JACG Chapter 66 ( Potions 101) (Patreon)

I may have brought out the equipment to brew out but Petunia or Ashley were not any where close to being able to use them. I had to go over safety issues first. I had to beat the fact that a potion that is made poorly could be incredibly volatile into their heads. Even a simple potion that just removes boils could end up in a state that would dissolve flesh. So they had to follow instructions perfectly otherwise things would go poorly for them. Potions are an incredibly versatile field but it was certainly equally dangerous.

It was far easier to fuck up in potions, even if the task is something relatively simple. Transfiguration would not offer the same level of lethality unless human transfiguration was on the table. Charms either worked or they did not, so again you would not find your face melted off with a poor charm. The only subjects that rivaled potions in danger were equally versatile.

The first is spell creation. A lot of spell creation was intricate calculations to get the result you sought. Those calculations would provide the words that bound meaning into Mana, as well as the necessary movements. Fucking up a single calculation could lead to the caster doing something far removed from what they wanted. Like removing all of your internal organs when you wanted to make a form of magical travel.

The second field was Alchemy. Which was to be expected, Alchemy was potions if potions took drugs and grinded twenty four seven. In Alchemy several studies of magic melded together to create something unreal. Transfiguration on the substances you produced to instill a certain amount of Mana into the creation. Potions to get the start of the substance into something moldable. Rituals to bind the meaning and thoughts that you wish to instill into the object. Alchemy was far too complicated to ever be safe.

So if I was going to teach someone the very first thing they had to know was the danger. Potions offered you the world in the palms of your hands so it was definitely worth the danger.

Ashley did not look like she particularly cared about my lecture. Petunia on the other hand seemed to understand the weight of what I was teaching to her. It did not stop the eager light in her eyes. She has been longing for the unreal for a rather long time. She was not going to give up on the possibilities of magic because of danger. She would have never followed me here if that was the case.

Now that I am thinking about it I had kidnapped her. She was probably on her way home from school when I accosted her. So her parents were going to be fretting and upset if we spent too long here. Petunia was far too desperate to learn magic if she was willing to follow a pretty face that she knew personally did not like her. I may have apologized for my behaviour but she had experienced my cold fury for a rather long time.

Once we got over the safety issue I brought up the first potion we were going to brew. It was a minor thing, a potion that would clear out the pores of your face. I figured Petunia would like to know how to make a potion like that. It was a rather simple brew so it made a perfect starting potion.

That might be a bit sexist now that I am thinking about it but she was a teenage girl so maybe not. Whatever, I brought up the recipe and went over what we were going to do.

I explained what each ingredient represented and what use they would have in this particular brew. I explained why we had to stir the potions in a certain way. Why we diced those ingredients instead of slicing. I was not going to teach a student to regurgitate recipes for the rest of their life. If I was going to do this then I was going to teach the both of them properly.

Petunia was staring at me with an intense focus that reminded me far too much of her sister. Even the way she was taking notes was far too close for comfort. I’ll just have to learn to deal with those sights. Ashley on the other hand was not a good student. She seemed interested but looked like she hated the notion of studying. Her will to memorize thousands of tiny little things to make something so simple was not something she was up for.

“You good Ashley?” I questioned lightly. I did not want it to come across as an accusation. She knew that I loved potions so I did not want to pressure her into studying when she clearly did not like it. She blinked at my question and gave me a wry smile.

“This is more than I was expecting.” She let out quietly as Petunia continued to take notes at a fevered pace. She was already on her second page of notes and I was not even done explaining things. 

She then looked over at me with a teasing smile on her face.

“I don’t think this is for me. I’ll just have to rely on you to make cool shit.” Ashley let out with a teasing smile aimed at me. I gave her an understanding look. Potions was not for everyone and I could accept that. I would have been happy to have long discussions about potions with her but it was not in the cards.

“I get it, not everyone can be a genius like me,” I spoke out with a smug smile on my face. Of course, Ashley immediately flipped me off. I laughed at her actions. Petunia stopped taking notes as our interaction was going on. She was looking at me like I was some strange beast that was only talked about in legends. I got it, I was a love sick puppy in her eyes. To see me not pining after Lily must have come as a shock to her.

She clearly wanted to ask more questions but she was holding her self back. I was offering to teach her magic and she did not want to step on my toes when her goal was so close. I was not going to change her mind on her silence. I did not want to field those questions right now. I would rather just teach her potions for now. 

So I went back to teaching her. I did not take too long to go over all the tiny aspects of the potion. It was a fairly simple one so it did not have a whole lot to explain even if I was being thorough.

“You good to start Petunia?” I spoke out softly as she was examining her notes. She did not need to know all the meanings to make the potion but it would be helpful later on. For now, the simple recipe was good enough to get the potion started.

“I think so.” Petunia stuttered out. Her tone came out like she was questioning her own statement. She was clearly nervous about doing something magical for the first time. This had been a dream of hers for a long time so it was expected to have nerves. I was also rather clear about how badly things could go for her.

“Look Petunia. You got this, it’s a simple potion and you are a smart girl. I am here to make sure nothing dangerous will happen but I am confident that I won’t be needed.” I smiled at her lightly. She was a smart girl I could see that in the way she took her notes. Even if she was not the recipe was simple and her earnest effort was enough to push her along. Petunia blushed at my comment and broke eye contact.

Before I could react to that Ashley smacked the back of my head. Not very hard as I knew she was capable of far more force but enough to get her point across.

“No seducing innocent girls.” She announced with a pout on her face. I smiled wryly at her. I was not trying to seduce Petunia but her bright blush told me I failed at that. Petunia's head snapped up at Ashley’s comment her face draining of that color.

“I’m not seduced!” Petunia shouted out in denial. The way she said that I could not believe that she believed in what she said. Ashley rolled her eyes but that was all she did. I was surprised that Ashley did not have a more negative reaction to Petunia.

“I get it kid but he’s mine,” Ashley spoke out slowly to get her point across. Petunia just started to blush again.

“Can we just get back to the potion.” Petunia stuttered out. She was clearly trying to get out of the conversation but I could not blame her. I did not want this conversation to continue either.

Ashley just rolled her eyes and motioned to Petunia to get started.

Petunia sighed in relief. She then started gathering the ingredients that she needed for the potion from my case of ingredients. It took her a while to identify which ingredients were the ones she needed but she got all of them. She was not as nervous as she was before, that conversation broke some of the tension that was hovering over her. 

So I guess that ended up well even if I now had to cuddle with Ashley to get her to stop pouting. Our intimate situation had Petunia blushing harder but she ignored us and continued making the potion.

She prepped the ingredients. Some of them could be cut in advance while some had to be done later. Her knife work could use some work as she was not as quick as she needed to be. Still, even if she was slow she managed to get the ingredients prepped how they were supposed to.

The cauldron was already set up and heated by magic. She could not change the levels of heat yet nor should she try this early. For this potion the current heat was fine any lower or higher could be disastrous. It was a good thing that magical flames were so easy to regulate.

She then started to add the ingredients one after the other. She was doing okay, there was clearly room for improvement but I was a nit picker. I would only be satisfied if someone was doing everything perfectly. It was a lot to expect from someone who only learned to brew an hour ago. Still, while I thought she could improve her current actions would be more than fine in completing the potion.

My thoughts turned out to be true as she finished brewing and the liquid like state of the potion turned into a balm. The color was a little off but it would certainly work. She just needed to jar her creation and she could use it on her skin to clean out pores.

She was looking over her creation in worry. I got out of the cuddle session with Ashley and walked over to my student. She was fretting over her potion as it was not quite the color I said it would be. She looked over at me with worried eyes. She looked like she was going to have a break down.

She was worried that this was a failure and that she would never be able to learn anything magical. I patted her head which caused her to look over at me in confusion. She did stop panicking so the problem was solved.

“You did it.” I smiled brightly at her. She looked stunned at my announcement. Then she took in my words and the nervous look completely left her face. It was replaced by wonder and fascination. 

“I’m proud of you Petunia, you did better than some of my classmates.” Again I smiled lightly at her. I was being truthful as well. Some of the fools that I had to deal with in potions were fucking morons. I could not imagine how they managed to fuck up a simple recipe so badly.

Petunia once again blushed and looked away. I took that in for a moment before I regretted saying the last line. I felt another smack at the back of my head as I expected. I could have dodged it as I saw it coming but they did not really hurt.

I looked back at Ashley who was once again pouting. I gave her a wry smile. Petunia was far too easy to seduce she had to work on that. Or I had to change how I talked to her.

[I Was A Hunter But I Took An Arrow To The Heel: Prince you said you were willing to curse someone to make it up to me. Turns out I do have someone I want to suffer. Their name is Salem.]

Well, I guess Ozpin spilled the beans.