Judy wails, but how do I start without knowing the portions???? Okay, so I add 2 drops of Lethe River water to my cauldron, lit a small fire, heated the TWO drops for 20 seconds and : dang! It evaporated! That's what I get for anticipating the worse. :( Professor!!!!!

No help for this, I am on my own. I can do this! ...Okay muttering ... first, just like I was taught in a muggle kitchen, collect all the ingredients ahead of time. So... goes collecting the various ingredients, muttering the whole time I can do this! I need to add 2 drops of Lethe River Water to the cauldron and gently heat for 20 seconds... okay. Just don't look, it will be fine as long as long as I just don't look... add 2 Valerian Sprigs. Okay, Stir 3 times, clockwise. Leave the cauldron and go to the other stuff... I need to add 2 measures of Standard Ingredient to this mortar, good thing the Standard Ingredients comes in pre-measured packages... and now adding 4 Mistletoe Berries to the herbs, crushing them with this pestle... I guess it's still 2 measures, the mistletoe berries flaked to almost insignificant dust... adding the dry ingredients to the sprigs, don't look , don't look! Stirring 5 times, anti-clockwise. Brewing... 30 minutes later...

That's what I was afraid of! It looks like burnt spices. There isn't enough liquid in the cauldron, 2 drops just can't moisten it enough. Must need magic thoughts to make the drops expand to accommodate all the dry ingredients. looks around Was the cauldron prefilled with the right amount of liquid beforehand? Did I miss something?

Gack, I hate Potions... well, not really. I hate not understanding... makes a scrunched up face, raises hand to catch her attention ...Professor...!!! ( )

Goldy peered at the blackboard as the instructions appeared, squinting her eyes slightly to make sure she read the words properly. Sighing she got up and went to the cabinet to gather enough mistletoe berries and returned to her seat. Potions made her nervous, her cooking skills weren't great and her kitchen skills were mirrored in Potions. Carefully she crushed the mistletoe, preferring to do it now before she'd have other things to do while monitoring the cauldron. She added the River Water to the cauldron and heated it, counting the seconds carefully. Immediately at 20 seconds she dropped the 2 sprigs of Valerian into the cauldron. She proceeded to follow the directions slowly and deliberately.

A loud popping made her flinch, causing Goldy to accidentally knock extra mistletoe into her pot. It began boiling angrily and spewing purple smoke. "Uh, Professor Mathers?!" She called rather alarmed. She'd scooted back from her cauldron as far as she could go.

Goldy: Hufflepuff

[img align=left]http://i.imgur.com/ESiTUsH.png[/img] Poppy fretted as she felt a bubble of tension in the pit of her stomach. She was the most worried about running out of time, considering that she was a bit slow when it came to measuring anyway. "I'll have to set this up meticulously," Poppy thought anxiously. She added a small bottle of Lethe River Water, two Valerian sprigs, a measuring tool, a fresh pouch of Standard Ingredient, her mortar and pestle, and four Mistletoe berries to the table in front of her.

Poppy added two drops of Lethe River Water to the empty cauldron, but noted that her pour wasn't smooth at all from nerves. She counted to 20, sweating from the fire and concentrating. Then the sprigs went in and she actually did a practice clockwise stir before really doing it. Poppy slowly measured out the Standard Ingredient and put that and the berries in her mortar. Crushing relieved some of the pressure she was feeling. It felt so good that she realized the powder was more finely pulverized to a silky powder than medium-fine.

Poppy groaned and walked quickly to the student cupboard for more berries. She felt the four tiny balls getting clammy in her sweaty hand as she quietly raced back to her seat. This time she got the grind right and measured it out evenly. Poppy let out a deep breath, added the mix to her potion and practiced an anti-clockwise stir before proceeding.

She had lost ten minutes being slow, but it wouldn't have mattered if she hadn't been so overzealous with her pestle. Finding and crushing the ingredients the second time lost her another five minutes so she only had twenty-five left in class. She took off her sweater and stepped away from the medium heat under her cauldron, which felt like Hades to her.

"Maybe it will turn golden orange and end up ok," Poppy hoped as she cleaned up and sat down to wait.

Poppy, Slytherin

Ravenna waited until Professor Mather's finished talking, then started setting up her cauldron and setting out the required ingredients. She then looked up to read the instructions that had appeared on the chalkboard. She read them through a second time, writing them down as she did so. She added two drops of Lethe River water to her cauldron, then produced a small flame to heat it.Carefully checking her watch,after 20 seconds she dropped two Valerian sprigs then stirred three times, clockwise, then added two measures of standard ingredient. Grabbing the pestle, she proceeded to crush the mistletoe berries. Once the berries were sufficiently crushed, she carefully added two measures to the cauldron and stirred anti-clockwise... After 30 minutes of semi-daydreaming and doodling in her potions book, the potion didn't look exactly like the golden orange it was supposed to be, but more of a yellow-orange.. Thinking back, she realized it may be because she stirred an extra time on that last step..but at least it was still an orange color.

{Ravenna/Hunger, Hufflepuff}

Chook looked at the instructions thoughtfully. This should not be too difficult she thought and began to gather the ingredients necessary. Standard Ingredient, Lethe River Water, Mistletoe Berries and Valerian Sprigs. Being low on the Mistletoe Berries and Valerian Sprigs she went to the student cupboard to get the remainder.

Setting up her cauldron she added 2 drops of Lethe River Water to your cauldron pouring smoothly and heated for the correct amount of time. So far so good. Next she added 2 Valerian Sprigs to her cauldron and stirred clockwise 3 times. "This will be a piece of cake", she thought to herself.

Then 2 measures of Standard Ingredient and 4 Mistletoe Berries had to be added to her mortar. She reached over to get it but alas it was not there. A quick search found it under her hat which she had placed on the table. Placing the mortar near her cauldron she then crushed the ingredients into a medium-fine powder using the pestle.

She then proceeded to add 2 measures of her crushed mixture to the cauldron and stirred 5 times, anti-clockwise.

Leaving the potion to brew on medium heat for 30 minutes, she decided to use the time wisely and turned to study her History of Magic.

When the 30 minutes was up she set down the book she was reading and turned to check her potion. What should have been a golden orange when completed was instead a bright red. In horror she looked at her cauldron and at the list of ingredients, wondering where she had gone wrong. All of a sudden realization dawned. When she had gone to the student cupboard to get what she needed, she must have gotten Redberries instead of the Mistletoe Berries as the signs naming both of the berries were lying on the shelf partly on top of each other and not on the jars themselves. Assuming (wrongly) that the label closest to the Mistletoe Berries was in fact the Mistletoe Berries she took the wrong ones.

Oh well. If at first you don't succeed and all that.

((My character is going to start using her middle name this term, so she will now be called Charlotte (Char). I hope that is okay!))

Charlotte got her cauldron set up on the desk, and kindled a small fire beneath it. She then took out her textbook and looked over the directions for this potion one more time. The professor had written them on the board, but she wanted to give them a second look through from her book. After feeling comfortable with the steps, she quickly gathered her ingredients out of her potion supplies. She was low on Valerian Sprigs so she dashed to the student cupboard to borrow some. Taking a deep breath, she began following the steps as precisely as she could. After following all the steps, she stood back and looked at her potion. The appearance of her potion matched the one in the book, but she couldn't help but notice that her consistency was a little thick, and there was a subtle odor coming off the potion she wasn't sure was supposed to be there. Sighing, she picked up her book, reading over the steps again, looking for somewhere she might have gone wrong.

Literature - Ravenclaw

Paddy read through the instructions three times, before heading to the student cupboard to collect the Lethe River Water. Of all the things she could've forgotten to bring with her, she knew she'd forget something from her potions box, but at least it didn't mean she wasn't able to continue with the class.

Slowly adding two drops of the Lethe River Water, she placed the cauldron on the heat and counted to 20, before dropping in the two Valerian Sprigs. "Stir three times, clockwise," she muttered under her breath, stirring the potion mixture, before picking up the Mistletoe Berries. Dropping three into her mortar, she heard a feint splash as the fourth berry landed in the cauldron. Sighing at the realisation that potions skill obviously doesn't simply run her her family, she raised a paw for Professor Mathers to come over, as her potion turned a vibrant shade of pink.

(Paddy - Gryffindor)

The moment Lucas saw the words that Professor Mathers had written, he immediately got to work. Having made this potion many times for his ill mother, he knew exactly what to do. though making the potion brought up many memories he did not wish to remember, he quickly washed them away, filling his mind with the task at hand. Add 2 drops of Lethe River Water to the cauldron by pouring smoothly. Gently heat for 20 seconds. Add 2 Valerian Sprigs to the cauldron. Stir 3 times, clockwise. Add 2 measures of Standard Ingredient to the mortar. Add 4 Mistletoe Berries to the mortar. Crush into a medium-fine powder using the pestle. Add 2 measures of the crushed mixture to the cauldron. Stir 5 times, anti-clockwise. He sat down, thinking back to those cold nights spent crying beside his mother, as she mumbled in her sleep after having finished another Forgetfulness Potion. He snapped back to the present, smelling the finished potion. It was just the right color, orange with a faint golden hue, and its scent was just right, making him a bit drowsy. But, as he raised his hand his mind kept drifting. "I'm finished" he whispered to no one in particular, lowering his hand, as he sat brooding over the past. Returning to the present, he raised his hand and said, louder this time, "I've finished the potion Professor Mathers".

Lucas Deathson / Gryffindor

Lapis resisted the desire to roll her eyes as she forced her attention away from the book of runes she was hiding under her desk. Potions were just so...tedious. More than one student had already raised concerns about the lethe water evaporating in a preheated cauldron, so Lapis chose to let her cauldron remain unheated until her ingredients were gathered. Standard ingredient and mistletoe berries were no problem. The Lethe water and Valerian sprigs, however, were going to have to come from the Professor's cupboard. "Accio measure," Lapis whispered, hoping the spell would bring her the proper vessel for the 2 measures of standard ingredient she would need. A glass beaker floated above the heads of Lapis' classmates and landed with a tiny clink next to her assembled ingredients. Sure enough, the label on the beaker read simply, "1 measure." Lapis shrugged, smoothly poured two drops of Lethe water into her small cauldron and then lit a fire underneath, allowing 20 seconds to pass once the cauldron felt warm. She tossed the two Valerian sprigs in with the water and stirred clockwise once, twice, and a third time. Stoking the flame so as not to boil the mixture in her cauldron, Lapis added 2 standard measures to her mortar and then 4 mistletoe berries. She took up her pestle and began grinding the items together. What exactly was medium fine though? Medium fine? Ugh. The most annoying thing about potions was how it required the utmost precision while giving directions that were extremely vague. Lapis looked at the hourglass at the front of the classroom and realized class was over in almost 30 minutes. Hastily she measured 2 measures of the mixture from her mortar, hoping it was medium-fine enough and tipped it into the cauldron. She gave 5 quick counterclockwise stirs, and mumbled a small charm that would alert her in 30 minutes. She then went back to her book of runes, glancing at the potion occasionally in attempt to evaluate the goldenness of the orange. Potions....meh.

Sullivan motioned with his wand, softly muttering a spell when a flame appeared in a burner. He placed his cauldron over the flame and began to collect the ingredients needed for the potion. He looked up at the board and saw that he would need lethe river water, valerian sprigs, the standard ingredient, and mistletoe berries. He retrieved the ingredients from his bag, placing them across the table in a way that made sense to him with just enough space between each one so that if he were to need to select them quickly he wouldn't make a mistake and add the wrong thing.

Sullivan grabbed for the lethe river water and removed its stopper. Its contents sloshed as he tried to measure out two drops. He put the two drops into a pipette and set it aside, wanting to ready the other ingredients. Having the two drops in his hand he looked up and reviewed the board once more, taking the time to write down the instructions so that he could focus more on what was happening before him, rather than needing to continuously check himself against a board that was so far away. It said that he would need to smoothly pour the two drops into the cauldron. Sullivan put the water dropper onto the table and looked at what he could accomplish before moving on.

He reviewed the steps and saw that he would need to add four mistletoe berries to his mortar for crushing into a fine powder and decided that he would do that step now, rather than worry about doing it while everything was in the heat of the cauldron. He took his mortar and pestle and got to work, feeling that delicious crunch brought on by mortar and pestle meeting one another. He had just crushed the berries into a fine powder when he realized that he had the heat of his cauldron turned up too high for the medium that this potion required.

Sullivan began to add ingredients to his cauldron starting with the lethe river water. It said that he would have to smoothly add the drops to the cauldron. He was not entirely sure how you can smoothly add drops to anything since they kind of come out in a plop plop plop, but he knew that whoever had written this instruction must have known what they were talking about. He tilted the water dropper in his hand, not holding it completely vertical so that perhaps the river water could slide down the side of the cauldron, rather than plopping onto the bottom. This seemed to work as the water slid to the bottom.

Next he was to wait twenty seconds. He looked at his watch and realized that the wait would be more efficient if he grabbed the ingredient needed in the next step so that there would be no interruption between the time lapse and the addition of the next ingredient. He grabbed the valerian sprigs and, at exactly twenty seconds (by his count) threw them into the cauldron. He stared as there had yet to be a visible change.

Sullivan began to stir three times clockwise when he noticed that the liquid at the bottom had begun to take on a milky-white tinge. His brow furrowed as he had begun to fear that this potion would likely not turn out as he had expected. He was then to take three measures of the standard ingredient to add and did so, the substance now turning from a milky-white to a pale grey, this did nothing to calm his concern.

Having already crushed the berries needed for the next step he added two measures of the powder to the cauldron and stirred five times in the anti-clockwise direction as was directed. The pale grey mixture took on a new color, a scarlet that looked so vibrant the previous muted colors looked surprising by comparison. His mouth opened in shock and he felt a trickle of beaded sweat begin to form at the back of his head. This was not going at all as he had hoped it would. Behind his back he crossed his fingers hoping that after thirty minutes the color that this cauldron would be would be the suitable orange that the instructions said it would be.

Sullivan sat on his stool as he waited the appropriate thirty minutes. He pulled out his notebook where he kept track of his performance in the class and jotted down the assignment that he had been given today. He wrote remarks about what he had done to prepare the potion and documented the colors that he had seen. He also pulled out his book to check it against the steps provided by the professor. It's not that he doubted their ability, he just liked to be sure.

At the time or roughly thirty minutes having passed, Sullivan looked into his cauldron. The bright scarlet had transformed into a sort of autumn orange color. A muted orange that wasn't altogether the golden orange that was expected, but wasn't the red that he was afraid it would become. He raised his hand to tell the professor the he had completed brewing the potion, and anticipated the response that he would receive.

Gaia copied down the potion measurements; she really disliked having to look down to her potion and up to the blackboard, efficiency is key when in the kitchen... at least that is what her grandmother taught her. To her left Ethel () was muttering to herself and working on her potion and to her right her fellow Ravenclaw classmates. She felt comfortable to begin, but still took a deep breath before beginning after all she didn't want to lose her eyebrows like her cousin Odin. Gaia scrounged up her nose while thinking about it.

While raising her hand Gaia cleared her throat to ask professor Mathers () her question. "Professor, would this potion completely remove all memory or will it come back at any time if confronted by something tied to the memory? Is it like Muggle hypnosis or a permanent solution?" While waiting for her answer she started working on her potion.

"Two drops or Lethe River Water and gently heat for 20 seconds." Gaia knew she was really focusing since her tongue was sticking a little to the right side of her mouth. She knew she needed to get the first step right or it was over for her. Another look at her notes; "2 Valerian Sprigs and stir three times the way a clock goes". Gaia smiled at herself with the image of a clock in her head.

"Ugh those Mistletoe Berries are always difficult to get in the mortar without spilling them over. I think I will just take them out one by one." After adding her 2 measurements of Standard ingredient "good thing I got the pre-measured package on this." Gaia began to place the Mistletoe one by one on the mortar. "Medium-fine powder? What is medium-fine powder!" Gaia looked at Ethel maybe she knew, but she was concentrating on her potion. "I guess I will go the size of salt." Gaia told herself while working the mortar. "Again with the two measures. grandma said when not sure do a pinch, so i guess that is what I will do.

At the final step Gaia stirred five times against the clock hands. "I hope this works!" After 29 minutes, Gaia closed her eyes and waited, then she took a peak and her potion and saw a peach-salmon color liquid in her cauldron. "Well I guess it looks pretty. This might make people forget everything about themselves."

[img align=left]http://i.imgur.com/RHchpgB.png?1[/img] Beth took out her notebook and began writing notes on the Forgetfulness Potion. She quickly checked over her notes after Professor Mathers finished her lecture. She read over the instructions of the Forgetfulness Potion again and again, glancing at the board and her notebook, making sure she made no mistakes while writing it down. She wrote the instructions down three more times on a spare piece of parchment paper to help familiarize herself with the steps.

Beth had spent the majority of her break shadowing a potioneer. She not only helped gather and prepare ingredients for several potions, but also helped make them herself. Even though she had enhanced her Potion skills, she couldn’t help but feel nervous, pressured by the perfectionist inside her.

She gathered the ingredients necessary for the potion, placing the ingredients needs in the mortar on her left next to her mortar and everything else on her right. Then, she arranged her ingredients in the order she needed them. Afterwards, she double checked herself to make sure she had the right amount of each.

She figured it would be best to make the mixture made from the mortar first. Grabbing her mortar she added two measures of Standard Ingredient, and four Mistletoe Berries. Using her pestle she crushed the mixture into a medium-fine powder. She made sure to separate two measure of the mixture and placed it next to the Valerian Sprigs.

Before she heated her cauldron, she carefully poured two drops of Lethe River Water to her cauldron. She took out her pocket watch and placed it next to her cauldron. She lit up a fire and after ensuring that the flames were an appropriate size, she placed her cauldron over the fire. The cauldron was gently heated and once twenty seconds had passed Beth extinguished the fire. Next she added two Valerian Sprigs to her cauldron and stirred the potion clockwise three times. Afterwards she added the two measures of the mortar mixture to her cauldron and stirred the potion counterclockwise five times.

Checking the time she lit another fire, making sure it was an appropriate size again and placed her cauldron over it. Beth let the potion brew on medium heat, she sat down on her stool and glanced at the potion every couple minutes, watching it slowly change into a golden orange hue. She wrote down her observations in her notebook.

Megan sets up her cauldron and pulls out her special store of ingredients she keeps handy. Setting them on the table she takes stock to be sure she has the required ingredients; seeing she has all but the Lethe River Water she rushes to the student cupboard to collect the precious water.

Once she return to the table she takes out her Standard Ingredients and Mistletoe berries adding two measure of the Standard then four berries to her mortal, she takes her pestle and begins to crush them together to form a powder. Once finished she pulls the stopper from the bottle containing the Lethe and drips it twice into her cauldron then using her wand gently prods under her cauldron muttering "flamiscio" to get a small flame going. Making sure the water doesn't evaporate, she counts to twenty then adds two of her valerian sprigs and proceeded to stir three times in a clockwise motion. Looking at the silvery colour of the potion she secretly hopes this is how it should look up to this point; she see's nothing in her Standard Book of Spells to suggest what it should appear to be at this stage. Megan then takes two measure of the powdered valerian and berries and proceeds to add them to the cauldron. She stirs her potion five times counter-clockwise but her potion has a yellow-ish silver look to it.

She furrows her brow and reviews the board and her SBoS; she doesn't see anything she's done wrong with this. She picks up the ingredients she's used and finds them all exactly what they're supposed to be. Next she inspects the powder and fines it too fine as opposed to medium-fine. Sighing heavily at her clumsiness she takes out a vial and fills the potion with it to hand to Professor Mathers while marking her mistake plainly in her journal as well as a piece of parchment for the Professor.

"My first day back and I don't even manage a decent grade; what will Mother say?" she thinks to herself. "I'd better try harder at this if I don't want to fail.

((Fade, Ravenclaw))

Fade chewed his lip nervously. Potions was not one of his better subjects, and the professor was so strict it made him nervous. Hurriedly he organised his supplies, and picked up a few he had been lacking from the supply cupboard when the other students had cleared away.

Taking a deep breath he re-read the directions for a fifth time and reached for the vial of Lethe River Water. Carefully he poured two large drops into his cauldron. plunk-plunk. Re-corking the vial he set it aside and with his wand muttered “Incendio” pointing to the bottom of the cauldron. Watching the clock on the wall he counted to twenty and promptly discontinued the spell. Hastily, while it was still warm, he took the two Valerian Sprigs, snapped them both in half, and added them to the mixture. With a wooden mixing spoon he stirred, one, two, three times clockwise and set the spoon aside.

Taking a measuring spoon, one of the smaller ones, he poured out two scoops of Standard Ingredient, and plopped it into the mortar beside his cauldron. He had had the notion to drop it directly into the cauldron, but at the risk of being scolded by the scary professor, he refrained. Counting out the mistletoe berries, making sure to only select the nicest looking, most similar berries, Fade added four to the mortar and began to grind everything together. When he was satisfied with the consistency, it was sort of tricky to grind the berries without making the Standard Ingredient any more powdery, he tapped out his measuring spoon and filled it with the new concoction. Plopping two scoops of it into the cauldron, with his spoon he stirred it, one, two, three, four, five, time counterclockwise.

Cautiously he peered over the edge of his cauldron. The stuff looked very goopy and sort of chunky, and it caused Fade to break out into a nervous sweat. Hopefully it would turn orange after the heat was applied. Carefully he pointed his wand and muttered “Incendio” once more to ignite the flames beneath the cauldron. Sitting back he waited anxiously for the time to pass trying his best not to engage in conversation with the other students at his table.

Finally after thirty minutes, not a moment longer, Fade extinguished the flames beneath his cauldron and ventured another glance over the edge. It seemed more red than orange and Fade felt a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach. Failure was not something he was good at accepting. Raising his hand with a quiet sigh, he signaled to the professor that he was ready for his evaluation.

Peridot's quill scrapes quickly across the small piece of parchment she had procured from her bag. She is aware of how important it is to start the potion quickly; after all, it's all too easy to forget an ingredient or mess up the order of steps when one is in a rush. Still, her habit to note down the instructions given to them by Professor Mathers has proven to do her a world of good -- it isn't reading the words that helps her understand them, but writing them. So that's what she does, and it works for her, usually.

If only --

"Miss Gladstone, this is the tenth time I see you copying my instructions off the board. What in Merlin's name happened to your potions textbook?"

Peridot stills, letting out a pained breath as she feels her classmates' eyes on her.

"It's right here ma'am, I just prefer to write them down," she says, thinking, As I have told you like a million times before.

The professor purses her lips at her, as she always does, and turns away with a comment to get started quickly. Peridot's shoulders slump when the attention is off her and she scrambles to copy the last sentence before surveying the assortment of ingredients laid out before her. It seems she isn't running out of any ingredient she needs today, which is a relief. She hates to lose too much time. Waving her wand, she warms up her cauldron just slightly to raise it to starting temperature -- a trick she'd read in her grandfather's library, once. She's not sure if it helps, but it certainly hasn't had any ill effects on her potions so far, so she keeps using it -- and adds the two drops of Lethe River Water with a steady hand. So far, so good.

With another wave of her wand, she gently raises the temperature for twenty seconds. Warming spells are really her best area of magic -- they don't require raw power as much as patience, and intent. Too much power poured into a warming spell and you get a jet of flame; she's seen it happen to her classmates more than once. At least one thing she won't have to worry about.

Valerian Sprigs and dropped in and potion properly stirred, she carefully measures the Standard Ingredient and Mistletoe Berries before mashing them together in the mortar. Standard Ingredient is a mystery to her, still. She's vowed to look it up but has never gotten around to actually do it, preferring to research the things she knows she needs to understand in order to use them properly and not botch up her potions. Standard Ingredient is not one of those. Standard Ingredient is an enigma, but a harmless one.

Dumping two measures of the content of the mortar into the bubbling potion, she holds her breath, worried as usual that the powder isn't fine enough. The color, however, doesn't change, and so she stirs. After administering another warming spell, she sits down on her stool and casts a look over the students still hovering over their cauldrons around her. There are only a couple others who are far enough with their Forgetfulness Potion to be able to sit down and rest. One of them, she sees, has a potion that is gradually turning pink while they are busy doodling on parchment, and she itches to tell them but doesn't fancy having Professor Mather's attention on her again. According to the textbook which she does possess, thank you very much, pink isn't too bad anyway. It's not going to explode. Hopefully.

And the golden orange hue her own potion is slowly turning into, well, that she is really happy about.

Peridot Gladstone, Hufflepuff