Gryffindor Lua Taylor Ambrose Pepper

Hufflepuff Ayla Collins Moira McBoid Winifred Oliver

Ravenclaw Baxter Fox Blake Knight Alvis Norling Connor Todd Zoe Torret Kelvin Watkins Juni Zamperia

Slytherin Naomi Foley Casey O'Doherty Veronica Ward

Please assume your student is seated, unless you intentionally plan to have your character walk in late.

Someone can respond and/or spark further discussion, and then they'll move on to brewing. I kept this short and sweet, but please feel free to stray off topic or ask questions about the day's subject before and/or after the practical portion begins.

---

2:30PM

The hand approached the hour, and Juliette Vaillancourt waved her wand at the door, which promptly closed with a no-nonsense click. She turned toward the group of students to begin the day’s lecture. “Wit-Sharpening Potions[1]--” As she spoke, the title of the unit bloomed in pretty, feminine letters on the blackboard behind her; a bullet point appeared beneath it, awaiting further unspoken instruction.

“The intention may sound straight forward and exceptionally appealing, but I warn you, I have seen one too many poorly prepared-- and poorly applied-- Wit-Sharpening Potions in my career. Too many witches and wizards presume that the name says it all.” She paused a moment, letting this sink in (and knowing that, in some cases, it would not).

“Who can tell me the basic function of this potion? The ingredients, the properties?”

Light blue eyes scanned the faces, wondering whether today would bring volunteers, or whether she would have to choose a student at random. Juliette had a knack for choosing the ones who needed to be kept on their toes, the ones who angelically attempted to be passed over, thoroughly-average-but-acceptable in their put-upon airs.

1.	Harry Potter Wiki entry, including ingredients and instructions

With the new month beginning Naomi was once again attending Transfiguration class like a normal student, despite her attending quizzes, tests, and turning homework in regularly while skipping. Of course, with the help of Professor Valdaine made it so she was just as capable outside of class a she was in it, but with nothing less than a dull glare accompanying an indifferent attention span the witch was hardly paying much mind to any of Sandusky's actual lectures; the original accusation that threatened getting her wand confiscated for two days now rang true out of spite. But today was not a day for Transfiguration.

After a day out with Professor Hagrid and various creatures Naomi looked as casually attentive as she usually was, with her hair braided into a ponytail from her scalp down to her hips, her Care of Magical Creature robes traded for her long potions robes cinching her waist, and her wand rolling between her fingers in wait. With her boots still tied around her feet Naomi looked as busy as her father on a day of crafting (sans his mad goggles).

And the critical blue gaze of Professor Valliancourt was somewhat comforting. As she addressed the class, Naomi waited a moment before she gave her answer, "Due to 'deir nature of laying 'deir larvae in dung and burying it in th' ground, so dat the young can consume the dung and rise from the dirt anew, crushed scarab beetles are an important ingredient in 'di potion for ridding someone of wasteful or stray thoughts and refreshing one's mind," Then, like she had forgotten something important, Naomi' gaze on her workspace as her wand took one last twirl between her fingers and then was delicately laid beside her pewter cauldron. The Slytherin's hands laced together as Naomi let her gaze rise to meet the professor's again--but they rose with the playful green glint of some sort of clever joke, but the witch's lips purse innocently and her voice only echoed curiosity, "So it shouldn't give anyone any intelligence and wit than what they already got."

And for one passing moment Naomi was glad for undergoing various truth serums under the tutelage of Bai Li Yang, both to put random experiences to use and to put what she learned to practice.

Casey charmed invisible writing back to the page. He'd taken to vanishing his notes whenever he worked into detailed plans that he didn't want anyone to know about. And even if one of his copies was found 'blanked' the associated invisible text would not be gone, he had backups in place.

For Potions, Casey had a list in two columns: Absolutely Important to Know If Having to Brew It Yourself; and Laughably Unimportant, Except for Getting Past OWLS. Things triple underlined referred to known allergens as individual ingredients or the final results.

Wit Sharpening Solution was listed on the Important side, with a note of its specificity. Then Casey vanished his notes again to be unreadable, paying attention to class.

Although he never understood her sometimes, Casey had never thought much of Naomi's distinctive accent until now. But her answer was leaving his ears fuzzy. What in the blazes was this poppycock of growing up in excrement made them viable to get rid of wasted thoughts? Just what had she and Veronica been up to in Egypt to philosophize on the life cycle of scarab beetles?

"And for added effect, do you tell this to the armadillo while you are crushing scarabs so it will cough up the bile?" At least ginger roots had a normal origin. For all the junk going into this potion it was a wonder anyone wanted to drink it, more-so than any other potions with unbelievable ingredients.

He couldn't slack her on the limitations of Wit Sharpening Solution. Nothing could ever add intelligence to a person, it only made their mind more efficient. Not even Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem, which was better than ten gallons of Wit Sharpening Solution. "Well, if it can't greatly boost intelligence, what of the craft made from intelligence? Would the influence of Wit Sharpening Solution make the skilled potioneer's Undetectable Poison all the more Undetectable, for example?"

Alvis glanced between Naomi and Casey, tapping his quill against one cheek as he considered both of their answers. He wasn't entirely surprised that Casey hadn't 'gotten it'. Naomi's odd take on it all was rather...esoteric, if he understood it correctly. But it was interesting, too.

After a moment's hesitation, Alvis's hand went up as well. "The ginger root is also key," he said when called on. "When boiled properly it forms a sort of...stock."

That was how Aunt Niamh had put it. Alvis wracked his brain to come up with a more class-appropriate term. "A base, I mean. Like the beginnings of a soup. It's same as Sarasam's Seasickness Cure. The other ingredients -- armadillo bile especially -- refine the ginger's natural stimulant properties into a potion that focuses the mind and clears thoughts."

Something, he reflected, that he could use as often as not. In fact, he was quite familiar with the taste and look of the potion thanks to study sessions with certain older Ravenclaws, most of whom considered a good Wit-Sharpening Solution to be their best friend. He paid close attention now, taking precise notes in his odd mix of symbols and short-hand, in hopes that he'd be able to produce a few vials to ease the Fifth and Seventh Years' inevitable exam panic.

It had been a month since Kelvin had blown up a potion, a week and a half since his last melted cauldron, to say he dreaded potions would be an understatement. He did his best to stay focused when he worked, but until the potion exploded in his face, it just did not hold his interest.  He'd even considered using a wit-sharpening potion, since it was common enough to see Ravenclaws using it in the common room, but looking at the ingredient list he was glad he hadn't.  Kelvin wasn't quite sure why anyone would ingest most of the ingredients used to brew potions.  But at least the ingredients did not look particularly explosive.

He tried to take notes on what Naomi had said but glancing at what he had written, the notes made less sense than Naomi's words had.  He almost asked how something undetectable could be any more or less undetectable but managed to hold the question in.  Preferring not to go off topic or to get Casey started.

Then his housemate mentioned ginger, which Kelvin had already forgotten was supposed to be the base of the potion, but he knew something about ginger at least.  That it had healing properties, and he couldn't count the number of times he'd used it to settle an upset stomach, but he couldn't quite make a connection between an upset stomach and less-than-keen mind, so again he kept his mouth closed and his head bent down taking notes. 

Kelvin was paying attention at least, trying to keep his mind from wandering.  Ligeia would be happy, in her own particular and creepy way.  Though he figured she would probably be happier if he had managed to blow up the dungeons or fill the classroom with poison gas on his way to paying attention.

Zoe listened to Naomi explain why the scarabs were used, trying to make some sense of it. It seemed like these creatures knew exactly how to raise their young, so she guessed this was why it got rid of stray thoughts. That was rather interesting, it hadn't crossed her mind before.

The young witch made a note of this connection of proper survival knowledge to helping sharpen the mind to important things, just as Casey began to talk. Of course he would have to make a rude comment, but Zoe didn't even look up from her notes. Zoe didn't feel like getting involved with this.

Since no one had addressed about the armadillo bile in detail, Zoe figured she may as well contribute. "The armadillo bile of the potion also aids as a bit of, well, digestion of thoughts. Like when you eat and the important stuff like, um, like vitamins is separated and used while the unimportant is gotten rid of when you digest. It's the same with thoughts, the important ones are separated from the unimportant, which are gotten rid of. This helps you think more clearly and use the important thoughts."

Zoe hoped that people would understand her explanation, unlike Naomi's vague one. She didn't want Casey to comment on what she said, and she wanted Professor Vaillancourt to know that she worked hard. As long as she did, the young witch knew class would be more enjoyable.

It probably went without saying that for all those times he was ‘so sharp he cut himself’ on his totally rapier wit, Connor was, unfortunately, not the sharpest tool in the shed. If it had nothing to do with games like Snap! House or Gobstones or just How To Piss People Off Without Really Trying, it could be said with all truthfulness (and almost definitely a resigned sigh) that the Ravenclaw was as dumb, dense, and obtuse as a really heavy rock. His unwillingness to be otherwise spoke volumes, rather than his actual capacity for it.

Potions, doubly unfortunately, had nothing to do with either Snap! House, Gobstones, or any of its like, but by some terrible twist of irony left plenty of room for the latter. Professor Vaillancourt might be The Most Fittest Professor Ever by general consensus, but she wasn’t Professor Levartian (who he secretly had a crush on) nor Professor Cosmos (who he thought was Sheer Woman and was probably the only adult he actually listened to aside from his own parents); as far as the fourteen-year-old was concerned, Potions was not just work, but Work, and he was buggered for a lark’s tit before he put any more effort into behaving than he usually did. Not even a Wit-Sharpening Potion and its regular appearances in the Ravenclaw Common room could change that.

Still, because Professor Vaillancourt was Professor Vaillancourt, there was, in fact, some measure of respect there, and it was because of this that nothing more accompanied the following words other than a slightly dopey tone and a wide-eyed, innocent look.

“I dunno, though,” Connor spoke up, scratching at that untamable, gravity-defying mop of hair in confusion. Today it was an eye-blistering shade of blonde, and he was very, very proud of it. If all the lights in the room were to wink out, it would glow in the dark without fail. “What if th’ unimportant thoughts are like, details of th’ details of th’ important stuff? An’ if they’re gotten rid of, where do they go? Does tha’ mean yi’ve got clutter in th’ head even with th’ potion, still?”

He gave Zoe a particularly brainless grin. He didn’t spend too much time fashin’ over what others thought about him, but it wasn’t exactly a secret that the mind of Connor Todd was a gutter no amount of Scourgify, Confringo, or even house elf magic could ever hope to purge. The clutter of said gutter was enough to instill an itching desire for a shower in most, or at least an urgency to wash their hands.

Slowly, as he turned it onto the Potionmistress, the expression morphed into something toeing the line of glee. “Does tha’ make it some kind of… mind laxative, then?”

   

Naomi rolled her green eyes at Casey and lightly shook her head, listening to others' quickly rattle off responses before she finally addressed the snarky Slytherin in question, "O'Doherty, review your 3rd year creature notes: form fits function[1]," she arched an eyebrow and wove her arms across her chest before continuing.

"Any being in life will grow so 'dat it's body serves a certain purpose, so it only makes sense that when you take parts of that body and use it for somet'ing else, it will serve the same or a similar purpose." Naomi shrugged a shoulder and politely nodded her head towards Casey, "So if a new beetle consumes somet'ing dirty in order to grow into somet'ing fresh and new, serves to reason its body can be used for a similar purpose in another aspect of life."

The whole Undetectable Poisons thing, however, Naomi was going to leave alone. She was sure absolutely no one in the room wanted to here her take on how to brew a better poison (save for the professor herself who might find it very casual conversation). Though, especially not Connor who equated dung beetles and armadillo bile to creating a "mental laxative," since she might need to poison him on any various occasion (preferably right now) anyway.

Naomi just shook her head at Connor and kissed her tongue against the back of her teeth with an airy "tch," as the boy made his simple-minded comment.

1.	a rule of biology, so I assume it's taught in classes that deal with a magical equivalent of biology.

For all intents and purposes Ayla was actually very good at Potions. Considering that the act of brewing a potion wasn't all that different than the act a baking a cake the petite Hufflepuff was a natural. However adept she may be at determining instructions and applying them practically she still struggled with studying the purposes behind things. She never questioned why a certain ingredient was put in the mix, as long as it did the trick why should she care? She never thought long and hard about the certain soil a strawberry was grown in to give it the perfect tart and texture to make  splendid shortcake so why should be bother about how a scarab was raised before she crushed it into powder?

She kept her mouth shut as the usual suspects spoke aloud. It was no surprise that Casey would come up with some snooty comment trying to make himself sound more important than those around him nor was it a surprise that Connor would blurt out something completely daft that simple had her rolling her eyes.

"It's like how scientist try and use those worm guys for memory enhancers," She was staring into her private notebook as she spoke, looking as though she wasn't even aware she had opened her mouth, "You know, they put a worm through a maze several times until it memorizes which way to go then grind 'em up and feed 'em to the next worm and that worm can navigate the maze without any error." Had she been aware that she was not only speaking aloud but relating Naomi's comment to something she had learned in a muggle science class she may have been a little more sheepish about her response. However Ayla was more interested in scribbling down a few more ingredients for her latest confectionery masterpiece.

Juliette’s gaze did not falter as she stared at Naomi with measured interest, peppered with slight humor and a knowingness concerning the girl’s witchy mannerisms. The transition from sly, wand-twirling rebel to patient, graceful student (cheekiness in abundance in either case), was somehow fitting for today’s topic. “Thank you for your insight, Miss Foley. The beetles’ creation of natural sustenance and shedding of waste are important to the cleansing and renewal properties of Wit-Sharpening Potions.”

The second point, that neither wit nor intelligence could be increased, but merely sharpened, was the simple truth, a distinction clear as day in the potion’s name, so much so that people seemed to miss it entirely. Many a adolescent had tried (and obviously failed) to get an extra kilometer or five out of the brew in Juliette’s academic career; even after a mere semester of teaching, she had seen the telltale signs. “Excellent. It’s also important to remember that wit and intelligence are not one in the same.”

Casey’s skepticism was a departure from Naomi’s cheekiness, but both seemed the mark of Slytherin. “The bile is most easily collected from animals who have been hunted en masse-- usually specifically for their bile and other raw ingredients-- or else freshly deceased and happened upon. It may be collected in smaller quantities from the armadillo’s natural habitat, though this is easiest at dusk, while the creature is hunting or burrowing elsewhere. It is not particularly fruitful, and armadillos, like most creatures, will abandon a habitat that has been infiltrated.”

She let Naomi comment again before continuing. Students debating amongst themselves was no issue, so long as they knew who was in charge (and her students generally did, even those who pushed their luck.)

She almost smiled as she considered his next round of questions. “It’s important to remember that Wit Sharpening is not the same as a luck potion, but certainly it is used by many to achieve the same sort of success-- be it with work, academia, or one’s personal life. Potions like Wit Sharpening are expressly forbidden from use in many tests and practices for a reason: a person under the influence will not be smarter, literally, but they will often make smarter decisions, decisions which they might not have otherwise thought to make. Wiser choices, and certainly wittier ones, will come easier, and the drinker will be more inclined to reach for those. There may even be a sort of confidence that is similar to that seen with Felix Felicis.  Inevitably, the wisdom the drinker hones is their own, but it is something which they cannot put to use in the day to day.”

Moving on to Alvis, Juliette considered his answer with approval. “Correct. Without the proper basal ingredients, the brew is bound to be inconsistent, ineffective, or defective. Texture and absorption are especially important with potions which effect the mind or brain function. Be aware of this when measuring and preparing your ginger.”

And then, to Zoe: “Thank you, Miss Torret. This goes along Mr. Norling’s point. The functions of the individual ingredients on their own are important to note. Bile is a natural digestive aid. It is not something one would use for a potion meant to block or swell, just as ginger is not a base for a potion meant to do the opposite of clearing or clarifying. The more you pay attention to the ingredients, the easier it will become to guess or isolate ingredients in routine evaluations of potions you might not have previously encountered. Similarly, if you are forced to brew something new or unfamiliar in less than ideal environments conditions, your understanding of how various ingredients act and interact will be helpful. Never assume that ingredients are added at random, or that the interaction of ginger and armadillo bile works the way it does in this potion alone. There is a logic to it.”

Connor Todd’s look was not lost on her, no more than Naomi’s artful brand of respect. “That’s a question that may be best answered by individuals under the influence of Wit-Sharpening Potion, Mr. Todd. It is slightly different for everyone, taking into account, for example, previous experience with the potion, natural wit and intelligence, and their mindset at the time of taking it.”

As for his second question... Juliette coolly ignored Naomi’s reaction, though it was hardly an inaccurate summary of the boy’s remark. “Should you choose to title your homework essay ‘Mind Laxative,’ Mr. Todd, be sure to have evidence to support your claims,” she said, with a smile. “Considering that along with your philosophical exploration... You might very well have the longest thesis of your peers come finals.” She would let him mull that over. He was a Ravenclaw, after all. Juliette had no doubt that under all of that fascinating teenage hair, there was a brain. (Though whether it needed to be marinated in Wit-Sharpening Potion was highly debatable.)

Finally, the professor’s eyes settled on Ayla Collins, of Hufflepuff. “I can’t speak for Muggle science, Miss Collins, as this is a potions class, but certainly you have a grasp of the correlation between nature and the ways in which the ingredients function.”

“And with that said-- you all have plenty to keep in mind as you begin to brew[1]. You will works in group of two. Each group will produce one cauldron. Your partners are listed on the board.”[2].” She let this sink in, eyes flickering one or two usual culprits who might try to pair themselves or shove the work off onto their partners. She would be watching. “We will test the results in in the second half of the period.” If it was not the easiest potion to brew, it was nevertheless relatively quick. “Your accompanying essays and any related data are due next class.”

1.	This is a very long post. Please feel free to move onto the brewing process. Don’t worry about responding (with dialogue) to Juliette’s individual remarks, unless you wish to do so (you are more than welcome to do so, of course!). Attendance and participation points will be rewarded and tallied at the conclusion of the thread.
2.	You may choose your partner OOCly, but assume they are assigned by Juliette ICly.

Professor  Vaillancourt effortlessly responded and moderated the discussion of the classroom before sending off the students to work in pairs. Names were listed on the board, and though Naomi loved Vaillancourt, she had paired Naomi off with Connor, of all people. This was going to be like pulling dragon teeth.

With a light sigh the raven-haired witch gathered up the necessary ingredients and placed the beetle scarabs in her robe pocket (as well as some irrelevant ingredients) and then she gathered up the armadillo bile and  ginger and settled around the cauldron with the ragamuffin  Ravenclaw. Naomi turned to the boy with a soft smile and a pleasant tone in her voice as she placed the needed ingredients by the cauldron,"'Fi you don' do at least half the work Connor you're testing it at the end," a satisfied smile crawled over her lips as she shrugged her shoulder to her cheek, "How well 'dat goes will probably depend on if you can keep up wit' how to brew an Undetectable Poison."

To any passerby casual listening Naomi was happy to sound completely conversational, seemingly continuing the discussion that O'Doherty broached upon, but Todd knew better--despite whatever level of ignorance he might feign today. Even if Naomi wasn't as capable as turning a With Sharpenning brew into an Undetectable Poison as she thought, it didn't matter as long as it got Connor to do the work or poisoned him in some fashion or other.

Katy ran over the list of ingredients in her head again as collected them.  She returned to her desk, deposited the items, and began setting up the cauldron.  The fact of the matter was that Kelvin had a reputation for making a mess of his potions and she didn't trust him not to mess something up.  But, in the grand scheme of things she considered herself lucky.  She could have been stuck with Connor.  Mind laxative, indeed.  What a dolt.  But privately she wished she could have partnered with someone who at least knew what they were doing.

Despite the disadvantage, Katy was not about to let it ruin her potion or her grade.  She cast auguamenti to fill the cauldron and with her left hand pushed the ginger root to Kelvin.

"Make sure you make nice, clean cuts," she reminded him.  "This is a wit sharpening potion."

Kelvin watched as Katy got all the ingredients together and brought them over to the shared desk.  It would have been nice to get a partner who could laugh about it, eventually, if the potion ended up blowing up in both their faces.  And testing it at the end of class meant they couldn't restart if he messed up the potion, since Kelvin was under no delusions that it would be Katy's fault.

He had started to reach for the scarab beetles, since he was better at grinding than he was at cutting, but instead found the ginger root pushed into his hand.  "Should we throw the knife in then?" He quiped and grabbed the knife and began cutting.  After a bit, there was enough cut up ginger that was passable for the first use of the ginger root in the potion.

He wasn't funny.  Katy's Incendio was more powerful than it needed to be with her ire.  The flames shot up around the cauldron, leaping a foot above the rim before settling down.  Feeling the weight of her classmate's curious looks, Katy busied herself with her  notes and textbook, despite the fact that everything was already laid out as it needed to be.  She momentarily felt bad for being so bossy but immediately reasoned with herself, that she couldn't afford to get this wrong, especially if they had to brew it for their OWLs. 

Kelvin finished cutting the ginger roots.  Katy surreptitiously checked the roots as they went into the pot, just to make sure they looked right.  She tried not to but couldn't help it, she didn't want to get it wrong.  They had to wait a few minutes as the ginger roots boiled to form an appropriate base.  Slowly the water began to form a green tint.

Katy glanced awkwardly at Kelvin and fiddled with the lid of the small jar of armidillo bile, which would go in next.  He had a nice face, she thought to herself and immediately berated herself for being stupid.  Of course, when she allowed herself to think about it, and she didn't know what to do about it, she immediately resorted to her default mode, rude and demanding.  So she handed him the stirrer and told him to mix the remains of the ginger root while she measured out the armidillo bile.

Ambrose hastily took down notes in his tumbling handwriting, the quill catching and blotting on his parchment as the explanations and theories behind the ingredients of the potion were discussed. Ambrose had little idea on why certain ingredients were used, despite enjoying the study and care of creatures, he didn't necessarily make the links between them and their body parts in potions yet. He was too busy melting cauldrons, implements, desks or exploding things instead quite innocently.

As a result, he was still taking down the last few points when his classmates rustled about into their pairs with ingredients and implements pooled between them. He didn't blame whoever had been paired with him, it was literally a health hazard to be put in that position, and they were undoubtedly putting on dragon hide gloves, full leather apron and quidditch goggles before they got within six feet of the pair's cauldron.

"If you prefer, I'll sit on my hands and you can do it all..." He suggested to his partner as they approached.

(Anyone...)