All of my names were very very carefully picked. I'm a names person. I'll hear a cool or interesting name and immediately jot it down or remark on it. Majority of the names in this story identify the characteristics of the character. This is quite similar to what J.K. Rowling does with her names. For example, if a character comes from Great Britain, their name will most likely be an Old English name. That's true in the case of Sherman Tilford, and many of the Hogwarts students. Marshal and Rene's names are of a French origin. Headmistress Sourdine's name is similar to the word sordid, which means stingy and grudging. Headmaster Juven's name means "young" and "careful", words that properly describe Juven. Adrian Malfoy's name, in Latin, means pessimistic, or hard to please.
I use Latin quite a bit in this story. Also like JKR, all of the spells that Peeves or any of the other students use are derivatives of Latin words. For example, in the last chapter when the dark cloaked figure (or Cain as I called it) cast a spell, Peeves cried, "Genius Loci!", which in Latin means "shield" or "guard".
You get it? It's actually quite fun to come up with names and spells.
The festivities after the second task were great. They seemed much more friendly and enjoyable because everyone knew one another. People from Beauxbatons would go over and trade jokes with a Durmstrang. Students from Hogwarts could chat easily with students from Beauxbatons. The party itself was much like the last one. This time, however, they started in the Herr Common Room, which just barely fit all of the partygoers.
"Man that was great, Peeves!"
"Aw, I loved the boggart, Peeves. It was brilliant!"
"I didn't know that what you feared most were snakes."
"I've never laughed so hard in my life when you turned the snake into Sourdine."
"She handled it quite well, actually."
"Yeah, I was expecting her to throw a tantrum, but she didn't!"
Peeves smiled happily and stood up, yawning. "You know, I think I'm gonna go get some sleep. G'night."
"G'night!" coursed many voices behind him. Grinning happily to himself, Peeves walked haggardly down the halls and to the boy's guest room. Kicking off his shoes and not even bothering to undress, Peeves slumped onto his bed and closed his eyes, enjoying the cool, comfortable sheets. He sighed contentedly.
Then, his eyes popped open. Peeves sat bolt upright and sat for a few seconds, waiting. Waiting...waiting...and there it was again! Something was moving among the sheets. Peeves leaped out of the bed, fumbling in his robes for his wand. Taking a deep breath, Peeves pulled back the covers. Slithering among the blankets was a dark green snake with piercing red eyes...
"Oh no!" Peeves squeaked. Forcing to control himself, Peeves nervously lifted his wand. "Riddickulus!" he whispered hopefully. Nothing happened. Backing away from the bed, Peeves padded towards the door. Quick as a flash, he bolted out of the room, back through the halls and into the Herr Common Room. Dashing up to Rene, he pulled on his sleeve, whimpering and pointing towards the door. Rene turned around, startled.
"Vat is it, Peeves?" he asked. Peeves' face had turned very white.
"Snake!" he muttered. Rene chuckled.
"Vat?"
"Snake!" Peeves hissed.
"Vhere?"
"In—in my room..."
Rene raised an eyebrow. "Nice try, buddy," he said doubtfully. "No more playing around. I get it." Peeves shook his head wildly.
"No! Really!" he gasped...and then fainted. Rene looked down at Peeves and up at the many people who had turned around when they heard the thump. Rene held up his hand.
"Just leave him alone. He's faking it." Several people rolled their eyes and turned back around. But the thing is, Peeves wasn't faking.
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"Come on," said a voice above Peeves. Opening his eyes a bit, he looked into the amused face of Lawson. "Man, I knew you was good at fainting, but this time it really looked real." Peeves propped himself up on his elbows and gazed around him. He was lying in his bed. Jumping out of the bed, Peeves dashed to the opposite side of the room.
"Are you trying to kill me?" he gasped. Lawson looked surprised.
"No."
"Then why d'ya put me on there?" Peeves asked, gesturing aggressively towards the bed. Lawson had a puzzled expression on his face.
"So you wouldn't be laying on the floor," he said haughtily. Peeves groaned.
"There's a snake in it," he mumbled.
"There's a snake where?"
"In the bed."
"In this bed?"
"What other bed do you think I'm talking about?"
"Uh, Peeves, there's seven beds in here."
"Damnit, Lawson! The one I was in!"
Lawson smirked.
"Why the bloody hell would there be a snake in your bed?"
Peeves threw up his hands in frustration.
"How should I know?"
Lawson rolled his eyes.
"Well, I haven't seen any snakes. It's probably gone. Just be sure to check before you go to sleep."
"Gee, thanks Lawson."
"Anytime," Lawson said brightly as he stood up. "I'm going back to the party. I'll be back in a couple of hours. I advise you get some sleep. I mean, you coulda just dreamed about that snake 'cause you're so tired."
"I did not dream about it!"
"Get some sleep!"
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Having the relief of not having to worry about the third task for several months, Peeves got back into his usual routine; mischief. It wasn't very unusual to hear bangs along corridors from a Dr Filibuster's Fabulous No-Heat Wet-Start Firework. Or to be jinxed by a mysterious wand pointing out of a classroom. Or to find Ultra Hot Pepper Powder hidden in your food. Needless to say, Peeves was having a great time.
Still, it was very strange how Sourdine was reacting to all the pranks. Instead of shouting her head off at him, she would simply and calmly request that he spend time in detention or cleaning some part of the castle. Those punishments Peeves could deal with, but there was a new problem that had arisen.
Peeves was absolutely sure there was someone out to get him. Right and left he would come upon loose snakes in the hallways, recieve mysterious letters from an unknown sender, and have the eerie feeling that someone was constantly watching him. Lawson and Rene noticed that he seemed much more jumpy than usual. Peeves tried to shake it off, but found himself dreading the next time he would happen upon another snake. He truly didn't know why he was so scared of them, why they made him feel so...so petrified. The thought of snakes made his skin crawl. And someone knew it. Someone knew that Peeves was absolutely terrified of snakes, and they were using that to their advantage.
He couldn't help but suspect Sourdine. What had been making her so calm lately? Was it the knowledge that she was totally scaring the socks off of Peeves?
Lessons went as usual, and Peeves found that it was a good time to keep an eye on Sourdine. Well, he didn't really have a choice; every time he dozed off, Sourdine would kindly but sternly ask him to wake up. It wasn't pleasant to have his dreams interrupted by the dreaded voice of Sourdine. That voice was the voice that was always the one to speak to him after a particular bout of mischief, and Peeves knew it all too well.
But something was changed about Sourdine. Before she—she became different, Sourdine would wail her head off at Peeves. She'd usually start off with a big blast by yelling his name. Then her voice would turn cold, and then rise back to its height again. Nowadays, Sourdine answered all his disturbances with the utmost coolness and calmness. Was she taking temper management courses?
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One day in late March, Peeves was walking along a vacant corridor, in search of Lawson, wanting to ask him about a homework question, when he heard two soft voices coming from one of the many empty classrooms in that hallway. Stopping cautiously, Peeves craned his ears for the voices again. There it was, a soft mumble. Peeves crept towards the closed door, wondering what two people were doing in an empty classroom at this time of day.
Peering through the keyhole, Peeves gasped at what he saw. Dressing in simple black robes a tad bit too big was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She had the fairest skin, white as paper, yet her cheeks had a healthy glow to them. Her hair was very long and blond. It shone in the soft sunlight peeking through the window on the opposite side of the room. Her nose was small and perfect and her strong cheekbones high and majestic. And her eyes. Her eyes were most defiantly the most stunning and striking feature of this amazing human. Her eyes twinkled and their rich cobalt color could be seen from as far away as Peeves was. And he knew instantly who she was. She didn't look nearly as stunning in black and white pictures, as her facial appearance burst with vigorous color. But he recognized her. She was the first female and youngest Ministress of Magic ever; Gloria Mirable.
Peeves stood gawking for several seconds before he even took notice to the second person in the room, the person whose hands the Ministress was holding with desperate anticipation; Headmaster Juven of Durmstrang. Juven's dark eyes stared deeply into Gloria Mirable's sapphire ones and his handsome young face was drawn up in a look of deep concern. Both sat unmoving on one of the desks, their silhouettes illuminated in the light of the setting sun.
Peeves watched, spellbound. The Ministress of Magic looked heavily around the room, and then she sighed. "I tell you, Enoch, I can see why Sourdine backed out," she said in a soft melodious whisper. "That—that Peeves Radley is a terror. I don't think I can keep my head much longer."
Peeves squinted his eyes. What was she talking about? How did she know he was a terror? Well, most everybody in the wizarding world knew that he caused trouble, thanks to the article in the Daily Prophet, but that was a tad unfair to judge him just by that. She'd never even met him.
"I'm just not used to people talking back to me like that," Gloria mumbled. "There have been several times I just want to slap him!"
Huh? Peeves thought. Was she still talking about him? Professor Juven nodded solemnly.
"You can't really be that hard on him, though. He's been through a lot. I found that his family isn't very—er—encouraging."
Hold it! Why was he telling her about that?
Gloria shook her head, her golden hair shimmering. She sighed again. "I admire Sourdine a lot. She's had to deal with that child for almost more than six years—"
Child?!
"—and only now does she break. Personally, if I had been there during the Noël Soirée, I would have done the same thing..."
"It was an awfully infuriating situation," Juven broke in. He hesitated, then asked, "Have you heard from Sourdine recently?"
Gloria shook her head again.
"Not for several weeks. Not since the day before the second task."
"Me either," Juven said.
That couldn't be right! Peeves had just seen Sourdine during the noon meal and Juven had been sitting three seats down from her.
Gloria stood up, looking down at Juven. "Must I stress the secrecy of this, Enoch? If someone found out Sourdine and I have switched places, both our jobs would be at risk. I'm not a qualified teacher. Even as Ministress I can't make an exception. People at the Ministry just think I'm on vacation."
Juven nodded. Peeves stared on in shock.
"Of course, my love," Juven whispered. Gloria smiled a brilliant smile, then picked up a mug from another table and stared at the contents in disgust.
"I do hate the taste of the Polyjuice Potion," she said with a moan. "It makes me grimace even more to know that there's any part of Sourdine in here. Honestly, it does disparage to my figure to look like Sourdine every day. Just don't tell her I said that." With a half laugh, Gloria drained the mug with a quick tip into her mouth. After bending over a few seconds, she straitened, transformed into Sourdine. Peeves gasped again. Juven scowled.
"Let's just say I can't wait for Sourdine to come back. I do hate to see you that way."
Sourdine smiled and shrugged; readjusting the plain black robes she wore.
Then the two moved towards the door. Peeves jumped away from the keyhole and dashed into a classroom across the hall. A few moments later Sourdine and Juven walked out of their room, both of their faces stern and serious, not saying a word to one another. They parted in separate directions. Peeves thumped down on the floor of the vacant classroom he was in. He had much to think about.
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Dashing into the boys' guest room, Peeves fished the quill out of his robes while pulling out a piece of parchment paper. Propping a hard book on his lap, Peeves began to write.
Dear Head of the Board for the Misuse of Magical Promotions and Businesses,
I am a writer who would wish to remain anonymous. However, I happen to have some very confidential and important information about the Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Professor Harriet Sourdine, and the Ministress of Magic, Gloria Mirable. This may come a bit of a shock, but I am absolutely sure that they have switched places. Miss Mirable has taken the place of the headmistress, and Professor Sourdine, I am sure, is vacationing somewhere comfortable in Miss Mirable's spot. I trust a proper investigation will proceed and punishments will be doled out as necessary. May I suggest, however, that both be fired? It is a serious crime to impersonate such high authority as these two have.
With utmost honesty and eagerness,
Anonymous Writer
Peeves carefully folded the letter and tucked it in the pocket of his robes, grinning to himself. Walking calmly out of the room, Peeves walked down to the Great Hall, as dinner was just about to begin.
After dinner Peeves grabbed Rene's arm, stopping him in the entrance hall. Rene turned around and looked at Peeves in surprise.
"I need you to take me to your Owlrey," Peeves whispered. Rene shrugged and headed towards a corridor leading off of the entrance hall. After turning several corners and climbing several sets of stairs, Rene finally led Peeves into a dark, musty room. Inside were hundreds of owls ranging in a wide variety of colors and types. Many were snoozing, hooting quietly in sleep. A few were ruffling their feathers, eating out of the food dishes, or souring around the ceiling. Rene looked at the dropping filled floor in disgust.
"I suppose you vant to send a letter," he said quickly. Peeves nodded and took the letter out of his pocket.
"Yeah. I need really fast owl," he said. "And impressive too. Something that would make me look important."
Rene raised an eyebrow.
"Applying for a job?" he joked.
Peeves chuckled.
"Hardly," he murmured. Rene stepped farther into the room, looking all around.
"Ze owls wiz ze red ribbons around zair talon belong to ze school. You can use any of zose," Rene said as he pushed aside feathers to look for red ribbons. "Ze ones vithout ze ribbons belong to a student." Peeves headed in a different direction, looking at the owls.
"'Ow about zis one?" Rene called from behind a mass of fluff. Peeves peered through the owls.
"To small," he said. "I was thinking about this one." He pointed to a large black eagle owl. Rene smiled and put a hand on his hip.
"Who are you trying to impress?" he asked suspiciously.
Peeves shook his head.
"Nobody," he shrugged.
Rene snorted.
"Okay," said Rene. "Hurry up, give ze owl ze letter. I've got homework to do."
Peeves tied the letter onto the owl, carried it over to the closest window and whispered, "Take this to the Head of the Board for the Misuse of Magical Promotions and Businesses."
The owl gave a jerky nod and spread his wings with a screech. Then it took off. Rene was still looking at Peeves with suspicion. Peeves held up his hands.
"Whoa! I'm entitled to my secrets as you are to yours!' he said ingenuously. Rene rolled his eyes.
"Vat I wouldn't do to know vat you're up to," he muttered.
"You'll probably find out soon enough," Peeves sighed. "I hope." Rene snorted again and left the room muttering about his homework. Peeves too a deep breath and was about to let it out slowly when he began to cough.
"There's too many owls in here!" he grumbled. "I'm hacking up feather balls!"