Story Title/Link: Bubbles at the Ministry

School and Theme: Durmstrang: Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes

Main Prompt: Percy Weasley

Additional Prompts: None

Year: 5 (Exchange students standing in should put the year they are standing in for this section)

Wordcount: 2437

"Alright there, Percy," Fred and George asked in unison.

Their older brother looked up from his paperwork, his spectacles dangling precariously from his nose. He eyed them both with suspicion before his eyes were drawn to the package that he'd asked his mother to bring for him. He'd forgotten it at home and had he not been so distracted by his younger brother's shenanigans he would've remembered to grab it before he left for work earlier that morning. Although he couldn't understand why they came to the Ministry in her stead, he was still grateful they took the time to bring it to him.

"Ah, the package," Percy murmured. " Thank you for bringing it to me. I'll thank mother-"

Before he could grab it, Fred stepped backwards, a sly grin playing on his lips. "Not so fast Percy-"

"-We're not going to give it to you that easily," George finished. "We came all this way-"

"-and you're going to talk," Fred said with a smile.

Percy sat back and looked at his younger brothers with discontempt. "What are two doing?"

"What's so important that you forgot this package here," George asked.

"If you really need to know, it's for my boss," he stood up and snatched the package out of Fred's hand. He backed away as if he was about to be hexed and said nothing. "Had it not been for you two tinkering with whatever it was you were tinkering with this morning I wouldn't have forgotten it."

"It must've been unimportant, then," Fred asked.

"What are you two doing here," he sighed. "Where is mother? I asked her to deliver this for me and I swear if you did something-"

"We didn't do anything," Fred started with a smile.

"-we swear. Mum is feeling under the weather and we volunteered to deliver it to you."

"I think a customary 'thank you' is appropriate for this occasion."

Percy looked between the two of them before coming to a satisfying conclusion. The twins were known to be tricksters, but he didn't believe they had the heart to tamper with the package he needed for his boss. Against popular belief, the package was important and it contained a small trinket he'd picked up during his holiday in Australia. The Minister of Magic coined the idea that the departments need to show unity within their ranks; Percy hoped he was taking the right step forward to show the Wizarding World that the Ministry isn't just strictly business and filled with suck-ups, or so his brothers once kindly put it. Of course, they can have fun, too.

"Accept my sincerest apologies and thank you kindly for delivering this to me," Percy murmured reluctantly.

The twins chuckled in perfect unison before saying farewell and turned out of his office.

Percy sat there for quite some time. He was unable to process their strange behavior and their calm demeanors. He still doubted that they were telling him the truth; one could easily lie and get away with anything, but there was something about their words that seemed to pull at his heart strings. He couldn't help but to believe them. It was hard to believe that they were out of school and both married; no one expected that sort of engagement for either of them. Settling down was simply something everyone thought they were incapable of, but at least they were still enjoying life as they've done after all this time.

"Did you remember the-" the Minister of Magic inquired impatiently as they hurried down the corridor to the meeting room. They were running late and as much as Percy enjoyed meetings, this one had proven to be entirely too exhausting.

"Of course, sir," Percy handed him a few folders with a smile. "I took the liberty of alphabetizing-"

"-no one gives a damn about alphabetizing documents, Weatherby! As long as you have provided the documents, then…"

Percy leafed through one of the folders he was still carrying and smiled as he handed it to him. "Weasley, sir. As much of a nuisance, I find organizing my documents perfectly acceptable. You never know when you'll need to whip a document out at a moment's notice. May I add-"

"You may not-"

"-introducing a better way to organize expandable bags and suitcases will lessen the time employees spend trying to find what they're looking for," Percy told him excitedly. "I've looked into it during my spare time and I'm confident it will grow productivity within the office."

Crouch didn't seem the least bit invested in his idea; in fact, it appeared he hadn't heard him at all. Percy tacked it off to the impending meeting and how important it was to his boss. It wasn't every day that the Ministry of Magic in London hosted representatives from all around the world. Whatever it was, it had to be highly important.

Percy respected men like Crouch and it only strengthened his eagerness to do well.

"Ah, before you go in, there's something i'd like to give you. Think of it as an early birthday present." he smiled, fumbling to get the small package out of his pocket.

Crouch frowned, seemingly unimpressed by the announcement of his birthday. "My birthday isn't until next week, Weatherby."

"Weasley," he corrected. "And, I know sir. I just wanted to give it to you now before the meeting. I hope that it provides you some amusement and alleviates any pent up stress before you address the representatives we're hosting. I find some comic relief highly entertaining when I'm drowning in paperwork or what have you."

"I don't think jokes will aid me in any fashion," Mr. Crouch murmured softly. "As much as my wife insisted on a party, I tend not to care about my birthday. It's just another work day for me, but I do appreciate the gift, Weatherby. This is truly a step in the direction when it comes down to department unity. We're all walls, you see. Each wall has their uses and together we create a strong and sturdy foundation. If one crumbles, we all come tumbling down and it pleases me greatly to see that one of my employees is taking the initiative to create such a strong foundation. Continue the great work, Weatherby."

"Weasley," Percy whispered as Mr. Crouch walked hurriedly into the meeting room.

He stood there for a second.

Percy knew perfectly well that working at the Ministry could lead to unwanted stress. It took a special kind of person to attend to the strenuous lifestyle of working long hours and endless nights. It was one of the reasons why he loved his job so much; not only was he doing great things to strengthen the relationships between the wizarding nations, he was also in the process of-

He looked back at the door to the meeting room and smiled.

Percy knew he was doing great things; he just wanted someone to take notice of it. Before taking his leave, he noticed a small piece of parchment littering the floor. He bent down and picked it up, wondering if Mr. Crouch had dropped it in his haste to make it to the meeting. Upon further inspection, Percy concluded it hadn't been Mr. Crouch's possession. In fact, it appeared to be a spell of some sort. As he read the note, his eyes widened and he immediately recognized the writing to be one of his younger brothers. They hadn't just delivered the package that he needed; they ensured that it would make a lasting impression on the Minister and he was foolish enough to whisper the spell without even a second thought.

Percy nervously made his way into the meeting room just as the beginning remarks were being commenced. He hadn't the slightest clue what the spell would entail but it had something to do with the package. Whatever the twins had been working on that morning had to have somehow infected his box. He knew in his heart that he couldn't trust them with something as simple as delivering a package. Although, Percy wasn't entirely at fault. He'd left it in plain sight over the weekend and the twins could've easily snuck God knows what inside of it. The tricky part was trying to figure out what they'd done.

He slowly made his way over to where Mr. Crouch sat, taking his position between him and an ambassador from Finland.

"Now that we're all settled," Mr. Crouch began just as a startled gasp sounded from the other side of the room.

It came from an elderly witch who featured the most embarrassing look on her face. Her cheeks became inflamed and several of the attendees rushed to see what was wrong with her. Percy sat petrified as his boss continued on with the meeting as if there wasn't something alarming occuring on the other side of the room. As they all sat, the woman slowly began to expand upwards. There was a silvery substance protruding haphazardly from her back quarters and Percy tried his best to stifle a laugh. He turned his head away just in time. As he did, the foreign substance continued to raise the woman high up in the air.

"Oh, goodness," the woman barked, estranged. "Will someone get up and help me down!?"

Several people rose from their seats, each reaching out in case she suddenly fell.

Upon further inspection, Percy realized the substance attached to her back quarters was a bubble and it was only growing bigger as the seconds ticked by.

Again, Percy tried to stifle a laugh but this time he couldn't hold it in.

It was as if his body was being forced to exhibit righteous joy and excitement. Granted, this was the craziest thing that's ever happened at the Ministry of Magic. Though he couldn't help but to join in on the laughter, a nagging voice was calling to him from the back of his mind.

Someone sneezed and a small bubble formed from their left nostril before encouraging another bubble to appear in their right. The man whose nose was sporting twin grape-sized bubbles looked at them crossed eyed before throwing his head back and laughed. When he did, it triggered another sneeze, causing both bubbles to grow rapidly. Now, they were the size of bowling balls.

The woman who had been slowly rising into the air finally figured out a way to ascend back down. She began to bounce like a child on a toy; she raced around the room along with several others who found themselves in the same predicament, all the while smiling and laughing as if they hadn't a care in the world.

"Weatherby," Mr. crouch hissed before snickering under his breath. "Are you the source of such a disruption?"

Percy shook his head," You don't understand, sir-"

"That is it," his boss bellowed. "Tomorrow morning, you are to clear out your desk! I will not tolerate such-"

"Oh, give it a rest Barty," a young witch said laughing as she bounced around on her personal bubbles. "I have been dreading this boring meeting for weeks and this is the first time in forever I've actually had fun at work. Even if he isn't the source of this pleasure, cut the boy some slack. He's young and deserves to enjoy life without restraint."

Mr. Crouch looked at the witch before turning to Percy. He murmured an apology and asked what the source of the spell originated. Percy coined his idea and the Minister's eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"Your brothers are the cause of this," he asked in disbelief.

Percy nodded and confirmed for him that he suspected that it was his twin brothers behind all this chaos. "Mr. Crouch, there's one thing that I have to tell you about my brother's spell," he laughed hysterically.

"And, what is that Weatherby?"

Percy shook his head, laughing again, before telling him," You have to let the spell run its course. Popping the bubbles will only-"

Just as he was about to tell his boss what would occur if one were to pop the bubble, someone did just that.

A loud, rushing sound issued from the corner where the man once stood.

All of a sudden, all of the delegates attending the meeting were pushed out of the room with such great force that it nearly knocked the breath right of them. Millions and millions of small bubbles had conjured themselves from the single pop; they were quite literally a living representation of a bubble tidal wave. The large mass made its way down the large corridor as it headed to the main hall of the Ministry. Percy was alive with the thrilling edge of excitement; he could feel his blood rushing to his ears, but he didn't care. All he could think about was the sensation of wind whipping his face and the feeling of being alive.

As the large wave of bubbles made it way to the atrium, anyone who came in contact with it became an intricate part of the growing mass. Unknowing wizards and witches alike were taken from the safety of the floor and pushed right into the middle of a great storm. They bumped and collided with one another, but the bubbles were soft enough not to cause any true harm. When they realized that, they became overjoyed. All the while, laughter filled the atrium; the sound of a mass chorus of laughter and joy bounced off the grand walls of the atrium, filling the space with something Percy never realized they were missing.

Once they reached the middle of the main hall, the bubbles collided with the statue and everyone who'd been integrated into the wave burst into the air and landed on a thin layer of remaining bubbles. Most were confused, but all were liberated; Percy was certain they'd never felt anything so freeing as what they'd just experienced. The pure adrenaline flowed through his veins; his heart refused to calm down.

Mr. Crouch slowly bounced over to him. He allowed the slippery substance of the bubbles to ease him over to where Percy sat. He frantically looked around, wondering if he was still fired for what his brothers had pulled. Instead of more shouting, Mr. Crouch laughed. His voice shook the great hall as another tidal wave of bubbles came bellowing into the atrium in the opposite direction. It appeared that Percy's brothers had played a practical joke on them all and because of it, the day became known as Practical Prank Day at the Ministry of Magic.