A Strange Prank

Either way, Halloween arrived right on schedule.

It was an especially lively day, both in the group chat and at Hogwarts.

Everyone was looking forward to the evening's feast, in every sense of the word.

"Hey! Do you think a Troll will really show up tonight?"

"I'm not sure, but the news did come from that magical phone. If it's true, that's terrifying!"

Every student hurrying past was discussing the Prophecy about that evening. Some professors had heard the news too and were more alert than ever.

What if it was true?

Quirrell alone felt that things had been difficult lately. Why did these damn people have to be so wary even on Halloween!? How was he supposed to find a chance to make his move?

Hidden from sight, Quirrell gritted his teeth in frustration.

Main group chat-

Bug Ming: Hey! Everyone!!!

Bug Ming: Are you ready!!

Kerun: Yes! Captain!!

[Admin] Yan: Nani! Is it happening?!

Magpie: /rubs hands. Speaking of which, what's in the event this time?

[Group owner] ?: Join the voice chat first. Today's event might take a while.

[Group owner ? started a voice call. Click to join]

Red-Lipped, White-Toothed The Chosen One: ! I can't wait to see how the edited footage turns out!!

Bug Ming: By a rough count, thirty-three people are taking part this time!

The feast hadn't even started, but many people were already in their seats, eagerly waiting for the Halloween feast to begin. Hermione was also sitting in her usual spot, chatting with the people around her.

How should one put it? In Charms class that morning, Ron and Hermione hadn't come into conflict over the levitation charm. For that, they had Ron's fans to thank.

After all...

The members of Protect the Best Ron in the Whole World were always joking about "Leviosaaa~." Ron heard "Wingardium Leviosa" ringing in his ears almost every day.

Thanks to his fellow group members tormenting him every day, things hadn't become so tense between Hermione and Ron.

When their morning classes ended, Ron had even remarked, "I never thought having my ears tortured every day would have an effect like this!"

Beside him, Harry swallowed the question he'd been about to ask: why did Ron insist on looking at it every day with such disdain if it was torture?

After all, he was much the same himself. He simply couldn't resist the phone's appeal.

Not to mention that Ron could see lots of people calling him cute in there, which left him feeling rather pleased with himself.

Well, look at that. I am pretty charming, he thought, for instance.

Otherwise, you wouldn't have seen Hermione and Ron sitting together so amicably, making snide remarks.

"Where are Fred and George?" Harry looked around and noticed that the prankster twins, who should have been the most excited of all, weren't there.

"They said they had greater things to do," Lee Jordan said with a wave of his hand. "I think it has something to do with the event that group chat or whatever is holding today."

Oh!

Realization dawned on Harry. He hurriedly pulled out his phone and opened the main group chat. He'd almost forgotten about that.

While almost everyone else was in the Great Hall preparing to enjoy the food, Fred and George were elsewhere. Clearly, pranks excited the two troublemakers even more than the prospect of a feast.

"It's already started in the group!"

Fred said excitedly, then joined the group voice chat.

A whole jumble of noisy, excited voices suddenly burst out of the little phone.

"Have you ever fought for your life to reach the volume button?"

Startled badly enough to nearly send his phone flying, Fred scrambled to turn down the volume. George looked around nervously. The two of them knew the routes through Hogwarts like the backs of their hands, and they hurried into a secret passage. No professors or Quirrell had been drawn over.

Both of them breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, through the secret entrance to the passage, they spotted Quirrell sneaking along the corridor.

"Holy shit, holy shit, I'm so hyped right now!"

It was impossible to tell whose voice was whose in the call, but what did that matter? Fred and George Weasley just wanted to stir up trouble.

The two exchanged a grin, and George was the first to send a message to the group:

My Older Brother Is Farting: Guys! Quiet! Everyone, eyes on me!!

Kerun: ??

Red-Lipped, White-Toothed The Chosen One: ?

Bug Ming: ?

I Lure Ron Away with a Chicken Leg: ?

Proprietress Number Two: What is it, what is it? Are we getting a classic scene??

Oh My Mother: ? Wait, who turned on their video? Why does this place look so familiar?

The group members in the voice chat suddenly fell silent. Even those who had just been on video, cosplaying Ron, Hermione, and others while dancing to Shin Takarajima, turned off their music and stopped.

Fred didn't want to reveal his real voice. After fiddling with it for a while, he discovered that the voice chat actually had a voice-changing function, making both his and George's eyes light up.

Could these newfangled gadgets stump the Weasley Twins, who devoted all their considerable intelligence to pranks? What a joke!!

"Come on, everyone! A live broadcast of Professor Quirrell and the Troll!"

The altered voice reached the other group members through their phones.

Bug Ming: Holy shit! Is that English??! Is this a foreign group member???

Magpie: Where's my royal translator?!

Mrs. Malfoy: I've taken IELTS and TOEFL! I'll translate!

Harry Is Mine: HP fans really have top talents in every field.

Bug Ming: You're amazing. Accept this English flunker's respect /kneels.

Hermione suddenly felt a bit of a stomachache.

"I'm going to the bathroom." She hurried off. Ron, holding a chicken leg in each hand, spoke in a pitying tone: "Poor Hermione. She actually ate something bad. These are mine, then!"

Even happier now, Ron added a few more chicken pieces to his plate. Harry was a little worried. "Those messages said a Troll would show up tonight. Could Hermione be in danger?"

"Harry, the more you worry about it, the more likely it is to happen," Ron said solemnly. "That's a lesson my fans taught me."

Harry thought that made sense. He nodded, lowered his head, and went back to eating his pumpkin pie.

Snape saw Hermione run out and frowned repeatedly. He glanced at the empty seat beside him where Quirrell should have been sitting, then quietly slipped away through a small door.

It was always good to be cautious.

That was what Snape thought.

Holding his phone, Fred secretly followed a short distance behind Quirrell, using the voice chat's built-in voice changer to quietly narrate the scene to the group.

Meanwhile, the group couldn't tell for the moment whether this was a planned part of the event or something a member had done on a whim.

James-Brand Shampoo: ? The one on video looks really familiar. Is he one of those new brothers?

Young Master Gryffin: Is this some kind of specially arranged skit?? That guy looks just like Quirrell! Is he an actor! Or some cosplay expert??

Bug Ming: So we had this on the program too? How come nobody told me?

[Admin] Yan: Never mind you, even I'm confused.

Kerun: ?! So the group members really did arrange this specially?! Let me see!

Kerun: My Younger Brother Isn't as Handsome as Me, oh my god, this set looks way too real, doesn't it?

Magpie: Even Quirrell's sneaky manner is absolutely lifelike! (?

Voldemort Hair Salon: It looks so real, but is My Younger Brother Isn't as Handsome as Me actually British?!

"Hey, Quirrell's gone down to the basement!"

Fred conscientiously provided a running commentary, while Mrs. Malfoy was just as conscientious about interpreting it for everyone in the group.

Mrs. Malfoy Number Two: Mamma mia, I'm starting to think that's the real Quirrell. He looks way too much like him!

Harry Is Mine: This expert is so professional /offers my respect.

"Is he going to let the Troll out?!" George was both nervous and excited, and Fred's hand suddenly trembled a little around his phone.

Kerun: A Troll!!? You even made a Troll?!

Magpie: ! Stop, this isn't an ordinary Halloween event anymore!

Quirrell seemed to notice some noise. The twins had gotten excited and failed to keep their voices down. Quirrell turned around but saw no one. Frightened, Fred and George hurriedly put the phone away and hid, but Voldemort, on the back of Quirrell's head, wasn't having it:

"Stop wasting time... Hurry up and do it, then go find that thing!!"

"Yes, master!"

Bug Ming: Damn, what just happened?

Red-Lipped, White-Toothed The Chosen One: I think Quirrell turned around?

Young Master Gryffin: So dedicated! Is the script really this thorough?

James-Brand Shampoo: The camera shook so much just now that it startled me.

Oh My Mother: Hmm... Something feels a tiny bit off. Is that background really special effects? Or is it some kind of studio? It looks way too real.

The next moment, even Fred was so stunned that his breathing stopped for an instant.

Because a Troll really had been let in.

Quirrell hurried away the moment he let the Troll in.

George didn't have time to think about where Quirrell was going. He immediately pulled Fred into the nearest secret passage to hide.

That was a real, fully grown Troll!!!

Despite his shock, Fred even took a photo before George pulled him into the passage.

Harry Is Mine: Woccccc!

Magpie: Holy shit, I just stood up. Was that a Troll just now? It looked way too real!!!

Almost everyone still in the voice chat was ready to scream. Was that special effects?! It was unbelievably well done!!

Proprietress Number Two: Damn! I bow before you, expert!

Mrs. Malfoy: I clicked on the expert's profile to add him as a friend and found out he's thirteen.

Bug Ming: Is this shit actually real?!

James-Brand Shampoo: I'm already looking forward to what happens next!

Wang Qiu: Damn it, who's this god-tier expert? I just got here! Someone explain!

[Group owner] ?: We're recording the screen throughout this event, but I really didn't expect this...

Kerun: ! Group owner is the best!

Magpie: ! Group owner is the best!

(A series of "group owner is the best" messages omitted here)

"Bloody hell! That scared me to death just now," George said, patting his chest.

Kerun: I understood that one! Bloody hell!

Voldemort Hair Salon: ! Fuck, I have reasonable grounds to suspect the expert transmigrated (?

Voldemort Hair Salon: This footage is so real I'm too shocked to eat.

Ron Seafood Market: Damn it, I want to know if this was really filmed on location at the University of Oxford. I'm so jealous!

"Look! I got a picture of the Troll!" Fred opened the background apps and expertly pulled up the photo he'd just taken. "Speaking of which, where does this passage lead again?"

"I think it's... the third-floor corridor?"

Magpie: Holy shit, are they going to see the three-headed dog next!

Kerun: Now I'm completely convinced this is a skit the experts rehearsed!

Kerun: /kneels obediently. I might as well give up my knees today.

Professor Snape Is Mine: Damn it, I want to see Snape. Can someone spoil whether Professor Snape is going to appear? /tears

[Admin] !: Well, this skit has absolutely nothing to do with the group owner or the admins!

Cold Candy: I submit a petition signed in blood by ten thousand people: the twins!!!! /heartbroken scream

When they reached the end of the passage, George and Fred breathed a sigh of relief. They stood in the third-floor corridor, preparing to return to the hall from there.

"Both of you, Mr. Weasley, you seem to be having a fine time."

The twins' expressions froze. They turned to see Snape standing in front of the door, his face dark. His leg also seemed to be injured, but at that moment, Fred and George had only one thought in their heads:

We're done for.

As Fred turned, the camera on the phone in his hand swung toward Snape's dark expression, and an ear-splitting shout erupted from the phone:

"Holy shit! Snape!!!!"

Well, now they were probably really done for.

They had no idea which group member had just joined the voice chat and forgotten to mute their microphone.