Chapter 9. Halloween

"Wingardium Leviosa." Maura gave her wand a swish and flick, but the feather in front of her didn't move. All around her students were practicing the same spell while Professor Flitwick waddled around the classroom and corrected pronunciation and wand movements. The students had been delighted when he had told them they would make objects fly that class, because everyone had wanted to do that ever since they got to Hogwarts two months ago. No one had managed to do it yet. They had been put into pairs, Maura was with Blaise of course, and had to practice the charm on a feather.

"I think we should scare him," Maura offered when Blaise tried the charm. The feather gave a slight jerk, but didn't leave the desk.

"Then, whatever we're going to do, we should do it today. What day could be scarier than Halloween?" Blaise replied. Maura immediately nodded.

"Yes, I agree." It was her turn to try the levitation charm again. This time she was sure the feather moved slightly upwards, but it was too little to actually see. In one second it was lying unmoving again. "We could dress up as something scary and chase him."

Blaise seemed to be deep in thought at her suggestion. Maura smiled to herself. She was glad she had managed to get Blaise to help her with coming up with a plan to prank Malfoy. Two minds were stronger than one.

"Yes, good idea, but it can't just be ghosts. We've got a lot of them around here, so it probably won't scare him.

Suddenly the classroom was full of smoke. Tracey Davis' and Daphne Greengrass' feather was lying on the ground smouldering. Daphne was stomping on it with her foot, but it didn't seem to help much. Professor Flitwick quickly ran towards them and shouted "Aguamenti". A stream of water spurted from his wand and quickly extinguished the smouldering feather. Maura and Blaise had both been watching the scene, but got down to business again.

"Anyway, I just thought of a Banshee. Those are super scary," Maura suggested.

"I'm definitely not dressing up as a Banshee," Blaise replied. Maura snorted.

"Coward."

"I could be a look out and warn you when Malfoy is getting close, so you can start wailing and everything a Banshee is supposed to do."

"Fine," Maura said, before attempting the levitation charm again. The feather moved up half a feet, but fell down again. "Stupid feather. By the way I have a white oversized nightgown I can use."

"That's perfect!" Blaise said. "You should also straighten your hair.

Maura stared at him for a few seconds. "I have curls. I can't just straighten my hair. Do you even know how curly hair works?

"Do I know how... Maura, I'm black, of course I know how curly hair works. Banshees have long straight, messy hair, so curls won't do it. Are you telling me you've never heard about straightening your hair? My mum does it all the time."

She hadn't, but it sounded like something time consuming. She suddenly didn't feel as excited about dressing up as a Banshee anymore. Blaise fixed her with a stern stare.

"No, I haven't. What in the world would I have needed it for?"

Blaise didn't answer but kept staring at her.

"Can't I just keep my hair like this?"

"You will just look like yourself in a nightgown. Malfoy will see right through it," Blaise said the last sentence in a whisper and stared sideways at Malfoy, checking if he hadn't noticed anything yet. He hadn't. He was waving his wand in such a way as if he was planning on stabbing someone's eye out. His and his partner, Theodore Nott's feather didn't move a bit.

"Fine," Maura said for the second time in that class. "As long as it won't stay like that forever."

"Of course it won't."

Professor Flitwick waddled over to their desk. "So how's it going here?" he asked.

"Great!" Maura replied. She looked at Blaise and waited for him to perform the spell as a demonstration, it was his turn after all, but instead he looked at her with raised eyebrows, expecting her to do the same thing. Maura rolled her eyes at him and held out her wand. "Wingardium Leviosa." She swished and flicked her wand and the feather rose up into the air and floated about four feet above their desk. Professor Flitwick clapped in his little hands.

"Well done, Miss Longbottom! That's ten points to Slytherin!" He kept watching the feather closely as Maura lowered it again on the desk and then walked away to the next pair with a smile on his face.

"Oh, so now Professor Flitwick is watching, you suddenly can do it," Blaise said

"I was just too busy with thinking of our plan before. Let's do it tonight before the Halloween feast, so I'll have time to change back into my normal robes again before the feast starts," Maura replied.

That afternoon after their last class ended Maura and Blaise ran back to the Slytherin common room to prepare their prank on Malfoy. Maura immediately went up to her dorm to get a white nightgown, and a hand mirror, and picked up a hair brush like Blaise had instructed. She also searched in her trunk for something she had thrown in at the last minute without much thought on the morning before they went to King's Cross, from where the Hogwarts Express had taken them to their new school. She found it somewhere at the bottom. It was a small black container containing a dark red lipstick, which she had stolen from her grandmother months ago. Fortunately Granny had never found out Maura had it and just assumed she had lost it herself. Maura took out the books from her bag and stuffed in the things she'd collected.

She met up with Blaise in the common room and together they went on the hunt for an empty classroom again.

"How much time do we have?" Maura asked. Blaise took out a watch from inside his robes and looked at it.

"It's almost four o'clock. The feast begins at 6, so Malfoy will probably be on his way at a quarter to six. That means we have one hour and forty-five minutes to prepare everything," he replied.

"That's more than enough right?"

"Well, I wouldn't be too sure about that if we want to get rid of your curls."

They found not a classroom, but some kind of abandoned office containing a desk, some cauldrons, one of them was actually simmering on a small fire and contained a muddy green potion that didn't smell that good, a few wads of paper scattered around the room and lots of spider rags. It was good enough.

Maura took out her white nightgown, mirror, hair brush and lipstick and placed them on the desk.

"What's that for?" Blaise asked while pointing at the lipstick. Maura picked it up and took off the lid.

"If I put this on my eyes and smudge it out a bit, it'll look like my eyes are red from crying, just like a Banshee's are." Maura demonstrated it by putting a swatch of the red lipstick on the back of her hand and smudged it out with her finger.

"Nice. Good thinking." Blaise said.

"Thanks." She wiped her hand on her black trousers at which Blaise regarded her with a disapproving look. "Now, how do we get my hair straight?"

Blaise walked over to the desk and picked up the brush. "You brush your hair, while we heat it. You've got to make it wet first, though, otherwise this brush won't get through.

"I do actually know how to brush my own hair," Maura said with a scowl. "I'll be right back."

She left the office and searched for a girls' bathroom, which she found not far away. She put her head under one of the sinks and opened the tap. She kneaded the water through her hair until it was soaking wet. Cursing herself for not having thought of bringing a towel, she ran back to the empty office again. She was happy she didn't run into anyone. People would've given her odd glances with her looking like she just took a swim in the lake in the midst of Autumn.

"Okay, good." Blaise took out his wand. "My mum always does it herself, but I think it's easier if I help. You brush through it and I'll perform the hot air charm."

Maura nodded, got the brush and began brushing. After she had taken out all the tangles Blaise jumped in with the hot air charm. They had learned the charm a few weeks ago. It produced a stream of hot air out of the tip of the caster's wand.

Blaise had been right. Getting rid of Maura's curls took longer than she had anticipated. She had to put her hair in tiny sections and go over them multiple times with the brush and the hot air before they were finally straight.

"Remember when I said you were going to help me get back at Malfoy, but you said you'd decide that for yourself? When are you going to say I was right?" Maura asked during the procedure.

"I don't have much better to do," Blaise replied. Maura laughed.

"What about all of our homework? I know you haven't even started on the Astronomy chart yet."

"Maybe I just want to see that smirk get wiped off Malfoy's face as much as you do. His bragging and boasting annoys the hell out of me."

"Fair enough." Maura picked up the last section of her hair that wasn't straight yet and began brushing it. Blaise hit it with the hot air.

It was five o'clock. It had taken them one hour to straighten Maura's hair. She threw down the brush on the desk with a sigh and picked up the mirror.

"This looks weird. Not like me at all," she said. Her reflection showed her face, of course, but instead of the familiar voluminous bunch of curls around it, it was framed by smooth locks. Her hair also appeared to be way longer than it normally was.

Blaise chuckled. "That's exactly the point. Besides, I think it looks good on you."

She quickly turned to Blaise. "No, it's weird," she said again, this time a little more snappy, while she felt her face heating up. She didn't like not looking like herself and especially not someone complimenting her on not looking like herself. "I need to change. Could you please wait outside?"

"Yeah, duh." Blaise left the office, the smile gone from his face. Maura quickly took off her Oxford shoes and school outfit and put the nightgown over her head. Wearing the night gown was way colder than her school outfit of course, so hopefully the prank didn't have to take too long. On her index finger she put some of the dark red lipstick and with the mirror held in front of her, she smudged it under her eyes. It made her look kind of ill; like she had cried for days without sleeping a second. It was perfect.

After she put the mirror down, she also quickly messed up her hair a bit with her hands. No Banshee had perfectly smooth hair. She checked her reflection again and to her relief her hair had regained a bit of her usual volume. It was also more messy, which was what it needed to be, but it still hung straight over her shoulders.

Suddenly the door barged open, the noise accompanied by two familiar voices. "...then we put this dung bomb under Percy's chair and set it off once he sits down."

"Everyone will think he farted."

"Exactly."

Startled by the noise and the sudden unannounced company, Maura dropped the mirror. It shattered into a hundred pieces on the ground. The loud sound made the intruders look up and when they spotted her they jumped.

"What the-"

"Is that a Banshee?"

"Quick! Cover your ears!"

Maura stared with disbelief at the Weasley twins while they held their hands over their ears and stared back at her with a confused, but startled expression.

"Honestly, are you two as dim-witted as your brother Ronald? It's me, Maura," she said.

"Is it talking?" One of the two asked. It was Fred. Maura let out an exasperated sigh and stomped towards him, making sure not to step in the mirror shards, and pulled away his hands from his ears.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. George uncovered his ears as well.

"Hey Maura!" he said.

"What are we doing here? What are you doing here? This is our lair! You haven't touched our stuff have you?" Fred asked. Maura scoffed and looked at the set of cauldrons with disdain.

"Of course I haven't. Besides, this is an office. You cannot just claim it." Also, where was Blaise? Why hadn't he stopped the twins from barging in like they had? He knew she was changing. What if she hadn't been finished yet and the twins had walked in on her while she was in her underwear?

"Yes, we can," George said. He went towards the cauldrons and started stirring the one that had the stinking potion in it.

"Why do you look like that?" Fred asked. "I mean, it's perfect for Halloween of course. I didn't recognise you at first with your hair like that."

"Why are you planning to bring a dung bomb to the Great Hall?" she shot back at him.

Fred and George gave each other a look as if to silently discuss if they should tell her or not. Apparently they came to an agreement, because Fred nodded and turned his gaze back at Maura.

"You first."

Maura sighed, considering if she should tell them. Would they tell a teacher? Probably not. Would they warn Malfoy? She couldn't imagine they would. Besides, she wanted to know desperately what they were planning. The chaos they would cause if they actually were going to set off a dung bomb in the Great Hall was immense. She hoped she could be there in time to see it.

"I was going to scare the wits out of Malfoy. He's a prick and a bully and I want to get back at him for everyone's sake, and especially my brother's." she confessed. She gestured to her own appearance. "I thought a Banshee would do the trick."

"Sweet," George said from where he sat crouching near the cauldrons, still stirring the weird mixture. The small office started to smell worse with every stir. It probably was the contents that they were going to make the dung bomb of.

"Well, well, well. Look at this first year about to cause some trouble," Fred said with a grin on his face.

"We always appreciate a good prank. Don't we, Fred?" George asked.

"Certainly we do." Fred winked at Maura, but she didn't think he did it to look charming, because it looked more stupid than anything.

"Now you tell me what you were planning. I heard you when you were coming in and I certainly smell it." The scent was actually becoming more unbearable with every passing second. George had covered his nose and Fred and Maura went to stand as far away from the cauldron as possible.

"We are pranking our dear brother Percy. He's getting on our nerves as much as Malfoy is on yours," Fred explained.

"He's been on our nerves for as long as we live!" George called with a nasal sounding voice, still pinching his nose.

"True story. So we're going to put a dung bomb under his seat to make it seem like he farted the biggest fart of his life."

"He will be so embarrassed he won't show himself in the Great Hall for weeks."

Maura laughed. "I wouldn't want to be even close to the Gryffindor table when that happens," she said.

"It will be a sacrifice we have to make, but it will be worth it. We tried to mute our sense of smell with a spell when we set off dung bombs in the Gryffindor common room last year, but we didn't get it back for at least a week. We could eat any Every Flavour Bean we liked: fish, strawberry or rotten milk: it didn't matter what it was. We couldn't taste a thing. We're not risking it again though. I like the taste of pumpkin juice in the morning."

"It's done, Fred!" George said. He put out the fire under the cauldron. Fred quickly joined him and together they poured the mixture into a few small bottles.

"Let's save some for later," Fred said.

Maura suddenly remembered that she had things to do. If she missed Malfoy on his way to the Great Hall she wouldn't forgive herself and Blaise probably wouldn't either. Speaking of him, where was he?

She peeked into the corridor, hoping no one else was walking by to see her like that. Blaise was standing next to the door with his hands in his pockets.

"Blaise! Where have you been? Why didn't you stop the Weasleys from coming in? I could've been nearly naked!" she hissed. Blaise looked startled.

"Weasleys? I haven't seen anyone. I did get pulled aside by Flint for a second, because he wanted to talk about some strategies for the upcoming Quidditch game against Gryffindor. Did you know we only have one more practice session until the— Whoa!"

Maura had pulled him inside the office.

"Apparently we invaded their lair." She said the last word while making finger quotes.

"Jeez, what's that awful smell?" Blaise said and immediately pulled up his robes around his nose.

"Dung bombs," Fred answered, but didn't look up. He and George were still too busy preparing the bombs.

"What time is it?" Maura asked Blaise, who quickly got out his watch.

"It's almost a quarter to six. We should get into position," Blaise replied with big eyes.

They said their goodbyes to the twins, who wished them luck and yelled "go, go, go!", and they ran through corridor after corridor to get back to the dungeons, where they would be sure Malfoy would pass them, but it wouldn't be too crowded. They chose to hide in a corridor that was close to the common room, but a bit darker than the rest of them. Apart from lots of other students passing through, it was perfect. However, the other students wouldn't be a problem as long as no one recognised Maura. So they waited; Maura hidden behind a stone statue of a stern looking wizard with a high pointy head, and Blaise against a wall, in sight of everyone, but pretending to be waiting for someone. This way he had a clear view of the corridor and could immediately warn Maura when Malfoy was getting close.

After about five minutes Blaise got up, casually walked past the statue, and whispered:

"Now!"

Maura brushed her hair a bit more in front of her face and stepped out from behind the statue, while Blaise took her place behind it to watch the scene.

The corridor was empty save for three figures at the end making their way towards Maura. Crabbe, Goyle and Malfoy. She turned her back towards them and began making crying noises, while slumping around a bit. At first it felt a bit weird and Maura felt very self conscious, but after a few seconds she got the hang of it. Her wailing grew louder and louder and through her hair she peeked at the three boys, who had stopped dead in their tracks.

"Is that a ghost?" Malfoy asked. Goyle was pulling at his sleeve. He probably wanted to get out of here already. "Let go of me." Malfoy pulled his arm away from him. "Come on, it's just a ghost." He started walking again and Crabbe followed. After a second Goyle did as well, not wanting to stay behind.

Maura continued her wailing, making the noises sound as ugly as she could. Banshees did not cry prettily.

"I think that's a Banshee," Crabbe said. His steps faltered again.

"How would you know?" Draco asked. However, he was not walking with as much confidence anymore.

"My dad's told me about them. If they scream, you'll die."

Maura made sure to shuffle slightly closer to them. She was thoroughly enjoying Malfoy's expression, which got more frightened with every second. The boys had stopped in the middle of the corridor again and were regarding her silently.

"Maybe we should-"

"Shhh!" Malfoy hissed.

Bingo. They were scared. This was the moment Maura had been looking forward to the most. This was her moment to shine. She looked up and caught Malfoy's eyes. She stopped wailing, and instead forced a grin on her face. Malfoy's eyes widened and he started visibly shaking. At the end of the corridor a small group of more Slytherins had gathered. They were regarding the scene and murmuring among themselves.

Maura began running towards Malfoy and his cronies and simultaneously let out a shriek that she welled up from the pits of her stomach.

"AAAAH!" Malfoy was the one who screamed the loudest. The boys turned around and sprinted away without really looking where they were going, which caused them to fall over each other twice. The other Slytherins who had been standing at the end of the corridor disappeared behind the corner as well. Once Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle had vanished, Maura stopped running and shrieking and tiptoed back towards the stone statue where Blaise was still hiding. She had to make an effort not to burst out laughing right away. Blaise almost rolled out from behind the statue in laughter.

"The look on his face! Did you see that?" he said, barely able to get out the words through his chuckles. Maura couldn't hold her own laughter anymore and burst out as well.

"I know right! It was absolutely priceless! I wish I could have that moment in a frame on my nightstand," she replied.

Blaise got up from the ground where he had been trying to regain his breath and nudged Maura in the back.

"Come on, we should get ready for the feast. I think it's almost time."

"My stuff is still in that office. You should go ahead to the Great Hall. I'll meet you there," Maura said as they jogged back in the direction of the abandoned office.

"Alright, see ya there!" Blaise said as he waved and took a different turn than her. She ran back the way they had come before they scared Malfoy and his friends. The corridors were more crowded now with students from different Houses, and thus different directions, going to the Great Hall. Everyone gave her a confused glare as she ran by. She hoped no one would recognise her or she could get into trouble with Snape.

When she got back to the office she quickly changed back into her school outfit and robes. Fortunately Fred and George had left already and so had the awful smell of the dung bombs. Maura was really excited to see how their prank would play out in the Great Hall. She didn't know Percy Weasley at all, but she was sure he deserved it if the twins said so.

Her bag still lay on the ground next to the desk where she had left it and she picked it up to put the hair brush, lipstick and night gown in it. Then she noticed the shards of her broken mirror again. She should clean those up before anyone wounded themselves. With her shoe she carefully swept all the pieces into a pile and then, still using her shoe, she pushed them onto a piece of paper she had unfolded from one of the many wads lying around the room. She threw this in the bin close to the door, which already seemed to be loaded with all kinds of weird junk which must have come from the twins.

After she had collected everything Maura left the office and carefully closed the door behind her. If Fred and George used it as the place to prepare their pranks, it would be a shame for someone to discover it. She could always use a place like that for future plans.

The hallway was deserted now. The Halloween feast must have started already, but Maura still had the lipstick under her eyes. She couldn't show up at the Slytherin table like that, people would laugh at her, and worse, connect the dots and realise that she had been the Banshee in the dungeons, which is why she made a stop at the girls' bathroom to clean her face.

As she was washing her face under one of the sinks, she chuckled at the thought that Malfoy had probably not made the feast yet and was now hiding under his bed, still shaking from the moment Maura had charged at him while shrieking her lungs out.

Then the bathroom suddenly filled with an awful smell