The students followed suit, hurtling mounds of food at their opponents. Harry and Ron ducked under the nearest table and screamed 'DOBBY!', which no one heard or noticed in all the chaos. The house elf appeared in front of them with a POP!.
"Hey, Dobby. Could you please supply us with lots of food so we can survive this food fight?" Harry asked quickly.
"Yes, of course, sir. Anything for Harry Potter and his friends." the elf replied excitedly, his ears wiggling happily at the prospect of helping Harry and Ron.
"Thank you, Dobby. I owe two pairs of mismatched socks."
"Yay. Thank you, Harry Potter. So brave, so generous, so-"
"Yes, yes. Thank you. Now could you please get the food."
Dobby nodded vigorously and disappeared with another POP!
"Isn't that cheating, Harry?"
"It's a food fight, Ron. As long as we use food, we're in the clear." Harry replied confidently.
"Good point." Ron said.
POP!
Dobby was back with a cornucopia in his sickly thin hands.
"Here, Harry Potter. This horn gives plenty food. All you has to do is think happy thoughts."
"Oh. Kinda like a Patronus." Ron reasoned.
"Yes, Weezy. Smart Harry Potter, to get such good friends. So brave, so brilliant, so wise, so-"
"Thank you, Dobby." Harry said dismissively. "You can leave now."
"OK." Then with a POP!, he was gone.
"How is it," Ron asked, "that I was the one that said something smart but he ends up praising you instead?"
"I have no idea, Ron. But I do know this; it is very, very annoying." Harry answered. He and Ron got up from under the table and started shooting with their cornucopia. With both their happy memories combined, they were unstoppable. They advanced toward the Slytherin table where Draco Malfoy was throwing sausages and spicy chicken wings and thighs for his life. He didn't notice two-thirds of the Golden trio sneaking up from behind him. Time slowed down. It all happened in slow motion.
They aimed their bountiful supply of food at him and thought of the happiest thing they could, which at the time was Draco screaming in terror. The power flowed through the cornucopia, their happiness filling it with delicious food that would soon become deadly projectiles. Then, one by one, food shot out of the horn. Ham, roast beef, chunks of banana pudding, you name it. The tasty goods hurtled towards Draco as Harry and Ron watched in anticipation. The fight stopped around them as people turned to watch. Draco noticed that people had stopped throwing food and were now, in fact, looking at him. He instinctively turned only to find food coming towards him at an alarmingly high speed. He closed his eyes slowly, already accepting his fate but then…
"NOOOOOO!"
Blaise, bless his courageous heart, leaped between him and the food. The food hit him squarely in the chest, mid-leap. He crumpled unto the floor, his eyes streamed with tears probably because an apple had also hit him in the forehead.
"Dr- Draco…" his voice strained and ragged.
"I'm here, Blaise. I'm here." he replied soothingly as he stroked Blaise's forehead. "It's okay. You'll be fine. You- you have to be fine."
"Th- thank you for being my friend. And a prat."
"Yes, that's exactly what I am. A prat, a huge prat."
"Avenge me… Draco… avenge…"
"No! You will avenge yourself. I won't have to avenge you. Please." Draco pleaded, his eyes tearing up.
Blaise smiled peacefully and closed his eyes. Harry and Ron jumped around in triumph as Draco grieved the 'loss' of his good friend.
"NOOOO!"
Pansy walked up to him. If he, and anyone else in the Great Hall, had expected her to console him, then they had been greatly misled for instead she smacked him upside the head.
"Don't be daft, Draco. Honestly, the both of you are so dramatic. Get up, Blaise!" she commanded. And get up he did.
"Oh. Oops. Got too caught up in the moment." Blaise said sheepishly.
"Yeah. Me too." said Draco.
"Drama queens." said Theo.
All the while, students, teachers and ghosts had been watching the weird group with incredibly keen interest. Harry and Ron were nowhere to be seen. And, by now, it was well past all their bedtimes.
"That is quite enough for one night." Dumbledore said calmly as he pulled a corndog out of his beard and squeezed some pumpkin juice out of his robes and hair.
"Off to bed with all of you. Make sure you clean up before you go to bed and don't stain the rugs in the common rooms. Oh and there should be no excuses for lateness to class tomorrow. Good night."
The students groaned as they filed out of the Great Hall. The prefects and heads went in the general direction of the prefect's bathroom allowing a few of their friends to go with them while the other students had to share the bathrooms in their dorms. Most students just 'scourgify-ed' themselves and went to bed. The others, who were probably complete clean freaks, scourgify-ed the floor with every step they took and got ready for a good scrub down. Eventually, everyone went to bed wondering what new chaos and destruction was waiting for them tomorrow.
