26 Chapter:26 Someone Finally Snapped

Unexpectedly, it was a Hufflepuff prefect who guided them near the painting of the fruit basket. He had overheard them discussing how to find his house's common room and asked for their purpose only to point at one of the signboards over their head that read 'Hufflepuff house, Common Room.'

Whirling around, they saw several tube-like entrances leading to what must be the Common Room. But before the twins could even try to enter, the prefect warned them,

"Well, if you do wanna visit, I won't stop ya' but watch out for the spray cannons."

He said in a cheery tone,

"Spray..."

"...Cannon."

"Sounds like fun doesn't it Gred?"

"Indeed it does, Forge."

The prefect was confused and left them be. After he had left, Fred tried to climb through one of the ducts,

"Didn't you hear his warning, George? There must be some sort of protection around their common room, just like the Fat Lady is for us."

"Oh, I heard him alright."

Said the twin standing right next to her.

Suddenly, the duct rumbled as Fred came sliding down the shaft followed by a torrent of transparent liquid that had a tangy smell to it. But that was far from the end of it, the other ducts, save for the one on the very left, rumbled as well followed by a thick jet of similar transparent liquid.

The corridor floor was flooded with the liquid and it drenched all of their shoes, save for Fred who just took a bath in it. He spat a mouthful of it and grinned at the others,

"Vinegar!"

Angelina gave the twins an annoyed look before searching around for the painting of a fruit basket. 

They found it soon enough, it was hanging on the wall just around the corner of the corridor. Looking at the dancing fruits in the basket, Alicia couldn't help but mutter,

"Which pear was it again?"

The painting sported a basket full of fruits dancing in different forms, some paired up with the others while the rest simply bounced around. As for the pears, well one pear was dancing alone outside the basket while the other two were performing their version of bouncing minuet.

"Let's try tickling them all."

Suggested Fred, smelling as though he had just been pickled.

His twin agreed and they started to rub the sides of all three pears for a moment and then waited for something to happen. Something happened alright, the gate didn't open but the other fruits in the painting started to point at the twins, cursing.

Victoire sighed exhaustedly, her stomach was killing her. Without a word to anyone, she strode forward and tickled the pear standing at the very forefront of the crowd. It sighed contently and the door swung open, revealing a narrow passage behind it.

She strolled through the passage, followed by the other four, and came upon yet another giant room filled with house elves bustling around the place. Some were using strangely shaped baskets to clean the dishes while others were constantly putting something on and off the dozens of stoves that filled one corner of the hall.

"Merlin's beard!"

Exclaimed George as one of the scrawny little creatures stepped by him, carrying a basket full of apples on its head.

His exclamation seems to have drawn the house elves' attention as they all turned to look at them. Moments later, the group found themselves hustled out from behind the portrait hole, laden with several packages of cakes, roasted chicken, sausages, and every other thing that the house elves could stuff into the student's hands. Victoire was half inclined to fill up her inventory with food, but that would have to wait as she had a rather perceptive company with her.

Laden with packages of food they knew they couldn't finish, the group decided to have a picnic on the banks of the great river, only to reach outside and see that someone had started a fight.

"What's happening here?"

Questioned Fred to no one in particular. Now the group of friends was pushing through the crowd to reach the other end of the gate,

"Some idiot from Hufflepuff bashed the Slytherin seeker's teeth in with a bludger, the Slytherin didn't take that well."

 A crowd of students had gathered near the gate to watch the show as the Slytherin and Hufflepuff Quidditch teams partook in what looked like a street brawl.

Fred and George pushed through the crows followed by Angelina and Alicia who were dragging a rather bewildered-looking Victoire. One moment she had a jam donut between her teeth and the next she was being dragged through a crowd of students that seemed to be turning rowdier by the minute. 

They broke through the barrier and came across a scene that would have sent McGonagall into shock but thankfully it was not Gryffindor but Hufflepuff who started it.

In the midst of the training field, a group of students, donned in yellow and green uniforms, collided with each other. Amidst the chaos, Victoire noticed a freckled boy in a yellow uniform swinging his bat recklessly at a tough-looking girl whose mouth was bloodied. The boy's cries echoed loudly as he continued to swing the beaters bat at the ghostly-looking girl.

At another location on the field, Victoire observed two of the most robust students she had ever seen at Hogwarts. They were both clad in Slytherin's signature green uniforms and were being relentlessly pummeled by four slender boys and girls. Each of these attackers was swinging their broom at the bulky targets with determination, their relentless attacking seemed to grow wilder as they heard their teammates cry.

In yet another area of the field, two Slytherins lay unconscious, one on top of the other. Atop this tangled duo, two Slytherin girls were engaged in a heated hair-pulling altercation, while a member of both Hufflepuff and Slytherin teams tried to pull them apart. It would have looked like an internal struggle in the Slytherin house had it not been for the fact that all seven of their members were accounted for. 

Close to Victoire, a boisterous laugh rang out, and a hefty arm reached into her bag of food, snatching a particularly enticing jam donut.

"Looks like the Puffs have lost it,"

Megan commented before breaking into laughter once more.

The Gryffindor team had successfully made their way through the crowd and were now observing the brawl. Charlie and the other prefects were instructing the students to clear the area, preparing to intervene and separate the fighting students.

"That's a bad idea."

Lucy remarked while watching Charlie's attempt to separate the bat-wielding Hufflepuff from the injured girl. Unfortunately, her concerns proved to be well-founded.

Charlie successfully disarmed the boy, causing him to drop the bat. However, in the process, he didn't keep a vigilant eye on the Slytherin girl.

*WHAM!*

A sudden, cracking sound filled the air as the girl forcefully struck Charlie's shoulder with the bat. After that, chaos erupted, and the situation spiraled out of control.

Megan and Lucy reacted swiftly, dashing from Victoire's side and reaching the Slytherin girl before anyone else could respond. They managed to subdue her before she could inflict further harm. The two Slytherins who were being targeted by Hufflepuff students also landed solid blows, knocking out a significant portion of their attackers. But before they could turn their attention to the remaining Hufflepuffs, they were tackled by Eliot and Dylan, the Gryffindor chasers, further complicating the situation.

With the ongoing chaos, all it would take now someone not affiliated with any of the teams, to intervene and escalate the situation into utter pandemonium. 

As if on cue, that is exactly what happened. Witnessing their elder brother, whom they both greatly admired, being injured by a surprise attack, Fred and George charged into the midst of the turmoil. In a bold move, they struck both of the girls involved in the hair-pulling altercation, and that meant all hell broke loose.

The Slytherin girl who had been attempting to break up the fight between the two girls released her friend and delivered a sharp blow to Fred's face. In retaliation, George tackled her to the ground. As the situation continued to escalate, more students from various houses joined in on the commotion, turning the scene into something akin to a bar fight.

Amid the mayhem, someone attempted to pull Victoire's hair, but she swiftly retaliated with a well-aimed kick between the girl's legs, causing her to double over in pain.

The chaos on the training grounds continued to escalate as more and more students joined the fray. Some came running back from the Great River's shores, while others trickled in from the castle's entrance. To add to the madness, one student threw what appeared to be a ball from a tower window. However, it hit the ground and burst, releasing an extremely unpleasant-smelling liquid that splattered onto even more students. 

'So that's a 'Dungbomb'.'

She thought just before forcefully stomping on the hand of someone attempting to grab her leg.

"WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON HERE!"

bellowed McGonagall, her voice cutting through the chaos, with a particularly disheveled-looking Gryffindor girl at her side whom Victoire recognized as Isabella.

The stern Deputy Headmistress's sudden appearance momentarily captured the attention of everyone on the training field, but the chaotic brawl quickly resumed. They continued to engage in the melee, showing little concern for the authority figure.

As the professor attempted to forcefully separate a girl who was biting the shoulder of a boy, a dungbomb landed directly on her hat, the foul odor wafted off of her head and spread all over the place.

This time, however, most of the students turned to look at the professor as her eyes somehow transformed into feline slits. However, one Hufflepuff kept on hitting the Slytherin he had been sitting on.

'Oh boy.'

Thought Victoire as she took a bite out of a cream-stuffed muffin. 

"I will ask again, 'What on earth is going on here?' "

Asked McGonagall, calmly. 

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