February 28th, 1979

With our match against Ravenclaw only a few days away, it's the only thing that I can think about. Well, that and a certain Black brother who seems to be occupying a lot of my brain recently.

Jack held practice a little too long this morning, which is why Emmeline and I are practically running through the dungeons to make it to potions class on time. I refuse to be late.

My hair is still wet, hanging damply around my face, and my tie is crooked.

I come to a stop in front of the classroom door, Emmeline almost running into me, and take a deep breath.

I straightened my tie and opened the door, Emmeline following.

We were barely in our seats when the clock rang out, meaning that class was starting.

"You have a rough morning?" Regulus asked, smirking at my appearance.

I bumped my knee against him. "No, practice just ran late," I said. "Good morning, by the way."

"Good morning, Meredith."

I gave him a small smile before getting my parchment, quill, and textbook out of my bag.

The classroom door opened, and Professor Slughorn came walking in. He looked extra "chipper" this morning for some reason.

"Good morning class!" He chimed. "I hope you're all excited for today's lesson because it is one of my favorites."

Everyone in class was silent.

"Uh-, Professor?" Evan asked.

Professor Slughorn smiled, "Yes, Mister Rosier?"

"What exactly are we learning about?" Evan asked, which made Regulus stifle a laugh. I heard Barty laugh somewhere across the room.

"Today's lesson will be on amortentia," Professor Slughorn announced. "Can anyone tell me what its purpose is?"

There was a lot of whispering amongst the rest of the class. I glanced over at Regulus, who had a smirk on his face.

"It's a love potion, sir," Emma Vanity answered.

Professor Slughorn nodded, "Yes it is. It is the most powerful love potion in existence, and causes a powerful infatuation or obsession from the drinker."

I heard some of the Hufflepuff girls giggling to each other in the front of the class.

"But-, it does not create actual love. It is impossible to manufacture or imitate love," Slughorn added. "So be weary."

I glanced over at Regulus beside me. He was taking notes, his perfect handwriting in black ink contrasting against the pale parchment.

I dipped my quill in my inkwell and began to take notes.

Professor Slughorn continued on.

"Amortentia smells different to everyone. The aroma will remind each person of the things that they found most attractive, even if the person did not acknowledge or was unaware of their fondness for the object of their affection themselves."

The fact that my subconscious could completely take over is slightly off-putting.

I continued to take notes, my foot bumping against Regulus's. Professor Slughorn continued to lecture about the history and development of amortentia, which practically put me to sleep.

"We will be brewing amortentia tomorrow," Slughorn announced.

I let out a sigh of relief knowing that I had another day to come to terms with the fact that I will most likely smell Regulus Black.

"But, I have a vial of some already made," Professor Slughorn added. "I'm going to have everyone pass it around and tell the class what amortentia smells like to them."

Well, shit.

The potion started at the front of class. Everyone took turns smelling the potion and telling the rest of the class. There was a lot of giggling and blushing involved.

When it got to Barty, I was 95% sure that he smelled Emma Vanity. Especially since he started stuttering.

I was checked out most of the time, but when it reached Emmeline and Evan, I returned to reality.

Regulus had his chin propped up on his hand, watching contentedly as his best friend took a sniff of the amortentia.

"Uh-, I smell firewood, the sea, and-," Evan smirked, "Vanilla perfume."

Emmeline blushed, trying to play it off by covering her face with her hand. I know damn well that Emmeline has only worn vanilla perfume since third year.

Evan winked at Emmeline as he handed her the vial of amortentia. She was still blushing slightly as she smelled it.

"I smell wildflowers, chocolate chip cookies, and sandalwood," Emmeline said, glancing up at Evan.

Watching this entire thing happen between them is the best source of entertainment. They obviously like each other.

Emmeline passed the potion back to Regulus, and he set down his quill to smell the pearly potion.

Regulus smirked, "I smell broom polish, rain-," He paused for a second, "And jasmine perfume." He caught my gaze and gave me a small smile, handing me the potion.

I ignored the butterflies in my stomach and smelled the amortentia.

"It smells like fresh rain, expensive cologne, and butterbeer," I answered quickly. I didn't look at Regulus as I turned around and handed the vial to the Ravenclaw boy behind me.

The rest of the class took turns smelling the amortentia. Thankfully, the clock rang out and class was over.

I slowly gathered my things to put back into my bag.

"You can go, I'll catch up with you later," I told Emmeline.

She shrugged, "Okay, see you at lunch!"

Evan followed behind her, looking very pleased with himself.

The rest of the class cleared out, including Barty, who was following after Emma like a puppy. Anyone who knows Emma knows that Barty doesn't stand a chance. She has very high standards, and so does her mum. My dorm mate, Lucy, heard that Emma got engaged to some older pureblood over the Christmas holiday.

Regulus stayed behind, slowly packing his things into his bag. We both finished packing up our things and left the classroom, saying goodbye to Professor Slughorn.

"So, you smelled my cologne?" Regulus joked, bumping me with his arm.

I rolled my eyes at him, continuing down the corridor. "No, maybe it was someone else's," I lied.

Regulus smirked, "Oh yeah? I bet it was."

"Idiot," I muttered. "You smelled my perfume, so we're even."

"No, maybe it was someone else's," Regulus mocked me.

I smacked him in the stomach, but he didn't even flinch. He just grinned at me.

We turned down a corridor, and it was completely empty. There were no classrooms down this corridor, only storage, and an unused lavatory.

Regulus nudged me towards a small alcove, out of view from any people passing by. I followed him, watching as he leaned back against the wall.

I stepped towards him, brushing my lips against his.

"You're a git, you know that?" I whispered.

Regulus smiled against my lips. "Yeah, I know," He mumbled.

I pressed my lips against his, kissing him softly. He kissed me back, his hands gravitating towards my hair.

Eventually, we broke apart. Regulus's eyes fluttered open a few seconds later, and he grinned at me.

"I'll see you later," I said, staring at the curl that had fallen against his brow bone.

Regulus sighed, "See you later, Meredith."

I smiled softly at him before turning on my heel and heading towards my next class.