On an average day in the NEWT level of History of Magic there would be a large series of students studying away for whatever it was that they had planned for once they graduated from Hogwarts, but in the regular level of History of Magic the students didn't care nearly as much. Many of them would have even dropped the class if their paths

didn't need to have further History education. One of these such students was Scarlett Montgomery, a Ravenclaw girl who could have transfigured everything in the classroom into something else if asked, but found anything having to do with History incredibly boring and often didn't pay attention to what the professor had to say.

Often enough, you could find her in the back of the class practicing wand movements with her quill or reading her potions book, but today was different. Today, Scarlett seemed to have a far away look to her face as she stared at her potions book. Within her mind, she wasn't even registering that she was staring off into space. Scarlett was mentally preparing herself for her next class, a double NEWT Potions with the one and only Professor Severus Snape. He had let slip to her at the end of their last class that they were to be making Amortentia to pair with the counter potion they had made in that class. Amortentia was a curious potion to Scarlett since it was the closest to creating love in those who drank it, but still didn't create actual love. Another effect that she was curious about was the fact that it smelled differently to each person based on who it was they they loved.

A small blush creeped on her face at the very idea of revealing who she thought she loved if she was called on to describe the scent of the potion, especially since the person her heart was set on was in the class.

Scarlett was shaken from her fretful thoughts when those around her began to move about, signalling the end of class for her. She threw her things quickly into her bag before rushing out of the room to head down to the dungeons. As she neared the room that housed her favorite class, a smell of various ingredients, both fresh and preserved, mixed with the ashes from all of the fires that were set in the stone rooms over the years came to her.

"You're late, Montgomery," Severus Snape's cool, smooth voice came from behind her as she entered the classroom. She looked around to see that she was the last one in the classroom, causing her to turn to see Snape slowly close the heavy door behind her. The door slammed closed even with how slow it had been moving, causing Scarlett to jump and close her eyes. She felt a moment later Snape sweep passed her with his robes billowing behind him and leaving her with the scent of sweat and pumpkin.

"Let's get started," Snape said softly to the class as Scarlett scurried to where her cauldron was already set up. "You will find the ingredients you need in the cupboards and the instructions on page 594."

There was a flurry of motion as everyone set to work getting the things they needed set up. Scarlett herself chose to wait for the others to be done with the pantry and looked at the instructions instead.

"Professor?" Scarlett called after she had read the instructions through. Snape swept over to her at the call for him, being much more willing to come help her int NEWT level than those in lower levels. "The instructions call for a low simmer and then an increase in heat, but wouldn't it be better to do a continuous heat so the ingredients come together more evenly?"

"See what happens when you do," Snape answered simply before he moved on to watch what the others were doing. Though his words seemed to not be of any help, Scarlett knew that he would have guided her away from the idea if it was a bad idea since she made these off inquiries many times before. Scarlett smiled as she set to work on her potion, finding an odd soothing feeling in the warmth of the room and with the only sound being of the mixing of brews or the chopping of ingredients.

"Do we have any volunteers?" Snape asked them as his eyes swept over them, their timer having gone off to let them know that their brewing time was over/ It was with his words that Scarlett's nerves were set on edge since she was worried about if she had done well with her work with the alteration of the instructions.

"I think mine is what you are looking for, Professor," a tall, slender Slytherin volunteered after a moment of silence in the class, giving off an air of confidence as he did so. The whole class seemed to move as one to circle around his cauldron so they could see exactly what Snape was talking about when he began critiquing his work. Snape loomed over the cauldron with a blank expression as the class waited with baited breath for his critiques.

"Bradey, what do you smell?" Snape finally questioned him, looking towards the Slytherin volunteer with a single eyebrow raised. The slender teen leaned over his cauldron to take a whiff of the slender streams of steam rising from the brew.

"Honey and some sort of flowers," he admitted slowly, wondering why the smell he sensed was a big deal. Snape straightened and looked over the class with a cool expression.

"If you had read the description of Amortentia, you would know that it has a different scent from person to person," he told them in a clipped tone before his eyes settled on Bradey. "There is a fine line between confidence and cockiness, Mr. Bradey, and you crossed it. Your potion has a lackluster color, a smell common to all, and fumes that do not curl properly. The best that this potion would be able to do is cause joy, if it did not poison the person who foolishly drank it. For this, you have earned yourself a paper on the importance of properly mincing ingredients that is to be on my desk by dinner tomorrow."

The class seemed to wince as one for Bradey's punishment, all of them having been on the receiving end of Snape's harsh punishments at some point or another, but they all straightened up when Snape turned on all of them with a narrowed gaze.

"Montgomery, show us yours," Snape demanded without a pause, following Scarlett to her cauldron with the rest of the class following after him. Scarlet held her breath as Snape examined her potion with narrowed eyes. She let out a breath when he straightened and seemed to nod. "Your instinct did you well this time around. Ten points to Ravenclaw and see me after class to discuss this method further."

Scarlett nodded shakily, her heart beating wildly as Snape moved on since it was so rare for anyone to receive a compliment from Snape for anything, let alone for not following instructions. Scarlett watched as the others in the class had varying degrees of success, her heart beating rapidly at the compliment she had received.

Her mind was not completely there as she put some of her brew in a vial for Snape to critique and grade further later on.

"Montgomery," Snape called to her as she was mindlessly cleaning up the mess she had made from class around her table. Scarlett looked up to see that the rest of the class had already left for their afternoon classes or breaks. When Snape came towards her desk, Scarlett's heart began to hammer against her chest as a blush crept up on her cheeks. She had come in for lessons and to check on her potions after classes were over many times before, but there had typically been other students around serving detention and whatnot when she had come in. In that moment, she wasn't sure if her heart was going to be able to handle being alone with the professor.

"Tell me," Snape said in a soft tone that Scarlett had to strain to hear over the thumping in her ears from her heart beating so hard. Snape looked deep into her eyes and seemed to be reading her very soul as they stood by her cauldron. "What is it that you smell from your potion?"

"I-I-" Scarlett stammered as she stared into his dark eyes that seemed to suck her into them like they were black holes before she managed to blink and look away from him, losing a bit of the strange connection that had been between them while they stared into each other's eyes. She refused to look at him once again as she took a whiff of her Amortentia, actually trying to pay attention to how it smelled now that she was being asked. She frowned as she looked up at him to give her response. "I don't smell anything."

"That's impossible," Snape murmured as he leaned over the cauldron to smell it for himself. It took a moment before Snape's eyes grew wide and he whirled on Scarlett with a look like he had never seen her before.

"Are you absolutely sure you can't smell anything?" he asked her as his eyes narrowed slightly like he didn't believe her. Scarlett hesitated slightly before she decided to try smelling the potion once more. She blinked when it finally registered what it was that she was smelling from the potion, her blush increasing to cover a good portion of her face as she realized that this potion only confirmed who she thought her heart was set on.

"Nothing, Professor," Scarlet murmured, looking away from him and tried hard to hide her face so he could not see the blush set on her cheeks. Snape did not seem to be fooled by her avoiding him and reached for her chin to pull her face up to him. Scarlett overcompensated for him pulling on her chin and ended up practically nose to nose with Snape with his dark onyx eyes staring deep into her own.

"Are you sure about that, Scarlett?" Snape seemed to only breathe out, his warm breath heating Scarlett's already flushed cheeks. Scarlett's breath caught in her throat at the fact that he used her name in such a way.

"Potions," Scarlett murmured softly, her voice weightless from how shallow her breathing was. She felt almost compelled to answer as she stared into his eyes. It was almost like she couldn't control herself anymore as she stepped closer to Snape, her body pressing lightly against his on its own accord. "I smell you."

There seemed to be a moment pause before Snape's lips came crashing down onto her's. A part of Scarlett's brain screamed out that this was wrong. He was a teacher and she was only seventeen for Merlin's sake! But the rest of her brain and her body took over her rational thought very quickly, leading her to deepening the kiss as the overwhelming scent of pumpkin and potions filled her senses.

Scarlett gasped into the kiss as Snape's hand grasped at her brunette locks, pulling them loose from the ponytail she had them up in for class. She allowed for the kiss to deepen further, his tongue sliding into her mouth to explore as her hands trailed up to his neck before tangling into his hair, which was not as oily as it looked. Scarlett could feel her body begin to heat up as she seemed to drown in the scent coming from him and all of the potions around them along with the taste of the kiss and the feel of his hands on her.

"Scarlett," he murmured into her lips, the sound overloading her senses and creating a feel of pure joy deep inside Scarlett at the way he said her name.

When Snape finally pulled away from Scarlett, she was left in a daze as a gentle tingle moved from her lips to the rest of her body, giving her chills as it went.

"Y-Your potion is very potent, Montgomery," Snape murmured before he cleared his throat, taking a step away from her as he did so. Scarlett opened her eyes at his words and her heart sank into her stomach at the sight of him avoiding her gaze. She could feel tears begin to prick at her eyes but fought to keep them back so he wouldn't see just how hurt she was by his rejection. "I will give you full marks for today's lesson and will take note of your success in your records."

"Thank you, Professor," Scarlett said at only a mutter, her eyes shifting to the ground as her fists clenched at her robes in anger and humiliation. She couldn't believe that he was acting like they hadn't just shared an amazing kiss, but, then, he might not feel that the kiss was as amazing as she did. She picked up her bag a little rougher than she meant for, nearly knocking over her potion in the process. She cursed under her breath as she straightened her cauldron once more, the tears pricking at her eyes once more in all of the emotions that were rushing through her in that moment.

"Montgomery," Snape called to her as she moved to finally leave the classroom after all that had happened. Scarlett paused to compose herself before she turned around to face her teacher once more. He seemed to be watching her closely as he stood at the front of the classroom, looking very much like a large raven looming over his prey.

"Yes, Professor?" she asked in a tight voice when he did not continue to speak.

"Keep up the good work," he told her in a cool tone, a small smirk playing at the corner of his mouth. Scarlett was confused for a moment, but chose to nod that she understood what he said as she turned to leave once more. "You may just get another reward if you do this well again."

Scarlett could only gape at his words, her mind going blank as it fought to process what it was he just said and all it was that those words implied. Her heart began to hammer as a blush began to coat her face yet again, a smile coming along with it this time.

"We will be working on Wolfsbane next and I expect you will do well with that potion if you are to get full marks like this again," Snape told her quietly, almost expectantly, as if he was waiting for her reaction. Scarlett's grin grew even larger now that he seemed to be handing her the opportunity to do well.

"I won't let you down, Professor!" she nearly squeaked in her excitement. She was ready to go check out all of the books she could about Wolfsbane potions and the ingredients that go into it so she could come up with some way to earn this reward once more. Without another word to her absolute favorite professor, Scarlett rushed from the room to get started.

A commission I did for someone on my dA account. I do not own anything.