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Post by ALEXANDER TYLER DOUGLAS on Aug 19, 2011 11:57:34 GMT -5
Alex was surprised when the Potions professor came up to him after class. It was only a few weeks into the school year. There was a girl in Hufflepuff who had requested either extra lessons or a tutor in potions, and it was a major boost to his ego when his professor felt that he was the best one for the job.
The Ravenclaw, while not the best with planning lessons (Alex usually just helped people with homework, looked forward to tonight, two days after the potions professor's request. He was supposed to meet the girl in this room in the dungeons, that had been set up to be a somewhat makeshift potions classroom. The professor had been kind enough to let Alex use materials from his stock instead of Alex's, something he was thankful for.
His plan for the day's lesson was a simple one: They'd brew a Shrinking solution, a simple potion that was usually gone over by one's third year. Her ability with that potion would allow Alex to see where exactly this "Alice Wood" was when it came to the art of potions brewing.
The Ravenclaw arrived at the dungeon room, freshly full from dinner, and now waiting for the young woman to show up. From what he knew of her, she was in Hufflepuff and she was in his year. He'd rather hoped that she wouldn't let House Rivalries get in their way of improving her skills, as tended to happen to some people. If memory served him, she was the school's Quidditch commentator, and he fairly liked Quidditch, so there'd be at least one talking point between them. Granted, he was a casual fan, whereas with her being a commentator, she had to have a good bit more knowledge of the sport. Maybe she could teach him a thing or two?
He shook his head. He was here to teach, not to make a friend. That could come later.
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Post by ALICE MARIE WOOD on Aug 20, 2011 12:59:40 GMT -5
 Alice Marie Wood struggled in many things. She wasn't very good at paying attention, taking things seriously, and not crying of frustration. Most of all, Alice was a terrible potioneer. Or was it potionista for a girl? She was terrible. She could never measure her ingredients right; she was much too clumsy and always dropped too much, too little, or none at all. Much of the time, her face ended up in a layer of ashes.
Her clumsiness had gotten the best of her this time for sure; she had to go to the Potions teacher and request for special help. Of course, the professor was much too busy and assigned her a Ravenclaw boy to tutor her. Just great.
Alexander Douglas was his name, and she didn't know him very well at all. He was in the same year as her, so he was a familiar face from mutual classes, but Alice didn't know much more than his house. He would be smart enough to help her, thankfully, and stop her from knocking over all the bottles and vials of potions in the classroom.
The first assignment of their tutoring was the Shrinking Solution. It seemed simple enough.. right? The brunette had tried to find books and read about it in the library, but she always ended up falling asleep in her comfortable loveseat. Third years used to make this! There was no reason she couldn't! ..Right?
Alice was very apprehensive about her brewing skills, and had good reason to be. She needed to evacuate the room on several occasions, resulting in a detention, retest, and a failed OWL. She sighed as she clicked her heels down the staircase to the empty dungeons. They had always creeped her out; the cobwebs and spiders appeared to be waving her goodbye as she gulped.
The seemingly less-than-enthusiastic girl burst through the door to be welcomed by the Ravenclaw boy. Great. Just peachy. "Uhm...hi! I'm here for a lesson?" She flashed a bright smile, as she did to all new people she met, and waved. "I'm Alice. Nice to meet you, Alex!" She gave him an unwarranted hug for his help, as she did with all her friends. Hopefully, it wouldn't scare him off.
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Post by ALEXANDER TYLER DOUGLAS on Aug 20, 2011 13:24:42 GMT -5
"Ah, hello, miss Alice, it is good to meet you-mmph!" Alex said, freezing up at the hug. He forced himself to pat the girl on the back, reminding himself that most people were more openly friendly than he was, and Hufflepuff were friendly, contrasting the Ravenclaw's usual aloofness.
Alex cleared his throat, dispelling sudden nervousness. Every since he had danced in Hogsmeade with Miss Weasley, Alex had grown very aware of his loner status and had the smallest of urges to change that about himself. He hadn't realized how lonely he was until then.
However, change does not come over night for most people, metamorphmagi and werewolves excluded. Alex was wise enough to tell that it'd be a while before he was used to hugging people, his mother and father being the only people he routinely embraced.
"As you know, the professor has decided that I shall tutor you in the fine art of potionsmaking. He says that a lot of your problems aren't so much in lack of ability, but more of a clumsy and inattentive nature. This is actually a common problem in learning about potions, as most people simply don't have the patience to learn recipes and to measure and watch potions brew," Alex said, not wasting any time. The Ravenclaw led the girl to the table where all of the supplies and a cauldron lay.
"I've taken the liberty of measuring all of the parts of the potion for you. It is up to you to add them in the right way. I am here to assist you, so if you have any questions at all, please feel free to ask, miss Alice.
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Post by ALICE MARIE WOOD on Aug 21, 2011 16:14:47 GMT -5
Alexander's hesitation during the hug made Alice pout and her face fall. Was this boy socially inept? She usually got an equally enthusiastic response for her embraces. Hmph. Maybe he wouldn't be like her other friends, after all. Everyone was different. Maybe this Ravenclaw was a bit more gruff than the others. From then on, she was determined to turn that around about him. She wished he could come out of his shell, if any, and be a bit less.. rigid. He was kind enough to teach her how to brew a Potion, so why couldn't he be a good friend? Calm down, Alice. Her conscience told her. Her hypersensitivity was a prominent trait of hers. Just 'cause he didn't hug you too doesn't mean he hates you. He doesn't hate you.. yet... She tried to push negative thoughts away and keep herself lighthearted and positive. She was generally a hyper and perky person. Her frustration with Potions must be getting to her. "Can I call you Xander?!" Alice grinned, internally keeping up her bouncy self. She would get him to be a bit more outgoing than the awkward boy she saw at the present moment. He couldn't be that bad. He just 'ahem'd', as Alice would say after a brief hug. Awwh, he must be one of those awkward boys that act shy and weird around girls. How cute! She concluded mentally. Of course, Alice's assumptions were often wrong as she never really had all her facts straight before she drew a conclusion. "I wouldn't say, um, clumsy and inattentive!" Alice insisted, hardheaded. "I'd say I'm just more... artistic in the way I brew potions!" Her eyes were downcast sheepishly. She was embarrassed that she was the only one in her class who kept trying and trying at each Potion and failed every time. "Oh, you're right.. I definitely don't." She shrugged, disappointed in herself. No one else needed tutoring in the subject but her... how shameful. She figured her mom would be quite disappointed in her! She'd better shape up! Alice marched over to the table where each ingredient had been carefully measured out for her. "Phew," she murmured under her breath. That would be one disaster out of the way. "Thanks! And don't call me Miss Alice. It makes me feel old. We're the same age, Mister Alexander." The corners of her mouth turned into a large grin again, and she punched his arm lightly. The brunette stared at the many ingredients surrounding the bubbling cauldron and didn't know where to start. "Can you.. uh... brew it with me? So I.. don't get too confused..." She glanced at the book, flipping open to the recipe page.
- chopped daisy roots
- skinned shrivelfig
- rat spleen
- one sliced caterpillar
- dash of leech juice
"Ohh-kayyy.... So I'd better chop the daisy roots and slice the caterpillar first... right?" She began to reach for the nearby knife apprehensively. This would be a looong lesson.
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Post by ALEXANDER TYLER DOUGLAS on Aug 23, 2011 22:36:06 GMT -5
"....Call me what you will, miss Alice."
He wasn't sure to do with all of that...energy. Alex was in most cases a very calm person, especially when doing his thing with potions. He was able to analyze and logically conclude at a rate that would cause some to consider him highly intelligent.
And so far, he analyzed that this girl didn't have ADD or ADHD. She had ADOLAS syndrome: Attention Deficit- Oh Look A Shiny syndrome. Perkiness wasn't really his thing. He had to get very comfortable before he'd ease into the persona he'd discovered he had that seemed to be funny in an "adorkable" kind of way, if he could label it himself.
Granted, what he considered "adorkable" likely made other people annoyed at him.
Alex growled mentally, dispelling such thoughts. There was a job to do. He chuckled lightly as she denied the Potion professor's description of her.
"Artistic....riiiiiiight. By art, I suppose you're channeling Van Gogh? Abstract art is all good and well, but if you cut off your own ear, I'm outta here," Alex deadpanned, rather hoping he wouldn't have to explain his joke, as some students didn't get his many Muggle references. He nodded as she admitted that she didn't have the patience.
"It's quite all right, no need to look depressed. That's what I'm here to fix!"
She marched to the table and looked over her ingredients, which gave Alex a bit more hope than he had. She seemed to be willing enough to learn. The girl commented on him calling her 'Miss', but it was Alex's nature. What wasn't his nature was him not grabbing the girl's wrist during her punch and redirecting it, or throwing her, or snapping the arm... it was a friendly tap, so he forced himself to take the punch with little reaction, other than rubbing the impacted area lightly.
"Whatever you wish to call me, Miss Alice, I prefer the sign of respect towards a young lady such as yourself. My mother raised me to be respectful, ergo, Miss Alice," he explained, shrugging. She seemed thoroughly relieved that he had measured everything for her.
Asked to help, he cleared his throat again.
"As you wish. As I said, I am here for your assistance."
Alex knew the ingredients by heart and nodded as he looked at the plain pot of water that would soon be a shrinking solution- or at least he hoped. The Ravenclaw nodded as she picked the right first step, and smiled.
"Very good, miss Alice. May I ask if you enjoy cooking any?"
Depending on her answer, Alex knew EXACTLY how to help the girl. It seemed her constant failure at potions had more or less resulted in a total phobia of brewing, and if he could get her to visualize herself cooking instead of brewing, things would likely go faster and easier on her.
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