Healing Potions Lesson 3: Practical (Invite only)

Healer In-Training Posts : 304

The idea of not being allowed to be teamed up with Rhian had been more of a struggle than she had cared to admit. She hated not being able to just work alone. She didn't trust a lot of people to work a potion so complex as this one. Looking a bit helpless, she bit her lip, realizing that it was like every introvert's nightmare, being asked to pair up. She briefly thought about Cassie, after all she was a potions major, and she could possibly work with her. But as soon as she thought that it would work, Cassie had paired up with her roommate. She promised herself she wasn't pouting, onwards to the next person, Adriano? Nope, he'd paired up as well it seemed. Parker? Some girl had approached him. Drat.

Before she could even make sense of it, it seemed that the neighbors were coming her way. The blond one shyly asked Rhian; interesting. It seemed that they already knew one another. Rhian looked pleased and as she left, Tess felt somehow betrayed. Tapping her nails she finally made a decision. She pushed her chair back and stood up only to come face to face with her brother.

"You're going to work with someone, just wait out the crowd."

She didn't know whether she was amused at the way he thought he could command her, or insulted at how she found herself put in her place and doing as asked. Damn it! Gritting her teeth, she began to work on her own way, putting in the level of vodka and water. She didn't light it quite yet, and waited for a partner.

Guest

Daniel had struggled for a partner, it seemed everyone had a pact from way back in that they could pick someone to work with. Daniel had not been privy to this information and had found himself without someone to work with. But, he hadn't been deterred, not in the slightest.

Heading in to the lesson (late as usual) Daniel did a quick spot check before noting Tess was on her own. Checking once more that there wasn't someone going to be joining her shortly, Daniel moved to the witch's side. "Hey." He greeted softly, putting his bag down. "So, I don't have a partner, and if my assumptions are correct, you don't either?" He asked, raising an eyebrow slightly to see if this was in fact true.

"So, uh, do you want to partner me? I'm not very good at potions, but I can follow instructions you give me and try not to get in the way." Daniel suggested, hoping that the fact she was related to the professor would mean that she was good at this kind of thing. Which reminded him.

"And what are we studying again?"

Healer In-Training Posts : 304

Tess had a few passions in her life; but potions was the first thing to drop on her lap that showed she had potential. While her brother was a prodigy, she herself wasn't too far behind on it. She thrived on the idea of perfection meant a perfect outcome, and in her mind, everyone could reach it if they tried hard enough. She pictured who she'd get as a partner, idly wishing that her neighbor could come over; he was a potioneer, so he couldn't be an idiot, but nothing came. It was until she heard a totally different voice that her thoughts were pushed aside.

She ignored the obviousness of the question, and instead nodded, biting her tongue from replying back. This wasn't her shift at the hospital wing. she didn't have to be so cordial, but she would be damned if she'd anger her partner that could potentially sabotage her. It wouldn't be so bad, her mind countered, at least he was a face she sort of remembered, and he was harmless. She could work with this.

"So, uh, do you want to partner me? I'm not very good at potions, but I can follow instructions you give me and try not to get in the way."

That set off an alarm in her head. Oh Merlin, she got one of those. Looking up trying to make eye contact with her brother, so she could show him just how much she appreciated his bastardly plans, but it didn't come to fruition. He was too busy. Closing her eyes she took a deep breath. There was no other option, she needed a partner to pass. Turning over to him, the niceties she showed in the hospital wing were close to none, this was their final exam and she would pass, and she would get perfection.

"Fine we can partner up. But don't touch anything unless I tell you and make sure you don't get in my way" her tone was firm. Potions were no joke for the ex-Slytherin, "Now go get the ingredients while I work on the base is that understood. Remember to put your gloves and please don't poison yourself."

At his next question she merely signaled that the potions ingredients came first and then the chit chat would happen. But now she was in the zone.

Guest

Spoiler:

Daniel was quite relieved his assumptions had been correct. Though, of course, if they hadn't been, it would probably have meant he could have left because Professor Holmes had insisted they had a partner. And, Daniel was aware to an extent that you didn't take the man lightly. Well, not enough to bother with being on time, but enough.

The notion of not doing anything without specific instruction was not one that Daniel minded, honestly, it was anything not to fail this class, in all honesty. As soon as the witch told him to go and get the ingredients, Daniel waited for a moment for her to answer his question on what they would be doing, but an answer didn't come. Instead, Daniel made his way through the class, stealing a glance at the text books that were open and turning to the same page himself.

Veritaserum.

Great, Daniel thought to himself as he moved in to the store cupboard and collected the many ingredients they would need. With arms laden with the ingredients, Daniel hurried back to Tess' side and put them neatly on their desk before scanning the instructions. Hurriedly, he pulled on the mask as indicated and looked to Tess. "I think I've gotten everything - what's next?" He asked, adjusting the mask once more before pulling on the gloves as recommended. It did seem a little much, but Daniel knew there was probably a very good reason.

Healer In-Training Posts : 304

He followed directions: good. It would make it an easy process to work with him. Relieved she immediately slipped on her own gloves and face mask, she moved it around to make her feel completely comfortable. As he waited for direction, she figured she could trust him with the cacao beans and she'd take the Angel's trumpet, since it would be a more delicate work. Turning over she looked at him and handed him a scalpel.

"I'll do step two and cut the angel's trumpet. I am trust you to open the cacao beans. You will only need the seeds, please be careful, since they tend to be hard when cutting through. And put the seeds in the syrup I'll collect from the flower."

Turning back to her work, she picked up the scalpel and slowly grazed the tip down the workings of the flower, from the stem to the center of the petals and as soon as the milk began to seep, she collected it in the bowl. Slowly cutting the petals she put them in the mortar and threw the rest of the plant away.

Turning to the root she began to shave, briefly forgetting that he was there. Her eyes moved from the root, back to him making sure he wouldn't hurt himself. She didn't know if it was for her need of a good grade, or for his well-being and she wasn't going to dwell on that.

Guest

Listening to the witch's instructions, Daniel had thought of asking just how you opened cocoa beans but the answer came when the witch thrust a scalpel his way. Well, not thrust, handed it to him. Nodding at the instructions, Daniel waited for the witch to look away before he looked back at his book, reading through the steps that were written to the third step.

The book made much more sense, though of course he would never be so rude as to tell Tess that he hadn't understood her. After checking the information one last time, Daniel took one of the beans and thought back to the lessons Cassana had been giving him. She'd always told him to be careful in what he did (they'd had way too many moment where he'd been heavy handed). Taking that information on board, Daniel leant over the beans, carefully scoring the skin, it took patience, but slowly the beans opened up, and the seeds were left in tact.

Daniel didn't take them out though, instead just lining them up ready for Tess to continue with the process. A woman's hands were always much gentler, and Daniel was most certainly not going to ruin things for the witch he was working with because he hadn't been careful.

For the most part, Daniel had done well, not hurting himself and not distracting Tess from the work. However, it was as he came to the last bean that he felt eyes on him, and looking up at Tess mid slice, Daniel missed the bean and scored across the top of his fingernail. The action made him jump, but it hadn't done any serious damage except to scratch a small line in to the nail.

"Sorry!" Daniel murmured to the witch, looking away from Tess to concentrate back on the bean before him. Honestly, being watched made him a little nervous, but it wasn't overly noticeable, likely Tess would just think him an idiot, but that wasn't anything overly new.

Healer In-Training Posts : 304

Everything was going perfect; the milk from the flower flowed and was perfectly picked before being sent to class. Whoever was in charge of it did their job perfectly for picking them rip already. As she threw the items down she began to shave the root as carefully as possible. She knew how sharp the objects could be, and more importantly cutting into the glove. The poison could get into a cut and would cause a lot of trouble. Thankfully as she noticed Daniel being careful she could see trusting him throughout the rest of the potion. She was in the midst of chopping when she heard the dreaded-

"Sorry!"

'Well shit' her mind screamed and her eyes trailed back over to him to see if he'd cut his finger. Dropping the blocks of root, she removed her gloves and grabbed his wrist stopping him from continuing.

"Drop the bean now" she whispered "let me see"

Thankfully the cacao bean was a dry ingredient and the cut didn't seem too bad only on the nail. Good. He could keep going, but not with those gloves, that much was clear. Tsking softly she figured it would be okay, the scalpel was just too sharp to really be taken lightly and it took a firm hand.

"I don't need to be playing nurse every time I'm around you, you know" she teased hoping he'd calm down. Yes she was intense in potions, but it was her way and he was lacking the performance she needed for this potion. She smiled softly and patted his hand hoping it would fix everything. She saw people succumb to smiles all the time, and figured it could work now.

"Don't worry, it's a common mistake," It wasn't, "How about I finish this and you set up the base okay? I set it up just get the right temperature on the base and we can get moving."

Her hands moved to get a new pair of gloves figuring she wasn't going to try to put the older ones on again. Grabbing the beans he had successfully peeled and threw the seeds and put them in the syrup of the angel's trumpet and quickly finished the last bean.

Guest

As Tess moved to grab his wrist, Daniel became very aware of how this wasn't the first time she'd saved his ass. Well, in fairness he hadn't done much - if any - damage, but she had reacted. Was that the Healer in her? Daniel didn't know, but he dropped the bean as she asked, and didn't resist her touch.

"I know!" Daniel replied to her teasing, giving her a small smile. "Just... please don't watch me." He added, slipping off the glove and pulling on a new one. Well done, Jameson, make yourself look... well... Man up! He chided himself, as Tess told him to do something else.

Nodding, the young man moved to the potion and gently turned the heat up. Nothing too quick, otherwise it would spoil - he'd been told in one of his many lessons with Cassana and he followed that. It took a few minutes before the mixture was warmed through and a gentle stream of steam began to rise from the cauldron, looking towards Tess, he motioned to the cauldron with his hand.

"I think we're ready to continue." He told her, trying not to be too sheepish. She was, in essence, going to secure him the grade he needed, and Merlin was he grateful for that.

Healer In-Training Posts : 304

Tess looked at Daniel confused at the fact that he said that she needed to stop staring at him. Maybe it was her critical eye, but that was the fact that it was well known from a Holmes. A critical eye caught mistakes, held high expectations, and apparently made people nervous. She didn't mean to; she was just used to being under it as well. Every movement, whether graceful or purposeful was seen under a microscope. Now she was acting like her father she supposed in that sense; a bad taste rose up to her mouth.

"Sorry" she murmured not bothering to look at him.

She could trust him.....she would try to trust him. It was the base; the base and the proper temperature was fine; and he was capable of doing that, he had to be. As he signaled that he was ready she nodded and worked on the angel's trumpet.

"Put the root pieces inside...carefully, try to spread them around in the cauldron. If you want move on to the next step and get the feathers, go for it."

She began to crush the petals and starting to create a paste and added the goats milk. It was a milky yellow as the milk began to seep into the petals. She was grateful that the smell was prevented from seeping through the mask. Once done, she grabbed the spare mortar and began to crush the cacao beans figuring the faster they move the better.

Guest

The apology wasn't acknowledged, he really shouldn't have said anything really, but it didn't matter now, it was much too late. But it was much too late for should of's and could have's so Daniel just kept quiet.

With the approval of the base potion being to standard, Daniel took on the information of what came next, trusting Tess and not referring to the book again as he quickly scattered the root pieces in to the cauldron as he'd been instructed, watching them be absorbed in to the mixture. Potions had always been such a weird concept to Daniel, but he shook the thought away so that he could concentrate a lot more on what he needed to be doing.

Pausing to read the instructions, Daniel took in the idea of putting them around the edge of the cauldron. Sometimes, he wished there were pictures to really show you how to do this stuff, because the instructions weren't always crystal clear.

Daniel checked the petals had been added before he carefully laid the feathers in to the mixture, going very, very careful not to catch himself on the cauldron and send it tumbling. he was quite sure that Tess would kill him if he did that. If not her, then definitely her brother. Looking in to the cauldron, it didn't take long for the feathers to lose their colour, with a quick glance to Tess, Daniel pulled the now white feathers from the mixture and covered the top of the cauldron.

So far, it seemed to be going well.

"What would you like me to do now?" Daniel asked the witch, scanning the last couple of instructions. Everything seemed to be done, so it was just a waiting game, if you asked Daniel, but he knew he wasn't anywhere near competent enough to be confident in that ideology.

Healer In-Training Posts : 304

Everything was going perfectly; and Tess couldn't be more relieved. Despite the hiccup in the beginning of the lesson plan, things were moving smoothly. Perhaps she should have removed some reigns early on, but it was too late now and she didn't regret it if it meant that she would be getting the grade she wanted. She mumbled softly something about definitely getting the grade she wanted.

Finishing the mixture of the cacao beans and the syrup she crushed them, wrinkling her nose at the way they stuck to the mortar. This was not fun; especially someone that wasn't that strong physically to be doing it. Moving her wrist and crushing it she used as much body weight as she could to get the stupid seed to crack and absorb the syrup. It had taken longer than she'd expected but as she finished, she rolled her shoulders and removed her glove for a second to rub her shoulder blade.

"What would you like me to do now?"

As he asked that she turned back to the instructions and shrugged. There was nothing much left to begin with, but she figured she could allow him to actually turn the potion once it boiled.

"When the ten minutes are up, you can mix the potions while I input the paste and you can ladle it in the phial. Does that sound okay to you?" she asked.

Guest

The shrug was not the best of ways of finding out what he was to do, but Daniel's confidence in this field was simply not high enough for him to take the reins. So he waited to be told that they only needed to wait ten minutes.

"So uhm, I appreciate this, second time you saved my backside." Daniel said in the minutes that passed. "But uh, what do you think we're going to get? Grade wise?" The young man asked, trying not to look too hopeful in that moment. After all, he had to be on to a winner being the partner of their professor's sister.

But once the ten minutes came to an end, Daniel was concentrating once more. Taking the lid from the potion very carefully, Daniel began to stir the moment Tess started to pour the final part of the potion in to the cauldron. Potions were so much easier when you weren't stressing about everything on your own.

"If you could get me a vial, I'll fill it up." Daniel said as they finished up the potion a few minutes later. "Please." He added a moment later because Daniel wasn't one to be bossy.

» Healing Potions Lesson 3: Practical (Rhian & Conner)
» Healing Potions Practical Lesson 3 (Aria & Ariel)
» Healing Potions Lesson 3: Practical (Lilliana & Amerix)
» Healing Potions Lesson 2 Practical (Cassana and Brooke)
» Healing Potions Lesson 3: Practical (Parker and Melody)

Healing Potions Lesson 3: Practical (Invite only)

Healing Potions Lesson 3: Practical (Invite only)

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