Prank Time
Chapter 24: Prank Time
November 11, 1993
"So, Katie?" Fred asked. "You joining?"
"Joining?" asked Katie. "You mean taking part in a full-fledged prank war that could get us detention for the rest of the year? You bet I am."
He grinned. "Love the Gryffindor spirit. Spread the word, yeah? Let anyone and everyone know. I'm trying to get ol' Perce to join up."
"You're trying to get Percy to join?" Katie asked incredulously. "You mean stiff old Head Boy Percy?"
"That's the one," Fred replied, grinning. "Bet you a Galleon I can."
Katie grinned. "I'm sure you can. I'll let all my friends know."
"Thanks, Katie," Fred said. "I knew I could count on you."
"Please?" pleaded George. "It's gonna be so much fun!"
"I don't even know you," pointed out Roger Davies. "But sure, I'll join. As long as my friends can join too."
George grinned. "All you have to do is let them know."
"Come on, little bro," said Fred, patting Ron on the head affectionately. "You three are up for joining, right?"
"Explain the rules one more time?" asked Hermione disapprovingly.
"We split into four teams. There's a list of pranks. Whichever team does a certain prank first gets the point for it. The team with the most points wins."
"And you want us to participate in this?" asked Hermione. "And risk losing House points and getting enough detentions for the rest of the year?"
"That sounds about right," Fred said.
"I love the idea!" proclaimed Ron. "I'm joining!"
"Me too," said Harry. "This sounds like fun, and I could use fun."
They both looked at Hermione.
She sighed. "Fine, I'll join too, but only because of you two."
Harry and Ron grinned. "Thanks, Hermione!"
"Spread the word, spread the word," reminded Fred airily. "We need as many people to participate as we can get."
"That won't be hard," Harry informed him. "I know a lot of people."
"So," announced Katie, "Fred and George are hosting a Hogwarts prank war."
"Yep," declared Fred and George proudly.
"And we want everyone to join," continued Katie. "So… are you guys going to join?"
"What do we get if we win?" asked Oliver.
"Haven't worked it out yet, Oliver, but we'll get something you'll like," promised Fred. "Are you in?"
"Sounds fun!" exclaimed Angelina and Alicia together. "We'll join."
"Oliver?" pleaded Harry. "Come on, it'll be so much fun!"
"Fine," relented Wood. "But only if the prize is good."
"Oh, it will be," assured George, smirking. "Welcome to the prank war."
"A… prank war?" asked Liana in disbelief.
"That's what your brother said," Draco informed her. "I, for one, am joining. First of all, I need to beat your brother in this. Second of all, a prank war? Seriously? With so many people doing it, the teachers won't have the time and energy to punish us all! And it's a great chance to make mischief around the school."
"Should I join?" asked Liana. "I'm not sure if I should or not. Besides, I'm grounded for the rest of the semester."
"Come on, Liana, what's the worst thing that could happen?" asked Draco. "You get a detention. Detention sucks, but not that much. It's definitely worth the chance to do all sorts of things in a prank war."
"That's true," she mused. "All right, I'll do it."
Draco grinned. "Great! Get your friends to do it too, and I'll tell mine. We need to spread some Slytherin pride."
"Sia!"
"Hey, Valentina."
"Guess what's happening?" asked Valentina. "There's going to be a prank-off! It's going to be school-wide, and it's going to be epic!"
"A prank-off?" asked Sia doubtfully. "Doesn't that mean we get in trouble?"
"Yes, but it'll be so much fun! Come on, Sia!"
"I don't want this to get to my parents," Sia said fretfully. "If they figure out…"
"Relax, Sia," Valentina said. "Dumbledore doesn't write home about pranks. I promise, if you ever do get in trouble, I'll back you. I won't let anyone write home about you. I promise. Come on, Sia, they can't write home about every single little prank! Besides, don't you know Dumbledore spread that Giant Squid rumor? He likes these pranks!"
"That was Dumbledore?" Sia asked incredulously.
"Yep! Professor Lupin said so in class."
"Oh, I didn't hear it." Sia sighed. "Okay. As long as my parents don't find out about this, I'm in. It sounds interesting, anyway."
"Yay!" exclaimed Valentina. "There's a sign-up list. I'll write your name."
"Sounds good."
"Hey, Dean," Seamus whispered, "I heard Diggory boy's signing up."
"For what, that prank war?" Dean whispered. "I heard. Is Aliya signing up?"
"Who? Aliya Mehra? I guess so." Seamus peered at him suspiciously. "Why?"
"Just wondering," grumbled Dean. "You want to sign up too?"
"Why?" Seamus repeated. "Like yeah, I'm in, but why do you care about what Aliya's doing?"
"I just wondered," muttered Dean. "Don't get all excited."
Seamus smirked. "You like her."
"No, I don't." Dean sighed. "Besides, it doesn't matter if I did. She's taken."
Seamus sighed. "Pretty boy Diggory gets everything, doesn't he?"
Lily knocked on the door to Dumbledore's study, dreading what was going to be said to her.
Dumbledore had requested her to come to his office, and she had a feeling she knew what it was about. It was about how she had lost her temper and blown up at one of her flipping students. And now she was going to be scolded for her actions.
"Come in," came Dumbledore's voice, and she opened the door and walked into his study.
"Good afternoon, Professor," she said quietly, looking down at her feet.
"Go home, Lily."
She looked up, shocked. "Sorry, I didn't catch that."
"Go home, Lily," Dumbledore told her calmly. "You're going through a lot, which is understandable. I would like for you to go home, Lily. Go to your house, and spend a night there. I will arrange for your classes to be taught for the rest of the day. Please, Lily. Go home."
"I…" This was not what she had expected. Dumbledore wasn't chiding her for her actions?
Lily knew she shouldn't have lost her temper at Jonathan. It was all because of her spat with James that she had been so moody.
And, most of all, she missed James. She missed having someone to snuggle against in the nights, someone to laugh with, someone to spill her heart out to. She missed James and she regretted losing her temper with him too.
Oh, she was such a mess right now!
He must have sensed her discomfort, because he added, "I do know of what you did, Lily, and I do find that we will need to speak about it. Now, however, I want you to go home and clear your mind. Clear your mind, and you will understand."
"I… Thank you, Professor." Still feeling a little taken aback by the turn of events, Lily turned on her heel and headed to the outskirts of Hogsmeade, where she turned on the spot and disapparated to her house in London.
She unlocked the many security wards and walked in. The house was quiet, empty. It was such a weird feeling to be here without anyone else being here. Since last year, Liana would have been here, and her stuff would have littered the house. Now, James was the only one who lived here.
And even before that, Harry would've been here, and so would James; she'd normally visit in the nights, in the evenings, when she could find her family gathered here, where she could spend time with her beloved family.
And then, she heard it.
A sniff from the master bedroom.
She quietly headed up the stairs, stopping at the door to listen as opposed to barging in.
It sounded like someone was crying inside, and Lily strained to hear more.
"Lily," the person whispered. "Oh, Lily."
And it was like a stab at her heart, because it was James.
She sank to the floor with a thud, her knees banging on the floor, tears starting to well in her own eyes. James, her husband, who was the strongest man she knew, was crying, crying because of what she had done to him. Of what she had said to him.
"James?" she whispered softly, gently prodding the door open.
He was on the bed, his face streaked with tears, his eyes red-rimmed. He turned to her, evidently unsure what to say.
"James," she repeated, wading over to where he was. "James, I'm so sorry."
She threw herself in his arms just as the tears broke loose, sobbing her heart out, trying to express what she couldn't in words. "I'm so sorry, James," she whispered into his shirt. "I'm so sorry for saying that to you. I can't believe I did that to you, put you through this. James, I'm so sorry."
He didn't do anything.
"James," she whispered, "I understand if you don't forgive me. I understand if you don't want to talk to me. After what I did, I don't deserve anything better. But please, please, please be my husband. I don't want to break anything after what I did. I can't bear it if… if…"
A fresh wave of tears flooded forth, and she was shaking so badly she couldn't even finish her thought.
James, she pleaded, say something. Something. Anything.
And with a gentle finger, he prodded her chin up to where he could see her face. There were still tear tracts on his cheeks, and he still looked so sad.
"Will you watch the rest of the Quidditch season with me?" he asked.
"What?!" she asked. "James?"
"Will you?"
"Y-Yes, but…"
"Will you let me come to your office every single day, even when you're in a tetchy mood?"
"Yeah, but…"
"Will you prove to me that you love me?"
A half-choked sob escaped her lips. "Yes," she wailed. "I'll do anything, James."
"Fine, then," he responded hoarsely. "Prove it to me."
She did.
"Hey, Cho!"
Cho whipped around to see Cedric approaching her quickly. "Oh, hi, Cedric."
"Cho," he panted, "have you heard about the prank war?"
"The.. the prank war?"
"Yeah. It's this three-week long thing where people split into teams and do these dares on the teachers and stuff. I signed up just this morning. I wanted to know if you wanted to join too?"
"Oh," she replied, blushing. "That's… That's so sweet of you for thinking about me. I'd… Yeah, this sounds fun!"
"Cool." He grinned. "Do you want me to sign you up?"
"Yeah, sure. C, h, o, C, h, a, n, g. That's how you spell my name."
"I know," he replied with a smile, and then he was gone.
"A prank war? Seriously? Who came up with this idea?" asked Kylie excitedly.
"My brother's friend's brothers," Liana answered, rolling her eyes. "But they're not as bad as Harry is. They're always playing pranks. Come on, you guys have to join!"
"I'm definitely signing up," assured Candice. "What about you, Kylie?"
"Draco's doing it," Liana added slyly.
"I'm doing it!" exclaimed Kylie.
"Ginny, you're doing it, right?"
"Yes, I'm doing it," Ginny assured her friends. "Are you guys?"
"Yup," they answered. "This is going to be so much fun!"
"Are you doing it, Luna?" Ginny asked.
"I don't know," said Luna. "It seems like fun, but I don't want to neglect my studies."
"You won't," Ginny assured. "It's just a few dares!"
"Okay," Luna sighed. "I'll do it."
"Hey, Parvati."
Lavender skipped her way over to where her best friend was sitting by the lakeshore with her sister. "Hey, Padma."
"Hi," greeted the two of them.
"How's everything going, Lavender?" asked Parvati.
"Pretty good," Lavender responded. "How about you guys?"
"Really good, thanks," replied Padma. "Have you two done that Divination homework? Fat lot of rubbish, don't you think?"
Lavender and Parvati gasped.
"How could you think that?" asked Lavender in a hushed voice. "Divination is the best class ever! And Professor Trelawney is so good!"
"She's so useless," muttered Padma. "She doesn't even know how to teach. Anyway, I hope we can play some sort of prank on her during the prank war."
"Prank war?" asked Lavender and Parvati in unison.
"Didn't you guys hear?" asked Padma. "Fred and George are hosting this school-wide prank war. We get split into four teams and whichever team plays the most pranks wins."
"What kind of pranks?" asked Lavender, interested.
Padma shrugged. "I'm not sure. But I asked Marietta, who was the one who got me to sign up, and she said that it would include a lot of pranks on teachers."
"Oh my goodness!" squealed Parvati. "I want to do that! Is it too late to sign up?"
"No, I think you can still sign up for a few more days."
"Lavender, are you doing it?" asked Parvati excitedly.
She grinned. "Where do I sign?"
"You're scouting a field for suspected Dark activity. There's bushes on the sides, most likely with thorns and brambles. It's eleven in the night, and it's dark. Would you have your wand illuminated or not?"
"Er," Tonks replied, fidgeting with her hair, "it depends on what I'm looking for. If it's an object, then definitely. If it's a person, it depends. If the person's already supposed to be there, then yes. If the person's not actually in the field, but keeping watch from the bushes or something, then no, because I don't want to give him or her a clue as to where I am."
"Very thorough," Remus responded, smiling. "And I like your line of reasoning. Incantation?"
She rolled her eyes. "Lumos. Duh. That's easy."
He smirked. "Moving on. Continuing with the same scenario, by the way. You hear a rustling noise from the bushes to your left. The wind is low, and there has been little movement of the foliage surrounding you so far. Assuming that any objects in this case are inanimate, what would you do?"
"Human-presence-revealing spell," she answered.
"Why?"
"Making the assumption that objects are inanimate means they can't be the source of the sound. If there's an object I'm looking for, chances are there's a Dark wizard keeping an eye on it."
"Very good, Tonks. Incantation?"
"Er, homenum revelio."
"Excellent. One more, and we're done for today. Same scenario. You find the rustling noise was, indeed, made by an object. You notice that it appears faint blue. What do you do?"
"Well, I would assume that there's someone keeping watch still, so I'd probably keep some sort of Shield Charm on me. Or at least be ready for defensive spells or dodging or something like that. Blue means it's probably been stained with some sort of Dark magic… Personally, I feel like blue symbolizes Portkeys. So I wouldn't touch it, and I'd probably take care of the person or people guarding it before I deal with the object."
Remus kissed the top of her forehead. "Really good. You'll do well, Tonks, don't worry about it."
"I'm still worried, though," she said nervously, leaning against him. "This is worth three years of training. I have to pass."
"The thoroughness you've just given me is almost guaranteed to get you through," he assured her, drawing small circles on her waist with his thumb. "You'll do well."
"Thanks for helping me," she sighed, revelling at his touch. "You're amazing."
He rested his chin on top of her head. "I try."
Percy was in the Prefects' bathroom, under the water, reading a book (yes, he did that in the bathtub), when the door burst open. He turned around to see Penny running towards him, stopping when she reached the bathtub. She was wearing a light green tank-top that exposed her waist and denim shorts.
"Guess what?" she screeched, her face red and annoyed.
"Oh, erm, yeah?" Percy asked.
"Fred and George are hosting a prank war," she snapped. "A prank war!"
"What?" cried Percy, jumping up. Then he sank back into the bathtub. "Sorry."
She waved her arm dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. But Percy, a prank war! People are signing up left, right, and center! And it's becoming a hit, too. But that's not the point, they're trying to convince us to do it too!"
"What?" cried Percy again. "Us?!"
"Yes. They're outside right now, come on!" she shouted.
She shielded her gaze while Percy pulled on a tan shirt and jeans and followed her outside, where his two brothers were standing.
"Hey," said Fred.
"Cut to the point," grumbled Percy. "Prank war?!"
"Yep. Let me explain the rules." George went over the rules, which was basically a team challenge, "-the team with the most points, wins."
"I'm a Head Boy," pointed out Percy. "Head Boy. I could report you."
"Yeah, but Dumbledore doesn't care. He likes a little fun, I tell you."
"Then don't bring us into it," Percy suggested.
"No, you have to do it!" Fred cried. He turned to Penelope and sold her on it right away. "Imagine getting back at all those people you don't like. Come on, we need some cheer with Sirius Black getting into the castle. Imagine Snape in a turban."
"What?" Percy's mouth dropped open.
"Oh, Perce, that sounds fun," Penelope said, tugging on his arm. "Can we actually? It looks like prefects are doing it too!"
"Penny," started Percy wearily.
Penelope pouted. "Please?"
Percy struggled to contain himself with that pout. "But you see, we could get in trouble. It's our duty to-"
She leaned forward. "Oh come on, we all need some fun." She looked at him with innocent eyes. "Ple-e-e-e-ease?"
He sighed. "Fine. We'll do it. But nobody hears about this."
Penelope turned to Fred and George with a grin. "We're on."
"And I can't believe that," muttered Percy.