A New Beginning (Harry & Hermione from "Harry Potter")

Amortentia

"Hello everyone! My name is Horace Slughorn, and I will be your teacher for the Potions class this year. Please take out your Advanced Potion-Making books."

"Sir," said Harry. "I haven't got any books, nor does Ron. We were assigned recently-"

"Oh, yes. Professor McGonagall mentioned it. You can take a book from the store cupboard until you buy your own," suggested Slughorn and continued with the class.

"Now, class. Today, we will discuss some potions that I have prepared beforehand for this lesson. Does anyone have an idea about this one?"

Hermione's hand was up. Slughorn gave permission for her to speak.

"It's Polyjuice Potion, sir. The person who drinks it can transform into another person by adding in a piece their hair."

Harry had also recognized the mud-like liquid inside the cauldron. He remembered Hermione preparing the potion for Ron and him to transform into Crabbe and Goyle in their second year of school.

"That is actually very accurate. What about this one?" Slughorn continued. Hermione's hand was up again.

"It's Veritaserum, sir. It makes the person who drinks it spill all the truths. The person can not lie."

"Very well said."

Harry started smelling a flowery scent coming from the cauldron near him. It reminded him of the Burrow for some reason.

"What is this, Professor?" Harry asked curiously.

"Oh, thanks for spotting that out Harry. It's probably the most dangerous potion in this classroom right now. Would you like to answer this too, darling?" asked Slughorn, turning towards Hermione.

"It's Amortentia, the most powerful love potion in the world. It smells differently to each person according to what attracts them. For example, I smell..."

Hermione turned red all of a sudden. She kept silent.

"What is your name, my dear?" Slughorn asked her.

"Hermione Granger, sir."

"Granger... Can you possibly be related to Hector Dagworth-Granger, who founded the Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers?"

"No, sir. You see, I'm a Muggle-born."

"One of my best friends is Muggle-born, and she is the best in our year," Slughorn spoke out, enlightened. "I guess this is your very friend, Harry?"

"Yes, sir."

"Twenty points to Gryffindor on behalf of your knowledge, then, Miss Granger," Slughorn said.

"Did you really say that I was the best in our year? Oh, Harry!" Hermione whispered. She was smiling.

"What is impressive about that? I would say the same thing if he asked me," Ron muttered.

"I would like to add to what Miss Granger said about the love potion. The smell that comes from it only gives you temporary attraction to the thing to smell, more like an obsession. It never shows who your true love will be, it can be really misleading. Drinking it is even more dangerous because it will make you more obsessed with that someone all of a sudden, and you will not be able to control it. I just brought this here to teach you and give you an idea but it's necessary to mention that using this is extremely harmful and its usage will not be accepted in any case."

He put the lid on the cauldron and put it aside. The flowery scent Harry had really been attracted to was now gone.

"Don't forget that true love can never be obtained with artificial matters. It comes right through your heart," Slughorn added, pointing his heart and continued with his lesson.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"How did you do it? How did you make the Draught of Living Death that well?" Ron asked Harry.

"I had different instructions in my books."

"What do you mean, different instructions?" Hermione asked.

"Someone put notes on the instructions. Look!"

Harry showed hand-written notes on the book.

"It was not your work, then. But Harry, it's not okay. It's cheating!"

"Hermione, he only followed different instructions than ours," said Ron. "He took a risk and it paid off. Why couldn't I be the one who..."

As Ron was talking, he heard the same flowery smell slowly entering the room. It was the smell from the potions class. When he turned around, he saw Ginny approaching them. Oh my God, no, he thought. It's Ron's sister, she is completely out of bounds. But he kept his inner shock to himself, trying to suppress.

"Did I hear it right?"

"It's not a big deal," replied Harry.

"How can you be sure that it is not like Tom Riddle's diary?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah! We don't know the intentions of the person who has written the notes on that book," Hermione said.

"It just helped him get a reward. Why are you so jealous?" asked Ron.

"I'm not jealous of any kind of cheating, Ronald! I just don't approve of using another person's work whom we don't have any idea about!" Hermione argued.

"I think we should check it," supported Ginny.

"I was thinking about the same thing," Hermione said. "Specialis Revelio!"

Nothing happened to the book. Not even its cover moved.

"If you are finished, I would like to take it back," Harry said and took the book from Hermione's hands. While he was putting it inside his bag, he saw something written behind it's cover: This is the property of the Half-Blood Prince. He directly hid it. He didn't want any of them to ask who the Half-Blood Prince was.