Hello people! I decided it was time to start on a new Harry Potter story. This takes place in 1998 after the battle of Hogwarts. I thought it would be interesting to see how the last year would turn out for Hermione, Luna and Ginny. Especially since Voldemort is dead and the Death Eaters possibly in prison. This chapter takes place at the end of October. Please let me know what you think in a review or PM!
Through the seasons - All Hallows Eve.
'RIIIING!'. The sound of an alarm bell rang through the Ravenclaw dormitory room. A slim hand fumbled with the copper-coloured clock and made the noise stop. 'Mmmh. Better get up' thought the female as she rubbed her eyes. She got out of her bed and put on her clothes for the day. It consisted of a pair of stripy charcoal gray tights, a burgundy red A-line skirt that ended just above her knee, a plain white T-shirt plus a knitted sweater that was deep forest green. Luna then picked up her hair brush. This Saturday was quite special. It was a Hogwarts weekend and Halloween. She had decided to get up early so she could finish her transfiguration paper with Hermione. After that, the two girls would meet up with Ginny at the Three Broomsticks.
A smile formed at her face. The young woman had seen a healer once a week from June to early October to recover from her four-month confinement at the Malfoy manor. It had been a great relief for the young witch since it had been far from a pleasant experience. The Malfoys had agreed to pay the healer sessions for Luna and Ollivander after Harry had spoken with them. Coming back to Hogwarts had felt better than what the Ravenclaw student had initially thought it would be. Most of the castle had been restored thanks to an army of immensely powerful wizards plus a lot of help from the Ministry. Only the two top floors at the south wing were still under construction.
Seeing her friends plus her Ravenclaw classmates gave her an additional sense of comfort since they had been through similar experiences. Madam Pomfrey had arranged six sessions with a Danish wizard psychologist after school had started in September to make it easier for the students. The psychologist used a combination of group therapy, writing down your feelings in a diary plus painting during his sessions. It was spot-on for a creative person like the female, who loved painting. A side effect of this was that her bedroom back at home were filled with paintings she had made during the holidays. In addition to this were the two huge drawing books that laid under her dormitory bed. 'Maybe I should make a collage or something of them' pondered Luna as she entered the bathroom.
The Ravenclaw bathroom was painted deep cerulean blue while the floor was in a deep shade of bronze. All the toilets were at the left while a row of sinks stood at the right. Under each sink was a small cupboard where the girls could store their necessities. At the opposite end of the room were the showers plus two bath tubs. There was nobody in there since it was early Saturday morning. The young woman went to her cupboard that was locked with a magic lock. She tapped it with her wand and the door sprang open. The teenager removed a bar of magical soap plus a jar of magical salve that she used at her face. She started cleaning her face with the bright orange soap first. It was made of magical herbs that were supposedly good to the skin.
Afterwards, the female put on the lemon yellow salve that smelled faintly like dittany. 'Hm. I think I'll go with a knot today. I got a busy day after all' decided Luna after checking her hair. She brushed out her hair and picked up the stripy scrunchie that laid in her cupboard. The female had to cut off ten inches of her hair after staying at the Malfoy manor. It now reached about four inches below her shoulders, which was fine with her. Her shorter hair was easier to take care of plus that it needed less products. She then went down to the Great Hall for some breakfast.
The hallways were completely empty, save for the paintings. "Good morning my lady" greeted a knight at a nearby photo. "Good morning sir" replied the Ravenclaw before she gave him a small curtsy. He gave her a nod in reply. She walked down the first staircase while holding tight onto the rail. A major disadvantage of living in the Ravenclaw tower was the number of staircases she had to climb up or down to get from A to B. The fact that they moved did not made it any more fun for the Ravenclaw students. The Slytherins as well as the Hufflepuffs had it a lot easier – their dormitories were either in the dungeon or next to the kitchen. It took about ten minutes for the young woman to reach the Great Hall. A familiar smell of fried bacon, boiled eggs mixed with toast made her nose tingle. There were barely any people sitting at the different tables. She smiled when she saw the Quidditch team for Ravenclaw leaving their table. They had lost the previous game against Hufflepuff and did NOT wanted to lose against Slytherin unless something out of their control happened. She picked up two slices of toast, a cooked tomato, two mushrooms plus some scrambled eggs. The teenager then poured herself a cup of tea as she sat down to eat. She was not in a hurry by any means; she was going to meet Hermione in half an hour.
A smile formed at her face when she a copy of the Quibbler laying at the table. The magazine had become more popular after the war since it had been one of the few media outlets that were not censored by Voldemort. She picked up the copy and started to read it while eating her toast. 'A link has been found between the Scandinavia trolls after measuring their frames. It appears as if – Holy Merlin! I'm going to be late!' realized the female when she looked at the watch in the Great Hall. She drank the last bit of her tea before she grabbed her schoolbag. The blonde then jogged up to the library where her friend was waiting for her. She managed to get to the library on time and found the other female sitting next to a statue.
"Hello Hermione. I hope I'm not too late" whispered the young woman as she sat down at the opposite end of the table. "No, you're just on time actually. What do you need help with Luna?" inquired Hermione. "I need a bit of help with the paper on human transfiguration. I have managed to finish the portion about hair colour, but not the one concerning skin colour. All I know is that more than 10% of the skin must be visible plus the possibility of wearing the skin down. But I don't know how to move on from there" informed Luna while she opened her book bag. She laid her paper and writing utensils at the paper. They had been given a paper where they had to describe how to change the pigmentation on humans. It had to contain detailed information on how to make this possible plus what the side effects could be. "You got a good start here Luna. I think you should look at the portion concerning pigment first. Then, write the dangers about making the skin red or splotchy skin tone. Pretty sure you'll find some more information in the transfiguration book as well as this one" told the young woman. She then laid a book called 'How to disguise oneself using colours and costumes" written by a French wizard named Thomas Leroy.
"Thank you Hermione. Are Gryffindor practicing for the next Quidditch match?" inquired Luna as she opened up her transfiguration book. "You bet they are. They don't want to lose against Hufflepuff" replied the brunette with a wry smile at her face. Their team would not be the same without their star seeker or the 'Weasley king'. Harry was a trainee at the auror department and would sit his exams in December. Ron however were helping out George at 'Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes'. The duo had promised to coming to Hogwarts next week for lessons with McGonagall. "I think it'll be an interesting Quidditch match. Both of our teams have a lot of good players this year" stated the young woman as she adjusted her red striped tie. "Mhm" agreed the younger female as she opened the book her friend had given her. She soon found a chapter that had some information she needed. The blonde then checked her transfiguration book for some more in-depth information. Spending so much time with Hermione had taught her to be a bit more analytical in her schoolwork. This had improved her grades, especially in transfiguration as well as D.A.D.A. Both students remained silent as they finished up their papers. The older woman finished first, but started working at another one while waiting for her friend. She had managed to write down quite a bit given that they had only been here for 45 minutes or so.
"Could you please look at this Hermione?" inquired the Ravenclaw after she had completed her last paragraph. "Sure" replied the witch as she leaned over to check the paper. Her cool brown eyes scanned the paper with high speed, checking for anything that was wrong or not fitting in. "You misspelled the name of that charm twice in that paragraph. I think you should put a full stop in the middle as well – that sentence is really long. But I can't see anything you've missed concerning the colour change" informed the female. "I see. Thank you Hermione" said the witch with a grateful smile at her face. After she had corrected her mistakes, the duo went off to meet Ginny for their Hogsmeade trip. They went straight to the fountain where they had agreed to meet up with the female.
It was not hard to spot her. The Weasley witch was wearing a beige jacket, a pair of black jeans plus her trusty brown leather boots. Her light auburn hair had been tied up in a high ponytail to show off her face. "Hello Ginny! How are you?" greeted Luna as they approached her. A bright smile lit up her friend's face as they approached her. "I'm really good, thanks for asking! I finished the Quidditch practice twenty minutes ago. It went quite well – I'm really looking forward to our match against Hufflepuff. I'm going to play seeker this year" informed the female. The excited look in her hazel eyes matched the tone of her voice. The sky was surprisingly clear, but a cold breeze was blowing. It would probably get warmer since it was only 10:20 AM.
"What shop should we visit first? We better take advantage of the time" told Hermione as they started to walk towards Hogsmeade. "Maybe we should go to Honeydukes first. I heard they had a sale on the classic sweets. I know Harry and Ron would love to get some of those" suggested the Quidditch player as they walked down the road to Hogsmeade. "I think that's a great idea Ginny. Remind me that I need to stop at the clothing shop too. Some of the nargles ran away with two of my T-shirts" replied the female while she re-tied her fair locks. Her older friend noticed the small urge to roll her eyes, but she easily resisted it. The journey she had been on with her friends last year had taught her that the magical world did not always made sense.
It did not take long for the trio to reach Hogsmeade. Leaves in bright orange, golden yellow as well as pale red were either on the ground or the trees. Nearly all the shop windows were decorated with carved pumpkins that had different faces. Some of them had magical black sparks gnistering in the window while others had small dancing skeletons. The girls decided to go to Honeydukes straight away. Their shop window advertised with special editions on Bertie Bott's Every Flavour beans plus limited editions on chocolate frog cards. "HERMIONE! COME HERE!" shouted the young woman while pointing at the card guide in the shop window. Her hazel eyes were wide in surprise. The older teenager walked over, wondering what had caused her friend to react like that. She was not someone to be easily shocked after growing up with six brothers.
"Look Hermione! That's you!" exclaimed the redhead as she pointed at a card on the far right side. Her friend felt her eyes widen in wonder when she saw the card the other female had been pointing at. Right next to Hengist of Woodcroft was a card with her name. It even had a very nice photo of herself that had been taken by 'The Quibbler' after the final battle. "You're right. I can't believe it" muttered the brunette in wonder. It felt so strange to see yourself on a chocolate frog card. "Hey…they got your brother too Ginny" informed the Ravenclaw. She was pointing at a card on the bottom row. Both young women turned their head to the left. Their friend was right; a card featuring Ron Weasley stood right next to Queen Maeve. It did not take them long to find the card with Harry either. He was located at the same row as Hermione, but was next to Gwenog Jones.
"We got to buy some chocolate frogs! Especially since we get the fourth one for free" told the youngest Weasley. The trio split up and started their search for sweets. 'Hm…I think I should buy some Bertie Bott's Every Flavour beans for Ron. He'll definitely enjoy some liquorice wands too. I doubt he has gotten over his dislike of jelly slugs though' recalled Hermione. The guy had disliked slugs in any shape or form ever since the incident in their second year. She could not blame him since most people would feel nauseous at the thought of vomiting snails. 'Perhaps I should buy some pumpkin pasties instead. They're on offer and I like those too. Yeah, that sounds like a safe bet' decided the young woman as she took three packets of pumpkin pasties down from the shelf.
She then went to the counter with her sweets. She noticed that her fellow Gryffindor had bought some fizzing whizzbees and chocolate frog. Similar to her, the female had bought a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour beans as well. The last member of their group however had stocked up with Drooble's Best Blowing gum in addition to the chocolate frogs. "Excuse me...do you happen to have any pepper imps left? I did not see any" inquired Luna as she approached the counter. "Sure. Just give me a moment" replied the clerk. "Pepper imps? I'm sorry, but you must be the first person who I've met who like those" told Hermione in a surprised voice. "I think they're good for clearing up the mouth. Second, they were sold out on the toothflossing strongmints that I like" answered the female. The shop assistant soon appeared with two boxes of pepper imps in his hand.
The trio then went to the clothing shop after they had paid for their goods. The muggle-born female had to admit that the small shop had a nice variety of clothing. They had clothing items that were clearly to be used for the Hogwart uniform for starters. But they had clothes like jeans, hoodies plus T-shirts that were obviously for spare time use too. She noticed that they a nice selection of nightwear as well as underwear at the back of the shop. "What do you think of these?" asked Luna while she held up two T-shirts. One of them was a plain white T-shirt with a crew neck on it while the other was a tie-dyed T-shirt that. Both females inspected the colours a bit closer. The tie dye seemed to consist of different shades of blue that ranged between baby blue to pale navy blue. It was in a 70's style that their friend seemed to prefer. "It's certainly your style" replied the 19-year old in a polite voice.
"Why don't you try them on so we can see?" suggested the auburn-haired woman. "Sure" replied the female before she skipped towards the changing room. She soon emerged with the white T-shirt. It fitted her quite nicely. "Looks very good on you. Is this for school?" inquired the brunette. "Mhm. I think wearing just a shirt during the fall is a bit chilly. I doubt it's Wrackspurts since they left Hogwarts during the summer" informed the blonde. She then pulled the curtain and her two friends looked at each other with a knowing smile. They were not making fun of her – she was just someone with a lot of character. The duo then turned their heads when the young woman emerged with her tie-dye T-shirt. "Whoa. That looks…amazing Luna" stated the curly-haired female. The T-shirt was just the right size for the Ravenclaw for starters. Second, the soft shades of blue complimented her blonde hair as well as her pale skin quite well. "I like it too. You should buy it" told the other Gryffindor. "Thanks. I'll buy it. I can't believe it was in the sales bin" informed the female with a smile at her face. "That's quite a bargain I'd say" replied the older woman after zipping up her beige jacket. "I agree" told the 18-year old before she pulled the curtain in front of her. She emerged a minute later and went straight to the counter to pay for her shirts.
"Are we going to the Three Broomsticks now? I don't have anything more errands to run" informed the brunette after they exited the shop. The weather was a bit warmer now compared to earlier. The sun had risen higher on the sky while the wind had calmed down to a light breeze. "I suppose we are. I don't have any errands either" told the redhead. She glanced at the clock; it was a quarter to noon. The trio then went to the Three Broomsticks with a firm grip on their shopping bags. A small 'ding' could be heard as they entered the bar. All three of them let out a sigh of relief when the warmth wrapped around their bodies. A familiar smell of Butterbeer combined with spice and pumpkin tingled their noses just a second later. The owners had decorated their establishment for Halloween as well. A pair of carved pumpkins were placed at each end of the bar while a fake skeleton next to the door gave customers a polite bow. Each table was decorated with a small candle that either looked like a carved pumpkin, a skull or a troll head. The oldest woman smiled when she looked at the troll head. She could still remember the first Halloween party at Hogwarts where she had ran into the troll at the girl's bathroom. That happened to be the night where the two boys became two of her best wizard friends.
"Hey, what are you going to order Hermione?" asked the youngest witch in their party. Her voice snapped her back to the real world as she noticed her friends had sat down close to a magical painting of some scholars. "I-I think I'll look at the Halloween specials. I haven't tasted those in two years" informed the 19-year old with a smile. She sat down and picked up the menu. They had Halloween Butterbeer, pumpkin tea spiced with numerous magical Herbs as well as a coffee that had been blended with roasted pumpkin shells, cocoa powder and cinnamon. She then saw Madam Rosmerta approach their table with a relieved look at her face. "Hello girls! I'm so happy to see you three are back at school after that horrific year. We're actually serving first drink for free today to celebrate the holidays. What do you want?" inquired the woman. "Hello Rosmerta. I think I'll try the Halloween tea" told the female after some thought. "I'll go for the cocoa-herb coffee. It looks exciting" informed Luna. "I guess I'll take the Halloween tea as well" said the Weasley with a smile at her face. "Two teas and a coffee. I'll be back soon" replied the female. There were not many students inside the Three Broomsticks since they were apparently doing their shopping now. It had been a smart move to come early. "What are you doing when we come back?" inquired Luna with a curious look at her face.
"Same as my previous years. School work in the morning, doing some exercise, taking a nice bath in the prefect's bathroom before eating at the feast. I'll probably write a Halloween card for Ron as well. What about you?" replied Hermione. "I'll do some school work too. But I'm probably going to take some pictures with the magical camera my father gave me. Halloween is the night where the ghosts come out after all. I will join Ravenclaw at the feast though. What are you doing Ginny?" asked the woman. Their friend suddenly turned pink. "Uhm…I'm waiting for a letter Harry said he would send me. He got tonight off" told Ginny when Madam Rosmerta returned with their drinks. "Here you are! Two teas and a coffee" told the woman as she handed them their order. "Thank you" replied the trio. "So….maybe we should toast for the school year ahead of us?" suggested the youngest female. "I agree" told her older friend after adjusting her cardigan. "Me too. Cheers!" told the oldest woman after lifting her tea. "Cheers!" replied her friends before they clinked their cups together.