Potions and Items, Desperately Needed [Open]

[jointheclub]

[The Itemcrafting classroom looks like something out of The Sword in the Stone today, with beakers, cauldrons, tubes, liquids, chests, and sundry supplies all floating around in midair, almost but not quite bumping into each other. On one side of the classroom, knives furiously chop away at roots, stalks, and bulbs; on another, large tongs stir boiling cauldrons. In the midst of all this, Slughorn directs traffic with his wand, hurrying here and there to check this process or temper this reaction.]

[Truth be told, Slughorn is running himself raw, between days of gathering up students on the Island and nights of making items and potions to repair the damage they've done to themselves. A very uncharacteristic scowl seems to have landed permanently on his face, and he is constantly mopping at the shine on his increasingly-mottled forehead. In fact, one might almost say he's showing his age...]

Don't even know why I came out of retirement. What am I, a Healer?

[He flicks his wand irritably, sending two completed sleeping draughts and a half-dozen Potions flying into a box.]

Comments

[jointheclub]

[Slughorn harrumphs to cover the fact that he's actually a little touched.]

We've other things to worry about at the present. Both magical and healing potions take study and skill, but -- are you a witch, by chance?

[crablette]

No...

[Though, she looks a little thoughtful. She doesn't really know much about witches, except the scraps of information gleaned from whatever the hell storybook she found and what the Captain had said.]

...but, I guess it would depend on what you call a witch?

[jointheclub]

Witches can do magic, of course. Witches and wizards. We're short on them here. Makes it hard to teach a decent Potions class.

[crablette]

Oh. ...I can do a little magic, for healing, but I've never been called a witch...

[jointheclub]

[It can't ever be simple.]

Tell me about your 'little magic', then.

[crablette]

Well... it's healing magic. I can heal wounds and restore people's consciousness. I mostly focus on single targets, though... my friend Cheria can heal better than me.

And... I guess some of my attack artes could be a little bit "magic" too. It's not what most humans can do...

[But then, she's not exactly human.]

[jointheclub]

[Slughorn regards her in silence as he considers, then nods.]

All right. Let's see it. Cast a spell.

[crablette]

[Obediently, she begins to use a magic arte - specifically, Rejuvenate - on Slughorn. She didn't think he had any wounds to heal, but it should at least help him feel a little refreshed, she hoped! This particular arte was good for reviving people, as well as healing wounds.]

[jointheclub]

Ah. As I expected. No wand. Never understood how that was possible, but... [He makes an airy gesture with his hand.] Now then, can you learn new magic?

[crablette]

I'm not sure. I learned a lot of things from how my friends fight, but I haven't really tried to copy magic. I could probably learn Cheria's artes, if I wanted.

[After all, Cheria can only use many of her artes because of Sophie. Hell, Cheria is only alive because of that one time Sophie exploded.]

[jointheclub]

Well. Proper magical education requires a wand. No idea how to go about it without one, not as far as charms and hexes and all that go. But Potions, perhaps...