Luna came into Potions class with Romilda Vane, Astoria Greengrass, and Ginny Weasley.
"Sit down, we'll begin in a moment," Slughorn said. The four girls chose seats next to each other. Ginny and Luna were for friendship, and Romilda and Astoria for plotting.
"Today, we'll be learning about love potions." Slughorn declared. Romilda sat straight up. This was the chance that she'd been waiting for. Now she could seduce Potter once and for all! The very possibilities excited her.
Astoria's quill hovered over the paper, ready to scribble down the requirements, the exceptions, the kinks, etc. She had a more practical use in mind for a love potion. She wanted to use it to get the pale blond sixth-year that fascinated her so. Ah, yes, Draco Malfoy, another from the Sacred Twenty-Six. Something about him attracted her to him, but what she could never decide. It was a dangerous schoolgirl infatuation.
"One thing that must not be forgotten," warned Slughorn, "is that these potions can only conjure infatuation. True, real love cannot be made artificially. It is a power beyond anyone's understand, and you would do well to remember that and keep it in mind whenever you think this is the best way to catch your crush."
Some murmurs and blushes began. "Ah, yes," said Slughorn. "I know about your little plots some of you had in mind with these potions. I would advise you against it, especially since love potions are banned at Hogwarts."
Luna's hand shot into the air.
"Yes, Miss Lovegood?" Slughorn asked in a friendly manner. Some adolescents, including Romilda and Astoria, giggled and Ginny could catch the whisper, "Loony."
"Why aren't these banned, then?" Luna asked.
"That's a good question, Miss Lovegood, said Professor Slughorn sadly. "Unfortunately, the Ministry of Magic hasn't made this inquiry because they see it as fluffy, harmless stuff when in reality, it's quite the opposite."
Romilda let an evil cackle slip. It was legal for her to slip a Potion to Potter after all!
"Miss Vane, it would do you quite well to know that when you've seen as much as I have, there is nothing more powerful or dangerous than obsessive infatuation, or true love."
Romilda pursed her lips, and she said nothing more. She exchanged a dark-eyed glance with Astoria, and the two grinned wickedly. Oh, they would be nicking some of that sweet-smelling potion in the corner of the room.
"Can anyone tell me what this is?" Slughorn pointed to a box of crystal hearts. Ginny immediately raised her hand.
"Yes, Miss Weasley?"
"They're Cupid Crystals- I've seen them at my brothers' shop." She said seriously.
"Oh yes, I forgot that you were the little sister to the founders of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes." Slughorn replied. "Tell them for me that their love potions are amazing. I've never seen anything like them."
"Will do." Ginny answered, smugly grinning. Romilda gave na a contemptuous glance of pure disgust. A few more potions were rattled off, when Slughorn finally came to that little cauldron in the back. The surface of the potion gleamed like a mother-of-pearl, and it gave off quite the fumes.
To Ginny, it smelled like his hair, and like the smell of the apple orchard where she'd practiced flying in secret, and like macaroni and cheese, her favorite dish of all time.
To Luna, she smelled holly, and she smelled the perfume of her mother, a sweet sleepy scent, of lavender and lilacs, and she also smelled the air of an oncoming storm from those nights in Ravenclaw tower.
To Romilda, it smelled of sugar and spice and all that's nice.
Astoria personally smelled the dungeons of Slytherin.
"Can anyone tell me what this is?" Slughorn asked the class. The four girls' hands shot into the air. "Well, well, Miss Vane, I assume you know what this does, too?"
"It's Amortentia, the most powerful love potion in the world," said Romilda, much more calmly than she felt.
"Very good, take five points to Gryffindor." Slughorn said.
That evening, Astoria and Romilda staked out the Gryffindor and Slytherin tables. "We've got to get Draco and Harry to fall in love with us." Romilda determined. She saw where Ginny and Harry were sitting, right next to each other. How sick it made Romila, those two, acting all cute.
When they looked away, Romilda slipped the flask of the Amortentia into Harry's glass. Or what she thought was Harry's glass. When his group slid back down, it was where Ginny was. Shit!
Meanwhile, at the Slytherin table, Astoria was troubling Draco for some tea.
"Come on, Draco, please take some, you don't look well," she begged.
"Fine, if it'll make you shut up!" Draco snarled. He took the teacup with him as he got up to go. He took a sip and closed his eyes. Astoria leapt to her feet, to make sure that when he reopened them, he would see her, and fall in love with her.
That's when Hermione Granger had gotten up from the Gryffindor table. Draco and Hermione fell into each other's arms, and obvious attraction began from there.
"Blimey, Hermione, you look beautiful." Draco said.
Hermione blushed. "Draco, you're such a gentleman." She even giggled! Imagine! Hermione Granger giggling!
Shit! Astoria thought angrily.
Back at the Gryffindor table, Ginny had taken a sip of her pumpkin juice, and she then looked at Harry. Within five minutes, the two were making out, and the Gryffindor table was egging them on.
"I know what you put in Ginny and Draco's pumpkin juice." Luna said quietly to Romilda and Astoria.
"No one will believe you, you freak!" Romilda snarled defensively.
"It's alright." Luna shrugged. "You're lucky that you only ended up encouraging what was already there."