A familiar scent of perfume drifted through the air.
Following it, Pomona wound through the labyrinthine alleys until she reached the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron.
Passing through it would take her to Muggle London, which looked neat and spacious, nothing like the narrow, crowded Diagon Alley of the Wizarding World.
She lifted her foot and entered the pub.
Business was as lively as usual, yet everyone seemed unable to see her. It was as though she were wearing an Invisibility Cloak, completely ignored by all.
There seemed to be a party underway in the pub. Their clothes were far too luxurious for such a shabby establishment; they would have been better suited to some glittering Muggle five-star hotel.
Yet they had gathered here, every face filled with pride and satisfaction.
Just then, a graceful figure descended from the pub's second floor. It was Janice, the actress who was actually over a hundred years old but looked only to be in her fifties. She was not dressed extravagantly, but wore a sharp, capable suit that showed not the slightest sign of age. Though she walked slowly, she remained elegant. The moment she appeared, the partygoers burst into applause, as if she were still that dazzling opera star.
Only then did Pomona notice the sign beside Janice. It was the launch event for Janice's new perfume, with a line of handwriting across it:
'Do you want to feel magic?'
Pomona had always suspected that Amortentia had been added to this perfume. It allowed people to smell the scent they liked best. From the same cauldron of potion, some smelled chocolate while others smelled mint, though neither was actually an ingredient in the potion.
It merely made them think so. As Flitwick had said, it made past perceptions present. Yet in the