Chapter 31: The Lion, the Snake, and the Pumpkin (3)

The week leading to Halloween, Hogwarts transformed into a spectacle of silver cobwebs, living bats and flickering Jack-o'-Lanterns. Hagrid, beaming with pride, showcased his largest pumpkin, expertly carved and positioned prominently in the Great Hall beside the High Table.

The gamekeeper was so excited for the celebration that he completely messed up the simple chocolate chip cookies Catherine was teaching him to make, and they turned out hard as a rock. The young witch generously dismissed this as a rookie mistake and promised to continue their lessons until he learned how to prepare the cookies flawlessly. 

Meanwhile, Catherine successfully brewed a substantial quantity of Flakeus Infestus potion. Seizing an opportunity, Sirius and James sneaked into the storage rooms and added the potion to the green bottles of shampoo. As a rule, every House received a distinct set of toiletries in their signature colour. This was the reason why, the Gryffindor's red shampoo bottles smelled like wild berries, unlike the Slytherin's green counterparts, the scent of which was a blend of oud wood and citrus.

"It's not going to change the scent of the shampoo, right?" – asked Sirius when they returned to the Gryffindor Tower.

"No, the potion has no smell or colour." – answered Catherine, finishing an éclair James brought for her from the Kitchens on their way back. 

"Great! By the way, I got you a little souvenir." – said Sirius and left a yellow and a blue bottle on the table in front of the girl.

"Oh, cool!" – exclaimed Catherine, opening the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff shampoos – "Eucalyptus for Ravenclaw and honey for Hufflepuff. A little bit predictable, but still, it's nice to try something different from time to time. Thanks, Sirius."

"Don't mention it." – smiled Sirius in return – "I can't wait for tomorrow morning. I hope they all have a bath tonight."

"Well, I wouldn't count on that." – laughed James – "For one, our Snivellus would probably remain unaffected."

James' prediction turned out to be inaccurate, and in the next morning at least one-fourth of Slytherins, including Snape, had their hair covered with hats, scarves or sometimes both. The rumour quickly spread that Slytherins had an awful case of dandruff, so severe that it covered their whole heads, falling like snow on everything around them. This inspired the appropriate degree of disgust among the other students, leading to many jokes and mockery directed at the Slytherin table.

"What amazes me the most is the fact that Snape used the shampoo." – laughed James – "Or maybe he's pretending to blend in."

"I'd rather believe the second one." – giggled Catherine, casting a quick glance at the Slytherin table where Snape had his long hair all hidden under his hat. Besides the fact his face was not visible, his whole demeanour was sulky and grim. 

The Gryffindor's joy, however, was short-lived. The very next day, someone managed to get infested with self-replicating fleas which quickly conquered the whole Common Room. Catherine was forced to admit that the fleas were way worse than the dandruff. Her only small consolation was that Greg, who had avoided any kind of harm until that moment, was severely bitten by the small menace like everyone else. 

The two incidents necessitated thorough disinfection and inspection of the storage rooms, putting Carter Thorne in a notoriously bad mood. He expressed it by being particularly mean towards Catherine during the DADA classes, and she had the slight suspicion he somehow knew she was the one to initiate the dandruff plan. Furthermore, it appeared he was following her around the castle because the young witch started encountering him in very unlikely places. While the boys were joking that he couldn't get enough of hexing her during classes, Catherine was rather worried the Professor was trying to dig deeper into everything around her, and she had quite a lot to hide. 

On the 31st of October, the Enchanted Ceiling in the Great Hall was filled with dark rainy clouds to the point that the students were hardly able to see their breakfast. The day was rather uneventful, and everyone was looking forward to the evening and the upcoming feast. 

"I can't wait to get some pumpkin pastries and cauldron cakes, and moonlit mousse, and wraithberry pie…oh, and caramel apples…" – Sirius was mumbling happily while the second-years were walking towards the Great Hall.

"Merlin, how much are you planning to eat?" – asked Catherine teasingly.

"As much as I can!" – laughed the boy – "Plus, I'm growing up; I need food."

"Sure…caramel apples are vital for growing up." – chuckled Remus.

The group entered the Great Hall and stood in awe, admiring the atmosphere. Hundreds of candles hung in mid-air, casting a warm, flickering glow. Swarms of bats were nested in the shadowy corners, their silhouettes blending with the impressive cobwebs that adorned every nook and cranny. Hagrid's colossal pumpkin was elevated on a make-shift podium, its spooky carved face being visible from everywhere in the hall. A few big cauldrons were placed close to the tables, emitting colourful steam, swirling and dancing in the air. The mesmerising aroma that wafted from them was weaving through the room. 

"I heard Slughorn explaining that he prepared different flavours of Ephemeral Elixir in the cauldrons." – whispered Petter excitedly. 

"Now, that's what I call a celebration!" – shouted Sirius and took his seat next to Catherine at the table. The feast had just begun, and hungry students were revelling in the treats when an unidentified noise seized their attention. While everyone scanned the hall for the source of the disturbance, Catherine noticed that the enormous pumpkin subtly trembling. The young witch was just about to share this with the boys when the pumpkin practically exploded, unleashing a flood of thousands of fat rats into the Great Hall.

"Immobulus!" – shouted Catherine above the screams, freezing a few of the pests attempting to invade the Gryffindor table, being the one closest to the pumpkin. However, this proved to be a futile task. Due to the sheer number of rats, they were not able to keep them at bay. 

"Silence!" – Dumbledore's magically amplified voice echoed through the hall. With a swift flick of his wand, the Headmaster made all the rats vanish. Unfortunately, the food and the feast were ruined. Desperation and angry whispers filled the air, particularly from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw.

Professor McGonagall was livid. Catherine noticed Professor Thorne attempting to calm her down, speaking to her with a deadly serious expression. 

"It wasn't us, Professor Dumbledore!" – shouted James above the crowd. 

Catherine internally groaned as the Headmaster turned his attention to their group. 

"I believe you, Mister Potter." – he said calmly, though his blue eyes held a sorrow that made Catherine's heart flinch, despite her innocence in this particular case. 

"I want to tell you a story." – the old wizard spoke up, casting a gaze upon the students – "Thousand of years ago, witches and wizards were scattered across the country. Everyone fended for themselves, learning magic independently, and guarded their secrets, sometimes at the cost of their own life. Power meant survival, and notions of friendship, love, loyalty, or kindness were seen weaknesses. In those times, four great witches and wizards appeared – Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, Godric Gryffindor, and Salazar Slytherin. Equally gifted in their own ways, they tried to steer clear of each other's paths."

"One night, while exploring ancient magic hidden in the Mistwraith Marsh, Godric Gryffindor encountered a massive clump of Dementors. He fought bravely but was overpowered. Just as he thought his end was near, a silver snake appeared and drove the remaining Dementors away. Salazar Slytherin, also exploring the Marsh, emerged from the mist and extended his hand, helping Gryffindor to stand. From this day forward, the unlikely friendship between the two wizards, so different from each other, became the cornerstone of building an alliance among the four founders of Hogwarts, ultimately changing Wizarding society for the better."

The silence in the Great Hall was so deep that one could hear a pin drop. Suddenly, Professor Slughorn started clapping and turned towards the Slytherin table with a hopeful expression on his face.

"This was truly inspiring, Headmaster! Such an unfortunate situation, but we shall all put this behind us and forgive each other! Hogwarts is what keeps us all together, after all!"

"Wonderful indeed! But what about the threats, Professor?" – sounded the smooth voice of Lucius Malfoy.

"What threats, Horace?" – asked Professor McGonagall, finally returned to her usual composed self.

"Oh!" – exclaimed Slughorn, appearing anxious again – "Apparently, yesterday someone wrote with red paint on the wall next to the Slytherin Common Room: Snakes shall die in red flames!"

Catherine felt many pairs of eyes fixing on her. 

"Was it you?" – whispered Sirius in her ear.

"What do you think? Why would I write such nonsense?" – hissed Catherine, feeling her anger raising. 

"I think we should really put all this behind us!" – said Slughorn, his eyes darting hopefully from Gryffindors to Slytherins and back – "Say, why don't we have an official ceasefire? Let's have a symbolic gesture of a sort… Catherine, Severus, why don't you shake hands and show what's the true spirit of Hogwarts?"

Catherine felt her face growing red and hot as she slowly stood up and moved to the centre of the hall, aware that everyone was watching her. Snape did the same, though she had no illusions regarding any change in his feelings toward her. The girl noticed he was clenching his teeth behind his thin lips, and his black eyes were flashing dangerously. They shook hands slowly and then returned to their respective tables. 

After a short consultation between the teaching staff, the students were sent to their common rooms to finish the feast with some desserts.

"Do you think this story was true?" – asked James while they were waiting to exit the Great Hall.

"I bet it was made up." – said Sirius disdainfully.

"It was not made up." – a calm voice came from behind, where Greg McMahon was standing with a serious face. 

Catherine had the impression he wanted to talk to her, which was the last thing she needed at the moment. Glancing around, she caught sight of Hagrid by the leftover bits of his huge pumpkin, looking a bit downcast.

"I'll be right back!" – the girl said and swiftly walked towards the Keeper of the Keys.

"Hey, Hagrid!" – she greeted him gently.

"Oh! 'Ello, Catherine!" – the giant said gloomily – "Ah, that was a right fine pumpkin, it was. Shame it had to go that way. Rats, I can't stand 'em."

"I'm really sorry it ended up like this." – the young witch squeezed his big hand gently – "I'll tell you what, we'll pick one of your smaller pumpkins and I'm going to make you a pumpkin pie this Saturday. How about it?"

"Sounds nice. Love me some pumpkin pie, I do. But no rats in it, eh?" – responded the gamekeeper, smiling behind his bushy beard.