Task 9: Stopping the Pranks

[Mia Fountain]

There are many pranksters at the school who love to cause chaos, and what an opportune time of the year it is for chaos. You need to figure out what kinds of pranks are being planned and ways to stop them or at least limit their effects.

One way to help stop pranks from being pulled is by being diligent in patrolling the hallways. Complete your patrol of the hallways by completing this hashi puzzle. Alternatively, you can write about the pranks you have discovered and how you have stopped them in 100 words or more.



Message me your completed puzzle. Or post about the pranks below. Complete this task by October 31st at 11:59 pm HOL time for 10 beans.

[Janne Halla]

One of the first pranks that I've discovered were the floating muffins and other assortment of food in one of the main corridors. Delicious looking food in the middle of the hallway? It was most certainly a prank. I've took all the food and vanished it into nothingness. In case more food would pop up, I've also put up a sign telling people if they see floating food, to eat with caution as they're most likely a prank.

The second, and luckily the only one left, that I've noticed was a typical Muggle prank. Someone put a bucket filled with a nasty smelling liquid above the doorway to the boys' bathroom. I've nearly caught into its trap, but a spooky sound made me look up. To counter it, I put a temporary sticky charm on the bucket coupled with a levitating charm, so that even if the door is opened, the bucket wouldn't fall.

[Dibyarup James Potter]

While patrolling the hallways, I overheard a group of pranksters planning to place Dungbombs under the House tables in the Great Hall. When the students sat down, the Dungbombs would explode, releasing a foul odour during the Halloween feast. After working so hard with the Fall Committee to organize all of this, I wasn't going to let these pranksters ruin it for everyone.

To stop this prank, I decided to set a trap for the pranksters. I placed a couple of fake Dungbombs under the tables in the Great Hall, and then I hid nearby. When the pranksters arrived to place the real Dungbombs, to their utter surprise, the Dungbombs were already in place. While they were trying to figure out who set up the pranks before they did, I jumped out and caught them red-handed. I confiscated their stock of Dungbombs and other joke items they were carrying and gave them a stern warning.

Another prank that I discovered were Nose-Biting Teacups placed neatly in the Great Hall. The goal of this prank was, that when the students reached for them, the teacups would bite their noses.

To stop this prank, I decided to cast the Severing Charm (incantation: Diffindo) on all of them, since I was well aware of this joke item, and could easily differentiate them from regular teacups.

When the students assembled in the Great Hall for the Halloween feast, the pranksters were surprised to find that their carefully placed Nose-Biting Teacups were nowhere to be seen. I identified them from their confused looks and after some observation when I was able to confirm that they were indeed the ones who had planned this prank, I confiscated whatever joke items they had on them and warned them about the consequences if they repeated this behaviour in the future.

[Scarlet Robloutain]

Our school is buzzing with mischief-makers all set to unleash chaos. These are some of the pranks I encountered while patrolling the hallways.

First up, confused gasps were heard when I walked past the charms classroom, textbooks turned illegible thanks to invisible ink. Sniffing out the trio, I used a counter-charm to restore the texts – no harm done.

Then came a series of transfiguration pranks giving students animal features. Caught the culprits using Animagus spells without a permit. Can you believe it! A Revealing Charm and a stern talk later, things were back to normal.

In the Potions classroom, cauldrons wouldn't stop overflowing. I tried several counter spells but nothing would help it. Eventually I found a hidden charm under a table and neutralised it.

I was hoping this was it for the day, but no.

Some jokers enchanted Spectral Spectacles, causing crazy illusions. I crafted a charm to break the spell, allowing students to navigate the castle without the distractions again.

Then came their grand finale – a parade of poltergeists in the Great Hall during dinner. They just couldn't stop scaring the poor first years. Some even managed to scare a few of the fifth and sixth years away. I had to call Nearly Headless Nick and the Bloody Baron to herd them away. After that it was a peaceful night.

[Adeline Morior]

Having patrolled the hallways and finding the usual pranks here and there haven't been such a massive challenge as the pranksters that use unconventional ways of pranking. Something the victims of the pranks and the prefects or professors might not recognize.

For instance, I had found a group of first years all wrapped up in cloth not knowing how to release themselves as they couldn't reach their wands. They say a couple of seventh years walked casually their way with a lot of cloth being held in their hands. It looked like they were just transporting it somewhere. Quite unsuspectingly they just casually strolled by the group on both sides and then again encircling them. Before the group knew it, they were pulled in tight having the cloth wrapped around them. The seventh years made a nice knot and the casually walked away.

This is just one of the unconventional ways people have been pranked. Not sure where they could have learned these tricks as most magical folk just use prank items. Must have learned it from the muggle world. Taking the time to really set my mind into the muggle way of thinking and consulting our muggle studies professors for some advice, I am hopeful to catch them.