"This isn't fair," I mumbled, crossing my arms on the kitchen counter in front of me and resting my chin on my arms. I was pouting and acting like a baby and I knew it. Normally, I would have hated myself for it, but now I found myself not really caring.

What could I say? I was upset. My mother, upon finding my failed quiz in the foyer, had shouted for me to come downstairs right this instant. That's when I knew I was in trouble.

Just like my mother had promised, she had told me that I wouldn't be able to go trick-or-treating or have Tess sleep over that night. Needless to say, I wasn't happy. I had been prepared for this to happen, but it didn't make it any less upsetting. Going trick-or-treating was a tradition we had upheld for years. Skipping a year felt wrong. Besides, this was my last opportunity to go as it was. By next Halloween, I'd be at school. My last chance had been ruined. Perhaps it was my own fault, but then again, maybe it wasn't. I prepared for each and every quiz I took and failed anyway. It was as if my mother couldn't see that.

"Lilah, don't you think you're being a bit ridiculous?" Mum asked. She was moving around the kitchen, collecting plates, napkins and utensils for dinner. Dad had gone to Uncle Jesse's house to pick him and Tess up. Then, they were supposed to all go pick up the pizza. They were expected back any minute now.

"No," I muttered, "I don't think so." Okay, maybe I did think I was being a tiny bit ridiculous. I had a lot of things that others didn't. Food, shelter, a family. I knew how lucky I was. But even still, going trick-or-treating was a very special tradition.

It had started way back when I was a year old. Back then, both of my parents were in on taking me trick-or-treating and the three of us, plus Uncle Jesse and Tess, would go through our neighborhoods together. It was pretty much one of the only times I got to see my neighbors and a part of me wonders if my mother only let me go so we wouldn't seem totally abnormal.

I guess I should start explaining that at the beginning. I mentioned that Uncle Jesse's family were Muggles, but I didn't mention that they were very wealthy Muggles. They actually bought Uncle Jesse a house when he married his wife. And, as it turns out, Mum's family is very wealthy as well. Since my dad's family didn't have a lot of money, and my dad had only saved up enough to pay rent for the flat he was sharing with Uncle Jesse after they left school, Mum's family offered to buy them their own house. Well, more like insisted. I haven't been told all the details, but if you want my opnion, it's because they didn't want my mother living in some cramped, dingy flat. My grandparents are very stuffy people, even more so than Mum. She's picked up some of their tendencies, sure, but something tells me that she wouldn't have minded the flat as much as they did.

Anyway, Dad refused the offer at first, but like I said, my grandparents weren't really backing down. So my dad gave in, but his one condition was that the house be near Uncle Jesse's house. My grandparents weren't happy about it, and I don't think my mother was either, to be honest, but they all complied. Our house is just a few streets over from Uncle Jesse's, as I've said, and they're bot in a Muggle area. I think at first both my parents did want to live in an area where other witches and wizards lived-my mother more so than my dad-but the house is gorgeous so they took it. Besides, my dad wanted to be near his closest friend more than he wanted to live in an all magical neighborhood. Also, my parents did need somewhere to live besides the flat Dad and Uncle Jesse were sharing and at the time, both of them were struggling to get started in their careers and save up their money. As I've said, Dad really only had enough money to continue renting the flat he was in, which meant that Uncle Jesse would leave, and Mum would move in to help pay the rent, or the three of them would live together and continue to split the rent. Neither option was particularly ideal for them. And then, out of nowhere, they were offered a house of their own. A gorgeous one at that. It looked like something out of a fairy tale and the others in the neighborhood looked that way as well. My favorite part of the house has always been the curvy staircase. I always felt like I was really some kind of a princess whenever I walked down it.

Anyway, now that my parents were on their feet as far as jobs go, they were left to continue to pay the mortgage for the house. But, since my mother's job was more...steady, she was usually the one paying everything. My dad felt awful and tried to contribute and pay her back when he could, but the truth of the matter was that while he made decent money, it wasn't enough to pay the bills for the house we were in. They actually argued about it quite a bit. Even in a house the size of ours, Julian and I still somehow managed to hear every one of them.

Also, since we lived in a Muggle area, my mother was extremely paranoid about any of our neighbors finding out we weren't totally like them. There weren't many children in our neighborhood anyway, but Julian and I were never really allowed to play with what kids were there. My mother was afraid we'd let something slip in conversation, as little kids tend to do. Something along the lines of, 'my Mummy and Daddy can do magic and I will too one day'. And as we got older and neared the age of seven, interaction was definitely off limits. Mum was afraid we'd accidentally do something Muggle kids would call 'weird' and then we'd be figured out for sure. Obviously. Cue the eye rolls and the sighs.

My mother had it all figured out. She'd tell everyone that Julian and I were just very involved in certain activities and also our studies. She told people we were home schooled, which was the truth. When we eventually went to Hogwarts, if anyone asked, they would be told we were at some boarding school. Which one, I couldn't care less. I'll leave that up to Mum. She also tells people that she works from home, which is why we don't own a car. In reality, she goes to work using the Floo. Or just Apparates straight there. But she mostly uses the Floo in case someone hears the sound of her Apparating. Like I said, she figured it all out.

My dad, on the other hand, really does have a Muggle job, so that was a no-brainer. Although, I'm not sure Mum always liked him telling the truth about his job. Maybe it ruined our cookie-cutter image or something considering he wasn't exactly a famous comedian. But my dad didn't care. He talked about it with a smile on his face. Always. But not that he needed to talk about it much. Like I've said, we had next to no relationship with any of our neighbors. It was getting better now, though, at least for my parents. They loosened up a bit and started to socialize, mainly to prevent people from asking questions about why we kept so much to ourselves. I also think they realized that I was going to go to school and learn to control my magic soon and that Julian and I weren't going to accidentally tell anybody something top secret. But Julian was even worse at slipping up with magic than I was, so my mum hadn't totally loosened the reigns yet. Besides, the damage was already done. It was kind of late to make friends with any of the few kids in the neighborhood.

Essentially, Julian and I only had each other growing up, which I knew not to take for granted since my dad didn't have anyone. Like I said, both of his parents worked constantly trying to support the family so he was quite lonely, hence all the different voices he came up with and same ones that came in handy for his work now. Anyway, the bottom line is that going trick-or-treating felt like the one time Julian and I got to meet people, even if it was only briefly.

"Lilah," my mother said sternly, snapping me out of my thoughts. She was standing at the doorway, the plates, napkins and utensils stacked in her arms. "You should be grateful we're still celebrating your birthday. We could be doing nothing tonight."

I shrugged one shoulder. I knew my mother had a point. I was being a bit bratty, I supposed, but as I said, this weekend was supposed to be an important one. "I just don't want to break tradition," I finally said, choosing to trace circles on the counter instead of meeting her eyes. My mother always knew how to make me feel ashamed.

"Lilah, it's petty," Mum sighed. "Besides, you're getting a bit old for trick-or-treating, don't you think? And once you start at Hogwarts next September, you won't be going."

"Exactly! This is my last chance," I protested, irritation flaring up inside of me again. "And I'm not too old. Eleven isn't old at all. I'm still a kid."

My mother shook her head and sighed. "You'll be starting school in a year and becoming a teenager in two. I think it may actually be for the best if you started to leave childhood behind, okay?"

I scowled. It didn't sound good to me at all. It sounded terrible, actually, but arguing with my mother can be like arguing with a wall.

"Now go tell Julian to wash up for dinner. Your father will be back with the pizza any minute."

I sighed. That was my mother. Everything could be settled just as easy as that, when in reality, nothing was truly settled at all. Nevertheless, I hopped off my chair and headed upstairs to get my brother. I knocked on his bedroom door and pushed it open when I heard him tell me to come in. I plopped down into his desk chair and swiveled in a rapid circle as I let out another sigh. I will admit, I do tend to be a wee bit dramatic on some occasions. I'm totally aware of it, thank you very much.

"No luck?" Julian asked. He was sitting on his bed, writing something on a piece of paper. He had crayons scattered around him as well, but I barely noticed. I was too preoccupied with other things.

"No luck," I repeated, slowing my spinning to a stop. "She won't budge. Looks like I won't be going out tonight after all." I glanced at him. "Sorry, Jules."

He shrugged and continued to look at whatever project it was in front of him. It was probably an early start on some kind of homework, I thought, half bitterly.

"I'm sure I'll survive," Julian finally said, "but I will be lonely. Dad, Uncle Jesse and Tess are great, but I'll miss you. Dad and Uncle Jesse are adults, as fun as they are, and I'm not friends with Tess like you are. It wouldn't be the same."

I smiled. "I appreciate that, Jules. Mum thinks it's silly for me to be upset. She thinks I should be grateful I'm even able to celebrate at all. And I am. Really. It's just that trick-or-treating is important to me. I won't get to do it forever. With Hogwarts next year and everything, this is the last chance I get to do this. Maybe it is petty, and part of me feels really guilty about making such a big deal, but-"

"Liles, you're eleven years old," Julian said, finally pausing in whatever he was doing and meeting my eyes. "I think maybe you're sometimes allowed to get upset over petty things. And in some ways, it isn't petty. As you've said, it meant something to you. You look forward to it and it got taken away. You're upset. It makes sense."

I looked at him in disbelief. "So besides being devious for an eight year old, you're also incredibly insightful for your age. Interesting. And in every way better than me." I grinned to let him know I was kidding. And I was. Julian was an incredible kid, and I always found myself so average. Average, shoulder length brown hair, average hazel eyes, average height, average intelligence. The list goes on and on. I didn't think I was terrible or stupid or ugly, just not great or a genius or incredibly beautiful. But my point is that there was never any jealousy between Julian and I. I really didn't mind that he did certain things better, like think reasonably or successfully understand math.

"Don't say that," he said. "You're great, Lilah."

"Thanks, Jules. I appreciate it."

He smiled as he finished working on whatever it was that he was working on with a flourish of his crayon. He scanned it over before handing it to me. "Happy birthday, Liles," he said.

I took the piece of paper and looked down at it. It was a handmade card. Julian had written 'Happy Birthday Lilah' on the front in big letters and drawn balloons in all of my favorite colors-blue, purple and yellow. On the inside was a handwritten note that said all of the usual things you'd expect in a birthday card. Hope your birthday's as amazing as you are and all that. But I knew that Julian truly meant everything he said, cliche notes or not, so the card still meant a lot. The fact that he had even made me a card himself meant a lot.

"Thank you so much," I whispered. "I love it." I stood up and crossed the room to throw my arms around him.

"Don't mention it," he said, his voice muffled by my shoulder. "I think Mum put my name on a gift downstairs, but I wanted to give you something that was more from me and not technically purchased by Mum or Dad."

"That's sweet. You really do think of everything. Thank you. Again."

"You're welcome. Again," he replied with a grin, his huge green eyes crinkling at the corners.

Just then, we heard the sound of the front door opening and the voices of my dad, Uncle Jesse and Tess filled the air. I smiled. "What do you say we go down and enjoy whatever still stands of my spectacular birthday weekend?"

"Let's do it," Julian declared.

The two of us thundered down the stairs and practically bombarded my dad, Tess and Uncle Jesse.

"What kind of pizza did you get?" Julian asked, jumping up and down as he tried to touch the pizza box.

"Doesn't matter," Dad laughed, holding the box above his head and out of Julian's reach. "Jesse, Tess and I ate it all. There's no more left. Sorry."

"No, you didn't!" Julian laughed, following Dad towards the dining room.

"So, how's it feel to be eleven years old?" Uncle Jesse asked, turning to me and ruffling my hair. "The big one-one."

I shrugged. "Fine. It feels just like being ten, though. There's no difference."

"Ah, nothing wrong with that," Uncle Jesse said with a wave of his hand. "You have to enjoy being so young."

I smiled before looking at Tess as my smile turned to a sympathetic one. "My mother said I can't go trick-or-treating tonight and she also said that the sleepover's off." I hated having to break the news to her, especially knowing that she'd be as disappointed as I was, despite how much she would act like it was fine.

"I heard," she nodded, returning the sympathetic smile. "But it's really okay. Next year we can have our own sleepover at Hogwarts."

"We might not even be in the same dorm, though," I said with a sigh.

"We'll figure out a way, then," she shrugged. Always the overly positive one in our friendship. She never failed to look on the bright side of things and could usually find something good about everything. I'm not sure how she did it. Not that I'm a negative person, either, but she could sure make me look that way, finding something good about things I was sure were hopeless.

"Don't sweat it, Liles," Uncle Jesse said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Besides, you could always introduce trick-or-treating to Hogwarts."

I snorted and actually cracked a smile. "I doubt that'll go over well. "Can you imagine two first years dressing up and going around asking for candy? We'd never live it down."

Uncle Jesse grinned and shrugged. "Or everyone will think it's great and immediately jump on the bandwagon."

"You two are so obviously related," I said with a laugh as I gestured between him and Tess. "You always look at the positive side of everything."

"And not ashamed of it," Uncle Jesse said. He smiled sadly. "Liv was the same way."

I returned the sad smile as the three of us fell quiet. Olivia-or Liv as Uncle Jesse always called her-was Uncle Jesse's wife. She had died when Tess and I were really little-only about two years old-and even though the two of us had been too young to remember her or the event of her death, I knew from my parents that Uncle Jesse had been devastated. Naturally. And I felt just as awful for Tess. It was totally unfair that she could barely even remember her mother. When we were younger, I would feel guilty about even mentioning my own mother, as if it would make Tess sad by doing so.

Just then, Julian stuck his head out of the dining room. "Hey, are you three coming or not? If you don't, the pizza really will be all gone this time!"

I laughed, and so did Tess and Uncle Jesse. "Coming, Jules," I said as we all followed him into the dining room. My mother had set the table brilliantly. I wouldn't have expected anything less actually. She had used her favorite red tablecloth and had set two candles at each end of the table. In the middle sat a vase containing a beautiful flower arrangement. It probably looked like a bit much for just pizza, but like I said, I wouldn't have expected any less from my mother. Everything had to be special and done exceptionally well. I was actually kind of honored that she considered my birthday an occasion to be so fancy for, but then again, I wondered if it was because my mother treated every event this way.

"Put the pizza in the kitchen," my mother was ordering my dad now. "If you set the box right on the table, it'll leave a greasy stain on the tablecloth. Besides, it'll look a lot prettier if I set it out on a plate."

"Ooh, fancy," my dad joked, throwing a wink my way as he headed into the kitchen, my mother on his heels.

Tess, Julian, Uncle Jesse and I sat down at the table as we waited for my parents to return. A few minutes later, they did, my mother carrying a plate with the pizza arranged beautifully on it. Like I said, everything had to be done right and done well, even pizza. Mum set the plate on the table as she and Dad took their own seats. There was a second or two of silence until Julian spoke.

"Can we eat now?" he asked eagerly.

My dad chuckled and my mother sighed, despite the tiny and brief smile that appeared on her face. "Go ahead," she said.

Everyone dug in right away. I had to admit that the pizza was delicious and it was nice to celebrate my birthday in some way with the people that I cared the most about. However, that didn't stop me from feeling a pang of sadness once dinner was over, the cake was cut, the gifts were opened, the dining room was cleared and Julian and Tess were leaving the room to change into their costumes. Julian was going as a scarecrow and Tess as a mouse. I had been planning to go as a cat so that Tess and I could be cat and mouse. But now it looked as if it were going to be just mouse.

I retreated to my bedroom and dumped my gifts onto my bed. Uncle Jesse and Tess had given me a few books I had been wanting to read as well as a box of Every Flavored Beans and some chocolate frogs. My parents had given me clothes. Dresses, actually. My mother had claimed that I could wear one to her Christmas party in a few months. She held the party every year and the guests consisted of her friends and co-workers, most of whom fit into both categories. On the plus side, Tess, Uncle Jesse and Uncle Jesse's parents were invited every year too.

I picked up one of my new books and the box of Every Flavored beans and collapsed onto my bed, determined to make this night fun and cozy anyway considering I wasn't going out. I was just managing to forget about my punishment when there was a knock on my bedroom door.

"Come in," I said, looking up from my book to see who had knocked.

"Hey," my dad said quietly, sticking his head into my room. "What are you up to?"

"Reading and eating candy. Essentially, I'm drowning my sorrows in a book and some sugar."

Dad smiled and I saw his eyes fall on my new dresses lying on my bed. "Do you like them?" he sked.

I nodded. "They're beauatiful. I think I will wear one to the Christmas party."

"Your mother would probably want you to hang them in your closet to they don't get wrinkled."

I shrugged and smiled. "Yeah...I'll get to it eventually. I have all night to spend up here in my room now after all."

Dad laughed and shook his head. "Julian and Tess are almost ready, and I was actually thinking...you should come with us."

I laughed. "Are you crazy?"

Dad shook his head. "No, I"m not. I'm actually quite sane and quite serious."

I let out a snort. "Mum won't let me. She still said no even when you tried to convince her."

"I was thinking we woudn't have to let your mother know," Dad said with a sheepish smile. I also knew quite well that that smile meant nothing good. But I also didn't need the smile to know he was up to no good. His words were clear enough.

"Dad, that's ridiculous," I laughed. "That would never work. Plus, I'd feel terrible the whole time. Going out wouldn't feel right."

Dad was quiet for a moment and I continued to stare at him, unable to go back to my book knowing that he hadn't responded yet. I knew him well enough to know he was looking for a loophole. I braced myself. He could be incredibly convincing when he wanted to be.

"This is your last year to go trick-or-treating, you know," he finally said. "And you had a costume picked out and everything..."

"Uncle Jesse said I could introduce trick-or-treating to Hogwarts next year," I said. It was half-hearted and my dad knew it. I could tell. But it didn't stop me from saying it anyway. As much as I wanted to go trick-or-treating, I wanted to stay out of trouble with my mother even more.

Dad laughed. "Come on, Liles, you know as well as I do that that plan wouldn't go over well. Which is why you wouldn't even try."

He was right of course. I had laughed at the idea when Uncle Jesse had first said it, just like Dad had laughed now.

"How would I get past her? She'll see the rest of you out the door and there's no way I'd even be able to slip by."

Dad shrugged. "I'm sure you can figure out the answer to that if you think a little bit. You're a smart girl, Liles." He smiled and turned to leave, pausing for a split second to turn back. "I'll meet you outside in ten minutes." With that, he patted the doorframe twice and left the room.

I frowned. In this instance I could see why my mother got irritated with my dad. He kind of just did his own thing and made up his own rules. On one hand, he was my parent and had just as much say in my punishments as my mother. Also, this punishment was a little ridiculous. Surely he was just executing his power to make his own decisions in my punishments. But we didn't have to be so sneaky about it. That's what my mother didn't like and a part of me couldn't blame her. But I did also know that my dad had gone to bat for me tonight and she had shot him down. She was disappointed in my quiz grade and I was going to be punished for it. That was that. End of story. But my dad clearly disagreed. He knew, just like Miss Sullivan knew, how hard I tried. And he wanted me to have fun on my last Halloween at home. And maybe he did have a point when he said my mother wouldn't find out. She probably did have a lot of work to do. She and I never got to do things together like we used to due to all the work she did, so why would tonight be any different? And I did still really want to go trick-or-treating.

I chewed on my lip for a moment before I set my book down and jumped up from my bed. I grabbed my costume from my closet and quickly changed. I brushed my hair and slid on my headband with the attached cat ears. Then, I pulled out my costume makeup from my drawer and drew on whiskers, trying to be fast, but also draw them well. Once I was done, I inhaled and let it out before turning towards my window and sliding it open. There was a gint tree outside with a branch that just reached my window. Maybe it was a bit too cliche and convenient, but it was convenient nonetheless.

And before I could get the chance to change my mind, I climbed outside onto the branch making sure to turn and shut the window behind me, before making my way towards the tree trunk and shimmying towards the ground.