Alli walked out of her divination class muttering something that sounded
like witch describing Professor Trelawney. A fairly tall young girl with
tan skin, long brown hair and eyes so dark they almost looked black she
tended to stick out. It wasn't particularly the way she looked, it was more
the way her robes and hair always seemed to be floating even without any
wind nearby. She was so wrapped up in her anger over Trelawney's ranting on
all class about how she would be attacked by an evil butterfly that she ran
smack into Fred Weasley.
"Whoa there Alli, don't wanna go knockin over witches and wizards left and right." Fred said as he helped pick up the spilled books Alli had been carrying.
"Yeah, you should really leave that to Slytherin." George added as he handed Alli her dropped quill.
"Sorry guys, but you know how she is," Alli said motioning up towards Trelawney's room, "it's all doom this and gloom that and whoo I see your death every ding dong day! I think Tess was so right about her, if you know what I mean." Fred and George laughed as they fell into step alongside Alli as they made their way down the stairs. "Anyways, uh, wait weren't you guys headed up the tower?"
"Actually no, we were just looking for you." Fred admitted.
"Me?" Alli grinned mischievously "Ooo, what are you guys up to now? Got a new plan going down?"
"Don't we always?" George said as he broke into a big grin.
"You know we only turn to you when it's a good one Alli, and we think we may need your help." Fred said getting a bit unusually serious.
"Alright, something tells me it's got something to do with the forest then? Because it's either that or the dungeons, that's as far as my rule breaking expertise goes, and I doubt you guys are that interested in our dungeons.unless." Alli stopped and gave the twins a quizzical look.
"No! No! Nothing to do with the dungeons!" The twins said nervously.
"Alright then, enlighten me with the plan!" Alli said continuing down the stairs with the twins.
Fred cleared his throat while George looked around to make sure no one was close enough to overhear them. "Alright, well we know you know the forbidden forest better than we do and you also know a good bit about fairies."
"Oh, you're making me blush!" Alli said waving her hand. "I don't know nearly as much about the forest as Hagrid though."
"Well, I don't think Hagrid would be too willing to aid us in our plan though." George said.
"Right, right, but what makes you think I know so much about fairies though?" Alli asked.
"Well, you actually paid attention when they talked about them." Fred shrugged.
"Ah, of course." Alli nodded.
"So what do you know about fairy rings?" George asked.
"Well, that if you have the luck to find them they can make wishes come true, but don't go stumbling upon them while the fairies are in the midst of dancing."
"Why?" George asked looking puzzled.
"Well, supposedly you'll be compelled to dance to the point of exhaustion, that can't be good--especially in the forbidden forest."
"Right, good to know." Fred said with his brow furrowed. They walked on a bit in silence both Fred and George had their eyes on the floor lost in thought. It was Alli that finally interrupted the silence by clearing her throat. "Oh, sorry, right.ok, well we need to find a fairy ring, but we want to do it while they're celebrating." Fred whispered.
"Hmm.may I ask why?"
"Well, of course you can but we can't tell you." George grinned.
Alli turned to George and in mock anger said: "What? You're not gonna let me in on why? The audacity! The.the.oh screw it, so when do you plan on going?"
"Well, we hope to go tonight seeing as it's the full moon."
"Ah yes, the full moon always with the fullness. Alright, now these fairies- -"
"Hey dude, we gotta go, Tess needs us in the dungeons." Shea interrupted Alli pulling her towards the stairs.
"I-but, dungeons?" Alli said looking between Shea and the bewildered looking twins. "I'll catch you guys later, ok?"
"Er.sure, we'll see you in the great hall for dinner?"
"Yeah see you then" Alli shouted over her shoulder as Shea began to drag her down the stairs.
"Viggo's causing trouble again." Shea said as they spiraled down into the depths of the castle. Shea was easily the tallest girl at Hogwarts, with very light brown hair and eyes that, well, no one could ever really tell what color her eyes were. She was very thin but surprisingly strong evidence being her grip on Alli's arm.
"Didn't Tess get the special chains from Knockturn Alley we saw in the catalog?"
"Not yet, we think the owl got lost in that storm yesterday. Plus, I'm sure those chains were pretty heavy and that couldn't have helped. So what were the twins talking to you about?"
"Oh, well, I don't know if I can tell you, but you are Shea, so I'll go ahead. They want to find a fairy ring tonight--though they wont tell me why."
"Whoa, that's kinda dangerous--you told them that right?"
"Well, yeah I told them what happens if they interrupt the fairies dancing, but I figure as long as one of them stays far enough away they can rescue the other."
"Well, yeah but the fairies can lure them deeper into the forest too."
"No dude, that's elves."
"Nu-uh!"
"Uh.yuh-huh!"
"Ch.whatever dude."
The two finally reached the door to their special dungeon, it had been their plan since the day the three met at Hogwarts. Alli and Shea had been friends long before Hogwarts, finding their similar personalities mixed very well. Both were very intelligent but somehow always managed to be very forgetful. When they had arrived at Hogwarts and gotten sorted into Gryffindor together they had sat next to a fellow first year named Tess. She was a bit shorter than the other too with brown hair and crinkled brown eyes hidden behind glasses. As happens with most adolescent girls the topic eventually turned to boys and somehow in the midst of ranting and raving about how cute so-and-so was the concept for the dungeons was born. It took years of planning and creating, figuring out how to seal the dungeon, or how to make their pictures and posters come to life on the walls, but they had their charmed dungeons with boy toys at last. They could already hear Tess and Viggo arguing: "I have things to do you know! You can't keep me chained up forever!" they heard Viggo shout.
"Oh don't tempt me dear Viggo!" Tess calmly replied. "Ah, finally I got some backup!" She said standing up as she saw Alli and Shea enter the cool dark dungeon. "Did I miss anything in Trelawney's class?"
Alli snorted and said: "Oh yeah, it was a real riveting class, only three people fell asleep today and she predicted five new ways to get brutally scarred for life."
"Oh really, and what were they?" Tess said closing and locking the door behind Alli and Shea.
"Oh um.a psychotic evil butterfly, an enchanted dustbin, a raging duck billed platypus.and I think I was dozing during the rest. Man, she's really gotta get some new material, she's not even instilling fear into the suckers in the class anymore!" Alli said as she turned to give Sean and Christian a smile.
"Aw, that's a shame." Shea said as she checked Alan's chains. "Can a duck billed platypus really rage though?"
"I don't think it matters Shea." Tess said stretching.
"Hey, by the by, where were you Shea? I can't believe you guys left me alone with her! Without you two to hold me back who knows what I would've done to her.she could really use some antlers." Alli said gazing off into space.
"Dude, sorry but I fell asleep in the library again." Shea said apologetically.
"Man, maybe you should just stop reading those boring books of yours over and over again in the library during breaks." Alli said.
"Hey, just because I wanna be something cool there's no need to be jealous." Shea shot back.
"Dude, we can go to space anytime we want, why do you wanna help those muggles do it the hard way?" Alli questioned.
"Spaceships are fascinating muggle contraptions, it would be fun to build one! Not to mention that organization they have.er.NASA I think it is, they got monkeys!"
"Are they of the flying variety?" Alli asked raising an eyebrow.
They were interrupted suddenly by Viggo clearing his throat and saying: "Well, as much as I hate to interrupt this riveting conversation, I'd really like to talk about why I'm here if you would just answer my questions!"
All three of them looked at him for a moment with raised eyebrows then burst into laughter simultaneously.
"I told you not to ask." Alan said in a sing-song I-told-you-so voice.
When the girls finally recovered from their fit of giggles Alli said: "Well, what should we do with him?" Looking Viggo up and down, "I mean, just for now so we can all go get some grub because I'm absolutely starving!"
Tess sighed and said: "Well, the best we can do now is just chain and gag." So with a lazy flick of her wand and a few nicely chosen words Viggo was re- chained and silent with a mixed look of terror and confusion on his face.
"Aw, he doesn't look too happy Tess you better give him the charm." Shea suggested.
"Hey, if he gets the charm we all get the charm!" Christian said.
"Oh of course my little love kitten, we wouldn't think of giving one of you the charm and not the rest!" Alli said in baby talk while caressing Christian's face. "Unless you've been naughty.you haven't have you?" She asked raising an eyebrow hopefully.
Christian smiled back at Alli and said: "Naughty? When you've got me chained up in your wonderful dungeons? I wouldn't dream of it!"
Alli smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek, then turning to Shea said: "Shall we go then?"
"Wait up a minute guys, I still need you're help with re-ordering the chains!" Tess interjected, "and I don't wanna have to do all the charms myself!"
"Alright alright" Alli and Shea grumbled as they turned back around and swished and flicked their wands saying the right words to disperse the charms amongst the guys on the walls. At once all their expressions turned to one of bliss as big grins crept upon their faces. "Well then, what about these re-orderings?" Alli asked turning to Tess.
"Well, do we want to re-order them? Or do you think we should just write the shop?" Tess asked.
"I say we just wait, the owl should get here eventually, I don't wanna waste another 3 sickles! Plus I think the owls are getting suspicious, we should really get our own." Shea said.
"Well, Alli wont let us use Artemis." Tess said shooting Alli a look.
"I will not have her doing grunt work!" Alli said defiantly.
"You call our business grunt work?" Tess asked eyes widening.
"I'm sure she'd be grunting if she had to lug chains to us."
"Good point." She nodded.
"Anyways, I'm with Shea, I mean sure we'll have to wait a bit longer and keep constant tabs on Viggo until he's learned his lesson," Alli said as she shot Viggo a look "but this way we get to shut up about all this and go eat!"
Tess shrugged and headed toward the door and said: "Sounds good to me, you boys be good now!" She added looking over her shoulder as she opened the door. The three girls wound their way up the stairs and talked about their plans for the dungeons all the while. Shea was the one who reminded Alli of her earlier encounter with the twins as the girls neared the Great Hall asking what Alli thought the twins were up to.
"I don't know, but it sure sounds like fun!" Alli said grinning.
"Whoa there Alli, don't wanna go knockin over witches and wizards left and right." Fred said as he helped pick up the spilled books Alli had been carrying.
"Yeah, you should really leave that to Slytherin." George added as he handed Alli her dropped quill.
"Sorry guys, but you know how she is," Alli said motioning up towards Trelawney's room, "it's all doom this and gloom that and whoo I see your death every ding dong day! I think Tess was so right about her, if you know what I mean." Fred and George laughed as they fell into step alongside Alli as they made their way down the stairs. "Anyways, uh, wait weren't you guys headed up the tower?"
"Actually no, we were just looking for you." Fred admitted.
"Me?" Alli grinned mischievously "Ooo, what are you guys up to now? Got a new plan going down?"
"Don't we always?" George said as he broke into a big grin.
"You know we only turn to you when it's a good one Alli, and we think we may need your help." Fred said getting a bit unusually serious.
"Alright, something tells me it's got something to do with the forest then? Because it's either that or the dungeons, that's as far as my rule breaking expertise goes, and I doubt you guys are that interested in our dungeons.unless." Alli stopped and gave the twins a quizzical look.
"No! No! Nothing to do with the dungeons!" The twins said nervously.
"Alright then, enlighten me with the plan!" Alli said continuing down the stairs with the twins.
Fred cleared his throat while George looked around to make sure no one was close enough to overhear them. "Alright, well we know you know the forbidden forest better than we do and you also know a good bit about fairies."
"Oh, you're making me blush!" Alli said waving her hand. "I don't know nearly as much about the forest as Hagrid though."
"Well, I don't think Hagrid would be too willing to aid us in our plan though." George said.
"Right, right, but what makes you think I know so much about fairies though?" Alli asked.
"Well, you actually paid attention when they talked about them." Fred shrugged.
"Ah, of course." Alli nodded.
"So what do you know about fairy rings?" George asked.
"Well, that if you have the luck to find them they can make wishes come true, but don't go stumbling upon them while the fairies are in the midst of dancing."
"Why?" George asked looking puzzled.
"Well, supposedly you'll be compelled to dance to the point of exhaustion, that can't be good--especially in the forbidden forest."
"Right, good to know." Fred said with his brow furrowed. They walked on a bit in silence both Fred and George had their eyes on the floor lost in thought. It was Alli that finally interrupted the silence by clearing her throat. "Oh, sorry, right.ok, well we need to find a fairy ring, but we want to do it while they're celebrating." Fred whispered.
"Hmm.may I ask why?"
"Well, of course you can but we can't tell you." George grinned.
Alli turned to George and in mock anger said: "What? You're not gonna let me in on why? The audacity! The.the.oh screw it, so when do you plan on going?"
"Well, we hope to go tonight seeing as it's the full moon."
"Ah yes, the full moon always with the fullness. Alright, now these fairies- -"
"Hey dude, we gotta go, Tess needs us in the dungeons." Shea interrupted Alli pulling her towards the stairs.
"I-but, dungeons?" Alli said looking between Shea and the bewildered looking twins. "I'll catch you guys later, ok?"
"Er.sure, we'll see you in the great hall for dinner?"
"Yeah see you then" Alli shouted over her shoulder as Shea began to drag her down the stairs.
"Viggo's causing trouble again." Shea said as they spiraled down into the depths of the castle. Shea was easily the tallest girl at Hogwarts, with very light brown hair and eyes that, well, no one could ever really tell what color her eyes were. She was very thin but surprisingly strong evidence being her grip on Alli's arm.
"Didn't Tess get the special chains from Knockturn Alley we saw in the catalog?"
"Not yet, we think the owl got lost in that storm yesterday. Plus, I'm sure those chains were pretty heavy and that couldn't have helped. So what were the twins talking to you about?"
"Oh, well, I don't know if I can tell you, but you are Shea, so I'll go ahead. They want to find a fairy ring tonight--though they wont tell me why."
"Whoa, that's kinda dangerous--you told them that right?"
"Well, yeah I told them what happens if they interrupt the fairies dancing, but I figure as long as one of them stays far enough away they can rescue the other."
"Well, yeah but the fairies can lure them deeper into the forest too."
"No dude, that's elves."
"Nu-uh!"
"Uh.yuh-huh!"
"Ch.whatever dude."
The two finally reached the door to their special dungeon, it had been their plan since the day the three met at Hogwarts. Alli and Shea had been friends long before Hogwarts, finding their similar personalities mixed very well. Both were very intelligent but somehow always managed to be very forgetful. When they had arrived at Hogwarts and gotten sorted into Gryffindor together they had sat next to a fellow first year named Tess. She was a bit shorter than the other too with brown hair and crinkled brown eyes hidden behind glasses. As happens with most adolescent girls the topic eventually turned to boys and somehow in the midst of ranting and raving about how cute so-and-so was the concept for the dungeons was born. It took years of planning and creating, figuring out how to seal the dungeon, or how to make their pictures and posters come to life on the walls, but they had their charmed dungeons with boy toys at last. They could already hear Tess and Viggo arguing: "I have things to do you know! You can't keep me chained up forever!" they heard Viggo shout.
"Oh don't tempt me dear Viggo!" Tess calmly replied. "Ah, finally I got some backup!" She said standing up as she saw Alli and Shea enter the cool dark dungeon. "Did I miss anything in Trelawney's class?"
Alli snorted and said: "Oh yeah, it was a real riveting class, only three people fell asleep today and she predicted five new ways to get brutally scarred for life."
"Oh really, and what were they?" Tess said closing and locking the door behind Alli and Shea.
"Oh um.a psychotic evil butterfly, an enchanted dustbin, a raging duck billed platypus.and I think I was dozing during the rest. Man, she's really gotta get some new material, she's not even instilling fear into the suckers in the class anymore!" Alli said as she turned to give Sean and Christian a smile.
"Aw, that's a shame." Shea said as she checked Alan's chains. "Can a duck billed platypus really rage though?"
"I don't think it matters Shea." Tess said stretching.
"Hey, by the by, where were you Shea? I can't believe you guys left me alone with her! Without you two to hold me back who knows what I would've done to her.she could really use some antlers." Alli said gazing off into space.
"Dude, sorry but I fell asleep in the library again." Shea said apologetically.
"Man, maybe you should just stop reading those boring books of yours over and over again in the library during breaks." Alli said.
"Hey, just because I wanna be something cool there's no need to be jealous." Shea shot back.
"Dude, we can go to space anytime we want, why do you wanna help those muggles do it the hard way?" Alli questioned.
"Spaceships are fascinating muggle contraptions, it would be fun to build one! Not to mention that organization they have.er.NASA I think it is, they got monkeys!"
"Are they of the flying variety?" Alli asked raising an eyebrow.
They were interrupted suddenly by Viggo clearing his throat and saying: "Well, as much as I hate to interrupt this riveting conversation, I'd really like to talk about why I'm here if you would just answer my questions!"
All three of them looked at him for a moment with raised eyebrows then burst into laughter simultaneously.
"I told you not to ask." Alan said in a sing-song I-told-you-so voice.
When the girls finally recovered from their fit of giggles Alli said: "Well, what should we do with him?" Looking Viggo up and down, "I mean, just for now so we can all go get some grub because I'm absolutely starving!"
Tess sighed and said: "Well, the best we can do now is just chain and gag." So with a lazy flick of her wand and a few nicely chosen words Viggo was re- chained and silent with a mixed look of terror and confusion on his face.
"Aw, he doesn't look too happy Tess you better give him the charm." Shea suggested.
"Hey, if he gets the charm we all get the charm!" Christian said.
"Oh of course my little love kitten, we wouldn't think of giving one of you the charm and not the rest!" Alli said in baby talk while caressing Christian's face. "Unless you've been naughty.you haven't have you?" She asked raising an eyebrow hopefully.
Christian smiled back at Alli and said: "Naughty? When you've got me chained up in your wonderful dungeons? I wouldn't dream of it!"
Alli smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek, then turning to Shea said: "Shall we go then?"
"Wait up a minute guys, I still need you're help with re-ordering the chains!" Tess interjected, "and I don't wanna have to do all the charms myself!"
"Alright alright" Alli and Shea grumbled as they turned back around and swished and flicked their wands saying the right words to disperse the charms amongst the guys on the walls. At once all their expressions turned to one of bliss as big grins crept upon their faces. "Well then, what about these re-orderings?" Alli asked turning to Tess.
"Well, do we want to re-order them? Or do you think we should just write the shop?" Tess asked.
"I say we just wait, the owl should get here eventually, I don't wanna waste another 3 sickles! Plus I think the owls are getting suspicious, we should really get our own." Shea said.
"Well, Alli wont let us use Artemis." Tess said shooting Alli a look.
"I will not have her doing grunt work!" Alli said defiantly.
"You call our business grunt work?" Tess asked eyes widening.
"I'm sure she'd be grunting if she had to lug chains to us."
"Good point." She nodded.
"Anyways, I'm with Shea, I mean sure we'll have to wait a bit longer and keep constant tabs on Viggo until he's learned his lesson," Alli said as she shot Viggo a look "but this way we get to shut up about all this and go eat!"
Tess shrugged and headed toward the door and said: "Sounds good to me, you boys be good now!" She added looking over her shoulder as she opened the door. The three girls wound their way up the stairs and talked about their plans for the dungeons all the while. Shea was the one who reminded Alli of her earlier encounter with the twins as the girls neared the Great Hall asking what Alli thought the twins were up to.
"I don't know, but it sure sounds like fun!" Alli said grinning.
