The Golden Quartet {Cedric Diggory x Reader x Harry Potter}

Fourth Year: Chapter Nineteen

"Pumpkin, chocolate, plants, and a Shirley Temple."

He caught your eye when you looked up at the last bit, giving you a smile. You looked back down and finished the instructions. The new potion smelled close to the wolfsbane. The seventh years began to brew, occasionally throwing out a question for you to answer. Snape had heard Headmaster Karkaroff muttering to himself as he came down the hall and left the class saying he would be back and if class ended to simply clean up.

Because the Slytherin prefect was in your class, Snape gave her the key and said to lock the Potions room if he hadn't returned. You were in charge of giving out grades which made the seventh years hope he didn't come back until after class was finished. When Snape let you not only teach felix felicis but grade the initial brewing, they all said that your system was the fairest they ever had. Snape immediately shut them down by saying that when it was time to check on the final potion at the end of the six month brewing time, he had the liberty to change the grade you gave based on success and effectiveness of the potion.

You bottled up both wolfsbane potions and walked over to the desk where Cedric was brewing his Amortentia. You shoved the first original wolfsbane potion up to his mouth. He scrunched up his face at the taste. Reluctantly, he tasted the second one.

"That's a lot better."

"Good, everything's the same but taste. Of course, Uncle Remus needs to test it so I know for sure but I think I did it!" You leaned into his cauldron. "You need more peppermint leaves."

"You know that just from the smell? I'm not even done yet."

"Oil from certain leaves tends to stick to the brass and boil out. I don't smell enough cinnamon, lean in."

"I don't smell any pumpkin... more peppermint?"

You nodded and he reached for a couple more leaves. A shiver ran up your spine as he dropped the leaves in. The smell of butterbeer was so strong you felt like passing out. You looked around as Cedric dropped in another leaf, no one else seemed affected. Another shiver. Your eyes flitted to a corner where you thought you saw a dark cloud somehow. Weird things like this used to happen at the Black House, only now you were positive you knew what it was.

"Stop, stop!"

You ran over to Kenneth Towler, grabbing the box he was holding. The students turned to look at his table. They watched you hold the container up to the light and shake the box. With a nod, you dumped out the rose thorns into the trash can.

"These shouldn't even be here, the thorns are browning. Expired rose thorns in Amortentia creates a literal love bomb."

"Meaning?" Kenneth asked as you grabbed the rose thorns from Cedric's desk and gave them to him.

"If you even breathed in too much of the potion, your heart was going to explode."

Everyone checked their rose thorns after you said that. Kenneth thanked you for stopping him from dying in the middle of the Potions room. You made a note to Snape so he would know to check all the ingredients. You could've sworn the rose thorns were freshly harvested. You were glad you caught it because you knew that Harry and them had class in the afternoon and fourth years were brewing Draught of Peace that also required the rose thorns. Someone could have gotten the brown thorns like Kenneth almost did and possibly calm themselves so much that their body shut down completely. Browning rose thorns maximized potions effects and if not used carefully they almost always maximize the effects to a point of death or near it. You sat in your chair and continued to watch Cedric and the others. You looked around ever so often.