Amortentia: A Hogwarts Story

Chapter Two

I had expected my first Hogwarts Express ride to be spent reading Quidditch Through the Ages alone, especially after my brother had ignored my mother's wish to "look out for me" and left me standing in the aisle as he looked for his friends.

"I've worked much too hard to detach myself from this family for you, looking like our criminal father, to mess this all up," He'd said. "And if you want to be popular, work your own way up. Being my brother doesn't mean I have to help you."

So much for the synonmyous use of "Hufflepuff" and "nice."

I had slid into the empty compartment to the right of where I had been standing and settled into the window seat facing the back and opened my book. Less than five minutes later, I had looked up to see a small girl with long dark brown hair standing in the doorway.

"Hey," I'd smiled up at her, putting my book on the seat next to me.

"Hello," She'd said, coming into the compartment and putting her Muggle suitcase on the overhead rack before taking the seat across from me.

"Demetrius Scamander, pleasure to meet you," I'd smiled again, shaking her hand.

"Edwina Kwong," She'd kept eye contact.

We'd laughed about our names: I'd explained that I was not, in fact, related to the great Newt Scamander and we'd agreed to shorten hers to Eddie.

I'd ended up telling her the truth about my family and background early on; she was the first who didn't seem to mind too much.

Then, we'd had the usual Hogwarts Express conversations, discovering that we both wanted to be sorted into Ravenclaw. I'd told her about my aspirations to play for Puddlemore United, and, surprisingly, she didn't laugh at me.

Well, she did laugh, but it was a friendly one. "I can tell from your jersey," she'd said.

That first year, she was my hero. Not only was she the only one willing to study and practice Quidditch with me while we weren't in class, she told multiple people, including our own fellow Ravenclaws, that I wasn't in charge of my own blood heritage, even when others leered at her for being Muggle-born.

The situation bettered by second year, save for the few comments hurled at me and the second glances I received from underclassmen.

Third year, I'd convinced her to try out for the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team as keeper. We both made the team and hugged and screamed like excited teenage girls when we saw the results. Eventually, people began to view me more as "that brilliant Ravenclaw chaser" (their words, not mine) than "Rochus Scamander's son." Ravenclaw won the house cup for the first time in twelve years that year.

Fourth year, she'd told me she thought Lex Stafford, the newly appointed Gryffindor seeker, was her true love. I'd told her he was an idiot, but she didn't listen, and I had been roped into her plan to help her win his heart, which had involved a large amount of time spent awkwardly waiting around corners.

That December, it had snowed. We were sitting in the courtyard, and she had curled in to me to stay warm while we had discussed our Christmas plans.

With the snowflakes falling in her hair and nobody around, I suddenly had had an overwhelming desire to kiss her. And so I tried to, but we had ended up awkwardly bonking noses and apologizing. I never spoke of that moment ever again.

The day before the final match of the season, Eddie had come running to me, tears in her eyes, after seeing Lex with our seeker and captain, Clarissa McMahon, then a sixth year. I had held her in my arms and let her cry, but, needless to say, we lost the match, and the cup, that year.

When we returned for fifth year, Lex was single again, but not for long. Eddie tracked each of his relationships that year, which added up to six. I could tell she was hoping to be his next target, and the heartbreak on her face each time was unbearable. Our hugs became more frequent and Lex caught me kissing her on the cheek once. The teasing started again, for a different reason, although all Eddie ever replied to anybody was "we're not a couple."

I didn't know what I had been expecting her to say, but I supposed I had hoped she would laugh it off or even return my actions. It never happened.

We lost the house cup to Gryffindor, again, that year.

Sixth year, I used the teasing to my advantage, teasing Edwina as well, calling her my true love, amongst other ridiculous nicknames. She occasionally teased me back good-naturedly, but I could tell, she didn't feel the same way, not that I could blame her. Even to her, I was never as good as Lex for boyfriend material. I'd told her I liked a girl, but despite hours of trying to guess, I doubted she ever realized that it was her.

We were also assigned to be co-captains and, thanks to long training sessions five days a week and a talented team, Ravenclaw finally won another house cup.

As sixth year drew to a close, Edwina and I decided on two main goals for our seventh year: win another house cup and win the hearts of our respective beloveds.

I wanted to tell her the truth that it would be impossible for both of us to achieve the second goal, but decided against it.

But my schoolboy crush on Edwina became the least of my worries after my dad escaped from Azkaban that summer.

The next chapter will be significantly better, I promise! If you have any suggestions (even little ones) to help improve my writing or the story in general, don't be shy to comment! I appreciate all feedback.