Author's Note: Hey everyone. I'm little overwhelmed but thrilled by the response to the first chapter of this story! I hope you've enjoyed this little take on an Amortentia trope :)

Alpha love to Kyonomiko and beta thanks on this one to CourtingInsanity.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Harry Potter franchise.

Draco took a large bite of his apple, savouring the tart juice as it met his tongue, his eyes slipping shut.

He was running late for Arithmancy, but at least he didn't have to worry about seeing Granger in Potions today, so he could smell like apples to his heart's content.

"Malfoy!"

"Fuck," he choked, shoving the half-eaten remains of his apple into his bag, wincing at the inevitability of dust and debris leaping onto the juicy innards. He turned on the spot, chewing furiously and wishing he'd taken a smaller bite.

"Granger," he greeted, placing a hand awkwardly beneath his chin as he looked down at her so as to use his fingers to block some of the wafting.

She stared at him, her brows knitted with consternation and maybe she was questioning his sanity – but better than her questioning the scent of his Amortentia again.

"I found an anomaly in our antidote," she said after a moment, shaking her head. "I think we used four drops of mistletoe berry extract instead of three. It's almost impossible to notice, but –"

"But it can have disastrous effects," Draco finished, running a hand through his hair. "Are you sure? We'll need to redo the entire thing."

"I didn't sleep last night, wondering at the shade of turquoise," Granger said. "And I think it might have been my fault – I coughed with the dropper in my hand."

"That'd do it," he returned with a grimace. It would be too late, at this point, to dust off the rest of his apple and he mourned the half-eaten fruit for a moment. "Have you got a spare period today?"

"After lunch." There was an embarrassed flush to her cheeks. "I'm sorry, but I don't feel right submitting it –"

"After lunch as well," Draco said, shaking off her concerns, despite the fact that he wouldn't be able to have an apple with his lunch instead. "Let's meet in the dungeons?"

"Good," she breathed, offering a tight smile. "Thanks for understanding."

Then she rushed off and Draco released a long exhale, his chest feeling tight from taking such shallow breaths.

"Library after lunch?" Theo asked, dabbing at his mouth with his handkerchief. "I need to finish an essay for Transfiguration."

"Can't," Draco clipped, eating a large forkful of string beans. "I have to meet up with Granger – there was an error with our antidote."

"With Granger," Theo echoed, a strange look to his face. "How did the two of you manage to make a mistake?"

Draco shrugged, taking a deep swig of his pumpkin juice. "Just an accident. We need to redo it before class tomorrow."

Theo slopped some of his own juice down his front and huffed, patting the spill with his napkin. "You're in an awful rush to go meet Granger."

Draco realized he'd been shoveling his lunch back and sucked his teeth, leaning back in his seat.

"Which is fine, of course," Theo continued, waving a hand as his lips twitched. "I'd be in a rush, too, if her Amortentia smelled like me."

Draco froze, his hands clutching the bench at his sides. Of course Theo had overheard, too – Theo always seemed to know everything. His eyes flickered to his mate's, his expression darkening. "Unlikely. We just need to finish this assignment –"

"Right," Theo mused, his hazel eyes shimmering. "The assignment." He gave an exaggerated wink, clapping his hands together and rising to his feet. "Have fun."

Draco frowned as Theo left the hall.

There was something about working alone in an empty dungeon classroom with Granger that set Draco's nerves on edge. Something about the way the rolling steam relaxed her curls and brought a flush to her cheeks. It rang through Draco's mind with a resounding insistence: this had been a bad idea.

As a result, and with Theo's words fresh in his mind, Draco had been quiet and tense for the bulk of their session, and catching his mood, Granger had avoided speaking to him.

Which didn't bother him. Not in the slightest.

They worked in a cautious silence and Draco made sure to keep his distance, lest she smell him and attempt to piece something together. Really, if she didn't even know who she was attracted to, it was all a bigger mess than he wanted to deal with anyway.

She sniffed when the potion was finished, sweeping some loose curls out of the way of her face as she commenced packing up her things. Draco leaned against the next table, arms folded across his chest as he watched.

Her eyes flashed as she looked to him, opening her mouth to speak, but then she clamped it shut instead, her shoulders stiff.

"Good," Draco clipped, eyeing her through lowered lids. "See you tomorrow in class, then."

"Fine," Granger said, her tone dismissive. She brandished the antidote. "It looks better this time."

"It does," Draco permitted.

It happened fast – Granger lowered the hand holding the antidote as Draco took a step forward, reaching for his own bag. She swerved away, twisting on the spot and losing her balance, throwing out her other hand to catch the edge of the table before she could fall.

Draco's eyes widened as she stumbled towards him, the small glass vial slipping from her fingers and he reached for it, his hands grazing skin and glass as his heart escalated in pace.

Granger's hands slammed down on the table, saving herself, even as her face smacked into the front of his chest. A jolt of energy chased through him at the contact.

Draco caught a breath, the precious vial dangling between two tense fingers as he stared at it, blood roaring in his ears.

She drew back in a frantic leap, her eyes wide and face flushed with embarrassment. "Sorry," she choked, her chocolate stare finding his. "I didn't mean –"

"It's fine," Draco said, his eyes flickering down to his robes where she had landed. He swallowed an uncomfortable lump in his throat, taking a delicate step back. "I shouldn't have caught you off guard."

He set the vial down on the table beside her, watching as she tucked it safely into a pouch in her bag.

But her gaze was fixed on him, on his robes, beneath where his heart still fluttered a furious cadence from her nearness.

Granger exhaled a tight breath, planting her hands against her legs. There was something in her stare as she looked at him again – fear, admonition, recognition – he couldn't tell.

Was she out of sorts because she'd fallen into him, or because she had caught something on his robes?

"Right, then," she gasped, casting an absent wave of her wand to clean up their work space. "I'll see you – tomorrow, in class. Right."

Draco kept his eyes on her, sliding his hands into his trouser pockets. "See you, Granger."

Whatever had afflicted Granger the day before persisted as she scarcely looked his way in Potions, despite sitting at the other end of the same table. Draco scrawled a pattern along the edges of a sheet of parchment to keep from looking at her.

They would be preparing a second potion within their same partnerships – just Draco's luck that he couldn't yet be rid of her. He missed apples something dire.

The potion they would be preparing, as it turned out, was an advanced healing recipe that Draco had already studied, and it appeared, so had Granger.

She sighed, turning to him once Slughorn had concluded his instruction. "Shall we, then?"

Draco was distracted at the way Theo had managed to trip his partner, Daphne Greengrass, sending the girl stumbling into the next block of tables. He snickered and then blinked, turning to face Granger.

There was something uneasy in her expression he couldn't place.

Well, no matter. If she had figured it out, this was obviously her reaction. Which essentially proved everything Draco had already been certain of, with regards to whether or not she needed to know it was him.

The answer, clearly, was no, she did not.

"Fine," he grumbled, digging out his ingredients from inside his bag. "Let's just get this over with."

"So," Granger prompted, some time later as she was stirring the contents of their potion. It shone an iridescent lavender, exactly as it was meant to.

"So," Draco echoed, feeling his lips tug into an uncharitable sneer. "What?"

She blinked, glancing away. "I only meant to ask whether you had learned anything more about your Amortentia."

He raised a brow, folding his arms as he turned to face her. "I can't say I've given it much thought."

Lies, lies, and lies.

"Of course." She nodded. "Only, I think I've determined something about mine. I'm certain he goes to Hogwarts… but it isn't someone I would have ever expected."

Draco froze, his gaze flickering to her. But she was worrying her lower lip, staring across the room.

"In fact," she went on, "I don't think I'm attracted to him at all. I wonder why that is?"

Draco swallowed a wave of bitterness as he nodded, pressing his lips into a thin line. "Maybe it doesn't always work the way we'd like it to."

"And you?" she asked, a furrow in her brow. "Do you know who yours is meant to smell like?"

He couldn't imagine the bluntness of her asking these questions after confessing she had no interest in him. "Yes," he clipped, watching the meticulous movement as she stirred the potion. "And it does – smell like who it's meant to."

"Interesting," Granger breathed. "I only ask because, well, I think it's your friend. Nott. But – I can't imagine why that would be, since he isn't who I… well, it doesn't make any sense, you see."

Nott. She thought her Amortentia smelled like Nott.

"Theo hates apples," he informed her, feeling his jaw clench and a cold pang in his chest. "Just so you know."

But Granger froze, swiveling to face him, and Draco realized his error a moment too late, far too late.

He wasn't meant to know what her Amortentia smelled like.

"How did you –?" she cut herself off, fixing him with a curious stare. "I never told you my Amortentia smelled like apples."

Draco swallowed, pursing his lips as he turned away. "I must have overheard you saying so."

"And that isn't the part of it that I smelled on him," Granger went on, the skin around her eyes tight. Her cheeks flared with a rush of heat as she looked away. "It was the same part I scented on you – yesterday. And I can't help but wonder whether it's a common scent."

Tapping his anxious fingers against the table, Draco was reminded that he had switched Theo's body wash with his own in the dormitory showers when he had been attempting to cover up his own scent. Theo must have been using his wash instead.

"It probably is," he clipped, turning away from her. "If he isn't someone you're attracted to, there's nothing saying you need to do anything about it."

He could see the way her throat bobbed as she swallowed, forcing a tight smile. "Anyways, I guess it doesn't matter after all. And yours – does she know?"

"Merlin, no," he retorted, snickering. "She'd skin me if she knew."

Her sharp inhale was soft. "Someone I know?"

Draco gave a noncommittal shrug, wishing he knew where Granger was going with such a roundabout series of questions. She obviously didn't know it was him or she wouldn't be asking, so this inane conversation felt all sorts of redundant, but he couldn't bring himself to shut it down, not when he so greatly desired to know more of what she thought about it.

"You might know her."

Something in the tense set of her shoulders belied her quiet chuckle. "So she must go to Hogwarts, then."

"Right," Draco clipped, his mouth parched.

A musing smile came to her features. "You should let her know. She might not take it so badly as you think. You – you're different, this year, you know?"

He didn't have the slightest clue what to make of any of this. Did she know and was this a test? Or was she so daft in matters of the heart, despite her brilliance?

He stared at her for a long moment, attempting to discern anything in her expression.

But she turned back to the potion, adding in the final ingredient with a flourish of static and Draco glanced away, feeling a sting of warmth in his face. When she turned back to face him, expectant, he shrugged.

"I'll give it some thought," he said, feeling awash in a wave of bitterness and shame.

Draco could feel eyes on him.

He froze, feeling tension trace the length of his spine, and turned on the spot, recoiling in an instant.

"The fuck are you doing?"

Granger's eyes were wide as they met his and she took a careful step back, colour rising on two spots on her cheeks.

He wasn't sure which part was more disconcerting – that Granger had been close enough to touch him, or that he hadn't noticed.

She took another step away, a tight, forced smile on her face. "I dropped something on the floor – just behind you." She brandished whatever was in her hand, which Draco observed to be a napkin.

"So you —" he hesitated, carding a hand through his hair "— crept up behind me, dropped a napkin, and then picked it up."

A nervous chuckle. "That about sums it up."

Draco would have rolled his eyes at her transparency if not for the fact that her closeness had left him out of sorts. "And what were you doing so close to me in the first place?"

He fixed her with an odd stare as the flush in her cheeks intensified. It was strange, to see Granger discombobulated, when she so often had the answers to everything.

Quirking a brow, he asked, "You weren't trying to smell me, were you?"

"No!" Granger exclaimed, a little too voraciously, and Draco swallowed, a heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach. "I mean, I was just walking by."

If she thought he was believing a word of this…

She was brilliant with learning and studies but she couldn't lie for her life.

He felt a smirk tug at his lips as he shook his head, despite the unease in his mind at the thought that she had been trying to get close enough to catch his scent. "Whatever you say, Granger."

He heard the noise of frustration deep in her throat as he turned to walk away.

While Draco glared at a plate of apples in front of him the next morning, he couldn't help but think about the way Granger had approached him the day before.

Obviously, she was still trying to determine who the subject of her Amortentia was, unless she had realized it was him – it would explain why she'd been acting so flighty. But why was she so interested in whether or not it was him? And if she thought it was him, and she still didn't know what to make of it, there was a chance the potion was faulty after all.

Perhaps he should simply approach her, because with the way things were going, Draco was irritable, insecure and frustrated.

Maybe none of this was worth it anyway. If she found out, she found out, and he would just deal with whatever came – or didn't come – of it after the fact.

There was a small voice – so small he could almost block it out entirely – that suggested she might actually be receptive to the thought, and that's why she was trying to figure it out. And why she was involving him in her sleuthing.

But if she was interested in him, she would have already realized the truth of her Amortentia.

And so the whole bloody mess cycled back around.

He blinked, startled, to see the object of his thoughts across the Great Hall, talking to Theo, who looked hesitant as he gave her a forced grin.

Granger looked uncomfortable, too, and Draco could no longer wrap his head around any of this. She'd already said she wasn't interested in Theo, yet he couldn't keep the heat from flaring in his stomach at the sight of them.

Not that he had any claim to her whatsoever. Even remotely.

He fought to keep his face impassive when Theo took the seat beside him a few minutes later, Granger having left the Hall.

Theo gave him a sidelong glance, brows high on his forehead as he pressed his lips together.

With a huff of impatience, his stomach churning with envy, Draco swiped an apple from the plate and sliced a careful wedge from the fruit, taking a furtive bite.

"Don't you want to know what Granger asked me about just now?" Theo asked, his face swinging towards Draco.

"Nope," Draco clipped, slicing another chunk from his apple, consequences be damned.

"Fine," Theo said, his tone light and dismissive as he helped himself to a Full English, burning himself on a hot dish in the process with a vulgar string of curses. A long moment passed as he carefully halved a fried tomato slice. "You're going to want to know."

Draco rolled his eyes, taking a deep breath in an effort to manage his temper. "Fine, Theo, what did Granger ask you about?"

Theo's lips twitched. "Your Amortentia."

A harsh breath chased from Draco's lungs and he nearly choked on the wedge he was chewing. "Fuck."

He took one last bite from his apple and left the Hall.

"You're following me now?" Granger asked, clutching a thick book close to her chest like a shield. Her chocolate brown eyes flickered to him as he came up alongside, fixing her with a hard stare.

"Suppose I am," Draco sniped, keeping pace with her smaller steps. "Where are you going?"

"The library," she replied, raising a brow at him as if it were obvious. "I've got a spare block before Herbology."

Draco ground his teeth, feeling as if he'd had just about enough dancing around her to last him a lifetime. "Good. I need to talk to you."

He heard the quick exhale as she released a breath. "Fine. I suppose we've been putting this off long enough then."

She stopped in the middle of the corridor, turning to face him. Her knuckles were white as she clenched the book to her front like a lifeline. Draco stared at her, blinking several times as he processed her words.

She averted her stare, taking a deep, fortifying breath. "I presume you know you're my Amortentia."

He hesitated, a furrow coming to his brow as he watched her stoic expression. "I'm aware."

"And you're probably wondering why I haven't acknowledged the fact," she said, her eyes darting to his and away again. "And it's because I've been… well, researching."

"Of course you have," Draco said, snickering despite the levity of the situation. "Trying to figure out how the potion got it so wrong?"

"No, actually," she corrected, her face reddening. "I've been looking into the mechanics of how it works – whether it's based on physical attraction, or a deeper compatibility – especially given I wasn't exactly expecting it to be you, at first. But then I thought, maybe it was just that… well, you're handsome enough, aren't you?"

He didn't have an answer to that. "But when you inhaled my robes yesterday," he drawled, rolling his eyes.

"Right," she conceded, glaring at the floor, "that confirmed it."

"Look, Granger," Draco said, carding a hand through his hair. They were still in the middle of the hallway and he didn't know whether she was keen to carry on this bizarre conversation where anyone could stumble across them. "Maybe it was just a misunderstanding. You've figured it out, and you can just ignore it. We'll both just forget about it."

She gave a little shrug. "It passed my mind. But then I remembered how you never actually told me what yours smelled like."

He clenched his jaw, unwilling – or unable – to answer her.

She brandished the cover of the book she was carrying and Draco swallowed – Magical Attraction.

"Do you know what it means when your subconscious picks up on an attraction before it's actively acknowledged?" she asked, worrying her bottom lip.

"I can't say I've looked into it," he returned, curious despite himself.

Granger's face was brighter than he'd ever seen it now; her hand was trembling as she shook her head, flipping the pages of her book at random, until she found what she was looking for and thrust the book into his hands.

His eyes scanned the words, his brain jumping into action and swimming with erratic and compulsive thoughts by the time he'd finished the paragraph.

A few words jumped out at him, as if emphasized and he handed the book back, his mouth dry.

Bond. Attraction. Magical cores.

"So this means, what, exactly?" he asked, swallowing a thick lump in his throat.

Clutching the book to her front once more, Granger fixed him with her chocolate stare. "It means your magic is compatible with my own, and it's manifested into an attraction… between us. It means…"

Draco nodded. "It means… right." He couldn't finish the sentence.

"It means your Amortentia is me?" she questioned with a grimace, as if she already knew the answer but needed to hear him say it.

He clicked his tongue. "Books, ink, plumeria."

The colour drained from her face.

"Our magic is bonded," he breathed, staring at her. It certainly explained a lot – like why he'd had it so bad for her for years, despite that he generally couldn't stand her intense level of swottiness. His eyes dropped to the pulse on her wrist and he reached his wand hand out, palm up.

Even before her fingers met his, he felt the raw surge of magical energy flowing from her magical core to meet his, and he would have recoiled if not for the way it felt so good. His magic flared to life at her nearness, coursing through his veins in an elevated state of awareness.

She must have felt it too, if her sharp gasp was anything to go by. She blinked up at him through dark lashes. "Why didn't you just tell me, if you knew?"

He gave her his best effort at a flippant shrug. "Figured you would have thought I was lying, or the potion was faulty, and I would have ended up hexed."

"It is what it is," she breathed, shaking her head. "I only wanted to know."

He swallowed, feeling uncomfortable in her scrutiny. He drew his hand back, sliding it into his pocket. "I thought there was just no way. I didn't want to burden you with it."

"You went out of your way to keep me from learning the truth." She paused for a moment, frowning. "But you knew yours was scented like me," she whispered, a curious tilt to her head. "And you've known this all along?"

He choked out, "There has always been something about you, Granger. I didn't need to confirm it was you to know it was you."

He stared at her, wishing he was more baffled by the news. If his magic was bonded to hers on such a deep level of compatibility, that would be it for them, that much he knew. A bond like that was more powerful than any other, and rare. Most witches and wizards could only dream to find their other half. It only felt natural, the missing piece to the puzzle he'd attempted to decipher for years. Which made sense, when considering it was about the most natural thing in existence.

Her lips pressed together as she swallowed, opening her bookbag and tucking the book inside. Then she cast a furtive glance around the corridor, and grasping his hand – Draco's eyes widened at the strength of the magic racing through him at the connection – she tugged him into a nearby classroom.

"I wonder if… " she breathed, turning to face him. "You know, just academically, of course."

"Of course," he returned, feeling a smirk tug at his lips at the look of concentration on her face. The amusement dropped as her fingertips grazed his cheekbones; the swell of energy that ran through him at her touch was enough to buckle his knees and drop him from his feet, if not for the fact that he was already so tense.

Her fingers recoiled as she stared at him with incredulity. "Fascinating, isn't it?"

He let out a tight laugh. "Always learning, aren't you?"

"Yes," Granger whispered, her eyes falling to his mouth. He followed her stare, taking a quick breath, but before he could even comprehend the thought that she might possibly –

Her lips were on his, and Granger was kissing him, her hands landing along the curve of his jaw, and Draco pressed his lips, hard, against hers as he trailed one hand along the slope of her neck and into her curls.

His heart was racing, his blood roaring in his ears as her tongue grazed his, cautious but seeking, and he pulled her closer to him. Her magic danced with his and it was unlike anything Draco had ever experienced as his power flared with life and celebration.

When Granger tore away, her eyes were lidded and glazed; she pursed her lips and stared up at him. She whispered, "That was interesting."

"Interesting," Draco echoed in amusement, his brows knitting. "Merlin, Granger –"

He didn't even have words to finish the sentence so he grabbed hold of her, pressing her back against the wall of the classroom, kissing her again. She returned the gesture, her teeth closing over his lower lip and sending a jolt of pure carnal energy through Draco's core.

He pulled himself away moments later, his chest heaving; Granger's eyes were dark as she stared up at him.

A range of emotions flashed across her face as she shook her head, the movement slow and minute. "I almost can't believe this, but for the way it feels."

"I know," Draco agreed, running a hand through his hair. "But so many things make sense now – and magic doesn't know all the rest of it."

The rest of it being schoolyard rivalries, blood status issues, the war.

She clasped his wand hand with hers, entwining their fingers, and he could see the wonder in her eyes at the feel of it – he could feel her magic entangled with his own.

"Just for the record," he said in a low voice, bringing their joined hands to his mouth and pressing a soft kiss to the back of her hand. "I am more than willing to help you learn all there is to know about this bond – if you'll have me."

She stared at him for a long moment, her face falling. "I told you – I can see it. You're not the same person you were before and during the war, caught in the shadows of it all. Maybe…" she swallowed, staring at their hands. "Maybe you were never really that person."

"I think I was," he said, his voice quiet. "Only I wish I hadn't been."

She shook her head. "I choose this." She brandished their hands. "I'll trust in this."

Draco's heart leapt in his chest as their magic swirled between them. His voice sounded disconnected from himself as he said, "Good."

Draco took a large bite of his apple, rolling his eyes as he leaned back in his seat. "This is never going to work, and you're only going to get yourself hurt. Therefore, don't."

Granger waved her free hand as her other clenched his even tighter. "It'll be fine!"

"You aren't a conduit," Draco retorted, vanishing the remains of his apple core. "I don't see how this –"

"Humour me."

He snickered, shaking his head. "Fine." Her fingers entwined with his as she picked up her wand, her eyes fixed on the cauldron in front of them. He swallowed, feeling the magic being pulled from within his own magical core, and flowing through him into her.

His gaze flickering to her again, he cast the spell – and watched as a flash of light flew from her wand. The cauldron began to stir itself.

Granger released a quiet squeal, clapping her hands together in elation. Draco couldn't help himself and chuckled at her reaction.

Over the past month since they had discovered the truth of the bond that existed between them, Granger had been eager to learn all the ways in which they were affected. This – channeling his magic through her wand – was the latest in a series of experiments.

Draco had been more receptive to most of the other experiments.

He had always been hesitant when it came to the thought of channeling and sharing magic. It was all too easy for a magical core to burn out through experimentation, but the fact that it had worked only lent credence to the strength of the bond between them, as if Draco had still somehow possessed any doubts.

He didn't doubt anything anymore when it came to Granger. It hadn't taken long for the entirety of the school to realize there was something between them, although they hadn't needed to know the details.

It had never felt like an option for Draco, but Granger chose him when she didn't need to, and as far as he was concerned, it merited a lifetime of loyalty and everything he could possibly offer her. She could have rejected the bond, though it would have affected them both in ways Draco didn't fully understand.

He looked up, drawn from his thoughts at the feel of Granger's fingers dancing across the back of his hand on the table, drawing his magic to the surface of his skin. He smiled, turning his wrist to braid their fingers once more.

"I lost you there for a second," Granger teased, flashing him a grin.

He huffed a laugh, shaking his head. "Not possible."

Her chocolate eyes were warm as they met his.

Draco stared down at Granger that night after dinner as she drifted in his arms. He'd found her in the Room of Requirement and pulled her near, hands fisting in her curls and lips meeting hers.

Two weeks after learning about the bond between them, Granger had pulled him into a broom closet, determined to discover the emotional and physical depths of the bond.

Draco hadn't taken it personally – but the next time he'd insisted on somewhere nicer.

And so they had taken up spending time in the Room of Requirement – despite the bad memories they both possessed of the room, or perhaps in spite of them – and Draco had already begun thinking of options once they left Hogwarts in a few short months.

He wanted to ask Granger to move into a flat with him – but there were other things he needed to say to her first.

He could feel the magic coursing between them, dancing along his chest where her bare skin met his. In tandem with the erratic beats of his heart. He trailed his fingers along the bare skin of her back.

Granger shifted in her sleep, adjusting her hold on his middle, and Draco smiled.

Draco pressed a kiss to her hair, with a murmured, "I love you."

Her lips curled and her eyelids fluttered though they remained shut. She nuzzled into his chest, her words a soft exhalation as she breathed, "Love you too."

Draco's heart stuttered and raced as his grip tightened around her, smiling. And as he breathed in her scent, allowing his eyes to fall shut at the exuberant feel of the magic dancing between them, he basked in all the ways in which she was his perfect fit.