Disclaimer: However much I might wish I did, unfortunately I do not own any of these characters… They all belong to JKR… (mutters darkly under breath)

Any Latin translations are courtesy of the translator I found somewhere on the Internet – I do Spanish. I think the story line is getting a bit predictable, but never mind…

Red – The Senses

Smell Tuesday

Professor McGonagall was still smirking at him when he sauntered into breakfast the following morning. He sat down as far away from the group of giggling third years that made up half of his fan club as he could, which once again unfortunately positioned him opposite the Weasley twins. As he looked into the mischievously grinning faces in front of him, Oliver sighed. What have I done to deserve this?

"Good Morning, Oliver!" They called in unison.

"Says who?" He replied glancing up at the dark clouds clustered above them. As if on cue, the sound of heavy rain spattered against the tall glass windows surrounding the hall was accompanied by a roll of thunder.

"Where's the fighting spirit -"

"The steely nerve –"

"The heart of a lion –"

"The stomach of –"

"If you two don't shut up, not only may you be playing in conditions like these on Thursday, I'll condition an extra beater practise today. If you see any chasers would you let them know practice is cancelled for this evening, but is still on tomorrow, regardless of conditions." Oliver pulled a plate of sausages towards him and added a few to his scrambled eggs and mushrooms. He stabbed at a piece of bacon and was about to put it on his plate when Fred grabbed it from him, holding up a finger. George drizzled tomato ketchup onto it, before handing it back to Oliver. As he stared at his breakfast with the added red sauce, the steam rose up and filled his nostrils. Breakfast smelled good. Hang on, why did they just -

"What do you want?" He asked them suspiciously. He saw they were about to go into denial. He cut their act off; despite what some people may have thought, Oliver Wood found the twins amusing and he knew if they elicited a smirk from him, they would be unbearable. "And no pretending – remember I've just threatened you with a couple of hours of a duel against Mother Nature."

"Ah, Mother Nature - one lady we will bow down to graciously."

"But one lady we won't, is our mother. We want you teach us how to magic – uh – certain little items, to have effects on others." Oliver looked at Fred uncomprehending.

George added, "Say for example – sweets, when eaten, – uh – changing someone's appearance. It's NEWT level Transfiguration that we don't know- but you do." Oliver looked suspiciously at the twins who were still grinning. What harm can it do? He fished a bag of toffees out of his pocket and unscrewed a shiny red wrapper, tipping one out into the table for the first demonstration. After a quarter of an hour, the twins had got the hang of the spell after making each other's hair go various shades of maroon; Oliver had finished his breakfast and stood up to go to charms.

"But how do we reverse the spell?" George asked as Oliver walked away.

"It's called the library!" He replied, laughing at the scowling faces. He stuck his tongue out at them; a gesture with they graciously imitated, and walked out the hall.

Little did Harry know that he was not the only person responsible for the creation of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes…

Oliver made his way up the marble staircases to the charms classroom and stood outside with the rest of the students. Professor Flitwick appeared and ushered them all in.

"Today you will be learning the closest charm to an Unforgivable curse I will teach you. I'll start will a demonstration, then we'll move onto the theory and maybe if we're really feeling quick today, we might even have time to have a go. It is non-verbal, and with it you can make an inanimate object perform a certain action or actions. Unlike the Imperius curse, however, you will have no control over what the object does when it is performing the action, or where it travelled until you remove the curse and the object becomes once more inanimate. For example," he gestured to a tiny model of Viktor Krum, the famous Bulgarian seeker standing proudly with his broomstick in one hand, and clutched proudly in the other hand, a tiny snitch was being held aloft.

Professor Flitwick waited until he had the whole class's attention and then, quite abruptly, Viktor Krum let loose the miniature golden snitch. It began to flutter around him, before flying further away. Krum mounted his broomstick and began to chase after the tiny speck of gold, weaving in and out between the students, his crimson robes billowing out behind him.

The bewitched snitch zoomed around the room, with Viktor Krum hot on its trail, the famed determined glare etched onto his face. Several girls gasped as he dived down, following the trail until he was millimetres away from the flittering treasure. He pulled out of the dive, triumphant as the snitch was clasped once more in his hand. Krum landed on Professor Flitwick's desk and beamed around at the rapt audience before he froze again. Oliver stared, his attention as captivated as the rest of his classmates. He nearly laughed out loud at the idea of telling the twins about that charm - they would probably start bumping off the Slytherin Qudditch team or bewitch sharp pointy objects to follow Professor Quirrell around all day.

As Professor Flitwick turned to the board to begin writing down the theory, Oliver looked down at his tactic file and rifled through it inspired for plans for his own seeker. His eye caught on a title at the top of a page - Chaser Formation 6. Oh dear, Katie still doesn't know about the practises. Maybe I'll just have to go and look for her today.

When it came to the last double period of that day, he still hadn't found Katie. Great, double potions. Professor Snape liked Oliver Wood no more than the rest of the Gryffindors. In fact, Oliver's chances were rather ruined because he was Qudditch Captain and a whole lot better looking than Snape ever was.

"Marcus, if I asked you to recall from last year for me what the potion Amortentia is, what would you say?"

"It's a love potion, Sir." Flint replied.

"Ten points to Slytherin. Wood, a similar potion - what is used for?"

"I don't know, Sir." Snape smirked at him.

"It is known as "Expiscor votum" literally translated from Latin as "discover desire". It will be different for each and every one of you, as it will be created with a different desire at heart. If created correctly it should have an alluring colour that looks silver to everyone except the brewer, but likewise with the smell of the potion, and the emotions the potion evokes will be individual to the brewer. It is known as a "Recreational Potion" as the effects of the potion are purely for enjoyment purposes. You have the Headmaster to thank for letting you make this potion; if it were purely my choice you would have learnt the theory and moved on, however, the Headmaster felt nerves are running tight and wishes you to create this potion. Each drop is worth a quarter of an hour's worth of an effect. With it you will feel relaxed, at rest in luxury enjoying the sensation of having your desires around you."

Snape turned abruptly and stalked to the front of the class. He flicked his wand and writing began to appear on the blackboard, dictating the ingredients and method. "You will have until the end of the lessons to complete the potion, it is complicated and intricate, but is not an overly long process and you should complete it around fifteen minutes before the end of the final lesson today. When completed, you will submit a small vial of the potion to me, then the rest of the potion is yours. The Headmaster reminds you that any potion such as this is forbidden during a quidditch match and advises you to use it in your own time rather than in lessons. Begin."

An hour and a half later, Oliver Wood presented Snape with some of his potion. He was among the first few to finish, but refrained from discussing with his fellow Gryffindors the characteristics of his potion. He watched as some of the girls shot him appraising looks as they just sat at their desks inhaling their potion. Oh well, I've never understood the ways of the feminine mind. Intrigued, he took a small sniff of the Expiscor votum. Among the smells that he recognised and identified, there was one smell that he recognised but could not place. Where have I smelled that before? After checking in the reflection of the basin of water he was using to clean his hands that he didn't have any leaves sticking up out of the back of his hair, he sat down and resumed his quidditch preparations. Could Harry do a Wronskei Feint? (sp?)

On his way back to the Gryffindor common room, he wondered down the corridors thinking where Katie might be. He wanted to check that she knew about the practise schedule; he doubted she would be with Fred and George when Angelina and Alicia reminded them about going to quidditch practise, so consequently she would not be there when the twins remembered to tell the girls that practise was cancelled. In the common room he spotted Harry just in time as he was going out the portrait, but Katie was still being elusive.

After completing his homework for the night, Oliver returned from his dorm to find a blonde ponytail whip out of sight as the portrait shut behind Katie. He slipped silently behind her as he followed about twenty paces behind her. He knew she was heading for the changing rooms, so therefore he knew he wasn't going to lose her. As he drifted after her, he felt a little bit guilty for his actions, but he pushed the thought to the back of his mind. He stopped at the beginning of the corridor and waited for a while before running as hard as he could, slamming the door open. Katie looked round at him as he burst in through the door slightly out of breath.

"I'm really sorry Katie, I've been looking all over for you all day." That bit was true, but was he really sorry that he was here with her all on her own? He continued, "I did ask the twins to pass the message on if they saw you, but –"

Katie smiled at him, her confusion ebbing away, "I think they got a little bit distracted." Oliver laughed as he recalled seeing the twins and the girls sneak around some statue of a one eyed witch. He hadn't paused to watch them, though because he was Katie hunting at the time.

He stepped closer to her, "As you may have guessed practise is cancelled today but I booked the pitch from seven tomorrow is that alright?" Katie smiled and nodded before an awkward pause. Just then, the door opened and Professor McGonagall walked in.

"Ah excellent, Wood I was wondering if you were still planning on taking your team out today, but apparently not. Have you got enough practise before the match?" If ever there was a supportive Head of House, it was Professor McGonagall. Oliver nodded and told her about the practise tomorrow. "Good luck then, the rain should have let up by then. Miss Bell, somebody said you wanted to see me?" She whisked Katie away and Oliver went to dinner.

Throughout the evening, the smell of his potion had been bugging him. As he stared up at his hangings he gave into curiosity. He carefully unstoppered the vial and tasted a drop of the crimson potion. He returned the vial to his trunk and felt the soaring sensation he felt when he was just about to make a spectacular save, the jolt of his stomach when he heard Lee Jordan announce his name as he shot out onto the pitch. He saw the colours around him glow, but it was too dark to see any difference. He focused on the scents filling his nostrils and he smelled the fade of smoke from birthday candles, a newly opened tin of broom polish and the slightly flowery scent he smelled that he could not place. For fifteen minutes he racked his brain and the name was just on the tip of his tongue, when he felt himself sink back to normal. That was curious – a name, not a thing?

He shot a glance to the trunk that concealed the vial of crimson liquid. You know, red smelled really good.

Reviews would be appreciated xXx