The Amorus Imedius Potion
A/N: After hiding as a mere reviewer and beta reader for months, I guess I'm ready to make my debut as an actual writer. Though this is about a love potion, my own lovely beta reader Rachel (many thanks) was nice enough to plug it by saying, "I'm yet to see a love potion one that hasn't made me cringe within the first hundred words, apart from this luverly little one." And there's a recommendation if ever you needed one. By the way, I wrote all of this HTML stuff from scratch, so if it's really messed up, blame that on the fact that I haven't the slightest idea what I'm doing. ::grin::
Disclaimer: All of the following characters, names and places are property of JK Rowling. Suing me would cost you more money than it'd earn you.
Part One: Potions
"Potter! There will be no smirking in my classroom! Five points from Gryffindor for that idiot smile on your face."
Harry opened his mouth, unable to believe what he'd just heard, but shut it again after a murderous look from Hermione. Snape was in his foulest mood yet this year, and infractions in his class now included sneezing, ear wiggling and displaying any emotion other than extremely studious unhappiness. Gryffindor had already lost thirty points in the first half-hour of the lesson alone. Of course, the Slytherins were exempt from any punishments within Snape's dungeon, and were going out of their way to taunt the Gryffindors, all of whom were frowning intently at their cauldrons while the Slytherins sniggered and sneezed repeatedly.
Harry, who hadn't even been aware he had been grinning in the first place, maybe because Cho Chang had just entered his thoughts (the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw Quidditch match was two days away), set his face into an intently blank expression and added three carefully level spoonfuls of diced weasel liver into his potion.
Snape, pacing the room between the cauldrons, was announcing possible results of the rather complicated potion they were now brewing. "If you managed to get the Instagrow Infusion to the right consistency, which I doubt any of you did, it will cause any living thing to grow to its full potential—or well past it, if you add too much—within seconds. Just think of how you could cheat—" Here he sent a dark look at Harry and Ron, who blanched. "—In Professor Sprout's class with even a vial of this. However, none of you will be taking any of this outside of the dungeon. What do you want?"
Harry's head snapped up as he saw Fred Weasley pushing open the thick iron door to the dungeon. "Professor McGonagall asked me to bring you this, sir," he said, waggling a piece of parchment as if he needed proof. His flaming red hair and freckles stood out even more against the drab backdrop of cold gray stone. With a wicked grin on his face, Fred sauntered down to Snape, who was standing at the front of the room muttering about the ridiculous number of intrusions during his lectures. He handed him the scrap of parchment, turned on his heel, and—while Snape was scanning the document—flipped something into Neville's cauldron as he passed.
Neville cried out in frightened indignation, and then immediately clamped his lips shut as was Snape looking angry enough to lunge at him and drown him in his own potion. Behind him, Harry heard the iron door clang shut as Fred exited, whistling softy.
"Longbottom! Afraid of your own reflection in the potion again?"
Beside Harry, Hermione made a noise, and then muffled it as Snape's oily black eyes flashed at her.
"Well, well, well, Miss Granger, enamored of Longbottom, are we? Let's see how much he likes you." He sent a disparaging glance into Neville's cauldron. "It seems Longbottom's potion has gone awry. What a surprise. If the potion has been brewed correctly, it will be ready for use in ten minutes. At that time, we'll make a cocktail of it for Miss Granger here. Either she will grow to her full height and size, or . . . we shall have quite a show. Continue!"
Harry exchanged extremely alarmed looks with Ron, who was sitting on his other side. Draco Malfoy was high-fiving Goyle. Pansy Parkinson was tittering madly. Hermione, however, looked resolute. Her eyes down on her cauldron, she was whispering instructions to Neville from the corner of her mouth. Harry heard her say, "Now take a scoopful of the crushed beetle eyes---" before he choked in surprise.
Snape was standing directly behind Hermione. "Miss Granger," he said, almost pleasantly. Hermione stiffened. "Yes, I'd forgotten about your cheating ways. You will leave the room until the potion is ready to be used."
Ashen, Hermione stumbled to the iron door, shooting frightened looks at Harry and Ron as she went. Harry made a lightning-quick examination of Ron, who was redder in the cheeks than in the hair, clenching his fists in an obvious attempt not to strangle Snape or kill Fred, whichever he could manage first. Moon-faced Neville was blubbering quietly over his failed potion, which was as clear as water when it was supposed to be a bright, sparkling blue.
Ten minutes passed without any change to the potion. Neville seemed completely unable to function. Harry, who might have been able to help him if he'd started again at the very beginning, was powerless to resurrect a botched potion. With a cruel smile splitting his greasy features, Snape went to fetch Hermione from the corridor.
"Whatever Snape does to her, Madam Pomfrey should be able to fix it soon enough," Harry murmured to Ron, who shook his head mutely. His blotchy face was struggling between rage and apprehension.
Snape, looking happier than he had all year, herded the pale Hermione down to the front of the room and instructed her to sit on a metal stool in front of his desk. He produced a tiny glass vial from his pocket and filled it with Neville's clear liquid with an eye-dropper. It looked exactly like plain water, but there was no telling what sort of magical properties it could have.
"Drink it all, Miss Granger, or three hundred points from Gryffindor."
Hand shaking slightly, Hermione raised the vial to her lips.
"Oh, don't," whimpered Lavender Brown involuntarily. Neville hid his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking.
Eyes closed, Hermione drained the vial in one long gulp.
