Disclaimer: Same as usual.

Chapter 10

The Beginning

Cloe sighed. It was a Saturday, and she didn't have anything to do. She had no homework to finish, and the search for her father wasn't going very well. Peter had brought the article for her to read just the day before, the one that her mother was in. It wasn't much help though. It was only about how her mother's father, or rather, grandfather, had been put into Azkaban. Nothing about her own father at all. And now, she was in that empty Transfiguration classroom again, playing her violin to nobody in particular, enjoying the colours that floated about her in a bright pattern. As soon as she finished, she packed her violin carefully away and walked out the door. Except there was something stopping her from getting out. Something like a small barrier of some sort. She pushed on it but it still wouldn't move. She frowned and contemplated what to do. Someone passed her and she saw that it was Ginny Weasley.

"Ginny!" she called.

The redhead turned and Cloe saw surprise flicker across her face.

"Cloe?" she questioned hesitantly.

"Could you come here for a second?"

Ginny walked to the door.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Cloe stepped back from the door.

"Try and put your hand through the door." Cloe said.

Ginny gave her a funny look. Probably thinking I'm mad, Cloe thought. But Ginny met her strange request anyway, and Cloe found that Ginny's hand passed easily through the doorway. Then Cloe held her hand up and tried to pass it through the door. That invisible barrier stopped it.

"Cloe? What's going on?"

"Oh, just that someone decided to pull this stupid prank on me."

Ginny was now confused.

"Prank?"

Cloe took a deep breath.

"Yeah. It was probably most likely two Slytherins."

Ginny raised her brows.

"They would prank their own House mates?"

"Sure. And I would bet anything that it was Crabbe and Goyle, with the help of Malfoy, Parkinson and probably Zabini."

Ginny snorted.

"What did you do to them?"

"Oh, I did a prank on Crabbe and Goyle. As for Malfoy, Parkinson and Zabini, I took Parkinson and Zabini's wands and then challenged Malfoy to a duel. In the library."

Ginny gasped.

"It was you's that wrecked that aisle in the library!" she exclaimed.

"Uh huh..."

"And who won?"

"Hm... me, surprisingly."

"You won against Malfoy?"

"Shocking, isn't it?"

Ginny was staring at Cloe. Cloe stared back, then an idea struck her.

"Can you come into the room?"

Ginny stepped in.

"Step out again."

Ginny stepped out easily.

"Step back in."

Ginny did so.

"Take me out of the room."

Ginny raised her brows again but took CLoe's hand and led her out. They both passed easily through the doorway.

"I take it you couldn't walk out the door." Ginny said.

Cloe nodded.

"Not without the aid of someone else, anyway." Cloe replied. "Thanks, by the way." she added.

"You're welcome."

"That's debatable." Cloe muttered.

Ginny turned a bright red. Just then, Professor Snape appeared.

"And what are you's doing here?" he sneered.

"Practising, professor." Cloe replied.

"And may I ask what you are practising?"

"You may, sir."

There was a moment of silence.

"Well?" he questioned impatiently.

"Well what, professor?"

"You have not answered my question!"

"But I have. You asked if you may ask what I was practising and I answered in the affirmative. You did not ask the actual question." Cloe replied innocently.

Ginny was shaking with quiet controlled laughter. Snape's nostrils flared.

"What were you practising?"

"My violin."

"At this time of hour?"

"It is only five o'clock in the evening, Professor Snape."

Except it wasn't Professor Snape that came out. Instead, it was Professor Dumbass.

Ginny stared at Cloe in shock. Snape's eyes had narrowed to almost slits.

"What did you call me?"

Cloe blinked at him.

"Why sir, I never thought you were deaf. I called you 'Professor Snape'. Isn't that your name?"

Ginny was shaking her head violently at her and Cloe finally realised what she had been saying. She had not been saying Snape all along! Her eyes widened in horror and she clapped a hand to her mouth.

"Sorry professor, I-"

"Save it." he said flatly. "Detention for a week, I think." and with that, he walked away.

Cloe cursed under her breath, then turned to see Ginny staring at her, still in shock, but also in admiration.

"I would never dare to call him that." she said quietly.

"I didn't. It wasn't me. I mean-" Cloe sighed in frustration. "It was the prank! The stupid prank!"

If possible, Ginny's eyes got wider.

"The prank?"

"Yes, the damned prank! Remember?" Cloe jabbed a finger at the doorway.

Ginny glanced at the door, then they both caught each other's eyes.

"Malfoy." they both said in unison.

Two hours later found Ginny and Cloe in a different empty classroom.

"What are you going to do?" Ginny asked.

"Well, the spell won't wear off until about a week. During that time, I have to survive my detention and I obviously have to try and avoid saying 'Professor Snape'."

Ginny giggled and Cloe realised that she had said 'Professor Dumbass' again and she couldn't help grinning.

"And, obviously get my revenge."

Ginny stopped giggling and looked thoughtful.

"How are you going to do that?" she asked.

"Oh, I have a few ideas up my sleeve." Cloe replied, a mischievious glint in her eyes. "Just wait until tomorrow. I'll have my revenge on all of them."

"Can't wait." Ginny replied, now grinning.

"Just don't tell anyone that it was me."

"My lips are sealed."

Cloe was an early riser. Yes, she was up at five in the morning, and no, she wasn't tired. At all. Instead, she couldn't wait until breakfast. She smirked and made her way quietly up the boys' dormitories.

Cloe was, once again, casually eating her breakfast with Peter and Skye. She had decided to sit back at her own House table today, as for the past couple of months (yes, it has been that long), she had been alternating between the Gryffindor and the Ravenclaw table. But now, she was enjoying a nice plate of bacon, fried eggs and beans, with a cup of pumpkin juice. And, once again, there was an enormous noise coming from the Entrance Hall, the sound of laughter making everyone's head look up.

First of all, Vincent Crabbe walked in, this time wearing Ravenclaw attire and his hair dyed blue and bronze. Then came Gregory Goyle, wearing a Hufflepuff uniform and his hair dyed bright yellow and black. And then Pansy Parkinson walked in, a sour look on her face. She was wearing the Gryffindor uniform and her hair dyed crimson and gold. Following Pansy was Blaise Zabini, his face perfectly stoic. He was also dressed in Ravenclaw's uniform and his hair the same colour as Crabbe's. Then came Draco Malfoy.

At the sight of him, the whole Hall burst into one roar of laughter. His uniform bore different colours of all the Houses, excluding Slytherin, and his hair was a mix of colours as well. His face was beyond furious. He stomped to the Slytherin table, to one Cloe Maysbury.

"You did this, didn't you?" he demanded.

It was lucky that Cloe could even hear him over the laughter, and she couldn't hold back a smile.

"Maybe, maybe not. Do you have proof?"

"You did this! I know you did!"

"What's going on here?"

Both looked up to see Professor Snape looking down his nose at them.

"Sir, she pulled this prank on us!" Draco immediately replied.

"He doesn't have proof."

"I think, Miss Maysbury, you should be quiet for a moment. You already have a week's detentions, and I can easily extend that."

Malfoy smirked, looking smug, whilst Cloe glared at Snape.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Professor Snape."

The whole Hall gasped as the words 'Professor Dumbass' came out. The whole Hall had stopped laughing long enough to watch their exchange, which was long enough to hear her. And this time, she had done it on purpose.

"I think, Miss Maysbury, that we shall have to extend that one week detentions to two weeks' worth of detentions. Agreed?"

"I, personally, disagree."

The whole Hall gasped.

"You what?"

"I said that I disagree. You see, me calling you by that name is a prank."

"Oh?" Snape sneered.

"Yes. And I would like to blame Crabbe, Goyle, Malfoy, Parkinson and Zabini."

"That's a pretty high claim there, Maysbury." Malfoy said casually.

"Oh, it's not a claim. It's a statement, or a fact, if you will. You see, they played this prank on me to get back at me for something I did, which I'm not going to name, and so, that's why you see them in ah, colourful clothes today."

Cloe gave a smirk worthy of a Malfoy.

"And what pranks are we talking about?" Malfoy said.

"Oh, you know fine well. The prank I did last month, then me beating you to that, so you's decided to get a little revenge and played this prank on me, which is, sir, every time I say Professor Your-Name, it actually comes out as Professor That-Word."

Cloe finished to Snape.

"Is this true, Mr Malfoy?" Snape said, turning away from Cloe.

"No, sir. We did nothing of the sort."

"Yes, sir. They did do something of the sort." Cloe corrected, in an almost perfect mimicked voice.

Malfoy glared at her.

"Maybe, maybe not. Do you have proof?" Malfoy mimicked Cloe to almost near perfection too.

Now it was Cloe's turn to glare at Malfoy.

"To sort this business out, I think we need to issue a week's worth of detentions to both of you's. Mr Malfoy, that's one week of detentions for you. As for you, Miss Maysbury, I believe that is three weeks worth of detentions."

"Three?" Skye echoed in disbelief.

Cloe looked at her that said quite clearly 'shut up, Snape can get quite nasty'.

"Yes, three. The first week for calling me that name the first time. The second week for calling me it a second time. The third is to teach a lesson with Mr Malfoy about this whole pranking business."

And with that, Snape walked away.

"Now look what you've done." Malfoy hissed.

"It wasn't my fault you decided to retaliate." Cloe retorted.

"It was so. Who wouldn't want to after getting beaten? By a first-year, no less. I'm a Malfoy, and nobody humiliates a Malfoy without their consent."

"Well, I did, so deal with it. I'm sure you'll survive."

"This is not the end." Malfoy said venomously.

And he walked out too with his crew, amidst another burst of laughter.

"No, it's just the beginning." Cloe said to no one in particular.

"The beginning of what?" Peter asked.

"The Prank War." Cloe replied softly.

Hahahaha, a prank war, how does that sound? I just thought I needed to put something on here that would be humorous in this fanfic, but I'm not sure if it will be :\ I am not very good at pranks, in case you haven't noticed, but oh well. I am such a failure at humour... Anyway, a review would be nice, if anyone is still reading this... :)