A Thinner Veil

by Perse

Remus Lupin never much cared for Halloween. But a few years before that fateful night in 1981, he and his friends had a Halloween experience that he’d almost forgotten—one that has much more meaning to him now.

Title: A Thinner Veil

Author: Perse

Rating: PG-13

Category: angst, drama

Summary: Remus Lupin never much cared for Halloween. But a few years before that fateful night in 1981, he and his friends had a Halloween experience that he'd almost forgotten—one that has much more meaning to him now.

Disclaimer: The characters and situations of Harry Potter do not belong to me. I make no money from this story. Please don't sue.

Author's Note: The main story is set in Harry's 6th year—the Halloween after OotP. The flashback is to Remus' 6th year. This story was inspired by Halloween, obviously, but it's a bit different from the things I usually write. It's a bit mystical, even though I ended up grounding it in reality, and the ending is not happy. It's kind of an experiment for me. Constructive feedback is welcome!

Remus Lupin had never liked Halloween.

He stood in the kitchen of Number 12 Grimmauld Place, pouring himself something a tad stronger than butterbeer, and letting his thoughts drift to the many reasons he disliked this particular holiday.

People got dressed up, told scary stories, got into mischief. Often they dressed up as monsters, and scared themselves with monster stories.

Being a monster himself, he had difficulty appreciating this.

He associated Halloween with the wolf, even when the full moon fell weeks away from the holiday. Because the year that he was 5 years old, the moon had been full on Halloween night. He had gotten separated from his mother out in the dark. Of all the costumed monsters who could have found him, he had stumbled into a real one. That night had changed the course of his life, making it infinitely more difficult through present-day.

Then he had a vivid memory of being 8 years old and watching Trick-or-Treater's approach his house. There was a full moon coming the next night. He remembered thinking bitterly that if any of those Muggles knew what it was like, what could really be out there hunting them, they would stop pretending. And they would be afraid. Not a horror story, fun kind of fear—but a deadly serious fear.

Of course at Hogwarts, there had been a feast each year. Everyone was in a festive mood. But no matter how the moon cycle fell, no matter how excited his friends were, Remus was always in a lousy mood.

Aside from all of this, Halloween had soon gained another distinction. It became the anniversary of James and Lily's deaths.

It had been easiest last year, when Sirius was here with him. It had still been painful, but they had gotten through it together. Despite Voldemort's growing power, things had been looking up for Remus for the first time in a long time.

How quickly things changed. Now, he was facing the first Halloween for which Sirius would not be out there, somewhere, facing the same memories he was. Somehow, even when he had thought Sirius guilty, that thought had offered him a strange sort of comfort.

He wished the full moon had fallen tonight instead of tomorrow. Then, at least, he would have had something to occupy him. Instead, he got to be fidgety and agitated and trapped alone with his memories.

He took a sip of the bitter liquid. He was so focused on thoughts of being alone that he failed to realize he no longer was.

When he turned from the counter, he caught sight of the predominantly black figure standing in the doorway. He gasped and choked, swallowing the drink the wrong way and nearly gagging as he jumped backwards into the counter and grappled for his wand. It took a few seconds for him to actually identify the man.

"Severus," he finally breathed. "You startled me."

Snape raised an eyebrow, not at all phased by Remus' antics. "I have been standing here for 3 minutes. Perhaps you should be a bit more aware of your surroundings."

The calmness annoyed him. "You've just been standing there, watching me drink? You came all this way for that? Why Severus, I didn't know you found me that interesting." The bitter sarcasm was a bit out of character. He blamed it on the approaching moon, and the fact that his heart was still pounding uncomfortably.

Snape didn't take the bait, anyway. He simply stated calmly, "You did not come to retrieve your potion. I didn't think it prudent for you to miss this dose."

He'd forgotten his potion? He thought back over the day, wondering how he could possibly have forgotten to make his daily floo to Hogwarts' dungeons. That was really out of character.

He moved to accept the container from Snape. "Thank you," he said faintly. "I'm sorry you had to go to all the trouble."

Snape nodded briefly, then continued to watch him from the doorway. After a few moments Remus asked somewhat testily, "Was there something else?"

Again, Snape ignored his tone. "If I may ask, why did you not come? Is there something Dumbledore should know of?"

"No, no, I simply...got distracted."

"Hmm," Snape responded, conveying a wealth of disapproval in the small sound. He then turned and made to leave.

Feeling an inexplicable need to say something more, Remus offered simply, "It's Halloween," as if that explained everything.

And it did. For he had forgotten that though they were certainly not close, Severus Snape knew him quite well.

He turned back to Remus. "You know, despite the adolescent whims of you and your...friends," he said, managing to do it with only a slight sneer, "the origins of Halloween had nothing to do with phony spells and trying to terrify each other. It is a day when we should feel closer to the dead."

"I know," Remus whispered, too softly to be understood. "You told me."

"What?"

Slightly louder he said, "A long time ago...you told me that."

"Did I?" Despite the words, his tone and face said that he clearly remembered that Halloween, and knew perfectly well what he had said. "Good night, Lupin. I shall see you tomorrow," he said, giving him a pointed look before walking out the door.

Remus stared at the closed door for a bit before returning to the kitchen. He downed the potion as quickly as possible, then retrieved his drink and wandered towards the upstairs drawing room.

His thoughts had been touched off, and he couldn't stop them now. He'd all but forgotten that memory. He mused over it, trying to determine if it was part of his tradition of bad Halloweens, or something altogether different.

....Flashback....

"Don't make plans for Halloween. I've got an idea."

Remus arched an eyebrow as he looked up from his Herbology book. James had just sprawled across his bed, wearing a grin that could only mean trouble. "What?" he asked warily.

"Since there's not a full moon that night, I thought the four of us should do...something else."

"Something...legal?" Peter asked as he came over, taking a seat against the headboard beside Remus.

"What fun would that be?" Sirius smirked, nudging James over until there was room for him.

Remus sighed, deciding that his homework time was over. He slipped a bookmark between the pages before setting the book aside.

"It's legal," James was saying. "I think."

Peter giggled. Remus simply raised both eyebrows and stared at the two troublemakers on the end of his bed. "What is it?" he asked again.

James sat up and leaned closer conspiratorially. "You know, Halloween's got some pretty cool origins. The ancient Celts believed that this was the one night a year when the dead could return to the world of the living. They called it Samhain."

"That's ridiculous," Peter scoffed. "Nearly Headless Nick and the other ghosts are dead. We see them all year long."

"Yes, but they chose to remain in our realm. We're talking about those who moved on."

"What exactly are we talking about doing with them?" Remus asked suspiciously. "You know, lots of ancient cultures celebrated holidays that sound ridiculous to us now. It's all just based in legend."

Sirius spoke up. "Ah, but most legends are based in some kind of truth, right? What if the veil between this world and the next really is at its thinnest on Halloween night?"

Peter looked almost as skeptical as Remus. "Where are you getting this stuff?"

Sirius smiled slyly. "From a book James picked up. The point is, on Halloween spirits can cross into our realm and interact with us."

"If they can come into our world on their own..."

"No, no. That is just the old superstitions. The veil is thinner and they can cross over, but they need someone here to help them. We have to reach out and use the spell to make a connection."

"Somehow I don't remember learning that spell," Remus said wryly.

James smirked. "Like they'd teach us that. No, like Sirius said, I got my hands on this book. It has a how-to guide on calling spirits."

"And you don't think it might be dangerous?" Peter asked warily.

"Come on. We are well accustomed to danger. We handle a werewolf every month; you think we can't handle a few spirits?"

"You're serious about this," Remus said incredulously.

"Oh come on! It will be fun!" Sirius exclaimed.

Actually, compared to some of the other things they'd done in the past five years, it was rather tame. It ought to at least be entertaining. Perhaps this Halloween wouldn't be a complete waste where he felt like curling up in his bed and refusing to come out.

But he wasn't ready to give in yet. "Do we even know any dead people? I mean...you know what I mean. Who would we call?" Remus asked.

Sirius shrugged. "I don't know. Somebody famous, maybe."

"We'll think of someone," James said casually. "We can deal with that later. First, we have to gather ingredients for the potion."

"Potion? I thought you mentioned a spell. Aren't potions and spells usually separate?" Remus asked skeptically.

James shrugged. "I only know what the book says—and that we'll be having some fun on Halloween night."

Remus glanced between them, then looked to Peter, who was nodding. Finally he looked back to the others and said, "Okay..."

...the night before Halloween...

There were still five minutes before class began. As such, most of the students trickling in cast odd looks at the back table as they passed. For while it was not unusual to find the four of them clustered together, it was odd for all of them to be in class early...or on time, for that matter.

Truth be told, they were gathering the ingredients needed for the potion. As it was only small pinches and all common things with which they could do no damage, the potions master had agreed to give them what they needed, thinking they were merely practicing outside of class. Now they were grouped around the back table, discussing the next night's schedule.

A familiar voice soon interrupted their conversation with, "Planning some new way to get expelled, I hope?"

Remus mentally winced, dreading what was to come. Why did Severus insist on antagonizing them, knowing full well that James and Sirius would retaliate?

"If you must know, we are going to contact some spirits. Samhain, dead coming for a visit...we're planning a big Halloween night," James said casually. "Unfortunately for you, there aren't any school rules against it."

Snape didn't take the bait, which was surprising as there was certainly a case to be made for the many rules they would be breaking in the process. Instead he said in a low, dangerous tone, "That is a stupendously bad idea, even for you."

"What's the matter, Snivellus? Is there someone you're afraid we'll contact? Someone to tell us your deep, dark secrets?" Sirius taunted.

Snape's face changed, anger becoming prominent. "You know what? I hope it works. I hope something shows up—and I hope whatever it is teaches you to have some respect for the dead."

Sirius rolled his eyes in a disgusted way and turned away. James, however, was slowly developing an up-to-no-good grin that made Remus nervous. "You should join us," he suggested.

Peter dropped his toadstools. Sirius choked. Remus smacked him unceremoniously on the back as he stared at James and Snape.

Severus snorted in disbelief. "I think not."

"Well, I can understand if you're afraid," James said, nodding in mock sympathy.

"I am not afraid," Snape protested with a sneer.

"Morally opposed, then?" Sirius mocked.

"We'll be in the dungeons at 7 on Halloween night, if you change your mind," James smirked, clearly sure that he wouldn't.

"We're going to miss the feast?" Peter said with a whine, giving Snape good cause to slip away.

Midway through class, Remus stood and went to the front of the room to retrieve more ingredients. As he was sifting through the herbs in search of healthy-looking ones, Severus came up beside him to retrieve more toadstools. Their eyes met for a moment before Snape pointedly looked away.

Remus felt the inexplicable need to say something. "They don't mean anything by it, you know. It's just for fun."

"Samhain had nothing to do with fun. If anything, it should teach reverence, and make us feel closer to the dead."

Remus nodded, though he really didn't know if that was true or not. Whatever the reason, he got the impression that Severus felt strongly about how memories of the dead were treated. He thoughtfully watched him walk away before heading back to his table.

...Halloween night...

The next night the four of them ate early in the kitchen with the thrilled house elves, who loved for the students to come and see them. After eating even more than they probably would have been offered at the feast, they went back to Gryffindor tower and waited until everyone else had headed down to the Great Hall.

Despite his best intentions, Remus was not finding this Halloween any cheerier than past years. He'd had a miserable day in classes. He just couldn't escape his pervasive bad mood. And he wasn't feeling all that well after stuffing himself in the kitchen.

Nevertheless, he helped his friends gather up the supplies and sneak down to the dungeons. He followed instructions as James read from the book and they created the potion. Then he took his place in the circle the four of them made around the cauldron.

"All right," James said. "We have to say the spell together to call the spirit. So I'll read it off to you all, then we can recite it together."

"Wait, who are we calling?" Peter asked.

"Oh...my Mum told me about a girl who died in the school back when she was a student here. It was supposedly an accident, but she said it always sounded pretty suspicious. We can settle that mystery, and just ask her," James explained with a gleam in his eye.

He looked to the book. Suddenly, there was a noise from the corner of the room. They all swung towards it, seeing only a closet door, blocked by a heavy-looking chair. Remus watched it warily. Just as his heart rate was settling down, a harsh knocking sounded from the opposite side of the room. They jumped and spun around again, this time finding a dark figure just inside the doorway.

"Didn't mean to frighten you," Severus said in a saccharine tone that suggested that was exactly what he had intended.

"Snape, what the hell are you doing here?" James snapped.

"You invited me, remember?"

"You did invite him, James," Remus piped up, finding this inexplicably amusing. Sirius shot him a look, which he returned before scooting closer to James. "Why don't you sit, Severus?"

"Oh, no. I'll just watch you make idiots of yourselves from over here," Snape responded with a smirk.

Sirius sighed in disgust, though he could hardly revoke the offer since Remus had made it. "Fine. Just sit over there, shut up, and don't move, all right?"

Snape made a great show of bowing to Sirius before settling gracefully beside the wall, not saying a word.

James rolled his shoulders before pulling their attention back to him. "All right, where were we?"

"Spell," Remus offered shortly.

"Right, the spell. Okay, here it is: Ashes to breath, and back again; death overturned for a single night; find your home here in this place; we call you, oh spirit; come to us."

Silence. They all stared at him for a few beats. Then..."What kind of spell is that?" Severus burst out with exactly what Remus had been thinking.

"I thought you were going to keep quiet," Sirius reminded dangerously.

"No, he's right. I've never heard a spell like that," Remus spoke up in Snape's defense. He reached over and plucked the book from James' hands. "That's not a library book," he accused after a moment's examination. And really, neither of them had ever claimed that it was. He had just assumed that something they had found in the middle of the school year that dictated spells would surely have come from the Hogwarts Library. But now, as he looked at it closer... "Is this even a wizarding book?"

James looked slightly guilty as he took it back. "I got it from a Muggle bookstore in London," he admitted.

Severus snickered. "So four 6th year Hogwarts students are performing spells that some Muggle came up with to entertain their ignorant little kiddies?"

"I believe there are five of us," James shot at him.

"But I am sitting here, shutting up, and doing nothing, remember?" Severus taunted.

Sirius stood, anger evident. "Maybe you should go and do nothing somewhere else. Perhaps the Great Hall, where you could sit all alone."

Snape stood as well. "Why, Black? Afraid I'll tell the school of your nocturnal fantasy spells? It is rather pathetic. Is this what the four of you do all the time? Oh except for the full moons, of course. Perhaps I should tell the school about that."

Remus felt his chest clinch at the threat, but he did nothing. James stood. Sirius, who never responded well to threats and was even worse when those threats were directed at his friends, closed the space between himself and Snape with two steps and grabbed him by the throat. "Even think about it, and I will kill you," he said, low and cold.

Snape stumbled when Sirius released him, then recovered and threw himself forward, swinging a fist at him. Sirius ducked, so he connected with only air and fell past him.

They'd skipped their usual tradition of dueling spells and gone straight to physical violence. This was not a good sign. It was so out of character for Snape that Remus froze in shock for a moment before he stood. "Guys, come on," he began, trying to play the peacemaker before things got out of hand.

Too late. Sirius shoved Snape, hard, and he fell against the chair that had been blocking the closet door.

That was when all hell broke loose.

Snape picked himself up, but had to jump back as the closet door swung open. Five faces tilted up in unison as a figure glided from the top of the door. The grace of the action belied its appearance.

It was a woman. Or rather, it had probably once been a woman. The left side of her face suggested that she had been pretty. But the right showed what she was now. Blood matted her long black hair. Much of the skin hung in tatters, revealing bone. The eye socket was empty.

Her dress was partially shredded, hanging in several places from bare bones. She was half-skeletal, clearly dead, and yet floating above them and looking down as if sizing them up.

They all stared at her, five young wizards frozen in terror. Peter broke the silence with a timid and fearful, "I don't think that's the spirit we were trying to call..."

She paid him no heed, and none of them answered him. For just then she caught sight of Severus. Her remaining eye went wide, and she swooped down towards him and began screaming. They couldn't understand the words as high pitched wails mixed with sobs. She moved close, into his face, reaching to touch him. He stumbled backwards and tripped, falling to the ground. She loomed over him.

"Hey!" Remus called, finally gaining his senses and attracting its attention from Snape. He held his wand out, trying to ignore the way it shook in his hand. But as the skeletal woman spun towards him, there was a sudden loud crack.

And before him, suspended in mid-air, hung a full moon.

A boggart. It was a boggart.

"Riddikulus!" he shouted, laughing from sheer relief. Even before changing form from the charm it exploded in mid-air, disappearing in wisps of smoke.

Behind him, James and Sirius chuckled lightly in relief. Peter sank back to the floor. Remus replaced his wand, trying to breathe deeply and calm his racing pulse. Then he spotted Snape, who was still sitting where he had fallen. His face was ashen, his breathing quick and shallow, and he looked as if he were in shock.

"Severus?" Remus called softly.

It snapped him out of his shock. For a moment his eyes met Remus,' and there was a kind of horror there that made Remus gasp. In one smooth move Snape stood and ran for the door, disappearing down the dark corridor.

For once, James and Sirius said nothing mocking. Silence reigned over the four of them. Unlike summoning spirits, boggarts were something they understood. They knew that for it to have chosen that specific form, that woman must have held some great significance for Snape. And her condition did not bode well for her fate.

Remus looked at James and Sirius, who he loved more than anything, and who had a tendency to be absolute gits at times. The tension combined with his bad mood and his anger flared. "Happy now? Did you get your thrills?" he accused.

From the corner of his vision he saw Peter's head snap to him as well, but he wasn't addressing him. Peter appreciated the pranks, but he didn't have the cruel streak they sometimes showed. He focused on James and Sirius.

They were staring at him in shock at the outburst. "What?" Sirius stammered.

Remus was used to the pranks. He was accustomed to saying nothing. But this was way over the line. Aside from that, it was Halloween, which meant he hated the world in general and was about to take it out on the people who had just ticked him off. "This is your idea of fun, right? Get Snape down here, scare the hell out of him with his own worst fear. Great plan. Did you know the boggart was there? Did you put it there?" By the end, he was yelling his accusations.

"No!"

"Of course not!"

"Where would we get a boggart, and how would we get it in there?"

"Oh, I'm sure the two of you could find a way," Remus said cooly.

"We didn't," Sirius insisted.

"This has gotten so far off track," James mumbled under his breath, looking away.

Remus heard him. "This was never on track. The dead are cut off from us, unless they choose to stay. That book is more Muggle ghost stories than useful spells, and you know it. You knew it, before we started all this!" He took a breath, then added, "It seems to me that Samhain was less about fear and creepiness and more about having a healthy respect for the dead—something the four of us obviously lack." With that he turned on his heel and stormed towards the door.

"Remus, please don't go!"

Because it was Peter who called him, he paused. He took a deep breath before slowly turning back around.

Peter had stood, and all three of them approached him cautiously. "Please, just hear us out, okay?" Sirius implored.

Remus crossed his arms over his chest and stared at them.

After a few moments of tense silence in which the three exchanged glances, Sirius stepped away from the others and closer to Remus. Knowing it was childish and hurtful, Remus nevertheless took a deliberate step back.

Sirius froze, an unmistakable look of pain on his face. Remus hadn't seen that look since they had made up after the Whomping Willow incident, and he felt a twinge of guilt that somewhat weakened his resolve.

Sirius took a moment to school his face, then said carefully, "Remus, we didn't do this to hurt anyone. We certainly didn't set up that scene with the boggart."

Remus could read Sirius better than anyone, and as he studied his friend's eyes he knew that it wasn't a lie.

After a few moments of staring at each other, Sirius finally said softly, "We did this for you."

Remus stared at him dumbly. "What?"

"Remus, we know you hate Halloween, and you're certainly entitled. But whatever we do we've never been able to get you past that."

James, who had stood back to watch the two of them interact, spoke up now. "We were just trying to so something fun to take your mind off it. Hopefully something you could remember fondly. It wouldn't have even been that scary..." He sighed, as that had so obviously not worked. "Snape had nothing to do with it. I really didn't expect him to show up. Really, alone with the four of us in the dungeons? Why ever would he voluntarily do that?"

"To prove that he wasn't a coward? To prove you were a jerk?" Remus suggested, but it lacked the venom he'd had a few minutes before. They'd orchestrated all of this to cheer him up. He quirked an eyebrow at them. "You didn't actually think some spirit was going to show up."

They exchanged guilty glances. "Actually...we talked to Myrtle."

"She got all excited about getting dressed up and actually having someone want her around for the evening," Peter said.

"You were in on this too?" Remus accused in surprise, causing Peter to shrug innocently.

Sirius brought his attention back to him. "Myrtle should be showing up any minute now. I'm sure she'll be terribly disappointed if you're not here." He was flashing those infamous puppy dog eyes again.

Remus sighed.

"They'll probably hear her sobbing all the way in the Great Hall," Sirius threw in for good measure.

Remus rolled his eyes. Then he quirked a small smile.

Sirius beamed. He knew when he'd won. He grabbed Remus' hand and coaxed him back to the broken circle. James and Peter smiled as well and sat back in their places to wait for Myrtle's grand entrance.

As they waited, Remus glanced around the circle at each of his friends. Gits though they could be to others, they really cared for him. They were the best friends he could ever have asked for.

....End Flashback....

Remus had figured that someday he would probably have some of his own dead spirits he would wish to contact. He had never imagined there would be so many, so soon. But he told himself that night that he would take Severus' advice, and respect the dead. It was much healthier to bury them and let them lie.

If only it was that simple.

"Too bad it didn't work," he whispered to the empty drawing room.

Because despite the experience, he wished that ridiculous book had really been magical. He wanted the veil to be thinner tonight. He'd give anything to speak to Sirius, or James, or even Lily. But it had always been a fantasy; a Muggle book of ridiculous spells that were just for entertainment.

His friends' intentions had been honorable, and they had just meant it for fun. But none of them had really had fun that night, except perhaps for Myrtle. And Severus had seemed to hate them even more than before, though he also took to avoiding them more. None of them ever got an explanation for the boggart's appearance, and they never brought it up. As such, they never really knew why he had decided to crash their little party in the first place.

There had been plenty of moments when they were jerks. But they had just been cocky kids, too. He thought of the age they had been then and Harry now. Harry might be the same age, but he was far beyond them in life experience. It had all seemed a fun game to them, but how would Harry react to the ideas in that book?

Probably in a similar fashion to Severus' reaction all those years ago. For Harry had buried entirely too many people of his own.

It really wasn't funny; not at all. It was mockery, and false hope. They hadn't respected the dead.

He did, now.

He sank onto the couch in the drawing room and raised his glass to the air. "Wherever you are Sirius, I hope you're with James. And I hope it's better than here." He drained the glass, then set it on the coffee table with a dull thud.

Shutting his eyes he leaned his head back, and let himself drift...

The room was dark; the fire must have gone out. Somehow, Remus couldn't rouse himself enough to care.

He sensed a presence near him. Surprisingly, it did not alarm him as it should have.

Then something cold caressed his cheek.

He forced his eyes open, though everything felt heavy with sleep and he couldn't move much. He looked around blearily, but couldn't see anything. "Hello?" he whispered, feeling oddly calm for such a situation.

"Remy." It was soft, but Remus would recognize that voice anywhere, anytime.

"Sirius?" he answered in kind, half-hopeful and half-fearful of a response.

He still couldn't see anything, though the voice was very close. But he could hear the smile in the tone as it said, "Who else?"

There was so much he wanted to say to his friend. But at the moment, all he could think of was that Halloween night so many years ago. With a stutter he said dumbly, "But I didn't call you."

There was a slight chuckle. "Some connections are so strong, you don't need spells," replied the affection-filled voice.

He smiled slightly, but it quickly began to shake as his breath caught. "Sirius," he began brokenly.

"Oh, Remy." The coldness caressed his cheek again. This time, he caught a scent that was achingly familiar, and the tears began to spill down his cheeks.

"You'll be all right, Remus. You were always the strong one."

Remus snorted through his tears. "James was strong. You were strong. I never was."

"Hey, don't you talk about my friend that way," the voice chastised gently. "You're the strongest person I know. You've survived everything."

Remus shook his head, snickering mirthlessly. "Is that supposed to be a good thing?"

"I'm sure it doesn't feel that way. But you're still needed here. You'll survive this. And later, when you're finished with all the good you will do...we'll all be together again."

"Promise?" Remus choked out.

"Promise..."

The voice seemed to be moving away. Remus fought harder for awareness, wanting it to stay. "Sirius..."

"...Sirius!" He came awake with a start. The room really was dark, and for a few long moments he had trouble deciding if this was reality.

He frantically fished for his wand and lit up the room with a "Lumos."

There was nothing there.

His heart was pounding. Stray tears trickled down his face as he sank back against the couch. Hadn't he just been thinking how ridiculous these ideas were? Still, he had to fight an ache of terrible disappointment.

He told himself he'd had too much alcohol before going to sleep.

It was only a dream.

The End

Additional notes:

Samhain was an ancient Celtic holiday during which the Celts believed the souls of the dead were allowed to return to their earthly homes for the evening. It eventually evolved into our modern Halloween. At least, that's what my Encyclopedia Britannica says. :)

The rest is my extrapolations and imagination, including James' book, though I've no doubt that something like it probably exists.

Thank you for reading!