The days go by and Hermione hasn’t written back, so either she wrote back to Selena or the letter wasn’t important. It probably wasn’t too serious. I can’t believe time has whooshed by so quickly. In a few days, I’ll have been at Hogwarts for a whole month!
Our classes are getting harder, but there are some really nice 5th years that help me sometimes. The most helpful out of our three 5th year helpers, is Isabelle Cloud, she’s incredibly nice and sometimes her friends, Harry Brown and Callan Scamander help us out too!
I just finished my homework, so I’m going to go down to say hi to Selena. I feel really guilty, since I always say that I’m going to Hagrid’s hut, when really I have barely seen him all year. I should go visit him soon. After I go to Selena’s, I’m having a sleepover with the other girls in my year and house!
I call for Helena and she leads me towards Selena’s chamber. I say the password and the door opens. I peer through the opening carefully, wondering if Selena will let me in today.
“Oh Julia, how lovely to see you!” she says cheerfully when she sees me.
“It’s nice to see you too!” I say to her happily.
“Would you like to sit down for a spot of tea,” she asks me happily, “I just baked some cookies!”
“That would be wonderful.” I say as I sit down at the table she motions me towards.
“What would you like to drink, dear?” she asks as she sits down across from me.
“What do you have?” I ask her.
“Oh I can make anything appear dear.” she says and pulls out what must be her wand.
How does she have a wand when she is a ghost? Can she still work magic?
“Of course I can work magic,” she says, “That was one of the skills Death let me retain, because of my unfortunate way of dying.”
She sighs unhappily.
“How did you die?” I ask her curiously.
“That is a story for another time dear,” she says kindly, “Would you like some milk?”
I nod and a bottle of milk appears in her hand. She pours me a glass and then sets the bottle down. A large pile of chocolate cookies floats over towards us and settles down in between us.
“Now how have your classes been going?” she asks me nicely.
I tell her about all of the classes I have been taking. We continue talking while we eat the cookies and drink our milk.
Selena seems the same, yet more guarded and aware of what she is saying. Her chamber hasn’t changed much, except the door is glittering gold and there is a large lock on the desk. I wonder what happened.
Selena must have heard my though because her eyes drift towards mine and she stares at me, as if evaluating me. She shakes her head and turns back to petting Snowfall. I spend most of the afternoon with Selena and soon we have become even better friends. But, unfortunately it’s soon time for my sleepover with the girls, so I rush up to Gryffindor tower!
“Albus.” I pant to the Fat Lady when I get up to the tower. I ran all the way up here so that I could see my friends.
“I love that the password is my name!” Albus laughs as he comes walking up behind me.
“It’s only because it’s after Dumbledore.” I say to him.
“No,” he says arrogantly, “It’s because of me! It’s because I am so awesome!”
“In your dreams Potter.” I say to him as I walk through the portrait.
He grabs my arm as I am walking through and pulls me back, “You know you love me, Smith.” he says tauntingly.
My cheeks heat up as I yank my hand out of his and laugh, “Since when?”
When I get up to the dormitory, the other girls are there and have our food set out on a table. We got special permission from Neville to eat up here. The house elves made us burgers, hotdogs and Mac and cheese, three American foods we all absolutely love.
While we eat, we talk and talk and talk, about lots of different things…until suddenly Lydia exclaims, “Let’s go prank the boys’ dormitory!”
“How,” we ask her.
“My older brother taught me this spell,” she says dramatically, “It causes water to fall on the head of the next person that walks through the door, come on let’s go do it!”
Everyone is down at dinner, so we sneak up the stairs towards the boys dormitory. We quickly find their room and sneak inside. Their room is a mess, and there are so many things on the floor that it’s hard to get around without stepping on something.
“Let’s do it on both doors,” I say to them, “The bathroom door and the door into the dormitory, come on we have to hurry.”
“What’s the spell?” Loopy asks Lydia.
“Catadupa Abostio,” she says, “It means ‘waterfall from the door’ in Latin.”
I walk over to the bathroom door and point my wand up at the top, “Catadupa Abostio,” I say, “What’s supposed to happen.”
“It’s supposed to sparkle,” Lydia says, “Do it quickly, or else we won’t have time for this door.”
“Catadupa Abostio.” I say and the doorway sparkles. I close the door so that the room will look like it did when we came in.
I hurry out to the others in the hallway. When I am on the other side of the door, Lydia says the spell and shuts the door. Part one of pranking the boys is complete!
We hurry back to the common room and just as we have sat down in the comfy chairs by the fire in the main room, Albus and Scorpius walk through the portrait hole whispering to each other. When they see us they stop and hurry up the stairs. We wait with baited breath and are rewarded with two high pitched screams and the thunder of their feet as they come running back downstairs, sopping wet.
“What did you guys do?” Scorpius spits at us. His hair is sticking to his scalp and he looks really funny.
We all laugh hysterically. Albus looks even funnier, his clothes are completely soaked, and he must have been the first person to walk through the door.
“Nothing,” I manage to choke out, “What do you mean?”
“You know what we mean. We’ll get you back, Smith and you too Rose. I know you guys did this.” Albus says angrily as they stomp upstairs to get changed.
“That was so funny,” Alice says laughing, “That was totally worth it!”
“I know,” I laugh, “What next?”
“Let’s go up to the dormitory and plan!” Loopy says excitedly.
We go up to our dormitory and Rose pulls something out of her pocket to show us.
“James and Roxy gave me this to me today; they said to use it wisely.”
She unfolds a piece of parchment and reads it aloud,
“James Potter and Roxy Weasley’s Guide to Pulling Pranks While At Hogwarts:
1. Visit Zonko's Joke Shop and Weasley Wizard Wheezes’ often. If you befriend the owners they might give you free stuff or discounts.
2. Watch where you discuss your plans. The paintings could go and tell someone of your plans. There are also ghosts around too.
3. Argus Filch does know about three of the passages marked on the Marauder's Map. Use them at your own risk. They are the most obvious ones.
4. The house elves in the kitchen are extremely helpful. They'd do anything for you. Just make sure no one finds out, especially Aunt Hermione. She loves house elves.
5. Borrow the Marauder’s Map from me. I’ll let you borrow it if you have great need of it.
6. Acquire an Invisibility Cloak. They cost about two Galleons at Zonko's.
7. Trick wands are great gifts for cheering people up. Make sure you don't get one confused with a real wand, though.
8. Sending toilet seat is another great way to brighten someone's day. Just don't send one to anybody in the hospital wing, or Madam Bones will freak out.
9. Sing the school song to a slow funeral march. It drives everybody crazy!
10. Canary Creams are best used when placed on a platter and served with other pastries. House parties are a great time to use these. We always wanted to slide one on Joshua Aechner’s plate, but we’ve never had the opportunity. If you could do that for us we'd be in your debt forever!
11. The dungeons are a great place to set off dung bombs. The long wide corridors carry the scent. We warn you to watch out for any professor whose classroom is in the dungeon.
12. Befriend Professor McGonagall or whoever the headmaster is as soon as possible. You won't get punished that often.
13. Stay clear of Argus Filch and NEVER touch his cat Mrs. Norris! If Filch does catch you, when you get to his office be on the lookout. You never know what kind of neat stuff he's confiscated.
If you've found this guide then you're well on your way to successfully pulling pranks at Hogwarts. If you would like to contact us we can be reached at:
James Potter and Roxy Weasley
Gryffindor Common Room
Hogwarts
Have a great time at Hogwarts!”
We all laugh and cheer at the guide. Roxy and James are such geniuses in pranking. I hope that the guide is never found!
“What do we want do to them next?” I ask.
“Why don’t we draw on their faces when they are asleep?” Rose asks happily.
We all agree. In the mean time we play Truth or Dare.
Rose goes first, “Loopy, truth or dare?” she asks.
“Dare!” she says.
“Hmm…I dare you to go do the chicken dance in the middle of the common room!” Rose says eagerly.
Loopy’s cheeks turn bright red.
“Alright, fine.” she says and gets up.
Rose gets her Muggle iPod Touch 10 and goes downstairs with it, we early follow her. She blasts the chicken dance from her iPod and Loopy starts dancing. Albus and Scorpius come downstairs and sit laughing at Loopy. They are so mean.
James and Roxy come from the fire and start dancing beside Loopy. Soon almost the whole house is dancing the chicken dance. I see Professor Longbottom come in and he looks very surprised.
“What are they doing?” he asks me, since I’m one of the only ones not dancing.
“They’re dancing the chicken dance,” I tell him, “We were playing Truth or Dare and we dared Loopy to dance the chicken dance so everyone joined in.”
“Ah…I see.” he says and promptly leaves.
After the chicken dance we go back upstairs to continue the game. The game continues with regular truths and dares. When it comes to my turn, Rose says, “Julia I dare you to…”
All four of them huddle up together to discuss the dare…I wonder what it will be. This doesn’t look good…they are all smiling from ear to ear. I should have chosen Truth instead of Dare! Oh no…this does not look good at all!
“We dare you to put on your bathing suit and go run out to the Black Lake and dive in, all while singing the Hogwarts song!” they say evilly.
Oh no…how did they know I had a bathing suit with me? They must have seen it. Oh well…now I have to do it. I put on my bathing suit, why did I bring the pink one? When I get out of the bathroom, everyone is gone…they probably went downstairs to tell everyone…this will not be fun. Well let me get it over with. But first something to make sure I don’t get in trouble.
“Helena!” I call.
“Oh hello Julia!” she calls to me.
“I need your help with something.” I say to her.
“Alright,” she agrees before exclaiming, “Dear Merlin, why do you have a bathing suit on, dear?”
“That’s what I need help with,” I tell her, “I was dared to run down to the lake like this, before diving in. I need you to tell the teachers, so that I don’t get in trouble. Can you do that?”
“Yes of course, Julia. Good luck.” she says to me before disappearing.
I walk down the corridor and out into the Common Room. Albus is the only person there. Why is he there?
“I was told by my dear cousin,” he says sarcastically, “That I had to make sure you were in a bathing suit and were ready for this. She also told me to perform this spell. Calor!”
I suddenly feel warm all over. That’s good, the lake must be freezing.
“Good luck!” he says before kissing my cheek and running out of the common room. I feel my cheek.
Albus Potter just kissed me.
Albus Potter just kissed me. Oh dear Merlin!
But I have no time to think about that. I take a sip of the water that stands on a nearby table. Here goes nothing.
I run out of the Common Room and start singing the school song as loud as I possibly can.
“Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,
Teach us something please,
Whether we be old and bald,
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling,
With some interesting stuff,
For now they're bare and full of air,
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we've forgot,
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot.”
I sing it over and over again as I run towards the lake. People I know and people I have no clue who they are stand watching me. Some people clap and cheer for me, others boo and jeer at me.
Suddenly I feel a leg stick out and I fall flat on my face. Ow…that hurt. My elbows are scratched and I’m pretty sure that my face is as well. Why was Hogwarts made out of stone?
I look up and see Joshua Aechner, the Slytherin fifth year that Isabelle hates standing above me. He sneers at me. Suddenly an arm pulls him back and Isabelle punches him in his face.
“How dare you, you filthy cockroach. You leave her alone!” she yells at him. He gives a terrified yelp and runs away.
Isabelle laughs and helps me up. After hugging me, she says encouragingly, “You’re almost there, Julia. You can do it.”
Several people pat my back and I start running. I get high fives from several people and no one boos or jeers at me anymore.
Isabelle must have scared them off!
I see the lake and start singing the school song one last time and as the last word comes out of my mouth, I dive into the lake. The water feels cool, but not cold, which must be because of the spell Albus put on me.
I swim towards the shore. Rose, Albus, Alice, Loopy, Lydia and Scorpius stand cheering at the shore, holding out a warm towel for me. A huge crowd of people stands around them.
As I climb out of the lake and am embraced by the warm fuzzy towel, my friends hug me. The crowd parts as someone surprising steps through. Headmistress McGonagall, what is she doing here?
She comes up to me and says, “That was very Gryffindor of you Ms. Smith. I just wished to congratulate you. Not many first years dare to do that. Also, please don’t do anything like that again, it will result in a punishment, no matter how amazing it is.”
She hugs me and then walks back towards the castle with Neville at her side.
She walked all of the way down here just to congratulate me? That’s wicked.
I walk up to the castle with my friends at my side and people congratulating me from all sides. I just nod and keep walking. The crowd thins as we near the Gryffindor tower.
By the Fat Lady stands Gwen, she motions me over and I walk over to her, leaving the others talking.
“Good job,” she says to me, “That was really brave of you. I just wanted to tell you that I think it was wicked, no matter what my house mates say.”
I nod and she walks off. I like Gwen and I want to be friends with her. She isn’t like the other Slytherins, I think she could be a Gryffindor and she really proves that not all Slytherins are mean and inconsiderate, like Vilaina.
I go up to the dormitory with my friends, happy. Today was a good day and I think the rest of the weekend will be as well. My pillow feels warm and Stardust cuddles up against me. I’m glad I have such good friends.
Author’s Note: So no requirement for the next chapter, only a hope that by the first of September, Amaranth will have reached 1,000 reads, 100 votes and 200 comments! This chapter is dedicated to the wonderful choumba99 for creating Isabelle, Harry, Callan and Josh! :) She is an awesome friend and author, so go read her stories! I also want to have a shout-out for @sailorinblue! She is awesome and gave me the idea for Julia’s dare! :) I hope you enjoyed the chapter, so vote, comment and fan me! Happy Reading!