Of Muggles and Magic - A Harry Potter Fanfic [HIATUS]

Chapter 10 - Realization

This chapter is dedicated to Shootingstar56! Happy reading!

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Jin Ha pov:

"Welcome to your first Potions class with me!" Prof. Slughorn chimed with a smile. "I'm looking forward to all of you performing well in my class and I assure you, your efforts will be well rewarded. Now, I'd like you all to..."

He was interrupted when Harry and Ron shuffled into the classroom rather uninterested and forced a smile when they were acknowledged by Prof. Slughorn.

"Ah, Harry m'boy! I was beginning to worry! And I see you've brought someone along." He said.

"Ron Weasley, Sir. But I'm dead awful at potions, a menace really, so I probably should just be going..." Ron said taking a step back only to be stopped by Harry who hustled behind him and pushed him forward just a bit.

"Nonsense! We'll sort you out. Any friend of Harry's is a friend of mine." The professor insisted and turned to the rest of us. "Alright then, books out."

Harry once again interrupted him saying that neither he nor Ron had their books yet and Prof. Slughorn merely instructed them to take whatever they needed from the shelf on the side. I watched them as they halfheartedly trudged to the shelf and looked into it before fighting with each other to get their hands on the books there. I bit my lip to hold back a smile of amuse and cleared my throat to hold back a laugh when I noticed Ron smirk in victory for having got his hands on a neat book while Harry had a tattered one in his hands.

I shook my head and then looked back at Prof. Slughorn as he motioned to four steaming concoctions on the table in front of us and asked us if we knew what they were. As expected, Hermione was the only one the raise her hand and step forward to recognize the potions after getting permission from the professor to answer. Two of the first three were ones that I knew but I wasn't able to recognize them as easily as Hermione did. The last one was one that I easily recognized thought – it was Amortentia or what anyone would know as the strongest 'love' potion in the world.

"It is rumored to smell differently to each person, according to what attracts them. For example, I smell freshly mown grass and new parchment and....spearmint toothpaste." Hermione said, ending with a barely visible blush in embarrassment for being momentarily taken away by the smells she liked.

I swallowed thickly as I found the scent of fresh rain and my mom's delicious stir fry noodles begin to muddle my mind. I shook my head to keep my senses but I noticed that there were a few other students who weren't able to show restraint. They had dazed expressions and were leaning closer to the vapors from the cauldron.

"Now, Amortentia doesn't create actual love of course. That's impossible." Prof. Slughorn said and eyed the dazed student in mild amuse. "But it does cause a powerful infatuation or obsession. For that reason, it is possibly the most dangerous potion in this room."

He closed the cauldron with a lid and the students finally seemed to snap back to their senses. I too exhaled deeply, glad that I was no longer feeling overwhelmed by the scents I got. I looked at Ron and Harry who had come to stand beside us and I noticed Ron looking to someone beside me in mild confusion. I followed his gaze to see a girl with long curly blonde hair watching him dreamily, to which Hermione narrowed her eyes in irritation, and I raised a brow. It looked like Ron was being crushed on but he was oblivious to it and Hermione wasn't happy about it.

I rolled my eyes with a shake of my head and looked at the other students to see if they too were recovering from the effects of the Amortentia. I looked at Draco who stood looking solemn, is eyes on the floor instead of on the professor or the potions on display. I frowned just a bit wondering why he had suddenly become so silent and gloomy – he had been this way since the first day of school and, I have to admit, it had made me just a little bit concerned. I wouldn't be concerned if he avoided me or stopped bothering Harry, Hermione and Ron but he's not how he normally used to be even with his Slytherin friends – it was unsettling.