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On Monday, September 6th, 2021, Devon, Hugo, Stephanie, Samantha, and Lily had their first Potions class of the year.
Third year Gryffindors shared this class with third year Ravenclaws, or rather, a third year Ravenclaw.
Since the turn of the century from the 20th century into the 21st century, there had been only two weird sorting quirks at Hogwarts.
The first had occurred in the 2015-2016 school year when James had become the only Gryffindor in that year. The second had occurred in the 2019-2020 school year when Bryce Finnigan, the son of Seamus Finnigan and Eloise Midgen, had become the only Ravenclaw in that year.
In the previous two years, if Professor Brew had his students pair up in Potions class (There were times when students worked alone in Potions.), Devon had always partnered Hugo, Samantha had always been paired with Stephanie, and Lily had always worked with Ainsley. On such days, Professor Brew himself would work with Bryce owing to odd number of students in the class.
With Ainsley no longer in the class, there were six students left.
In accordance with Professor Kirke's wishes for inter house interactions, Professor Brew decided that in each class, one of the Gryffindors would be Bryce's partner with partners rotating on a class by class basis. This would give all five Gryffindors ample opportunities throughout the year to work with Bryce and get to know him better.
As Lily's usual partner from the previous years was gone, Professor Brew decided that Lily would partner Bryce during this first class and Hugo and Devon, and the Saver sisters could still work together this first class.
As she took her things and sat down by Bryce at his usual desk, Lily kindly said, "Hi, Bryce, I look forward to working with you and getting to know you!"
"Thanks, Lily, " said Bryce warmly, "I can you're all in on Professor Kirke's inter house unity gameplan. "
"I think anything that help further promote friendship is a good thing, " said Lily glowingly, "I love your family's story. Gryffindor marries Hufflepuff. Couple has Ravenclaw son-"
At that nanosecond Professor Brew said, "Today we will be brewing Girding Potion. Girding Potion is a Potion that increases the endurance of the drinker The effects of Girding Potion last for several weeks. However, the maximum dosage is two vials. You will not need your mortars or pestles to make this Potion. All ingredients are added directly into your cauldron. I will put the instructions on the board."
Next nanosecond, Professor Brew waved his wand and thirteen lines of instruction appeared.
"This is teamwork today, so only one Potion per team, " said Professor Brew firmly, "I'm going to pass out all of the necessary ingredients to each team. For today's lesson, I will also pass out a cauldron to each team, so you don't need to get out your own cauldrons today."
Professor Brew then passed out the cauldrons and ingredients to each of the three teams and said, "Let the brewing commence!"
"Bryce?" asked Lily kindly, "Would you like to take the lead on making the Girding Potion or would you like me to take the lead?"
"I think, " suggested Bryce, "That the best way for us to work together as a team is for one of us to read the instructions to the other while the other follows them."
"I'll be the reader and you can be the brewer, " Lily offered Bryce.
Bryce's face lit up.
"Okay, then, read me the first instruction. " Bryce told Lily briskly.
"Add one set of fairy wings, " read Lily.
Bryce grabbed a set of fairy wings and added them to the cauldron.
"The next instruction is to turn on the heat until the potion turns turquoise, " Lily told Bryce.
"I'll turn on the heat, " explained Bryce, "But keep my hands and eyes on the heat controls. You watch the potion and shout "OFF!" once it turns turquoise."
"That's a very good teamwork strategy, Bryce, " piped up an impressed sounding Lily.
So, Bryce turned the heat on. The instant Lily saw the potion go turquoise, she yelled "OFF!" and Bryce turned the heat off again.
"Our next step is to add one measure of doxy eggs, " Lily informed Bryce.
Bryce calmly and patiently measured out one unit of doxy eggs and added them to the cauldron.
"We have another heating step, " explained Lily, "This time I will yell "OFF" when the potion turns pink."
Bryce again turned on the heat and kept his hands and eyes on the controls. Once the potion took on a pink hue, Lily cried, "OFF!" and Bryce turned the heat off again.
"Now, " grinned Lily, "We've got to add toasted dragonfly thoraxes until the potion turns orange."
"Lily, " said Bryce thoughtfully, "I think we should both add dragonfly thoraxes at the same time, "If we both do, the potion will go orange quicker."
"You'd make a good NFL coach, Bryce, or at least a good offensive or defensive coordinator, " beamed Lily, "You're a fantastic strategist."
"Thanks, Lily!" cooed Bryce and they both picked up dragon thoraxes and threw them into the cauldron. Within twenty seconds, it was orange."
"That was quick, " said Lily proudly, "One flying seahorse must now be added."
Bryce quickly found the flying seahorse and placed into the cauldron.
"So," continued Lily, "The potion shall now be heated until it resumes its turquoise tent."
Bryce now instinctually turned on the heat and waited for Lily's call.
Bryce removed the heat when Lily screamed, "OFF!"
"Time for more dragon thoraxes, " beamed Lily, "But this time we're seeking a purple shade."
"Together!" declared Bryce and he and Lily dumped dragon thoraxes into the cauldron together, taking only fifteen seconds this time to bring the potion to purple.
As the team gained confidence, Lily shortened her instructions a bit.
"Heat until red, " called Lily this time and Bryce put the hat on until Lily exclaimed, "OFF!" once the portion was the right tone of red.
"Three measures of doxy eggs, " piped up Lily next.
Bryce appropriately took his time with this step.
"I think with this step, " said Bryce in a businesslike voice, "It's best to measure one unit at a time and do so three times. It's easier to get precision when measuring out one until at a time."
"I can why you're a Ravenclaw, Bryce, " complimented Lily."
"Precision is paramount in Potion Making, " said Bryce matter of factly, "So it's okay to take it slower sometimes."
Bryce took his time measuring out a measure of doxy eggs and adding them to cauldron and then repeated this process a second and third time.
"More dragon thoraxes, " blurted out eagerly, "Make it blue!"
Bryce and Lily quickly grabbed dragon thoraxes and added them to the cauldron. Its blue hue shone through in just under ten seconds.
"We're almost there, " said Lily confidently, "Just two steps left. First, three flying seahorses."
Bryce excitedly picked up three flying seahorses and tossed them into the cauldron.
"Finally, " declared Lily, "Heat till green!"
Bryce applied heat for one final time and withdrew it the nanosecond Lily saw the Potion turn a brilliant shade of green and shouted "OFF!"
Bryce and Lily now gazed the eyes upon the finished Girding Potion.
Professor Brew looked at the perfect shade of green in Bryce's and Lily's cauldron and declared, "Merlin's beard! it is perfect! So perfect I daresay the drinker could walk from Los Angeles to Boston and back without ever tiring."
Looking around, Bryce and Lily saw that Devon's and Hugo's Girding Potion was cyan and Samantha's and Stephanie's Girding Potion was teal.
"So, " explained Professor Brew, "The trickiest part about Girding Potion is how many heating steps it requires. Not getting those steps quite right is where Mr. Dursley and Mr. Weasley as well Miss Saver and Miss Saver made the mistakes they made in their potions. But something really stood out to me about Mr. Finnigan and Miss Potter apart from their perfect Girding Potion."
The attentiveness that suddenly filled the room was palpable.
"Mr. Finnigan and Miss Potter really grasped the concept of teamwork on the Girding Potion. Deciding on roles and executing them. Having a reader and a brewer. Having both brew where possible for speed. And, the biggie, on the heating steps, Mr. Finnigan and Miss Potter each took a role with Mr. Finnigan strictly watching the heat and Miss Potter strictly watching the color of the potion and informing Mr. Finnigan when to turn it off. Both other teams had both people watching the potion and that meant the heat was never quite turned off in time. This is why Potions with a lot of heating steps should always be done in tandem. Mr. Finnigan and Miss Potter executed the brewing of the Girding Potion flawlessly because they used their tandem to their advantage, " Professor Brew told the class, "So, leave your Girding Potions on your desks when you leave. You are free to talk until the bell rings.'
"Great job, Bryce, " said Lily admiringly, "Your strategizing was brilliant."
"We did it as a team, " said Bryce humbly, "Your attentiveness mattered just as much."
"So, " inquired Lily, "Your parents are Seamus Finnigan and Eloise Midgen. Is Seamus still BFFs with Dean Thomas?"
"Absolutely, " said Bryce simply, "Mom is a more of a loner. Mom and dad had a dance at Dean's Dance Den and hit it off there and the rest is history."
"What do your parents think of you being in Ravenclaw?" Lily asked Bryce.
"They love it. They take pride in being a multi house family, " said Bryce crisply.
"Is Potions your favorite subject then?" inquired Lily.
"Yes, " declared Bryce, "I like the attention to detail Potions requires. I appreciate Potions for the fact that you really have to do a good job to get good results. "
"Bryce, " said Lily sincerely, "It was a pleasure meeting you and a joy to work with you and I look forward to the next time we are a team."
"The feeling is mutual, " said Bryce genuinely.
When the bell rang, Lily left the Potions classroom feeling immensely satisfied.
She had made a Ravenclaw friend in her year and they had worked smoothly as a cohesive team.
Lily couldn't wait to share a class with the Hufflepuffs.