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If you recall in the previous lesson we said you don't need to worry about any potion ingredients because we have our hefty stock here in the classroom. What falls on you, however, is getting those ingredients ready. While you can encounter potion recipes which utilise raw ingredient, or rather ingredients the way they're sold, it's not the standard.
Most potions will require that the ingredients are prepared beforehand in one way or another. Around you there are cabinets and tables filled with ample supplies of tools that you can put to good use.
The list of what can find includes, but is not limited to:
Scales, for measuring just the right amount of ingredients.
Kitchen knives, for chopping ingredients in the wanted sizes.
Cutting boards, because we don't want you cutting directly on our tables.
Mortar and pestles, for grounding ingredients down to a powder.
Wooden sticks, for stirring your potions.
Moon charts, because some ingredients show their true potential only during certain phases of the moon.
Mortar and Pestle (top)Brass Scales (bottom)
Moon Charts
That's right, ingredients may not only require different types of handling, but the handling may be limited to very specific intervals of the year. We won't focus on this heavily here because this is information you will get either from the recipes in your Potions textbook or perhaps even your Herbology class. But as an aspiring Potioneer, a potion-maker or potion-brewer, you should know what you can expect.
A number of you are now probably wondering how precise you need to be with the handling of the ingredients. What size should you chop those flowers? How fine should the powdered stones be? The only answer here lies in following the textbook instructions. If a recipe has a specific set of instructions then you should follow them. Not doing so could completely change the effects of the potion.
On the other hand we don't need unnecessary pedantry, if there are no concrete details then it also probably doesn't matter that much. With practice in this class you will also learn it's of high importance to make notes regarding recipes, and this is precisely why. You don't want to waste too much time on the ingredients, but only if you are certain it's fine to omit perfection.
Speaking of perfection, how about a potion? We will start off with something super simple, a Cure for Boils.
Phial of Cure for Boils
Cure for Boils Ingredients & Instructions
4 Horned Slugs
2 Porcupine Quills
6 Snake Fangs
To start things off, get the 6 Snake Fangs and using the mortar you want to crush them to a fine powder. Turn on your cauldron with a bit of water in it. As soon as it starts getting hot, add 4 measures of the crushed Snake Fangs, and let it brew for a bit.
After a couple minutes of the contents boiling, you want to add the 4 Horned Slugs to the cauldron along with the rest of the crushed Snake Fangs. Take the cauldron off the heat.
Finally, add the 2 Porcupine Quills and then stir 5 times, clockwise. Wave your wand to complete the potion.
Jar of Horned Slugs, Horned Slug.
If you see pink smoke raising from the cauldron - congratulations! You just successfully finished your very first potion. Even more importantly, you just finished your very first cure! Sure it's a cure for boils and therefore it may not sound super exciting. However, the crucial part is you are putting your skills to a good cause and that's something to celebrate! If you ever suffer from boils, you simply take a sip of this creation of yours and the problem goes away in the next couple minutes.
If you indeed succeed in creating this potion successfully, then you've also learned the most important lesson in Potions - follow the instructions. As an example the instruction states to take the cauldron off the heat before adding the porcupine quills. If you didn't do so, you would have seen your cauldron melt and create a horrid odour. The potion would have become corrupt and if you came in contact with it, it would cause your skin to erupt in vicious boils.
Porcupine Quills, Snake Fangs.
You see, the world of potions is vast and holds many paths. These paths are often very close to each other, just like the two outcomes of a Cure for Boils potion. If you take away one thing from this class I hope it's choosing to use your knowledge for making helpful potions - healing and strengthening solutions - rather than the counterpart of harmful or poisonous options.
While I cannot explicitly stop you from doing anything, various potion ingredients are considered non-tradable material and selling or buying them is a strictly prohibited by the Ministry of Magic. Likewise, you will not find these dangerous potions on the shelves of any stores or apothecaries because they violate the Laws and Regulations for Use of Magic.
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