the brewer's handbook: amortentia | harry potter

- XII -

ㅤ _ ❀ V. 

Colette rushes into the kitchens, way too much energy surging through her veins for a time before noon. Last night, after getting back from Diagon Alley, she'd asked the elves to make up a cake. Chocolate, but not too sweet. Like dark chocolate, bitter in taste, and not with as much sugar. They said they'd have it done by today, so as soon as she woke up, she was shrugging on her silk robe and rushing down to the dungeons. A few elves notice her, and immediately work together down to the end of one of the four tables, picking up a white box. 

They rush over to her, opening the lid and proudly showing off the brown cake. It has little bricks of rich dark chocolate around the frosting letters, "Happy Birthday!" Colette smiles, "It looks perfect, thank you."

"We're happy to help!" A few of the elves exclaim together, before going off to what they were doing before. 

Colette gleefully leaves the kitchen, swirling around and plucking a raspberry out of a bowl on one of the tables, taking extra caution when going up the stairs back up to her chambers. She uses wandless magic to open her door, letting it swing open and close behind her. She sets the box down on a little table, and it wobbles. She picks it back up, tries to maybe... reposition it. And the table wobbles. She sweeps it up and puts on her dresser instead. 

 Colette sucks in a deep, nervous breath, stilling her thoughts, and just works on getting dressed. Of course, the nerves have to ruin everything they can, and she starts getting nervous about what she wears. What if she wears a skirt and an emergency happens and she flashes everyone? What if wearing pants makes him think she doesn't see his birthday as a special occasion? Would a normal button-up shirt suffice, or should she wear something dressier? Oh, Merlin, should I wear a dress? Her mind flickers to the green, cotton dress that she always feels really confident in, it always hugs her body in the right places... She settles for a black turtleneck and a long, plaid skirt.

It's already close to noon, and Severus is most definitely already awake and working, wondering why his punctuality-challenged assistant is still in bed. Colette buckles the strap around her ankle on her usual heels, gathers the few books and the scales she got for him, and puts them into his new cauldron, using a bit of magic to have the cake follow along beside her. She's only ever read about birthday celebrations, but she's never celebrated someone's birthday herself. Merlin, she's nervous. 

Colette hesitantly tiptoes through the dungeons, getting up to the door of the classroom and knocking gently. Severus makes a noise on the other side, muffled but sounds like, "Enter." 

The door opens easily with a swing of Colette's hips, bringing the cake down on his desk. "Happy birthday, Severus!" She sets the cauldron down next to the cake, hoping the contents inside are hidden enough for them to remain a surprise. He doesn't say anything, just looks a little... confused. "Severus?"

"What is this?"

"Birthday gifts! A celebration for the best potions master," Colette squeals, smiling brightly. He reaches out hesitantly, opening the box of cake. "I made sure it wasn't too sweet, so you should still like it."

He switches to the cauldron, inspecting the contents. First, the books, which Colette doesn't exactly remember the names of, only that they're mostly non-fiction. He flips through the pages of them, a light nod barely signifying that he thinks them relatively useful. Next, "I have scales?"

"Well, scales should be updated pretty often, so they stay accurate! I didn't know how long it's been since you got new ones, so..." She gestures to the box of scales, biting her lip to keep her smile contained.

"I see." Severus nods slowly, scanning over his gifts that litter atop his work. "Would you like your cauldron back, now?"

"No, that's a gift, too! Yours seemed a little, um... beat up, no offense. So, I thought you'd like a new one! It's a little bigger, too!" She explains, rocking back and forth from the toe of her shoes onto the elongated heel. "I hope you like it."