It was an average day at the Potter household. Harry and Ginny had gone out to dinner and entrusted James, now thirteen, to watch over Lily. Albus was reading a book that Hermione had lent him, much to Ron's ire ("Hermione, can't you just let him be a normal thirteen year old?" "Are you implying that thirteen year olds can't read, Ronald?" "No, they just don't." "Well excuse me for wanting my nephew to be actually smart. Should've known better…" This had led to an argument, and Albus had smartly taken the book and left.) James was out shopping at Diagon Alley with Teddy, searching desperately for a Halloween costume. Harry had laughed when he heard this, and mumbled something along the lines of: "So much like Ron. Putting things off to the last minute." And it was quite late to be searching for a Halloween costume, as tomorrow was Halloween. James knew this of course; he had helped decorated the Burrow and his house with floating pumpkins, skeletons, and orange and black streamers. (Not to mention a little decoration he thought up himself: plastic spiders he had bewitched to chase after Hugo, who had inherited Ron's fear of spiders.) But it never really occurred to James to actually get a costume; he insisted that he was too old for trick or treating. But then Molly suddenly told him that their Halloween dinner is now a costume party, so he was desperately searching for a costume in time. Albus and Lily had laughed heartily at their brother's expense. Lily had already decided to go as a mummy, and Albus, ("Too lazy to put that much effort into it," Lily had said) was going as a ghost, with a simple white sheet as his costume. Even though he knew ghosts didn't look like that, his grandfather had insisted that that was how muggles dressed as ghosts, and had just decided to go with it. Now it was 8:30 and James was supposed to be back any time now. Albus was reading his book and Lily was on the floor trying to make a puzzle. It was quite difficult as the picture was of a quidditch game, and all the players were flying around on their brooms and telling her how to do the puzzle. ("No, no, I'm over there, by the discolored grass!" "No, put me next to the quaffle, I'm about to catch it!") Suddenly James burst through the door with something behind his back. He walked right over Lily's puzzle, which was almost completed.
"James, you idiot!" She shrieked, but James ignored her.
"I know what we're being for Halloween," James stated, looking at his two younger siblings and struggling to keep a grin off of his face.
Albus looked up from his book and sighed, and Lily glanced up from the puzzle pieces she had collected into a tiny pile.
"Since when did you get to decided what I'm being for Halloween?" Lily asked. James smile grew bigger.
"Since I found these!" James shouted, and pulled three costumes out from behind his back. James's smile grew bigger, and Albus and Lily burst into laughter.
"Perfect!" Lily managed to gasp out between laughs.
On Halloween night James, Albus and Lily refused to let anyone see their costumes. Despite Rose and Hugo's pleas, they insisted that they wanted it to be a surprise. Eventually everyone was gathered around a table and waiting for the three kids to come down. Even with the changes and enlargement charms the Burrow kitchen was too small to fit the entire Weasley family (Plus Teddy, Neville and Luna, the last two who had dropped by as a surprise) so a table was set up outside. Remembering the one Halloween night when he had lost both of his parents, Harry fondly thought of how his Halloween's had improved, and he hugged Ginny closer to him. Then all of his children came down.
James was wearing a messy orange wig and Hogwarts robes that were slightly too short with a fake, plastic prefect badge pinned on them. In his hand held a cheap plastic replica of Ron's wand and an owl resembling Pig pinned to his shoulder. Albus already had messy black hair so a wig was not needed for him. He was wearing Hogwart's robes as well. He had a lightning-bolt shaped scar on his forehead and a replica of Harry's wand in his hand, with a white owl pinned on his shoulder. Lily was wearing a bushy wig of brown hair, a prefect badge on her Hogwarts robe and a ginger cat in her hands. Everyone stared in shock as the three smiled happily. Then all but three burst out laughing.
"Bloody….brilliant…" George managed to say in between bouts of laughter, and all the others had tears streaming down their eyes in mirth. Harry, Ron and Hermione looked shocked.
"They actually sell costumes of us?" Harry asked as the trio glanced at each other and then back at the children, open-mouthed.
"Yep," James said happily, "I heard it was a best seller." Harry groaned and put his head back on the table. On second thought, maybe my Halloweens will always be bad, Harry thought miserably, not looking forward to seeing a bunch of kids masquerading as him knocking on his door asking for candy.
It was going to be a long night.