Prankster Princess

“Where are we going?” I asked, ignoring the fact that I was being led somewhere far away from the kitchens - well, ignoring it for the time being, anyway.

“You’ll see,” Fred said.

“Just wait.” George grinned.

They got to a statue, and I looked skeptically at it as they muttered about something, then they both turned to look at me.

“What?” I asked, rolling my eyes as they gave me puppy dog eyes.

“You’re probably a lot more mature than either of us,” Fred said.

“So you’re going to have to do the talking and such. But we need you to look maybe a year or two older so they don’t get suspicious…” George thought out loud. “It won’t take much. You’re really mature, and you look older than you are, so they won’t suspect a thing if we just at a bit of that makeup you girls like to wear, and put your hair back in some type of bun…”

It was technically a compliment, without the intention of being one. I’m a year younger than they are, granted, but they basically just said I looked older than sixteen - which could have been an insult, but with the appraising way George said it, I took it as a compliment.

“Yeah, you’re right. A bun McGonagall’s bun would totally say, ‘not a student up at Hogwarts’.” Fred agreed with George’s statement.

“C’mon!” they said in unison, and George muttered something as he tapped his wand against the hump of the statue. It opened.

“Where exactly does this lea---”

I was cut off as they pulled me in after them and shut it. Fred lit his wand and George did a fancy bit of wand work to conjure up a mirror and a compact. The compact he handed to me, and made the mirror hover in front of me.

“We’ve got no idea how to do it,” Fred said, grinningly.

“So get to work! We’ve only got, like, an hour before someone starts to wonder where we are and checks the kitchens or common room.” George added.

I sighed, deciding not to ask them just now what it was all about, and after wiping my face off of any salty residue from my tears, I started to apply the blush and eye shadow. I used a bit of mascara, and added a touch of a light shade of lipstick, which I myself conjured.

“All right. Now what am I doing this for?” I asked, vanishing the compact with a wave of my wand and choosing to pocket the lipstick.

“Well, this passageway, my dear,” George grinned.

“Leads straight to the cellar…” Fred trailed off and looked to George for the answer.

“Of Honeydukes.” George provided, grinning. “And, as our gift to you, once you get in there and go to the bathroom to remove the disillusionment charm that Fred will put on you…”

“We’ll give you ten galleons--”

“--each--”

“--to buy whatever your little heart desires.”

“Guys, don’t do that--”

“All right. Just five galleons each, then.” Fred said, pushing away half of my protest.

“Just buy something that will cheer you up. We, on the other hand, will be sneaking to Zonko’s and the Hog’s Head to get a few items for our newest project and butterbeer, respectively.” George grinned. “Well, Fred will be going to Zonko’s. I’ll be getting the butterbeer.”

“And Firewhiskey, if you can manage,” Fred stage whispered. George laughed, and I rolled my eyes again.

“That might be an idea…” George trailed off, and they proceeded to lead me down the tunnel.

“That’ll be seven galleons and four sickles, ma’am,” the lady at the Honeydukes’ counter told me. I paid her the money, smiling. I was calm, collected, and unafraid of breaking a few rules. What do you expect, with my best friends being Fred and George Weasley? Rule breaking never hurt anyone…except for Slytherins…

“Thank you,” I said politely, nodding to her as I headed out into the street. My robes were left in the tunnel, and I’d used a fashion charm or two to make my outfit less student-like.

The plan, now, was for me to wait with my purchases by a little alley between Honeydukes and Scrivenshaft’s for Fred and George. When I got there, Fred was already there with two large paper bags full of Zonko’s merchandise.

“Got enough?”

“Eh, we’ve bought in bulk lately. We have to, if we’re mass producing.” Fred told me, jostling the bags slightly so he could hold onto them with one arm. “Here, I’ll disillusion you first. Then I’ll get George when he gets here, then I’ll get myself and we’ll go.”

“Got it.”

I closed my eyes as the tingling sensation swept through, and we stood there and waited. Whenever Fred heard approaching footsteps, he’d lean back into the shadows to avoid being seen. We’d waited five or so minutes before we heard crunching on the alley’s gravel. We looked to the opposite end to see George looking around.

“Took you long enough,” Fred told him, when he got to where we stood.

“Yeah, yeah. He almost wouldn’t give it to me, said I looked about Hogwarts age. I said I’d just been visiting a brother in the Hospital Wing.” he rolled his eyes, then looked around. “Seen Vera yet?”

“I’m here,” I said, touching his arm. He jumped a mile - figuratively speaking - and I couldn’t suppress a chuckle.

“Merlin, Vera! You scared the shit outta me!”

“I noticed.” I said while Fred, doubled over, was trying to contain his laughter.

“Your turn,” Fred managed, rapping George across the head with his wand, and George flickered out of sight. “And mine,” as Fred said this, he faded from sight, too.

“Now we go back. They should be on break at Honeydukes, and they’ll be walking out for lunch. We slip inside before the door closes.” George’s disembodied voice came.

We managed this feat easily, and we all removed our disillusionment charms when we reached the tunnel. After I’d let my hair back down and readjusted my outfit - back to where it looked like a uniform - and put my robe on, we headed back down the tunnel, laughing and joking.