors weren't right. She needed to stop being so trusting but.. even after everything.. that was still how she was.

Keeping the arm she landed on when she fell against her chest, she raised her other hand to answer the question. "Dizziness Draught. And I know this because I became dizzy right after drinking it and it's the reason I fell from the monkey bars," Lia replied evenly, her gaze fixed on the ground. Right now she felt like looking at now one.

MadMadamMalfoy · 07-17-2021, 04:25 PM

Heath caught the look from Professor Varma out of the corner of his eye. So that was a "no" to him picking a different potion or participating in some other way, right? He blinked, his dark eyes darting from the Professor to the obstacle course and back again. Why wasn't she giving the others an antidote? Before he had time to ask, they were moving on.*He followed Professor Varma back to the potions table, and as the others joined, he was relieved to see that the potion effects seemed to have worn off. He sidled over to Claudine, giving her a worried look as if to say, Are you okay? That potion didn't have any lasting after effects, did it?

At first Heath had been willing to give Professor Varma the benefit of the doubt, but between the vague answers to his questions, the lack of intervention, and the extremely short term effects of the potions themselves, he was 100% convinced that she'd done this intentionally. That question only confirmed what he already knew. What he didn't know was why, but it didn't matter. He wasn't a fan of using deception to prove a point, no matter what the point was. He didn't like it when Professor Rainwater had done it several terms ago, and he doesn't like it any better now! Anyway…

He examined the full potion vial in his hand, noting its bright orange color.* Already one possibility occurred to him, and his hand went up. "I think this is the forgetfulness potion," he said, holding up the vial. "The orange color matches." That and it would explain some of the effects he saw, but he didn't say that out loud so as not to embarrass anyone.

*MadAlice* · 07-17-2021, 10:09 PM

There! Violet exited the monkey bars with one final swing and landed on her feet. Normally she would have been anxious about falling and maybe stumbled on the landing, but she was now blissfully unaware of her dislike of sports and was having a great time!

What's next? she thought. She looked up and saw the next obstacle before her--hoops. Hmm, what were those for? She wasn't sure at all. It looked like maybe you were supposed to run through them perhaps--jumping from one to the other. Sounded like fun! (If Violet were herself, she would not think doing this was at all fun, but she doesn't remember what she likes or doesn't like any more, so she's ready to have a good time!)

Fireheart · 07-17-2021, 11:45 PM

SPOILER!!: Replies

Text Cut: Ashley

Well, the point of the lesson wasn't quite to trust nobody. That would be a bit of a broad and unfair statement for a professor to make. Rather, it was a reminder to be vigilant when it came to blindly ingesting potions, even if they were labeled. But there'd be time to discuss that objective soon. For now, Shreya simply nodded at Ashley's response. "A hallmark sign that your vial contained a Forgetfulness potion."

Text Cut: Remy

Shreya picked up on the Gryffindor's rage, but really, she had been expecting this irritation. She knew going into the lesson that she would be turning off a few students, but it was a risk she was willing to take. "Actually, it was the Tickling Tincture. The bright, bubbly yellow color and texture could have helped you come to that conclusion."

Text Cut: Claudine

"True. That was a Babbling Beverage indeed," Shreya replied, giving Claudine an approving nod. At least the Slytherin elaborated a bit on her answer...and spoke without an attitude.

Text Cut: Serena

"Yes, it most certainly could. But it was actually a Tickling Tincture. Which is another reason why we can't rely on the effects alone to help identify a potion," Shreya answered. A point that would be explored in more detail soon.

Text Cut: Max

Another student that seemed to be quite upset about the turn of events. Shreya knew today would be tough on the kids, though, which was why she didn't press Max for an answer. Hopefully the potion's effects were lesson enough.

Text Cut: Dahlia

"Good observation, Dahlia," Shreya said gently. She could tell that the girl was disturbed. And while it hurt to see the betrayal laced on some of the students' faces, Shreya knew it was only for their own good. They may not understand or accept that fact now, but unfortunately, it was the only way to learn sometimes.

Text Cut: Heath

Well, Shreya wouldn't exactly call it deception. True, the labels were wrong, but one glance at glass vial would have shown the students that every potion was completely off in color and texture. She honestly hadn't expected so many students to miss it. "Correct. The cloudy appearance is also a good indicator."

"I understand that some of you may be hurt or confused. Or possibly feeling betrayed," Shreya started, her eyes sweeping over the class with sincerity. "But as you know, here at Hogwarts, there is a reason for everything we teach. And let this be an important lesson: Never rely on labels alone to identify a potion." She considered going into her lecture of "it's better to learn this now, under a controlled environment, than out in the real world with the big, bad, evil people," but figured that the students could come to that conclusion themselves. The lesson didn't have to make full sense to them now.

"You must, must, must attempt to identify a potion before you ingest it. No matter where the potion is coming from, you should always use alternative methods to determine what it is. And the more methods you can use to identify it, the better." She gestured back to the mislabeled vials on the table. "So, what are some other ways that we can identify a potion?"

OOC: Sorry for the delay! Got caught up with work stuff. You have about 24 hours for Q2.

astrocat · 07-18-2021, 01:28 AM

Ash rolled her eyes. THAT was what the professor wanted them to know? She was missing some important things here. Don’t drink potions you don’t recognize was practically the same as don’t trust anyone. No doubt the professor expected them to still trust her. Trust but verify. Uh-huh. Well, if someone put undetectable poison in a potion, you wouldn’t be able to tell. Or if they put the potion in your food or drink. So this lesson wasn’t helpful. You really couldn’t trust anyone. And also, Ash was upset and mostly just refused to cooperate with the lesson plan because of that. Instead, she asked her own questions. “Can you put food coloring in a potion? Why not just sneak a potion into food or drink? Are there bad potions that mimic the look of regular ones?” She wanted to know about how you could trick someone else. Because to stay ahead of bad people, you had to think like one. Ash wanted to know the answers to her questions, of course. But she also just didn’t feel like going along with the lesson. If the professor wanted to ruin her day with an irritating trick, then asking a few irritating questions was totally okay.

Apology not accepted. Just kidding. There was no apology, and it was dumb to apologize when you weren’t sorry either. More like, justification of tricking students not accepted. Yes. That was much more accurate.

FearlessLeader19 · 07-18-2021, 01:36 AM

Catching the movement beside her, Claudine looked around to spy Heath beside her. Always the concerned boyfriend, wasn’t he? She smiled up at him to reassure him that she was fine. One thing was certain though, she wasn’t ever going to use the Babbling Beverage if she could help it. All that talking was tiring for a poor introvert like her.

Varma would be right: the sixth year had spoken without an attitude because there were no hard feelings on her end from the activity. Instinct told her that the woman wasn’t one who would purposely harm them, much like how she had the same instinct about Schmoe. What she did feel, however, was a sense of stupidity creeping up on her. Claudine’s expression changed to a sheepish one. Potions was her third best subject; she should have realised the colour had been off. But that’s what you get for trusting, she guessed. Claudine hadn’t thought twice because she trusted Varma.

A hand went up. “Smells, I guess. Armortentia would be a very easy potion to recognise.” For obvious reasons.

Emzily · 07-18-2021, 07:09 AM

The attitude she felt from the Professor in response to her annoyance put Remy in her place a bit. Her expression softened and she nodded at their response. Deep down she was still FURIOUS. She thought as much - the lesson was about looking at the potions before drinking them. Obviously in a normal situation, she’d be more reserved about taking an unusual potion, but this was a classroom. If a teacher asked her to do something, she’d do it every time.

Tickling Tincture. Laughing Potion. Same thing.

Apart from smell and sight, it was tricky to think of anything else. “Knowing where the potion came from… who made it…” You wouldn’t take a potion if you knew it was made by a dark wizard. Likewise - you WOULD take a potion made by your potions Professor. Ahem.

Sunflower · 07-18-2021, 08:23 AM

Professor Varma was right, he was dumb for blindly trusting the label on the potion vial. And for trusting an adult who was supposed to be nice to students! Max sulked for a little while longer - he couldn't fully pretend that he wasn't hurt, after all - then looked up to listen to the professor. Learning methods to identify potions would be interesting and helpful, and he tried to think about something other than 'appearance' as an answer.

"Can you use the Revelio Charm on the label?" he asked, raising his hand.

*Kolyander* · 07-18-2021, 02:23 PM

Good observation? That was it? Lia got it, that this was all about learning. She didn't need the reminder on how stupid she had been for being trusting. The point had clearly been made already. Don't trust anyone. Don't trust a labeled potion. Trust nothing.

Right then though, she wasn't sure what bugged her more. The fact that she hadn't been more careful and noticed that the color of the potion was wrong before she had drank it. The pain in her arm. Or that there was no apology at all for how Varma had tricked them all and didn't even ask if everyone was okay.

So yeah, she was feeling very hurt, confused, betrayed and angry. With each question asked, the twelve year old got a bit more frustrated with the lesson. Even so she once again raised her hand. "Paying closer attention to the color of the potion.." Which had been her mistake. A very big error and her downfall. Some Ravenclaw she was.

*MadAlice* · 07-18-2021, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emzily

“Knowing where the potion came from… who made it…” You wouldn’t take a potion if you knew it was made by a dark wizard. Likewise - you WOULD take a potion made by your potions Professor. Ahem.

Violet had finally come back to herself enough to realize the entire class was back at the finish line, discussing the lesson. She was still fuming when she joined them, angry with herself, because she had known the potion she took was too orange in color but had taken it anywayt, and angry with Professor Varma, because the main reason she'd taken the potion was because she trusted her as a teacher and a potioneer.

"Well, just knowing who made it doesn't always help," she commented bitterly. "I thought the potion I took was oranger than a Girding Potion ought to be, but since I assumed Professor Varma made it, I trusted that it was what she said it was." Violet would never make that mistake again--trust no one, that was the lesson she was taking home from this class.

MadMadamMalfoy · 07-18-2021, 10:12 PM

Heath was a bit… hmm about this lesson. No, he didn’t feel hurt or betrayed, mainly because he noticed that the potion didn’t look right before drinking it. That and in order to feel betrayed, he’d have to have trusted the person or thing in the first place, and his experience with Rosier last term still kept him from fully trusting anyone… except the girlfriend, of course, and maybe a couple of other friends. Speaking of whom, seeing Claudine smile eased his mind considerably, and he gave her a small smile in return. He was glad she was okay!

While he understood the point the professor was going for, he wasn’t sure if this was the right time or way to go about it. Didn’t most of them already learn not to blindly trust things last term? Maybe this was geared more toward the first years who weren’t here then? Never mind… Heath had long ago learned that he didn’t have to understand the professors’ reasoning, just go with it.

He considered the next question carefully. Others had already established things like color and smell, so what else was there? He vaguely remembered reading about scientific tests that could be performed to identify a potion, but he didn’t know all that was involved in the process so he kept quiet about it. As he thought, something the professor said earlier gave him an idea, and he raised his hand and said, “Could examining the potion’s consistency - how thick or thin it is - help identify it?”

Fireheart · 07-19-2021, 12:43 AM

SPOILER!!: Replies

Text Cut: Ashley

"Food coloring is an ineffective way to disguise a potion. As you all know, potions require a delicate and precise balance of ingredients. The addition of anything foreign will likely alter the effects of a brew or render it useless." Unless that was the point of the deception, of course. But why risk making a potion null-and-void? There were far better ways to deceive a potential drinker. "Unfortunately, there are alternate methods that some potioneers have discovered to deceive consumers. Which is why you should rely on several different methods of identification before drinking an unknown mixture."

Text Cut: Claudine

"Very good. Smells can be a reliable way to detect a brew. Although you must take caution, as some potions can take effect from simply being inhaled." Precisely why it was best to use alternative methods first, to eliminate potential inhalation potions. But smell could be a helpful second or third step.

Text Cut: Remy

"Excellent, Remy. It is very important to know exactly where a potion came from. Anyone could have brewed those potions in the vials today," Shreya explained. (Really, she had gotten them from her stockroom, but it was a good point to make.) "It's not a foolproof way to identify—because even if you know the potioneer, you should still take steps to cross-check the brew. But again, it can be a useful first step." SHe nodded at the girl in encouragement. Attitude or not, Shreya appreciated the thoughtful response.

Text Cut: Max

Ahh, a step in the right direction! "A possibility, though you are unlikely to discover much from the label itself with that charm, unless someone inscribed a secret message. That being said, there is a specific variation of the Revelio charm that we can use. Good thinking, Mr. Young." A variation that they would be learning more about quite shortly. The Ravenclaw received a nod of encouragement.

Text Cut: Dahlia

Shreya could detect the frustration in Dahlia's voice, and indeed, she felt a bit conflicted about causing hurt to the sweet second year. She knew it couldn't make up for the betrayal the girl was feeling, but the professor sent her an approving nod in response to her answer. "Excellent. Color is the first aspect of a potion that you should check." It went without saying that all of the potions on the table today were the wrong color.

Text Cut: Violet

"Good point, Miss Blackthorne," Shreya replied tersely, also detecting the annoyance in the Slytherin's tone. "Another reason why you can't rely on knowing the potioneer alone. You should still always use other methods to verify the identity of the potion. And that's not because you can't trust people. It's because there are many different things, or mistakes, that can happen to a potion between the brewing process and the actual consumption. It's always advisable to double check." A tough lesson to learn, but an important one nonetheless.

Text Cut: Heath

"Ahh, very good, Mr. Jones," Shreya began, nodding at the Ravenclaw's response. "Texture and consistency is a good indicator. You can look for thickness, cloudiness, or shimmer, just to name a few. Again, if you use that method, I'd recommend using a few other methods as well. But it can be a good place to start."

"I appreciate your thoughtful responses," Shreya said. "Using your five senses is critical when it comes to evaluating and identifying potions. But as I keep saying, the more methods you can use to cross-check a brew, the better. For example, you could start by assessing the color of the potion. Then, take a look at it's texture. Next, you could determine who made the potion. The more steps you can go through, the better the chances are that the potion is correct and safe to consume."

At that, she waved her wand at the grassy area behind the students. A collection of large cauldrons appeared, each one sloshing with a potion inside. "However, the most dependable way to identify a potion is a variation of the Revelio spell, which we call Scarpin's Revelaspell. When performed correctly, this charm will split a potion into all of its separate ingredients. From there, you can assess the different parts of a mixture and determine the true identity of the brew."

She levitated one cauldron onto the table in front of her, swirling with a thin, milky blue potion that smelled slightly of herbs and flowers. "The incantation is SpeRevelio, and the wand movement is a semi-circle over your cauldron, followed by a quick flick of the wrist." As Shreya said the words, she performed the movement in demonstration. Within seconds, the potion in her cauldron had split off into several distinct parts, portioned off neatly like slices of a pie. "Once you've identified your potion's ingredients, a quick counter-spell will put it all back together." With a quick Finite Incantatem, the ingredients molded back together in the same milky blue brew.

"Now it's your turn. Pick a cauldron—there are three different potions to choose from—and give the spell a whirl. Once your mixture has broken down into separate ingredients, you may use the potion recipes in your textbook to help you identify it." She reached under the table and plopped a large potion ingredient book on top, free for any of the students to use if they needed extra help identifying specific ingredients. "You may work by yourself or with a partner."

OOC: The available cauldrons are listed below, along with the ingredients they will break into if your student performs the spell correctly. It's up to you if your character is able to properly cast it (and identify the actual ingredients) or not. Feel free to use Harry Potter Wiki or the Potion Recipe Book to make your guess! Shreya will be around for any questions, or to confirm any potion identity guesses. You have approximately 3 days to complete the mini activity.

SPOILER!!: Available Potions

FearlessLeader19 · 07-19-2021, 01:16 PM

Scarpin’s Revelaspell was mighty handy and cool, wasn’t it? This was Claudine’s thought as her brain took a slight detour from listening to Varma. Idly, she watched as the cauldron was levitated to the table.Wait. Was that a flora aroma she detected? The sixth year sniffed deeply. Indeed it was, though there were other aromas in the mix.

She was in awe as she watched the potion divide up. Wow. Whoever had invented that spell was a genius. Claudien couldn’t wait to try it out on her own. She was attracted to the green potion with grey streaks so this was the one she decided to work on.

But first… practice. “SpeRevelio. SpeRevelio.” This was followed up by the semi circle movement along with the quick wrist flick. Simple. Now she was ready to actually give the spell a shot.

Claudine glanced into the cauldron, eyeing the green colour that looked so good. Right. Here goes nothing. “SpeRevelio.” The correct wand movement was done, her concentration was there but the potion did not split up. Claudine wasn’t surprised. It just meant that she’d have to try again.

Emzily · 07-19-2021, 07:44 PM

Remy did nawt appreciate that Slytherin, Violet, adding to her answer like that, but she chose not to react. Especially because the professor had already praised her. Anyway - back to the lesson, and the demonstration was pretty cool.

Practising a new spell was always fun, but trying to sift through her potions textbook to find the correct potion sounded like an absolute snore-fest. Remy chose cauldron three to study, although the contents looked a little gross. The Gryffindor readied her wand and gave the wand movement a little practise first. The incantation was easy enough to pronounce.

Okay!

"Spellius..." Wait, that wasn't right... maybe she should have practised a little more. "SpeRevelio." Despite her wand movements being pretty much perfect, the potion stayed its thick, yellow self. It made no sense!!! No matter. Remy kept trying and it did take a few goes, much to her displeasure.

Feeling the words roll off her tongue now, she tried one more time. "SpeRevelio!" Almost unexpectedly, the potion started to separate. Wooooooah - SHE DID THAT. She watched it in awe and then looked around for that potions recipe book to start the snore fest of book flicking.

Watson · 07-20-2021, 12:53 AM

Professor Varma had spiked the potion?!? Well not spiked but swapped them out but then again Lisa felt quite foolish for not seeing through it. She had trusted Varma in the moment because adults knew best but now… doubt was creeping in. She would have been more upset but as she had that precise thought of feeling foolish, it disappeared quickly and then she couldn’t remember exactly what had happened.

Then it all clicked and she was once again gasping. Say whaaaaat!!! She had been DUPED! She pouted. Lisa hadn’t known that Varma would have had it within her to trick them but this WAS an important lesson for the youngest Nam to learn. Trust but verify what was going on. She wrote that down and then quickly added another sentence. Constant vigilance. Maybe Trent was right.

She stayed quiet and sulked at the Professor’s next question. As she listened to the answers, she began jotting a few down ideas. Don’t trust a dark wizard when they offer you a potion. Don’t take candy from someone you don’t know or anything…. Should have listened more to her parents…

The activity that the Professor presented to her sounded intriguing. She liked to pursue knowledge and investigate things. Sounded like a puzzle and she couldn’t wait to solve it.

However, first she had to practice said spell. SpeRevelio. She performed the wand movement first. The semi-circle over the cauldron followed by a quick flick. Almost like a ballet move that her brother did. She pictured the move in her mind and then performed it before focusing on the pronunciation.

FearlessLeader19 · 07-20-2021, 12:50 PM

“SpeRevelio.”

Claudine concentrated even more than before, imagining that potion divided up just as Varma’s had been. Along with the incantation, the correct wand movement was done. This time around, she was pleasantly surprised when her green coloured potion was suddenly in parts. Claudine’s face brightened up and she inwardly celebrated. She had done it! Now for the second part.

Cladine took her time to make a mental note of the respective ingredients then reached for her text book. “Red wine...hairy fungus…” She kept repeating to herself until her finger slid along the book’s page to the said ingredients. Narrowing her eyes a bit, her finger paused at the list and she looked up at the separated potion.

A careful scan of the ingredients told her that her chosen potion was the Aging Potion.

Sunflower · 07-20-2021, 02:00 PM

His speculation was wrong, but not too far-fetched. Max was surprised to hear that they would, in fact, be studying a variation of the charm that he mentioned. Wow, and he was only trying to think outside the box! If he was glad about almost guessing the topic of the lesson correctly, he did not let it show, though his previous expression of obvious displeasure had disappeared.

So it was with a more positive attitude that the first year began to practise Scarpin's Revelaspell. "SpeRevelio ... SpeRevelio," he muttered under his breath, with the wand movement of semi-circle followed by a quick flick. Eager to start the activity quickly and do it WELL this time, his eyes flicked over in the direction of the cauldrons every now and then. Perhaps he could identify the potions just by looking at their colours?

Deezerz · 07-20-2021, 03:02 PM

Serena was all about identifying more than potions. You could never be too trustful. Unless you're with Lisa. Lisa wouldn't ever lie.

For the next part of the lesson Serena was all ears. She's heard all about Scarpin's Revelaspell. Her daddy had mentioned it in one his lessons. Ugh. She loved her dad for teaching all he's taught her so far. Potions was definitely her strongest suit because of him.

Even though she was familiar with this spell, Serena jotted down important notes and thoughts. Mostly thoughts. Both useful for future reference. Once that was done, she went ahead and practiced the wand movement just as Professor Varma instructed.

"SpeRevelio," she tried out without the wand movement. Serena decided she'd try both when she was ready to try it on the cauldron.

*MadAlice* · 07-20-2021, 11:15 PM

Violet practised the wand movement and incantation over half a dozen times and still flubbed it up--she either forgot one of the wand movements or one of the words of the incantation. it seemed impossible to remember everything all at once. Suspecting it was the lingering effects of the potion she'd unwisely swallowed, she kept on doggedly, determined not to give in, until she finally seemed to have it right. [i]But how are we supposed to do classwork when we've been drugged with a forgetfulness potion is beyond me,[i] she grumbled inwardly.

Still in a grumpy mood, Violet walked over and grabbed the first cauldron she came to. Stopping a moment to center herself and try to clear her mind, she finally managed to get "SpeRevelio! out of her mouth at the same time as she made the semi-circle wand movement, followed by the quick flick of the wrist--she felt like she'd just finished a marathon just doing that right.

Then, watching with heightened curiosity, she saw the glossy green potion in the cauldron begin to separate into the ingredients that had gone into it--this was fascinating! There was...red wine, it looked like, and some kind of dark liquid--prune juice! and hairy fungus, tortoise shell, caterpillar, and...it must be bat's tongue! Violet knew what this was--Aging Potion!

*PhoenixRising* · 07-21-2021, 03:56 PM

It was definitely the case of the latter, in which yes, Apollo simply got lucky in choosing this potion. But when he instantly felt that boost in magical strength, he wasn't about to complain either. Just to make sure it wasn't just a feeling, Apollo cast Lumos, deciding a simple spell would be easier to see if his magical abilities were really as enhanced as he felt. Was it just him or did his light shine a little brighter? He was making his way through the obstacle course and maybe about halfway through, hanging on monkey bars, when the potion wore off... which meant, his normal strength and agility kicked in. Which meant. He lost hold of the monkey bars and fell onto his back. Fortunately his twelve year old body allowed him to recover quickly but it definitely alarmed him, as he gazed around to the rest of the class and joined his classmates at the starting line.

He took the Exstimulo Potion, which was correctly labeled, so having not really paid too much attention to what his classmates took, he chose to remain quiet for the first question. He was definitely confused as to why Professor Varma would purposefully trick them into taking incorrect potions, but was that part of the lesson? Oh, it was. So relying on their senses ... probably just four of their five senses would be good to help identify a potion. Although mostly just vision sense, since Apollo wasn't really sure how well a potion could talk to allow them to use their hearing sense. And given they shouldn't ingest it before identifying it, that left taste out. Scent might work, depending on if the potion had a specific smell, which some he knew did. So really just scent and vision were the two main tools they had to use.

And apparently an incantation. Well, doh, why didn't he think of that as a possibility?!? There were incantations to identify human presence, so it should have been obvious that there was one to identify a potion.

"SpeRevelio" The second year recited, before stepping over to cauldron three. Reciting the incantation again with the wand movement this time, he watched, and waited for the ingredients to separate out. Rattlesnake fang, ginger, houndstongue ... okay .. but pufferfish eyes? Could there actually be two potions in here?? He frowned, jotting down the ingredients he recognized, and feeling quite confused.

MadMadamMalfoy · 07-21-2021, 06:23 PM

Heath listened closely as Professor Varma explained Scarapin’s Revealaspell to the class and he couldn’t help but feel a little sheepish. Ugh, he couldn’t believe he didn’t think of that earlier! Still, he had to admit that spell would be awfully useful in a situation like this. Making a mental note of the incantation and wand movement, he watched the spell demonstration, intrigued as the ingredients separated themselves like pieces of a pie. How cool was that? He couldn’t wait to try the spell out for himself!

Drawing his wand, he practiced the semi-circle wand movement and flick of the wrist a few times. That part seemed pretty straightforward. If only the same could be said for the incantation! “SpeRevelio,” he said under his breath, though the first word came out sounding more like “specialist”. Merlin, that incantation was a mouthful! “SpeRevelio,” he tried again. That was better! “SpeRevelio, SpeRevelio…” he repeated several more times until he felt confident that he had the incantation down.

Only then did Heath make his way over to the cauldrons, and he was immediately drawn to the blue potion - his favorite color - in the second one. As he got closer, he could smell something light and floral. Was that lavender he smelled? He peered into the cauldron, noting its thin consistency. Okay, so thin, blue potion with a floral smell… he jotted down his preliminary observations in hopes that would help him identify the potion later, but first the spell!

He aimed his wand at the cauldron, making the semi circle and flick of the wrist. “SpeRevelio!” he cast. He looked into the cauldron, and… nothing happened. What did he do wrong? He said the incantation correctly and did the right wand movement. Maybe his timing was off? He tried again, this time carefully timing the wand movement so that the flick of the wrist came at the exact moment he finished the incantation. “SpeRevelio!”

When Heath looked into the cauldron again, he saw the ingredients separating themselves into portions, just like when the professor had performed the spell earlier. Ooh, he was right; there was lavender in this potion! He immediately recognized a few of the other ingredients as water, peppermint, and hyacinth flower. There were a few other plant ingredients that he didn’t instantly recognize on sight, but a quick consultation of his textbook identified them as bloodroot stems, valerian root, and skullcap leaves. Then there was some sort of oil - fluxweed oil, maybe? - slime, some kind of animal heart, and a thick dark liquid, which Heath had a strong suspicion was glumbumble fluid.

As he read over the list of possible ingredients he’d compiled in his notes, he had an idea which potion this was, but just in case, he consulted the potion ingredient book on the table. The book confirmed what he already suspected. Now he was fairly confident in identifying the potion as Calming Draught. He wrote his prediction in his notes underneath his preliminary observations and list of ingredients and stepped aside to make room for others to examine the potion.

Emzily · 07-21-2021, 07:42 PM

Remy had a potions recipe book at the ready and started to flick through once she had written down each of the ingredients that she recognised. It had taken a little while to identify them properly, especially since some of them looked pretty gross. Potions ingredients always did, which is why this wasn’t her favourite class. Soon enough, she had them all written down apart from the eyes and spleen… she wasn’t sure what creatures those belonged to.

With heavy eyes, the first year used the information she did have and tried to find the correct potion. She would just look out for key words. There were a few that could have made her pause for thought, but only one that eventually displayed all of the ingredients that were in front of her. The Swelling Solution. Meaning the spleen belonged to bats, and the eyes belonged to puffer-fish.

She was 99% sure on her answer, anyway… maybe 99%

Now… to put the potion back together.

Fireheart · 07-22-2021, 04:12 AM

Shreya was pleasantly surprised at her students' progress. She had honestly had low expectations for their performance of Scarpin's Revelaspell. Judging from their...impulsivity in choosing the potions earlier in the lesson, and given the fact that it was a notoriously difficult charm to perform, she hadn't expected so many students to get it right.

"Lovely work, Ms. Blaze," she noted as she passed by the Slytherin's cauldron. It may have taken her a try or two, but her cast had obviously been successful. "And you as well, Mr. Jones. Calming Draught it is, indeed."

Remy, Violet, and Apollo had all been successful in their attempts as well, meaning that they got enthusiastic nods from the professor.

To those that were still trying (Max and Lisa), Shreya offered a warm smile. "If you're having trouble, don't worry. This is a tricky spell to get right. It requires a significant amount of focus." Which she figured may be difficult, given the state some of them were just in on the obstacle course. "Keep at it," she exclaimed.

A glance down at her watch—and a peek up at the sun, which was getting higher in the sky—reminded her that time was almost up. Making her way back to the front table, she called the class back to order. "Excellent work, everyone! I'm very proud of the work you've accomplished today. This is quite an advanced spell, so it was a wonderful effort from you all." She waved her wand, and the cauldrons vanished, along with any remaining brews (or ingredients) within them. "For those who are wondering, the green potion was the Ageing Potion, the blue potion was a Calming Draught, and the yellow potion was the Swelling Solution. I think most of you were on the right track."

"I do apologize for any unfavorable potion effects you may have experienced today," she said, feeling it pertinent to reiterate the point of the lesson before dismissing the class. "I do hope you were able to see the benefit of it, though. I always want you to remember how important it is to properly identify a potion before using it." She gave the class a nod, hoping they'd understand. "For homework, please make yourself a pocket guide for identifying common potions or ingredients. You never know when it might come in handy. Class dismissed!"

OOC: Thanks so much for coming, everyone! I'll leave the thread open for a few more hours so you can wrap up or post your charrie heading out.

*PhoenixRising* · 07-22-2021, 01:54 PM

Apollo was still studying the ingredients when Professor Varma was wrapping up the lesson and revealed what each of the potions were. He frowned, staring between the potions and up at the professor.

"So uh... im sorry if this is dumb... but you said this potion is swelling solution. But there's no pufferfish eyes in swelling solution? Is it mixed with growth unction? Is there a difference?" He just had to ask. Also that homework was definitely one of the most useful homework assignments in his two years so far.

*MadAlice* · 07-22-2021, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fireheart

"I do apologize for any unfavorable potion effects you may have experienced today," she said, feeling it pertinent to reiterate the point of the lesson before dismissing the class. "I do hope you were able to see the benefit of it, though. I always want you to remember how important it is to properly identify a potion before using it." She gave the class a nod, hoping they'd understand. "For homework, please make yourself a pocket guide for identifying common potions or ingredients. You never know when it might come in handy. Class dismissed!"

Violet had ended the spell on her potion and watched in fascination as the ingredients slowly combined themselves together again. The process had just finished when she heard Professor Shreya end the class, with an apology no less. Well, Violet had learned something, all right--not only would she never again trust the assurance of another over her own opinion again, especially in regards to a potion, but she was not sure she trusted Professor Shreya as much as before. In fact, Violet was fast gaining a distrust of all the adults in the school.

Sighing, she gathered her things and started to head back to her dorm (though if there was any of that bread there, she wasn't sure she could take it--maybe she'd just head out onto the grounds and try to clear her mind with some fresh air.

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