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Belladonna 37

Olde Mac's Potions

17 December 1994

Ana ducked inside the potions shop just as a howling wind threatened to blow her away. When Sev asked her to pick up some supplies, boomslang skin, bicorn horn, and lacewing flies, in particular, Ana wanted to say no. But, she needed some supplies too and thought it would have been rotten luck to run into him on her free day. So while Sadie was fawning over the latest beauty charms, Ana decided to duck inside Olde Mac's Potions.

The bells on the door jingled at her arrival. She stomped her feet and brushed the fresh snow from her cloak as the shopkeep came around the corner.

"Ah, goo' mornin' to ya, Ana."

Mac, or Flynn Macintyre, was an older wizard in his forties or fifties. He was Irish born but his family moved to Scotland in his early childhood, so his accent was an odd mixture of the two.

"Morning, Mac? It's past noon," Ana replied with a smile.

"Tha' may be, but its mornin' somewhere, I imagine."

"Well, we're not in somewhere. We're in Hogsmeade."

"Aye, but Hogsmea' is somewhere to someone."

Ana rolled her eyes playfully.

"What can I get for ya?"

"I need some supplies," Ana said as she handed over a list. Mac reviewed it carefully before raising a brow in question. "Some of it is for Sev too."

"Tha' explains it then. While I get this together, why doncha check out my latest shipment of gillyflower. They're all the rage somewhere."

"Don't mind if I do; I've been looking for something new to play with."

Fred's breath caught in his throat the moment he heard Ana's voice. He knew she was alone; if her friends had been with her he was certain he'd have already heard Carrow or Baldock complain about the smell. A potions shop, a good potions shop, always carried an odor; it was inevitable really, with all the ingredients they stocked. A stronger odor was usually indicative of a better supply.

Fred remained hidden in the aisle, while Ana talked to Mac. He could hear the smile in her voice. And her laugh… oh! It was the sweetest sound. If he closed his eyes, he could see her beauty as though she was standing before him. If he inhaled deeply he could smell her fragrance as though she was standing beside him.

"You know, just because you stand perfectly still and quiet it doesn't make you invisible."

Fred's stomach dropped. It smelled like she was standing beside him because she was standing beside him.

Okay. Don't panic, Freddie. Play it cool.

"Bugger! And here I thought I'd mastered that technique." Fred grinned and opened one eye to look at her; she was smiling too but her eyes darted around quickly.

"George's not here," he said.

Ana's shoulders relaxed slightly. "Oh. Good. I…. I mean… I didn't…"

"It's alright. I know what you meant."

"Impressive, because I'm not sure I knew what I meant," Ana said.

This made Fred laugh softly; Ana loved the sound of his laugh. She could stand and listen to it all day, but she knew that was unwise. George may not have been there at the moment, but there was no telling how long that moment would last. The boy seemed to have a radar that went off every time Ana was in close proximity to Fred.

She knew she shouldn't stick around and risk George finding them alone together; he was probably already on his way. But the pull Ana felt for Fred, like a powerful summoning charm, was too strong for her to simply walk away. What's more, she didn't want to.

"So, what were you doing before I interrupted your invisibility?"

"So you admit I have mastered the technique!" Fred teased back.

"I made no such claim."

"I was debating on what product to get. Hey! I have a hypothetical question for you."

"Ugh! It's Saturday. I don't feel like thinking, hypothetically or otherwise."

Fred smirked. "Fair enough, but it's about potion making."

Ana sighed. "You sure know how to charm a girl, don't you? Go on then."

"Alright, so say, hypothetically, you wanted to create a potion that would cause a nosebleed impervious to a simple staunching charm, what would you use?"

"How quickly do you want the bleeding to occur?"

"Instantly."

Ana's brows rose in surprise.

"Or…within five minutes at least."

Ana still looked a little skeptical.

"No more than ten at the most."

Ana smiled. "Anything I know that would work instantly is too unreliable for mixing and far too toxic for consumption." She scanned the shelf before them and began pointing out different herbs and ingredients.

"You don't want to use that; it's been known to cause hives with prolonged exposure. This is very effective, but it causes severe skin discoloration and is thus highly identifiable. This? Ugh. Very bitter; no one would want to buy it. What you need is… No… No… No…"

Ana searched up and down the shelf and around to the next aisle before finding what she was looking for. Fred followed her obediently and enthusiastically. He loved watching her talk about potions. He loved the way her face would light up and how her eyes shone. This was her element and she was beautiful in it. It was a beauty that tore at his core.

"Aha! This is what you need."

Fred held the twiggy-sprig she handed him up to his face. "This is used in pepper-up potion."

"And do you know why?" she asked.

Of course, Fred knew why, but he wasn't about to deny himself a little more time with her. He shrugged.

"Because it clears the sinuses. A dry nasal cavity is prone to bleeding upon irritation. So use that to dry the cavity, add…this to irritate; this will also act as an accelerant so use more or less to vary your timing. And this," she added yet another ingredient into his hands, "will counter-act a staunching charm while adding a sweet but tangy flavor. Of course, then you'll need something that would actually stop the bleeding."

"Any recommendations?"

"I wouldn't want to do all the work for you." Ana smirked before quickly adding, "This is all hypothetical of course."

"Oh, of course."

Ana knew that every second she spent with Fred gave George more time to butt his nose in, but she still couldn't bring herself to leave. Especially not after their fingers had grazed while she handed him the sprig. Her stomach was still doing its electrified dance. But Fred always seemed to know what she was thinking.

"He's not coming, you know," he said softly.

"Who?"

"George. He's not coming in here. He's busy securing a date for the ball; so I told him I'd fetch the supplies. We're meeting up later at The Three Broomsticks."

"So he's consumed with ball-mania too?"

"Isn't everyone?"

Ana grimaced. The Yule Ball was not a topic she wished to discuss. Her fears about Sev's interference had been warranted. Her disappointment must have shown on her face, but this time Fred misread it.

"Don't worry. I'm sure Kowalski will see to it that your night is just as perfect," Fred said a little bitterly.

"Darek? Why would he do that?"

"Well, because he's your date…isn't he?"

"Well if he is then that's news to me, and I don't think Smith would appreciate it very much, seeing as he asked her last week."

"Really?"

"Yeah; he told me about it himself, and Sadie confirmed it with her rumor mill."

"Oh. So you're going with Pucey then?"

"Guess again."

"Not… Not Montague; he's not right for you."

"Eww! Mother of Merlin! No! I wouldn't go with Graham if he were the last man on earth!"

"Then who are you going with?"

"Surely you've noticed the sudden influx of detention mates of the male variety? I'm not going with anyone. Well, I was going to go with Hes; I thought we were doing this whole girl-power-don't-need-a-man-to-have-fun thing, but Duncan just asked her, so… There goes that plan."

Ana didn't mean to sound so bitter towards Hestia. Hes was her best friend and Ana knew she was terrified of anyone finding out the truth. She had to keep up pretenses. Ana didn't necessarily like that she kept using Duncan as a cover, but she suspected Duncan had his own reasons for using Hes as well.

Fred didn't know any of that, however. Fred couldn't know any of that. All he knew was that Ana was some hopeless girl who couldn't get a date to the most anticipated ball of the century. The way he was staring blankly at her proved that theory. Suddenly that electrified dance that her stomach was doing turned into something more unsettling. Ana had to get away.

"Ana!"

Thank the Mother! "That's Mac. My order is ready. I should go," Ana said quickly before leaving just as quickly. Fred was still staring after her.

This was impossible. Ana had to have a date for the ball already; Fred was certain of it. How could she not? Were the dingbats really that daft? Were they really going to let some greasy git stand between them and the most beautiful girl on the planet?

Was he?

Fred dropped his items on a nearby shelf and took off after her, literally running into her just outside the shop.

"Umph! What…? Fred?"

"Shh. Come with me."

Fred took her by the shoulders and gently led her down the alley beside the shop.

"What's going on? What's this all about, Fred?" After his silent stare, the last thing Ana expected was to be accosted by Fred outside the shop, but Fred didn't respond until they were safely behind the buildings and out of sight.

"Gototheballwithme," he said quickly. It actually took Ana a moment to process his request and when she did she felt embarrassed and slightly horrified rather than delighted.

"I am not a charity case," she said.

"What?"

"Maybe I shouldn't have gone off about the ball like that. I'm glad Hes has a date; I know how important it is for her. And yeah, it sucks that Sev has chosen this year to start his over-protective-father spiel; maybe it's in some poor attempt to make up for the colossal mess he made of it every year prior with all his secrets and lies. But don't for one bleeding second think that I'll make good bait for a pity date because I promise you, I won't."

Fred blinked several times in rapid succession. How had he made such a mess of this? This wasn't the reaction he wanted to cause. He didn't mean to make her feel or even think he was taking pity on her. He had to make her see the truth.

He took her face in both of his hands and stepped in close. The action was enough to shock her into silence.

"You are not a charity case. You are nobody's pity-date. You are…"

Fred's voice caught in his throat as his mind finally processed just how close they were. The tips of their noses were touching. All he'd have to do is tilt her head a little to the side and he could kiss her. He wanted to kiss her. More than anything he wanted to kiss her; his hands were consumed with fire at the mere thought of it, but he wouldn't do it until he knew she wanted it too.

"Ana," he swallowed roughly. "You are the most amazing girl I've ever met. And I…I've been such an idiot for far longer than I care to admit. I don't want to be that idiot anymore. I just want to be with you. Please…say you'll take pity on me, and accompany me to the ball."

"You're…serious."

"I don't think I've ever been more serious."

It was true; Ana could see it in his eyes. She'd caught glimpses of it in years past, but it was never this intense. It was stunningly beautiful and slightly overwhelming.

"Why?"

"Why?" Fred pulled back slightly to look into her eyes.

"I…I mean h-how? How can you look at me like that? How can you say something like that? After what I did to you last year, I…I don't deserve it. I was horrible to you; I was wicked. I… I didn't mean any of it, of course. It was all lies and I'm so, so sorry. You didn't deserve any of it; you're worth so much more…"

"Shh. Shh. It's okay. I know." Fred used his thumbs to brush away her tears. "I knew it wasn't you then, and I know why you did it; your letter explained everything. We both made mistakes, so let's resolve them now."

"Letter? What letter?"

"The one you sent over summer holiday. I recognized your handwriting. It was you; I know it was you."

"I…I didn't send any letter."

"No?"

Ana shook her head, which was still locked inside Fred's hands.

"That doesn't matter," Fred said after a short pause while shaking his head too. "We'll work that mystery later. The point is, I know you didn't mean what you said. And I know you've been hurting ever since because I've been hurting too. Ana, I… I think I might be mad for you. So please, will you go to the ball with me?"

Well...there it is. Fred's confession, but wait...what was Ana's response? Oh yeah, that's right...You'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out. I know. I'm cruel, but you love me anyway.