THC- Practice Round
House: Slytherin
Category: Drabble
Class: Charms
Prompt: [Emotion] Confusion
Word Count: 766
Disclaimers/TWs: N/A
Beta's: StoryPlease, VanillaAshes
To say that Harry was lost would be kind. Perhaps baffled was a more appropriate word to use. It was almost comical, if he was being honest with himself, looking at the mass of limbs stuck in a ball that would make a Muggle circus contortionist green with envy.
"What exactly happened here?"
Harry tilted his head to the side and saw Hermione, the Weasley twins, and some of his quidditch teammates running down from the dorms at the commotion. "I don't know," he said with a shrug. "I heard a yell while trying to come up with a plan for tomorrow's game against Slytherin and ran down here to find… this." He shrugged again as 'this' was the only way he could think of to describe the ball of arms, legs, and three different heads.
George leaned in close and let out a thoughtful hum. "You don't think Ron was dumb enough to try stealing our latest experimental prank powder, do you Forge?" he asked, glancing to his twin.
Fred stepped closer than George did and took a deep whiff. "No, it doesn't smell like our product. This seems to involve more sulphur and iron; ours uses iron shavings and— Well, you know what we put in our mixture, Gred," he said. "Though, if sulphur is acting as a binding agent… We need to get our eyes on some and I think I know just the ticket!"
Glee and mischief entered the redheaded boys eye as Fred grabbed his brother and dragged him back up the dorm stairs to continue their work.
"Help would be appreciated here!"
Harry brought his focus back on the ball of limbs and heads. The three heads spoke as one in some sort of amalgamated chimera of masculine and feminine voices that he couldn't understand.
"Someone should go get Professor McGonagall. She might be able to reverse whatever happened to you, Ron," he said, motioning for Hermione to fetch their Head of House to assist their friend and housemates caught up in whatever happened to their friend.
Hermione huffed angrily as she glared at Harry before hastily heading off.
"Ron, what did you do exactly before you ended like this?" Harry asked, circling the amalgamated blob.
"There was a potion bottle on the table by the fireplace. It had a label reading 'Reflex Enhancing Potion'. I opened it and the next thing I know, a cloud of greenish gas was filling the Common Room. Itching took over and then it felt like my bones got longer," the triplicate voice spoke again, but it seemed that only Ron's mouth was moving.
"This bottle?" Angelina Spinnet asked.
The dark-skinned witch raised an empty potion bottle.
Harry was sufficiently put-off seeing the three heads nod in unison, but he tried to focus on Ron.
"This sounds like something Malfoy and his goons would do, although how would it get in here? No one from the other Houses can get into the Common Room of a different House," he said, scratching his cheek in thought.
"Maybe they said it belonged to a Gryffindor student and asked a House Elf to return it here. Other House students might not be able to get in here but House Elves can," Katie Bell guessed as she heard the Fat Lady's portrait swing open and two sets of approaching footsteps.
"Make room! Make room!" Minerva demanded of the crowd.
The path cleared quickly for Professor McGonagall. She came to a sudden stop in front of Ron and didn't hide the look of utter perflexment quick enough. A scowl crossed her face when she began to examine him.
Harry tried to follow the professor's eyes to see what made her scowl but couldn't see anything more than he had before.
Professor McGonagall strategically stepped up to the molded flesh, limbs, and heads, she spoke a short incantation as her wand was waved in a complicated manner before tapping each of the three heads.
A bright light filled the Common Room, followed by three separate thuds.
"Now, who would like to tell me how this came to happen?" Minerva asked with a fierce stare, circling the assembled students.
Harry didn't think sticking around was much of a good idea and slunk away. It was bad enough that every year was marred by danger from Voldemort and his cronies, he wasn't about to let his so far peaceful year-the exception being Snape and his standard hateful behavior towards Harry that he had yet to understand-be ruined by being blamed for being part of a prank he had no hand in pulling.