Summary: Hermione spills amortentia on herself in potions one day, and gets an array of compliments. However, one person isn't so sure what all the fuss is about.
I got the idea for this oneshot from tumblr user hectorstaco! Credits to them for the idea.
"Miss Granger, go in the cabinet to your left and retrieve the Draught of Peace," Snape ordered.
"Yes, Professor," Hermione answered quietly. She stood up, smoothing her skirt and pushing the brown hair out of her eyes. The bushy haired girl gently ran her finger across each labeled vial, looking for the correct potion. The pink vial at the end of the shelf seemed to fly off, and Hermione scrambled down to her knees to pick it up. However, she was too late. The vial cracked, and the potion seeped on to the floor. By the time she'd dropped to her knees it had already spilled and her hands landed directly in the puddle. She let out an agitated noise, absentmindedly wiping her hands on her uniform.
"Miss Granger! Move immediately and wash your hands. I'll clean this, Amortentia must be handled very delicately. This seemed to have slipped your mind," Snape scolded.
"Hmph!" she muttered, her eyebrows furrowing. The bookworm knew that Amortentia should be handled with caution, but her professor shouldn't have expected her to know this. It was a N.E.W.T level potion, and he knew that well. She stormed out of the room and to the washroom, scrubbing her hands with soap. A girl emerged from a stall, going to wash her hands at the sink next to Hermione.
"Hullo, Lavender," Hermione greeted her.
"Hello, Hermione. You smell lovely, where'd you get that perfume?" she inquired, leaning in to Hermione's shirt.
"Erm... it's no perfume. I've just accidentally gotten Amortenia on myself, it offers a different scent to everyone," she replied, drying her hands.
"Oh. Well, back we go, then," she said cheerily. The two girls made their way back to the classroom, finding their seats. Snape immediately returned to where Hermione sat, lecturing her loud enough for the rest of the silent class to hear.
"If you spill a potion as delicate as this one again, Miss Granger, a detention may be the result. Do not handle a potion so foolishly in my class again. You were not told to retrieve Amortentia, you had no reason to spill a vial of it. This is your only warning," he said slowly. Hermione wasn't going to get detention for talking back, so she simply nodded.
"It won't happen again, Professor. It was a foolish mistake, I'm sorry," she apologised.
"Do not apologise. I'm aware it was foolish," he snapped.
Hermione rolled her eyes as he turned his back on her.
Git. I simply apologised and he snaps at me. One day, when I'm not his student anymore, I'll tell him off like he deserves, she thought angrily.
"Class dismissed," Snape announced. The students all gathered their things, and Hermione walked over to Harry and Ron.
"Honestly, it was just a little accident! There was no need for him to scold me in front of the entire class," she whined. Harry leaned forward to smell the wet spot on her shirt.
"What potion is that? It smells great," Harry complimented.
"Amortentia. It smells different to everyone. Whichever scents appeal to you most," she explained. Ron leaned forward as well, inhaling deeply before nodding in approval. Hermione rolled her eyes, they were to go to the great hall for lunch next.
Hermione plopped down in to a seat at the table, directly across from Fred and George Weasley, with Harry and Ron next to her.
"My goodness, if one more person tells me I smell great! I'm getting sick of explaining this to everyone," she said exasperatedly.
"Hey, Hermione!" Ginny called as she moved to sit next to her friend. "You smell absolutely lovely. What is that?" she inquired. Hermione groaned, she had stopped explaining the whole potion thing to people and just accepted the compliments after the first five people.
"Ginny, you're the ninth person to tell me I smell great in a matter of the five minutes I took getting here," Hermione answered. "But thank you," she added quickly, realising she was being rude.
"You do smell nice," George added. Fred looked at him, confused. Fred leaned across the table to smell Hermione's shirt, leaning back looking even more confused.
"Georgie, she smells exactly the same as she does every day. What's with all the fuss?" he asked, looking at Hermione.
"Um," was all that Hermione could manage to say. Harry looked at the two, grinning. Ron and Ginny both looked confused. Hermione blushed, unsure of what to say.
"Did I say something?" Fred inquired. Harry burst out laughing. Hermione looked even more flustered.
"What's funny?" George asked. Hermione grabbed an apple from the table before dashing out of the room without as much as a peep. Ron glared at Fred, while George, Fred, and Ginny looked confused.
"I don't get it," Ginny said quietly.
"Me neither. Did I offend her?" Fred asked, looking slightly nervous. He regathered himself quickly, sitting up straighter and putting on his usual quirky smile.
"Well, I think she's more flattered than anything else," Ron said bitterly.
"Why did she smell so good to me, but not Fred?" Ginny asked.
"She smelled lovely, it's just that she smells the same as everyday. Just a little stronger today," Fred explained.
"Fred, out of curiosity, what did Hermione smell like?" Harry asked.
"The same as she does everyday. Like a flower," he answered.
"Really? For me she smelled like treacle tart, and something kind of woody. Like a broomstick handle," he said, entertaining Fred.
"For me she smelled like chicken," Ron said quietly.
"She smelled like the Burrow, if you ask me," said Ginny.
"She smelled like vanilla cake," said George.
"How are we all smelling different-" Fred began, before looking at the grin on Harry's face.
"Oh," he finished.
"What?" Ginny asked.
"Amortentia," George replied.
"Smells like whatever you find most appealing," Fred said slowly. Ginny and George broke out into smiles that matched Harry's, and Ron had a slightly jealous expression.
"I've got to go talk to Hermione. Library?" Fred asked. Everyone nodded. Fred almost ran to the library, stopping once he got there and scanning the room for the distinct bushy hair. Lucky for him, she was seated at a table, writing something extremely quick. Fred walked over to her, pulling out a chair and sitting before she could object. Hermione looked up.
"Do you need something, Fred?" she asked. She appeared confident, but it was obvious that she was truly nervous.
"I just wanted to say you smell lovely," he said quietly.
"I thought I smelled the same," she replied, sitting up a bit straighter.
"To me, because you've spilled Amortentia on yourself. I find your scent the most appealing," he said smoothly, not removing his eyes from hers. Hermione stood up, nodding to Fred to do the same.
"Fred?" she asked quietly.
"How may I help you?" he replied with a grin. Slowly, Hermione leaned forward to peck a quick kiss on Fred's lips.
"Don't ever scare me like that again. I really thought they had us found out," she said with a sigh. Fred laughed, pecking her on the lips in return.