Some Like it Mild
By Kukaburry
Chapter 4- Trick Me, Don't Treat Me
KayeStar: Yes, showing off is my favorite character flaw. I might use it a bit too generously, but it always has so many possibilities. :D
Laurie looked at her schedule carefully. Her first class was Arithmancy on the west side of the castle. She hurried over, gracefully of course, so as not to be late. She walked into the classroom and looked around, confused. Several first years looked at her curiously. Laurie smiled uncertainly at them. A few of them gawked at her. "Professor Bree, isn't this your NEWT Arithmancy class?"
Professor Bree looked up at Laurie inquisitively. "No dear, it's not. That isn't until tomorrow afternoon. It should say that on your schedule." She peered at Laurie closely. "Were you one of my OWL students last year? I don't recognize you."
Laurie smiled, "It's Laurie Carter, professor. My schedule says it's right now. That's strange. I wonder if I picked up someone else's schedule?"
Professor Bree's eyebrows nearly disappeared. "Ms. Carter, I didn't even recognize you. My, you had an interesting summer, didn't you?" She smiled kindly. "Why don't you check the next class on your list? Perhaps they got switched around?"
"That's probably it. Thanks Professor Bree. I'll see you tomorrow then." Laurie gave a final grin to the two nearest first years and headed over to Transfiguration.
This time the class was full of fifth years. "I'm sorry Professor McGonagall. I didn't mean to interrupt. I'm having difficulty with my schedule." Laurie hurried out of the room, getting more frustrated by the minute. What was going on? She tried the next class on her list for the day, Charms.
A room of Gryffindors stared wonderingly at her. Professor Flitwick looked around his podium. "Can I help you?" He squeaked.
Laurie was beyond agitated now. She strode confidently through the sea of red to where Flitwick was standing."Professor Flitwick, something is funny with my schedule. None of my classes are written correctly." Laurie held the parchment under his nose.
"Oh my! Well there's your problem. There's a Confundus charm on your paper, it moves everything around. Here we go, 'Revelo'." He swished his wand and the schedule set itself straight.
'Damn Malfoy. I'll bet he did it when he stole my paper this morning, that lousy jerk. "Oh no! I have potions right now!" Laurie yelped, staring at her classes.
Flitwick gave her a smile. "No worries, Professor Snape will certainly understand." As Laurie turned to leave, the solemn looks of the Gryffindors showed that they knew otherwise.
"Well well, it's only the first day and already you have earned yourself a detention. I do not expect this from my NEWT students," Snape sneered darkly. "I don't believe you belong here. What is your name?"
"Carter, Rye." Laurie replied, holding back a sob. This was her first ever detention.
Snape looked taken-aback for a moment then finally recognized her as one of his top students from the previous year. He also recalled that the girl had never been late to his class before, but regained his composure. "Take a seat Ms. Carter you are wasting my time."
"But Professor, I can explain why-", Laurie began.
"Silence. Sit before you earn another detention for interrupting." Laurie needed no further encouragement and sat down at an empty table quietly.
She looked around for a familiar face, wishing Lily and Susan had been able to pass their OWLS for potions. She spotted one of the Weasley twins making funny faces at her and felt happier immediately. She smiled sincerely at him. The sound of snickering to her left caught her attention. 'Of course he's in my class.' Malfoy shot her a satisfied smirk, goading her. Laurie sniffed and ignored Malfoy pointedly, paying rapt attention to Snape's every word.
"Who can tell me the central ingredient of any type of love potion?" Snape queried. Hermione raised her hand. Snape's lip curled. "Granger?"
"Ashwinder eggs are known to be the central component of all love potions. They are said to have a particular pheromone that causes the user to believe they are in love."
"Thank you for spitting out a book definition Miss Granger. Yes, you are correct. Now who can tell me what the strongest of the love potions is called?" Hermione raised her hand again. "Miss Carter, perhaps?"
No one ever called on Laurie, but that was when she was invisible. How should she respond? She didn't want to be a know-it-all like Granger, but she didn't want to answer incorrectly. She went for a subtly ignorant approach. "Amortentia created by Laverne de Montmorency. Witch weekly had an entire page written about it a few weeks ago."
Snape grimaced. "How.. interesting. Well then since you clearly read very informational material, and are now an expert on potions, what is a runespoor egg used for?"
Laurie began to get nervous. She glanced around and saw every face pointed towards her. This was a tough question and she knew what the expected reply was. "Runespoor eggs are not used for anything since they are a protected species." She smiled politely and sat down. George gave her a thumbs-up and a big smile.
Snape narrowed his eyes. "Are you being cheeky Miss Carter?" Laurie slowly shook her head. She felt as though she would be burned to a crisp from his glare. "You are partially correct. Even though runespoor eggs are rarely used, they enhance mind-altering potions in particular." Laurie nodded her head innocently.
Rolling up his sleeves, Snape began to write a list of Potions on the board. Amortentia, Draught of Living Death and Veritaserum. "You will be brewing these three potions for the next three weeks. Today you will begin on Amortentia. Pick a partner and begin immediately. No talking outside of your group or points will be deducted."
George hurried over to Laurie's table. "I'm glad you're in my class. Fred got an E on his OWL for this class, so I had to go it alone." He grinned widely and brought out his hand-me-down cauldron. "You'll have to supply the ingredients, I used all of mine in my experiments already."
Laurie shook her head, not the least bit surprised. "Well you can pay me back in goods when you open up your joke shop next year."
"It's a deal, pretty girl," he hugged her around the shoulder.
"Fraternizing with a Weasley, eh Carter? He suits you very well. You will both live blissfully in poverty," Malfoy drawled maliciously. Laurie felt George stiffen angrily next to her. She put a soothing hand on his arm.
"So when you're done with your love potion, Malfoy, are you going to slip it to an unsuspecting person just to pretend that you have someone who actually loves you for a few hours?" Laurie shot back cooly.
Draco snarled. "I don't need a stupid love potion to get people to love me. It comes naturally to Purebloods, unlike filthy half-bloods." He glared at her pointedly.
By now nearly half room was watching the fight like a tennis match.
Laurie glowered, her indifferent attitude thrown away. "At least I don't have to pay people to be my friends, unlike stuck-up rich Pureblood snobs. Weasleys are ten times the wizards Malfoys are."
"Silence everyone." Snape spat, walking between Malfoy and Laurie. "Weasley, find another partner to work with. Malfoy, Carter, work by yourselves at the back table. If I hear one word from either of you, I will deduct 50 points each and tack on a week's worth of detention." The room became silent. "Back to work!" He barked.
Laurie slammed her cauldron on the table and brought out her potions book. She sorted her ingredients and simmered the first ingredients, keep as far away from Draco as possible. A piece of parchment appeared at her arm that read 'Half-bloods are filthy, slutty witches.' "Incendio." The parchment caught fire and crumpled into a heap.
She could feel Malfoy's self-satisfied smirk without even looking at him. She added three pinches of powder and a vial of liquid then stirred until a greenish vapor rose from the cauldron. She glanced up and saw Malfoy's smirk erased and replaced with a frown. He hurriedly stirred his mixture until it turned lime green, then smiled confidently at Laurie.
'He wants to race me, is that it? Well, I don't lose competitions.' She mixed in the final ingredients and ladled the thick concoction as directed. The final step was to boil for five minutes until it became pink. Fine, that was easy enough. Laurie increased the temperature and sat back to wait. She stared at Malfoy's cauldron and noticed that he was waiting as well.
Draco and Laurie stared each other down menacingly, preparing to rub the victory in each other's faces. 'I can't believe he kept up with me. I thought his brain worked at a slower rate than a slug.' Considering Draco's slightly nervous expression, he was thinking along the same lines. "Put everything away and bottle up what you have. If you have finished, place it on my desk, otherwise put it in the storage cupboard. You have an essay due Monday on the properties of asphodel root."
Neither Laurie nor Draco moved. Snape noticed them glaring daggers at each other from the front of the room, and expected them to burst out screaming any minute. He walked quickly to prevent any damage. "I said, time is up. Now clean it up and leave…"
A puff of pink smoke rose from Malfoy's cauldron followed immediately by Laurie's. Snape didn't believe his eyes. They were the only students to complete the entire task today. Malfoy jeered nastily at Laurie, "Well Carter, it looks like Purebloods are superior, just as I said."
Laurie bottled her potion and shrugged. "Whatever Malfoy. You won by pure luck. I can out-transfigure and out-charm you anytime." She placed her vial on Snape's desk and left to meet up with George.
Malfoy passed her while leaving and spoke in a low tone, "You'll have to prove it."
There she goes again….. Racing through my brain……
Sorry that song just popped into my mind. Well I certainly hope this stirred things up a bit.
I must share a funny joke I read:
Man: Geez, this past visit to the hospital cost me an arm and a leg!
Woman: Oh, I know what you mean. My husband's last trip to the hospital cost us nearly an entire mortgage payment!
Man: No, I meant I literally had my arm and leg chopped off because I couldn't afford the antidote.
~Soft pillows are the equivalent of good sex. You could just lay there forever.~ Kukaburry