Starry skies and Gardenias

Chapter 108

Slughorn had left them to their own devices, saying that he had a meeting to attend in the staff room and that they were to finish their last potion for the year. 

And Regulus wanted to run out of the room. 

After that incident in the forest, he simply couldn't think straight. 

And Jefferson didn't seem bothered in the least. 

Well, why would she be?

She was still in her blue dress, only she had her black school robes over it as she worked on the potion.

Regulus seemed to have a perpetual pink tinge on his cheeks and he hated it. And the fact that they were working on one of the most powerful love potions. . .

He shuddered slightly.

Regulus turned away from the potion that was bubbling in the cauldron. It was starting to turn pale pink. 

"We should be able to smell something different by now," Regulus grumbled.

"Can you smell anything different?" he asked.

"Not really," Jefferson said slowly. She leaned closer to the potion. 

"It is very faint," she said. "Did we do something wrong?"

"I'm checking the steps again," Regulus said and picked up the book again and flipped the pages. 

Jefferson came over and read the book beside him. 

Regulus wanted to jump into the fucking lake. He would have preferred it if the Giant Squid ate him.

"You know what, Jefferson?" he said crossly. "Why don't you leave the room for a bit?"

"Sorry?" Jefferson said, slightly offended and confused.

"All I can smell is that ridiculous perfume of yours," Regulus snapped. "That weird jasmine. Maybe that's what is clouding the potion. What did you do? Dump the entire thing on you this morning?"

Isabella scoffed.

Really?!

"You don't get to talk, Black," Isabella said sharply. "I don't know what you've done today. But that weird cologne you use is stinking up the class,"

"No, it isn't," Black snapped back. "It smells perfectly fine. It is you,"

Isabella scoffed. She could only faintly smell the other things, all there was that fresh pine smell. 

"Merlin, go away," Regulus shooed her away as the spiralling vapours started emitting out of the cauldron and the potion turned the mother of pearl sheen.  It was almost done. Just a few more minutes. 

Jefferson glared at him, and then stalked off to the other end of the table.

Regulus scrunched up his nose. The smell was nice, yes, but it wasn't exactly helpful at the moment, was it? He couldn't smell anything but that. 

He knew that was her perfume. Every time he sat next to her, she would smell like jasmine. And when he was a cat, that was all he smelled like too, staying with her for so long. 

"Something's wrong," Jefferson said. 

"We did everything right," Regulus said. "Unless. . .you messed it up somehow,"

"If it was the matter of messing it up," Isabella snapped at Black. "Then it would be you," 

As they were arguing over their potion, the door to the classroom opened and Slughorn entered.