TRAINING WHEELS
amortentia.

The Great Hall was bustling with life, people diving in for the food as soon as the Sorting Ceremony finished. Amora reached for some trifle, spooning out a small bit seeing as she had eaten quite a lot for her main meal. The Welcoming Feasts were always the best at Hogwarts - the house-elves took extra care to make sure there were wide varieties of everything, and it all tasted delicious.

Once the Sorting Ceremony had finished, Amora had snuck back over to the Slytherin table to eat with her friends. Sat between Blaise and Pansy, she laughed along to everything that they were saying, but couldn't help noticing how Draco had seemed to revert back to how he had been on the train before it had momentarily gone pitch black.

He barely touched his food, mainly resting his chin on his hand as he watched his friends interact, or even just stared down at the oak table. Amora worried about him, but she knew he certainly wouldn't appreciate it if she asked him now, in front of everybody, what was wrong. She planned on pulling him aside before they went off to their separate common rooms, but then Harry Potter entered the Great Hall.

He looked like he was in pain, holding a tissue up to his nose which was soaked in a crimson liquid — blood. Harry barely looked around as he shuffled down the long aisle, heading straight over to where his friends were sitting at the Gryffindor table. Amora's eyebrows furrowed, wondering why on earth Harry had turned up towards the end of the feast, and why he was hurt.

Amora glanced away from him, only then catching the way that Draco had also been staring at the Potter eye, his lip curled in disgust and his eyes glaring slightly.

"Looks like somebody gave Potter what he deserved," Pansy muttered sourly beneath her breath.

Draco scoffed quietly before his eyes met with Amora's. As soon as they did, he glanced away, the amused look slipping from his face. It was as if something had clicked inside of her and she knew it had been Draco that had hurt Harry. But when could he have possibly - ?

Amora's face turned red. Before she could say anything though, Dumbledore stepped forward and began to do his annual speech.

"Very best of evenings to you all," Professor Dumbledore said, "First off, let me introduce you to the newest member of our staff... Horace Slughorn."

Dumbledore gestured in the direction of a man sitting beside Amora's mother who stood. He was slightly round and had a kind face, smiling to everybody as they clapped politely for him.

Amora half-heartedly joined in, though her thoughts were being occupied by the past rather than the present. She'd seen Harry when she boarded the train and he was perfectly fine with Ron and Hermione, and the only time after that when she let Draco out of her sight had been right after they'd finished kissing when he claimed to need the bathroom.

But he'd only been gone a minute at the most. Was that enough time for him to find Harry and -

Amora stiffened. Draco hadn't needed to find Harry. Harry must have been very close by. Suddenly the blackout on the train made sense, and the reason why Draco had stopped acting so cold to her all of a sudden. As the Slytherins around her clapped for Professor Snape being elected as Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Amora clenched her jaw and turned to look at Draco.

He was staring down at his plate absentmindedly. He hadn't even been paying attention to Dumbledore. Not that she had been, either.

"Now, as you know, each and every one of you was searched upon your arrival here tonight," Dumbledore continued, "And you have the right to know why. Once, there was a young man, who, like you, sat in this very hall, walked this castle's corridors, slept under its roof. He seemed to all the world a student like any other. His name? Tom Riddle."

Hushed murmurs echoed across the Great Hall. Amora's interest could barely spike up though. If Dumbledore wasn't talking, she would have dragged Draco out by the neck of his robes and demanded that he tell her whether her suspicions were true or not.

 Irritation blossomed in her chest, her eyebrows tugged down into a permanent frown, her fingers squeezing into the palms of her hands. She deserved to know if she was being watched whilst she was kissing her boyfriend— especially if Draco had known the whole time! Besides, a lot of groping had gone on, which Amora really didn't want anybody else seeing.

She burned holes into the side of his face. Draco didn't look at her. Maybe he didn't feel her stare, or maybe he knew exactly what she was angry about and couldn't be bothered for the confrontation yet.

Amora dwelled on it for the rest of Dumbledore's speech. The side of her that also didn't want to be angry with Draco after missing him for so many weeks told her to try and let it go. After all, a very small part of her almost felt like it was exactly what Harry deserved to see.

It was difficult to unpack the feeling. The idea that Harry had probably realised he really didn't stand a chance gave her a sick rush of power - it must have given Draco one too. After all of the words he'd flung at her, after letting everybody kick her from the DA and allowing Leon to stay... Part of her felt like it was revenge. 

When people began to move around her, she jumped. There had been no abrupt clapping like normal, in fact, everybody looked quite sombre. Blaise muttered something about a depressing start to the year, so she assumed Dumbledore must have given them a warning of sorts due to the recent recognition of Voldemort's return.

Amora wore a frown on her face as she turned to see Draco still staring down at the table. He peeled his hand away when he realised that everybody was climbing from their seats around him, locking eyes with her once more. Draco didn't remove them this time though, and said nothing as he began to follow everybody out of the Great Hall from his side of the table.

"I'll catch up with you tomorrow, Pans," Amora promised the Slytherin girl next to her. "I have to talk to Draco really quickly."

Pansy huffed. "Fine. I'll see you in the morning for Potions, yeah?"

"'Course."

Amora waited for Draco by the door seeing as he had to walk the length of the table. His lips pursed and she didn't have to say anything for him to know that she wanted him to follow her. They moved in the opposite direction of everybody else and she could feel him right behind her, looming. They found an empty corridor and Amora quickly turned, nearly catching Draco by surprise. He stopped abruptly, nearly crashing into her.

"Did you punch Harry?" Amora asked him first.

Draco looked down at her, his eyes nearly unreadable. Amora was almost taken aback by how different he looked, almost like there wasn't a thought in his head or an emotion in his heart. It was as if he had quickly built up all of his walls and blocked her out.

"No," he answered bluntly.

Amora rolled her eyes. "Would you stop going so hot and cold on me?" She finally hissed, "Are you the reason Harry turned up late to the feast with a bloody nose?"

"Yes," Draco said, "I am."

He didn't sound sympathetic or regretful at all, not that Amora was really expecting him to be.

"And was Harry there?" Amora's voice grew lower. "Was Harry there the entire time?"

Draco's eyes darkened. It was almost as if the walls he had built couldn't stay up for much longer, because Amora could have sworn she saw emotion in the silver. It confirmed her suspicions, her lips parting.

"So you used me?"

Draco's face dropped. "No," he immediately snapped, "I didn't use you. I would never fucking do that. I wanted to do it anyway - I just... Didn't care that Potter was there. It served him right for snooping around in my business, he was obviously going to see things that would get him hurt."

 "Why didn't you tell me he was there?" Amora hissed at him, "He - He literally just watched us snog and bloody grope each other! I mean, I hope he had his eyes closed at least! Merlin, Draco." Amora placed a hand over her forehead. "I can't believe you. What was even running through your head to make you think of doing that?"

"That he needed to stop getting himself involved with us," Draco practically growled, "I don't know what he was spying on us for, or what he was expecting to see, but I knew it would hurt him. It would show him that he needs to piss off and get on with his own life."

Amora bit down on her lip as she listened.

"And I did just want to kiss you," Draco said, hand on her arm, his thumb stroking circles. "Is it so wrong for a guy to want to kiss their girlfriend having been deprived of her for so long?"

Amora tried to stop the smile crossing her face as she grabbed his wrist and pulled it away from her face. "You're so cruel," she whispered, but Draco could see that she was mildly amused.

"I am." Draco's hand tangled in her long hair behind her head. "And I love you."

Amora huffed. "I love you too, you dick."

D.M + A.B

2ND SEPTEMBER

After a long lesson of Defence Against the Dark Arts with Professor Snape, who was teaching them things that Harry had taught them in DA last year (but still finding ways to criticise and mock them), Amora was relieved to be moving onto Potions class with their new teacher.

Amora had previously been dreading N.E.W.T level Potions, until she found out that Snape was being replaced by Professor Slughorn, who had apparently worked at Hogwarts many years ago and was now coming out of retirement. He seemed like a jolly old man, greeting them all as soon as they entered.

There were not actually that many people who had progressed to N.E.W.T level Potions, but Amora wandered over to Draco, Blaise, and Pansy quickly and stood by them. Theo had chosen not to do Potions, despite getting the grades for it. Ernie was standing a few feet away near Hermione, and there were four Ravenclaws huddled together: Terry, Michael, Anthony, and Lisa Turpin.

Slughorn had just finished his brief introduction of himself and this year's syllabus when Harry and Ron came wandering in late. Amora's cheeks nearly burned as she made eye contact with Harry, but he was quick to look away at Slughorn instead.

"Ah," Slughorn greeted, "Harry, my boy, I was beginning to worry. We've brought someone with us, I see."

"Ron Weasley, sir," Ron nodded, giving him a breathy smile. "But I'm dead awful at Potions - a menace, actually. So... I'm probably just gonna -"

"Nonsense," Professor Slughorn called before Ron could leave. "Any friend of Harry's is a friend of mine. Get your books out."

"I'm sorry, sir, I actually haven't got my book yet, and nor has Ron," Harry cut in before Slughorn could get another word in.

"Not to worry, get what you want from the cupboard," Slughorn ordered, waving his hand before he turned back to the class. "Take your seats, please everyone. Four to a station."

Immediately, whilst Harry and Ron wrestled to get Advanced Potions Making books out of the cupboard Slughorn had pointed to, the four Ravenclaws rushed for a table together whilst Hermione and Ernie went to sit around another. Pansy grabbed Amora's wrist and guided her over to where Blaise had already found them a table, forcing her to sit next to her - not that Amora minded.

"Now, as I was saying, I prepared some concoctions this morning. These are the kind of things you ought to be able to make after completing your N.E.W.T.s. You ought to have heard of 'em, even if you haven't made 'em yet. Anyone tell me what this one is?" Professor Slughorn gestured towards the cauldron that was closest to Amora's table.

Hermione's hand immediately shot up into the air.

"Yes, Miss..?"

"Granger, sir," Hermione announced, and Amora saw Draco roll his eyes from where he sat beside Blaise. "That one there is Veritaserum. It's a colourless, odourless potion that forces the drinker to tell the truth."

"Very good, very good!" Slughorn praised her, "Now," he continued, and pointed to the one by where all of the Ravenclaws sat."This one here is pretty well known...Featured in a few Ministry leaflets lately too...Who can —?"

Once again, Hermione's hand shot up. Pansy groaned quietly.

"She's such a teacher's pet," she muttered, and whilst Amora partly agreed, she didn't really care - it wasn't like Amora fancied popping her hand up and giving an answer anytime soon.

  "lt's Polyjuice Potion, sir," she said, "It's terribly tricky to make."

"Excellent, excellent! Now, this one here...yes, my dear?"

"It's Amortentia!"

"It is indeed. It seems almost foolish to ask," Slughorn said, slightly bemused over how Hermione seemed to know so much, "but I assume you know what it does?"

  "It's the most powerful love potion in the world," she replied.

  "Quite right! You recognised it, I suppose, by its distinctive mother-of-pearl sheen?"

"And the steam rising in characteristic spirals," Hermione said, "and it's supposed to smell differently to each person according to what attracts them. For example, I smell... freshly mown grass...  and new parchment and... spearmint toothpaste."

The Gryffindor girl seemed to glow pink a little as she took a deep breath, becoming flustered as Harry and Ron finally joined her over at her table with Ernie. Amora could barely even look at Harry without thinking about what he had heard and maybe even seen. She doubted he would tell Ron or Hermione. Knowing Harry, he was probably embarrassed or thought it would be easier to keep it to himself.

"Well, twenty points to Gryffindor," Slughorn announced, "Now, Amortentia doesn't create real love, of course. It is impossible to manufacture or imitate love. No, this will simply cause  a powerful infatuation or obsession. It is probably the most dangerous and powerful potion in this room."

Blaise raised his hand. "How is a love potion more powerful than Veritaserum or Polyjuice Potion?" He questioned apprehensively.

  "When you have seen as much of life as I have, you will not underestimate the power of obsessive love, Blaise," Slughorn replied gravely, "It can blind you completely... You will not even be aware that you are under it, unlike these other two potions, here. And you would be surprised as to how many wizards and witches are easily tricked into consuming such potion."

Pansy seemed mildly interested, leaning closer in her seat as if she wanted to catch a whiff of it. Her hand shot up next. "Can we smell it, Professor?"

Professor Slughorn chuckled. "Ah, Miss Parkinson. Yes, perhaps that may be a good idea. It could help you to recognise it easier. If we may all line up in a queue, please. Yes, up, up, everybody."

Amora hopped from the stall, joining Pansy in the line. Draco and Blaise were behind them, the group of four being at the very back of the queue. Hermione had already said what she smelled, so she allowed Ron to go next.

"Er, I smell..." Ron awkwardly inhaled, "Some sort of... perfume, I think? And... bacon... and my mother's cooking."

Judging by the way Hermione's dark eyes lit up, Amora could tell whose perfume she hoped he was smelling.

Harry was next. Amora could only see the back of him from where he stood at the front of the queue, leaning down to sniff the potion as Slughorn pulled the lid off of it. He inhaled for a long second.

"Oh," Harry paused for a moment, "I can smell the wood of a broomstick and..." He hesitated, "Some perfume and... something artificially berry scented."

Draco's scowl grew larger. He knew for a fact that the shampoo that Amora used smelled of berries, and he was willing to bet that the perfume had been hers too. Draco didn't let the scowl rest for too long though, knowing that soon it would be Amora's turn, and he was sure that she wouldn't smell anything to give Harry any sort of hope.

Ernie went, and then the Ravenclaws. Next, it was Pansy's turn.

"It's..." She breathed in. "Lemons... and tea, and something fresh — like clean-smelling."

Amora was almost sure that Pansy was describing Kathy. Her brows raised and she wanted to smile, but Pansy seemed somewhat oblivious over what it might be. She wondered if Pansy was actually crushing on Kathy, or if maybe she liked her because of the night they had shared at Draco's party.

"Miss Buckley, you're next," Slughorn called, pulling her out of her daydreams.

Amora took a step forward and inhaled, welcoming a scent that filled her stomach with butterflies and made her heart skip a beat. Amora's Amortentia unsurprisingly smelt divine, and just how she had suspected it to be.

"I smell green apple shampoo and cologne," she inhaled again, "And the saltiness of the ocean."

Draco watched Harry's face fall and nearly laughed out loud. The fact that Harry still thought there was even a chance after what he had witnessed the night before on the train was a mixture of comedic and pathetic, really.

"And you, Mr Malfoy?"

Amora watched him inhale as she found her seat again, seeing the corner of his lips twitch upwards a little bit.

"It smells like honey and the sea," Draco replied confidently, "Mixed with a flowery kind of perfume."

Amora beamed to herself as Blaise went last, mentioning a few generic things like the smell of clean laundry and pastries baking.

"And now," Slughorn announced once everybody was sitting back down again. "It's time for us to get to work."

"Sir," Ernie called, "You haven't told us what's in that one."

"Oh, yes." Slughorn pulled the small vial out of the clamp that it was in. "What you see right before you, ladies and gentlemen, is a curious little potion known as Felix Felicis. But it is more commonly referred to as -"

"Liquid Luck," Hermione interrupted.

"Yes, Miss Granger, Liquid Luck. Desperately tricky to make, disastrous should you get it wrong. One sip and you will find that all of your endeavours succeed."

Draco seemed to glance up at this, finally interested in one of the four potions that had already been described to them.

"At least until the effects wear off," he chuckled, "So this is what I offer each of you today. One tiny vial of liquid luck to the student who, in the hour that remains, manages to brew an acceptable Draught of the Living Death. The recipes for which can be found on page ten of your books. I should point out, however, that only once did a student manage to brew a potion of sufficient quality to claim this prize. Nevertheless, good luck to you all. Let the brewing commence!"

Professor Slughorn hadn't been exaggerating about how difficult it was to brew the Draught of the Living Death. No matter how hard anybody tried, nobody could get it right. Even Hermione was freaking out, her hair larger than her head as she tried to brew something acceptable. Draco was quietly getting frustrated opposite Amora, hissing curse words everytime something went wrong - which was a lot.

In the end, bizarrely, Harry had been the only one to actually brew a Draught of the Living Death. Draco's jaw clenched as he watched everybody half-heartedly clap for Harry who accepted the Felix Felicis from Slughorn, rolling his silver eyes.

"Oh, Potter definitely cheated," Draco spat once they had left.

Amora frowned. "How do you cheat at making a Potion?"

"I don't know, Amora!" Draco snapped and began to storm ahead, leaving her behind with Pansy and Blaise.

"He's been in such a pissy mood for the past two days," Pansy huffed, "I'm getting sick of it."

Amora chuckled bitterly, folding her arms as the blond boy disappeared around the corner. "You're telling me. Has he said anything to either of you about it?"

"Nothing," Blaise replied, walking behind the two shorter girls. "If I knew, I'd tell you, though."

Amora tried to wrack her brain for what might be wrong. Something had definitely happened this summer, she just didn't know what. Maybe it was because his father was still locked away in Azkaban, or perhaps he'd seen something traumatising since Voldemort was staying with him? She desperately wanted to ask, but feared he'd only lie to her in response, or even snap and get angry again.

Whatever it was, Amora would find out.

...

this is quite a short chapter, but yah. just a warning that draco's gonna be quite annoying for a little bit, but i think that was always a given lol.

anyways, tysm for reading! <3

word count: 3.7k

dyiansobrien <33