Fred and George and the Toilers of Trouble (Year 1) ✔

Chapter 13:3

Now that they were looking more closely at Lee Jordan, they could see that their housemate was extremely eager and full of energy for someone who was about to face the one professor at Hogwarts who made them feel utterly pathetic. Or, at least, that seemed to be his aim in life. The moment they took their seats at the back, Severus Snape appeared at the entrance to the dungeon where he slammed the door and shot the bolt. He sped to the front of the room and swiveled round, sneering at the group of first year students, hot breath escaping his nostrils in bursts.

"A slightly more dramatic arrival than usual, wouldn't you say, brother?" offered Fred in a soft voice.

"If I had to hazard a guess," whispered George, "I'd say our dear professor was just informed that he would not be handed the teaching post for Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Shush!" Angelina snapped, elbowing George. "Did you really have to sit directly beside me?"

"Is there any other way to sit beside you?"

"Silence!" said the Potions Master in his sternest tone.

"Professor, might I, perhaps, switch seats?" Angelina dared to ask.

Snape swung his head back at them and appraised their table with greasy derision. His piercing gaze said more to her request than a simple denial ever could. While the class stared uneasily at their suddenly feverish teacher, Fred and George were far more interested in the giant iron cauldron behind him. In particular, at its faintly glowing base.

"From this point on there will be no talking. Your incessant remarks will not be tolerated today. Let me extend a warning to whomever dares to interrupt my lesson — you will look back upon the resulting punishment with palpable regret," he said, his voice going steadier. "Please note, there will be an exam just before end of term. Someone will fail. It is inevitable. Do not let that someone be you." His despondent gaze fell on their shared table. "While some are content with failure...for the rest, it is time to divide the wizards from the Squibs."

From his midnight-black cloak, Professor Snape removed a glass sphere and a pill no larger than a kidney bean. He held the sphere out to them, admiring the swirling sapphire cloud within, unaware that the base of his personal cauldron was beginning to change color.

"Orbs and capsules," he paused, surveying their response. "The potion capsule is an efficient and refined method of transportation for administering a tonic, which benefits the fields of herbological and medicinal magics. An example of a potion capsule in its modern use would be the candy beans produced by a confectioner named Bertie Bott, who was able to successfully contain the core flavor of an array of natural and wizard-made elements, both delicious and despicable. The orb, however, has a different purpose."

He swept across the room to stand beside the members of Slytherin House who were noticing, with the rest of the class, that the gently rattling cauldron beside Professor Snape's desk was beginning to burn a blistering shade of gold. The students wanted to warn him, but were quick to recall his threat of punishment. As Snape carried on, Fred and George sank into their seats.

"Formerly used in battle, the Mayhem Orb would propel a potent reaction upon an unsuspecting foe. When released, the dangerous orb traveled unpredictably until it was smashed or until such time as it chose to burst, freeing the reaction that had been trapped in its glass chamber since the moment of its creation. This particular Mayhem Orb has been the property of Hogwarts School for centuries. What powers it holds, none of us know. Which is why —"

A deafening explosion rocked the dungeon as a spinning column of light ripped forth from the mouth of the cauldron, smashing into the ceiling and spreading crumbles of stone and dust across the room. The Mayhem Orb sped out of their professor's hand and went soaring toward the door. It unlocked freely and swung open.

Coughing, Snape wheezed, "Go after it! It can't — be allowed — to escape the school boundaries!"

The room emptied as the first years went scampering after the orb, which corkscrewed wildly on its journey out of the dungeons. Soon anyone not in class was gathering to stop the Mayhem Orb before it crashed into the castle wall and exploded, freeing an unknown magic that none of them were prepared to touch. This fear was precisely why many of the students held back from reaching out and seizing the glass orb from the air when it whizzed past them. All the students who gathered in the hall feared for their lives, except for a young witch with shoulder-length, acid green hair who was wearing a school robe with the crest of Hufflepuff House.

"I've got it!" she called, grinning at the challenge. The witch raced up and down the stairs as the orb evaded capture. And just when it seemed she would be able to make the catch, another student sprang headfirst from the railing of the floor above. Gripping the Mayhem Orb in one arm, he rolled across the flagstone floor and came to a stop at the foot of the young witch.

"It's Charlie Weasley!" someone in the group heralded, amid cheers.

Fred and George craned to watch as their brother, the star Seeker and Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, rose to his feet with a captivating smile. Looking unimpressed, the green-haired Hufflepuff girl rested a hand on her waist.

"Very cute."

"I am, aren't I?"

"I called it!"

"And I caught it."

She rolled her eyes at him and trudged off, while her classmates swooned.

"Worry not, Nymphadora! There's always next time." Charlie handed the orb to Professor Snape and left the corridor with his admirers close behind.

Fred approached Oliver Wood who was standing nearby and asked, "Who was that?"

"Tonks," said Wood. "Although your brother insists on calling the girl by her first name, which infuriates her."

"Nymphadora Tonks?" George questioned.

"Hufflepuff Seeker. Sixth year, like Charlie. Those two have quite the relationship. You should have seen them fighting over the Snitch during the match before the Quidditch final last year. Like two dragons in battle. If there'd been fire coming out of their mouths, none of us would have been shocked. I doubt Hogwarts has ever seen a greater rivalry."

The twins returned to the dungeons, in awe of their brother and at how well their prank had gone. They couldn't have predicted a better result. Even their classmates were still murmuring about the incident as they entered the disheveled room to find the large cauldron overturned and rattling in place, while Professor Snape was tearing a letter into tiny pieces.

"Looks like he got our owl, George."

"I would say so, Fred."

"Quills out!" Snape wailed, oily hair swinging fiercely in front of his enraged, ever-sallow expression. "We're writing lines!!"