A POTION A DAY... || PENELOPE

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IF PEOPLE DON'T LIKE IT THEN THEY CAN CLOSE THEIR EYES
WE'RE BRIGHTER THAN FIREFLIES LIGHTING THE SKY

MARCH 2025

Peyton felt like time was moving faster as the final term came to fruition. It felt like she had only come back to Hogwarts a few days ago, and already March had descended upon the castle. With the end of term coming fast, and her seventh year just around the corner, the need to perfect her craft had fallen on her shoulders. Especially when it came to classes that she was horrid at, even with being ahead of schedule on future assignments. Luckily, she had the best study partner to study with, and it was easy to get together because they shared the same common room. Sitting on her bed, books laid out in front of her, she looked towards her sister.

"Okay...let's try this again. Sopophorous beans have what properties, what are the best way to prepare them...and in what potions are they most commonly used?" she said, looking up at her sister who sat at the other end of her bed. They were lucky that not many people were up in the bedchambers area. Instead, she could hear the laughter coming from downstairs in the main area.

penelope raisa bainbridge || <3

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[penelope raisa bainbridge]

Potions was easily Penelope Bainbridge's worst subject, and she was seriously questioning why she had chosen to take it to NEWT level. The first month of Potions lessons hadn't been too bad, but it had been downhill from there… and it was already March. Thankfully, she had her sisters to help her figure out what she was doing.

With their books spread out in front of them on Peyton's bed, Penelope and her sister were trying to get through their material. Peyton, to her credit, was doing so successfully. Not for a lack of trying, however, Penelope simply could not wrap her head around everything as effortlessly as her sister seemed to.

"Okay… let's try this again. Sopophorous beans have what properties, what are the best way to prepare them… and in what potions are they most commonly used?"

Penelope sighed heavily, looking across at Peyton for any clues. "Sopophorous beans… They remove your memory," she began, the irony of it not lost on her. "But only if you drink the juice," she corrected herself. "And then, um, sleep? Because they're used in a Draught of Living Death?" That had to be right. Wasn't it? "And you've got to… cut them, haven't you? If you're using them for a potion?" She cringed before Peyton could even respond to her, anticipating that she had gotten it all backwards.

@peytonbainbridge

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IF PEOPLE DON'T LIKE IT THEN THEY CAN CLOSE THEIR EYES
WE'RE BRIGHTER THAN FIREFLIES LIGHTING THE SKY

Peyton wasn't the best at potions; her strong suit was more with spellcasting than potion brewing. But that didn't mean she was horrible at it, mostly because she studied a lot and do work far ahead in advance. That was what lead her to be the perfect tutor for her sister, someone who needed all the help she could get. And what better way to learn herself, then to tutor another.

'Sopophorous beans… They remove your memory. But only if you drink the juice. And then, um, sleep? Because they're used in a Draught of Living Death? And you've got to… cut them, haven't you? If you're using them for a potion?' was the cringy reply that came from her sister, but she wasn't wrong. The blonde beamed at the other girl and nodded her head, "Yes, good. However, you missed crushing them. Since cutting the bean causes them to bounce around, some have concluded that crushing them with the blade is easiest in extracting the juice."

She moved her finger down the list that she had created, along with the answers to her questions, and stopped at a new one. "What about...Occamy eggshell?"

penelope raisa bainbridge

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[penelope raisa bainbridge]

Although Peyton gave her an encouraging smile in response to her answer about the Sopophorous beans, Penelope couldn't shake the feeling that she had missed something there, a detail that her sister was quick to fill in for her. "Yes, good. However, you missed crushing them."

Crushing them! Ugh, Penelope couldn't believe that she had missed that one! Of course the correct answer came rushing back to her as soon as she was given it.

"Since cutting the bean causes them to bounce around, some have concluded that crushing them with the blade is easiest in extracting the juice."

Penelope nodded. "Right," she remembered. It wasn't the standard method, per se, but it was intended to save some time and hassle. She watched cautiously as her sister's finger ran down the list of topics before her. Merlin, she hoped that she would get the next one…

"What about...Occamy eggshell?"

"Occamy eggs are made of pure silver," Penelope answered  Peyton with more confidence, hoping that she hadn't inadvertently mixed it up with some other egg used in potion-making. "Which makes them really expensive… and they're used to make Felix Felicis."

@peytonbainbridge

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Penelope wasn't missing a beat as she answered her next question, and getting it right. Peyton smiled at her sister, the confidence from the other blonde clear in her answer and her face, and she nodded her head.

"Yes! Yes! See...you aren't so bad at potions as you think you are," she said with a smile on her face. Peyton hated the class, but she always studied for hours so that she was prepared for anything and everything. She was a book worm, and she had an excellent memory, which was why she did so well in class.

"Alright...next...hm...let's mix it up. What are the effects of the Wiggenweld Potion and what are four ingredients? And...what color should it be?"

penelope raisa bainbridge

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

March 2025

Her sister tried to reassure her that she wasn't as bad at Potions as she thought she was, and it helped at least a little. Penelope still knew that it had been just the one question that she had gotten correct. She wasn't sure if she actually knew what she was doing or if it was just luck. Until she got more questions right, she would have to lean towards the latter possibility.

Penelope waited in anticipation of Peyton's next question for her. She thought aloud and said that she was going to mix things up then, which was a little bit startling at first. It would be helpful, though, just in case they were asked something more complicated.

"What are the effects of the Wiggenweld Potion and what are four ingredients? And… what color should it be?"

"The Wiggenweld Potion is a healing potion," Penelope answered. They had studied it back in their first year. "And it's also an antidote to some sleeping potions." Maybe this wasn't such a hard question.

Four ingredients, though, would be harder to come up with. "It should be green," she noted, remembering the color of it with no difficulty, but ingredients…? "And four ingredients… Um… Wiggentree bark…" That was one, and it was probably the most obvious one. "And… salamander blood?" That made two. Beyond that, Penelope wasn't sure. There were so many other potions that she had had to learn about over the years, and she usually had the benefit of having her textbook in front of her to follow the proper instructions for brewing things.

"Flobberworm mucus?" she guessed. Penelope wasn't certain, but that sounded right, at least. That made three ingredients, if she was correct. She only had to name one more ingredient, but she drew a blank.

@peytonbainbridge

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Peyton had given her sister a difficult one to test her knowledge. Hell, even Peyton didn't know some of the answers to this question, but she was sure they would take one day. The girl started swimmingly, but then it came to the question of the ingredients.

'Um...Wiggentree bark...And salamander blood? Flobberworm mucus?' The girl seemed to struggle, but so far she had gotten three out of four ingredients, and she nodded her head, "Yes--yes...how much of the mucus? And...you need one more, come on Pen...you got this!"

penelope raisa bainbridge

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

March 2025

Peyton remained encouraging of her in spite of how poorly she knew that she was doing. Penelope kept thinking as her sister nodded at her responses. She had gotten the first few ingredients correct, it seemed, but there was still more left to cover.

"Yes—yes…" Peyton urged her. "How much of the mucus?" And she still needed one more ingredient, too!

Think! Think! How had she done so well on her Potions OWL?! All of this was so confusing to her anymore, but she knew that she knew this one. "You need… two drops of Flobberworm mucus," Penelope recalled, "and another ingredient…" She thought for another moment, counting off the ones she had already named. "Another ingredient is Horklump juice…"

@peytonbainbridge

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Potions was and probably never would be Peyton's subject. She enjoyed more magic and spell casting than making things. She also enjoyed magical creatures - and that was why she would never get a job that was centered around the subject that she hated. But for now, she just needed to pass the class and help her sister.

The girl seemed to ponder, thinking about the answer and given that she needed two drops of the mucus, causing a smile to break out upon her face. She nodded her head, encouraging her sister to think of the last and final ingredient. 'Horklump juice...' that was all she needed to hear before a smile broke out on her face, "Yes! Good job. How much horklump?" she questioned, flipping through her notes to find the next question while she waited for the answer.

penelope raisa bainbridge

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

March 2025

So far, so good—at least where that question was concerned. Peyton smiled at her, which let Penelope know that she was doing alright. "Yes!" exclaimed her sister. "Good job! How much Horklump?"

Penelope smiled at Peyton and then paused as she watched her sister move ahead in her notes, probably to come up with her next question for her. Hopefully, they wouldn't be tested on the quantities of each ingredient from memory, but she was still determined to finish out the answer instead of giving in after having gotten so far with it.

"Oh, how much… Erm…" She tried to think back and wondered if Peyton actually knew all of the answers from memory. "How much Horklump juice in a Wiggenweld Potion…" she spoke, trying to focus. "Is it… one pint?"

@peytonbainbridge

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'Oh, how much… Erm…How much Horklump juice in a Wiggenweld Potion…Is it… one pint?' Peyton smiled, nodding her head. "Yes! Good job Pen..." she said, pride in her eyes when she looked up from her notebook. "I know you'll probably never really be tested to that extent, but it's always nice to know...in case of extra credit," she said with a soft giggle.

Usually, there wasn't any extra credit, at least, not that she stumbled upon. "Let's see...how about...ah yes! The properties and color of syrup of hellebore and one potion it's used in, or if you know all, tell me all."

penelope raisa bainbridge

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

March 2025

Peyton looked up from her notebook and congratulated her. Phew. That was another one that she had managed to get correct, if only she could remember all of that information when they were tested on it for real. “I know you'll probably never really be tested to that extent, but it's always nice to know… in case of extra credit.”
 
Penelope laughed as Peyton giggled, mostly because she knew that it wouldn’t actually hurt her to know more than necessary. She didn’t mind the idea of boosting her Potions mark at all. “I just need the ordinary credit,” she joked. As long as the extra credit material didn’t get in the way of her knowing just the basics about some of the other potions and ingredients that they had studied, though, she was happy to have the help of her sister.
 
Then Peyton gave her her next question. “The properties and color of syrup of hellebore and one potion it's used in, or if you know all, tell me all.”
 
She thought for a moment before answering. From Herbology, Penelope recalled that hellebore was a poisonous plant, which meant that the syrup made from it probably was poisonous, too. That seemed like a good guess, since knowing if something was poisonous or not was certainly helpful. “Er… Syrup of Hellebore is poisonous,” she answered. That was one property of it, anyway. “And it’s… blue, isn’t it?” Or was she thinking of something else? (Merlin, Peyton’s mock exams were difficult!) “And it’s used in a Draught of Peace… I can’t remember what else.”
 
@peytonbainbridge

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Peyton didn't comment on her sister's joke, but she did giggle once more at the humor of it. But instead, she turned the conversation to speaking about her next question. One that seemed to stump Penelope, but slowly, she answered.

She nodded her head each time. Yes, it was poisonous. Yes, it was blue. 'And it's used in a Draught of Peace...I can't remember what else.' Peyton smiled, "Yes! Good. As long as you can remember one, I'm happy. Another is..." she started, moving her finger down her notebook before tapping at the page, "...the...Volubilis Potion."

penelope raisa bainbridge

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

March 2025

“Yes! Good. As long as you can remember one, I'm happy. Another is…”
 
Penelope was relieved to see that her sister actually had to check her notes over in order to find the answer that time. It was nice to know that even Peyton, who seemed to know everything, had to remind herself on occasion, too. She watched as her sister looked to find the answer.
 
“… the… Volubilis Potion.”
 
She would have to commit that one to memory, too. “Alright,” Penelope nodded. “So Syrup of Hellebore is used in the Draught of Peace and the Volubilis Potion.” She hoped that the information would stick if she repeated it like that.
 
Looking back to Peyton, Penelope smiled. “Can I ask you some questions now?” she asked. Peyton had gone through quite a few with her. “Pleeeeeeeease, Pey?”

@peytonbainbridge

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Peyton was proud of the triplet before her, and the other girl was a great sport about all the questions asked. It was stuff like this - tutoring - that made her consider teaching after graduation. Penelope repeated the answer, likely trying to place it in her memory forever, and the blonde nodded her head. And then Penelope asked if she could test her in her knowledge of potions, adding a 'Pleeeeeease, Pey?' to sweeten the deal. The young girl giggled and nodded her head, "Of course. Do you want my notebook?" she questioned, holding the book out for her sister to take or to pass on.

penelope raisa bainbridge