Chapter Text
You walked beside Sebastian down the hall, chatting about random little things. You had Potions next, and while you were always eager for a chance to mix ingredients and create things, word was that you would be working on a particularly dangerous potion, but that’s all anyone could say. Initially that would be exciting, but knowing you and Sebastian, you would probably mess it some and maybe even blow up the whole classroom. You shuddered at the thought. Sebastian, on the other hand, was incredibly excited about the idea of working with a dangerous potion, and he had racked his brain trying to figure out what kind they would be working with. “What if it’s a poison?” He asked, brows raised in excitement. You scoffed, shaking your head. “Why would they teach us how to make poison?” Sebastian shrugged, “I don’t know. It sounds like something they would teach us!” You let out a laugh as you turned the corner, meeting Ominis, who nearly ran into you.
“Ominis! You just returned from Potions, right?” Sebastian asked, pulling the two of you to the side. You studied Ominis, his face red and brows furrowed. He didn’t respond to Sebastian at first, and bit his lip. “Well?” Sebastian pestered, crossing his arms. “We talked about love potions.” Ominis said quietly. You stifled a laugh as you realized that Ominis was flustered, no doubt from whatever love potion they talked about. Sebastian, on the other hand, dropped his arms in disbelief, eyes wide. “Love potion?” Ominis nodded. You tilted your head, knowing that there were many forms of love potion out there. “What kind?” You asked, and Ominis looked in your direction, tightlipped. “The bad kind.” And with that, he walked away.
“It can’t be that bad.” Sebastian said as he walked through the door of the classroom. You nodded in response, thinking about what kind of love potion Ominis was talking about, when you bumped into Sebastian’s back. “Hey, come on now.” You huffed, trying to squeeze by him. Sebastian had frozen in place, staring at the board, staring at the words written on it. You made it past him and followed his gaze, eyes widening as you also read the board. Amortentia, the love potion that smells like what, or who, you desired most, and was considered one of the most dangerous love potions in existence. You shuddered, fear getting caught in your throat. “Let’s hurry to our seats before we get trampled.” You suggested grabbing Sebastian’s arm and pulling him to the seat you usually sat at. Sebastian looked at you, puzzled. “Isn’t that the potion that’s supposed to smell nice?” You nodded your head, “It’s supposed to smell like the thing you desire most.” Sebastian’s eyes widened and felt heat rise to his cheeks.
The two of you sat, watching as students poured into the classroom, chattering loudly as they saw the potion on the board. You swore you heard one of the girls shriek slightly when her friend told her what kind of potion was, and you mentally prepared yourself. Professor Sharp walked in soon after, eyeing some of the students as they chattered. His gaze found your own, and you could have sworn he smirked. He motioned for everyone to open their books, turning to the chapter about love potions.
“As you see on the board, today we will be working with Amortentia, a very strong love potion.” Sharp began, holding the book and walking to stand in front of his desk. “I want to express the dangers of this potion before we go and create it, and I will be checking each of you before you leave, if you decide to keep some for whatever nefarious reason.” You watched as the girl from earlier seemed to deflate, hanging her head low. You smiled slightly, nudging Sebastian. “It seems like someone wanted to keep a bit for herself.” You whispered, smiling up at him. His face hadn’t lost the red tint from when he walked into the classroom, and his eyes still seemed a little wide. You shook your head and turned back to Sharp, who had begun to go through the specific dangers of the potion. “Just so we are all aware, this potion does not make someone actually fall in love. The victim only feels the attachment, not the real feelings, which is what makes this potion so dangerous. You are lucky I’m sharing this with you today, but many of the ingredients are forbidden to collect, which means that this will be the only time you will be able to make this.” Sharp continued, and you sighed in relief hearing that news, glad that you would be safe if anyone ever wanted to use it on you.
Ten minutes of lecturing later and Sharp had begun to distribute the ingredients needed for the potion, also noting how much he gave each of you in case someone decided to take the rest of the ingredients. You nudged Sebastian, pointing to his cauldron. “So, what are you going to smell?” You asked, smirking. Sebastian stuttered as his cheeks became hotter, only to get out “uh, apple tart, of course!” You raised an eyebrow, “You’re attracted to the smell of apple tarts?” Sebastian nodded quickly, turning the conversation around. “What’s yours going to smell like then?” You bit the inside of your lip, knowing that you had no idea what it would smell like, except that it would more than likely be connected to Sebastian. “Probably marshmallows.” “Marshmallows?” “They’re tasty!”
You glared at the page, trying to figure out the instructions. The measurements seemed strange and unproportioned, and you began to think that you had it wrong. Turning to Sebastian, who had his tongue out in concentration, you looked at his instructions. “Do these measurements seem right to you?” You asked, watching as he places an odd amount of a green fern into the cauldron. He didn’t respond, deep in concentration still, and you shrugged, grabbing at his parchment. “Hey, I need that!” He said, looking down and finding the page gone. You compared the two pages, which were identical, sighing. “It doesn’t feel right. These measurements are way too uncontrolled.” You stated, handing the page back to Sebastian. He shook his head, tracing his finger back to where he left off. “You won’t blow anything up, it's fine.” You shook your head in annoyance and went back to placing ingredients into the pot.
You watched as the potion began to make steam, which swirled around the top of the cauldron and seemed to shine. You looked over at Sebastian to see how he was doing, watching him stir his potion one final time. You began to worry, afraid to get too close to the pot in case it had started to let off fumes. Which it did, of course. You were hit with the scent of burning cinders and wood chips, mixed with salted caramel filled your lungs. Your face warmed up instantly, and you recognized the scent. It smelled just like Sebastian. You looked around, looking to see if anyone else could smell your potion, praying that it only smelled that way for you. Your cheeks heated up even more as the warm scent filled your senses, and you glanced over at Sebastian.
He wasn’t having the best time either. As soon as he finished stirring the pot, he was hit with a big wave of vanilla and lavender, a scent he had smelled many times before. It was what you smelled like, and there was a hint of marshmallow; you had said they were good. He sat there, wondering if his face could even heat up more than it already had, knowing that the potion knew exactly what he felt. He liked you, of course, but he didn’t think he liked you that much. Ominis had teased him a bit about how Sebastian “Most definitely had a crush” on you, but the love potion was basically screaming out that he was in love, and he shook his head and looked around. Everyone had finished their potions, and Sebastian breathed a sigh of relief as he began to pack his things up, ready to escape before you asked him about his potion.
Professor Sharp had other ideas. “Now that you have created your potion, why don’t we tell everyone what we smell?” He had a sly smirk on his lips, seemingly like his whole plan was to embarrass his students that day. You looked over at Sebastian and shared a wide-eyed stare, fear written on both your faces. Sharp started at the row closest to him, motioning for someone to start. You felt your hands clam up, noticing that you were sat in the center, both a curse and a blessing. You wrung your hands anxiously as Sharp got closer, walking up to the students on the outer edge of your row. Sebastian would go before you, and he knew it. You could practically see the sweat on his forehead as his eyes followed Sharp, sucking in a breath when he stood before him. “Mr. Sallow. Do tell us what you smell.” Sebastian looked around, noticing all the eyes trained to him. “Uh, vanilla, sir, and lavender.” Sharp raised an eyebrow, knowing that Sebastian had another scent in the pot. Sebastian looked down at the pot, “and marshmallow.” Sharp watched Sebastian with a smirk and looked over at you, raising an eyebrow in your direction. You took a breath in, “I smell… wood chips…burning cinder…and salted caramel.” Sharp’s smile grew, “That is quite the combination.” He walked to the next student, and you and Sebastian released the breath you had both been holding. You glanced at Sebastian, cheeks warm, hoping he didn’t know that he smelled like that.
The two of you walked out of the classroom and quietly made your way to the dining hall for lunch. You awkwardly walked beside Sebastian, trying to cool off after what could only have been the most embarrassing moment of your life. Sebastian was deep in thought, trying to figure out where he had heard salted caramel before. He could faintly remember you telling him one day that he smelled like it, and had even asked if he was carrying any, which he was. His thoughts began to run faster than he could keep up, and he pulled you to the side. Surprised, you looked up at him. “Your potion, who was it about?” He asked quickly, trying to wrap his head around the fact that perhaps your potions were for each other. Your cheeks heated up again, and you looked down at your feet. Quietly, you responded, “It smelled like you.” Sebastian barely heard you speak, only catching what sounded like the word “you.” “Did you say me?” Sebastian began to smile, watching as you nodded. He grabbed your shoulders, making you look at him. “That’s…that’s great!” You looked at him, confused. “My potion… it was… it smelled like you too.” He smiled shyly as his cheeks heated up to match your own. “We had each other?” “Yeah!”
Once the two of you had gone through the process of properly confessing your feelings for each other, the two of you walked to the dining hall, a new goal in mind. What did Ominis smell.