A Complete Mess

"They were definitely going to fight again. None of them were convinced."

In the common room, Andrew sorted out his backpack while discussing the scene they had watched that morning with his roommates.

"They'd all gone to fix up the lawn. How could they still end up fighting?"

"It'd be a miracle if they didn't fight on the lawn. Otherwise, they'd either all end up in the hospital, or something would happen and anyone who could be identified would get detention..." Andrew zipped up his bag. "Just wait and see. It was bound to happen sooner or later—I'm going to the library. Anyone coming?"

"Today was the first day off of the school year... Merlin... Andrew, even for Ravenclaw, you were way too hardworking..."

"You lot were just too smart," Andrew said as he slung his bag over his shoulder, passing the blame along. "You put so much pressure on me..."

He had already watched Quidditch with his roommates that morning, so he needed to catch up on his schoolwork in the afternoon—Professor McGonagall had told him before he enrolled that some students were already more knowledgeable than witches and wizards on the verge of graduating. The gap was too obvious for him to ignore.

"Wait, I'm coming too!"

"All right, count me in..."

In the end, everyone else in the dormitory was dragged off to the library.

--

"Look at this spell!"

Hal lowered his voice and pulled Andrew back from the world of Transfiguration—they had claimed most of a long table between the five of them, and Hal had even come around from the other side to show him.

[...]

Here, I must introduce a minor prank spell that was very popular in our school days.

It was not a spell formally included in any textbook, and it did not even have a fixed name among students. But that did not affect its usefulness in the slightest.

We affectionately called it the 'Shoelace Charm,' because the primary target of this spell, invented by who knew whom, was shoelaces. After casting it, it could tie your opponent's shoelaces tightly together, creating an effect similar to the Leg-Locker Curse—but that was not its main use.

I am sure you have guessed it already. This was magic for use in class, because even if the incantation was whispered, it could still tie those annoying people's shoelaces to their chairs...
]

"What do you think, Andrew?"

Hal wore a mischievous grin.

"Pretty cool." Andrew nodded—normally, the strength of a wizard's spell had a great deal to do with the volume of the incantation. As Professor Flitwick put it, the louder the incantation and the firmer one's confidence, the stronger the spell.

A spell that let someone cause trouble quietly becoming popular among students was only natural...

"I'll copy it down. We can try it when we get back... This book has several other interesting spells like it..."

Hal looked immensely pleased with himself—he had found several books that looked promising before discovering this interesting one.

"Copy down more. Maybe you'll collect enough Chocolate Frog cards this term."

"That was certain. Knowledge was a precious treasure."

Despite the occasional interruptions, Andrew successfully finished the essay Professor McGonagall had assigned before dinner, while the rest of his roommates could no longer stand staying in the library.

After Hal, they had found a total of five minor prank spells that looked like they might be manageable for first-years, and they were now itching to try them.

Although there was still some time before dinner, Andrew figured Madam Pince might throw everyone out at once when she started clearing the library, so he returned to the dormitory with his roommates.

"Time to test the new spells! Hurry, everyone try one each. If anyone made a breakthrough, share it!"

"Perfect, one for each of us..."

Andrew stared at Hal suspiciously. "Are you sure you didn't slip in a spell that was beyond us just because there happened to be one per person?"

"They were all minor prank spells—and they weren't cast on people. At worst, they might summon a bull. Besides, I suspected Professor Flitwick's example was made up anyway."

Of course it was made up—though only the subject had been omitted. He had used an adult wizard's mistake to warn first-year students.

If first-years could summon a bull with a single spell, Hogwarts would have been trampled flat by herds of cattle long ago—it was only a warning meant to make new students pay attention while casting.

In reality, most failed attempts by new students had one result—the feather could not even be bothered to move, unless their wand movements were wildly off and the wind stirred up by their wands was too strong...

The spell Andrew received was a particularly fitting one: the magic that made shoelaces move.

After considering it, he removed the laces from an old pair of shoes and began trying to cast the spell.

The others followed his example. Apart from keeping some distance between themselves at Andrew's insistence, they began practicing on the objects they had found.

"I suspected this spell was fake... Could it really make it rain on someone's forehead until an entire cup of water was used up?"

"This quill did feel a little sticky, but I suspected my hands were just sweaty from picking it up too many times..."

"Be grateful... This book was supposed to occasionally bite your fingers when you opened it... Hal, were you sure you copied it right?"

"It was exactly the same, but nothing happened... I suspected that book tricked me."

Hal was feeling discouraged too—he had tried hard to choose spells that looked usable by first-years. These spells all targeted objects; spells any more difficult, the kind that could affect wizards, were beyond rookies like them.

"My side worked fairly well. At least the shoelace moved, but tying knots still required more practice." Andrew shook his head in disappointment as well. "As for making it work while lowering my voice, I didn't think I could manage that for at least two or three months."

"Well... looked like we were still far from it... Andrew was the only one who got a spell with any chance of being cast successfully, but if I had that kind of time, I'd rather look for more traditional defensive spells..."

Hal looked dejected. "There was no hope for Chocolate Frog cards. Let's get to the Great Hall early—food came first."

However, when they arrived at the Great Hall, another terrible thing had happened—according to some well-informed Hufflepuffs, dinner would probably be delayed by half an hour today.

Though the Hufflepuffs were unwilling to reveal any more information, the truth soon came out.

To prevent the first-years from starting another major fight, Filch had decided to keep watch personally—though Andrew thought he was planning to catch people again. As a result, Peeves, the infamous poltergeist who had been closely watched within the castle and still kept causing trouble, had lost most of his supervision.

Not long ago, Peeves had wreaked havoc in the kitchens and gotten hold of a pile of bread. At the castle entrance, he was using the dinners of Gryffindors and Slytherins who had worked all day as ammunition, bombarding them without mercy.

The battle was currently deadlocked, but since it was Saturday, the upper-years had gone to Hogsmeade and the professors were off for the day. The war would not be ending anytime soon...