𝘋𝘈𝘕𝘊𝘐𝘕𝘎 𝘞𝘐𝘛𝘏 𝘖𝘜𝘙 𝘏𝘈𝘕𝘋𝘚 𝘛𝘐𝘌𝘋/𝘵𝘰𝘮 𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦 (English version)

Chapter 25

First day of school

Sarah and Hermione were walking to their first class of the sixth year: Potions.
The first day was objectively difficult for everyone, as getting back into a routine lost over the summer wasn't easy.
There were two distinct groups of people at school: those who woke up at five to prepare themselves as best as they could, and those who kept hitting the snooze button until ten minutes before class.
Sarah proudly belonged to the second category, which is why she was now walking with her eyes half-closed, bothered by the bright light.
"I told you to go to bed earlier last night, but you didn't listen to me," Hermione said when she noticed her friend's tiredness, holding the classroom door open for her.
The classroom was half-empty; a few Slytherins and Gryffindors were already seated, waiting for the lesson to start. This year, they would be sharing many classes together, and neither house had been thrilled about the news.
Sarah followed her friend without saying anything, yawning every now and then.
"Hi, girls!" Neville said cheerfully, having already placed his book next to his cauldron.
The Black lazily raised her hand to greet him, then sat down in her chair and rested her head on the desk, eager to get a few more minutes of rest.

Professor Slughorn entered the classroom, smiling at everyone present.
He positioned himself behind the desk and got everyone to take their seats, officially starting the first lesson of the year.
"Welcome to our first class together. Let me introduce myself, I'm Professor Slughorn, and I am extremely happy to be teaching at Hogwarts again after so many years! Now, today I'd like to talk to you about a very interesting potion—" while looking around the room, he couldn't help but notice a mass of hair resting on a desk.
"Is she alive?" he asked Hermione, who blushed and began shaking her friend.
Sarah lifted her head abruptly and glanced around, noticing all eyes were on her.
She ran a hand over her tired face and tried to make herself look presentable.
The class laughed, and even Slughorn couldn't suppress a small smile.
"I'd like you all to move over to this side of the room. Today, we'll be observing some potions together. Come on, hurry up!"
The entire class moved closer to the cauldrons, from which a large amount of white smoke was billowing.
Mattheo walked towards Sarah, moving away from his friends. He nudged Neville, who was standing next to her, and positioned himself by her side.
"On a scale of one to ten, how tired are you right now? I'd say you're at a solid nine and a half."
The girl didn't bother looking at him, covering her mouth as she yawned.
"Actually, I slept, a lot. The problem is I need to catch up on more sleep, and one night isn't enough."
The professor stood behind the various potions he had selected for the day, wanting to put the class to the test.
"Attention to detail in preparation is a prerequisite for any good planning."
The classroom door creaked open, making everyone turn toward Harry and Ron as they entered, drawing the professor's attention as well.
"Aaaah, Harry, my dear boy, I was beginning to worry. I see you've brought someone along."
"Ron Weasley, sir."
Sarah was pushed aside by someone who stepped forward at the mention of the boy's name,Lavender Brown, smiling dreamily at the redhead.
The Black girl glared at her, "What kind of manners are those...".
She turned toward Hermione, but saw her glancing between Ron and Lavender.
"Excuse me, sir, I don't have my textbook yet, and neither does Ron."
Slughorn pointed toward the cupboard at the back of the classroom.
"Don't worry! There's the supply cupboard."
He moved ahead to the cauldron, continuing his explanation.
"As I was saying, I prepared some mixtures this morning. Does anyone have an idea of what they might be?"
Two hands shot up as soon as the professor finished speaking—Hermione's and Tom's.
But Slughorn almost ignored them, his eyes fixed on someone else.
"Miss Black?"
Sarah looked up at him; she knew the answer, but at that moment, she would have preferred a bed to rest in. She took a few steps forward, looking at the smoking cauldrons.
"That one is Veritaserum, the truth serum. And that one is Polyjuice Potion, extremely difficult to brew." She glanced at another potion. "And this one is Amortentia, the most powerful love potion in the world. It's supposed to smell different to each of us, according to what attracts us."
She looked at the professor, who was clearly pleased with her explanation.
"Yes, absolutely right. And what do you smell?"
Sarah felt her cheeks heat up, but she decided to answer anyway.
"New parchment, cologne, and... mint toothpaste."
She returned to her spot next to Hermione.
Pansy elbowed her, making her turn toward her.
"Seriously? Mint toothpaste?"
"At least he cares about his hygiene," she whispered, shrugging and rubbing the sore spot where she'd been elbowed.

Without raising any suspicion, Tom positioned himself behind them and slowly leaned in closer to Sarah's ear.
"Quite a... peculiar mix of scents," he whispered.
The girl didn't turn around, but her breathing quickened as she felt his breath on her neck.
"Common combination, half the boys in this school smell like that."
But the Slytherin shook his head, getting even closer to her.
"Are you sure... it seems familiar to me..."

"NOW THEN, this is what I offer you today: a small vial of Liquid Luck to the student who can brew an acceptable Draught of Living Death in this lesson. The recipe is on page 10 of your book. Let the brewing begin!"
Sarah quickly rushed back to her seat, mentally thanking the professor for rescuing her from that embarrassing situation, and she got to work.
The two worked on their potions without paying much attention to what the other was doing.
Sarah reached for the knife to her left, but Tom did the exact same thing.
Their hands overlapped, and they turned to look at each other at the same time.
Sarah held her breath, Tom wasn't moving away.
"I... I need... you know, the knife," the girl stammered, feeling her hand begin to sweat from how close they were.
Tom looked at her, saying nothing, his eyes darting quickly between her lips and her eyes, unsure of where to look.
Sarah was the first to step back.
She turned towards Hermione, snatched the knife from her, and continued the potion-making without glancing at him again.
Tom, however, kept watching her as she chopped the ingredients. He only resumed his work when he noticed Slughorn approaching to check on their progress.
He continued brewing the potion, but not with his usual focus.
His mind was still on the warmth of Sarah's hand on his, on her lips that seemed so inviting, on her eyes that he had gazed into so many times but now wanted to stare into for the rest of his life.
He could no longer suppress those thoughts. No matter how hard he had tried, Sarah had been a constant presence in his mind for three years.
~~~~~~
Harry Potter was the first to leave the Potions classroom, a wide grin on his face and a vial of Felix Felicis in his hands. Behind him, Ron was walking with Hermione toward their Transfiguration class. 
Sarah quickly packed her things without raising her head and made her way to the door, leaving the others in the room. 
Tom watched her leave, standing still with his hands on the desk, trying to calm himself. 
Draco approached him slowly, a small, ironic smile on his face. 
"Now even I can see it clearly..." 
Tom pretended not to hear him, starting to pack his things. 
"You should tell her, you know? You've been friends for years." 
The blond boy followed his friend out of the classroom; they both had a free period. 
"I have nothing to tell her, and even less to share with you, Malfoy." 
Draco raised his hands in mock surrender. 
"I'm just trying to be honest with you. And something tells me you're not the only one interested." 
Sarah had been stopped by Pansy in the corridor, but every now and then, she glanced over at them. 
"Right now, all Sarah feels toward us is hatred, for both of us. So we'd better find a way to solve that first, don't you think?"
Tom turned to Draco, who nodded uncertainly. 
"I know. I think the only option is to talk to her, but she hasn't spoken to me since we got back. Plus, I need to come up with an excuse. She can't know what's really going on." 
"Make it up to her; I'm sure you'll find a way." 
Tom walked past the girls, who followed him with their eyes until he was too far away to see. 

Sarah turned her gaze to Pansy. 
"I thought I'd gotten over him." 
"I knew it. Blaise owes me ten galleons," the Slytherin girl laughed, only to receive a playful slap on the arm from her friend. 
"No, Pansy, this isn't funny anymore. I can't seriously be interested in Tom." 
"Would you really prefer someone like Cormac?" Pansy asked, raising an eyebrow. 
"I'd rather be alone for now." 
"Oh, come on, Sarah, you're so fake. You can't take your eyes off him. This crush of yours has been going on since fourth year. I think it's about time you told him." 
Sarah looked at her, confused. 
"Have you lost your mind? So I can get rejected? Absolutely not!" 
"Why do you think that? He watched you brew that potion without taking his eyes off you. If he could have, he would have—" Sarah clamped a hand over Pansy's mouth. 
"You read too much into things, Pansy. Change the type of stories you read." 
Sarah walked away, heading towards the Transfiguration classroom, but that day, she could only think about the warmth of Tom's hand