30th January, 1891 — Hogwarts Great Hall

Being a member of the London Guild of Potioneers had seemed like a good idea at the time, despite her inclination towards being a non-joiner, and that reticence was showing itself to have been a warning signal as she was now obliged to oversee the efforts of the young.

At least she didn't have the beginners to contend with. OWL level at least meant nothing untoward was likely to occur and they all looked suitably determined and prepared to concentrate - one of them was even intensely looking at the cauldron like it would save her life.

"You have all the necessary ingredients before you to prepare a Calming Draught. Begin!"

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Idunn Fraser Holly Scrimgeour Hestia Fairchild Archer Belby Cadawalader Selwyn

  

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Upon discovering who was in her competition group, Idunn made a beeline for the cauldron as far from her cousin as possible. It wasn't that she disliked Archer, per se, just that she had absolutely no confidence in him and did not welcome the distraction. She would, in two years time, be a member of the London Guild of Potioneers herself, and did not fancy making a mess of things today.

The Ravenclaw worked deftly upon her potion and, when it reached its final shade of blue, offered a confident "Done."

  

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Archer's determined look was not due to the competition itself. He was determined not to look at any of the other students in his group. Aside from Hestia, he was terrified of the other three. He was relieved when his cousin fled to a far corner, and he made it a point to choose another far corner, so he would have less neighbors.

Today was already not his day. Someone hadn't realized he was also walking down the stairs and bumped him so fiercely that he'd taken a tumble. His wand wrist was swollen to a concerning degree, but the thought of having to explain what happened, yet again, to the nurse had him sent nearly to the brink of a panic attack. Now, he had to participate in a stupid potions competition a boy in his dorm maliciously signed him up for. He was too terrified to withdraw.

His gaze flicked to the judge as she explained their task. A calming draught. Merlin, he needed on of those right now.

Archer seemed to be doing alright at first, but, when it came time to wave his wand over the potion, he nearly dropped it into the cauldron. In order to stop such a catastrophe from happening, he over compensated and did the entirely wrong motion and sent his wand, instead, flying across the room. The pain in his wrist made his skin grow even more white than normal.

Trying to save face, he attempted to pour the last ingredient in, but his non-dominant hand shook so much from the embarrassment, he upended nearly the entire container of crocodile hearts.

Ears red, he did the only thing he could think of. Freeze.

The following 1 user Likes Archer Belby's post:1 user Likes Archer Belby's post
   Clementine Greengrass

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MJ is the best!

Cad was decent enough at potions, although transfiguration had always been his forté, and once he had seen his bracket he hadn't held out much hope of actually winning. Fraser was in his group and she was every bit of the potions swot. STILL, it wouldn't do to give up. So he set about his potion with as much diligence as he possessed - chopping, stewing, and mixing in what he believed were the correct proportions. He chose a cauldron near hers, mostly because she was the least likely to cause her cauldron to explode and kill them all.

Fraser and Belby finished ahead of him , but within an acceptable amount of time his potion looked as he expected it to and he raised his hand to indicate that he too was finished.

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Behold the Awesome of Stefanie!

As a prefect, it was Hestia's duty to provide the best example that she could. For her, that meant displaying hard work and devotion to her studies in a respectable manner. Showcasing one's potions skills in a (hopefully) friendly competition would be one step towards achieving this image.

She tried not to think too much about what the other students were doing. At the moment, that was the referee's job. Instead she concentrated on making sure she got accurate measurements and percise timing for her own potion.

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Magic by MJ!

Miss Scrimgeour immediately proved unequal to the task and was quickly dismissed from the competition. It was a shame - Slytherins really ought to put on a better show.

Of the Ravenclaws the young lady was something quite impressive: quick, confident, and utterly poised right up until the near perfect potion was complete. She was definitely through, and likely knew it, but there was nothing wrong with being sure of one's abilities. The other Ravenclaw, on the other hand...

Quite apart from nearly poking her in the eye with his flying wand the cauldron he was working at cracked from an overabundance of hearts and smoke spewed forth, somehow grew crocodile teeth and chased her from one corner of the room to the other.

Disqualifying the young man with a glare she regained her dignity and equilibrium by examining the remaining potions. The Gryffindor pair had produced serviceable if unspectacular efforts but as neither of them had caused her to look foolish she had absolutely no qualms about passing the pair of them.

"Miss Scrimgeour and Mr Belby may stand down. The rest of you can begin a shrinking solution immediately."

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Idunn Fraser Hestia Fairchild Cadawalader Selwyn

  

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Idunn stared pointedly anywhere but her cousin and his efforts, an endeavour that proved difficult because of how utterly ludicrous they were. Thank Merlin he was swiftly disqualified, though Idunn would in no uncertain terms ban him from competition in future (by any means necessary).

Not fully back on her game but probably still better than those around her, the Ravenclaw worked deftly on her shrinking solution, raising a hand when finished.

  

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Cad was a bit shocked that Holly didn't do well, although Idunn's success was a surprise to no one. Although it would be nice to beat her! So when the next round was announced, shrinking solution he could handle! He flashed his most charming, suppliant smile at the examiner, and offered a gentlemanly inclination of his head at her confirmation that he could continue to the next round.

Cad set to work on his potion, confident but careful to ensure that the consistency wasn't overworked. Pleased with his attempt he raised his hand.

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Behold the Awesome of Stefanie!

Miss Fairchild utterly lost her head and her time was up before she had a chance to complete her potion. Which did make it a rather easy elimination but did not negate the fact that both Miss Fraser and Mr Selwyn put in sterling efforts, though the Ravenclaw's was ever-so-slightly more accomplished.

"For you final test please brew a poison antidote."

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Idunn Fraser Cadawalader Selwyn

  

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Idunn knew likely more about poisons and their antidote than was deemed appropriate for a young lady, but even if she did not, she would be damned if she lost to Smug Selwyn. The Ravenclaw worked quickly, but thoroughly, on her antitodte, and was overall pleased with her result.

  

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Pleased to have made it through another round Cad set to work on his final potion. Working with care he completed the necessary steps. When it had reached the correct shade he gave it a final sniff before raising his hand to indicate his completion

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Behold the Awesome of Stefanie!

Both potions were extremely well done - she would go so far as to say that they were as perfect as any expert potioneer could accomplish but there could only be one winner and she judged that the shade of the young lady's potion was slightly richer and thus called the competition.

"Commiserations Mr Selwyn. Miss Fraser I congratulate you on an excellent showing.."

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IDUNN: 8 | CAD: 7

  

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