human again / hp.

Chapter 131

We never talked about what it meant. The kiss in the rain.

Not really.

It happened, and everything after just... shifted. Like the castle turned slightly on its foundations, like the staircases started moving in new directions and I was the only one who noticed.

We didn't announce anything. No whispered promises. No plans. But we started meeting in secret. Behind shelves in the library, in empty classrooms before curfew, in the hush of quiet corridors when no one else was around. Sometimes we didn't even speak. We just stood close, close enough that I could feel the warmth of him, steady and real, like something I didn't deserve but still reached for anyway.

We never kissed like that again. Not yet. But we looked at each other like we remembered.

And maybe that was worse.

When Slughorn paired us in Potions, I nearly choked on my own breath.

Harry blinked at me from across the dungeon like he couldn't quite believe it either. I wasn't sure if he was panicking or laughing behind that blank face of his. Probably both. I returned his stare with a flat look that I hoped said, please act normal or I will hex your eyebrows off.

He blinked once, then smiled.

That idiot smile.

I sighed and sank onto the stool beside him.

Potions had always been one of my best subjects. I liked the precision of it, the logic. The quiet magic of it. Stirring and slicing and transfiguring things into something useful, something powerful. It gave me control, in a world where I seemed to have less and less of it.

"Alright, Amortentia today," Slughorn announced, clapping his hands together like this was some great festive occasion. "Powerful stuff, love potion. Not to be trifled with, of course, but very educational."

Of course it would be Amortentia. A love potion. The strongest one known. With Harry bloody Potter as my partner.

Perfect.

I rolled my eyes and opened the recipe book, pulling the ingredients closer to my side of the table. Gold cauldron, very low flame. At least I had that part under control.

Harry leaned in slightly and whispered in my ear, "Hello Celeste."

My hand paused above the mortar, and for a second, I hated how my heart reacted to his voice. To how closely he watched me. He noticed everything. Things no one else saw.

I didn't answer. I started bruising the peppermint flowers in the mortar, each press releasing that sharp, familiar scent.

I reached for the cauldron and gently sprinkled the crushed petals into the warming water. A delicate fizz rose from the surface. Behind me, Harry was already digging into the peppermint leaves.

Then, instead of bruising the blossoms, he tossed a handful of whole peppermint flower heads into the water. Intact. Uncrushed.

I froze.

"Did you even read the instructions?" I asked.

Harry looked over at me, unbothered. "Yes of course."

"You just chucked them in whole."

He shrugged. "Thought I'd try it this way."

"Why?"

"They look nicer floating," he said, completely serious.

I stared at him.

"You do realise this is Amortentia, not a centrepiece."

"I know."