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Mary Macdonald (mary_mac) wrote in loremrpg,
@ 2011-05-11 11:57:00

Entry tags:

!incomplete, mary macdonald, xenophilius lovegood

Characters: Mary MacDonald and Xenophilius Lovegood (and Open)
Setting: Potions class
Summary: Mary and Xeno get partnered on the latest Potions assignment, which is a recipe for disaster.
Rating: Mild (maybe a few random swears)

Potions was quite possibly Mary's worst course. But this year was shaping up to test just how disastrous she could really be. For today's assignment, Slughorn had instructed them to make a philter of their own choosing. Then Slughorn partnered them up with someone from a different house to "get them more acquainted with abnormal circumstances" because "you never know in what situation you might have to make a potion".

Honestly, if Mary was ever in a situation that required her to make a potion, she was more likely to get out of it by smokescreen or small explosion. And, to make matters worse - this had to be a joke on Slughorn's part - Mary was partnered up with Xenophilius. From one standpoint, they were perfect partners; Xeno was the only person in their class that as bad as Mary. But when Mary tried to protest Slughorn's choice, she was stonewalled by his previous statement, "You never know in what situation you might have to make a potion."

Silently admitting that talking her way out of this one was not going to happen, Mary walked back to her cauldron where her partner was already sitting. 'This may be the end. Simple as that. Here lies Mary: She was rubbish at Potions,' she thought as she dropped her bag on the counter. "Well, Xeno, did you have an idea for the type of philter we should make? Personally, I don't know what I'd like to charm someone into doing. Something easy, like only turning left, maybe?" she asked with a forced smile.

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fond_of_strange
2011-05-14 03:01 pm UTC (link)

To say that Xenophilius was less than thrilled to be in Potions today was a gross understatement. He hated the rigidity of making the potions, having to follow a precise formula and directions, completely unlike when he is at home in his room inventing concoctions of his own. When Professor Slughorn assigned partners he moved tables as Mary went to talk with the professor. Xenophilius got out his book and started flipping through the chapter on philters when Mary sat next to him.

"I'm thinking we pick the one with the least amount of directions, that way there is less of a chance something goes wrong," Xeno pulled a half smile, knowing that both he and Mary did not have a forte in this subject.

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mary_mac
2011-05-14 07:52 pm UTC (link)

Relief washed over Mary. She had no idea what Xeno would want to do, and could not have hoped for a better answer. Even still, the easiest-looking of potions could still have terrible outcomes.

"I completely agree," Mary said as she pulled her own book out and flipped through the pages. "I wish that we could just cast a charm instead of putting this together. It'd be so much easier. But, I know that it's not the same. And what's the point of taking the class if you're not going to at least try to do it properly."

Mary stopped flipping through her book and looked up at Xeno. "Sorry, I sometimes tend to ramble when I get nervous. And, well, just stepping into this classroom does that to me. We just have to think we can do this and we can, right? Mind over matter and all that?"

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fond_of_strange
2011-05-14 10:41 pm UTC (link)

Xeno chuckled and continued scanning pages. "If only it were that easy, I do fairly well with charms. The only reason I still take this class is because it is required to do so." He patted Mary's hand. "No worries, I think it's the fact that this class is in the dungeons, gives me a bit of anxiety too. I think you're on to something with the mind of matter idea."

Xeno looked down at the page he had stopped on and jabbed it with his finger triumphantly. "Aha! How about this one? There are only a handful of instructions and the result makes the person think they are a chicken for a day."

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mary_mac
2011-05-15 07:59 pm UTC (link)

Mary's initial forced smile quickly switched to a much more genuine one. Never before had she thought Xeno would have acted as a voice of reason and comfort. And it was great to know that she was not alone in this potions debacle.

"It does seem like this is a pretty straight forward potion. Although, I'm not sure I'd be willing to sample that one, even if it does turn out right. What about..." Mary trailed off while she scanned a couple more pages. "Oh, this one switches your dominant hand. I'd be fine being a lefty for a while. You know, when we get it right." She looked up at Xeno to see what he thought.

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fond_of_strange
2011-05-16 02:16 am UTC (link)

Xeno sensed Mary becoming a bit less frazzled which calmed him. Having a clear head is necessary when trying to follow potions instructions. He laughed at Mary not wanting to try the chicken potion, he could understand why but on the other hand it would be kind of fun to see the world how a chicken sees it.

"I'd sample it if you don't want to, I don't mind. But switching dominant hands could be interesting as well, it'd almost be like going through the day backwards." Xeno smiled then leaned over to read the instructions from Mary's book.

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mary_mac
2011-05-17 02:18 am UTC (link)

"Well, I don't think it would be fair for one of us to try it and not the other. So how 'bout the dominate hand one? Looks like we'll need," Mary began to trail her finger down the page of the book to read out the ingredients. "Quarter of an ounce of Agrippa, two ounces Antimony, two sprigs Peppermint, four caps of Staghorn, five blades of Knotgrass, and three drops Wormwood essence. That doesn't seem so bad. Do you want to measure the liquids and I'll start cutting the Peppermint and Knotgrass?"

Mary began digging through her Potions kit and pulled out some of the vials. "Looks like I'm out of Peppermint. I, um, sometimes use it in my tea and forgot to get more. Do you have any?"

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fond_of_strange
2011-05-17 09:10 pm UTC (link)

"Fair enough, I wouldn't want anyone to feel cheated." He chuckled and read the ingredients as Mary said them aloud. He vaguely remembered stocking some of his Potions ingredients but could not recall how long ago it was. Hr rummaged through his bag and breathed a sigh of of relief finding that he had all of the required items. "Oh sure, do you want to use my cauldron or yours?"

Xeno had set his cauldron on the table while rummaging for his ingredients. Setting everything out in front of him, Xeno handed his Peppermint to Mary. "Here. I never thought of putting Peppermint in with my tea. It must be divine." He smiled at her. Maybe today won't be so bad.

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mary_mac
2011-05-18 02:41 am UTC (link)

"Oh, well, if you've already got your out, that works." She produced her knife and the her set of scales for them to use.

Accepting the Peppermint, Mary replied, "Yeah, it's quite good. It's how I knew my mum had a rough day at school - she's a teacher - because even in the Muggle world it's known for it's calming properties." It was only after Mary finished speaking that she realized she was talking about her home life. Normally she was much more guarded with talk of her home life - her Muggle life - because she never knew who it would set off. Mary wasn't ashamed of being Muggleborn, not in the least, but discussing it could make some people quite antsy. And, well, Xeno wasn't exactly known for his level head and normalcy.

She busied herself with slicing up the solid ingredients as the book instructed instead of running her mouth any more.

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fond_of_strange
2011-05-18 11:18 pm UTC (link)

Xeno took out a cloth and wiped out his cauldron just in case there was anything in it that would interfere with the potion. He and Mary didn't need a set back before they even started. Once that was completed he started to measure out the liquid ingredients but stopped at Mary's mention of her home life. Not having had too much experience with Muggles, Xeno was slightly fascinated with how people could get by without magic. He turned to Mary to ask a question and found her very focused on cutting the ingredients, seeming slightly embarrassed.

"Um...if you don't mind my asking, what sorts of things does your mother teach?" Xeno asked quietly before continuing his work, not wanting Mary to feel uncomfortable with him focusing on her.

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mary_mac
2011-05-19 03:08 am UTC (link)

With a quiet sigh of relief, Mary explained, "She teaches science. Chemistry, mostly. It's kind of the Muggle equivalent to Potions. Obviously I did not inherit that skill. Threw her for a loop when she found out about all of this, but she's come to accept it now. Reminds me a lot of McGonagall, actually."

Mary stopped slicing strips of the Peppermint and looked up at Xeno. "Sorry. I'm not used to talking about my family all that much 'round here. Your turn, eh? Question for a question. What about your folks?" She had an interest in what wizards did for jobs. Mary had come to know about some of the Ministry positions quite well, but all in all, she really didn't know much about life after Hogwarts. And as she was swiftly finishing her education, she really needed to learn more about what she might do when it was over.

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fond_of_strange
2011-05-20 10:18 pm UTC (link)

"Fascinating. I had no idea Muggles could learn anything like that without magic. Don't worry about not being good at it, I bet you excel at other subjects like me. Everyone has theirs strengths and weaknesses. I can't imagine finding out I was a wizard at eleven instead of right from the get go." Xeno chuckled at Mary's apology and assured her that it was perfectly fine with him to talk about anything at all.

"Seems fair. My father is an inventor much like myself, he created those journals that everyone is frantically scribbling in all the time, which gives him the means to invent more but he has hit a slow spot lately. Mum is an artist mostly, she likes to paint. She also like to rearrange the house so it's always an adventure going home on holiday." Xeno laughed nervously. He wasn't sure he had talked with anyone this in depth before, most students at Hogwarts ignored him or taunted him about his discoveries. He was glad to add another friend to the short list he acquired.

"I guess it's mine turn, aye? Hmmm...what other subjects do Muggles learn? I mean you went to Muggle school until you got your Hogwarts letter I'm guessing."

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mary_mac
2011-05-23 12:13 am UTC (link)

"Oh, yeah. Muggles just work with what they have. And, well, it was a bit of a shock. But, I guess I kind of always felt that there was something... else." Mary shifted some of the cut up bits off to the side and continued while listening to the information about the Lovegood's.

And hearing that Mr. Lovegood was an inventor and Mrs. Lovegood was an artist struck Mary as one of the funniest things she'd heard in a good while. She laughed a little bit when Xeno did, before she realized how rude it must have come across. Quickly placing the knife on the table, she looked up at Xeno. "Sorry, I wasn't laughing at them or you. Being an inventor and artist are just so normal that they seem not right for around here. From the other students I've talked to, I was expecting something with the Ministry. Seems like just about everyone's folks are connected to it. But that's quite brilliant. It makes them seem like real people instead of just another position that I didn't know about."

Mary resumed cutting up the ingredients and answered Xeno's rebuttle question. "Yeah, before Hogwarts I was at Muggle school. So, other subjects? Well, English, where they teach you to read and write and the proper structure of language. Maths, where you learn numbers and equations. Science, like my mum teaches, which is learning all about Muggle tools and technology and how they can be used in life, really. Although they cover so much that that doesn't do it justice. Then history, music, and anything else about learning about local and other cultures around the world."

Dropping the last of the cut up ingredients into each pile, Mary tried settling on one question to ask Xeno. There were so many things that she wanted to know more about, but on the spot, Mary was having trouble settling on any one thing in particular. "So what's your latest invention that you're working on?" she finally asked.

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