Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
Quick note before we start the chapter, I make mention of 'all' first year female students but in all honesty I may have forgotten a handful here and there and when I tired to find references I couldn't tell if they were canon or not. I apologize if I've left out some characters but these will be the only ones of this demographic in this story. Again, I apologize if I left people out.
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Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
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Hermione was more than a little skeptical as she reread the note in front of her. She had not been expecting an owl to land in front of her by any means, let alone the message it delivered. The question as to why didn't Harry give her the message directly came to mind, but she quickly dismissed it, realizing that Harry hadn't been the one to send it.
With sudden realization smacking her in the face, she looked over the invite, once more wondering whether or not this was a prank pulled by the twins. Then again, though they knew who she was within the group so they may have decided to embark on this little mission without giving away their game plan. Or so she pondered. She couldn't help but question whether or not this may have been a fake; somebody pretending to be a part of Potter Club and was using the name to trick her.
The greatest form of flattery was imitation after all. If this was the case, was the prank they wished to pull malicious in nature or playful?
"Whatcha reading?" asked Lavender playfully as she plopped herself on Hermione's bed, startling the brow- haired witch.
"Nothing," Hermione said quickly only to cause her opponent to allow a cheeky grin to overcome her features.
"Nothing 'ey, then you wouldn't mind showing me what it is," said Lavender as she reached for the parchment only for Hermione to pull away. This of course only served to egg Lavender on causing Miss Parvati to enter female dormitories to find Hermione and Lavender in something reminiscent of a game of cat and mouse. With a sigh she brought out her wand and casted one of the few charms spells they had been taught this year, causing the paper Hermione was holding on to to float away from her grip and out of reach.
"HEY!"
"Now, now, play nice you two," Parvati scolded with a smile on her face as the parchment she was controlling floated over to where she stood. Dropping her spell, she skillfully plucked the falling parchment out of the air before reading the contents, Lavender holding Hermione back. "So, you got invited as well."
"...excuse me?" said Hermione as she stopped struggling in Lavender's grasp.
"Wait, you mean Granger got an invite as well," said Lavender, releasing her target.
"Seems so," said Parvati as she handed the parchment back to Hermione. "You are going, right?"
"Well...I guess so," said Hermione slowly. "But I mean this is from Potter Club, what if it's not what we think it is?"
"They've never done anything to hurt anyone, I don't see why they'd start now," said Lavender. "Plus I mean it'd be pretty pointless for them to simply target all of the Gryffindor first years for no particular reason."
"Anyways, apparently we're not the only ones who got an invite, Padma told me earlier that she and the rest of the Ravenclaw first year girls are going," said Parvati.
"Which likely means that both the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins are invited as well," deduced Hermione as she took a seat at the foot of her bed.
"Why are you so sure?" asked Lavender putting her hands on her hips.
"Outside of classes, when do we actually interact with people outside of our own houses?" asked Hermione rhetorically. She knew that Parvati occasionally hung with the Ravenclaw students when catching up with her sister but other than that she was relatively sure there was minimal contact with anyone. "This is all designed for us to just spend some time getting to know people in other houses, a communal get together."
"Well it does sound fun, especially if they're not kidding about this password and location," said Lavender.
"So...shall we be on our way?"
...
Much like Hermione, Susan had been quite skeptical about the invite that she had received. However Hannah had been quite adamant that the two of them not miss out on this opportunity. This was how the two of them were trying to look as inconspicuous as possible, making their way to the fifth floor where their invite had told them to go.
They politely greeted those they came across before they eventually reached their destination. "Bubble bath bomb," said Hannah, the password causing the door to swing open and grant them entry. They weren't sure what to expect but somehow the giant banner hanging over the ridiculously sized bathtub with the words "Potter Club Welcomes You" seemed oddly fitting.
"Susan, Hannah!" shouted Lavender from inside the bathtub, waving her hand back and forth causing aqua blue water to splash around her and pop some of the thick pink bubbles which glided atop the surface.
"Hey Lavender," said Susan as she and Hannah got closer to the edge of the bathtub. Over in one corner of the tub Lisa Turpin and Mandy Brocklehurst from Ravenclaw were experimenting with one of the dozens of taps lining the edge of the bathtub. Near where Lavender was the two Hufflepuff girls could see both the Patil twins and Hermione Granger, the Indian descendant students currently trying to tame Hermione's hair to mixed success.
"Don't be shy, jump right in," said Lavender waving them in.
"What is this place?" asked Hannah looking over to a pane glass window showing a mermaid combing her hair.
"That was quite the debate earlier but I think we've all concluded that this is the Prefect's Bathroom," said Lavender with a cheeky swim as she waded her way over to where Hannah and Susan were undressing.
"Prefect's Bathroom! Should we be here?" asked Susan, feigning worry. If they were here because Potter Club told them to, rules be damned.
"Who cares," declared Hannah as she stripped off her robes to reveal her bathing suit. Susan took a moment to look at her feet before mirroring her friend's actions, the two of them entering the bath and finding the water to be as perfect temperature as possible. "This is sooo good!"
"What do all those taps do?" asked Susan.
"We've tried about twenty," said Lavender. "Half the stuff that's come out so far we don't even know what they do."
"This one's shampoo!" declared Lisa.
"Excellent," stated Padma as she started making her way over to the flowing tap and collecting a handful of shampoo to help in her assault against Hermione's hair.
"So, anybody else want to become Prefect because of this place?" asked Susan, Mandy and Hannah quickly putting their hands up. "No surprises there." This in turn earned her a splash in the face from Hannah who quickly dove under the water to avoid the retaliation. Of course, this was only the beginning as their little squabble quickly spreading at a rapid rate to which the point where everybody was dragged into it. Squeals and screams seemingly echoed through the room.
An incredibly loud clearing of the throat brought an end to the shenanigans as the first year students turned towards the entrance to find that they now had more company. "I was under the impression that this was to be a civilized meeting, clearly I was mistaken," said Pansy Parkinson, her arms crossed over her chest.
"I was uniformed that we were required to behave in a manner befitting of your outstanding upbringing," retorted Susan, everything seemingly becoming increasingly serious. The joyous mood that had been evident only seconds before had been shattered by the arrival of the four Slytherin girls. "By all means, in such a luxurious area what manner of activity would be befitting of someone of your stature."
"I'm sure one of the Muggleborns would be more than honoured to wash my hair," declared Pansy. Before anybody in the water could react to the hurtful comment however Daphne had taken matters into her own hands, getting behind Pansy and pushing her forward and into the water whilst still fully dressed. As Pansy struggled to regain her bearings, Daphne quickly took off her over garments before leaping into the water and continuing her assault on Pansy.
"What are..." was all Pansy got out before her head was shoved underwater. Several seconds passed before her head was allowed to inhale sweet oxygen for only a split second before she was dunked beneath the water again. A handful of seconds passed once more before she resurfaced, breathing deeply. Turning around, she found the culprit glaring menacingly at her. "The hell is your problem! You could have killed me!"
"First off, if your lung capacity is restricted to two seconds then I feel sorry for you," said Daphne. "More importantly, this was perhaps our one chance to actually interact with people our own age and not be the slimy snakes that everyone in the school thinks we are. Well congratulations Pansy, you fit the stereotype freaking perfectly."
"You know what, have your stupid get together, see if I care!" shouted Pansy as she made her way to the edge of the bath and got out, not even bothering to look back at everyone as she stormed out.
"Sorry about her," apologized Tracy. "Much like Draco she thinks just because of her heritage that others are beneath her."
"We've tried breaking her out of that trend but it's integrated into her system," said Millicent as she descended into the bath. "She'd need something drastic to happen to her in order to make her see any differently."
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Pansy slowly came to, her vision blurry as she blinked her eyes several times trying to garner her surroundings. Last thing she remembered was having stamped away from the Prefect Bathroom leaving a trail of water behind her. Now though she was here, wherever here was.
She was sitting upright and she would continue to do so for the foreseeable future as her arms had been tied through the gaps in her chair, thick rope ensuring that she wouldn't be moving any time soon. Gritting her teeth, her eyes darted around the room and she screamed when she saw what she was sharing the room.
Or at least she tried to scream, but thankfully the person who had held her captive had opted to cast a silencing charm on her having likely guessed what her reaction was going to be. A giant three headed dog was quietly snoozing away and she feared just what her terrified plea for help may have done.
It was around then however that she noticed something else happening within the room. Music. A soulful jazz like harmony being played out on a piano and when she looked to the far end of the room she discovered her supposed captor playing a merry tune without a care in the world. Looking over his shoulder, he could see that Pansy had awoken from her slumber and stepped away from the piano, a quick flick of their wand ensured that the piano remained playing on autopilot.
"Before I take the Silencing Charm off of you," said the man as he strode closer, power resonating with every step, "I just want you to know that while Fluffy over here may fall asleep to the sound of music if we are too loud we may just wake him up and let me tell you, he's not the best playmate. So, stay calm and allow us to speak like respectable members of civilization and I may not feed you to him."
Pansy swallowed nervously as Harry undid the spell he had cast. He could see in her eyes that Pansy didn't recognise him and didn't know of anybody with the features or voice he currently possessed. "Who are you?" she asked hesitantly, stealing glances over towards Fluffy in the meantime.
"I believe a lady of your standing introduces herself before asking someone else of their name," said Harry as he conjured a chair and sat opposite Pansy. There was a little twinkle in her eye as she saw the magic before her, knowing full well that inanimate conjuration was an advanced spell she wouldn't learn for several years.
Clearing her throat, Pansy sat upright as if trying to show off an air of superiority, something that really didn't fit the mood of the situation. "I am Pansy Parkinson, heiress of..."
"Stop," commanded Harry as he took a seat.
"What? You asked me who I was!"
"And you answered that you were Pansy Parkinson, I don't need to hear about the riches you were born into or for how many years your family has been 'pure.' You gave me your name, that's all I needed."
"Well then, to return to the beginning of this conversation, who are you?" asked Pansy once more.
"Not telling," said Harry cheekily garnering a look of frustration from Pansy. To calm her down, Harry merely pointed towards Fluffy which seemed to sedate Pansy's mood slightly. "All you need to know is that I organized that little shindig in the Prefect Bathroom that you decided you were too good for."
"You're... part of Potter Club?"
"Even better, I created Potter Club; but come now, we're not here to discuss me, we're here to talk about you," said Harry.
"Me?" said Pansy, her aura slowly fading away as she realized just who she was speaking to.
"Yes, you and more importantly, what you just walked away from."
"They were acting like children, I had no desire to associate myself with them," huffed Pansy.
"And it is that attitude which will make life terrible for you at Hogwarts and beyond," said Harry. "At the moment, every other girl in your year is currently bonding together and potentially creating friendships that will last well beyond school. Yet for whatever reason, you've left them behind and chosen to spend the afternoon alone."
"They were acting like children!" scoffed Pansy.
"Perhaps because they are children," said Harry with a shrug of his shoulders. "I see nothing wrong with people acting their age. Do you believe that it's appropriate for people to act older than what they actually are?" Pansy bit at the inside of her lip knowing full well that Harry was trying to trap her in her own words and anything that she said at the moment would be used against her. "Well at least you're not going to take my bait," said Harry with a light chuckle. "My point though is still valid. A couple years from now Susan Bones may host a birthday party and all the girls from Slytherin bar yourself are invited. You may not think much about these sort of occasions now but they can have dramatic impact for your future life."
Pansy still said nothing but Harry could tell that she had been drawn back down to Earth and vanished the ropes that had bound her. "Thanks," she said weakly as she rubbed at her wrists.
"Now, outside this door there is a case of Butterbeer, don't ask me how I got it, and if you're going to go and try and establish something reminiscent of a connection with your peers it may help break the ice. At the end of the day though you need to be honest not only to the girls, but to yourself as well," said Harry as he stood up, the chair he had created vanishing.
"Myself?"
"At the end of your schooling there are two roles I can see you portraying at the moment, both with pros and cons," said Harry. "If you continue down the path you're on, with your head held higher than most Quidditch players, you'll try and stamp your authority on all those beneath you whether you are right or wrong. At the end of that path you have people that smile to your face while scowling at your back and will be all alone once Hogwarts is over. Alternatively, you can go back up to the bathroom and make some friends that at the end of the day will have your back without the threats, bribes or whatever other tedious methods you were potentially contemplating. The decision is yours."
...
"So your parents are, what did you call them, Dintasts, what do they do then?" asked Tracy, the group of girls having long since concluded their futile water battle in exchange for turning up the temperature of the water and just getting the chance to know one another better.
"Dentists," corrected Hermione. "Simply put, their job is to operate on people's teeth. Fixing cavities, general cleaning so on so forth."
"Wait, so they actually stick their fingers...in people's mouths?" said Hannah which quickly resulted in a resounding serenade of 'eeewww' from all present but Hermione who merely shook her head in shame.
"They wear gloves," she said trying to defend her parents practise to little success. "Alright then...Susan, what do your parents do?" Immediately Hermione understood she had said the wrong thing as Hannah's eyes widened in shock and Susan looked as if she wished to disappear right there and then. "I'm not sure what I said, but I'm sorry..."
"Wow, I leave for not even thirty minutes and already Granger's got her foot in her mouth," said someone from outside the water causing everybody inside to turn their attention to the edge of the pool to see Pansy standing there carrying a case of Butterbeer. Thankfully with the distraction nobody was looking at Susan any more who was relieved that she hadn't had to explain her lack of an answer to Hermione.
"Where'd you get the Butterbeer?" asked Millicent.
"Doesn't matter, okay," huffed Pansy before taking in a deep breath to calm herself down. "Look, I know I may have said some things before that were...inappropriate and I guess I wanted to...apologize for my behaviour."
All eyes shifted to Hermione, who had been the target of Pansy's venomous words prior, to see her reaction. Much like Pansy she took an extra few seconds to compose herself and her response. "Apology accepted."
Her words were met with a round of cheers before Pansy was welcomed into the water and the lot of them shared in the beverages she had bought. By the time they got out, none of them could say that there were any visible animosities between them. All in all, they agreed they had a good time.
Daphne's screams in the morning however told a different story. Turned out all of the girls who had snuck into the Prefects Bathroom discovered that Potter Club didn't do things by half and had ensured that all of them remember the time they had spent together.
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"So," started Professor McGonagall as she looked at the group of young girls in front of her, all of them clearly ashamed by their new fashion choice. "I take it this isn't simply a trend the twelve of you are trying to bring in."
Tracy let out a small giggle which was quickly stifled from an elbow to the midriff by Pansy who was clearly not enjoying the situation. "We have been targeted by Potter Club," Pansy said honestly.
"Is that so," mused Minerva. "Is there any reason why the lot of you would be targeted by the notorious Potter Club or was there something else at play." When nobody spoke up she assumed it was the latter. "If nobody has anything to say then I'm going to have to assign a detention to each of you for withholding valuable information from a member of the faculty."
Nervous glances were shared between everyone (most of which still were shocked at the appearances which befell their eyes) before Hermione opted to tell all. "We all got an invite for a get together, arranged by Potter Club," she said.
"And you didn't think that was something worth informing a teacher about?"
"Well, I mean it's Potter Club, they've only done amazing things," said Hannah.
"Yea, so why would we be worried?" said Padma.
"So then, where did this invite tell you to go?" asked Minerva.
"Fifth floor, fourth door to the left of Boris the ummm..." said Tracy having forgotten the last bit of detail.
"Bewildered," finished Daphne.
"Thank you."
"I see, so the lot of you spent some manner of time yesterday frolicking around the Prefect Bathroom," deduced Minerva. "If I was to make an assumption I would assume there was either a slow acting potion or a delayed Glamour Charm of some variety that caused this...'unfortunate' side effect of your get together. Normally you would receive suitable punished for entering an area that you were not permitted, however I think that the 'Risk vs Reward' strategy that Potter Club apparently put into place for this situation is punishment enough in it's own right. Whether your appearances will return to normal or not is yet to be seen, however I forbid the lot of you from altering it in any way until the end of next week."
"You mean we have to look like this until the end of next week!" Pansy almost screamed in frustration.
"Unless you have a more suitable idea for your own punishment, I believe a little public humiliation should suit it's purpose," said Minerva. "If that is all ladies, I wish you well and we will meet again soon to sort out your little problem."
With her final words spoken, Minerva strode away, now allowing the smile she had been desperately trying to hide spread across her lips. She was by no means upset by Potter Club's actions, though how they had gotten access to the Prefect Bathroom's password was a touch unsettling. While some of the faculty were against the actions caused by the unsanctioned club she was not part of them and actually enjoyed the pranks that they pulled. She was glad that they weren't targeting a single person or a single house as that would show some of the bias which had plagued this school for so long.
Now though she had to report this to Professor Dumbledore, the Headmaster having requested that any incident regarding Potter Club be brought before him immediately. She believed that this wasn't for nefarious purposes but rather so he could get a bit of entertainment in the day in an otherwise repetitive job.
"This sucks!" shouted Pansy burying her face in her hands.
"Well at least it's all of us," said Millicent.
"Like that's meant to make me feel better!"
"Would you rather it only have happened to you?" asked Tracy, silencing Pansy.
"Well, there's no point keeping holed up in here," said Lisa as she made her way towards the door. "What do you reckon people will say when they see us?"
"Well when we tell them that Potter Club did this they'll probably laugh, provided they're not already laughing," said Parvati.
"No time like the present," said Susan, the rest of them in agreeance (Pansy's being a little more hesitant than the rest) as they exited the classroom and headed towards the Great Hall for breakfast, all of them slightly less self conscious about the pink hair that all of them now sported.
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Hope you enjoyed