A/N After the tragic events of yesterday (The anniversary of their death – thirty years. Sob), I wanted some Lily/James comfort. And then I decided why write one story when I could write thirty? So every. Single. Day. Of this month will have a new (unconnected) drabble about them. The first 26 are the Alphabet. Review and I promise to always smell you in Amortentia ;)

In fifth year, Professor Slughorn brewed a particularly potent batch of Amortentia. Lily thought it was a bit of a scam, really. They'd never be allowed to brew it; he was hyping up what was actually a much more boring class.

Nevertheless, she was… curious. If Amortentia really did smell like what attracted you, then wasn't now the perfect time to find out what it was? She could tell by a simple whiff of Amos Diggory if she really did want to go to Hogsmeade with him.

Or maybe she just wanted to smell it, for Merlin's sake. No, that couldn't be it. Lily was above this stuff (except, she was also a teenage girl, and wasn't really).

Tentatively, she walked up to the cauldron with the few other students who were having doubts. Surprisingly, James Potter was one of them. She caught his eye, and winked at her as he stepped forward and deliberately sniffed. His eyes closed, and that was the final straw. If he could do it, she could too.

Lily walked up, and inhaled deeply. She smelt freshly baked bread, and her perfume, new parchment, worn leather, and pumpkin pasties.

Pumpkin pasties and perfume were easy to figure out – she'd eaten pasties on the train when she first came to Hogwarts. To her, they represented the start of everything magical. Lily's perfume did the opposite. As well as smelling amazing (in Lily's eyes, at least), her perfume reminded her of home. Of life in the muggle world. Together, they made her who she was.

New parchment and fresh bread were equally simple. They reminded her of home, and of starting over; of clean slates and comfort. When she and Sev had fallen out, she'd bought a load of parchment and sat in the kitchen while her mother baked, writing endless angsty letters she never intended to send. She'd healed in that kitchen. Just smelling a new sheet bought back warm memories.

Worn leather, however, she couldn't place. She didn't own anything remotely leathery.

Confused, Lily sat down with a grimace. Amortentia didn't make any sense.

Amortentia. One whiff and bam! Everything that attracted you became as clear as daylight.

Worth a shot, James thought wryly.

He pushed his way up to the front and saw Lily hanging back, biting her lip and altogether looking very nervous. James winked at her, then breathed in.

He smelt Quidditch– rain, mud, the faint smell of sweat and determination, and the worn leather of his gloves. He smelt ink and parchment, the posh ones his parents used, the smell of a new letter from home. He smelt magic - that tang a particularly complicated spell leaves in the air. The acrid smell that lingered after an animagi transformation, for instance.

James also smelt perfume. Not regular perfume, or one that he recognised by name, but Lily's perfume. The one she wore on Christmas, and visits to Hogsmeade, and her birthday. He associated the smell with her smile.

Satisfied, James went and sat down with a smirk. Amortentia made perfect sense to him.