Lust, War and... Love?

paigeey07 and msmarvelfreak: Thank you for your reviews and words of encouragement!

*****

The potion was taking forever to brew. According to the recipe, it was to be stewed for precisely an hour and twelve minutes after it turned ultramarine blue. Draco stirred the brown liquid for almost two hours before it turned the desired shade of blue. He missed the dinner and had to send Crabbe down to the kitchens to fetch something to eat. Goyle stood on watch outside the Room of Requirement, where Draco was now stationed with his cauldron. The two oafs weren’t smart enough to bring food from the Great Hall when they came to check on him. Draco’s stomach growled louder and louder, and his moods were steadily going downhill.

Things were decidedly foul at Hogwarts. First, Draco Malfoy wasn’t a prefect anymore. Second, Proffesor Slughorn with his elitist Slug Club openly snubbed him - him, the only scion and heir of the noble Malfoy House! Third, Potty beat him to Felix Felicis potion the other day, which was beyond Draco’s comprehension. If it were Granger, he could live with it, but Potter?! Fourth, his fellow Slytherins and everyone else showed considerably less regard for him now that his father had been thrown in Azkaban. The humiliating Ministry raid on the Malfoy Manor was all over the press again. Even the dim-witted Crabbe, who normally obeyed without a single squawk, clearly showed his displeasure when Draco barked at him to go and get him dinner - fast!

Draco had resolved to show everyone that the noble Malfoy name was not to be trifled with. For starters, he was now the youngest ever Death Eater in Lord Voldemort’s service. Although the tasks that came with it still made Draco uneasy in his stomach, he was intent on winning the Dark Lord’s favours with his brilliance and magical prowess. Speaking of the less appealing parts of the job… It would be only a matter of proper cunning to manipulate someone else into doing them. Surely, Draco had got enough brainpower for that.

Draco glanced at his watch. Thirty-three more minutes for the potion to brew. Exactly one hour eighteen minutes had elapsed since Crabbe waddled out of the room to get the food. The potion, Heorte Lustbaere, was an integral part of Draco’s plan to take charge of his destiny and conquer the world. Lately he realized that his romance with Pansy had turned bland. To tell the truth, they got along very nicely, and she was always eager to please him. Other than her pug-like face and occasionally obtuse notions, she held a certain appeal as a truly pureblood witch. Nevertheless, despite Pansy’s exorbitant signs of affection Draco answered her caresses in a rather mechanical way. For the sake of their magical engagement he needed to put more zing in their relationship.

It was not like Draco had no interest in the opposite sex. In fact, he did have a lot of interest and noticed each and every pretty witch in the vicinity. Even that Mudblood, Granger, with her amber brown eyes and titillating contours under her bulky robes. Shame that Granger wasn’t a pureblood… Of course, the noble Malfoy heir had better things to do than to pay attention to the toxic know-it-all Mudblood. Let her own goons, Potty and Weasel, bother about her.

Heorte Lustbaere was a potent lust potion. So potent that it had been entirely banned for the last three hundred years or so. Unlike the popular wares peddled in Diagon Alley, its effect never wore off. To find the recipe Draco had to cajole Snape into giving him a permission note to access the Restricted Section of the library. Unlike Amortentia, the love potion demonstrated by Professor Slughorn, it did not cause obsession. It created a pure physical lust which was all Draco wanted from his engagement. He needed his brain for bigger things than romance. Another nice benefit of the potion was that it bestowed a strictly monogamous bond on the couple who drank it. To Draco’s dislike, Pansy was too liberal with other blokes. The other day he caught her flirting with Zabini heavily. Heorte Lustbaere would fix that problem for good.

It was a tricky job to get all the ingredients for Heorte Lustbaere, but Draco was able to procure most of them from shops in Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley. He pilfered the few hard-to-find components from Slughorn’s potions closet. Thankfully, Professor Slug was far more lax about the security of his wares than the ever-paranoid Snape. Draco sweet-talked Pansy into agreeing to pack more zest in their love and to drink the potion. He was quite proud of himself.

Crabbe lumbered in with a stack of sandwiches and a pitcher of pumpkin juice. Draco impatiently grabbed one of the sandwiches and tore into it, his eyes still fixed on his watch. When the time was up, Draco promptly took the cauldron off the fire and poured a carefully measured amount of sophoporous bean juice into it. Pearly swirls appeared in the deep ultramarine concoction. Draco picked up his silver knife and took a deep breath. He pierced his forefinger with the sharp end of the knife and squeezed exactly seven drops of his own blood into the cauldron. The swirls turned pale pink, then grew darker and soon the color of the whole content of the cauldron changed from dark blue to deep crimson. Heorte Lustbaere, the ancient lust potion of Druids, was ready.

By the time Draco finished his sandwiches the potion had cooled enough to drink. He transfigured his quill into a goblet and tipped the cauldron carefully. The pleasant-smelling thick red liquid poured into the cup. Draco drank it in two gulps. It tasted good. He filled a silver flask with the rest of the potion and handed it to still grumpy-looking Crabbe. It was late at night, and Draco did not need to be caught with a highly illegal concoction by Filch or a teacher on patrol duty.

“This is one of the strongest love potions you have ever seen, dimwit. Not the Zonko’s cheap one-hour-of-love-stuff. It is strictly for Pansy,” Draco impressed the grave importance of it on Crabbe. “Make sure you get it to the dungeons safely. Now, move your arse!”

In the corridor, Crabbe and equally grumpy Goyle set off for the dungeons, while Draco made a detour to a toilet.

“Heck, what he’d need that love potion for?” Crabbe mumbled to Goyle after they were outside of Draco’s earshot. “He’s already bonking Pansy.”

“Have it then. Draco will love you lots,” Goyle gloated at his joke.

“Hey, a girl’s coming here.” Crabbe fingered the flask. “Let’s feed her some.”

Barely containing their snicker, they doubled back and hid behind a corner.

*****

The Slug Club supper party turned out great. Professor Slughorn was in a jovial mood and cracked some good humour about a few very well-known Hogwarts alumni. Hermione enjoyed the distraction, and the teacher’s compliments lifted her spirits a lot. Finally, she was getting her due for her hard work and studies. Now Hermione could not care less about Ron’s caustic remarks when she would recount it all to the boys in the morning.

Hermione picked up her step as she walked through the darkened corridors. She could hear Peeves bouncing somewhere a good distance away. Like everyone else, Hermione knew that the castle was under an enforced combination of powerful security spells, but the dark shadows in the desolated corridors still sent goose bumps down her back. Walking briskly, she turned around the corner and saw two large figures advancing upon her. In a split second she was knocked down on the floor, and, as she tried to scream for help, someone’s strong hands held her jaws open. Warm liquid with a pleasant fruity taste trickled into her mouth. She swallowed a good amount of the unknown drink, choked on it and coughed violently. Still, she managed to pull her wand out.Stupefy!

*****

“You answer me! What’s the name of the poison?” The shrieks resonated under the vaulted ceilings. In the moonlight Draco saw a small group in the far end of the hallway, and he ducked behind a suit of armour. A bad premonition crept into his chest.

Draco cautiously advanced along the wall behind the long row of the metal suits and statues until he could distinguish the bushy-haired outline of a certain Gryffindor prefect. Her wand was at the throat of a dark figure slumped against a marble pedestal. Another dark body lay in a heap on the floor. An oblong metal object in her hand gleamed dully in the moonlight.

It was clear as a day. Granger, the obnoxious Gryffindor prefect, had caught Crabbe and Goyle wandering at night and confiscated the silver flask. He had to get the precious potion back before she took it to a teacher.

Accio! Draco’s nonverbal spell turned out just fine, but Granger had apparently been endowed with a split-second Seeker’s reflex.

Protego! The spell hit the suit of armour Draco was hiding behind. He ducked to the floor. In a second, Hermione Granger stood over him, the silver flask still in her hand. Draco sprang to his feet and grabbed the flask. Their fingers met and a momentary prick of static charge passed between them.

Things are getting electric here, Hermione thought as Draco’s hand closed around her fingers on the flask.

“What’s it?” She stared into Draco’s eyes.

“It’s only some Potions homework, Granger.” He should have jerked the flask with all his force out of her hand… To his surprise, her fingers felt invitingly warm in the chilly air.

“We have no such homework for Potions, Malfoy!” Her spirited dark eyes were locked on his face.

“All right, it’s just a love potion! Calm down, Granger, no big deal about it.”

“What’s the name of it?”

“Amortentia…” Draco named the first potion that came to his mind. Hopefully it was much less of an illegal thing than the hapless Heorte Lustbaere…

“I must get an antidote!” Hermione shrieked in terror. She choked and got a coughing fit again.

A horrible realization came to Draco. “Did you catch them drinking it?

“Who them?” Hermione’s mouth went dry.

“Crabbe and Goyle!” His hand was now gripping the flask and Granger’s fingers with all his strength.

“No, it’s me! They knocked me down and poured this thing into my mouth!”

Draco’s head was swimming now. “At least you’re a girl…” It was all he could mutter. He could hear the liquid splashing in the flask.

Hermione’s fingers were already numb in Draco’s iron grip. Her cheeks were getting hot. How lucky for her, she thought, that it was too dark for him to see her flushed face…

“Give me this and I’ll have it reversed tonight. I’ll have to take it to my House though.” Draco hoped it wasn’t too late to fix it yet.

She released the flask to him and tucked her wand in her robes. For a few seconds an uncomfortable silence hung in the air between the two of them. Hermione was the first to collect herself.

“All right, good night, Malfoy! “ She feigned nonchalance as best she could.

Hermione walked past Draco towards the stairs to the Gryffindor Tower. When she reached the steps, Hermione whipped around and shouted, “Your screwed-up potion does not work at all, Malfoy! I despise Crabbe and Goyle much the same as before!”

Draco’s eyes followed Hermione till she ran up the stairs and disappeared from sight. He turned to the two dark bodies on the floor.

“Imbeciles!” He kicked Goyle in his side. “Imbeciles!” The second kick landed on Crabbe‘s rear end. Draco took a deep breath. He was very much tempted to leave them here till the morning, but he did not want to risk the whole potion thing coming out either. If he fixed it promptly with Pansy, Granger would never know that it was Heorte Lustbaere.

He lifted the Stunning spells from Crabbe and Goyle, and left them dazed in the hallway. As he rushed down to the dungeons, Draco racked his brains frantically. He tried to recall everything the book said about Heorte Lustbaere. Apparently, it was supposed to be magically sealed by the parties’ physical contact upon drinking it. A contact of what kind? A kiss or the whole act?

*****

Panting, Draco barged into the Slytherin Common Room. To his relief, Pansy was still there doing her homework. And most important of all, she was alone! He pulled her up from her chair, thrust the flask into her hands and commanded her to drink the love potion on the spot. Dumbfounded at such an expressive display of Draco’s passions, she obligingly produced a cup and poured the remains of the love potion in it. It was not a deep crimson but dirty greenish color now.

“Phew!” Pansy nearly spat out the whole thing. “It’s - it’s revolting!”
Not listening to her, Draco planted a big wet kiss on her mouth. Eww… It tasted like dung - Draco had to force himself to keep his lips glued to her mouth. The savvy girl quickly got herself under control, threw her arms around him and pressed herself against his body. The same second a vivid picture of Granger with her finely curved lips and passionate amber eyes floated into Draco’s mind. He was in no state to take it all the way with Pansy.

“That was good, Pansy. I’m going to bed - I’m really tired.” Draco wrestled himself from her embrace, patted Pansy on her rear and headed to his dorm. He heard Crabbe and Goyle lumbering in but resolved to deal with them in the morning.