Day Eight - Snowball Fights
A giant snowball fight in the grounds between the Slytherins and the Gryffindors leads to an unfortunate… mishap.
A/N: Sorry, this one is rubbish. I had a funny image in my head and I couldn't write it out very well. If anyone wants to re write this feel free to, because it truly is terrible!
'There's no way you'll be able to beat us, Malfoy,' Harry told him. There were stood arguing in the middle of the Entrance Hall. Everyone was so used to this by now, no one but their friends were paying them any attention.
'Sure there is, Potter, it'll be easy,' Malfoy responded smugly.
'With no magic allowed? Please,' Harry scoffed.
'You forget, Potter. We weren't allowed to use magic when we were children for snowball fights. We had plenty of practice back then.'
'So you'll be out of practice now.'
'Hardly.'
There was a few moments of silence while they glared at each other.
'So, snowball fight in the grounds after lunch?' Blaise Zabini piped up from behind Malfoy. He was clearly getting fed up of the argument and wanted to move things along.
'Yeah, we'll bring out house, you bring yours,' Ron confirmed. Everyone nodded and started to make their way into the Great Hall. Malfoy and Harry continued to glare at each other for a short while longer before following their friends to their respective tables.
They hadn't even had breakfast yet and already a minor altercation between Harry and Malfoy had led to an arranged snowball fight between the Slytherins and Gryffindors, or as many of each house they could both gather in the grounds after lunch.
'Harry, why do you keep letting him goad you into these stupid things?' Hermione asked him as they sat at the Gryffindor table.
'I don't let him goad me into anything,' Harry defended. Hermione just looked back at him skeptically.
'Okay, so maybe I do,' he conceded. 'But this could be fun! It's only a snowball fight, 'Mione, what's the worst that could happen?'
'Yeah, Hermione, it's only an innocent little snowball fight,' Fred said from her left.
'Between the Slytherins and the Gryffindors,' George piped up on her right.
'The two houses who have the most animosity between them -'
'- and have been feuding for centuries -'
'- sometimes with disastrous results -'
'- like Slytherin's almighty leader leaving a giant killer snake hidden in the school -'
'- until a child came along and killed it -'
'- almost dying himself in the process.'
'Guys, you're not helping,' Harry sighed. Fred and George just sent him identical smirks.
'Do you think many people will want to join in?' Harry asked uncertainly.
'Sure they will,' Ron told him certainly. 'It's a chance for them to attack Slytherins under the guise f it being just a friendly little game.'
'How on earth are we going to gather everyone by the end of lunch?'
'Spread the news down the breakfast table?' Ron suggested.
'Worth a try,' Harry shrugged.
After lunch, almost everyone at the Gryffindor table was hovering around, even though everyone seemed to have finished eating. They all seemed to keep checking whether or not Harry was leaving yet. When he finally stood up, the rest of the table joined him. Over on the other side of the hall, the same thing had happened at the Slytherin table when Malfoy had stood up.
They all began to file out of the hall, heading to the huge front doors and out into the grounds. The remaining Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws watched on in confusion before deciding they'd rather stay out of whatever was going on.
Once out in the grounds, Malfoy and Harry headed towards each other. No one really knew how this was going to be started, or if anyone was keeping score in any way.
'Scared, Potter?' Malfoy asked, a smug smirk plastered on his face,
'You wish,' Harry spat back. Moments later, a snowball came flying past them both from Fred Weasley, hitting Marcus Flint in the face.
Apparently, there would be no keeping score. Everyone else rushed to start making snowballs and splitting up into smaller teams. After a while, most of the Gryffindors and Slytherins had spread out further into the grounds, disappearing from sight, however Harry and Malfoy's friends, and the members of both Quidditch teams, remained around outside the main entrance.
Meanwhile, in the Great Hall, the teachers had been discussing what could be going on between the two houses when they exited the hall together, and debating whether anyone should step in or not. They decided against it, things seemed to be fairly normal outside, from what they could hear.
About half an hour later, however, they found the noise had ground very loud quite suddenly, and Dumbledore decided he had better see what was going on. He stood from his seat at the teacher's table and made his way out of the hall, following the noises from outside. Professors Snape and McGonagall followed behind him, deciding they ought to come along since they were the head's of house of the two houses in question.
As they exited through the front door, they found themselves looking out on what could only be described as mayhem. There were snowballs flying left and right. Protective forts had been built on either side of the grounds just outside, and there were people behind them making snowballs ready for the designated throwers to collect.
The teachers stepped down a bit further, only to regret it when the students started running closer to them and around where they were standing. The students appeared to not have even noticed the headmaster and their heads of houses had come outside. Before the three of them could decide to turn back, Snape suddenly stumbled backwards as six snowballs pelted him from all angles. The snowball fight around them seized as everyone finally noticed the staff among them.
Harry, Fred, George, Malfoy, Marcus Flint, and Theo Nott all stood with their arms still in mid air, having been the ones to throw the snowballs that hit their Potions professor. Snape took a moment to glare at them all, his face becoming redder by the second, before finally deciding to aim his rage at his least favourite student.
'POTTER!' He bellowed, starting to stride towards him. Harry started backing up quickly when Snape suddenly stopped, having been hit in the back of the head by another snowball. He turned around to glare at who had thrown it, to find Dumbledore stood gathering snow and preparing to throw another one.
'Sorry, Severus, but everyone's a fair target in a snowball fight,' he said brightly before throwing the second snowball he had made at Professor McGonagall, who was trying to retreat further into the castle without being noticed.
'Albus!' She screamed.
'Feel free to take your revenge, Minerva,' he said simply, gathering more snowballs.
Snape forgot about Harry, and started gathering snow to throw at the Headmaster instead, while Professor McGonagall did the same on Dumbledore's other side.
'You may just regret that Albus,' she told him sternly.
'Indeed,' Snape agreed.
The three teachers suddenly started their own snowball fight, and after they had recovered from the shock, the students followed suit and resumed their own.
Hours later, the Slytherins and Gryffindors retreated to their respective common rooms to recover before dinner. In the staff room, Snape sat sulking by the fire, drying himself off with his wand while McGonagall and Dumbledore recounted the fight to the rest of the teachers. They had clearly teamed up against him in the end, much to his chagrin.
'I'm almost sorry we missed it,' Professor Sprout chuckled. 'Almost.'
'Perhaps we ought to make it a school wide event, every year,' Dumbledore pondered. 'Teachers and students alike, gathered in the grounds for a snowball fight. Wouldn't that be a sight to see?'
Snape looked horrified where he sat.
At dinner the evening, Dumbledore decided to announce that that is indeed what they were going to do in future years. There were many cheers of approval from the students, and a grumbled murmurs from Snape who was now mumbling that it was all Potter's fault.