2nd Year Potions Class

Josiah was in Potions class, naturally. He was working on a potion with his friend, and he was mostly letting his friend do all the actual potion-making. Josiah mostly cut up a few ingredients and told his partner how much to heat it up or stir it.

Zachary, being the nice guy he was, happily helped Josiah with his potion. He didn't exactly mind doing most of the work for him, as he had a knack with Potion brewing. Besides, it was fun chatting and cracking jokes with him, when the Professor had his back turned.

As he was stewing some chopped up taro root, he continued to chat with Josiah, about the conversation of the Sorting.

"Say, your dad works for that bank Gringotts, right? It was just in the newspaper today, but someone attempted to break into it a couple days ago. Does he know anything about the robbery?" he said.

Josiah shrugged. "I haven't really heard anything about it. He probably does know something about it, but he hasn't sent me a letter about it or anything. Oh--stir it clockwise until it turns lime green."

"It's not supposed to be lime green though-" Zachary pointed at a colored picture of the completed potion in his textbook. "It's more like aquamarine, than anything." and he began stirring it clockwise, instead.

"Anyway, the guy was supposedly insane. The entire time he was ranting about he needed to find the 'pendulum' for his 'master', and when they were carrying him off, he was screaming 'Down With The Ministry' repeatedly. Isn't that crazy?-Oh, I need to throw in some spider's legs, Josiah."

"It's supposed to be lime green, then you put in these nasty things"--Josiah slid the little tray of spider's legs over to Zachary--"and stir it counterclockwise until it turns aquamarine. As for that weird guy, he sounds crazy. What did they do with him?"

"What? I could have sworn-" But on closer inspection, Josiah was indeed correct. So, with a nonchalant shrug, Zach through the legs in, and began to stir the concotion quickly.

"Anyway, I heard he's going to at a place called Saint Andromeda's Asylum or something, until they figure out what's wrong with him. They're thinking he might be under that one curse thingy that they use to control people, but no one can be too sure." Zach checked the ingredients again, as their potion turned the shade of aquamarine the book was describing.

"We need some essence of moonstone, now. Ugh," Zach visibly shuddered. "It would be awful to be locked up, like that. In one of those rooms, that are all padded, with a strait jacket on..."

Josiah shrugged, handing over some moonstone. "Eh, at least you don't have to worry about the outside world. It's just you. I mean... it must be peaceful or something. Maybe that's why they do it--because it's peaceful because you have no outside distractions?"

Zach was caught by surprise with Josiah's comment. He almost poured the entire bottle of moonstone in their cauldron, but he fortunately caught himself.

"Josiah, don't you know anything?" he asked in disbelief, as he began to stir the potion slowly, until it turned into a shade of periwinkle. "They lock people up in their like that so they don't go around causing trouble, not to give them peace and quiet!"

"Well, I knew THAT," Josiah glared at Zachary. "But it ALSO gives them the peace and quiet they may need for their rehabilitation. That's what I meant." It actually wasn't what Josiah had meant--he didn't know that was why they were locked up and put in straight jackets. But he wanted to look like he knew what he was talking about.

Zach still looked rather doubtful, as he measured a quarter of a cup of dogwood flowers, and he poured them into the cauldron.

"Maybe that works out for some people... a lot of people go even more insane from being locked up like that." He shuddered again. "I know I would." He quickly changed the subject into something more lighthearted.

"Hey, you know your cousin, Brian? He was sorted into my house, if you didn't know." he said casually.

"Really? That's cool," Josiah said simply. He was never really close to any of his cousins. "Another cousin of mine was sorted into Gryffindor."

"Oh, that's cool!" Zach said in an interested voice, as he left the potion alone to simmer for a little while. "I wish I had some family he was going to Hogwarts... but, I'm the only one. Are you close to any of them?"

Josiah shook his head. "Not really, actually. We pretty much just know each other..."

"Aww, that sucks. I was really close to my cousins," Zach frowned slightly. "Before they all thought I was a weirdo, anyway. Do you think the potion is ready yet?

"You guys talk like a couple of teenage girls at a slumber party. On SPEEEEED." Caroline said, turning around to stare at Josiah and Zach. "Seriously."

"Go away, Caroline. Being an ass to everyone doesn't make you cool." Zach said, without even turning around to look at her.

"I'm not being an ass, you two are. Do you see my potion? It's pink. Because I can't concentrate because you two are chatting away."

Zach rolled his eyes, but he didn't say anything more, and he muttered to Josiah.

"Do you know her?"

Leah was next to Caroline, chuckling away silently. "Sorry Josiah, you two can continue chatting, don't mind Caroline and me," she said, and eyed their potion. "You know, I think we forgot something..."

Caroline groaned, and went to check the list again. "Yeah, we did. The dogwood flowers. Do you think it's acidic, now? We could pour it on someone.."

Leah stared at Caroline. "Why the fuck would we do that?"