October 31st 1992
"Come on, lets go," Hope insisted as she and Cassie passed Harry, Ron and Hermione. It was seven o'clock and they were heading to Nick's Deathday party. The group of five passed by the great hall which was glittering invitingly with gold plates and candles, they walked straight past and headed for the dungeons.
The passageway leading to the Deathday party had been carefully lined with candles, though the effect was far from cheerful. Cassie and Hope shared a look, they already regret saying yes to coming to this. The temperature dropped dramatically as they got closer to the party.
"Is that supposed to be music?" Ron whispered when they heard what sounded like a thousand fingernails scraping a blackboard.
Turning the corner they saw Nick standing at a doorway hung with black velvet drapes. "My dear friends," he speaks mournfully, "welcome, welcome...so pleased you could come."
He swept off his hat and bowed them inside.
It was an incredible sight. The dungeon was full of hundreds of pearly-white, translucent people who drifted on the crowded dance floor. Quickly the two girls split from the younger trio and found a quiet corner to stand in.
"Remind me. Why did we agree to come?" Cassie asked as they watch the ghosts drift around.
"Cause I would feel bad for saying no," Hope replied. "Besides I thought this would take my mind off things."
Cassie hummed in reply knowing that, given the time of year, she could use the distraction. Another year had passed. Another year without James and Lily.
"Fuck, Moaning Myrtle is heading this way," Hope muttered as she spots the ghost who haunts the girls toilets on the first floor. She had been throwing a tantrum all year and flooding the toilets.
"Shit," Cassie muttered.
"Myrtle," Hope greets when the ghost is close enough, "how have you been doing?"
"Not so well. I've been having a bad time," the ghost replied mournfully.
"Oh, I'm sure you'll get better," Cassie told her. Myrtle sighs dramatically before drifting away. The two then watched as Peeves harassed the trio and then followed Myrtle out of the dungeon yelling 'spotty'.
"Not a bad turn out," they heard Nick say as they approached the trio who Nick was standing with. "The Wailing Widow came all the way up from Kent….it's nearly time for my speech, I'd better go and warn the orchestra…."
However, at that very moment the orchestra stopped playing. They, and everyone else in the dungeon, fell silent, looking around in excitement, as a haunting horn sounded.
"Oh, here we go," Nick spits out bitterly. Through the dungeon wall burst a dozen ghost horses, each ridden by a headless horseman. The assembly clapped wildly. Nick watched on with a sour look on his face.
The horses galloped into the middle of the dance floor and halted. A large ghost at the front, whose bearded head was under his arm, leapt down and raised his head up so he could see over the crowd. He drifts over to Nick, squashing his head back onto his neck.
"Nick," he roars. "How are you? Head still hanging in there?"
He clapped Nick on the shoulder, almost sympathetically. Though it was more mocking than anything else.
"Welcome, Patrick," Nick greets stiffly.
"Live 'uns'," Patrick gasps with a fake jump of astonishment when he spots Harry, Ron, Hermione, Cassie and Hope. When he jumped his head came right off causing the crowd to howl with laughter.
Patrick then proceeded to mock Nick and tease him about not being able to join the headless hunt. Nick was clearly fed up, he walked to the stage for his speech but the horsemen had just started a game of head hockey so no one really listened.
At some point during the speech Hope and Cassie slipped out of the room, heading for somewhere a lot warmer.
"Well that was eventful," Hope snorts as they walk out of the dungeons.
"Yeah," Cassie replies in agreement. "Let's get somewhere warmer before my toes drop off."