Featuring my bff’s mc holding my bff and I’s beloved late boy, Drago, and Barnaby holding my beloved late boy, Loki (brownish one around his neck). They shall forever live on in my art ❤️
This year, we’re doing something different: Ship Week has a theme! This year’s theme is “The Love Languages”- out of the 7 days total, 5 have a Love Language, and the challenge is to incorporate that theme into your piece! Have fun creating!!
@hphm-fandom-events | Day 6 : Free Theme | Potions
Tonks x Tulip (+ “Selen “Moony” Moonstar” (OC)) | 2845 words
I know Ship Week is over, but I only had Day 6 left to write, and here it is (finally).
English is not my native language
6th Year
Being the subject of forbidden potion experiments was the most boring and annoying thing Tulip had done today!
About a month ago, Penny had announced at breakfast that she wanted to practice more potion-making (as if those extra hours in the cold dungeons with Snape weren't enough...) and Tulip had agreed to be the subject of the experiment, as if Penny had suggested a simple glass of pumpkin juice and not a potion that, if made incorrectly, could be potentially lethal.
There was something exhilarating about breaking the rules and flirting with the forbidden by experimenting with forbidden potions. At least, that's what Tulip had thought, but now, lying on the floor of the Room of Requirement, she didn't find it very exciting, or even fun.
Arms and legs spread like a starfish, a scowl on a face that wasn't even her own, Tulip stared at the ceiling and sighed.
When Penny had told her three days ago that the next potion to be tested was Polyjuice Potion, Tulip had been excited by the news, already thinking of all the pranks she could do, but of course, not everything that was funny from her point of view was necessarily funny to Penny, and since no one was supposed to know that the young Hufflepuff was brewing potions illegally, Tulip had been asked to stay locked in the Room of Requirement until the potion wore off. She should have known that agreeing to help Penny wouldn't be so much fun after all.
Penny should have stayed with her and kept her company, but of course, Snape had chosen that exact day to move one of his private lessons -which he reserved only for the best student - and Penny, after making sure the potion was working properly and there were no adverse effects, had no choice but to leave, leaving Tulip alone.
Having nothing better to do, Tulip had changed into clothes more suited to her new body shape. With a flick of her wand, she had repaired her own clothes, which had torn during the transformation. Selen, whose appearance she had taken on thanks to Polyjuice Potion, had a body so different from her own. Her back was broader, her hips more developed, and she also had more muscular arms and legs thanks to Quidditch.
It was strange to be in another body, the sensations were different. Perhaps taking on the appearance of someone I didn't know was easier, but taking on the appearance of a friend was a disconcerting experience.
After pacing the small room for five minutes, she dropped to the floor and stared at the ceiling. This was going to be the longest, most boring hour of her life! Seriously, what was the point of testing Polyjuice Potion if it meant staying indoors? All the pranks she could have pulled under the appearance of her prefect friend…
And, as if boredom weren't enough, Tulip was hungry and couldn't leave that room to go to the kitchens, because she'd promised Penny she wouldn't; no reckless trips, no wandering in the corridors, strictly forbidden to meet a professor or a ghost or anyone with authority in this castle.
All these rules were so ridiculous! The only reason she didn't want to break them was because she didn't want to hurt her friends... But she was really hungry…
What if she quietly left here and into an empty classroom where she could call a house-elf to bring her food? She'd dealt with the kitchen house-elves several times, and Kywin seemed to be the one who was particularly willing to help the students.
There was an empty classroom nearby, and very few students passed through the seventh-floor corridor, especially on a Saturday afternoon. If she was careful and hurried to the empty classroom, she could be back in the Room of Requirement as quickly as she'd left, and no one would notice she was gone. Penny would never know. Besides, she was too hungry to wait for the potion to wear off.
Tulip picked herself up from the floor, trying to adjust to her new temporary body. She adjusted her sweater (or rather, Selen's sweater), dusted off her skirt, pulled her knee-high socks up her thighs and, in an exasperated gesture, tossed her very long brown hair back. Her hair had never been this long, and one thing was certain: she would never have it this long! She scratched her arm and cursed when she scratched herself. Why did Selen have her nails trimmed like little claws? This hour of potion testing was really starting to get tiresome; she couldn't wait to get back to her own body, her own clothes, her hair shorter, and her nails that were not sharpened like weapons.
Stabilizing herself in her new body, Tulip quietly opened the door and looked both ways before stepping into the empty corridor. She silently made her way to the classroom a little further on, and just as she opened the door, someone pushed her inside. She was about to protest, but immediately recognized Tonks's floral and woody perfume. Her heart sped up in her chest, and not just from surprise.
“Thank Merlin! You're here!” Tonks said, slightly panicked, closing the door behind her.
“Uh, yes,” Tulip replied, taken aback.
Had Tonks realized it was her, or did she think she was talking to Selen? Perhaps she should warn her that she wasn't her Slytherin friend, clear up any misunderstandings before Tonks revealed anything potentially incriminating. Tulip opened her mouth to speak, but Tonks beat her to it.
“I know that as a prefect you don't want to know the details,” she began, pacing the room, “but right now I need to talk to my friend.”
“I'm listening,” Tulip replied, trying to act like Selen would.
Tonks hadn't realized she was talking to the wrong person, but judging by her agitation, her problem must have been a prank, not a secret confession. Tulip could handle the situation; she just had to listen and give her the occasional disapproving look. She'd been scolded enough times by the Slytherin Prefect to know exactly what to do.
“I've been thinking about it for days,” Tonks explained. “At first, I thought it wasn't that, that I was making a mistake. But the more I think about it, the more I realize it's not a mistake, I've just been lying to myself all this time. Do you understand?”
“Not really,” Tulip replied, giving her an incredulous look.
“I think I'm in love,” Tonks said, gesturing wildly with her hands.
Oh.
Something inside Tulip snapped. She'd realized her feelings for Tonks last year, but she hadn't wanted to tell her anything. She'd been waiting for the right moment. But now she realized there are never really right moments. There are just moments, and you just have to seize them before it's too late. And now it's too late.
Tonks continued to pace the room, unconscious to Tulip's mental agitation. Trying to compose herself, Tulip took a light inspiration and straightened up, as if it didn't really affect her, as if she didn't feel her heart aching and tears welling up in her eyes.
“What's the problem?” she asked, trying to control her voice.
“Tulip!” Tonks replied immediately, stopping to look her in the face.
“What?” Tulip gasped, her thoughts racing in all directions.
Had Tonks finally recognized her? Did Tonks think she was a problem? They were supposed to be best friends, if Tonks had a problem with her, she would have told her, right? And what kind of problem could she be to Tonks? Did Tonks know about her feelings? Did she think that was the problem? Did she think she couldn't be in a relationship because Tulip was in love with her and she didn't want to hurt her feelings? Did...
“Stay focused, a little!” Tonks growled, starting to pace the room again. “I think I'm in love with Tulip.”
What?
“What?”
“I think I'm in love with Tulip,” Tonks repeated in exasperation.
And oh ! how sweet the relief was. Tulip's heart raced in her chest, so powerful, so alive. It hurt, but in a good way. It felt good, this light feeling. A smile blossomed on her lips, and again she felt like crying, but this time it was with joy. She had to tell her! She couldn't let the opportunity slip away again. There's never a right time; it's the moment you choose that's right.
“No,” Tonks continued, “actually, I'm sure I'm in love with Tulip.”
“Me too!”
“What?” Tonks asked, stopping and staring at her. “You're in love with Tulip too?”
“No!” Tulip quickly replied, having spoken a little too quickly and now thinking fast to catch up with her mistake. “I'm sure you're in love with Tulip too.”
“Oh,” Tonks said, “well... for a moment, I thought we were going to be faced with a problem.”
“Would it be a problem if someone else had feelings for m-Tulip?” the Ravenclaw asked, smiling a little too much.
“Well, no,” Tonks replied, starting to pace the room again. “I mean, Tulip's free to go out with whoever she wants, or not to go out with anyone, but... that would be a problem for me. Well, not really a problem, because she doesn't owe me anything but…”
Tonks sped up her pacing, making grand gestures with her hands, and Tulip watched her lose herself in her explanation, smiling stupidly. Tonks was so adorable when she got tangled up in her own words.
“I don't know, okay?” she fumed, throwing her hands up in the air and stopping again. “I only just realized I'm in love with her. I don't want anyone else to be that in love with her. I want her all to myself, even though I don't even know if she wants me…”
“I'm sure she'd like to be with you,” Tulip affirmed, taking a step forward.
“How can you be so sure?” Tonks asked, shrugging. “Tulip and I get along really well, but I don't even know if she likes girls... I didn't even know I liked girls either. In fact, I don't even know if I like girls or if I just like Tulip…”
Tonks grumbled, running her hands over her face, then resumed pacing the room, muttering incomprehensible sentences.
Tulip tried to calm her frantic heartbeat. In the euphoria of the situation, she had almost forgotten that she looked like Selen; she couldn't declare her feelings to her now; it would make the situation very awkward. Trying to look casual, she leaned against one of the tables, crossed her right leg over her left, and then crossed her arms over her chest. Selen often did this when she was trying to concentrate on a situation. Tulip hoped she looked as relaxed as the Slytherin, even though it was hard to fight the smile that tried to force its way onto her face.
“And, uh, how did you figure that out?” she asked, cutting off Tonks's incomprehensible mumbling.
“Because of Penny and her stupid potions!” Tonks groaned, throwing her hands up in the air again. “She asked me to describe the smell of a potion. I thought she wanted help, but she just made me smell like Amortentia!”
Tulip pursed her lips to keep from smiling.
“And what did it smell like?” she couldn’t help asking.
“It smelled like cherry, patchouli, and a bit like Zonko’s.”
“And you think that’s Tulip’s?”
“Are you doing it on purpose?” Tonks mocked. “Tulip’s perfume smells of cherry and patchouli!”
“Have you noticed?” Tulip exclaimed with a big smile.
“Of course I noticed,” Tonks replied, staring at her. “Why are you smiling like that? You’re acting weird today.”
“Elixir to Induce Euphoria,” Tulip replied immediately, remembering that Selen had tested said potion two days earlier (because even though she was a prefect, she still liked to break the rules), “Penny’s stupid potions and all that.”
“Is that why you’re not wearing shoes?” Tonks asked, looking down at her feet.
Tulip looked down at her feet and noticed that, indeed, she was only wearing Selen's knee-high socks. Since she was supposed to stay locked in the Room of Requirement, she hadn't found it necessary to put on the boots and had completely forgotten she wasn't wearing them when she came out. Well, now that explained why the floor was colder and harder than usual.
“Yes,” replied Tulip, raising her head, “it allows for a better connection with the ground.”
“If you say so…”
Tonks pulled out a chair and sank down on it with a sigh, elbows on her knees and face in her hands.
“I don't know what to do,” she continued, looking up at Tulip with such a helpless face.
“Perhaps you could try... flirting with her?” Tulip suggested, trying not to blush at the suggestion.
“Flirting?” Tonks repeated. “Do I look like I know how to flirt?”
“Well, perhaps you could invite her on the next Hogsmeade trip?” Tulip offered, hoping Tonks wouldn't decide to take her to Madam Puddifoot.
“We're already going together,” Tonks replied, sitting up in her chair and tilting her head back to look at the ceiling, “and I don't really want to declare my feelings for her at Zonko's, between the Fanged Frisbees and the Nose-Biting Teacups.”
“Understandable,” agreed Tulip, who also didn't want Tonks to declare her feelings at Zonko's. The place was too conducive to pranks for that kind of declaration. “Would you like something more intimate?”
“Yeah. I'd like somewhere with a few people,” reflected Tonks. “It would be even better if there were no one there…”
“What about the Astronomy Tower?” suggested Tulip, her heart racing at the thought.
Whenever she imagined herself declaring her feelings to Tonks, it was always at the top of the Astronomy Tower. She always imagined a sky filled with twinkling stars, cool, pleasant weather, forcing them to cuddle up together. She imagined that after she had declared her feelings, they would kiss, lit by the moon high in the sky.
“Yeah,” Tonks replied after a moment's thought, raising her head to look at Tulip, “it's calm and peaceful…”
“And also very romantic,” added Tulip, feeling her cheeks flush.
Tonks nodded then stood up.
“I'm still terrified,” she admitted weakly.
“Why?” Tulip asked softly, pulling herself up onto the table to sit down.
“If I confess my feelings to her and she doesn't return them?” Tonks asked, starting to pace the room again. “She doesn't have to return them, of course, but... What if that ends our friendship? She's really important to me, you know, I don't want to lose her.”
“Oh!” Tulip said, letting her smile grow on her face as she looked at Tonks happily.
She felt her whole body radiate with pleasure.
“I know you're on Elixir to Induce Euphoria,” Tonks said, staring at her, “but what I'm saying is serious.”
“Yes, sorry,” Tulip corrected herself, having once again forgotten that she was still on Polyjuice Potion. “I understand it's terrifying, but if you don't tell her, you'll never know if your feelings are mutual. You know, sometimes you just have to stop wondering and seize the moment.”
“You're right!” Tonks agreed, stopping in front of her. “I love her, I really do, and I need her to know that. I'll go write her a note and arrange to meet her at the Astronomy Tower tonight! Thanks, Moony!”
Tonks gave her a quick hug and then headed for the door. Tulip thought quickly and… maybe she could give her that information, maybe it could ease Tonks's fears a little… She could do that…
“Tonks?”
“Yeah?” Tonks said, turning back to her, one hand on the doorknob.
“Tulip's Amortentia,” she said, trying not to look away from her beautiful eyes. “It has a floral and woody scent with a hint of vanilla.”
Tonks's huge smile lit up her whole face. She was so beautiful, so magnificent. She was perfect.
“Thank you, Moony,” Tonks said sincerely before leaving the room.
Tulip stared at the door, lost in thought, smiling stupidly. Tonks was the light of her life, and she wouldn't let any more opportunities pass her by. She needed Tonks to know how she felt, and tonight, at the top of the Astronomy Tower, she would tell her everything. She would confess all the love she felt for her, and it didn't matter if the sky wasn't filled with twinkling stars, it didn't matter if the moon tonight was just a crescent, it didn't matter if it didn't look like her dreams, it didn't matter if everything was different, as long as Tonks was there.
A strange sensation on her scalp brought her back to the present moment and she realized that the Polyjuice Potion was start to lose its effects
Tulip got down from the table, completely forgetting that she had come here in the first place because she was hungry, and quickly returned to the Room of Requirement before Penny returned.
Finally, this potions test wasn't so lame and boring.
This one took much longer than expected. It's not the one I'm most satisfied with, but I rewrote it so many times (I stopped counting after the 8th rewrite) that I'm going to leave it as is, otherwise I'd never post it.
If you're interested, the perfumes I decided to assign to Tulip and Tonks are these: Ma Cherry for Tulip and Nostalgia for Tonks.
Available on Ao3 in English and French
Dividers by @uzmacchiato
it’s the first time i’ve ever drawn these three, but i just had to. they’re a wonderful lil trio that i’ve yet to expand on, but hope to in the future <33
