For most of the OWLs students there was a year or more before the lessons of this class became paramount!
'The everlasting elixer' he began, after the usual preamble of the beginning of a new school year. 'is a common practical potion on the OWL potions exams - for those of you in 3rd and 4th year, please take advantage of the opportunity to practice this often complex potion, for the 5th years, please take detailed notes of what does and perhaps more importantly what does not work. There is a good chance that the examiners will ask you the same questions at the end of the year.' He instructed the advice he gave all students approaching OWLS.
The flames under the cauldrons at each station burst into life. 'Begin, please feel free to ask questions as I come around'
Meserimus will move through the desks and 'grade' the potion every time you post, and there will be a weighted final score for the final potion. If you post 3 times you 'completed' the potion.
1-5 -potion backfires
6-10 - doesnt work
10-20 - Fine potion
25 + Great potion
30+ exceptional
Code:
[b]Owl grade:[/b] letter grade
[b]Skill:[/b]1-5
[b]Member of potion club:[/b] yes/no
RE: Bottle fame, brew glory (OWL Potions) - Anne Moony - January 16, 2023
At the hint of a challenge, Anne straightened on her stool. This was what she loved, a challenge! Anne couldn't help but beam as she dug into her notes. Alice had talked about this one! Now it was Anne's turn to do it herself; if she could show up the older students, then even better. With a huge grin toward Millie, Anne shoved her notes closer to the Ravenclaw and set to work.
Owl grade: Expecting O Skill: 3.5/4 - Above Average for her age Member of potion club: yes
Nicodemus would have to sit for his OWLs in just a couple of months but he was confident he would do decently in Potions. It was one of his best classes. As everyone began getting to work, so did the Ravenclaw.
Owl grade: A or E Skill: 3 Member of potion club: Yes
It was a hit or miss for Paxton when it came to Potions most days. Perhaps it was due to his lack of attention span or that he just wasn't a natural talent when it came to Potions. Well, whatever it was, he was still going to have to deal with it once OWLs came around. It was also a necessity in a lot of jobs. As it was, the Hufflepuff got to work when they were all bid to begin.
RE: Bottle fame, brew glory (OWL Potions) - Henry Thompsett - January 16, 2023
It felt good to be back at school, life at home was just not what it used to be since mother passed. He had planned to remain at the school for the holidays but decided to return home at the last minute. He didn't want to be completely away from family over the holidays and there was the hope maybe his father would be around this time instead of hiding at his office or wherever he went instead of being home taking care of his children.
With a new term started and the OWL exams all the more closer, Henry was glad to focus his entire attention on getting the best grades he could. Though he wasn't sure exactly what he wanted as a career he definitely wanted to have the grades to ensure he had as many options as possible.
Henry had read a bit about the Everlasting Elixir in his text book and knew it wasn't an easy potion to make. Then again nearly all the potions they took so far this year were complicated. He didn't mind the challenge, in fact he looked forward to it.
At the order to begin, Henry took a moment to scan over the ingredient list before heading to the supply cupboard to get what he needed. As usual there was a fair amount of odd ingredients which had to be cut, smashed, ground or otherwise broken up into pieces before adding them to the potion. He took his time preparing the ingredients so they were as prefect as he could get them before he added them into his cauldron. He waves his wand over it once as per the instructions then gave it a stir before waiting the required time before moving onto the next step.
Owl grade: E or higher Skill:4 Member of potion club: no
Yuri had taken a seat near Millie with the express purpose of quizzing her. 'Millie!' he stage whispered, trying to make his actions look like part of the class, and avoid the professor's attention.
'Is it true then?' he asked, his eyes saucers in wonder, 'Did you really find a secret passage way?' he pressed, the rumors had flown around the junior school, a terribly kept secret that the quidditch kids from his own year had passed amongst them. 'Go on, you can tell me!' he promised earnestly. He was still following the instructions on the board, albeit mechanically. He was good at potions once he worked out what all of the words said, the professor's flowery handwriting was especially difficult to read, and he still struggled a bit with some of his reading.
RE: Bottle fame, brew glory (OWL Potions) - Greta Gillenwater - January 26, 2023
Owl grade: Eish Skill: 4 Member of potion club: yes
Greta dutifully turned to the correct page in her text that proclaimed 'Everlasting Potion' at the mention of the potion they would use today.
She had already finished reading her text book - that had been one of the few ways she'd kept herself occupied during the Irvingly Lockdown that summer (though she had spent a lot of her time fussing over her mother and the baby) - and had been looking forward to this particular spell, even if it was difficult. She was anxious to prove her improvement to the teacher, especially after what she considered her disastrous previous years*. She overheard Yuri however and stuck up her chin, and begun, pretending not to feel as if she was particularly hurt that Yuri asked Millie and not her about THEIR adventure.
Habitually, and so not to focus on the trio in front of her, her eyes sought out Jimmy. Or rather Jimmys work...
*please note: they were not that disastrous. Greta is a perfectionist and anything less than perfect she blows out of proportion.
Millie felt her weight fall out under her, letting out a groan at the assignment. Complex was never a good thing for her to hear in Potions. Even with her OWLs another two years away, the task seemed impossibly daunting when presented like today. How was she ever going to pass with an Exceeds Expectations when everything was either complex or advanced?
The young witch leaned down, ready to lay her head on her hands for one moping second. Her view was interrupted by a set of notes pushed hastily in her direction, and she looked up to find Anne sitting next to her with a grin on her face. Millie took the notes, almost in disbelief at something that might help her more than Fletcher's snide commentary in her hand-me-down textbook, and managed to sit up a little straighter. She smiled back at the Slytherin girl, and gave her a silent nod in agreement.
She could do this.
When she was back from the supply cupboard, Millie found another student had set up right next to her. Starting in surprise, she tried to let it go and concentrate on her work instead. There were whispers surrounding Yuri Podsnapper, ones with which the young witch had little desire to see her own name uttered in the same breath. So when she heard the hiss of a whisper from the boy, Millie froze.
"Umm..." she looked up, seeking to find some help from Greta nearby. The whole adventure had been her idea, Millie just put some pieces together in the library. It had actually been quite ingenious, she thought, looking up the old caretaker's maintenance logs. The tiny, scrawling scripts ran together so much as to make her eyes bleed, but after an entire study session devoted to secret passages instead of Ancient Studies, she had found incontrovertible evidence of a secret passage! Did she really want Yuri to know about it, too? "In a way, I suppose. I don't know for sure, not really. Just some scraps, you know, bits of things here and oddities there. I'll have to actually look for it when I have the time."
It was only a shame she had to wait for the weekend for that, the young witch would much rather be exploring than brewing.
Owl grade: P (expected) Skill:2 3 (with Anne's notes) Member of potion club: No
'Excellent work Miss Potts' he acknowledged with a nod of approval at the Ravenclaws potion. Some of others were pretty abysmal, which was almost disappointing from students who were out of their first few years.
He made a few corrections to the potions of Miss Mooney, Mister Dursley and Mister Fudge to get them back on track and salvageable for the class and allow them to continue.
Anne 7 // Nicodemus 9 // Paxton 5 // Henry 12 // Yuri -mine // Greta 13 // Mille 21
Millie seemed less than enthusiastic about discussing the adventure. If it had been him he would have been crowing from the staff table. He couldn't quite understand her reticence.
'Come on!' he said, his tone a little desperate, 'Where do you think it is? Can I come next time' he whispered at the desk with the two, and at speed, so that it all came out in a single run of information. His eyes wide in excited anticipation for the adventure.
RE: Bottle fame, brew glory (OWL Potions) - Henry Thompsett - February 22, 2023
Henry barely looked up from his potion when the Professor came around to check his progress. As he said nothing, Henry assumed he was still on the right track and nothing needed correcting.
He proceeded to the next step, adding the next ingredient carefully before proceeding to do what was required. He was confident in his potion skills, confident enough he didn't waste time checking out what his fellow classmates were doing to see if they were doing anything different or trying to copy what he was doing. As far as Henry was concerned, all they had to do was follow the instructions and make sure they didn't skip a step or prepare their ingredients properly.
RE: Bottle fame, brew glory (OWL Potions) - Greta Gillenwater - March 5, 2023
Having not had her potion corrected Greta continued at her task and tried very much to keep out of Yuri's conversation with Millie. It wasn't her business. It would be rude to interrupt. She caught herself about to throw an ingredient into her cauldron - and forced herself to calm down and to not sulk. It would not do to be so protective of THEIR adventure and biting off Yuri's head would not help.
He was curious. He was allowed to be.
She hoped Millie at least wouldn't tell him that it hadn't happened yet and they were still checking out the facts. Afterall they needed to be sure they'd found the right toilets and that they weren't supposed to be going into the boys toilets instead. The last thing she needed was even more people inviting themselves along, not after the first years had overheard their excitement in the library.
Meserimus winced as he observed Mister Thomsetts potion. 'Bad luck my boy' he said sympathetically, 'try stirring in some diced caterpillers, it should get it back on track' he corrected the eager young man.
'Continue on to the last stages of the potion.' he advised, and with a wave of his hand the next set of instructions appeared on the board in his neat white chalky script. 'You must add a small measure of buttober puss - it is dangerous, so please handle it with care.'
Tempered expectations paid off for the young witch. She could feel her cheeks blazing with a glow she was certain the whole class could see. Millie tipped her head down into her cauldron to hide the blush, muttering a soft, "Thank you, professor," into the bubbling liquid.
Yuri's pleading voice was gnawing at Millie, pulling her away from the potion she had to work on. She had to get this right, and the professor's praise was hardly enough encouragement. If the young witch hung on those words too much, she might just give up and that just couldn't happen. Millie had enough.
"Fine, yes, okay? You can come," the young witch promised, anxious for anything that would quiet her classmate. She kept her eyes fixed on her work, unwilling to glance over at Greta. Millie only wished she could have found the courage to tell Yuri to shush and let her work. There was nothing else to do about it now.
One last glance at the board set Millie to work on the next instruction. Her limbs stiffened at the thought, hovering over the buttober puss. It was all she could do to let it drop into her cauldron, then stir for the required amount. Pleasedon'texplode, pleasedon'texplode...
Millie wasn't going to be like Mr. Thompsett's potion today.
Owl grade: P (expected) Skill:2 3 (with Anne's notes) Member of potion club: No