Chapter 13 - The Halloween Feast
The next day everyone was a buzz with excitement for the Halloween Feast that evening. In Barney's Charms class Professor Flitwick taught them a charm to bewitch a carved pumpkin to make it try to bite you (though with teeth made of pumpkin flesh it would do no harm to the person on the receiving end except give them a fright). In History of Magic Professor Binns taught them about the origin of Halloween - a Celtic festival to ward off ghosts, which left most of the class wishing someone would ward off Professor Binns so they could get a more entertaining teacher. In the afternoon Barney had double Transfiguration with Professor Featherstone , who taught them how to turn objects temporarily into fire before turning back again, something he said they could use to scare their friends with later. His Astronomy class at midnight had been cancelled, which Barney was glad about. He liked Professor Sinistra and she had been kind to him ever since that day she came to his house but he found Astronomy very boring. There was no magic to it and lessons were spent studying the names, positions and movements of the stars and planets.
After lessons he briefly returned to the Slytherin common room and headed to his dorm. When he entered Maximille and Everard were talking but stopped the moment they saw him enter and started to busy themselves with other things. Barney dropped off his school books by his bed and left again as the pair watched him leave. He knew they were definitely up to no good so he stepped backed to the closed dormitory door and listened at it. But all he heard was Maximille cast a silencing charm on the door so he could hear no more.
Barney went back to the common room and found an empty chair off to the corner of the room which he could sit in alone away from everyone else. He thought about what Maximille and Everard could possible be up to as well as Tabitha's plan for him to search the girls dormitory during the feast. He wondered how he would be able to slip away without being noticed as Professor Strange arrived to escort them all to the Great Hall.
The Slytherins were stunned as they entered the hall. Pumpkin lanterns hung in the air lighting the great room as bats swooped over head and off to the side were bewitched skeletons who were entertaining the students. A pair were doing a merry jig in one corner whilst another was juggling and a final one was going around the tables doing card tricks with the students. Barney took his usual seat at the end of the Slytherin table and waited to see who got the short straw of having to sit next to him - it was Uma Crowe, another first year though she didn't attempt to start a conversation with him.
As the last of the students and teachers arrived Professor McGonagall walked up to address the room.
"Good evening students and happy Halloween."
The students got a fright as a flash of lightning crossed the bewitched ceiling above of the Great Hall followed by a loud rumble of thunder. McGonagall chuckled to herself at her little trick.
"Now let the Halloween Feast commence."
And by magic the tables suddenly became filled with the most delicious looking foods imaginable. There was pumpkin pie, chicken wings, caramel corn, hot dogs, chips, candy apples, treacle tarts, cauldron cakes, chocolate soda, pumpkin juice and so much more. Barney was glad that no one this time tried to stop him eating and he was able to fill his plate with a big mound of food and he started digging in. He had never tasted food so good and he was drooling with every mouthful. The pumpkin pie was so sweet and delicious and the chocolate soda tasted like heaven in his mouth.
As the feast continued students started to play games at their tables, with their favourite being Pumpkin Trick of Treat. A pumpkin would be passed around the table that had been enchanted so randomly when a student put their hand inside it they would either get a treat in the form of some candy or they'd get a trick and put their hand into some gooey, slimy, smelly mess.
Barney thought now might be a good time to slip out while everyone was distracted but Silvanna got up from her seat and approached the Slytherin prefect Eliza Bailey before asking is she could be excused to use the bathroom. A few minutes after she left Maximille also got up and asked another Slytherin Prefect, Eben Cinders, if he too could be excused to go to the bathroom. Barney watched as he left and wondered what they were up to. He saw Professor Strange get up from the teachers' table and leave through a side door and wondered if he too had noticed the pair leave and went to follow them.
The room was quite the hub of excitement so Barney got up and went over to the Hufflepuff table to find Thomas and Tabitha.
"Both Silvanna and Maximille have disappeared supposedly off to the toilets," he said as he crouched down behind his friends.
"It's probably the chocolate soda, it goes right through you, " Thomas quipped.
"I'm being serious. I think they're up to something."
"We should go follow them," Tabitha suggested as her face lit up but Thomas didn't look so enthusiastic.
"I don't think that's a good idea. I'm sure there's a perfectly harmless explanation."
"Well you can stay here. Come on Barney lets go."
Tabitha got up and grabbed Barney's arm and pulled him with her as she headed to the door. Everyone was too busy enjoying themselves to notice them slipping out.
"Where now?" Tabitha asked as she looked up and down the empty corridor.
"Maybe they've gone back to the Slytherin common room."
Barney led the way towards the dungeon but they were forced to stop and hide behind a statue when they heard footsteps. They couldn't see from where they were hiding but it definitely sounded like a woman's heeled shoes walking up the stairs. Once they could no longer hear the footsteps they cautiously peered around the statue and saw no one was about and they continued towards the dungeons.
They carefully walked down the stone steps trying to make as little sounds as possible before the slowly crept along the corridor. Barney thought he heard a sound and he motioned to Tabitha who was behind him to stop as they both intently listened.
"There you are," a voice called out from behind them making Barney and Tabitha both jump out of their skin.
"Bloody hell Thomas, you made us jump," Barney replied in a hushed tone as he turned around to face his friend and tried to catch his breath as his heart pounded.
"Sorry I didn't mean to. I decided to come help you."
"Well help by being quieter," Silvanna whispered. "We think they're in the Slytherin common room."
"Oh no I don't think they are," Thomas replied in his normal volume of voice. "I think I just saw them out the window heading towards the Forbidden Forest."
"Are you sure it was them?" Barney asked.
"Well I couldn't see their faces from that far away but it was definitely two students in school robes."
"Come on lets go," Tabitha insisted as she turned and headed back along the corridor before either of the others had chance to protest.
"Maybe we should just go back to the feast," Thomas called out behind her.
Barney and Thomas looked at each other with a mix of expressions of frustration and helplessness but they followed her anyway.
They caught up with Tabitha and the three of them made their way to the main entrance hall of the castle and then out in to the cold October night air. The night sky was clear and a near full moon shone overhead, giving them some light to see where they were going but both Thomas and Barney still cast the Lumos spell to light up their wands. It was cold out and Thomas wished he had time to go and get himself a coat as they headed towards the Forbidden Forest.
"I'm not sure about this," Thomas said as he shivered and tried to rub his arms to keep himself warm.
Before neither of the others had chance to respond as there was an almighty boom that came from the grounds. Barney and Tabitha, after briefly looking at each other in surprise, instinctively rushed forward and ran towards the source of the noise. Thomas thought better of it and didn't think running towards a large explosion noise was a good idea. But not wanting to be left alone in the grounds of the castle at night he reluctantly followed the others.
As they rounded the corner they were met with the sight of flames rising up fiercely from one of the greenhouses. The entirety of greenhouse three was ablaze as the fire widely lit up the night sky. The three of them stood in shock as they watched the flames grow before Tabitha regained her composure.
"Come on!" she shouted as she started to run towards the greenhouses.
"What? Are you mad?" Thomas asked, still frozen to the spot where he stood.
"She's right we should go. Someone might be hurt."
Thomas stood there stunned as he watched his friends race towards the inferno, which showed no signs of stopping.
As Tabitha and Barney reached the greenhouses they knew there was nothing they could do. The heat coming off the fire was intense and smoke was getting in their eyes, making it hard to get close enough to see if any one was inside. There was a crash as a pane of glass shattered in greenhouse two but luckily the fire was still contained within greenhouse three and had yet to spread. Barney looked over and saw two figures emerging from the trees nearby. He was expecting it to be Silvanna and Maximille but it was in fact two boys from the sixth year, both looked visibly shaken.
"Aqua Inundatio!" a voice boomed from behind them and suddenly clouds formed in the previously clear skies, but only above the greenhouses and a torrent of rain plunged down soaking Barney and Tabitha and covering the flames.
They looked around to see Professor McGonagall with her wand raised. Behind her stood Professor Sprout who was weeping hysterically and was being consoled by both Professors Sinistra and Featherstone as Thomas stood beside them, having followed them down from the castle. In the distance in front of the castle they could see other students gathering to see what had happened, whilst the other teachers kept them back from going down to the greenhouses. Professor McGonagall looked from Barney and Tabitha to the two other boys as the flames started to die down under the torrent of rain.
"My office. Now!" she demanded, her face stern and seething.
Barney, Tabitha and Thomas stood in front of McGonagall's desk in her office with the two sixth year boys - Mo Becker from Gryffindor and Elliot Bernard from Ravenclaw. Also present as well as Professor McGonagall were the four heads of houses - Hagrid, Professor Flitwick, Professor Strange and Professor Sprout who was still visible upset and had been seated in an arm chair and provided with a cup of tea with extra sugar to help calm her nerves. Hagrid was forced to crouch down as not to hit his head on the beams or chandelier and Barney and Tabitha were grateful that Professor Flitwick had used a drying charm on them to dry them off after being soaked by the rain.
"Firstly are you all OK?" Professor McGonagall asked the five students, her mood now less tempered than it had been in the grounds.
Everyone nodded but no one spoke.
"Good. Now what were you all doing out in the grounds at this time of night?"
Again everyone remained silent as McGonagall looked from each student in turn waiting for an answer.
"Well?"
"So you see Miss..." Tabitha started, "We were... looking for Silvanna and Maximille, they'd left the hall during the feast. They said they needed to go to the bathroom."
"And then we spotted two students out the window," Barney interjected. "And we thought it was them so we went to see."
"Why were you looking for them?" McGonagall asked.
Barney didn't want to tell Professor McGonagall the truth. They still had no proof of what they'd been up to. And if it turned out to be nothing, Silvanna would make his life a living hell, even more so than usual for complaining to the headmistress about her. He really hoped neither Thomas or Tabitha would say anything either but Tabitha started to talk.
"We thought they might be planning some sort of Halloween trick."
Barney was relived when he heard her lie.
"A Halloween trick?" Professor Flitwick repeated.
"Yes and we wanted to see what it was," Tabitha continued as she wondered if anyone was buying her lies.
"Very well, I will speak to them both tomorrow," McGonagall said. "And you two boys. Why were you in the school grounds at night?"
"Well... erm... you see... we were looking for somewhere private we could go," Elliot Bernard bashfully said, his face bright red.
"Oh I see," McGonagall replied, but Professor Flitwick looked a bit puzzled.
"I'm sorry I don't see," he said as he looked at his Ravenclaw student.
"Professor Flitwick you must remember what it was like to be that age," McGonagall commented but Flitwick's face still looked blank. "Full of hormones."
"Oh right... yes... well I see now," Flitwick replied, just as embarrassed as the boys were.
"And it's not like we can go to each others common rooms or dormitories," Mo Becker added as Hagrid tried not to snigger at their awkward situation.
"We can discuss lack of privacy in the school later," McGonagall commented. "Now does anyone have any useful information on how the fire started? Professor Sprout was growing some Crepitus Flammabilus or Firelock as it's more commonly known in greenhouse three and though it is known to be extremely flammable it is not known to self combust. And I completely trust Professor Sprout when she says she was growing it under the most careful and safest conditions. So how did it catch alight?"
"We saw who did it," Elliot answered immediately as Mo nodded in agreement.
"You did?"
"Yes we saw it beside the greenhouse right after it exploded."
"Well who was it?"
"Not who," Mo answered. "But what."
"A what?" McGonagall asked a little lost.
"It was a ghost," said Elliot, his voice a little shaky like he was scared. "It was right next to the greenhouse."
"It was wearing a hooded cloak and it was glowing and then it just disappeared," Mo added, his voice too sounded afraid.
McGonagall consider for a second what they had said. "Do you see anything?" she asked as she turned back to Barney, Tabitha and Thomas.
"No we heard the explosion and then when we got round the side of the castle the greenhouse were already alight. We didn't see anyone by them," Barney answered as McGonagall looked at the other two who both nodded in agreement.
"Very well then you're all dismissed. Please go straight back to your dormitories and do not mention to anyone about this 'ghost' until we've had time as a faculty to discuss the best course of action."
The five students made their way out of McGonagall's office in silence, all relieved that they weren't getting in trouble for being outside the castle when they shouldn't have been. Barney, Tabitha and Thomas headed down the stairs of the tower still in shock at the night's events and the revelation in the headmistresses office. Elliot and Mo had gone off ahead and were no longer in earshot.
"Do you really believe it was a ghost?" Thomas asked a little frightened.
"Maybe it was Peeves," Tabitha suggested.
"Peeves wouldn't do something as bad as this," Barney noted. "What ever it was, I get the feeling it won't be the last we hear of it."
Back in McGonagall's office the teachers continued to discuss the nights events.
"Do you believe the boys with what they said they saw?" McGonagall asked.
"I can't speak for Mo, but Elliot is a fine student," Professor Flitwick replied. "I don't believe he would lie."
"We could always use Veritaserum on them," Strange suggested nonchalantly.
"Professor Strange the use of that on students is strictly forbidden," McGonagall exclaimed, astonished at his suggestion. "And what of the two Slytherin first years who were absent from the feast. Do you believe they both had to use the bathroom at the same time?"
"It was probably the chocolate soda," Flitwick added. "It goes right through you."