Blurb: Potions is insufferable, Ravenclaw is full of competitive prats who don't listen to reason, and that damned Amortentia has completely clouded Rose's mind with that one stupid scent that belongs to he-who-she-does-not-know. Just typical.
A/N: My first successful chapter concerning Rose Weasley and whoever she seems to be tied to thanks to a little thing called fate. I had a hard time deciding how I would end this chapter, and felt that the abrupt ending would be rather fitting after weighing out a few options. I also decided to leave out who the scent was from for the reason that is called mystery, and also to give way for future chapters if I ever decide to do them. I won't promise, though; I may keep this as a one-shot, or I may update as and when I please. Who knows. I guess I will do what intrigues me most with this story, in a way.
Also, the second half of the story is a mess, so I apologise; I did the first half and second half on different days... actually, months between each other. It's weird how some ideas for one single chapter come to a person after so many days, weeks, months... but I thought to finish what I started because I liked the idea behind it, though the Amortentia storyline is used so much. Still. I hope it's okay.
Thank you for choosing to read this chapter, by the way. I appreciate it, so many thanks.
Disclaimer: Like many lovely writers on her, and readers as well, I do not and will not own the characters of Harry Potter unless mentioned. The world of Hogwarts and the Harry Potter Universe belong to the benevolent J.K Rowling who has filled many of our lives with her wonderful series, and allowed us to come together here to bring forth our own re-telling's from our own imaginations.
Amortentia
Potions had never been a favourite subject of Rose Weasley's, not since her first year at least. It wasn't like she was terrible at it, quite the opposite actually, and it wasn't like mixing the ingredients together was boring – she found that part of the process rather fun, trying to measure the right amounts and mixing them correctly. No, it wasn't the process of the lesson itself that she did not like, but the person who taught that lesson.
And good Lord, did Professor Slughorn make sure that Rose Weasley hated Potions with a fiery passion.
In Rose's eyes, the man was insufferable, an annoying busybody who reaped in the light of others. Yes, he had a good eye for talent in Potions, but he also had a keen eye for the famous ones as well, making sure to invite anyone with a famous mummy or daddy (or in Rose's case, both) in the hopes that he would benefit from taking a shine to them. Most of the time he did benefit from it, but not from Rose.
She had lost track of the amount of Slug Club invites he had sent her, and whilst her mother had hinted that she would like her to go to them (extracurricular activities, dear!) Rose had never bothered to reply or turn up to an event hosted by Horace Slughorn, because she really could not stand the man.
Still, it didn't stop him from making a point of showing the whole class that she was one of his 'special favourites' every time they had a lesson with him, did it?
"… Now, who can tell me the effects and purpose of this powerful potion, hmm?" Rose held onto a groan she wanted to let out, knowing already just who would tell him whatever he wanted to hear. She could practically see him sweeping his gaze across the room, only for it land on one person; her.
"Ah, Miss Weasley!" Bingo, she thought to herself grimly. "If you would be so kind,"
Rose looked up slowly, stopping whatever she had been doing (doodling on her parchment; dragons were gorging on a certain Potions Professor's intestines and biting off his big head) and frowned. He always chose her, no matter how many desperate Ravenclaws put their hands up. It always had to be her, because Slughorn liked to make a point.
As if on cue, the Ravenclaws around her groaned, glaring daggers at the back of her head as she slumped back in her seat. It's not as if I want to do this, you idiots she thought to herself glumly, though trying to tell that to a Ravenclaw was impossible; they may be a smart lot, but they weren't ones to take this sort of thing lightly. When it came to lessons and a certain individual being picked above everyone else, they could hold the biggest sulk, especially where it concerned any of the Weasleys or Potters.
"Amortentia creates infatuation and obsession to the drinker. It is a potion that mimics love, but does not create it." She grimaced at her words, wishing that she could just give a wrong answer for once. But nope, no chance. She liked to be right just as much as the Ravenclaws did. Curse my mother's brains. "Its purpose is to clearly create a desire between the subject and the brewer, but it is contrived, not natural like real love. It holds a power over the drinker that is possessive, stripping them of their freedom to choose whom they love. It's used for selfish intentions most often." Rose made a point to look Slughorn right in the eye then, noting how ecstatic he looked at her answer. He was practically bouncing off the walls, he was so delighted.
Breathing in, Rose continued steadily. The Ravenclaws would not be happy with her for a while, she thought to herself. "It also varies in aroma for each person, reminding us of what we find most attractive in our lives or in other people, even if we don't know that we find that specific scent attractive."
"Excellent, Miss Weasley. Ten points to Gryffindor!" He smiled, a sigh of relief coming from the Gryffindor side of the room. Well, at least some good came out being the Teacher's Pet. Slughorn continued, looking around the class with a bright smile. "Yes, just as Miss Weasley described, Amortentia is a powerful potion that creates infatuation, not love; it is indeed strong, probably one of the most dangerous potions in this room, and very hard to make.
"Of course you will brew your own batch today children, however once you have finished you will hand a vial to me and then dispose of the rest in the sink at the back. If your potion has a distinct mother-of-pearl sheen, then you know you will have succeeded!" And with that, Slughorn flounced back to his desk as he left the class in silence, the students making their way towards the ingredients laid on the table at the front of the room, ready to be brewed.
Walking back to her desk at the front of the room, Rose noted how Albus looked around the room in discomfort, though she understood why; he was fearful for his free will now that he knew about the love potion that could quite possibly possess him.
"Jesus Christ, what was Slughorn thinking?" Albus muttered the moment he was back in his seat beside Rose. She was about to say that Slughorn never did think, but thought best not to. "Now I'm going to have to watch out for what I eat or drink in case Grouse spikes anything!" Rose snorted at this, earning a swift kick under the table from her dear cousin. How charming. She narrowed her eyes at him, setting up her cauldron and opening her potions book in the meantime.
"Highly doubtful Al, Leah's as dumb as a dingbat." Rose smiled in a way that she thought would comfort for him, only to have Albus knit his brows together in frustration. Attractive. "She can barely grasp the Boil Curing potion even now, and she's a sixth year! Trust me, you're safe... well, at least from her."
"Oh gee, thanks Rosie, that has calmed me down plenty." Albus snorted sarcastically, trying not to look at the fellow Gryffindor girl (one Leah Grouse) who was staring at him rather intently, a dopey smile on her face and a glint in her eye, as he set to organising his ingredients in the correct order they were to be brewed in, "Seriously, she is just… she's weird! She's been following me everywhere and sniffing my hair. I think she stole one of my socks too, because I'm missing one!"
Rose had to hold back a laugh, mostly because she knew Albus would take offence to it and think she was laughing at him. "Al, trust me, she won't make this potion. The candle is on but no one's home in that head, I assure you." She patted him on the shoulder, smiling. "But I can't promise the same security if she happens to stumble across that lovely selection of WonderWitch Love potions Uncle George has in his shop." She grinned, watching as Albus' eyes widened, growing pale rather quickly.
"Merlin you are not helping, Rose!" He groaned, turning away from his laughing cousin and ignoring her for the rest of the lesson…
x-x-x-x
Worn books, cinnamon and a hint of a musky scent filled the air. Those were the scents that Rose Weasley could smell from her freshly brewed Amortentia, her eyes slightly clouded as she stood over the potion. It was addictive, pleasant and, to her, so very attractive. Admittedly, she did not want to give Slughorn a vial of the potion; it had hooked her, though she didn't like it – the pull and possession was too strong even through the smell of it.
Coming to her senses and realising what the potion was doing to her, Rose did what was required of her and filled a small vial with the pearl liquid, fully aware that she was currently the only student to finish the potion in the classroom. That alone annoyed her, only because she knew that she wasn't doing herself any favours by proving to Slughorn further that she was an 'amazing' student, nor was she helping her reputation with a crowd of jealous Ravenclaws who would, no doubt, be out for blood by the time their lesson was over.
In fact she could swear that they were hissing like a bunch of furious Slytherins as she walked past, vial in hand, to Slughorn's desk where she would drop off the offending product in return for some over-used compliments and attempted grooming to get her to like him.
The second he saw her walking towards him, he smiled as if Merlin himself had walked into the room, and Rose had to try her hardest not to cringe. Insufferable bloody fool she thought to herself coldly, though her expression was rather neutral as she handed the old man the Amortentia sample.
"Wonderful!" Slughorn proclaimed far too happily the second he touched the glass of liquid, jumping out of his seat in irritable delight. "As expected of Miss Weasley, class, she has brewed a perfect batch of the Amortentia potion! One would hope to follow in her steps, I am sure, so be sure to watch her example, children!" Oh Merlin, how Rose wished that throwing a hex or three at a teacher was allowed at that moment. Thank goodness she was going back to her desk, where she was within a safe distance away from the stupid man.
"Now, Miss Weasley, would you be so kind as to tell us what your Amortentia's aroma consisted of?" He asked before she could even turn, a twinkle in his eyes as he watched her expectantly.
"Oh yes, please do tell us." Drawled some Ravenclaw twit from their desk, earning some titters from the rest of the classroom. Great she thought to herself, tempted to hex not just Slughorn, but a class full of Ravenclaws too now. She doubted anyone would blame her.
Burning with both embarrassment and silent rage, her cheeks red by now she was sure, Rose cleared her throat to answer the question she really did not want to be asked, "Worn books, cinnamon and a musk." before taking her leave back to her desk where Al, looking a little too smug for comfort, was putting a cork in his sample of Amortentia.
"You better watch out Rosie, before you know it Slughorn'll be slipping a healthy dose of Amortentia into your morning pumpkin juice." He grinned, getting ready to flounce his way to the professor's desk as Rose glared beadily, scowling darkly.
"Watch it Al, or you'll find me sitting next to Leah as I give her tips on how to brew a perfect Amortentia to slip into your morning pumpkin juice tomorrow." She threatened, a promising tone to her voice. Albus lost all colour in his face then, and for a second Rose thought she could see sweat forming on his brow. Good, the prick deserved it.
"You wouldn't." He muttered, though he knew more than anyone what Rose could do to him if she was pissed off, and quickly left to hand over his sample before his favourite cousin could threaten him further.
Sighing deeply, Rose sank back into her chair, willing the lesson to be over already. She'd had enough, she wanted to go back to her room and read, do homework, something that didn't require Slughorn, Ravenclaws or potions that made her think of what the heck one of those smells was, because seriously, she had no clue what that musky scent was, and it was driving her crazy.
The sooner she got out of that blasted lesson, the better.
x-x-x-x
"What did you smell, then?" Rose asked her cousin briskly as she practically whizzed down the hallway, a desperate bid for freedom from the potion room she had been trapped in for far too long as Albus followed, trying his hardest to keep up with his cousin. He shrugged, as if it wasn't even that important what he had smelled in the potion.
"Broomstick polish, mum's cooking and oranges, why?" He asked, as if this were the most common question to ask. (it wasn't)
"You do know that at least one of those scents is apparently there to remind us of what we find most attractive about someone else, right?" She asked him, ignoring the second shrug he was giving her and continuing her explanation, not that he cared, mind. "And unless you have some weird fetish for broomstick polish that I do not want to know about, or worse, a thing for your mum," That earned a deserved "Ew, Rosie, that's just sick!" as a swing of his book bag nicked her hip sharply. "then I can only assume that there is some poor soul around here who smells of oranges that you are going to end up with at some point in their life."
Slowing down now, Albus just looked on ahead as he thought about it, frowning slightly. "Then that means your musk scent belongs to your lover boy, right? Because whilst you love books, Rosie, I don't think you're that nuts on them to go off on a sordid affair with Hogwarts: A History Revised." He joked, grinning now as Rose rolled her eyes.
"Oh, you never know Al, I mean have you seen the spine on that thing? Pure brawn, not to mention it's packed with intelligence, all fine qualities in my future mate."
"Well then, I must confess to you now Rosie, I am actually in love with an orange. The smell is just... intoxicating." Albus added rather seriously, causing Rose to snort rather loudly as she tried her hardest not to laugh. "We're mad." He grinned.
"We're related to the Weasley's, of course we're mad." She giggled, turning into the Great Hall for dinner. Just like always it was packed, just how Rose liked it after a long lesson with Slughorn and an infuriating group of Ravenclaws. (who were actually glaring at her as they made their way into the hall themselves, she noticed) Finding space on the bench at the Gryffindor table, she sat next to Albus and a first year, eyeing the food hungrily.
If she didn't watch it, drool would soon form at the side of her mouth, she was sure of it.
But Rose didn't seem to get very far with her food because, just as she was starting on a juicy leg of chicken marinated in a sweet and sour sauce she loved, she caught a hint of a familiar scent in the air for a moment. It was brief, but it was unmistakeable, and it made her stomach flutter briefly.
If she had never smelled that Amortentia, if she had never brewed it correctly, then Rose was sure that she would have never noticed that scent that just passed her a second ago. But she couldn't deny it; it was musky and, however much she wished she could deny it, it was very attractive.