A/N: This is just a light, humour fic that I decided to write last night. I hope you enjoy!
Laura's always noticed Carmilla, the beautiful, dark-haired Slytherin that sometimes glances her way during Transfiguration.
Yes, she'll admit it to herself- ever since she saw Carmilla in their first year, she'd had a minor crush.
However, she'd been too terrified to even consider approaching the Slytherin. The girl seemed to radiate hostility towards those around her and Laura was altogether just too intimidated by her.
And so, it wasn't until their fourth year that Laura had an interaction with Carmilla that didn't consist of sideways glances across the classroom.
It was straight after breakfast in the Great Hall, and Laura was walking with her Gryffindor friend LaFontaine, her attention divided between them and a cupcake she was eating when bam she crashed into a cool embrace.
"I'm…I'm really sorry…" She looked up and saw to her horror that it was her, Carmilla freaking Karnstein.
To her surprise, Carmilla did not immediately give her an earful. Rather she giggled, blushed and muttered:
"Hi cupcake" before walking away, almost crashing into a wall.
Laura turned to LaFontaine, utterly shocked. She had never seen Carmilla be anything but utterly cool and collected.
"Did Carmilla Karnstein just giggle?"
/
It only got weirder from there.
On returning to the Hufflepuff common room later that day, Laura found Carmilla waiting for her outside the barrels, a goofy smile on her face.
Thoroughly confused Laura tried to bypass her, but Carmilla grabbed her arm in a sudden motion.
An electric current raced through Laura where their skin made contact and she looked up at Carmilla. Surely she felt it too?
Well it certainly seemed that Carmilla felt something, because she smiled at Laura dreamily. Laura could not believe that she was using a dreamy to describe Carmilla's smile, but it was accurate nonetheless.
What the hell was going on? First Carmilla giggled and now she was smiling?
"Hey L-Laura…"
Carmilla stuttered out, pulling Laura slightly closer.
Laura looked around, trying to see hidden cameras (she knew that they didn't work at Hogwarts, but being a muggleborn she couldn't help but suspect that she was on some sort of Wizarding Prank show.)
Finding none, she turned back to Carmilla.
"Hey Carmilla, um, sorry did you want something? Only I was trying to get back to my common room…"
Laura trailed off, because Carmila was staring at her, making her tingle all over. However, she could not shake the feeling that something was off. After all,this was Carmilla Karnstein, intimidating queen of the night- not one to act like a schoolgirl with a crush.
"I just really like you Laura…and you should come to the Slytherin common room with me, and we can…"
Laura's confusion only grew. This was too out of character for Carmilla. In Transfiguration, she was notorious for her sarcastic remarks and snide comments directed towards her fellow students. She was unpleasant, spikey, apathetic and entirely too good looking.
But she certainly wasn't giggly, infatuated and love-sick for God's sake.
Was Carmilla drunk? On drugs?
"Um…sorry Carm…I have homework…but, umm I'll see you in class or something…"
Laura almost pushed Carmilla aside, who let of Laura's arm and leant on the wall, watching as Laura tapped out the rhythm Helga Hufflepuff onto the barrels and escaped into the safety of her house.
(She could feel Carmilla's dark eyes boring into her as she walked through the door into the common room.)
Something isn't quite right…
/
"You did WHAT?"
"Relax Laura, it'll wear off after a day or so. Carmilla so had it coming. C'mon, what's the harm in it?" Danny brushed her long, red hair off her face and smiled winningly at Laura.
However Laura was a tiny ball of rage at this point and so could barely look at Danny.
She managed to choke out:
"Do you know…how…horrible it is, to manipulate someone's feelings like that? How do you think Carmilla is going to feel when she recovers and finds out that you…that…"
"Spiked her morning pumpkin juice with a cheap love potion so that she'd behave like an infatuated idiot?"
"Yes! Exactly!"
Laura tried to focus on being mad at Danny, tried to ignore the hollow feeling echoing inside of her, because none of it was real. When she'd smiled at Laura, flirted, Laura had allowed herself to feel the tiniest bit of hope, that perhaps, just perhaps Carmilla liked her too.
And now…to find out that it was nothing but a stupid Gryffindor prank…
"Laura…c'mon, she hit me with the Bat-Bogey Hex in class the other day. I was sneezing up tiny, fury little mammals for the next three days. We were supposed to be practicing the freaking shield charm. I needed revenge."
Laura sighed, because she wished that Danny's revenge didn't have to involve her and her stupid, stupid crush.
"Well, at least Carmilla hasn't done anything too embarrassing…"
Laura shouldn't have said a word. Honestly, she must have jinxed herself because at that very moment a Howler came flying through the air and landed right in her pumpkin juice.
Danny and Laura exchanged a look of dread, and Danny began to mouth an apology when Carmilla's projected voice rang across the Great Hall :
"LAURA HOLLIS IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL IN THE WHOLE OF HOGWARTS AND I REALLY LOVE HER SOFT, BROWN HAIR. HER EYES ARE THE COLOUR OF CHESTNUTS. SHE HAS A NICE BUTT. LOVE FROM CARMILLA KARNSTEIN!"
Laughter and wolf whistles erupted around the Great Hall as Laura sunk progressively lower into her seat. Danny tried to clap her heartily on the back, having the decency to look guilty.
Laura looked around for Carmilla but found her nowhere in sight. This did nothing to reassure her, merely made her worry what the Slytherin could be planning next.
Once the laughter and the chatter died down a bit, Laura pulled herself up her chair to face Danny once more.
"Can I just ask you one thing?"
"Sure, go ahead."
Laura takes a deep breath.
"Why did you have to use me in this stupid game of yours? I mean, I thought we were friends!"
Danny looked increasingly guilty, and shifted in her seat awkwardly.
"Look Laura…I just thought it would be funny…I mean you guys are always staring at each other like Edward and Bella from Twilight…I just…God I'm really sorry Laura! It was stupid…It'll wear off in about twenty minutes I think…I'm sorry…"
What was Danny talking about? Edward and Bella?
Laura smiled at Danny then. She could never hold grudges for too long, even though she still could not quite believe that the cheerful Gryffindor would play such a cruel prank.
"Apology accepted Danny…although…next Hogsmeade weekend you are getting me everything sugar-related in Honeydukes. And I mean everything."
/
Laura is so distracted by the thought of Honeydukes sugar that she crashed into Carmilla for the second time that day, once again as she left the Great Hall.
"Oh no…" She desperately tried to go around Carmilla, but could not quite manage it in the crowded hallway.
"Did you like my note, Laauuurraa?" Carmilla drawled out and Laura mentally chastised herself for not realising that Carmilla had been given a love potion sooner.
Laura avoided eye-contact, and once more tried to get around her. In doing so she briefly brushed against Carmilla and froze up, because a wave of feeling had flooded through her, aninfinity of fire, of passion.
She turned and looked at Carmilla and before she could stop herself, she leaned closer, and closer and everything felt so right, and Carmilla was everywhere and she was going to burn up, she was burnin-
Their lips were an inch from connecting when Laura forced herself to pull back, remembering Danny's goddarn love potion.
Carmilla has a hurt, confused expression on her face as she grabbed Laura's hand.
"Cutie don't you like m-"
Suddenly, Carmilla dropped Laura's hand like it was on fire (to Laura, it certainly felt like it was a few moments ago) and stepped away slightly, a look of horror and disgust spreading across her aristocratic features.
Hurt flooded through Laura, before she told herself repeatedly it was just a stupid potion, just a stupid lovepotionjustastupidlovepotion….
"Oh my God."
Carmilla turned away from Laura abruptly. She could barely even look at Laura and Laura choked back tears.
"Hey Carm…It was just a stupi-"
"A stupid love potion? Yeah I know. Probably that tall ginger freak. Oh my God."
Her voice was tight with fury as she continued to avoid eye-contact, her expression one of utter contempt.
(Laura winced at her expression, because it felt like her heart was being ripped from her chest.)
Carmilla began to run her fingers through her hair, her voice rising steadily. A couple of Ravenclaws shot them curious glances as they passed by.
One smirked, pointed at Carmilla and whispered to his friend behind his hand. Carmilla glared back at him and the expression was so terrifying that the Ravenclaws beat a hasty retreat.
"Oh God…oh my God I sent you a freaking Howler? And I wrote you a sonnet? Jesus Christ…"
A sonnet?
Laura tried to lay a comforting arm on Carmilla, but was quickly shrugged off. Laura could feel Carmilla slipping away from her, and that hollow feeling returned once more. She was so stupid, to think that Carmilla could…
And then Carmilla turned back to her, words flying from her mouth like angry wasps.
"It's just…I cannot believe a stupid love potion is what made you find out how much I like you."
Laura felt a jolt rush through her at Carmilla's words. Surely…surely Carmilla couldn't…no…
"Wait so…you liked me even without the love potion?"
"Cupcake, I've had a crush on you ever since you tripped going up to the Sorting Hat in first year. Trust me, I did not need a love poti-"
But Carmilla's words were cut off as Laura practically tackled her, smothering her in a kiss.
Carmilla began to kiss Laura back with enthusiasm, for she had been waiting four years for this moment. The kiss was so soft and so right and Carmilla pulled Laura in closer, wrapping her hand securely around Laura's elbow, cupping her face with the other.
They kissed outside the Great Hall and it was timeless moment, more perfect than either could ever have dreamed it.
Maybe it wasn't such a stupid prank after all…