He settled above the chatter and laughter that filled the Great Hall, somewhere between the enchantment of the sky and the true ceiling of the hall. The other ghosts mingled with the students at their preferred table.
Peeves didn't have a preferred table, and the Professors never appreciated him joining them. It gave him time to contemplate the students below him; all the first years would know him by the end of the second day.
It was amazing to think about the fact that only decades ago, he had been a person who didn't know magic existed. Now he haunted one of the most magical places in the United Kingdom that hosted some of the most privileged, yet stupid people on the face of the Earth. It was careless, and allowed him to get away with more pranks than he really would have had any of them taken a moment to actually think.
The problem was, if they did get smarter, he would have to get better at his pranks to catch them. It would require more effort and preparation, and fewer students to prank a year. His job would be more tricky, and it wasn't every year that he managed to adopt a group of pranksters to help him with his bidding.
Or perhaps it was him that assisted them – preventing them from getting caught by distracting Filch.
Blinking down at the hall, his eyes scanned the tables and ran across the walls. Argus wasn't present today, and Mrs Norris wasn't hanging around either.
It would be a real pity to leave the two alone on an even as wonderful as the start of term feast! Tipping the goblet of an unsuspecting Slytherin so that the liquid spilled all over him, and tossing a random morsel at a quiet Ravenclaw, Peeves whizzed out the door, intending to find his favourite caretaker.
Argus had always reminded Peeves of the person he had been when he had been alive – a bitter man, unhappy with is lot in life, and angry at the world – and misery always liked company.
"Argy!" Peeves screamed down the corridor, gaining disgusted looks from several of the more regal portraits, and sighs from the rest.
"Leave the poor man alone! He's going to have enough to do when the term starts."
"Peeves! Stop this foolishness at once!"
The voices lingered in the background with all the other advice Peeves had ignored after deciding to do something.
"Nori!" Peeves screamed down another corridor.
"You! Can't you leave me and Mrs Norris alone?" Argus grumbled as soon as Peeves settled next to the man with his furious pace. "You exist to make our lives difficult!"
"Imagine how boring your life would be without me! No messes to clean up. No one to cheer you up when you're ready to hang students by their toes in the dungeon. You'd miss me if I were gone!" Peeves fluttered his eyelashes at the caretaker, and Mrs Norris uttered a low growl.
"Don't worry, I'm not stealing your owner, Nori!" Peeves said, increasing his speed slightly to run a hand down Mrs Norris' back. "You're far more beautiful."
The cat purred in delight.
"Stop seducing her! Mrs Norris won't fall for your trap this year. She's going to find all your antics, jjust you wait."
"Is that a dare, Argy?"
Argus glared, stomping away, and Peeves decided to let him.
He would have all year to prove that Mrs Norris was on his side too.
The Golden Snitch [Uagadou, Biloko]: 12 Days of Christmas – 3 kookaburras laughing: write about Peeves