Disclaimer: Just like anyone else on the site, I don't own Harry Potter.
The character of Cassie is mine, though, and so are Laura and Kenya! I also claim full credit/blame for the writing and elements of the plot.
A/N: I'm sorry guys. There are a number of reasons I could give for not getting this done sooner – moving to another country being one of them – but the truth is, the Weasley twins have a mischievous flash of genius about them. I do not. As such, this was really hard to write! There are only a few chapters left to go, now, so I will hopefully become slightly more regular with my updates before I start on the sequel. I'm afraid that this year my academic work is going to have to come first, though!
April 25th started, predictably, with a squeal. Pansy Parkinson had been the first to leave the common room, returning seconds later covered in red paint – or so it seemed at first. However, on closer inspection the Slytherins found that it was in fact a Marvin's Magical Mayhem product – or, as Draco pointed out, "More likely to be a cheap imitation – these are the Weasleys we're talking about" – which caused Pansy's robes to turn slowly crimson, with large gold letters spelling out 'Weasleys = Winners' on the back. By the time this had been discovered, Pansy's hair was also red and Felicity had got so much of the stuff on her hands that her robes slowly began turning scarlet as well. Blaise reluctantly drew up a scoreboard on the blackboard on the wall and put one tally in the 'Lions' column. "One point to the Weasleys." Pansy was wailing about her hair. "But it's ruined!" Laura rushed to reassure her. "My brothers love the Marvin range, they get something from it every time they get a chance to go to Zonko's. Don't worry, it'll wear off." Draco nodded. "And until then, it's war."
The Weasley twins were smart, the Slytherins had to admit. They'd steadfastly ignored several of the snakes' strategies, wearing shoes that hadn't been filled with custard in the night (three house-elves had had to be threatened with clothes to achieve this feat) and making Finnegan, of Gryffindor, taste their drinks before they drank. He radiated some kind of static energy for the next couple of hours, causing almost every spell he tried to end in an explosion – not that anyone noticed the difference. On one front, however, the twins were not prepared. Their elder brother, Percy, was a Prefect and, as such, tried to be as fair as possible to those of all Houses. It was the work of seconds for Laura to convince him that she'd found a text book they'd left behind in one of their classes. "Oh, they're always doing that," he told her, pompously. "Which one does it belong to?" Laura shrugged. "It just says 'Gred Weasley' in the inside cover..." She handed over a book-shaped package wrapped in brown paper, which Percy was only too happy to deliver as Laura scurried back towards her friends.
Fred and George did look faintly perplexed, neither having noticed the absence of a book, but as both Percy and Hermione pointed out, they wouldn't have noticed if all of their books were ceremoniously carried to the front of the Great Hall and set on fire in front of their eyes. "No, we'd be too busy toasting marshmal-" Cassie couldn't tell which twin was speaking, but he was abruptly cut off as, when he pulled the string, a large quantity of small gnomes leapt out and made a bid for freedom. Unfortunately for the twins, they were in the way. Watching the shrunken gnomes wreak havoc at the Gryffindor table, Cassie was distracted by Hagrid booming at everyone not to hurt the 'poor critters'. The Slytherins chose this moment to finish their toast and leave.
Unfortunately, it seemed the snakes were not the only students capable of colluding with the house-elves. While Pansy and Lucille had simply waited in the dorms for one to appear, the Weasleys had gone down to the kitchen and insisted on helping to prepare the Slytherins' breakfasts. By the time they reached the common room, every single green-clad student had bright yellow feathers for eyebrows. The sixth and seventh years sorted themselves out very quickly and helped the younger students – but they all agreed that the first-years had brought it upon themselves. Accordingly, the first-years were forced to troop upstairs, having added a point to each side of the scoreboard, and face first McGonagall, who was clearly struggling to hold back a smile, and then Flitwick, who merely raised an eyebrow, chuckled, and told them that they were "brave to challenge the Weasleys, but perhaps unwise". Attempting to enlist the Professors' help in lifting the spell proved fruitless, but the Slytherins were a little gratified when, half way through their Charms class, McGonagall's third-years had to evacuate their classroom to escape a mysterious gas that made everybody sing. Through his laughter, as they listened to the musical class rushing down the stairs to the grounds, Draco leant over and high-fived Cassie. "Nice job on the time delay, there, princess." She scowled at him. "Don't call me princess!" Laura, on her other side, offered her a high-five too and she relented. "But thanks. It worked out well, didn't it?" Unfortunately, the Weasley twins chose that moment to bounce past the door singing "We got out of lessons!" loudly and cheerfully. The snakes slumped in their chairs, trying to work out some way of winning this campaign of tomfoolery. On the plus side, Professor Flitwick suddenly seemed to change his mind about sorting out their eyebrows.
The end, when it came, was sudden and final. When the Slytherins sat down for dinner, it was with some apprehension. The older students merely sat and watched until the first-years began to eat, tentatively tasting tiny nibbles of food. However, on this occasion they seemed to be in luck; the food had no untoward side-effects and soon the entire house was tucking in cheerfully, the first-years still trying to decide how to win the contest. "The Weasleys haven't done half as much as I'd expected them to," Laura grinned, "so we've just got to hit them with one more good prank." The twins from Gryffindor seemed to be keen to return to their common room before such a prank occurred, walking past the Slytherin table on their way out of the hall. There was a smashing sound as the jar of bluebell-flame Hermione had conjured at Fred's request because "our dormitory is cold, why else?" hit the ground and spread to form a horseshoe shape, cutting off the Slytherins from the other students and the teachers, but not from the door, where they could see Fred and George disappearing behind a suit of armour. The teachers hurried to restore order among the other three houses as the Slytherin seventh-years elegantly rose and filed out of the hall in a dignified manner, followed by the sixth-years, the fifth-years and the fourth-years. The second- and third-years also left, looking slightly more worried despite their best efforts. The first-years, however, did not move as the teachers doused the flames, shooting jets of water which drenched both the students and the table they were sat at. The twins returned and slipped back to the Gryffindor table amidst the confusion, sniggering at the Slytherins who were clearly attempting to stand.
"Cassie, can you move?" Laura whispered to her friend as she tried to wriggle discreetly out of her seat. "I can move, I just can't seem to get off of the bench…" Draco hissed at them angrily. "Then sit still! This is clearly the Weasleys' doing – we can't let them see they've got us." The other first years nodded and turned to conversations among themselves, making no further attempt to leave the table. Their efforts at seeming unaffected were going well until Lee Jordan, approaching the Professors' table to check the times of the next Quidditch match with Madam Hooch, waved his wand behind his back and muttered something the teachers didn't catch. A cloud of smoke billowed from his wand and drifted to the Slytherin table, settling like heavy fog around them. Dean Thomas apparently couldn't resist shouting "Oi, Lee, if you're going to let one rip could you at least be a bit less obvious?", but that was the least of the Slytherins' concerns as they all drifted off to sleep.
When Cassie woke, it was to find herself regarding clear blue sky above her head. Blinking, she realised that she was in fact in the Great Hall, and the rest of the first year also appeared to be returning from the land of slumber around her. She looked along the table to see that the staff had not yet taken their seats and the elder Slytherins were nowhere in sight. Then she caught sight of herself in a particularly well-polished goblet. She took another look at her companions, reeling with shock as she realised that they had all been drawn on in their sleep. They rushed as one to the bathrooms, only to find that the doodles and messages from the Gryffindors could not be shifted. Outside the doors, they could hear cheering and a rising chant of 'The Weasleys are the winners! The Weasleys are the winners!'
They couldn't really argue with that.