[LOG] A potion, an unexpected visit
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chamberofsnogsWho: Lysienne Aldrern
When: September 17, 1997, 1am
Where: A spare room in the dungeons
What: Lysienne attempts a new potion
In the depths of the night a student ran quietly through Hogwart's corridors, a gray shape bounding before her. They took the shifting staircases down from one of the silent towers to the sleeping dungeons, where the darkness curled ever more thickly and somehow ever so slightly with more hostility. But the student, trusting in the instincts of her companion, turned swiftly through the halls without a light until at last she stood in front of a plain wooden door which swung open at her touch.
Lysienne entered with Rolan at her side and pushed the door gently, noiselessly shut behind her. Only then did she draw her wand and murmur, "Lumos."
She placed the bundle she had carried in with her carefully on the room's single workbench, then lit the torches along the walls and opened the large cabinet along one wall. She smiled in relief to see that the spare cauldron and supplies she had placed there on her last visit had not been touched. She lifted them out and set them on the table, then took a moment to arrange her ingredients before starting a fire beneath the cauldron. She took a deep breath, calming and focusing her mind, going over the steps of what she would do next quickly but meticulously. Then she picked up her silver Potions knife and began.
This was not the most complicated potion she had ever attempted, but it was perhaps the most dangerous—she pushed that thought out of her mind as she patiently chopped, stirred, lowered and raised the fire beneath the cauldron as needed. The base was an amalgam of common Healing herbs, though used in a way she had never seen before. Roots for strength, stalks for support, leaves for energy, flowers for binding. When she was done adding all the ingredients on her table save for the bundle she had brought in with her, she sighed, slumped over the table for a moment, then went to wash her hands.
That had been the easy part. The next—
She unwrapped the bundle and stood staring for a moment at the three flowers glowing slightly in their bed of melting ice. They were called fire opal flowers, and they were rare, beautiful, and potentially deadly. They looked somewhat like lotuses, though their petals were colored like leaping flames: a deep red at the tip shifting to orange, yellow, and blue towards the base. And like flames, they burned at a touch.
But the flower was prohibited by the Ministry not for their petals, but for the seeds thrusting like golden pods out of their fiery base. They were so magically-reactive that even brushing against something containing magic (including its own petals) could set off a magical explosion.
Lysienne steeled herself, focused her mind even more, and reached for one of the seeds. It felt warm to the touch, not burning as she had feared. She bit her lip as she slowly peeled off its magically-sensitive outer skin, then added the tiny seed to her cauldron. A thin stream of red steam floated up from the surface of the potion, but the cauldron did not explode. Lysienne sighed, relaxing a little, and reached for the next seed.
When Rolan growled a warning moments before the door opened, Lysienne kept her hands steady by a pure force of will. She had just started on the last flower and allowed herself to hope a little that this foolish endeavor would end successfully after all. Her heart thudded as the one who had entered spoke.
"And what, Miss Aldrern, are you doing here at this hour?" the familiar cold voice asked.
She dared not look away from the half-peeled seed pod in her hand. "Ma-making a potion, sir. Pro-Professor Slughorn gave me permission to use this room."
"But not, I'm assuming, at one o'clock in the morning," the man said coolly. She heard the click of the door closing, and was aware of movement and a warning growl.
"It's all right, Rolan," she said quickly, glancing up as she added the next seed to the cauldron to see Professor Snape—no, the Headmaster—walking toward her. She reached for the next seed. "I-I'm sorry, sir. I couldn't sleep, and since Madam Pomfrey is running short on Calming Potion, I thought that I might help…"
"And is that what you are making, Miss Aldrern?"
"Ye-yes, sir." The answer came a second too late, and Lysienne silently cursed herself. He's a Potions master, you idiot! He would never mistake that for what you're making!
But the new Headmaster of Hogwarts was silent, merely watching her work, and Lysienne allowed herself to sink down into the rhythm of peeling and adding the seeds again. Pluck, peel, add to cauldron, each seed fifteen seconds apart. At last she had the final seed ready in her hand and was about to reach for the cauldron, when a hand at her elbow stopped her.
"A moment," Severus Snape murmured. It had not been in the directions, but as the cauldron bubbled violently then settled again, she could see that he had been right. He released her arm and she shakily added the last seed. A great puff of smoke rose from the potion, flashed red, orange, yellow, and filled the room with heady perfumed fragrance. She cut the flames beneath the cauldron. When the smoke at last cleared, she could see that the liquid inside had turned a brilliant cobalt.
"It worked!" she exclaimed involuntarily, then added quickly, "Um, that is, it looks like a perfect Calming Potion."
"Indeed."
Lysienne floundered for a moment, then resolutely picked up her ladle and dipped it into the cauldron. But the Headmaster stopped her again, took the ladle from her hand, and raised it to his own lips.
"Professor!" Lysienne cried, her eyes wide, as he sipped.
But he merely raised an eyebrow at her. "Acceptable," he said, handing the ladle back to her. She dipped the ladle once more into the cauldron and tasted. It was like sweet, clean, new-fallen snow on the tongue.
"But—but what if I had been making a poison instead?"
"Then I would have had to expel you from this school, Miss Aldrern. A rather messy affair. As it is, I must ask you to utilize this room at more reasonable hours and serve detention for breaking curfew. Please report to the infirmary after dinner tomorrow."
"Th-thank you!" with the elation of the success of her potion surging through her, Lysienne couldn't help but grin.
The Headmaster looked at her for a moment, then abruptly turned, carefully picked up the seedless flowers sitting in a bowl of ice water on the table. "I trust you have no further need for these. Good night, Miss Aldrern," he said as he shut the door behind him.
Lysienne knelt and put her arms around Rolan's neck, just beginning to shake. "That was…I don't know what that was. But we did it, Rolan! We did it! Apollo's Philter! I can't wait to tell everyone!"
When: September 17, 1997, 1am
Where: A spare room in the dungeons
What: Lysienne attempts a new potion
In the depths of the night a student ran quietly through Hogwart's corridors, a gray shape bounding before her. They took the shifting staircases down from one of the silent towers to the sleeping dungeons, where the darkness curled ever more thickly and somehow ever so slightly with more hostility. But the student, trusting in the instincts of her companion, turned swiftly through the halls without a light until at last she stood in front of a plain wooden door which swung open at her touch.
Lysienne entered with Rolan at her side and pushed the door gently, noiselessly shut behind her. Only then did she draw her wand and murmur, "Lumos."
She placed the bundle she had carried in with her carefully on the room's single workbench, then lit the torches along the walls and opened the large cabinet along one wall. She smiled in relief to see that the spare cauldron and supplies she had placed there on her last visit had not been touched. She lifted them out and set them on the table, then took a moment to arrange her ingredients before starting a fire beneath the cauldron. She took a deep breath, calming and focusing her mind, going over the steps of what she would do next quickly but meticulously. Then she picked up her silver Potions knife and began.
This was not the most complicated potion she had ever attempted, but it was perhaps the most dangerous—she pushed that thought out of her mind as she patiently chopped, stirred, lowered and raised the fire beneath the cauldron as needed. The base was an amalgam of common Healing herbs, though used in a way she had never seen before. Roots for strength, stalks for support, leaves for energy, flowers for binding. When she was done adding all the ingredients on her table save for the bundle she had brought in with her, she sighed, slumped over the table for a moment, then went to wash her hands.
That had been the easy part. The next—
She unwrapped the bundle and stood staring for a moment at the three flowers glowing slightly in their bed of melting ice. They were called fire opal flowers, and they were rare, beautiful, and potentially deadly. They looked somewhat like lotuses, though their petals were colored like leaping flames: a deep red at the tip shifting to orange, yellow, and blue towards the base. And like flames, they burned at a touch.
But the flower was prohibited by the Ministry not for their petals, but for the seeds thrusting like golden pods out of their fiery base. They were so magically-reactive that even brushing against something containing magic (including its own petals) could set off a magical explosion.
Lysienne steeled herself, focused her mind even more, and reached for one of the seeds. It felt warm to the touch, not burning as she had feared. She bit her lip as she slowly peeled off its magically-sensitive outer skin, then added the tiny seed to her cauldron. A thin stream of red steam floated up from the surface of the potion, but the cauldron did not explode. Lysienne sighed, relaxing a little, and reached for the next seed.
When Rolan growled a warning moments before the door opened, Lysienne kept her hands steady by a pure force of will. She had just started on the last flower and allowed herself to hope a little that this foolish endeavor would end successfully after all. Her heart thudded as the one who had entered spoke.
"And what, Miss Aldrern, are you doing here at this hour?" the familiar cold voice asked.
She dared not look away from the half-peeled seed pod in her hand. "Ma-making a potion, sir. Pro-Professor Slughorn gave me permission to use this room."
"But not, I'm assuming, at one o'clock in the morning," the man said coolly. She heard the click of the door closing, and was aware of movement and a warning growl.
"It's all right, Rolan," she said quickly, glancing up as she added the next seed to the cauldron to see Professor Snape—no, the Headmaster—walking toward her. She reached for the next seed. "I-I'm sorry, sir. I couldn't sleep, and since Madam Pomfrey is running short on Calming Potion, I thought that I might help…"
"And is that what you are making, Miss Aldrern?"
"Ye-yes, sir." The answer came a second too late, and Lysienne silently cursed herself. He's a Potions master, you idiot! He would never mistake that for what you're making!
But the new Headmaster of Hogwarts was silent, merely watching her work, and Lysienne allowed herself to sink down into the rhythm of peeling and adding the seeds again. Pluck, peel, add to cauldron, each seed fifteen seconds apart. At last she had the final seed ready in her hand and was about to reach for the cauldron, when a hand at her elbow stopped her.
"A moment," Severus Snape murmured. It had not been in the directions, but as the cauldron bubbled violently then settled again, she could see that he had been right. He released her arm and she shakily added the last seed. A great puff of smoke rose from the potion, flashed red, orange, yellow, and filled the room with heady perfumed fragrance. She cut the flames beneath the cauldron. When the smoke at last cleared, she could see that the liquid inside had turned a brilliant cobalt.
"It worked!" she exclaimed involuntarily, then added quickly, "Um, that is, it looks like a perfect Calming Potion."
"Indeed."
Lysienne floundered for a moment, then resolutely picked up her ladle and dipped it into the cauldron. But the Headmaster stopped her again, took the ladle from her hand, and raised it to his own lips.
"Professor!" Lysienne cried, her eyes wide, as he sipped.
But he merely raised an eyebrow at her. "Acceptable," he said, handing the ladle back to her. She dipped the ladle once more into the cauldron and tasted. It was like sweet, clean, new-fallen snow on the tongue.
"But—but what if I had been making a poison instead?"
"Then I would have had to expel you from this school, Miss Aldrern. A rather messy affair. As it is, I must ask you to utilize this room at more reasonable hours and serve detention for breaking curfew. Please report to the infirmary after dinner tomorrow."
"Th-thank you!" with the elation of the success of her potion surging through her, Lysienne couldn't help but grin.
The Headmaster looked at her for a moment, then abruptly turned, carefully picked up the seedless flowers sitting in a bowl of ice water on the table. "I trust you have no further need for these. Good night, Miss Aldrern," he said as he shut the door behind him.
Lysienne knelt and put her arms around Rolan's neck, just beginning to shake. "That was…I don't know what that was. But we did it, Rolan! We did it! Apollo's Philter! I can't wait to tell everyone!"
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