#15 Morning Brew

Tom opened the door to the Student Laboratory, a feeling of excitement and nerves bubbling up inside him. He had run straight to his dormitory from the forest path after gathering his honey, gathered up his cauldron and made a beeline to the student laboratory. His short legs could barely move as quickly as he wanted them to, a feeling of impatience welling inside him like he hadn't known prior. 

It had been a long and arduous road to gather the courage to ask Professor Snape for permission to use the facility outside of class hours, and more arduous still to collect all the necessary ingredients to gain his head of house's permission and be able to brew the things he wanted to brew. 

And now here he was, about to brew his very first potion! Well, not a potion exactly, but the process of making pumpkin juice was basically like brewing a potion, right? Tom felt it was a good starting point for his endeavors. He had never brewed anything on his own before, and while he was confident in his abilities, he felt more at ease starting small. 

It was obvious he was the first person to use the laboratory this morning- no surprise, it was still a holiday and there was a dueling tournament going on later in the day. Tom wasn't particularly concerned about participating, although he wouldn't mind going to watch- only if his pumpkin juice had been brewed successfully. He chose a space right in the middle of the laboratory and began to set out his ingredients and necessary tools. 

Tom hauled his cauldron over to the spring of water that somehow magically bubbled up inside the castle and ladled in the appropriate amount. Returning it to his workstation, he hanged it above the kindling and retrieved a torch from the wall, starting a small fire and gently bringing up his cauldron to temperature. 

Working quickly, Tom began to prepare his ingredients, of which thankfully there were few. He peeled and chopped his pumpkin with surprising speed, having it chopped well before the cauldron reached the needed temperature. The apple he peeled and sliced like he had been doing so his whole life. He portioned out the amount of honey he needed and waited for the water to come up to an appropriate temperature. 

Once it was hot enough, Tom dropped the pumpkin pieces in and stirred clockwise until the mixture turned a vivid orange color- something that happened quicker than he'd anticipated. He quickly deposited in his sliced and peeled apples, and gave two more clockwise stirs before pouring in the honey. He stoked the flame with his wand to make sure it remained at a high heat and fixed his eyes on the sundial in the corner of the room, dutifully counting down three minutes exactly.

Tom appreciated the time these three minutes gave him to breathe, but he was also incredibly anxious- he just wanted to be finished, to prove to himself he could do it!