Lesson 3: A HEALERS STOREHOUSE

What a wonderful, secretive, exciting and amazing place a Healer's storeroom must be. Rows and rows of shelves covered with bottles, sacks, tins and phials. Ingredients that can be weird looking, awful smelling, strange tasting, but have fantastic healing properties once they are place in the hands of a qualified and experienced Healer.

We have already had experience in Potions For Beginners, with many magical ingredients. Armadillo Bile, Bubotuber Pus, Flobberworm Mucus, Runespoor Eggs and Sneezewort are some we have studied and used. Many of the ingredients we are using have more then one special healing property. Some can have 2 or even 3 wonderful healing qualities. So we may be using them for one reason and at the same time they can be helping something else as well. :)

Now we will be taking on some new plants and herbs from the magical and non-magical world. To name just a few - Apple, Comfrey, Five-Finger Grass, Salad Burnet, Vitex and Zedoary. Again we will be guessing how much of each ingredient will be used, as well as their preparation.

Now lets have some fun, while we work on making Blood-Replenishing Potion, Burn-Healing Paste and Pepper-up Potion.  A friendly reminder, once again we will make a single portion for each potion.

Blood-Replenishing Potion:

We have read that Mr. Weasley was required to use this potion to help counter the effects from Voldemort's snake, Nagini's,  attack. He was treated with this very special potion, while he recovered in St. Mungo's Hospital.

APM Potion Ingredients for the Blood-Replenishing Potion:

Five-Finger Grass: By using the leaves and root, when made as a tea,  this herb can help stop nosebleeds almost instantly. For internal bleeding the bark is to be used. Warning though, it must be ingested without adding any other substances.

Cinnamon Twig:When using the branches or the twigs, helps promote the circulation of the blood for better brain power.

Echinacea: The roots can be placed in potions, which can help prevent infections and boost the immune system.

Rosemary: This wonderful plant can be used in cleaning and purifying potions. Rosemary can rid someone or something of negativity or dark magic. Excellent when used in healing and sleeping draughts.

Yellow Gentian: Can be used in blood replenishing potions and potions for liver problems.

MAKING BLOOD-REPLENISHING POTION:

  1. All the ingredients have been placed on our work table.
  2. The cauldrons fire must be high and the water boiling (about 2 cups of water).
  3. The Five-Finger Grass bark needs to be stripped, chopped and crushed into a power. One teaspoon must then be placed in a tea strainer and needs to brew in boiling water for 10 minutes. (Part 1 of this potion)
  4. A half dozen Cinnamon twigs must be grounded into a fine powder. One table spoon needs to be added to the cauldrons boing water.  
  5. The handful of the needle shape Rosemary must be dropped into our cauldron and stirred slowly.
  6. Echinacea roots are next and need to be sliced into small pieces and stirred quickly into the now forming potion.
  7. A dozen of the thin bright yellow leaves of the Yellow Gentian must be crushed and folded into the boiling water.
  8. The fire under the cauldron must be reduced to a very low simmer for one hour.
  9. Removed cauldron from the fire and allow the potion to cool.
  10. Finally the liquid contents of the cauldron must be strained into a large mug. (Part 2 of this potion)

* Remember The Five-Finger Grass tea (Part 1) which has been brewed  MUST be cooled and drank FIRST from a shot glass. Fifteen minutes later our Blood-Replenishing Potion (Part 2) needs to be warm and swallowed down quickly.

Burn-Healing Paste-

Madam Pomfrey used something like this to try to heal the burns on Cedric Diggory's face from the dragons fire.  Pain, swelling, infection and damage to the skin are caused by burns.

APM ingredients for the Burn-Healing Paste:

Apple (Golden): The Apple plant's properties are love, healing, garden magic and immortality. It can be used as an anti-inflammatory agent in healing potions.

Elderberry: You can use the young shoots, bark, root, leaves, flowers and its fruit as an edible plant.  This plant highly promotes speedy healing in injuries.

Mandarin: The fruit can be used in the treatment of dyspepsia, hernias, lumbago, pain and swelling. The skin can be used as a coloring agent.

Psyllium: This plant can help to thicken potions.

MAKING BURN-HEALING PASTE:

  1. All ingredients have been placed on the table.
  2. The Cauldron needs to have a very low flame, to simmer gently.
  3. The golden apple must be peeled, sliced in cubes and smashed into a pulp.
  4. The apple pulp needs to be placed in the simmering cauldron.
  5. The leaves of the Elderberry plant, about a half dozen, can now be chopped up and crushed into a fine powder.  A table spoon of the powder needs to be added to the cauldron.
  6. Slowly this powder must be stirred into the now hot apple pulp.
  7. The Mandarin's thick outer skin needs to be removed and we will save it for later use.
  8. Only the fruit pulp is used! The thin, clear, skin covering of the fruit must be removed and thrown away, while the fruit pulp needs to be folded into the simmering ingredients.  
  9. Our last ingredient, Psyllium, has to be added to thicken the paste.
  10. Everything must now be stirred slowly and mixed together thoroughly.
  11. Cooking slowly, it will take one half hour for the paste to set.
  12. The fire is removed and the contents are poured and cooled in a small non breakable dish.
  13. The final step is to create the orange color for the paste. Taking the skin of the Mandarin, small bits must be scraped into the paste stirring slowly until the desired orange color is obtained.

The paste can be kept in a covered jar, at room temperature, but must be used within 6 months.

Pepper-up Potion-

Through out the cold and flu season Madam Pomfrey was constantly using this. Some of the symptoms students might suffer from are headaches,  stomach upset, fever, congestion, coughing, aching joints, not able to sleep and just plain exhaustion.

APM ingredients for the Pepper-up Potion:

Borage: It is usually classified as a diuretic, so it is used for colds, fevers and lung complaints.

Fennel: One can use the seeds or root for a fever and pain reducer. Fennel is known to attack a fever faster then any other herb. It can be used to calm and soothe aches in your muscles.

Geranium: This plant can help clear the mind and body of bad spirits, while another quality is it can stabilize emotions and helps to calm the weary.

Peppermint:Peppermint has long been used in healing lotions and potions. For a long period in history, it was used in protection spells, wards and as an aid to sleep. Excellent for upset stomachs.

MAKING PEPPER-UP POTION:

  1. All ingredients are set on our work table.
  2. We must use about a 2 tablespoons of dried, thin little blue flowers from the Borage.  The flowers need to be crushed into a powder.
  3. Our cauldron, with 2 cups of water, needs to have a low flame allowing a slow simmer for our ingredients.
  4. One tablespoon of Fennel seeds are crushed and grounded into a powder.
  5. Next about one teaspoon of dried pink Geranium flowers need be crushed and ground into a powder.  
  6. Our last ingredient is Peppermint. Five dried green leaves must be ground into a powder, making about one teaspoon full.
  7. All the ingredient must be added together to the low simmering water, stirring occasionally over 3 hours time.
  8. The fire must be removed from under the cauldron and the contents poured through a strainer into a large mug.

Finally the Pepper-up Potion  should be drank while it is still hot. (not boiling)

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