Love Changes (Dramione)

[fifteen]

It's been several days since their almost-kiss, and they haven't once talked about it. Things have been perfectly normal, and Hermione wouldn't have it any other way. 

"You still up for our study date later, Granger?" Theo grinned as he passed her table at potions that afternoon 

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" 

"Right, I forgot that was happening this week." Draco muttered and sulkily went over the shelves to grab their cauldron of Amortentia 

"Right, everybody, settle down and open your cauldrons! Stir clockwise thrice and your potion should finally be ready." Slughorn announced "After this, grab a parchment and quill, and jot down the scents that you smell."

Hermione took the initiative of stirring their potion thrice until it turned a nice shade of pearly white before taking a whiff 

"Old books, freshly laundered sheets, and....Crème Brûlée?" she whispered as she wrote down neatly on a parchment that had her name on it

With a confused frown, she turned it in to Slughorn, along with a vial of their potion "Perfect, miss Granger." Slughorn smiled widely as he took the vial, carefully examining it 

'Chocolates, butterbeer and flowers?' he thought confusedly, flowers, but what kind?

he wrote it down on his parchment and turned it in, ignoring Slughorn's fearful glance at him. "You're all free to go once you've finished!" he announced quickly

"Granger, let's go?" Theo asked her as he grabbed his bag from behind his chair and left Blaise to finish cleaning up "You're a real prick, Nott" Blaise called after him 

"Uh, yeah, hold on." Hermione said, still confused from what she had smelled earlier. Perhaps the scents weren't of one person, perhaps they were just scents in themselves that Hermione found attractive. Not necessarily of a person, right?

"Granger, don't forget rounds later." Draco said 

"I never forget rounds, Malfoy." She flashed him a smile and left the room with Theo 

"Nice, now I'm left to clean this." Draco scowled "Nott, you prick."

It was a quiet walk to the library as Hermione mulled over the scents. They were really different from what she had smelled in their sixth year, perhaps that was why it left her so unsettled. Then again, the war changed a lot of things, maybe in changed her taste in men too. 

Maybe. 

"You look serious." Theo said observantly 

"I'm sorry." Hermione smiled, but offered no explanation to Theo's observation "We're going through our Transfiguration notes, right?" 

"And Charms." Theo nodded "If we finish early, I've got something to show you." 

"Oh, okay, sure." Hermione smiled 

As soon as they reached the library, the scent of old books hit Hermione like a wave 

That's it! She was attracted to--

"Hermione?" Theo called as he settled down on one of the study tables 

Theo?

she almost choked

"Coming!" her voice was small 

"What's happened? You look pale." Theo frowned and worriedly placed his hand over Hermione's forehead to check for her temperature 

"I'm okay, I'm alright." Hermione smiled sheepishly and gingerly took his hand off of her head "We should start. This twelve-foot Charms essay wont write itself."