Just a short little oneshot in honour of Leap Day.
Anything resembling sanity here is J.K. Rowling's, even Luna. Anything you can recognize is not mine either. I do however own the exclusive rights to Leap Frogs (not the game or company), and "Pranking Hogwarts: A History"...yeah, that's pretty lame compared with what Jo has.
Read and Review!
"Tomorrow's Leap Day, you know."
Almost no one in Ravenclaw Tower looked up at Luna's bright proclamation. Most of them were used to the girl's ramblings by now, and didn't think much of it.
"So?" said Roger Davies indifferently.
"That's when the Leap Frogs come out."
Again, no one was interested. They had heard far too much, in their opinion, of Loony's 'creatures'.
"Isn't Leap Frog a game?" asked a Muggleborn first year. The whole of Ravenclaw Tower groaned. Now they had to listen to Loony go on and on!
"There is a game named after the frogs." Luna said brightly "But the real Leap Frogs are magical frogs that only appear once every four years on Leap Day. Their skin has a natural camouflage, so it's really hard to see them, but their hind toes contain a special glitter that they use to attract mates, so if you're lucky, you'll be able to see trails of dust from when they mate."
"There's nothing to see, Lovegood." giggled one of Marietta's friends "They're made up." Luna frowned.
"That's not very nice! You wouldn't like it if someone said you didn't exist just because they couldn't see you."
"Yeah yeah, do shut up, Loony." Marietta waved a hand dismissively "You just want attention, to be as popular as I am."
"Popularity isn't everything." Luna said quietly.
"What was that, Loony?"
"You should know," Luna said a bit more loudly "That Leap Frogs also have a huge sense of mischief. On the single day they appear, they like to cause as much trouble as possible. They also have a strong desire for justice and fairness, and like to help people they see are in trouble, even though that person cannot see them. They're very nice creatures, really. If you really don't want them, however, all you have to do is be nice to someone you normally aren't. Leap Frogs like it when people are nice."
"Just be quiet, Loony." Marietta sneered "They don't exist, nor do any of your fairytale creatures, and no one cares!"
"That's alright. Even if you don't, there are people who do." Luna gathered up her books, and turned to leave for her dorm. At the foot of the staircase, she paused and turned around "Although for your sake, I hope you change your mind soon."
_o0O0o_
The next morning, none of the professors could figure out why most of the students were having so much trouble. From as simple as tied shoelaces, to attacking cutlery, to humungous clouds of chalk dust, students all over the castle were falling prey to some mysterious prankster.
The Weasley twins were interrogated and released. Peeves was put under the watch of the Bloody Baron. Eventually, the teachers had to admit it wasn't the usual suspects.
Ravenclaw Tower seemed to be hit the worst. Most of the upper years refused to even leave their dorms, after numerous mishaps hit them minutes as they left. The ones who did had to go to the Hospital Wing to get rid of the various extra appendages, colourful body parts, speaking impediments, and so on and so forth. The High Inquisitor was suspiciously missing during all this, and Dennis Creevey swore that he had caught a glimpse of garish pink from behind a privacy curtain in the Hospital Wing.
No one could explain the mysterious trails of glittering dust found around the castle either. A few sharp eyed people noticed that they always appeared after a prank, and stuck firmly to whatever surface it was on, despite the best efforts of Filch. It only faded away after midnight had struck, signaling the end of February 29, 1996.
In the midst of all this, teachers and students alike wondered why on earth Luna Lovegood was so happy today, and why Ravenclaws left and right were avoiding her gaze. Nor could anyone explain why so many of them went out of their way to treat her like a princess.
The Great Prank Dust Incident of Leap Day 1996, as it came to be called, would go down in later editions of Hogwarts: A History, as one of the greatest unsolved pranks in Hogwarts' history, and become a legend. In Roxanne Weasley's book, "Pranking Hogwarts: A History", it came out third in the top three Unsolved Pranks list, almost beating the Prank War of 1967, and the Chocolate Pudding Incident of 1940.
But that's a prank for another time.