Enter for the Quidditch League Competition - Round 7 - Puddlemere United - Chaser 2

Prompt: Write about a potion gone wrong

Optional prompts used: 6. (dialogue) "It seems like something is missing."; 10. (dialogue) "You're doing it all wrong!"; 14. (color) green

Word count: 1,710

Warnings: AU No Voldemort


Amortentia Fiasco

"You're doing it all wrong!" Hermione screeched at the Slytherin when he lifted his hand to add another ingredient to the potion. "Didn't you pay attention to what Professor Snape said?"

"Hermione, don't be so condescending. It doesn't suit you," Theodore Nott replied, and Hermione snorted. "I know what I'm doing, all right? It's Amortentia. It isn't so difficult to make… but apparently you messed something up because all I can smell is your strawberry shampoo."

"That's rich coming from you! All I can smell is your citrus aftershave!" Hermione all but yelled at him, missing the snickering from her friends.

Ever since they had met, Hermione Granger and Theodore Nott had been the most competitive students of their year. The rivalry had begun on the Hogwarts Express. Hermione had stumbled into Theo, and the boy had made a sarcastic comment about how she couldn't even hold herself together. Hermione had swatted at him just as the train had started, and Theo had stumbled into her.

When they had been sorted into different houses, the desire to be the best had just grown. They had continued to bicker and try to be the best at every subject.

Despite the arguments, they had struck a friendship of sorts. They always met to study in the library, and they already had a nook which everyone knew was their place. They were always partnered up for the assignments to the amusement of the other students — and even some teachers too. Hermione always wanted to get the work done right after it was assigned, while Theo claimed they had enough time to do it.

"Do you think they've realised it, or should we say something to them?" someone said from behind, and Hermione turned to see what they were talking about.

"Realise what? What are you talking about, Potter?" Hermione asked, glaring at her best friend. "Something you want to share?"

"Nothing, Hermione, nothing at all!" Harry gulped. Hermione knew that she could be terrifying when she wanted to. "Just that Nott is adding exactly what you told him not to put into it."

"Wha—" Before Hermione could finish her sentence, Theo dropped a handful of apple mint leaves into the cauldron.

A puff of green smoke flared up and enveloped her, and she cried out in fear. Her friends yelled her name, but the sound was too faint. Theo's frantic breaths were the only thing she could hear. She flailed her arms around to find Theo in the dense smoke. Her throat constricted with panic, Theo's arms wrapped around her waist, decreasing the panic a little, before the darkness took control of her body.


When Hermione regained consciousness, her thoughts were all over the place.

'What the hell happened?' Hermione thought, 'I'm going to kill Theo as soon as I get my hands on him.' Something was off, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was. It was at that moment that she started to panic. She hated not knowing what was happening, and from what she could gather, she couldn't move her feet or even feel her hands. The panic was starting to cloud her mind even more.

"Hermione? Thank Merlin, she's awake!" Harry's voice sounded dangerously close, and it didn't do anything to calm her fears or help her understand what's happening. "'Mione, can you hear me?"

"Stop calling me that!" Hermione snapped, but she stopped the remark that would follow it. Her voice sounded so high-pitched and childish; why was her voice so strange? "Harry, why is my voice so high? What happened?"

He finally entered her field of vision, his brow furrowed that was a clear sign of his worry, making Hermione's heart beat faster in her chest.

"When Nott dropped those leaves in the cauldron, the Amortentia that you two were making stopped being a love potion," Harry said in uncertain terms, making Hermione frown. "Professor Snape didn't explain to us what happened, but he said that the effects are temporary."

"What effects, Harry Potter?" Hermione asked, and Harry gulped again. "Tell me already!"

"It looks like you and Nott reverted to your four-year-old selves," Harry said awkwardly, holding a mirror up for Hermione to see.

The reflection that greeted her was of a child. Her hair was larger and bushier than ever, and her eyes were too big for her face. Hermione couldn't believe her eyes, and her head spun at the implications, but a quick look down at her body told her that it was true.

Instead of her uniform, she was dressed in a jeans overall and a green shirt, which made her glare at Harry; he knows how much she dislikes the colour green. Her heart beat wildly and air puffed out of her nostrils.

"Don't look at me! I'm just taking care of you. It was Greengrass who chose your clothes." Harry pointed to the blonde Slytherin who was near Blaise. Hermione took a look around the potions lab and realised someone was missing.

"Harry, where's Theo?" Hermione asked, trying not to let panic take over her. "If I'm a child again, he should be one, too. Where is he?"

"We're still waiting for him to wake up." Harry raised a hand before Hermione could say anything. "Don't fret, 'Mione. He's probably waking up now."

Harry didn't leave any space for Hermione to argue with him. Hepicked her up in his arms and held her against his chest — to Hermione's embarrassment and consternation — and carried her towards Theo.

"I don't know what Theo was thinking, but Snape thinks you two still have all of your memories — you just changed to your younger selves," Blaise said when they reached them.

Theo chose that moment to wake up, making everyone let out sighs of relief. Hermione wondered how long they had been unconscious, but she had more urgents thoughts now.

"Ugh, my head is killing me." Theo groaned before looking at Blaise and Daphne. "It seems like something is missing."

"Yeah, about more than half your height." Blaise handed Theo a mirror similar to the one Harry had given Hermione. "I don't know what you were thinking when you tried to mess with Granger's potion. And I forgot how cute you were."

"Theo really is the most adorable toddler, isn't he?" Daphne cooed over Theo, and Hermione didn't like it. It was like something inside of her awoke, something that she distantly knew was a green-eyed monster. But Hermione wasn't ready to think about that right now. "I wouldn't mind taking care of him."

"Shut up, Blaise," Theo snapped, blushing to the roots of his hair.

Despite her jealousy, Hermione couldn't help but smile at how cute he looked.

Theo asked, "Where's Hermione?"

"I'm right here," Hermione piped up from Harry's lap, and Theo looked at her with those green eyes that had always made her heart beat faster. His gaze seemed to work even when they were children. She shook her head; she couldn't let Theo's eyes distract her from the mess that he put them in. "Are you happy with the result of the potion? Look what you did to us, Theodore!"

"Can't say that I'm unhappy," Theo replied with a smirk, making her glare at him. "Good to know that even when you were a kid, you could still glare at people just like when you were seventeen."

"You should know. You've been on the receiving end of my glares for six years now," Hermione replied, not in the mood to joke.

"Professor Snape said that the effects should pass in a few hours, so I think it's best if we return to our dorms." Harry didn't seem to fancy sticking around with the babies.

"I agree that's for the best," Blaise said, grabbing Theo up and putting him on his shoulders, sticking his bum in the air and letting Theo look at his backside. "See you at dinner."

As Blaise made to leave with Theo, something inside Hermione ached. She didn't know what it was, but she didn't want Theo to leave her. Theo looked at Hermione with something warm in his eyes, but she didn't know what it was at that moment.

She wanted to spend more time with him by his side. Her wish was granted when Blaise stopped in front of the door.

"Why does it look like there's a barrier here?" Blaise complained, jostling Theo on his shoulders. "I saw Snape pass through the doors just an hour ago."

"I saw Nev leave the room too. Something isn't right," Harry commented, missing the way that Hermione and Theo were looking at each other. "Do you have any idea what this could mean, 'Mione?"

Hermione panicked a little, not knowing what this means if it means that something more had happened when Theo butchered their potion. It was supposed to be a love potion, but something changed. That's when it looks like a Lumos had been cast in Hermione's mind and she realised what must have happened.

"I didn't want Theo to leave, and he didn't," Hermione whispered to Harry, and Harry's eyes widened. "Maybe it's a side effect of the potion."

"The green smoke was weird. It looked like a cocoon around you two," Harry said to no one in particular. "Maybe it bound you two together?"

"We should ask Snape about it, but let's go with these two together." Blaise waited for Harry and Hermione to come closer to the door. "It looks like we're on babysitter duty today, Potter."

"At least I know how to hold a child, Zabini," Harry replied, walking with Blaise in the search of the Potions professor.

While the two bickered, Hermione and Theo held hands and smiled at each other.

'It might take a while, but I won't mind spending some time with baby Theo if it means that I can stare into those gorgeous green eyes of his without anyone making fun of me.' Hermione thought, smiling at her train of thought. 'Daphne won't stand a chance now, I'll make sure of it.'

The Amortentia scent still lingered in them, but neither realised it. Hermione might still be mad at Theo for messing with their potion, but she wasn't going to complain now.