Chapter 6: Revelations
Carla looked down at the letter in her hand and wondered if she should actually go through with this plan. Despite knowing she had told Lily she was going to pull a prank on Black, she had doubts that this was a tad too far. Only problem was she didn't have a back up plan if this prank didn't work. Not to mention the work she'd gone to in order to brew the Amortentia. No, she couldn't back out of this plan. Shaking her head roughly to shake out her doubts she continued to make her way to the Owlery, her resolve restored.
Searching for the owl she knew Severus Snape was fond of using, she tied the letter to its leg. The use of the owl was one of her better ideas. Not only would it solidify the words inside the letter, it would also serve to keep her completely anonymous. Despite the reassurances she had given Lily, Carla had no doubt Sirius Black would figure out this was all a prank. She was looking forward to his reaction when he discovered someone had succeeded in doing the unthinkable. As far as Carla was aware, no one had ever attempted to prank one of the infamous Marauders, as they so often called themselves. This would be a first for all of Hogwarts.
She left the Owlery smirking. The final step of her plan could be accomplished quite easily. The hardest part of her plan had been finding a way to alter the Amortentia. In order to make the prank seem more realistic she had needed to alter the potion to hint more at a subtle attraction rather than a full on obsession. Not only would the obsessive tendency serve as an immediate indicator of a love potion, but it would alert more than just Black to the prank and she definitely didn't need all four of the marauders coming after her in revenge. The only problem she had been unable to perfect was the intensity of the love felt became more obvious and obsessive the longer the potion was in the victim's system. She estimated that she had until dinner before the potion would wear off completely if all went well and she slipped the potion into his drink during breakfast.
Sitting next to her victim and unknowing accomplice, she prayed that the smell of breakfast would overpower the smell of the potion and make it easier for her to slip it to him without any suspicion. She knew that he had an extensive knowledge of potions and would immediately be aware of her plans if he got so much as a whiff. Reaching for a piece of toast, she inconspicuously flicked her wrist and let the potion flow into his goblet. There was a faint smell of chocolate and musk before the scent disappeared altogether as the potion mixed with the cold pumpkin juice. She felt the tension lift in relief when she watched him take a sip of his juice. The change came over him immediately. One second he was perfectly normal and the next he was pale and sickly, his eyes taking on a sparkle that was a little on the unstable side. Carla looked up and smirked when she saw Black and his friends reading the letter. Perfect timing.
-OoO-
Sirius Black stared at the letter in his hands in disbelief; Someone was trying to prank him. No one had ever even thought about pranking him before and he could honestly say that he was both amazed and angry that someone would give it a shot. Not even the Slytherins had tried to prank him before and most of them were on a suicide mission with Lord Voldemort.
Sirius looked up when he heard his friends snickering at his expense.
"Shut up, the whole lot of you." he hissed sending a glare at all three of them. "This isn't funny."
James grinned slyly. "I find this to be quite amusing actually. I don't think anyone has ever dared to prank one of us before. Who do you suppose it was?"
"Maybe that Slytherin girl you embarrassed in Transfiguration?" said a timid Peter.
"Don't be daft, Peter!" Sirius exclaimed in frustration. He felt slightly guilty at seeing Peter flinch and sink in defeat. He smiled apologetically at his friend before lowering his tone. "It couldn't have possibly been her."
"And why not?" Remus questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Currently she's the only one with any motive to go after you like this."
Sirius thought about that in silence for several seconds. He had to admit that Remus brought up a good point. He had embarrassed her in front of all of her own year. And while he knew that Slytherins did not take lightly to public humiliation, they were far more cunning than pulling a prank on someone who would easily sniff it out. He also knew they were all cowards. No way would one of them risk getting caught and receiving retaliation. They would more likely use someone else as a pawn to acheive their own ends. Now that was a thought.
"Do any of you know who she is?" he asked in curiosity.
"She's in our year," Peter piped up hopefully.
If it wasn't for the fact that Sirius had already snapped at him once today, he was sure Peter would have gotten slapped upside the head. Instead all he got were three equal stares of disbelief before James decided to break eye contact and turned back to Sirius. Peter had a tendency to state the obvious and was somewhat slow on the intelligence front and the three of them had learned not to point such things out to the boy.
"I've never seen her before, though I'm sure we've had classes with her every year." James said. "Why are you so interested in her anyways, Padfoot? You said yourself that it wasn't her."
"I don't know. I just don't understand how someone like her has gone unnoticed until now."
Remus huffed. "She's hardly gone unnoticed. She's been going through the rumor mill since fourth year and she always sits alone at dinner. Not to mention the fact that she's friends with Lily, something I expected James to know considering his mounting obsession."
James tensed and glared over at his friend.
"Its not an obsession, Remus. It is a healthy infatuation. And why in the bloody hell is Lily friends with another Slytherin?"
"The two of you would do well to let go of your prejudices." Remus said wisely. "The only thing its going to do is cause you more trouble."
Sirius rolled his eyes. "They bring it on themselves, Remus. Name a Slytherin that hasn't been prejudiced."
"Carla Livingston." he stated matter of factly.
"Who is he talking about?" Sirius said looking over at James, who looked just as equally confused.
"The Slytherin you are so adamant on hating. She isn't prejudiced."
Sirius snorted. "And I suppose you would know from all of the times you've spoken with her?"
"Actually I've never said two words to her. However, its common knowledge that she is the first ever Muggleborn to be sorted into Slytherin house."
There was several seconds of silence before they started laughing. Even Peter laughed at the ridiculous notion of a muggle born being sorted into Slytherin. The hat would never allow it. Not to mention the members of Slytherin would hate her upon coming to such a conclusion. She would be ridiculed and bullied for defiling its pureblood reputation.
Remus raised an eyebrow at the three of them.
"Have you ever wondered why she sits alone at dinner? Or in the back of every class? Has it ever seemed strange to you that she isn't ashamed to walk around with Lily Evans, who is commonly referred to as a Mudblood by the rest of her house? Or how she's never been vain and snide, never drawn attention to herself? While I'm sure she has the qualities to be a Slytherin, she hardly shows them. Does that not seem strange to you?"
As if on cue, the blonde haired Slytherin made her way over to the Gryffindor table to fetch a smiling Lily. Looking up, she met the three sets of curious eyes that were watching her every move. Raising an eyebrow, she followed Lily out of the Great Hall. Sirius watched her in disbelief and curiosity. Why would the Sorting Hat put her in a house that would hate her? Did it honestly believe that she was qualified for the house?
"My head is beginning to ache with the circles we are walking in right now and we have double Charms with Flitwick. This is getting us absolutely no where." James said, grabbing his bag as he stood.
While Sirius agreed, he found himself wondering about the mystery Slytherin as they exited the Great Hall and made their way for the Charms classroom.
-oOo-
Sirius was beyond angry as he sat down for dinner that night. He distinctly registered James sniggering in the background as he piled food on his plate.
His day had gone from bad to worse. Sitting through all of his classes with Snape staring at him with googly eyes had been more than a little disturbing, but he'd expected as much and he'd found it relieving that the effects of the love potion seemed dulled a bit. Of course, the infatuation only got worse as time passed, becoming more obsessive and unstable with every second that passed. Snape had gone so far as to create a fan club completely devoted to Sirius. Even more surprising was the amount of desperate girls that had taken it upon themselves to join. Not only had he been chased down corridors by an overly affectionate Snape, but he also had to deal with blushing first years trying to capture his attention.
The worst part of the day, however, was finally being cornered by Snape. He hadn't expected to be followed to the loo and had been more then frightened when he turned around and saw Snape standing behind him, a huge loving grin spread across his face. Even more frightening were the attempts Snape had made to "prove his love". While Sirius was far from innocent, he was not entirely comfortable having the greasy git try to put his hands in places they shouldn't be. In his panic, Sirius had begun to shout and James had run in with his wand raised before dissolving into a fit of laughter.
Sirius huffed angrily and began to shove his mashed poatoes into his mouth, a moody look on his face. Whatever intrigue he had found in Carla Livingston had dissipated upon having to deal with Snape. Instead of feeling a mild fascination when someone spoke about her, he found his anger growing. Peter and Remus had been right about who had pranked him. She was the only one that had a reason to want him to be humiliated and she had been smirking quite strangely in Potions after lunch. It meant nothing, however, because he would get her back for this.
"Here comes Snivellus, Padfoot. Oh, look! He brought you a present." James said as he and Remus broke into silent laughter.
Sirius groaned and let his head fall onto the table upon seeing Snape. This day was only getting worse.
"Black, I have a surprise for you." Snape said when he reached them, his voice slightly breathy and his eyes sparkling in a way that put Sirius on edge.
The pained groan Sirius let out seemed to only add fuel to the all ready raging fire.
"Please continue, Snivellus," James encouraged with a grin, ignoring Sirius' glare. "Sirius has always been fond of surprises."
"I hate you so much right now, James." Sirius muttered much to James' amusement.
Snape acted as though he hadn't heard a word either of them had said and handed Sirius a bottle of what appeared to be shampoo. Sirius raised an eyebrow before handing it back in the hopes that Snape wouldn't explain. Merlin didn't seem to agree with him because Snape was already doing just the opposite of what he wanted.
"I know how much you hate my hair, so I have decided I will try extra hard to wash it for you. Then maybe you will agree that we belong together."
James choked on his pumpkin juice and began to have a coughing fit as he attempted to stop laughing. Even Remus, who had never quite agreed with the way he and James treated Snape, seemed to find the comment amusing and hid his grin behind the rim of his goblet. Peter let out a squeak of laughter as Sirius began to bash his head repeatedly against the fine wood of the Gryffindor table in frustration.
"Black, what on Earth are you doing?" a voice said from behind him.
Sirius looked up at Lily Evans, who was watching him with a wary look, and tensed. There was Carla Livingston, standing right next to Lily with a smirk on her face. Sirius growled at her and ignored the placating hand James put on his shoulder.
"You," he hissed angrily. "This is all your fault, isn't it?"
"What's all her fault?" Lily questioned quickly. "Carla, what did you do to Black?"
Carla rolled her eyes and gave Snape a meaningful look. Lily turned towards him curiously and immediately stiffened before turning to glare at Carla.
"That is beyond cruel, Carla." she hissed, watching Snape with an anxious look. "Not to mention how many rules you're breaking."
Carla gave a shrug. "I never said I did anything. Black seemed to come to that conclusion all on his own."
Lily glared at her. "Don't pretend to be innocent Carla. You told me about getting revenge-"
"You knew about this?!" Sirius exclaimed loudly, but Lily merely ignored him.
"-so don't sit here and try to convince me this wasn't you. Where's the antidote?"
Carla sighed and took a seat next to Remus as though she belonged there, which only served to make Sirius angrier.
"The antidote is wherever I want it to be and Black isn't getting it."
Sirius jumped up and was about to grab his wand when James wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him back down to sit next to him. Carla merely raised an eyebrow at him, an emotion he was unable to place in his anger flashing through her eyes.
"I'll get you back for this, snake." he snapped.
"Using my house as an insult, are we Black?" she said, smirking. "Thats a tad amateur don't you think?"
Sirius growled again, his eyes taking on an angry glint. He'd nearly had enough of this girl and it was only a month into school. All ready she'd broke his nose and he'd had enough trouble trying to explain to his friends that nothing had happened. And now she was humiliating him in front of the whole school am enjoyong every second of it.
"Do you think you can control him, Potter?" Evans snapped, pausing in her attempts to get the antidote from Carla.
"Its a lot harder than it looks, Evans." James snapped.
"Don't talk to me-"
"Merlin's nuts," Carla groaned before Lily could say anything further. "Can the two of you do me a favor and simmer down for once. I understand what sexual tension is, but the two of you are going to a new level."
"Sexual tension?" Lily all but yelled, spinning to face her as James smirked. "Potter and I do not have sexual tension!"
Carla ignored her and pulled out a vial of clear liquid and poured it into a goblet of cold pumpkin juice before holding it out to Sirius with a smirk.
"You want the antidote," Carla said, setting it down by his plate of food. "I'll give it to you. Under one condition,"
Sirius handed the potion back to her before she could explain what she wanted in return. It was typical of a Slytherin to give nothing unless there was something in it for them, but he wasn't going to owe a Slytherin any favors. Carla seemed to realise this and smiled sweetly at Snape, who stood behind her staring at him wistfully.
"I think Black's having a bad day, Snape. He needs someone to cheer him up."
Sirius tensed as Snape's face lit up and he made his way towards him. He struggled against James' hold, but wasn't fast enough and soon found himself enveloped in a hug. With Snape.
"Someone get him off me. Right now." Sirius said, glaring at his grinning friends. He was going to kill them all.
"It seems like you could use that antidote, doesn't it?" Carla said, triumph glinting in her eyes as she held the goblet out to him in offering. He glared at her and considered whether it was really worth it. Sure, Snape was being a right pain in his arse, but he knew better than to promise a Slytherin favors. He could fend Snape off until the potion wore off. Just as he thought it, Snape cuddled closer and Sirius panicked.
"Give me the bloody drink, Livingston!" he snapped, pushing against his enemy's shoulders in an attempt to get out of his hold.
Carla raised an eyebrow as Lily came over to help Sirius break free of Snape's hold, finally pausing in her argument with James about their nonexistent sexual tension.
"I have plenty more where this came from in case you weren't aware. It would be quite easy for me to slip the potion to him every morning."
Sirius tensed and Lily whirled around to glare at her.
"You are not giving this to him everyday, Carla!" She snapped. "I absolutely forbid it. This is awful, not to mention incredibly dangerous."
"Lily, sweetie, I love you to pieces, but you are beginning to get into things that don't involve you." Carla said in exasperation.
"I'm a Prefect! This does involve me! Now give Black the antidote." Lily yelled, her cheeks taking on that rosy color that indicated her mounting anger.
Sirius smirked. Only James had ever dared to go against Lily's anger and he doubted Carla would push her any longer. She shocked him, however, by turning back to him and tilting the drink towards him in invitation, smirk plastered across her face and ignoring Lily completely.
"Tell me what you want first." he snapped, finally managing to get Snape off of him.
"I hardly think you have the grounds to-"
"Tell me!" he snapped.
Carla huffed and folded her arms across her chest.
"No need to get impatient, Black. You can have the antidote if, and only if, you agree not to retaliate."
Sirius stared at her for a second before giving James a disbelieving look.
"That's all you want?" he asked in confusion.
Carla laughed. "Don't sound so surprised, Black. As far as I'm concerned we're even. You humiliated me, I did the same to you. There's hardly any reason to carry on a situation that is already taken care of."
Sirius stared at her a second before giving a nod of his head and making a grab for the goblet, but she jerked it away from him.
"What the hell?" he exclaimed with a glare. "I agreed to your terms so give me the drink!"
"You can't have anyone else retaliate for you either, just so we're clear. Not some first year you coerced into doing it for you and not one of these three"-she indicated James, Remus, and Peter-"to do it for you. Are we clear?"
Sirius clenched his teeth. "Fine."
She grinned and handed him the potion. Sirius ignored her and handed the drink to Snape.
"Bottoms up, mate. I made it special for you." he muttered, watching as Snape eagerly drank it without question.
The change was instantaneous. He slumped slightly and his eyes took on an exhausted glint, his complexion returning to normal. When he noticed where he was standing, he gave them all a glare before stomping off to the Slytherin table, having no memory of the incident. Sirius scowled. It hardly seemed fair that he had the images seared into his brain for life and Snape would remember nothing.
Carla grinned and stood, wiping off her school robes.
"Well, it was nice meeting the lot of you, but I need to get back to dinner." she said, eyeing all of them before looking toward an angry Lily. "I'll meet you after breakfast tomorrow,yeah?"
Lily answered with a huff before storming off to sit with her friends. Carla watched her walk away and shook her head.
"I wish you the best of luck with her, Potter." she said before making her way over to the Slytherin table.
Sirius stared after her before sinking down into his seat.
"That was probably the strangest encounter of my life." James muttered.
Sirius couldn't help but agree.
-oOo-
That is the last chapter this story needed to catch up with Trial and Error, which means I will be taking a long overdue break from updating. Anyways, hope you enjoyed!
