IT turned out that Professor Slughorn was not just willing to accept Ron and Harry into his class, but welcomed them with open arms. Slughorn had a penchant for collecting individuals who had, or would in the future, influence. They whole potions class was full of people who held prestige, power, or potential. Not surprisingly, over half of them were Slytherins.
The first task that Slughorn had for them was to identify three potions in cauldrons. Hermione went through the first two almost rotely. It felt like she was reciting the textbook, and she might have been. The third, however, caused her to stumble.
"Amorentia is the strongest love potion known to man," she said, her voice shaking. "It's supposed to smell differently to each person based on what attracts them. For example: I smell freshly mown grass, spearmint toothpaste, broom polish, and… And."
The tears came on faster than anyone had anticipated. The last smell had been that of Viktor's soap. It had been so strong that a wave of longing hit her, and hit her hard. She crumpled to the floor, unable to keep from sobbing. Her hand over her mouth.
The Slytherins looked at her with a mixture of confusion and sympathy. Oddly enough, or perhaps not that oddly at all, the boys were the ones who were confused. And the girls showed knowing glances before turning their attention to her.
"Yes. Yes. Amorentia can sometimes have that effect," Slughorn said. "It doesn't cause true love, but obsession or infatuation if consumed. But the smells can sometimes bring out strong emotions."
He covered the cauldron with a lid and put it in his office. With the source of the smell removed, Hermione managed to slow the tears somewhat. Instead of the full blown body shaking sobs that had racked her just a few moments, instead she was weeping softly. The tears streaming silently down her cheeks.
Slughorn returned with a small glass vial filled with a golden liquid.
"Now this is Telix Felicis," Slughorn said, "more commonly known as liquid luck. One drop in your morning tea will make all your endevours successful until noon. This amount should last a month, if taken in the proper dose."
It wasn't a big vial. It was probably full of about a teaspoon, perhaps a teaspoon and a half, of the liquid. The possibility that it could last a month was hard to believe.
"This vial will the reward for the person who brews the best Draught of the Living Death in the remaining time."
Everyone hurried to grab their supplies and books. No one wanted to loose, even if they knew logically that they weren't likely to win. Hermione wiped her eyes, and wound up at a workbench with Daphne Greengrass, who she hadn't spoken to much. Daphne was quiet for the class, which Hermione found refreshing.
Everyone avoided the workbench where Seamus Finnegan had set up his stuff. They were all well aware of his tendency to blow things up. And no one, no one at all, wanted to be close to him whit something as volatile as the Draught of the Living Death. It wouldn't kill them, unless Seamus royally screwed up, but no one wanted to be stuck in the hospital wing until a Wiggenweld potion was brewed.
Hermione wasn't sure how Seamus had managed to get into N.E.W.T level potions, let alone why he was there. Seamus was incredibly talented at getting things to explode. He had been since first year. She was pleasantly surprised that he hadn't blown up the O.W.L. exam room. She guessed that for the practical part of his exam, it was possible that he had been asked to concoct something designed to explode.
There was also the little matter of why he was even in the class. Most students hated potions. Whether that had more to do with Snape as opposed to the subject matter had yet to be determined. But most students dropped it the moment they had a chance.
Harry wound up at the workbench with Seamus. Ron had left him for the safer space next to Blaise Zabini. Blaise might not have been Ron's first choice for a partner, even if it was just for sharing the dest, but he was a much safer choice when it came to potions exploding.
It turned out that being next to Seamus worked in Harry's favour. He, and everyone else, had anticipated the explosion. But most people simply liked to put space between them and Seamus' expected splash radius. Harry was well within that radius.
He had to prepare for whatever might happen. And he had a few tricks up his sleeve. One didn't wind up close to Neville or Seamus and forget to have a lid close by. Just in case. And so Harry covered his potions right before Seamus' blew up in his face.
The explosion was big enough that chunks landed all over the classroom. There wasn't a person who wasn't at least splashed and not a cauldron, save Harry's, that hadn't been contaminated.
Harry's potion book was ruined so he was allowed to borrow one from the cupboard while he ordered a new one. They walked out of the class, and Hermione attempted to head straight up to the showers.
Daphne stopped her. "Come with me," she almost whispered.
"Okay," Hermione breathed. She didn't get much of a choice in the matter, as Daphne pulled her down the hall.
"You're engaged," Daphne said once they were away from the main corridor.
"It's not exactly a secret," Hermione said. "But I don't know why you want to know. You don't even like me."
"I like the gossip about the greatest seeker of our generation," Daphne said. "This might actually get some buzz. And It's not a crime to gossip."
Hermione shrugged. "Like I said, it's not exactly a secret. I'm trying to keep it quiet. I don't like people all up in my business."
Neither Hermione nor Viktor liked the public knowing ever faucet of their lives. Viktor knew he had to put up with it, since he was a famous international athlete. But Hermione hadn't really had any exposure to that until the triwizard tournament.
Being friends with Harry had given her some reference, but he didn't receive the same press coverage. Or he hadn't. Not until he had been the weird contestant in a contest that should have excluded him on so many factors.
"But still, can I at least say that you confided in me with this news?" Daphne asked.
"Well, you're the first Slytherin to know," Hermione said. "I guess you could. But I suspect that most of Gryffindor knows by now."
Daphne smiled. "Still will be great to have the first snippet of news in my house. See you later."
Daphne seemed to skip off, her hair trailing behind her. Hermione watched her go, still surprised by how much her news seemed to impact the world around her. She shook her head and headed off to the showers. She really wanted to get the goop off herself.
A/N: I'm sorry for not updating sooner. I will say that I'm better at doing it if you review, but I think something's going on. I haven't been getting the emails that I normally do. So I'm not holding this against you.