"He just left!" Myrtle wailed to Odessa and Hastings. "I knew you were making this up. No one cares about poor, miserable, moaning Myrtle!"
"Myrtle, honey, I should have told you something up front and I apologize," Odessa said, reaching out to grab her arm and then remembering that Myrtle was a ghost. "Remember how I dated him back in school?" Myrtle nodded, looking suspicious. "Well, I learned that the more he likes a girl the more obstinate and rude he is until he actually starts to date her. He likes to make girls work for him so that he feels important. You should've heard some of things he told me. He was constantly telling me to bugger off, saying that I was a hag and worse things. If he didn't care about you, he wouldn't say anything. In fact," Odessa paused, trying to look somewhat upset, "he broke up with me because he couldn't get over you."
"Really?" Myrtle preened, "that's why? I thought you cheated on him."
Odessa shook her head, "Oh, no. He said that because he thought you'd find out how he really felt and reject him."
Myrtle smiled and posed a bit, "I always knew that boy had good taste. I suppose I should wait for him to return."
Odessa nodded, "I'm sure he will. Remember Myrtle, persistence is the key." Odessa gave her a smile and then pulled Hastings out of the bathroom.
"That was brilliant!" Hastings said. "Good job!"
"Well, you had the original idea. I just wanted to make sure it continued to be successful. What do you think the boys are up to?"
Hastings shrugged, "Who knows, with them, I mean –"
"Hastings!" Hastings looked up to see Professor Vector waving and smiling. "I just wanted to let you know that Falcon is leaving flowers in your room for you, isn't that sweet?"
Hastings looked shocked, "How do you know?"
"He went into my room by mistake, him and Sirius. I found them coming out. They had forgotten the flowers so he'll probably be back. I thought you should stay away from the dorms for awhile so he can be successful."
"Uh, thanks Professor. I will."
"Have fun girls!" Professor Vector continued her way down the hall.
Odessa turned towards Hastings, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?
Hastings nodded. "PRANK!" They sang out at the same time.
"Poor Professor Vector, I have a feeling she'll have a bad night." Odessa said.
"Yup," Hastings agreed. "We should probably go check out our rooms, what do you think?"
"Definitely, but let's wait. I don't want the guys to catch us there this early, they'll know we found out. I hope Sirius didn't transfigure any of our furniture into animals!"
Hastings laughed, "I wouldn't be surprised.
"But knowing him," Odessa continued thoughtfully, "he likes to think he's clever, which means that he'll try to use something that requires either your knowledge of the dark arts or my knowledge of potions."
Hastings nodded, "You're right. I doubt he'd use the dark arts – he could get into too much trouble. I'm thinking potions."
"Yeah. You're probably right. But let's be prepared for our wardrobes to charge us as well. In the meantime, what should we do now?"
Hastings brightened, "I've got the perfect idea!"
"What's your idea?" asked Odessa.
"If they're trying to get at us by using our own expertise against us, we ought to extend the very same courtesy to them. I think a little transfiguration and medical mischief is in order."
"Sounds great, what did you have in mind?"
"Well," said Hastings, "Since you think I'm so brilliant, I'm going to return the complement by asking you to whip up a batch of good old Veritaserum."
"What good would it do to have them spouting the truth?"
"Must I spell everything out for you?" asked Hastings.
"Ha ha," said Odessa, not amused.
"We can get them to tell us how they cursed our rooms. Well, yours and Professor Vector's, that is."
"I'll do it after midnight," said Odessa. "Veritaserum always brews a little better in the wee hours. It won't be as strong though, since I don't have time to go through all of the steps."
"That's fine," said Hastings. "I'll help you. Meanwhile, let's get some sleep, if we're going to be up all night making a truth serum."
"Aren't you forgetting something?" asked Odessa.
"What?" asked Hastings, already heading toward her room.
"You're so scatter-brained, aren't you?"
"What are you going on about, Odessa? I'm tired."
"Too tired to remember why we're making them drink Veritaserum in the first place?"
"Oh, the whole cursed bedroom thing, huh?
"Wow, it's amazing they don't have NEWTs or OWLs in Common Sense. You'd get an Outstanding, for sure." Odessa said with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh, pipe down," said Hastings, "You're right though. That could present a problem. Maybe we could talk to Professor Vector about it."
"You mean go up to her and say, 'Hey, Professor, when you saw Sirius and Falcon in your room earlier, did they look like they were performing a curse?' Yeah, that'll go over really well."
"No," said Hastings. "I mean just talk to her and see if anything… odd was going on in her room."
"I suppose it's worth a try," Odessa said.
They found her in the Ladies' common room just after eight, looking through a telescope, pointed straight at the wall.
"Um Professor Vector?" asked Odessa.
"Oh, good evening ladies," said the older woman. "How are you this evening?"
"Just fine," said Hastings. "Er… did you realize that your telescope isn't pointed out a window?"
"Oh, of course I did," said the Professor, taking the telescope off the stand and handing it to Hastings. "Look through yourself, if you'd like. Oh, point it at that picture of Rodolfo the Ridiculous, for best results."
Hastings looked through the glass of the telescope, and almost fell over as she beheld planets, stars, and moons whizzing passed her in rapid succession. "What in the?" Finally, the view in the telescope settled onto a blue and purple planet, surrounded by haze and a sparse asteroid belt. Hastings moved the telescope away from her eyes. "How did that happen, Professor?"
"It's a spell I put on the lens," said Professor Vector. "It makes anything obscuring the view, like a wall and painting in this case, transparent. The same spell that is used to enchant invisibility cloaks."
"That's amazing," said Hastings, handing the telescope to Odessa. As Odessa looked through it (jumping at first, as Hastings had) Hastings asked, "So, Professor… When you saw Falcon earlier… did he say when he'd be back?" She smiled, and even batted here eyes a little to show that she was interested in the prospect of receiving Falcon's flowers.
Professor Vector smiled in return and said, "Ah, young love… No, dear, he didn't say. I suppose there are no flowers in your room then?"
"No, ma'am," said Hastings, acting a little down."
"Oh, I wouldn't worry, dear," said Professor Vector. "The way that man looks at you and talks about you… Actually, come to think… he's probably distracted by you, that's why he's forgetful. Seems he conjured juice instead of flowers when he was there earlier. Said he forgot them, but I think he just didn't want to admit to having spilled something all over my bed."
"Something spilled?" asked Odessa, returning the telescope to Professor Vector.
"Yes, something that smelled sweet. No matter, he was probably distracted."
"You're sure it was juice?" asked Hastings.
"I'm certain I don't know," said Professor Vector absently as she placed her telescope in a long, wooden box with leather clasps. "I sent my comforter to the laundry and had others sent up in the mean time. It was quite damp."
Odessa looked at Hastings, and they both ran up the stairs to Odessa's room. Throwing back the covers, Odessa searched her sheets and blankets for moisture, or a stain. "Nothing," said Odessa.
"I still wouldn't sleep on those, if I were you," said Hastings.
"No kidding," said Odessa. "I'll sleep on the sofa, and send my bedclothes down—might want to have them look at the mattress too."
"Sounds good," said Hastings. Maybe we should check them again. You're the potions expert… can't you smell it to see what it is?"
"Well," said Odessa, "I guess I could try." She walked over to the blankets and sniffed them. "Might be on the pillow case, come to think," she said. She leaned close to the pillow without touching it, and breathed in deeply. She smelled a mixture of lilies with rotten bananas. It was extremely sweet-smelling, and made her almost gag. "Don't touch it," said Odessa. "It's Faustus Malloren."
"What?" asked Hastings.
"What's the opposite of Felix Felices?"
"You mean… Bad Luck Potion?"
"You bet," said Odessa. I used to give it to Slughorn for fun when I was in his NEWTs class."
"Nothing better to do, eh?" asked Hastings with a smile.
"Well, you weren't in potions anymore, I had to have fun some way. Sirius and I used to make it together. Why, that dirty, little, scheming, sack of—"
"So," Hastings interrupted, "Tell me how you really feel."
"Well, at least we noticed it in time," said Odessa. "No reason to give them the Veritaserum now, I guess, huh?"
"I don't know," said Hastings. "I still think you should make it. It would be fun to watch them spout the truth to everyone."
"Well, if you insist," said Odessa. "Now go away so I can get to bed."
"All right, good night," said Hastings, leaving the room.
Before going to bed, Odessa decided to take a shower to calm down. What she didn't notice as she lathered her hair with lavender shampoo was a faint smell of lilies and bananas…
It was Hastings who woke first. "I bet Odessa's still in bed," she said. She rose and put on a robe, then walked through the woman's common room to Odessa's bedroom. Opening the door and walking in, she saw that Odessa wasn't on the sofa, where she said she'd be. "Ode, are you in here?" she asked.
She heard a grumpy moan from beside the sofa. Walking over there, she saw Odessa, rising up off the floor. "What in the…"
"Are you okay?" asked Hastings.
"That's weird," said Odessa. "I must have fallen off the sofa. Probably had a bad dream." She stood and rubbed her head, then yawned. "Well, whatever. Let's just get to making the Veritaserum."
They walked down to the Potions stores to gather the required ingredients. "Don't you need a list?" asked Hastings.
"No," said Odessa. "I make this all the time. I have it memorized. Actually, I have three difficult potions memorized," she said as she placed various bottles in a caldron. "Veritaserum, Polyjuice Potion, and Number 9."
"Wow," said Hastings. "I guess that's why you're the potions master. I can't make tomato soup without it turning blue."
"All a matter of practice, my friend," said Odessa. "Why—" she dropped a bottle of lacewing flies, smashing it on the stone floor and scattering the contents everywhere. "What is wrong with me?" she asked. "I'm never this clumsy with my potions. You don't think they cursed me somehow, do you?"
Hastings took the caldron from her and said, "Come on, Grace, you've always been clumsy. It had to catch on at work eventually. Scourgify!" The Lacewing flies flew up into the air, and the glass from the bottle remade themselves landing safe and whole into the caldron.
"Thanks," said Odessa. "I guess that's it. Let's go to the girls' bathroom. Myrtle shouldn't be there since she's paying Sirius a visit tonight.
As Falcon slept soundly, Sirius lay in his bed with his pillow over his head, unable to sleep while Moaning Myrtle serenaded him with love poetry until dawn. Several times in the night, he threw pillows at her, shouting, "Shut up, Myrtle!"
"She said you'd say that," said Myrtle. She said the only thing to do is be persistent, and you'd be bound to love me!"
Sirius pounded his mattress, shouting, "I… am going… to kill… that little…"
"AND I---------EEEEEE------I------EEEEE-----I… WILL ALWAYS…. LOOOOOOOOOVE YOU!"
Odessa had finished concocting the potion and was yawning as she dribbled it, attempting to pour it into a vial. "Well, Miss clumsy," said Hastings, wide awake in her own right. "You should get back to bed. I'll go pay our Mr. Potter and Mr. Puddinghaste a visit. Man, what a stupid name."
"G'night, Hastings," said Odessa, clamoring up the stairs to her bedroom. Hastings walked through the teacher's lounge into the men's dormitory, and up the stairs to Sirius' room. She figured giving him the potion first would make more sense, in case she was caught. She didn't really want to harm Falcon so much. Tiptoeing up to Sirius' door, Hastings pressed her ear against it.
"To love once is to love always/To love always is to love a lot…"
Suppressing a giggle, Hastings decided to pour the potion in their drinks at breakfast – she didn't want to interrupt Myrtle and her quest for Sirius' love.