Tilden Toots

[two-thumbs-tilden]

hestia-jones‌:

Hestia raised an eyebrow at him while he spoke, almost impressed by his attitude. Almost. After he’d locked up the supply closet for the classroom, she went ahead and pulled out a few ingredients for her potion out of her cauldron. Then, she placed her bag down on the stool next to her. The stool was usually reserved for Benjy, but they were to busy to join them today so it was just her. It worked out well though, as she began to pull out the last few ingredients out of her bag. All the while she continued to look over at him with a smirk on her face. Hestia wondered if he had really thought she would just show up unprepared. If she had planned to do so, then there would really be no point in her showing up at all. If anything, the girl was usually over prepared, ready for anything that may happen at a moments notice. Ever since she was younger she found that it helped greatly in ensuring she felt safe and ready for the dangers of being a witch. While being a witch wasn’t a choice, at times she wished it was as it certainly had many drawbacks. 

It was sad almost that she was already prepared because it meant that she was used to receiving no help here. He did have to admire that sort of resourcefulness though. With a shrug of his shoulders he sat back down in front of his own potion, returning to the happy state that he had been in before she had entered the room. Every so often he darted a glance over at her to see how she was doing. Were she to ask or even looked a little bit distressed he still would have been happy to help her. It was nice that someone else seemed to enjoy potions enough to try and get ahead. 

[two-thumbs-tilden]

lady-daisyhookum‌:

She couldn’t help but let out a little ‘pft’, a hint of a laugh as he corrected himself. Though what he said about the Professor wasn’t wrong, she was extremely nice. Daisy did like to think that Hogwarts had quite a few nice teachers though, with the exception of a few she found incredibly boring. She looked at his hand for a moment, almost expecting him to retract the offer. When he didn’t though, she figured that accepting it certainly couldn’t hurt and dropped her hand to her side once she was standing. “Pretty good, I’ve been doing a lot better.” The girl nodded, wondering what he was really asking about when he asked how she’d been. “Well I’m not. Or at least I wasn’t before. But a friend of mine really likes it, so I figured I’d give it a chance.” Her face felt hot, hopping that he wouldn’t realize that he was the only person she really knew who liked Herbology. Truthfully she had joined the class in some silly attempt to understand him better, find what made him tick. It was all in vein though, as she simply found herself muttering angrily at the plants a majority of the time. 

In the past whenever Tilden had offered Daisy any sort of help she had been reacted in the exact sort of way that she was now. By now he was used to it, but he did wish that she was a bit more accepting of his friendly gestures. Both of them knew precisely what he meant when he asked her how she was doing and he was happy to hear that she was doing better. Though he was curious, he was pretty much always curious, he very quickly decided that it probably wasn’t a very good idea to pursue that topic any farther. Eventually they would have to talk about it though. He was great at talking but he could also be good at listening if he needed to be, especially for a friend in need. “Oh, so I’m your friend now?” he teased. She could have been talking about anyone really but he suspected that he was one of the few people she was friends with that loved the course. 

[two-thumbs-tilden]

althea-nott‌:

“Oh you know I’ve never minded any of that.” Althea assured him, approaching the table where he’d set up his work and lifting up on tiptoes to get a better look inside the cauldron from her safe distance. She waved away his remark with a smile. “You were always the brilliant one, but I’m glad to hear the rumor mill has been kind to me.” Althea pulled a stool out from under the work bench and took a seat, finding the familiar set up between the two of them comfortable despite the time that had passed. “I’ve been training as a healer.” She informed him. “Are you making an Elixir to Induce Euphoria?” She asked suddenly, piecing together the ingredients as he prepared them.

Tilden was coming to find that this classroom was one of his happy places. He had loved learning and this was one of his two favorite classes. In fact, it was one of the only two he had chosen to actually pursue at the NEWT level. How he could combine them or what he was going to actually do with the rest of his life he really had no idea. His biggest ambition was starting a radio show but he had to have money to do that and as of yet he had had no successes. Not at all like Althea who seemed to be doing extremely well for herself. He wasn’t one to hold grudges though and as such was very happy for her. “I am!” he chirped, settling in the stool beside hers and setting his ingredients in front of him, “See, you are brilliant. How’s healer training going?”

[two-thumbs-tilden]

hestia-jones‌:

She huffed, angry at her slip up. There was no point correcting herself now, as it would probably come across as some pathetic attempt to simply appear smart. Hestia already knew that she was smart, she didn’t feel the need to try and go out of her way to prove it. Especially not some man who couldn’t find anything better to do than become a teachers assistant, not even a real teacher. “I don’t need your help. Professor Slughorn knows I come by and is fine with me working on my own.” As she spoke, she’d walked past him and towards her normal station. “Feel free to do whatever it is you were trying to do before.” Trying being the key word, as she figured he probably wasn’t exactly sure what he needed since he obviously hadn’t prepared them beforehand. 

The bemused grin spread to a full on smile. She was definitely bullheaded, he’d give her that much. If she wanted to be here so badly than so be it. “You know, it really doesn’t serve you to be outright hateful to people. You could miss out on a lot of opportunities you know, but you do you. I’ve got the key to the supply room by the way, you’ll need it if you want ingredients. But hey - you don’t need my help. Have fun boiling water” Tilden told her before grabbing what he needed and closing the classroom’s supply closet. As part of his job he had stocked it with only the ingredients for the next day’s potions. Anything else she would need was sealed away in a larger supply room by way of lock and key that a simple alohomora wouldn’t open. He didn’t expect to be respected because that was something that was earned, but he wasn’t going to stand for being treated like lesser by anybody either and that included her being rude for no real reason other than wanting to be. 

[two-thumbs-tilden]

althea-nott‌:

Althea heard an old friend was at the castle, though she hadn’t had much time to make her way down to the dungeons to see for herself until now. It had been ages since she’d seen Tilden Toots, as he wasn’t someone her parents would deem an acceptable friend, though they didn’t much care who her potions partner had been in school. It was incredible watching him work, as Althea remembered from her spot in the doorway now, and she wasn’t eager to interrupt him. “Do you have a minute for an old friend?” She asked, stepping into the old potions classroom when he noticed her. “I just wanted to say hello.”

“Althea!” Tilden greeted, happy from far more now than just having breathed in the fumes of his potion, “Of course I have a moment for you so long as you don’t mind a bit of mixing and stirring in addition to conversation. These things are time sensitive you know! Nevermind, of course you know that. Anyway, what have you been up to? I’d heard that you were off doing great things. No surprise there really, you were always brilliant”. While he spoke he grabbed the wormwood and sopophorous beans from the supply cabinet, counting them out carefully so that he would have the exact right amount that he was going to need. “Oh! And a sprig of mint....”

[two-thumbs-tilden]

lady-daisyhookum‌:

What Tilden said made sense, though she couldn’t picture herself doing it. It made her envious of him, seeing how he obviously had more of an idea of what he was doing with his life then she did. Sure she had some time still, being only a sixth-year, but her parents still felt the need to pressure her and nothing really jumped out at her. Daisy wasn’t particularly good at anything, and she wasn’t particularly fond of anything she was currently studying anyway. “Right.” She said a little unsure. Looking over, she appreciated the fact that he seemed to be neatly stacking her papers. At first she’d been worried about them possibly getting wrinkled or even ripped. “Um, Herbology.” She said simply, wondering if she should have denied his offer but knew that he was right. Once again. 

“Oh, well that should be okay then. Professor Sprout - I mean Pomona, I really need to get used to calling them by their actually names you know - is one of the nicest people I think I’ve ever encountered” Tilden replied, reaching out for more of her scattered papers to place them into the pile before him. Gingerly, he lifted the stack with him as he stood before extending a hand towards Daisy to help her up if she wished for the aid. “How have you been?” he asked, “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you. Or at least it feels that way. I’m a little surprised you’re taking NEWT level Herbology. I didn’t think you were interested in it”

[two-thumbs-tilden]

WAND WOOD - Spruce

“Unskilled wandmakers call spruce a difficult wood, but in doing so they reveal their own ineptitude. It is quite true that it requires particular deftness to work with spruce, which produces wands that are ill-matched with cautious or nervous natures, and become positively dangerous in fumbling fingers. The spruce wand requires a firm hand, because it often appears to have its own ideas about what magic it ought to be called upon to produce. However, when a spruce wand meets its match – which, in my experience, is a bold spell-caster with a good sense of humour – it becomes a superb helper, intensely loyal to their owners and capable of producing particularly flamboyant and dramatic effects.”

- Garrick Ollivander

[two-thumbs-tilden]

hestia-jones‌:

Walking into the potions classroom, Hestia was stopped in her tracks. She hadn’t expected anyone else to be in there. The girl hadn’t even expected Professor Slughorn to be in there, simply wanting to get a head start on the lessons for that week. The man in front of her was familiar, though he didn’t look that much older than her so she supposed he might have been a student not to long ago. What she did know was that he wasn’t currently a student, as she was fairly familiar with those in either sixth or seventh year. That wasn’t to say she was popular, more so observant. In the back of her mind she recalled Slughorn mentioning getting a teaching assistant, now wondering if this was him. “They’re next to the sopophorous beans actually.” She corrected him, walking a few steps into the classroom. “Are you sure that you’re not the one who needs help?”

A bemused expression spread across Tilden's face rather quickly as he recognized the little Ravenclaw girl he'd always seen running around with another rather tall and incredibly snobby girl two years down from him. Tilden definitely wasn't one to hold any grudges, but he wasn't one to be merely plowed over either. "I'm not the one trying to tell someone that the location of the sopophorous beans is next to the sopophorous beans” he quipped, turning to look at her as he got what he needed from the cupboard, "Now, how can I help you? You're not exactly supposed to be here unsupervised" 

[two-thumbs-tilden]

lady-daisyhookum‌:

Watching him set down the supplies he was carrying caused her to smile. Though it only lasted a moment before she huffed it away. It was hard for the girl to meet his eyes, opting to look at the papers she was quickly trying to pick up. “Just running late, though this is only going to make it worse.” Daisy chuckled, a little bitterly. She hated the fact that he seemed to drain every ounce of confidence she usually oozed, making her fill up with nerves instead. It sent her mind reeling. Maybe it was how exposed she always felt in front of him. Sure he had been there for her when she was at a low point in her life, but that meant he had seen her then. She was supposed to always be put together, which made talking to him even worse. It didn’t help that he was actually a little cute, meaning that she was constantly embarrassing herself in front of a cute boy. That might have been what made his presence all the more exhausting to her. “You’re working as Professor Slughorn’s teaching assistant now?” 

“I am. I couldn’t just turn down an opportunity like this, you know? Not that I want to be a professor or anything but it would have been stupid of me to turn down an opportunity to learn more. Take every opportunity life gives you for learning, right?” Tilden replied, carefully stacking her papers into a pile on the floor. Were it his own he would have been far more haphazard about it but he knew that Miss-Nearly-Perfect-In-Every-Way wouldn’t have liked it and seeing her in a poor mood made him want to be even nicer to her. “Where are you headed next. Maybe I can walk you there or something. We can say you asked for a bit of potions help and we ran a bit late. I’m an employee now so that should excuse you”

[two-thumbs-tilden]

Who: Tilden Toots & Anyone   When: Monday, March 12th, 1978. After classes. Where: Professor Slughorn’s Classroom

Tilden had always adored potions so it was with absolute joy that he had accepted the school’s offer to offer help to Professor Slughorn in ensuring that there was always a ready supply of potion ingredients. Especially because that meant combining his three loves - potions, herbology and excessive talking -  into one perfect career. The professor had stepped out of his office for something which left Tilden completely on his own to brew the potion that would be used for the following day’s lesson. “And don’t forget the peppermint sprig!” he chirped to the golden Elixer to Induce Euphoria in front of him, “Goodness. Now where did I put those sopophorous beans? If my head wasn’t attached I swear I’d lose it. Right. The cupboard. Perfect! Should be next to the wormwood....”. As Tilden spun towards the cupboard his eyes landed on the person standing in the doorway, “Oh! The professor’s out. Do you need something? I can help!”

[two-thumbs-tilden]

lady-daisyhookum‌:

Who: Daisy Hookum & Tilden Toots ( @two-thumbs-tilden ) 

Where: 2nd floor corridor 

It should have been to no surprise to Daisy that Tilden would show up in front of her at that moment. He always had a habit of showing up when she was at her worst. In that moment she stood there a pile of papers scattered on the ground, her hair a mess, hungry, and nearly crying after having just gotten bad marks on a paper. Seeing him was just enough to send her over the edge, plopping her down on the floor in what surely felt like defeat. “Of course.” Was all she could say, looking at him. The girl couldn’t help but wonder why he had to be there, right in that moment. More than anything she couldn’t help but wish he would just continue walking towards wherever he was going, ignoring her. 

“Well are you going to help me?” She asked, rather rudely. It was unlike her, but then again she wasn’t quite feeling like herself. Knowing very well that she would come to regret just about everything of this meeting late she sighed, before moving to pick up some of her papers. Not bothering to actually wait to see if he would actually help or not, figuring that it wasn’t actually worth her time. Especially since she was certain that she was already running late for something else, and at this point she would much rather just skip it. 

Tilden was nearly always running late for one thing or another. It was a curse of being blessed with the gift of the gab. He had spent way longer than he should have talking to - or technically talking at -  the plants growing in the greenroom. Become a helper to Professor Slughorn - Horace -  was better than anything he could have hoped for. He’d already been out of school a year and had made no progress at all in doing whatever it was that he was going to be doing with his life. At least this way he could save up a bit of money for what he had always been told was an implausible dream. How did one even go about getting their own talk show? Besides, Tilden loved potions. Harvesting potion ingredients and making sure the store of supplies was always brimming seemed pretty perfect. Getting to see the pretty girl he’d taken a liking to was just a perk. Not that she at all seemed happy to see him. Or that she ever seemed happy to see him. Of course though he set down the potion ingredients he was toting and set to helping her. “What’s got you all frazzled?”

[two-thumbs-tilden]

auror-genevieveking‌:

Genevieve looked up from her paperwork at the person who had entered the classroom, before quickly moving to get up. “Sorry - I can leave if you need me to. My office is just a bit stifling and this was always my favorite class -” 

“It’s mine too!” Tilden piped up, not at all deterred that there was a stranger in one of the classrooms. If she was going to harm him she probably would have done it already, and besides he definitely needed to stir that potion he had stuck in here a couple weeks ago or it would never turn the proper shade of purple that he needed it to be. “There’s a corner that gets almost no sunlight, which means it’s great for some potions. I mean, really you’d think that the dungeon has poorer lighting but when the founders designed the place they must have thought about that because there’s a ton of torches down there, isn’t there?”

[two-thumbs-tilden]

skeetering-beetle‌:

Rita was bustling with energy, weaving her way through unsuspecting first years and clumsy third years, trying to get to the Great Hall as fast as possible. The lunchtime buzz had already begun, and Rita quickly found her place, before here eyes fell on a quiet observer. “Darling, sitting and staring doesn’t get you anywhere in life. Trust me. Come closer, have a seat. Let’s talk.”

Tilden stared off into space a lot. It’s just something that kind of happened when he was in deep contemplation about something. Today, it was his rather typical passions: herbology and potions and the fusion of the two. He was so focused that he was not near so verbose as he might usually be. Rather strange considering that the aspirant potioneer and herbologist almost always had something to say. Perhaps that was why an invitation for conversation was precisely what he needed to pop him out of his contemplation. “So...” he said, jumping right in, “Do you think One Thousand Herbs and Fungi could do with a bit of revision or is that just utterly disrespectful to Phyllida Spore?”