Author's Note- Happy April Fools Day! For your pleasure I have written a humorous story about a certain day at Hogwarts! Enjoy!
If anyone had ever suggested that a prank would be played on April Fools, few would have any problem guessing who would be the prankster. In time gone by it had been the Marauders; then it had fallen to the Weasley Twins, Fred and George.
It was early and students were making their way to breakfast. Some, who were of the more cautious group, watched their step and were intent on listening to people around them. Others were enjoying the thrill that something might happen out of the ordinary.
Soon, most of the students had taken their seats at the tables and breakfast was served.
Up at the teacher's table, the staff scanned the mass of students warily, knowing that they were not safe on this day. No detention for any prank, repeated itself in most of their minds, scaring them. However the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, was enjoying the prospect of a few well-executed pranks and watching his colleagues twitch and nervously stare about was entertaining as well.
Professor Snape tried to act as though he indifferent that it was the first of April. His scowl was no deeper than usual and he was quite certain that no one would dare prank him. But then again, he thought, the Headmaster had announced that any prank would be pardoned. That meant he was fair game.
Professor McGonagall entered the Great Hall after helping a sick student make her way to the infirmary and made her way to her chair. Most of the staff held their breath as if expecting something to happen to the Head of Gryffindor as she gracefully seated herself. Nothing happened to their great relief and slight disappointment.
"Good morning, Minerva." Albus said cheerfully pouring his deputy a cup of pumpkin juice. His prank had already been planned. The trusting woman returned the greeting and took the offered cup. At her first sip, Albus waited for the inevitable. It never happened. Mouth open and eyes wide as plates, the confused Headmaster stared as Professor McGonagall. He had that morning, before she entered, placed an enchantment on her cup that changed the liquid into Tabasco sauce.
"Is something wrong, Albus?" Minerva asked, concern lacing her green eyes. He shook his head. No, he thought, she couldn't have drunk that much sauce and not even blink. Shaking his head to clear it he picked up his cup and took a long deep sip. The hot taste of Tabasco sauce assaulted his tongue and he began to cough and sputter. The staff all jumped up to help him, missing the tiny smile that curved a certain staff member's lips.
The prank known as the cup trick soon became the topic of every student's conversation. Never in all the years of Hogwarts had a prank ever been played on the Headmaster. Yet there was also a sense of great pride among the students, for it had to have been one of them that had succeeded such a practical joke. Most automatically believed it to be Fred and George Weasley, but no one said anything to them about it.
The sixth year's Transfigurations class was half way finished when a terrible yet most hilarious event occurred. While the students were busy scribbling down notes as to how to transfigure inanimate objects into animate objects and back, a charm was cast on everyone of them. Slowly as though time had taken a moment to rest, the students began to rise up out of their chairs.
Startled, to say the least, several students began to scream and cry out for help. Some simply tried in vain to cast a counter charm, while others tired the muggle way of grabbing something. Professor McGonagall had her back to the class and went on with her lesson as though everyone was sitting in their proper places.
"Professor, we can't take notes from up here." Yelled a Hufflepuff, hoping the professor would turn around and save them. Professor McGonagall turned around and raised an eyebrow at the floating students above her.
"Legs together, Mr. Browns." She ordered before placing her wand down. "You are right, notes can not be taken without paper." With a flick of her retrieved wand, the student's notebooks and quills floated up to their speechless shocked owners. "Where was I?" Professor McGonagall continued.
After the class had been dismissed, Professor McGonagall made her way to the Headmaster's office. She only had to knock once, before the door opened for her.
"Albus someone has cast a floating charm on the desks." Minerva exclaimed exasperated. She had had to levitate each student over from their desk and out into the hallway.
The Headmaster said nothing as she took her seat. "If you are upset about the juice, I did not do that. I had no idea you would stoop so low as to prank me." Finally the guilty looking Albus Dumbledore looked up.
"I wonder who did then." He wondered curiously. Albus had only had a small hint of resentment against Minerva for the prank. But to find out that she had not done it was something much more exciting than angering. After all, a student that brave deserved a sherbet lemon.
"Albus did you hear me? Someone had cast a floating charm over my classroom's desk." The Transfigurations Professor stood up from the chair.
"Ah, yes, my dear. I heard you. Did you try a counter charm?" Minerva's hardening glare told him quickly that she had.
Although every staff member tried everything they could think of, the charm remained on the desks. It was suggested that a temporary classroom be set up in the Great Hall, but another charm had locked the decks and other necessary items of a classroom to the floor. So the second years that came to their Transfigurations class came with the knowledge that they would take their lessons floating. Most were beside themselves with joy.
"Can you believe it?" asked Ron Weasley to his friend Harry Potter. Harry shrugged, tired from getting up earlier than normal.
"McGonagall is going to let us fly while we do our classes!" Ron was excited about the prospect.
"Only because they can't uncharm the desks, Ron." Hermione warned. Although deep down she was looking forward to floating around, she would never admit it.
Professor McGonagall however destroyed all hopes of floating during the class as she announced before they had even entered the classroom, that the class was going outside for their lesson. A chorus of groans erupted from the class, but none dare say anything else. Then as Professor McGonagall went to leave the classroom a strange thing happened; she bumped into an invisible shield that covered the door.
Her patience slightly tested the professor threw a few counter shielding spells on the door, but nothing happened. Suddenly Professor Dumbledore rounded the corner. Raising a hand to scratch his head, he walked through the door. Students giggled as Professor McGonagall turned pale and her mouth fell open.
"My dear, it seems to be charmed against you." The Headmaster said gently, motioning for the second years to enter the classroom. Professor McGonagall nodded silently and announced that the class would be taking place in the classroom. Soon the laughter of floating children rang through the room, lesson ignored.
By the end of the day, the staff was exhausted. None of them could leave their classrooms as the door was charmed against them and all had had pranks played on them that made teaching difficult. All that is but, Professor Snape, who found it amusing to walk by his colleagues door and watch them throw spell after spell at the door. Some had actually already resigned themselves to wait and were grading papers or sipping tea.
Making his way to the Transfigurations classroom, Snape quickly saw that Professor McGonagall was grading papers, all the time glancing over at the door as if it would rid itself of the shield with enough coaxing.
Snape suppressed a wicked laugh and entered the classroom.
"Good Evening, Professor." He said, knowing she would probably hate him for saying something so cheerful.
However she answered well naturally without even looking up.
"Can I help you?" Minerva asked, her emerald eyes fixed on the door rather than the face of the one she was addressing.
"You can tell me why the Headmaster refuses to do anything about these # pranks!" Professor McGonagall raised her eyebrows at his swear word.
"I do not see them hurting you." She commented, hoping he would see her logic and leave. Instead, Professor Snape sat down in front of her desk.
"They are not hurting me, but they going out of control." The Professor said.
Minerva was taken aback.
"Out of control? Severeous, you started it didn't you?" Fury that would have made Hercules gulp flashed in Minerva's eyes. "You disrupted and complicated the entire day!" she fumed rising up from her chair. Professor Snape swallowed and glanced over at the door, knowing he would be safe if he made it to the hallway.
Without a glance back, Professor Snape dashed for the door. Several spells just missed him as he ran through the doorway and collapsed in the hallway. Breathing deeply from his exertion and fear, Snape looked over his shoulder. Professor McGonagall was glaring at him through the open doorway. He sneered at her as he saw the shield was still holding. Big mistake.
The doorway complete with stone suddenly blew past Professor Snape as he made his way down the hallway. Casting a glance over his shoulder, he saw Professor McGonagall emerge from the hole she had made in the wall. Her wand was gripped so tightly that her knuckles were white and her nails were digging deeply into her palm.
Within seconds, the Potions Master was pinned against the hallway wall by the furious Transfigurations Mistress. His life flashed before his eyes as he received the most thorough speech of teaching etiquette he had ever heard all the while being dragged toward the front doors of Hogwarts. Professor Snape was fairly certain that she would drown him in the lake before anyone could save him.