A/N: Written for the Draco's Den FB group's Half-Blood Prince competition in 2020. This is round 3 which was the Pepper-Up Potion. I was given the choice to include at least two of the following: Theodore Nott, Dolores Umbridge, and Regulus Black. Many thanks to my beta, LumosLyra, for her attention to detail. Thank you!

If you liked this (or hated it) let me know about it in a review! I made a manip for this, you can find it on my Tumblr at crochetawayhpff, search for Dracos Den.

Also, I feel I should mention that I one this competition along with xxDustNight88!

Summary: In her youth, Dolores Umbridge loved the smell of Pepper-Up Potion.

Pairing: Dolores Umbridge/Rabastan Lestrange

Rating: T

Warnings: Potions Abuse, Recreational Drug Use, Drug Abuse

The Smell of Pepper-Up

Dolores Umbridge thought Regulus Black was the fittest fifth year. As only a half-blood, she knew she was definitely beneath his notice, but that all changed on Halloween. She suspected it was a prank, or perhaps a dare, but who was she to complain when the most attractive and desirable pure-blood boy looked her way.

Being a Slytherin, Dolores didn't mind using his attention for her own ambitions. She tittered at his jokes because they were amusing and if she giggled more than was warranted... well, who could blame her?

Dolores wasn't stupid. She knew what was happening outside the walls of Hogwarts, and she knew that as a Black, Regulus would be part of it. She still wasn't sure whether she wanted to be involved in it or not, but she thought she could be persuaded. Especially if it was Regulus doing the persuading.

"Here, Dee," Regulus pressed, using the sweet nickname that made her head spin and handed her twin vials of a potion.

"Is this Pepper-Up? That's sweet, Regulus, but I'm feeling fine." She frowned and handed the vials back to him after giving them a sniff, having always loved the smell of Pepper-Up Potion.

Regulus tossed his head back and laughed, Gibbon, Wilkes, and the other boys snickering along with him while Dolores felt herself redden in embarrassment. Clearly, there was something she was missing.

"It's Reggie," he dimpled and her heart fluttered in response. "You chug them both as quickly as possible and it gets you high. Feels so good." A tendril of heat curled in her belly as she watched his lips draw out the second to last word. She'd never heard of using Pepper-Up to get high, but she thought it sounded harmless enough.

She smirked and tossed back the first one, and then immediately drank the second even as steam was still pouring out her ears. The taste wasn't great, but the smell was divine.

Regulus was right. The moment the steam finished, Dolores felt great—better than great. She felt alive. Everything seemed brighter. Her hearing was sharper, and when Regulus's hand brushed against hers, she gasped.

"Do that again," she demanded, and this time when Regulus chuckled it dripped into her ear and spread through her body like honey. Her eyes drifted shut as Regulus dragged his finger, ever so lightly across the back of her hand. She was near certain literal sparks burst forth as his skin brushed hers.

"See, I'd never lead you wrong Dee," Regulus whispered. She could feel his breath against the helix of her ear, and she sighed. Her attraction for him was only heightened by the delectable way she felt after drinking the potions.

Regulus was bestowed the Dark Mark during their sixth year. It wasn't widely known, but he had shown Dolores. She was fascinated with the way it slithered across his skin as if it were alive, and when she touched it, he hissed and yanked his arm away with a frown.

Later, after their weekly overdose of Pepper-Up, he leaned into her touches, as fascinated as she was when the snake moved and hissed under her fingers. When she got the brilliant idea to taste the snake with a flick of her tongue, he cried out and rolled them over, immediately plundering her mouth.

From then, they became inseparable. It wasn't just the Pepper-Up that tied them together, but their own feelings, or so Dolores hoped. Still, a part of Dolores didn't quite trust Regulus. He was a Black and the moment his parents signed a betrothal contract for him, she knew he would drop her, but she was determined to go along for the ride as long as possible.

When their schedules were such that they couldn't brew the Pepper-up on their own, they began buying from Severus.

Severus's potions were more potent. The high was clearer, cleaner, and the comedown significantly easier as there weren't any tremors to hide the next day. They never brewed their own again.

In seventh year, Severus sent Regulus regular shipments of Pepper-Up, and it wasn't long before they were getting high almost nightly, but Dolores was careful not to let her grades slip. She knew getting a position at the Ministry was going to be difficult being half-blood, and that while Regulus and his family had power, he would be no help there. She worked hard during the day so that by the time Regulus was finished with Quidditch practice, she was ready to begin their evening.

It was as if they were in their own little world. He shrugged off Wilkes and Gibbon in favor of her. When he passed by his two former lackeys to wrap an arm around her waist, Dolores preened. Her smirks became harder—sharper. Never in her life had she felt more at home than when Regulus was nearby.

Dolores had even begun believing that maybe, Regulus wouldn't drop her the moment his parents told him to. He seemed as wrapped up in her as she was in him.

When the end of their seventh year came, Regulus still found the time to visit Dolores nightly at her flat, the smell of freshly brewed Pepper-Up becoming the backdrop of their lives that summer.

In October, Regulus stopped coming by her flat. Dolores hardened her heart, knowing that any day now she would read of his engagement in the Daily Prophet.

It never came.

Instead, in late November, at the very back of the paper was a small blurb announcing Regulus's death. She collapsed onto the floor of her kitchen as an unearthly wail poured out of her.

Dead.

He was dead.

How was she to go on when she knew she would never see him again. She had always held hope that even if he was betrothed, they could still remain friends.

But now?

Now, there was nothing.

No joy.

No life.

No high would ever be high enough to make her happy again.

Now, the smell of Pepper-Up made her sick.

~Fin~