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Yet again, James had failed a potions assignment. He had been sat next to his girlfriend, Lily Evans, who had insisted she tutor him in the subject ("She may be a good influence on you, Potter," said the professor).
"Today we will be brewing Amortentia," Professor Slughorn, who was a pudgy man with half a beard, had announced to the class. "Some of you may know what that is," he'd glanced at Lily, who beamed, "but for those who don't...well, brew it and I may just tell you."
James had rolled his eyes. What was the point of making a potion if you didn't know what it was? Or more, importantly, what it did? He looked towards his mates, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, for answers, but they'd just shrugged.
Luckily, James now knew what it was — courtesy of his girlfriend — but he had no fucking clue how to make it.
"What the actual fuck, Prongs?" Sirius laughed as he glanced at James's potion. It was the wrong shade of pink — bright instead of pastel — and steaming. It was not supposed to steam, evidently, but James hadn't known that.
"Honestly, James. You're supposed to slice the rose thorns, not just dump them in!" Lily cried, pulling her ginger hair into a bun before she leaned over to take a look. James grinned at her and flipped through his Advanced Potion-Making textbook. Too late now, he thought.
Remus nudged Sirius, who was still sniggering at James. "Sirius, mate, how about you focus on our potion. Or do I have to do everything?" He said, his eyebrows raised. He was wearing tattered robes and his honey-brown hair was a mess.
He must've had a rough night, James thought. Guilt bubbled inside him. He probably shouldn't have taken them all camping last night. Remus had insisted they didn't as it was a school night, after all. Sirius spun around in his seat, sighing as if he too had been up all night (he hadn't) and brushed his hand through his jet black hair, which cascaded down his jawline like waves.
"Shower for a change and I will! All I can smell is your filthy old jumpers," Sirius yelled, rolling his eyes. "What use is amortentia if I can't even smell anything!"
"I did shower this morning, padfoot. I always do. And for the record, this is a new jumper!" Remus shot back, his face reddening.
"And you're one to bloody talk, what with all those cigarettes you've been smoking!" Remus bickered. Lily gasped, the ash winder eggs in her hand falling to the ground. "Oh no," she groaned, but she couldn't peel her eyes away from the scene in front of her. Even James had turned around.
"Pff, you love it Moony," Sirius smirked.
"No, I actually think you're trying to give yourself lung cancer, but whatever helps you sleep at night," Remus said dryly, stifling a yawn.
"It was one cigarette!"
"Right, because you're so bloody good at moderation." Remus rolled his eyes and dropped some peppermint oil into his potion. Sirius narrowed his eyes, but Lily bit her lip to keep from laughing. It was true, really — Sirius was an 'all or nothing' kind of guy.
"For fuck's sake, moony, liven up a bit, would you?" Sirius groaned.
Lily's mouth dropped open as she watched them. How could they not know, she wondered, seriously. The entire class had turned around now, their eyes on the two Gryffindors. Even Professor Slughorn had woken from his short nap.
"I swear they're always arguing," James sighed exasperatedly. "I can usually get them to stop, but...I don't know what's wrong with them." Lily squeezed his hand before stifling a laugh.
"You're very thick, Potter," Lily giggled.
"Me? Why am I thick, Evans?" James asked, sounding offended. His brows were scrunched up in concentration as he gazed at his friends, who were glaring at each other. Remus's eyes glinted with something James couldn't identify, and he was staring at Sirius's hair as if he wanted to run his hands through it. That was all normal, though, wasn't it? He asked himself.
"Look at them. Surely you've noticed they're not exactly...well, normal friends," Lily said in a hushed voice. She glanced over at them, smiling sweetly, and then back at James, who looked puzzled.
James lowered his voice and leant closer to her. "You know Sirius and Remus...they're not normal. I mean, Remus is a gay werewolf and Sirius is...well, a mentally ill mongrel. Literally."
Lily snickered. "Oh James..." she said, still giggling. "You're so close yet so far." She patted his head gently and gave him a quick kiss. He tasted of whiskey and roasted marshmallows and she breathed in his scent.
James looked affronted. "That's manipulation, love."
"Moony, don't be a fucking bore! You know I hate potions," Sirius whined, slapping Remus playfully. Remus rolled his eyes yet again and added the final ingredient, a moonstone, to his cauldron.
"Yes, because you'd rather be off smoking. We went over that," Remus jabbed. He clenched his fists and reminded himself to breathe. God, Sirius could be so frustrating, he said to himself. But I love it.
"See, Potter? This is amortentia, remember? Amortentia...where you smell scents you like...or who you like," Lily pointed out, her emerald eyes wide. She pointed to Remus and Sirius in an exaggerated movement.
"What? You mean—they're-they're gay for each other," James whisper-yelled, his eyes wide."What—but—Sirius is straight, Evans. But, oh—amortentia...I guess if he smells him..." He clapped his hand over his mouth. It all made sense now, he realised — their bickering, their close friendship, their jealousy...
Damn.
"Should we tell them, then, love?" James whispered to Lily, his brown eyes twinkling. She shrugged, fidgeting with the stag necklace around her neck. James smirked, nodding, and strutted towards them.
"Oi, mates, you do realise what this potion is, right?" James chortled, as if he hadn't been told just a second ago. He pulled his robes up to his elbow and tucked his wand into its pocket, just in case.
"Yes...obviously, Prongs. It's amortentia, Slughorn said it earlier," Sirius said smugly. "And padfoot, here, isn't helping..." Remus said in between another yawn.
"No, but—"
"Oh Merlin's left lit, dudes! Everyone smells the smells, or people, they're in love with! You're fucking gay for each other, okay? Now shut up! Some of us are trying to work here!" A girl with short blonde hair yelled, throwing her hands into the air in frustration.
The room burst into laughter. Sirius was shaking, his fists now clenched, and he stormed out of the room, yelling, "I'm not fucking gay, obviously!"
Remus blushed and glanced at the floor, embarrassment creeping into his spine. Everyone knew he was gay, but in love with his best friend? Ugh. He shook his head, hoping that Mother Earth would open up and swallow him. His cheeks were hot, and stares burned into him from all around the room.
His breathing quickened and he slowly stood and stalked out of the room. What had he done? Tears slipped from his eyes as he sat in the corridor. He should've denied it, like Sirius. He wondered if Sirius hated him now. He was a monster, really, in more ways than one. Surely, he thought, Sirius was coming up with ways to turn him away.
"Moony?" Sirius said breathily, his teeth piercing his lip as he strode though the corridor. Remus's head snapped up. Sirius. He was back.
Suddenly, he leapt forward and kissed him.
Remus's lips were soft and plump and Sirius felt adrenaline rush through him. He wondered why he hadn't done it sooner. It was minutes later before they broke away, their faces inches apart.
"...What was that, Padfoot?" Remus whispered, his fingers brushing his lips. He couldn't help the smile that lit up his face.
"Oi, Moony, I love you, okay?"
"But...I'm a werewolf. You can't, I-I'm a monster..."
"No, you're our moony. My Moony." Sirius said firmly. He grabbed Remus's hand.
They returned to the potions classroom, their arms intwined and their lips rosy. Noise filled the air.
"Hey," Remus said shyly, "I'd like you all to meet my boyfriend, Sirius Black."
Sirius grinned and tugged his red and gold tie, which was currently around his waist. "Yeah, I reckon you'll like him."
"Fucking hell, it's about time!" Frank Longbottom yelled, relief flooding his face. Ali, his girlfriend, kissed his cheek tenderly before nodding in agreement. "Finally," she whispered.
"Oh. My. God. Took you long enough!" Lily screamed, her face lit up. "I've known for months, but you two somehow didn't notice! Aw, you're so adorable. I'm so happy for you! Did you kiss—"
"Whoa, calm yourself, Evans," James laughed as he cut her off. The whole class didn't need to know about their snogging.
"Good on ya, mates," he said, giving them both a wide grin.
"Good on Amortentia, more like," Remus muttered. He flushed, his eyes downcast. He should've known what it was used for. He glanced at James, who had taken them on a camping trip the night before. "This one's on you."
It was a lesson to the entire class, really. If you smell someone while brewing a potion, don't yell it out. Then again, it worked out for those two, so why not go ahead and take a chance?