'When it comes to love, you're just as blinded.' - Eminem feat Rihanna, Love The Way You Lie

"Where are you going?"

It's the second week of October and Scor, Ria, Rose, Em and I are standing in a line in the doorway, blocking Lysander's way outside from the Entrance Hall.

"Let me go out."

"Not until you tell us where you're going."

"And hurry up, 'cos Scor, Ria, Al and I have to get to Potions." Rose cuts in.

"I'm just going out for a walk."

"And you go out for a walk for an hour every Wednesday morning?" Ria arches an eyebrow at him disbelievingly.

"Are you stalking me?"

"No, man, we've just been watching you every Wednesday. Intently."

"Scor, that's creepy. Look, I'm late now, so move."

"Aha! Late for what?" Rose looks triumphant.

Lysander just rolls his eyes and moves to step past us but I block his path. "Not so fast, hotshot."

Emma steps forward. "Sander, we're worried about you." She holds his face gently. "Are you doing drugs?"

"WHAT?!" he splutters. And let me tell you, it takes a lot to make Lysander Scamander splutter. "No, I am not taking drugs!"

"Then tell us where you're going!" Scor exclaims.

"Sweet Merlin, you're relentless. I told you already; I'm just going for a walk."

"I love the way you lie." Ria adds in.

"Fine!" He looks annoyed at being forced to tell us. "I'm going down to the Quidditch Pitch."

Why? Lysander's not the sporty type, and he only watches Quidditch games to keep Emma and Rose company in the stands.

I say as much.

"Madam Flue says I'm a danger to the health of the Wizarding public every time I get on a broom. So she's giving me flying lessons."

We burst out laughing.

"Stop laughing."

We're in hysterics.

"Hey. Stop."

We're literally rolling on the floor of the Entrance Hall now.

"I will tell Professor McGonagall about the Halloween party."

That shuts us up.

The Halloween party is something the seventh years organise every year. It's held in the Room of Requirement and everyone above fourth year is invited. For most people, it's the highlight of the year, let alone the first term. There's booze, loud music, and people getting it on right on the dance floor, so in short, McGonagall doesn't know about it.

"So," I say, changing the subject quickly, dusting myself off as I push myself off the floor and refuse to help Rose up too, "You can't be bad enough for Flue to give you one-to-one lessons in sixth year."

They all give me a Look.

"Mate, do you even remember his first flying lesson in first year?" Scor shakes his head at me, "His broom zoomed straight up above the clouds, he came diving back down soaking wet, then smashed straight through McGonagall's window and ended up hanging from the chandelier in the Great Hall."

I wince. "Maybe flying lessons are for the best, man."

Lysander scowls at me and marches out of the Entrance Hall.

Once he is safely out of sight, we collapse into laughter again.

"Come on, guys." Emma wipes away tears of laughter and casts a Tempus charm, "You're already late for Potions."

Urgh. Potions.

I swing my bag over my shoulder, wave goodbye to Ems who has a free period now (lucky bitch), and then walk down to the dungeons with Scor, Ria and Rose.

Professor Sangrene doesn't even bat an eyelid when we walk in ten minutes late. We make for our usual seats but she stops us and we notice that our usual seats are occupied.

"Some professors complained to McGonagall that I'm not disciplining my students properly."

I snort. That's the understatement of the century. Sangrene doesn't give a fuck what we do. At the start of each lesson she just flicks her wand at the board to write up Potions instructions, reads a magazine behind her desk for the rest of the lesson, and then collects our potions samples at the end. The good thing is that there's no homework. The bad thing is that Rose - as my unwilling potions partner (trust me, it's mutual) - constantly grumbles to me about how she's going to fail her Potions NEWT without adequate teacher support.

Sometimes I just don't understand my cousin. Scratch that, I never understand my cousin.

Sangrene continues, "So to show I care about you or something, I'm assigning your Potions partners for the rest of the school year. A certain professor suggested that I place you with someone you may not want to work with. Who I place you with is non-negotiable, and I know some of you won't be happy." She looks straight at Ria.

"Albus Potter and Rose Weasley." Oh, Godric, really? She hasn't even changed my pairing; she must know that my cousin and I really don't like each other. We slump down on a spare table, determinedly not facing each other.

"Scorpius Malfoy and Lorcan Scamander."

I grin as Scor blows a kiss towards Lorcan and dances to the vacant seat at his side. "Hey Lorcy, baby." Lorcan scowls.

Lorcan is Lysander's twin brother, but he's the complete opposite of good old Sander; Lorcan's in Slytherin, and is moody and snarky.

Actually, now I think about it, he's not that different from Lysander. Jokes, jokes.

"Ria Black and -" She shuffles through her sheets of parchment. This should be interesting. Ria's friends with fucking everyone. In fact, the only person she actively hates is –

"Lucien Black."

Oh shit.

Ria's eyes darken dangerously and she glowers at Sangrene. "No. Way."

"Sorry, Miss Black, but as I already said; your pairing is non-negotiable."

"Besides," she continues, as she picks up her magazine again, "Mr Black already asked for a swap, and I said no."

Ria stalks over to Lucien and angrily drops into the seat next to him, shuffling as far away from him as possible, as he is also doing to her.

Ria and Lucien Black is a long story that I don't know. She and Scor both hate him because, and I quote, 'I hate my whole extended family because they're fucking pricks. I hate him because he's one of them.'

Needless to say, he hates her too, though they rarely go all out and make a scene about it. Hopefully that's not about to change, because I know he makes her furious, and when Ria Black's furious, you run.

"Bitch, what are we making?" I poke Rose.

"Read the board, you wanker."

Amortentia, the most powerful love potion in the world.

I groan and get up to collect the ingredients.

I'm going to have to check my meals carefully today.

An hour and a half later and I am wiping the sweat off my forehead. Damn, that potion was hard. I glance next to me and freeze.

"Rose. Why are you crying?"

"WE DIDN'T MAKE IT RIGHT!" she wails. I look into our cauldron and realise that our potion is pale pink, which is definitely not correct.

"Hey, at least it looks nice." I shrug, and she wails even louder.

I roll my eyes and wander over to Scor and Lorcan's potion, which has the distinctive mother-of-pearl sheen of true Amortentia, with steam rising from it in fragrant spirals. Lorcan has gone over to talk to Lucien (they're Slytherin best friends. Ew, right?), and Ria and Scor are whispering urgently over the potion.

I catch a few words, "…old books and Chanel…"

I know exactly who smells like that. I grin widely and lean into Scor. "Got a crush on Rose, huh?"

He jumps and turns to glare at me. "Shut the fuck up, Al."

"No need to be embarrassed, mate. Actually, scratch that, if it's my cousin you're in love with, then there's definitely reason to be embarrassed."

A second later and there is a wand at my throat.

"If you tell her …."

Scor is definitely having a monthly visit from Mother Nature.

"Dude, chill, I won't say a thing to her." I wink at him and push his wand away before he kills me accidentally, "I'll get more enjoyment out of watching you try to woo the crazy bint. It's a good old Romeo and Juliet story, except I hope your mum doesn't die at the end, 'cos she's damn hot."

Yes, little known fact about Romeo and Jules (Lysander was obsessed with the play and told me a random fact about it every day for the whole of second year): Romeo's mum dies at the end.

Scor stows his wand away. "Who the fuck are Romeo and Juliet?"

There's no hope for this boy.

Rose sashays up, eyes bright again, flicking her hair over her shoulder smoothly. "Hey, Scor, what do you smell in the potion?"

She pouts 'seductively'.

Godric, I have no idea why he likes her.

Scor looks straight at her. "You." he deadpans.

Okay, he just straight out told her.

There's a shocked pause.

"Lol, ha ha." Rose giggles nervously and shuffles back to our desk, her cheeks stained crimson.

I high-five Scor. "Man, you rock."

He sighs. "But mate, she didn't believe me."

Ria runs a hand through his hair comfortingly. "She thought you were joking, babe. Ask her out later; I know she'll say yes."

Scor nods, happy again and sticks his head into the potion fumes, breathing in contentedly.

"So, Black, what does Amortentia smell like to you?" I turn to Ria, who is staring at the potion weirdly.

"Trust me honey, you don't want to know." She looks at me, her face unreadable, and her eyes flicker for a second before she smiles. "What about you?"

"I am not sniffing that thing."

"Why the hell not?"

"I don't want to know what I love."

"That's deep, Al. Smell it."

"You know, I think I'll just go back to – Argh!" She grabs the front of my robes and pulls me over the potion.

"You fucking – oh Godric, that smells good." I inhale deeply as the scent surrounds me.

I smell the fresh grass of the fields around my house, the sweet scent of sex, the lilies perfume that Lily always wears, and then I close my eyes as the perfect aroma of raspberries and sandalwood fills me.

Wait, raspberries and sandalwood?

Shit.

I pull back quickly.

"What did you smell?" Ria is looking at me strangely.

Fair enough, I probably looked like I was in heaven whereas now I imagine I look terrified.

"Nothing, nothing." I wave at her spastically and run out of the classroom like a frightened gazelle (maybe a roaring lion instead; I am much more manly than a gazelle) when Sangrene dismisses us, leaving Rose to clean up our cauldron.

I run up to Gryffindor Tower and collapse on my bed, breathing heavily. What does this mean? Can –

"Dude, what's wrong?"

I sit up to see Lysander lying on his bed, looking at me strangely.

For Godric's sake, will people stop looking at me like I'm a mental case? I scowl at him.

He sighs and helps me up. "Come on Al, let's get some lunch."

We walk down to the Great Hall in silence, which I am totally comfortable with.

But then he breaks it in a secluded corridor. "Heard you made Amortentia in Potions today."

"How did you – You know what? Never mind." I shake my head. After seventeen years of knowing the guy, I've become used to the idea that Lysander somehow knows everything. "It smelt like raspberries and sandalwood."

"Ria." He doesn't seem surprised.

"Yeah, man. But I don't – I mean, of course I love her, but not like that, you know? And maybe I like her more than usual, but – I just don't know." I run a hand through my hair in frustration.

Lysander puts a cool hand on my back. "Amortentia reminds you of the things that you find most attractive, even if you're unaware of your fondness for the object of your affection itself."

Sounds like he swallowed our frikkin' textbook.

"So, what you're saying is …. I love her; I just don't know it yet?"

"Yes, but don't worry about it, Al." He smiles at me gently.

"Okay." I lift my head determinedly. "I'll ask her out to Hogsmeade."

In one swift movement Lysander has me pinned against the wall, suddenly-intense brown eyes boring into mine. "Don't force yourself to love her because Amortentia makes you think you should; fall in love with her because your heart tells you to."

And with those words of wisdom, he drops me and strides away.