eloquence | sirius black ✓

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

THE AMORTENTIA POTION

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Sirius Black was in Potions class with the Slytherins. Lily Evans was on the left of him, with James and Peter behind him. Diana Allister was at the right of him, much to his delight. Or happiness, really. He wasn't really sure about how to feel about the whole thing, if he had to be honest with himself. But unfortunately for Sirius, the person that sat beside Diana was Remus. Remus John Lupin. Remus, Remmy Lupin, the werewolf, the one Sirius hated slightly at that very moment.
"Today we will be identifying several potions," said Professor Slughorn, gesturing to three cauldrons at the front row. "Could anyone guess the first one right here?" said Professor Slughorn, pointing to a potion with odd swirls of smoke spewing out of it.
Diana and Lily raised their hands. Professor Slughorn pointed to Lily. "Amortentia, sir," said Lily; she sounded fully confident of her answer. Sirius knew that Lily Evans was one of the best students in their Potions' class.
"I would like to have four volunteers to come and smell the potion. Let's see! We have Black, Lupin, Allister, and Evans," said Professor Slughorn. "Perfect!" he exclaimed with a grin. Sirius was curious of what he would smell in the Amortentia Potion, if he had to be honest with himself. And quite nervous, too, he had to admit. But he wouldn't say it out loud, of course. He kept his feelings bottled up and rarely ranted to anyone about them. Not even James. He just kept them in so that no one knew how he was actually feeling.
Remus was the first one to come up. "Chocolate, tea, and something that smells like rain over a field of jasmine," said Remus, sniffing the potion. Sirius was the next to come up.
Sirius stepped towards the potion.
"Pine trees, smoke and fire... and rainfall over a field of jasmine?" said Sirius questioningly, stepping back after he said the last bit, returning to his seat.
Lily stepped forward, taking a whiff of the potion quickly. "I smell the smell of a new book and cinnamon," said Lily, taking another whiff. "mint, and something I can't quite catch," said Lily hesitantly, especially at the last part. Sirius raised an eyebrow to that. She certainly knew what it actually meant, but didn't say it out loud. Instead of saying it out loud, she blushed and quickly returned to her seat without saying any other words.
       Diana was the last one to step forward.
"I smell apple tea, specifically-," Diana took another sniff of the potion. "The fresh snow; the first snowfall of winter, and some kind of familiar smell. I don't know what it is, Professor Slughorn," said Diana hesitantly. Sirius raised an eyebrow to that, but he didn't say anything. He respected her privacy enough. Professor Slughorn gestured her to keep trying. " — maybe it's er... some kind of," Diana hesitated for a while. She seemed to be hesitating a lot at that very moment. "New books," finished Diana. She quickly went back to her seat, not wanting to say anything at all. It was odd of her to so that. It was just a made-up thing. The smell was too familiar.
Diana went back to her seat with a slight red tint on her cheeks. Because the person she smelled in Amortentia was someone she knew.
Sirius Orion Black the Third, to be specific.
Diana was interested in Sirius. But his cocky smirk and pranks — stop thinking about him, thought Diana — made him a horrible person. Besides, Diana liked Remus. Remus John Lupin. Gryffindor. Moony. Rems. Remmy. And yet a small voice in her head was telling her that her feelings for Remus were merely friendly and platonic. With a sigh, she ignored that small voice.
"And this one?" asked Professor Slughorn, pointing to another potion. It was clear. Clear and had no scent at all.
To everyone's surprise, James was the one to raise his hand. It was a rare occasion when James raised his hand. And when he did, it was rarely a brilliant question (that had happened once), and it could also be a stupid question.
"Veritaserum, sir." said James, standing up. It was the correct answer.
"And how did you identify it, Mr. Potter?" asked Professor Slughorn curiously. He was slightly suspicious over the fact that James Potter, out of all people, had managed to answer his question and get it right. For once, that was.
"From it's clear color — and the fact that it has no scent at all," said James lazily, sitting back down at his seat. He slumped back into his seat, looking quite tired. Everyone at that class stared at him with shocked and surprised faces at him. James simply shrugged it off. Sirius, too, was surprised of it, in matter of fact. For once, James Fleamont Potter had raised his hand and answered the question correctly. Did he read up on the Potions textbook the night before? Sirius wondered how he had gotten it right, honestly.
Diana looked at the book Severus gave her. She decided not to use it. "You could have it. It's from Snivellus," said Diana sharply, throwing the book to Sirius, who caught it effortlessly by reflex.