Love Potion No. 9 ¾
Chapter 1: Exhilaro venenum
By Sango-sama

Author's notes: Alright. I'm a bit of a newbie to Harry Potter fandom, but I have read all the books thus far and have seen the movie twice, so hopefully, I don't make myself look like an idiot here. This is the first fic I've done for Harry Potter since I normally write Inu-Yasha fics, so if you're gonna flame, please try and do so constructively.

I'd say this probably falls under the fifth year or later type of fic, and though it doesn't have much in the way of romance yet, I tend to lead towards couples who banter. Read into that all you like. ^_^

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. But they sure are fun to borrow!

**********************************************************************

The halls of Hogwarts were dark and ominous. The flickering candles on the walls barely casting enough light to illuminate the majority of the immense, drafty halls, so being able to see the movement of the stairs or the resident ghosts going out on nightly visits was almost out of the question. The heavy tapestries fluttered as a draft whistled through the corridors.

Few students dared to emerge from their dormitories at night, since it was common knowledge that Filch prowled the halls with his cat, Mrs. Norris, eager to subject whomever he could get his arthritic fingers on to a bit of quality time cleaning the dungeon with a toothbrush.

A silence loomed over the halls, carrying even the lightest of noises to waiting, feline ears. Mrs. Norris lightly padded through the empty corridors, her crimson eyes scanning the grounds.

"Ouch!"

Her ears perked and her back arched, grayish fur standing on end. She peered down the hall, her bright red eyes seeing nothing but empty halls.

Barely detectible to the human ear, a hand clamped over a mouth, stifling a gasp.

Curiously, she pattered to where her sensitive ears had detected the noise, batting her paw experimentally only to hit empty air.

"Mrs. Norris! Where are you?" Filch's beady eyes searched absently as he turned the corner of the hall.

A soft meow answered the cantankerous old man.

"Ah…there you are, dear." His eyes turned oddly soft in the dim lantern light, as they fell upon Mrs. Norris' tiny form. He turned and walked back down the way he had come. "Come along then."

The cat stared a few moments longer into empty space, before turning to walk with her master.

Once again, silence reigned over the halls.

"Are they gone?" A light voice chanced to whisper.

"I dunno. It sounds quiet enough."

"Well…check the map."

After a bit of shuffling, a piece of yellowing paper was pulled from inside the tall boy's robes. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

Wide eyed, they watched the map, beneath the cover of the borrowed invisibility cloak. Sure enough, the cat and her master were both a safe distance away.

"It looks safe enough. Mischeif managed." Ron whispered, tucking the map safely beneath his hand me down robe.

"Let's go then."

**********************************************************************

The faces in the paintings gazed down the empty hall curiously. The sound of footfalls was clearly echoing through the corridor, but not a soul was to be seen.

Above them on the wall, an auburn-haired woman spoke from her painting. "Do be quiet, dears. Mr. Filch may be old, but he still hears frightfully well. That cape won't do much good if he can hear you."

"Ron, get off of my foot," she hissed.

"Well, move a bit faster, you prat!"

"Oh…a prat, am I?" She spun around quickly beneath the cloak, desperately trying to make her small form seem imposing. "Nobody made you come with me, Ron!"

"Is that so? Well, how else did you plan to borrow Harry's invisibility cape?" Ron's lips twisted into a smirk as Hermione's face fell. "I can see it now…Hermione Granger sneaking into the boys dormitory at night. Lavender and Parvati would have a field day!"

Her lips tighten into a pout. "Alright, you've made your point. Now can we get to the library before Filch comes and finds us?"

**********************************************************************

Ron and Hermione sat on the library floor. The invisibility cape had been discarded off to the side, its sheer fabric just within reach,.

"Charms, charms, and more charms…." Ron sat with his back against the dusty bookshelf. "We've tried about half of these already and none of them lasted more than a ….what are you looking for?"

"I'm not completely sure…it occurred to me in Potions today that I had seen something about a year ago that might work." She bit her lip. "The problem is I can't remember which book…and whether it was a charm or a potion."

"You, Hermione Granger…Miss I-can-recite-half-the-books-in-the-library-from-memory, can't remember a book?" His jaw dropped in mock surprise, but was quickly replaced by that characteristic smirk. "Never thought I'd see the day…"

"It was a year ago, Ron. I'm not perfect…"

Try as he might, Ron could not contain a chuckle, which itself was threatening to grow into a full-belly laugh. "Can I get that in writing?"

"No." Her eyes narrowed at him. "Keep looking. We don't have all night." Her eyes softened with a slightly dull sadness. "I do hope we can find it quickly. It's terribly upsetting to see Harry always so quiet and withdrawn. He just hasn't been himself since…"

"I know." The laughing had stopped abruptly as his mind returned to the task at hand. Helping Harry.

"Alright. Alright." Wiping the small tears that had formed in his eyes, he scanned over the yellowed pages, thumbing swiftly through them. Quietly he muttered, "It's not like I want to be stuck in the library all evening anyways."

"Aha!" A slightly smug looked washed over her features. "Exhilaro venenum." Ron quickly moved over, his head hovering above her shoulder as she lifted the book into the light so he could see too. "It's a happiness potion. It's lasts for about two weeks and we've got nearly all the ingredients if we can borrow a bit from Snape during class."

He shook his head in mock disbelief; "Harry and I really have had a bad affect on you these past few years, haven't we?"

She grinned. "It won't be difficult to do. But I will need a distraction…"

"I can be distracting," he deadpanned.

She allowed herself to snicker loudly for a few moments, before quickly covering her mouth, certain that someone else may hear. Her voice settled back to a whisper, but a tiny smile still pulled at her lips. "As for the unicorn hair, let's ask Hagrid. I'm certain he'll help if we tell him it's for Harry."

A loud thump came from outside the library door.

Like clockwork, Ron and Hermione worked together, gathering the scattered spell books, the lantern, and huddling themselves under the cloak side by side.

In the low light, Hermione mouthed, "Who is it?"

As quietly as possible, Ron pulled out the Marauder's Map, unfolding it, and barely whispering, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." His fingers softly tapped nervously on the wooden floor, still trying to be as close to silent as possible. He squinted his eyes to see the name by the tiny dot at the library door.

His eyes grew wide as the letters appeared.

Hermione's face was a healthy mixture of confusion and concern. Tugging at his sleeve to get his attention, she again mouthed, "Ron, who is it?"

His eyes raised to her's before he leaned forward, placing his mouth right beside her ear and whispering, "It's Ginny."

**********************************************************************

Please read and review! I'd like to know what you like and what you don't, so I can improve this! ^_^ Also, if you have a better suggestion for chapter titles than what I post, let me know!

Thanks to Cat Who, Shankz, and taboo for a quick fix with the Marauder's Map keywords. I've lended out all my books, so I'm working straight from memory. And I certainly haven't got Hermione's memory. ^_^ So if you see anything that's wrong, please let me know!