Trail of broken hearts and slimy snakes

11

I walked into potions and sat at my table. I decided to sit alone since Draco never showed up to class and even if he did I couldn't stomach to even see his face. Alice and I were still on the outs and Blaise....
I opened my book to the page written on the board. Professor Slughorn sat at his desk, waiting for everyone to take their seats. We were all year sevens so there were no big introductions for us these days. We knew the drill and the professors were tired, using our class times to take breaks and catch their breaths. I began reading the text on the page.
"Amortentia, the strongest love potion to date." was the head line. We learned about these last year but this year we were going to make them for ourselves. I stood to my feet and headed towards the ingredient table, gathering the vials and jars I needed alongside other students doing the same. I reached out to grab a jar when my hand hit someone's and immediately I felt chills run down my spine. I locked eyes with them and my heart sank as I saw two icy gray flames staring back at me. His jaw was clenched and his glare was unwavering. I sucked in and quickly grabbed what I needed and scurried back to my table like a rat in hiding. I didn't even dare to look up from my book to see if his stare had ripped away from me. Professor Slughorn cleared his throat and informed us we would be concocting the potions ourselves and presenting them one by one with what we smell from them. The class fell silent, apart from the stirring of liquids and clinking of glass vials. Everyone set off, making their potions as best they could. Eventually everyone finished and stood at their tables, standing proud over what they had made. Slughorn walked down the aisles, smelling, eyeing and checking each potion. Students took big whiffs and named the scents that woffed from their cauldrons. Some said money, some said sweets, he stood in front of Blaise and Alice and they smiled at each other, beaming with pride as they named each others perfumes and giggled. I rolled my eyes, feeling sick to my stomach, not with jealousy but with anger. I lost everyone, my best friend, a good friend and the love of my life, all in one day. I held my breath at the thought of Draco being the love of my life, but I chose to ignore it, until...
"Rose pedals, books and orange peels." Draco hummed quietly from his cauldron.
My eyes glanced up at him as my breath hitched as I caught him glance back from the corner of his eye. I quickly dropped my gaze back down to my cauldron as Slughorn approached me. I slowly looked up at him and sighed as he raised his eyebrows at me, waiting. I leaned over and took a big whiff from my cauldron and closed my eyes, envisioning what I was smelling. Letting it envelop me from head to toe, filling my senses, my lungs, everything.
"Apple." I started. "And... mint? A hint of cedar wood."
It felt nice, warm and safe to just sit in that scent. I knew it, it was familiar but I couldn't place my finger on it. I opened my eyes and realized that a few people were staring at me, Draco included.
"Good. Now then, since all of you are done and have passed, I'm going to grade a few papers, you all have the rest of the hour to talk amongst yourselves." Slughorn announced before turning and waddling back to his desk.
Alice let out a loud giggle and Blaise shook his head too, almost in amusement. I stared down at my cauldron, confused and irritated. Draco slowly began cleaning his table off, glancing at me every now and then from the corner of his eye. I sat down and placed my arms, folded, on the table and rested my head on top of them. I just wanted to curl back up in bed and sleep forever. My head hurt and my chest was tight, I was numb on the outside and felt like dying on the inside. Class ended and I slowly headed out into the hall and to my next class. Defense against the dark arts. I hated this class but there wasn't much I could do about it so i slowly made my way there. I walked in, seeing I was the last one to arrive, and took my place in the back of the crowd. We were gathered around a small stage and professor Snape was on top of it. His arms were crossed as he waited for everyone to enter and stop talking. After a moment he explained that today we would be learning how to block spells and he needed two students to demonstrate. I quickly dropped my head down and tried not to make eye contact but it seemed like he could read my mind.
"Katherine and Alice." He announced.
My heart skipped a beat and my palms began to sweat hearing my name be called. I swallowed hard and took a deep breath, feeling my legs begin to shake as I made my way up. I looked to Alice who was smiling confidently at me and all I felt was hot rage burning in my stomach like flames, growing, fueling themselves. Snape told us the spell and showed us the movement then said we would take turns shooting a spell and blocking. Alice went first. She shot a spell at me and I blocked it. Shakily but I blocked it. She let out a laugh seeing my hand shake and my knees wobble.
"Sheesh Kat. You lost your boyfriend and now your confidence?" She crossed her arms and lifted an eyebrow at me, challenging me.
I stood up straight and could feel those flames licking the inside of my chest. Begging to burst out and burn this whole room down.
"Go easy on her love. She's had a hard week." Blaise shouted from somewhere in the crowd but I couldn't see him, in fact I couldn't see anything besides red.
Before I knew what was happening I lashed my wand out at Alice, disarming her and sending her wand flying across the room. Her face turned to shock and she jumped back a few feet.
"What the hell Kat!" She shouted.
I lifted my wand again and lashed it once more at her.
"BOMBARDA!" I roared.
At the same moment the spell flew from my lips, Alice jumped back again, just in time for the spell to hit between her feet and explode the ground beneath her. Alice flew back and landed on her ass.
"KATHERINE!" Alice screamed at me as she scrambled to her feet.
I raised my wand above my head shooting the spell again, missing and hitting the wall behind her this time. Tears were pooling in my eyes, blurring my vision. I heard people shouting and screaming but I couldn't make out what they were saying. All I could hear was Alice screaming and it fueled those flames. I wanted more. I wanted to hurt her...
Suddenly I sucked in a breath of air, almost like I had been holding my breath the whole time. Someone's hand gripped my chin and yanked my face away from Alice. My eyes locked onto Draco's. He was huffing like he had been running laps and his hair was a mess.
"Kat. Breath." He said.
I glared at him, feeling my face become hot with anger and confusion. I tried to rip away from him but he gripped my face tighter and wrapped his other hand around my back, keeping me locked on him.
"Breath for me, Katherine." He demanded lowly.
I could see flames, real flames, circling around us and I could hear them crackling. I could feel the heat as they surrounded us and suddenly I realized what was happening. I had destroyed the room. I had blown it up somehow. Panic set in and I began fighting harder against Draco.
"LET GO OF ME!" I screamed.
Draco dropped my face and let go of my back. I took a step back and began gasping for air, clutching my chest. I scanned the room, seeing a ring of fire circling me. I furrowed my brows in confusion. The room was intact but Alice was sitting on the floor, covered in dust and a mess. I turned, looking back at Draco.
"What- what happened?" I asked, feeling my voice crack.
"You... uh- you exploded." Draco stuttered.
"What?" I shouted.
"You need to come with me." Professor snape demanded.
He grabbed my arm and began leading me from the class. I looked back at Draco, confusion all over his face but his eyes never left me. Then, we were gone.