ROLEPLAY ARTICLE - Spring at Hogwarts

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The wind was still chilly as it swept through the grounds of Hogwarts, but it had lost its bite, gently ruffling the tassels of discarded scarves instead of whipping them into the faces of their owners. The snow had mostly melted, the subsequently freezing water often taking the opportunity to drip on the unsuspecting student’s head as they walked beneath an archway. Those who dared venture near enough to the Whomping Willow were pleasantly surprised to see the scattering of green buds adorning its branches so early in the year, and the Black Lake was really more blue then black where it reflected the gentle spring sunlight.

Students’ moods matched the weather, brightened by the blissful relaxation they enjoyed before the final crunch before exams. Diligent fourth years set their quills down with a certain amount of reluctance, in contrast the the gleefully flung writing utensils of the first years. A few students chose not to partake in this break, instead hoping to catch up on missed classwork and revise more thoroughly for their exams, but even they brought their schoolwork out into the sun, relaxing under the shade of the surprisingly lively-looking trees.

This period of wonderful respite from the stress of schoolwork coincided fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your perspective) with the celebration of April Fools Day. Shrieks of surprise and torrents of laughter poured from the dormitories from the crack of dawn, as students from all houses either muffled their laughter at a successful wake-up prank or indignantly reaped the result of their housemates’ efforts. Pranks included a carefully placed bucket of icy water, a surprise dose of glitter covering the target’s face, and a variety of mischief aided by products purchased at Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. One prank pulled by two mischievous Slytherins was unanimously, if unofficially, declared the wake-up prank winner - they made Dungbombs timed with a bit of tricky spell work and hid them at the foot of each of their housemates beds, simultaneously detonating them to create a fragrant wake-up call for their peers.

The day proceeded as April Fools tend to do, some professors choosing to look the other way as their students unscrupulously pranked their neighbors, while others gleefully handed out detentions, figuring they shouldn't be left out of the fun. Needless to say, the house point hourglasses fluctuated violently throughout the day, each house dropping by quite a bit until a the Hufflepuff Head of House silently awarded a fourth year twenty house points for a particularly spectacular use of the Flashing Color Charm to give their friend a bit of a makeover, at which point they pulled ahead as the other Heads of House took this as a contest, delighting in clandestine increasing of points for the very prank they had often just dished out a detention for.

The day ended up turning out to be spectacularly entertaining, even those who didn't dish out with pranks of their own still received the equal pleasure of watching other’s endeavors. Sadly, of course, the day came to an end, but as the sun finally set, everyone was tired enough to fall asleep immediately.

The rest of spring break passed uneventfully, save an incident when a young Gryffindor took it upon herself to tickle the giant squid where he lay basking in the sun, and the amount of students relaxing on the shore dwindled as they slowly noticed the impending exams. It had certainly been an energizing break, but it was time to set their nose firmly back to the grindstone, sharpening their wit for all the learning (and of course, occasionally lack of it) ahead of them.