A little-known fact about Lily Evans is that she loved animals. Before she came to Hogwarts, she had a dog, a cat, a goldfish, and two horses.

Of course, she left all of these but the cat behind when she left for schooling.

But she wished she could bring her horses. Lily loved her horses, Buttermilk and Dasher. They were her most prized possessions and she took better care of them than the rest of her family could ever hope to accomplish. During the summers when she went home, she spent almost all of her time out at the lake house an hour from town grooming and riding the horses. Petunia thought she was a freak – when her parents offered to get her a horse as well, she turned them down, as she thought they were 'disgusting creatures not worthy of my attention.'

Lily thought Petunia sounded like a spoiled brat.

Because of all of her time spent with horses, Lily grew a deep affection for them. When around the horses in the barn, she felt completely at home. Riding her first horse was her fondest and most treasured memory.

Then there was the smell. Most people couldn't stand the smell of horses – the manure, the hay, the flies that were attracted to a horse's skin – but Lily wasn't one of these people. She breathed in air that smelled like a horse-infested barn and she was in heaven. She loved those horses, and they loved her.

*!*!*!*

"Now, class, today we are learning about the most difficult and complex potions there are in this world," Professor Slughorn said to the class. "This one here," he pointed at the first jug, "is Amortenia. Who can tell me what that is?"

Lily raised her had. "It's the strongest love potion in the world, sir," she said when he pointed at her.

"Yes, yes, of course!" Slughorn said jovially. "Now, this potion smells different to each person according to what they love and feel affection for. Miss Evans, what do you smell?"

Lily leaned in towards the pot and inhaled deeply. She sighed in content as images of Buttermilk and Dasher popped into her mind.

"I smell horses."

Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: I do not own. So do not sue.