#poppinis

Sharp stayed at his desk and waited for his usual group of sixth years to come in, ignoring the scent he picked up from steam billowing from the cauldron nearby.

Imelda was the first to enter, staying punctual as ever, with Cael Ilson and Garreth coming close behind her. All three of them slowed their walking as they curiously sniffed the room.

Imelda wrinkled her nose, and she looked at Garreth. “Did you already experiment today?”

Garreth frowned. “Well, yes, but what does that have to do with anything?”

“Are you so used to the smell of burnt ingredients that you can’t smell it?”

“First of all, I don’t always burn my experiments,” he said defensively. “And second, I didn’t burn anything! I don’t know what you’re smelling.” He sniffed again as he put his bag on his work station. “I’m smelling some strange mix of fish oil, olives, and apple cider.”

Cael looked at them weirdly as he got himself situated in a work station on the other side of the classroom. “Both of your noses are wrong. It smells like some tree in a field.” His eyebrows furrowed as if he was trying to remember something. “Also…flowers…?”

Imelda scoffed and put her hands on her hips. “Garreth, just fess up and say you made a mess and you clearly covered it up with different smells.”

“Okay, that’s actually a good idea, but I swear I didn’t blow anything up! Nothing caught on fire or exploded!”

“Why can I hear you three all the way from Central Hall?” Ominis grumbled as he walked in. His eyes widened a little, and his nose wrinkled like a rabbit’s. “I…am in the potions classroom, right? I didn’t somehow wander to Beasts Class?”

Now all of them were even more confused, with an overlap of them recounting what they smelled. More and more students walked in, and Garreth pounced on them with the question: “Quick! What do you smell?”

In order, Sebastian, Estelle, Andrew, and Amit answered all different things:

“Lavender?”

“The…coast.”

“Books.”

“Plants!”

Poppy came in next with Duncan and Leander not far behind.

“Oooh, it smells like a tea shop in here,” she mused with a smile as she went to Estelle and Cael’s station.

Leander looked at her like she grew two heads. “It smells like the greenhouse, which we just came from.”

Duncan scoffed. “No, Peculiar Poppy left a stench from that horrid class.”

Ominis, Poppy, and the Ilson twins shot him looks that could kill.

Natty, Artemis, and Amadeo Mancini were the last to join the class, and they walked into a cacophony of puzzled students talking to one and another.

“How can we all be smelling different things?” Sebastian asked. He turned to the last three, lighting up. “Okay, tell us what you smelled when you came in!”

Natty and Artemis carefully sniffed while Amadeo lifted a dark eyebrow.

“Why are we sharing what we smell?” He asked as he went to his spot with Imelda and Violet.

“Because we’re trying to see if there are any scents smelled in common,” Garreth insisted. “So, please, share.”

Amadeo rolled his gray-green eyes. “I smelled lavender, okay?” He shrugged. “It’s used in potions, which is the class we’re taking now.”

Sebastian snapped his fingers. “See? He smelled lavender too!”

“That doesn’t mean anything,” Cael said. “You just smell flowers like I do.”

Estelle tilted her head at her brother, gesturing with her hands. “How can you not smell the bloody ocean? It’s an obvious smell that everyone knows and it does not get mistaken for flowers!”

Natty shrugged as she went to her spot by Garreth. “I just smell grassfields from home,” she said with a nostalgic smile.

Artemis blinked twice as she was with Amit and Andrew. “I don’t smell grassfields,” she said to the Ravenclaws. “Just…a pine forest.”

Amit hummed. “Come to think of it, the plants I’m smelling come from the greenhouse, like what Leander said he smelled.”

Andrew’s eyebrows furrowed. “How come I smell the library, then?”

Garreth was hearing all of these conversations around him, and he sighed as he heard Imelda again voice her theory about him using different smells to cover up a mistake.

“For Bloody Baron’s sake!” He yelled at the Slytherin Quidditch player. “I did not do that! I just smell fish oil and olives and apple cider. Which were all, by the way, not used in my concoction!”

Amadeo looked intrigued now, and he wolfishly grinned. “So that’s what you smell? And Imelda here smells one of your failed experiments?”

“Again, it doesn’t make sense how we all smell different things.” Garreth waved to the entire chatty class. “Food, plants, books, flowers, trees, classes, it doesn’t make sense! Not unless it’s—” He stopped suddenly, and his eyes grew wide as saucers. “Ohhhhhh…”

Sharp cleared his throat as he rose to his feet, and the entire class grew quiet. “That’s right, Mr. Weasley. Your suspicions are in fact confirmed.”

He waved his wand, revealing the once-Disillusioned large cauldron. The steam came out in beautiful spirals, and the simmering liquid had a mother-of-pearl sheen. “This is Amortentia.”

Almost the entire class paled as if he said “Acromantula” instead.

“Yes, the scents you kept talking about smelling correlate with whomever you are attracted to.” He raised his voice to be clearly heard to the silent class. “Which was what I said when we went over Amortentia in my lecture last week. If you had paid enough attention instead of staring off into space, or at someone, you would have known that.” He landed his gaze on the furiously blushing Sebastian, who sank lower on his stool, then he focused on the class as a whole. “From now, I expect you all to pay rapt attention in my class. This is to prepare you all for your N.E.W.T.s. I want you all to succeed in the exams, so you don’t have to stay back here for an eighth year.

“With that, everyone, open your books to chapter five.”

The sounds of rustling paper all at once was thunderous, and everyone’s noses were deep into their books, most likely trying to hide their red faces.

Estelle peeked over her book at Cael, who seemed to be glaring at his own copy. “What’s got your wand in a knot?” She whispered.

“Artemis said she smelled a pine forest,” he muttered. “And Leander said he smelled the greenhouse.” His eyebrows furrowed. “I remember hearing that he fancied her…”

Estelle looked unamused. “Cael, your cologne smells like pine.”

“It’s a common cologne. I bet Leander has a bottle of it too,” he grumbled.

She sighed and shook her head. She shyly glanced over at Sebastian, who seemed to be invested in the chapter about graphorn horns and unicorn horns. Now she knew why she smelled the coast. And…perhaps she wasn’t crazy to think the lavender he smelled associated with her?

“Estelle,” Poppy whispered.

She inquisitively hummed.

Poppy glanced at Sebastian’s work station too and leaned closer to her first (and best) human friend. “You won’t tell anyone I smelled bergamot tea, right?”

Estelle’s eyes widened as she instantly caught on who that could be. She smiled and replied, “Of course. Your secret is safe with me.” She looked over her shoulder at Ominis sitting near Sebastian with a flushed face before focusing back on Poppy. “If it means anything, I think it’s reciprocated.”

Poppy looked hopeful. “You heard what he smelled?”

Estelle thought it over before saying in defeat, “No, but…I think he’s obvious.”

“I don’t know…”

Estelle didn’t push any more, and they went back to their reading.

Amadeo, however, looked at Imelda with a smirk. “So, Garreth, eh?”

She glared at him with a beet-red face. “Shut it. He’ll hear you.”

“And he just happened to smell your rancid broomstick polish?” He dryly added.

Imelda thought it over before she huffed. “And what about you, smelling lavender like Sebastian did?”

Amadeo’s smirk dropped, and he coughed into his fist. “That’s just a coincidence.” “Right…”

Amit and Andrew were reading intently, and the former whispered to the latter, “Do you know who would be at the library that you’re…?”

“No,” he replied. “What about you?”

Amit shrugged. “I’m not sure.”

Artemis joined in and said, “I don’t know either. My home doesn’t have pine trees.”

Amit and Andrew exchanged glances, and Andrew gave him a knowing look. They instantly had an idea who it was, but it wasn’t their place to say…

Sharp settled in his chair, taking in the wonderful, studious silence.

Of course, it wasn’t long before Garreth turned to him. “Professor…if you don’t mind sharing…what do you smell?”

That got everyone’s attention, and he sighed heavily. “That is none of your business, Mr. Weasley.”

Garreth shrugged. “You heard all of us talk about ours, so—”

“Yes, and you all chose to share and think out loud. I chose not to,” he firmly replied. He lifted an eyebrow at the whole class. “Go back to your reading.”

The students went back to reading in defeat, and that was the last time anything involving Amortentia was mentioned. Sharp went back to grading papers, indulging in the sweet smell of cherries and magnolia tea…

After that day, Sharp expected results of this “experiment” like seeing some of the kids confessing and being together. He wasn’t that cold of a professor where he’d denounce romance, but instead…it was only more shy silence and more of them stealing glances.

We arrived at our destination, the seventh-floor corridor. I breathed through my nose to mask that I was quite winded from climbing so many stairs. The door materialized promptly. I looked to my friends, eager to watch their reactions.

Sebastian's eyes widened and his mouth fell open when he realized we were in one place in the castle he had always wanted to find. Ominis only tilted his head, trying to make sense of what he was hearing and whatever his wand was communicating to him.

I swung open the door to find the Room completely pitch-black. Only faint orbs of light radiated from the vivariums throughout the space.

"Odd. He must not be here yet." I pondered out-loud to no one in particular.

"He?" Sebastian asked a little too aggressively.

Why was he so on-edge?

"Lumos"

I led the boys into the space, trying to find a candelabra to light. Sebastian craned his neck marvel at the enchanted ceiling, which portrayed an evening sky full of constellations but no moon. Ominis appeared as shocked as he could be, his face illuminated by the faint glow of his wand. 

I supposed the novelty had worn off a bit, for me. I spent so much time in the Room during fifth-year, it had practically become a second dorm for me. The Room was particularly useful when I did not feel like trekking to Ravenclaw tower, or if I could not solve the eagle's blasted riddle.

Anxiety fluttered in my chest the further we walked into the darkened Room, as if we were doing something forbidden. I did not exactly ask Weasley if I could have guests, but why not? It was my Room... right?

A sudden CRACK alerts me to the arrival of the man of the hour. Rather, the elf of the hour.

"Welcome back, Miss Juliette!" a small voice greeted me from the foot of the stairs.

"DEEK!" I sprinted to the house elf and fell to my knees to pull him into a hug, completely abandoning my wand.

"Deek has missed you during the summer. He hopes you are satisfied with how he has tended to the Room and the beasts in your absence." He pulled away from me with a frown. "Deek is quite sorry for not having the room ready for you. Allow Deek to shed some more light." With a snap of his fingers the ambience of the room shifted. The candelabras burst to life, and Deek changed the enchanted ceiling to portray a warm sunset rather than the twinkling night sky.

The house elf gasped when he discovered I was not alone. "Miss Juliette has brought friends!"

"Yes, Deek. This is Sebastian and this is Ominis."

The Slytherin boys took turns shaking Deek's feeble hand. Deek accepted the gestures with a terrified expression, as if it were some cruel trick. I wondered if anyone had ever extended him the courtesy of a handshake before.

"So exciting to meet new friends," his voice quivered, as if on the verge of tears. "Will they be visiting often? His Lordship has grown rather restless in your absence, he could use some visitors."

"His Lordship?" Sebastian hissed to Ominis.

"Perhaps... as long as he behaves." I retrieved my fallen wand from the floor and extinguished the light. "I'm going to give them the tour, then I'll take them to meet him."

When I turned to face Sebastian and Ominis, they were looking at me as if I had three heads - which was saying something for Ominis because he rarely looked directly at a person. I proceeded with the tour, hoping it would answer their questions and ease their anxieties.

"So, this is the main room, I call it the Atrium. I prefer to keep it like a greenhouse in here. I grow potion ingredients and combat plants, and brew potions at the station over there." I nodded to the dusty potions station in the corner. "The stairs there lead to my office and living area. But these," I pointed to each of the vivariums, "are the reason I am here."

"Sebastian, you want to choose which one we go to?" For some reason, I was craving his approval. I needed him to have a good time so that he would come up here again, as Deek had suggested.

"May I know what exactly am I choosing?" he eyed me suspiciously, but the faint smile on his lips told me he was morbidly curious and loved the mystery of it all.

I rolled my eyes again. "Oh, just choose, Sallow."

"Fine. That one!" He pointed up the stairs toward my favorite vivarium. They were in for a treat.

Sebastian shielded his eyes with his arm as we crossed the threshold into the eternal sunshine of the coastal vivarium.

His Lordship spotted us immediately, and we him. He was hard to miss. He unleashed an excited bellow before barreling toward us at full-speed for his long-anticipated belly rub. Deek was right - after a summer without them, he did appear quite excitable.

The Lord of the Shore's thundering footsteps bounded on the wet sand, and every other beast scrambled to get out of his way. Sebastian thrust himself between me and the charging graphorn. Ominis's wand started going haywire, glowing and ringing to warn him of the coming threat. They both took defensive stances, wands at the ready.

These buffoons.

I grabbed each of their wrists and lowered their arms as I stepped between them, immediately subduing the threat to my largest and most temperamental beast. The graphorn stopped just short of us and eyed them both. He huffed and paced for a moment, not quite feeling safe enough expose his belly.

"Easy there, boy. They didn't mean it" I cooed to the The Lord of the Shore, much to the bafflement of my guests. His Lordship eyed Sebastian pointedly, letting out a disgruntled huff before finally submitting and rolling over to expose his scaled belly.

"Alright, can someone tell me what the fuck just happened?" Ominis finally interjected.

"Juliette has a death wish and has been keeping a Graphorn in the castle," Sebastian answered incredulously.

"You say that like you're surprised, Sebastian. She tempts danger every day just by associating with you."

They both make good points.

"Does Weasley know you're keeping a menagerie in here?" Sebastian's brown eyes scan the vivarium, taking in the sight of several hippogriffs soaring through the sky above us. Further down the beach, a group of kneazles quarrel over a ball of yarn in the sand.

"Weasley's the one that gave me the room," I shrugged and batted my eyelashes with phony innocence.

I could have sworn I heard bones cracking with how quickly Sebastian snapped his neck to look at me. He opened his mouth to speak but thought better of it, shaking his head. I secretly loved it when I managed to render him speechless.

In the meantime, Ominis cautiously navigated the space with his wand. The beasts seemed to sense it, giving him a wide berth

"You know, Ominis," I jogged behind him so I could talk softly into his ear. "I keep Poppy's hippogriff in here."

The boy's ears and neck turn burning red at the mention of the Hufflepuff girl. They spent the summer corresponding in letters, or at least she had told me as much. When I interrogated him about it on the train, he insisted that it was purely friendly.

Suddenly Ominis was very interested in meeting Highwing. I put my fingers between my lips, whistled, and waited.

Highwing glided down from the sky and trotted around us, wary of the boys I had brought to visit her. I took Ominis by the arm and positioned him in front of the beast.

"Stow your wand."

He looked at me as if I had just asked him to pluck his own eyes out. In a way, I supposed I had.

"Trust me."

He stowed his wand and replaced it with my hand, using me as his only remaining anchor in the space. It all must have been quite over-stimulating, what with the sounds of the beasts, the waves, and the shifting of sand beneath our feet.

"First, you've got to bow to her." I coached gently.

Ominis bent awkwardly at the waist, still clutching to my hand for reassurance.

Highwing did not hesitate, dipping her head low to the ground in a graceful bow. I wondered what Poppy would say if she saw her beast showing such immediate trust and approval of her boy...friend.

"Brilliant!" I tugged gently on his shoulder to let him know he could stand back up. "I knew she would take to you. Now, put your hand out and let her come to you."

I brought his arm up to shoulder level, prying my hand from his sweaty grip so he could extend his palm to the beast. Despite her efforts to warn him of her approach with approving chirps and squawks, Ominis still flinched at the sudden contact of her beak against his palm. She pressed her beak into his hand before dipping her head, offering her final seal of approval.

I guided Ominis's hands to stroke her feathers, her wings, and her sturdy legs. I took care to describe what he was feeling in detail to help him paint a picture of her in his mind. Highwing handled it all with grace, tolerating every pat and prod. At one point, she nuzzled her beak into his chest with such force it almost toppled him over. Thankfully, I was behind him to break his fall and keep him on his feet.

Then the strangest thing happened.

Ominis giggled. Not just an embarrassed giggle to play off his fall, no. This was complete, unabashed giggling like a child on Christmas morning. The giggled turned to a chuckle, which quickly devolved into complete hysterics. It made me wonder...

Have I ever heard Ominis laugh before?

He was always so serious and stern. Any humor or jokes were always delivered in a flat tone and dripping with sarcasm.

While I pondered this, two strong arms took me by surprise as they rapidly snaked around my waist. Ominis pulled me into his chest, nearly lifting me off the ground.

Since when was Ominis a hugger? And since when was he so tall?

I had so many questions.

"Thank you so much," he whispered into my ear, his grip around my waist only intensified. I finally returned the embrace by snaking my arms around his neck.

I was surprised to find his body was incredibly warm, almost cozy. His scent was even more conflicting. Sharp notes of mint and tobacco blended with the softness and sensuality of leather. No wonder Poppy was always platonically glued to his side any time they were together. He smelled amazing.

He finally put me down, stepping away so we could straighten out our robes and ties.

"My apologies, Juliette," he offered shyly. "I don't know what came over me."

I only giggled and turned to the third member of our trio. Sebastian stood leaning against a rock with an unreadable expression and his arms folded over his chest. 

"Would you like a go, Sebastian?"

I was not sure if I was asking about Highwing, or if I was asking him if he wanted a go at sweeping me off my feet in a tender embrace.

I was perfectly fine with either.

I wouldn't mind finding out what  he smells like.

"Nah, I'm set," he replied coldly.

What is his deal? I thought he liked beasts?

"Let me know when you lot are ready to leave for the feast," he added before skulking off toward the stone archway leading to the other half of the vivarium.

Once Ominis was comfortable, I left him with the hippogriffs and joined Sebastian further down the beach. He sat on a bench next to the small cottage I had conjured. Every kneazle I rescued was at his feet, rubbing against his legs, or fighting for a spot on his lap.

I was weirdly jealous of them.

I took a seat beside him, petting the few kneazles that were lacking Sebastian's attention.

"Soo," I slid closer to him until our legs were almost touching. "Ominis seems content to hang out here. Want to see my other vivariums before we head to dinner?"

I wanted to show him the jewel of my adventures, the Phoenix I had rescued. Perhaps he would also be interested in the thestrals, since he could see them too. Best of all, it would give us a moment alone...

"I'm fine here." He kept his eyes focused on the keazles at his feet, his expression flat and emotionless.

Well that's a knife to the fucking heart.

"Everything alright?" I pried, wondering what happened in the last ten minutes that had him so disgruntled.

"Yes, Juliette why wouldn't it be?"

"I don't know, I guess I thought you liked beasts." My voice was smaller and weaker than I wanted it to be. I hated how pathetic I sounded. It was not like I begged him to come here, but I had hoped that he would enjoy himself. I wanted him to come back. Just the two of us...

"I do like beasts," He mumbled, unwilling to even look at me, "but I guess I don't match your and Ominsis' love of hippogriffs."

What an odd thing to say. What is with him?

"Well... I do love hippogriffs but the kneazles here are my favorite." I scratched the chin of the kneazle currently nesting on Sebastian's lap. "I always wanted a cat, and they are really just giant cats. They shed like regular cats, too."

This managed to get a small smile out of him. He had become more kneazle than man with all the fur that clung to his trousers and robes.

Sebastian did not say another word until it was time to leave the vivariums. He was also uncharacteristically quiet during the start-of-term feast.

Rather than taking his usual seat between Ominis and I, where I could relish each accidental brush of his leg against mine, he opted for a spot on the other side of Ominis. He left early, plate still untouched, citing the need to remove the kneazle fur from his outfit.

He only snapped out of it when the time came to head to the common room for our first Slytherin party. He ditched his robes and his shitty attitude, leaving him in a black button-down and black trousers. His dashing outfit was complemented perfectly by his dazzling smile. Perhaps a muss of his hair and a few undone buttons was all it took for Sebastian to unwind a bit.

Sebastian stayed by my side all night, swatting away every drink offered to me by anyone else but him. I had teased him for how protective he was being, though I secretly loved it and never wanted it to end. 

Still, I could not shake the feeling that I had done something wrong...

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