"Professor Shafiq!"
"Trust us!"
"We are not intruder!"
"We are not eavesdropping too!"
"We are here to ask a question!"
"We are innocent!"
Albert rubbed the temple of his head, starting to feel a headache when facing the infamous Weasley twins in front of him. The fact that those two kept talking one word after another in turn like they played tennis was just a cherry on top.
"So, what is the question you want to ask?" He asked sarcastically.
"This…." Both the twins just rubbed the back of their heads sheepishly, haven't thought about it that far. "We forgot about that…" They said weakly as if they themselves didn't even believe that lame excuse.
Albert pondered for a second, letting the twins feel nervous before suddenly speaking again, "You know, based on your reaction, I know you are here not to ask questions and it is not a planned decision either. That means you sneaked into my room after realizing who was it that I invited earlier. But how did you know about that? Following the professors without them noticing? No, I don't believe they wouldn't realize they were followed by students. So, that means you have some sort of device to observe my room? Is it a tool for eavesdropping? No, you have never been here before this, so it is impossible. Is that a….. Device that could track our movement directly?"
The twins were very nervous as they kept hearing Albert's hypothesis, and when the professor mentioned that kind of device, they had their jaws dropped, looking at him in disbelief. That reaction was enough for him to know that indeed, they had that kind of device.
"You know what? You both really remind me of your uncles."
"Our uncles?" The twins looked at each other confusedly.
"Yeah, Fabian and Gideon Prewett, the most chaotic twins who had ever graced the school." Albert smiled, reminiscing the past. "They were just like you, love doing pranks, have the uncanny ability to attract trouble, and seem to have a knack for innovating prank devices." Albert smiled when he saw the twins were fascinated with the story of their deceased uncles.
"One time, when I was a prefect, they also tried to do the same thing as yours, following someone silently with disillusionment charm. At that time, their target was a group of Slytherin students. Do you know what was the result?" The twins nodded their heads repeatedly like chickens, holding their breath nervously due to the excitement created by the story.
"Well, just like you, they got caught." The twins gasped dramatically. "However, unlike you, they were unlucky as they got caught by the most ruthless Slytherin group that pledged their loyalty to you-know-who. Long story short, Gideon was hit by a dark curse that would give him his worst nightmares for seven full nights while Fabian had half of his face burned as he also felt the pain of it for at least three days as long as I could remember."
The twins gulped, not expecting their uncles would receive that kind of mess-up curse in the past.
"My point is, unlike you both, they were unlucky to follow a group of people who wouldn't hesitate to throw the nastiest curse in a heartbeat. It is fortunate for you that only Professor Dumbledore and I know your presence here and we both were tolerant enough not to give you harsh punishment, let alone curse you. But I hope this will be a lesson for you two, okay? Don't do that again."
"Yes, Professor Shafiq!"
"We."
"Promise."
"We."
"Will."
"Never."
"Do."
"It."
"Again!"
Albert sighed once again, getting tired of the ping-pong play from the twin. He had to admit that those two had guts, speaking in an irritating way like that to their professor. If it was Snape or McGonagall, they wouldn't be able to hold their temper and curse the twins the moment the first words were out of their mouths.
"Well, now, let's talk about your punishment."
"There is a punishment?" One of the twins, either it was Fred or George exclaimed in surprise.
"But professor.."
"We thought you said it before.."
"That there would be no punishment for us!"
Albert twitched his mouth, starting to get annoyed. "I said no harsh punishment, at least not to the level your little brother still suffers until now. But there will always be a punishment for the rule breaker. You sneak into my office and eavesdropping the conversation here, why do you think you can get away with all of that?"
Both the twins just rubbed the back of their heads sheepishly, feeling stupid after hearing what Albert said.
"Don't worry, I will not confiscate that device of yours or give you detention that would affect the performance of the Gryffindor's quidditch team. God knows Professor McGonagall would have my head if I did that."
"Wow, thank you, Professor!" The twins had their expressions lightened up in delight after hearing that.
"But if I caught a wind you used that kind of device to do something immoral like cursing someone behind their back or harassing girls with your device, you don't have to worry about Professor McGonagall anymore, because it would be me you will have to face." The glint of dangerous aura radiated from Albert's eyes was enough to intimidate the twins as they both nodded quickly.
"Don't worry, Professor, we will not do that, we swear!"
"Good!" Albert smiled, satisfied. The dangerous aura that a few seconds ago filled the air suddenly vanished as if it had never happened, making the twins think it was just a terrible illusion. "Well, as for your punishment this time, do you know the girl that was here too earlier?"
"You mean Loony -Oof!" One of them, Albert didn't know whether it was Fred or George letting it slip out of his mouth before the other one shut him up forcefully. Unfortunately, Albert still caught what he said as the professor narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Loony?"
"I-It was just her nickname, Professor!"
"Y-Yeah! And it wasn't us who started it and we didn't know anything about it."
Sweat cold rolled down their faces as the twins gulped in fright, didn't know how Albert would react. After spending a few seconds in silence, the potion professor suddenly sighed before saying, "I know that she is at risk of being bullied, what with her eccentric personality. I didn't expect it would happen this fast, though."
Albert had already guessed this would happen since the girl asked if she could spend her time in his office. With her eccentric attire, strange creature ideas, and innocent look, she was the perfect victim any bullies would ever dream of. Unfortunately, it was just as he said, he didn't expect it to happen too fast, just one week after she entered the school.
Then, he narrowed his eyes at the twins, making them tremble unconsciously. "Well, here is my punishment for you two. You will have to make sure that she is not being bullied physically by the others, can you do it?"
The twins looked at each other hesitantly before one of them put a brave look and asked, "What do you mean by bullied physically, Sir?"
"Well, maybe something like attacking her, using her personally as a prank target or a dummy to practice spells, dumping a bucket of water on her, stealing and hiding her stuff, or anything you think would affect her physical health. It should be easy for you, right?" He spoke the last part threateningly.
"Y-Yes, Professor!" One of them stuttered. "What about name-calling?"
After pondering for a second, Albert shook his head, saying, "No, you cannot stop the others from saying anything they want, so I don't expect you to stop that. I will talk with Professor Flitwick about it, but you don't have to worry. Just protect her, but don't be too obvious. And as a bonus, if you catch anyone bullying her, I will close my eyes to what you will do to them. So, as long as you aren't caught by the other professors and as long as it doesn't leave any permanent harm, you can do what you want to her bullies. Is that fair?"
All the fright that was on their faces suddenly disappeared when the twins heard the last part. For them, this was a far better punishment than just writing a line or wiping a trophy for Filch. Having a green light from a professor to prank the bullies mercilessly was something they would never have imagined in their life it would happen. However, they pushed down their excitement when they saw a glint of dangerous aura suddenly appear once again from their professor.
"If I caught you abusing my words, though…."
"Don't worry, Professor!" They both straightened their back.
"We will!"
"Never!"
"Do that!"
"To you!"
"Trust us!"
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A few minutes later, the twins sighed in relief as they came out of Albert's office alive. They glanced at each other in silence for a second before one of them broke the silence, "Hey Gred?"
"Yes, Forge?"
"Do you think what I think right now?"
"About not to mess with Professor Shafiq again?"
"Not really."
"Then, what do you think right now, Forge?"
"That Professor Shafiq is awesome."
"Oh, because he allowed us to prank any other people who are bullying Loony?"
"You still dare to call him Loony?"
"Oh, you are right, it is Luna, right?"
"Yes."
Then, they both suddenly grinned at the same time, a creepy, menacing grin that would make the entire Hogwarts tremble in fear. "This is awesome!" They both high-fived excitedly. "I don't expect that not only did we get away without any punishment, but we were even allowed to prank the other mercilessly! This is far better than a slap on the wrist!"
"Hmm.. Do you think Professor Shafiq and Miss Lovegood have some strange relationship, though?" Fred suddenly pondered.
"You are right, Forge. To protect her to this extent, it is indeed suspicious." George pondered in the same exact manner. "Should we investigate it?"
Thinking about the dangerous aura from Professor Shafiq, coupled with how close and casual the conversation between Luna and the other heads of houses and even the headmaster, they looked at each other for a second before shuddered, shaking their head repeatedly. "No, Gred. Bad idea. A very bad idea."
"You are right, Forge. She is someone we cannot offend at all."
"Yeah, she has the backing of the most powerful wizards and witches who exist in this castle right now. Let's not test their bottom line."
"So, should we look up to the princess?"
"Sure!"
"Then, let's see the map!"
Fred took out an old parchment that had already turned yellow and drew his wand before muttering, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." Then, suddenly, the blueprint of the castle was drawn automatically on the blank parchment with the addition of dots and names on top of it as trackers for anyone inside Hogwarts. After checking for a few seconds, they noticed the girl was already in the great hall, and based on the time they were right now, she should be having dinner.
"Come on, Gred!"
------------------------
"So, what are you two idiots up to?" A tall, dark-skinned girl narrowed her eyes when she saw the twins sitting next to her in the great hall.
"What do you mean by that?" Fred sniffed.
"Yeah, Angelina. Why do you always think the worst about us?" George tried to look innocent. It was a convincing look that would make anyone who didn't know them well would believe their words. Unfortunately, the girl, Angelina Johnson was familiar with their shenanigan.
"I don't care what you both are up to, but you know what I would do if you dragged me into your mess, right?" The girl next to Angelina, Alicia Spinnet narrowed her eyes sharply, looking at the twins threateningly. Both ginger-haired boys winced at the same time, remembering something unpleasant.
"Don't worry, Alicia."
"Yeah, don't worry indeed."
"We still want to live."
"And have a normal son in the future."
"So, what do you plan for the claws?" a girl with short hair next to Alicia, Katie Bell asked. Hearing that, the twins stiffened as if they were caught off-handedly. "Why do you think our target is claws?"
"Oh, please. The moment you entered the great hall, both of you had your eyes instantly on their table. If not for targeting them, I don't know what you want from them."
Fred and George sighed helplessly as they realized the other two girls also had the same thought. Having been together for more than three years as quidditch teammates also had a bad side, as the others were too familiar with them and they couldn't hide anything at all. After communicating silently with each other, they finally decided to tell them what happened in Professor Shafiq's office.
"So, you sneaked into his office and eavesdropped their entire conversation, yet got away without any punishment?" Angelina let out a low whistle. "Impressive."
"To be honest, I am more curious about the centaur part the professors were talking about." Alicia mused. "To be hated by three out of the four head of houses to the point that even the sweet Professor Sprout killed him and wanted to do the same for his son, the incident must be huge."
"Maybe we can check the old archive in the library?" Katie suggested. "You know, if you are curious about Professor Shafiq. Not a lot could be dug out from his past, after all."
"Good idea, Katie."
"Girls, it seems you forgot about the best part here," Fred said smugly.
"Yeah." George nodded with the same infuriating smugness.
"Oh?" Angelina raised her eyebrows. "Please, do tell."
"You forgot that we are allowed to prank anyone who bullied Luna Lovegood mercilessly!" The twins grinned, high-fiving each other once again.
"Oh, poor the claws." Angelina shook her head, smiling amusedly. "They don't know what would hit them if they messed with the wrong person."
"But the relationship between Professor Shafiq and the girl seems interesting, though." Alicia pondered. "What was her name again?"
"It is Luna Lovegood, that blonde girl who sat close to the edge." Five pair of eyes turned their head around to find the girl on the other side of the hall. "She is Ginny's childhood friend, but it seems they had a fallout before the term began. Maybe it was because little Gin-Gin couldn't stand her strangeness."
"If Ginny heard you call her little Gin-Gin, she would definitely kill you." George grinned widely at his twin.
"Well, she is indeed very strange." Alicia furrowed her brows, looking at the set of odd bracelets wrapped around Luna's arm. "She has a very odd taste in accessory."
"I know, right?" George shrugged. "She came to our home several times the last holiday, and her appearance would always catch me off guard. Well, if you think her father is the owner of the Quibbler magazine, you will understand where all the weirdness inside her came from."
Hearing that, all of the girls nodded in understanding. The Quibblers was a famous magazine that always told strange news and conspiracy in the magical world. It was full of fantasies that people thought the magazine itself was a joke. If Luna's family was the owner of that magazine, it explained a lot of things here.
"That doesn't mean the others are allowed to bully her, though." Katie narrowed her eyes dangerously when she saw Luna's peer in Ravenclaw exclude her from the conversation while the older girls were picking up something from the table and throwing it to the blonde girl subtly.
The other two girls also growled when they saw this, glaring at the older girls who threw things at Luna. They were Gryffindor, and Chivalry was in their blood. To see the older girl picking up to the weaker, younger one, they hated it to their bone. If this wasn't a great hall and it wouldn't cause a commotion, they would stand up and slap the girl straight in the face.
"Oh, yeah. I remember hearing that among the other claws, she was called Loony due to her strangeness." Fred also had the same furious glare as the others. Gone was the playful atmosphere around the twins that the others were familiar with, replaced by the glare that promised pain to the others.
"Any of you know about them?" George asked sharply.
"That girl with braids is Marietta Edgecombe." Katie pointed out the leader of the older girls. "She is one of the sources of the gossip circle running around Hogwarts, what with her mother working in the ministry. The other girls seem to listen to her obediently, meaning she has some kind of influence among the claws."
"Oh, so she is an arrogant girl, huh?"
"This would be fun, Gred."
"Yeah, Forge."
"Don't forget that we do this because Professor Shafiq asks us to protect Luna Lovegood."
"You are right. We are not targeting them out of nothing."
"Count us in." Alicia suddenly spoke. The twins had their eyes widened in surprise, didn't expect the always proper Alicia to take the initiative to join their prank. "Don't get me wrong, I didn't do it because I wanted to. I just want to make sure you both didn't go overboard." She sniffed. Angelina and Katie stiffened their laughter when they saw the red-tinted shade on their friend's face, knowing that it was a lie.
"Well, sure, you can join! The more the merrier!" George grinned excitedly. "In fact, what about calling Oliver and Ickle Harrykins too, you know? For a team bonding before we start practicing?"
"Hey, that's a good idea!" Angelina grinned, starting to like the project. "We can pran-Cough! giving her a lesson, I mean, and report it to Professor Shafiq together. Maybe, it would put us on his good side."
"Good idea!" Fred clapped his hand excitedly. "Let's bring little Luna too to our group. Ickle Gin-Gin would be happy to see her friend around here too!"
"Yeah!"
"Let's see how long she can survive us." They turned their head around and grinning at Marietta Edgecombe who suddenly shuddered as she had a feeling that she would have a very bad time in the next couple of days. Poor girl didn't know she had already messed up with the wrong person. No one out of the five felt pity though, as they all thought the girl deserved this.
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Author note
I make a site for anyone who want to support me. If you are willing to help, you will also be able to read this story up to chapter 17. If you are interested, you can visit patreon.com/BlankNotes04. Please, support this work too! I hope that you are satisfied with this story! Thank you!