girl of my dreams

chapter iv

amortentia.

thats what slughorn was teaching the 5th year this lesson. it had been a couple of months since the incident, now winter, and james had mostly left severus alone since. even so, severus seemed slightly uncomfortable around vivienne.

vivienne drops her book on her desk next to severus, and takes a seat, warmly greeting the quiet slytherin.

Slughorn stands at the front of the class. "here i have three different concoctions that i prepared this morning. any ideas what these might be?" to vivis surprise, severus puts up his hand.
"that one there is veritaserum. its a truth-telling serum. and that would be polyjuice potion. it's difficult to make. and this is amortentia. the most powerful love potion in the world." this earns a few snickers from james and peter. "its rumoured to smell differently to each person according to what attracts them."
"very good severus!" slughorn praises. "today you will all be attempting to make one of these,"

vivienne and severus of course are asked to attempt amortentia. severus goes red but to his luck vivi didn't notice. they start making it.
"hey via can you pass me the rose petals?" severus asks. vivi pauses, the nickname catching her off guard, and she cant stop herself from smiling.

finally, the amortentia is finished. severus leant over the cauldron to get his notebook, and accidentally inhaled. hibiscus, fruits, and vanilla swarmed his head, and he went white. he tried to act casual as vivienne smelled the amortentia, desperate to see her reaction.

Vivienne inhaled, and soap, the smell of old books, and a faint smell of herbs filled her brain. she kept her composure on the outside, but inside was freaking out.

severus watched as the girl smelt it. and didn't care. he couldn't handle this unrequited love, so he slipped out the class. once he was out, he hurried to his common room, and collapsed on the sofa. Mulciber was in there reading, and asked the boy what was wrong.
"was it them filthy gryffindors again?"
"no, no, nothing like that," he said, his cheeks still a little pink.
"you're blushing. is it about a girl?" Mulciber said disdainfully, raising an eyebrow and looking up from his book. Severus doesnt reply. he does not want mulciber to know about what happened, more specifically who it was with. he knows what mulciber thinks of muggleborns.

meanwhile, vivi was finding it hard to stay calm. she had not noticed severus had disappeared, and decided to disappear herself. of course, she found herself in the astronomy room. sat on the same windowsill, with her cat opposite her. misty was the one thing in this world she could trust, and she just started talking. her whole mind was a mess. did she really truly have feelings for severus? vivi had never liked anyone before, and she didnt know what to do. she was friends with the people who bullied him - this was hopeless! misty sat in her place, letting the girl pour her heart out. "i think i need to tell him" she determined.

severus finally caved, realising keeping it to himself would only make things worse, and mulciber was really the only person who he could talk to.
"yes it's about a girl. one who i really like," he confesses. "i smelt her in my amortentia, but when she smelt it she didn't react at all." he explains. mulciber just sits and listens, and doesnt press for more detail. "so what?"
"so what? so that means she doesnt like me!" severus exclaims, although he has no clue why it hurts so much - this should already be obvious purely based on their statuses. "not necessarily. maybe she knew exactly who she would smell in the amortentia. thats why she had no reaction," mulciber said, looking back to his book