"Oi! I didn't do nothing! I swear! It was like that when I got there! You can't prove nothing!" Harri's gravelly voice carried through the Portrait Hole as she made her way into the Gryffindor common room. There was a faint sound of someone talking with her though their voice didn't carry as well as hers had. She clamoured out of the hole and landed in the Common Room. Harri was dressed in her usual disheveled looking uniform, loose slacks and loose vest, her tie no longer tight up at her neck. Her sleeves were rolled up and her cloak was nowhere to be seen. Her shaggy brown hair was tucked under a Man U knitted cap.

She looked back at the Portrait Hole and the source of the second voice made themselves known. Nearly Headless Nick floated into the common room looking rather indignant with the young Gryffindor. His hands set firmly on his hips the way a reprimanding parent might stand.

"This is Bollocks!"

"Language young Lady!"

Harri stomped her foot, "I am NOT a Lady!" Those that had known Harri knew that she was incredibly defensive against any mention of her gender.

"If I had the power deduct points, I would. Gryffindors do not act like this."

"Well you don't so" Harri flipped him off. The House Ghost let out a loud shocked gasp before floating back through the portrait hole, mumbling about the lack of respect of kids these days. Harri turned back to the small crowd that had formed in the common room giving them a roguish grin that made her grey eyes sparkle, "Okay so I may have drawn a few mustaches on a few portraits."

Linus watched as the first year got told off by Nearly Headless Nick. It was nice to see other people getting in trouble for a change, and Harri Dursley was somebody who did many ill-advised but nevertheless fun things. He had a lot of respect for her; he hoped to one day plan some sort of master prank with her help one day. But it would not be this day. Today Linus already had a lot on his plate. Something destructive but with the potential of bringing him great riches and revenge.

"Which ones?" The Gryffindor replied, unable to hold in a short laugh.

From the 7th year boys dorms, he heard a scream-- the sort from somebody who was startled but in an angry way, not a pleasantly surprised way. Oh no. Eyes wide, Linus leaned towards Harri, pitching his voice so only she could hear. "I may have, uhm.... Snuck in a niffler." He, too, was known for doing ill-advised but fun things. Life was short, it might as well enjoy it.

As if on cue, a black, furry creature with a long snout padded down the stairs, making panicked squeaking noises. Roughly the size of a large badger, Nifflers were known to be great at finding shiny things. And destroying the interior of homes. This one, however, was affectionate and sweet, as well as freakishly strong. With yesterday's weather in mind, Linus hadn't wanted to make it stay outside.

At breakfast, Marco Caldara had flipped him off. So Linus did what any self-respecting Gryffindor would do-- he set the niffler loose in the 7th year dorm. Revenge at its' finest.

"Harri, help me hide it!" He hissed through his teeth, taking off his cloak and throwing it on the poor thing. "You can draw a mustache on it later." There was no sense in trying to hide it. By now, the people in the common room were starting to make a fuss. This would spread, and quickly.

Nearly Headless Nick was wrong. Gryffindors did act like this.

Dan couldn't help but laugh at the two younger gryffindors. From where he stood at the back of the common room he swore he could see Linus trying to hide a Niffler with his cloak. That would explain the screams coming from the 7th year dormitory.

There would be hell to pay but Dan wasn't going to stand by and let Linus or Harri get pummeled for pulling a prank so he walked purposefully over to the pair.

"You two better get that thing out of here and lay low for a while, let me try and cover for you." He said with a chuckle.

Ambrose clattered down from the fifth year doors, half-finished essay in hand.
“How do you spell inadvisable?” He asked the common room, not looking up at the scene until he caught his mate’s voice.
“… let me try and cover for you.”

Ambrose’s eyes snapped up and he lowered the essay, his quill nearly drawing on his jeans as he took in the sight of Harri and Linus and then Dan the other side of the common room watching with amusement.
“Cover what …?” Ambrose asked, staring at his cousin, “what have you done now?”

There was something so special about the first response she got being "which ones?" Instead of some lame reprimand. Harri simply smirked at Linus about to give her response when her fellow trouble maker's latest exploit caused it's own disruption. She chuckled lightly as the niffler was hastily covered with a cloak.

Linus requested her help and Harri was all too happy to oblige. Pulling pranks wasn't any fun if you let your buddies take the fall for it. She bent down and scooped up the cloak covered niffler, shuffling it behind her back as Dan came to their side. The older Gryffindor was quite the asset for the younger pranksters. He wasn't the boring type of big brother that would tell on you when you snuck into the cookie jar. He was the awesome kind who'd keep a look out of give you a boost. Harri gave him a toothy and rather mischievous grin.

Now joined by Ambrose, Harri was occupied with shuffling backward,  the cloaked niffler still behind her back as she made her way back to the portrait hole. She managed to shove the niffler into the portrait hole with only a little difficulty.

She gave him a mock hurt expression, the niffler behind her struggling to untangle itself from Linus' cloak, "Now way you gotta go thinking we done anything wrong?"

"Oi! Who did it?" Nicholas shouted as he pushed his way past Ambrose into the common room, clutching his hand where the niffler had tried to pull his ring off when he'd entered the room.  When it wasn't able to get the ring, it had grabbed his necklace and shot out of the room.  If he hadn't been so startled by the creature he would have frozen the damned thing but instead all he could manage was following.

"Who did it?"  He demanded of the room again, wand out and looking around the room until the obviousness of it and the stares of some of his housemates drew his attention to Linus.  And the fact that both Linus and the first year next to him looked guilty.  "Where's it at?  I want my necklace back."

Dan moved protectively in front of the pair of troublemakers as Nicholas brandished his wand. "Get the necklace from the bloody thing" he hissed under his breath at Harri and Linus before saying more loudly to Nicholas, "Calm down mate I'll get your necklace back just put the wand away." His own wand now in his hand but out of sight behind his back.

As the niffler came down the stairs, he and Harri did their best to hide the creature under his cloak.

It was not convincing.

And now, a crowd was gathering-- Ambrose, Bevans, Duffy.... This was Hughes-Pepper family reunion levels of crazy! This time though, nothing was on fire and nobody was crying. Yet.

"It's nowhere and everywhere!" Linus yelled back at Bevans, "And it has a name!" No it didn't. "Trixie." Trixie the Niffler. It'd work. "She's my emotional support animal. I have emotions, you know." He looked from Ambrose, to Bevans, to Duffy before shooting Harri a weak but slightly mischievous smile. Wands were out. This could get good. Duffy was hiding something behind his back, and he was probably ready to hex Bevans if need be.

It would be glorious.

Linus would welcome this chaos with open arms. Trixie made a grunting noise and proceeded to escape, trailing Linus' cloak behind her. The niffler made a beeline for something that was probably shiny and fragile.[1]

1.	Maybe a student? Somebody, everybody! Anybody!

Dan turned as Linus started yelling at Bevans and watched as the Niffler escaped and started running across the room. "Damnú air!" Dan swore loudly as he whipped out his wand, yelling "Stupefy" He had to stop this now. Too late he realised that he probably shouldn't be casting spells in such a crowded room, especially when everything was going to hell and Bevans was both angry and had his own wand out... bugger...

Marco's day was terrible. His life was terrible and the world was falling apart and a bloody niffler had completely destroyed his dorm room. It had also taken off with a shiny box full of sentimental belongings. And his smoking supplies, including a healthy quantity of gillyweed.

He was also fairly certain that it had stolen his one and only diamond earring. It didn't matter why he had it, but what mattered was that it belonged to him.

The Gryffindor stormed into the common room, cussing up a storm and ready to fight the niffler-- and promptly collapsed, face smacking against the ground. Had he been conscious, Marco might have been thankful that the floor was kind enough to catch him.

"Bollocks." Harri swore as the niffler rustled loose. She paid no real mind to the older boys as they postured with their wands. In the eight months that she had been living in the castle she had seen enough of the boys get into scraps (she had gotten into even more herself) that it hardly worried her. She was more concerned with making sure the fuzzy little thief made it out alive.

"Aw feckin' hell don' do that! " She called to Daniel as he raised his wand.

The spell hit and knocked out Marco and the scrappy little first year was swiftly by his side, niffler forgotten. She looked to the gathered older Gryffindors, "Any of you Blokes know a spell to wake 'em?"

"Don't wake him!" Linus shouted, forgetting about the niffler as she continued to do... Whatever it was she was doing. "He'll murder us." Right now, his reasoning behind not wanting Marco conscious was 50% self preservation and 50% spite.

"Draw a mustache on him instead. Like you did on the portraits." He still didn't know which ones, but Harri's artistic abilities could surely improve Caldara's face.

Crap, this was getting out of hand and fast, Dan thought to himself as Marco hit the floor out cold. He didn't want to be getting on the bad side of anyone, not with a possible business venture in the works. He quickly assessed the situation and went to grab Linus and Harri by the collars and drag them out of there before the three of them got hurt. He needed the trouble makers uninjured and alive.

Nicholas was still pissed, but there was something amusing about the fifth year stepping in to protect Linus and Harri.  He didn't make a habit of hexing his housemates.  Especially not first years.  But before he could say as much to Daniel, Daniel was stunning Marco.  Who, thankfully, did not take a header into anything but the floor.

And the niffler  was now hard at work making the common room look like the dorm. 

He pointed his wand at Daniel, "No more from you." 

He gave a look to Linus, that made it clear Marco wasn't the only one Linus should be worried about, and moved to Harri and Marco. "Should have thought of that before, Linus.  Catch that damn niffler."

He knelt down and rolled Marco over, "Rennervate."  Another red flash and Nicholas put his hand on Marco's shoulder so he wouldn't sit up quickly.  "You okay, mate?  I think your face broke your fall."

“Now way you gotta go thinking we done anything wrong?” Harri asked, mocking that they were hurt. Ambrose didn’t get a chance to reply, Nick Bevans burst into the common room, shoving Ambrose sideways. The Fifth year prefect sprawled behind one of the homely sofas. From behind it, Ambrose heard Dan try to calm Nick down and Linus yell.

Bugger, he was a prefect. Ambrose scrambled back to his feet, quill ink across his face from the fall and his essay creased. Thanks Nick! Thanks Harri… thanks Linus.

There was something in his young cousin’s cloak and it was grunting. Ambrose’s gaze zeroed in on it, but he had no time to ask before Dan threw a curse, Marco Caldara received it and faceplanted right in front of Ambrose, inches from the sofa’s arm and Harri yelled at Dan.

“Any of you blokes know a spell to wake ‘em?”
“I’ll blow his head off if I try-.” Ambrose explained, interrupted.
“Don’t wake him! .. Draw a moustache on him instead-"
“No, Linus.” Ambrose interrupted back, hand balling into a fist and further creasing his essay. Dan was creeping up behind the two younger Gryffindors.
“… catch that damn niffler.” Nick ordered before rousing Marco.

“Niffler!” Ambrose exclaimed, “Why the heck you got one of those?!” He slammed his essay down on the nearest surface with his quill and rolled up his sleeves, passing by Marco and Nick to search for the snuffling thing on his hands and toes. “Professor Donovan’s going to kill you if it gets hurt, it’ll get over excited and overfill it’s pouch if you’re not careful.” He scrambled across the floor after the niffler who was still half caught in the cloak and dived, arms out to sweep it close.