A/N: Written for The Leaky Cauldron "Albus Severus Meets Peeves" Contest.
Albus Severus Potter didn't consider himself to be an easily scared (young) man of eleven. But he had to admit that being stuck forever on a spinning staircase was a fearful prospect, especially considering his full belly.
It had started off with all the first-years lagging behind everyone, talking and laughing. Everyone had gone ahead, eager to get to the dormitories. The sandy-haired prefect who had been escorting them had already stridden up the stairs. He beckoned for them to hurry, seeing the staircase start to shift sideways.
A girl screamed as the staircase started to move. Albus thought this was rather silly: what was so scary about a moving staircase? Albus turned back to face the other direction, waiting for the staircase to move back to its original landing so they could rush back to the prefect.
A figure appeared, suspended several feet off the ground. This time there were even more people screaming. Rose was screaming too. They were such girls, screaming at it.
"My favourite! The Firsties are here. I hear this year's bunch are a pushover," he said with a cocky sneer.
Albus saw this mysterious figure pull his tongue out and spit ferociously. The unfortunate people nearest to the nuisance were covered and trying to wipe off the saliva.
Albus started to walk up towards the suspended figure.
"You're Peeves the poltergeist," Albus said. "My dad told me to say to you don't mess with me. And then he told me to ignore you because you weren't worth my time."
"And who would your dad be?" Peeves questioned snidely, scratching his head to make it appear like he was thinking. "Harry Potter?"
"That's right," Albus replied proudly.
The staircase stopped spinning, and Albus could see the (really) Fat Lady rolling her eyes at the students intimidated by Peeves.
Peeves had a mischievous look on his face, and when a student came close, trying to get past Peeves employed a sneaky trick: a pinch on his bottom. There was some muffled laughter, but this died down as some other students also tried to get past and received similar treatment.
"Let us go Peeves," Albus said, with his fists bravely clenched together. "Otherwise I'll hit you so hard you won't forget," he said defiantly, his pudgy hands twitching in front of him.
A few students cheered and whistled.
"You know," Peeves simpered with a silky voice that oozed malice, "I like people who stand up against me."
Albus was even more annoyed know. What kind of game was Peeves playing?
"Come on Peeves. Get out of the way."
"I like people who stand up to me because it's so much more satisfying to see them beaten."
Peeves reached his thin, spidery fingers into his back pocket and threw something out at the first-years. It smelt undeniably like a dungbomb. Peeves disappeared with a wicked smile and a loud pop.
The students fled, holding their noses. The Fat Lady mercifully swung open without the need for a password.
A/N: It's short, but that's what comes with a 500 word limit. And I didn't win the contest. :( Oh well, I didn't expect to. And I must now fulfill the shameless self-promotion clause of my contract but shamelessly begging for reviews. Please?
By the way (be prepared for some more advertising) I have a WIP that throws Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy into a Austen-esque love story (specifically Pride and Prejudice). It's called "Epiphany" and it's in the Harry Potter and Pride and Prejudice crossover section. So that's for people who alternate between reading Harry Potter and Pride and Prejudice on any given night. Even if you aren't a big fan of 'snobby' classics I think it's worth a try.
That's it then.