The old wizard stood, tall and looming, over her cauldron just before she was about to tip the powdered mixture into her potion. She started at the shadow, Millie had lost track of the Potions Master and his progress around the room. Looking up, she caught sight of his keen eyes scoping out her mixture, assessing at once what she had done wrong. Then he muttered some vague instructions before moving off towards another cauldron, leaving the young witch dead in her tracks.

She looked down at her ground mixture, scowling at its too-fine powder interspersed with unbroken chunks that definitely did not qualify as medium-fine. The professor was right, of course, it only seemed like a waste to get rid of the ingredients. Looking sourly at her cauldron, Millie considered how much of a waste that might be to her grade.

Reluctantly she did as the professor suggested, dumping out her mortar along the way. When she returned with fresh ingredients, Millie started first with the eyes, crushing them until they were nearly ready. Only then did she add the nettles, and a wan smile appeared as the mixture became a medium-fine powder as her book inscribed. She gladly added them to the cauldron, mixing in the right amount with water and setting the mixture to heat.

Now the only trouble might be how far behind she was now. Oh well, the young witch decided as she waved her wand over the brew, better late than botched.

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