You and Theo stand at the back of the potions classroom listening to the new Potions Master. You're surprised you could take the class at N.E.W.T. level. You're not rubbish at potions, but to say you're great at it is a wild overstatement.
Theo leans closer to you, his eyes still trained on Professor Slughorn. "Will you come to the tryouts tomorrow?" As he whispers into your ear, his lips graze your ear shell and you get goosebumps.
You nod, trying to calm down your racing heart and the heath racing to your face. "Sure. I'm delighted to sit in the rain." You mask your shyness with a teasing smile.
Theo gives you a faux annoyed look. "I will personally give you my umbrella."
"Oh, the sacrifices we make for the people we love."
Both Theo and you look at each other with wide eyes at your words. Snapping your eyes towards the cauldrons at the front of the classroom, you ignore your heart which feels like it's running out of your chest. When you glance back at Theo you see that his entire face and neck are brightly red.
But between the both of you, you don't deny any of it.
Slughorn excitedly drones on about the potions he has prepared for the class until two new students barge into the classroom. Harry and Ron. Harry's hair is slightly longer than last year but other than that he hasn't changed much over the summer.
Your eyes meet and you shrink down. You don't know how to feel about him after last year. Yes, you've kissed but you regret it as it was a moment of weakness. And you're with Theo now. Wait... are you? What are you exactly?
You follow the two boys as they grab some spare textbooks from the cupboard, watching them struggle for some reason.
Something pushes against your arm and you snap your head around, looking at Theo. "Sorry?", you question, not having heard his question
"Do you smell that?", he repeats, his brows raised.
You shake your head and turn towards the potion, your textbook clutched tightly in your hands. You take a deep sniff as something sweet hits your nostrils. At first, it is sweet until it transforms into all different kinds of things.
You eye the shiny concoction. Amortentia. "What do you smell?" You think you're clever, asking him first so you have some time to figure things out.
Theo hums and breathes the air in deeply. "I smell First snow, new books, an- and the sea..."
When he asked you to the Yule Ball, the first time you've hung out outside of school, and the vacation home of the Nott's.
You decide to bite the bullet and admit what you're smelling. "Popcorn, sandalwood, and... tulips."
The film date, the cologne that clings to Theo's being, and the flowers he left on your nightstand at the hospital.
Both your eyes meet each other, eyes wide and cheeks flared up. Theo's neck starts to blotch up. His eyes flicker over your face, from your eyes to your lips. But when Slughorn gives the class the go to do the practical, the two of you snap out of your little dream state and move towards the potion stations.
You sit in the common room, lounging around and reading a book when you spot Draco making his way towards the entrance. He glances over his shoulders to see if he's being followed before the door closes behind him.
Not trusting him, you jump up from the couch and trail him. You follow him through the winding halls and up never-ending stairs. Once you spot him stopping in front of a familiar tapestry, you know where he is going.
Not hurrying after him, you watch him conjure up a door and slip inside. Slowly, you walk towards the wall and close your eyes. I need to go to the place Draco just went.
A sound like stones grinding against each other makes you open your eyes. The same door that Draco managed to make appear.
Inside is an endless room with stuff and junk and lost things. A broken record gives the room an eerie vibe. You spot Draco down a path that is cleared through towering high furniture.
"What are you doing?", you ask in a whisper once he has removed the dusty covering from a strange... cupboard?
He wips around and pulls his wand to you. His chest heaves up and down and his eyes are blown wide. "How did you get in here?", he hisses, looking behind you. Probably to see if someone followed after you.
You walk closer to the cabinet, inspecting it. As you reach for the handle, Draco's cold hand stops you.
"Don't", he whispers, looking scared.
You know that look. It's the same look he had when he received his mission from the Dark Lord. You knit your brows together and lower your hand. "What is your plan?"
Draco turns away, his hands balled and nails digging into his palm. "It's a Vanishing Cabinet. Its pair is situated in Borgin and Burkes. But they're broken."
"So you're fixing them to get the... others into the school?"
Your cousin's silence answers your question. You quietly curse under your breath. It's an insane plan that's not likely to succeed. "What are your backup plans?"
He scoffs, turning around before back to you. "What do you care? It's not like you were there."
"What do you want to hear? That I am selfish? That I should have come home? So my mo- Bellatrix could torture me again? Yes. That is my fault!" You run a hand over your face and sigh. "You know what? I am late for tryouts. Just... talk to me before you do something stupid, okay?"
You walk out of the Room of Requirement annoyed at your cousin's behaviour and once you finally sit down in the stands, you're double annoyed because you had to walk all the way to the seventh floor to the dungeons to then climb up the Quidditch spectator stands.
Cold and wet, you curtly tie a scarf around your neck. You sit slumped down with your arms over each other as it starts to lightly rain. Looking around, you don't notice that it has stopped raining above you.
Theo hovers a few inches away from you on his broom, umbrella in hand. He sends you a boyish smile and cocks his head to the side. "Is that my scarf?"
You look down and touch the soft wool of said scarf. "Oh... I didn't even realise... You dropped it last year and I haven't had the chance to give it back to you."
As you move to untie Theo's scarf, his hand stops you. "Don't. It looks good on you."
A shy smile grows on your face. You take the umbrella out of his hands before he has to fly back towards the pitch as the tryout is about to start.
You watch him soar through the sky, scoring the Quaffle multiple times in the pretend matches. Every time he does so, you jump up and cheer his name.
Unexpectedly, you actually had fun. Because before you realise it, the tryouts are over. You rush down the stairs and into the pitch. With a big smile, you run towards Theodore and jump into his arm.
"You made it! I am so proud of you!" You squish his face between both of your hands and press a kiss against each of his mushed-up cheeks. Theo has a love-struck smile on his face once you let go of him.
"You know", he smiles once it is only you and him on the pitch, his broom in hands, "you've promised me that I would see you play Quidditch one day."
You cock your head to the side playfully. "When did I do that?"
Theo shrugs. "Fourth year."
"You remember that?!"
He laughs. "I remember so much of you, you would be surprised."
You take his hand in yours, pulling him towards the castle. "Well then. You can tell me all about the thing you've supposedly remembered about me after a shower. You stink."
He pouts and you laugh. After all, the rain and cold weren't that bad in retrospect.