AMORTENTIA ↠ D. MALFOY

23. CHERUBS & WINE

"Hufflepuff doesn't stand a bloody chance," Blaise added with a grin.

Draco turned to Lucy and leaned in very close to her, his breath fanning against her neck. The smell of peppermint and his musky cologne made her heart skip a beat.

"Let's work on the cabinet tomorrow," he whispered into her ear.

Lucy nodded in agreement before flipping through his Charms textbook to read about the spell they needed to turn the vinegar to wine.

"Daphne and I are going to have the most romantic evening tonight," announced Theo to the group. "I'm going to show up with flowers, and chocolate and have the best shag of my—"

"Flitwick!" hissed Arielle, interrupting the fluffy-haired boy. She quickly flicked her wand, removing the charm he had placed.

Lucy turned to her glass flask of vinegar and swished her wand at it as Draco watched curiously. The liquid slowly changed from an opaque vinegar to a brilliant red. She carefully moved the flask closer to her and sniffed the liquid to ensure it was indeed wine. The fruity aroma of grapes and the tinge of alcohol burned her nostrils as she smiled with satisfaction.

"Well done, Ms. Armstrong!" Professor Flitwick cried out in delight. "See here class, Ms. Armstrong has done it!"

Lucy could feel Hermione staring daggers at her as the bushy-haired girl waved her wand and changed her own flask into wine. She glanced back up at Lucy with a smug look upon her face.

"Can I get a swig of that, Lucy?" Blaise snickered as the squat professor gave him a disapproving look. "Only joking, Professor!"

Professor Flitwick teetered over to the Gryffindors on the other side of the classroom to observe Hermione's flask.

"Did you want to do anything for Valentine's Day?" Draco asked quietly with sincerity behind his blue eyes.

"You don't strike me as the type of guy to celebrate a cheesy holiday," Lucy quipped with raised eyebrows, smiling lightly.

"Oh bloody hell, absolutely fucking not," he clarified before leaning closer and changing his tone to a mere whisper. "I definitely don't need a bloody excuse like a holiday to want to fuck you,"

Lucy nearly spilled her flask of wine at his comment. Her cheeks were about the same color as the alcohol as she packed up her belongings into her bag.

Love was indeed in the air as the group of Slytherins made their way back to the common room. Lucy kept a sharp eye out for any cherubs and grimaced at the number of couples snogging in the corridors. When she popped into the bathroom to use the loo, she had to take house points away from a Ravenclaw who was giving out chocolates doused in a rather strong love potion. She knew better than anyone how intoxicating the smell of Amortentia alone was. She could not imagine how intense the feelings of the actual potion could be and groaned internally at the number of male students that were bound to end up in the infirmary as a result.

After dinner, Draco intertwined their fingers before suddenly dragging Lucy down an empty corridor, pausing in front of a statue of a hag. He pressed her back lightly against the statue, placing his lips tenderly upon her own in a sweet kiss. The cool stone was startling through her uniform top as one of his hands reached up to cusp her cheek.

"Might as well celebrate the bloody occasion after all," he murmured into her ear before trailing kisses down her neck, causing Lucy to gasp. Their lips collided once more and she could feel her breath hitch in her throat at the sensation. Just as Draco's hand began to brush her thigh, Lucy opened her eyes and yelped at the sight of a large, yellow-eyed cat they were all too familiar with.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked worriedly before Lucy let out a giggle and pointed to the cat that let out a loud meow. Ms. Norris glared at them with her sharp feline eyes.

"Oh, bloody hell," he snapped with a roll of his eyes, backing up so that Lucy could stand up straight once more. The two started walking away and Draco looked back and scowled at the cat that had followed in pursuit. "Bugger off, stupid cat!"

The next morning, the air was tense with anticipation as Lucy nibbled on her eggs and toast.  The Slytherin Quidditch team, which thankfully did not include her anymore, each wore their emerald robes and a determined expression upon their faces. It was evident in the Great Hall that the houses were divided as to support Hufflepuff or Slytherin. All of Gryffindor clearly wanted Slytherin to lose, while a good amount of Ravenclaws wished the Slytherins good luck.

As the entire school set off to the Quidditch pitch, Draco and Lucy scurried to the Room of Requirement. Outside the window, thick pellets of hail were pelting down at the ground, while winds howled as they whipped around the castle. Part of her was thankfully they would not be standing outside in the insufferable weather.

"I swear, if we run into Ms. Norris I might kick her down the fucking stairs this time," Draco said sourly as they strolled through the piles of rubbish within the dusty room. Lucy swore she saw a Cornish Pixie as Draco removed a small yellow feathered bird from its cage. He carefully cupped the bird in his hands while Lucy tugged the tapestry off of the Vanishing Cabinet and opened the mahogany door.

He placed the bird inside the Cabinet and firmly shut the door before nervously glancing over at the raven-haired girl who squeezed his arm reassuringly. A few moments of silence went by, the only sound was that of the hail hitting the windowpanes. Suddenly, a ribbit echoed from inside the Cabinet.

"What the—?" began Draco, swinging the door open in confusion to see a rather plump toad sitting inside where the bird had previously been. "It actually fucking worked!"

Lucy beamed up at the boy with adoration as he pecked her on the lips. "At this rate, we'll have it ready by June!" she exclaimed.

The two left the room with high hopes as the roars of the students cheering echoed all the way from the stadium. Draco wandered off to the washroom, promising he would meet her back in the common room. Lucy walked with a pep in her step as she turned the corner and nearly walked into someone. She stumbled back with surprise to see Professor Snape staring back at her with his greasy nose very close to her.

"Ah, Armstrong, just the person I was hoping to see," he snapped, motioning for her to walk with him.

She begrudgingly followed, trailing slightly behind him.

"How goes the Cabinet?"

"Er—it should be fixed by June, sir,"

Snape paused and glanced over at the girl. "Hm, impressive. Very well,"

With that, he strode off down a corridor, his robes billowing ominously behind him.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

author's note:

this chapter was literally all over the place but as the sixth year comes to a close and there will definitely be a lot of time skipping to keep up the pace or it would simply drag on forever lmao. thanks so much for reading! i tried to make this chapter extra quirky if u could tell ;)