"I think it's lack of common sense actually. If pranksters were stupid, we'd be seeing far more harmful side effects. Sure, we get some odd side effects, but usually no-one is actually harmed." Josh suggested, not to mention, most of the pranks required a fair amount of knowledge of magic.

"Oh, there are other ways, but they're harder to pull off, for no actual gain. The side-effects possible alone..." Josh shuddered, thinking briefly of what could go wrong. some of them didn't bear thinking about. "Also, you might be confusing side effects with desired effects, Addie. Remember that the pranksters want as much amusement as possible out of each prank. I don't think they overlook many of the effects. The less amusing side effects usually turn out to be the result of a prank going wrong than it going right." Josh added.

"It is all based on how you view intelligence. There is no doubt that the pranksters are smart with magic. They could concoct a different way to yield a different result. Now, as you say, they have no common sense, and still remain stupid in other aspects," Addison responded with a smile. It was such a great concept to think about, really. Especially when the ingenuity of the different pranks is considered. Naturally, there was always that limit in its extent.

Addie nodded to what Josh said. "They don't just want amusement, they also want to be able to brag. I guess that it would depend on their motivation for whatever prank they manage to cook up. I would imagine that they don't take the time to make sure their pranks would go completely correctly. After all, most not amusing side effects appear to be a surprise," she commented.

"True enough, Addie." Josh replied, not really having anything more to say about prankster's intelligence. Some pranks showed a significant intelligence. Others...

"True, some pranksters do want bragging rights. Those tend to be the easiest to catch, actually, since there is usually a way of identifying them. Even if it's a pseudonym, like with the Marauders all those years ago. They were known by the staff, but generally knew where to draw the line." Josh said.

"Anyway, how was your summer? I haven't been able to talk with you for a wile, with the Tetrawizard and everything" Josh asked, somewhat tired of talking about pranksters. Besides, all the talk of pranksters made him suspicious something was going to happen.

Addison smiled and nodded to what Josh said. Indeed, the idea of intelligence was always a fun one to ponder and think about. It always made for an interesting study and discussion as well. Not too many people, other than Ravenclaws of course, would even care to think about its general idea.

Pseudonyms always helped to hide someone's true identity. But, the more that name is spread around, the better chance that the person's identity would eventually be truthfully revealed. She nodded to what Josh said about them, "They could be easier to catch, and they are also more careless."

Addison smiled and nodded. "Right, you were in the first challenge and all. I must say, you performed well in the maze that was presented, and I hope that you were able to open that box..." she stopped speaking, realizing that she was going off a tangent that he probably wouldn't want to discuss. After all, tournament problems weren't exactly her area of expertise. For that matter, the only things that she knew were just rumors spread around the castle.[1] "Sorry...but...yes, my summer was good. I was actually pretty productive over the summer reading up on things, How about yourself?" she asked.

1.	I assumed this, since I assume that the students do talk about various details about the tournament.

Josh smiled slightly when Addie said he had done well on the first task. "Yeah, the first challenge was tough. Still, it's time for someone else to have a crack at the next task now, thankfully." Josh said, not answering about the box. "My summer was pretty good, actually. Saw an old friend when the Beauxbatons students turned up." Josh said, smiling at the memory.  Seeing Delphine  had been a surprise.  " What were you reading about over the summer, anyway?" Josh asked, curious.

With the Tetra-Wizard Tournament at Hogwarts, it seemed like there was always plenty of people around the castle. After all, they now had an influx in students from Beauxbatons, Durmstrang, and Salem. Addison hadn't seen Josh much at all for the first month that they were at the castle. It didn't help matters that the Gryffindor was in the tournament as well. However, his participation was only for the first task. From books that she read before, the champions chosen would have to compete in all three tasks. In this tournament, there could be different students chosen for the tasks. As long as Josh's name was still in the Goblet, it was always possible that he could be chosen again.

"Yeah, that is always a good thing. I could only imagine how draining only one task is. Imagine having to have to do all three, just as they did years ago. When is the second task anyway?" she asked him. She noticed that Josh didn't say anything about the box that he captured from the first task. In her mind, that could only mean two things. First, that he wasn't allowed to talk about it, which was probably the most likely out of the two. After all, Josh would have to share that information with the Hogwarts Champions. The second, was that he wasn't able to open the box and didn't want to tell her. While that was certainly possible, he probably knew that as a fourth year, she didn't know enough about magic to even think of a way to open up the box. So, she decided not to press the question any more.

Addison smiled and nodded to what Josh said. "That's good," she responded. It was always good to find old friends. "I read up on old tournaments from years ago over the summer. I also looked at muggle painting books," she responded with a nod. .Even though History of Magic was not her favorite class, it was still interesting to look at history. Although she didn't talk much about her artwork, she didn't mind other students knowing the she studied and looked at art. She loved looking at muggle paintings, from her time spent as a muggle before coming to Hogwarts.

"The first task was probably about as draining as you think. None of us found it easy. As for when the second task is, it's late November, I can't remember the exact date." Josh replied.

"Yeah, it's always good to catch up with old friends. Met her the summer before First Year, actually, she's about your age." Josh said. " I should really introduce you to my cousin Scirey one of these days, Addie. She's an artist, you'd probably like talking to her." Josh said quietly, in case anyone heard.[1]

1.	I'm deliberately leaving it vague as to if Josh knows Addie is an artist, since I don't know if Josh and Addie are close enough for Josh to know.

Addison nodded to Josh's answer. She was thankful that, as a fourth year, her name was not eligible to be placed in the goblet. After all, she had no idea if she would be even able to think on her feet long enough to win the challenge, let alone survive the task. Just because her mind wandered a lot, did not necessarily mean that she would be able to think of the right spell to use or the right strategy in time. It did sometimes take her some time before she could do some things.

"That's good, especially since you two remain friendly after so many years away from each other," Addie responded to Josh. Whenever she returned home, she would always be frightened about seeing one of her old friends. Usually, she didn't. But, she didn't want to have to face the possibility of having to discuss where she was for several months at a time. Due to the statue of secrecy, she couldn't discuss magic with muggles. "Oh, is that so? I haven't really studied too many wizard or witch artists yet, mainly just muggle ones so far. So, I haven't read about anyone named Scirey yet. But, yeah, that'd be great," she responded.

"You wouldn't have heard of her, she's not famous. Should be, really, she's excellent, but..." Josh said, voice trailing off. "I'll see what I can do, she doesn't get out much. Doesn't like crowds." Josh said, sighing. He always hated that Scirey was struggling as an artist, but there was little that he or his father could do. With everything his cousin had gone through...

Addison shrugged to what Josh said. "I haven't really studied any magical artists yet as it is. But, I'm sure that your cousin is an excellent artist," she responded with a nod. She would have to keep that name, Scirey, in mind. Just because the artist didn't make too many appearances, didn't necessarily mean that Scirey's work was completely not noticed. "Well, think of it like this, she expresses herself in a different way. For that matter, not liking crowds doesn't mean that the artwork is bad or anything. If your cousin wanted to, I'm sure that she could come out with something. She just has to have confidence in what she does," she responded.

"I know Addie, I know. As I said, she's an excellent artist, she just isn't well-known yet. " Josh replied, wondering why Addie seemed to think he thought his cousin was bad at painting.  " I think it's more a fear of making a fool of herself, actually. She's all right with people she knows. " Josh said, "Not to mention it's not something that started when she took up art professionally." Josh added, getting slightly uncomfortable. He doubted Scirey would want him to share too many stories of her when she was younger.

Addison smiled and nodded to what Josh said. She had made no indication of any impression of thinking Scirey was bad at painting. However, the whole point of creating artwork was not to become well-known. If becoming well-known was a result of the artwork, then it was even better. The first result of creating artwork was for the artist to create artwork that the artist actually liked. The second was to create the work in a way that leads to other people having the same impression on the artwork as the artist did. This was where she had problems herself, believing in her own work. After all, if you didn't have confidence in your own work, then it would certainly be harder to show other people. From what she could gather from Josh so far about Scirey, it sounded like that was the case. "I would think that she doesn't have confidence in her work to show others just yet," she responded with a nod.