Title: Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Author: Fr0st6yte (RoboTitaness)
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters: Harry Potter, Hermione Grainger, Ron Weasley
Genre: Humor, Friendship
Summary: The Marauders all professors and continue to wreak havoc.
Based on a Tumblr post
Hermione fell down the stairs.
Perfect, proper, prefect Hermione Grainger tripped and fell down the stairs in an undignified heap. Harry, with one foot posed to go down the first step, froze, but Ron, right behind him, didn't stop in time and the duo followed their friend down.
"What d'ya do that for, Harry?" Ron groaned.
"Hermione, you okay?" Harry asked instead of answering.
She had gotten up, face set in a self-righteous scowl, and Harry prepared himself for a rant. But before she could answer, laughter sounded down the hall. The trio looked up to see a tail end of a black cloak disappear down the Transfiguration hallway. Harry groaned, even as Ron said, "It's too early for any reasonable person to be out." He scowled at Hermione and Harry got the feeling he wasn't over their friend dragging them to the library to study for exams.
"Isn't it obvious?" Hermione sniffed. Harry groaned again as Ron only stared at her. "That's the Transfiguration hallway, Ronald." The redhead continued to look confused and Hermione sighed angrily. "It's nearly Christmas, and Harry's father is at it again." She glared at the bespectacled boy, who raised in hands in defense.
"Not my fault!"
"Better be careful going down the other hallways, then," Ron said, picking himself up. "What did he do to the stairway, anyways?"
"Invisible string?"
"Nah," Harry said, leading the way to the Great Hall. "Sirius did that for Halloween. They don't repeat pranks."
"Professor Lupin wouldn't - Oh for Merlin's sake!" The trio stopped and Hermione stomped her foot angrily. "I'll never get to the library now!" Indeed, Harry thought, no one was getting to the library that day. The whole hallway was filled with water, from the floor to the roof. Held back by magic, it only made the one hallway unusable.
"Peter, definitely," Harry decided.
"Not Sirius?" Ron asked, peering down the hallway. "Those are some tough charms."
"Remus is best at Charms," Harry waved the question away. "Dad said Peter always dreaded the library. And Sirius would never risk Remus' wrath."
"Honestly, Harry! They are all adults and professors!"
"What can I do?" Harry protested.
"Come on, let's get to the Potions classroom. Your mum's probably there." With nods of agreement, Harry and Hermione followed Ron down to the dungeons. At least, they tried to. Instead, they found the floor of the dungeons to be covered in ice. Instead, they stood on the last steps of the stairs and listened to a rare occurrence - Professor Lily Potter screaming and cursing their Defense teacher at the top of her lungs.
"Poor Professor Lupin," Hermione said, rubbing her hands together.
"I forgot how much Mum and Remus liked messing with each other," Harry muttered. "Better stay away from the Defense hallway."
"Harry, that's everyone except Sirius'," Ron said. "How bad is going to be?"
"Well, we haven't seen the Great Hall, have we?" With a shrug, they went back up. They carefully walked to breakfast, keeping their eyes open for any last pranks.
"Do you think -" A screech interrupted Ron, and the three recognized McGonagall's voice. The headmistress' voice thundered around, and they saw her stomp past them. Harry only got a glimpse of antlers and something bright red on her face before she disappeared. They stood silently for a minute before Ron said, "I wasn't hungry anyways." They turned on their heels before stopping.
"Sirius' classroom is where they probably all are," Harry offered. "And the twins are still in Gryffindor tower…" They shared a quick, sharp grin, and turned back to the seventh floor. They had some revenge to concoct.
Cross posted on AO3 (Fr0st6yte)
Find me on Tumblr: Fr0st6yte