Amortentia

As you cross into platform 9 ¾, you take a deep breath to keep your excitement from creeping up. The smell of sweet, milky, chocolate from Cauldron Cakes and Chocolate Frogs encapsulates your nose, as the high-pitched shrill from the Hogwarts Express warns everyone on the platform that it’s almost time to depart.

Although you are going into your fifth year, the aura of wonder and joy from the events happening in the background still holds an effect on you. Before you navigate through the busyness of King’s Cross, you stay back to take in your surroundings- the first years struggling to carry owl cages that were almost as big as them, a group of fourth-year girls giggling and swooning over Cormac McLaggen, and what seemed to be the entire Weasley family sending off their children. You felt a slight pang in your heart at the realization that this would be your first year without your family to send you off.

You’re used to your father missing most special occasions as he’s one of the Ministry of Magic’s top dragonologists and is constantly traveling to exotic parts of the world. Normally, your mother steps in as both roles in important events, but she was called into an emergency at St. Mungo’s- where she works as a healer.
Instead of being able to dwell on your sadness, your thoughts are interrupted by soft meowing coming from the top of your trunk. Instinctively, you reach down to pet Nyx, the cat your parents bought you before your first year at Hogwarts.

“Shhhh, I know. We’re about to get on the train and then it won’t be as loud,” you said in an attempt to comfort her.

Deciding to finally make your way over to load your luggage on the train, you step in the direction of the conductor, but are so rudely interrupted by someone pulling on the ends of your hair.

“I don’t know if your mother never taught you any fucking manners, but never touch me again or I will break every single bone in your body,” you growled as you turn to face the culprit.
“Bloody hell, I didn’t realize you’d lost your sense of humor over the summer-”

Before the boy could finish his sentence, you had already pulled him into a hug.

“Leo! I’ve missed you!”

Leonardo Black, affectionately known as Leo, had been your closest friend for as long as you can remember. Your fathers were roommates during their time at Hogwarts and your mothers worked together at St. Mungos before Leo was born. Both the Black family and your family had an agreement to raise you and Leo together, and you spent many winter days teasing and picking on Leo at the Black family manor, while Leo returned the favor in summer, when he would chase you barefoot through the acres of lavender fields that grew on your family’s estate.

“I hope you didn’t mean the ‘breaking every bone in your body’ part. I do like being fully intact at the moment,” Leo joked as he reached up to twirl a strand of your hair within his fingers.
“Now that I know it was you, I meant it even more,” you grinned back at him.

Unfortunately, the moment was broken by another shrill coming from the Hogwarts Express. Recognizable as the final whistle before the train departed, you turned to tell Leo where you were going, but he had already shouted that he would find you on the train and gotten lost within the crowd of people.

You started pushing your luggage cart through the crowd of people, hoping that you and your trunk would make it to the porter before the train left. Thankfully, you were able to get through the crowd of first years, hand your luggage off to be loaded on the train, and get on the Hogwarts Express before the train started moving.

Once inside, you start making your way to the back of the Slytherin car to look for your friends. After reaching the final compartment, you slide the door open, but instead of seeing Leo’s smiling face, your gaze falls upon cold, grey, eyes.

“Didn’t your mother ever tell you that it was rude to show up to places uninvited?”

Your eyes focused on the rest of the boy's face, and you noticed a smirk had danced its way across his lips. Unfortunately, before you could respond, his companion had already done so for you.

“Draco just ignore her,” Pansy whined in a high-pitched tone. “She obviously has nothing better to do than hang around here with us. Maybe if you don’t look at her, she’ll go away.”

A scoff left your throat, accompanied by an eye roll.

“Fancy the chat as always- Malfoy,” you sneered while closing the door.

Thankfully, you realized there was one more compartment after the one you had just entered, which spared you from having to perform the walk of shame to the front of the train car. This time you found the faces of your friends Sage, Oliver, and Leo, that you were expecting to see earlier.

“Merlin’s beard, what took you so bloody long?” Leo asked incredulously.
“She was probably snogging Zabini in the bathroom again,” Sage chuckled.

You made a mental note to get your best friend back later for bringing that up again.

“That happened once,” you argued back.
“You mean you only got caught once,” Oliver chimed in.

Heat began to rise up your cheeks, but all you could muster in response was a groan and a shake of your head.
The memory from your fourth year, where you and Blaise had gotten close- physically- to be specific- played in your mind. There was a lot of sneaking around Hogwarts, the dungeons, those three times in the Forbidden Forest, and of course the time your friends were talking about-where you hooked up in one of the bathrooms in the Hogwarts Express and the trolley lady walked in on Blaise halfway to orgasm, and you half-naked. Needless to say, they still haven’t let you live it down.

“Actually, I walked into Malfoy’s and Pansy’s compartment. Since you’re all so concerned.”

This statement seemed to lay a blanket of uneasiness on the tension in the air. Thankfully a small meow from Nyx broke up the awkward silence, and the entire compartment erupted in laughter.

“Well never mind that, Leo’s already eaten almost all of the Peppermint Toads,” Sage declared in an accusatory manner.
“Hey!” The boy protested. “In my defense, I wasn’t expecting her to fly to Azkaban and back before meeting us. They are my favorite candy after all.”

You stepped inside the carriage and stole a toad from Leo’s lap before sitting down next to him. Oliver began a conversation about potions class, which you were utterly uninterested in. With the conversation becoming more and more dull, sleepiness began tugging at your eyelids as you took one last look at the British countryside, and eventually, you succumbed, and laid your head on Leo’s shoulder, and slowly fell asleep.

The high-pitched shrill from the Hogwarts Express echoed through your mind and disrupted your dream.

“Love, you’ve got to wake up, we’ve arrived,” Leo softly stated as he gently nudged you.

A smile danced across your lips at the nickname. Leo had always been a ladies' man, and with his looks, it made complete sense how he was. His golden blonde hair, deep blue eyes, and tall, but muscular stature, painted him as a picture of rugged grace. However, when you were both children, you had made Leo swear to the ends of the Earth that you would always be his ‘one true love.’ Obviously, since then both of you had made other connections, Leo more than you, but he still reserved that specific term of endearment for you.

You pretend to still be asleep, but Leo took one look at the smile on your lips and he saw straight through your act.

“Oh come on, I know you’re not asleep. You cannot expect me to carry you and your cat to the carriages, I’m not as strong as you think I am. Plus Sage and Oliver already left us behind,” he said while poking you in the side.

Giggles left your mouth while you attempted to swat his hand away from your waist.

“Fine, but you can carry Nyx. I’m too tired to do any manual labor right now.”

Leo let out an exasperated sigh, “You know your wretched cat hates me. Why do I have to do your job for you?”

Both you and Leo knew that Nyx adored him. Often while at Hogwarts, you would have to walk into the boy's dormitory to kidnap her from Leo and Oliver’s room because they would bribe her with treats. Fortunately for you, he didn’t put up much of a fight because he liked your cat more than he let on. You handed him Nyx's cage and began leading him down the hallway of the train to the exit so you could look for the rest of your friends. You spotted them standing outside where Sage was petting one of the Thestrals, and Oliver was trying to reassure his younger brother that he would be fine by himself on the boat ride over the Black Lake. You grabbed Leo's other free hand and dragged him into the carriage with Sage and Oliver quick to follow. The rest of your group all made conversation to pass the time, but you couldn't focus on anything but the buzzing excitement that was sending butterflies throughout your body. Suddenly, the lights of the castle broke through the darkened and cloudy sky, and you and Sage grabbed each other's hands while grinning madly. Life at Hogwarts wasn't always easy, or safe for that matter, but it was always full of adventure and unexpected surprises.

Only Merlin knew what the castle had in store for you this year.