'The Shrieking Shack isn't haunted, mate,'

'Ten galleons says you can't spend the night there.'

George arched an eyebrow at his twin brother, who was sprawled across one of the sofas in the Gryffindor common room, shirt untucked, tie undone and wearing a general sense of untidiness. Lee was sat on high backed arm chair opposite and a few of the girls from the Quidditch team formed the rest of the circle of friends.

'What do you reckon?' George asked, winking at Katie. 'Think I could do it?' Katie give him a quick teasing smile and shook her head.

'No, I don't think so. I don't think you'll last more than five minutes.'

'I'd give him seven minutes,' Angelina joined in, laughing.

'Right, then,' George said, rubbing his hands together. 'That seals it. Fred, you're on.'

He stuck out his hand and his brother reached out and shook it.

'But….' Lee said, eager to be a part of the bet. 'How will we know he's done it? We'll have to go with him.'

The girls all squeaked and voiced their reluctance to even step foot in the house, let alone spend the night there. Fred's eyes widened but he didn't let his fear show through too clearly. He started the argument with George to impress Katie, so he wasn't going to back out now.

'Yeah, you're right. Lets just pray it isn't haunted, I guess.' Alicia raised her hand, drawing everyone's attention to her.

'Erm, guys, you can't leave the castle. How are you going to get to the Shrieking Shack?' George and Fred gave a chuckle at the same time.

'The same way we have a never ending supply of butterbeer,' George started.

'Magic,' Fred finished.

By the end of the night, the plan had been finalised. The three boys were going to break into the house at the weekend, on the Friday night. Teachers were less strict at the weekends and their disappearance wouldn't be all that obvious. It also gave them enough time to get supplies. They each needed a sleeping bag, a torch and enough food to satisfy three adolescent boys for an entire night. They already had a huge stash of chocolate that had been acquired from Honeydukes the week before. The girls had looked on in a strange mixture of disbelief and amusement but were all used to their pranks and mischief.

Friday drew closer and closer until finally it was the big day. Lessons had seemed to drag on more than they usually did; which was long enough already. Over dinner, they took massive bags into the hall to try and take as much food as possible.

'Guys, it's raining,' Fred said, stating something that all three of them were already fully aware of.

'Really, Fred, really?' George muttered, irritated.

'Nah, this is a good thing,' Lee replied. 'It means we'll have more cover when we leave the castle. It'll be harder to see us if it's dark and raining.'

'It also means that we're going to be leaked on all night. Have you not noticed the giant holes in the roof of the Shrieking Shack?' George pointed out.

'Well, yeah, but I'm sure the girls will have umbrellas,' Lee said, always the optimist.

Fred swung his legs out from under the table and stood up on the bench.

'OI KATIE!' he belted to the other end of the long table in the Great Hall, cupping his hands around his mouth. She looked up at him and groaned, wondering what sort of idiotic thing he was about to do now. 'YOU GOT AN UMBRELLA?' Katie gave him a quick nod and turned back to her food. Fred sat back down, triumphantly. 'Sorted, lads. We're still on. I think George is just trying to pussy out because he's scared. A little rain never hurt anyone.'

'Oi,' George said, kicking his brother under the table. 'You better have those ten galleons ready by tomorrow.' Fred just snorted and went back to shovelling as much food as he possibly could into his mouth or the bag by his feet.

After dinner, the boys headed quickly back up to the Gryffindor tower where their bags lay packed and waiting. Lee, the most responsible out of the three – although not an incredibly difficult feat to achieve – had written a list of everything they needed to remember. Each of them opened their bags to double check for the items on the list.

'Sleeping bag?'

'Check.'

'Blankets?'

'Check.'

'Torches?'

'Check.'

'Wait a sec, why do we need torches?' Fred asked, interrupting Lee 's list. 'We have wands, don't we?'

'I figured torches would be easier, we don't have to hold them the entire time,' Lee answered.

'Fair play,' Fred said, letting Lee continue. After shoving the bread rolls, cold pieces of chicken and whatever else they nicked from dinner, at the top of their bags the boys were ready. There had been a bit of panic during the list when George lost the socks he'd packed but he soon found them when they were dancing on the top of his head after a spell performed by Fred.

The girls had also returned by this point, and were standing near the doorway of the common room, arms crossed, disapproving looks at their face.

'Photographic evidence, remember, boys. You could just be spending the night in one of the classrooms of Hogwarts, pretending you went to the Shrieking Shack,' Angelina reminded them.

'We know what you're like,' Alicia said.

'Try not to die,' Katie added cheerfully, smiling at them. The boys all shot each other a look of pure fear but the girls just stood behind them, pushing them out the entrance.

'Have funnnn,' they trilled, waving as the boys made their way to one of the many secret passages they knew.