Chapter Five

The Hallowe'en Feast

A/N: Sorry folks, I lost track of time over the weekend :P

There was a sense of normalcy that followed Albus for the next month as classes began picking up in pace. The Charms professor, Brian McCaffrey, was a middle-aged man who moved through their curriculum at a blazing speed. He set them to practicing their Levitating Charms within the first week itself, and many following weeknights were dedicated to Rose and Scorpius helping their friends practice in empty classrooms.

Defense Against the Dark Arts somehow proved to be the most mundane of his core classes (save for History of Magic, of course). The professor was an aging, eighty-something-year-old man named Thomas Ivcoch who practiced a method of textbook curriculum. It wasn't boring, necessarily, it was simply... underwhelming. Albus's father told stories of his time at Hogwarts, where every Defense professor offered their own distinctive style of class that was (almost) never disinteresting.

It wasn't to say that Professor Ivcoch was a boring person, for Albus actually found him quite nice to converse with on the off occasion. In fact, Albus had established a surprising rapport with most of his professors, matched only by Rose and her tenacity.

He discovered small things about all of them: Professor Nyx had played professional Quidditch for the Hollyhead Harpies a few years after Ginny left; Neville helped cultivate nearly half of the school's food supply in the Forbidden Forest; and Professor M spent the first twelve years of his life in America, with his first two years of formal education having been at Ilvermorny.

"I was a Thunderbird," M had said when the topic arose in conversation. "Interesting, considering that the house's characteristics align most with those of Gryffindor."

Unfortunately, Albus's lead a few weeks prior had failed to bear fruit. Professor M was a collector of older Muggle technology, meaning he used VHS tapes as his source to broadcast the sound from the walls through wired speakers that he had installed with Professor Helios's assistance.

"So everything is based through a wired connection?" asked Albus that Thursday evening. He had gone alone at the behest of his friends, who suggested that a more intimate session might uncover more results than if he had dragged them along.

"I suppose so," said Professor M, looking at the ceiling inquisitively. "Why do you ask?"

Albus brought out his phone. "My phone uses a wireless connection to transfer music from an external server."

"But you have the songs downloaded, no?"

"Well, I do, but for some reason it doesn't work. Maybe it's because the VHS has a physical connection to the speakers? But then it should work with my wired earbuds…"

Professor M let out a noise that sounded halfway between a hum and a grunt. "Quite the conundrum. Sorry Albus, I'm afraid I can't help you much more."

That resigned feeling of helplessness followed Albus for a few days like a shadow. Thrice he had uncovered something abnormal, and thrice he had failed to see it to its conclusion. But soon, the hustle of schoolwork ramped up sharply, and Albus found himself lost to the throes of homework and essays, all but forgetting about his personal project and occupying himself with trying to scrape marks in class.

Albus wasn't a dull student by any means, but he struggled from an innate inability to sit still. It caused problems during any form of lecture, especially in Defense and History of Magic, where lecture occupied a majority of the class time. He appreciated the abundance of applied magic in Potions, Transfiguration, and Charms, all of which he tended to excel at. There was no chance of him out-scoring Rose, but Albus was largely satisfied with his performance relative to James's.

James, to put it plainly, was a slacker. He didn't dare stoop to the level of a cheat for fear of a lashing from their mother, but he hardly tried to apply himself in class and, often times, suffered because of it.

The disparity between the brothers was most evident in Herbology, where Neville was wont to comment on Albus's near prodigal work compared to his brother. "The last time your brother tried to unroot a plant he nearly caused the greenhouse to implode," Neville had said the previous week.

"It's better than setting it on fire," Albus pointed out.

"I can put out a fire," Neville grumbled. "If only I could put out James, too."

Albus dreaded the first game of the Quidditch Cup in early October, as the Slytherin-Gryffindor matchup had been placed at the top of the games schedule. His trepidation was vindicated as the match began, proving it would be painful to watch.

Though the Slytherin team prided themselves on cohesion, they had no strategy to mitigate James's agility. James was a kind of enigma on the Gryffindor team, as he switched between playing Seeker and Chaser nearly every game. The Gryffindor team's strategy had James playing Chaser that week, and the results were horrifying. Albus's brother, supplemented by his Nimbus 3000, moved through the air with astounding speed, scoring seven individual goals. The Slytherin team suffered a heavy loss with a final score of 40 to 250, and Gryffindor similarly annihilated the Hufflepuffs two weeks later.

Permission slips for Dueling Exhibition were handed out during the second week of October. Albus and his friends sent them out together the day they received them; none of them planned on missing it. From what Ethan Healey had told Albus, the D.E. was the most popular thing at the school aside from Quidditch. It was managed by Professors M and McCaffrey, the former of whom had been a reputable duelist in the professional circuits.

A few days later, Albus received his signed form, alongside a short letter from his dad.

A piece of advice,

For sleepless nights:

Avoid the vanishing steps,

They're not very nice.

Albus got a chuckle out of his dad's little poem, and he made a mental note to watch out for "vanishing steps"—whatever that meant.

It wasn't until the final week of October that something truly interesting occurred. It was a Monday, the Monday before Hallowe'en, and the class was writing an essay in Potions.

Professor Nyx seemed to hate the tedious task as much as her students did, but she confessed that essays were a fairly good way to judge progress. Albus would allay his boredom by treating each essay like a game to find the most eloquent phrasing possible and make a simple topic sound like a philosophical wonder.

Halfway through a sentence about how dittany "abated the excruciating agony of flesh-based wounds," the PA system emitted a piercing shriek that caused multiple students to tip their inkwells over.

"Oh dear, I hope that hasn't adversely effected some of you," said Helios over the intercom. "I just have a bit of an announcement to make before the end of class."

"It's alright," Professor Nyx said. "We'll finish this during tomorrow's double block. Just listen."

Albus set his quill down, admiring his work as Helios continued. "As many of you are aware, we throw an annual Hallowe'en feast to celebrate the season. This feast is still scheduled for tomorrow as planned, just with a few changes to the normal proceedings."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Scorpius questioned from beside Albus.

Albus shrugged, glancing to the girls at the adjacent table. They appeared equally as confused.

"The house tables are—normally—usual placement." Helios's voice sputtered in and out. "However, we will—implementing a new seating system—promotes—more involved conversation. The house tables—be replaced by round tables of ten. This feast—not be our usual buffet style affair—instead—hired professional chefs—craft a menu—please inform Mister Greywater if you have any dietary restrictions." The problem fixed itself, and Helios continued unimpeded. "Sign-up sheets for preferred seating placements will be posted on the door of the Activities office on the ground floor, just outside the Transfiguration courtyard. Please be civil."

The microphone cut off abruptly.

There was a moment of tense silence, as though everyone were waiting for Helios to sign off, before a great scraping of chairs filled the room. Students hurriedly grabbed their supplies and made a mad dash for the door, presumably to secure spots at tables with their friends.

"Class dismissed!" Professor Nyx called weakly as the commotion around her began funneling out of the classroom and into the hallway. Albus fumbled with his rucksack, which was being inconveniently difficult to open.

"What's taking you guys so long?" Finn asked from near the door.

Albus whipped his head around. Finn was sitting on a desk near the back of the room, peering out the door like a lazy cat. His rucksack was fully packed, and he was watching students dash by without a care in the world.

"What the hell are you doing?" Albus hollered. "Go sign us up!"

"Okay, okay," Finn grumbled, hopping off the desk and shrugging his bag over his shoulder. "Anyone have a pen—" One came flying towards his face. Finn dodged it quickly and it struck the back wall. "Thanks!" he said, picking it up off the floor and walking out the door with only a mild sense of urgency.

"This is madness," Rose muttered, having given up on rushing. She was putting her things away at a normal speed. "It's a sign up sheet!"

"This is a castle full of literal children," Nyx said bitterly, levitating a smashed vial near her feet. "Honestly, I don't know what Professor Helios expected." She repaired the vial in midair and placed it into a wooden rack on her desk.

Albus and Scorpius finished packing around the same time. "We'll go catch up with Finn," said Albus to Talia and Rose. "Take your time." The two boys rushed out of the room without waiting for a response.

The dungeon corridors were deserted, save for a few stragglers heading back to the common room. Noises of commotion drifted down the stairwell as the boys ascended, taking the stairs two at a time. The voices crescendoed into a dull roar, a foreboding sign of what was ahead.

Albus emerged on the ground floor to find about seventy students crowding around a single door in the middle of the corridor. The chaos was comparable to a mosh pit at a concert, where the sheer density of people in the space seemed a physically impossible phenomenon. Some of the crowd spilled around the side of the corridor and into the Transfiguration courtyard, trampling some of the small, decorative shrubs placed around the path. Finn was nowhere to be seen.

"Blimey," said Scorpius, taking in the sight. "That's a lot of people."

"Help me find Finn," said Albus.

"In that?" asked Scorpius meekly. "Are we sure he isn't dead?"

"He'll be fine," Albus responded, treading near the back wall to avoid the crowd. "He wouldn't die that easy."

A hand rose from somewhere in the middle of the crowd. "Albus! Scorpius!" Finn called, having spotted them on his tiptoes. His voice was nearly indistinguishable from the others. "I'm almost there!"

"Keep it up!" Albus yelled. "We believe in you!"

"Be careful!" Scorpius added.

"Thanks, mum!" Finn exclaimed. His hand disappeared back into the shifting mob of students.

Finn returned five minutes later. The crowd seemed large and unruly as ever, but he appeared unscathed. Albus and Scorpius had ended up sitting on a large windowsill, watching the sight in front of them with fascinated horror.

"I did it," Finn said. He clambered onto the wall beside them and placed his hands on his head, closing his eyes and breathing heavily. "That was hell."

Scorpius patted him on the back. "You're a brave soldier, Finley."

"Not my name."

As the day wore on, the pandemonium in front of the Activities office had already begun morphing into something of legend. Students were calling it "The Massacre on the Ground Floor," recounting embellished tales of broken bones and bloody noses. Albus overheard a Gryffindor third year telling a group of nervous second years about how he nearly lost an eye.

Albus saw upon entering Greenhouse One that Minghao, a fellow Slytherin first year, was sullenly nursing a split lip. Minghao later approached Albus and his friends near the end of class, his lip now swollen but no longer bloody.

"I hope you know that I filled three of the empty spots at your table," Minghao said. His hair was jet black and messy, like James's but thicker. In fact, Minghao seemed to be the first year equivalent of James; he slacked off in class and often hurled thinly veiled insults at the Gryffindors. "Us three didn't know where else to sit," Minghao said, gesturing to his station a ways down the table.

"Of course," said Scorpius. "Honestly, I think we'd all prefer being around people we know."

Minghao nodded and returned back to his station with nervous Barry and another Slytherin first year. Albus had yet to find out his remaining roommate's name, as he had been rather distracted during the Sorting by an overwhelming feeling of impending doom.
Mr. Unknown was massive, with a physique akin to that of a burly fifth year. Albus figured he'd make a great Keeper with some basic training.

"Do you know that other kid's name?" Finn asked, reading Albus's mind.

"Not yet," said Scorpius.

"That's quite rude," Rose said. "You've lived with him for a month!"

"D'you know his name, then?" Scorpius questioned.

Rose narrowed her eyes but said nothing.

The palpable restlessness only increased the following day. Classes were a dull affair, given that almost every student was looking forward to that night's feast. Albus had trouble sitting still during his double block of Potions that afternoon. He finished his essay within ten minutes and spent the rest of the class mindlessly watching the clock.

Albus returned to the dormitory with Scorpius and Finn after the girls disappeared to do whatever it was girls did. Astronomy had been cancelled, meaning Albus could put off his homework for another two days. The boys played a few games of Wizard's Chess, which was just like normal chess discounting the pieces that violently exploded whenever they were removed from play. Scorpius was far out of their league, for he soundly beat his opponents in ten moves or less every game.

Dinner was normally served from six to ten on a first come basis, but Helios had shortened the hours from seven to nine. The boys left the dormitory five minutes after seven, running late after Finn, who had gotten particularly irritated after his seventh loss, blew up one of Albus's fans and scattered ash and dust everywhere.

Some of the upper years with dates had dressed up, but the majority of students simply wore their school robes. Most everyone was still getting seated, allowing for the boys to sneak to their table without drawing attention.

Albus groaned as he noticed that Felix Fawcett and his perpetually annoyed friend Minnie had filled the two empty spots. Minnie was quiet and pleasant enough, but Felix was another story entirely. He would try to engage in conversation with Albus at the worst times, including in the washroom, and their short lived chats always revolved around Albus's father and his success as an Auror.

Talia had saved three seats between herself and Felix. Albus gladly took the seat to her immediate right, wanting to stay as far away from Felix as possible.

"Why is he here?" Albus hissed, smiling uncomfortably as Felix waved at him.

"I dunno, he must have just signed up," Talia said, understanding who Albus was referring to.

"Good insight there," Albus muttered. He averted his eyes from Felix's piercing stare and pretended to become suddenly interested in the table setting. "This is fancy."

"I know," said Talia. "They have salad forks and everything."

Albus looked at her oddly. "You're telling me that a fork designed solely to eat salad exists?"

"It's pretty self-explanatory."

As Rose began projecting into the void about class work, Albus subtly watched Felix as he tried to strike up a conversation with Minghao, who was having none of it.

"I never caught your name," said Felix.

"Minghao," he said brusquely. "That's Barry."

Barry ignored Minghao's attempt to pass off Felix's attention, and Felix smiled timidly. "What's his name, then?"

"Who, him?" Minghao questioned, gesturing to Mr. Unknown. "That's Gore."

"Gore?" Minnie interjected. "That's it?"

"He's a man of few words."

Gore stared Felix down, his eyes narrowing.

"Well, how are we all doing?" Felix squeaked, turning rapidly away from Gore and raising his voice to inquire the whole table.

"Fine, I guess," Rose responded curtly. "This is all quite… different."

"I think it's exciting," Felix said. "They even changed the ceiling enchantment!"

The traditional view of the starry sky had been changed to an orange nebula, casting warm light over the Great Hall. The floating candles were instead surrounding the head table and podium, dramatically illuminating it from the base. The professors were in various degrees of dress; Professor McCaffrey was wearing a full suit with coattails while Professor M was wearing checkered grey and blue sweats.

Helios was sitting at the center of the table, watching the students settling down. The man's dress was disturbingly eccentric. Jack o' Lanterns softly faded in and out of the fabric of his black robes, creating the effect that Helios had surrounded himself with phasing spotlights. His hat was almost half a meter tall, a matching black velvet with two small bat wings protruding from the sides. After Professor Nyx whispered something into his ear, Helios stood, straightened his sleeves, and approached the podium.

The conversation quieted as Helios cleared his throat. Even Felix stopped rattling on about Herbology to pay attention. Helios placed his hands on the podium and smiled. "Welcome, welcome. How are you all doing on this All Hallows' Eve?"

"Great!" someone, presumably James, yelled from the back of the room.

"Fantastic," said Helios. "Before we start, I'd like to give acknowledgement to Professor Longbottom, who has grown most of the seasonal vegetables used to create this menu."

Neville nodded and raised his glass of pumpkin juice in recognition.

"Well, I imagine you're hungry, so…" Helios drew his wand and swirled it around in the air. Floating gold text materialized above each plate, as though projected from the bottom up. "Select your preferred options and enjoy!"

Albus frowned. "What the hell is a croquette?"

"It's a cutlet-looking thing," said Scorpius. "They're usually made with potatoes."

"You need to be my guide," Finn said, staring at the bottom of the menu. "The desserts are the only thing I understand, and even then… a torte?"

"Fancy man," Minghao called, "what's a pâté?"

Felix piped up. "It's a paste made of—"

"Er, I meant Scorpius."

Felix silently sat back.

Gore grunted in mild amusement, and Albus almost choked on the water he was drinking.

"Liver paste," Scorpius responded. "It's quite good."

"I'll pass," Minnie muttered. "How do we order, then?"

"LAMB CHOPS!" yelled James from the back of the hall, startling multiple students. There was a whoosh sound that Albus assumed signified the arrival of food.

Finn shrugged. "BEEF STEW!" he shouted.

Rose nearly jumped a mile out of her chair. "Bloody hell! Is that necessary?"

Finn was already digging through his stew. "I dunno. It's fun, though." He took a bite and immediately opened his mouth to fan its contents. "Ow, hot, hot!"

The whooshing filled the room as more students placed orders, some at the top of their lungs. Albus scanned the middle of the page and ordered a butternut ravioli, figuring it couldn't be bad. He cut one in half and took a bite. "Ooh!"

"Good?" Talia asked, cutting into her own lamb chops.

"Bloody fantastic," Albus mumbled, spearing a whole ravioli onto his fork.

Talia examined his place setting. "You're using the salad fork."

"To hell with the salad fork," Albus said thickly. "Who eats a salad at a feast, anyways?"

Rose side-eyed Albus while chewing on a mouthful of leafy greens.

"What the hell is that?" Finn demanded, pointing at Scorpius's dish with his spoon.

"Escargot," Scorpius answered warily. "With thyme and garlic butter."

"Translation?" Finn persisted.

"Snails."

Finn leaned his head down to inspect the plate. "Why, though?"

"I thought you'd jump on the opportunity to try them," said Scorpius.

"I'm weird, not stupid."

Albus looked over. He couldn't see the actual snails that clearly; they were sitting in small pools of the garlic butter. "How are they?" he asked, intrigued.

"I mean, they're good," Scorpius said. "Want to try?"

"Mmm…" Albus pursed his lips. "I dunno, mate."

"You never know unless you try," said Finn.

"You have no place to speak," said Scorpius, pointing an accusatory fork. "Pipe down."

"You wound me," said Finn emotionlessly.

"Eh, sod it," Albus said, picking up his spoon. "I'm taking plenty of that butter with me, though."

"Be my guest." Scorpius leaned back to allow Albus easy access to the plate.

Albus fished one of the snails out and brought it up to his face to examine it. It was curled up into a black spiral, and the outside was glossy, either from the snail itself or the butter.

"I wouldn't stare at it too much," Scorpius said.

"Now you tell me," Albus muttered. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Alright." He put the snail in his mouth and chewed.

"How is it?" Finn questioned.

"It's… it's chewy," Albus said thickly. He swallowed. "But it's really not bad, if I'm honest."

"I'm still not touching that," said Finn, putting up his hands.

Once the food in front of most people disappeared, dessert menus began popping up in the same golden font. Albus was halfway through a treacle tart when Helios approached the stand once more. The jack o' lanterns on his robes were swimming around lazily; some had even fallen asleep.

Helios cleared his throat. "Well, I see that most of us have finished eating."

Finn looked up slowly from his second dessert, eyes wide with a spoon dangling from his mouth, and Albus clamped his mouth shut, trying not to laugh.

"Regardless, we've all devised a little… treat for you. Given that the school's performance this year has been rather exceptional, Professor McCaffrey and Mister Greywater have assisted me in preparing a wide assortment of…" Helios glanced down at his notes. "…carnival attractions. They are all set up and currently available for recreational use out on the Quidditch pitch."

Helios abruptly stopped speaking and looked over the crowd expectantly. A few students staggered awkwardly off their stools, and others soon followed.

Mercifully, Felix had left their table first, dragging Minnie along with him to catch up with another group of first years. Minghao and Barry purposefully waited for Felix to leave the Hall before hopping off their chairs and exiting. Gore simply picked up his plate and carried it off with him, lumbering after the other two.

"I think we're heading off," Talia said, gesturing to herself and Rose, who was already halfway to the door. "You guys coming?"

"Yeah, in a bit," Albus responded. "I'll wait for him," he said, indicating Scorpius, who was just starting on his dessert.

Scorpius smiled apologetically. "Sorry, I'm a slow eater."

"We can tell," Albus muttered. "We'll find you out on the pitch," he said to Talia.

Talia nodded and pushed her chair in carefully before making after Rose.

Albus tapped his foot impatiently as the Hall emptied. "You want to hurry up, mate?"

"Feel free to leave," said Scorpius.

"I'm good over here," said Finn from the other side of Scorpius. "I'm going to order another dessert."

"Have fun," said Albus halfheartedly, focusing his gaze past his friends and onto the Head Table. Most of the professors were finishing up their meals or chatting amongst one another, but Neville and Professor M were standing off in the back corner, discussing something quietly.

Albus narrowed his eyes and tried honing in on the two's conversation, picking up "roots" from Neville and "not here" from M before the two began to whisper significantly quieter. Albus frowned, wishing he knew a spell to listen in on their conversation, and instead tried to focus on their body language.

Neville made an angry kind of gesture, jabbing his finger towards the ground, but M grabbed his wrist and whispered something that must have been harsh. Neville gave M one last knowing look before making a beeline for the door. He exited and turned right, presumably to the greenhouses.

Albus absentmindedly tugged on Scorpius's sleeve, still staring at the doors. "Hey, something odd is going on."

Scorpius shook off Albus's hand. "Something's always odd here," he said, wiping his face with a napkin. "It's Hogwarts."

"Neville's doing something, and I want to figure out what."

"Mate, relax," Scorpius said, placing a hand on Albus's shoulder. "Let's just have a normal, stress-free evening for once."

Albus sat in silence for a moment. "Let him decide," he suggested, tilting his head at Finn, who was swiping chocolate sauce off his plate with his index finger.

"Hmm?" Finn asked, looking up. "What?"

"Goose chase or carnival?" Scorpius asked him.

"I dunno about that interpretation," said Albus.

Finn thought for a moment. "You know, I do like gooses."

Scorpius placed his head in his hands.

"It's geese," Albus responded, standing up. "Let's go."

Albus and Finn left quickly, looking extremely suspicious. Scorpius reluctantly trailed after them, sighing heavily. "Why the hell did I get Sorted in the same house as these gits?