Hi... It's been a while, sorry! Hope you enjoy this chapter, I made a lot of personal tweaks to it everytime I read it. I decided on this title because I think people lose perspective of what Halloween was originally about. It was a day intended to venerate all the saints, not just a holiday when school is out and everyone parties and pretends to be someone they're not. Remember that as you read this chapter, although it has more to do with the next one. And I wanted to thank all my watchers and reviewers because it makes my day whenever i see a new review on a chapter :] Plus I'm always open to suggestions so if there's anything you'd like to read that looks like it could fit into this text, fell free to send it in a message, public or private. Thanks!

The Great Hall was magnificent with its orange and black decorations. The ghosts drifted through the walls, in and out of the event as they pleased, but stayed mostly close by in honor of the hallowed day of saints. Almost all the students had come as well, dancing in their ornate costumes, some hand-made and others magically altered. Dumbledore had initiated the party nearly half an hour ago and entrusted McGonagall and Snape to leniently overlook the festivities as the students indulged in the intoxicating effect of fast music and strong drinks.

Flay sat in the girls' dormitory creating a beautiful design of exaggerated makeup. She was not interested in arriving while the party was still starting and told Zack she would find him once she got there. He asked her when she would be ready and made it clear he would wait to accompany her. She had been stepping into the shower as the other girls were leaving and was perfectly content with being the last one out.

She smirked at the mirror as she admired her work of art. Instead of wearing a mask over her face she chose to paint it on completely. Her skin was bare except for an outline surrounding her eyes that passed over her forehead and the bridge of her nose. Inside the outline were colorful swirls and dabs of sparkles that elegantly shimmered her face and made her completely unrecognizable once she passed a deep crimson lipstick over her plump lips. She added a brush of clear lip gloss to make the shine of the sparkles really pop.

The rest of her outfit was a simple fairy costume, but there a bit more story behind it.

There was a package for me at breakfast this morning. A large white owl delivered it, plain brown paper with a white ribbon forming a complicated bow on top, and I knew immediately who it was from. The neatly slanted cursive on the white envelope that spelled out Ms. Black assured me exactly who it was from. I chose to disregard the package, inconspicuously slipping the thin parcel into my lap, and opened the letter.

My dearest Flay,

I saw this in a store one day and simply new you would find it fabulous! I am sure you will wear it brilliantly. You are missed very much.

Happy Halloween mon Cheri,

Olympe Maxine

She wore it to honor her previous Head Mistress who had treated her so well at her last school. She had not been the woman's favorite pupil but was certainly favored among the rest due to her outstanding academic performance. The parcel contained a black silk dress with thin straps that crossed behind her shoulders and formed a deep V down to her lower back. It cupped her small breasts conservatively and was formfitting down to her waist before gently flaring out and flowing around her mid thigh. A flower design was stitched in dark grey thread as it drew itself in a randomly wayward manner from the back to the front and back around again. The thread was just a few shades lighter than the black dress so the design was not prominent but still very noticeable in a tastefully understated polish.

Since her dress was very short and her heels were very high; she decided it was a good idea to slip on a pair of matte black tights. The black outfit slimmed her body, making her look unrealistically thin without being sickly. It was sexy but not slutty and even though she would not be the only fairy at the Ball, she would be distinguished from the rest. She performed a quick spell to straighten her hair and began to apply a variety of different hair products as she bushed all her hair up into a punked out pixie style. She visited Hogsmeade earlier today to cut her hair back to its usual length so she could achieve this spiky look.

The last part of her costume, which was not even really part of the costume so much as she just wanted to wear it, was a necklace. It was a thin black rope that doubled up on itself with two slip knots so the length was adjustable. On it hung a tiny platinum charm of a snake no bigger than her thumbnail. It shone lavishly against her tan skin and amidst the black of her hair, makeup, and clothes.

He watched as she stared down at the tiny black box that lay in the palms of her hands. She began removing the thin emerald green ribbon then stopped. Her hand hovered above the small package as she looked at him with startling green eyes. "What is this?" she asked, and the confusion shown prominently on her face because he smirked at her reaction.

"It's a gift," he whispered. She cheeks were stained red from the rumble of his low voice, his face so close to hers and his eyes piercing in their desire for further response.

"Thank you," she said carefully, still not fully understanding why he was presenting her with such a display of affection. He heard the apprehension in her voice and his smirk lessened to a thin frown.

"Open it," he urged her in the same seductive voice. She worked quickly in removing the ribbon and opening the gift in hopes that he would not notice how her hands trembled faintly. The top of the box slid off smoothly and her breath caught in her throat, stopping the words from escaping her lips. He was pleased with this reaction and patiently waited for her to acknowledge the gesture.

"It's beautiful," she said with awe in her eyes. He hungered fervently to kiss her parted lips as she admired the necklace.

"You're beautiful," he muttered almost voicelessly as her green gaze caught his.

Oh! In her daydream she had almost forgotten to add the wings. A quick flick of the wand made two small black butterfly wings pop out of the air and another flick made them slowly move back and forth on her back.

With one last glance in the mirror to check her lipstick, she at arm's length away from a camera and snapped a quick picture of herself in the costume. It popped out of the camera displaying her blowing a kiss and waving with a smile on her face. She set this picture down on top of the envelope and letter in her trunk by the bed. She would send this back to Madame Maxine later this weekend to show her appreciation.

Zach was waiting for her at the entrance to the Great Hall. He was once again at a loss for words at how stunning she was. Although no longer bothered by this, Flay said nothing to encourage it. It was very apparent that he was dressed as a vampire. He smiled and two magically grown fangs slipped out from under his lips. She giggled at the silly costume he wore; the rest of it was normal clothes. Only a tiny drop of thick red potion dibbled out from the corner of his mouth and off his chin. "You look great," he grinned sheepishly, "I like the dark fairy look on you."

"Thank you," she said honestly, "You could say I'm a sort of dead fairy. I'm a banshee," she grinned looking at him to gauge his reaction before continuing. "I've taken the form of an innocent young maiden so I can seduce you to submit to my wishes," she said with the straightest face she could muster, completely deadpan.

Someone else heard their laughter, someone who was sulking from around the corner. When Flay saw Pansy approaching them she was immediately aware of the angry girl's hostile pace. The girls drew their wands and shot curses at each other without hesitation. One of Pansy's spells that had been ricocheting off the stone walls hit Zach in the stomach. He cried out and the two girls practically jumped out of their skin as he fell to his knees clutching his bloody side. "You bitch," he growled and threw a curse at Pansy faster than either girl had expected him to react. She tried to move out of the way but was not fast enough and the blue jet of sparks hit her in the thigh. "Flay," he said through gritted teeth, "Hospital wing, please." They completely ignored Pansy as she fell to the ground with a stiff leg. His petrificus totalus had missed its mark. Flay quickly flicked her wand and Zach hovered in the air, "Not so high," he said uneasily as she brought him to a lower altitude. He did not trust her magic. She did not waste time trying to reassure him but lowered him to knee height and walked at a quick pace to the hospital wing.

Madame Pomfrey did not even bother asking how the injury had happened, "I'm afraid you'll have to spend the rest of the evening here, Mr. Smith."

The nurse disappeared to make another potion and Flay took that opportunity to apologize to Zach for engaging in dual while he was so close by. "It's okay, really. There was nothing you could do; she just came at you," he grimaced in pain as Madame Pomfrey came back into the room. She poured a small amount of a faint pink potion onto a soft towel and dabbed at Zach's wound, a slightly deep scratch.

"He'll need his rest, Ms. Black, so if you'd like to continue on to the events," Madame Pomfrey suggestively nodded to the door. Flay bid her date goodbye and left quickly. This was already the second time that she had been asked out by Zack and ended up by herself, whether by choice or by force.

Pansy was nowhere to be seen, either in the corridors or in the Great Hall, as she entered the spacious room silently. About forty-five minutes had passed since the start of the event and all the students were busy with their drinks and their dates. The only thing that gave Flay hope that evening would not be wasted was knowing that Draco was now without a date as well. She searched for him within the crowd but no one was themselves tonight as people wore masks and wigs and intricate costumes as well as very silly ones.

[POV: Draco Malfoy (He is unaware of the duel between the girls and is chatting with Blaise against the far wall of the Great Hall.)]

Following Blaise's intense gaze I saw the girl he was looking at. She was dancing wildly with her friend and both looked easy if he really wanted them. One was dressed in a tight red cat suit with devil horns in her long blonde hair and the other was a cat with a tight black suit and black ears put magically among her blonde hair. They probably weren't worth the effort to get them in bed. Blaise had his eyes on the devil but if I saw the cat in the Den tonight I'd probably take a shot at her too. She looked young, maybe in her fourth year. If I got her in bed she probably wouldn't even know what to do. That could be fun though; I'd drive her crazy.

I lifted my eyes from the people dancing and the crowd parted just enough so I could see through to the tables behind them. In that one second I managed to catch a glimpse of the most beautiful creature here tonight. I abandoned Blaise's side at once and darted between people until I came out at the front of the mass, but she was already gone.