BREATHE -draco malfoy

fourteen.

"And this one?" Slughorn asked Hermione. Hermione walked over to the steaming cauldron, sniffing it and then blushing furiously.

"Amortentia. The most powerful love potion in the world," Hermione replied.

It was their first potions lesson. It was strange to Ana to not see her uncle standing at the front of the class, but her friends seemed happy to have a new professor. Ana supposed that she was happy about it too, as Slughorn was a lot...warmer than Severus, if not a bit of an odd man.

"We will be making this potion today. It is a very tricky one, disastrous if you should get it wrong. So read your books carefully, and for the love of Merlin, don't drink it."

Ana's breath hitched. They had to make a love potion? Today of all days? Why couldn't they have made literally anything else? Ana sulked over to her couldron that was stationed across from Hermione and Harry and right next to Ron. She grabbed her potions book from her bag, ignoring a certain blonde haired wizard that was stationed behind her. Why did this class have to be shared with Slytherin? She would rather have had to do Transfiguration with Draco, maybe turn a desk lamp into a tabby cat or something, rather than brew up a love potion with him standing only a few feet away. But Draco had been silent the entire class so far. Usually he talked, at least to Crabbe and Goyle and Pansy Parkinson, joking and laughing or making fun of people, but he kept a low profile today, simply brewing his potion in silence. Ana hadn't looked at him all class, trying desperately to look anywhere else. It was so hard to look at Draco now, with his sullen face and dead eyes that no longer flickered at her from under his blonde eyelashes. And not that it mattered, but she was furious with him. Harry had told them last night in the common room what Draco had done to him on the train. But Ana had no outlet for her anger at Draco, as she was sure he didn't care.

"Ah, Miss Prince," Slughorn said, walking over to peer into her cauldron. "Very nice." The class was coming to an end and Ana thought she had successfully brewed the potion. Potions was always her best subject. Must have been the result of her upbringing. "And what do you smell?" Slughorn asked.

"What?" Ana asked, horrified. She was keenly aware that two grey eyes were undoubtedly boring into her back, although she refused to turn around. Slughorn surely wouldn't ask her to announce what was most attractive to her, not here in front of everyone.

"Well, we have to know if it's worked, don't we?" Slughorn said with a chuckle. "Don't be shy."

Ana swallowed, hard. Draco was close enough to hear anything she said to Slughorn, and Ana didn't want to give him the satisfaction of hearing what the Amortentia smelled like. Harry and Hermione were right in front of her and Ron beside her and she didn't want them to have any suspicions on what she was about to say. So she dropped her voice low.

"Um...cologne. And green apples..." Ana said. These two were obvious. But a third smell peaked out at her. "And white roses."

Slughorn looked at Ana quizzically. It took her a second to figure out why. She had said white roses, and it wasn't really possible to smell colors, was it? But Ana had said it because she knew exactly what the smell was in reference to. She saw Ron from behind Slughorn, who had been close enough to hear her, and his eyebrows were knitted together, as if trying to figure out what Ana was most attracted to.

"Very good," Slughorn said, a little confused. He continued around the room until Ana heard him speaking to Draco behind her.

"And what do you smell, Mr. Malfoy?" Slughorn asked.

"Nothing," Ana heard him mumble. His velvet voice ran through her, but she ignored the small shudder it brought to her spine.

"Pardon?" Slughorn asked.

"I don't. Smell. Anything," Draco hissed. He was talking louder now, clearly frustrated.

"Well, I don't think that's entirely possible, dear boy," Slughorn said. "A strapping young lad like yourself." Slughorn was chuckling heartily, trying to create a banter with Draco. This was a mistake.

"Well, maybe if you, Professor, didn't make us create such a useless, idiotic potion, I would be able to brew it properly," Draco hissed. Ana's eyes widened but she kept her head turned straight ahead, not looking back. Draco had his moments of anger, but they were rarely directed towards faculty. Contrary to popular belief, Draco always tried very hard to do well in school. And he was very good at potions. In fact, he was often an insufferable suck-up to his teachers and had scored an "outstanding" on his potions O.W.L's. Slughorn just coughed uncomfortably and continued on.

Soon, class was finally over. Ana heard Slughorn call after them to prepare for next class, where they would be making a "Living Death" potion, as she rushed out.

Ana was walking away from the classroom and down a deserted corridor when she gasped heavily. He had scared the living daylights out of her, lurking behind a corner. It was Draco, standing stiffly by the wall. Had he been waiting for her? Ana's breathing picked up, faster than it ever had in Draco's presence before. She was angry at him, for what he did to Harry, so after she had recovered from being startled, she glared up at him. Draco matched her expression, his whole face hard and cold.

"It was peonies," Draco snapped at her before she could speak. This made Ana do a double take. "In my garden. It was white peonies, not roses."

So he had heard her. Ana straightened up and, regrettably, replied to him with equal coldness. "Well at least I smelled something. Although, since it is a love potion, I shouldn't be surprised. You clearly know nothing about that."

Ana wanted to take it back the second she said it. Draco's face fell, almost immediately. He turned, starting to walk away from her. But he froze with his back to her, just close enough for Ana to hear him.

"Vanilla...black tea...and old books."

Draco kept walking then. Ana was left, her heart breaking and feeling like the worst person in the world. Why on Earth had she been so cruel to him? Why, during the one opportunity she had gotten to speak with him in weeks, had she dared to tell Draco that he was incapable of love? She remembered the smell that lingered inside the first edition copy of Pride and Prejudice. The smell of the tea they had drank every morning and each night. And the vanilla? The scent of her favorite perfume.