Chapter Text
For likingthistoomuch
Prompt: Mistakes
The fumes were nearly overwhelming in the small room he’d commandeered as his own private, secret lab, but Sherlock pressed on. He’d been working on this potion for suppressing emotions since his third year and, four years later, he was closing in on the correct formula.
It was just a matter of how much powdered moonstone to make it effective.
Carefully scraping the shimmering dust into the vial, Sherlock watched as the potion turned from a rich black to a shiny crystal clear.
‘Perfect!’ he exclaimed with a triumphant grin.
Holding the vial up to the light, he swirled it carefully. ‘Finally, an end to these blasted feelings.’ Bringing it to his lips, he tipped the liquid back and swallowed it in one gulp. The cold potion immediately took effect and spread through his veins like ice.
Sherlock shivered. ‘Excellent.’ Suddenly, a wave of exhaustion came over him.
Abandoning his messy lab, he slipped out into the silent corridors and made his way back to the Ravenclaw Dormitory to crash and let the potion’s full effects take hold.
‘Good morning, Molly!’ Mary greeted her with a bright smile which quickly faded as she took in Molly’s rumpled, red-eyed, pale appearance.
Molly plopped down on the bench opposite Mary and her boyfriend John, grabbing a couple slices of bread and immediately slathering it with jam. ‘Mmmm,’ she grunted.
John frowned and leaned forward. ‘What’s wrong, Molls?’
She shrugged in reply, not caring to elaborate that she just didn’t feel like her normal, cheerful self. It was a miracle she’d dressed and come down for breakfast at all. Folding the bread in half, she shoved it in her mouth and took a huge bite.
‘Molly?’
‘-wuh?’ She mumbled around the bread.
Mary and John looked at each other in concern, having a silent conversation that Molly didn’t care to try to interpret. Suddenly, John got to his feet and strode out of the Great Hall, his robes billowing out behind him.
Mary watched him leave then turned a worried gaze back to Molly as the brunette finished her third slice of bread and jam.
‘Molly, what did he do?’
Molly frowned, a slice of bread poised halfway to her mouth. ‘Who?’
Rolling her eyes, Mary said, ‘Sherlock. Who else could reduce you to… well, this?’
‘He didn’t do anything,’ Molly replied monotonously. Mary frowned but didn’t say anything as her friend nibbled on the bread.
Suddenly losing all interest in food, Molly dropped the fourth slice, half-eaten, and pushed away from the table. ‘I’m actually not that hungry anymore. I’ll see you later.’
Mary’s worried gaze followed her as she left the Great Hall. Just as she turned out into the corridor, a hand reached out and spun her around into a tall chest, clad in a rumpled, sleeping tee.
‘Molly Hooper,’ Sherlock stared down at her with a worried gaze. ‘I need you to come with me immediately.’
‘Leave me alone, Sherlock,’ she sighed and listlessly tried to pull away.
He scowled as she turned her back on him and he pulled her back against his chest and bent down, scooping her up and tossing her over his shoulder.
‘Sherlock, what are you doing?’ She asked half-heartedly his bum as he strode out of the room and up the stairs. Students stopped and stared at the spectacle of the timid, quiet Molly Hooper being carted off by the school’s caustic genius.
‘Fixing a mistake,’ he replied.
It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.
Instead of suppressing his emotions, the potion had a unique effect upon the person for whom he held… feelings. How he didn’t know.
All he knew is that when John had dragged him from his bed spewing accusations about Molly’s listless, exhausted appearance, Sherlock’s heart had nearly stopped and he’d flown from the dormitory.
It was worse than he’d feared. The potion hadn’t suppressed his emotions whatsoever, but it had turned Molly from her usual sweet, optimistic, brave self to this passive, emotionless blob.
He’d figure out the how and why later. Right now, he needed his Molly back.
‘You should be back to your usual self in just a few minutes,’ Madam Hudson smiled encouragingly at Molly and took the empty vial that held the antidote before leaving the young couple in the semi-privacy of the curtained bed. The Hospital Wing was empty of any other ill students and the quiet that descended between Sherlock and Molly as Madam Hudson’s footsteps faded away could almost be felt.
‘What happened?’ She asked the tall boy standing at the foot of her bed. His face was shadowed, but she swore she saw deep guilt and fear etched into the lines creasing his forehead and the way he couldn’t hold her gaze.
He hesitantly touched the bed and walked around toward her. ‘An experiment of mine went wrong.’
‘An experiment… on me?’
He swallowed. ‘No. On me. I was trying to…’ he licked his lips nervously and put his hands behind his back. ‘…I was trying to suppress… feelings I have. I created a potion to do so, but it backfired. On you.’
Rubbing the thin white sheet between her fingers, she looked down. ‘You feel things for me? And you were trying to get rid of them?’
Sherlock felt his heart fall at the hurt in her voice. He felt another wave of guilt wash over him. Gathering his courage, he sat down on the bed beside her and reached for her hand.
‘I didn’t mean to hurt you. I knew how you feel about me and I also knew that if I acted on my feelings, I would inevitably hurt you somewhere down the road. I’m not a good person, Molly. I’m not the kind of person worthy of your pure, good love.’
Whatever he had expected from his painful confession, Molly’s lurching forward and crashing her lips to his was the very last thing he would have anticipated. His eyes widened and his arms flailed as she cupped his cheeks and pulled his close.
Three heartbeats was all it took for the shock to fade and his mind to cease racing. Wrapping his arms around her small frame, he held her close and sunk into the kiss.
Breathless, Molly broke away first and glared up at him seriously. ‘Don’t you ever say you aren’t worthy of love. You are so loved, Sherlock Holmes. And I will never stop loving you. So decide now: let yourself love me… or move on. Magic won’t make the feelings go away.’
Huffing a laugh, Sherlock dropped his forehead against hers. ‘No, no it won’t.’
She pulled lightly on his black and blue tie, biting her lip and refusing to look at him. ‘Do you need some time to think about it?’
‘No.’
She looked up at him in fearful hope.
‘I love you, Molly Hooper.’ He brushed her hair behind her ear and cupped her cheek, wiping away the stray tear that escaped with the pad of his thumb.
A wide smile creased her face and she wrapped her arms around his torso, resting her head against his chest.
‘I love you, too,’ she whispered.
His arms tightened around her in response.
‘Do you think he’ll figure it out, Professor? Why exactly his potion affected her instead of him?’
Watching the couple surreptitiously from the doorway, Hogwarts Headmaster Mycroft Holmes turned at the question to see Madam Hudson behind him, a smile on her face. He shut the door and cleared his throat. ‘You’re more intelligent than most.’
She laughed. ‘It’s not hard to put the pieces together and see that those two have a connection that goes deeper than they realize.’
‘A rare connection,’ Mycroft dipped his head in agreement. ‘There hasn’t been a record of a Soulmate match in nearly five decades.’
‘It would certainly explain why his potion affected her so deeply,’ she said. ‘And he’s almost as brilliant as you, so I’m sure he’ll realize it soon.’
Mycroft smirked. ‘I’ll be interested in seeing just how long it takes him.’