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 Oscar Tinkle on Sept 1, 2023 3:48:58 GMT 10
In an attempt to avoid his pile of textbooks for a while longer, Oscar had decided to face something else that he dreaded instead - the student laboratory.
He was fully aware of the fact that he would feel guilty later for avoiding studying so much, but he hoped that by doing something else that he also avoided as much as he could, that he would be putting a stopper in that guilt.
Even if he did not plan on making anything difficult. In fact he had picked the easiest sounding thing to make. Pumpkin Juice.
According to the recipe it had only three ingredients and three steps. Even he couldn’t mess that up too badly. Well, he hoped he couldn’t.
If he couldn’t even make pumpkin juice then he thought that he may as well turn over his cauldron to Snape and accept that he was fated to fail that particular OWL. And in that case would there really be any point in still attending the class?
Well. Other than his worry about getting into trouble.
So, pumpkin juice!
He really hoped it worked.
Oscar lined his ingredients up on his workspace, set up his equipment, and then turned to the scrap of parchment that held his instructions. He read it over, nodding to himself. Definitely simpler than what they did in class. He could make that.
He made sure his cauldron was over the burner properly and then filled it with water. Happy with that, he then turned the heat on low.
The first step called for the pumpkin, so Oscar picked up a knife and proceeded to start the long job of peeling his freshly picked pumpkin.
It took a while to get it all, but he held in there to get every last bit peeled. From there he used his knife to chop the pumpkin.
Once he was happy with the size of his chopped up pieces he added them to his cauldron and then stirred his mixture clockwise until he saw that it had turned into a vivid orange.
Last Edit: Sept 2, 2023 15:52:40 GMT 10 by Lena: title change, as per brewing thread guidelines
Post by Oscar Tinkle on Sept 2, 2023 9:28:26 GMT 10
With the first step finished, and his mixture a vivid orange to prove it, Oscar relaxed slightly. He had managed so far without wasting his poor pumpkin, so maybe that meant he would manage the rest successfully too.
Even better, the next step only involved honey and an apple. Nice and simple ingredients, with little room to mess up. Just how he liked it.
He reached to pull them over, only to pause and recheck his scribbled instructions. Apple first, right. He wasn’t supposed to just chuck them both into the cauldron at the same time with no care.
He picked his apple up with one hand, his knife with the other, and began to peel the fruit.
Thankfully peeling an apple was much easier than peeling a pumpkin, so he soon had a bare apple that he then made quick work of slicing up.
He added the slices to the cauldron, checked his notes once again, and then stirred the mixture clockwise twice.
The apple dealt with, he then picked up his jar of honey and poured that into the cauldron.
Once the jar was empty he switched the heat of his burner up to high and then flicked his timer on for three minutes. Three minutes and then he was very close to finishing the whole thing.
Post by Oscar Tinkle on Sept 3, 2023 3:32:21 GMT 10
Oscar watched closely as his timer counted down. He was so close to finishing that he was slightly worried about missing the timer going off and his mixture burning in the cauldron.
If that happened it would have been a big disappointment. To be so close and then to fail at making simple pumpkin juice.
Thankfully it did not happen, and as soon as his timer went off he was able to turn the heat off.
With the heat off, he picked up his stirring rod and began to stir the mixture anti-clockwise.
There were no number of stirs listed, the instructions just asked for the mixture to be smooth. So once again Oscar had to keep a close eye on something, stirring as he did so.
In his attempt to see the mixture better, he leaned over the cauldron, frowning down into its contents as he stirred. Was it smooth yet?
Mm.. There!
Satisfied that the mixture seemed smooth, he set his stirrer to the side so that he could leave his mixture alone to cool.
As his mixture cooled in the cauldron, Oscar set about clearing up some of his workspace. Knives were washed and peels thrown away, all between checks of his cauldron.
Once he thought that his mixture had cooled enough, he abandoned his cleaning up to wave his wand over the cauldron.
And then he was done, all that was left was to bottle the pumpkin juice and then he could finish cleaning up.
Oscar made quick work of transferring the mixture to a vial and then then he was back to his cleaning.
His cauldron was scrubbed, the workspace wiped down, and then once it looked like he had never been there, he turned his attention back to his vial of pumpkin juice.
Post by Oscar Tinkle on Sept 3, 2023 21:33:41 GMT 10
Happy that the pumpkin juice did indeed look drinkable, Oscar tucked the vial away in his bag. He would save it for later, sure that it would make for a nice treat the next time he was busy.
Done with brewing for the day, he glanced over the room one last time and then finally made his escape from the student lab.
He may have been there voluntarily but that still did not mean that he had liked it.
Oh well, at least he had only been there for a relatively short amount of time. And it wasn’t like he would have missed anything interesting going on in the castle.
What were the chances that something interesting happened on the one day that he had given in and made use of the student laboratory after all? [exit]
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