Lethifold in the Library PV Julian Pritchard Closed

Julian didn't really get April 1st. He didn't really get pranking either, if he was perfectly honest. Going out of your way to disrupt someone's day or get them to believe something that wasn't true, it seemed nonsensical at best and downright unkind at worst. So having an entire day dedicated to the concept was baffling to him. Thankfully, though, his April 1st had been quiet so far, which had allowed the knowledge of what day it was to slip to the back of his mind as he made his way to the library and found a book on Cheering Charms for his latest Charms homework.

It was fascinating book, going over some of the history of the charm and notable periods when they had come into fashion, and Julian was well engrossed in the paragraph he was reading--about an eccentric wizard who claimed he couldn't feel joy without casting a Cheering Charm on himself--when the lethifold attacked. Or, well, that's what the yelling told Jullian was happening. For his part, all he knew was one moment he was reading, and the next, he was engulfed in a suffocating darkness as something black and thick fell on his head. He yelled, startled, scrambling back to get away from the thing and succeeding only in toppling his chair and falling backwards. Disoriented, he reached for his wand, trying to remember anything he knew about lethifolds and panicking when he realised that the only thing he knew was effective against them was the Patronus Charm, and he was years and a lot of practice away from being able to cast anything like that.

It was then that it occurred to him how absurd a thought that was. Surely, if it was a lethifold on his head, he would be well on his way to being eaten by now, with no chance or opportunity to fight back anymore. And there was no way a lethifold would have made its way into the Hogwarts library without anyone realising. Slowly, he disentangled himself from the thing on his head and pulled himself up from the ground, glasses all askance, breathing ragged breaths as he blinked at what looked like a perfectly normal cloak being held in his hands.

He glanced up, seeking out the source of the yelling, and found an unfamiliar Slytherin boy. "I--It's not a lethifold," he said, attempting a slight grin to reassure the other boy that everything was okay. "I mean, we're too far north for lethifolds. And they're supposed to only attack at night, y'know, when their victims are asleep and can't defend themselves. Plus, I think it fell on me. Lethifolds glide." It had certainly felt sudden, no slow creeping up on him. "I wonder if someone enchanted a cloak or something." He reached down surreptitiously to rub at his thigh, which was sore from his fall.

Immediately after his booming announcement, Jack was bombarded by a chorus of 'SHHHHH!!' from all sides by the library's other occupants. He instinctively shrunk back, asking meekly, "But what about the lethifold?" However, by then, his victim had already realized that there was no such danger and said so aloud. Not before the boy had fallen over in his chair, though.

The redhead hurried over to help the boy up, but he was already picking himself up off the ground and was holding the cloak that had fallen over him. He glanced over at Jack, grinning slightly as he assured him his declared fears were unjustified and why. He was very detailed in his reasoning which surprised and impressed the Slytherin and caused him to start to grin back. "Oh. Well what do you know," he replied once the other boy was finished.

"Heh...yeah, that was me," Jack sheepishly admitted when the boy said he wondered if someone had enchanted a cloak or something. "It was my lame attempt at an April Fool's Day prank. I'll bet most people don't even know what a lethifold is, though. You really know your stuff if you know so much about them." Taking the cloak from the Hufflepuff, he felt a twinge of guilt when he saw rub his thigh which he must have hurt when he had fallen. "Um...are you okay? I know a healing spell or two if you need it."

@Julian Pritchard