By Muriel Maple
Potion was: bruise healing paste
Alara Ravenhurst is not only a 5th year Slytherin busy preparing for her OWLs, a volunteer at the Owl Post, a Keeper for her Houses Quidditch team, but she is also this year’s Potion Brewing Champion! She was gracious enough to take some time from her busy schedule to sit down with us and answer some of our questions!
Age: 15
Born: London, England
House: Slytherin
Blood: Pureblood
Relationship status: Taken
Fav colour: Purple and Emerald Green
Fav sweets: Earl Grey, and Lavender Ice Cream
Fav thing to brew: Pepper-up Potion
Fav spell: Clothing-Change Spell
Fav Books: Too many to choose one
Fav Music: Anything with good lyrics, alternative rock
Fav Movies: I don’t watch a lot of movies
Q: So firstly! How come you decided to join the potion brewing competition?
Alara: Oh that’s easy, I have always been very passionate about potions. My parents passed in a magical accident, so until this year, I avoided wandwork as much as possible. I had a friend, that helped me work through that this year but, due to my parents passing, I have always focused on potions. I feel it is magic that you have more control over. You harvest the ingredients, you add them in, you have the power. With wand work, it’s more unpredictable.
Q: I am so sorry to hear about your parents’ passing. I am sure your achievements at Hogwarts would make them very proud of you! Speaking of potions, if I remember right your winning potion was the Bruise Removal Paste. How did you come to choose this potion to brew and how did you acquire the ingredients?
Alara: Thank you. And yes. It was bruise removal paste. I decided to choose this because it is one of the highest-level potions I know. Also, when I read over the rules of the competition, I found it would be a useful potion to have. I mean we get a lot of bruises in Quidditch. As for my ingredients, I have to keep some strategy to myself. But, I will share that the items I did not forage myself, I did barter for with other things. Like trades. The silly thing is my potion could have cost me absolutely nothing to make but, I stocked up on standard ingredients at the start of the school year and I felt it best to use them even though they had been paid for. In hindsight, I should have also acquired some in a more clever way to bring the cost of my potion to Zero.
Q: So there is absolutely no way you would tell us any of your trade secrets?
A: I can’t go giving away all my secrets.
Q: I see, so you got extra points on utility of the potion and the legwork you did to acquire the ingredients in other ways. I guess being a good trader is important for a potioneer to acquire the more rare ingredients!
Alara: Exactly. I think that was the entire point of them monitoring how we got our ingredients. They wanted to show that you don’t have to have wealth to be a good potioneer. You just have to be cunning and creative. I am excited for next year when I can learn some more challenging potions. I am always up for a challenge when it comes to my brews. Both with the difficulty of the brew itself or the collection of the ingredients.
Q: How did you feel during the competition? Did you have some stage fright of brewing a potion in front of so many people?
Alara: To be honest, I was a bit nervous. It was my first time competing in anything. I was more nervous for the competition than I was for the quidditch match. I tried to stay calm and confident. Keep my head in the game… er well, competition.
Q: And all that cunning, creativity and nerves of steel has paid off! You not only won the competition but also won the prize, a silver cauldron on top of a lot of vouchers at the Hogsmeade stores including Goode’s and the Dogweed & Deathcap! Do you have any ideas or projects in mind of what you will use your prizes for?
Alara: The cauldron is so stunning. I /almost/ just want to place it on a shelf and never use it. I can’t wait to see what brews I get out of it. I think I will have all my vouchers for next school year. You never know what might come up that you need a brew for and there are /a lot/ of sixth-year potions I am dying to learn and have a go at. I guess just get a head start on the competition for next year.
Q: Thank you so much for sitting down with me for this interview! I wish you all the best for your future at Hogwarts and beyond!
Alara: Thank you, I wish you the same as well!
