The Eagle and the Badger

Chapter Ten: Halloween

Lucia wished with all her heart that she knew the spell to set the horrid note on fire. Since she didn't, she merely stood there clutching the parchment and staring at her friend, whose mobile features seemed to have turned to stone.

"Don't worry about it, Luce," Mike said shortly. "It's just someone being stupid."

"Of course - it must be." It was also a death threat, but Mike didn't need to have her nose rubbed in that ugly fact.

Students were beginning to filter into the entrance hall, and Lucia and Mike instinctively made for the most inconspicuous corner they could find. Mike reached out her hand.

"Here," she said. "I'll take it."

Lucia handed back the note. "You have to show it to someone - Professor Flitwick. He'll know what to do."

"Do what?" Mike scoffed. "Short of sending all the Mudbloods home, I don't see what he can do."

Lucia winced. "Don't say that word!" She didn't blame Mike for sounding bitter; her normally carefree friend's outburst was a mark of just how deeply the note had affected her. Underneath Mike's anger, Lucia guessed, lay fear she would have died sooner than admit to.

"Look, Luce - don't tell anyone about this, all right? I don't fancy becoming a sensation, like that Huffleuff girl - Sukie."

She turned and led the way to the Ravenclaw common room, head held high. Lucia didn't like the idea of keeping the note a secret, but she didn't argue. Mike would surely think better of it once she'd recovered from the shock.

ooOoo

"How did practice go?" Hugo asked, looking up from his Potions essay as Trevor eased into a chair across the table and shrugged off his cloak.

"All right," he said, "though Chalmers is still claiming I stole the Keeper's slot from him. His word."

Hugo laid down his quill. "Really? What are you going to do? What does Melissa say?"

Trevor idly flicked his wand at a roll of parchment lying on the table, causing it to stand on end for a couple of seconds before toppling over.

"Not bad, if I do say so myself," he said with a satisfied nod. "But to answer your question, one, I'm going to fight for it, and two, Marks seems to be waffling. Chalmers is pushing her to hold another tryout before our first game, but she hasn't said one way or the other."

"Sorry," said Hugo. "I hope it works out."

He kept his words deliberately vague, as he secretly thought a second tryout might be fair. It seemed harsh that even a highly talented first year could push out a seasoned veteran on the basis of just one tryout. He wasn't about to say that to his friend, however.

"I'm starved. Why don't you hang up your cloak and we'll go to dinner?"

While Trevor was gone, Hugo took out his wand and hesitated a moment before trying out his new Ink-Drying spell. The first few times he'd tried it, either the ink had stayed stubbornly wet or he'd singed the parchment. This time, however, the spell worked perfectly, and he folded the now-dry essay and put it away.

An excited buzz filled the Great Hall as the two boys took their seats. Halloween was fast approaching, and each night brought with it the expectation of some announcement from the headmistress about plans for the feast.

And indeed, between dinner and pudding, Professor Sinistra rose to her feet, her face composed and even grave, as always.

"Good evening, boys and girls," she said. "I shall not keep you from enjoying your sweets, but as the most important holiday in the wizarding world is a mere week away, I wanted to announce a few additions to the customary festivities.

"First and foremost, the staff and I have decided - with considerable input from students - " (here she smiled just a bit) - "to institute what we hope will become a new Hogwarts tradition: a Halloween party."

Cheers and whistles greeted this announcement, and Professor Sinistra had to hold up a hand for quiet before she could go on.

"The party will begin after the evening feast, at eight o'clock, and the curfew for all students will be extended until midnight. That should give everyone plenty of opportunity to celebrate without interfering unduly with the next day's classes.

"Of course, refreshments will be served, and there will be entertainment, the nature of which I shall leave you to speculate about." Again, the ghost of a smile played about her lips.

"Moreover, students may come to the party dressed in costumes if they wish. The only requirements are that any alterations to one's person be reversed by bedtime, and that everyone dress and behave in a manner befitting proper young witches and wizards.

"Now, enjoy the remainder of your meal."

To more cheers and applause, the headmistress sat down.

"Doesn't a Halloween party sound like fun?" squealed Sandy, giving Robbie's arm an enthusiastic squeeze as they walked with their Hufflepuff classmates out of the Great Hall.

The first cousins, Hugo knew, had grown up together and were nearly inseparable. Just as he and Lily would have been, if only . . . . Hugo couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy.

He half-listened as Sandy and the other girls began to discuss the all-important subject of costumes. He himself had no clue what sort of costume he might come up with, if he even decided to wear one. The party sounded like fun, though.

ooOoo

For any number of reasons, Lucia was having trouble concentrating on her History of Magic lesson. Today, it wasn't just Professor Binns' monotonous lecturing style, or the endless names and dates and places the ghostly professor reeled off without ever looking up from his notes.

For Lucia, history was what its name implied, story, and the doings of witches and wizards of yore provided drama enough for a thousand tales. The origins of magic were lost in the mists of time. Who were those first ancients to discover its workings and gain control over it? She imagined a young girl, whittling a hawthorne branch into a slender, flexible instrument imbued with magical power . . .

With a sigh, Lucia brushed the fantasy aside. What was really making it hard to keep her mind on the lesson was the note that threatened her best friend.

She glanced over at Mike, who was writing a letter behind her propped-up textbook. Her initial shock and anger had given way to an air of insouciance that Lucia guessed was mostly an act.

She was relieved when Professor Binns finally dismissed the class. She gathered her belongings and hurried away after Mike, who waited just outside the door.

"Awful old bore, isn't he?" Mike made a face.

"Professor Binns' lectures are rather dry," Lucia agreed. "And I do wish he would answer questions."

Mike snorted. "Vain hope; he'd die all over again before calling on anyone. I'd really like to ask the old buzzard why he's so obsessed with wars with giants when there hasn't been one in centuries."

The two girls walked along together, followed at an interval by Ruth and Amanda. Claudia, as usual, had melted away without anyone's noticing. At times, she seemed almost as ghostly as Binns.

"Have you decided what you're going to do?" Lucia said, keeping her voice low. She didn't have to spell out what she meant.

"I told you, I'm not going to do anything. I've been to enough schools to know what happens to tattletales."

Lucia, who had no experience at all with schools other than Hogwarts, had to ask, "What does happen?"

They had reached the stairway leading to their common room, where they were joined by Calypso. The cat wound between Lucia's feet until, afraid of tripping, she stopped to pick up the cat. At once, her familiar settled into her arms, purring loudly.

"Back in first form, there was this nasty little twit who picked on me because my parents were theatre people and not country gentry, like most of the other girls'. I called her the Crab because she liked to pinch my arm, hard enough to leave bruises. When I told my teacher, word got out that I was a crybaby in addition to not being quite the thing socially. When I came home with a split lip and a shiner, my parents yanked me out of that hellhole."

Lucia was horrified. "How old were you?"

"Seven," Mike replied with a shrug. "So no, I'm not going to say anything. Besides, who would I tell on? Whoever wrote that - thing didn't sign his name, exactly."

The last word was mumbled, but Lucia caught the implication. She didn't pursue it, however, as Mike had already answered the eagle's question and pushed open the door to the common room, leaving Lucia to follow.

It was beginning to dawn on her that she'd led a very sheltered life.

ooOoo

Wind whipped the Quidditch pitch, making it exceedingly difficult for the Hufflepuff Chasers to control the Quaffle they were attempting to hurl into the net as Malcolm Chalmers and Trevor Roberts, in turn, tried to stop them.

"Go, Trev!" yelled Hugo, feeling a bit guilty for wishing he was back in the warm, cozy common room. Only a handful of diehard fans watched as the two boys struggled for the starting Keeper's position. It soon became clear that Trevor, despite his lithe frame and superior reach, was losing ground to the older, more experienced player.

Even at a distance, Hugo could see the frustration on his friend's face as Quaffle after Quaffle whizzed past him into the net. It wasn't long before the team captain blew her whistle.

The players landed, gathering in a tight circle around their leader. Hugo didn't need to hear to know what Melissa Marks was saying, and his guess was confirmed when Trevor stalked off the field, clutching his broomstick as though he'd like to snap it in two.

He slumped into a seat beside Hugo. "She's giving the job back to Chalmers," he muttered. "Says not to mind, I can try out again next year. The thing is, I do mind."

Just then Chalmers walked by them and favored his rival with a little smile.

"Prat!" Trevor growled. "He needn't rub it in."

Hugo wasn't sure Chalmers had been gloating, but he didn't argue.

"Don't take it so hard," he said in an attempt to console his friend. "It's just a game."

He realized his mistake at once, as Trevor rounded on him with a scowl.

"That's easy for you to say!" he said hotly, clambering down from the stands with Hugo following after. "You don't even like Quidditch!"

"But - " Hugo started to argue that it wasn't true, he did like Quidditch, but of course that wasn't the point, was it?

He laid a hand on Trevor's shoulder, though he had to reach up a bit to do it.

"I'm really sorry, mate," he said.

Trevor didn't say anything, but his shoulders relaxed a little. The two boys walked in silence, with Ernie and Sandy hovering just behind. None of them knew what to say to cheer up their friend.

To Hugo's relief, Trevor ignored the grinning new Keeper amid a congratulatory crowd as they crossed the common room toward the dormitories.

"Chess," he proposed tersely, and Hugo took a seat at their usual table, hoping a game might take Trevor's mind off his disappointment.

Trevor was quiet as the two boys made their opening moves. It took only a few minutes for him to capture one of Hugo's pawns, which kicked and spat insults as he restored it to its compartment in the box.

"I'm not bad at this, am I?" Trevor murmured, keeping his eyes on the board. "And I'm not bad at magic, either, if I keep my mind on what I'm doing. I'm just not that great at playing Keeper. Not yet, anyway."

Hugo gaped, amazed at his friend's sudden change in attitude. "Well, maybe you weren't quite as good as Chalmers today, but . . . "

"No buts," Trevor insisted, still eyeing the board. "After that first tryout, I found out that he'd been ill the whole day, running a fever, but he was determined to play. I was so glad to beat him, I never said anything. I'm not proud of it."

"Well," said Hugo, wondering how best to keep his rook out of harm's way, "I suppose things worked out all right, then."

Trevor grinned for the first time since tryouts. "Yeah. I suppose they did. Now, I'm going to crush you."

ooOoo

Hugo thought he knew everything there was to know about Hogwarts feasts, but he was unprepared for the effect that thousands of magically conjured bats created as they swooped and fluttered near the enchanted ceiling. Fat black candles gleamed in twisted iron candlesticks on each orange-draped table, while more candles floated above them.

Their flickering, dancing light illuminated the tables but could not penetrate the shadowy corners of the Great Hall, which concealed the source of ominous rustles, squeaks, and cackles. As the Hufflepuff first years neared their table, Gabe let out a yelp.

"What was that?" he demanded, looking around wildly. "Something cold just went right through me!"

"Oh, don't mind the Fat Friar," said Ernie. "He'll be sitting at the head of the table, you know."

"Well, he might have excused himself," Gabe huffed, still shivering a bit. He'd seen the ghost of Hufflepuff, of course, but never felt it.

"I wonder," said Trevor as they all took their seats. "Why do some wizards and witches come back as ghosts, when others don't? At least, I don't suppose they do, because otherwise we'd be seeing a lot more of them."

No one seemed to have an explanation, until Hugo spoke up.

"My uncle Harry asked Nearly Headless Nick that, and Nick said that only people who are afraid to die become ghosts. They cling to the earth and refuse to move on. I don't know exactly what he meant by moving on, though."

The subject put a damper on conversation, and no one said much until laden platters of food began to arrive, smelling delicious.

"Umm - pumpkin seeds, I love them!" said Susan Pho, digging into a crisp salad. There were pumpkin soup and miniature pumpkin pasties in addition to the usual pumpkin juice. Everyone tucked in, and when the sweets arrived, they included peeled grapes ("eyeballs," Sukie contributed, having attended many a Muggle Halloween party) and a "graveyard cake" featuring chocolate "dirt" and realistic-looking sugar tombstones. Hugo was rather relieved to see that they bore only random initials and dates, not the names of real people.

Everything was very good, but Hugo's mind was on something else. He'd finally come up with an idea for costumes and his plan had gone over well with his fellow Hufflepuffs, except for Marco, but could they actually bring it off?

Once they were all gathered in the common room, the boys and the girls made trips to their respective dormitories and returned with their arms full. There wasn't quite enough to go round, so Hugo and Glinda went off to consult their precepts.

Tracking down everything they'd need took some time, but eventually they'd divided up the loot, with a lot of laughing and joking.

Only Marco didn't look happy.

"I still say this is a stupid scheme," he grumbled. "We'll have the whole school laughing at us."

"Shut up, Marco," said Trevor, who'd been listening to his dorm mate grouse for a week. "If you don't like Hugo's plan, you don't have to be part of it. Figure out your own costume."

Marco glared at him indignantly. "And just how am I supposed to do that? I didn't bring any costume with me - it wasn't on our list. And we haven't learned to Transfigure anything useful . . . "

Hugo held up a hand. "Suit yourself, Marco. There's plenty of stuff here for you, if you change your mind."

Sorting and trading completed, the first years retreated to their dormitories to adorn themselves.

ooOoo

"What on earth are you doing?" said Amanda as she entered the dormitory. Mike was sitting cross-legged on her bed, waving her hands in the air, while Lucia and Ruth watched in fascination.

"Drying my claws," said Mike, in a tone that implied it should have been obvious. "Impressive, aren't they?"

Somehow, she had managed to elongate her nails and give them wicked-looking points.

"What spell did you use, and why are you waving your hands around like that?" Amanda demanded, her eyes narrowed.

Mike grinned, looking very much like her old carefree self.

"I used Muggle magic, also known as fake nails and nail polish. The polish goes on wet, you see, so if I touch anything now, it'll smudge. D'you like them?"

She held them out for inspection.

"Erm - very nice. Where'd you get all that stuff?"

"Mummy," Mike said. "I Owled her right after we found out about the party and she sent all sorts of things - theatrical makeup, even wigs, in case anyone needs one."

Mike was already wearing her cat costume, a tight-fitting one-piece suit complete with hood and a pair of knee-high boots. ("I'm Puss-in-Boots, get it?") Her tail, Lucia had been relieved to learn, was only a long stuffed tube and not a product of Transfiguration.

Amanda too off her cloak but made no move to go hang it up.

"How did you get the ears and tail to stay on?" she demanded. "We haven't learned Sticking charms yet."

Mike picked up a small rectangular box and held it out to her dorm mate, careful to touch it with only the pads of her fingertips.

"It's called sewing. Mummy made costumes as well as acted when she worked in provincial theatre. She made all my Halloween costumes when I was a kid, and she taught me to sew a bit."

Lucia was amused to hear Mike talk as though she were now all grown up.

Amanda examined the needles and spools of thread with ill-concealed interest, though she only said, "Seems like a lot of work to me."

"What are you going to wear tonight, Amanda?" Ruth asked.

"Pam's lending me her Quidditch robes and broomstick," she said, looking a bit smug. "She's going to the party with her boyfriend, so she's dressing as a fairy princess or something." Amanda's voice dripped with disgust.

"What about you, Ruth?" said Lucia. "Have you decided?"

Ruth ducked her head shyly. "Mike said she'd help me make a mouse costume from my brown jumper and a pair of tights. Then she can pretend to chase me, see?"

MIke grinned a wicked catlike grin and made scratching motions with her "claws," and Ruth pretended to scurry away in fear. The effect would have been more convincing without the giggling.

"What are you going to be, Luce?" Mike asked.

Lucia rather liked her nickname, though Malfoys sniffed at them as vulgar.

"Well . . ." she said slowly, "you said that Muggle children like to dress as witches for Halloween. So, since I already have the clothes, I thought - "

"That's cheating!" Mike said with feigned indignation. "However, if you were to think hag, I could help with that."

Lucia went along with the idea, if only to keep the mood light. She was happy to see her friend in better spirits. Under Mike's instructions - her nails weren't completely dry yet - Lucia dug down into Mike's trunk and produced a theatrical makeup kit, an assortment of wigs and other accessories, including a truly frightening set of crooked, discolored fake teeth. (Evidently, Mike's mother had entered into the spirit of the occasion with gusto.)

By party time, Lucia was green-faced and deeply wrinkled, with wildly snarled grey hair and a hooked, warty nose.

"Lovely," Mike declared, admiring her handiwork. "Here - you forgot your teeth."

Lucia dutifully popped in the hideous things and grinned at her reflection in the mirror. Behind her, Calypso growled softly, but evidently the cat's reaction was just for show, because she trotted serenely after the four costumed girls as they made their way down to the Great Hall. As usual, Claudia was not among them.

ooOoo

The Hogwarts Halloween party was in full swing by the time Hugo and his friends arrived. That was good, because Hugo felt more than a little self-conscious - exposed, even.

The house tables were arranged against the walls, each covered with a black cloth and holding trays of sweets and sandwiches. Pitchers of pumpkin juice sat on each one, along with huge bowls full of -

"What is that stuff?" Trevor pointed at one of the bowls with a suspicious frown. "It looks like pus."

Hugo followed his gaze. "Dunno, and I'm not sure I want to."

After a few moments' hesitation, the two Hufflepuffs forced themselves to brave the crowd and were immediately greeted by the Fat Friar.

"Nice skirts, boys. Though I must say, a tipsy monk would be steadier on his feet." With a maniacal chuckle, the Hufflepuff ghost sailed off.

Trevor's lips, now a garish shade of crimson, formed a moue of disgust. "The monk wouldn't be wearing these bloody shoes. Next time you get a brilliant idea, keep it to yourself, all right?"

Hugo paid no attention, as he was staring at a ghostly form gliding their way. Long snowy hair flowed over the shoulders of her white gown, and her face was deathly pale. It might have been the Grey Lady herself, but the mischievous brown eyes gave her away.

"Lily!" he gasped. "Is that really you?"

"Yep. Nice outfits, by the way, though I suspect Aunt Fleur would question your makeup skills. Where'd you get all the gear?"

"Begged, borrowed, not stolen - that I know of. Some girls donated the clothes, Mum came through with the face paint, Uncle George sent all sorts of potions and stuff. Lovely, aren't we?"

He did his best to simper and batted his impossibly long eyelashes, cracking LIly up.

"And - and the hair?" she gasped, trying to recover. "Gro-Locks, I presume?"

Hugo's brown curls now brushed his shoulders. Trevor's dreadlocks, now waist-length, were tied back with a wide pink ribbon.

With a grin, Lily pronounced the effect fetching, and Trevor's dark cheeks might have reddened if they weren't already heavily rouged. Looking around, Lily spotted the other Hufflepuff first years, the boys dressed in Muggle girls' clothing and the girls in trousers, caps, and boots.

"I hope Uncle George sent you something to reverse those feminine touches," she said with a smirk. "If not . . . "

To her satisfaction, Hugo and his friend shared a look of consternation bordering on panic.

"You did think of that, didn't you, mate?" Trevor demanded. "I mean, we could cut our hair, but I don't fancy going trough term with these lashes."

"Er - don't worry," Hugo replied evasively. If worse came to worst, he reasoned, they could always resort to Madam Pomfrey.

"How'd you manage your own getup?" he asked Lily, casting about for a change of subject.

"Same way you did: Uncle George. What a resource, eh? NIghtgown's my own. By the way, that's James over there."

Lily pointed to a tall, hulking figure with tangled black hair and a thick black beard, leading a lumpy-looking white creature with a horn in the middle of its forehead.

"Impressive." Hugo gaped at the ersatz Hagrid and unicorn. "He couldn't have used Polyjuice, could he?"

Lily chuckled. "No - not that he wouldn't have if he thought he could get by with it. I don't know how he managed it, though there's a rumor going around that Professor Fuller helped him out. He's quite a pet of hers, we hear."

"And the unicorn?"

"Two of his mates, under a sheet, with a few modifications. Well, gotta go - have fun!" With that, Lily left them to join her Gryffindor friends.

Hugo and Trevor headed back to the refreshments. Hugo tugged self-consciously at Sarah's skirt as he leaned across the table to snag a Cockroach Cluster.

"Clever idea," a familiar voice behind him said, and he turned to see a warty, green-faced hag leering at him.

He couldn't place the face, but the voice . . .

"Luce?" he guessed. "You're absolutely, er - hideous. Well done!"

"Thanks," she replied with a snaggle-toothed grin. "I can't say you make a very convincing girl, but the girls - though I suppose it was a bit simpler for them."

"Yeah. A hairpin here, a hat there, fake mustaches, no problem. Have you tried the punch?"

"Not yet, but I'm game if you are."

With the gantlet thrown down, Hugo ladled greenish liquid into two cups. He handed one to Lucia, who took a tentative sip. Her black-lipped mouth broke into haggish grin.

"I have no idea what's in this," she said, "but it tastes much better than it looks"

Amanda and Ruth soon joined them, agreeing that the punch was very nice.

"Where's your friend Mike?" asked Hugo. "Hasn't she come yet?"

Just then Calypso, keeping a wary green eye on all the creatively clad feet, meandered across the hall toward the little group. When she reached them, she meowed and butted against Hugo's bare leg.

"Hi, there, kitty," he said, reaching down to stroke her silky fur.

"She recognizes you," Lucia said. "She doesn't normally take to boys, but she seems to like you. Do you have pets?"

"An owl, but we have a cat at home. Mum loves them."

"That explains it, then," said Lucia. "As for Mike, she came with us, but now you mention it, I don't know where she's got to."

"She went up to the dormitory to fix her tail," said Ruth. "Someone stepped on it and nearly tore it off."

Lucia hastily explained Mike's costume.

Hugo took another swig of punch and put his cup on the designated tray, from which it instantly disappeared.

"Well, have a good time," he said. "I heard a rumor that Hex is going to be playing, so I'm going to try to find out."

He and Trevor, both teetering a bit and very conscious of their bare knees, wound through the crowd toward the makeshift stage that was being erected at one end of the hall.

If the headmistress had actually managed to hire Hex for their party, he was going to find her and give her a big, lipsticky kiss.