A/N: Thanks to spiral nebula for setting up the Halloween Challenge, and breaking me out of my creative funk. Enjoy the show, everyone!
The fog rolled into Hogsmeade Village on a crisp Halloween afternoon in Scotland. Ginny Weasley wandered through the village, looking at the decorations everyone had put up for the holiday. Unlike some Muggle traditions Ginny had heard of, like putting up skeletons and witches, most Magical families put up posters dedicated to their hero, Harry Potter, in addition to the usual pumpkins, bats, and ghosts. Ginny could never be sure if the ghosts were real ghosts or animated objects, especially when they stuck their heads out of doors to frighten the Hogwarts students, as one had just done to Colin Creevey. He, of course, wanted a picture with the ghost afterwards. It politely declined, but told Colin to come visit it again at Hogwarts, and he would take a picture there. "Better lighting, you know," chuckled the ghost, waving at Colin as he walked away.
As Ginny passed the Three Broomsticks, she noticed a figure wearing a dark black cloak, a black veil, and a dark black pointed hat. She stopped and stared at the figure for a bit before it beckoned to her to follow it. Ginny quickly looked around, making sure that no one saw, before following the mysterious figure.
The pair moved quickly (surprisingly quickly, Ginny noted, as though someone had cast a spell on them) through the town, heading towards the Shrieking Shack. As they approached the door, the mysterious figure held up a hand to stop Ginny, before taking out a wand and casting a muttered spell at the door. The lock clicked, and the mysterious figure pulled Ginny through the door. The illusionary door that covered the actual entry door to the shack, Ginny soon realized.
Once inside, the mysterious figure shut the actual door to the Shack. A wand pointed to a larger set of doors just off the entry hall, and the figure stared silently at Ginny. Ginny got the message, and started walking through the doors, making sure that they were real this time. As she walked into the large room beyond, the mysterious figure closed the doors, bathing the room in darkness. Ginny's pulse began to race, and she asked the question that had been on her mind the entire time: "Who are you, and why am I here?"
From everywhere at once, Ginny heard a voice, a deep, rumbling growl, answer: "I would have thought you would know by now, Ginerva. What day is this?"
"The 31st," Ginny answered nervously, "but that doesn't tell me…"
"Oh, but it does," responded the mysterious figure, in a voice much different that its previous tone. It sounded much more feminine, and an accent that certainly didn't originate in the British Isles, if Ginny was placing it right. "Because this event has been planned for a long time."
Suddenly, a bunch of candles lit up the grand hall of the Shrieking Shack, and Ginny saw Neville Longbottom, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, her brothers Ron, Fred, and George, Parvati Patil, Lavender Brown, Luna Lovegood, and the rest of her friends from the DA, before turning to the mysterious figure, who had ditched the black cloak and was slowly taking off the hat and veil. Ginny looked into the smiling face of Padma Patil, and suddenly it all made sense.
"It's Halloween. Happy Halloween, Ginny!" said Padma excitedly.
Ginny remembered that the members of the DA had been planning a Halloween party at the Shrieking Shack. In her rush to get ready, she had completely forgotten that the last person there was going to get a special, spooky entrance to the party. Padma had been bragging for weeks that she had the perfect entrance planned out, but hadn't told anyone what it was.
"So," asked Padma later, with a smirk firmly in place, "were you scared, Ginny?"
Ginny smiled. "More than I'll ever admit to anyone else," she whispered.
The two girls laughed, as the DA Halloween party carried on around them.