Chapter Text
A – Amortentia (Fluff, 8th year)
The Potions dungeon routinely smelled like a damp crypt, but today it also smelled like a violent existential crisis. Professor Slughorn was hovering over a shimmering, pearlescent cauldron like an oversized beetle, gesturing for Hermione Granger to step forward.
“Perfect, Miss Granger!” Slughorn beamed, his mustache twitching. “10 points to Gryffindor! Now, tell us what the grand elixir whispers to you.”
Hermione approached the vapour, her hair getting frizzier, ready to catalog the exact chemical composition of infatuation. She leaned over the brim and took a sharp breath.
“Well, Miss Granger?”
"Freshly mown grass," Hermione said, her voice flat. "New parchment. Green apples..." She blinked, her lungs locking up. "And an aggressively expensive, entirely unnecessary men's cologne that smells like bergamot, mint, and pure, unadulterated entitlement."
Three desks down, Draco Malfoy stopped twirling his silver dagger. He slowly sniffed his own collar with a sudden look of absolute panic.
" Fascinating," Slughorn cheered.
Hermione glared across the room. Draco sneered back, though the tips of his ears were turning a spectacular shade of pink. He leaned across the aisle toward Blaise. "Zabini," he whispered, his jaw twitching. "Tell me honestly. Do I smell like entitlement?"
"You smell like a Gringotts vault, mate," Blaise murmured back. "And Granger wants to audit you."
Hermione shoved her books into her bag, muttering under her breath about potion contamination and faulty olfactory nerves. Draco, meanwhile, spent the rest of the period deliberately tilting his neck in her direction, fanning his robes with a smug, insufferable smirk.
She was the first one to rush out as soon as class ended. Pulling out her schedule, she tried to gather herself before Arithmancy. Another class which she, unfortunately, shared with Malfoy.
“Granger.” The familiar drawl made Hermione freeze in her tracks.
Draco sauntered up to her, hands in his pockets, a maddening smirk on his lips.
She averted his eyes and pretended to rummage in her bag. “What do you want, Malfoy?”
“I think it’s only fair to let you know what my Amortentia smells like, after knowing yours, Granger.”
Before she could protest, he grabbed her hand and pulled her into a nearby alcove.
Hermione’s heart was beating frantically against her ribcage. She prayed for a modicum of composure as she narrowed her eyes at Draco. “Is this an elaborate Slytherin prank?”
“It’s not.” Draco’s silver eyes became serious as they swept over her face. “It’s the truth which I’ve always known, but realized only after today’s class.”
Then, with a hesitant, almost reverent motion, he reached out and tucked a stray frizzy curl behind her ear. His fingers lingered for just a second—a touch so light it could have been a breeze.
Hermione opened her mouth indignantly.
“Sshh, Granger.” Draco whispered, his face too close to hers, his breath fanning her skin. She could smell the bergamot on his robes.
“Vanilla.” He murmured against the crook of her neck. A shiver tingled down her spine.
“Lavender.” He buried his nose in her curls. Hermione’s eyes widened. The bath oils were her favorite.
“Old books.” Draco’s eyes were like molten silver fire as they gazed into her amber orbs. Hermione bit her lip and his gaze instantly dropped to them.
“May I, Granger?” He looked intently at her face, searching for any sign of refusal.
Hermione closed her eyes, inhaled shakily and nodded. She had been fighting it for ages. Now, she couldn’t anymore.
Draco’s lips crashed into hers. The kiss tasted of green apples, mint and years of pent-up longing. He devoured her mouth with the desperation of a dying man in a desert who had just found an oasis. Hermione moaned as she deepened the kiss, their tongues meeting in a frenzied dance as the walls between them crumbled to dust.
When they pulled apart, Draco was breathing hard, his forehead resting against hers.
“Cherry.” He smiled, his lips kiss-swollen.
“My Amortentia has always smelt like you.” He murmured as he pulled her into his arms again.