Candy - 3/50 for the Halloween Boot Camp Challenge at HPFC
"You're telling me that muggle children go out at night, in the dark, to the houses of strangers, threatening them?" Ron's voice held a bit of awe, and Hermione didn't know whether to laugh or cry in frustration. They'd been discussing it for going on an hour already.
"Ronald," Hermione began again. "'Trick or treat' is simply a tradition. They're not really going to-" She broke off. Her thoughts had gone off on a strange tangent, a half-forgotten memory.
Ron looked perplexed. "What?"
"One year," she began, a slow smile curling on her face. "I went out with some of my school friends, and a woman refused us candy, saying we were too old or some nonsense like that."
"How old were you?"
"It was the year before Hogwarts."
"Okay, so around ten years-old. And?"
Her eyes glanced at the clock that stood on the counter some ways away. "And what?" The pumpkin pie was baking and she could smell it, the scent heavy on the air. Oh, how she loved the way the house smelled around Halloween.
"She refused you candy..." Ron prompted.
"Oh! We - er, stole her pumpkin after that." Hermione finished with a sheepish look on her face.
"What?" His eyebrows jumped and his mouth popped open in a comical way. He arranged his facial expression into one of disbelief. "You... you did that?"
"Oh," Her cheeks flushed. "Don't give me that look. I stole a pumpkin, not their car. Besides, it was funny."
"Not for the poor woman! She was probably devastated."
"She was not devastated! She had about fifteen more lining her lawn."
Ron's hand lifted to his hair, a grimace on his face. "Fifteen? Really and truly, or are you joking?" He snatched his fingers away from the hair that had, in their foray into pumpkin carving, briefly but thoroughly been covered with pumpkin insides. His eye twitched.
"Dead serious, Ron-" She let out a short laugh. "See what I did there? Since it's Halloween..."
"Hmm. Not funny, 'Mione." He shook his head minutely, as though disappointed. If her senses were sharp - and they were - he was also hiding a small smile.
Hermione was not one to back down once she latched onto something. "But it was funny!"
"If you say so."
She let out a huff, but relaxed back into his embrace. "So. What do you wizards do for Halloween?"
"Most Purebloods actually celebrate it in a more religious way. Not much begging for candy goes on. They're too dignified for that. It's more age-old rituals and the like."
A high-pitched giggle escaped her lips. "Can you imagine?"
"Imagine what?"
"Draco Malfoy putting on a costume and going out for candy?"
Ron's hand, which had been rubbing soothing circles on her shoulders, stopped. "Dear Merlin. I think he'd drop dead at the idea. Or wet his pants at all the muggle-contact he'd have to endure. But I guess then you could just do your thing and make him into a... what was it? Zonber?"
"Zombie, Ron. Keep up." He stuck his tongue at her. "Next year, I'll take you out to trick-or-treat, if you want to. So you'll see what all the excitement's about." She looked up expectantly, quickly getting discouraged by his frown.
"Won't they say we're too old?" He asked.
"Hmm..." She shrugged, thinking hard. "Maybe."
"Are you trying to involve me in crime?" His eyes grew wide, and he pulled away to give her a once-over, as though something had shifted about her and he had yet to really notice what. Or come to terms with it.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Honestly, I'm not going to make you steal any pumpkins. It was a one-time, funny thing. I am not a criminal."
"Yeah, sure. Funny. Because stealing is such a fulfilling, legal activity."
She plowed on as though he hadn't spoken. "Besides, we're wizards. We don't need to look like adults."
"I do like candy." He seemed to be considering the idea.
Hermione's enthusiasm returned. "Are we on, then?"
"Why can't we go this year, though? Halloween's in a few days yet."
"We haven't got costumes," she answered, as though that were the most obvious thing in the world.
Ron shrugged, "Didn't you just remind me that we're wizards? We'll transfigure something, easy."
She dropped her head on his chest and let out a long sigh. "These things take time," she said simply.
"Whatever you say, Hermione."
"That's the spirit," she said, grinning.
"One thing-" Ron pulled away again, ignoring her pouty reaction when he did. "If we get thrown in that jail thing we read about in Auror handbooks," He paused to shiver dramatically, "I'm telling Harry to bail me out."
"What, you'd leave me to all the other prisoners?"
He gave a sharp nod. "And if you steal any pumpkins," he landed a punch on the palm of his hand where it was circled around her, threatening silently.
"Point taken."
"I hope so."
She grinned, "We're very strange together, you know? I think I quite like it-" She broke off when Ron tensed.
"What's that smell?" Ron asked, alarm filling his eyes.
A few seconds passed as they ran through anything that could possibly be burning, reaching the same conclusion at the same time. "The pie!" They shouted in unison, tripping over each other to run to the kitchen.
There was silence that was only broken by the beeping of the stove, and then the pie was pulled out.
"Oh!" Hermione cried out in despair. "It's all... blackened!"
"At least I didn't burn the house down again," Ron answered, sounding far too cheerful.
"There's that," she agreed. "Now, where can we find another pumpkin to make pie from, since this isn't fit for eating. How was I so stupid to not have set an alar- Ron, where are you going?"
"You said 'pumpkin' like you wanted to find and carve another one. I don't care to repeat that performance, thanks ever so."
"Practice makes perfect!" She called after his retreating figure. She let out a deep sigh. "Fine! Have it your way. Maybe I'll put that threat I made the other day into action."
He reappeared in the doorway, looking at her warily. "What threat?"
"The one in which you and the sofa get very well acquainted with each other over the course of a few weeks."
He grinned at her, taking in her so-called threatening stance. She had her arms on her hips and a barely-maintained look of anger on her features. He caved despite the weak effort she'd put into looking intimidating, his expression almost pained. "So you were saying something about finding a pumpkin...?"