"But takeaway just rolls off the tongue so much better," he said with a hint of a pout as well.
He was still almost heady from the overwhelming scent. The last time he felt this way was when he and Svetlana had massacred that room full of students, and had drunk them all dry, gorging themselves in the process. To think this was all just... artificial was anticlimactic, but he wasn't going to look a gift unicorn in the mouth.
The longer it stayed on his tongue, he did notice a bit of an aftertaste, but not a bad taste. If he had to think of an analogy, it was like drinking a diet flavoured cola, which never tasted the same as the real thing, but it didn't kill him either.
When she smiled, he realised that she was truly feeling the accomplishment of having done something good, and he gave her a nod before raising the glass and savoring it quickly. "Yes," he nodded. "It starts to turn if it gets too cool," he added, the taste not so pleasant by the time he reached the bottom of the glass.
But he was licking his lips as he watched her take notes. "Definitely dilute. It's like a rich red wine, and you should probably keep it simmering. Although I don't know how long you can keep it like that before it changes composition again." He shrugged. He'd only ever been average at potions, but he knew that things changed the longer they were left to simmer.
At her last question, he put down the glass and laughed. "Oh darling, do you honestly think that would stop me staring at your neck? I seem to recall I did a fair bit of that back at school, and I was only a mere mortal back in those days." He laughed again.
"But no, I don't feel like having you for dessert just now." If anything, he was feeling a little sleepy.