Mason eyed the beginning potioneers warily as he reiterated the rules of the competition before assigning them their first task, "A cure for boils will be up first, good luck!" He cheered them on with a wide smile hoping like hell nobody blew anything up.

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You have 72 hours to post you character completing the potion. First one to post gets a +1 on their score!

Elijah Urquart Holly Scrimgeour Fleur Rey Arthur Price @'Luce Faucher-De Loncrey'

  

He would win. How could he not, given his competition? Miss Scrimgeour was the only one even worth mentioning.

Elijah would win today, just as Slytherin had won their first quidditch match of the season. It was a shame there were no Gryffindors in this group—a second sound defeat would have been truly demoralizing.

Instead, Elijah was forced to focus on the task at hand. Diligently, the third year went to work on his potion—and with potions among his best subjects, the Slytherin raised his hand with pride when his cure for boils was done. Not that he needed that pride. He had raw, untarnished talent to see him through.

  

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— Elijah has heterochromia. His right eye is green and his left is blue. —

— MJ is a graphics goddess ❤ —

After earning second place in the beginner's bracket during last year's potion brewing tournament, Holly was determined to earn first place this year. She'd scoured every textbook (along with every intro-level potions book she could find) until she felt confident in her ability to recite ingredients and procedures for a dozen potions.

Then, all that was left was to hope for the best.

Holly brewed her potion diligently, not even giving so much as a glance towards the other competitors until she was finished. After casting her final spell, Holly took a step backwards, waiting to be judged.

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— set by MJ <3 —

Listening closely to Professor Skeeter and the rules that he listed, she quickly got to work the moment they were allowed to begin. Making sure to double check the ingredients as she got them out, she reminded herself to remain calm. Not to rush through the process. While it might be good to not be the last one to finish, it certainly might not be good to be the first one to either. One would certainly hope that they made sure to brew their potion properly.

Not daring to take a glance at her fellow classmates for fear of missing something for her potion, she stepped back and waited to be judged the moment she was done. Brushing off her robes slightly, she took a calming breath and reassured herself that taking her time was the right thing to do.

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Beauties by MJ

After he doubled down on potions at the end of the last school year (thank Sisse for introducing him to the concept of extra group studies), Arthur was sure he would brew an actually working potion. Maybe not the best one, maybe not even a good one, but still working. Participation also had its value, even if he lost. Just like the journey was as much important for many book heroes as the destination.

Quiet splash. Powdered snake fangs - the first ingredient - were in. Methodically, Arthur kept stirring and adding ingredients. At last, porcupine quills fell into the cauldron. The boy waved his wand triumphantly and looked at Professor Skeeter, a proud smile on his face. Satisfied with the result (the potion didn’t blow up, at least; and none of the steps seemed to be forgotten), Arthur stepped back, waiting for the verdict.

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Potions!  It was much like cooking, albeit a bit more dangerous.

If one thing was for certain, Fleur was quite good at preparing her ingredients. She did so cheerfully, humming all the while, without even realizing she was doing so. The girl barely noticed they were engaged in some sort of competition.

When it came time to actually brew, she followed the instructions with a content smile, and then started to wave her arm in the air when she was done.

  

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Thanks, MJ!

Mason grew worried when Miss Scrimgeour's potion started to smoke at all the wrong times. He took care of that quickly and moved on as quietly as possible. "Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Urquart, Miss Faucher-De Loncrey and Mr. Price will be moving on to a Swelling Solution, best of luck!"

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You have 72 hours to post you character completing the potion. First one to post gets a +1 on their score!

Elijah Urquart | 9.5
Holly Scrimgeour | 4
Fleur Rey | 6
Arthur Price | 6.5
@'Luce Faucher-De Loncrey' | 8

  

His was a self-satisfied smile as one of the first years was forced out. With Miss Scrimgeour's fall, it was just him left to show these Hufflepuffs who was in charge—as though there could be any doubt! Smugly, Elijah worked his way through his swelling solution, raising his hand when done. Once again, he was first. Were the others even trying?

  

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— Elijah has heterochromia. His right eye is green and his left is blue. —

— MJ is a graphics goddess ❤ —

Luce’s eyes brightened at the fact that she was moving on to the next task. Taking a deep breath, she set to work on the next potion. Keeping up with checking her ingredients as much as she could, she might have been a little faster than last time. Whether it be excitement or nerves, she stood back and waited to be judged the moment she was finished.

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Beauties by MJ

Arthur met Miss Scrimgeour’s failure with mixed feelings. On one hand, she was mean and probably deserved it. On the other hand, she was the perfect villain, well worthy of being in his books, even. Mr. Urquart could be considered a replacement, but it wasn’t the same, as the boys barely talked before. In less than a minute, the competition lost most of its dramatic effect. So anticlimactic. Genuinely sorry, Arthur gave the poor girl a sympathetic look, although he doubted it would make her feel much better.

His spirit sank even lower when the second potion was announced. Swelling Solution was one of his least favorite ones because of its ingredients. They were just gross. Puffer-fish eyes, bat spleens, ugh.

One by one, Arthur dropped eyes in the mortar, his face a grimace of disgust. When it was time to crush them, he didn’t look at his or another competitor’s work, his eyes wandering the heights of the enchanted ceiling instead. Luckily, crushing something with a mortar didn’t rely on sight much, and Arthur already had some experience with doing some steps (the grossest ones, usually) of potion brewing blindly.

After he dealt with puffer-fish eyes, there was some time for respite and then - ugh - bat spleens. When one of those was in the cauldron, Arthur audibly sighed in relief. The rest of the instructions didn't pose any emotional challenge, and soon the potion was complete. Then Arthur stepped back, allowing Professor Skeeter to examine the boy’s creation.

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"Looks like that's it for your Mr. Price, better luck next time." Unfortunate, he seemed to be doing alright until the end there. "We'll be moving on to a Sleeping Draught, a tricky one. Good luck!" He passed them a wide smile and a nod to begin.

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You have 72 hours to post you character completing the potion. First one to post gets a +1 on their score!

Elijah Urquart | 6.5
Arthur Price | 5.5
@'Luce Faucher-De Loncrey' | 7

  

Last round, Luce had actually made it to the last round. Reminding herself to focus, she got to work immediately. Ingredients, make sure they are right. Make sure to not miss a step. It all ran through her head as she made the potion. Deep breaths, slow deep breaths. She stepped back the moment she was done, playing with a loose strand of her hair as she waited to be judged. Now it really was nerves.

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Beauties by MJ

That was it. Unfortunately, sometimes villainous forces prevailed. But it rarely stopped heroes from going further in their adventures. And in Arthur's opinion, his first Potions Competition wasn't half bad. Nothing stinked, nothing blew up. It almost felt like a victory. But all he could do now was to cross his fingers and hope his housemate won.

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Victory was all but his. Elijah worked swiftly—though not as swiftly as the Hufflepuff who probably botched her potion terribly—on his sleeping draught, once more raising his hand when finished.

  

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— Elijah has heterochromia. His right eye is green and his left is blue. —

— MJ is a graphics goddess ❤ —

This last round was incredibly difficult to judge, both of the students did fairly well with the potion itself, but truthfully he was surprised to find that the young Hufflepuff was just a tiny bit more thorough. "Miss Faucher-DeLoncrey wins!" He announced with a smile. Puff pride after all.

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You have 72 hours to post you character completing the potion. First one to post gets a +1 on their score!

Elijah Urquart | 7.5
@'Luce Faucher-De Loncrey' | 8