mild tw for homophobic themes. nothing major, but if you want more info, just let me know!

also this is a little wordy in the beginning as i do my best to introduce Ailana's perspective :)


.: Chapter Eight: Halloween :.

"And in the end, we were all just humans… drunk on the idea that love, and only love, could heal our brokenness." – F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

It was the last lesson of the day, and Ailana was so ready to be done with classes that she couldn't seem to control the erratic bouncing of her leg. The annoyed looks that she was garnering from her classmates only made her want to continue with it, creaking of her chair be damned. No one else seemed to understand or share her love for this holiday. Halloween was her absolute favorite holiday to celebrate. For one night out of the year, she got to dress up as someone that she wasn't.

Ailana happened to like the person that she was, but the appeal of a costume was alluring. A lot of the people around her had different ideas about who she should be, holding their own qualms about what they thought she was actually like. Everyone was so one-dimensional. There was always a nice square box that people wanted to squeeze her into—a box that was way too small for her.

She was aware that millions of people had worse problems than her, yet even that concept seemed to fail at making her issues seem small. The wizarding world in Britain, she had learned, was a lot different than that of Spain. She was old enough when she'd left Spain that she'd felt the loss of her country keenly. The first few months in their new home was tough for Ailana. When her parents had decided to make the move and finally settle down in England, they also decided to raise her in a household that, while still reflecting her heritage, attempted to integrate her into her new society. The differences between the two cultures became more noticeable the longer she lived in England.

There were still the universal issues, and the universal arse-holes that seemed to exist in every nook and crevice of the world, but the seemingly inconsequential matters were on an entirely different level. The Spanish that they'd spoken regularly prior to their move had started to diminish, only used within the four walls of their home. The easy trip down to the market on her bike was replaced by a noisy bus ride, and her mother had stopped letting her go out on her own. Ailana still tells her parents, every chance that she gets, that she's going to move back to the Spanish countryside as soon as she graduates from Hogwarts.

Ailana's mother and father were who anyone would describe as 'free-spirits.' They never swayed in their convictions and they absolutely refused to stand by in the face of oppression. It's fitting that her parents met at a relief camp in Borneo, Indonesia after a massive tsunami struck the country. Not knowing that they had both attended Hogwarts, (albeit they were in different years, so some credit was due) they struck up clumsy conversations and stilted small talk. They'd gotten married a year later and had Ailana's older sister, Maria, a year after that.

Ailana liked to think that she took after her mother. Lola Fernández was a strong woman. She spent her youth working as a healer in third world countries with her aunt, using her magical abilities to heal the Muggles in underdeveloped areas. Her mother was actually a faceless legend in the Muggle culture—the mysterious woman that healed the wounded in the dead of night. Her presence was usually chalked up to painful hallucinations, or the final face the poor souls would have seen if they had passed on, but Ailana thought it nothing short of amazing that her mother would be remembered for something so extraordinary, even if the true identity of the woman behind the legend was never to be revealed.

Though her mother was nothing short of remarkable, Ailana would not complain if she took after her father. Her father, Alejandro, marched with civil rights leaders in all parts of the world, carting around Ailana and her siblings in strollers in order to participate. Even today he continued to donate to charities, and he helps out the less fortunate as best he can in the small town they currently live in.

Ailana's love for her parents grew even more when they didn't so much as bat an eye when she brought home a girl named Ellie and introduced her as her girlfriend. They never wrote off anything about her, or dismissed her romantic interests as merely a 'phase' that she was going through. She had dealt with her fair share of rather horrible comments from the elitists at school that she was beyond grateful she didn't have to face the same at home.

The wizarding world as a whole was accepting of people like Ailana; there were just the fanatics that were obsessed with bloodlines that saw her as selfish. To some, if she wasn't going to produce magical heirs, then her blood and magical ability were wasted.

Most of the time, those types of people liked to ignore her sexuality all together, describing it as a 'problem' that they didn't want to talk about. A taboo.

People were scared of the things that they didn't want to understand, even if, really, the whole thing was quite simple.

Ailana jumped when Emmeline placed a hand on her thigh, stilling the rapid movement of her leg. Shooting her friend a sympathetic smile, Ailana sat up straighter in her seat and chanced another glance at the clock.

She sighed and leaned towards her friend, ignoring the drone of Professor Binns' voice. "You're taking good notes, right?' she asked.

"Of course I'm not, but Remus is," Emmeline whispered back, tilting her head towards the boy sitting in front of them, but not looking up from her doodling.

Nodding and resuming her slouched position in the hard-backed chair, Ailana decided a nap was in order.

Twenty minutes later, she was bouncing down the corridor, having left all her friends behind in History of Magic, and she was headed to the Owlery. A letter to her older sister was clutched in her hand, and she was so focused on getting back to the common room before dinner that she didn't hear the footsteps behind her until she was pulled sideways into an empty classroom.

"What the hell?" she exclaimed, fumbling to catch herself on a desk. She looked up sharply, trying to orient herself, and got even more confused when Ami Shafiq was standing in front of her, arms crossed and a scowl on her face.

"What do you want, Ami?" Ailana asked. Her voice was a little shaky, though she was slightly relieved that it was only Ami, and not someone with more nefarious motives.

Ami continued to avoid looking at Ailana. This wasn't on the agenda for today and having her plans interrupted by an attention loving gossip was ruining her good mood.

"Amira!" Ailana hissed. "What do you want? You're not exactly in my good graces anymore, so if you're not going to say what's on your mind then get the hell out of the way so I can leave. I've got shit to do."

"Just give me a second!" Ami pleaded, an edge to her voice. "Merlin, it's like you think you're the only one in the world with problems!"

Ailana snorted. "You're the one that's giving me all of my current problems! I don't want to hear any complaints from you—ever. And you lost the right to my patience a long time ago, Ami. Don't pretend otherwise, it helps no one—especially not us."

Ami sat down heavily in the chair by the door, sighing loudly and covering her face with her hands. Ailana's first instinct was to go to her with comforting words and soft touches, but she forced herself to stay where she was. Forced herself to remember.

"I'm sorry about the rumor yesterday," Ami whispered, not removing her face from her hands. "It was a little harsh, even for me."

Ailana leaned back against a desk. "An apology from the Amira Shafiq? I'm shocked. I never thought you'd lower yourself to apologize to a person like me. I don't care for your acknowledgment. So if that's all you've dragged me in here to say, then I think I'll be going now."

She was reaching for the door handle when Ami's hand closed around her wrist. Ailana froze, her mind telling her to do several different things at once.

"Can you just sit here with me? Just for a few minutes?" Ami whispered. "You're the only one that understands."

Just like that, she knew that she couldn't be here. Not just didn't want to be here, but she physically could no longer stay in the room.

"I stopped understanding a long time ago, Amira," Ailana whispered before wrenching open the door.

.:..:.

When Ailana walked into the Great Hall later that evening, the interaction from earlier was firmly locked away in the back of her mind. Maybe she'd take it out later and analyze it, but this was her favorite holiday and she refused to let anything ruin that. So she took a deep breath and started walking towards the Gryffindor table, admiring the traditional Halloween decor that adorned the hall on her way.

Something was different, she noticed, as she walked towards the Gryffindor table. Ailana then stopped dead and she positively beamed when she figured it out. It had taken her longer than she'd like to admit for her to realize that it was the usual hallows eve bats flying overhead, and that their odd flight patterns were weirdly synchronized. The bats were actually spelling words. Swear words. As she watched a swooping cluster of them spell out the word 'bastard' above the Slytherin table, she covered her mouth with her hand, trying in vain to conceal her laughter.

More words like 'toerag' and 'slag,' and the inevitable 'wanker' curled their way below the enchanted ceiling, sometimes singling out students or swarming a table. As she sat down across from Remus, Ailana noticed that the bats avoided the teacher's table. She commended the slight intelligence of the Marauders.

That's who had to be behind it, anyway. No one else had the brainpower, the magical capabilities, or the guts to pull it off. When she smirked up at Remus, he confirmed her thoughts with a raise of an eyebrow and a sideways glance at Sirius. Shaking her head, Ailana caught the tail end of Emmeline's sentence and zeroed in on their conversation.

"What do you mean Mary isn't dressing up?" Ailana accused. "We dress up every year. It's a bloody tradition!"

"That's what I told her!" Lily said, pointing her fork at Mary.

"Well, I don't want to dress up this year." Mary shrugged. "I made plans with Simon, and he's not dressing up so I would feel weird."

"Wait just a minute here," Ailana said, feeling as though she was later to this conversation than she had originally thought. "You're tellin' me that you're ditching us on Halloween to hang out with a boy? I mean, Mary, who knew you had it in you."

Emmeline picked up Ailana's train of thought: "Halloween is no less than our most favorite holiday, Mary."

"Yeah," Lily chimed in, "you can't just expect us to carry on without you."

"Oh come off it," Mary mumbled, pushing her food around on her plate. "We all know that you lot can divvy up my portion of the alcohol, and it's not like I won't be at the party at all. Our plans aren't till later."

"Oh they just like giving you a hard time, is all," Marlene said, looking pointedly at everyone. Ailana, happy that she wasn't far behind on this particular portion of the conversation, took up the initiative.

"Of course, of course," Ailana said, reaching past Emmeline to pat Mary on the hand. "We're happy for you, Mary."

"I can be happy for her and still be jealous at the same time," Lily added, tilting her head and stabbing a piece of pumpkin pie with more force than strictly necessary.

"Why are we jealous?" Alice asked, forcing her way onto the bench between Lily and Marlene.

"Because Mary's got a bloke to sneak away to after the Halloween party and Lily doesn't," Emmeline informed.

"Oh that," Alice said, scooping dessert onto her plate with practiced efficiency. "I guess that means you don't want to hear about my plans with Frank?"

Professor Dumbledore getting to his feet interrupted both Lily and Emmeline's side-eyed glare.

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The counter in the bathroom was covered in glitter and fake blood. Every speck and drop was courtesy of Sirius's Halloween costume, or rather Sirius's insistence on Halloween costumes. James eyed the mess distastefully, knowing that he was already late—a fact that the boys in the next room reminded him of every twenty seconds—and knew that he didn't have the time to clean it up at the moment.

"Oi!" Sirius yelled from the other side of the door. "How much longer are you going to try and tame your hair, Prongs? Let's not pretend to think that it can ever lie flat."

James, who was actually rolling up the sleeves of his oxford shirt, yelled back. "Let's not pretend that it wasn't you who was holed-up in the bathroom for forty minutes!"

James rolled his eyes at the expected "perfection can't be rushed" response. He took a final glance at his costume in the mirror: Spello-tape was wound around the bridge of his square-rimmed glasses and the suspenders he wore kept his too short black slacks secure at his navel. He begrudgingly decided that Sirius's idea of "being himself, or rather, embracing the fact that he was a complete nerd," was actually a good idea. James sighed and opened the door, switching off the oil lamp as he went.

James was beyond excited for this party. Although he was more of a fan of Christmas, he never minded throwing together a Halloween party with his friends. And 'throwing together' the party was an understatement. James and the other Marauders spent weeks planning this party, James and Sirius being the most invested. (Sirius for the "exceptional costume ideas that were thought up" and James because… well because he knew Lily loved this holiday.) (He also knew he was a complete sap, but he's learned to forgive himself.)

It took a great deal of time and patience to get the alcohol smuggled in from Hogsmeade, the food brought up from the kitchens, and the right group of first years to be bribed into asking McGonagall for "help on their transfiguration essays" in order to keep her from coming 'round the common room later. James reasoned that occupying McGonagall with boring first years was better than flooding the second-floor bathrooms—really, they were being considerate.

The end result of all the Marauders' toiling was an amazing party that the rest of the school wished they were in Gryffindor for. The stories resonating from their fifth year party, as well as the party they planned with the other seventh years in their fourth year, still circulated the school sometimes if the current gossip wasn't up to par. Last year had been particularly memorable because the party coincided with a Quidditch win and everyone was riding on a high.

James loved it.

James took one glance at his friends' finished costumes before grinning. Sirius's hair was, as usual, impeccable, but the glitter that he had practically dumped onto it made sure that he was going to stand out in the dimness of the common room. He wore a toga, tied so intricately that James had no idea how it worked, and he held a pulsing lightning bolt in one hand.

Give it up to Sirius's dedication, James thought.

Peter was… less than dedicated, but the striped prisoners jumpsuit he wore, and the chain that hung around his neck looked real enough that James was surprised that it wasn't heavy when he grabbed it to get a closer look. Remus's costume, the clever shit, was simply smears of fake blood that was dripping from his lip and lathered up his arms. He had on a t-shirt that said 'I'm not a vampire' that he'd obviously bought from a Muggle store over the summer.

The party was in full swing by the time they made their entrance. A girl dressed up as a pixie and Tobias, the keeper for the Quidditch team, accosted Sirius immediately, and he was happily dragged away to the refreshments table. Remus and Peter gave James a significant look and Remus nodded in the direction of a cluster of girls standing at the outer edge of the makeshift dance floor. He spotted Lily immediately and his mouth went a little dry at the sight.

She was wearing a very short red dress that, while covering everything important, left very little, while also a whole lot, to James's imagination. The red tights that she wore under the dress were ripped strategically and James ran his eyes up the length of her legs. Her dark mass of red hair almost obscured the small horns on her head, but the tail attached at the small of her back made it quite clear what she was dressed up as.

She was the devil.

By Godric she was going to be the death of him.

Slapping Remus twice on the chest, but never taking his eyes off Lily, he left his two remaining friends at the base of the dormitory stairs and pushed his way across the floor to Lily. The walk seemed to take forever, but that let him work out what he wanted to say, so as not to make a fool of himself.

Why hello, Evans, was what first popped into his head, but he decided it was too general a statement. James wanted to say something… significant.

You look amazing, Evans, want to get out of here? It's a little stuffy isn't it, was the second thought that popped into his head, but he reasoned all that would earn him was a firm slap to the back of his head.

His third thought was so much for planning because he had reached their table and it was too late to back down.

"Well, well, Evans," he drawled, thinking fast. "You are looking mighty devilish this evening. Got any nefarious plans for later?"

Wow that was actually a little smooth…

Lily craned her head back to look at him, and he didn't hear a single word that came out of her mouth. He was way too busy focusing on the black makeup surrounding her eyes and trying not to stare straight down the front of her dress. That brought their obvious height difference to the forefront of his mind, which he noticed was much more now than it was in the beginning of the summer, and James appreciated that he'd be able to fold her directly into his chest.

"What was that?" he asked, once again thinking fast. "The music's really loud, and I didn't quite hear you."

This proved to be one of the best lines he'd utter all night because she put a hand on his chest and stood on her tiptoes to speak directly into his ear.

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe, he chanted as he lowered his head closer to her mouth.

"I said, 'If taking care of my plastered friends and waiting up for Mary in the dorm after her date counts as nefarious, then hell yeah, my plans are downright wicked.'"

The ghost of her breath tickled his ear and he just managed to hold his shivers at bay. The goosebumps that erupted across the back of his neck couldn't be helped though.

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe, he thought again.

"No date for yourself then?" James asked, latching onto a topic with desperation.

"Nope," she said, popping the 'p.' His eyes stayed glued to her mouth, and her red lipstick, as she continued. "I'm all by my lonesome tonight. The rest of the girls and I decided that we'd have more fun and less regrets if we went together, rather than with any blokes."

"Don't listen to her, James!" Ailana laughed, taking a deep drink from her cup. James tore his eyes away from Lily and noticed that Ailana was wearing a dark purple, 1920's flapper dress. He knew because there was an old picture of his mother in one on the mantle in his den from when she was younger. "Lily would have ditched us in a heartbeat if someone had asked her!"

"Lies!" Lily yelled back at her friends, though James noticed that she blushed rather deeply. Before he could think too much on that, another one of her friends spoke up.

"I'm ditching you ladies in a half hour because of a date," Mary said, popping a crisp into her mouth and smiling. "What ever will you do without me?"

"I would've ditched you lot too, if someone had asked me," Marlene sighed, her gaze settling on something, or someone, over James's shoulder.

"Thanks for being honest, Marley," Emmeline laughed.

James smiled at their easy banter, but his smile was replaced with surprise when a hand gripped his suspenders, and small knuckles ran up the length of his chest and over his shoulder. James looked down at Lily, but couldn't think of anything that he could say as he watched her. She kept her gaze on her hand, and he couldn't tear his eyes from her slightly curious expression. The music faded to a dull pounding in the background and the lights seemed to dim.

Was it just me or did it just get a lot warmer in here? he wondered, making sure to keep his face as blank as possible. He wasn't sure how well he succeeded.

"It was twisted," Lily explained, letting her hand drop immediately once she caught his eye. Her blush had deepened as well, and he was happy to watch it creep up her neck. James tilted his head and continued to stare at her, taking in her features. His gaze, once again, involuntarily dropped to her lips, but she noticed the action this time. When he flicked his eyes quickly back up to hers at her sharp inhale of breath, he saw that her eyes had widened significantly.

He cleared his throat when she stepped back, and looked over only to see Marlene's knowing smile and a cat-like grin plastered on Ailana's face. He immediately looked back at Lily and blurted out the first thing that popped into his head, desperate to extricate the situation.

"Dance!" he said. She only raised her eyebrows and looked at him like he was losing his mind. And who knew, he probably was if his complete lack of coherent thought was anything to go by. So he tried again, forcing his mouth to work slower this time.

"I-I want you to… dance with me," he said.

Then he realized that that sounded too much like a demand and tried to backtrack. He felt like he was mucking this up, and weirdly this moment felt very critical in the grand scheme of things.

"I mean, I would like it if you would dance with me. Only if you want! Only if you want to dance!"

When he heard a soft giggle escape her lips, he let out a long exhale. Thoughts began flooding his brain again, and the music in the common room was once again loud. When he spoke for the last time, his voice was softer and his tone calmer.

"Would you like to dance with me?" he asked, running a hand through his hair.

She nodded once, lacing her fingers through his. Her hand was soft and small, and the thought clanged through him that this was the first time he'd ever held her hand. As she pulled him onto the dance floor it was as if she had been the one who'd asked him to dance.

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As Lily led James onto the dance floor, Mary rested her chin in her hand and hated the both of them just a little bit. They were both right in front of each other, but neither one of them were actively doing anything about their feelings. The easy way in which James and Lily complemented each other brought a wistful smile to her face and a longing to her heart. Those two didn't even know what they had. Mary knew their legendary romance was still months away from actually happening, but watching them build up to it was sure to drive her insane. She had read too many romance novels in her life, so she knew that their love would be one for the books; however, she hoped that they will avoid the 'you waited too long to say yes so I moved on' cliché.'

Lily and James were jumping around, but they still hadn't dropped their clasped hands. When the fast-paced song ended, and a slower one began to tinkle out of the record player, they just stood there, facing one another and shuffling nervously from foot to foot.

They took long enough that Mary thought they were going to go their separate ways, but then James stepped up. Mary watched as he slowly slid his right hand around Lily's hip and settled it at the small of her back. Mary watched as Lily stepped into the circle of James's arms and put a hand around his shoulder. Lily, having never dropped his hand in the first place, still clasped onto James's other hand tightly in her right one. Mary watched the smiles finally creep back onto their lips, and then Lily threw her head back as she laughed at something James said.

Mary hoped she would have that one-day—that simple type of love.

She hadn't realized she had spoken out loud until Emmeline grasped her hand tightly and said, "You will Mary."

"No," Marlene began, "don't tell me that you want to base all your romantic dreams on Lily and James? All they do is skirt around each other in conversation and refuse to tell each other how they feel! Maybe once they actually get their shit together and start actually dating, then hoping to be like them won't be as depressing."

"Damn, Marlene," Ailana whistled. "Who spat in your pumpkin juice?"

"I'm just saying that I would want a love where both parties know how the other person feels!" Marlene defended.

Mary looked back out to Lily and James, and watched as Lily slowly let her head fall forward onto James's chest. His arms seemed to tighten around her in response, and Lily's eyes slowly fell closed.

"I stand by what I said," Mary sighed, gesturing to the dance floor. "They're obviously going to figure it out eventually—if they don't already know. I mean how could they not? And once they do, they'll be epic. Don't be such a downer, Marlene."

"I'm not being a downer!" Marlene protested. "Why don't you guys ever listen to–"

"Mary's right," Emmeline interrupted. "A person can only go so long before they go crazy telling everyone that they're 'just friends'. I give 'em till New Year's before they break down and confess."

"That's way too soon!" Mary responded. "I say at least Easter hols'."

"Well if we're taking bets," Ailana injected, "then I say it's going to take them the whole school year. There's no way James is going to ask her out again after what happened last time, and we all know Lily is a complete wuss when it comes to taking the romantic initiative. Yeah, I most definitely say the end of the year—May at the earliest. What do you think, Marlene?"

"It doesn't matter what I think," Marlene said, taking a large gulp of her drink.

"Of course it does," Ailana rebutted. Ailana continued to converse quietly with Marlene, but Emmeline spoke up again and drew all of Mary's attention.

"Well no matter when they work up the courage, they're going to be so much worse than Frank and Alice," Emmeline said, wrinkling her nose in apparent disgust. Mary couldn't help but agree. "We're not even going to be able to be in the same room as them. They'll have been building up to the whole thing for years and they won't be able to stay away from each other. Blegh."

.:..:.

Mary stepped out of the portrait hole a half hour later to meet up with Simon. She was beyond nervous. It was her first real date, and she didn't want to make a complete fool of herself (some foolishness was expected, but she hoped to avoid outright idiocy). Overthinking was something that was just going to make it worse though, so she turned down the corridor and walked up to her date.

Simon looked very nice. He wasn't dressed up by any means of the word, but the sweater he wore was snug to his chest, and drew her attention immediately. His hair was shorter than it had been this morning, but she liked the new look. It was shaved short, and there was only enough hair at the top for a little spike in the front. He smiled down at her when she finally reached him.

"Hi," she said, not knowing what to do with her hands.

"Hello," he replied. He then scrunched his nose and asked, "What's this?"

He was fingering the small brown cat ears that the girls had forced her into before coming down the dormitory stairs. She was so used to wearing headbands that she had completely forgotten about them. Heat spread up her neck as she pulled the offending costume from her head.

"Oh, this," she stammered, more nervous now. "It's just this thing that Gryffindor has been doing the past few years. Some guy who graduated a few years ago started making everyone wear costumes to the Halloween party. Until last year, it used to be mandatory or the Seventh years would send you back to your dormitory. It's this Muggle thing, at least I think it's purely Muggle, but people dress up in costumes on Halloween in the Muggle world. And my—um, my friends wouldn't let me down the stairs unless I put these on."

Mary realized she was rambling by the end of it, but Simon only laughed. "That sounds interesting," he said. "I'm not used to Muggle traditions. I actually don't know anything about them."

"I can tell you about them?" Mary offered, craning her neck to meet his eyes.

"Maybe," he replied. The uncomfortable look that flashed across his face was gone before she could analyze it, but it pleased her to know that he was as nervous about this as she was.

"So," he said, starting off down the corridor. "I want to know more about you. What's your family like?"

Mary followed along beside him. "Well," she began, "my parents own a grocery store back home in Kingsdon. My older brother, Anthony, works in London at this dingy old pub. He loves it so much, and I've not a single clue as to why. I think he just wanted to get away from home actually, but it doesn't really matter. I'm away at school all year anyway, and I still see him on holidays, so I'm glad he's happy with what he's doing. And I've got two younger sisters, Ollie and Georgia. They're both still in primary school."

"Primary school?" Simon asked.

"You really don't know anything about Muggles, do you?" Mary laughed.

"I've never had any reason to know anything before I met you." Simon smiled.

Her heart did a little stutter in her chest, and she began talking again to cover up how flustered he was making her. "Primary school is where young kids go to learn the… uh, the basics, like maths and history and science,I guess? I started going when I turned five, and I had just finished my last year when I got my Hogwarts letter."

"So you're the only one in your family that's got any magic at all?" Simon asked.

"Well, I've got an auntie that lives on an island somewhere that my parents are convinced is a witch," Mary laughed. "But I just think they say that because they don't like her. She's a little eccentric, and she's got some funny quirks that involve tarot cards and sage that my family likes to ignore, but, yeah, I'm the only witch in the family."

"That must be weird," Simon commented.

"Not really," Mary replied. "It's actually not weird at all. They're so interested in asking questions about everything that I do and learn all year, that there's no time for them to be weird about it."

They fell into a silence that wasn't exactly… comfortable, so Mary rushed to fill it. "What about you, though? Are you close with your family?"

"I'm an only child," Simon responded easily. "So it's just my parents and me, which I really wouldn't have any other way. I like the quiet of the house, you know? Anyway, my dad's an independent banker—he works with investments and the like, which is the most boring job that I could ever think of having. I'll probably still take over the company when I'm older, though."

"So you've got a job lined up for after school already? That's nice even if you don't particularly like it. It's got to give you some sense of ease not have to worry about stuff like that."

"I guess so," Simon conceded. "My mother, though, she's brilliant. Always spouting some kind of philosophical nonsense that somehow makes sense. She wants me to 'follow my heart'. I think she knows that I've never wanted to use my father's name to get anywhere in life—that I've wanted to do things my own way."

"What does 'doing things your own way' entail?" Mary asked. She only had a side view of his face so she couldn't see the emotions flit across it, but she did notice the new tension in his shoulders. She furrowed her brow, hoping she hadn't over-stepped.

"I want to fight for the cause," he said very slowly. "I want to help end the war the right way, and for the right people."

Mary smiled. "I think that's very noble of you. I was thinking of fighting too, especially when the people on the opposing side are people who think that I shouldn't, you know, be alive. I don't know how helpful I'd be with a wand—in the thick of it, you know, so quietly helping is the way I'll likely go." She took a deep breath. "Not helping is unimaginable, and I'd essentially be complicit in genocide, so I'll figure out my path."

Simon grabbed her hand, and the action was comforting after such a grimy topic. She said one last thing, not able to keep the thought at bay, "It's not my fault I was born with a little magic in my veins."

"Of course it's not your fault," Simon said in a rush. "And from what I've heard, you've got more than just 'a little magic', Mary. But, let's tuck this conversation away for another day… perhaps for our third date?"

Mary smiled and looked down to their clasped hands. Thinking far enough ahead to imagine a third date made Mary blush because they were only fifteen minutes into their first date. Her nervousness settled a little, and when she looked back to him, he was already looking at her.

"Waiting for the third date sounds good to me," Mary said.

"Fantastic," Simon enthused. "Why don't I tell you all about my romantic plans to woo you, yeah? I've got a very beautiful picnic prepared for us in the Astronomy tower, and you'll be happy to know that it's a very clear night—not a cloud in the sky. It's fitting for Halloween because we'll be able to see the bats swoop in front of the moon."

.:..:.

When Mary wandered back into the common room three hours later, she did so with a dopey smile on her face. The fire was smoldering in the grate, and all evidence of the party was missing from the scene—not a bottle or a speck of glitter in sight. The dormitory itself was cloaked in darkness, but Lily was sitting up in her bed, one side of the curtains drawn so she could watch the door. A charms books was propped on her bent knees and she was in her fuzzy pajamas— the ones she usually wore when she was sad—and as Lily was huge fan of baggy t-shirts and underwear, which she wore on almost every occasion, it was important (and odd) enough to make note of. Lily aimed her wand-light in Mary's direction as she quietly closed the wooden door behind her.

"How'd it go?" Lily whispered, motioning for Mary to join her on her small four-poster.

Mary nodded at Lily's request. "It was great," Mary whispered back. "Give me a second to get ready for bed and I'll tell you more." Mary unwound Simon's scarf from around her neck and set it gently on her nightstand before she started pulling on her pajamas. She was conscious of the three other sleeping girls in the dormitory as she quietly rinsed off her face and brushed her teeth. When she settled next to Lily, her friend set her book on the bedside table and wrapped an arm around Mary's shoulders.

"Are you seeing him again?" Lily asked quietly.

"Yeah," Mary nodded. "He really is as sweet as I thought he was. He asked me about my family, and about what I wanted to do with my life… about my experience as a Muggleborn. It was nice to be asked those questions by someone who actually wanted to hear the answers, you know?"

"Well I could have asked you all that," Lily giggled.

"You could," Mary conceded, "but would you also hold my hand through the corridors and kiss me goodnight in front of the portrait hole?"

"We already hold hands in the corridors," Lily reminded. "And I guess I could kiss you goodnight if you really wanted me to."

Mary puffed out a breath of laughter at her friend's wink. She shoved Lily in the shoulder, but grabbed her before she tumbled out of the bed.

"How was the kiss?" Lily asked, throwing her comforter over Mary's legs when she shivered slightly from the wind blowing in through the open window. "Was it everything you've ever dreamed?"

"Obviously you know I have nothing to compare it to," Mary drawled, "but it was a pretty fantastic kiss."

"The girls are going to be so jealous that they weren't awake to hear about all this," Lily mused. "Interrogating us about our love lives is what fuels their fire."

Mary smiled and noticed the use of the word 'us'. She glanced down at Lily's pajamas and was concerned immediately.

"They didn't give you too hard a time about James today, did they? I know they drive you nuts," Mary sighed.

Lily took a minute before answering. "They weren't any more obnoxious about it than usual. It's just hard, you know? They're always so—and then I don't know what to do—but then something–"

"Breathe, Lily," Mary advised. Lily was quiet for awhile this time before thunking her head back against the headboard.

"Never mind me," Lily said. "Let's be happy about your date."

"Posh," Mary protested. "I'll have to retell my whole story tomorrow over breakfast. You get everything off you chest when it's just me here to listen, okay?"

Lily bit her lip and nodded. "He makes me stupid."

"What?" Mary chuckled.

"Potter," Lily stated. "Potter makes me stupid. I say stupid things, I act like an idiot more than half the time, and my face is always as red as a tomato whenever I'm around him. His stupid face makes me stupid."

"Do you know why that is?" Mary asked cautiously, not wanting to spook her into silence.

"I'm not a complete dolt, Mary," Lily drawled. "I don't need everyone telling me that I've got a crush on him, and embarrassing me about that fact, when it's unpleasantly obvious that they're right. It just makes it hard to be me around him when I've got everyone spewing romantic nonsense into my ear. We're not ready for anything right now—we'd crash and burn if we jumped into a relationship right now. Plus, I don't even know if I want a relationship. Maybe I'm a floozy and all I want is a fling."

"You don't have to say stupid things to me, now," Mary reminded. "I'm just Mary, remember?"

Lily smiled and rested her head on Mary's shoulder.

"Boys are stupid," Lily complained.

Mary didn't exactly agree with that statement at this moment in her life, but the sentiment was generally correct. She patted her friend on the shoulder anyway and closed her eyes.


hello again everyone! so sorry for the gap between updates, but i hope the chapter was worth the wait. let me know what you think! :))

yes, i did the cliche "lily is the devil for halloween" thing. sue me jkdsjd

shafiq really is a family of the sacred twenty-eight. i took some creative liberties on this front because the shafiq's died out in the 1930's, but i wanted a pureblood name that people wouldn't recognize immediately, and adding a whole knew pureblood family to all this would be too much for me, so here we are.

this is also code for 'i know way too much shit about harry potter"

happy holidays everyone!