Chapter 25 – Stress and Laughter

"It's all that brat Potter's fault" snapped the tall blond man for about the fifth time in the last hour. His companions were not to the point of getting ready to chuck him out the window but they were getting closer to it. Even though every member of the little group but one had spent years in Azkaban prison, their present situation wasn't much better. They were stuck in an old dingy house that was falling down around them and was almost impossible to heat adequately.

"Give it a rest Lucius; we've heard it all before." Bellatrix Lestrange almost snarled as she looked out the window at the old and ramshackle cemetery that was only a short distance from the house. Her mind wandered to wondering what the rest of her Death Eater associates might say if they knew who was buried nearby. "The Dark Lord would punish us for the state we are in now. We must get out of here and prepare the way for his Return."

Antonin Dolohov did snarl as he threw an empty wine bottle against the wall. "Why are we hiding here? I say we go out and kill the first magicals we come across and take their wands. At least we could defend ourselves from the Auror patrols and those wretched Dementors."

Rabastan Lestrange shook his head. "So what are you going to do against Dementors? Throw empty wine and firewhiskey bottles at them?"

Dolohov turned and launched himself at Rabastan and it took Malfoy and Rudophus to pull them apart. "Quit this, you idiots! We might as well walk back to Azkaban to turn ourselves in if we turn on each other."

"You're a fine one to talk Lucius. You sent the only person here that wasn't on a wanted list to Hogwarts to kidnap your son. What was the wisdom in that?"

"I did not send him; I have no idea of why that fool Umbridge took off without telling any of us. He helped us escape but it's a good bet that since he hasn't returned he was either caught or killed in the attempt. It's a lucky thing that he didn't know where we are now. I have plans for my disgrace of a son and his mother. They both must be punished."

"Yes, yes, yes. He'll be the first in line to see the Dark Lord when he returns if you don't punish him first. Any word from Alecto or Amycus?"

"Not yet; they were going to see if their relatives could provide us with money or wands so we could start living like purebloods again."

"So why aren't we contacting Snape? He's in a position of safety and could at least find us a better hideout. His house is quite far away from most people."

"The Ministry is no doubt checking the owls heading to Hogwarts; that was something else Umbridge was supposed to do – contact Snape."

"No hope for that now Lucius. We must come up with a better plan to get out of here. We must start bringing believers back to our cause."

"An ad in the Daily Prophet perhaps Bellatrix? No, we must strike fear in the public and the Ministry to gain us support."

"Our resources aren't the best to start a reign of terror" Rodolphus said. "I'm starting to think we should do what Antonin just advised. Just take over the closest houses and kill the families that are living there."

"And attract the aurors when they come up missing? We've gone round and round on this before and didn't get any closer to a good solution. Maybe when the Carrows get back they'll have better news for us."

"If they get back." There was another fight just hanging in the air waiting for the right spark to ignite things again. Luckily there came a knock on the parlor door and a very pitiful face appeared. "Supper will be ready in about ten minutes."

"It had better be better than what you offered us last night Wormtail. What did you think you were doing? Vegetable stew, blech!"

"There still are some gardens around that haven't been cleared. There's not any food like what you are used to but I will try again tomorrow. Breaking into houses will be the next step; there's plenty of muggle households around Little Hangleton."

"They won't be notifying the aurors, I say we rob the muggles and send Wormtail out for proper provisions."

"Bellatrix, your impatience is going to be the death of you someday."

"I'm not slated to die. I will be by our Lord's side for many years."

Lucius Malfoy shook his head. 'Reduced to this; living like a poor muggle family. Might as well be the Weasley's' he thought. An idea occurred to him at that point and he smiled. He would have to think about that possible plan while he tried to eat whatever disgusting concoction Pettigrew had managed to prepare for supper. At least it would keep his mind off the poor excuse for food.

Xxxx xxxx

The Minister of Magic had a special file in his desk that he didn't even let his secretary touch. It contained the names, photos and crimes list of every one of the prisoners that had escaped from Azkaban. The second thing he did every morning after he came to work was to read the overnight reports from the DMLE about their progress in tracking and catching those people. He took great delight when the reports were positive to put a big red X through the criminals face. It let him know how much closer he was to getting out of the embarrassment of the escape or reporting to the Wizengamot. Of course, he wasn't actually sure that the escapes could be a cause for him to be thrown out of office, but he did worry about it every single moment of his waking life.

Either way every X was one more prisoner that was back where he was supposed to be and less a headache for him. Cornelius Fudge smiled as he read the latest report.

The Aurors had found one of the escapees hanging around the Leaky Cauldron late last evening. The wizard, a Gomer Lumpley by name, was posing as a blind man and trying to get the passing wizards and witches to drop whatever change they had, muggle or magical, into a charmed cup. The poor man had panicked at the sight of the Auror team and tried apparating away. Fifteen years at Azkaban had proved fatal to his magical skills and he had splinched himself so badly in his escape attempt that there wasn't enough left of him to even try a magical healing.

The photos of the 'capture' made Cornelius Fudge a little nauseous but he did take pleasure in placing the mark on Gomer Lumply's wanted poster and adding it to the pile of prisoners that had been caught or had died since the escape. Over two-thirds of the total had been accounted for but the most dangerous witches and wizards were still on the loose.

Before he close the file up and placed it back in his drawer for the day the Minister looked at one special wanted poster. Instead of a red X, there was a huge question mark next to this wizard's face. He was a problem that had been grown significantly in the last few days. Fudge almost wished that his oldest advisor was still around to suggest what to do about the problem. Unfortunately Lucius Malfoy was now in the folder himself; even if he was captured soon, there didn't seem to be any simple answer to the loose cannon that was Sirius Black.

Xxxx xxxx

The first hard snow of the season ending up dumping 4 inches of the powdery white stuff over the grounds of Hogwarts and cancelling the Friday night Astronomy class for sixth year Hufflepuffs. The next morning, however, the sun had risen bright and shining and the snowfall looked very inviting. Because it was a Saturday, the hillsides down to Hagrid's hut and the Quidditch pitch were soon full of impromptu snowball fights and sledders.

Harry and Ginny dragged a reluctant Hermione outside. It took a couple of slides down the hill before she stopped fretting about the revising she had promised herself to do. Hagrid had placed some cushioning charms around his hut to stop anyone from ramming into it with the sleds or toboggans. Hermione wasn't aware of this and she screamed when Harry steered them directly toward the front door of the stone structure. To make matters even more hazardous Fang was outside the hut rubbing his back into the snow. Hermione closed her eyes as she knew that the three of them were just going to crash and hurt themselves against the thick walls or the big dog. She closed her eyes and shrieked into Harry's ear but 'heard' a silent spell that she was all too familiar with.

'Wingardium Leviosa!' Hermione opened her eyes just as she, Harry, Ginny and the toboggan sailed over Hagrid's hut and landed in a deep snowbank completely burying themselves up to their shoulders. Harry and Ginny were laughing uproariously about the flyover and landing and Hermione thought they might be laughing at her. She managed to stuff a couple of handfuls of snow down the back of Harry's shirt before he stopped laughing. He, of course, retaliated by trying to throw a double handful of the white powder in Hermione's face. She ducked and the snow caught Ginny right in the face. The three way fight lasted about eight minutes before the three were too tired from laughing to continue. They dragged the toboggan out of the pile of snow, climbed back up the hill and handed it off to some of the first years that were anxiously waiting a turn to go down the hill.

It took another half hour to return to the Hearth, change clothes and have some hot chocolate fixed up to help warm them. The three were sitting side by side on the big sofa with warm mugs and a fuzzy blanket. Hermione looked over at Ginny and smiled. "Thanks for taking me outside. That last ride wouldn't have been half bad if somebody had warned me about what they had planned."

"Nonnie, you should know Harry would never put any of us in danger."

"Yes but the idea that he's deliberately trying to scare us sometimes is wrong."

Harry put his cup down and then unwrapped himself from the blanket. He stood up and then covered the girls back up with the blanket. "I guess I'll go out for a walk for a while." Harry was halfway up the steps when he was tackled.

"Harry, I'm sorry. Really. I didn't mean it that way."

Hermione relaxed her hold on her husband's leg and then stared at his face when he sat on a step. Hermione went and sat one step higher than her husband and put her legs around to both sides of him. She leaned into his back so her head was right next to his. "I'm sorry I'm not a silly ninny. No, wait a second, I'm explaining. I know I go daft twice every year about these tests and it's difficult to put the know-it-all bookworm aside. It just makes me a little uncomfortable to go out and just have fun. I want you to be proud of me Harry. I want Ginny to be proud of me. The best way I know of doing that is academically because that's what I'm good at. In spite of all my fretting."

Harry had his eyes closed and he shook his head. "You are a silly ninny, Nonnie, if you keep forgetting that we already are proud of you. Very proud of you. And not just because you're the smartest witch in the school. We're proud of you because you are our friend and wife and you are an amazing person even if you never open another book in your life. You're lovely, inside and out, and care a lot about the people around you. In addition to us, your parents and Ginny's parents both love you and it has nothing to do with being a know-it-all. How could we not be proud of you?"

There was silence in the space next to Harry's ear and he briefly wondered if he had said something wrong. Ginny had come over to stand at the bottom of the stairs and Harry raised his eyes to see what she made of the situation. Ginny smiled and nodded and then Hermione threw her arms around his neck. "For a thirteen year old, you say some pretty amazing things Mr. Potter."

"I've gotten lucky that I have some pretty amazing ladies around me every day to talk to and about."

Hermione laid a very deliberate and soft kiss to Harry's temple. "Am I forgiven, dear husband, for not appreciating your humor as I should?"

"What do you think Mrs. Potter? Should we do something about Hermione's dedication to the higher pursuits in life? Or lack thereof?"

"Other than tickling her within an inch of peeing her knickers? I have an idea but we should probably follow her lead and get ready for all the exams this week."

"That sounds like a good idea to me too. Up for a challenge from both of us after exams Hermione?"

"Okay, I really need to learn to relax and have as much fun as you two. Aside from bed. I saw that smirk Ginny!"

Harry chuckled and leaned his head back to give Hermione a kiss. "Ginny and I will put our heads together and have some special things for you to accomplish after Christmas. That will give us time to think of something appropriate and for you to plan for before we come back to school."

Hermione nodded slowly and wondered what she was getting herself into. She and Harry looked down the steps to see Ginny flipping a coin idly back and forth between her hands. "Back to revising then; heads for Charms and tails for Potions. Go ahead and call it Hermione."

Ten minutes later the three were quizzing each other about Potions and the specific order of ingredients. Hermione abruptly paused and put down her notes. She shook her head and then gasped. Harry and Ginny automatically reached for her and hugged her between them. Hermione smiled at the contact and then straightened up. "I have a question to ask and I need both of you to answer honestly."

Both Harry and Ginny nodded and wondered what was bothering their mate now.

"That bed comment I just said made me think. I know my behavior gets worse and worse the closer we get to exam time. Have I been… neglecting you in any way for the last couple of weeks? Other than that marvelous encounter that Harry and I had beneath the bleachers, I don't remember being very amorous with either or you. I'm so sorry."

Ginny shook her head and pulled Hermione closer. "You've forgotten the little talk we had when I was the one over-concerned about satisfying you and Harry. I've not forgotten what you two said to me then. It's not sex that the basis of our marriage; its friendship, trust and our togetherness that's the important thing. Harry and I exchange plenty of hugs and kisses and other affections with you every day. We're not asking for anything else. We're all distracted by the end of term and the upcoming tests but I, for one, am looking forward to the holidays. One reason is a chance to sleep in a little bit every day. Another is a chance to do some Christmas shopping for my family and friends. The other nice thing about time off from school is that there won't be distractions that divert me from showing my mates how much I appreciate their love and support. We will have time to do some of those other activities that we don't feel comfortable about in school."

Harry broke in from Hermione's other side. "And I always worry that I'm not doing enough for either of you either. It's not just being… amorous either. Have I told you either or both of you that I love you in the last couple of hours? Did I neglect to hold your hand when I should have or could have? Or, the opposite, have I made a total pest of myself in paying attention to both my lovely wives? I guess we all suffer from our little insecurities. Hermione, I don't remember thinking or saying anything to you about feeling neglected."

"Neither of you two would."

Ginny slapped Hermione lightly on the back of the head. "We may not say anything but I'm not above reminding you that I would like more from you by giving you kisses and fondles when nobody is looking or, at last resort, take whatever book you have been reading out of your hands."

"But…"

Ginny put a finger gently to her spouse's lips. "Shhh, we're all okay Hermione. We are all a little stressed by the end of term. We probably need to take more breaks or get a little more sleep. But we've got revising to do and that takes temporary precedence. So don't worry so much about the shortcomings you think you have. It's just the way things are now. And things will get better."

"You promise? Your happiness is important to me."

"We know that silly. So relax."

"You know what I think would be a great idea?"

"What Hermione?"

"I think it would be a great idea if we took some small snogging breaks during the revising this afternoon. Not the three of us all together because we.."

Harry chuckled. "… we might not make it back to revising. So how do we decide which two get to 'take a break'?"

Hermione reached into her pocket and came out with a handful of change. She picked out three sickles and handed one to each of her spouses. "We flip for it; the two that match head for the bedroom and the third watches the clock for …ten minutes? We then go back to revising and take another break in an hour and a half and nobody gets three turns in a row. Are we agreed?"

When Harry and Ginny nodded Hermione flipped her coin and caught it. The other two followed her and then revealed their coins. "Darn!"

"Sorry Harry; you'll get your turn."

"The ten minutes start the second you go into the bedroom. Just snogging."

"We know." Both girls gave Harry an extra-long kiss as a consolation prize for being the odd one out first and headed for the bedroom.

Harry took note of the time and picked up Hermione's discarded Potions notes. 'There's challenges being married to the smartest witch in the school but the rewards are certainly worth it' he thought as he looked at the ingredient list for Confusing Concoction.

He heard some giggles coming from the bedroom and just nodded his head and smiled.

Xxxx xxxx

Peter struck not gold, but at least silver, in the fourth day of scrounging food, money and other necessities from the deserted houses around Little Hangleton. He broke into a house that was not previously owned by muggles. It took him almost ten minutes of searching the kitchen for cans or other foodstuffs before he discovered the one thing that gave him some hope for himself and the other Death Eaters. He found a half filled pot of floo powder sitting behind a couple of broken jars on the mantel over the hearth.

He realized immediately what it meant; that the six Death Eaters could get away from their present hideout. There were still supporters of Voldemort across the countryside that would give them shelter, food and find them wands. It was Scabbers that hurried back to the falling down Gaunt House and let the others in on the news.

Lucius had a tough time talking Bellatrix from immediately rushing to the house and flooing away. "It's daylight and there are still Aurors out there patrolling. We'll wait until after dark since we can't change into rodents like Wormtail. That gives us time to discuss whether we're all going to floo away or just one of us as a scouting party of sorts."

"And I suppose you'll be the one going through the floo first?" asked Bellatrix.

"No, since Antonin seems to want to rush into danger so much, I thought I would let him go first in case the Ministry might be waiting on the other end."

"Thank you Lucius, you were always good about volunteering everyone else to go first."

"There's a time for boldness and there's a time for caution. I, at least, understand the difference."

To curtail yet another confrontation, Peter broke in and asked a question. "So who are we going to contact?"

Lucius Malfoy smiled. "Why Wormtail, we're going to get in touch with a member of the Ministry itself."

It seemed an unreasonably long afternoon for the escaped Death Eaters; the prospect of leaving the derelict household kept everyone quiet but more nervous against one another. The strain finally got to some of them and they separated to go to different rooms. Peter seemed to be the only calm one of the group. Of course, he was the only one to know where the house and the floo powder were; he mistakenly thought he had some control of the situation.

After dark had fallen enough to mask their forms, Peter led the others through a convoluted route to get to the house that was previously home to a magical family. They had to pause once or twice along the way for people out walking, although both Bellatrix and Dolohov had grumbled and wanted to dispose of the bystanders. Cooler heads had prevailed and the six eventually found themselves at the back door that Peter had unlocked during his morning visit.

Lighting a small lantern that they had brought from the Gaunt House, the Death Eaters crowded around the floo and talked about their strategy.

It was Lucius Malfoy that made the final decision however after all the wrangling. "I will go first; I've suffered the least of all of you and can apparate away if I need to. I also know the man the best. This home is very secure and the man we are talking about doesn't encourage visitors. We should be well fed and clothed within the hour. Our host has the capability to retrieve our own wands; whether he will risk that is another matter. He doesn't intimidate easily."

Malfoy grabbed a handful of the floo powder and stepped into the hearth. "Merlin help you if this powder has gone bad Pettigrew. I won't stop Bellatrix or Antonin from wringing your neck."

Peter hung his head and crossed his fingers. He realized with a start that it was a muggle custom that Lily Potter had taught all the Marauders a long time ago in school. Peter felt the bile rise in his throat as he watched Malfoy throw the powder and call out his destination. "Harrow's Cleft!"

Everyone called out some encouragement as the familiar green flames consumed and transported Lucius Malfoy away. Bellatrix practically skipped in the hearth to grab the next opportunity to leave.

Peter turn to Antonin who was standing next to him, "I don't know that name or the place we're heading for. Who does it belong to?"

Dolohov didn't turn his head as he watched Bellatrix floo away. "The name is a place; not a person. We're heading to the home of Walden Macnair."

Xxxx xxxx

Walden Macnair was an employee of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. He was most often employed as an executioner but had some other duties that kept him at the Ministry of Magic a few other days of the week. It was a lucky thing for Lucius Malfoy that Macnair was actually home this day and that his floo connection was not blocked off. It was not a good thing however that Macnair heard the floo flare up in his hearth and sent a 'Crutiatus' curse through the space when he first saw a body begin to emerge. Lucius Malfoy took the shot and staggered out of the fireplace but managed to tell him about the other incoming fugitives. Macnair sat back in the chair by the floo and watched five other people arrive and stumble across the prone body of Malfoy.

Lucius was not a happy wizard when he finally regained the use of his arms and legs and struck Macnair down with a blow from his fist.

"You fool! Suppose I had been an auror coming through to question you?"

"It's part of my job description that I may use the Unforgiveable curses to defend myself or carry out my orders of execution. The only one so allowed in all the Ministry. The Aurors and every other Ministry employee know enough to make a floo call or send an owl to me to announce they are coming. Where have you been hiding yourselves for these many weeks?"

"Various places around the countryside; the old places that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named used as his own headquarters on his rise to power. We've tired of running and want to eat and sleep decently again."

The tall bald man nodded knowingly and called for his house elf. "Dit, find food enough to feed these people quickly. There will have to be proper clothes laid out for my associates and all the guest rooms will have to be prepared. Pettigrew there is not enough room in the house for everyone; you'll have to make do with a mattress out in the barn."

Peter nodded as if he had been expecting to get the short straw all along. "Thank you Mr. Macnair. We haven't made plans on how long we'll be here."

"That will be one of the topics of discussion over supper. I know a few safe houses that you may stay in until you decide to leave the country or not."

"I'll not leave until I get my revenge or my son" Malfoy said.

Macnair nodded thoughtfully. He had been one of the spectators in the courtroom when Malfoy had been brought up on trial. He saw the look of shock and anger on Lucius' face when both his wife and his son had turned on him. The looks from Bellatrix and the others did not seem to agree much with the stubbornness of one Lucius Malfoy. Macnair called for his house elf again and wondered if this group would descend to fighting, scattering to the winds or getting them all arrested.

Xxxx xxxx

The exams took a lot out of everyone both mentally and emotionally during the week. Even Felicia Hampton bent to task of revising the subject matter in spite of the fact that she really didn't need to pass anything. She explained to Harry and the others that as an Auror she had been taught to keep her cover as perfect as possible. That included joining the universal despair of getting through the Potions final or remembering the various names, dates and events of the Goblin wars that Professor Binns put almost everyone to sleep with.

Group studies were the norm rather than the exception for every House as the students crammed furiously every night for the next days' tests. Harry grew a little weary of the pressure but then looked at his housemates that were preparing for OWL's or NEWT's. He suddenly felt a little more relaxed and confident about the knowledge that he and his classmates were being tested on.

The Hearth was the host for the third year study group of Wednesday night for the Charms final the next afternoon. While Harry, Ginny, and Hermione hadn't closed it off the revising to just Gryffindors, they were surprised at the number of students from other houses that had showed up. Even the few Slytherins that were part of the Friday night DA showed up and spoke nicely to Myrtle and Josh before being admitted. Harry had looked around once to see that every chair and clear space on the floor was occupied by a friend or study notes. He whistled for attention and then asked everyone to try to make it up to the landing with their notes and books. Once they had gotten over their grumbling, they all moved to the stairs or the hallway and landing.

Harry concentrated for a moment and all the regular furniture in the room quickly vanished. In its place was a rather large round table with one chair. Harry then issued a challenge for everyone to produce their own chair to sit in and gave them a five minute limit. Most of the members of the DA were successful in about four and Harry took a note of those that hadn't managed a chair for themselves. It surprisingly included his wives.

When he questioned them mentally about a charm that they had been taught early in their second year, Hermione and Ginny pointed to the original chair that Vika had produced for him. Harry's chair now had a label on it that said "Potter Family Relax-a-Bunch; Serial #1". The chair had three heart-shaped backs that intertwined. Ginny picked up and showed everyone the thick pillow that said 'The Snogging Starts and Stops Here'. Every student looked on and laughed as Harry chased both his wives around the table once. Ginny made it back to their chair successfully but Harry caught Hermione just before she made a dive at it. The capture rolled them under the table and everyone laughed as they heard Hermione begging for mercy and asking not to be tickled. Ginny made a show of checking her watch and watching the second hand move. She started a countdown after ten seconds and Harry and Hermione made their way out from underneath before everyone that had joined in got to three. Harry tucked his shirt back in to the catcalls from all the guys in the room. They immediately became quiet as Hermione held up her wand. It had black sparks erupting from it and only a few of her classmates knew that the display was harmless.

"Are we ready to get back to revising now?" Hermione asked. Everyone dived into their chairs and quickly opened up their books and notes. Harry glanced over at Hermione to see her suddenly wink at him. 'See, I can to have fun.'

'Never said you couldn't Nonnie.'

Seamus started the revising back up with a question directed at Neville and Harry was happy to see that his friend didn't hesitate or stammer once in giving his dorm mate the correct answer. The study session lasted until about twenty minutes before curfew and Harry wished all of them good luck on their tests on Thursday and Friday. The Potters walked everyone to the door and said goodnight. By the time they returned to their living room, the table and all the chairs but one had vanished. The Relax-A-Bunch chair had stayed and now had a square hassock in front of it that the three could put their feet up on.

"Thank you Vika" Harry said aloud.

"You're welcome Lord Harrykins. I hope you three won't be too busy for the next couple of days and follow the advice on the cushion I provided."

Harry rolled his eyes. "I guess we'll have time after the Potions test Friday morning but would you please not call me Harrykins out loud."

There was a long laugh in reply and both Ginny and Hermione fell onto the couch laughing. Harry dived into the couch after them and Vika lowered the lights in the living room magically.

Xxxx xxxx

"Welcome everyone to the end of tests supper banquet; I hope all of you are nice and relaxed after the grueling week of revising, writing and performing magic. I am especially proud to say that the fifth and seventh year students did well and not one hexed the Ministry examiners."

Dumbledore paused and looked at a few specific people at the Gryffindor table. The Weasley twins had been uncharacteristically quiet all week and it didn't bode well for the weekend as the Hogwarts train didn't leave for London until Monday morning.

Just as Dumbledore thought the time was right to announce the results of the rodent competition, the doors to the Great Hall swung open with an eerily loud groan. A large grey rug appeared and unrolled itself down the main aisle between all the house tables. As the rug flattened out, small plants appeared to grow along the green border and quickly reached the height of about five feet. Large sunflowers appeared at the top of each stalk and the impromptu rollout finished off by completing a row of sunflowers directly in front of the staff table at the front of the room.

The tall plants waved gently as if there was a breeze running through the room and then a high whistle sounded and the plants started erupting from the rear forward. Colorful streamers and small fireworks exploded out from the flowers and went over the tables and students. The displays quickly raced up the aisle toward Dumbledore and the rest of the Professors. When the last of the sideward facing sunflowers had sent out their outburst there was a pause for perhaps a second or two. Then the row of plants that were lined up facing the Hogwarts staff suddenly all erupted together. Jets of water suddenly appeared and drenched all the staff sitting at the table! The only one that didn't get totally soaked was Hagrid; he still had a habit of carrying an umbrella around even though he had a new wand of his own. He opened it up and laughed at the shocked looks of his fellow instructors.

The reaction of the young wizards and witches attending Hogwarts as students was firstly one of disbelieving silence. Then a great roar of laughter, cheers and applause ran around the room and everyone was jumping for joy and clapping their neighbors on the back as they celebrated the great prank. Hermione and Ginny turned to their husband as if asking if he was responsible for the sudden surprise but he just shook his head no. Harry asked Vika and got the same negative answer from her. Fred and George Weasley were standing and pointing along with everyone else but Harry wasn't sure if they were the responsible parties or not.

The reactions from the professors seated on the dais ranged from the unbridled fury of Professor Snape to the outright laughter of Professor Lupin. Dumbledore smiled as he applied the drying charm to himself and his staff and then applauded the prank himself.

"If anyone wants to admit to engineering this feat, I'm sure Professor Flitwick would award a great number of house points for the wonderful Charms work. No? I'm sorry Severus; you won't be able to assign detentions tonight."

That got a small chuckle from almost everyone as the students settled back into their places and started wondering who had managed to prank the Headmaster and his staff. Dumbledore waved his wand once again and the debris from the streamers and fireworks suddenly vanished.

"Before we tuck in and eat I have the announcement you all have been waiting for." Dumbledore waved his wand and the tally board appeared floating above his head. Harry and his wives looked at it anxiously but the cheering came from an unexpected sources as everyone saw the results:

The Great Rat Fink Hunt – Final Results – December 17th, 1993

Houses

Hufflepuff - 71

Ravenclaw - 71

Slytherin – 69

Gryffindor – 68

Individual Teams

The Rat Patrol – 41

Rat-a-touille - 39

Weasleys Wonderful Wrat Wranglers -38

Sneaky Mean and Slytherous – 37

Rat Busters -32

"The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff houses each win an extra Hogsmeade weekend during the spring term. There will be a vote after everyone returns from the holidays as to whether it is spent together or occur on separate weekends."

"We wish to congratulate Miss Fawnwild, Mr. Summers and Mr. Cadwallader from Hufflepuff for winning the team competition. You may pick up your winnings from Professor Sprout after the meal this evening."

"A reminder that carriages will be available to take students to Hogsmeade starting at 9 in the morning with the last carriages returning about 6 in the evening. For those of you that aren't on detention this weekend, enjoy your visit and make sure you have some hot chocolate and warm mittens before attempting the walk."

That being said, Dumbledore waved his arms once again and the tables strained with the weight of all the hot and tasty food. The conversation at all the tables was split between the prank and the upcoming visit to Hogsmeade. Harry wondered if he could talk his wives into splitting off temporarily so that they all might get some Christmas shopping done.