#horace black | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

wisteria-lodge · 2 months ago

Text

The Harry Potter Pretty People's Club

I’ve always been kind of fascinated by how and why *attractiveness* is used in the HP books. So, I’ve decided to play a little game, and score up characters based on how often their prettiness is brought up. Here’s my scoring system:

(1 point) - We are straight-up told that this character (or some aspect of this character) is attractive. The word beautiful, handsome, attractive, elegant, pretty, lovely, good-looking, good looks, nice-looking, curvy, or gorgeous is used.

(.5 points) - We are specifically told the character has nice hair, or nice teeth. (JKR describes teeth a lot, it’s a thing.)

(.5 points) - The character is described as moving in an attractive way. The word lounging, lolling, graceful, posing, or haughty (so lounging/posing, but more evil coded) is applied to them

In terms of the ranking, twins and and parent+child duos get to compete together, because how common “they looked exactly like their parent” type descriptions are in these books.

No points for “they used to be beautiful” or “they would be beautiful if...” Also no points if someone is described as attractive specifically by Rita Skeeter. We are clearly not supposed to take her as a reliable source. Also not counting the times Petunia calls Dudley “handsome,” or the time when Slughorn calls Ron handsome while trying to cheer him up after the love potion, for the same reason.

(if you’re curious, Rita does describe Hermione as “stunningly pretty,” Pansy as “pretty and vivacious,” herself as “attractive blonde, forty-three” and Harry as “the most beautiful thing she had ever seen” when he’s giving the interview about Voldemort’s return.) So let's get to the top 26 most attractive (?) characters in Harry Potter.

#26 - WILKIE TWYCROSS (.5)

“Graceful” apparition instructor. Unfortunately the rest of his description stresses that he’s practically see-through.

#25 - MADAM PUDDIFOOT (.5)

Has shiny hair. Unfortunately also “very stout” (and unfortunately we we know how JKR feels about fat people : / )

#24 - ROMILDA VANE (.5)

Has hair that is “black and shiny and silky.” Of course Ron does say that while zoinked out his mind on love potion, so not sure how reliable his report is.

#23 - HORACE SLUGHORN (.5)

Young Horace has “thick, shiny, straw-colored hair.” He’s also rocking embroidered waistcoats with golden buttons. Idk, I bet Horace was kind of dishy back in the day. Heck, I bet he still is. He’s well dressed, charismatic, charming. Someone has a crush on him. JKR is just mean and wrong about fat people

#22 - NEARLY HEADLESS NICK (1)

Has “elegant” hands. So, if you’re into that…

#21 - ANDROMEDA TONKS (1)

Andromeda’s sisters are not actually going to make the list, because they fall in the “beauty potential” category. Narcissa “would have been nice-looking if she hadn’t been wearing a look that suggested there was a nasty smell under her nose,” and the “long blonde hair streaming down her back gave her the look of a drowned person.” I love Narcissa, but that framing isn’t especially flattering. Bellatrix was once beautiful, but “something — perhaps Azkaban — had taken most of her beauty.” Now if Andromeda looks enough like Bellatrix to give Harry a double-take, and she looks like a Bellatrix with “wider, kinder eyes” who hasn’t been to Azkaban… she more than earns her place on the pretty list. Also is described as “haughty.”

#20 - ANGELINA JOHNSON (1)

“Rather attractive” according to Lee Jordan. Seems to wear micro box-braids, which Pansy says look like “worms.” Boo Pansy (who is not on this list.)

#19 - PERCIVAL, KENDRA & ALBUS DUMBLDORE (2)

Percival is “good-looking,” Albus has shiny hair, and Kendra is “haughty.” I’ll buy that the Dumbledores were a pretty striking family, that makes sense . But they rank a little low because they all only have one attractive descriptor apiece.

#18 - OLYMPE MAXIME (2)

She’s an elegant frenchwoman. The only lady on this list described as “handsome.” Also graceful, has shiny hair, and Hagrid is very into her.

#17 - PARVATI & PADMA PATIL (2)

Both of them look “very pretty” in their Yule Ball dress robes, and are quickly snapped up by Beauxbatons boys when Harry and Ron ignore them.

#16 - FIRENZE (2)

The “handsome centaur.” Also the only character described as “gorgeous” (by Parvati.) At which point Hermione scoffs and says that he’s got four legs. By which we can deduce that Hermione is a bit vanilla for this conversation.

#15 - BILL WEASLEY (2)

Described as “good-looking” and “handsome” by Mrs. Weasley, and of course FLEUR is very into him very quickly. I considered adding “cool” to my list of words connoting attractiveness, which would have bumped Bill higher… but JKR seems to associate “cool” more with personality. Like Mad-Eye and Hagrid are “cool” without being especially pretty.

#14 - GELLERT GRINDELWALD (2)

Briefly seen in a memory and a photograph, described as “handsome” both times.

#13 - LILY POTTER (2)

A “very pretty woman” and a woman with a “kind, pretty face.” Like with Andromeda, JKR throws in “kind” to make sure we know this is good-pretty, one step up from the Patil twins who are girly-pretty (sorry Patil twins.)

#12 - LUCIUS & DRACO MALFOY (2.5)

They have super sleek hair. It’s brought up a lot. Pansy likes to pet it.

#11 - BLAISE’S MOM & BLAISE ZABINI (2.5)

Blaise’s mom is a “famously beautiful witch,” who “had been married seven times, each of her husbands dying mysteriously and leaving her mounds of gold.” Fanon needs to decide on a name for her, and I think Clytemnestra is the right amount of on-the-nose. Blaise himself is described as haughty, and picky, and tends to “pose” and “loll against pillars.”

#10 - MADAM ROSMERTA (3)

Attractive, pretty, and the only character who is “curvy.” (I think she might have the boobs of Harry Potter universe.) Also wears sparkly turquoise heels, which is cute. Ron is into her, and so (I think) is Cornelius Fudge. I mean - “Rosmerta, m’dear… lovely to see you again, I must say. Have one [drink] yourself, won’t you? Come and join us.” Like, that’s flirty, right?

#9 - ROWENA & HELENA RAVENCLAW (4)

Surprising that they crack the top ten, but every time we see an image of them they are described as beautiful. Usually with a qualifier like “austere” or “intimidating.” Beautiful is a word with a little bit of an edge to it in this universe. Beautiful people are just… a little suspect.

#8 - GILDEROY LOCKHART (5.5)

Very handsome, good hair, good teeth. The teeth are honestly brought up enough to feel a little off-putting and predatory, which I think is exactly the point. Lockhart is a very 90s-Disney-movie queer-coded villain. But, he is extremely good looking (or at least very well put-together.) Mrs. Weasley and Hermione both have crushes on him, and he continues to get fan mail into his St. Mungo’s days.

#7 - GINNY WEASLEY (5.5)

Ginny’s an odd one. She’s described as “graceful,” popular, and “a lot of boys like her,” (according to Pansy.) Honestly, that’s mostly how we experience her beauty. Krum thinks she’s attractive, Blaise thinks she’s attractive, Amycus addresses her as “Pretty” in a creepy way, and so does some random Diagon alley amulet salesman. Both Harry and the narrative voice stay pretty quiet when it comes to thirsting over Ginny. We get the honestly very conflicted description “Ginny gave Harry a radiant smile: He had forgotten, or had never fully appreciated, how beautiful she was, but he had never been less pleased to see her” and then “Ginny and Gabrielle, both wearing golden dresses, looked even prettier than usual [at Fleur’s wedding].” Which isn’t even completely about Ginny! Maybe you could count the romantic descriptions of her hair being flamelike or on one occasion “dancing,” but that’s really it. I am doing my very best, and scraping the bottom here.

#6 - HERMIONE GRANGER (7.5)

Hermione seems to fall firmly into the “cleans up nice” category. She is the “pretty girl in blue robes” at the Yule Ball, looking good enough that Pansy gapes and Malfoy “didn’t seem to be able to find an insult to throw at her.” She’s also looking good at Fleur’s wedding, when Viktor and Ron are definitely interested. Her hair can look elegant and shiny if she puts in effort - otherwise it’s bushy, and Pansy compares her to a chipmunk. We also know she has large front teeth, before she gets them fixed. She occasionally gets a “graceful” or “haughty" description, and Greyback does creep on her (again with the creeping!) calling Hermione Harry’s “pretty little friend.” I also gave her half a point for the description of Horcrux!Hermione, who is “more beautiful and yet more terrible than the real Hermione.” That’s another good example of how JKR uses the word “beautiful,” and I guess “more beautiful” definitely implies some existing beauty.

#5 - CHO CHANG (8)

Cho is very pretty. She’s often described that way, and she has long shiny black hair. She naturally pairs up with Cedric, who also scored an 8. I wish I had more to say about her, I really do.

#4 - CEDRIC DIGGORY (8)

Our first “pretty boy" - he’s described that way by both Harry and Seamus. Seamus actually seems to kind of have a thing about Cedric. He doesn’t believe Cedric put his name in the Goblet of Fire because “I wouldn’t have thought he’d have wanted to risk his good looks.” And true, Cedric is “exceptionally handsome, with his straight nose, dark hair, and gray eyes” and probably our first extraordinarily pretty person. Angelina and Katie think he’s hot, Myrtle creeps on him - although, honestly - Myrtle creeps on everyone, and the text doesn’t take it very seriously. Interestingly in the film we get a moment of Voldemort turning over Cedric’s head with his bare foot, saying “Oh, such a handsome boy” - to which Harry replies “Don’t touch him!” That’s a subtle difference - in the books it’s only threatening when girls get creeped on, the movies are a little more equal opportunity.

#3 - SIRIUS & REGULUS BLACK (11)

Sirius is hot. He’s “carelessly handsome,” his “dark hair fell into his eyes with a sort of casual elegance neither James’ nor Harry’s could ever have achieved.” He rolled out of bed looking this good. Sirius is graceful and lounging and bored as hell, but you know “handsomely so.” Even when he falls through the Veil, it’s a “graceful,” beautiful death. Regulus gets a shout-out too, because he “had the same dark hair and slightly haughty look of his brother, though he was smaller, slighter, and rather less handsome than Sirius had been.” But, as is mentioned nearly every time he appears on the page, Sirius is extremely handsome. Less handsome than Sirius is still handsome.

I think it’s actually important to Sirius’ character that he is THAT beautiful. Sirius is a kid from a very bad environment who’s one bad day away from just snapping… but you’d never know it. He’s so attractive, he’s so effortlessly talented, he hides everything so well. Of course none of the adults in his life would be worried about him.

#2 - FLEUR, GABRIELLE & APPOLINE DELACOUR (12.5)

Fleur almost seems like a cheat, because she is supernaturally beautiful. She is “a woman of such breathtaking beauty that the room seemed to have become strangely airless. She was tall and willowy with long blonde hair and appeared to emanate a faint, silvery glow.” Even Aunt Muriel thinks she’s beautiful. (We also do get told that Fleur has nice teeth.)

But again, she’s beautiful. She’s that slightly threatening, too-feminine beauty. Until she gets married… and has a kid… which redeems her. “While [Fleur’s] radiance usually dimmed everyone else by comparison, today [at her wedding] it beautified everybody it fell upon.”

#1 - TOM RIDDLE SR. & TOM RIDDLE JR. (14)

Our clear winner, and also our second “pretty boy.” (Marvolo calls Tom Sr. “pretty,” and Tom Jr. is “his handsome father in miniature.” so yes, Voldemort does count as a pretty boy.) Poor Tom Sr. - the text frames the aftermath of his sexual assault as him “abandoning” his wife, but unfortunately that falls into the wider trend of only girls being victims of creeps in the HP books. It’s like the weird detail about the stairs to the dormitories - the girls can go to the boys dormitory, but not vice-versa.

But yeah. Tom Riddle’s attractiveness is brought up almost every time he is. We even get details - we specifically know he lost weight and grew his hair out after he left school, and it looked super good on him. Hepzibah Smith is very into him, Bellatrix is very into him. (Although I do wonder just how snakey he looked when they met.) Adult Voldemort doesn’t treat the loss of his looks as any kind of sacrifice, he seems well rid of them. They’re just another annoying aspect he wants to shed on his quest for transhumanism. He gets rid of his father’s name, it only makes sense he would want to get rid of his looks as well. I do like the detail that original eyes live inside the Locket, that is cool and creepy.

(but, logically, I can only assume that means his original nose lives inside the Cup.)

243 notes · View notes

lulublack90 · 8 months ago

Text

Prompt 26 - Amortentia

@wolfstarmicrofic March 26, word count 288

Slughorn was showing off his brewing skills again. He’d brewed up a few of the harder potions to show to his class.

Sirius stood close to a cauldron whose contents shimmered and swirled. Pearl dust, Sirius decided, was the ingredient that caused the mother-of-pearl sheen on the surface.

He peered closer at the potion and caught a whiff of Remus’s scent. He turned with a grin, expecting him to be standing right behind him, but it was Dorcus. Remus was on the other side of the room, and even Sirius’s slightly heightened senses from Padfoot couldn’t pick him out that easily. He sniffed the potion again. Forest trees, night air, parchment and chocolate, it was definitely Moony.

Professor Slughorn moved behind the potion in front of Sirius.

“And this one here is the most powerful love potion in the world, Amortentia.” He talked excitedly. “It causes infatuation and obsession so powerful it can turn the drinker mad if they consume too much. Notice the sheen and the spiralling steam rising from it? That’s how you tell it apart from other love potions.” He waved the rest of the class to gather closer. “Now, if you would like to, you may all come forward and inhale the steam. Carefully, mind you. We don’t want anybody trying to drink it. You should be able to smell the things you find most attractive.” Well, that would explain it, he thought.

He moved to the back of the class, letting the others take a turn. James came away looking very confused. But when Remus leant over the shimmering solution and inhaled, his head snapped up, and he locked eyes with Sirius. Sirius gave him a crooked grin. Yeah, he thought. Knew it.

169 notes · View notes

its-rach-writes · 2 months ago

Text

Starman - Chapter Three

Pairing: Sirius Black x Potter!reader

Summary: after feeling overshadowed by your twin brother, your best friend persuades you to get more involved with school activities. You weren't counting on falling for Sirius Black.

Warnings: fluff, angst if you squint, jealous Sirius

A/N: I know that the stereotypical Amortentia lesson usually happens in 6th year but had to make it a little different! And, no I didn't put the 6th year Slytherins with the 7th year Gryffindors just to write this one scene, why would you think that? Can you also tell I'm trying to include Peter which is hard bc I hate him so much! Please let me know what you think and if you would like to be tagged! xxx

Chapter Three

The Gryffindors and the Slytherins were waiting outside the dungeons for their potion master to arrive. Slughorn had the tendency to arrive 5 minutes late to class which was great it you were going to be late yourself but not so great if you were on time and you were left shivering in the cold.

The seventh year Gryffindors were going to be sharing the dungeons with the sixth year Slytherins much to everyone’s displeasure, you didn’t mind though. The faculty liked to put the two years together as they were reaching the end of their Hogwarts careers.

“Merlin, its freezing,” you complained to Remus as you pulled your cloak around you more securely.

Before Sirius could reply, Sirius spoke up – he’d been there barely a minute – “you know, I can warm you up, Potter. You just need to ask,” he smirked, a couple of girls in the back swooned, but you’d known him too long to get affected by him. It didn’t mean you couldn’t play with him though.

You wrapped your arms around his neck, a hand playing with the ends of his hair, “yeah, you gonna warm me up?”

Sirius looked surprised and he flushed as he wrapped an arm around your waist, “y-y’know, if you want.”

You smirked and leaned in close to whisper in his ear, “if you ever touch me like that, I’ll shove that wand so far up your- “you got cut off as Slughorn chose that precise moment to come along and let everyone into the dungeons.

Sirius gave you an exaggerated pout as he gestured with his outstretched hand. You sighed as you put your hand in his, laughing when he laced your fingers together and you followed him into the dungeons. Even as you got to your seats, Sirius didn’t let go of your hand, holding it beneath the table.

The lesson started ordinarily enough as Slughorn introduced the potions and poisons that you would be working with that year, though that was mainly for the sixth years benefit. You and your friends were distracted as you had heard this lecture the year before. However, your interest was piqued when Slughorn asked a question he hadn’t asked the year before.

“Who would like to come up to the Amoretti and tell the class what they smell?” Amoretti was a love potion that smelt different for everyone. They could smell whatever attracted them, “Mr Black, how about you?”

At Slug horn’s words, Sirius’ chest puffed out and he winked at you as he went to get up. He visibly deflated when he realised that Slughorn was talking to his brother and he sat back down. Obediently, Regales went to the front and stood in front of the potion and inhaled deeply, almost as if he was drinking it in.

“Um, I smell Butter beer, warm grass and,” he hesitated before sighing, “the ocean,” he didn’t wait for Slughorn to comment, instead he made his way to his seat, keeping his eyes forward and not looking at any of his classmates.

“Thank you, Regales,” Slughorn cleared his throat, “would anyone else like a turn?” Sirius didn’t speak up, he folded his arms with a pout on his face.

“I will, sir,” James volunteered himself quickly and walked up to the front of the class. Like Regales, he took a whiff of the potion, “okay, well I smell rose perfume, sugar quills and peaches,” he grinned at Lily who almost went the same colour as her hair. James looked strangely relieved as he sauntered back to his seat, kissing Lily’s cheek on the way.

Sirius leaned across to you, “want to know what I smell?”

“Hmm,” you turned to him, pretending to think about it, “how about yourself?”

“Very funny,” he said dryly.

As you were making your potion, Lily leaned over, “cheerleading try outs start when class is over today, you’re already on the team if you want. But, will you be there?”

You laughed as you stirred your mixture, “won’t you be accused of favouritism?”

Lily scoffed, “no, I think you underestimate how much people like you. And besides, they all know that I couldn’t have come up with all those routines without you.”

“I’ll come to try outs and the first practice session before I make my mind up, if that’s okay?”

“Will you wear the outfit though?”

“Yes, I’ll wear the outfit,” you laughed.

Suddenly, there was a panicked groan and you looked up at Peter who was on the verge of tears. You couldn’t stand to see your friend so upset so you went over to help.

“Hey, hey, what’s wrong?” his potion was a luminous yellow colour.

“I added too much powdered snake fang, I’m so clumsy.”

“It’s easily done, Pete,” you assured him.

“I’m so bad at potions,” he buried his face in his hands.

“Being good at potions isn’t the be all and end all. You’re way better at Transfiguration than I am. It took me forever to turn that hedgehog into a pin cushion but you did it on the first go,” you smiled and Peter looked secretly pleased with himself.

“The perfect way to remedy too much powdered snake fang is adding more syrup of Hellebore,” you added a few more drops until his potion turned a few shades lighter than it was supposed to be. But, it was better than being luminous yellow.

“Thanks, Y/N.”

“You’re welcome,” you smiled, ruffling his hair before going back to your seat.

“You’re really kind, y’know that right?” Sirius grinned at you.

You shrugged, “he’s my friend, it’s no big deal.”

That afternoon at cheerleading try-outs you sat in the first row of the stands, too shy to include yourself just yet. You must have looked lost in thought because you heard an unfamiliar voice behind you.

“Hey, I thought this was my place to sit and contemplate life,” there was laughter in the voice.

You turned to face a cute boy with honey coloured hair and dimples in his cheeks, “I mean, I can go if you want me to?” you laughed.

“Nah,” he grinned as he sat down, “I don’t mind sharing.”

“How kind of you,” you teased.

“I’m Drew,” he offered you his hand.

“Y/N,” you smiled as you shook his hand.

“So cheerleading try outs?” he nodded at your outfit.

“Nothing escapes you, does it Drew?” you giggled and he smirked in response, “what about you though? Did you come here to watch the cheerleading try outs?” it would be just your luck to strike up a conversation with a guy who was a perve.

“No, I’m waiting for the Hufflepuff try outs to start,” he gestured across to the other side of the pitch where the Quidditch captain was setting up.

You felt a flush blossom on your cheeks, you just wanted to crawl into a hole and die, “oh, that was tactless. I’m sorry.”

He laughed, a deep rich warm sound as he ran a hand through his curls, “it’s okay. How come you’re watching from the side-lines anyway?”

“I’m kinda shy.”

“You seem to be doing just fine with me,” he nudged his shoulder against yours.

“Well, I’ve never seen you speak to my brother, so you’ve got nothing to compare me to,” you laughed, “my best friend wanted me to participate more in school activities this year because I never really have.”

Drew nodded understandingly, “yeah same, I love Quidditch but I’ve never played it competitively.”

“What position are you going for?” you asked.

“Seeker.”

“Wow!” you laughed, “never played Quidditch competitively but you’re jumping in the deep end.”

He laughed, “hey, I’ll play Quidditch if you become a cheerleader.”

Before you could reply, Sirius came to speak to you in the stands, “are you coming to dinner? Lily is gonna come when she’s finished,” his voice was tight as he looked between you and Drew.

You shook your head, “I’ll come up later.”

“Right,” he mumbled, “I’ll take a plate to the common room for you.”

When it was Drew’s turn to try out for the team, your stomach rumbled. Loudly. Drew looked at you with a laugh.

“Go and get some food.”

“Are you sure?”

He nodded, “to be honest, I’d rather you not watch me fall from my broom.”

You laughed, “let me know how it goes.”

When you got back to the common room, Remus looked up at you as he handed you a plate of food, “where were you?”

You didn’t have to answer though as Sirius did it for you, “she was flirting with some damn Hufflepuff.”

-----------

Taglist: @laurenzitaa @hisparentsgallerryy

68 notes · View notes

incorrect-maraudersaandco-quotes · 9 months ago

Text

Slughorn: You can't tell Evan and Barty what to do. I've been trying to do that since their first year. I remember when I try to separate their derks. Evan kicked me. Barty bit me. And some little punk kept saying "Leave them alone! They should get married!". Regulus: I was cute then, huh? Slughorn: Precious.

#I continue to push my Nr 1 rosekiller shipper!Regulus agenda #incorrect marauders and co quotes #incorrect marauders quotes #marauders #regulus black #barty crouch jr #evan rosier #horace slughorn #slytherin skittles #source: boy meets world #rosekiller

207 notes · View notes

videovamp0808 · 3 months ago

Text

I'm so excited to officially share the cover of my fanfiction, created in collaboration with the incredibly talented artist @s3when

Follow me on Wattpad (Miss _Mbav) so you don't miss "The Shadow of the Simulacrum," which will be released in both French and English versions! (PART ONE ONLY)

10 notes · View notes

saintsenara · 1 month ago

Note

i need the arcturus black/horace slughorn tea. love ur blog so much. im a total addict.

thank you very much for the ask, anon!

i think absolutely everything about slughorn's extremely weird attitude towards regulus is giving "i spent an incredible six weeks exploring your grandfather's body, during a summer holiday we spent as teens when we went bicycling around eastern france - only for our lives to be forever changed by accidentally wandering into the midst of the battle of the somme" - which slughorn reminisces about at length in slug club meetings once he's had a few sherries, while regulus sits there like:

#asks answered #asenora's opinions on ships #unhinged and deranged ships #arcturus black #horace slughorn

27 notes · View notes

idk-i-am-just-a-weeb · 8 days ago

Text

Something i'll never stop finding funny is the fact some people think Jesse's real name is reverend, and I can't help but think about what if that was an actual name people would name their children.

Teacher: who can tell me what 2+2 is?

A tiny little boy: * raises his hand *

Teacher: yes reverend?

Reverend: Four horsemen shall soon take us to the day of judgment.

Teacher: correct! :D

#my babysitter's a vampire #mbav #jesse mbav #reverend Horace Black #this was funnier in my head #a reverend is a member of the clergy btw #Just realized this could sound mean #It's not meant that way I swear

21 notes · View notes

bimoonphases · 8 months ago

Text

@wolfstarmicrofic March 26 – prompt 26: Amortentia – word count 946

Amortentia - The world’s strongest love potion, does not create love but obsession

Remus had feared that particular Potions lesson since the smile on Slughorn’s face when he had announced it.

“Of course, Amortentia’s use is forbidden, and its brewing strictly restricted, therefore you will not learn how to make it,” the Professor had said. “I will brew it personally and you will smell it, because its smell is not only different for everyone but it also corresponds to the smell of the person you’re most attracted to.”

There had been whispers in the classroom, and the few established couples in their year had smiled at each other.

“Yes, yes, you think you’ll have it easy,” Slughorn had chuckled. “But I’ve seen my fair share of people smelling something completely unexpected in Amortentia, so be warned!”

So now they were gathered around a fuming cauldron, their faces in various degrees of anxiousness.

“Well, come on!” Slughorn clapped his hands. “Who’s first? Mr Potter, be brave! After all, your love for Ms Evans is no secret to anyone!”

James grimaced, but he moved closer to the cauldron all the same.

“I smell…” he took a deep breath. “I smell the Library. And the Quidditch pitch in the sun and…” he hesitated. “Mint tea.”

Remus frowned. He knew Lily’s scent better than anyone thanks the the wolf’s nose, but none of those things belonged to her. He shot a look at James, who immediately looked at his feet.

“Ms McKinnon.”

“I, uhm,” Marlene went beet-red. “Coffee, pencils and peaches.”

“Interesting, wonder who that could be?” Sirius chuckled.

Even Remus remembered that glorious day when Dorcas Meadowes had shown up to the Gryffindor Quidditch team practice and Marlene had flown right into a goalpost when Dorcas had bitten into one of the peaches she had brought along.

“Now now, Mr Black, we don’t tease our classmates about Amortentia,” Slughorn smiled. “You never know what’s in store for you! Ms MacDonald, please.”

Remus swallowed. He knew perfectly well what would happen the second he got a closer whiff of the potion. He would smell leather, or cigarettes, or the firewhiskey he had drunk at that party when Sirius had ended up sitting in his lap and he had realised he was stupidly, desperately and hopelessly in love with him. He would have to lie about it to the whole class.

“Summer breeze, books and… leather?” Mary groaned. “Oh, come on!”

“I know, I’m unforgettable,” Sirius winked at her.

“And to smell like books you would have to open one,” Mary retorted.

Peter was next. He took a deep breath, got suddenly pale, then turned bright red and stumbled back.

“Are you quite alright, Mr Pettigrew?”

“Is it possible to smell more than one person, Professor?” Peter whispered.

“Ah. Yes, it’s happened before. Attraction is variable and not even magic can always determine if there’s only one person for you. What did you smell?”

“Roses, violets and lemons.”

Remus recognised the perfumes Peter’s last three girlfriends had worn and he looked at James. Maybe even what he had smelled belonged to multiple people.

“Mr Lupin, go ahead.”

Remus’s stomach twisted and he braced himself getting closer to the cauldron. But none of the smells he had thought about filled his nose. Instead, other things came up and none were Sirius’s smell.

“Well, Mr Lupin?”

Remus stepped back. He didn’t even have to lie then.

“Fireplace ash, late night rain and gingerbread,” he said.

He looked across the room to Sirius. Sirius was staring back, wide-eyed and pale as a ghost. Remus was about to say something when Sirius stumbled back and suddenly ran out of the classroom. Without even thinking, Remus ran after him. He ran along the dungeon corridors and up the stairs, into the main corridor and almost colliding against Regulus rounding a corner.

“What’s gotten into you two?” Regulus exclaimed, barely managing to not spill his tea.

“Where’s Sirius?”

“Outside, but-”

Remus didn’t stay to hear the rest of the sentence. As he ran towards the castle door, the wolf’s nose registered the smell coming from Regulus’s tea. Mint.

He finally caught up with Sirius at the lake.

“Padfoot?” he panted.

“What you smelled in the Amortentia…” Sirius’s voice was shaking.

“I don’t even know what it was…”

“I do.”

Sirius turned around. His eyes were glistening with tears, and Remus’s heart dropped as he fought with all he had the urge to get closer and take him in his arms and kiss him until he felt better.

“It had just rained the night I ran from my parents’ house,” Sirius said slowly. “When I fell into the Potters’ fireplace Effie had just gotten gingerbread out of the oven.”

“How could I smell your memories, Pads?” Remus whispered.

“Maybe Amortentia works differently on a wolf’s nose. But why did you smell mine specifically, Moony?”

Remus’s shoulders slumped. How he wished now he had smelt what he had prepared himself to and lied about it.

“I…”

“Before class started I sneaked in as Padfoot,” Sirius murmured. “I wanted to see if I smelt something different as a dog.”

“And?”

“I smelled you,” Sirius looked up at him.

Remus’s heart skipped a beat.

“You did?” he breathed. “And what did you smell as you?”

Sirius took a step forward, bringing them so close Remus could almost count all of his eyelashes.

“I don’t care,” he said. “As Padfoot I didn’t smell just things that reminded me of you, Moony. I smelled all of you. I think that’s proof enough.”

Remus started to nod, but then he moved, or Sirius did or they both did and half a second later they were kissing, hanging on each other as if their lives depended on it.

54 notes · View notes