#16 Juiced Up

Tom left breakfast and immediately headed for the Student Laboratory. He had no classes this morning and he was in the mood to brew something. Luckily he had all the ingredients on hand he needed to concoct another serving of Pumpkin Juice for himself. The more time he spent in the Lab, the more confident he would become in his abilities, and the more likely he'd be in achieving his goal of becoming a Potions Master, so he wanted to spend as much time here as possible. 

He first assembled his work station, gathering the tools he would need, and arranged firewood and set it aflame so that it could reach a nice temperature. Then, ladling water from a large stone jar in the center of the Lab into his cauldron, Tom affixed the cauldron above the flame and allowed it to get hot enough to brew the Juice. He was more confident with the timing this time than he was last time and felt no rush. 

He prepared his ingredients as the cauldron came to a gentle boil. In just a few moments he had his pumpkin peeled and chopped, and his apple peeled and appropriately sliced. Like last time, he measured out the required amount of honey and kept it to the side for when he would need it. Potions making would always remind him of watching Julia Child reruns on the telly with his mum. 

When his water was hot enough, Tom added his peeled and chopped pumpkin to his cauldron. He stirred a large wooden spoon clockwise, anticipating the mixture to become a vivid orange colour, something that seemed to happen much more quickly this time than last. Had he cut his pieces smaller this time, or did it just seem quicker because he was anticipating it? Tom realized he should start making notes so he could compare different brewing strategies and outcomes.

Once the appropriate orange color, Tom quickly added his peeled and sliced apple and gave the mixture a clockwise stir two times. He poured in the honey and lowered the cauldron closer to the flame, intensifying the heat as he knew the recipe called for. He fixed his eyes on the sundial in the corner of the room, counting down 3 minutes exactly. He raised the cauldron a bit off the flame again, reducing the heat but not completely removing it, and stirred counterclockwise until the mixture became smooth. 

Tom smiled to himself as the mixture cooled. This was even easier than last time! He couldn't wait to start brewing some potions that required even more skill. He imagined himself older, locked away in a laboratory much like this one, surrounded by open books and bubbling cauldrons. Maybe one day he would even become the Potions teacher at Hogwarts. 

When the mixture was cool, Tom pulled out his wand and made his signature smiley face motion over the potion to mark that it was complete and ready to be ladled into a vial once cool.