If love had a smell
It was a mostly peaceful day for James before Remus had reminded him of his potions task. Of course he had forgotten and of course Remus refuses to tell him the answers. It was due next week but that meant nothing. Time flies for James as he would be doing Quidditch practice more often for upcoming match against Slytherin and he also had meetings planned as Quidditch Captain and Prefect. He had practically no time left so he had to do it within 4 days. The task was to make a small vial of Amortentia and take notes on how the steps were prepared and what ingredients were used. The potions classrooms were always out of use after 3 pm so that was good start. The problem was that he had no idea where to start but he did know who could help him.
If Remus wouldn't help Lily and Regulus could but first James had to find them. Luckily he knew where their favourite hiding place was and he knew what they would be doing. To be honest he was surprised that Remus hadn't joined them as all three had started a book club together. He avidly hoped that nobody else was in the Library but he couldn't be sure. It was strange to find more than 5 people at a time in there anyways so he didn't have much to worry about.
The corridor to the Library was long and dimly lit since nobody ever bothered to change out the candles; it was always mentioned but never put into practice. Even Filch didn't bother with this one. The doors were made out of big slabs of oak wood from the Forbidden Forest and little slivers silver highlighted the little carvings on the surface. The hinges were heavy and rusted, creaky with lack of use.
James pushed against the doors, struggling beneath the weight and wiped the cobwebs off of his jumper. He tried to not make much noise as Madam Pince would get him in trouble with Minnie and he was actually trying to hold a good reputation this year. Not that Sirius agreed with this as he was constantly coming up new pranks like there was no tomorrow. James tried to focus on where he was going, trying to find his way through the maze of shelves and tables. Yet his only thought were about what he would smell in the Amortentia. What would he smell?
He stopped wondering when he found a small table near the Forbidden Section with two people sat around it discussing their latest news and gossip. They seemed so happy and engrossed in what they were talking about they had completely forgotten about the books in their hands. The excitement in their eyes told him that they were talking about a new book release coming soon.
Nerds.
It was adorable, for James at least, to see Regulus and Lily chatting away about their interest and laughing every so often. They looked o comfortable around each other. Just far too precious for anyone to take in at once. His eyes hovered on Regulus for a second. It was rare that he ever smiled openly around others, making this moment more special to James. He realised he had stopped walking entirely when he saw the pair sitting together. He felt his heart skip a beat every time he heard their musical laughs harmonising together, making something that was too beautiful to describe. James was so in love it hurt even him.
James strode towards the the pair, a small grin painted onto his face, making sure that they couldn't see the panic in his mind. They seemed so happy and he really didn't want to disturb their peace, it would be a crime to do so. No matter how hard he tried James could not stop staring at Regulus, he was just so handsome in his eyes. From the way that his hair fell over his eyes when he looked down to the way his dimples showed when he smiled all so perfect. James tried to shoo away his thoughts about the boy in front of him to no prevail. Then his eyes slowly travelled to Lily. He had to stop himself from staring at her but she was like a magnet. From the way her freckles covered her skin like the stars in the night sky to the way her eyes beamed every time she talked about her favourite interests. His brain was conflicted but his heart knew that both was the answer.
Putting his mind aside, he slowly began getting closer to the table. He gently knocked on the wooden table to get their attention.
"Hey guys! Can I just ask about our potions homework I haven't done it yet and Remus won't tell me anything." he said quietly once their eyes focused on him. "I didn't mean to interrupt anything. If you want me to leave I will. Just wanted to know if you knew anything."
"Oh. You didn't ruin anything." Lily started looking at Regulus with a small smile appearing on her face.
"It's perfectly fine." He finished, not staring back at Lily but, instead James, who had a dazed expression on face. Regulus sighed as he stood up and snapped twice next to James's ear. Never got old.
He knew the reason why James was spaced out and it was cute to him. Loud and proud James Potter who was the embodiment of chaos and pureness falling in love with him and Evans. Adorable. "What about the potions thing you were going to ask us about anyways? I hope it's not something stupid, Potter"
"Well... We were tasked on making Amortentia and we need to take notes on the steps and ingredients. I only remembered because Remus mentioned it in the common room earlier." Regulus sighed once more and sat back down. He reached into his satchel which was sitting behind his seat slightly open with books shyly poking out of the top. it was almost as if Regulus knew exactly what James needed and just wanted to waste time. What was he going to do with James? He barely had any sense of co-ordination or organisation. It was painful to watch.
He pulled out a small book, somehow perfectly maintained even after all the years of use that people had made it last for. It was bound in a dark leather with gold detailing on the spine. The title was embossed in the top centre of the front cover and spine. It looked like something out of the fairy tales that James had been raised on. Elegant and mystical. Regulus always had books in his bag and he rarely had text books for potions but this book seemed to stand out from the others. it was almost calling out for him to pick it up. It was a book, funnily enough, about potions with a whole chapter dedicated to, you guessed it, Amortentia.