UNBREAK | D.M (UNRAVEL BOOK 5)

[ 44 ]

With a small crate in her arms, Aine scrutinizes the materials before picking up a blue-colour substance in a small vial that was the Hellebore Syrup. Then, followed by a bottle of Stewed Mandrake, grounded Unicorn horn, powdered Porcupine quills and Moonstone. When she returned to her own preparation table, she places the ingredients aside and took out the equipment and tools she needed before starting.

Aine first added the powdered Moonstone into her cauldron, the mixture within turning into a bright shade of green. Then, she stirs it slowly until it became blue and added more powdered Moonstone before mixing it three times counter-clockwise. The potion soon changes colour once more, the blue fading into purple. 

Her gaze went to the flames beneath her cauldron, checking it so that it wasn't overboiling her mixture. Within minutes, her purple mixture had simmered down into a pink colour. She then went back to her ingredients crate and took out the blue-coloured liquid and unstoppered the vial. Meticulously, she added two drops of the Hellebore Syrup and watches the colour of the liquid shift again in her cauldron. It now had turned turquoise.

She allowed the concoction to simmer again, making sure that she write down the preparation and brewing steps on the paper while keeping a close eye on her potion. When she was done, the mixture had returned to a shade of purple once more.

Good. Everything was going exactly as it was and she was still on track with her time. Aine cruised back to her stash of ingredients and took out the bottle of powdered Porcupine quills. She headed back to her cauldron and shook the next ingredient in her hands vigorously and sifted out the right amount of the black powder before adding it to her metal bowl of purple mixture. 

The purple combination turned red upon contact with the Porcupine quills and Aine continued to use the ladle to stir it until it shifted to orange. She added more of the black powder again, causing the orange to change to turquoise in a blink of an eye.

It was a complicated potion to brew since the colours were all transitioning between the few shades of purple, pink, turquoise, orange and red. However, she needed to make sure that before she added the last ingredient, the potion has to turn white. 

Aine exhaled sharply, feeling even more tensed up especially knowing that she had failed many times when attempting to recreate the potion. Even more with all three pairs of eyes, watching her intensely as she performs a live brewing. She tries not to let the attention distract her and went back to looking into her cauldron which had turned purple from the gentle boiling.

Taking the grounded Unicorn horn, she added it in with a teaspoon in small amounts, gradually putting more until the required mass. She stirs it again, clockwise and then counter-clockwise. The pink potion turned red again before purple when she let it seethe from the heat.

Every once in a while, Aine would look up at the clock and write her statements. She was nearly done with the brewing and although the examination room was chilly, beads of sweat were forming on her head from all of the concentration. She mentally cursed at her racing heart, not knowing why she was becoming so anxious when she was still on track.

She went back to add more powdered Moonstone and a new colour had graced her from her cauldron. The mixture went from purple to a silvery grey now, reminding her of a certain Slytherin boy's eye colour. A smile sneaked onto her face and she saw Snape raise a brow at her, wondering what was so amusing.

Aine quickly flattens her smile, turning serious again. As much as she was excited to see him again, now was no time for that. 

Get hold of yourself, Aine! she disciplines herself in her head.

The flames continue to bubble the mixture, triggering it to turn back to orange. Swiftly but carefully, she went on to add the second last ingredient: additional powdered Porcupine quills. Her lips twitched when she witness the potion turn white.