PRANKSTER [1] ↝ C. DIGGORY

seven

"Vasantha Queenie Scamander don't you dare sleep in on me this day." Clarissa teased, playfully hitting  Vas's sleeping figure with a pillow. "If we're late the boys will leave without us, and George will never let us hear the end of it."

"I'm up," Vasantha groaned, rolling over so she was facing Clary, giving the redheaded girl a sharp glare. 

"Well, come on, then," Clary said, allowing the girl to get up and go over to her trunk to get dressed. "I'm all out of Frog Spawn Soap. You know how I love to leave that in the showers for others to find."

"You're evil," she said with a grin, pulling on a maroon jumper and a pair of jeans. "but remind me to get a new Nose-Biting Teacup. Over the summer Dad made tea and Rolf was the unsuspecting victim. Little bugger dropped the thing and it shattered. I tried to fix it but it doesn't work the same."

As soon as Vasantha was ready, the two girls headed down the stairs, eager to meet up with the boys. They weren't leaving until a little later in the day, knowing full well they weren't going to make it to anywhere but Zonko's before needing to get back to the castle. So, Vas seized the opportunity and opted for a nap as soon as the group returned from the Great Hall that morning. As soon as the girls reached the common room, Fred and George were waiting near the exit, impatient looks written across their faces.

"Now why is it that whenever we're ready to go anywhere, we're always stuck waiting on you two?" Fred asked, tapping his foot impatiently.

"It's Vas's fault this time," Clary said, holding her hands up in surrender as she threw her friend under the bus.

"Takes us a bit longer," Vasantha said, shrugging. "we can't all just wake up and go."

"Wake up and go?" George asked, scoffing and placing a hand over his heart. "Do you know how long this hair takes in the morning?"

"You don't want to know," Clary whispered to Vas, leading the group out of the common room and down the staircase, the eager chatter of the paintings lining the walls livening the atmosphere.

Though it was only just starting to transition into fall, the cool, crisp air hit the fifth years as soon as they set foot outside the castle, causing Vas to cross her arms over her chest, shivering a bit in the autumn air. Clary couldn't help but notice the leaves on the Whomping Willow beginning to turn orange as they passed by, the dementors vaguely visible on the outskirts of the castle grounds, adding to the chill.

The group finally reached the bottom of the hill, the liveliness of Hogwarts students and Hogsmeade residents milling about as people came to and from the different shops on the cobblestone streets. Clary caught sight of Ron and Hermione leaving Honeydukes, the former eating from a box of Bertie Botts's Every Flavor Beans and offering a couple to Hermione, who just laughed and shook her head politely. The two third years greeted their older friends briefly as they walked past, eager to continue doing whatever they were able to get in before their first Hogsmeade visit came to an end.

"Here we are," George said as they reached Zonko's Joke Shop, running ahead to hold the door open, "ladies first."

"Except when it comes to seeing who can be ready first in the morning," Fred said, snickering, and Clary rolled her eyes, heading straight to the back of the shop where she knew they kept the Frog Spawn Soap.

Grabbing two bars of soap, Clary wandered over to where Fred and George were eyeing the different items on the shelves, the latter taking notes onto a piece of parchment they'd brought along. Ever since they had finally developed the name and ideas for a joke shop, they'd talked nonstop about heading to Zonko's to see what inspiration they could pull from the products, and finally they were able to.