Clutching the silver hairs, George released a big breath. The morning light bounced off of his potion vial revealing how truly nauseating its colors were. He added the final ingredient and watched as bubbles began to form in the concoction. His brother mimicked his movements with his own vial.
"Once we drink these we only have one hour," George reminded his brother.
Fred nodded, "I know."
The two clinked their glasses, pinched their noses, and drank deeply. Before the first swallow, George was tempted to spit it out. Fred didn't look much better. However, their sheer determination led them to finish drinking. George figured that if they'd gone this far, they might as well finish.
The transformation was a painful one. While George grew upwards, Fred grew outwards. Luckily, they had changed into the appropriate outfits beforehand so that their school robes wouldn't get torn.
George glanced in the mirror and saw that his body had finished bubbling up. His face was now adorned in wrinkles and his white hair reached down to his stomach. He grabbed the half-moon spectacles in his pocket and placed them on his face while Fred placed his bowler hat on top of his head. The boys were lucky enough to befriend the house elves who were willing to dress them accordingly.
"Alright, I'll see you here in an hour then?" George confirmed.
"Good luck brother," Fred agreed.
The two stepped out of the bathroom and went their separate ways. According to the plan, George was to go to Sprout's office. However, it was only 7am and he was beginning to doubt if the professor was even awake.
Oh well, too late to change the plan I guess, George thought.
His newly longer legs carried him more quickly than he expected to his destination. George hesitated before knocking. He realized now that Dumbledore would normally floo into his staff's offices.
Knowing that there was no time to waste, George knocked before he could change his mind. He breathed a sigh of relief when he heard footsteps on the other side of the door.
"Well hello headmaster!" Sprout welcomed, "What did I do to deserve your company at this hour?"
"Uhem…*cough*..." George said testing his voice, "Good morning Pomona. Might I come inside?"
"Why certainly Albus!" Sprout said and extended her arm to welcome George into her quarters.
Testing the waters, George took a seat and gestured for Sprout to do the same. As the professor took a seat on her own couch, George reached into his pocket for a lemon drop.
"Would you like one?" George offered.
Sprout refused kindly and didn't seem surprised that "Dumbledore" plopped a candy into his own mouth.
Good call on the lemon drops Finnegan, George smirked internally.
"You're probably wondering why I'm here," George said quickly when he realized that no one had spoken for a minute. At Sprout's nod, he continued, "You see, I've been having trouble with the Board of Governors…."
Sprout- surprisingly to George- seemed to expect this conversation and nodded for him to continue.
"They want to replace the teachers that I've seen fit to hire. The Quirrell incident has only made this situation worse, as they believe I hired him out of trust. Of course they ignore the fact that I just couldn't find anyone else for the job," George added, convincingly bitter.
"What do you suppose we do headmaster?" Sprout asked, complete trust in her gaze.
George cringed at the pain he was putting his most kind professor through. "The board has suggested that you, Minerva, Severus, and Filius take a leave of absence for one week while they test-run some new professors."
Sprout blinked. "That's rather odd… One week? Really?"
George realized that this situation was all too fishy to be believable, however he continued on, hoping that Sprout would just take his word for it.
"Yes, just one week," he reiterated.
"But- but Albus, how can they do this? Exams are in a few weeks! The children need us right now!" Sprout exclaimed. George was touched at how caring she was for her students. It was just like Sprout to put her kids before her job.
"Yes I realize that Pomona. It's a rather difficult situation. However, I believe that I can resolve it. Just tell the other professors. Go home, come back in a week with the others and hopefully I will have straightened things out by then," George reassured her.
"Well… alright. If you're sure…" Sprout hesitantly said.
George nodded and stood up. He walked towards the door and his professor followed.
"Thank you for stopping by Albus, I'll go tell the others. I'll see you in a week," Sprout said while closing the door.
George was unsure whether to jump for joy or pout at the terrible act he had just done. It was hard to break that kind of news to his professor. However, he and his brother agreed that telling Sprout was the best course of action since McGonagall, Snape, and Flitwick were more likely to catch them in the act.
However, with his task done, George let out the groan that had been threatening to escape him since he transformed into Dumbledore. He made it to the bathroom where he sat and waited for his brother to come back.
~.~
"YOU FIRED THEM?!" Madam Pomfrey shrieked.
Fred took a step back at the force behind her voice. He knew that Pomfrey was a strict witch, but never knew how scary she could be. He made a mental note to never cross her.
"Minister, I have to object to this," Charity Burbage exclaimed. "It's entirely uncalled for and exams are in a few weeks! The children need those professors!"
Fred didn't say anything and the entire Hogwarts staff- minus McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick, and Sprout- stared at him expectantly. Glared at him expectantly.
Finally realizing who he was portraying, Fred pushed a little harder, "I must do what I and the Board of Governors see fit!" he said pompously. "Quirrell was obviously a nutcase and I cannot stand by and allow professors that Dumbledore trusts the most to continue teaching in this school!"
Fred turned on his heal and made his way to the door hoping to make a quick escape.
"F**k you, Fudge!" Sinistra yelled.
Fred was momentarily stunned, as was everyone else in the room. Although Fred was tempted to high-five his astronomy professor, he played along. He turned back around and tried to talk as though every syllable burned his tongue, "You watch your mouth Sinistra. I am going to find suitable replacements for the other professors by tomorrow. I should hope that you don't want to be replaced either…. You've been warned."
With that, Fred turned once more and stormed out of the staff lounge, leaving behind a group of very stunned professors.
~.~
"Mission success?" George asked in anticipation.
"Yes!" Fred yelled in excitement.
George jumped up from his seat on the floor and ran to his brother. They had just transformed back and their overly large clothes caused them both to trip and land in a bundle on the stone floor.
Laughing merrily, they wrestled on the ground for a minute.
"Ehem," Myrtle coughed daintily.
Fred ignored this and hopped up from the ground. "Good job Myrtle! We did it!"
He raised his hand and gave Myrtle a high-five which of course went straight through her.
"Okay okay, now we need to send letters to the "replacement" professors," George reminded his brother. "I've already started writing them. Now who did we decide was teaching each subject?"
Fred counted with his fingers, "I think it was Augusta Longbottom for transfiguration, Tonks for potions, Ludo Bagman for charms, and Mundungus Fletcher for herbology."
"Right… but they don't seem like the kind of people that Fudge would hire," George pointed out.
"It doesn't matter at this point. It's just funny," Fred concluded.
George grinned and shrugged, "Yeah, I guess that's true."
The twins were finished writing the letters by noon. They cleaned up the remains of the potion and banished the clothes that they used to impersonate Dumbledore and Fudge.
"Well, I guess this is it," George addressed Myrtle and Fred. "Our part in this prank war is over. Now we just need to sit and watch the magic happen."
Fred smiled, "Let's go mail these letters," he turned to the ghost, "We promise to come visit you regularly Myrtle. Thanks for all your help!"
The ghost's cheeks became more opaque. George took that to mean she was blushing. He patted his brother on the back and the two made their way up to the owlery.
~.~
~.~