Fun (for us, not for you)
Harry almost ran back out the class when he saw Skull sitting at the desk again. Instead though, he bit back his nerves and sat down as far away as possibly from the possibly crazy, purple, octopus loving maniac. Who thought he’d be better than Moody? Once all the students had trickled in, Skull once again got them to follow him to the Quidditch pit. A stone dropped in Harry’s stomach as he saw Reborn waiting there again.
But then he noticed the Quidditch pit and his jaw dropped. The whole field had been transformed into one giant mimicry of a forest/desert/parkour. There was a raised platform overlooking the whole thing, and Harry had a bad feeling about the entire set up.
”Right!” Skull said loudly. “This time, it’s a free for all battle Royale! Magic is allowed! Simple fist fights are allowed! Breaking bones is allowed! Teaming up is allowed! But no more than five to a group! And if you’re gonna go in groups, come up so I can put you down. However! No fatal spells or moves are allowed! The game ends when there’s either one team or person standing, or no one can continue to fight. Understood?”
There was a murmur of agreement. Everyone had already resigned to their fates with despair.
”Well, it could be worse,” Ron muttered. “They could be joining in.”
”Oh!” Skull said. “And Reborn and I will be on that platform, shooting at you as well!”
Harry sighed and looked at Ron. He and Hermione said at the same time, “You jinxed us.”
They were all given time to team up if they wanted to, and then herded into the ‘forest’ and given two minutes to start spreading out.
Harry, Ron and Hermione all scrambled with everyone else to get away from the other teams. What seemed like only seconds later, the horn sounded with a blare for the battle to begin.
Up on the platform with our ship...
”So...” Skull said, coughing. “I dunno if this is a good time to mention it, but I don’t know how to shoot. Like, anything at all,” Skull said.
Reborn stared at him, then sighed, taking the paintball gun from Skull’s hand.
”Well, for one,” Reborn said drily, “you could start with not pointing the gun at your feet. I’ll teach you. Come.”
The two settled down on the wooden platform and Reborn pointed to various parts of the gun. “This is the muzzle. This is where the magazines go. Those are the things that hold the bullets, or in this case, the paintballs. This is the safety...”
Skull watched with rapt attention as Reborn explained carefully and patiently. “To actually shoot the gun, you pull this, take aim, and...”
There was a crack and a paintball whizzed out. Skull watched it go and... pink splattered over a student’s robes. Skull grinned.
”I wanna try!”
They spent the next few minutes just shooting at random teams, but not really trying to hit them; only freak them out. Then high pitched screams came from a group near a makeshift swamp. Skull glanced at Reborn. “Should we have warned them of the familiars?”
Reborn hummed as large red tentacles knocked down several trees and the screams grew higher in pitch. Then he shook his head.
”They have to learn to expect surprises.”
Skull nodded slowly. Then a wicked smile grew on his lips and he held up a strangely shaped bazooka. Reborn raised an eyebrow and Skull elaborated.
”Glitter bomb~” he said in a sing-song voice. Reborn nodded in approval.
The two had a blast. Along the way, Skull summoned some snacks and drinks and the two of them started keeping scores. A head hit was worth five points, between the neck and hip was worth three points, and below the waist was one point.
It wasn’t surprising to say that Reborn won.
In the end, the Quidditch pit transformed back into its normal appearance after the last person was ‘killed’. As a reward for lasting longer than the others, (around 45 minutes), the student, who turned out to be Hermione, was given a homework pass, which she took gratefully. (Homework turned out to be fifty pushups, twenty sit ups, and three laps around the Quidditch pit. They had to have proof they did it).
When the bell for lunch rang, the class stumbled into the Great Hall covered in glitter, paint, and silly string. Other students watched with gaping mouths as the thirty or so students all slumped onto tables, completely ignoring the House rules.
A Gryffindor collapsed face-first into a Slytherin’s plate of food. A Slytherin randomly hugged an unsuspecting Gryffindor and sobbed into their shoulder.
What stunned everyone the most, however, was that Malfoy and Ron were both supporting each other as they limped into the Great Hall. They didn’t seem to notice they were both practically hugging each other. Then they both sat side-by-side at the Hufflepuff table, and glanced at each other. They stared, their eyes blank, not really processing who the other was, before recognition dawned in their faces... then they ignored each other and wolfed down their lunch.
The students in the Great Hall were shocked. What on earth...? WAS THE WORLD ENDING?! Then Skull slipped in, dragging Reborn behind him and humming cheerfully. The purple teen stopped at the silence and looked at his students who seemed to be half dead. Then he shrugged, beaming at Reborn.
”I think we mended house hostilities, Reborn!” he said cheerfully. “Your spartan training really is effective! We should do something like this again!”
At this, his students all sat up in horror, and began to screech and scream and sob in despair.
”No!” one screamed. “Mercy! I beg for mercy!”
”Never! Never again!” another cried, burying his head into a cake.
”Kill me! Someone just kill me!”
”Bloody hell! No!”
”I wanna go hooome!”
”The two of you are insane!”
”You can’t be a muggle! You’re too evil!”
All students looked at the weeping fourth years in horror and shock. Then they turned their eyes to the two ‘teachers’. One of whom was smirking, and another who was looking rather confused as to why people were sobbing and shaking their heads in a blubbering mess.
The next time DADA was up, all students gave a quick peek inside the classroom, saw that it was Moody who would be teaching, and promptly threw themselves at him. They cried and asked him to never leave again. The poor kids...
Moody on the other hand, was completely befuddled as to why the students all avoided the muggle, and shook when Skull was a meter away from them.