A/N: Happy late Valentine's Day you lovelies!
I know I'm a little late with posting this, but here it is now, and I hope that makes it all okay. I really just wanted to get out a little Lily/James one shot for the Holiday of Love, and this is the result.
Enjoy! xoxox
Amortentia
"Alright students, if I could have your attention please!" Professor Slughorn called out from the front of the dimly lit dungeon classroom. Behind him a large cauldron sat over a steadily roaring fire, steam billowing out over the sides in wispy, curling tendrils.
Lily Evans, being the good student that she was, sat up straight and turned her attention away from her textbook and towards her teacher. The others in the class—James Potter and the other Marauders, for example—took longer to turn their attention to the front of the room. Lily fought the urge to roll her eyes at the Marauders' antics. She was far too used to them being the annoying gits they were—with the exception of Remus, of course—to be affected by them anymore.
"In honor of Valentine's Day, I thought the Amortentia potion would be the best choice for today's assignment. Your job, students, it to brew the potion with a partner by the end of the class period."
Lily sighed. Valentine's Day was a really foolish holiday, in her opinion. And Amortentia? A potion that made the drinker fall in love with whoever gave it to them? That was a little pathetic, and stupid.
Shaking her head, Lily raised her hand. "Professor Slughorn?"
"Yes, Miss Evans?"
"I don't have a partner." Marlene, Lily's regular Potions partner, was off on a date with Sirius Black. Her rationalization was that she would have her whole life with brew silly potions, but how many chances would she have to spend an entire day snogging Black?
Slughorn's brow furrowed as he scanned the room. His eyes landed on something and lit up, a grin spreading across his aging face.
"Potter!" He snapped. "Potter, my boy, partner up with Miss Evans here."
Lily groaned, biting her lip and trying to keep a normal face.
"Problem solved, Miss Evans. I'm looking forward to seeing your work at the end of class."
Lily smiled weakly at her professor before he turned and walked back to the front of the classroom and fiddled with the potion that was brewing up there.
"Hullo Evans."
Lily startled at the voice so close to her ear. She scooted her chair towards the edge of the desk, away from her new companion.
"Potter."
"Now is that any way to great the person who is now responsible for fifty percent of your grade? I think I deserve a 'Hello James' at least." He grinned, his hazel eyes sparking with mischief.
Lily rolled her eyes. "Really?"
"Yes, really."
"You're so immature Potter."
"That's still not a 'Hello James'."
Lily bit her lip, avoiding his eyes. Weird things happened to her stomach when she looked at his eyes. "Hello James. Happy now?"
"Eh. Could use a little work, but we'll save that for another time." He replied, winking dramatically.
Lily shook her head, ignoring the stupid feeling in her stomach. This was James Potter for Merlin's sake! She turned away from him, focusing her attention on the list of ingredients they needed for the potion.
"Alright, we need powdered newt scales, a bat's wing, three petals from a moonflower, and a sprig of wolfsbane. You go grab it while I get everything else started." Lily instructed.
James mock saluted, then pushed his chair back and sauntered over to the ingredients cabinet on the other side of the room. Lily took the time he was gone to start the fire under the cauldron and begin boiling the water.
"Here you go Evans, everything you requested." James grinned, leaning over her and dropping everything on the table. Lily tensed. James's body was suddenly too close to hers for comfort. His messy black hair was tickling her shoulder, and heat radiated off of him, making her feel incredibly over-heated. He smelled like broom polish, fresh cut grass, cinnamon, and something that was uniquely James.
Lily cleared her throat, feeling her face burn with a tell-tale blush. James glanced up, then took a quick step back.
"Er…sorry 'bout that Evans."
Lily shook her head. "Let's just get to work."
"Right…right." James shoved his hand into his hair, pushing it back from his forehead. It was useless, though, because as soon as he let his hand drop back to his side his hair fell right back into place. "So what's first?"
Lily glanced down at her Potions book. "We add the newt scales and bat's wing, then stir counter-clockwise for twenty turns."
James nodded and set to work, following Lily's instructions as he went.
"Ten minutes class!" Professor Slughorn called out from his perch at the front of the room.
"Can you believe there're still people working?" James asked, nudging Lily with his elbow.
She looked away from the page she had been reading—or pretending to read—and looked at him. He was sitting comfortably in the hard, wooden chair, his hands folded behind his head, his feet crossed at the ankles and resting on the desk.
"Some people like to take their time." She replied diplomatically.
"No, most people just aren't as brilliant as we are." He grinned.
Lily rolled her eyes. "You really need to have your head deflated."
"C'mon Evans, it's not bragging if it's true! We've been done for thirty minutes now. We make a bloody brilliant team." James said. "Don't tell the boys I said that though, especially Sirius."
Before Lily could reply, Slughorn cleared his throat and announced that time was up.
"Now, students, as you know from the reading, Amortentia takes on the smell of what you desire the most. It mimics the smell of the person your heart desires. If you've prepared the potion correctly, you'll be able to detect the scents."
Lily leaned forward, over the cauldron, and inhaled. James did the same.
"What do you smell?" Lily asked, her brow furrowed. She didn't smell anything different from what she had been smelling for the past hour—broom polish, fresh cut grass, cinnamon, and James.
James looked at her and took another whiff. "I smell strawberries, and a little bit of vanilla, ink and parchment—like an old book."
Lily wrinkled her nose. She used strawberry scented shampoo, and vanilla lip gloss. And she was always reading or writing. Marlene always complained that she smelled like the library.
"Professor Slughorn," Lily called. "I think we may have done something wrong."
Slughorn walked over to the two and looked into the cauldron. "What do you think you've done wrong, my dear?"
"We must've messed something up. We can't smell anything from the potion. James just smells my shampoo, and I smell the same thing I've smelled the entire time I've been working with James—broom polish, grass, and cinnamon."
Professor Slughorn grinned down at both Lily and James. "There's absolutely nothing wrong with this potion, I can assure you."
Lily felt her face heat up with comprehension. What he was telling her, it couldn't be true, could it? She glanced over at James, who was looking at her with a strange glint in his eyes. She felt the weird flip in her stomach again as she locked eyes with him.
Oh Merlin, she fancied James Potter. And if he was smelling her shampoo, then that meant he fancied her too. Godric, she was in trouble.