• Chapter Sixteen : Amortentia •
[••• ––– •••]
Snow was swirling against the icy windows once more. Christmas was approaching fast. Hagrid had already single-handedly delivered the usual twelve Christmas trees for the Great Hall. Garlands of holly and tinsel had been twisted around the banisters of the stairs. Everlasting candles glowed from inside the helmets of suits of armor and great bunches of mistletoe had been hung at intervals along the corridors.
When (Y/N) was alone, a few boys tended to converge underneath the mistletoe bunches every time she went past. Fortunately, however, (Y/N)'s frequent nighttime wanderings with Harry had given her an unusually good knowledge of the castle's secret passageways, so that she was able, without too much difficulty, to navigate mistletoe-free routes between classes.
Cho, who had been with her at some time, found this really amusing. She had pointed out that (Y/N)'s already taken yet some people still managed to get her attention in some ways. Just thankfully, they hadn't told Harry about this or else, he might have killed ten boys at a time.
On a Tuesday night, (Y/N) found herself walking alone towards the tallest tower of Hogwarts. Apparently, Harry had been so exhausted with his own homeworks that was why he had slept the night away, not even realizing that (Y/N) had another two hours of Astronomy lesson.
The corridors were shouting in silence, which made (Y/N)'s hair to stand up with shivers on her skin. She was definitely scared to be alone but she didn't want to wake anyone up. Padma, Jill and Toni, all of whom were asleep on their dormitory, didn't took Astronomy for their N.E.W.T.s. (Y/N) only have Andrew as her classmate for the subject but he wasn't in the common room when she went down.
"(Y/N)!"
Looking around, she felt a slight relief when she saw that it was Andrew. He was on his Ravenclaw uniform as she was and had his dark brown hair in a depressed way as though he just woke up from a dreadful dream.
"Andrew." she called back. She waited for him to reach her before she asked; "Are you okay? You looked harassed."
Andrew chuckled and fixed his hair into its usual style.
"I forgot that we have class." he muttered as they set off, he was still trying to make himself look decent. He looked around them in confusion. "You're — you're alone?"
"Yeah." (Y/N) replied. "Harry's asleep on his dorm. I didn't want to bother him."
"But it's dangerous." Andrew said. "What if something happens while you're going up to the tower? And I'm supposed to be with you since we both have the same class. I'll have the conscience if something bad happens to you."
(Y/N) felt herself warm in the neck, silently thanking Rowena for not procuring light on their way up the stairs. Harry was the only one who can make her blush but what was happening?
"I-I couldn't find you in the common room when I went down." she mumbled, slightly brushing her hair to tie it up as it began to be hot around her despite the cold presence of Christmas.
"Just next time, if Harry won't be there to walk you to Astronomy class, you can wait for me in the common room." said Andrew, looking forward to their way instead of her with his face in an expression that (Y/N) couldn't guess. "As a guy and your classmate, I should feel responsible for you too... especially when your boyfriend's too busy enough to be with you." he whispered the last few words to himself.
"What's the last bit?" said (Y/N) in curiosity, peering over his face. "I didn't hear it."
"I just said that I'm not going to let you wander around the castle at night on your own." lied Andrew, looking back to her with a small grin. "Only when Harry's not with you, I mean... I'm supposed to be your friend."
The Ravenclaw girl smiled and, although a bit reluctant, nodded. Andrew grinned to himself as he let her lead the way to the topmost part of the tower, his eyes never left her back in case she might fall down or something.
When they reached the place where they usually take their classes, almost all of their classmates in different houses were there already but Professor Sinistra wasn't there yet. (Y/N) and Andrew made their way towards their usual seat and sat down on it while pulling their own homework from their bags.
"Hey." (Y/N) whispered to Andrew after they settled in. "I'm just being curious..."
"Yeah?" Andrew whispered back, scooting closer to (Y/N).
"Did you have any girlfriend back there in Beauxbatons before?"
Andrew raised his eyebrows. (Y/N) grinned sheepishly, looking embarrassed. He chuckled again.
"Well..." he trailed testily. "I had a few... hook ups —"
"Hook ups?" (Y/N) said, aghast. Then, she realized that she had spoken a bit loud, she added; "Sorry..." She lowered her voice again while leaning over to him. "You're a playboy, you are."
Andrew laughed and, taking advantage of her boyfriend's absence, he slowly placed an arm on her shoulder.
"Not really." he said. "But let's just say that it was interesting to know a lot of girls in Beauxbatons in a different way."
"What do you mean by 'different way'?" she inquired.
"Hooking up, I mean." Andrew replied, gently rubbing her arm with his palm. "Not on a serious relationship, like that."
(Y/N) sniggered. The door opened behind and the rest of their classmates had entered with a loud chatter.
"What about you?" Andrew questioned. "Did you had any boyfriend before Harry?"
"No, I didn't." said (Y/N). "He's my first boyfriend."
"Hmm." he muttered. "So, he's your first everything?"
The Heather girl thought for a moment.
"Not really everything, you know, but I think... at some point, yes, he is."
The Steward boy kept quiet again but was still rubbing her arm in a soothing way. (Y/N) — inevitably — felt comfortable under his touch as though she had been feeling this certain pressure ever since, although this had confused her in a way. Andrew was enjoying this, however. He couldn't just let slip this only opportunity of (Y/N) without Harry.
Soon after, Professor Sinistra came in from the door and had told them to bring their quills, parchments, and telescopes for their lesson. The lesson went on by the usual constellation seeing and note-writing. The only difference was that Andrew was still holding (Y/N).
"... sometimes called 'the whale' in English. In Greek mythology, the Cetus was a sea monster which both Perseus, son of the princess of Argos, Danaë, and the king of gods, Zeus, and the Greek hero, Heracles needed to slay. They are in the region of the sky that contains other water-related constellations like the Aquarius, Pisces and Eridanus..."
Midway through writing the word 'Zeus', (Y/N)'s quill was snapped in half.
"Oh, damn." she mumbled, clicking her tongue. She crouched down for her bag and pulled on a new quill, dipped it on her ink pot and began writing again, but stopped when she couldn't remember the next few words. "Uhm... Andrew?"
"Hm?" he hummed, his voice was undoubtedly deep for some reason.
"What was the next bit after 'the king of gods, Zeus'?"
But instead of restating the sentence, he pushed his parchment next to (Y/N)'s to show what he had written.
"Thanks." (Y/N) mumbled and hurried off to take notes again.
This had happened a few more times until the end of the lesson. A few more silent sniggers and laughters before they went down from the Astronomy Tower and up to the Ravenclaw Tower.
"I remembered in the Triwizard Tournament two years ago, Dumbledore drew an Age Line around the Goblet of Fire." said (Y/N) when Andrew asked something about the tournament. "There were a lot of Hogwarts students who tried to trick the Age Line and guess what had happened to them?"
"What?" Andrew asked eagerly, his hands now on her lower back.
"They grew a beard." simpered (Y/N). "Fred and George, you know, Ron's older brothers, they're twin, tried to get pass the Age Line too and that's the first time we've seen the effect of Dumbledore's jinx. He even told Fred and George that they got a better beard than anybody else."
(Y/N) laughed. Andrew watched her with a goofy grin.
"It's a shame you couldn't meet Fred and George, those mischievous twin." said the Heather girl again. "They're having a joke shop in Diagon Alley real soon. I think it's on summer next year or earlier than that."
She looked up to him when she noticed that he wasn't reacting to her words. He was still grinning broadly while he met her brown eyes. She blinked, embarrassed. She was so used to stare to an emerald eyes and not a blue one.
Thankfully, she found a way for her not to stare too long at his eyes. They had finally reached the door for the common room. (Y/N) answered the riddle without any problem and they entered the warmth of the place at once.
"Good night, (Y/N)." said Andrew when they reached the entrance for the staircase up to the girls' and boys' dormitory.
"Good night, Andrew." replied (Y/N), grinning. "I've had a fun night in class, really."
"I've had a fun night too... which I barely get." Andrew said, laughing. "Have a good sleep, (Y/N)."
"Yeah, you too." muttered (Y/N), taking a step on the staircase. "See you tomorrow."
"See you."
(Y/N) left with a small smile plastered on her lips. Andrew still stood on his place while watching her disappear in the staircase, thinking and planning. His inner desire to hold her again floated on his head... and he will do everything to fulfill this particular desire.
[••• ––– •••]
Harry's schedule had been packed enough for him and (Y/N) to hang out just like what they had before. (Y/N), thinking that Harry needed time for his own stuffs, spent her own time with her Ravenclaw friends, Padma, Jill, Toni and Andrew. Sometimes, Cho and Luna would hang out with her too but since both of them were about to take the very important exams in Hogwarts, O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s, at the end of the term, their time were restricted too.
Shockingly, (Y/N) and Andrew grew closer for the past days. If (Y/N) wasn't with her dorm mates or friends, she could be found with the presence of the transferee boy. Harry, who had told (Y/N) that he was getting fond of the said boy, had still doubt about him but since Andrew hadn't done anything bad to his girl, he began to trust him a bit as well.
The weekend approached as the last subject for the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor came, which was Potions.
"Aren't you cold?" Andrew asked (Y/N) as they waited for the door of their room in Potions to open as well as the Gryffindors.
"Just fine." (Y/N) answered as she tightened the scarf around her neck. "How about you?" she assessed, now noticing that he hadn't wore any scarf on him.
"A little." replied Andrew, rubbing the back of his neck. "I forgot my scarf in the tower."
"You shouldn't forget things that are important." said (Y/N), slightly snappish. "Hold this." she muttered, pushing her books unto Andrew's arms. She then opened her bag, pulled her extra scarf and gave it to him. "You can borrow that as long as you give it back today. That's Harry's."
"Harry's?" Andrew asked after he gave her books back and fixed the scarf around his neck. "But he's a Gryffindor."
"I know." she muttered. "But it's a sort of exchange since I owned one of his Gryffindor scarf and so, just to be fair, he owned one of mine too."
"Wouldn't he notice that I'm wearing one of his?" the Ravenclaw boy asked, looking around discreetly for any sign of the said Gryffindor boy.
"He won't." stated (Y/N) calmly. "Besides, you're just borrowing it, right?"
Andrew grinned and nodded. As (Y/N) began ticking her watch again, Andrew lifted a part of the scarf and sniffed it. She smelled like a sweet strawberry. He grinned uncontrollably even until the Gryffindors filed in and Harry hurried off to (Y/N)'s side to kiss her on the side of her head. To Andrew's astonishment, the Gryffindor boy darted a gaze at him and nodded. He had indeed gained his trust at this point.
"You haven't been combing your hair, Harry." (Y/N) said, brushing his unkept hair with her fingers.
"That's an insult, love." Harry chuckled. "I haven't combed my hair since I was born."
"Sorry." sniggered the Heather girl. "You look good in any hairstyle though."
"Another insult." said Harry, now looking highly disapproved. "I haven't tried any hairstyle in my entire life."
(Y/N) laughed. She continued brushing his hair to, at least, make it look decent while Harry looked around the place while holding her waist tightly, squeezing it a few more times to gain warmth to himself.
"Harry." (Y/N) called, but he was too busy thinking the rest of his workload that was on his dorm. "Harry!"
"Huh?" He looked down to (Y/N). "You said something, love?"
"What are you thinking? You seemed tensed." she said anxiously, peering over his face.
"Oh, nothing. Just the workload that I've got to do." said Harry slowly and with a sigh. "I'm sorry I couldn't be with you, love. It's just —"
"You don't have to explain." stated (Y/N) even before he could get started with explaining all over again. "I understand your priority... Just remember that if you want help with something —" She winked. "— you can ask help from me."
"Cheeky." said Harry goofily, leaning closer to kiss her in the nose. He then clamped her around the shoulder while pulling her closer to him. "I like it."
(Y/N) shook her head before resting her head on his chest, slipping a hand on the inside of his robes to hug him around his middle.
It was three to five when the door opened with a beaming Professor Slughorn.
"Come in! Come in!" he beckoned and walked back to let them enter.
The whole dungeon room was filled with red swirls from a single large cauldron in the front of the cold place. They settled in on their chairs, pulling on their essentials while unconsciously sniffing the aromas that was filling the room... or only to what they can smell according to their own senses.
"We don't have much to do this last few weeks before Christmas break and so I wanted all of you to start learning about this particular hard-to-brew potion right in front of us." said Slughorn jovially. "Does anyone of you know this potion at all?"
Even before Hermione could raise her hand, (Y/N) lifted her right hand, which caught Slughorn's attention at once.
"Yes, Miss Heather!" he cheered, clapping a hand.
"It's Amortentia, professor." said (Y/N) heartily. "It's the most powerful love potion in the whole world."
"Yes. It's Amortentia, indeed." said Slughorn, tapping the mouth of the cauldron with his finger. "But it doesn't create real love. It can cause a powerful infatuation or obsession from the drinker. As you can see right now, it has this very distinct mother-of-pearl sheen and this characteristic spiral steam arising from it."
The class began writing while still sniffing the scents.
"Now." Slughorn said in a serious manner. "Amortentia was considered to be a powerful and highly dangerous potion. The person under the effect of the potion would only hold an obsession for the person who administered it."
"Sir?" Jill suddenly raised her right arm. "Was there any possibility to fight back a dose if you accidentally swallowed one? Like another potion or something just to prevent it?"
"Nothing can prevent the effect of this potion." said Slughorn, beaming around. "But there is an antidote for Amortentia, of course."
Slughorn began walking down the desks around the room, watching as the students scratch over their parchments.
"Amortentia have different aromas for everyone who smell it, reminding each person of the things that they found most attractive, even if the person did not acknowledge or was unaware of their fondness for the object of their affection themselves." He beamed. "And so, to our business... I want each one of you to tell the whole class about the scents you smell in the potion. Now, let's start with Miss Parvati Patil."
One by one, the students filed in towards the large cauldron of Amortentia and told the whole class about the scents they smelled.
"Harry, m'boy, you're next."
Harry gave (Y/N)'s hand a small squeeze before standing up. The girl watched as he stood next to the cauldron and took a good and deep whiff of it. Soon enough, she caught him grinning.
"I smell..." trailed Harry, giving (Y/N) a short glance. "... treacle tart... broomstick handle... coffee... and... a strawberry scented perfume..."
(Y/N) felt herself getting hot under her scarf and was still blushing even after Slughorn called for her. She stood up, met Harry on the way, grinned at him, before standing next to the potion.
She had the urge to just stay there all day and night as she drank all the smell into her lungs. It was the greatest smell she ever had in her whole life.
"Tell us what you smell, (Y/N), m'dear." said Slughorn, catching (Y/N)'s attention.
She heaved another deep breath to assess the scents one by one.
"Uhm... I smell books, old and new..." she began, taking another whiff. "... sweets ..." Another whiff and she blushed. "... erm... vanilla and... cherry blossom..."
She hurried off to sit down even before she could do something drastic.
"Vanilla and cherry blossom." Harry whispered on her ear as Andrew was called after. "Was that supposed to be me?"
"It's your scent, not you." replied (Y/N), still blushing madly.
"It's the same thing." said Harry, chuckling. "And I could say that I smelled you too. That was your morning coffee and perfume after all."
(Y/N) nudged him in the shoulder, only because she had been so overwhelmed to even open her mouth and watched Andrew instead as he told everyone his Amortentia smell.
"Fresh air..." Andrew stated. "... burning wood... newly washed clothes and..."
He broke off and blinked. The class waited with bated breath. He pulled his head back from the cauldron and smiled apologetically to Professor Slughorn, who caught the message and called for Padma instantly.
As Andrew walked past (Y/N)'s and Harry's place, he threw off a small smile at the girl, ignoring the fact that Harry's hand was holding hers and was resting at her thigh.
He sat down just behind (Y/N) and began staring at her hair, swallowing hard. A scent entered his system again as he inhaled, it was the same scent he had smelled in the Amortentia.
It was (Y/N)'s perfume that was radiating on the borrowed scarf around his neck.
[••• ––– •••]
A/N - Happy 30K reads, everyone! And happy 50th chapter for this book! I can't believe that we've gone this far already!
This was sort of my slightly-favorite-chapter because Andrew was having his own moments in the book, yet I assure you that there will be more. The question now is... Was it right for Harry to trust Andrew at all?
Well, what do you think?
Anyway, I really hope that you are happy and healthy! Always remember that you are loved!
And yeah, I'm currently having an internal conflict about Camilo Madrigal and please don't mind me ranting over this. And you're all free to rant over here if you know what I mean (for Camilo Madrigal only, of course).
I mean, look, Camilo's features can really depict a Filipino feature because, apparently, both Colombia and Philippines were colonized by Spanish lot. And I am so effing devastated to fall in love with someone like Camilo. I've always thought that I'd settle to British, Koreans and Thais but now, Camilo here had the audacity to snatch me away. I'm not complaining but still, he was fifteen and I'm currently seventeen and I couldn't understand how did I fell in love with someone younger than me!
Harry, please, take me back with you...
And yeah, have a good day or afternoon or night, everyone!
- 𝑦𝑎𝑛𝑔