"No bloody way."
"You snogged Wood? I knew this would happen!"
"Shh!" Jessica shushed her two best friends frantically. It was the Saturday morning following the party. Right after grabbing breakfast, the two Gryffindors met up with Alista, and then Jessica told them everything that happened on her end the night before. Her friends listened to her with rapt interest that their reactions were almost comedic, and she would've laughed at them if she herself wasn't so concerned about her situation.
"I wish I was at the party," Alista said sadly. "What's one Slytherin in a room full of Gryffindors gonna do?"
"They'd probably hex you before you even enter the common room," said Jessica.
"Well, I was there the entire time and I still didn't see Jess and Wood in action," Bethany said in disappointment.
"You were too preoccupied with that boy and girl who both wouldn't stop flirting with you."
"They bored me after a while," Bethany waved her off. "Seriously, though, I didn't even know you guys left the common room."
"We were only supposed to be going for a walk..."
"Yeah, and then you ended up kissing," Alista said giddily. "Or, eating each other's faces."
"We didn't —!"
"Admit it, you did!"
"Either way," Bethany cut in. "I've been waiting for this to happen. It's so obvious you and Wood fancy each other."
"Lower your voices, will you?" Jessica hushed them again, looking around her. Thankfully, everyone else at the Transfiguration courtyard that afternoon were too busy doing their own thing to pay any attention to them.
"Why aren't you excited? Isn't this the part where you start dating him?" said Alista.
"Well... what if he doesn't remember what happened? He had a lot to drink by that time."
"I'm pretty sure he remembers. Didn't you say he gave you the option to back out? That must mean his brain wasn't complete dragon dung at that time," Bethany said thoughtfully.
"Okay, but... what if he's just the hookup type of guy?"
"Are you joking right now? Jess, that boy fancies you big time! You fought with him about Terence so he was obviously jealous, he visited you and gave you your favorite flowers when you were petrified, and now this."
"I don't know..." Jessica said anxiously, her face burning red at the memory of her and Oliver. She shook her head furiously when the image of him pressing her up against the wall flashed in her mind again. She hadn't seen Oliver yet that day, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to. There was so much on the line, now that she thought about it. Oliver had grown to be one of her closest friends, and that could all go down the drain if they weren't on the same page.
"Talk to him, then."
"What am I even supposed to say?"
"How about, 'Hi, Oliver. You're really hot and I like you. Let's make out in a broom closet.' Sounds good, right?" Alista suggested.
"Alista, no!" Jessica and Bethany chorused.
"What? You can't deny that the tension between them is intense!"
Before lunch time, the girls returned to their respective dormitories. Bethany chose to take a nap since she claimed that the previous night's events had drained her, while Jessica sat in silence on her four poster bed with the miniature Golden Snitch that Oliver gave her two summers ago as a congratulatory present for making prefect. That had only been roughly a year ago, but it felt like so much had happened since then.
She stared at the enchanted ball as it hovered above her palm. The words Jessica teased Oliver about back then flashed from time to time: You're a catch. She felt a blush form on her cheeks as she reread them over and over again. She knew he didn't even notice those words when he first bought it, but it still made her wonder if there was any truth behind them, especially after what they shared last night.
With a sigh, Jessica swung her legs over the edge of her bed and got up on her feet. It was lunch time already, so she might as well get something to eat to take her mind off of things. Knowing that Bethany wouldn't like her nap to be disrupted, she left the redhead in their dorm and made her way down the stairs by herself.
Meanwhile, Oliver had spent the entire morning pacing in his room. Carson slept in because he got wasted, and Percy was out studying in the library with Penelope Clearwater, so Oliver was technically alone the whole time.
His brain was going haywire — was he imagining, or did he seriously kiss Jessica Hawthorne yesterday? It felt so real, and he could remember every detail from it that he couldn't possibly have just made that up. But still, he was highly intoxicated towards the end of the night that maybe he had just dreamt or hallucinated it.
Oliver groaned out loud and face planted on his bed. This was too frustrating for him. A big part of him knew that what happened the night before was real, but a small voice of doubt said that he had just imagined it because — well, he couldn't deny it any longer — he liked Jessica so much that being with her sounded like some crazy fantasy. If they really kissed, though, she must have reciprocated his feelings... right?
He had even skipped breakfast because of all these thoughts, but now, he couldn't reject his hunger any longer. His only worry was that he'd bump into Jessica already while he wasn't sure of anything just yet.
"Carson," Oliver shoved his sleeping friend.
"Go away," Carson said, his voice muffled into his pillow.
"It's lunch time."
Carson let out a loud snore. Oliver gave up and left the room on his own, heading down to the Gryffindor common room quickly. If he could escape right now and find a seat in the middle of a bunch of other Gryffindors, maybe he'd have more time to sort out his thoughts before —
"Oliver."
Oliver froze when he came across Jessica who had gone down from the girls dorm at the exact same time. Merlin's beard, what am I going to say to her? he panicked.
"Jessica," he smiled hesitantly.
"Are you feeling okay?" she said tentatively. "I didn't see you at breakfast."
"Yeah. I just woke up late with a massive hangover," Oliver replied, chuckling awkwardly.
"I see."
There was a tense pause. Both Oliver and Jessica fidgeted in place, unsure of what to say next.
"Er, can I ask you something?" said Oliver. Jessica nodded, heart pounding erratically as she wondered what he was going to ask. "Did anything big happen last night? I was pretty drunk so... I can't really remember."
Jessica felt her heart drop. So, that meant he didn't remember the kiss. Did he just kiss her because the alcohol was making him act all impulsively, then?
"I remember us getting drinks after Zhang wouldn't stop following me around, but then I chugged about five cups of firewhisky right after, so did we, er, do anything?" Oliver asked vaguely, hoping Jessica would elaborate what really happened and confirm his thoughts. But he should've known better than to beat around the bush.
"No, nothing," Jessica denied instantly, tearing her gaze away from his. "I, uh... I drank a lot, too, so the party was also kind of a blur for me."
She looks like she's lying, Oliver thought suspiciously. She was avoiding his eyes, which was something she did often when she wasn't telling the truth. But would she really lie about something as huge as a kiss they shared? He was so sure it happened, so why wasn't she bringing it up? Oliver gulped, wondering if he should just go straight to the point and get it over with.
And then a horrible thought hit him — what if she was lying because she wished it didn't happen at all? Did she think it would be better to pretend that it didn't happen?
In the end, Oliver simply nodded with a forced smile.
"Alright, lass."
★ ★ ★
The following weeks that passed were spent in preparation for their exams and the first few Quidditch matches. Oliver was adamant on training during practically every free slot the entire team shared — he was more determined than ever to snag the Quidditch Cup this year because it was his last year at Hogwarts. And because of their packed schedules, both Jessica and Oliver had to put aside what happened between them on the night of the Gryffindor party. However, neither of them could ignore that there was something strange in the air that hadn't been there before.
When she would zone out in the middle of studying, Jessica pondered on what would've happened if she had been honest with Oliver. Would he confess his feelings for her, if he even had any like Bethany and Alista kept insisting? Or would he reject her because that kiss was something he had only done in the spur of the moment? Jessica also had to admit that it stung that he didn't seem to remember it at all.
Oliver did practically the same thing, especially during those times in the day when he was alone. If he had bluntly asked her about it, would things be different? Would he have the courage to say that he liked her as more than a friend, and would she say the same thing back? He wished he could know what Jessica was thinking without having to ask her — he wanted to know if she lied for a reason, because contrary to what she thought, he was aware of the kiss they shared. He couldn't possibly have hallucinated a moment as memorable as that just because of a few drinks. Quite frankly, the entire situation was a complete and utter mess.
Jessica forced herself to focus on her N.E.W.T. classes instead. She had a lot on her plate to think about, and one of them was Potions. Professor Snape was surprisingly less grouchy towards them since they were actually students he deemed somewhat worthy to teach. However, he was stricter now, but Jessica didn't mind as long as he taught the subject properly.
On one Wednesday afternoon, Jessica found herself sitting next to Alista in the dungeons for Potions. They were surrounded by students from all houses since N.E.W.T. level classes weren't divided by houses anymore.
Jessica stared curiously at the cauldron placed on top of Snape's desk. It had a pearly white sheen and spiraling steam, but she was too far back in the classroom to know what it could possibly be.
"This potion contains ashwinder eggs, rose thorns, and powdered moonstone to name a few of its components," Snape said, walking a few paces down the aisle of tables. "Can anyone tell me what it is?"
A Ravenclaw sitting in front raised his hand. Snape merely eyed the boy as a form of acknowledgment.
"A love potion, Sir?" he guessed.
"Precisely, Walsh. Specifically, Amortentia — the most powerful love potion in the world."
Murmurs of interest rang throughout the room.
"Don't get too excited," Snape rolled his eyes at their reaction. "It may be the strongest love potion there is, but there are setbacks. Would anyone care to enumerate them?"
Jessica raised her hand. Snape nodded at her from across the room.
"Well, it only causes infatuation, Professor," she answered. "No matter how skilled the potioneer is, Amortentia won't ever induce actual feelings of love."
"Exactly," Snape drawled, turning on his heel to return to the front desk. "Everyone, up."
The students obeyed and stood up. Snape impatiently motioned for them to move closer, so they all hurried to the front of the classroom where he was waiting.
"Now, although Amortentia is brewed with a variety of fragrant ingredients, the potion still smells different to each person depending on what attracts them."
Almost all at once, the sixth year students inched closer to the cauldron to get a whiff of the love potion. They were all curious as to what they would smell, and many of them were surprised that they could, in fact, recognize a bunch of scents they liked, ranging from vanilla to freshly brewed coffee.
"Should I slip some of this into Calahan's pumpkin juice tomorrow?" Alista joked.
"Calahan? The Hufflepuff prefect?" Jessica asked. Alista nodded eagerly. "He started dating Forbes at the start of the year."
"What?" Alista whined. "Didn't he just break up with Byrne in the summer? He moves fast."
"You move fast —"
"Hawthorne, Greene!" Snape snapped. They stopped talking and faced the man sheepishly. "Care to explain why you two are talking in my class?"
"Sorry, Professor," they muttered in embarrassment.
"If you still want to gossip like the tactless teenagers you are, why don't you share with everyone what Amortentia smells like to you? I believe your classmates want to know if it's true that it differs for every witch and wizard."
Jessica and Alista exchanged defeated looks but nodded — it wasn't like they had a choice, anyway. Alista felt guilty since she had started the conversation that caused them to get caught by Snape, so she willing stepped up and sniffed the steam from the cauldron first.
"Well, I can smell Earl Grey tea, coconut, and something like the the air after it rains," the blonde said slowly. Snape raised an eyebrow before settling his pointed gaze on the girl next to her. Jessica switched places with Alista and leaned towards the cauldron. The swirling steam hit her face at once, a flurry of her favorite scents engulfing her senses.
"I can smell old books, broomstick wax, and..." She paused when she realized that the last scent she could recognize reminded her of that unforgettable Gryffindor party. She just couldn't forget it because of how close she had been to him, and if she could pop open a bottle of firewhisky right now, it would be exactly how he smelled like that night. "... cinnamon."
"Very well," Snape said. "Now, Amortentia must be concocted very carefully. When done correctly, the effects are instantaneous. But when it is brewed improperly, it..."
"I saw that look," Alista whispered once Jessica returned back to her side.
"What look?" Jessica played dumb, but the way her eyes constantly flitted around nervously was a dead giveaway. Alista sighed sympathetically at her.
"If you smelled what I think you did, then maybe it's time you be honest with him about what happened already."
But Jessica didn't want to. She didn't even know why she was a Gryffindor at all, because the last thing she wanted to do was to be upfront with Oliver for fear that their relationship — friendship, or whatever — would only go downhill from there.
A/N: Is it really a harry potter fanfic if the cliché amortentia scene isn't there? 🤔 I know it's taking a while for Jessica and Oliver to get together HAHA but don't worry, it'll happen soon! ;)