This is being cross-posted from Ao3. It was originally posted on 28 July 2020 for the Draco's Den Half-Blood Prince competition.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling, Bloomsbury, and Warner Bros. No copyright infringement is intended.
Title: Pepperup Kisses
Rated: Teen & Up
Pairing: Adrian Pucey/Astoria Greengrass
Summary: Adrian's job has put a damper on his love life, but a new witch behind the billing desk changes things. If only they could get past their bumpy beginning.
Prompt: Pepperup Potion
Adrian worked in the Department of Magical Games and Sports alongside many of his old classmates from Hogwarts. Working so much made dating difficult, even though some of his co-workers had a new witch or wizard on their arm every other day. Adrian was looking for a witch who he could spend the rest of his life with.
It was more than a surprise when he recognized a familiar face working at the billing desk on payday. It took him a few seconds to remember who this witch was, but when he did, a smile graced his lips.
"Greengrass?" Adrian inquired while picking up his paycheck.
The dark-haired witch smiled as she handed over an envelope. "Astoria," she told him, her chocolate eyes sparkling in the light. "How are you, Adrian?"
"You remember me?" he said, accepting the envelope and tucking it away for now.
Astoria laughed. "I saw your name on the envelope, remember?" She playfully poked his robes where he'd hidden it. "I do recall you being slightly ahead of me at Hogwarts, though. How are you doing these days?"
Feeling slightly embarrassed, Adrian cleared his throat before answering. "I'm doing well. It looks like you are too."
"If you consider working here to be doing well," Astoria said and rolled her eyes. "I had to take a desk job after my family's name was tarnished during the war. It's not so bad, though. I get to see a lot of interesting people come through here."
"Oh yeah?" Adrian replied, smirking as he realized her playful tone.
"Definitely," Astoria said and then stood. Smoothing out her robes, she met his eyes in a challenge. "I have to get going, but next time you pop down here, be sure to ask for me."
After she walked away, Adrian stood there for a minute, trying to figure out what happened. Finally, he was able to move and move he did. He hurried home and began to make plans for the future. If she said yes, Adrian was planning on taking Astoria Greengrass on a date next week.
As it turned out, Astoria agreed to the date. On Friday, Adrian made his way down to the Billing Department to pick her up for dinner. Only, when he got there, something was clearly wrong.
"Astoria?" he asked, stepping fully into the office. "Are you okay?"
"Oh, Adrian!" Astoria cried before sneezing into a handkerchief. "I forgot to send you an interdepartmental note earlier. I woke up with this horrible cold!" She sneezed again, wiping furiously at her nose. "I'm so sorry; we have to reschedule."
"That's okay," Adrian told her as he pulled his own, clean, handkerchief from his pocket. "We can easily reschedule for when you're feeling better."
Accepting the clean hanky, Astoria gave him a sad smile and said goodnight. Adrian went home for a while and then thought of a plan. He felt horrible that their date was ruined, but even more so that Astrora didn't feel well. After stopping at the apothecary, he hurried to her flat.
The surprise was apparent on Astoria's face as she answered the door. "Adrian?"
"I brought you some Pepperup Potion. I know we still have to reschedule, but I want you to feel better," he explained.
"Thank you. This is so kind," Astoria said, opening the vial. She tipped it into her mouth and made a face as steam billowed from her ears.
Astoria looked adorable then, and without thinking twice, Adrian leaned down and kissed her. Nervously, Adrian ended the kiss quickly, suddenly afraid he'd overstepped his boundaries. It was a relief to see Astoria smiling.
"You know," she said, shaking her head. "You're probably going to get sick now."
"That's a risk I'm willing to take," Adrian replied before kissing her again. "It's hard not to kiss you when you look so adorable with steam billowing from your ears."
He didn't stick around that night, but he did make sure Astoria was resting comfortably before he went home.
It wasn't long before Astoria's prediction came to pass. Adrian found himself sick a mere week after the kiss. He pleaded with her to stay away, but she refused, insisting that she was in this for the long haul.
"I can take care of myself," Adrian said for the umpteenth time. He watched as Astoria stirred a bit of lemon into his tea.
"I know," she replied, bringing him the tea. She also held up a bottle of Pepperup Potion. "I only think it's fair that I give you the same care I was given when sick."
Adrian groaned, but accepted the little bottle of potion. "This potion is disgusting," he pointed out, removing the stopper.
"I know." Astoria grinned as her boyfriend made a face. "Bottoms up!"
Taking a deep breath, Adrian prepared to take the potion and then tipped the spicy liquid into his mouth. He grimaced after swallowing both from the taste and the steam now billowing out of his ears. He returned the bottle to her and then hurriedly sipped at his tea to get rid of the taste.
After setting aside the bottle, Astoria pulled a blanket over their laps so they could cuddle by the fire. "That wasn't so bad… We're even now."
"I wholeheartedly apologize for making you take that potion when I came to your flat last week," Adrian muttered as he shifted to get comfortable. He really did feel awful, but already the potion was taking effect and easing his aches. "I should have bought you flowers instead. Or soup!"
"Honestly," Astoria said as she snuggled up next to her new boyfriend. "I consider that our first date. It was sweet of you to want to take care of me."
When Adrian gave her a look of surprise, she just giggled and snuggled closer. He was right, the smoking ears definitely made someone adorable, and she looked forward to getting to know him better while caring for him as he cared for her.