Lust, War, and... Love?

Chapter 3: Fateful Night

      The potion was taking forever to brew. According to the recipe, it was to be stewed for precisely an hour and twelve minutes after it turned ultramarine blue. Draco stirred the brown liquid for almost two hours before it turned the desired shade of blue. He missed the dinner and had to send Crabbe down to the kitchens to fetch something to eat. Goyle stood on watch outside the Room of Requirement, where Draco was now stationed with his cauldron. The two oafs weren't smart enough to bring food from the Great Hall when they came to check on him. Draco's stomach growled louder and louder, and his moods were steadily going downhill.

Things were decidedly foul at Hogwarts. First, Draco Malfoy wasn't a prefect anymore. Second, Proffesor Slughorn with his elitist Slug Club openly snubbed him - him, the only scion and heir of the noble Malfoy House! Third, Potty beat him to Felix Felicis potion the other day, which was beyond Draco's comprehension. If it were Granger, he could live with it, but Potter?! Fourth, his fellow Slytherins and everyone else showed considerably less regard for him now that his father had been thrown in Azkaban. The humiliating Ministry raid on the Malfoy Manor was all over the press again. Even the dim-witted Crabbe, who normally obeyed without a single squawk, clearly showed his displeasure when Draco barked at him to go and get him dinner - fast!

Draco had resolved to show everyone that the noble Malfoy name was not to be trifled with. For starters, he was now the youngest ever Death Eater in Lord Voldemort's service. Although the tasks that came with it still made Draco uneasy in his stomach, he was intent on winning the Dark Lord's favours with his brilliance and magical prowess. Speaking of the less appealing parts of the job... It would be only a matter of proper cunning to manipulate someone else into doing them. Surely, Draco had got enough brainpower for that.

Draco glanced at his watch. Thirty-three more minutes for the potion to brew. Exactly one hour eighteen minutes had elapsed since Crabbe waddled out of the room to get the food. The potion, Heorte Lustbaere, was an integral part of Draco's plan to take charge of his destiny and conquer the world. Lately he realized that his romance with Pansy had turned bland. To tell the truth, they got along very nicely, and she was always eager to please him. Other than her pug-like face and occasionally obtuse notions, she held a certain appeal as a truly pureblood witch. Nevertheless, despite Pansy's exorbitant signs of affection Draco answered her caresses in a rather mechanical way. For the sake of their magical engagement he needed to put more zing in their relationship.

It was not like Draco had no interest in the opposite sex. In fact, he did have a lot of interest and noticed each and every pretty witch in the vicinity. Even that Mudblood, Granger, with her amber brown eyes and titillating contours under her bulky robes. Shame that Granger wasn't a pureblood... Of course, the noble Malfoy heir had better things to do than to pay attention to the toxic know-it-all Mudblood. Let her own goons, Potty and Weasel, bother about her.

Heorte Lustbaere was a potent lust potion. So potent that it had been entirely banned for the last three hundred years or so. Unlike the popular wares peddled in Diagon Alley, its effect never wore off. To find the recipe Draco had to cajole Snape into giving him a permission note to access the Restricted Section of the library. Unlike Amortentia, the love potion demonstrated by Professor Slughorn, it did not cause obsession. It created a pure physical lust which was all Draco wanted from his engagement. He needed his brain for bigger things than romance. Another nice benefit of the potion was that it bestowed a strictly monogamous bond on the couple who drank it. To Draco's dislike, Pansy was too liberal with other blokes. The other day he caught her flirting with Zabini heavily. Heorte Lustbaere would fix that problem for good.

It was a tricky job to get all the ingredients for Heorte Lustbaere, but Draco was able to procure most of them from shops in Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley. He pilfered the few hard-to-find components from Slughorn's potions closet. Thankfully, Professor Slug was far more lax about the security of his wares than the ever-paranoid Snape. Draco sweet-talked Pansy into agreeing to pack more zest in their love and to drink the potion. He was quite proud of himself.

Crabbe lumbered in with a stack of sandwiches and a pitcher of pumpkin juice. Draco impatiently grabbed one of the sandwiches and tore into it, his eyes still fixed on his watch. When the time was up, Draco promptly took the cauldron off the fire and poured a carefully measured amount of sophoporous bean juice into it. Pearly swirls appeared in the deep ultramarine concoction. Draco picked up his silver knife and took a deep breath. He pierced his forefinger with the sharp end of the knife and squeezed exactly seven drops of his own blood into the cauldron. The swirls turned pale pink, then grew darker and soon the color of the whole content of the cauldron changed from dark blue to deep crimson. Heorte Lustbaere, the ancient lust potion of Druids, was ready.

By the time Draco finished his sandwiches the potion had cooled enough to drink. He transfigured his quill into a goblet and tipped the cauldron carefully. The pleasant-smelling thick red liquid poured into the cup. Draco drank it in two gulps. It tasted good. He filled a silver flask with the rest of the potion and handed it to still grumpy-looking Crabbe. It was late at night, and Draco did not need to be caught with a highly illegal concoction by Filch or a teacher on patrol duty.

"This is one of the strongest love potions you have ever seen, dimwit. Not the Zonko's cheap one-hour-of-love-stuff. It is strictly for Pansy," Draco impressed the grave importance of it on Crabbe. "Make sure you get it to the dungeons safely. Now, move your arse!"

In the corridor, Crabbe and equally grumpy Goyle set off for the dungeons, while Draco made a detour to a toilet.

"Heck, what he'd need that love potion for?" Crabbe mumbled to Goyle after they were outside of Draco's earshot. "He's already bonking Pansy."

"Have it then. Draco will love you lots," Goyle gloated at his joke.

"Hey, a girl's coming here." Crabbe fingered the flask. "Let's feed her some."

Barely containing their snicker, they doubled back and hid behind a corner.