Belong (D.M)

Part twentyfive

Days passed in the castle, and her sixth year classes had started. One afternoon when she was walking down to the dungeons for her advanced potions class with Hermione she saw him, the pale boy alongside Blaise Zabini. She looked at him for a moment as time stopped, but he only looked at the ground.

Professor Snape was no longer teaching potions, seeing as he had taken over as the defense against the dark arts teacher after Umbridge's downfall. Professor Slughorn, a short man with a old face and companionable voice, was the new potions teacher.

They were just about to start as Harry and Ron dropped in, looking displeased to be in the classroom in the dungeons. Professor Slughorn however seemed more than happy to have them join his class, and they grabbed books before they sat down behind her and Hermione.

"What are you two doing here?" Hermione turned around to ask them "neither of you are qualified for advanced potions"

"Oh we know" Ron sighed, glancing at Harry.

"Professor McGonagall made us come" Harry informed Hermione and she nodded her head, respecting that professor McGonagall probably knew what she was doing.

The class began, and as professor Slughorn talked about a new potion, the amortentia potion, she glanced over at Draco. He was sat at a wooden desk to the left beside Blaise Zabini, keeping his head hung low.

"Can someone please tell me what the amortentia potion is?" the old professor asked and Hermione raised her hand quickly "ah yes miss..."

"Granger professor, the amortentia potion is an extremely powerful love potion, however it does not actually produce love, only infatuation and possibly obsession"

"Correct miss Granger, five points to Gryffindor"

Draco rolled his eyes as Hermione got the question right, and she couldn't help but sigh at his ignorance.

"Today you will learn how to brew amortentia" professor Slughorn said as he looked out onto the class sat before him "however be aware will you, as you all are maturing to the stage where love occurs, the potion's use is limited as miss Granger pointed out, amortentia doesn't create actual love as it's impossible to manufacture or imitate love, it is only a mean of infatuation, now can anyone tell me what amortentia smells like?"

Hermione's hand shot right up in the air once more and professor Slughorn nodded his head towards her.

"Yes miss Granger"

"Amortentia smells different to each person, depending on what attracts them professor"

"Correct miss Granger" professor Slughorn said "now open your books to page twelve where you will find the instructions on how to brew the potion, go on and get started everyone"

She got her cauldron up on the wooden table as she got started on her potion, adding ashwinder eggs, rose thorns, peppermint, powdered moonstone, pearl dust and rose petals. It took the entirety of the potions lesson to brew the potion, and when it was done it asserted itself with a mother of pearl like sheen and a spiralling steam.

"Everyone done?" professor Slughorn asked as he walked along the desks "very well, everyone has done it, now smell your potions"

Everyone bowed their heads down, sniffing the liquid inside their cauldrons.

"Mr Potter, what do you smell?" professor Slughorn asked, eyeing Harry.

"Oh uhm treacle tart professor, and a woody scent much like a broomstick handle and a... uhm something flowery that I might have uhm smelled at the Burrow"