Celebrations, Chaos and Splashes of Color

It was a fine Tuesday morning at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, with the leaves just beginning to change from their usual green to the vibrant reds, yellows and oranges autumn brought. Hooves, Squawky, Blizzard and Horsea were up early, having a whispered conversation near the Hufflepuff table in the Great Hall. The birthday cake at Whizpurr's usual place for breakfast had been finished just last night, with help from the Hogwarts house-elves. On her chair sat a small stack of gifts from the rest of the Punners.

"Here she comes!" said Blizzard excitedly, nudging Hooves as she spoke. The four of them stopped their conversation and rushed to Whizpurr, who was approaching from around the corner.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY THEIA!!!!" Hooves, Squawky, Blizzard and Horsea screamed together, ending up in a tangled group hug with their friend.

"Thanks, guys!" Whizpurr exclaimed, a wide smile spreading across her face. She spotted the gifts and the cake and gasped. "Oh wow, you didn't have to do that!"

Hooves looked offended. "Yes we did; it's the birthday of the tallest Punner." Everyone except Hooves himself rolled their eyes and then burst out laughing.

After a moment, Squawky spoke up. "We should eat now—being late to class wouldn’t be the most amazing start to the special day of the most amazing person, would it?”

“Fine. Only because you’re the best,” replied Whizpurr. Everyone hugged her a second time, then began heading to their respective house tables. However, that wasn’t until after slicing into the cake first, each selecting a sizable piece to take back with them and eat.

After getting through each of their classes attentively (with the exception of History of Magic, which proved to be as dull as always and as good a place as any to invent collaborative horror stories), the Punners gathered at the Hufflepuff table for lunch. There, Hooves provided entertainment by attempting to turn his water into wine, which backfired and ended up exploding in his face (to much surprise from Hooves and much amusement from the others). They decided to hang out near the Great Lake after eating, using their free time to finish up homework and mess around.

While Squawky and Hooves settled down in the shade of a large tree, preparing to work on their Ancient Runes homework, Whizpurr sat down nearby with a book in hand, and Horsea and Blizzy walked to the edge of the lake. The sun shining from above made its surface sparkle, creating a stark contrast to the inky depths of the water. It was a peaceful afternoon, with nothing to disrupt the serene setting.

That is, until a gigantic dark shape rose to the surface and a colossal splash sounded, contributing in part to the chaos that followed.

Hooves blinked. “Huh—”

Whizpurr stood up, shielding her eyes from the sun in an attempt to see what was going on. Meanwhile, Blizzy and Horsea were standing near the shore, their hands raised in front of them. They were facing the lake, where something was bobbing. It stared back at them with wide eyes, and its appearance would have been almost frightening if not for its familiarity.

“Please don’t tell me that’s the Giant Squid,” said Squawky, facepalming.

“That’s the Giant Squid,” responded Horsea cheerfully. Besides her, Blizzy whooped. The two of them had somehow persuaded it to emerge using their unique aptitude for most water-related tasks.

“Wow,” said Whizpurr. “But what was that even for?”

Right after she spoke, another head rose above the water and was followed by several more. The merpeople were emerging, with spears clutched in their fists and dark green hair astray. Hooves eyed their weapons warily. “Guys, be careful.”

Blizzy cleared her throat and glanced back at Whizpurr, paying Hooves no mind. “On one, two, three—”

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!” belted Horsea, using her wand like a conductor’s baton guiding an orchestra. This orchestra was especially confused, however, and when the merpeople opened their mouths, only earsplitting shrieks emerged.

Squawky flinched, but watched as Horsea and Blizzy continued to sing and conduct unfalteringly despite the disorder. The Giant Squid was opening and closing its beak while bobbing to the music, although Hooves doubted any sound was coming out. The air filled with the sound of frequent splashes, high-pitched screeching and loud singing, as well as laughter. Whizpurr grinned, listening to the chaos her friends had created for her. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO WHIZPURR—”

A few other students milling around had decided to contribute to the tangle of noise after watching the scene unfold, yelling with enthusiasm. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!”

Horsea and Blizzy each sank into deep bows, their faces alight with a bright smile. The Giant Squid waved an exceptionally large tentacle in Whizpurr’s direction before disappearing back under with another large splash that drenched those standing nearest to the lake, Horsea and Blizzy included. Laughing and soaked through, they headed back to join the other Punners as the merpeople dispersed as well.

Squawky shook her head. “How’d you even do that?”

“It’s a secret,” responded Horsea, raising her eyebrows and grinning.

“Well, it was pretty impressive,” said Hooves, then turned to Whizpurr. “Happy birthday again!”

“And this is why I love you guys,” said Whizpurr.

The Punners finally settled down to finish their homework, spreading their school materials in the grass surrounding them. However, as Squawky scribbled on a sheet of parchment, Hooves took out his wand. He waved it twice, turning Squawky’s hair and eyebrows blue and bronze to match the Ravenclaw colors. After attempting in vain to wipe the grin off his face, he turned his attention to the others and casually pointed at Squawky. The three other girls looked at her for a moment before erupting into laughter, and Hooves proceeded to conjure glowing horns over her head.

Squawky looked up to see what her friend was pointing at and rolled her eyes. "If you guys are done, I'm going to the library. You should start on your homework as well, preferably without glowing horns on your heads."

"As you say, your royal Panda Helicopterness," they chorused. Hooves vanished her horns with another wave of his wand and they followed her to the library, giggling all the way. After seeing Madam Pince's stern glare, they shuffled to their usual spot, setting their books down on the table. A few people stopped by to wish Whizpurr a happy birthday, some with gifts in hand. They glanced at Squawky's blue and bronze hair but didn't say anything about it, recognizing the playful antics of the rest of the Punners at work.

Squawky still had yet to notice her newly colored hair until after dinner, when the five friends were exchanging goodbyes and hugs. A lock of hair got caught on Horsea's robes and, upon noticing the blue and bronze, it took a short moment for her to make the connection to Hooves’s laughter earlier in the day. Noticing the expression on Squawky’s face, the friend in question began to run up the stairs, his smile prominent.

"HOOVES, I'M NOT LETTING YOU GO THAT EASILY!" she yelled, taking out her wand.

“What happened, Chopper?” asked Hooves, feigning innocence from his position at the top of the staircase.

“First of all, you’re saying it wrong—it’s Copter, not Chopper—and second of all, what the heck did you do to my hair?” Squawky righted it back to its usual color with a twirl of her wand, but her eyebrows remained strikingly blue.

The other Punners had caught up with them by now, laughing at their friend’s reaction. “We totally didn’t do anything,” said Whizpurr, grinning.

“Oh, and your eyebrows totally aren’t still blue,” added Horsea.

“Wow,” said Squawky, facepalming. “You have got to be kidding me.”

Blizzy struggled to stifle her laughter. “I’m not ‘kidding me’, I’m Brystal. And by the way, your eyebrows look brylliant.”

Squawky stared at her for a moment, then began to laugh. “Did you just—”

“Yes she did,” said Hooves, putting a hand on her shoulder. “It’s what the Punners do.”