Two

Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters are not mine. Pity.

Hermione stood before the scowling Potions master nervously.

She had never seen him this furious before. He paced back and forth, throwing her evil glares. The worst part was that she had been there for at least five minutes already, and he had not said anything to her.

Except once, when she had first arrived and started to sit down. He had said, “Don’t,” in a dangerous tone.

And so she didn’t. Although she was nervous about what he was going to say, she did wish that he would just get on with it.

“Miss Granger,” he said at last, “what do you have to say for yourself?”

“I, well, um,” she stammered.

He raised an eyebrow at her.

She started again. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Oh, really, Miss Granger?”

Although his voice was soft, Hermione was not fooled. She knew that tone, and it meant trouble. “Really, Professor.”

“Don’t play games with me, Miss Granger. I know you did this. Now I want to know why.”

“Professor, maybe if you tell me what we are talking about,” she suggested calmly, “I could tell you why, or why not, I did, or did not, do something.”

Although he still looked furious, he no longer looked as confident in his convictions.

“Well, you know... you did...” He looked uncomfortable, and she looked at him quizzically.

“Surely, Miss Granger, you have noticed the other female students have suddenly been...” His voice trailed off. “... more attentive towards me.”

Of course, she had noticed that the other girls seemed to be acting strangely toward him, and it had annoyed her greatly. But surely, he didn’t think that she did this.

“I assure you, Professor, I had nothing to do with this,” she stated firmly.

“Then explain to me, Miss Granger, why you have not been affected by this potion or whatever it is.” He studied her reaction closely.

“I cannot, Professor. But, if I had done this, then surely you realize that I would pretend to be affected so you wouldn’t know it was me.”

He considered this.

“So following your logic, the person who did this was either male or a female who is pretending to be affected.”

She nodded her head in acknowledgment.

“And by this same reasoning, the only person who could not have possibly done this then was you.” He looked at her intently.

“Exactly, Professor. I am glad you understand what I am trying to say.”

He scowled down at her, and she realized she was still headed for trouble.

“Then, Miss Granger, you will find out who did this and what potion they used.”

“But surely, sir, you are more qualified to do that than I am.” She tried to appeal to his vanity. “You are, after all, a great Potions master.”

“But I cannot go to the library to find the necessary books.” He shuddered as he thought of being confronted by more love-sick females. “You will go to the Restricted Section and find the book on reverse potions. This is obviously a reverse-love potion. You will present your findings to me tomorrow morning at 7:30. Do not be late, Miss Granger.”

“Yes, sir.” Hermione groaned inwardly as she realized she was going to be stuck doing this task for him.

Now that she knew she wasn’t actually in trouble, she was able to concentrate on something that had been bothering her.

“Sir?” she began, hesitantly.

“Yes, Miss Granger.” He sounded tired.

“Did you know... ” She was still tentative. “I mean... did you realize?”

His patience was at an end.

“Out with it, Miss Granger,” he growled.

“It’s just that, Professor,” she continued, “you smell like strawberries.”

*****

Hermione stared at the book in her hand. It had been too easy.

The potion was not difficult at all to identify.

It was a reverse-love potion, just like Professor Snape had thought. The one who drank the potion was instantly loved and adored by all members of the opposite sex. Strawberries were used in the potion because of their aphrodisiac effect (according to the book). A side effect of the potion was that the drinker gave off the scent of strawberries while under the potion’s spell.

Oh, no. Hermione thought to herself. He would not be happy about this. This particular potion had three components to it. The first they were already experiencing. There were two more effects of the potion that would happen before the potion finally wore off.

The book did not give any information about the next two parts except to say that they were determined by the maker of the potion and that they were meant to be humiliating to the drinker.

Great. That would put him in a good mood. And how did he expect her to find out who it was?

She would take him the book, and he could bloody well find out for himself.

Hermione continued to skim the book to see if it contained any other relevant information.

She stopped suddenly and reread the paragraph again.

Oh, Merlin!

She felt sick to her stomach. She slowly read it again. It had to be a mistake.

This potion will affect all those who are of the opposite sex of the drinker. There are no exceptions to this.

If a person seems to not be affected, it is not due to any mistake in the potion. Rather, it is an indication that the person who is seemingly unaffected is actually already in love with the drinker of the potion. This person would have been so successful in previously hiding his or her feelings that he or she would have no trouble in continuing in this manner.

There was no way she was going to show this to Snape.

She had been in love with him for a long time now. There was just something about him that drew her to him. Of course, she knew he would never return her feelings, but she didn’t want to be humiliated, either.

She would just tell him most of what she found out and hope he wouldn’t ask her about why the potion did not have an effect on her.

Yeah, that's likely, she thought. And Draco Malfoy will turn out to be a nice guy, and Neville, a brilliant Potions master.

She put her head down on the library table.

She was doomed.