Try as he might, Draco could not capture the attention of the new Potions master at Hogwarts. He was well aware that Slughorn had his favorites, but was astounded as to why he hadn’t been initiated into the “Slug Club”, as the students called it.
In fact, the exclusion insulted him. He came from an upstanding family. People knew him. They knew of his wealth, power, and purebloodedness. Slughorn had to take that into consideration. It was beyond him why Potty and Girl Weasley had made it into the club.
“All right, students!” Professor Slughorn’s loud voice boomed throughout the classroom. Classes had been in session for a few weeks now and it still felt odd receiving the plump, older man as the instructor, instead of Snape.
“Today I have a treat for you all,” the professor beamed, his smile stretching across his red face. “We will be making Amortentia.”
He paused dramatically, expecting gasps of glee in return and when he heard nothing, he furrowed his brow. He opened his mouth to let out what would’ve been a sigh when he noticed Hermione Granger’s excitement.
Slughorn looked at her. “And does anyone know what Amortentia is?”
Granger didn’t waste a second to lift her arm sky high. “Yes, Miss…?”
“Hermione Granger, sir,” Granger beamed. Draco sneered. He’d had to endure five years of the know-it-all, bushy haired show off.
“Ah, Miss Granger! Carry on,” Slughorn looked at her with curious interest.
“Amortentia is a powerful potion that induces,” Granger blushed before carrying on, “love.”
The girls in the room were suddenly all ears, looking at each other with hopeful grins. Two girls even glanced at him nervously. Draco thought he was going to be sick.
“Marvelous!” Slughorn bellowed. “And can you tell me what it smells like?”
To Draco’s further dismay, Granger didn’t miss a beat. “Yes, sir. Amortentia smells different to each wizard and witch, based on their preferences.”
“Well done!” Draco thought Slughorn would burst from sheer happiness. “Fifteen points to Gryffindor!”
My, how things had changed in Potions, Draco thought ruefully. If Snape had been in charge, he would have somehow ended up taking points away from Gryffindor. No matter, he did this in D.A.D.A.
There were a few whistles and cheers from the Gryffindor side. Slughorn added, “While Miss Granger’s explanation is true, do not be mistaken to believe that Amortentia can create true love. This is a dangerous potion that leads to obsession.”
They were given the task to recreate Amortentia. Draco preferred to work alone in potions, seeing as how it was such a meticulous discipline. Sometimes they would be asked to work in pairs, in which case he ended up with Crabbe or Goyle at times. Although Draco had surrounded himself with the two oafs for several years now, he wasn’t fond of working with them when his grades were on the line. Fortunately for him, they hadn’t received enough OWLS to carry onto 6th year Potions.
Draco carefully worked out his potion ingredients. He cast a look across the room to see where his classmates were. Scar Head seemed to be zipping through the potion. When Draco finally stirred his cauldron to find a distinct white, pearly sheen, he knew he was finished. The air suddenly began to smell quite distinct. Draco could make out the scent of freshly minted Galleons, the smell of a Quidditch field, and the sweet fragrance of lilies, possibly from his mother’s garden at the manor.
After class he headed to the Great Hall for lunch. As he passed through the entranceway, he could still smell the Amortentia potion around him. I must’ve spilled some on myself somewhere, he thought, smoothing out his robes. He murmured a spell to cleanse his robes as he took a seat next to Pansy at his house table.
“Draco, I haven’t seen you in so long!” Pansy said, pouting at him.
“I’ve been quite busy with my studies,” he said simply. She looked disappointed, probably expecting him to say more, but he didn’t.
He’d had a talk with Blaise the night before. Blaise had accompanied him while he patrolled the hallways as per his prefect duty when the fellow Slytherin had brought Pansy up. They’d come to the conclusion that he didn’t like Pansy the way she liked him and the he had in fact been wrongly leading her on. He knew he needed to address this with her, but wasn’t sure how to go about it.
Draco let out a sigh. “Pansy, do you think I could speak with you after lunch? In private?” He attempted to look as serious as possible so she wouldn’t get the wrong idea. Unfortunately, her eyes lit up and she nodded.
He’d lost his appetite and so he patiently waited for Pansy to finish eating, which didn’t take too long because it seemed as though she’d lost her appetite as well. The two of them took a stroll down to the lake. He transfigured a moss covered log into a bench for two.
They both took a seat, quietly looking across the lake for a moment. He could see Pansy anxiously fidgeting from the corner of his eye.
“Are you going to say something because this silence is driving me mad,” she laughed nervously.
Draco shifted his position so that he was facing her. “Pansy, we’ve been friends for a long time now, right?”
“Yes, I would say since we were seven,” she said, knotting her fingers together as she met his gaze.
“Right,” he continued, “I know we have been a bit more than friends for some time and I want you to know that you’re a great person.”
Pansy’s face began to fall slightly. Draco hated how women seemed to know where conversations were always going. If this had been the other way around, Draco would’ve been clueless throughout.
He forced himself to keep going. “I like you a lot, but mostly as a friend. I feel terrible for making it seem as though I wanted more than that. “
Pansy was quiet for a moment before she asked, “Is there another girl?”
Draco almost laughed. “What? No, there is no other girl. It’s me. I don’t love you, and I don’t think you love me either.”
Pansy was now staring across the lake once again. He allowed her time to collect herself for a response.
“No, I don’t love you, Draco. But I really do like you. I hoped that things would’ve changed for the better between us, that it would progress further. You come from a prestigious family, as do I. It should’ve worked.”
“That’s just it. It should’ve worked, but it didn’t. I think we kind of conveniently fell into place together, for everyone else’s sake save our own.”
Pansy opened her mouth to say something, but Draco raised a hand to quiet her. “I’m going through a lot right now, with Father away and the Dark Lord amassing power.” His throat felt dry.
Pansy suddenly had a fire light up in her eyes, as her face hardened. “That’s all the more reason we should stick together! Things are changing, Draco. Not just for you, but for the whole wizarding world. You are destined for great things in the Dark Lord’s company. And you need a woman by your side.”
She took his hand in hers. “Let me be that woman, Draco.”
Draco didn’t like where the conversation was going. It had begun just fine and he wasn’t sure what had changed it. He shook her hand out of his. “Pansy, we’re only sixteen years old. We can’t possibly talk marriage!”
“Why not? My parents married at seventeen, and your mother was the same age when she married Lucius!”
“Why not?” Draco echoed her. “I liked you once, Pansy, I really did. But not anymore. That’s why. I cannot marry someone I don’t have romantic feelings for.” He knew what he’d said was harsh.
She took in a sharp breath, her expression hurt. “I gave you everything.”
“You’re being dramatic,” he said. “We were never entirely serious. You dated other boys as well!”
Pansy looked livid. She rose to her feet, her dark hair blowing across her face in the autumn wind. He didn’t expect the slap across the face, even though he should’ve been prepared for it. And with that she was gone.
He didn’t watch her go, and instead stroked his now reddening cheek. That hadn’t gone the way he’d planned at all.
Draco sat in quiet, watching other students walk around the grounds in the distance. The smell of his mother’s garden engulfed him and he missed home. He couldn’t wait for the winter holidays. Darned that spilled potion. He could’ve sworn he’d cleaned it up.
The crunch of fallen leaves brought him back to reality.
“Oi, Malfoy!” the annoying voice of Ginny Weasley rang in his ears. He didn’t bother to turn his head in response and remained seated.
Soon she stood in front of him, her windswept hair falling across her face, just as Pansy’s had. Why couldn’t women just tie their hair back? He looked up at her with a bored expression on his face.
“What, Weasley?”
She rolled her eyes. “Must you always say my name that way?”
“Of course I do. And it’s not as though you say mine any more graciously,” he sneered at her.
“Where have you been?” she asked impatiently.
“Isn’t it obvious? I’m sitting out here.”
Ginny placed a hand on a hip arrogantly. “We were to meet in the library after lunch for our Muggle Studies assignment. Did you forget?”
In truth, he had forgotten. But he wasn’t about to admit that to-
“Look, whatever your excuse is, you can save it. Here’s what we’ve come up with so far.” She threw a rolled piece of parchment at him and was about to take off when he stopped her.
“Wait. When are you lot meeting again?”
“Tomorrow evening after dinner in the library. Should we expect you this time or pass along our notes once again?” she asked unkindly.
“I’ll be there,” he said flatly.
She made as though to take off once again but turned back. “Are you all right? Your face is red.”
“And since when is that of your concern?” he sneered at her.
“Forget I asked,” she spat at him. “Whoever socked you missed.”
He raised an eyebrow at her.
“Had it been me, and I wish it had been, you’d be sitting with at least a black eye.”
Draco glared at her as she turned on her toes and walked away. She was becoming more and more of a nuisance.
In fact, the exclusion insulted him. He came from an upstanding family. People knew him. They knew of his wealth, power, and purebloodedness. Slughorn had to take that into consideration. It was beyond him why Potty and Girl Weasley had made it into the club.
“All right, students!” Professor Slughorn’s loud voice boomed throughout the classroom. Classes had been in session for a few weeks now and it still felt odd receiving the plump, older man as the instructor, instead of Snape.
“Today I have a treat for you all,” the professor beamed, his smile stretching across his red face. “We will be making Amortentia.”
He paused dramatically, expecting gasps of glee in return and when he heard nothing, he furrowed his brow. He opened his mouth to let out what would’ve been a sigh when he noticed Hermione Granger’s excitement.
Slughorn looked at her. “And does anyone know what Amortentia is?”
Granger didn’t waste a second to lift her arm sky high. “Yes, Miss…?”
“Hermione Granger, sir,” Granger beamed. Draco sneered. He’d had to endure five years of the know-it-all, bushy haired show off.
“Ah, Miss Granger! Carry on,” Slughorn looked at her with curious interest.
“Amortentia is a powerful potion that induces,” Granger blushed before carrying on, “love.”
The girls in the room were suddenly all ears, looking at each other with hopeful grins. Two girls even glanced at him nervously. Draco thought he was going to be sick.
“Marvelous!” Slughorn bellowed. “And can you tell me what it smells like?”
To Draco’s further dismay, Granger didn’t miss a beat. “Yes, sir. Amortentia smells different to each wizard and witch, based on their preferences.”
“Well done!” Draco thought Slughorn would burst from sheer happiness. “Fifteen points to Gryffindor!”
My, how things had changed in Potions, Draco thought ruefully. If Snape had been in charge, he would have somehow ended up taking points away from Gryffindor. No matter, he did this in D.A.D.A.
There were a few whistles and cheers from the Gryffindor side. Slughorn added, “While Miss Granger’s explanation is true, do not be mistaken to believe that Amortentia can create true love. This is a dangerous potion that leads to obsession.”
They were given the task to recreate Amortentia. Draco preferred to work alone in potions, seeing as how it was such a meticulous discipline. Sometimes they would be asked to work in pairs, in which case he ended up with Crabbe or Goyle at times. Although Draco had surrounded himself with the two oafs for several years now, he wasn’t fond of working with them when his grades were on the line. Fortunately for him, they hadn’t received enough OWLS to carry onto 6th year Potions.
Draco carefully worked out his potion ingredients. He cast a look across the room to see where his classmates were. Scar Head seemed to be zipping through the potion. When Draco finally stirred his cauldron to find a distinct white, pearly sheen, he knew he was finished. The air suddenly began to smell quite distinct. Draco could make out the scent of freshly minted Galleons, the smell of a Quidditch field, and the sweet fragrance of lilies, possibly from his mother’s garden at the manor.
After class he headed to the Great Hall for lunch. As he passed through the entranceway, he could still smell the Amortentia potion around him. I must’ve spilled some on myself somewhere, he thought, smoothing out his robes. He murmured a spell to cleanse his robes as he took a seat next to Pansy at his house table.
“Draco, I haven’t seen you in so long!” Pansy said, pouting at him.
“I’ve been quite busy with my studies,” he said simply. She looked disappointed, probably expecting him to say more, but he didn’t.
He’d had a talk with Blaise the night before. Blaise had accompanied him while he patrolled the hallways as per his prefect duty when the fellow Slytherin had brought Pansy up. They’d come to the conclusion that he didn’t like Pansy the way she liked him and the he had in fact been wrongly leading her on. He knew he needed to address this with her, but wasn’t sure how to go about it.
Draco let out a sigh. “Pansy, do you think I could speak with you after lunch? In private?” He attempted to look as serious as possible so she wouldn’t get the wrong idea. Unfortunately, her eyes lit up and she nodded.
He’d lost his appetite and so he patiently waited for Pansy to finish eating, which didn’t take too long because it seemed as though she’d lost her appetite as well. The two of them took a stroll down to the lake. He transfigured a moss covered log into a bench for two.
They both took a seat, quietly looking across the lake for a moment. He could see Pansy anxiously fidgeting from the corner of his eye.
“Are you going to say something because this silence is driving me mad,” she laughed nervously.
Draco shifted his position so that he was facing her. “Pansy, we’ve been friends for a long time now, right?”
“Yes, I would say since we were seven,” she said, knotting her fingers together as she met his gaze.
“Right,” he continued, “I know we have been a bit more than friends for some time and I want you to know that you’re a great person.”
Pansy’s face began to fall slightly. Draco hated how women seemed to know where conversations were always going. If this had been the other way around, Draco would’ve been clueless throughout.
He forced himself to keep going. “I like you a lot, but mostly as a friend. I feel terrible for making it seem as though I wanted more than that. “
Pansy was quiet for a moment before she asked, “Is there another girl?”
Draco almost laughed. “What? No, there is no other girl. It’s me. I don’t love you, and I don’t think you love me either.”
Pansy was now staring across the lake once again. He allowed her time to collect herself for a response.
“No, I don’t love you, Draco. But I really do like you. I hoped that things would’ve changed for the better between us, that it would progress further. You come from a prestigious family, as do I. It should’ve worked.”
“That’s just it. It should’ve worked, but it didn’t. I think we kind of conveniently fell into place together, for everyone else’s sake save our own.”
Pansy opened her mouth to say something, but Draco raised a hand to quiet her. “I’m going through a lot right now, with Father away and the Dark Lord amassing power.” His throat felt dry.
Pansy suddenly had a fire light up in her eyes, as her face hardened. “That’s all the more reason we should stick together! Things are changing, Draco. Not just for you, but for the whole wizarding world. You are destined for great things in the Dark Lord’s company. And you need a woman by your side.”
She took his hand in hers. “Let me be that woman, Draco.”
Draco didn’t like where the conversation was going. It had begun just fine and he wasn’t sure what had changed it. He shook her hand out of his. “Pansy, we’re only sixteen years old. We can’t possibly talk marriage!”
“Why not? My parents married at seventeen, and your mother was the same age when she married Lucius!”
“Why not?” Draco echoed her. “I liked you once, Pansy, I really did. But not anymore. That’s why. I cannot marry someone I don’t have romantic feelings for.” He knew what he’d said was harsh.
She took in a sharp breath, her expression hurt. “I gave you everything.”
“You’re being dramatic,” he said. “We were never entirely serious. You dated other boys as well!”
Pansy looked livid. She rose to her feet, her dark hair blowing across her face in the autumn wind. He didn’t expect the slap across the face, even though he should’ve been prepared for it. And with that she was gone.
He didn’t watch her go, and instead stroked his now reddening cheek. That hadn’t gone the way he’d planned at all.
Draco sat in quiet, watching other students walk around the grounds in the distance. The smell of his mother’s garden engulfed him and he missed home. He couldn’t wait for the winter holidays. Darned that spilled potion. He could’ve sworn he’d cleaned it up.
The crunch of fallen leaves brought him back to reality.
“Oi, Malfoy!” the annoying voice of Ginny Weasley rang in his ears. He didn’t bother to turn his head in response and remained seated.
Soon she stood in front of him, her windswept hair falling across her face, just as Pansy’s had. Why couldn’t women just tie their hair back? He looked up at her with a bored expression on his face.
“What, Weasley?”
She rolled her eyes. “Must you always say my name that way?”
“Of course I do. And it’s not as though you say mine any more graciously,” he sneered at her.
“Where have you been?” she asked impatiently.
“Isn’t it obvious? I’m sitting out here.”
Ginny placed a hand on a hip arrogantly. “We were to meet in the library after lunch for our Muggle Studies assignment. Did you forget?”
In truth, he had forgotten. But he wasn’t about to admit that to-
“Look, whatever your excuse is, you can save it. Here’s what we’ve come up with so far.” She threw a rolled piece of parchment at him and was about to take off when he stopped her.
“Wait. When are you lot meeting again?”
“Tomorrow evening after dinner in the library. Should we expect you this time or pass along our notes once again?” she asked unkindly.
“I’ll be there,” he said flatly.
She made as though to take off once again but turned back. “Are you all right? Your face is red.”
“And since when is that of your concern?” he sneered at her.
“Forget I asked,” she spat at him. “Whoever socked you missed.”
He raised an eyebrow at her.
“Had it been me, and I wish it had been, you’d be sitting with at least a black eye.”
Draco glared at her as she turned on her toes and walked away. She was becoming more and more of a nuisance.
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