¤ ¤ ¤

Pop! A small man shot out of the stairs and launched at Orion who fell back onto Juno, he winced as he caught Orion. The small colourful man, who was wearing bright clothing and shoes which curled over his toes and had twinkling little bells which rung as he held his stomach and giggled profusely.

   "Why did you do that!?" Janna questioned the fat man as he rose to their eye level.

    "Oh Peevesy, oh me, oh my! What a pale little boy! A strong gale can blow you over any day!" The stout man giggled, ignoring Janna's question, Janna tried to reach over the railing to grab his foot to get his attention but the railing suddenly disappeared.

Janna yelped, a blinding white glow engulfed her before she then landed on the floor with the boys again, Ash squeaked angrily at the fat man who rubbed his hands together and laughed with delight as the flakes from Ash followed him back to his body.

    "Peevesy wants a look" the man grunted as he zoomed towards Ash who stared right at the man "now do not go hiding, no, no. Or Peevesy will find you in any cranny or nook". As he came to Ash his long fingers tried to reach for the ferret but Ash burst into the white ashes which the man laughed at "what are you strange creature, I haven't seen you in a book!"

    "Who are you?" Jake demanded as Janna stood up with the help of Orion, the floating man then chuckled and took off his hat to show a balding patch, he bowed like a jester would, overemphasised as though to insult the higher order.

    "The onely Peeves, the Poltergeisty" Peeves then saw Ash stick his head out of Janna's robes where her hands were holding him "can I pretty please pet that ferret, or else your bed will be showered with prickly leaves!"

    "I don't think Ash likes you very much, sir" Janna said as she tried to give Ash to Peeves, who quickly unfurled his fingers while jittering giddily. Ash hissed like an angry snake and then burst into the same snow white  flakes Peeves had tried to catch moments before.

    "Shame, it looksing so softy, and alls" Peeves then looked up as though he had heard something and caught something in midair, Ash sucked in all his flakes again and bared his needle like teeth at Peeves who scratched Ash with his long fingers "He's so softy, so whites... Ands so pinky on his nosey!"

Peeves then looked at Janna and the boys, he giggled "I sees my Marauders have returned to Peevesy!" Then Peeves let Ash run down his hand to jump off to Janna like a white salmon jumping over an invisible waterfall. Peeves yanked Janna's arm and pulled up the sleeves to reveal the scars "You're the smarts one! What's the name?"

    "Julianna Black" Janna said, frustrated, trying to pull her arm back. Peeves then shot into the air and laughed happily.

    "Blackey-Black! He was your father, Peevesy  sees, Peevesy sees! You're also in Gryffindorsy!" Peeves chattered as he popped next to Janna and pulled her curls, watching them furl after pulling them.

    "No, my dad was Regulus..." Janna responded, Peeves looked at Janna funny, the boys watched as the man then floated to Janna's ear.

   "Peevesy remembers him! And the girly withs the whitely locks! Kisses in corridors and bathrooms! Makings Moaning Myrtle scream!" Peeves then zipped to Orion, he pulled the pales boy's hair into his hands, then he somersaulted off Orion's head and landed on the railing Janna had fallen through "Which one is Petty Peter?"

    "Who?" Asked Janna, Juno and Orion at the same time.

   "The Marauders, they were the pranksters of Hogwarts in the seventies, Peter Pettigrew was the man who gave up James and Lily Potter to Voldemort... He was a rat, and a horrible man to read about" Jake explained with the brickbat when talking about Peter. "He, in fact, framed Sirius Black for the whole shebang, ten or twelve years in Azkaban, I think it was..."

    "Peevesy thinksies that none of you firsties are Whirly Wormtall..." Peeves then leaned to the four of them "Does yous solemnly swear that yous are up to no good?"

   "Alright, I swear" Jake grinned, Janna stared at Juno who shrugged.

   "Why not, I swear" Juno then got a chuckle from Peeves.

   "Orion swears" Orion snickered, Peeves snapped his fingers and an egg cracked over Orion's hair, dribbling like a starchy water. Orion yelped and shook the egg out of his hair before taking a handful of gob and wiping it on the railing "Yuck"

   "Peeves likes you" Peeves snickered back at Orion, who was attempting to aim a spell at his hair but not knowing which one to use. Peeves turned to Janna, who thought carefully, she had no clue what she was agreeing with.

  "I swear" Janna spoke before her mouth could stop her, Peeves laughed happily, tissue paper and bonbons flew through the air around them. Peeves danced as he floated down the hallway.

    "Bye bye!" Peeves called down the hallway, Janna turned to see a stairway looking right back at her while Ash hung in her shoulder yapping at Peeves, the flakes on Ashe's back stood up with his nape hairs.

   "What is Peeves?" Juno asked Jake as the four first years clambered down the steps towards the Great Hall, hoping that breakfast was still available.

    "A Poltergeist, he said so... But I don't blame you for not paying attention since Poltergeists are terrifying when angry" Jake explained. Janna had her hand running on the stone railing, feeling a smooth grainy sensation which made her palm go numb.

The four hopped down the last steps, their shoes clapped on the stone floor, making a tattered old cat jump and hiss, pressing its body to the wall with its back arching up, like black cats on Halloween posters. The cat spat as the four tried to silently edge past it.

    "What did you do to my cat!?" Yelled an angry gruff voice, the four of them jumped and screamed. The hunched man looked at the four of them with angry eye, grumbling to himself.

    "N-Nothing" Juno stuttered, Jake rolled his eyes and sighed, knowing the man now knew that they were scared of him.

    "Is that so? Then why is my Mrs. Norris curled into a corner with fear?! The man questioned, watching Juno who shrank a little.

    "To be honest, that cat scared us" Orion explained, the angry old man grew red.

    "You did do something to my cat! A revenge plot!" The man yelled, swatting his finger at the four of them. Janna watched the cat land of the man's shoulder.

    "Sorry, Mr. Filch." Jake apologised  in a posh voice, raising his chin and puckering his eyebrows a little "we won't bother you, or your cat again"

Filch eyed the four students, Jake tugged the sleeves of Orion, Janna and Juno. The four of them then dashed to the Great Hall, Janna heard the boys laughing, she looked back with them and saw Filch still watching them with his cat on his shoulder, an image of a troglodyte who had been washed by a puddle from a tire. Janna giggled a little before stopping with the boys at the door. Janna noted four large shining hourglasses, each with a different colour one representing a different house. The gems within the above glass casings glistened in the early morning sunlight.