Conclusions (PG; The Hufflepuffs)
Title: Conclusions
Date/Challenge: 30 - nothing better than a happy ending at 30_hath
Character/Pairing: Justin, Ernie, Rose and Kevin
Rating: PG
Word Count: 588
Author's Note: The conclusion to the Hufflepuff Prank stories.
By breakfast the next day, the word had spread that various Ravenclaws had been caught in a prank. By lunch, everyone was again abuzz with word that the prank had happened even with the Ravenclaws on strict house arrest until their Head of House could be found.
(It was later disclosed that Flitwick and some of the other teachers - who remain nameless for this telling only to ensure that a decent recounting can be given later - were gathered in a tiny room off the stairs to the Hospital Wing for nefarious carrying-ons. The real story was that they were at their weekly poker game and Flitwick was loathe to leave, even when called, because he was six knuts up and not likely to recover his winnings if he left the table.)
“Can you believe all this speculation?” Justin asked the small group at the end of the Hufflepuff table that night at dinner. “Most people think it was the Grey Lady finishing up the job for her House. Just as many figure the Ravenclaws snuck back down to finish up the job. Not a single person thinks we could have done it, even if I drop hints.”
Rose, Kevin and Ernie all nodded morosely. They’d all tried the same thing. They got a lot of people rolling their eyes and telling them to quit trying to take the credit for the prank.
“One good thing came of it,” Rose added brightly.
Justin put his head on the table and began to thump it rhythmically against the thick wood. “I don’t want to know,” he groaned. “Let’s not ever talk about this. It’s bad enough he got my glory. Now he gets a Hufflepuff, to boot.”
“But so romantic,” she said, defending her friend and mentor. “Imagine if he’d never overheard the plan in the first place? Then he never would have been in the greenhouse to get caught and would never have declared his love to Susan.”
Ernie looked confused while also being slightly cheered by the thought of true love. He liked the concept even if he’d given up on it himself. “I thought she walked away from him. How did it turn into true love from the hate I thought she felt?”
“Because he followed her,” Kevin told him patiently, as if he was an expert on this sort of thing. The truth was that he’d asked Rose the very same question as she’d been spinning the tale to him while they studied this afternoon.
Rose sighed happily, her thoughts on the new dress robe she’d convince her parents to let her get for the wedding. Surely, as Susan’s friend, she would be invited. It would be a big get-together, of course. Lots of flowers. Lots of interesting guests. A whole buffet of interesting finger foods. Hopefully there would be handsome men who weren’t mocking her for her sighs like Ernie and Kevin were. Secretly, both of them were wishing they could make a girl moon over her. Justin continued to hit his head on the thick table until a house elf came to inform him they needed to clean that part of the table off and get it ready for breakfast.
No one ever knew it was the Hufflepuffs that perpetuated the Great Greenhouse Switch although people definitely gave the Grey Lady a little more respect when they met her in the halls. And there wasn’t a wedding. At least not like Rose had wished for. Of course, that is another story for another day.
Date/Challenge: 30 - nothing better than a happy ending at 30_hath
Character/Pairing: Justin, Ernie, Rose and Kevin
Rating: PG
Word Count: 588
Author's Note: The conclusion to the Hufflepuff Prank stories.
By breakfast the next day, the word had spread that various Ravenclaws had been caught in a prank. By lunch, everyone was again abuzz with word that the prank had happened even with the Ravenclaws on strict house arrest until their Head of House could be found.
(It was later disclosed that Flitwick and some of the other teachers - who remain nameless for this telling only to ensure that a decent recounting can be given later - were gathered in a tiny room off the stairs to the Hospital Wing for nefarious carrying-ons. The real story was that they were at their weekly poker game and Flitwick was loathe to leave, even when called, because he was six knuts up and not likely to recover his winnings if he left the table.)
“Can you believe all this speculation?” Justin asked the small group at the end of the Hufflepuff table that night at dinner. “Most people think it was the Grey Lady finishing up the job for her House. Just as many figure the Ravenclaws snuck back down to finish up the job. Not a single person thinks we could have done it, even if I drop hints.”
Rose, Kevin and Ernie all nodded morosely. They’d all tried the same thing. They got a lot of people rolling their eyes and telling them to quit trying to take the credit for the prank.
“One good thing came of it,” Rose added brightly.
Justin put his head on the table and began to thump it rhythmically against the thick wood. “I don’t want to know,” he groaned. “Let’s not ever talk about this. It’s bad enough he got my glory. Now he gets a Hufflepuff, to boot.”
“But so romantic,” she said, defending her friend and mentor. “Imagine if he’d never overheard the plan in the first place? Then he never would have been in the greenhouse to get caught and would never have declared his love to Susan.”
Ernie looked confused while also being slightly cheered by the thought of true love. He liked the concept even if he’d given up on it himself. “I thought she walked away from him. How did it turn into true love from the hate I thought she felt?”
“Because he followed her,” Kevin told him patiently, as if he was an expert on this sort of thing. The truth was that he’d asked Rose the very same question as she’d been spinning the tale to him while they studied this afternoon.
Rose sighed happily, her thoughts on the new dress robe she’d convince her parents to let her get for the wedding. Surely, as Susan’s friend, she would be invited. It would be a big get-together, of course. Lots of flowers. Lots of interesting guests. A whole buffet of interesting finger foods. Hopefully there would be handsome men who weren’t mocking her for her sighs like Ernie and Kevin were. Secretly, both of them were wishing they could make a girl moon over her. Justin continued to hit his head on the thick table until a house elf came to inform him they needed to clean that part of the table off and get it ready for breakfast.
No one ever knew it was the Hufflepuffs that perpetuated the Great Greenhouse Switch although people definitely gave the Grey Lady a little more respect when they met her in the halls. And there wasn’t a wedding. At least not like Rose had wished for. Of course, that is another story for another day.