Archer quite enjoyed potions. He liked the rules and the need to follow specific directions, but he also loved how experimental it could be. There wasn't a potion for everything, but what if there could be? What if someone could invent a cure for lycanthropy or other conditions? The versatility of it all was what truly drove his interest in the subject while he impatiently waited to be able to take Ghoul Studies.

Competitions, on the other hand, weren't on his list of favorite things. His housemates had pressured him to enter, and he found himself regretting the decision to cave in to peer pressure as he stood listening to Professor Darrow's instructions.

When they were given the go ahead to begin, Archie's face turned a pale, green-ish shade. He was familiar with a Cure for Boils, but the pressure of it all, and the thought that others might be watching him, had the boy quietly working with his head bowed and shoulders hunched.

He worked a bit more slowly than his classmates, steadily, methodically. When he had completed the task, he sheepishly raised his hand, trying not to make any sort of eye contact with anyone.

Why did he volunteer to do this again?