Lost | Tom Riddle ✔

Chapter 59

This chapter is dedicated to all the wonderful readers from Singapore.

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Change. The only consistent thing in any human's life.

It was the only other thing, apart from death, which had stuck with Tom from the moment he was born. The thing he looked up to. So much had changed in his life. His knowledge, his personality, the way he was treated by others, the way he treated others were just a few examples. Now that he had realized who he was, a completely new lot of responsibilities had been dumped upon his young shoulders.

Salazar! Everything had changed. His mind contemplated.

"Good morning class!" the potion master chirped. He clapped his hands together like some excited teenager who was offered a secret meeting with its crush. His eyes twinkled. "Today is the day I told you about during your fifth year. We will be discussing another love-potion."

Tom cringed. He was wrong. Dead wrong. Not all of them had changed. The Slytherin's house head was a "head" example. And he didn't know who was more unfortunate. The people like Horace Slughorn, who didn't change or the ones that were like him, who got stuck with the former kind. Slughorn was bright and all, but it never stopped a young heir from questioning the sanity of sorting hat by putting him in the house that belonged to Salazar himself.

Completely oblivious to what was happening inside the sharp mind of his favourite pupil, Slughorn continued his ramble, "We are going to discuss Amortentia. Can someone describe it?"

An over-enthusiastic potion master threw an extremely meaningful and equally hopeful glance at the female population in the class. Like Aphrodisiac this potion was very popular among magical females. His eyes landed on an awkward badger sitting in the back of the class. With her hands bent in the elbows as she placed them above her wooden desk and face being cupped by her palms from either side, she was about to doze off. Slughorn wondered if the male student sitting beside her was more interested in that day's class than her. And saying Logan McLaggen being interested in potions was more of an exaggeration than saying Dumbledore being interested in Dark Arts. Didn't she want to strengthen her Potion making, he wondered. If so, she was doing her worst at it.

"Ms Winters, why don't you tell us something about Amortentia?" The sentence bolted the badger out of her state of suspension. Her brown eyes widened as she looked at her Potion master. She was looking like a mouse caught in a trap. Ashamed and cornered. Slughorn smirked. He was a viper for a reason.

Tom's ears also perked up at this change in the situation. His eyes suddenly gained new interest. Like he was offered some specimen to be tortured. Like a teacher, like a student. They were house-mates for a reason.

Alexa opened her mouth and closed it again. The process repeated twice more. She had never been in a situation like this before. She was not the prime example when it came to the Potion Making. In fact, Slughorn made sure to keep his distance from her as far as possible, especially when they were in an ongoing class. Hence, to be honest this was kind of a really bold step for him. She knew she should have been paying attention in the class after she had promised him that she would, but an Amortentia was hardly a potion that Alchemy concerned. Nevertheless, she knew Slughorn had caught her and she was sure that he won't think twice before giving her detention or worse taking away her house-points. She took a deep breath and composed herself.

"Amortentia is a love-potion, in fact, it is the most powerful of them all. Though it is called a love-potion, it doesn't create an actual love. It makes drinker obsessive of the person who had given them a drink. Its effects are not permanent and it smells different to each person, according to what attracts them." Her voice was small but firm. She was not a fan of potions in general but she knew certain basic things.

At this, Tom raised his thick, dark eyebrow. It was good to know that she wasn't as clueless as he thought she was. Though he would have been happy if she had skipped this particular potion, he was impressed. And proud. She had stopped herself before she made a fool out of herself. Not like it bothered him. In fact, he enjoyed her embarrassment, but that happened only when he was the one who had caused it. He turned to look at his Potion master, to see the latter was surprised as well. Apparently, neither of them was expecting an answer from her.

"I never thought I would say this, but a wonderful job, Ms Winters. Fifteen points to Hufflepuff," Slughorn announced. Forgetting to signal Alexa that she could take back her seat, his eyes danced across his class. "Going back to the potion, the name Amortentia has its root in Latin-Roman-French literature. Some believe 'Amor' has come from the Roman god of love while others believe it is from the French word 'Amour' which basically means Love. Tentia, however, is undoubtedly Latin for held. So Amortentia literally translates to held love. It is distinctive for its mother-of-pearl sheen, and steam rises from the potion in spirals. If you remember, during the lesson of Aphrodisiac, we discussed how it is safer than Amortentia. The only reason is, the former potion enhances the existing feelings. It doesn't force drinker to feel. In other words, it can act as a confidence boost for the drinker, unlike the latter. As Ms Winters pointed out correctly Amortentia doesn't create actual love, and this might be the biggest danger of this advanced potion. Though many people still use this potion, I won't recommend it. A great number of people suffer because of unrequited love, but an even greater number suffers because of love that is forced, so we won't be having this potion as a practical assignment."

Tom took in the sentence.

A great number of people suffer because of unrequited love, but even greater suffer because of love that is forced.

He didn't know why but the sentence had struck a nerve. Like he was one of the victims. He was brought back to reality when he saw Alexa moving towards the front of the class. What did he miss? He nudged Anthony who was sitting beside him. "What's going on?"

"Slughorn called Alexa to the front. Since she was still standing, he wanted her to volunteer for the potion." Avery's eyes didn't stray from the scene before him.

Tom turned in Alexa's direction once again. Suddenly his heart started beating faster, and he didn't even notice. All he noticed was her hesitance, the uncertainty with which she was approaching the copper cauldron that was placed on the central desk. He noticed how she kept her head low and fidgetted with her fingers during her small walk.

"Go on!" Slughorn prompted as she stood unsurely in front of the potion.

Alexa took a final step. Her brown eyes closed as she took a deep breath. Looking at her like this, Tom inhaled deeply himself. He didn't know that he was suddenly anxious about this scenario.

First whiff.

"I smell an ink,"

Second whiff.

"The scent of soil after the first rain in the forest, and"

Final whiff. A real, big smile graced her smooth lips. The corners of her eyes crinkled a little as she added the last bit,

"and citrus."

Standing there, she looked ethereal to him. He was happy. So damn happy that he couldn't help but feel that he had won a war. A war where she was his victory. A toothy, proud grin graced his plump, chapped lips. A smile that even Slughorn noticed from the front of the class. A smile that made his potion master happy for his star student.

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I hope you enjoyed this chapter. What do you think about the smells? There is a reason behind every single one of them. Can you guess it? Let me know what do you think.

Refer chapter 24 for Tom's experience with Aphrodisiac and chapter Blooming Romance as to how the smell of citrus is connected to our leads.

When I wrote chapter 24, many readers wanted to read what was Alexa's experience with a love potion. So this is the chapter for all of you.

Please keep me motivated through your votes, comments and sharing this story with your friends. They mean a lot.

Thank you all!!!