T W E N T Y - N I N E

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The first few days after Halloween were strange, to say the least.

Adeline had never had so many people talk to her in her life. Most of the time, she would exchange small smiles with the people she knew well in the hall and only talk to people if she knew them well. But now it seemed as if everyone and anyone wanted to say hi or talk to Adeline. Whispers surrounded her every time she walked through the corridors, and Adeline wasn't entirely sure whether they were good or bad.

The most memorable day seemed to be the morning after Halloween. Adeline had been peacefully eating her porridge in the Dining Hall when Draco Malfoy loudly proclaimed at the Slytherin table that Hogwarts had truly gone downhill because their champions were "Potter and that filthy Muggleborn girl", and he would now be pledging his support to Viktor Krum.

Interestingly enough, Draco was silenced very quickly by a well-aimed Antler Jinx that seemed to come from the direction from the Hufflepuff table. At the same time, there was a loud commotion at the Gryffindor table as Ophelia and George both leaped in the air and then were held back by Angelina and Lee respectively. Estelle tried to quickly rush Adeline out of the Great Hall, but Adeline refused, instead choosing to remain seated and keep eating as if nothing had ever happened at all.

Adeline very quickly had to get used to not only insults like that, but just having so many people talk about her and to her.

But it was nothing compared to the treatment Harry was getting. As much as Adeline tried to tell the other students – especially Ravenclaws – that Harry wasn't at fault, they didn't listen to her and seemed to be constantly insulting Harry wherever he went. A few Ravenclaws had even managed to charm buttons that said 'Potter Stinks', and when Adeline tried to bring it up to the Head Boy Damien, he simply shrugged it off and said there was nothing he could do. Adeline did, however, manage to confiscate them whenever she could.

Strangely, Adeline almost found herself relieved for her Potions class the first Tuesday after she was chosen. As much as she hated Professor Snape, Adeline was thankful that he was one of the few people in the school who treated her no differently before and after she was chosen for the Triwizard Tournament.

The class had brewing Amorentia for the past month, and frankly, Adeline was relieved that the process would finally be over with that day. Because the potion was complex and needed to apparently be made in the nighttime, Adeline and Estelle had spent way too many hours in the Potions classroom close to midnight, trying their best to brew the complex potion.

According to the instructions, however, the potion was supposed to finally be completed that day, and the students were required to get the potion approved by Professor Snape to at least have a chance at a passing grade.

Before they could call over Professor Snape, however, the two girls had to smell the potion to make sure it was brewed properly. Estelle for some reason wanted Adeline to go first, so she leaned down and took a whiff from the cauldron. "I smell lemon tarts, old books, and...apple shampoo?"

The last one confused her as she moved away from the cauldron. Adeline knew she had smelt that apple shampoo somewhere before, but she couldn't quite figure out where. Next to Adeline, Estelle raised an eyebrow, but she kept her thoughts to herself.

Suddenly, despite being a distance away from her cauldron, Adeline found herself overwhelmed by the smell of that same apple shampoo.

"So...Addie?"

Adeline jumped and clutched her chest, trying to catch her breath as George laughed loudly behind. "Merlin, how are you going to compete in the Triwizard Tournament if I scare you like that?"

Chuckling awkwardly, Adeline kept her true thoughts to herself and decided to not tell George the real reason why she was so spooked. "You underestimate me."

"Trust me, I absolutely don't. Just out of curiosity..." George began in a nervous voice as he stuck his hands in his pockets. "What'd you smell in your Amortentia just now?"

Estelle let out a snort of laughter and, under her breath, muttered, "Subtle."

The moment Snape told the N.E.W.T.s class that they were going to be brewing Amortentia, George knew exactly what he'd smell in the potion when it was complete. Butterbeer, his mum's cooking, and the vanilla perfume that Adeline wore nearly every day. However, George was desperate to know if he had even a chance with Adeline, and he figured that the only way he'd know is if he managed to convince Adeline to tell him what she smelt in her Amorentia just now.

Adeline, terrified George would figure out she smelt him if she told him the scents, decided to try and avoid telling him as much as she could. "Why do you want to know so badly?" She teased, hoping George couldn't hear her heart beating loudly against her chest.

"I'm just want to know!" George laughed, taking a step closer to Adeline and brushing his hand up against hers. "In fact, I'll tell you mine right now it's–"

"Mr. Weasley."

Adeline squeaked and jumped back from George, who didn't seem to care in the slightest about Professor Snape's sudden appearance. "Why have you decided to move away from your station?"

"Well, Professor, since you were a little too slow to get over here, I thought I'd help these two brilliant Ravenclaws, including our very own Triwizard Champion, and–"

"Get back to your desk now."

George bowed dramatically as a goodbye and sauntered back to his station, clearly pleased with himself and the way that Professor Snape was now glowering at him.

Professor Snape still seemed to be furious with George when he bent over the potion and took a whiff of the potion. In an almost reluctant-sounding voice, Professor Snape admitted, "Very well done."

Adeline and Estelle both breathed a sigh of relief and exchanged a small high-five under the table.

When Professor Snape had finally moved on, Adeline snuck a glance at George's station near the back of the room. George caught her and gave her a wink and a teasing smile, and Adeline turned back to her station with her cheeks burning and heart pounding against her chest.

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Late that evening, Adeline and Estelle sat in front of the Ravenclaw Common Room fireplace, quietly studying their Transfiguration notes in front of the flickering firelight. The safe haven that had formerly been the Hogwarts library has seemingly been taken away from Adeline, as she felt as if she couldn't go there without hearing whispers about her. Sure, most of what people were saying was good, but it still made it a place where Adeline couldn't exactly focus.

The two had been silent for ages, choosing to quietly review their notes for the upcoming exam, before Estelle asked a question that had been on her mind since Potions class earlier that day.

"You smelt George in the Amortentia, didn't you?" Estelle said plainly. "In Potions today? The apple shampoo was his."

Keeping her gaze fixated on the carpeted ground Adeline was quiet for a few moments before, barely above a whisper, she asked, "How did you know?"

"Well, it was pretty clear when you got so jumpy and nervous when George showed up at our desk. But I would've known you smelt him anyways, even if he hadn't been in the class and you hadn't told me what you smelt."

"Am I that obvious?" Adeline questioned in a horrified whisper, terrified that the whole school somehow knew of her crush on George. Or – Merlin forbid – George knew too.

Estelle shook her head. "If you were that obvious, we wouldn't be here right now. You and George would be together."

Thinking the conversation was over at this point, Adeline had turned her attention back to her notes, trying her best to forget the past few minutes had even happened, but Estelle wasn't quite finished yet. "Why are you so scared of admitting you like George? I swear you've been crazy for him for months now, but I have yet to hear you say that you like him."

The only sound in the Common Room for a few seconds was the faint crackling of the fire behind them.

"If I admit I have...feelings for him," Adeline began in quiet voice that was barely above a whisper. "Then that's just one more person in my life who could reject me. One more person who wouldn't love me back "

Estelle stayed silent for a moment, unsure how to respond. She knew the most out of anyone in Adeline's life about her troubles back at home, and even then, Estelle was sure that Adeline hadn't told her everything.

"Trust me, if you even just saw the way that George looks at you, we wouldn't be having this conversation at all."

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a/n:

i'm so sorry for the delayed update!! i had a chemistry exam yesterday that i was studying nonstop for, so that ended up taking a lot of my time.

also just wanted to add – i'm so glad you guys have been enjoying the book so far!! when i say i have a lot of things planned for stardust i Mean It, and i really hope you guys like it. i hope you all have a lovely day!! get some rest and stay safe!!

- g ♡