New Friends and Pranking Adventures

Before Maira realized, the Slytherin boy was rambling on about his joke book. Apparently it wasn’t actually the kids’ book she thought she recognized but a family heirloom. Generations had clearly gone before Sam, she could see as he went through the pages and held up two of them towards her and the other girl. “When said large group of people walk through a doorway and when the charms are placed just so, each person when they try to talk will start making animal sounds. How does that sound? I’m open to any suggestions.” Maira was impressed.

But before she could even reply, she noticed more people joining her group - two young girls who she was quite certain were from different Houses. One of them shuffled in quietly, carrying multiple books on what seemed to be stars. She was clearly a Ravenclaw as she quickly asked what they were looking at. A Hufflepuff followed and Sam was suddenly all ears. The boy seemed to talk a lot, and was clearly very obsessed with pranks as he asked them both if they were into it as well.
xxx|xx The Ravenclaw, Karime, seemed to be into other hobbies. “I like to draw, ice skate and to run.” However, the Hufflepuff who announced her name was Lily did have useful advice. “Honestly, if you want to play a prank, you should always look for a place which is neither secluded nor crowded. It helps."

At this point, Rosalyn zoned back into the conversation and Maira felt slightly left out. It seemed the girl wanted to change the topic to the holidays, but Maira had no plans on staying. Luckily, Sam was not so easily distracted and asked Lily which location she would suggest. Maira however gave her no time to respond. “I mean, that’s clear isn’t it? Not too secluded, but not too crowded. But you also want to make an impact where animal noises are noticed.”
xxx|xx She waved her arms around her. “Clearly, this prank needs to be done in the library.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “The place where everyone always talks softly, so a weird animal noise is definitely not going to go unnoticed.” She also pointed at Sam’s book. “Besides, how would you counter it? Or does this prank continue on regardless of any counterspells for a set number of hours?” She would find it hilarious if the librarian would suddenly only be able to make donkey sounds and giggled a little at the thought.
xxx|xx“Oh, and I’m also going home during the holidays. And since me and Rosalyn…” She tried to make eye contact with the other Slytherin girl. “Were here to join you first. I’d say we definitely need to present and shown how to do the spell.” She then turned to Karime and Lily. “Any volunteers to be lookouts?”

Karime had volunteered to be the lookout before Maira had realized it. Personally, you couldn’t pay her enough Galleons in the world to take on such a boring task. It didn’t surprise her that the Ravenclaw girl didn’t hate it though, it would seem she was into stargazing as well. Another hobby that required a lot of stillness and staring.
Maira also realized that her parents wouldn’t particularly like to receive an owl that said their lovely little girl had spent her time pranking people - staff, no less. So she was glad when Sam seemed to take it upon himself to cover the more practical side of things. She wasn’t certain if he actually could do a spell like that, but she figured the planning side of things would be just as fun. He was already suggesting code words and even Morse code, which seemed terribly difficult to Maira.
xxx|xx“I think it's a great idea to have some kind of code word whenever we spy someone coming.” Well, he did have a point there.
xxx|xx“I agree, Sam. We do need a code word, else why have a lookout?” She pointed at Karime, trying to show a big smile. “But I think cauldron would be confusing since way too many students use it. And Morse code… We already have a lot of classes to attend.”

She looked around her but saw nothing that could help. “What about something relating to the spell? Like a sentence… ‘What a donkey I am?’ maybe?” Maira liked the added thrill of slightly giving away their prank, but she wasn’t sure if the rest was up to it.
xxx|xx If there was one thing Maira had learned, it was that librarians always paid attention. Their little group hadn’t gathered before and if they were discussing homework they would’ve likely finished the conversation by now. So she bowed her head forward to give them all more privacy. “Also, maybe it’s best if we end this rendezvous with a plan on how to proceed. I bet everyone can see we’re standing and talking for way too long now.” She took a long gaze at Sam. “You’re the one with the book. You tell us where to go, where to meet and how to help you prepare. And we’ll be there.”