Chapter 6 ~ Retribution
"Why are their robes blue?" Muriel, like the rest of the great hall, was laughing hysterically as the marauders stomped to their table and sat down. The laughing stopped abruptly, however, when James reached for a glass of water, which promptly turned blue when he touched it.
Sirius threw a stack of blue books heavily down on the table beside him and looked for Muriel. He KNEW that this was her fault somehow. James was gazing intently at Severus, since it had to have been he who brewed the potion. They were all furious. Muriel was really looking forward to Defense Against The Dark Arts today.
Marisa prodded her as she ate, and she turned to her. "Sirius is staring at you," she whispered.
Muriel stifled her laugh. "Can you blame him?" she asked quietly. Marisa couldn't help but laugh, and turned back to look at the marauders. Their silverware, plates and drinks were all blue. They were whispering furiously among themselves. Suddenly Sirius stood up, his fist pounding the table with a loud 'thunk'. Every Gryffindor gasped as the entire table turned blue. Sirius threw one last angry glance at Muriel before he stomped out of the hall.
Muriel couldn't help but laugh, even though she knew that James and the others were still watching her.
She met up with Severus in the hallway on her way to class. "You didn't say that it would turn everything they TOUCHED blue too," she hissed, still giggling in spite of herself.
He looked abashed. "I didn't think it would. Mur, what if it doesn't wear off like it's supposed to?" He sounded really worried.
Muriel stopped laughing abruptly. She didn't bother to ask him why he hadn't thought of that before. "Then I guess we'd better come up with an antidote," she whispered back. He left her outside the Dark Arts classroom, and heard her chuckle again, presumably because the marauder's desks were already blue.
Mur sat close to the door, in case she needed to make a quick get away. Unfortunately the boys had already hatched a plan. Only a few minutes before the bell, Peter faked a swoon and fell to the floor. Sirius had his hand in the air and James had laid his head on the desk tiredly. "Yes, Mr. Black?"
"Sir, we aren't feeling very well. Whatever was in that potion Madam Pomfrey gave us is.is." he trailed off, letting his eyes droop. Remus watched as a worried expression crept over Muriel's face and tried not to smirk. It had definitely been her.
Professor Warrington excused them to go to the Hospital ward. Deesia was closest to the door, so he sent her along to levitate Peter, reminding them not to touch anything on the way. No sooner had the door closed behind them than Sirius, James and Remus dropped the act and grabbed Muriel from all sides. Sirius put a hand on her face, Remus grabbed her hand, and James made sure her robes were blue as well.
Far from being surprised, she stood there and let them do it. She looked hard into Sirius Black's now blue eyes. "It'll wear off soon enough anyway, boys," she said condescendingly, hoping she was right. She grabbed Sirius wrist and threw it back at him angrily. Peter was still levitating nearby, so she flicked her wand, making him fall hard to the ground. She noticed that her wand had not turned blue. Well, that was some consolation.
A week later found her in a bed in the Harmless Hex ward. "Actually, Mur, I don't think it will wear off." Severus was standing several feet from her while Professor Warrington looked on, enraged, but silent. "Well," he clarified quickly, "THEY will go back to their original color, but anything they touched won't." His voice was very low.
"Severus, you will find an antidote for this, and you will find it NOW!" Muriel was shaking with rage.
"I'm working on it!" he exclaimed irritably. "It's just that Avery won't tell me what he threw into our cauldron." He clapped a hand over his mouth and turned to look at Professor Warrington.
"It was Avery, eh?" The professor swept out, and Muriel and Severus exchanged a glance.
"Do you think he'll be able to make him talk?" she whispered. Severus felt awful as he shrugged and sat down in the nearest chair. This was all his fault. He should never have used that potion when he didn't know what was in it.
Three days later, Professor Warrington had finished the potion. Avery had been helping him during detention each night, and stood sullenly in the Harmless Hex ward as Muriel drank it. It took nearly an hour for her skin to return to its normal color. She spent the entire hour glaring at Avery.
When Professor Warrington was satisfied that his potion had worked correctly, he and Avery left a very perturbed Muriel alone with her thoughts. As she gathered up her homework from the table beside the bed, she swore that this was going to be the end of the pranks. She'd learned her lesson. She was going to leave those boys alone. They always managed to get back at her just a little better than she got back at them.
She fumed all the way back to her dorm and threw herself into her homework with a passion. It was nearly Valentine's day before she even THOUGHT about hexing the marauders again. They, too, seemed to want something of a truce. Sure, she'd gotten a set of house elf ears in the hallway once since then, but one hex in over a month was nothing. She hadn't even tried to find out which one of them had done it.
On February 14th, a huge black owl she didn't recognize landed in front of her at breakfast, followed quickly by a smaller, tawny owl. Both dropped bright blue envelopes in front of her before flying off. The smaller owl picked up a grape from her plate and hooted happily as it followed the first. By the end of breakfast, two more owls had dropped blue envelopes in front of her, and her dorm mates were giggling annoyingly. She had pushed away her food, and stared at the offensively colored objects, refusing to lift her eyes to the Gryffindor table. "The great prats!" she exclaimed. She shoved the letters into her bag and stormed out, heading straight for the History of Magic classroom.
She opened the first envelope, holding it out away from her in case it had a hex in it, but nothing happened. There was only one word written on the parchment, "Facio," she whispered. She wasn't very good at Latin, though she spoke Italian fluently. She was sure it meant to cause, or something like that.
The second letter only said, "Noceo." She whispered this as well, shaking her head. She had no idea what that meant.
She opened the next one. "Sero. That means 'late', doesn't it?" she said to herself. It didn't make any sense.
When she opened the final envelope, it blew an obnoxious raspberry at her before all four envelopes caught fire on her desk. In a moment they were gone, and she wiped the ashes away hastily as Professor Binns entered through the blackboard and several students appeared in the doorway. What in the world could they have meant?
She found out late that night, when she awoke with a horrible ache in every muscle she had, and many she hadn't been aware of. The soft sheets of her bed chaffed against her skin, and when she reached for the doorknob, panicking, to get to the hospital wing, the cold metal seemed to burn her. Everything she touched caused agony.
She stood still in the hospital ward, shivering in her thin nightgown, as Madam Pomfrey looked up counter charms. Muriel had written the words down for her, although the quill had pinched her fingers horribly.
The nurse cast spell after spell, but nothing seemed to do the trick. Finally, she sent for the Headmaster.
After several failed spells, read out of a huge and dusty tome, Dumbledore came up with the correct counter curse, and Muriel stopped shivering abruptly and began to shake with fury instead.
Her head cleared enough that she could think. But the only thought that popped into her head was, 'Of all the rotten things to do, tricking me into hexing myself had to be the worst.' She wondered if the horrible prats had had the guts to sneak out in that cloak of theirs to see how much they'd hurt her. She concentrated on their images as she left the hospital ward, a blanket of Madam Pomfrey's wrapped around her. Sure enough, she could feel them nearby, though she was surprised at all the conflicting emotions. At least SOMEONE among them felt bad about it.
'Good,' she thought angrily. She knew she could easily make them all feel sorry for it, and as soon as she was sure Madam Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore hadn't followed her into the corridor, she sat down next to the wall, wrapped her arms around her knees and cried for all she was worth.
It was quite a bit later when she realized that the marauders had long since slipped away, and she was crying for herself instead of for them. Why did they hate her so much? Most of her pranks had been harmless enough. She'd only been teasing, after all.
She looked up, suddenly angry again. Well, all that was going to change. If they could cause her this much pain, then there was no reason why she couldn't do the same to them. She picked herself up and marched back to her dormitory, the tears drying on her face. "Just wait," she whispered quietly to herself as she climbed the stairs. "You're all going to regret this."
"Why are their robes blue?" Muriel, like the rest of the great hall, was laughing hysterically as the marauders stomped to their table and sat down. The laughing stopped abruptly, however, when James reached for a glass of water, which promptly turned blue when he touched it.
Sirius threw a stack of blue books heavily down on the table beside him and looked for Muriel. He KNEW that this was her fault somehow. James was gazing intently at Severus, since it had to have been he who brewed the potion. They were all furious. Muriel was really looking forward to Defense Against The Dark Arts today.
Marisa prodded her as she ate, and she turned to her. "Sirius is staring at you," she whispered.
Muriel stifled her laugh. "Can you blame him?" she asked quietly. Marisa couldn't help but laugh, and turned back to look at the marauders. Their silverware, plates and drinks were all blue. They were whispering furiously among themselves. Suddenly Sirius stood up, his fist pounding the table with a loud 'thunk'. Every Gryffindor gasped as the entire table turned blue. Sirius threw one last angry glance at Muriel before he stomped out of the hall.
Muriel couldn't help but laugh, even though she knew that James and the others were still watching her.
She met up with Severus in the hallway on her way to class. "You didn't say that it would turn everything they TOUCHED blue too," she hissed, still giggling in spite of herself.
He looked abashed. "I didn't think it would. Mur, what if it doesn't wear off like it's supposed to?" He sounded really worried.
Muriel stopped laughing abruptly. She didn't bother to ask him why he hadn't thought of that before. "Then I guess we'd better come up with an antidote," she whispered back. He left her outside the Dark Arts classroom, and heard her chuckle again, presumably because the marauder's desks were already blue.
Mur sat close to the door, in case she needed to make a quick get away. Unfortunately the boys had already hatched a plan. Only a few minutes before the bell, Peter faked a swoon and fell to the floor. Sirius had his hand in the air and James had laid his head on the desk tiredly. "Yes, Mr. Black?"
"Sir, we aren't feeling very well. Whatever was in that potion Madam Pomfrey gave us is.is." he trailed off, letting his eyes droop. Remus watched as a worried expression crept over Muriel's face and tried not to smirk. It had definitely been her.
Professor Warrington excused them to go to the Hospital ward. Deesia was closest to the door, so he sent her along to levitate Peter, reminding them not to touch anything on the way. No sooner had the door closed behind them than Sirius, James and Remus dropped the act and grabbed Muriel from all sides. Sirius put a hand on her face, Remus grabbed her hand, and James made sure her robes were blue as well.
Far from being surprised, she stood there and let them do it. She looked hard into Sirius Black's now blue eyes. "It'll wear off soon enough anyway, boys," she said condescendingly, hoping she was right. She grabbed Sirius wrist and threw it back at him angrily. Peter was still levitating nearby, so she flicked her wand, making him fall hard to the ground. She noticed that her wand had not turned blue. Well, that was some consolation.
A week later found her in a bed in the Harmless Hex ward. "Actually, Mur, I don't think it will wear off." Severus was standing several feet from her while Professor Warrington looked on, enraged, but silent. "Well," he clarified quickly, "THEY will go back to their original color, but anything they touched won't." His voice was very low.
"Severus, you will find an antidote for this, and you will find it NOW!" Muriel was shaking with rage.
"I'm working on it!" he exclaimed irritably. "It's just that Avery won't tell me what he threw into our cauldron." He clapped a hand over his mouth and turned to look at Professor Warrington.
"It was Avery, eh?" The professor swept out, and Muriel and Severus exchanged a glance.
"Do you think he'll be able to make him talk?" she whispered. Severus felt awful as he shrugged and sat down in the nearest chair. This was all his fault. He should never have used that potion when he didn't know what was in it.
Three days later, Professor Warrington had finished the potion. Avery had been helping him during detention each night, and stood sullenly in the Harmless Hex ward as Muriel drank it. It took nearly an hour for her skin to return to its normal color. She spent the entire hour glaring at Avery.
When Professor Warrington was satisfied that his potion had worked correctly, he and Avery left a very perturbed Muriel alone with her thoughts. As she gathered up her homework from the table beside the bed, she swore that this was going to be the end of the pranks. She'd learned her lesson. She was going to leave those boys alone. They always managed to get back at her just a little better than she got back at them.
She fumed all the way back to her dorm and threw herself into her homework with a passion. It was nearly Valentine's day before she even THOUGHT about hexing the marauders again. They, too, seemed to want something of a truce. Sure, she'd gotten a set of house elf ears in the hallway once since then, but one hex in over a month was nothing. She hadn't even tried to find out which one of them had done it.
On February 14th, a huge black owl she didn't recognize landed in front of her at breakfast, followed quickly by a smaller, tawny owl. Both dropped bright blue envelopes in front of her before flying off. The smaller owl picked up a grape from her plate and hooted happily as it followed the first. By the end of breakfast, two more owls had dropped blue envelopes in front of her, and her dorm mates were giggling annoyingly. She had pushed away her food, and stared at the offensively colored objects, refusing to lift her eyes to the Gryffindor table. "The great prats!" she exclaimed. She shoved the letters into her bag and stormed out, heading straight for the History of Magic classroom.
She opened the first envelope, holding it out away from her in case it had a hex in it, but nothing happened. There was only one word written on the parchment, "Facio," she whispered. She wasn't very good at Latin, though she spoke Italian fluently. She was sure it meant to cause, or something like that.
The second letter only said, "Noceo." She whispered this as well, shaking her head. She had no idea what that meant.
She opened the next one. "Sero. That means 'late', doesn't it?" she said to herself. It didn't make any sense.
When she opened the final envelope, it blew an obnoxious raspberry at her before all four envelopes caught fire on her desk. In a moment they were gone, and she wiped the ashes away hastily as Professor Binns entered through the blackboard and several students appeared in the doorway. What in the world could they have meant?
She found out late that night, when she awoke with a horrible ache in every muscle she had, and many she hadn't been aware of. The soft sheets of her bed chaffed against her skin, and when she reached for the doorknob, panicking, to get to the hospital wing, the cold metal seemed to burn her. Everything she touched caused agony.
She stood still in the hospital ward, shivering in her thin nightgown, as Madam Pomfrey looked up counter charms. Muriel had written the words down for her, although the quill had pinched her fingers horribly.
The nurse cast spell after spell, but nothing seemed to do the trick. Finally, she sent for the Headmaster.
After several failed spells, read out of a huge and dusty tome, Dumbledore came up with the correct counter curse, and Muriel stopped shivering abruptly and began to shake with fury instead.
Her head cleared enough that she could think. But the only thought that popped into her head was, 'Of all the rotten things to do, tricking me into hexing myself had to be the worst.' She wondered if the horrible prats had had the guts to sneak out in that cloak of theirs to see how much they'd hurt her. She concentrated on their images as she left the hospital ward, a blanket of Madam Pomfrey's wrapped around her. Sure enough, she could feel them nearby, though she was surprised at all the conflicting emotions. At least SOMEONE among them felt bad about it.
'Good,' she thought angrily. She knew she could easily make them all feel sorry for it, and as soon as she was sure Madam Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore hadn't followed her into the corridor, she sat down next to the wall, wrapped her arms around her knees and cried for all she was worth.
It was quite a bit later when she realized that the marauders had long since slipped away, and she was crying for herself instead of for them. Why did they hate her so much? Most of her pranks had been harmless enough. She'd only been teasing, after all.
She looked up, suddenly angry again. Well, all that was going to change. If they could cause her this much pain, then there was no reason why she couldn't do the same to them. She picked herself up and marched back to her dormitory, the tears drying on her face. "Just wait," she whispered quietly to herself as she climbed the stairs. "You're all going to regret this."