Chapter 4
There was a slight dormitory rearrangement after the withdrawal of Vilm; both Antti Laakkonen and Blaise Paddock asking Rudi if he minded them moving from their crowded second year dormitory – smalt – into indigo with him. Rudi was indifferent; so long as they did not interfere with him, and said so. Blaise had the courtesy to pass it with the castle elves – which earned him a smile and his favourite sweet at supper from Sirri – and the move was accomplished. It has to be said that the rest of the inhabitants of smalt dormitory were not displeased, since they were the louder and more lawless elements; Antti was accounted a prig and Blaise was in the unfortunate situation of being 'mostly harmless'. A placid, hardworking boy, he preferred to NOT be in a situation of knowing what was being plotted so he could truthfully deny if asked, for he liked his classmates well enough and did not want to get them into trouble. Antti just wanted to disassociate himself from them. Antti was not the sort who would sneak but he did have a habit of saying 'I told you so' when people were caught. His year mates agreed there was nothing WRONG with the boy but he was too much of a nothing to have a lot RIGHT with him either. The term 'The Finnish Flobberworm' stuck.
The staff nickname for indigo dormitory was 'the Hufflepuff dorm' which said it all.
It was the fifth who managed to cause the next minor upheaval.
Both Evangeline Chaunter and Deborah Puisel had complained that they had certainly left some of their things behind last year and couldn't find them; and as Elsie Blackwood had mislaid her own favourite ink since the beginning of term she came up with an idea.
Elsie was a much stronger child than she had been the year before when she had been very delicate; and she had been taking chanting seriously to strengthen her lungs. Accordingly she suggested that the fifth work out a chant using the finding charm as a basis that would find everything that was lost and pile it into a circle defined by the chant.
The others voted it a good idea.
In principle it was an excellent idea, and when the youngsters who were taking chanting to OWL had defined their circle and chanted they were delighted when it started filling.
They were less delighted when their small circle overflowed and the column of lost objects toppled over on top of them.
Every object that had ever been lost at Prince Peak or Miss Cackle's Academy appeared before them; including the dead rat that had been the plaything of Stripey the castle leopard that he had dropped and been unable to reach.
"Oops" said Emily.
"But how powerful!" said Adrian. "Emily, we shall clear away the less er, savoury objects and then we shall charge two knuts to anyone who has lost kit to get their own items back and just sell off the rest for the free places fund."
"Brilliant!" said Emily.
"There are superannuated apple cores in there" said Irmi. "I will to the kitchen go and ask for cleaning stuff; and we will fold all the cardigans neatly and pick up all the wanted things and just sweep the not-wanted things in a pile and use evanesco on them; and I will on my way dispose of the moribund rodent."
Emily grinned; Irmi's language was moulded by living in the castle around Professor Snape and his family and her still rather precise English contained occasionally startling pieces of vocabulary and remarkable pedantries.
It has to be said that, once the more unpleasant things had been got rid of – some of which must have been forbidden treats hidden when a teacher came in and then forgotten about, as Adrian said of the various tart-shaped piles of mould – the class was able to engage in much hilarity over the lost items of clothing from the time of Cackle's academy. Too well some of the girls remembered the gym slips and black checked summer frocks of their own time as Cackle's girls, but the clothing of their parents and perhaps grandparents were just too hilarious. The school had been started by Miss Cackle's mother; and the long shapeless garments in black and white stripes were horrible!
"I say, what about a school museum?" suggested Emily "We could write home and ask for old photos of the older generations and have a little display by the library."
"Good idea!" approved Irmi "And we can also write up the history of the jealousy of Agatha Cackle and the school's foremost place in the fight against Odessa and it being the place our Headmaster developed the cure for werewolves."
"HAS he?" said Deborah.
"Of course he has!" said Irmi "Otherwise those of us who were werewolves could not have had a normal school life; those of us unfortunate to have contracted it in our childhood from various circumstances!"
"YOU used to be a werewolf?" Deborah stared.
Emily giggled.
"But I guess she's all right NOOOOOOW!" she said.
"I am; and I am most glad. To be a wolf animagus is fun but to lose your mind once a month is very bad" said Irmi "It makes the more normal monthly curse look quite mundane."
"Crumbs!" said Evangeline. "How come you got to be a werewolf so young?"
"Because Odessa has people made werewolves young to train them and brainwash them; and encourages them to have children without warning them that their children will be werewolves too" said Irmi calmly "Daddy and me escaped from Odessa and he was one of Professor Snape's volunteer experimental subjects. We don't like Odessa."
Had not the Cackle's girls remembered so clearly the fearful time when they realised that they had the wrong Miss Cackle, the time Severus had arrived to rescue them, they might have been less ready to accept Irmi's status as a cured werewolf; as it was they shuddered and agreed with her!
Indigo Dormitory was to have another inhabitant; Borek having declared his intention to support another child in school and so going out to seek a child WORTH spending his money on.
The young goblin boy, Henik was in a wheelchair when he arrived.
"The boy's father deserted his mother when he was born with his spine exposed" said Borek "The poor woman has been working as a prostitute to support him. I came across Henik as a street arithmancer; selling fortunes using numerology and breaking minor curses. I thought that was worth an education; and I have talked to HIM about the different people you have here."
"Why would I want to make bad comments about others when I am used myself to receive ill natured remarks just for something I cannot help?" said Henik to the tall scarred human. "It's unfair; I don't like people who are unfair."
The grim visage of Professor Snape broke into a smile.
"No lad; nor do I" he said. "Now, my wife and I are going to look at your back; and I have little doubt that we shall be able to improve it even if we cannot effect a complete cure."
Krait came in on light feet and Henik was lifted by Professor Snape and laid face down on the sofa. Gentle hands explored.
"Meh, piece o' piss" said Krait "Any semi-capable medical transfigurationist could have done it when he was a baby; why ever was it not done?"
"My parents were pretty poor, gracious lady, even before my father walked out on us" said Henik. "They could not afford a medical transfigurationist."
"You have to PAY in Switzerland?" said Krait.
"Gracious lady" said Borek "I will speak with other wealthy people towards a fund for children in need. England is a beacon in the darkness for goblin kind."
"Pardon me, Herr gan Tork" said Krait "But I believe there are probably poverty stricken humans also; and it seems to me that if wealthy goblins fund both races and mixed race children also, it might shame the government into providing free treatment for all; in line with England."
Borek grinned.
"You are as cunning as any goblin, gracious lady!" he said
Severus and Krait chanted over the young boy's mangled back; and he cried out as feeling shot through restored nerves to his feet and legs.
"You will need to exercise carefully to restore the muscle tone properly; magically enhanced tone is not so efficient" said Severus "We will use muggle-developed exercises to aid you, for their methods are really very efficient, more so in the long run than a quick magical fix. It is worth the pain I assure you; I have used the methods myself to enhance my own strength."
"Yes sir; if you say so" said Henik, trying not to sound dubious "Why, I can MOVE!" he cried "Oh THANK you!"
"Well lad, you'll be in the chair for lessons for a while" said Severus. "What you decide to tell your classmates is up to you; most of them are decent kids who will sympathise without pity for the truth. I will tell the school that you are temporarily confined to the chair and that the school should be aware and to be sensitive about not barging down corridors when you start to walk. It would not be a case of deliberate bullying but that young people are heedless feckless creatures and need to be reminded that too much exuberance can be dangerous!"
"Thank you sir!" said Henik.
Henik, introduced to the first, found himself the centre of willing offers to push his chair and to help him catch up with the first two weeks' work and Lucy requested Professor Snape to relax the rule about no work in common rooms for a couple of weeks until Henik had caught up.
"So long as it is not abused, I will permit the relaxation" said Severus "I put you children on your honour to do work only related to helping Henik and to not do your own prep anywhere but the proper place and time."
He had a chorus of assent and left them to it.
Henik thought he was in heaven!
The school uniform was finer than anything he had ever worn; and he had books galore, and he was warm and not just allowed time to study but it was encouraged! His mother had encouraged him to read anything she could get for him, but he had also had to help out as soon as he was old enough doing such things as stringing beads for the jeweller, on a pittance of a wage; and he had been glad to have learned enough Arithmancy to demonstrate to his mother that he made more at that than doing ill-paid piece work. And now he could learn more!
He soon discovered that there were holes in his knowledge of Arithmancy, but that in general he was ahead of most of the class; and Madam Granger smiled at him and told him that if he wanted to progress at his own pace once he had caught up other subjects, she was flexible enough to set him extra work since the school WAS supposed to develop the individual abilities of talented children.
Henik was overwhelmed!
And the boys in his dormitory may not have been the most sociable in the school, but they readily helped out with his toileting needs – and Henik was glad that at least he had always had control of those functions – by helping him to the bathroom in the night if he needed it while his legs grew strong enough to take himself.
Rudi appointed himself protector to the young goblin boy; he knew what it was to have an affliction, even if he had not been different in the werewolf compound. And Henik helped him with Arithmancy, which Rudi almost despaired of ever understanding! Both boys were very organised and if they sighed a little over Antti's total lack of ability to ever have the right things for any class or to find his clothes in the morning they hid it, for Antti was kind enough to Henik in his rather slapdash way.
Antti had paid rather a lot to the sponsorship fund for the return of HIS lost property; and had been glad to do so just to get back three socks – all odd – two text books, seven quills, a fiction book and a sweater. As well as the things he had lost the previous year.
Antti had actually managed to lose more even than Rose Hubble!
Madam Granger had thought it a nice enough birthday present to have an arithmantic genius in the form of Henik; the surprise birthday party of the middle school left her feeling quite choked!
She had warned Severus that she had thought the middle school were up to something and had been disappointed in his apparent lack of interest – so he had KNOWN!
"SPEECH!" shouted AHHa.
"I declare myself robbed of words!" said Hermione, who had been led all unsuspecting to the middle school common room allegedly to adjudicate a dispute. "I – thank you all; and thank you too for not presuming on my speechlessness to do this in school time. Now I know why the lot of you have been as scatty as the mountain goats on the Alm for the last few days. It's a beautiful abacus and I'm almost afraid to eat any of it; but permit me to contribute to the feast and let us enjoy it!" she waved her wand in a complex pattern and enough mugs of pumpkin juice appeared out of thin air for the whole company. She was cheered for such an elegant display of wand work; the marauders particularly appreciated such virtuosity, Muggle Marauders and First Peak Marauders alike. And if the Muggle Marauders presented her with a piece of cake with sharply snapped heels and a Nazi salute it was from affection for a fellow Marauder that they teased.
In equal affection Hermione clipped them all across the back of the head with two fingers.
It was understood that maudlin was NOT permitted for Madam Granger!
Arbrek had had a long talk with his father before Borek returned home; and he too was keeping half an eye on Henik. He introduced himself as Borek's son.
"My dad wants you to use his name rather than be shamed as 'gan Prok', no man's son, or use the name of an inadequate that could not deal with adversity" he said "And I'm happy to look out for you as a younger brother; it does not mean he will take you from your mother. Some will think she has been his mistress, but dad is willing to accept that if it makes life easier for you. My mum is looking out for your mum too."
"Your father has been so good to me; I think I will, if he is willing, use just his name but not 'gan'; for I am NOT his son. The humans just like a second name for their paperwork; I though I should be known as Henik the Halt."
"Well, you can look on dad as an uncle perhaps; he did sponsor another boy first, did he tell you? Who let him down by being racist."
"Yes; he said it meant he also had to terminate the boy's father's employment for being unbearably rude to him" said Henik "What a horrid boy he sounds!"
"He was" said Henik "And while us goblins are getting more rights established we have to leap on the ones that only reinforce human ideas of goblins. Professor Snape explained to me – I went and asked – that there are good and bad people of all races and HE accepts that, but that he could not let such an example be cited by the human children here, even if he thought there was a slight chance of teaching Vilm; which he didn't think there was. Me, I've always been rich; you've always been poor. So we can both afford to think as we like and do as we like because no-one cares about the poor, I'm afraid, and the rich can afford to do as they please and not care about the opinions of others. The people in the middle are so desperate to be higher that they put other people down that they can to try to put themselves up. Professor Snape says humans are just the same and so too are elves that are free but poorish!"
"I s'pose that proves more than anything else that people are all much alike" said Henik.
"Yes; but I wish that they were a bit nicer" sighed Arbrek "I s'pose at least the middle classes do at least represent a minority on the continent; and in England where they are the mostest class of goblins there's more social mobility so they're not quite so desperate to claw at it. And they HAVE had goblin heroes and human heroes fighting side by side. And we have one of them teaching us; Madam Devlin was the first DECLARED part goblin in Hogwarts school beside her full blood friend Kinat that everyone has heard of!"
"She's a real hero then!" said Henik impressed, determined to work really hard in comparative magic!
Almost a week after Hermione's birthday party the blood group – who had already spread out one cruciatus curse placed on Jade – received an excited blood pulse from her and the cryptic communication,
"I say, I've just watched the world's craziest blue movie!"
Jade went on to explain that the Care of Magical Beasts teacher at Durmstrang was brilliant and innovative and had used omnioculars to record animal behaviour, including never previously described mating rituals of Graphorns. Naturally David Fraser was fascinated; and admiring! He decided to go and chat to Lucius about it and see what might be done; Jade said that Señor Carcano was sending an omniocular to Lucius with a covering letter and asked David to suggest that Lucius also suggested that if there was a long correspondence that he persuade the elf that came to be sure that a different elf went to England each time to break the self-punishment curse. David agreed; that was more important really than the new ideas of the Durmstrang teacher's discovery though he had to admit guiltily not as exciting!
Anett Breuer was enjoying teaching in Prince Peak.
The atmosphere was so different to Durmstrang; the children, even the little ones, were happy, barring the odd bout of homesickness; and for that there were cuddles from someone like Krait Snape rather than ragging from the peer group or prowling and predatory older ones. Indeed, nobody but prefects were allowed in the dormitories of younger ones; and the rule about them only going into dorms of those of their own sex was also strictly enforced. Nobody seemed to be bullied; the older ones, even the prefects, did not throw their weight around; and the only reference Anett heard to fagging was the disgusted comment from Flo Visick that now Jade had left she didn't suppose Angelica would let her fag for her and besides, she wasn't Jade and so it was hardly worth it anyway. The little ones seemed to cheerfully run the odd errand for the older ones; and one picked out quickly which sixth formers were the most popular that little ones hung around to do errands for. Angelica was popular enough – Flo's odious comparisons despite – though it was Hester Figg and Harmony Bloom who had the most adoration from the youngest, for being gentle and kindly girls. Not that Angelica was not given respect; for she was, as was Seagh. Seagh was Anett's bloodkin now; and his particular satellites were the gang of four Muggle Marauders in the fourth; though Anett did not know it, Seagh had suggested that the Lowther twins – who HAD magical talent – should make a blood group with their two muggle friends to get them all accepted of right and though they were now all part of the greater blood group, they would never forget that!
Anett had only one sixth form student in the person of Harmony Bloom; and Harmony explained that this was because Miss Cackle had made Madam Hardbroom teach some botany with potions but did not think hands-on gardening very nice because of grubbing in dirt, so the Cackle's girls had had no real experience of it. Professor Snape had now made the subject compulsory to OWL because of the applications for Potioneering; but planned in the future to remove both it and Care of Magical Beasts from the compulsory list so that after the third year there was more chance for students to specialise, once both magical music and magical art were established parts of the curriculum; and, if possible, metalwork as Hogwarts had introduced. Professor Snape intended to charge extra for those pupils who had special talents to be nurtured to cover having a larger staff than such a small school would seem to warrant; he was also planning on opening up the school to take up to twice as many pupils, though he was also considering having entrance by examination and interview too, so that only the most able were admitted. Anett learned a lot by just chatting to Harmony; like how Professor Snape had rescued her and her big sister from quarrelling parents and cured the awful scar the crossfire of their violent arguments had caused on her sister's face. She also learned how kind Jade had been to Harmony and that Jade was slightly younger than Harmony but so clever she had done her OWLs a year early and stayed then with the other NEWT students that had come to Prince Peak. Harmony had giggled over how shocked and outraged Cackle's girls had been to have to show courtesy and rise for teachers when Professor Snape had taken over and how irritable Krait had waxed over a class not even stopping talking when she came into the room. The insights into British courtesy were revealing; that the staff would take a deal of what Anett might consider cheek, so long as it was couched in polite terms and well-intentioned. Well, the English way produced results!
Anett was also writing carefully scripted reports for Herzog Von Frettchen, for whom she was supposedly spying; and answered a request from him to find out all she could of a girl called Nefrita Von Strang and also about the Nachtigall family.
Nefrita Von Strang was the pseudonym of Jade Snape, spying this year in Durmstrang with intent to infiltrate Odessa; and Anett took her turn at cuddling Jade's baby boy whom she had had to leave behind. Irmi was devoted to her little brother and he did not lack for an excess of relatives, but Anett thought Jade full of fortitude to have to leave him! She wrote to the Duke that Nefrita was reckoned rather stuck up and self sufficient though very able and that Professor Snape had muttered something about being not displeased to rid himself of a sneering face of a little Nazi, though she did not quite, lied Anett, understand that. She wrote the absolute truth about the Nachtigall family; that Friedolf Nachtigall had told a story that when his eldest child entered Durmstrang he, his pregnant wife, and their other daughter, were bitten by a werewolf that he believed had been arranged by his brother Ritter. Katarina had been at school at Prince Peak for a year and did very well, and Professor Snape's werewolf cure had worked on the other Nachtigalls and little Sylvana had just entered the school and was doing well. Von Frettchen could, easily enough, find out how old she was after all.
Presumably Jade was irritating Ritter Nachtigall's son who was in her year; and the Ferret was wondering which Nachtigall to support. As Severus was hoping to turn Von Frettchen, Anett had every intention of trying to get him to support Friedolf and his family.
Besides, Sylvana was a delightful child, full of intelligence and curiosity about the whole world; a tragedy to trammel such in being a werewolf, poor babe! Not that she was quite as full of curiosity as her friend Liriope Hallow, who had already been christened 'Elephant's child' by Lucy Ingate who had then had to get out the 'Just So' stories to explain it.
Liriope had giggled and said that she liked her own neat snub nose thank you and did NOT intend to go anywhere near the Great Grey Green Greasy Limpopo River all set about with fever trees, let alone near any crocodiles.
It had started the first years playing a new game; a variant on 'crocodile, crocodile may I cross your river' that had a forfeit of a one inch nose growth for anyone caught and the person with the longest nose at the end of the game – taking the longer proboscis of goblins into account – had to fetch the kaffee und kuchen for the rest of the class. It kept them out of trouble if not in the least bit quiet.
Yrdl giggled and told Anett that they in the second declared the game beneath them and pretended to set their dignity aside to join in purely to make better numbers.
"We can't of course let first year weevils think that they've invented a game we enjoy" she said.
"Oh quite" said Anett hiding a smile.
Henik had been enabled to join in by the expedient of some clever charms on his chair – mostly on the part of the second – permitting it to float and to have a propulsion charm on it like a broom. Henik had declined the use of a broom, declaring he would not feel safe on it, so the juniors had compromised so he should not be left out of the fun.
Being used to being left out of fun, Henik was quite overwhelmed again!
Ortensia preferred to be left out of the fun; she could not see the point of games haring around and getting mussed for silly reasons and said so. The second, with their propensity for nicknames tried 'The Italian Idjit' and, because she came from the centre of Northern Italy, settled on 'The Appenine Agelast' the word 'agelast' meaning 'one who never laughs' having been used for a rhyme in the Hogwart's song, 'Modern Hogwarts Potioneer' that did the rounds like 'The cauldron Monster Song' travelling via various Marauders.
The first would have gone to war with the second on general principles over that had not Ortensia heard the name and demanded the meaning, smiled, preened, and said that it was nice to have it acknowledged that she was no giggling fool like most of them.
Mildly insulting nicknames were not supposed to be taken as compliments save to disconcert the giver of the name; and Ortensia so plainly believed that it was a compliment that the first gave up in disgust!
Severus received another call by floo, from Connie Hardbroom, explaining that a youth who had been under him as house head had a query.
Severus was surprised to see the handsome black face of Darryl Zabini; a boy he had found truculent and determinedly racist, though polite enough.
"Zabini; how may I help you?" asked Severus. Courtesy cost nothing after all.
The boy poured out his fears that he was being poisoned.
"I fear I may be under the influence of a potion sir; Madam Hardbroom said if anyone would know, you would. We all know about love potions; but is it possible to make one that draws you to someone without actually wanting to be drawn; someone you don't even like?"
Severus frowned in thought.
It took two lots of floo powder to talk through the boys fears; and to reassure him that in Severus' opinion it was nothing worse than a case of hormones. Zabini did not want to discuss which girl made him feel this way; she was not in his class he said hastily and he grinned weakly when Severus joked that so long as she was old enough and was not a weevil there was nothing to worry about. Severus found himself telling the boy about his own experiences, how he had made a fool of himself insulting Lily Evans; and told the lad he hoped that HE got his head in order at an earlier age that he, Severus, had done. And found himself assuring Zabini that he might always write or ask to speak by floo. Zabini seemed grateful for the man-to-man talk as he thanked Severus for his time.
The flame flickered and returned to its normal colour; Severus frowned. Poor kid; he was a victim. And it seemed as though he finally realised it. Could he have fallen for one of Gorbrin's sisters? It would explain the suspicion of potioneering; Gorbrin was a fine potioneer…. Well, maybe Lydia and Mimi would be able to tell him about it at Yule.
The weather continued mild into October and Severus encouraged the children to get out as often as possible; they would be shut up inside for a greater part of the winter after all.
The school also arranged a trip to see the caves that had been discovered a few years before and had been opened to the public by the muggle visitors; Severus having talked to the tour guides and arranged for the school to go round the day after the official closing date so that the children did not have to be quite so careful as if they were in front of muggle tourists. The villagers were grateful for the gift of tourism both from the caves and the rack railway that brought in railway enthusiasts and were happy to fall in with Severus' suggestion. Severus had put it to them that having a school loose might put some visitors off; and the guides had to agree, though the Prince Peak children were nicely spoken and well behaved children; and they were even more impressed over the way Severus himself carried the little boy with the wheelchair and the child's friends manhandled it up to the entrance cave singing some foreign song that went with a swing as they heaved.
The Song of the Volga Boatmen had been a suggestion of Vya and Beta; and went down well.
And the caves held their own magic of beauty in the coloured and mysterious stalactites and stalagmites that delighted the Prince Peak children.
"Oh sir, we must decorate the Hall like this for Yule!" said Yrdl, awed "If we host the Triwizard ever, it would be a grand way to impress the other schools!"
"Indeed it would" said Severus "You may make a project of working out how to do it; you should be just in age for the next Triwizard."
Yrdl's eyes glowed.
She would love to represent her school and her wonderful headmaster!
The school returned after thanking the guides prettily for staying open one more day for them. And most of them had no idea that the caves could be reached from secret tunnels under the school; for that was a marauding secret, and the ways into the school tunnels were covered by the fidelius charm set to have more than one secret keeper to allow it to be passed on so that the death of one secret keeper would not open the secret.
The school could, if it became necessary, be evacuated that way.
And even if Severus doubted that Odessa was likely to be any more threat one never knew what emergencies might arise in the future.
The last really exciting activity before the weather broke was when the Lowther twins dared each other to emulate the exploits of the Malfoy twins and go broom-surfing. Peter stood successfully on his broom and balanced; and Fred stood for an agonised three seconds, flailed wildly, and fell off.
Peter craned to see what had happened to his twin and found out the hard way.
Madam Mandrake the school nurse tutted over the various broken bones and issued Professor Snape's version of the skelegrow potion that encouraged the growth of bone at the site of breaks; and she was stern enough that the miscreants quite forgot that only last year she had been a scatty sixth former.
Rosamund Mandrake was re-taking OWL Transfiguration this year in the hopes of getting the 'E' grade required to train as a healer; meanwhile she was perfectly adequate at making potions for healing and indeed at chanting to enhance the effects, as she proceeded to do.
"How do you feel?" she asked.
"Much better thank you" said Peter "Mind you I can't say that anyone would notice the difference for twin, he fell on his head so nothing vital got damaged."
Rosamund opined that if they were well enough to start a poking match over that comment they were well enough to stop skiving and get down to their potions class where doubtless Professor Snape would have a word or two to say on them missing his pearls of wisdom over their juvenile idiocies.
As Professor Snape used almost precisely that terminology, save that he referred to the incident as a piece of puerile poltroonery the twins might have wished to have missed a few more of his pearls of wisdom; but took it with stoicism.
"It's going to take more practice than I realised" said Fred "And not really QUITE as much like riding a skateboard as I thought."
"We'll get there" said Peter. "Then we can teach the kids and SUCKS to Hellibores next time we play them!"
It was perhaps as well that Severus had NOT been privy to that little post mortem of the broom-surfing.
The competition for the Hallowe'en party this year, that kept the pupils occupied throughout half term was the most ingenious carving of a pumpkin into a lantern; and the insides were to be kept for pumpkin pie and were collected by castle elves before too much happened to the removed insides. The first and second years were issued with partially hollowed pumpkins to start them off; the middle school and above were expected to use diffindo with more skill and finesse than the younger ones.
Randolph Wright was an artistic boy; and by skilfully adding a bit of pumpkin to the outside of his lantern for a nose as well as carving it away he managed a fair portrait of Severus; which he planned to enter into the 'most scary' category on the grounds that if you had misbehaved, the head was about as scary as anything in the world possibly including Voldemort who was too unimaginative to use anything but the cruciatus curse and never came up with such refined cruelties as gutting horned toads.
He delivered this explanation with such a cheeky grin the staff laughed; and awarded him joint first with a fanged monster produced by Emil Villeneuve. It was a remarkably skilled piece of work; and was one of the lanterns photographed by Elsie Blackwood for the school magazine that she and Emily Grant were joining forces to create. It was an unlikely pairing, sporty Emily and delicate Elsie; but Emily admired Elsie's brains and Elsie admired Emily's energy.
The second prize in the scary pumpkin category was Victor's, that he claimed was Fifi La Folle, having carefully carved away the rind so it hung from one end in curly strands of mad hair; and third was Roseli Accola's tiger.
Most original was AHHa's castle; and most decorative went to Henik, who had carved his as an abstract pattern of interlocking spirals pierced in places for the light.
The party then went with a swing, bobbing for apples in the usual way, and playing a game wherein the names of varieties of apples were presented in anagram and the pupils had to unravel what they were.
Then there was the feast; a groaning table of hog roast, applesauce, buttered vegetables of all kinds, with pumpkin pie, apple pie, and pumpkin juice ice cream to follow.
Professor Snape was voted to really know how to run a good Hallowe'en!