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On the Friday after the Howler incident, Kelsey settled herself in the Potions class. Astrid, Lily, and Mary were at the table with her. Students were slowly filling in.

A rumble of laughter made her look for the noise source. She saw Lupin, Potter, and him walk in. He avoided looking at her deliberately and made a beeline for the seat next to Dorcas. It was obvious to anyone observing him and her.

Sirius was back to being hot and cold with her. Should she go and say something? Before she could make up her mind, Slughorn entered and started the class.

"Amortentia," Slughorn began. Immediately, all students had their attention on the burly professor. "Can at best imitate the powerful feeling of love but never, never," he passed around a stern look, "..replicate it in its purest form. Can anyone tell me what it smells like?"

Lily's hand shot up.

"Miss Evans, please."

"It smells differently for each person depending on what attracts them the most," she quickly looked at Potter who was staring at her, resting his head on his hand and looking at her dreamily.

Kelsey felt a pang of jealousy. No one had ever looked at her like that. Here she was pathetically vying for Black's attention for a reason that baffled her. It reminded her of when she would try to find stupid reasons to talk to Benji back in the day. But surely this wasn't the same?

Slughorn instructed them to the relevant page in their textbook and they began with the preparations. She sneaked a glance at Dorcas leaning over to whisper something in Sirius' ear and he sent her his signature charming smirk.

Would they smell each other?

Not that she cared, she was more interested in finding out what attracted her. Narrowing her eyes, she slammed the Potions book on the table in front of her and opened it to the relevant page to begin.

"I think I can smell something," Astrid whispered excitedly, halfway in. Forty minutes of Potion-making later, Kelsey too was starting to get an initial whiff too but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Across the room, Sirius looked at Jones scrunching her face in confusion but he looked away before their eyes met. Next to him, Dorcas kept brushing against him coyly, reminding him of their hot and impending closet session. It had been a while since he had made his way back to his long-time snogging partner.

"What do you think you'll smell?" he heard her whisper in his ear, trying to sound husky. He shrugged.

"'Prolly something Quidditch related, maybe the generic scent of the girls' dorm. You know how much I love the ladies," he winked at her. Next to them Prongs and Moony were done and had summoned Slughorn over. It wasn't surprising. After all, James' father was Fleamont Potter, master Potioneer and inventor of the Sleakeezy formula. Prongs was tied for the top student position in the class with Evans.

"Potter m'boy, done already I see," Slughorn exclaimed, stopping at their table. "Come on now, smell it. We'll know if it works only if you two smell different things - or dare I say the same? Oh dear, that would be quite the love triangle," the older man chuckled.

Next to Kelsey, Lily and Mary stopped to look at Potter while she continued to add her finishing touches.

Lily watched curiously a little scared. What was she afraid of? The fact that perhaps his infatuation with her was just that - an obsession? The thought made her feel off.

"I smell," Potter leaned over and closed his eyes. "The Quidditch field, parchment and...the library?!" he said the last bit out in surprise.

Kelsey giggled at the revelation. "No surprise there," she nudged Lily who blushed. The number of times they heard Lily complaining that Potter was in the library again distracting her only for them to find out he would quietly be doing his own work.

Sirius and Dorcas rushed to finish theirs as well.

Couldn't hurt to smell, Sirius thought as he looked at Remus take a whiff and put a name to his Amortentia. Like Prongs, Sirius closed his eyes and inhaled. It was pleasant..mostly: The dingy scent of a broom closet, oranges, and musty old inky paper?

What even smelled like that - his thoughts landed on the heavily coloured comic books Jones was always reading with worn pages. As if surprised he inhaled sharply again, choking on the fumes making Dorcas thump his back in worry.

"Professor," Dorcas called out. She thumped him again, shoving his face closer to the potion. Sirius got another whiff. Oranges. Memories of their first day at Hogwarts where Jones had hit him in the back of his head and flipped him the finger. He also recalled it as her shampoo from a few days ago when he had her cornered in the corridor.

No, it can't be. Sirius was certain that he had been enchanted.

"I think I'm going to be sick," he wheezed.

"Oh dear, best be off to the Hospital Wing-" Sirius was out of his seat and rushing out the door before Slughorn finished his sentence.

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Kelsey watched in distress as Sirius rushed out of the class.

"Do you think I should go? We had plans.." she heard Dorcas ask Remus who shook his head in a no. She scoffed and turned her attention back to her own potion. It seems that he had enough people worrying about him. He'd be fine.

"What do you smell?" Kelsey asked Astrid who just blushed in response without revealing anything. With a sigh, she decided to find out hers. The scent was stronger now. She focused on trying to pin it: chocolate, some odd cologne - she couldn't place where she had smelt it - and wet dog? The last bit threw her off. She shuddered just as the class ended and bottled it up for labeling.

As she approached Sughorn's desk to place her vial for assessment, Lily passed her by looking lost in thought.

Kelsey grabbed her by the upper arm. "Hey, you good?" she stopped her.

Lily mumbled something under her breath.

"Sorry, I didn't catch that," Kelsey replied.

"Books, hair gel, and Quidditch supplies! There! Happy?!" Lily exclaimed and stormed over to their table. She grabbed her belongings and rushed out, red in the face.

"Did she just-?" Potter sounded stunned.

"Come on. Padfoot must be waiting," Lupin dragged Potter out the door.

"Do you think we should go too?" Astrid wondered as they too exited the class now, watching the boys break into a sprint.

"Well, I, for one am," Dorcas announced out of nowhere passing them by.

"Hear that Tatty? She's got it covered," Kelsey grunted. She made for the other way but Astrid stopped her with a look. Complaining under her breath she joined Astrid as they followed Dorcas and the boys.

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Ten minutes after rushing out of the class, Sirius found himself dramatically throwing open the doors to the Wing.

"Help!" he dramatically clutched his chest.

Poppy exited her office at the back to see the boy rushing over with concern on her face.

"What happened?" she asked, sitting down next to him as he threw himself on an empty bed. He looked physically fine, unlike the other times he'd show up.

"I've been poisoned! Bewitched! Cursed!" he cried.

"Excuse me?" she looked shocked. With a frustrated groan, he started unbuttoning his shirt muttering 'I'm sure you'll find the symptoms lurking' under his breath.

"Please stop!" she physically restrained him. "Now," she eyed him calmly. "Tell me what's wrong?"

"I don't feel good," he began.

"Mister Black I can't help you if you don't elaborate."

"My heart- i-it hurts when I'm near her! It does this thumping thing and I'm sure I'll be getting a heart attack anytime now. She's had it out for me this year. And then she smiles at me and it bursts. My stomach feels funny too! I just know that she is poisoning my food. To top it off, I am convinced she is messing with my school work too- I smelled her during Potions! She-she's a witch!" he gushed on.

Uncharacteristically, the nurse threw her head back and laughed. Sirius was stupefied. He could actually see tears streaming down her faces and it didn't look like it would be stopping anytime soon. He was about to demand her to show more concern when the sound of running footsteps interrupted them.

"Padfoot!"

James and Remus came running up to him, panicked.

"Oh good, you're here. Mister Potter, please take your friend. He's fine," Madame Pomfrey waved her hand to dismiss Sirius.

"And Mister Black, you may not be poisoned, but it seems that you may have caught a bug," she smiled sweetly.

"A bug?" Remus asked. "Shouldn't you give him something?"

"No need to worry, Mister Lupin. I'm sure he'll be fine soon enough." She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and made her way back into the office.

"Place has gone to the dogs," Sirius grumbled as he stormed out of the infirmary. He was embarrassed and he still felt off.

Remus watched Prongs run after Sirius again. The two were thick like brothers, no doubt he was truly concerned. He stuck behind for a few moments before knocking on Poppy's door again.

"Come in." Remus entered.

"By bug you meant.." he began.

"The love bug Mister Lupin. It happens to the best of us. I'm afraid there's no magical or muggle remedy. Do you know who he might have been talking about? He kept saying her," she gave him a kind smile.

The boy smiled and nodded. Of course he knew. They all knew. Apparently, except, the two that mattered the most.

He cleared his throat. "About the 25th - I er, if I could have some pain tonics," he asked her softly. The nurse nodded with a sad expression. The full moon was right after the Hogsmeade trip.

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"What was that about?" Potter caught up to Sirius. He grunted a No in response.

"Sirius babe, there you are," a voice called out. They saw Dorcas strutting over. They could make out Astrid and Jones behind her arguing in hushed tones. Sirius felt himself getting warm again and his stomach felt uneasy. He needed to get away from her before she did something else to him.

The three girls came closer with Dorcas immediately fussing over him.

"Don't worry. I have a few ideas that will make you feel good right away," she cooed into his ear, making him grimace a little.

He heard a snort. He didn't even need to look and see who it was. He just knew. Turning his gaze Jones was looking at him

"Something to say Kelpie?" he challenged her

"Yeah. Got any boo-boos that need kissing," she laughed and elbowed Astrid who didn't find it funny.

With a satisfied smile, he replied, "'Course. But don't worry. Meadowes here has it covered. She'll take care of it real good." He started leading Dorcas away by hand a little roughly. "Maybe next time though."

"Oi Padfoot, we still have class!" Prongs called after him.

"Have Moony take notes would you? My boo-boos need fixing," he said and flashed them a grin. He didn't bother waiting for their reactions.

Eyeing the closest broom closet a few corridors away, he threw it open and charged in with Dorcas fawning over him. In the small space, she stood really close. He could feel her chest practically pressed up against his. She toyed with his tie, twirling it in his hands, and smacked her lips in anticipation.

"Don't," he snatched it away from her a little harshly, remembering how Jones' hands felt on his tie. Dorcas' face faltered.

What was wrong with him? Suddenly, he turned them around with her against the wall and he gave her a wolfish smile.

"Sorry 'bout that, love," he murmured. He closed his eyes and brought his lips down upon hers. She responded by wrapping hers around his neck and pulling him closer. She moved to suck on his neck as he fisted her hair in concentration.

His eyes were tightly shut and his breathing got ragged. He could just imagine it..

"Blimey, Jones.." he moaned softly.

The kissing stopped and seconds later he felt the sharp sting of a slap on his face.

Maybe he really did need some fixing.

Groaning in pain, he watched Dorcas running out of the closet.

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