Wonder Witch Love Potion #69
Hermione finally gets answers, but they only lead to far more questions. And then there is that little problem of the mess she and Ron made in everybody's lives and the complete toss up of her relationships… Oh, gads, what is she to do?
Resolving A Misunderstanding
Hermione stood there, watching him laugh at her, feeling the sudden urge to jinx him.
"It is my great aunt's house on my mother's side; actually it was my great grandfathers' house. My great aunt recently passed away, and the house was left to me," he said, shaking his head. "I didn't wish to take you to my father's… It was the better of my two options, really."
"You own that house?" she asked, completely stunned.
"Yes, I own property. I have the house I grew up in, my father's house, which I use primarily as a potions lab, and my great aunt's home, where I have been living since her recent death." He indicated she should sit down with a subtle wave of his hand. "As for your other questions, I think we really need to talk."
"My other questions?" she asked suspiciously, crossing her arms again.
"Yes, about us," he said smoothly. "I believe you have brewed the Mooning-Dream and Love-Drawing Potions, and I also know why you have. I'm rather impressed that you were obviously able to do so, by the way, as they are very difficult to brew. However, I also know you have taken them—twice—for reasons I can only speculate. And as per the effect of the Love-Drawing Potion, I am and have been drawn to you both times."
"You know about these potions?" she asked, suddenly relieved to be talking to him. She sat down, hoping he'd give her the answers she needed and not resort to his old acerbic self.
"Yes, of course I do," he said, his eyes narrowing again. "The Love-Drawing potion will draw you toward your soul mate, allowing you to meet. The Mooning-Dream Potion creates dreams and fantasies of someone who you have an infatuation for, deeply admire, and have always wanted to know in an intimate way. You have apparently taken both."
"Oh, my, you and me—we're—you're telling me we are soul mates?" she stammered, aghast, although it clearly sounded like a question. He nodded. "We—you and me—we were drawn together by… But I didn't take the potion, Ron did! So did Ginny, George, and the girls… How did it affect me?"
He crossed his arms, looking at her intently as if she were lying to him. "I clearly felt the effects of the Love-Drawing Potion. I was at the opera performance of The Magical Enchanted Night of the Nightingale Song that night, and when I saw you… Well, I had no intention of seeking you out, but I was completely compelled to do so. I didn't even have to follow you; I simply knew where you'd be. That is the effect of the potion; it enhances your magical signature so that it acts like a beacon to the one you're meant to attract. Likewise, I felt it very strongly the night you went to Manchester, only at first I thought it was an urge to go play darts. The facts of our meetings clearly indicate to me you were under the Mooning-Dream Potion as well."
"I didn't take the potion." Hermione was racking her brain trying to remember. She quickly mentally retraced her actions the last few days, starting when Ron had screwed up and mixed the vials, remembering the afternoon brewing the potions, bottling them and cleaning up her mess, then the next morning… and she remembered the exploded boxes in her lounge, the mess it made of her flat. "I never ate a truffle. I'd remember if I had…" She shook her head to try and clear her thoughts, so she could focus. "You must be mistaken."
"All right, if you say so," he said although his tone was slightly sharp.
She didn't like his accusation that she was lying and looked at him angrily. "I did not take the potions! I admit to making them, to prove a point to someone, but I never tried experimenting with them." She suddenly realized the time. "Oh, gods! I'm suppose to meet with George to tell him… Okay, let's say I did take the potions, both of them. What would happen?"
Severus lips curled up into a subtle smirk. "Reason it out."
She looked at him and gritted her teeth. So, you are going to start acting like the professor, are you? "All right, if the Love-Drawing Potion brings you and your soul mate together and the Mooning-Dream Potion creates fantasies of someone… who you've wanted to be intimate with, only now you're faced with your soul mate, drawn together, and you are in a heightened awareness of… you'd act on your fantasy with the person you are—drawn to! Oh, Merlin's balls! That means, that George and Susan are—soul mates, which would explain Ron shagging Megan, and Neville mysteriously arriving and leaving with Hannah Abbott! I have to go!" Hermione sprang to her feet.
"Go where?" he asked, apparently miffed with her, rising as well.
"Diagon Alley, to see George and everyone," she turned to face him as she spoke, and started walking backwards. "He said that everyone who'd eaten the truffles would be there. I now know what happened! I have to go and help sort this out!"
"Sort what out?" he asked as Hermione Apparated next to the phone booth.
—{ }—
Hermione Disapparated into the alleyway known to many as the Apparition site of Diagon Alley. Well, one of five such sites for the street. She moved forward to exit, before someone could Apparated onto her, causing an accidental convergence, and realized someone was having a fight just beyond the borganvilla bush.
"It cannot be mine."
"He is yours," a female voice answered with the unmistakable inflection of someone who was obviously crying. "I just never had the chance to tell you."
"He's two! We weren't together three years ago!" The male voice stated, and Hermione froze as she realized it was Ron.
"He's almost sixteen months! We were together two years ago!" the girl snapped back, and Hermione distinctly identified her as Lavender Brown. "I conceived the night of the Ministry's Victory party."
That was the night Ron and I started dating. He told me he wanted to marry me and I thought he was just drunk… Oh, Merlin!There was another soft pop behind her, but Hermione was riveted to the spot, too incensed to care.
"I used a Contraception Charm that night, so it's not mine," Ron stated firmly.
That night—after that party! Wait…He's not denying they'd had sex, only that he isn't the father!Hermione was finding it hard to breathe. First Megan and now I find out he's been shagging Lavender!
"Apparently your charm didn't work," Lavender said accusingly. "Or did you only cast it that one time? Because as I recall, we had nearly three rounds that night—and the next morning! You couldn't get enough of me. You said you loved me!"
"I was drunk that night," Ron snarled angrily.
And you said you loved me—so we started dating seriously—and I believed you… "You fucking bloody wanker." Hermione moaned, tears now streaming down her cheeks. "How could I be such a mug?"
"You weren't drunk the next morning when we had at it again!" Lavender shrieked. "It's just like you did me in school!"
"Calm down," Ron snapped.
"I won't calm down! You have me shag you your sixth year for your birthday, then turn around and start ignoring me—throwing me over for that Hermione Granger chit. Then at the victory party you do the same thing—shag me, and then the next edition I read in the Prophet you're engaged to Hermione Granger! Well, Ron, he is yours, and I have the proof filed at St. Mungo's, so this time you have to own up to your responsibilities!"
Hermione felt strong hands turn her, pulling her into an embrace against a firm chest. "You don't need to be hearing this," Severus said softly in her ear. "You deserve better."
Hermione's mind was in too much of a turmoil to wonder if he meant himself, but he was absolutely right. She deserved better. She hugged him, once again needing comfort from Ron's actions. Severus moved as if to Apparate them away, and she jerked back. "No, I do need to hear this. I don't want—I will have to face him, and now is as good a time as any."
"My brave little Gryffindor," Severus said, sliding his hand down her hair.
The action was soothing and gave her strength. "You're about to see a Gryffindor roar." Hermione kissed his cheek, and then turned away to go face the couple and tell Ron off.
—{ }—
Everyone stood around George's shop talking at once. Severus stood patiently in the background with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. Megan was trying to hide from Hermione behind Ron and George. George was holding Susan's hand and trying to get everyone to quiet down. Susan was talking to Ginny and Harry. Angelina and Lee were talking with Neville and Hannah, explaining that they were unwitting participants in a product testing that went really wrong. Neville looked really confused. However, the noise level was steadily climbing with everyone talking all at once.
Harry finally ended the chatter by setting off sparks with his wand. "All right, Hermione, what exactly is this Love Potion you made?"
"I didn't make a Love Potion! It was a potion mishap! Potions which were not intended for the shop were mixed together and inadvertently used in a product," Hermione stated for the seventh time, although she'd looked pointedly at Ron as she said 'mishap' and 'used in a potion,' making Ron scowl and his ears turn red. She listed off the potions she had made for the shop, stating that she'd clearly labeled them, and wrote out a list of which potion were for which product. "I had also brewed the Mooning-Dreams Potion and the Love-Drawing Potion as an experiment for an article I wrote—but I never ever intended them to be used in the shop!"
"So, what exactly do they do?" Harry asked.
"And which ones did we test?" Angelina asked.
"We were supposed to be making Romantic Daydream Potion for the Wonder Witch Romantic Interlude Truffles, which induce a fifteen minute daydream, and Wonder Witch Romantic Dreams Truffles, which give you a dream fantasy that can last for an hour. I think that Ron—the potions were mixed up, and the ones I made for an article I was writing got mixed in," Hermione explained, nearly blaming Ron, but catching herself in time, not really wanting to start a fight. "The colors of the potions for the dreams products are really close in color to the two potions I was experimenting with."
"So, what do the ones you didn't mean for us to test do?" Angelina asked, crossing her arms.
Hermione tried to explain what Severus had told her in the park.
"But the potion didn't affect me at all," Ginny stated.
Severus stepped forward and everyone looked at him. "When you went home, who came to see you?" Severus asked, patiently.
"Nobody!" Ginny stated.
"Nobody? You didn't see anyone for the first five hours after taking the potion?" Severus asked as if she were his student again.
"Five hours! It only lasted four," George said stunned.
"No, if you consume the potion it will last five to six hours," Severus stated firmly and turned to Hermione. "Yours lasted only four because you absorbed the potion through your skin and inhaled the fumes."
Hermione looked at him, stunned. "Absorbed thought my skin—and inhaled…? I didn't… Oh, I could have—but I didn't tell you that! How did you know that?"
"Easily. I saw it in your mind," he said smoothly. "You may berate me later." He turned back to Ginny to avoid a scene. "So Miss Weasley, whom did you see that night?"
"I only saw Harry. We were going to dinner that night and…"
"Precisely," Severus said smoothly. "Apparently you and Potter are soul mates. Congratulations."
"That means I am soul mates with Hannah?" Neville asked, looking stunned and pleased at the same time.
"Apparently," Severus stated. "Live long and prosper; only please, Miss Abbott, if you procreate, try and instill your capabilities into your children."
"What about us?" Lee asked before either Neville or Hannah had a chance to retort. He was still standing behind Angelina, his hand lovingly on her arm.
"I believe it was you, Miss Johnson, who tested the errant truffles?" Severus asked, and Angelina nodded. "So where did you go after taking the potion?"
"Hogsmeade," Angelina stated, obviously thinking rather hard by her expression.
"Hogsmeade?" Severus asked as if expecting more information from her. "And did Mr. Jordan approach you in Hogsmeade?"
"Ah, no," Angelina said. "We met at the graves for the fallen of the last battle."
"And whom were you pining for?" Severus asked pointedly.
Angelina looked confused. "Pining? I wasn't… I went to see Fred's grave."
Severus took a deep breath. "Let me ask this again; why did you go to see Fred's grave."
Angelina crossed her arms again. "I was thinking about him and how much of life he'd missed out on. I usually stop by to see his grave when I go to Hogsmeade. Lee was—he was standing next to Fred's grave giving his respects too."
"And what happened next?" Severus asked, obviously trying to draw her out.
"We went to the Three Broomsticks, had a few drinks and talked," Lee stated.
Severus arched one eyebrow at him. "Really? Is that all?"
Lee looked at Severus, offended, but Angelina suddenly looked up, her mouth open as if she'd just caught on. "No. Okay, think this out like a product evaluation. I went to Hogsmeade because I was supposed to check on the new premises, but I felt compelled to go see Fred's grave. That would be an expected affect, right?" Angelina asked.
Severus shook his head. "Possibly, but unlikely. What happened next?"
"Lee saw me and walked over, and he said hello. I started crying, and he hugged me while I cried on his shoulder. But I didn't feel anything but sadness, sorrow for the loss of Fred. After a while, we walked back to Hogsmeade together, and yes, we went to the Three Broomsticks, had drinks and talked, reminiscing about Fred. No, I don't think I felt any pull, unusual attraction, or odd urges—just the normal feelings of friendship and familiarity. We ordered more butterbeers, and we just started talking about school, all the pranks our last year, and well, it grew late so we went to dinner." She looked at Lee and smiled. "Nothing untoward, but I did discover that we have a lot in common."
"It could be that you were drawn to Fred's grave because he was your soul mate, but the potions don't normally work when one partner or soul mate is dead. It's also possible you and Mr. Jordan were drawn to each other, but the sequence isn't right," Severus amended, seeing Lee's scowl. His statement started a buzz of conversations. "QUIET. One at a time. Mr. Jordan, why were you in Hogsmeade?"
"I wanted to get some of my mum's favorite chocolates from Honeydukes. It was her birthday… and I had this urge to see Fred's grave—again," Lee replied. "I was standing there when Angelina walked up."
"Then your relationship with Miss Johnson came about naturally," Severus stated. "If it was the potions, she would have been there before you. It's possible, Miss Johnson, did not eat a contaminated chocolate, or you hadn't had any previous infatuations for each other."
"What about me?" Susan asked. "And Megan? Does that mean that we are—we're supposed to be with George and Ron?"
"If that is who was drawn to you, then, yes, you have met your soul mate. If you acted on lust, it's possible that you had a long unrequited infatuation for each other," Severus said, as if lecturing her, and Susan looked incensed. "Miss Bones, with whom did you end up in their company? Was it George or Ron Weasley?"
"It was George," she admitted, blushing.
Severus smirked at her. "Then, it is safe to assume that if he was drawn to you, inexplicitly and without any previous reason to do so, then it's quite possible that, yes, you are soul mates," he said calmly. "If, in fact, you simply copulated due to raging hormones heightened by the effects of the combination of the potions, then I suggest you spend more time to get to know each other and discover for yourselves if you are compatible."
He tilted his head to look at Megan, who was still trying to distance herself from Hermione behind Ron, Susan, and George. "Miss Jones, the same would apply for you and Ronald Weasley, since I presume you were with Ronald, considering that you two are the only other obvious couple present. If that is the case, I wish you well."
Severus turned to go. He glanced at Hermione with a look of longing and dejection as he walked away. Hermione, feeling torn between following him and staying and aide her friends and, not wanting to be in the same room with Ron any longer than she had too, opted to follow Severus.
However, Ron had the same idea, and he'd bolted for the door to follow Severus, managing to get out of the door ahead of her. "And you?" he asked, as if a challenge. "What about you. Why are you here?"
Severus inhaled sharply then turned to face him. "I was drawn to Hermione. And since she combined the potions, I was mooning for her as she was for me," he said. "Besides, you don't think she would have stayed with you, your love child, and your new love interest, do you? You don't deserve her."
"Severus!" Hermione admonished him as she sidestepped Ron. "Look, Ron, we were poorly matched. Right now, I am still so vexed with you I simply want to curse you into next week! You were cheating on me, and there is no way you can deny it, not now! You even got Lavender Brown pregnant, the very day before you asked me—it doesn't matter. Even if I did take you back, which I seriously just can't do, I could never trust you like I had ever again. Well, maybe I could learn to a little, but it would always be on my mind each time you worked late or went anywhere. I'd wonder, and I'd think the worst. It's not fair, and I know I can't live like that. It will have to be this way. Besides, I—if these potions match you to your soul mate, then why weren't you drawn to me? Why were you shagging Megan instead? Eh? Yet, according to Severus, he was attracted to me—twice! What that means, Ronald, is that if I was affected by these potions it is Severus, not you, who… I suppose if I believe that the potion did what it was supposed to do, then I am soul mates with Severus, and I should see where this will go."
Severus looked at Hermione in shock. "Don't be like that, Severus, we still have to talk about this. I'm not saying it will work out with you either, but I cannot deny what happened and what it means."
"So, we're through?" Ron asked, his shoulders slumping.
Hermione turned to Ron, placing her hand on his arm. "You have to find out what you want, Ron. You and Lavender are not through yet, and you have a child with her. You also have Megan to consider, and truthfully, I think she may be better suited for you than either Lavender or I am. Although right now, I wouldn't wish you on anyone! Someday, in the future, I hope we can be friends again, like we used to be. But putting this behind us—I don't know. You really hurt me, and I hurt you. We will need to work this out eventually, but not now. I need time away from you. But I think we will be okay. I've known you too long." Ron hugged her tightly, burying his face in her hair. His action angered her, and she wanted to shove him away, but she could feel his anguish, which tugged at her heart. Still, she tried to shove him off, but he hugged her tighter, and she had no other option than to simply pat his back until he let go. "It'll be all right, it'll take time."
"I know, but I still love you," Ron confessed.
"I love you, too. That's what really hurts," she said softly. "But, in time, I think we will both realize it's a brother-sister kind of love, like long time best friends. At least, I hope someday when the pain goes away and I can stand… I hope it will become that way again."
When Ron let go and turned to go back inside, Hermione turned to try and find Severus.
He was gone.
She ran down the street, turning and running the other way, Apparating to the far end of the street before realizing he was simply gone. She felt a sudden panic, a deep fear that he'd given up on her after seeing Ron hug her.
—{ }—
Severus went home and sat down, staring at the empty grate. He was right, she had absorbed the Love-Drawing and Mooning Potions through her skin. He smirked at the memories he'd seen in her mind, the carelessness that would have infuriated him except that this time such imbecilic actions actually worked in his favor.
However, she had just broken up with Weasley, right there in the doorway to his brother's shop, and they still had to resolve that breakup. Hermione needs time. I can wait a day or two for her to think this out. She did say she likes me, but then told me she didn't think we would work out. She is confused, that's all it is.
His great aunt's house-elf, Peeper, peeked around the chair next to him. Still afraid of the big bad Death Eater, are we, Peeper?"Yes?" Severus asked slowly.
"Is the miss coming to dinner, sir?" she squeaked.
"No, Peeper, she will not be joining me tonight."
The house-elf turned her head to look in the direction of the kitchen, then at him, and then at the dining room.
Severus watched the young elf's distress in his peripheral vision with a sense of amusement. "You may fix me a plate and set the table in the kitchen, and clear the dining room. I'll be in in a moment."
The elf actually looked relieved. "Yes, master, sir; Peeper will make you a plate."
And it will be heaping full too. That elf thinks I'm too thin and undernourished, he thought, amused. Still, it was nice to have a house-elf. He remembered hearing some bloody nonsense of a Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare, which Hermione had tried organizing as a student. I wonder how she will react to Peeper? It seemed that every house-elf in Hogwarts was afraid of her at one point, over hats. I will have to devise an order for Peeper regarding any article of clothing Hermione gives, hands, or leaves around for Peeper to be given to me. If she doesn't accept the item, it's not the same…
But I want Hermione here, with me, eventually. He looked around the mantel and side table, bookshelves and endtable, seeing the moving faces of his ancestors. At least none of the portraits hate me or make disparaging remarks. His grandfather had never really hated him, but had disowned his mum for her choice of husband. However, his great grandfather had apparently been more reasonable, leaving the house to him, since his own sons had died at fourty-nine and sixty-three. Still, his great aunt had been afraid of him, even though Severus had placed every ward he knew for her protection and set the house under the Fidelis Charm. Now the Charm had been broken and reset, making Peeper the current Secret Keeper.
He looked around the room as he rose to go eat. The deep rose carpet, elegant antique furnishings were upholstered to match the drapes and linens. All with this cabbage rose print my great aunt must have loved so much to have used it everywhere! She'd even put lace doilies on every surface, including the armrests and backs of the chairs and sofa.Then there were the kittens: figurines, plates, pictures, pillows… when he'd come to see her, he'd always expected to see a dozen stray cats living in the house. Thank Merlin, she was allergic to fur! In addition, there were vases of ever-lasting roses on every table. Merlin, I hate those roses! He just hadn't gotten around to disposing of them yet.
Still, between this house and my father's, this is the one I will live in with Hermione.
—{ }—
Author's Notes:
I want to give a great big thank you hug to MadBrilliant for combing through this to point out my numerous errors and help me make this presentable for reading. You're the best, thank you!