Order Only: Private message to Mr Snape

[alt_sally_anne]

I know I can trust that the potion's made as well as it can possibly be made.

Is there anything else I should know? How likely is it to

Comments

[alt_severus]

I have not taken the potion myself, and so my advice is limited, but a rather confusing reference from the 19^th century suggests that employing basic Occlumency exercises to order one's mind as neatly as possible before ingesting the potion can help to direct the visions to those that will be of the most use to the drinker. Or those that will be the least personally disturbing to the drinker. Or perhaps it will have no effect at all. It is a very poor reference.

I suppose the most practical advice I can give you is to operate under the generalised rules for taking any new or unfamiliar potion with the potential for extreme reaction: sit on the floor rather than remaining standing or sitting in a chair you can fall out of; settle yourself away from fire, sharp objects, or things upon which you might strike your head if you react violently or begin seizing; have a bezoar on hand in the event your body cannot tolerate the potion (likely less necessary here, as the ingredients are unlikely to cause a reaction, but no experimental brewer has ever died of an excess of precautions); give your wand, and any possessions capable of injuring you, to a trusted third party or lock them away so that you cannot easily reach them if you are in an altered state of mind — the general precautions.

[alt_sally_anne]

OH. Good idea. I hadn't thought about

Yes, of course. Thank you. I'll definitely try the Occlumency, it can't hurt, I suppose. Can I borrow a bezoar?

[alt_severus]

Yes, you may.

Miss Parkinson or Miss Granger, or Mr Boot if he is currently possessed of opposable thumbs, can fetch you the laboratory safety kit from beneath my cauldron at the workbench; kindly return it when you are through and inform me if you use any of the matériel contained within.

[alt_sally_anne]

Thank you, sir. I asked Pansy to get it, since she needs to be there this evening.