"What am I? Some charity case? Stop following me around! The answer is no and always will be no!"

It had been approximately 32 hours since Albus Potter had offered to take me in. The offer had made me furious, no doubt, and he just could not see why I had refused his offer.

"Rosalie, stop being such a stubborn prick!"

"I can be a stubborn prick if I want to!"

He groaned and finally stopped walking. "Whatever! I give up!"

"Good! That's what I wanted you to do!"

I turned around the corner recklessly, and crashed into a smaller figure. We both fell to the ground, knocking the air out of me. With a scowl on my face, I turned to look at the girl I'd run into. "Watch where your going, clumsy ass!"

The girl appeared to be fourteen or fifteen years old, with light brown hair and innocent blue eyes. She stared blankly at me, confusion and shock written on her face.

Standing up, I brushed my clothes off. "What are you, deaf? Answer me!"

"If you'd shut your huge mouth for a minute and actually observed the situation," came a voice from around the corner. A boy, the same age as the girl, appeared with a dirty look on his face. "You'd realize that yes. She is deaf."

He helped her up, and then used his hands to say something to her, while speaking the words simultaneously. "Are you alright?"

Relief washed over her face as she started signing to him swiftly.

I started to feel guilty. And, as anybody would know, I never felt guilty. I felt at a loss of words as I stared at the duo. "I didn't know."

"It doesn't even matter," the guy grumbled.

Touching the girl's arm to get her attention, I said loudly, "I'm sorry."

She blushed, nodding, like she was shyly saying, "It's okay."

"It doesn't matter how loud you say it," he sniffed. "She still can't hear you."

"Can't anyone heal it? Her loss of hearing? I've read of cures-."

"It was done by Dark Magic," he interrupted. "There's no way to heal it." He cleared his throat, before changing the subject. "I'm Jared Olinik, and this is Kate Levesque."

"Rosalie Flint."

"Ah, so you're the famous Rosalie Flint?" Jared inquired, signing while he spoke. "Can't say I'm surprised. You seem to fit the bill well."

"Thanks. I think. Anyway, I'm really sorry about crashing into Kate, you, and for the rude comment. It's been one hell of a day," I explained to the pair, watching as the boy translated my words.

Kate mouthed, "It's okay," with a smile.

"So, what House are you two in?"

"Hufflepuff," Jared answered. "5th years."

"Cool. Well, I got to run. I've got rounds this evening. I hope I'll see you guys around." With a wave, I took off in the opposite direction to the two.

Conversing with Hufflepuffs had always been a chore for me. I loathed Hufflepuffs and their wimpy House. But a lot of things had changed this year. Maybe this was one of the things. I mean, the way Jared was so protective and loyal to Kate was - and I hated admitting this - heart touching. Maybe everything that the House of the Badgers stood for wasn't a load of bull. It was genuine and respectable.

Oh, look at me. All buckets of joy and tears and what not.

Scratching my nose more out of boredom than anything else, I settled into my chair.

"Amortentia," Slughorn boomed from the front of the classroom. "It is the most powerful love potion known to wizardkind, and also the most dangerous concoction. It does not create real affection, of course, but it does create a strong obsession and attachment. Can anyone tell me some specific characteristics about this potion?"

My hand shot up and he pointed at me. "Ah, yes. Miss Flint."

"Very distinct spirals rise from the freshly-brewed potion, sir," I said. "Also, the scent is easy to recognize; it smells like whatever appeals to that individual the most."

"Good, Miss Flint. 5 points to Slytherin."

A Gryffindor in the back of the classroom groaned.

"Today, we will be begin brewing batches of this potion. I will admit, it is a very advanced potion, it will take quite some times, and only extremely skilled Potioneers can perfect it. I will be placing you in pairs of two for this project. And just so we don't end up in a similar position, like last time," he said, trailing off and glancing at Weasel and Potter anxiously. Last time I had Potions with Gryffindor, Fred and James melted a hole in the center of their table.

"I will be assigning the partners," he finished.

He paired us off one by one. I nearly screeched when he put me with James Potter, but should I have expected anything less disastrous and cliche? I had already decided that the Fates hated me.

"This potion will cost you a quarter of your grade, students. Pay very close attention to what you are doing."

"Alright, listen up," I growled, slamming my book down next to Potter and taking a seat. I leaned closer to him, giving a menacing glare. "I don't care whether you help me or not, but you will not interfer with my potion-making, got it? It's a very difficult process, brewing Amortentia, and the last thing I want you to do is mess it up!"

"Whatever you say, your Majesty," he said, cracking a grin and leaning back lazily in his chair. He laced his fingers behind his head and propped his feet up on our table.

"Don't even start," I muttered, shoving his feet back down.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked after a minute or so, looking hopelessly at all of the ingredients set out in front of us.

I reached for the first ingredient and handed the correct amount to him, along with a knife. "Chop up these peppermint leaves."

"What do they do? I mean, in the potion," he wondered.

"They're more for flavor than anything. You can't mess them up, no matter what you do," I answered quietly, taking some lovage leaves and rolling them into balls.

"And the lovage leaves?"

"They're to confuse the drinker," I explained. "They're a common ingredient in Confusing and Befuddlement Draughts."

"You know a lot about Potions," he observed, messily chopping up the peppermint.

I took the rolled up lovage and put it into the boiling water in the cauldron. They dissolved perfectly. "I suppose so. I've always had an extreme interest in the art, and when I arrived at Hogwarts, my passion was magnified significantly. If I didn't want a future involved with Quidditch, I would have hoped to become a professional Potioneer."

He pushed the destroyed peppermint leaves to the side of his cutting board with the blade of his knife. "I didn't know you wanted to play Quidditch after school."

"It's not like you ever asked," I muttered, pouring some pomegranate juice into the cauldron with several five second intervals. The brew immediately turned a light purple, with a tint of red. "Here, slice these blades of Scurvy grass from tip to tip."

It looked like he was trying to flay the poor pieces of grass.

"No, not like that, Potter!"

James groaned something unintelligible under his breath and removed the destroy piece of grass. "What's the difference?"

"A lot of things can go wrong if you don't follow the instructions word for word," I snipped. "Unless you discover a way to strengthen the potion or make it easier to complete. Experimenting with potions during class, though, isn't a good idea."

With a roll of his eyes, he started slicing them correctly.

Taking five rose thorns, I ground them and then I tossed them into the brewing concotion. It turned a deep red. I then took James' sliced pieces of Scurvy grass and threw them in.

"Rose thorns are a common ingredient in all types of Love potions," I murmured, more to myself. Then, I took a frozen Ashwinder egg and cracked it open, allowing the frozen yoke to drop into the cauldron. It bubbled and singed and spat.

"Gross," Potter complained.

The liquid burst into red flames and James jumped back. "Merlin's soggy knickers! What the hell did we do wrong?"

I rolled my own eyes and Slughorn called from his desk, "Language, Mr. Potter." Several kids broke into snickers, laughing at him and his little outburst.

"Can you sprinkle some powdered Moonstone into the potion?" I asked. "Then toss in the peppermint." The brewing potion stopped burning and returned to it's boiling state.

"It's supposed to do that? Burst into bloody flames?" he asked cautiously.

"Yes, Potter," I said, chortling. "Now, the Moonstone powder!"

"The Moonstone powder is the glowing stuff, right?"

"Yes."

He completed the tasks I gave him, smiling proudly as if the potion had been made based solely on his efforts. I took a ladle and stirred the potion seven times clockwise, and then four times counter-clockwise. "Now, we wait exactly two weeks, storing the potion in a freezer at exactly -56 degrees. After that, we can administer the Jobberknoll feathers, the bulbadox juice, the cubes of butterscotch, and then the Valerian petals, and the Potion will be finished.

"Did you memorize this potion or something?" he asked.

I shrugged. "I've brewed it before."

"When?"

"For a friend," I answered simply.

He didn't prod for a more detailed answer. I put a lid over the hot cauldron cautiously. "Now what?" he questioned.

"We wait, obviously," I said snidely. "We're the first people finished."

I glanced around the room, watching others try to prepare their potions. Georgiana had a bunch of Moonstone powder glowing in her hair and Veronique was hitting her head with her ladle. Matthias had put in the thorns before the lovage leaves, triggering a nasty explosion. His face was covered in red goop. I didn't dare laugh out loud, but it was pretty humorous. He caught my eyes and sent a nasty look my way. I quickly ducked out of view.

Slughorn stated, "Alright, students! I am very eager to see how your potions have progressed! Everyone, remove the lids from your cauldrons."

Potter lifted the lid off of our's, and I brought it down to a very low boil.

"Miss Flint and Mr. Potter!" he said, wandering up to us, after tutting people about their horrendous brews and sloppy work stations. "Flawless, like always!" he exclaimed. "Everyone, come here and observe their potion! Notice the heart-shaped spirals rising from the potion, and the wonderful aroma! Tell me, Mr. Potter. What do you smell?"

The students gathered around us, staring at our perfected potion.

James took a good whiff of the pot, looking up thoughtfully for a second. "I smell... Mum's food."

"Ay ay!" Fred called out from a couple of rows away, cheering for Ginny Weasley's cooking.

"And," James continued. "I smell black coffee. With the scent of new broomsticks."

"Interesting," Slughorn mused. "What about you, Miss Flint?"

I breathed in the smell of the potion and exhaled contently. "I smell the Quidditch pitch, fresh in the morning. And the smell of new books. Also, I smell... spearmint."

I stood, dumbfounded, for the rest of potions class while Slughorn allowed others to smell our potion. He finished the class by grading all of our work by our finished project and also the amount of effort we put in. What I couldn't grasp was the certain smell of the potion that wafted through the room. Spearmint? Where'd that come from?

The Quidditch pitch I could understand. And I adored the smell of new books. I used to step into Flourish and Blotts and just close my eyes, inhaling the scent of new books and then explore the endless rows of novels greedily.

But spearmint?

Searching my mind, I tried to remember when I'd ever found the smell of spearmint appealing, and decided that I never had. It wasn't just any spearmint, though. It was a specific type of spearmint, like some sort of toothpaste or chewing gum. I just couldn't put my finger on it.

As I was stepping out of potions, my mind clouded with thoughts, James followed me and gently gripped my shoulder, turning me around and saying, "Thanks for helping me, Rosie. You're bloody brilliant."

"Whatever," I snorted. "I guess you're not so bad yourself, Potter."

He gasped. "A compliment? From the Ice Queen herself? I'm honored!"

"Shove it!"

"Hey, I got to ask you something," he said quietly, scratching the back of his neck anxiously. He watched me carefully, biting the inside of his left cheek,like I were a bomb about to go off at any second, without any warning. "It's about, you know."

"What?"

"Just... would it be so terrible?"

Squinting my eyes in confusion, I repeated my previous statement. "What? Would what be so terrible?"

"Spending the summer with us? At my house?"

Catching me off guard, I paused my retaliation, trying to come up with a good answer. My focus riveted on his mesmerizing, innocent and mischevious brown eyes, I tried to find some sort of deceit or motive behind him.

Before I could respond, Fred grabbed James' arm and lugged him away. James followed him, without looking back at me.

A/N: Sorry this took so long! I had to come up with a recipe for Amortentia. That was NOT easy! But I hoped you enjoyed the chapter. I'm open to any opinions and/or suggestions!

So, in 10 days I'm leaving for France, and I'll be gone for almost all of May. I'm going to try and get a big chapter up before I leave.

Thanks a lot guys for all of the reviews.