Chapter 11: Potion Brewing and Memory Books
For the next two weeks, Quinn spent more and more time around the West Manor, staring and etching the manor's exterior into his memory and implanting it into his mindscape. He spent three to four hours every day repairing the replica in his mindscape. Fixing the overall blurred appearance and filling in the blank spots in the building.
After a fortnight of working on the West Manor replica, it was ready, and Quinn could say with total confidence that his creation was identical to the original West Manor.
Quinn walked around his mindscape admiring the work he had done, 'Structure looks stable, size is identical to the original, color is exquisite, heck it even looks brand new.' He crossed his arms and nodded in content. "I am good!"
"Yes-yes, you are good, Mr. West. Now, let's move on before your ego gets too big," Alan's voice reached Quinn's mind as he admired his mindscape. Alan had gotten used to Quinn putting an obscene amount of work outside and between lessons, so it did not surprise him when his student showed him the stable mind-replica of the West Manor.
"Mr. West, it is time to enter the next step to developing your mindscape. I want you to go to the front door of the building and open it." Quinn followed the instruction and walked to the door and opened it to encounter a jet-black nothingness.
The interior of his replica was hollow, with no sign of any interior. He ended up shutting the door close because of the sheer creepiness of the sight. "Merlin! There is nothing in there."
Alan's voice said, "Of course, there is nothing in there. We haven't worked on the interior. The exterior of the structure represents the stability of your connection to your memories. We could've started developing the interior after the first day of erecting the replica. But, I wanted you to have a solid doorway to your memories, so I made you work on the exterior to completion. Your mindscape will always be ready to be used at a moment's notice."
Quinn breathed out a sigh, readying himself for another long stretch of visualization and intent to breathe life into the hollow nothingness. "How are we going to build the inside? I assume it would be exponentially difficult than the outside."
"Your assumption is correct. Crafting the interior will be more difficult as all the corridors and paths lead to different rooms, and you need to build them such that you know every inch of the place. No nook or cranny must be missed or forgotten," Alan instructed in total seriousness.
Quinn rubbed his chin as he commented, "I guess it is fitting. To improve my memory, I will have to 'memorize' the layout of my home."
Alan laughed as he agreed, "It is quite simple, isn't it? To improve your memory, you must memorize."
Quinn nodded and clapped his hand as he closed his eyes, "Let's start, shall we?"
For the next few months, Quinn spent a lot of time in the hallways. Except for eating and sleeping, Quinn did everything in the hallways. He did it to make himself familiar with the interior house. The first thing in the morning Quinn would do was stare at the part of the house that was being currently developed in the replica. He would walk up and down small areas to commit themselves to memory.
Months passed, seasons changed, Quinn's birthday passed, he turned nine years old, and Quinn kept marching on. Little-by-little, building the interior of the house. Quinn felt like he was building a Lego model without Legos. The idea of a replica of the West Manor in his mindscape excited and motivated him onwards.
After six months, he had finally completed the interior of the house. But, don't be mistaken. While Quinn worked on his mindscape, his other studies didn't take a backseat.
- (Scene Break) -
Potion brewing and herbology was the newest addition to Quinn's schedule. Elliot Dalton, the west family butler, was teaching Quinn about potion brewing and herbology.
Elliot had set up a shed near the garden area of the West property. Quinn still remembered the first lesson he had attended with Elliot.
Inside the wooden shed, a workstation was set up with a blackboard hanging on the wall. Elliot stood near the blackboard and waved his wand, and a potion cauldron with the word potion appeared on the board.
"Mr. West, potion brewing is an amazing art of potion-making. Potions are mixtures that can be brewed to showcase a multitude of effects. Potions can be medicines, antidotes, solutions, poisons, enchantments, vaccinations, or cures.
Potion brewing is an art form of transforming magical ingredients into amazing potions. Potions bring out the magical properties of those ingredients. Potions can be said to be the ultimate transformation magic. Even transfiguration isn't as transformative as potion brewing, as transfiguration always go back to their original form after a specified time. Transfigured objects are of lower quality, but potions give you a product that is better than the input.
Potions have a distinct advantage over typical spell-type magic in that the Non-Magical could use them even, provided that they have the potion itself at their disposal. Certain magical effects can only be induced through the use of potions. Some potions duplicate the effects of spells and charms, but a few have effects impossible to achieve any other way.
Imagine the polyjuice potion that can transform you into another person. If you want to recreate the effects of the polyjuice potion, you would either need a metamorphmagus or need a master of body transfiguration who could skillfully transfigure their body to look like someone else.
And both options are incredibly rare. I think there is only one metamorphmagus in this country, and the body transfiguration master would need a detailed description of the person to crack the accuracy.
Finally, the Luck Potion, Felix Felicis, can't be recreated by any other form of magic." Elliot explained with patience.
He waved his wands, and the image on the board changed to a wand. "Now, wands aren't used much in potion brewing. By that, I am not saying that wands are not required. Some magical ingredients are needed to be activated by the use of some spells. For example, Salamander's blood needs a specific spell to get it usable in potion brewing."
Once again, the image on the board changed. Now it showed a wand-waving over a cauldron, knife, and vials. "The reason potioneers don't just enchant their equipment to brew on their own is that magical ingredients are volatile and very reactive. Magic from enchanted equipment can bleed into the ingredients and cause the potions to fail. Therefore, only limited enchanted equipment is used in potion brewing. Any pieces of equipment needed to prepare the ingredients need to be free from magic, so potioneers are viewed in high regard because of the work that needs to be put in for brewing positions."
Quinn nodded as he already knew about all of this from his previous reading of potion textbooks.
Elliot tapped the blackboard, and the words, 'equipment', and 'safety' appeared on the board, "Before we start any potion brewing, we need to learn about the equipment."
Elliot went along to explain the different types of cauldrons, knives, vials, various heat sources, and the thing that surprised Quinn was the addition of safety equipment. He had seen no mention or appearance of safety equipment in the novels or the movies.
"Young master, no matter what ingredient, you need to wear safety equipment. After all, Prevention is better than cure. Safety goggles and gloves are of the utmost importance. And, a coat is always helpful to prevent splashes that might ruin your clothes," the gentle butler explained with seriousness in his tone and expression.
Quinn nodded, completely agreeing with him. He didn't need or want unstable potion sludge messing with his body.
The picture on the board changed, and a knife appeared over a plant.
"Before and after every potion, we are going to do extensive research of the ingredients. Ingredients are the soul of potions, so we need to learn how different ingredients interact.
Magical plants and creature parts react differently according to the situation. If we cut them differently, they will behave accordingly. Heat is crucial as it stimulates the ingredients, and with multiple ingredients, it becomes necessary to study heat control. The number and timing of stirs dictate how the potion is going to turn out.
Young master, just memorizing the ingredients and process won't cut it. I am going to teach you how to build potions and understand the reasoning behind the recipes. Every step represents a transformation in the potion. Every step logically connects to another, so we can learn everything about a potion without speculating. It might seem complicated, but if we take it step-by-step, it is an interesting area of magic."
After that, Quinn and Elliot moved on to the garden. Elliot had created a space for growing a few potion ingredients. "While some herbs and plants need special care and can't be grown here at the Manor garden, but we can grow some in this garden."
From that day on, Quinn would learn about magical plants and magical creature ingredients two lessons a week, and one lesson was dedicated to brewing potions.
Also, every morning, Quinn would go to the garden to tend and monitor the growth of the herbs growing. They couldn't raise magical creatures, so Quinn studied creature ingredients that were already butchered and learned how to handle and prepare them. He couldn't use any magic in front of Elliot, so they left any use of the wand to Elliot, and he concentrated on other parts of brewing.
Quinn didn't attempt to improve or adjust any potion recipe by developing new techniques as Snape did under the moniker of the half-blood prince. Quinn had potion books from dozens of countries and was too busy learning about the same ingredient from the perspective of different magical communities. Even the recipe for the same potion differed in different countries.
Quinn was too occupied with the different recipes from various communities. As the saying went, "Don't fix something that isn't broken," so Quinn focused on what was already discovered and compiled different recipes to get a better recipe for every potion he learned to brew.
Elliot supported this method, as it made Quinn think about the recipe and ingredients that went into the potion. The only downside was that Elliot had to brush up on his knowledge and keep learning new things so that he could answer Quinn's doubts and questions.
It took anywhere from three weeks to a month for Quinn to learn a potion. It took such a long time as Quinn had to compile different recipes into one. Try to find the best recipe for the potions. Replace the missing ingredients that didn't grow in the area with the local ingredients. Experimenting to check if ingredients worked well with each other and didn't cause any negative reaction. Researching and trying out different preparation methods.
With each potion recipe, Quinn began compiling his version of recipes in a book. Each chapter represented a potion with all his insight and research recorded into it. It would take years before this book would become public knowledge.
The simple potion book would become one of Quinn's earliest and greatest works. A text that bought the knowledge from all around the world into one. The first of its kind in the magical world.
- (Scene Break) -
Six months.
It took Quinn six months to complete the mindscape replica. A magnificent building stood in Quinn's mindscape, and inside the building, the owner roamed the newly finished halls of the buildings. Every single detail, from wall paintings to the false ceiling, everything present here was a perfect copy of the original.
Quinn stepped out of the building and called out to Alan, "What's next?"
Alan cleared his throat, which was weird as they were communicating through their mind, "We are going to activate your mindscape and activate the gateway to your memories. So, close your eyes and focus on your intent to convert the replica into a gateway. Imagine that you want all your memories in there."
Quinn took a deep and imagined that all his memories were in that house. He focused all his will into the house, wanting for his imagination to come true. In a few seconds, Quinn's mindscape started shaking. Tremors caused the West Manor replica to shake.
Quinn started frowning as it was becoming difficult for him to keep up his concentration and was about to stop, but Alan's voice warned him, "You must keep it up, Mr. West. We are very close! You must endure. Endure!"
Quinn groaned as he endured the pressure on his mind and gritted his teeth to keep up his concentration. Quinn didn't know how much time had passed, but the tremors subsided.
Quinn let out a sigh of tiredness as he sat down in his mindscape. He looked up at the sky and called out, "Is it done?"
Alan's voice replied back, "Yes, you endured well. The replica of the West Manor is now acting as a gateway to your memories. The building in front of you will become your strongest asset. Of course, you would have to develop continuously."
Quinn nodded and asked, "Can I go inside?"
"Yes, please do. You are in for a surprise," Alan replied, and Quinn could hear a smirk in his voice.
Quinn frowned in apprehension and walked to the door. With a push, he opened the door, and his jaw dropped from the scene inside. Inside, he saw the entire house littered with books. The books were floating in the air, sticking out from the ceiling, protruding out from the walls, and sprawled on the floor. Books were everywhere; it was like an infestation.
"What in the world is all of this?!" Quinn exclaimed in shock.
Alan looked from the outside and saw the same thing as Quinn and hummed, "It seems like your memories have manifested in the form of books. Memories manifest differently with everybody."
Quinn quirked his head and asked, "What about you?"
"Mine manifested in the form of envelopes. I used to send one every day to my mother back home. I am assuming you have frequent contact with books, don't you? Nerd," Alan answered and teased at the end.
Quinn ignored the jab and asked, "Why are the books everywhere? It is chaos in here." To which Alan replied, "As I said, the house is the gateway, you just opened it, and memories came spilling out. Now it is your job to sort them for easy access. Go to one of the rooms and look inside."
Quinn followed the instruction and opened the room of the first room he found, and inside were multiple empty bookshelves arranged neatly in the room.
"Your memories will appear in these bookshelves when you properly store them. Take one of the books in your hands," came Alan's explanation.
Quinn stepped outside and pulled out one of the books from a wall. Immediately he was hit with a vision. In the vision, he saw a memory of himself watching a play with Lia. It was his first play, and Lia had taken him to watch it during her break.
When he came out of the vision of his memory, Quinn asked, "You weren't joking when you said that the books were memories."
"Mr. West, notice any changes in the book?" Alan pointed out to Quinn, who was still relishing the new experience.
Quinn looked down and found that the weightless book was just a tiny bit heavier, and one corner of the dull grey book had gained a splash of brown color.
"The book has gained some color and weight. What is this about it?" Quinn asked, and Alan revealed, "When your books gain a quarter of the color and corresponding weight, they would disappear from their place and appear in a bookshelf somewhere inside the house. You would know where that memory book is, so you could find it easily."
"How am I to return color to the memory books?"
"Immerse yourself in the memory, and the more you immerse yourself, the more color would it gain."
Quinn eyed the memory infestation and gulped, "I have to do this with every single book?"
The old master laughed, "Yes, my little student. Every. Single. Book." Followed by hysterical laughter.
Quinn knew he had a lot of work cut out for him. He gazed at the book in his hand and sighed, "Let's start with this one."
Quinn versus memory books was on. A long battle of attrition against himself.
-*-*-*-*-*-
Quinn West - MC - Nine years old - In a war against himself.
Elliot Dalton - Butler/Potion Teacher - Enjoying teaching.
Alan D. Baddeley - Mind Arts Teacher - Being his usual joyous self.
-*-*-*-*-*-
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