Chapter 7: Pranksters' Halloween
"Are you sure about this?" Davina asked yet again. They were helping James and Fred with an awesome prank that would take place at the Halloween Feast.
"Course I'm sure," Sylvia responded, "We've only got seven years here. Need to make them memorable." At that, she buried herself back into a charms book.
"The potion's ready," Fred came to them, "Now to the kitchen."
"Would you mind if we explore with you?" Matilda asked as they went to the basement.
"Ah, I would say passing information for making pranks to younger students wouldn't do any harm, don't you think, James?" The redhead asked his messy haired twin.
"I give up arguing." James muttered as they came to a portrait of a bowl of fruits. He tickled the pear and, to the first-years' astonishment, it giggled, and the painting swung open, revealing a room as big as the Great Hall with the same four tables.
"Welcome to the kitchens, future pranksters." Fred grinned.
"How can we help you, ladies and gentlemen?" A house-elf squeaked at their feet.
"If you can slip this into every teachers' and staffs' drinks at Halloween, two drops for each," James bent down to the elf and showed him a bottle of multicoloured potion, "We will be grateful."
"We is happy to help!" The elf flapped its ears.
"Don't tell any of the teachers about this," Fred added, "Or the staffs, especially not Filch, and don't be seen. That's an order."
"That was amazing!" Sylvia breathed as they finally got out of the kitchen with handfuls of food, "Are there always a hundred house-elves working in Hogwarts?"
"Yep," James replied, "You don't usually see them though, they keep coming to the common rooms at the dead of the night, or when everyone's at class."
They also followed the Marauders II to the Room of Requirement, which they had discovered in their second year. It was a room that could become the room you wanted it to be. The only wish that couldn't be preformed was the hiding place, which was burnt down by a massive Fiendfyre during The Battle of Hogwarts.
Upon the Halloween Eve, they entered the Great Hall and were welcomed by a set of decorations: pumpkins as big as carriages were floating across the lightning-flashing sky-ceiling, a thousand living bats flew up and down the walls while a thousand more swooped over the tables. The feast begun as food appeared on the golden plates.
Everyone was eyeing James and Fred suspiciously while enjoying the feast, giving Sylvia the chance to wink at them. They were expecting a prank, and they were going to have it.
The grand part started when nearly everyone had finished their food. A pumpkin expanded and floated to the centre of the Hall, causing a few frightened students to scream. Then, the bats rushed into it from the holes of its eyes and mouth, making the light blur. That was Matilda's idea to make the prank "festival".
Then, while everyone had their attention on the enormous pumpkin that had reached the size of a small whale, Sylvia shot a Melofors, and Fred shot a multiplying charm after it. The jinx landed randomly among the students and the unlucky ones (mostly Slytherins, including some of Lestrange's gang) got their heads turned into pumpkins.
"What is the meaning of this?" Professor McGonagall stood up as the large pumpkin turned into a hundred orange and black fireworks that zoomed into every direction before exploding into sparks, while the bats scattered. She glazed at James and Fred, who had burst out laughing, and understood, "Potter and Weasley, clean this up without magic then report to my office." The two boys grinned, they were far too used to detentions and were not bothered at all, but it was not the only reason for their laughter. Several students started to giggle at Professor McGonagall's voice, which had turned into Professor Sinistra's.
The potion had worked. It was supposed to have the teachers exchange voices for twenty-four hours straight. Professor Sinistra had Professor Slughorn's smooth and low voice, while Professor Slughorn had Madam Hooch's.
Professor Flitwick and Hagrid had exchanged their voices, making them sound very weird despite their size. Madam Hooch had Professor Longbottom's, and the latter had Professor Winger's. Professor Winger had Professor Bowen's grumpy voice. Professor Bowen had the voice of Professor Caplan, and Caplan had Trelawny's. Professor Trelawny had Professor Vector's, then Filch stomped into the Hall, cursing and muttering in Madam Pomfrey's voice. Professor Babbling got Filch's voice while Professor Vector got hers, leaving the school matron to have Professor McGonagall's.
Students were roaring with laughter now, while the teachers were spluttering and exchanging shocked gazes. Several good-hearted teachers like Professor Flitwick had started laughing as well, only most of their voices originally belonged to the other half of the staff.
"Best Halloween surprise ever." Davina had shaken off her worries as soon as the whole thing started and was laughing with everyone else.
"Teachers like Professor Flitwick might even award points for the charms." Matilda grinned broadly.
The five first-years weren't even in detention, they met with Fred and James in the Room of Requirement the next afternoon.
"Flitwick secretly awarded us points for 'nice charms'," Fred smirked as they got into the room that turned into a neutral common room with loads of spell books, "You should have seen the teachers – they were hilarious!"
"They were arguing about our punishment and got completely confused with the voices," James had tears in his eyes from all the laughter, "I'd say a detention's worth it."
"You only got one?" Mora stared in disbelief, "I thought it's going to be a week's detention for sure!"
"Yeah, we thought so too," Said Fred as he collapsed into an armchair, "But apparently some teachers liked our potion."
"And they didn't have a clue that we didn't do this alone!" James exclaimed, "You had zero suspicion."
"Trelawny asked though," Fred rolled his eyes, "Her 'Inner Eye' told her that we had help. Probably made it up, old hag. Didn't have the effect without her normal voice."
"The lessons were funny, too," Miya smiled, "They talk like other teachers while trying to teach their own subjects."
"Shame that Binns wasn't affected as ghosts can't eat," Sylvia sighed, "Could have done with a change of that voice."
"You should have heard Filch," Davina laughed, "Still trying to sound grumpy in that female voice."
"It's November." Sylvia's eyes lit up.
"Yes, and?" Matilda frowned and shot her a confused gaze.
"Quidditch season starts in a week or two!" James grinned, "Then we'll be rivalries."
"Only Slytherin use fouls." Fred reminded him.
"Slytherin gits," James muttered, "No idea how Al got sorted into snake house."
"Potter in Slytherin, Albus Potter the Slytherin Squib and all that." Matilda murmured.
"Did he get to go to Hogsmeade?" Sylvia remembered the instant on the platform.
"Nope," James replied, "Burned his permission himself. Suddenly got a talent in spells though, didn't expect that to work."
"And he's hanging out with Malfoy." Fred added.
"I just don't have any idea for what Al saw in him!" James exclaimed, "Scorpius is a Malfoy, for Dumbledore's sake! Malfoy! The very same family the Potters always had troubles with!"
"Albus broke up with Rose as well." Said Fred.
"And they've been best friends since six!" James growled.
"Dunno what's gotten into him." The redhead commented.
"Lily is in Gryffindor though." Davina reminded them.
"While Albus expected her to be with him." James said darkly.
"Your dad really shouldn't have named him after a Slytherin." Said Fred.
"Lily was named after a Ravenclaw, and she's still in Gryffindor." James pointed out.
"True," Miya said in her usual dreamy tone, "Mum's honoured."
"Are you going to prank at dinner?" Mora asked them.
"Can't," Fred sighed, "Detention right after. Might slip a few fireworks though."
"What she meant is that we're going down for dinner." Sylvia rolled her eyes.
"I thought you're doing O.W.L.s this year?" Davina asked.
"That's right," James said with a smirk, "Which is why we need pranks to lighten up a little."
The whole school was still talking about the teachers' voices and the Halloween firework pumpkin by the time they went down to the Hall. To the teachers' relief, the potion's effect time was nearly over. They would retrieve their own voices at about the time dinner would end.
It was the weekend the next day, and they started roaming through the whole castle with James and Fred. They had seen the secret passageways that led to Hogsmeade which Filch didn't know about, along with the other forms of the Room of Requirement, including the tunnel that led to Hog's Head.
"Do you think we should do a squeal prank?" Matilda whispered as they went into the passageway behind the one-eyed witch statue.
"You really want to do it?" Sylvia smirked and an idea came to her mind, "We need to be clever and not get caught though."
That night, she sneaked down to the entrance hall and took a breath.
"This is going to be really scary, and fun," She murmured, "Piertotum Locomotor. Go and scare the living lights out of people."
Sylvia cast Lumos and Nox and a few other simple spells over a few times so there wouldn't be prof even if the teachers checked their wands with Prior Incantato, before going back to bed.
The statues all came to life overnight and jumped out from everywhere to scare the students in the corridors.
"Is that your doing?" James stared at them as a stone pig with wings stomped down the stone floor and a few third-year girls screamed before fleeing into an empty classroom.
"Guess." Sylvia grinned, not revealing anything in case anyone was listening.
"That's more like Halloween," Fred muttered as he joined them, "The festival had become child play these days."
Of all the mad things, it was Sunday that day with no classes, meaning the students would be scattered around the castle, and the statues throughout Hogwarts met up with students nearly everywhere.
"We'd better go to RoR before we lose our souls as well." James had to use all his strength to stop himself from showing laughter instead of fright. RoR was the code for Room of Requirement, though they were thinking of a better one while using the shortened version temporarily.
"That was great!" Fred exclaimed as they arrived the seventh-floor corridor after checking no one was nearby.
"Have to stay up to reverse it though." Sylvia sighed.
"Still, that was something like Halloween, even a bit late." James finally burst out laughing and collapsed into a fit.
"How's your team doing for the first match?" Mora sked with interest.
"Don't you go and tell Partum about this!" James yelled in mock offense.
"We don't get to join 'till next year," Davina frowned, "And I won't join anyways."
"He's still in your house," Fred pointed out, "Anyways, we're doing great. I won't mind you telling him that."
"Who else is on the Gryffindor team?" Sylvia asked.
"Well, there's us," James began, "I'm Chaser and Fred's Beater. Then cousin Molly's the other Beater, and Roxanne and Rose are Chasers. Yann's Keeper and Dan's Seeker and captain."
"The Weasleys really are taking up the team." Said Matilda.
"You can't help it when your dad had seven siblings including himself, and nearly everyone in the family had children apart from Uncle Charlie and Uncle Fred," Fred looked up in attempt to remember all his family, which was quite a big number of people, "And the ones who had children all had more than one."
"Weasleys breed faster than gnomes." Said Miya.
"Can't deny that," James leaned back, "Wonder how Victoire and Teddy are doing, they were still snogging from what I saw last time."
"Oh, shut it," Fred groaned, "You've been stalking them since you came to this school, and you always interrupt them when they're snogging."
"I asked what they were doing! What am I supposed to do?" James protested.
"Leave them alone, of course," Mora rolled her eyes, "What would you feel if you're interrupted when you're having private time with someone?"
"I told you," Fred prodded James on the ribs, making with yelp, "First-years are getting smarter."