When we align; a Neville Longbottom fanfiction

31. The list

Her sweet feeling persisted through the beginning of November, and everyone around her seemed to welcome the change. She felt almost as if she was floating about the castle, light and gleeful, greeting the students she'd meet in the corridors and helping Horace with whatever he needed.

She continued to go to every gathering religiously even though Daphne, Theo, and Blaise skipped some. Her energy shift had seemed to have a positive impact on Neville as well. With the school year now being in its full and the end of term exams approaching, they hadn't as much time to spend together, but they both felt more relaxed around each other anyway.

One Wednesday morning, Cass was doing a brewing session in the dungeons when Neville walked in. He stayed silent, observing her work for many minutes before approaching one of the cauldrons.

"Oh, Strengthening Potion!" He said after taking a whiff.

Cass couldn't help but laugh. "You still haven't improved your potions skills, I see. That's not Strengthening Potion."

"What? No, I'm sure it is, I remember clearly when y-" he froze, hand midair about to stir the liquid in the cauldron. "What is it, then?" He dropped his hand.

"Amortentia. What were you saying?" She furrowed her eyebrows.

He shook her head, taking a step back. "Nothing important." He studied her for a second, his green eyes scanning her. "If it doesn't smell like Strengthening Potion, what is it supposed to smell like?"

"It depends on what you find most attractive. For me, it's..." she took a whiff and looked at him in the eyes. "The rose garden in Nott Manor, the Hogwarts library and... fresh dirt." She blurted out the words before she could stop herself.

"Fresh dirt? That's disappointing." He snorted, moving over to the other bubbling cauldron.

Cass chuckled. "No, not really. I quite like it." Her expression turned serious. "What does it smell like for you?"

He didn't move his eyes from the liquid. "Strengthening Potion, the greenhouses, and pine."

Cass caught him looking at her. When she did, he averted her gaze.

"Is that what Hannah smells like?"

He was silent for several minutes. "Yes, sometimes." He didn't look at her when he spoke again. "What are you brewing Amortentia for?"

"Well, Horace says that every year he warns his students not to experiment with it, and every year there's at least one accident. He wants to dose them with it in the hope to deter them from using it. That," she pointed at the cauldron next to him, "is the antidote."

He nodded, although Cass could tell he was only half-listening. His mind was somewhere else.

"Horace also wanted to make sure we had enough supplies of Sopophorous Beans for the Draught of Living Death. He told me to ask you how you're doing with those."

"I'll harvest them tonight, you'll have enough. You can come pick them up tomorrow."

They looked at each other for a moment. Cass was about to ask him if she could go harvest with him, for research purposes, but the words didn't seem to want to leave her mouth.

His relationship with Hannah was going extremely well ever since they'd gotten a chance to talk it out. Cass had cursed herself for giving him advice, but then again it was what friends were supposed to do. That's what she was sure they were. Friends. She was torn between wanting to spend time with him and preserving her feelings. Being with him was sublime. Beautiful and ecstatic, terrifying and melancholic.