Chapter 5: Team Matrix and Halloween Pranks

Phoenix and Peck were walking towards their common room, laughing. Classes had been cancelled that day due to the "catastrophe" during breakfast. Since Phoenix made the detonator disappear after he used it, the staff was unable to pin him as the culprit, though he was sure Dumbledore had an idea that it was them. It was quite entertaining to watch the Slytherins struggle to get up with the Jelly Legs Curse placed on them. They gave the Fat Lady the password and walked in. Everyone inside turned and glared at them. Phoenix feigned surprise.

"Wow, if this is how it's gonna go all year, it's going to be a long year. Now, if you don't mind, Peck and I have important business to do, so quit staring and get back to work soldiers."

Devon laughed, "You think you can boss us around? I'm not going to let trash like you tell me what to do."

Peck curled his hands into fist, and put them up, "You want to mess?"

Devon did the same thing, "Hell yeah!"

"You're fighting a losing battle buddy."

"You can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?"

Peck merely grinned.

"Watch me." He ran at Devon and before he could react, Peck had side kicked him in the stomach. But that was all he did. Yes, Peck was a humane person and preferred not do overkill. He knew he hit Devon hard as the boy had keeled over.

"So, can I walk the walk Devon?"

Devon was just barely able to choke out, "Go to hell you jerk."

Peck grinned again.

"Do I have any other takers? No? Good, now GET BACK TO WORK SOLDIERS!"

This time, they all went back to what they were doing. Phoenix and Peck went to "their corner" and went back to work applying Phoenix's theory about the stun gun (A/N: I am NOT going to tell you the theory, 'cause I'm too lazy to make one up). After about an hour and a half of them working and reworking Phoenix's theory, it appeared that they had it.

"Well Peck, thirty guns later, it seems we have the desired results."

"Which are?"

"Well, let me put it to you this way: Would you rather have a stun gun that has the trigger pull a latch, which might be flimsy, and release bouncing spells, which might decrease the accuracy? Or would you rather have a gun with a cell that absorbs the essence of the spell and can unleash it in an orderly fashion at the pull of a trigger, no latch?"

"Okay, good point. It makes more sense now."

"Hmm, I wonder where Harry & Co. are?" Said Phoenix, who was currently vanishing all of his primitive stun guns and stun cells while Peck was duplicating the new ones.

"Beats me. Maybe we can find 'em and open fire on 'em when we find 'em!"

"Umm, Peck?"

"Yeah?"

"What's with the "'em"s?

"What? You got a problem with my "'em"s?"

"Yeah."

"Well, TOO BAD FOR YOU!"

Phoenix sighed.

"We'd better find them. Load your S.G. Peck."

"Yay! Here we go!"

Phoenix and Peck loaded their Stun Guns with full cells and started to walk around in search of their companions. First they went to the Astronomy Tower in hopes of getting a view of the grounds, where their friends might possibly be. Instead, they got a view of two 7th years snogging. They quickly evacuated the tower.

"Well, THAT is most certainly not a place where we'll find 'em. I'll bet those two students didn't notice us."

"Well, we'd better continue searching..."

"Right."

Next, they decided to race through the halls and chance upon their friends.

"LEFT!"

"RIGHT!"

"SPLIT!" They said in unison. So Phoenix went left and Peck went right and they converged at the next intersection. They scourged nearly the entire castle, quite an accomplishment for two 6th year boys. Unfortunately, they didn't find their incognito friends.

"Well, they're probably on the grounds."

"True, true, very true."

They walked onto the grounds and hugged the castle walls, hoping not to be noticed. As they rounded the corner, they saw their friends sitting by the lake, watching the giant squid lazily swim around and enjoying the bright and sunny day. They immediately jumped back behind the wall.

"Tango spotted! I repeat, Tango is spotted!"

"Yes Peck, I saw 'em too."

"HYPOCRITE!"

"Huh?"

"YOU SAID YOU DIDN'T LIKE MY "'EM"S, AND HERE YOU ARE, 'EMING ME!"

"Okay! Okay! I'm a hypocrite. Shut up before they hear you." Phoenix looked around the corner and saw that Harry & Co. had miraculously been oblivious to Peck's shouting.

"Alright Peck. Gun loaded?"

"And locked." He grinned.

"Let's go."

They ran around the corner and charged at their friends, yelling and occasionally firing their guns (they were saving that for close range). What followed was confusion and shouts from Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Dean, Seamus, and Neville. As Phoenix and Peck zeroed in on their targets, they started rapid firing, "missing" the entire time. By the time they reached the lakes edge where their friends were, they realized too late that they couldn't stop their momentum. Throwing their guns over their shoulders in an effort to save their work, they plowed into the water. When they surfaced, they spurted water from their mouths like whales.

"Wow! That was cool Peck!"

"You're telling me! Let's do that again!"

The others only blinked.

"Umm, can I ask what you are doing?"

"Sure you can ask! Ask away!"

Harry, surprised at getting that response, said, "Erm, okay. What are you doing?"

"Why, we're swimming silly! Can't you see th-AAAAAAAHHHHH!"

It appeared that the giant squid was annoyed at the disturbance and had used a tentacle to catapult Peck out of the water and onto dry land. Phoenix followed him shortly after.

"Hey! That was cool! Let's go into the water again so he'll catapult us out."

"Peck?"

"Yeah?"

"How 'bout, no?"

Peck put on a mock hurt face.

"Phoenix! You big meanie! Fine, I won't! Happy?"

"Yes."

Harry cleared his throat and the two quarreling friends turned and looked at him.

"Okay, let me rephrase my question: Why did you attack us?"

"Well, we wanted to test out our new and improved S.G.s!"

"Okay, weird."

"Got a problem with my special condition of weirdness?"

"No."

"Good!"

Phoenix merely shook his head. Harry seemed to have an idea.

"Hey, remember that prank you pulled today?"

"It was today Harry, how could we forget something as big as that if it happened on the same day?"

"That's not the point. Point is, while my dad was at school, he and his friends formed a group who called themselves the Marauders."

"Cool. You're point?"

"We could do the same thing."

"Sounds interesting... I have an idea! You know how I play Agent Smith and Phoenix plays Neo?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, we already have a Trinity, Gin. So we could have a Team Matrix! We just need to find characters for you guys!"

Most of them had blank faces.

"Huh?"

"I TOLD you guys! The Matrix is a muggle movie, which Peck and I happen to like! It'd be cool, having alter egos and stuff."

"Whatever, but YOU are supplying the alter egos."

"No duh. Okay, Well, we need another female character for Herm. That's easy: Naobi."

Phoenix flicked his wand at Hermione and in her place, stood Naobi (A/N: I'm too lazy to give a description for everyone).

"Okay, So now we need a character for Ron. Got one! Morpheus!"

Another flick of Pheonix's wand and Ron was an exact duplicate of Morpheus.

"How 'bout Harry is Link?"

Another flick. Harry became Link (A/N: NO, not the Link from Legend of Zelda, the Link from The Matrix).

"Hmm, Seamus and Dean would be a good pair for the Ghost Brothers, don't you think?"

Another flick and the Ghost Brothers joined their ranks.

"And Neville can be Ghost. No, not a Ghost Brother, Ghost. Remember him Phoenix?"

"Yup." Phoenix flicked his wand and Neville became Ghost. Phoenix turned Ginny into Trinity, himself into Neo, and Peck turned himself into Agent Smith

"So, here's Team Matrix."

'Naobi' cleared her throat.

"Um, we don't know how to perform the alter ego spells..."

"Good point, we'll help you with that."

So they spent the better part of an hour learning how to transform themselves into their alter egos. After Neville was able to successfully turn into Ghost several times on his own, Harry spoke.

"Well, they certainly don't teach this stuff here at Hogwarts."

"Nup."

Dean rubbed his hands together.

"So, Team Matrix will wreak havoc in Hogwarts! Can we reach the ranks of the Twins? Or, dare I say it? The Marauders?"

"We'll have to see Dean..."

So, the newest group of pranksters plagued Hogwarts, focusing on Slytherin like their predecessors had done. Of course, they didn't do anything radical. Not yet anyway. Hermione and Ron were a little reluctant to do anything major, due to their status as Prefect. Another interesting thing is that they hadn't used their alter egos yet. They saved those for their housemates and for the eventual "big" pranks. In addition, Peck was adamant on teaching his fellow Gryffindors Martial Arts, probably to fit with their alter egos. He also tried to teach them some gymnastics so they could pull off some cool moves, but that was to no avail. Before long, Halloween rolled around the corner. On the day before, during dinner, Dumbledore stood up.

"As you all know, tomorrow is Halloween, as well as a Hogsmeade visit for third years and up. The staff and heads have decided to host a Halloween ball for fourth years and up, seeing as the Yule Ball two years ago was such a big hit (A/N: Yes, I KNOW balls have been overused, but I thought 'what the heck? If you can't fight 'em, join 'em!'). However, it will not be your typical ball. It will be sort of like a party as well: more socializing and less formal dancing. You can come in a costume, but please, no pumpkins. They hurt my poor eyes."

As he sat down everyone started whispering. Team Matrix looked at each other. Neville spoke up, "Well I have two things to say: 1) This looks like a ripe time for Team Matrix to strike. 2) Does anyone have a plan for who they're going with to the ball?"

Neville, it seemed had gained a great boost in confidence as a result of being part of Team Matrix. He was most likely getting more self-esteem because he wasn't being shunted to the side or excluded because everyone thought he was incompetent. Since Team Matrix included him in ALL of their excursions, not to mention giving him key parts in many, Neville was becoming a better wizard in altogether.

Peck decided to answer Neville's second comment, "Oh, you know who I'm going with! Now would be a perfect time for Phoenix and I to let the truth out about us!"

Phoenix playing along, spoke too, "Oh yes! But should we dare, Peck darling? We might not be accepted!"

"It's not like we aren't already shunted. Besides, my love for you is too great to hide any longer. Come here Phoenix darling!"

The two moved towards each other and were about to "make out" when they heard retching. They turned to see Ginny pretending to lose her lunch.

"Get a room you two. But seriously, does anyone have an idea of who they're going to go with?"

Peck, still wanting to be evil, spoke yet again, "Oh, isn't the answer obvious for Ron and Hermione? I mean, they're both prefects, they've been friends for six years, Ron was SOOOO jealous when she danced with Krum (Harry had told them about that), and they've always seemed to be more productive in our pranks when paired together!"

The two students in question blushed profusely. Ron was able to mutter a "shut up" to Peck before he ducked under the table.

Seamus spoke, "I'll probably go with Parvati."

"Yeah, and I'll probably go with Lavender." That was Dean.

Ron, who had surfaced, blush gone, smirked, "Gin? Are you going with Neville again?"

The two in question blushed. It appeared Ron wanted to get someone else to blush. It worked.

"Shut it Ron." Ginny muttered.

"Okay, but seriously Neville, do you have an idea of who to go with?"

He looked down at his food.

"Well, there's this fifth year Gryffindor girl, Gin might know her. Elizabeth Barrington?"

"Oh! Yeah, I know Beth. She's one of my friends, actually."

"Yeah, her. I'm planning on asking her."

The talk then turned to Peck.

"But guys! I want to go with Phoenix! I told you!"

"It's getting old real fast Peck."

"Oh fine! Truth be told, I was planning on asking a Ravenclaw girl. Name's Alexandra Whitts. That way, I have a date to the ball -party, whatever you want to call it-, but it probably won't be a serious relationship. I'm not that kind of guy."

"Oh? So you're the kind of guy who plays with a girl, and when she gets old, you dump her like a toy?"

Peck sighed, "Hermione, you are way to paranoid of men thinking they're superior to women and such. What I meant by my statement was that I envision myself as a bachelor when I grow up."

"Oh. Okay, how 'bout you Harry?"

"Well, Cho seems to have calmed down from last year and is back to liking me again..."

Ginny nearly exploded.

"You are planning on going with that, that THING? Do you remember how much trouble she gave you last year?"

"Gin, calm down. I remember, but she seems to be over that, like I said."

"Whatever." However, Ginny seemed to be noticeably downcast after that.

"Well Gin, who are YOU planning on going with?"

She muttered something inaudible to the human ear.

"Sorry, I wasn't able to hear what you said. Could you repeat that? A bit louder?"

"I said, I don't know."

Phoenix, feeling sorry for the girl, said, "Oh come now! Don't feel bad! Here, I'LL go with you. How's that?"

She looked up at him, hope shining in her eyes.

"You will?"

"Sure I will!"

She hugged him tightly for a good five seconds. A whistling was heard.

"Well Phoenix! I most certainly don't imagine YOU as a bachelor!"

"Oh, shut it Peck. But seriously, I was planning on asking Gin anyway, considering how incredibly hot and se-"SMACK!

"Ow, Gin! What was that for? I was complimenting your body!" SMACK!

"Phoenix? Can I have a talk with you? In private?" Ginny asked sweetly.

"Uh, sure. Yeah." Phoenix, still rubbing his cheek, followed Ginny out of the hall. Once they were out of earshot from everyone else, she rounded on him.

"Phoenix! Do you think I LIKE a boy talking about my body like that?"

"Uh, yes?" SMACK!

"Okay, no."

"Good. Now, why did you do that?"

"Because I was telling the truth." SMACK!

"I mean, I wanted to annoy you. I've been proudly annoying girls since 2001!"

"Phoenix, it's not good to annoy girls."

"Yeah, especially fiery redheaded vixens like yourself." The boy muttered.

"I heard that, but I'll let it slide."

"Okay, can we go back to eating now?"

"Yes."

The two walked back into the hall, over to the Gryffindor table, and sat down next to a smirking Team Matrix.

"So Phoenix, what did Gin do to you?"

"She walked outside with me to confess her undying love to me." SMACK!

"I mean, she scolded me for talking about her incredibly hot body like I am now." SMACK!

"You know, I get all tingly when you smack me."

"Hmm, maybe it's because I'm killing your nerves when I smack you."

"No, I think it's more of an emotional thing." SMACK!

"Alright! Alright! Nerves being fried!"

Despite the fact that Phoenix pissed Ginny to no ends, they still planned on going to the party together. In the Gryffindor common room later that night, several people walked up to Phoenix and spat at him, saying "he doesn't deserves someone like Ginny", that "he was too scummy for someone of her stature", or "he should hang with his lowlife friend and not go with Ginny."

However, Phoenix calmly ignored these remarks and continued to stare at the fire, which was what he was doing while his housemates threw those derogatory remarks at him. Truth be told, he was getting inspiration for his next experiment from the fire. He knew making a spell-casting Assault Rifle was going to be their next project (they called the project WAR, for Wizarding Assault Rifle). However, the fire was making Phoenix think of creating a more powerful, weapon, though it wasn't a gun. A problem with his plan was that his idea was going to be FAR more complicated than changing a bullet-firing gun into a spell-casting gun.

He was planning on making a Fire Pill.

Now, he was still formulating his thoughts about this Fire Pill, so he wasn't 100 sure on how he was going to do it. However, he was pretty certain on how to ingest it, via pill (hence the name "Fire Pill"). He also had a specific desired effect in mind: he wanted the user to have the ability to manipulate and shoot fire. He had originally thought of a flamethrower, but that required fuel or his wand, and quite frankly, he didn't want to singe his precious wand.

He was interrupted from his thoughts when Ginny walked over to his chair and sat down next to him.

"What're you thinking about? I hope you aren't getting annoyed by the remarks our Gryffindor fellows are making."

"Ah, I'm not even listening to them. I'm thinking about you and your se-"

"Watch it."

"Oh, alright. I was thinking about my newest experiment. Well, it technically isn't my newest experiment, since Peck and I are planning on starting project WAR. But I really want to do something else. Besides, I think he can handle it himself."

"Really? And what did you have in mind for your experiment?"

"A Fire Pill."

"A what?"

"A Fire Pill. It's still in the design stages, so I'm not sure how it's gonna work. However, I have the desired effects in mind already."

"And those are?"

"The ability to manipulate and shoot fire."

"That's quite an optimistic goal you have there, Phoenix."

"Like I said, it's still in the design stages, so I'm not sure how I'm gonna do it. I'll probably have to take out several books from the library about elemental magic."

"Wow, seems like a lot of work."

"Yeah, but if it works, it'll be worth the work to be able to manipulate fire..." Phoenix's eyes glazed over.

"Whoa there Phoenix! Don't switch into pyromaniac mode on me!"

That snapped him out of it.

"Meh, sorry Gin. It's just that the thought of being able to handle fire without getting burned-"

"Without getting burned? You never mentioned that!"

"It's implied in the desired effects Gin. I mean, who would want to handle fire even though they'll get burned? That's stupid."

"True, true."

At that moment, the portrait swung open and in walked an angry looking Peck. Phoenix, pretty sure as to what happened got up and walked over to him. Peck answered Phoenix's question without the boy even asking.

"She turned me down. Said she deserved better than trash like me. Piece o' shit. I swear I will get my revenge on her. Just you wait and see."

Apparently the whole common room heard his words, for they immediately broke out laughing. Phoenix withdrew his stun gun from its holster on his belt (yes he made a holster). So did Ginny and Peck. Also, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Dean, and Seamus were in the room, so they drew theirs too. The crowd immediately shut up.

"Much better."

Phoenix sighed, "Alright Team Matrix, TO THE PLANNING ROOM!"

They all trooped up to the sixth year boys dormitories, sat down in a circle, and began to plot their Halloween prank (and Peck's revenge)...

The next morning once again found Phoenix singing in the shower.

"YO! YO! YO! MY NAME IS JOE! I WANNA CHICKEN WITH A FRO, BUT MY MAMMA SAYS NO! MY MAMMA SAYS NO TO MY CHICKEN WITH A FRO, YOU KNOW WHY? 'CAUSE I WOULDN'T EAT MY VEGGIE PIE!"

"PHOENIX! SHUT UP!"

"BUT THAT'S RAP AT ITS FINEST!"

"THAT SUCKS!"

"THAT'S MY POINT!"

"WHATEVER PHOENIX! JUST SHUT UP!"

"I'M DONE WITH MY SHOWER NOW! SO YOU HAVE BEEN SPARED YET AGAIN! NOW, LET'S GO BREAK OPEN THAT GLOWSTICK AND POUR IT INTO DEVON'S MOUNTAIN DEW!"

"PHOENIX! WE DON'T HAVE A GLOWSTICK AND DEVON DOESN'T DRINK MOUNTAIN DEW!"

"SO? WHO CARES?"

It went on like that for quite a while...

Once all of Team Matrix was awake and ready for the day, they met up in the common room and walked out towards the Great Hall to go to Hogsmeade. They were chatting.

"Do you think the prank will work?"

"Of course Dean! Neville never lets us down! Isn't that right Neville?"

The boy's cheeks flushed red, "You're too kind Phoenix."

"That's not my point. The point is you are the one who charmed the pumpkins, right? Thus, we can all rest assured that the prank will go well."

Once Filch checked their names, they set off for Hogsmeade, continuing to talk about the prank that would be pulled off. When they finally arrived at the town, their first stop was The Three Broomsticks. They sat down at a table while Peck and Phoenix went to get the drinks. They walked up to the counter. A lady came out and looked at them.

"Hello, what can I get you today?"

"You're Madam Rosmerta, right?"

"That's me. How about you two?"

"I'm Peck."

"And I'm Phoenix."

"Oh, I've heard quite a bit about you two. The ringleaders of the newest prankster team at Hogwarts."

The two bowed.

"Why, thank you for that noble title, M'lady."

She laughed.

"So, what can I get you?"

"Seven Butterbeers and two Firewhiskeys."

"Right. That's nine Butterbeers coming right up."

"Hey! I said seven Butterbeers and two Firewhiskeys."

"I know you said nine Butterbeers. What's the problem?"

"Never mind."

She left and came back a short while later with nine tankards filled with foamy goodness.

"Here you are boys, though I can't see why you'd want nine when you'd only need two..."

"Har, Har. Now how much will that be?"

"Oh, it's on the house. If you're anything like the Marauders, I daresay I'll have plenty of entertainment to last me quite a while. So here's to your success."

"Why thank you M'lady."

The two boys returned to their table, arms laden with Butterbeers.

"Help us out here, would you?" Said Peck through gritted teeth.

So each of their friends took a tankard from their arms, thanking them. Once everyone was settled down and enjoying their drinks, they began making plans for the day.

"Okay, you two just HAVE to see Honeydukes. You won't believe the sweets they have there."

"Sounds good to me. What else does this place have that's worthwhile seeing?"

Ron started ticking off his fingers.

"There's Zonko's Joke Shop, that was a favorite of Fred's and George's, the Post Office, that place has SO many owls, the Shrieking Shack, you know about that story, and loads of other cool stores for things like robes, trinkets, food, you name it."

After they finished their Butterbeers, they walked out of the pub and onto the street towards Honeydukes. They walked inside and started looking around at the sweets (Peck was particularly fascinated by the Fizzing Whizbees). Once they had bought a fair amount of candy, they left. Phoenix dug into his bag and took out an Acid Pop. He had no idea what it was, the name just intrigued him.

"Wonder what this tastes like?"

He took off the wrapper and was about to put it into his mouth.

"PHOENIX! NO! THAT'LL BURN YOUR TONGUE!"

Too late, he started sucking on it, but only for a second. He immediately took it out of his mouth and looked around at the amused faces of his colleagues.

"Ow?" His voice was barely audible.

"Well, that should teach you not to eat what you don't know!" Hermione of course.

"Hermione, lay off the poor lad. His ego doesn't need anymore deflating."

"Water, anyone?"

"Sorry mate. Can't say I have any."

Phoenix nodded, though he looked like Peck had said his death sentence. He immediately bolted for the nearest food shop, coming back ten minutes later with an empty cup in his hands.

"Ah, nothing like a cup of hot chocolate on a cold, winter's day!"

"Phoenix, it's not winter yet."

"Your point?"

"Forget it."

They continued walking along, stopping by the Post Office. Phoenix decided to send a letter to his mom using one of the bigger owls (he highly doubted one of the "midget owls" would be able to make the transatlantic journey) that they had to offer. Next up was Zonko's. They spent the better part of an hour in there, Ron pointing out various jokes and Phoenix or Peck snatching one, intending to buy it. They bought so many products, that the manager let the teenagers have some of the items free. They then walked on to the famous Shrieking Shack. The nine Gryffindors paused for a moment to stop and look at it in reverence, reflecting on their memories in that shack. Well, Dean, Seamus, Neville, Ginny, Phoenix, and Peck were thinking about the stories the other three had told them. Peck was the first one to snap out of it.

"So, where to next?"

"SHOPPING!" squealed Hermione and Ginny simultaneously.

"Oookay. Shopping it is then..."

At around four, Team Matrix arrived back at the Gryffindor Tower, arms laden with bags of bought merchandise. They walked up to their respective dorms and put down their burdens. They then met in the common room, all seven boys carrying various Honeydukes sweets, Hermione with a book, and Ginny with her Transfiguration homework. Hermione rolled her eyes at the boys, and the boy rolled their eyes at Hermione.

"Honestly." They all said in unison. It was then that Phoenix noticed what Ginny was doing.

"Hey, need any help with that? Transfiguration is one of my best subjects..."

She merely smiled and responded with a, "Nah, it's okay. Being in Team Matrix has helped me enough."

Phoenix looked perplexed.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Never mind Phoenix, never mind."

Shaking his head, Phoenix walked back to the boys, who were eating their candies while talking. More specifically, talking about Alexandra Whitts.

"Seriously guys! I need a way to seek revenge against that idiot!"

"Don't worry Peck, we are your fellow T.M. members, we won't ignore your request."

"So, does anyone here know anything about this girl?"

Hermione looked up from her book, "She hates gooey things."

"How do you know that Herm?"

"It's Hermione, and it's because I did a DADA project with her last year. We talked quite a bit while working on it."

"Thanks Herm."

"Mione." She muttered under her breath.

"So, how can we use that against her?"

Phoenix grinned, "I have just the right idea, and it involves are Halloween prank..."

"That's brilliant Phoenix!"

The boy took a bow, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you very much! I'm here 'till Tuesday!"

"Har, Har. Listen, we still have several more hours until dinner, what should we do?"

"I have yet another brilliant idea. Peck?"

"Yeah?"

"You know how I'm pretty good at chess?"

"Yeah. So is Ron."

"Exactly."

"What."

"He and I will duke it out. Battle of the chess masters ("COUGH HACK SNORT"). What do you think?"

"Sure, whatever makes you happy Phoenix."

"Great. Ron? Let's get ready to rumble! Accio chess set!"

Phoenix's chessboard and pieces came zooming out of the sixth year dormitories and landed right in front of him. He had the pieces take their positions, and situated himself across from Ron on the battlefield.

"Ready to get a whipping Ron?"

"In your dreams."

"Dreams can come true you know."

"Not this one."

"Bring it!"

Thus one of the greatest battles of wits started, Phoenix and Ron carefully pondering each move they made, weighing out certain choices, catching traps the other had set up. It was getting so interesting, even Hermione stopped reading her book and decided to watch. The two battlers had their eyebrows furrowed. Ron was deciding what to do, and Phoenix waiting for his move.

"Rook to H4."

Phoenix cracked a smile, "Ron, you silly boy. You've just given me your queen."

Ron's eyebrows furrowed even more, "No I haven't, what do you mean?"

Phoenix merely grinned, "Bishop to F7."

Ron watched in horror as his precious queen was side-kicked by Phoenix's bishop. Phoenix merely nodded in approval.

"Your martial arts training is shaping out quite nicely Rhuun."

"Thank you sir. I've been practicing for quite some time."

Ron watched with a mixture of interest and pain, "You're training your chess pieces?"

"Why not? It adds flavor to the set and makes for an interesting game."

"Whatever."

The battle raged on. Ron was fighting heroically, despite the fate of his queen. Finally, after about two hours, Phoenix said the fateful words:

"Knight to D3. Checkmate, I win."

Ron stared at Phoenix with amazement and wonder in his eyes.

"You... beat me."

"I sure did."

"Not even Bill can beat me anymore and believe me, he's a mastermind when it comes to chess."

"Well, I envision more interesting nights in the future. However, it is almost time for dinner. It's Showtime boys (COUGH), and girls."

"That's more like it."

The nine friends made their way down to the Great Hall. They situated themselves at the Gryffindor table and awaited the arrival of the other students. Finally, after about 15 minutes, the Great Hall was filled with the whole school's population. Dumbledore stood up and the school was silent.

"Well, Happy Halloween everyone! I hope the third years and up enjoyed their Hogsmeade visit? Yes? Good! Well, it is time to eat. However, I believe we have some entertainment before we do. Five, four, three, two, one..."

The floating Jack-O-Lanterns burst out in song, singing various Christmas Carols in off-key voices, thus causing discord to erupt in the hall. Several students laughed. After about five minutes, the caroling pumpkins stopped singing, and in unison, said, "IT'S TIME FOR SOME FIREWORKS!"

Several pumpkins exploded in mid-air, causing its guts to land all over the place. More and more pumpkins were making spectacular explosions, while the students screamed. However, adrenaline-loving students were looking at the explosions and saying things like "Cool!" and "Awesome!". Phoenix took out his wand and aimed it at one pumpkin hovering over the Ravenclaw table. He muttered a few words and the pumpkin zoomed down and hovered right in front of none other than Alexandra Whitts.. Several seconds later, it exploded. An ear splitting scream was emitted from the girls mouth as guts splattered all over her face and robes.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH! GET IT OFF OF ME! GET IT OFF OF ME!"

She ran out of the hall, screaming, while the other students laughed.

"Muahahaha! Revenge is mine!" Muttered Peck.

After several more minutes, no more pumpkins combusted. Dumbledore resumed speaking.

"Did you like it? It wasn't my idea though. You can thank several Gryffindors, whom I'm sure you're quite familiar with..."

There was some clapping, although it was dull and half-hearted. Dumbledore didn't seem to notice.

"Well, now that tonight's entertainment is over, eat up! And please, no food fight this time." His eyes twinkled in jest, as if daring someone to actually start WW IV

Food appeared on the table. Once again, Peck piled up his plate sky-high, and then stuffed it in his mouth like there was no tomorrow. Once again, Phoenix took several portions of meat, cut a piece off, and ate it like a gentleman. Once everyone had finished their meals and desserts, Dumbledore stood up again.

"I would like to remind you that for fourth years and up, there will be a ball/party which starts in about 2 hours. As for the rest of you, to bed!"

There was a mass scuffling of seats as everyone got up to go to their dormitories, some to sleep and some to change. Team Matrix made their way up to the Gryffindor Tower, giving the Fat Lady the password, and plopped down on various couches and chairs. They had a whole 2 hours to burn until they had to go back down to the Great Hall again...

A/N: By the way, in addition to not owning the world of Harry Potter, I don't own the world of "The Matrix" either...