"Achoo!" Lily winced as Severa continued to release a barrage of sneezes, red nose sniffling and eyes watering at the sight of the fourth courting bouquet sent to her this month. The redhead offered her spare handkerchief to her best friend, who took it with a nasally "Thank you" before blowing her nose, trying her best to keep it down so as to not bother the other occupants of the Slytherin table.
When Severa finally calmed down, she immediately spelled the bouquet away, sighing at the relief she finally felt with the absence of pollen. Whoever has been sending her best friend courting bouquets clearly hadn't gotten the hint that Severa was incredibly allergic to flowers and couldn't even bear being within an arm's length from any species.
"Dear Morgana, Severa, you look puffier than the dresses my great aunt Cassiopeia likes to wear." Narcissa Black mused teasingly from across the table, perfect pale pink lips curled into a smirk. She laughed as Severa shot her a dirty look.
"If anything, I'd like to have a talk with whoever keeps sending Severa courting bouquets when nearly all of Hogwarts has seen how allergic to them she is." Lily sneered. At first, she thought it was an incredibly sweet gesture and even teased her despite the way she kept sneezing and tearing up. By the third bouquet, she was ready to hunt down the person who sent them and stick her wand up their nose for this cruel prank. Poor Severa had barely had a break from the onslaught of flora that kept coming her way.
"I would be inclined to agree with Cissa if I didn't wish to keep my tongue." Regulus was leaning forward on his arms with his chin resting on his palm. "However, I do also think that this has to stop. Severa's just about ready to sneeze her nose off."
Severa blew her nose again and groaned. "I swear to Morgana, I am going to track to the person down and shove those damned flowers down their throat."
"That'd be an incredible waste of an otherwise gorgeous courting bouquet." Narcissa tapped her well manicured nails on the polished oak table. "Pink bluebells, buttercups, Casa Blanca lilies, and alyssums, let's just say their attraction for you is far greater than you can imagine."
The Prince heiress snorted, which didn't sound as mocking with the additional nasally tone. "As much as I appreciate the intent, I would sooner choke on some common weeds before accepting more flowers."
The point was accentuated with another sneeze from the girl.
~~~~
James sighed dreamily at the dark-haired witch sat a couple stations ahead of where he and Sirius were sat. The surrounding chatter from the other sixth years taking N.E.W.T level Potions drowned out to a hum. To anyone else, it might had looked like someone slipped him a love potion.
"Prongs, you're drooling." The Potter heir immediately sat up straight and grabbed his handkerchief from his shirt pocket, frantically wiping at his chin. Sirius laughed boisterously and clapped him on the shoulder. "Just joking, mate, but you might as well be. And here I thought I was the dog."
The deer animagus stopped and glared at the other boy, pinching his side. "Oi, shut it." He turned back to Severa, who was talking to Lily about something or the other. He could just barely make out her smooth, deep voice. How he yearned to hear the voice say his first name. He could almost imagine it.
Just then, Slughorn finally finished talking to one of the Ravenclaws who had something to ask about one of the previous potions and shuffled back to his desk, clapping his hands together to get the class' attention.
"Good afternoon, sixth years. As I told you last Monday, we will be doing our practical for Sleeping Draught. Before we start and as a revision, can anyone tell me what is the intended effect of a Sleeping Draught?" Severa's hand shot up the moment he finished. "Yes, Miss Prince?"
"It makes the drinker immediately fall into a deep but temporary sleep."
"Yes, very good. 10 points to Slytherin. Now then, how should the wormwood be treated?"
Slughorn continued to ask questions before deciding to not waste any more time and sent the students off to gather their potion ingredients. It was Sirius' turn to get ingredients this time, which allowed James to have some spare time to stare longingly at the Slytherin from afar, wishing that he was her Potions partner instead. Tradition and chivalry however dictated that any causal touches of romance before courtship were impolite and frowned upon. As much as James was raised to respect Pureblood traditions and customs especially in regards to courting, he couldn't deny how much he hated them right about now.
The young wizard felt his mouth go slightly dry at the sight of Severa pushing her braided hair over her shoulder, showing him a small part of her pale slender neck. He always thought that the contrast between the darkness of her hair and eyes paired so very well with the paleness of her skin, making her look ethereal and otherworldly. He was almost that the muggle playwright Shakespeare had modelled the queen of fairies Tatiana after Severa.
His thoughts were briefly interrupted by a sneeze Severa let out the moment Lily returned to their table with a basket of Valerian sprigs. The girl sniffled and immediately pulled out a handkerchief to cover her nose as she continued to sneeze.
"Sorry Sev, are you alright? Do you want me to put these somewhere else?" Severa shook her head and sighed.
"It's fine, it's not like we can make this without using Valerian sprig." Her voice sounded a bit more nasally than before. "Come on, let's just start and get it over with."
The rest of the lesson was spent with James dividing his time between making his potion - which was pure muscle memory at this point given how many times he had brewed it with his father - making sure Sirius didn't blow up his own potion, sneaking glances at Severa, and pondering about her and Lily's earlier interaction.
Now that he really thought about it, Severa had always sneezed a lot whenever they had to use flowers in their potions, and he recalled seeing how red she was when he sent her those courting bouquets. From a distance, at first he thought that she was blushing in delight, which prompted him to keep sending her bouquets, but now...
Oh.
Oh no.
Oh no.
"Fucking hell." He nearly put his face in his hands if he wasn't just squeezing a Flobberworm for its mucus. Severa Prince was allergic to flowers, and he had been sending her courting bouquets for the last month. He had to be the biggest idiot in school, no, the bleeding country.
"Prongs, mate, you okay? I think you need to start stirring you po- oi, why are you so pale? What's wrong?" James cursed again and began stirring, hoping he didn't start too late.
"Sirius, I think I made a massive mistake."
~~~~
"James, you've been in the same Potions class with Severa for years, how have you only just realised that she's allergic to flowers?" Remus pinched the bridge of his nose. James threw a pillow at him from where he was curled into foetal position on his bed, face hidden in another pillow.
"It's because Prongsy was spending his time drooling over Severa and going off to Merlin knows where in his head to pay attention." Sirius laughed, flicking a chip into his mouth.
James groaned into his pillow. "And I've sent her four courting bouquets this month. If I had a chance before, I definitely don't right now." Maybe if he grovelled at her feet she would forgive him? Or would she just disregard him and move on to someone who was actually observant and not a complete dunderhead?
"Um, well, you can always give her fake flowers." Peter suggested. James sat up.
"What do you mean?"
Peter shrugged. "Severa is allergic to the pollen in real flowers, which fake flowers don't have. You could just get some fake flowers, and charm or enchant them with the same scent a real one would, without all the stuff that makes her sneeze. And you'll still be able to go with tradition and give her a courting bouquet that she could actually accept.
A moment's silence was held in the air as gears turned in the heads of the other three boys, which was then broken by James laughing and launching himself towards Peter to give him a big hug.
"Wormtail, that's brilliant! That's bloody fucking brilliant! Thank you!" Peter sputtered and flushed, patting James' back.
"Yeah, that's pretty smart Peter." Remus smiled and Sirius hummed in agreement, mouth too full of chips to say anything.
James detached himself from his friend and beamed, foul mood entirely forgotten. "Now if you excuse me lads, I've got something to do, save me something from dinner, alright?"
~~~~
Severa sighed and stretched as she made her way to where she usually sat with Narcissa and Regulus at the Slytherin table. Given that it was the weekend, there was a lot more people in the Great Hall for breakfast, which also meant that it was noisier. It wasn't really something that she wanted to deal with immediately after waking up. Luckily, a steaming cup of black tea was already waiting for her, courtesy of Narcissa.
She greeted her two friends as she settled in the seat between them, and began putting some pancakes on her plate when a hoot signified owl post was coming. Looking up, she grimaced as she watched an owl she had grown familiar with during the last month came in her direction with another courting bouquet. As it swooped down and place it in her lap, Severa closed her eyes and prepared herself to start sneezing and watering up, but nothing happened.
She opened her eyes in disbelief and stared at the bouquet, before holding it up towards her face and dared to sniff at a Casa Blanca lily.
Nothing happened, no sneeze, no tears.
"You're not sneezing." Regulus said, eyes wide. Narcissa stopped cutting apart her own pancake in surprise as well.
"I know, but how? They look and smell like real flowers." She touched a petal, soft under her finger tips. "They feel real as well." Her eyes trailed down to a card attached to the ribbon holding the bouquet together. In looping cursive.
I humbly request a private audience under the apple tree by the Great Lake at a quarter past one. Sincerely, a hopeful suitor
Severa brushed her thumb against the parchment, feeling her cheeks flush. She had an inkling of an idea of who her suitor might be, and while the prospect of who she thought it was piqued her interest, what pleased her more was the bouquet in her hands. Seeing the effort they were willing to make to correct their previous mistake made her feel so incredibly pleased.
She supposed she would have to add a private meeting to her schedule today.
~~~~
James paced under the apple tree, clenching and unclenching his hands while his heart pounded in his chest. Given Severa's smile in the Great Hall earlier, he hoped it meant that she liked the bouquet and would be willing to meet with him in - he casted a quick Tempus charm - three minutes.
Given the time of year, the pretty pink apple blossoms and ripe red apples that usually adorned the tree during the warmer weather were gone, leaving only branches and yellowing leaves. Hopefully this meant that there was no pollen to cause Severa's allergies to start up.
A crunching of leaves notified him of someone approaching, and hope and nervousness battled in his heart at the sight of Severa Prince walking towards him with the bouquet he sent in her arms. Oh Merlin, she was so beautiful.
Severa stopped at a distance that would be considered proper, posture perfect and black eyes regarding him with interest. James gulped and clasped his hands behind his back. Was his father this nervous when he courted his mother?
"Good afternoon, Heiress Prince."
"And a good afternoon to you, Heir Potter." James gestured towards the bouquet.
"Are the flowers to your liking?" Slender fingers caressed the flowers, and James' gulped, willing his eyes to move back upwards to Severa's face.
"Yes, they are incredibly lovely, though I must ask, how did you make these?"
The Potter Heir tried to stop the butterflies in his stomach. "I managed to create a spell that removed the stamens of the flowers, then brewed a potion that preserved the flowers so they won't wilt. Oh!" He fished something out of the pocket of his outer robes and held it out to her. Severa eyed the vial in his palm with curiosity, the golden yellow liquid swirling around. "I made this potion to help with you allergies from the pollen I removed. It's a only a prototype so far, but it's still enough to stop your sneezing when we use flowers during brewing, or come springtime."
The Prince heiress gingerly picked up the vial, holding it up to eye level to inspect it with awe and disbelief. She felt her face heating up steadily to the colour of ripe tomatoes. At first, the pollen-less Courting Bouquet had already piqued her interest - it meant that her suitor had paid special attention to the fact that she was allergic and had gone through the trouble to accommodate her - but now, James had gone the extra mile by brewing a potion made specially for her. To show that he cared about her and was serious about his courtship.
When she looked up again, James saw how wide her eyes had gotten, brimming with emotion as she tried to recompose herself to offer a reply. He almost laughed at how adorable she looked.
"Heir Potter, I don't... this is..." She swallowed and seemed to grow redder by the second. "This is quite possibly the most thoughtful gift anyone has ever given to me. Words cannot describe how pleased I am."
The Gryffindor straightened his back and tried not avert his eyes from the sheer intensity of Severa's gaze. "You're very welcome, Heiress Prince. I'm very happy that you like my gift, though I should be apologising as well, for not noticing your allergies before despite having been in the same Potions class with you since First Year."
"I suppose your glasses are just for decoration then." There was a teasing smile on Severa's petal pink lips, and sweet Merlin James was finding it very hard to not kiss the Slytherin right now. Traditions be damned.
"I can assure you, that they do help me see your ethereal beauty in full clarity, as well as adding to my own attractiveness." He grinned and winked, to which Severa's body trembled in an effort of stifling her laughter.
"That's a very interesting notion, to which I may have to agree to." She took a step closer to him, and at the back of her head, Severa could hear the reprimands of her Grandmother and etiquette tutor. "Though, back to the reason why we're meeting, I expect a formal letter for the request of courtship be sent to my family by the end of tomorrow."
James felt like he could die happy at that current moment and have no regrets. "I will hand deliver the letter myself if it means that it will show your family my utter sincerity for your hand, Heiress Prince."
"You may address me by my given name." The boy could hear his heart thump in his head, replaying the last second in his mind over and over to make sure that he heard her correctly. She had just given him permission to call her by her given name. He would cherish this moment forever.
"Severa." He breathed reverently. Severa tried to suppressed a pleased shiver down her spine. The sound of James' deep tenor saying her name was something she had thought about from time to time, and the reality of it was much more satisfying than her imagination could ever do. "You can also call me James, if you want to that is."
The girl placed a hand over her heart to ease it. "Thank you... James." The Potter heir took a sharp intake of breath, completely enraptured by the way her deep and rich voice sounded out his name. He wondered briefly if it was possible to capture a recording of it just so that he could listen to it over and over again. Maybe some sort of Muggle device would be capable of that. Lily would know, he would have to ask later.
Severa cleared her throat before continuing. "I suppose we should head in then, it's getting quite chilly and it would be a shame if the two of us caught a cold."
James grinned charmingly, and the girl felt her heart skip a beat. "Of course, and I have a letter of a request for courtship to write." He offered his arm out to her, and without hesitation, she took it with a smile.
"And when you're finished with that, you'll have to tell me the recipe for the potion you brewed me. I simply must know how you made it." The Gryffindor laughed as they made their way back to the castle.
"I suppose I'll have to add a private meeting to my schedule then."