Open Peace, Quiet, and Mind Molding

[Professor Emmaline Hopkins]

Emmaline could feel the pressure of the exams almost smothering her. She had barely slept this whole week. Instead she had spent all her time up reading, writing, and practicing wand movements. The young Gryffindor knew she had to be prepared for her exams and could not waste a second. She needed to succeed, get perfect grades. Her mother would accept nothing less, Emmaline herself could not either. She had to be this perfect daughter, or at least appear to be. The perfect grades were a necessity.

The young Gryffindor sat in the Hogwarts Garden, surrounded by textbooks, parchment and ink. She sat on the ground, legs crossed. There was not enough room on the bench nearby to hold all the items she needed for studying. Right now she was focusing on Potions. The Professor had canceled the lesson today, to both feel better and give them time to study. Emmaline was not going to waste this opportunity.

She held her quill in her hand, parchment on her lap, as she looked over the potions textbook next to her. Right now she was creating a study guide of everything they had learned and based off the notes she had taken each lesson. The study guide, itself, was going to be massive, but hopefully helpful. Emmaline continued to glance between her notes and textbook, as she scribbled down everything that may possibly be on the exam. It truly was a lot of information. And this was only step one.

 

[Beckett Harrington]

Beckett was enjoying the day off, they didn't have Potions today so he was going to enjoy this free time to go to the gardens for a quick walk to stretch his legs and stop thinking about them exams. He was one his was back when he saw a girl with textbooks and papers everywhere.
A gust of wind suddenly made one of her papers fly towards him, he caught it before flying away and headed toward the girl "Here" he said giving her the piece of paper "I know how important this can be" he said referring to her notes, "Mind if I join you? I can tell that you are studying potions and I could always use the extra studying." he said looking at her.
He had noticed the girl in class, she was an overachiever never settling for less than perfection and making sure she does everything flawlessly. He looked at her giving her a smile, the idea of studying outside was better than go to the library or his common room.
Beckett was now taking a more proper look to what that chaos of paper was all about, all those notes were on potions only "Settling for nothing less than perfection I see? You are seriously going to give a run for my money" he said calmly, she seemed good but Beckett was absolutely sure that he was better than her "Sorry to disappoint but I'm the king of nerds here. You still have a lot of work to do if you ever want to be as good as me" he said with a teasing tone and a wicked smile.

 

[Professor Emmaline Hopkins]

Emmaline's blue eyes widened as a gust of wide blew some of her papers into the air. She dropped the quill and attempted to catch a few, some slipping out of her grasp. Maybe the outside was not the best place to study, but Emmaline stood by her first thought that it was less crowded. Luckily it seemed like the garden was crowded enough as a young boy grabbed one of Emmaline's stray papers. She gave the boy an appreciative smile as she reached out for the Potion's notes. She was thankful, even one page lost could mean the end of everything, getting a question wrong on the final exam. "Thanks" She said placing the piece of paper in it's proper place. The young Gryffindor rearranged some of her study items before looking back up at the boy.

He looked familiar, not on a name base, but maybe he was in one of his classes. Emmaline had not really paid attention to her surroundings here at Hogwarts, physically or socially. If it did not have to do with classes, the young girl often pushed this out of her mind. Of course this was not always the case as she had made a few friends, but nothing like meeting all her classmates. She tried to recall the boy's name, but it was missing from her brain. She would figure it out later. Emmaline did not have time to socialize now, exams were approaching with each blink of her eyes.

Yet the boy asked if she minded if he joined her. Emmaline was nothing but polite, it was taught over and over. Polite was always important for first impressions. Plus as long as the other boy wanted to study, things should work out fine. Maybe he would even quiz here on some of the tougher questions she may have to know for the exam. "Of course. Have a seat." Emmaline said smiling up at the boy, as she patted the ground next to her welcoming him to take a seat amongst the chaos.

However as the boy continued to speak, he seemed to have hit a nerve with Emmaline. Who does he think he is? She thought rolling her eyes. Even if he was joking, this was not the time or the topic to tease about. Not when the young girl was already losing her mind with worry. She looked up at the boy, giving a small smile, not quite genuine. "Luckily they choose both a headgirl and headboy in the years to come. I doubt you'll mind being second best." She said surprised as the words fell out of her mouth. Not quite sure what to do after she had let her words unkindly come into the open, Emmaline grabbed a Potion's lecture note and began to read over it, slightly embarrassed about her outburst, but honestly meaning every word. Emmaline had to be the best, she was not going to let some king of the nerds beat her. Her mother would not allow second best, she refused to allow herself to fall in that position either.

 

[Beckett Harrington]

Beckett was already taking a seat and passing his eyes through her notes ready to study when suddenly she hit his nerve. He was taught better than to just respond agressivelly "Well, game on! Maybe the best person win. I'm always up for some friendly competition" he said looking at her. He was liking this girl, she reminded him of his sister Katrina. He and her had always been extremely competitive but she had the advantage of being a few good years older but now, this girl, she was a first year just like him and she wasn't going to know what hit her.
"Well since we are going to be adversaries you may as well know the name of the guy who is going to, and pardon the expression, kick your ass. I'm Beckett Harrington" he said extending his arm to her, he was enjoying this more than he could express.
The young boy started taking his huge portfolio of notes on potions from his backpack "Any idea on what you think it's coming on the potions exam?" he said seriously looking at her, they were going to be rivals yes but Beckett wanted to win this fair and square, besides he saw that the girl was probably the only one with enough potential to ever be at his level which made her a great study buddy. "On a side note, I'm actually pretty pissed that we didn't get to make any potion this year. Hated potions" he said hoping to create a better mood in order to study.

 

[Professor Emmaline Hopkins]

Emmaline smiled to herself. The best person will win. She thought to herself, annoyed by these boy's comments. Emmaline had put everything she had into her classes. She had always been on time, copied lecture notes, and even spent hours after classes reading chapter after chapter in her textbook. She had put her time into her classes than she ever thought was possible. Maybe this young boy did the same. Maybe he was always buried in his textbooks, overwhelmed by the amount of knowledge available to be learned and some times memorized. Emmaline really had no reason to snap at this boy. He was doing exactly what she was doing, but for some reason he was getting under her skin. Maybe she was just overly stressed, or maybe they just would not get along. Either way, there was studying to do. He may be an asset.

Emmaline tried to open her mind as she listened to the boy, still gripping her notes in her hands a little too tightly in frustration. He seemed to be civil at least. Maybe she had made her point. Beckett She repeated in her mind as the boy introduced himself. She would have to pay attention to his name after this, even just in passing. He may be competition, something Emmaline was not sure she needed at the moment, but was bound to be there. Others were working just as hard as she was, even if her bias made it difficult to relate.

"I'm Emmaline." She added as she extended her free hand to shake the Beckett's hand. The young Gryffindor relaxed slightly as the topic turned from their so called friendly competition to actual studying. This was what Emmaline should be focusing on anyway. "The basic ingredients definitely, maybe brewing the aging potion." Emmaline thought aloud as she glanced at her detailed study guide. "Maybe he will test us brewing Potions for the exam" She thought both scared and hopeful. Emmaline did not want to brew a potion for the first time for a grade, but she did want to actual brew a potion she was torn. "I have detailed notes about the aging potion, step by step" She adding looking through her notes for the page. She handed the two pages over to Beckett.

Emmaline was a little surprised by Beckett's overall language. Her mother would never allow her to use such words. She tried to pass it off as different slang. However she did agree with the boy's disappointment in potions. Emmaline had hoped she would be able to test her skill more at actually brewing potions, but she also understood how important theory is. "There is always next year." Emmaline added trying to remain positive even though it required just a little too much effort at the moment.

 

[Beckett Harrington]

Emmaline, that was the name Beckett needed to look out for, something old him that she wouldn't just be a rock in his shoe like everyone else was in the past. This girl was a big gigantic rock that finally made Hogwarts interesting.
"I doubt that he will test our brewing skills but totally agree on the ingredients" he said going through his notes when suddenly the girl mentioned being evaluated by brewing something. He snapped his head up "Don't even joke with that! I have experience helping my sister preparing some potions but brew a whole potion by myself? I mean...I could totally do it but that seems impossible to come up on the exam" he said trying to brag a bit. Most of the knowledge he had was due to his sister and the amount of books he had in the home library, he was just at Hogwarts now to consolidate.
Beckett waved some of pages in the air, as if saying I do too, when the girl mentioned having the aging potion step by step "Ok onto the questions, give a summary of Asphodel's appearance and magical properties" he asked the girl, that was an easy question. While she answered he kept on reading, scanning and skimming through his notes and also hearing her answer to make sure it was correct, multitasking was one of the skills he was most proud of.

 

[Professor Emmaline Hopkins]

Emmaline did not look up as the boy expressed a little nervousness towards brewing his own potion. Emmaline truly felt the same, but she would not let this show. It was rarely necessary to show nervous behaviour even if this young Gryffindor experienced it a lot towards classes. She was always trying to keep her cool, so to say. After all, as her mother constantly told her, appearance mattered. Her world could not be perfect if she was not and how could she be perfect if she was all nervous and sweaty; impossible.

The young Gryffindor kept her eyes on her notes as she began to put tiny asterisk by the topics she thought would be on the exam, which happened to almost be counter productive with how many asterisks she was adding to her notes. Maybe she would have to go about this another way. As she was dwelling on this thought, a plan of action, Beckett asked her a question about a potion ingredient. Quizzing. That might be the answer.

Emmaline placed her notes on her lap, making sure not to look at them and 'cheat.' "Asphodel" she began as she dug deep in her mind about all the things she had learned and read about this particular potion ingredient. She pictured the plant in her mind, which was easy since it was one of the plants they had to find in the scavenger hunt during a potion lesson. "Asphodel is a white flowered plant with yellow tips. It is associated with the afterlife and death." She explained finding the particular association slightly unnerving. "It is found on Hogwarts Grounds and is the professor does like this potion ingredient. I believe it is commonly brewed with wormwood in the Draught of the Living Dead." She finished, thinking for a few moments to see if that was everything she remembered, wondering if she missed anything important. The young girl nodded her head once when she was certain she had answered the question correctly.

Looking at Beckett, Emmaline wondered how much of this information he had personally memorized. "Your turn." She said with a slight smile. They may not have gotten off to a great start and Emmaline was not quite sure how she felt about the boy, but she was enjoying this little educational quiz. Seemed better than scanning through her notes highlighting everything that seemed important, which was everything. The young girl thought of a question, thinking back to all the Potion lessons. "Name three Potion Ingredients found on the grounds here at Hogwarts." She said answering the question in her mind, she too needed to know this answer. Emmaline came up with four ingredients, knowing she was missing one, but could not come up with the answer right away.

 

[Beckett Harrington]

Beckett starred at the girl for a bit after she just told him what Asphodel was, clearly he had underestimated his opponent, a mistake he wouldn't make again.
He started clapping his hands, but not very loudly, "I'm impressed. This is going to be really fun..." he said with a daring smile. This whole competition idea was getting him extremely excited but he needed to keep his head on the game, he couldn't afford to lose focus, his reputation was at stake.
"Like you just said, Asphodel, and the other two are Scurvy-Grass and Nettles, for example" he said proudly, Emmaline needed to know that he also was a very hard to beat opponent and she would have to work harder than she ever did before if she wanted to keep up with him. "Ok, now... which ingredients, that we studied, have poisonous properties?" he asked, he knew exactly what those were and hoped that she didn't.

 

[Professor Emmaline Hopkins]

Emmaline rolled her eyes as the boy began to clap his hands. He really had such a sense of humor, if you could call it that. Beckett seemed almost sarcastic, something Emmaline had never had much experience dealing with. Tempted to take a bow, Emmaline refrained, not wanting to play the game like that. She had already lashed out once, she needed to keep her head focused and emotions (especially the stress) out of this. Right now she was just studying with a friend classmate. Although she could not hold back a small smile, almost a smirk, at showing her knowledge. She was not one to underestimate and from the look in the boy's eyes, Emmaline knew her 'opponent' should not be underestimated either. Just keep doing what you are doing, but try a little harder, obviously. She thought, giving herself one of her not so comforting pep talks.

"Very good. And Ginger as well I believe. Just in case the Professor asks for four ingredients." She added as she dipped her quill into the ink and underlined the four ingredients mentioned. She still could not think of the fifth one. Was there a fifth one? She wrote a small note in the corner of the parchment to look that up at a later date. She did not want Beckett to see her forgetting any of the important information. She could admit, however, that he answered the question a little faster than Emmaline had expected.


Emmaline knew she could not get all caught up with Becknett's answers. She knew the way to win this so called competition was to keep worrying about herself and keeping her grade up. She could not put any focus on worrying how much someone else was succeeding. WIth that thought process, Emmaline began to think of all the potion ingredients that were poisonous. "Belladonna of course." Emmaline began knowing that off the top of her heard. Belladonna was such a beautiful plant; it had caught her off guard learning that it was extremely poisonous. "Which is why it must be diluted." She finished as the young girl ran her fingers through her hair, a habit of sorts, as she tried to remember if there was another ingredient. It could be a trick question, but Emmaline had to be sure. She ran through the list of potion ingredients in her head. Belladonna Check. Ginger Nope. Nettle, No way. Asphodel...maybe. Scurvy Grass no. Two more. Think Then the answer came to her. "Oh and Hellebore is the other. Known for peace but poinsious. Doesn't make much sense, but it is." She added slightly disappointed she could not think of the potion ingredient sooner. She really did have more studying to do, she could not miss a beat on this test.

The young Gryffindor made a mental note to review the Potion ingredients once again, maybe make more detailed flash cards. But for now she had to come up with another question. Let's see The young brunette thought as she picked up her potions notes to glance over the topics. She could always ask him something extremely difficult, but Emmaline was fair. "Okay Smarty-Pants" She began, slightly surprised by her joking tone. "What type of stone is added to an aging potion?" Emmaline asked guessing Becknett would know this answer too, and quickly. She found coming up with questions more difficult than she imagined, not wanting to repeat anything or giving an impossible question.

 

[Beckett Harrington]

Beckett felt the need to complete Emamaline's thought "And if he asks five you can always tell him Wormwood" he said with a smile, trying to prove he knew more "Just remember, the four ingredients that we harvested and the Scurvy-Grass that the professor mentioned in class" he completed but he wasn't sure if she was paying attention or not since she started writing something in her notes, maybe she was adding what he had just said.
He was about to tell the girl that she had forgotten to mention Hellebore, but she quickly added that before he coupd say anything. He almost had her, maybe he would have to start asking harder questions to see how good she actually was.
He couldn't help but smile at hearing her calling him Smarty-Pants, he almost chuckled "Careful there, don't think you are in place to judge since you are almost the Queen of Nerds" he said joking. He hoped she didn't remember him calling himself King of Nerds or else she might think he was hitting on her, which he definitely was not. He quickly answered to her following question "You add Moonstone, powdered. Which you obtain by crushing or grinding it." he said. He was very proud that he hadn't looked at his notes a single time "Since we are in the Aging Potion theme, what is an important thing that is important not to do at the end of potion?", this was bit harder but if he was correct, which he normally was, Emmaline would have no problem answering that but a part of him hoped she did.

 

[Professor Emmaline Hopkins]

Emmaline was genuinely surprised how detailed Beckett was when he finished the ingredient question. Wormwood that was it. She thought to herself, sensing the disappointment filling her up. How had she not known that? At least Emmaline felt like she would never forget this in the future. Maybe this version of studying was working or maybe she was just too frustrated with herself to ever forget wormwood again. Next time she was asked that question it could be on the semester exam, something that did not give Emmaline room to create a mistake or hesitant. She was not sure if the exams were timed, but she assumed it would be about the length of a class period. With that little time, given Emmaline had to check and recheck each question, she would not have time to spare on brain-missing actions.

The young Gryffindor tried not to let it bother her that Beckett had remembered all five ingredients. Instead she gave a soft smile; smiles always seemed to be able to hide true emotions. Plus they are better for impressions. She thought her mother's voice often haunting her thoughts when she was feeling uneasy or self-conscious, usually this always made matters worse. Emmaline was a little caught off guard as Beckett joked with her about being the Queen of Nerds. She knew he meant it as a joke, but the title certainly did not sit right with her. Emmaline looked down at her notes for a moment, almost to distract herself. She acted as if she was listening to Beckett answer the Aging Potion question. Of course, he managed and even added to the answer. He was either trying to get under her skin or truly was that knowledgeable. Emmaline was not sure which she would prefer to be honest.

"Correct" Emmaline said, very little emotion to her voice. She was not quite sure how she was feeling, but she did know she was learning the information. That was the important part, not her emotions. "Looks like you are trying to extra credit." She said trying to remain friendly. It was a compliment, but maybe not for everyone. Emmaline always strived for extra credit, above what she needed. There was always more one could do in order to succeed in classes.

Emmaline looked up at Beckett as he asked her a question. The Aging Potion was something Emmaline had focused on over and over, still slightly believing it would be on the exam. She repeated the question in her mind. It had to be a trick because the answer seemed like common sense, even when she had heard it in class. "I want to say the important part at the end is not to tip the cauldron. You have to ladle the potion. That's just common sense though. Hot cauldron with hotter liquid. Not a good idea." She said hoping that was the answer he was looking for. This young girl could recite almost the whole instructions and ingredients, but she wanted to be sure she had understood the question. "This is particularly important after you remove the potion from the heat. You have to let it sit motionless for three whole minutes, not moving it in the slightest." She added just making sure the answer Beckett was looking for was in there somewhere.

The young Gryffindor felt like they were making process in their study session, hitting all the important topics. Emmaline had a few more questions to ask, but she did have a question that was probably not going to be on the exam, but she was curious about. "What Prank Potion did you drink during the first lesson?" She asked Beckett. She had been so involved with her own potion at the time that Emmaline had not paid much attention to her classmates, something that happens quite often. She wondered what other potions people had tried. Also it would not hurt to know a few if the Professor asked about different type of prank potions on the exam.

 

[Beckett Harrington]

Beckett looked at her suddenly when she mention extra credit "Emmaline, there's something you must know about me" he said very seriously "I always go for extra credit, and if there's extra credit on top of extra credit then I'm going for that" he said giving some emphasis to the word always.
Beckett smiled when she answered her question "I know it is common sense, just wanted to test you. Sometimes we get so focused on little details that we forget that some questions are not as hard as them appear to be" he was talking from experience. The first time he got a simple common sense question wrong because he focused on the details his parents almost ate him alive. A mistake he swore to never ever do again. He was impressed that Emmaline also knew the recipe to the potion by heart, he couldn't help but smile.
He was a bit caught off guard when she asked him about the prak potion he drank, he couldn't possibly understand what that had to do with the exam but he decided to answer out of respect "I started seeing opposite colors. In case you are not familiar with the term imagine the color circle, in one edge you have yellow and the other you have purple so where there was yellow I was seeing purple, and vice versa" he had just realised how tricky it was to describe what happened to him, it seems simple when you are experiencing it but putting it in words is rather difficult. "What about you? Oh and what potion did you create?" he asked since they were on the topic.

Spoiler: Colour circle

 

[Professor Emmaline Hopkins]

Emmaline could not help but let out a laugh as Beckett talked about his love for extra credit. She did not mean to be offensive but she could relate so much to the Ravenclaw boy's comments that it was almost humorous to her. She was not alone with her thought process, at least that much was known. "Sorry Sorry" Emmaline said as she put her hand over her mouth for a second to cover up the laughter. She knew this must not look great given the seriousness of the tone he held. "I just completely understand." She added as she removed her hand from her mouth to speak. She hoped he understood. Emmaline was trying to remain civil at the very least. "My mother once got so mad at me for only getting five extra credit points instead of the total ten points available. Her face was so red." She explained hoping that this antidote would help Beckett understand her outburst a little more.

The young brunette listened as he explained why he asked such a simple question. She knew this was a good reason, but tried not to let it show too much. She had already opened up a little too much towards a boy threatening to overtake all her work. Emmaline wondered if he knew this was experience. Did Beckett too overthink every question? Was that why he was unable to answer simple questions right? Or was he just covering for the question that could not possibly be on the exam. Emmaline had no reason to judge. Her question probably was not going to be on the exam either.

Emmaline listened as the boy described the prank potion he had tasted. It seemed like an interesting concept; red grass would certainly be interesting to see, if not slightly terrifying as if from a horror movie. However the way Beckett described it almost seemed pompous. She wondered where his ego came from or if he even realized how he was portrayed. Of course he does Emmaline thought wishing she would stop jumping to conclusions at moments like this, stressful moments. It was like her brain power went straight to memorizing coursework and nothing else.

"I bet Ravenclaw uniforms looked just not quite right in orange." She said indicating that she understood what he was talking about. The color wheel and color theory was important in fashion designing. Emmaline was making sure she read up on everything she could on that subject. "Sounds Pretty cool though. Confusing to the eyes, but cool." Emmaline added thinking about how different the world would look. "I could only speak in Poetry when I took my Potion. It was odd. I kept quoting old timey poems I haven't read in ages." She explained a small smile falling on her face. In truth, Emmaline enjoyed that experience, minus the lack of control of course.

Emmaline was slightly embarrassed about the Potion she created though. She did not want to seem superficial in front of competition, might be considered a weakness. Though she did not want to lie, she was rather horrible at lying. "I made a Physical Modification Potion." She said trying to make it sound a little more educational and less shallow. "It changed your hair colour to be blunt though. I've always kind of wanted purple hair." She added knowing how it sounded. She could only guess that judgement that would follow. Quickly trying to change the subject, Emmaline asked "What did your homemade potion do?" She asked

 

[Beckett Harrington]

Beckett couldn't help but laugh a bit too, even he could see how absurd wating extra credit on top of extra credit could be but if that was an option he would go for it. "My mom grounded me for a month for now knowing how to do a bow tie, and I was only six" he looked at her with the 'my mom is worst than yours' kind of face. The Ravenclaw boy couldn't help it, he just had to turn everything into a competition even when he was actually having a good time. He took a mental note to try to stop doing that.
"You joke but they did! But orange is one of my favourite colours so..." he said shrugging "Pretty confusing yeah, I was seeing Gryffindors with the same colors as Slytherins for a moment I thought I was in the wrong class" he said looking at her with an embarassed look.
When the girl mentioned poetry he rolled his eyes, that brought back some old memories "I started hating poetry once my parents decided that I should be like my sister and write them a poem everyday" he told the girl giving her a yellow smile so she could understand how much he hated to do that. After that Beckett never opened a poetry book again, and fours years had gone by since.
He was actually a bit shook when the girl told him about her potion, he didn't even tried to hide his surprise "First of, I wanna tell you that there's a spell for that called Colovaria but that wasn't why I was surprised, that's point number two." he said making a pause for suspense "The second thing id that I also created a potion that made, not the hair, but the skin to change its color. I know right what are the odds?!" he said not even knowing exactly in what tone he had just said that, he thought it was some mix of irony, sarcasm and surprise "Not going to tell you what exactly was the color that your skin would change to but I'm going to give you the name of my potion, the Smurf Potion" he said in his usual british accent waiting for the girl to burst laughing at the name of his potion, he knew he would.

 

[Professor Emmaline Hopkins]

Emmaline was surprised that Beckett let out a little laugh as well. Maybe he was softening up a little bit, or maybe it was a lack of judgement. Emmaline could not really read this boy well, his vibes were difficult to determine. Yet the mood instantly changed once more as Beckett told Emmaline about his mum grounding him for not knowing how to tie a bow tie, even at such a young age. Emmaline could not help but be surprised. Yes her mother pushed her, probably more than normal, but she was never harsh for unneeded reasons. She is usually right Emmaline thought feeling this way, everything her mother stood for was ingrained in her. It was difficult to break such habits, such beliefs and values. "That's really rough." Emmaline said honestly, almost feeling bad for the boy. Did parents not realize the effect they had on their children when they forced such high expectations on them? Or was it just a never ending cycle passed down for generations of overachievers? "I bet you tie a mean bow tie now though." She added trying to lighten the mood, not sure why she was caring so much. The young Gryffindor girl could not but help feel some sort of pity for the boy. She understood to an extent, but she knew she did not know the half of his story, of why he was like this, like her.

The young Gryffindor listened as Beckett told of his dislike of poetry. The concept was foreign to Emmaline, but she could see the reason why. Emmaline enjoyed reading just about anything and everything, poetry included. She could not write any, though she had never tried. She had only written for the Hogwarts Monthly Paper, and it was not poetry. River had always been the writer of the family, she had that natural talent. Emmaline's talents fell elsewhere. "You could always try to read some without writing one of your own." She suggested, always wanting to spread books that she enjoyed out to anyone that would listen. "Poetry can be quite beautiful." She added her eyes drifting off to the beautiful garden they were sitting in. Maybe when all this stress was over, Emmaline would bring some of her poetry books down to the garden to read for a while. It would be nice to read something other than textbooks even for a few hours. Not until after exams though Emmaline thought knowing she could not let up with the studies until each exam was finished.

Emmaline focused back on the conversation as she looked over at Beckett, not expecting him to look so surprised about her potion. Of course he probably thought she was superficial now. However that did not seem like the case as he explained about a charm that would change hair colour. Emmaline did not know about this spell, but she would not let Beckett know that. She could not been seen as not knowing as much as him especially when they were competing for top spots. She let him finish his thought about his own Potion before speaking. She did feel better knowing that Beckett also made a physical modification potion, even more amusing he chose to change his own skin color to blue, or at least she thought it would be blue. Emmaline had heard the term smurf before, it was an ancient television show way before her time, a muggle show. Emmaline rarely had time to watch television or movies, even less now at school. She believed they were blue little creatures that lived in mushrooms, but it could have been green. Either way, she understood the basis of the potion. Secretly Emmaline thought her potion was more useful, but she did not want to start that battle over use and entertainment.

"I guess great minds thing alike." She said, a quote she often heard. She was not sure if was always true, but at that moment Emmaline and Beckett seemed to be on the same wavelength during that previous potion class. "I wish we had the chance to actually brew the Potions though." She wondered if either of their potions would have been successful. That would certainly make a difference, but Emmaline doubted she would ever get a chance to attempt hers, and if so she certainly need to do more research before finalizing the potion.

 

[Beckett Harrington]

He agreed with Emmaline, it was rough, growing in a family of controlling strict overachievers wasn't the easiest thing in the world, yet Beckett managed to come out normal. Normal-ish. "Well yeah. If I go to the Yule Ball, because even after the exams the studying never stops, you'll see my bow tie skills" he bragged.
He wasn't sure about poetry yet, maybe he would give it a go again. Maybe in another four years but he just nodded to Emmaline when she said he should give it a go again.
"I know right?!" he said agreeing with her. He got so disappointed when he saw that they weren't going to brew potions, "I honestly didn't even get the point of creating our own potion, just a waste of time. If we wanted to know more about potion ingredients we would read a book, not make up things" he said travelling back to that class where he felt extremely mad at the teacher and everyone for accepting that. The whole thing was just absurd in his point of view.