Prologue

~ Parkinson ~

Pansy Parkinson taps her foot impatiently and lets out an annoyed sigh. She peers around the corner of the alcove she is hiding in, trying to find him.

Late as usual, she thinks.

Just as she is ready to give up and head to class, she spots a distinctively handsome face heading towards her. At the last second she reaches out of the alcove and grabs his arm, pulling him out of the sight of others passing down the hall.

"About time, Blaise! I thought you weren't coming."

"Sorry," he apologizes, "I got held up by Flitwick. He was remanding me for not studying hard enough. As if I care! I only came back because my mother threatened to disinherit me if I didn't pass my N.E.W.T.s."

Pansy rolls her eyes.

"Yes, yes, I know. Which is exactly why I figured you would want in on this."

"In on what?"

"My revenge plan," Pansy says, smiling evilly.

"Revenge on who?"

"On our bastard Head of House, Snape! It's his fault we're here!"

"I thought I just said it was my mother's fault?" Blaise asks.

"Ugh, I swear sometimes you can be as thick as Draco. If Snape hadn't turned out to be a traitorous muggle lover, then you would never have had to return to school. Do you really think that someone with your blood status would actually need his N.E.W.T.s under the Dark Lord's reign?"

"Well, no, I suppose not," he says, shrugging.

"Exactly! That is why Snape has to pay."

"How did the Dark Lord's fall impact you so greatly that you are this desperate for revenge?"

Pansy crosses her arms and puts on the nastiest sneer she can manage.

"Well, as of the end of the war the Malfoy name is now in tatters. As you know I was supposed to be marrying into that great family, but now they are practically destitute since the Ministry confiscated most of the contents of their Gringotts vault to help the rebuilding fund after the war." She pauses dramatically to flip her dark hair. "So, now I have had to return here to get my N.E.W.T.s to make myself a better catch, in order to snag someone better than Draco, or, Merlin forbid, get a job that pays enough money to keep me happy."

"I see. I must say, you have my interest, but you'll have to tell me more about your plan before I agree to help."

"Well, naturally, I wouldn't expect anything less from a fellow Slytherin."

Pansy starts describing her plan in great detail, pausing only when Blaise cannot contain his laughter. When she finishes he has a look of absolute glee on his face.

"Oh, yes. You can most definitely count me in!" Blaise exclaims.

"You can count me in too," says a light, female voice, from behind Pansy.

She flips around quickly, drawing her wand, and is surprised to see Lavender Brown smirking at her. The girl must have been listening just outside the alcove, and heard Pansy's whole plan.

"This doesn't concern you!" Pansy growls, raising her wand until it is level with Lavender's chest.

"No, I think it does. I know you are doing this to get back at Professor Snape, but didn't you say you would need a student as well? I know the perfect one. Using her will make things all the more worse for Snape," Lavender says.

"Who?" Blaise asks.

"Hermione Granger."

Blaise lets out an appreciative chuckle, and Pansy finds herself secretly agreeing that Lavender has a point.

"Why would you do this to your fellow house mate?" Pansy asks.

"Because I hate her," Lavender spits out. "That bitch is the reason my boyfriend dumped me. She won't even date him, but he still holds out hope and refuses to talk to me! I might have gotten over it if I were given the chance, but almost everyday I hear someone talking about the goddess-like war heroine, Hermione Granger!"

Pansy slowly lowers her wand. She can tell that Lavender is telling the truth behind her motive. If there is one thing Pansy can recognize, it's hatred.

"You'll need to collect some of her hair," Pansy tells her, stowing her wand back in her robes. "And you'll also need to be able to lace something you'll know she will eat."

Lavender gives a loud snort, and shoots Pansy sarcastic look.

"The hair will be easy, that mangy bush leaves loose strands everywhere. The food will be pretty simple as well. She keeps a tin of cookies from her mum in her nightstand. She has one every evening while studying in bed."

Pansy nods her approval.

"That will be perfect, the timing is right on as well. Snape has a cup of tea every night while grading papers," Pansy says, looking back and forth between Lavender and Blaise.

"How on earth are you going to manage getting that into Professor Snape's tea?" Lavender asks.

"He uses the same cup every night," Blaise says. "I have seen it separated from the rest of the school dishes a few times when I've snuck into the kitchens."

"We are going to lace the cup with it," Pansy says, smiling.

"And getting Professor Snape's hair? That can't be easy," Lavender offers.

"I have a plan."

"Do you have the potion?"

"I've had it for a month," Pansy tells the other girl. "They say it is more potent the longer it sits."

"It's true, I've seen it," Lavender assures her.

"This is going to be amazing!" Blaise laughs.

Pansy gives her two conspirators another evil smirk.

"Meet me here, tonight after dinner, and bring some of Granger's hair," Pansy tells Lavender. "I'll have the potion for you then. In the morning, after Granger leaves the dorm, sprinkle it on one of the cookies and cast a charm drawing her eyes to that one. I want this to happen tomorrow night."

Lavender nods, and then hurries off out of the alcove.

"Are you sure you can trust her?" Blaise asks.

"Yes, I'm sure. She is out for revenge, and I can sense that she, like me, will not rest until she gets it."

As Pansy enters the potion lab she glances around the room, her eyes glittering maliciously. She finds Granger easily enough; she is sitting next to Potter's ginger haired girlfriend.

Ginny Weasley, she scoffs inwardly, filthy blood traitor.

Pansy takes her normal seat next to Blaise, and notices Draco watching her from the back of the room. She shoots him a withering glare and turns her attention to the front of the class.

It doesn't take long for Snape to come busting into the classroom.

Oh, for Merlin's sake, cut the act already. Everyone knows you're a bleeding heart muggle lover.

He gives the instructions for the day's lesson and Pansy immediately sets to work on her potion. She tries to manage as best she can while being distracted, waiting for the opportune moment.

Here he comes.

Snape begins making his rounds, checking over everyone's potion.

"Your hue is off, Miss Parkinson," he tells her in his most bored tone. "Too many lacewing flies."

After he moves on, Pansy sneers and rolls her eyes.

Almost there… almost. Just one… more… cauldron… over. There!

Snape is standing right behind her, inspecting Neville Longbottom's potion. Pansy holds her wand under the table, and flicks it, causing a stack of books in the far corner of the room to topple. Snape's head, along with the rest of the class, swivels towards the distraction, allowing Blaise to levitate a frog spleen into Longbottom's potion.

The reaction is instantaneous. Neville's potion explodes loudly, spraying the Potion's master with the thick orange liquid, and causing him to fall backwards into Pansy.

Pansy places her hands on Snape's back, as if she is trying to help set him right, and carefully plucks one of his long black hairs. She quickly pockets the strand as Snape stands up.

He is giving Longbottom one of his legendary frightening glares, and the cowardly Gryffindor is shrinking beneath his gaze.

Pansy has to work hard to keep from laughing. As she gazes around the room she notices Lavender Brown staring at her questioningly. She gives the girl a very slight nod, and a small, satisfied, smile. Lavender lights up, and looks away, trying to remain inconspicuous.

Let the games begin.

~ Brown ~

Lavender wakes up in the best mood she has been in for as long as she can remember.

Today is the day, she thinks. I will knock that relationship wrecker off of her high horse. We'll see if Ron still wants her when he finds out she isn't the perfect little princess he has always imagined.

Lavender takes her time getting out of bed and heading to the bathroom. She wants to be sure she is the last to leave the seventh year girls dorm. She hums merrily as she styles her hair, taking extra care while curling her long golden locks.

"Are you coming, Lav?" Parvati calls from the door to the bathroom.

"Go ahead without me," Lavender tells her. "My hair is being stubborn today. I'll meet you in the Great Hall."

Parvati nods and hurries away, leaving Lavender all alone.

Perfect.

She rushes back into the girl's dorm and wards the door. Lavender pulls out the small phial of potion Pansy gave her the night before and uncorks it to add a long dark strand of hair belonging to Professor Snape. She gently swirls the potion until the hair has dissolved.

Mischievous smile on her face, Lavender makes her way to Hermione's bedside table and pulls out the tin of cookies. She opens the lid and very carefully drips some of the phial's contents onto a cookie in the center, and then adds a Notice Me charm.

As she re-corks the potion bottle, Lavender gets a subtle whiff of summer's breeze and leather.

I love the smell of Amortentia.

Author's Note: For those of you reading my other story The End is only the Beginning I promise I haven't forgotten about you. I'm working on it now. Life has been crazy and hectic (I graduate college in a couple months) and then when I do manage free time my muse doesn't cooperate. Hence how this story was born. If I've learned anything it's not to let an idea for a good story to slip away. This idea came to me and I can't banish it until I write it.

Also, in case anyone is wondering, this story is finished, but I'll only update every few days in order to showcase it to more readers.