Nearly done… that task was taking WAY LONGER than Matt intended. Merlin. He supposed that was what happened when Ravenclaws were involved in the planning of things. Had it been a Gryffindor-only thing, it’d all be done and dusted within 5 seconds. Or at least, you know, ONE night.

But maybe then it wouldn’t be such a big thing. Well, okay, it WOULD - as he knew first hand by just being in his Common Room for half a day - but this was a bit different and, truth be told, Matt was looking forward to seeing the result. Or… hearing about it, at least.

It took a LOT of effort for him to keep filling up those balloons without singing his heart out, or at least humming, every single one of those awfully quiet and lonely nights. Heck, this guy did NOT like silence, but that was what it came with working after curfew. All the QUIETNESS and just… plain silence would eventually get on his nerves, he could tell. But the squeaking sound the rubber balloons sometimes made, especially when being tied, was enough to keep his SANITY for the time being. That and the prospect of the… results of such important task.

Hehehehehehehehehe!

The seventh year worked as hard and fast as he could, filling up them BILLIONS OF BALLOONS - magically, at least. Poor Muggle pranksters - not only with helium, oh no. They were making sure to fill ‘em up with some snazzy stuff too. Coloured powder anyone? One of his favourites from Weasleys’ Wizards Wheezes, mind you. Making sure to use his perfected Disillusionment Charm - which, by the way, he was NOT using on himself to get back and forth from his Common Room after curfew because what was the fun in THAT?? - on the mass of balloons now floating above his head, the Gryffindor was finally happy with the number of balloons they had managed to… prepare.

He looked up, and although all he could see now was the ceiling - a pro, he was, thank you very much - he sighed happily. Aaahhhh, what a masterpiece!

And with that, his job was done there. He turned on his heels and marched back to the Gryffindor Common Room, making sure to avoid the prefects after sending a few spells here and there to make as much noise as he could because LOL noisy curfew, yas call their attention to the opposite direction of where he was going.

Mwahaha!

Muck up day. It was a muggle school thing for senior students, and it was a thing that his father did when he was still in school. Only, he went the extra mile and executed pranks that lasted for a whole term. Jace had been intrigued of course when he was asked over the holidays if he had done any 'fun' as a seventh-year student in Hogwarts. Confused, he'd asked what his father meant by 'fun' and ended up orchestrating his own prank with Matt.

Jace had to agree though. It took them longer than expected, but if they were going to make this prank as flawless as possible, he thought that all the hard work and sneaking around was worth it. Perhaps, it was worth the missed time revising as well. The senior Ravenclaw realised that he’d been that bored studying things that he already knew, and he had been missing out. Not that he’d say that in front of Matt. He had to protect that small bit of pride in him.

Wrapped under the disillusionment charm, Jace made his way down to the staff room after curfew, dodging the prefects who did their evening patrol, as well as runaway familiars that littered the empty hallways. Upon reaching his destination, Jace temporarily lifted the disillusionment charm that Matt had placed on the balloons that floated way above the ceiling, and nodded in approval. Hundreds of powder filled balloons hung above him, and all of it was bound to end up inside the staff room.

Wasting no second, Jace performed all the possible counter-charms to bypass any magical alarms, and ultimately, unlocking the staff room’s door. Like a well-oiled machine, Jace systematically summoned the balloons by batch, slowly directing it inside the staff room until it was filled from floor to ceiling. Once the last balloon was placed inside, the Ravenclaw closed the door once more and tied a single innocent looking purple balloon on the door’s handle. The thing is, all the balloons inside were charmed to pop simultaneously should the occupants tried to puncture it...it was extra sensitive to touch too, so professors, beware.

With his senses on high alert, he could swear he heard Erik Richard Cassian Jessup III’s voice coming from the other end of the hallway. It was well into the night anyway, and he ought to be in bed getting some Zzz’s for tomorrow’s double Potions with Noble. Jace moved quietly under the shadows once more with haste this time. The hallowed halls echoed with the sound of the moving staircases shifting and it didn’t help his racing heart. The Ravenclaw decided to take shortcuts and secret passages until he reached the towers, and back inside the safety of his dorm room.

Mission accomplished.

Gaston was beyond exhausted! He hadn't had a full night's sleep since his daughter was born, and that was about a month ago. Not that he was complaining when his lifelong dream to be a dad had finally been fulfilled, of course, but the strain of juggling his responsibilities at work and at home was finally beginning to show.

Tonight's visit with his family took longer than intended - Desiree refused to settle down unless he was there to hold and sing to her until she fell asleep, and he hadn't the heart to ignore her cries, no matter how long they went on. He returned, only to find that his little black songbook wasn't in his jacket pocket where he always kept it. Great, now the lack of sleep was making him scatterbrained!

After several futile attempts to summon it and frantically turning his office upside down, he decided to check the staff room. He had to find it; he'd be the laughingstock of Hogwarts if that book fell into the wrong hands! He noticed a purple balloon tied to the door handle, but he was too distracted to question it's purpose. He'd just untie it and take it inside for now. Whoever it belonged to could claim it there later. Good Godric Gryffindor, that was hard to untie! He fumbled with the string until...

POP! POP! POP! POP! POP! The sound of hundreds of balloons popping in rapid succession startled him, and suddenly there was colored powder everywhere! In his hair, on his clothes, and all over everything else in the room. He blinked the powder out of his eyes as much as possible and looked around, but there was nobody else to be seen. What just happened?

Soon after his double Potions with Noble was over, Jace made his way up from the Dungeons towards the Library to do additional research on certain curse-breaking things. Mid-way through the stairs, he did not expect to hear popping sounds from the nearby Staff room. Hyper-focused as always on his studies and NEWT preparations, he had forgotten about last night's late stroll.

Where inside the bloody castle was Matt? Jace looked over his shoulder, only to decide against calling him out. That will definitely raise suspicion.

As calmly as possible, the seventh year wore a blank expression and walked a few steps away from the moving staircase to examine the scene. He couldn't see a thing from the outside as colored powder acted like a smoke screen.

Good Merlin, Matt should really see this.