Pottermore v.12

[Pox Voldius]

Originally Posted by mirrormere

In the books they brew PP in the bathroom stall, whilst still brewing potions for their class. We should have the same privilege.

Now I'm imagining all the extra challenges Pottermore would somehow manage to work into this task if they moved the Potions setup for the PP brewing into a dark bathroom stall with the cauldron balancing on the toilet seat and the heating flame down in the bowl... and Moaning Myrtle hovering in the background to distract us

[RebeccaMatthews]

The toggling of the fire for the second half of part one is really starting to irk me for the polyjuice potion. Since it takes such a long time to brew, I'd think it be a little more room in the range for the flame to brew the potion since we need to toggle it and pay attention to the time.

I am less than pleased with this potion even more than I am with the lack of activities on the site right now.

[mirrormere]

Originally Posted by Pox Voldius

Now I'm imagining all the extra challenges Pottermore would somehow manage to work into this task if they moved the Potions setup for the PP brewing into a dark bathroom stall with the cauldron balancing on the toilet seat and the heating flame down in the bowl... and Moaning Myrtle hovering in the background to distract us

So it could have been much worse! And it took the trio a month to brew. We might be getting off easy with narrow temperature ranges and temperamental lacewing flies.

Potions in general should be worth more points, imo.

Originally Posted by RebeccaMatthews

The toggling of the fire for the second half of part one is really starting to irk me for the polyjuice potion. Since it takes such a long time to brew, I'd think it be a little more room in the range for the flame to brew the potion since we need to toggle it and pay attention to the time.

I am less than pleased with this potion even more than I am with the lack of activities on the site right now.

Yet we keep trying to brew the Polyjuice Potion. Maybe the web designers know there are some of us who won't give up until we conquer that potion. Truly evil people.

[ccollinsmith]

Now that's weird. I just heated it properly for 30 seconds, and then the clock started all over again. That's more than a little bit frustrating.

[Velva]

I was never able to figure out how to do potions when it first came out. But when we were asked to do the swelling potion, I practice several times and was finally able to do the potion for boils. For the last few days I have been trying very hard to do the swelling potion, but I simply cannot get more than a couple of seconds done on the temperature range on the second part. I hate to give up, but I think I must.

I have seen where some of you have been sending swelling potions to others. Can someone do the same for me? I would be so grateful! I will send back anything you would like. My name is CastleFlight2740. Thanks so much!

[mirrormere]

Originally Posted by ccollinsmith

Now that's weird. I just heated it properly for 30 seconds, and then the clock started all over again. That's more than a little bit frustrating.

Hopefully you didn' t lose the potion? I haven't had that specific problem, but once in the old lab my thermometer never turned green--it stayed read even as it went into the proper temperature range. Blew up a cauldron.

One bug I've found in the Swelling Solution is adding the bat spleen--sometimes it doesn't register on the counter. Since I knew I put it in, I continued but got a fail for not following the recipe. Another time I put 3 spleens in and the counter never showed. I got nothing, except a fail when I went to the next step. The last time it happened, I simply hit my browser's back button and started over--it went through fine and I saved the potion.

Originally Posted by Velva

I was never able to figure out how to do potions when it first came out. But when we were asked to do the swelling potion, I practice several times and was finally able to do the potion for boils. For the last few days I have been trying very hard to do the swelling potion, but I simply cannot get more than a couple of seconds done on the temperature range on the second part. I hate to give up, but I think I must.

I have seen where some of you have been sending swelling potions to others. Can someone do the same for me? I would be so grateful! I will send back anything you would like. My name is CastleFlight2740. Thanks so much!

On it's way. I'm NoxSpell7790 and just friended you. As soon as you accept, I can send the SS.

[ccollinsmith]

Originally Posted by mirrormere

Hopefully you didn' t lose the potion? I haven't had that specific problem, but once in the old lab my thermometer never turned green--it stayed read even as it went into the proper temperature range. Blew up a cauldron.

I lost the potion, yes. But no blown cauldron.

Anyway, I finally completed Part 1. Now it's on to Part 2.

ETA:
Polyjuice Part 2 is now brewing.

[SusanBones]

Originally Posted by BronzeDragon

Which cauldron are you using? I was very confused on my first (and thankfully only attempt at Polyjuice part II) because everyone was saying 18 hours to brew - but that's with the copper cauldron. Polyjuice part II takes 24 hours exactly with the pewter cauldron.

I've used both the pewter and copper. I seem to have less trouble figuring out when 24 hours is over than 18 hours.

And, yeah, part II was a LOT easier than part I - my big problem with part I was putting lacewing flies into the mortar, because the bottle tended to tip while dragging it back and forth. (The heating wasn't fun either, but that was only about 2-3 failed efforts on part I vs. a good 5-6 because of lacewings.) Gripping the lacewing bottle by the middle and tipping very carefully worked for me on that.

I finally ended up tipping over the bottle of lacewing flies and letting them fall on the table. I picked one up that was hanging onto the rim of the bottle and dropped it into the cauldron. Success - finally! I just could not seem to pour the lacewings slowly enough to get only one to fall.

[Velva]

Originally Posted by mirrormere

On it's way. I'm NoxSpell7790 and just friended you. As soon as you accept, I can send the SS.

Thanks so much! I've just friended you and sent you the ingredients. Let me know if I can send you anything else.

[SusanBones]

Originally Posted by ccollinsmith

Now that's weird. I just heated it properly for 30 seconds, and then the clock started all over again. That's more than a little bit frustrating.

I always exit potions and do something else, like collect an ingredient, check the common room, or duel between potions. It seems like I get less crazy glitches like this when I do that. Maybe it has something to do with fully exiting the potion portion of the website. After I've done at least something outside of the potions area, I go back to making another potion. I don't know why, but this seems to help me avoid these unfair glitches.

[asdfasdf17]

I just completed the first part of the Swelling Potion and now I have to wait 45 minutes for the second part.
Is the second part hard and does anyone have any tips on it? This is my second time trying to make the potion (last time I failed on the first part) and I really want to get it right because I'm so excited to start the Polyjuice Potion!

[mirrormere]

Originally Posted by asdfasdf17

I just completed the first part of the Swelling Potion and now I have to wait 45 minutes for the second part.
Is the second part hard and does anyone have any tips on it? This is my second time trying to make the potion (last time I failed on the first part) and I really want to get it right because I'm so excited to start the Polyjuice Potion!

If you put in a bat spleen and the counter doesn't come up, then hit the back button on your browser and click on the brewing button under the Swelling Solution again--starting the second stage over again.

The hardest part of the second section is keeping the temperature in range--it's extremely narrow. Start heating with the orange (medium) button. As soon as the thermometer turns green, set up a rhythm of turning the heat on (orange button) and off (blue button) very, very quickly, and only look at the thermometer half to 3/4's of the time. I never directly look at the timer but just wait for it to disappear from my peripheral vision. Blink quickly, if at all (yes, it's that sensitive.)

Hope that helps. Good luck.

Originally Posted by SusanBones

I finally ended up tipping over the bottle of lacewing flies and letting them fall on the table. I picked one up that was hanging onto the rim of the bottle and dropped it into the cauldron. Success - finally! I just could not seem to pour the lacewings slowly enough to get only one to fall.

Congrats!

[asdfasdf17]

Originally Posted by mirrormere

If you put in a bat spleen and the counter doesn't come up, then hit the back button on your browser and click on the brewing button under the Swelling Solution again.

The hardest part of the second section is keeping the temperature in range--it's extremely narrow. Start heating with the orange (medium) button. As soon as the thermometer turns green, set up a rhythm of turning the heat on (orange button) and off (blue button) very, very quickly, and only look at the thermometer half to 3/4's of the time. I never directly look at the timer but just wait for it to disappear from my peripheral vision. Blink quickly, if at all.

Hope that helps. Good luck.

Thanks for the advice! It sounds pretty hard but in a way it makes it more fun!
And I only have... 15 more minutes!

ETA: Yay, I brewed it successfully! You were right, the potion-heating part was the hardest and my palms were sweating so bad!
Now, on to the Polyjuice Potion...

[mirrormere]

Originally Posted by asdfasdf17

Thanks for the advice! It sounds pretty hard but in a way it makes it more fun!
And I only have... 15 more minutes!

Let us know how it goes!

---

I was grousing the other day about missing out on some of the special effects the old lab had--in particular, the lighting from the wand.

In the new lab, the wand is now the one you were assigned by Ollivanders--some students haven't noticed that yet (mine is ebony so there was a big difference.)

In the old lab we just click on the wand to activate it. Doing that in the new lab, it just twitches, but that is sufficient to finish a potion. But it turns out that in the new lab, you can actually pick it up, wave it around and get those wonderful lightning effects, like so:



It's way fun!

WARNING: In the old lab, the count down showing your time was up was halted as soon as your wand activated, even if the lightning effects went past when your time would have been up. Not so with the new lab! I activated it with about 4 seconds left and was having fun waving it all around and watching the lightning when my time ran out and the potion failed! Luckily the cauldron was fine, but I lost that potion. Potioneers beware. Professor Snape would not have been pleased at my lack of focus and would probably have mumbled, under his breath, something about my Gryffindorish antics.

[SusanBones]

I've been playing with moving the wand around, and so far have only been able to get it to lift off the table and move around once. With the Wideye potion the wand just sat there not moving at all, not even a spark. But it awarded me the points, so I guess it was okay.

Does anyone else get a funny code in a black rectangle underneath the thermometer or the mortar when using Firefox on a Windows 7 computer? When I make a potion using my work computer I get the code showing up.

[mirrormere]

Originally Posted by SusanBones

I've been playing with moving the wand around, and so far have only been able to get it to lift off the table and move around once. With the Wideye potion the wand just sat there not moving at all, not even a spark. But it awarded me the points, so I guess it was okay.

That seem odd. I've been able to get the lightning effects on all my potions (and just put a Wideye on, same result.)

Does anyone else get a funny code in a black rectangle underneath the thermometer or the mortar when using Firefox on a Windows 7 computer? When I make a potion using my work computer I get the code showing up.

I've not had that problem--I'm using Firefox on Windows XP. I'd take a screen shot of it, write the message down and send it to Pottermore. Their programming is showing

[cool_chick_div]

I find holding the bottle at the tip top worked well. I felt like I had more control over it. For part 2 to put lacewings in your cauldron you should tip the bottle over on your table and pick up a lacewing from what is spilt.

[merrymarge]

still have not brewed a potion. I have succeeded only with the dueling club. finished reading all the new stuff, collected everything (I hope), and maybe I will get to potions. what if we don't brew the Polyjuice potion? Will there be problems in later chapters?

[mirrormere]

Originally Posted by merrymarge

still have not brewed a potion. I have succeeded only with the dueling club. finished reading all the new stuff, collected everything (I hope), and maybe I will get to potions. what if we don't brew the Polyjuice potion? Will there be problems in later chapters?

We have no idea. The PP's don't earn any house points so that is why we think they will be needed later. Though that seems a bit unfair to those who aren't very good with potions. But that's what they did in this round of chapters--unless you could brew the Swelling Solution, or get it as a gift from a friend--you couldn't access Professor Snape's private stores and move on or brew PP.

If you want a SS so you can continue with the chapters, I've some in my inventory and will trade for the ingredients to make another one. Just owl me your full Pottermore name.

[SusanBones]

I was able to pick up the wand and move it for great lightening effects with the Forgetfulness Potion.

Did Pottermore reset all its potions? I thought I had a polyjuice part two brewing and now it is gone.