An active, character-driven Hogwarts experience set in the early 2000s. Unique items, plots, and features. Non-canon; this isn't Harry Potter's story, it's ours.
Post by Kody Ashworth on Apr 20, 2023 4:25:53 GMT 10
Distracted by their talk, Kody had managed to walk them the whole way around the Great Lake to the Savannah anyway. He gave Reena a sheepish grin and hoped she wouldn't be too annoyed -- well, she had mentioned it as a location she had wanted to try.
"What did you have in mind to collect here?" He asked, the same time as he brought out his scroll to see what was available. He thought it was rather nice of Professor Snape to provide them with this.
"Hmm... Mud Toadstool... Brittlebush... Mushroom... Wow, we have a lot of options!" Kody was pleased about that but he didn't know which one to go for. Honestly, his method for picking ingredients to collect had been largely influenced by creatures up until now.
He waited to see what Reena wanted to find, since he figured two of them looking for the same thing about make their task easier. While he waited for an answer, he finally slipped his socks and shoes back on now his feet had dried from the walk.
They were a bit dirty but he hoped Reena wouldn't notice or nag him about it. He didn't even think about the possibility of using the cleaning charm to try and clean them off a bit.
Post by Reena Ashworth on Apr 20, 2023 4:43:41 GMT 10
Reena felt better once they had put some distance between that tree by the lake and them, and walked comfortably on bare feet until they had reached the Savannah.
It was nice to spend time with Kody doing something she enjoyed doing. She had started to wonder why they hadn’t done this before until she reminded herself that her brother was just about to get his potions kit, so he hadn’t had much use for ingredients before.
“Either is fine. Let‘s start with Brittlebush though, that’s the last ingredient I‘m missing for a Reveal Potion.“
Briefly checking their environment in case someone was around to overhear, she lowered her voice:
“If we get a chance to step into the attic again, I think we might need it there. There was this shimmer…“
Reena scanned the scenery around her for the thick scrubs of the plant she was searching for before she rubbed her feet over the grass a last time.
“Tergeo!“, contrary to her brother, she did remember to clean her feet before putting her socks and shoes back on.
Post by Kody Ashworth on Apr 20, 2023 9:52:10 GMT 10
"Brittlebush... Cool, yeah!" Kody nodded in agreement with Reena's choice.
There hadn't been a lot of info on the scroll, other than to check for 'thick, round shrubs' so Kody resorted to doing just that. He had no reason to believe the information on the scroll would lead him astray. Besides, he had Reena here to help keep him on track.
"Is a reveal potion hard to make then?" He asked as he scanned the grass and plants for the right kind of shrub they would need. Kody hoped there would be enough for both of them to get an ingredient each but if not, he'd let Reena have it.
After all, it sounded like a pretty important potion she wanted to make! Something to help with the Attic hm? Kody thought back to their late night escapade before school started again. It made him wonder what their mum would be getting up to now they were at school again.
He could only hope their grandparents checked in on her from time to time as well.
"Have you spotted any yet?" He asked Reena, stepped away from her so they could check a larger area between the two of them. Kody was surprised by the variety of plant life in the Savannah but it just made him more determined to find the right one.
With an abundance of shrubs and bushes dotting the area, it took a moment to identify the Brittlebush among them. The thick, round bushes were easy to spot after that.
A particular patch was most promising, but was advanced in its growth stage; the ingredient-viable part was deep in the inner layers, and required shoving arms and even one's face into the bush to retrieve it. A few scratches were inevitably earned in the process.
Post by Reena Ashworth on Apr 21, 2023 5:49:10 GMT 10
Reena paused her scanning of the scenery for a moment, surprised by the question.
Was it difficult to make?
She had had no problems with it, feeling it was rather straightforward instructions. She knew some people struggled with that though.
“Getting the ingredients isn’t easy. Some of them can only be found in the Forbidden Forest - which I went into with permission and accompanied by Snape. I also had to provoke Peeves into throwing inkberries at me. That was… something.“
It had actually been kind of fun. Until the poltergeist had compared her to Conrad. Which she now figured was somewhat fair. There were undeniable similarities.
“How about those?“, she pointed at the thick, round bushes among the abundance of shrubs with a smile.
“I think this is enough for both of us.“
Reena crouched down and inspected the thick bush, locating the viable part as rather far in the deeper layers.
“Watch out for scratches!“, she warned as she rummaged her pockets for her herbology knife and gloves.
Feeling a little more protected, she began to reach forward into the bush and work her way through the branches until she for a good reach in it.
The thick layers of the bush drove branches into her sleeve and she could feel them scratch at her arm regardless of her clothes. Which was fine, she knew it would be worth any scratch received.
Finally she got a good grip on it and managed to cut it loose. Reena did not hesitate to retrieve it from the bushes layers and moved backwards in her crouch before she pocketed her new ingredient and looked over at Kody to see if he needed any help.
She took the blade of her knife between her fingers and offered it handle first to her brother in case he had none of his own.
Post by Kody Ashworth on Apr 21, 2023 6:13:55 GMT 10
Kody hadn't been in the Forbidden Forest (though it was tempting) and he didn't have much experienced dealing with Peeves, personally so everything Reena said made his eyes and mouth turn into big circles. She was seriously the coolest big sister in the world!
Everyone else was missing out, not having a Reena as a sister!
"Wow -- sounds like you've been planning this out carefully." He nodded, though Reena's meticulous approach had to be expected. She wasn't someone who went off on tangents based on feelings in the moment... Unlike Kody...
He went over to Reena's side and gasped at the bush she was pointing too, "Yeah! Awesome!"
She was letting him take one as well? Kody wanted to hug his sister in a squish, squeezing hold but knew it was important to focus on their task. Get the ingredient, safely tucked away in his bag, and then he could probably launch himself at Reena for a cuddle!
Reena pulled out gloves (He didn't have those) and a knife (A knife! Where did she get that?!) and begin to gather one of the viable parts of the Brittlebush plant. Kody watched how she worked before he would attempt to gather one for him.
Without any gloves to protect his hands, he was soon covered in scratches but, while they stung, they didn't bother him too much. What were a few little scratches? Kody didn't have a knife to help him cut away the part he needed and he didn't want to risk using a spell and ruining the ingredient so he just used good old brute force.
He snapped off the part he wanted and twisted, pulling it free from the bush with a triumphant grin, "I did it!"
Belatedly, he noticed Reena had offered him the use of her knife. He gave her a sheepish look, "Sorry -- I got too excited to try and get it... Thank you though!"
And he had scratches all over the backs of his hands and up the lower part of his arms where the bush had poked and prodded through his school jumper. Luckily, after a quick inspection, he saw they were pretty shallow and he didn't have any rips or tugs in his jumper. Good!
"I guess that's us done here...?" He stowed the part of the Brittlebush carefully into his bag, wrapping it up in a spare napkin he had lifted from breakfast. Breakfast had seemed so long ago now... And lunch too...
His stomach rumbled and Kody laughed, "I must be ready for dinner now~"
Post by Reena Ashworth on Apr 21, 2023 22:04:51 GMT 10
Reena could feel the corners of her mouth twitch in amusement, seeing her younger brother, true to his character, completely ignore the tool she had offered and instead use brute force to gather his ingredient. She already knew that he had simply not registered her offer, so she simply shrugged and put the knife away again.
"You're doing it the Kody way," she said with a smile. "There is no one right way to do these things - as long as you don't ruin the ingredient or hurt yourself."
She regarded the back his hands with mild concern, but the scratches seemed to be only superficial. She had to remind herself that he was getting old enough to take care of his own needs too.
"Yeah, I guess that's it for viable Brittlebush in this area," she agreed. "Let's see if we can find Mushroom, it grows near sha-"
She stopped and turned towards her brother when his stomach rumbled noisily. She gave him a sympathetic smile and nodded. The afternoon was getting away from them.
"Hold on," she said as she searched through her backpack until she produced a red and juicy looking apple. "There it is. You can snack this and maybe live to see dinner? Catch!"
She tossed the apple towards him with a playful smirk before she turned to look at the shade around the Brittlebush for Mushrooms. Hopefully the area was grassy enough for those.
Post by Kody Ashworth on Apr 22, 2023 7:28:08 GMT 10
Reena didn't make it sound like a bad thing, when she called it the 'Kody way' so he beamed at her, pleased. It was nice to feel like he wasn't doing something wrong or making a mistake by doing things his own way!
But Reena was awesome like that.
"I've been lucky so far but mostly I just try to be as careful as possible. I think it would suck to spend time looking for something to just accidentally ruin it..." Which did sound like something Kody would manage to do so! It really was luck after all, wasn't it? Luck and now advice from his sister to make sure his ingredients would be safe.
The scratches weren't too bad, didn't hurt much either and Kody noticed they didn't bleed much either. This just meant he was content to continue helping his sister looking for ingredients.
Mushrooms! Kody checked the scroll to see if there were any hints about where to spot them when Reena called out to him -- and an apple came flying his way. With a laugh, Kody caught the apple, "Thanks!"
He took a big bite, some juice dribbling down his chin and he rolled up his scroll awkwardly with one hand.
"Says grassy areas with shade." He informed Reena, his mouth half-full of delicious apple. He continued to munch the whole thing down to the core and then wondered about leaving that for some wildlife to enjoy...
It would be okay right?
Kody followed after his sister as he debated about it, looking over the shady areas to check for mushrooms.
Among the grassy base of the beech tree was a cluster that were easy to overlook, and not as close to the tree as expected. Some were a bit small, and a few had been trampled on by careless students or otherwise.
Once determining those in ideal condition for use as ingredients, it was important to find that balance of firm yet gentle when retrieving them.
Post by Kody Ashworth on Apr 27, 2023 23:57:05 GMT 10
"Reena! Over here!" Kody grinned, waving his arm to get his sister's attention -- they weren't too far apart so it was probably overkill but he was excited! He had spotted two perfect mushrooms for him and sister to collect!
His own bag was full of things now but he hoped he could cram a mushroom in without spoiling it somehow. Kody decided to ask Reena for advice with that, once they were able to get the mushrooms.
Kody stood by, waiting to watch how she harvested them and would then try to copy her.
"Does it take a long time to brew a reveal potion?" He asked, the question popping into his head and out of his mouth before he could stop himself.
If the ingredients were hard to get (and she had to visit the Forbidden Forest and deal with Peeves) then it had to be an advanced potion... Right? Kody marvelled at his sister's skills. Once again, he was impressed! Reena was so cool!
But hopefully his question didn't distract Reena too much.
The ambient noises around them were nice. The water lapping gently, the whisper of bugs flitting through the air, the leaves on the tree rustling as a warm breeze passed through. Kody just couldn't help but add his own noise.
And that was typically the sound of his own voice.
Unfortunately, time had run out to make further progress -- as the sun had dipped low to set behind the mountains, and the sky darkened. Stars became visible over, beautifully dotting the night sky as the moon shone bright.
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December
