Chapter - 91 : Lines Crossed part - 2

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Just as the poltergeist sucked in a lungful of unneeded air, no doubt preparing to call for a teacher, Harry allowed his aura to flare out uninhibited, only for a few seconds, but that was all he needed. Peeves froze, and looked down at him with wide eyes.

"T-trickster's heir," he muttered, the most serious Harry had ever seen him.

"Yes," the teen agreed, "I'm the trickster's heir, and I have a very important task for you."

"Peeves is listening."

Hogwarts was in complete pandemonium. Staying true to his word to McGonagall, Harry wreaked havoc through the school without even having to lift a finger. The morning after the conversation between Harry and Peeves the resident poltergeist became the very epitome of chaos and destruction, especially whenever Umbridge was around. Cackling madly, he soared through the school, upending tables, bursting out of blackboards, toppling statues and vases, twice he shut Mrs. Norris inside a suit of armor, from which she was rescued, yowling loudly, by the furious caretaker. He smashed lanterns and snuffed out candles, juggled burning torches over the heads of screaming students, caused neatly stacked piles of parchment to topple into fires or out of windows, flooded the second floor when he pulled off all the taps in the bathrooms, dropped a bag of tarantulas in the middle of the Great Hall during breakfast and, whenever he fancied a break, spent hours at a time floating along after Umbridge and blowing loud raspberries every time she spoke.

Only after a few hours of observing Peeve's sudden desire for chaos, every prankster in Hogwarts, not just Fred and George, took it upon themselves to start a school wide prank war. Common rooms were redecorated, bodies were painted violently bright hues, students were grown twice their sizes, and wild animals were released in the school at random. It had become common to see troops of monkeys screeching through the halls, flocks of auguries warbling mournfully in the rafters, herds of zebras grazing on the grounds.

But the best prank so far had been when a pair of unidentified students (though most everyone had a pretty sure guess as to who the pair was) had released an enormous, real life swamp directly in the middle of one of the main corridors.

Needless to say, the new Headmistress of Hogwarts was not happy.

Umbridge was granted a much needed reprieve from the relentless pranking several weeks after her appointment as headmistress when several ancient looking wizards and witches, the . and N.E.W.T. examiners, arrived at the school. The students unofficially agreed to take a brief pranking hiatus so they could complete their exams without distraction, Peeves seemed to be the only who didn't get the memo, though he focused most of his efforts now on Umbridge.

The two weeks of testing flew by in a blur of ink splattered test parchment and croaky voices requesting he transfigure this tea cozy into a tortoise or charm that pot to dance the salsa. Mornings were devoted to written exams and the afternoons to practical, until the last few days where Harry had straight written exams for his purely theoretical classes like Arithmancy and Ancient Runes and such. Before he knew it, Harry was sitting his History of Magic O.W.L. his very last, with Hermione and Blaise; a slight headache distracted him most of the way through, but he managed to finish without incident, and then finally, he was free.

"We're done," Hermione gasped, collapsing in the grass in the shade of a large tree beside the lake. "We've completed our O.W.L.s." The comment earned her a weak cheer from her exhausted friends.

"Two weeks of nonstop exams," Draco muttered, throwing an arm over his eyes to block out the merciless sun, "I'm exhausted."

"I find myself agreeing with Malfoy," Ron said. "I'm exhausted and I'm hungry."

"Dinner should be starting right about now," Neville said, checking his watch. "Let's go get something to eat."

"Can we go to the kitchens?" Harry groaned. "I've got the worst headache and I don't think going to the Great Hall would be conducive to my continued health, or anyone else's for that matter."

"Are you all right?" Hermione asked worriedly. "Do you think you're coming down with something?"

"I don't think so," Harry shrugged. "It's probably just the stress catching up to me. I'll be fine after a hearty meal and a strong cup of coffee."

"Then to the kitchens it is," Blaise proclaimed, helping Harry to his feet.

"To the kitchen!" Ron agreed.

The group marched up to the castle, chattering inanely all the way up.

"How much longer do you think Umbridge will last?" Ron asked as they crossed the Entrance Hall and headed in the direction of the basement.

"She'll be gone no more than a week after the pranking picks back up," Blaise said.

"I give her two."

"Her pride will keep her here until the end of the year, but Dumbledore won't stand for her return next year."

"Do you think Dumbledore will even be able to come back?" Hermione asked.

"Of course," Neville said. "Not even the Ministry will be able to keep him away."

"Where do you think he is? Where he's been?"

"Probably stuck in Headquarters with Sirius and Remus," Ron shrugged.

"So you know where the Headmaster is?" a nasty voice drawled. "Well, this most certainly is a pleasant turn of events."

The group of fifth years paused in their trek to the kitchen when Adrian Pucey and his gang appeared from the end of the intersecting hall and blocked their way, malicious sneers on all of their faces. Harry silently cursed his raging headache, the pain had dulled his senses and left him oblivious to the fact that they weren't the only ones in the hall.

"We all suspected you knew where Dumbledore was hiding," Pucey sneered, "but we didn't think you'd be thick enough to discuss it where anyone could overhear."

Ron flinched and frowned apologetically at Harry, who shook his head reassuringly, he wouldn't blame him for his blunder, no matter how massive.

"We don't want any trouble, Pucey," Neville frowned. "So just move and let us be on our way."

The gang of seventh years laughed mockingly. "Unfortunately, we can't do that, you have information on Dumbledore I'm sure the Headmistress would love to hear," Pucey drew his wand and pointed it at Harry, his lackeys followed suit. "Now, move."

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Loving the story so far? There's a whole world of magic and mystery waiting for you with over 85+ chapters still to come! By supporting my Patreon.

You not only get early access to new chapters but also exclusive content, behind-the-scenes insights, and special perks just for fans like you.

Join us on this enchanted journey and help shape the future of the tale. Your support makes all the difference—discover more and become part of the adventure today!

http//patreon.com/Kun_kanshi

(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)

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