Gone were the piles and piles of books, replaces with two neat stacks beside the table. Instead, there were rolls and rolls of parchment. Some stretched out on the table, others tacked to the walls, and some floating about, just as the books had been. And on all of them was scribbled something of a list. Occassionally, an entry would be scribbled out. Reading the list, most people, or anyone who knew anything about potions would realise it was a list of ingredients. There weren't any measurements yet, just a seemingly endless list of items.

And in the middle of the chaos sat Damocles Belby, poring over yet another piece of parchment, occassionally crossing things off the list.

At first, it wasn't exactly obvious whether he looked better or not. He did in some ways, but worse in others. He was thinner, that was for sure, and his hair was longer, and looked like it hadn't been brushed in days. he was even starting to grow a beard. His hands were shaking, but not as badly as they had been, and whilst there were still dark rings under his eyes, he was not yawning every thirty seconds. He looked slightly more rested, a little further away from the edge of insanity. This was all, in no small part, thanks to the red head. If Jacqueline hadn't started showing up to make sure he regularly went home, Damocles would probably be unconcious at the desk, or worse.

He began chewing on his lip, reaching an ingredient he wasn't sure about. His hand stretched out, one of the books from the pile closest to him flying into it. During his time in the room, Dam had become rather good at wandless magic. He opened the book, flicking through it till he found what he was looking for. He looked to his list, and then back to his book, and then he scribbled another item off the list.

This was slower work than all the research had been, but he was one step closer. He may not have had a complete list of ingredients yet, but he had the makings of one. He just had to make sure there was nothing that was going to interact harmfully with the other ingredients, or neutralise the effects of a specific ingredient.

Potion creating, it seemed, was not for the impatient.