The sixth years were in Professor Borage's Potions class working on creating an Amortentia potion. This year, Rose and Scorpius were paired up as partners, while Al was paired up with Pooja. In general, Rose and Scorpius would normally butt heads over creating potions, which provided endless entertainment for Al. However, today Scorpius was focusing more on his book than listening to Rose's whinging.
"I hate this potion," said Rose. "It's a stupid potion."
"Why is it stupid?" asked Scorpius, not really in the mood to listen to Rose's whinging.
"Because it's an outdated potion," said Rose. "Everyone knows that having obsessive tendencies towards a person is unhealthy and it's certainly not romantic."
"Mhm, right," said Scorpius re-reading the potion's instructions.
"Don't you agree?" asked Rose.
"Sure," answered Scorpius, without looking up from the book.
"You're not even listening to me!" whispered Rose, trying to control her Weasley temper to avoid being called out by Professor Borage.
"Sorry," mumbled Scorpius, not paying attention.
"I'll stir it," said Rose, grabbing the stirring rod. "It needs a lighter hand for the job."
"And you have that lighter hand?" asked Scorpius, incredulously.
"Oh, shut up," said Rose, starting to stir. Scorpius watched the potion become a mother of pearl color with a silky consistency, but he had trouble seeing the steam spirals that came out of the potion.
"Is it working, Scorpius?" asked Rose.
"Ah, Mr. Malfoy, Miss Granger-Weasley!" said Professor Borage excitedly, walking over to their station. "That color is nearly perfect! An excellent consistency as well."
"I don't see the spirals, Professor." remarked Scorpius.
"It takes some time, Mr. Malfoy," said Professor Borage, as he started to walk away to look at the other potions. "Based on the color of the potion, I don't doubt that you'll be seeing some shortly."
"Smell it, Scorpius," said Rose, eager to see if the potion worked.. Scorpius sighed, not wanting to argue with Rose, and peered over the concoction to sniff it. As he sniffed the potion, Scorpius was transported to Honeydukes with his father, who waved his hand in front of the sweets in front of Scorpius. Scorpius found himself looking at all of the sweets until he came to the lemon sherbets. Scorpius
"Lemon," said Scorpius, smiling as though he was in the sweet shop.
"Of course," said Rose, rolling her eyes. "Anything else?"
Scorpius took another whiff and immediately he was transported back to Malfoy Manor. He was running through the halls trying to avoid the nanny that had cared for his father as a child. In this moment, young Scorpius turned the corner and saw his mother, dressed in forest green robes with her dark hair down. Astoria faced Scorpius and smiled at him, opening her arms for a hug. Scorpius ran to her arms and nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck...
"Eucalyptus," said Scorpius in a melancholy tone. "My mother's perfume." Rose's eager expression softened at Scorpius mentioning his mother. From the few times Rose met his mother, Rose gathered that his mother was a kind woman without a single hateful thought towards anyone. Rose suspected that if Scorpius didn't have the mother that he had, Scorpius wouldn't have turned out the way he did given the circumstances of his family.
"Oh," said Rose, softly.
"Wait...there's another..." said Scorpius.
Scorpius was a first year student outside in the courtyard with Al on a crisp autumn day. Then, Scorpius felt something hit his neck. When he looked up, he saw Troy Charmer laughing at him alongside Kyra, Stanley, and Bruno.
"Merlin, you've got a wicked welt on your neck!" said Al.
"Hey, Malfoy," said Troy. "If you hang around with that faerie long enough you'll start getting more hickeys like that around your neck!" Just then, Troy held onto his nose as bats made from his boogeys flew out of his nostrils. It wasn't just Troy, but the rest of them also began to have bats fly out of their noses. The rest of the students in the courtyard began to laugh at the crew of second years as they tried to stop the hex.
"Rosie!" said Al, seeing his cousin walked towards him and Scorpius. At that moment, Scorpius was truck with how much Rose had changed from first year to now, like how Rose's auburn hair had tighter curls in it when she was eleven, whereas now she had more wavy curls. What hadn't changed was how Rose carried herself as though she was the next Minister of Magic, with her shoulders back and her chest puffed out to the world.
"Are you alright, you two?" asked Rose. "I heard Troy call you that nasty word Al and I just had to step in. Oh, Scorpius! Your neck! What kind of hex did they throw at you? Here, take my scarf..."
"Hmm," said Scorpius, back in the classroom.
"What is it, Scorpius?" asked Rose.
"Spices," said Scorpius. "Like those you'd find in tarts."
"Look, the spirals!" said Rose excitedly, pointing at the potion. "There they are! We did!"
"Well done, Mr. Malfoy and Miss Granger-Weasley!" applauded Professor Borage. "As the first ones to complete the potions, you'll each get points for your respective houses. Round of applause, everyone!"
As the students gave a lukewarm response to Professor Borage's enthusiastic response, Rose felt her cheeks go red. Scorpius met with Rose's eyes and just shrugged his shoulders, as if to say "who cares?" Rose smiled and shook her head, as she got out her potions book.
Then, Scorpius smelled another scent from the potion. Scorpius immediately recognized it as chocolate, which was Rose's favorite sweet.
"Bugger," he whispered under his breath.
Once the class was over, Professor Borage wanted to speak to Scorpius and Rose about their potion, so Albus waited outside the classroom with Anjali.
"I don't know about you, but I was looking forward to this class," said Pooja nudging Al. "I was sure that with one whiff of that potion those two will be loved up!"
"I wouldn't get your hopes up, Anji" said Al.
"Perhaps a bit of Amortentia is what they need to finally admit their feelings," said Pooja. "Wouldn't it be romantic? A Malfoy and a Weasley, two children from families known to loathe each, united as two star-crossed lovers!"
"I think you've been reading too much Shakespeare," laughed Al, who secretly enjoyed Pooja's fantastical ideas.
"Read? Nobody reads that stuff anymore," scoffed Pooja.
"Well, I think it's disgusting," said Kyra, who walked past them with Stanley in tow. "I heard that Malfoy's great-aunt tortured Rose's mum using the Cruciatus Curse."
"And my Gran destroyed that barmy witch during the Battle of Hogwarts," countered Al.
"You know, Potter, my father told me that your uncle is sympathetic to Slytherins," said Stanley, getting in Al's face.
"You know I have about twenty uncles, right?" retorted Al, not bothered by Stanley's taunt.
"The one who just got sacked as an Auror," said Stanley. "You know, the one that almost got a bunch of Aurors killed by his actions."
"He was rescuing Rose," said Al, starting to get defensive. "Even though the Aurors were going to rescue her, there was no way my uncle Ron was going to do nothing. He would have lost a leg to save Rose, and almost did!"
"Well, maybe he should have lost his leg," said Stanley. "Especially since he doesn't care about what the Malfoys did to your auntie..."
"Back off, you two," said Pooja, sharply. "Just keep walking down the corridor."
"How can we when we can smell your curry breathe all the way down the hall?" asked Kyra, fanning her hand in front of face.
"Miss Ballington!" boomed Professor Borage, coming to the door. "Don't think I didn't hear that! That intolerant language is not tolerated! Fifty points from Gryffindor."
"But Professor," protested Kyra, over the sounds of groans from some of her classmates around the corridor.
"Wow, she's really pants at being a Prefect," said Scorpius, as he and Rose walked out of the classroom.
"You must have made a cracking potion if Professor Borage wanted to speak with you," said Pooja, walking with them.
"Well," said Scorpius, looking at Rose. "It does take a lighter hand."
"Oh, shut it," said Rose, blushing at the remark.