Dense cloud cover shadows the dormitory in a typical Scottish gloom. Seamus contemplates whether or not to light a candle to give them some more light as they move later into the afternoon, toward the evening. The candles should be lighting themselves just about now, but Seamus is straining his eyes to make out the text of Unfogging the Future. The section on tasseomancy lists a number of symbols and their respective meanings, though how anyone should be able to deduce a single one of these out of a bunch of tea leaves is beyond him.

The stale silence of the dorm is broken by Dean, sitting across from Seamus. "I'm starting to think Hermione and McGonagall were right. This really does all seem like a bunch of rubbish."

"I dunno," Seamus says running a hand through his unkempt, sandy hair. "It made sense when Trelawney was doing it. And Lavender and Parvati seem not to have a problem."

"Yeah, that just makes me question it even more," Dean says, earning a laugh from Seamus. "What do you think, move on to something else? We still have Lupin's essay to get through."

Seamus sighs. "Right. Yeah, I guess we can always just fudge this if we need to."

"I doubt Trelawney would know the difference," Dean says.

As Seamus and Dean begin to put their divination books aside and pull out their notes from Defense Against the Dark Arts, they hear a pair of footsteps approaching the dormitory at a quick pace. Not long after, Fred and George Weasley poke their heads around the doorframe, searching the room until they spot Seamus and Dean by the window. "Ah, perfect! Just who we were hoping to see!"

The two fifth year twins stride into the room, looking suspiciously. George walks somewhat awkwardly, doing his best to conceal something large beneath his robes. Unsure of just what's going on, Seamus asks, "What are you two on about now?"

Approaching the two, Fred says, "We find ourselves in need of some…assistance."

"Oh great, what did you two do this time?" Dean asks, turning to face them in his chair.

Fred's face makes an expression of mock surprise. "Why, Dean Thomas, we are shocked and chagrinned!"

"Mortified and stupefied!" George says, imitating his twin.

"How could you possibly sink so low as to accuse George and I of some kind of…wrong-doing!?"

Dean and Seamus smirk at each other. "Alright then," Seamus says innocently. "What do you need help with?"

George clears his throat. "Fred and I have – rather unexpectedly – come into the possession of a…unique artifact. We were wondering if you'd be interested in holding onto it for a while."

"Why?" Dean asks.

"Because it just so happens that we found this unusual object in a cozy little corner of Filch's office," Fred answers.

Both Seamus and Dean roll their eyes. Seamus asks, "Oh why'd you have to go and nick something else from him? It just makes him angrier at the rest of us."

"This time it was different," Fred says. "We just had to take this thing."

"Why?" Seamus asks.

Fred looks at George, who says, "Well…this one…this one, sort of…called to us."

Looking even more confused, Dean and Seamus both go, "Huh?"

"Okay, so, there we were," George says, setting the scene, "trying to sneak into the Prefect's bathroom to steal Percy's Head Boy badge, when Mrs. Norris comes right around the corner with Filch in tow. So of course he drags us back to his office to write us up."

Fred continues. "Not long after we get there, one of the house elves shows up complaining about Peeves harassing them in the kitchens. So he tells us to stay put, and he heads off to go deal with everyone's favorite poltergeist."

Fred hands it over to George. "We were just sitting there at first, perfectly innocent – really! – but after a few minutes, we both start to hear this… sort of… drumming sound."

"Drumming?" Dean asks.

"Yeah," George says. "It was soft and slow at first," he says, tapping his knuckles slowly on the table, "but it got louder and faster the more time went on," and he switches to pounding the table frantically. "We follow the drumming to a corner in Filch's office, and we found this," George finishes, pulling out something big and rectangular from underneath his robes.

Setting it down on the table in front of them, it first appears to be a small wooden box or case. The top is emblazoned with a distinctive combination of images. The foreground is obscured by numerous ferns that sit in front of a background dominated by a huge river winding between smoking mountain tops. The scene is framed by ornate, hand carved designs, and the four corners each bear an egg-shaped border. Within the upper left hand corner is the snarling face of on older man, a pith helmet hanging over his brow. To the right, a gracile monkey sits in the branches of a tree, its long tail curling behind it. Below the monkey, an elephant's head peers outside the fame, it's trunk curling inward toward its wide, flat ear. And lastly, the bulky skull of a rhinoceros, with its horn pointing proudly upwards.

Through the very center, a series of letters spell out a single word, with a spear running through the middle. Seamus reads the word aloud.

"Jumanji?"

Examining the box, Dean asks, "So what is it?"

"Well, obviously, it's Jumanji!" Fred says, as if addressing a two-year -old.

"And what is Jumanji, exactly?" Dean asks, with one eye brow raised.

"Yeah, no idea," Fred says with a shrug.

"There's a surprise," Dean says, crossing his arms. "So what are you gonna do with it?"

"Fred and I will find out what it is, and then put it to good use, I'm sure," George says confidently.

"Until then," Fred says, "We would be ever so grateful if one of you would just…you know, hold on to it for a while."

"What with, seeing as how Filch will no doubt have noticed it missing by now-"

"And seeing as how we were the only ones in his office at the time-"

"He will no doubt come to the conclusion that Fred and I stole it."

"Because you did steal it!" Seamus points out.

"Now Seamus, there's no need to harp on about unimportant details," Fred says, ignoring him. "And also seeing as we are already quite high on McGonagall's shit list for trying to flush a puffskein down the toilet – don't ask – we're doing our best to avoid getting into trouble."

"Well…" George says, cocking his head to one side, "doing our best to avoid getting caught at any rate…"

"So you want us to hide it for you, in case Filch or McGonagall comes snooping around the dormitory?" Dean asks.

"Good to know you can listen," George says with a sly smile.

"Why would we do that?" Seamus asks, groaning slightly. "We barely even know you. You're not even in our year!"

"Precisely!" George points out. "That's the whole point! Why would Filch or McGonagall ever suspect either of you of helping us? You have no reason to whatsoever!"

"Well, right!" Dean says, as if Fred and George are missing something obvious. "We have no reason to help you, so why would we?"

"Oh, Dean, Dean, Dean," Fred says, kneeling down and putting his arm around Dean's shoulders. "Surely you can find it within yourself to look deep into your heart, at the inherent goodness and generosity that all-"

"I'm not doing it," Dean says firmly.

"Right then, what do you want?" Fred says, dropping the air of friendliness and standing back up.

"What?" Dean asks.

"Well, you're not going to do it out of the kindness of your hearts," George says. "So I guess we'll have to turn this beautiful act of altruism into a banal bartering of favors. What do you want?"

Before Dean can say anything, Seamus blurts out, "Five galleons.'

"Oh get stuffed, Finnegan," Fred says. "We haven't got that kind of gold!"

"The hell you don't," Seamus says. "I saw it in the Prophet, your family won 700 galleons!"

"Should have read the whole thing," George says growing defensive. "Most of that gold is already gone. We went to visit our brother, Bill, in Egypt. You think we got any of that gold?"

"Well, I'm not doing it for free," Seamus says firmly. "Five galleons."

Both Fred and George narrow their eyes at him before looking at each other for a brief moment. "One galleon," Fred says.

"Four," Seamus says.

"Two," George says.

"Done." Seamus says with a smile.

Neither Fred nor George seems overjoyed with the arrangement, but they both nod. "Alright. Now, like we said, we don't' have that kind of money right now, so give us some time to come up with it, yeah?"

"Alright," Seamus says. "Tell ya what. I'll hang on to it, and I'll give it back to you when you give me the gold."

"Deal," Fred and George say, both extending their right hands to finalize the arrangement. Once finished, Fred says, "Right, now if you'll excuse us, we're going to make like we've been in the Great Hall this whole time."

Once the twins are gone, Dean turns to Seamus and asks, "What are you playing at?"

"What?" Seamus asks as if nothing's wrong. "They're right, no one would think we did it. Why would McGonagall or Filch look through my things? Besides, that first Hogsmeade visit is coming up, and I want to make sure I have plenty of money to go shopping."

"Fine," Dean says, sitting back in his chair. "But if you get caught, don't you go dragging me into anything."

"Oh quit worrying. Everything's going to be just fine."

Dean decides to leave the matter alone as Seamus picks up the wooden box and stows it in his trunk. Getting back to their school work, they manage to make substantial progress on Professor Lupin's essay on boggarts, a clear result of Lupin's superior teaching methods, far greater than those of Professor Trelawney. A few more people pop in as they work; Neville Longbottom comes in to check on his toad, and Harry Potter and Ron Weasley wander through, Ron complaining rather loudly about Hermione Granger's new cat, Crookshanks.

Once Dean and Seamus feel that they've made sufficient progress on their school work, they head down to the Great Hall for dinner. Joining their fellow third years at the Gryffindor table, Seamus and Dean both take a plate of meat pies and mashed potatoes while they discuss everything from the upcoming school quidditch season to the recently-escaped mass murderer, Sirius Black. Down the table, they catch Fred and George chatting with Angelina Johnson. They can't tell exactly, but it appears as though the twins are very actively trying not to look at them.

About a half hour into dinner, Seamus catches sight of the haggard, sour-faced caretaker, Mr. Filch, hobbling over to the staff table to speak to Professor McGonagall. At first, she appears largely disinterested, but Seamus notices a quick change in her demeanor after Filch gives his piece. She straightens up and shoots a lethal pair of daggers at Fred and George, who are doing their best not to look in her direction.

Seamus lowers his gaze back to his plate. Leaning over close to Dean, he whispers, "Look out. McGonagall's on the war path."

Dean glances over his shoulder, only to quickly look back down as McGonagall races past him, straight toward Fred and George. Seamus and Dean feel McGonagall's cloak billowing behind them as she makes her way to the twins. They do their best not to look as she approaches Fred and George and begins viciously scolding them for taking something from Filch's office, which they deny with surprisingly convincing innocence. Not believing them for a second, she pulls them up by the collars of their robes and demands to look through their belongings.

When all three are gone, Dean whispers to Seamus, "I hope you know what you're doing…"

"Oh shut it," Seamus hisses to him. Seamus' face goes slightly pale, and his voice doesn't seem nearly as confident as it was back in their dormitory.

Once dinner is finished, Seamus and Dean make it back to Gryffindor Tower, praying that they don't run into McGonagall on their way. But as they make it past the portrait of the Fat Lady, through the common room, and back into their dormitory, there's no sign of her anywhere. Instead, a joyous Fred and George are there to greet them.

"Ah! Welcome back, gents!" Fred says with a low bow. "Had a nice dinner?"

"I take it McGonagall didn't find it?" Seamus says hopefully.

George shakes his head. "Nope! She searched both of our things, and even Ron and Harry's, but she never even so much as suspected either of you!"

"Why would she search Ron and Harry's things?" Seamus asks.

"Well, Ron's because he is – for better or worse – family," Fred says.

"And Harry because he's like family. And of course because he's no stranger to getting into trouble," George says.

"But you two," Fred says, "Are so utterly unremarkable, that even the idea that you might have it never so much as crossed her mind!"

"Hey now, what's that supposed to mean?" Dean asks, sounding affronted.

"Well no offense to either of you," Fred says, "But as far as third year Gryffindor boys go, you kind of just fade into the background."

"What with the famous Harry Potter have saved the school on two separate occasions-," George says.

"Not to mention being a bang-up seeker and winning us the House Cup for the past two years-" Fred adds.

"And since Ron's his best mate-"

"For reasons we'll never understand-"

"And since Neville Longbottom – bless him – is good for a laugh once in awhile-"

"You two just don't really stand out in comparison, frankly," Fred finishes with a shrug.

"Which isn't a bad thing in the least," George adds, seeing a downtrodden look on Dean's face, "Sometimes it's better to go unnoticed. Makes it easier to get away with things, or avoid unnecessary drama."

"Yeah, we can tell you how hard it is, being well-known house quidditch players and infamous trouble makers," Fred says, unable to conceal the hint of bragging.

"Yeah, sure thing," Dean says, clearly unconvinced.

"Oh cheer up, mate," George says. "Once we get Seamus his gold, we'll take it back, and all four of us can put this whole thing behind us and get on with our lives. What do you say?"

Dean sighs a little and says, "Yeah alright. Just don't take too long."

"I'll say," Seamus adds.

Fred smile widely. "Wouldn't dream of it! Now gentlemen, we bid you goodnight-"

"And pleasant dreams," George adds, as they make for the common room.

As the night goes on, and Seamus and Dean prepare for bed as the rest of the third year boys return to the dormitory, Dean can't help but remember what Fred and George had said. You just kind of fade into the background. Completely unremarkable. Sitting in bed, he glances over at Harry Potter across the room, lying down and already trying to get to sleep. It did seem like extraordinary coincidence that Harry Potter had essentially saved the wizarding world from Lord Voldemort three times in his life by the age of thirteen. Was it truly random circumstance? Or was there something more at work? Either way, Dean can't help but feel just a twinge of envy over the subsequent attention and admiration that Harry received over their school career. A part of him – a reckless, vain part – wishes that he could be given the chance to face danger and save the day.

But he knows that's not likely to happen, so he resigns himself to a night's sleep. He lays his head down on his pillow, closes his eyes, and puts it out of his mind. But as the minutes pass by, and as Dean is close to sinking completely into slumber, something catches his hear. A soft, rhythmic drumming, like a steady constant heartbeat, seems to be coming from somewhere nearby. At first he wonders if it might be the beginnings of a dream, but Dean quickly realizes that it's coming from somewhere in the dormitory. He sits up in bed to try and find the source of the noise.

When he sits up, he sees that Seamus is also sitting up in the bed to his right. The two boys look at each other with confused expressions. "Do you hear that?" Seamus asks Dean in a soft voice.

"Yeah," Dean says with a nod. But as he looks around the room, none of the other boys in the dormitory seem to notice. All of them are still soundly asleep.

"What is it?" Seamus asks.

That's when Dean remembers what Fred and George had said before about a drumming sound in Filch's office. "Seamus…Seamus I think it's that thing, that box that Fred and George gave you to hide."

"What?" Seamus says, looking at his trunk.

"Yeah, remember what Fred and George said?" Dean says. "They heard a drumming sound coming from it."

But just as Dean finishes speaking, the drumming stops. "What'd you reckon that was about?"

Dean shakes his head. "I dunno."

"Eh forget it, let's just try to get some sleep," Seamus says, laying back down. Dean pauses for a moment, caught up in the sheer strangeness of what just happened. But eventually, he decides that Seamus has the right idea, and he lays his head back down on his pillow, soon drifting off to sleep.