During the lecture-based lesson, Parker once again stuck to listening/observing rather than participating like the professor suggested in his grading notes last term. It was hard to push himself out of his comfort zone though, especially when everyone else gave such great answers and he lacked the knowledge for the more offensive applications of potions. Parker listened and took notes of the various suggestions given during the discussion; some straightforward and others definitely outside of the box but good nonetheless. Better than anything he could have come up with, at least.

Just hearing that they were to be brewing a new version of Veritaserum next lesson peaked his interest. Mumbling a barely audible note-taking charm, Parker looked up from his notebook at Professor Holmes, intensely interested in the idea of a fresh take on the classic potion as his quill scribbled away on the paper.

As the professor went on to explain and pass around the consent waivers, Parker could feel his excitement build. He absolutely loved doing actual potions work, and to do something more experimental and dangerous made it seem even more important somehow.

After skimming the waiver, Parker grabbed a second quill (the first currently writing down the procedure for next lesson) and signed his name at the bottom. Class was nearing its end so people began packing up and eagerly discussed who they would be pairing up with next lesson, but Parker sat there with a slightly hollow feeling. He missed his friends from Hogwarts intensely.

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He didn’t know who he was going to pair up with until it was actually almost time for the practical itself, having met Melody only a few days prior and finding out she didn’t have a partner either. And since she was majoring in potions, he felt confident they would be able to do a good job despite how unwell he’d been feeling lately.

Walking into class early with a group of other students, Parker took a spot at one of the empty stations and started taking out his safety gear and notebook. He opened his notebook to where his charmed quill had written the procedure in near scrawl, and started to gather and set up the necessary equipment (but not yet ingredients) while waiting for Melody to arrive.

Melody wasn't sure what potion she should have answered. The good answers were already taken and she was too nervous to give it a go. She hoped the professor wouldn't mark her down for not suggesting an answer. She knew he wanted her to speak up more in class but she had just ended up taking notes and listening.

When they were told they had to partner up she wasn't sure who she was going to go with. She didn't know most of the students. Thankfully Parker hadn't picked anyone yet.

Walking into a class filled with groups of students she looked around and went over to Parker when she spotted him.

"Hi Parker," she said, wondering if he had been waiting long.

"Hey Melody," Parker responded with a bit more energy to his voice then he'd had the previous few weeks, and he didn't look quite as ill anymore either. He'd kinda been looking forward to the practical, something about potions and being able to brew just made him feel so much better. "I just got here a few minutes ago, but I figured I'd start setting up so we can get started sooner. This is gonna take a while."

Flicking his wand towards his notebook, propping it up so the instructions were clearly visible, though the writing might have been difficult for Melody to read.

Instructions:

"You ready to get started?" he asked as he started to pull on his protective gloves, hoping everything would go alright.

"Yeah," she said. She made sure to put on the gloves and face mask. She could only hope that everything would go alright, the thought of one of them getting hospitilized worried her. She took out her own notes, not that she couldn't read his but it was easier than them both going to look at the same notebook.

She read over all the notes before getting an Angel's trumphet and putting it on the board. She wasn't sure if he wanted to start or if she should but maybe it didn't matter. They had to work together on this after all.

"Err, don't forget the mask," she said. Not really thinking that he was going to but wanting to make sure anyway.

"Okay great," he said with a nod, putting the cutting board in place while she grabbed the flower and then placed it on top.

Parker's face mask was hanging from around his neck, completely forgotten until Melody reminded him. "Oh, crap, thanks. That would have been bad," he said, slightly embarrassed as he quickly secured the mask in place. Since masks weren't something they always needed when brewing, it was easier for it to slip his mind - not good when his health and grade were on the line though.

Glancing over the notes, he mentally started to divide the first few steps between them. "Hmm, I'll take care of the flower. You can open the beans and get started on the root after that." He half asked / half stated, figuring she wouldn't really mind either way.

He reached over the chopping board to grab the scalpel and a collection vial. Positioning himself over the board, he carefully started to slice along from the petals to the stem and poured the liquid that came out into the collection vial. Parker carefully plucked off the petals, tossing them into the mortar for later, and then proceeded to clip off the leaves, throwing them away.

Once he finished with all these, he turned to look over where Melody was. "Oh, once you've got the beans open, be sure to put them in the collection vial with the liquid."

He had forgotten the mask after all then. It was a good thing she had thought to remind him. Rushing him to the hospital wing was something she hoped to avoid this lesson and avoid any other time really.

"Its a good thing I was here to remind you," Melody said, her tone light although her worry was real.

Melody didn't hesiate to do what was asked. There wasn't any point in arguing over it, the way the work was split was fair. She got the beans out and carefully cut them open with a scapel. She dug the scapel in deep enough to remove the seed from the bean. She was thankful that it didn't break and unsure what Professor Holmes would have expected her to do if it had broken. She didn't know what cutting open a regular bean would be like but she supposed the bean would be less dense and it would be easier to destroy it in the process.

Melody nodded at him and did put the seeds into the vial of liquid as asked when finished.

"Yeah, thanks, serious injury and a Troll on my grades are not things that are on my to-do list for this week," he joked with a slight chuckle, though it came out sounding somewhat half-hearted. The idea was actually really scary to him. He really needed to be more careful; it was so unlike him to be anything but when it came to potions.

Things were going well so far, each of them doing their respective tasks. There was still a long way to go, but if they kept this up and continued to work well together (and ask the other for help if need-be), then the time would pass by quickly.

Parker thanked her when she put the seeds into the vial, and proceeded to cap it so they wouldn't run the risk of it spilling if something happened to knock it over accidentally. Glancing over the next part in the notes, he thought up what things they each needed to do next. "One of us needs to get water into the cauldron and start it boiling while the other gets the root and starts getting that ready." He said as he continued skimming his scrawled procedure.

"I could get the water started and keep and start pasting the flower petals? Unless you'd rather me skin and chop the root?" he asked, hoping she didn't mind him designating all the tasks between them. He wasn't usually a leader-type person, but when it came to potions there was a sense of control over the things going on around him that he didn't otherwise have.

"You're welcome," Melody replied. Not really feeling the need to be thanked but it was nice anyway.

"Umm, it doesn't really matter to me," she said. "I mean I could just as easily skin and chop the roots as start on the flower. I'm not picky." She hoped that she didn't sound like she just didn't care about what they were doing. She did but she was fine with his suggestions on how to split the work. The flower petals did sound easier but she wasn't going to take back her answer.  She got up and took half of a root from the jar at the desk. The instructions had said that this was the amount they would need and she knew Professor Holmes wouldn't have gotten the amout wrong.

She started shaving off the thick skin of the root once she was back to her spot. She hadn't bothered taking off the gloves or mask when she went over so she didn't have to worry about putting them back on now. She wasn't sure if they shouldn't do the roots together as she didn't want to accidentally skip a step but the cauldron might take a few minutes to bubble anyway.

Parker was glad Melody seemed as easygoing as she did. He definitely didn't want to divide up the work unevenly either way and he hoped she'd say if she needed any help with a specific part. "Ah alright, I'll get started with this but I'll help you out once I finish my part."

As she went off to grab the half of the angel's trumpet root, Parker started measuring out water into the cauldron. He then followed it up with the vodka before turning the flames onto low. Once he finished with that, he glanced over to see Melody already starting to peel away at the root.

Parker grabbed the mortar that he'd placed the angel's trumpet petals into earlier on and then grabbed the pestle to begin grinding and mashing it into more of a paste as per the instructions. It was a little bit more difficult to get it into the proper texture than he anticipated, but he kept working at it knowing that if it wasn't ground up enough their potion could potentially be altered. He added one teaspoon of the goat's milk, continued mashing with the pestle, and then added the second teaspoon when he felt like it was good enough. As expected, it was a pale yellowish colour.

He turned back to Melody to check in on her process with peeling and chopping the root, knowing it would take longer than what he needed to do. "Need help with finishing up the chopping?" he asked.

Melody nodded when Parker said he'll help her finish later. She worried about the shaving first, the chopping wouldn't be as difficult if they were going to split the work.

She looked at her work once she was finished. She hadn't ended up too much off. The shavings lay on the board, she couldn't recall the instructions saying anything about them needing the skin for later.

"Yeah," she replied. She might have been able to do it on her own but this way would be faster and she didn't want to leave Parker unsure of what to do next. She started chopping it herself.

Parker nodded in affirmation when she said she could use some help. It would help save them time if they both worked on it.

So Parker went over to grab a second cutting knife. When he came back, Melody had already started cutting her portion of the root, so Parker got to work on his own part. Before they knew it, the chopping was all finished and ready to be put into the water, which was just starting bubble (but not boil just yet).

"Perfect timing. I'll start putting the bits of root into the cauldron." Parker started to say as he gathered the little cut squares in his hands. "Right after I get them in can you start pouring in the petal paste?"

He placed the handful in the water, and reached over the grab a second handful, making sure not to drop any of the cubes. "Then we just need to add the feathers and we'll leave it to boil for a bit."

"Yeah, remember to even the roots out." While there were some instants one could experiment with potions, it was best to do it to the letter if it was a difficult one. She wasn't going to risk their lives or grades for curiousity's sake. She held the flower paste in her hands but didn't start pouring it out.

She waited until he had put in the all roots before adding the petal paste. She didn't add it too quickly. "Okay," she replied. She went and got the four Jabberknoll feathers. The instructions seemed clear on what they were supposed to with them so she started putting the feathers along the sides of the cauldron.

"Yeah, remember to even the roots out."

Parker nodded, taking care to make sure the roots didn't all go in at once or in clumps. When not dealing with class work, Parker would have loved to experiment more with brewing and such, but now would definitely not be the time to stray from directions. Especially not when they were nearing the end.

When he was finished and she started to pour the paste in, Parker watched her do the next step with the feathers. "I'll start crushing the cacao beans while you take care of that part. Be sure to take them out the moment the colour is out of them."

He grabbed the mortar previously used for the flower petals, and then grabbed the vial of the beans inside the plant liquid that they set aside earlier. He poured it into the mortar carefully and once it was all in he began to crush them with the pestle.

"Okay," Melody replied. She kept a close eye on the feathers once she had finished putting them around the cauldron but not too close. She didn't want to risk burning herself.

The feathers took their time losing their colors, Parker would likely be finished before she was. She took them out once lost their colors, careful not to take one too early or burn herself. She thought about the Jabberknoll briefly, wondering if her mom knew anything about it. Maybe she'd look it up later.

Once she was done she looked over to Parker. Thinking that he seemed to be doing fine and after she made sure the boiling cauldron was covered she looked over the instructions.