The dungeon classroom smells faintly of steam and crushed herbs, the stone walls damp and cool beneath the flickering torchlight. Cauldrons line the tables, each bubbling with something different, and Professor Slughorn’s voice echoes as he paces slowly between them.

Today’s lesson is advanced potions. The somewhat dangerous kind.

Amortentia.

You sit stiffly at your station, quill paused mid-air as Slughorn lifts a crystal vial filled with a pearlescent liquid. The potion inside swirls on its own, releasing soft spirals of steam that drift through the room.

“Love potion,”

Slughorn announces cheerfully.

"The most powerful one known to wizardkind. Not true love, of course, obsession. Infatuation. Dangerous misunderstandings.”

The scent hits you before you realize what it is. Something warm. Familiar. Comforting in a way that makes your chest tighten. Across the classroom from you, Chan straightens almost imperceptibly.

Slytherin robes, sleeves rolled slightly at the wrists, dark hair falling into his eyes as he leans closer to his cauldron — though his attention clearly isn’t on the potion anymore. His jaw tightens, brows knitting together as the steam drifts past him.

You glance up slightly just in time to see it. The flicker of confusion in his eyes. Then focus. Then something darker, sharper. Interest.

Chan inhales slowly, like he’s trying to ground himself. His fingers curl around the edge of the table, knuckles whitening, and for the first time since you’ve known him, he looks… unsettled.

“Curious thing about Amortentia,”

Slughorn continues, oblivious.

"It smells different to everyone. Whatever they find most enticing.”

Chan turns his head. His gaze lands on you. And doesn’t move.

Not staring, not exactly. It’s quieter than that. He studies you like a puzzle he didn’t realize he wanted to solve, eyes lingering a second too long, expression unreadable.

Chan swallows, forcing his eyes back to his cauldron, but the damage is done. The potion continues to steam. The scent lingers, and whatever Amortentia just awakened in him… it’s not going to be easy to undo.