Oops, this one's a little long... Well, please read and review, anyway!
"Alright, say it," George said, grinning.
"Say what?" Fred asked, mildly confused.
"Say, 'You're a genius, George'!"
"And, why would I do that?" Fred inquired, his curiosity suddenly piqued.
"Because," George began, sitting down next to him at their usual table in Snape's Potions class. "I just thought of the perfect Halloween prank. I can't believe I almost forgot Halloween was tomorrow! Oh, you're going to love it."
Fred grinned. "I'm listening."
"Well, we're going to need to get to Hagrid's pumpkin patch tonight so that – "
"Ahem," interrupted a deep, nasally voice. "Class is in session." Professor Snape glared ferociously at the twins as they reluctantly faced the front of the class and left their conversation unfinished.
George opened his notebook and scribbled on the top corner of the paper: "Meet me outside the Entrance Hall right after class. Bring your blue bag."
After an hour of enduring Snape's droning insults and snide comments, the redheads made their way through the grounds as the sun set behind the castle. Hagrid's hut was not empty, and by the whistling sound that was coming from his open window, they assumed he had just made a pot of tea. It was just as well, though; for the Weasley twins, it wasn't fun to do something against the rules unless there was a chance of getting caught.
"Look! Over there!" Fred said in a hushed voice, pointing to the hundreds of pumpkins, ripe and already harvested. Perfect. "Stay low, though. His window's open."
"Did you bring the bag?" George asked, holding out his hand to take it.
"Of course, I brought the bag," Fred replied, handing it to him.
"You know, sometimes Hermione gets on my nerves, but she comes in handy once in awhile. Where would we be without the Undetectable Extension Charm?" George grinned.
Somehow, they managed to squeeze 18 pumpkins into Fred's small blue bag just as Hagrid opened his back door to let Fang out. They ducked immediately, and Fred mouthed, "Go!"
They took off at a run toward the castle, and made it to the steps before Hagrid even had time to notice anything out of the ordinary. The boys cruised in the front doors, just as Professor McGonagall walked by. When she saw them feigning innocence, she raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms.
"Good evening, Professor!" Fred yelled enthusiastically.
"Great to see you, ma'am," George added.
"Weasley, you know I hate it when you call me m – "
"Please, call me George." He smiled. Her mouth tightened.
"I'm not going to ask what you two are up to, because frankly, I don't want to know, but I will say this: three more minutes and I can give you detention for being up after hours. Bed, now," she ordered.
The twins smiled and saluted her, puffing out their chests. "Aye, aye!" they said together.
They marched after her, up the stairs and through the portrait hole. "Goodnight, Professor!" Fred and George said, perhaps with too much excitement. She did her best to ignore them.
The Halloween feast arrived, and the twins entered the Great Hall with a strong air of confidence about them. The pumpkins were properly planted and everything was in order. The two dropped down on the bench next to Harry and Ron.
"Get ready, boys," Fred said.
"Get ready for what?" Ron asked stupidly.
George glanced around the hall. Almost every student had gathered and the teachers were all sitting at the head table. He exchanged a look with his twin and then they nodded in unison. "For this."
George pulled out his wand and swung it lightly through the air. Every single jack-o-lantern that was floating above their heads rearranged quickly and they all turned 180 degrees. The pumpkins lined up and separated into four groups. Where there should have been a face on each pumpkin, there instead was a letter carved into the soft orange exterior. If you read it across it said: "TGNLO USRD EPEAS NATL".
"Oops," George said, "Let's try again." He flicked his wand again and the letters rearranged once more to read: "SNAPE EATS TROLL DUNG".
"Ah, there we go," Fred said, smiling triumphantly. The entire Gryffindor table erupted with laughter, causing the other tables to look up as well. They joined in on the mirth, with the exception of a few Slytherins. Snape scowled dangerously at the joyous twins, who couldn't be put down in a time like this. Even Dumbledore couldn't suppress a smile at this point. "Oh, and I almost forgot: you are definitely a genius, Georgie."
"Thank you, Fred," George said. "I do have to say, this certainly beats the time we tried to lock the ghosts in the dungeons our first year on Halloween."
"Yeah, we didn't really think that one out, did we?"
