Chapter Thirteen

Scare Tactics

As excited as the students were when the night of All Hallows Eve approached, it was nothing compared to the excitement of the ghosts of Hogwarts. Apparitions that Aurelius had never met before had come popping out of the woodwork and ceilings and plumbing and every other place they could think of to try and surprise them. And the Bloody Baron had taken to carrying on in the dorms every single night, until Stock finally gave up and bought everyone who didn't have one yet a pair of earmuffs.

In fact, the only one who didn't seem enthusiastic about the holiday was Sir Nicholas de Mimsy. He barely even showed himself in the Great Hall anymore. Instead, he had gotten into the habit of moping in closets or in the suits of armor placed decorously in rarely used hallways, not even interested in the occasional invitations to play chess or croquet with some of the other sympathizing ghosts around the castle. Even the teachers seemed to be quite concerned about it, often speaking of him after having sighted him somewhere unusual (Heph even mentioned to Aurelius that McGonagall had found him sitting with his body inside her desk with his head stuck in a tea cozy, but Aurelius wasn't sure he believed him.)

But despite the fuss, Aurelius refused to take any blame for the ghost's rather annoying behavior. After all, the book wasn't his idea in the first place, and even if it had been, the fool should have had enough sense to know it wasn't real. His sister, however, had differing views. In fact, she'd been talking so much about it that he wished he had stored more of the voice stifling joke potions when he had the chance.

It was just after lunch, as he and his two friends were sitting in the courtyard studying for a history test, that Alex came out to find them. Stock tugged hard on Aurelius' shoulder the moment she came out.

"What?" Aurelius said in annoyance.

"I'll give you ten galleons if you make me look good in front of your sister," Stock whispered quickly, adjusting his robe. Aurelius rolled his eyes, waving marginally as Alex and Mandria approached. Stock immediately stood, however, bowing low and somehow managing to get a hold of Alex's hand kissing it lightly. The expression on Alex's face indicated quite dramatically that she was not very impressed. "What a pleasure to see you both on this fine Halloween. I trust you're looking forward to tonight's banquet?"

"Actually, I'm afraid not. Something's come up and I can't go. And neither can you, Aurelius," Alex said. "Professor Ravenclaw came to me before lunch. They're planning a surprise Deathday party for Nicolas to try and cheer him up, and we've been invited. It'd be a good gesture for us to show that we don't have any hard feelings about what happened."

"Wait one moment! I don't want to spend my Halloween hanging around with dead people!" Aurelius protested.

"Oh, come on, Rel, it's only for one night, and it's the least we can do," Alex said firmly. "Icarus promised he'd make sure there was food for us, and I got the feeling from what he said that we're not the only live guests going. I'll meet you at the foot of the North Tower after class. Oh, and come alone."

"But I was so hoping that perhaps I could come and escort you," Stock jumped in, taking a step between Alex and Rel, looking her straight in the eyes. "That way you'll have someone civil to dance with, and I can guarantee you I will be a perfect gentleman."

"Ask me again when it's your Deathday Party, then I'll let you know," Alex said. Mandria snickered as they turned, talking constantly the entire way inside.

"Wow, that went well didn't it?" Stock said as he turned and looked at them triumphantly. Aurelius and Heph stared at him with dubious expressions. "Well, she didn't say no, did she?"

Aurelius felt a droplet of water hit his nose, and looking down he saw drops beginning to spot the parchment he had been studying.

"Bah, rain! I suppose we'd better head in," he said, quickly folding his notes into his book.

"Please, it's not like it's a downpour," Heph snorted. "What, are you afraid that cats and dogs will start falling from the sky?"

Just then he yelped in surprise and dismay as something rather large and slimy landed on his head. It was then that he made the mistake of looking up, and a long brownish-green leg smacked into his nose as it dropped out of the blue.

A blood-curdling scream erupted from the center of the courtyard. In a panic, Rose dove for cover as frogs and toads of every size and shape pelted students around her, the amphibians croaking loudly as they hit the ground. A chorus of other screams followed as a slew of other young witches ran for the doors. Other students got up to shield their heads with books while trying to step over or around the piles of jumping frogs forming on the ground.

"Great! Ribbit Rain! I wonder whose swell idea that was?" Stock scowled. But Aurelius had spied two laughing figures under a doorway that no one else had. He growled in his throat.

"Donovan and Gaffney. We should have known," Aurelius said, heading over.

"Hang on, let's let the professors take care of it! They'll be in for a point loss for sure," Heph pointed out.

"Don't you two have something better to do than scaring and annoying people?" Aurelius asked them in a voice loud enough to be heard above the frogs.

"It's Halloween, what better time to give someone a fright?" Conner said. "Better rush inside before you break out in warts. Oh wait… you're already a wart. Never mind." Stewart smirked slightly.

"The idea that frogs give you warts is nothing more than a Muggle misconception, as any first year would know. Perhaps if you spent some time studying instead of practicing sheer brutality you would know that," Aurelius said acidly. "But then considering both of your minds together probably need an instruction manual and an interpreter to read a primer, I suppose giving the school a bad name is the best you Gryffindors can do."

"Why you…"

"Hang on, Stew, the little swot is just trying to instigate us. Horus seems to have himself a little apprentice, doesn't he?" Conner said mockingly. "And he doesn't have any proof that we've done anything wrong."

"Just leave my friends alone, and that includes my sister's friends as well," Aurelius said calmly.

"Or what? You'll go squealing to your parents?" Stewart challenged.

"Threaten us with that fake axe spell, more like," Conner said. "Bad enough he scared Nick with it. Thinking of trying to chop off our heads?" He taunted.

"Actually, I was thinking of a different appendage you probably never use," Aurelius said coolly. The two of them stared at younger boy in surprise.

"Conner's right. You are a wart," Stewart said. "Come on, time for class."

"Why don't you go play with your little friends, Wart. Something safe, so that your Mum doesn't have to pull you out from it if you get hurt," Conner teased, heading in the side.

"Don't bother, he's not worth it," Heph said, stopping Rel's arm from moving.

"What on earth are all of these toads doing here?" McGonagall exclaimed from where she stood at the top of the main stair.

"Do we tell her?" Stock murmured.

"We don't have proof, they'll just deny it if we accuse them," Aurelius sighed. "Why are professors never around when you want them?"

"Too busy catching students who don't want them around somewhere else, I imagine," Heph muttered. "So those two are going to get away with it again?"

"No," Aurelius said. "I'm tired of putting up with their games. It's time someone gave Conner a lesson in humility, or at least teach him not to tease people about their fears."

"And how are we going to do that?" Stock asked with interested.

"By scaring him senseless, of course," Aurelius said in a low voice, huddling with his friends as they discussed a possible plan.


The closer it got to time for the Halloween feast, the more Aurelius regretted agreeing to go to the Deathday party as fellow students began to talk of the victuals that lie ahead. He was quite certain no matter what that his friends were in for the better time, and he very nearly changed his mind and stayed in the Great Hall when he saw the floating pumpkins and the great centerpieces of Honeydukes candy as he peeked around the corner of the Great Hall.

"There you are!" Alex said with exasperation when she saw him, grabbing his arm. "Come on, the party starts in less than an hour."

"And the feast in ten minutes," Aurelius complained. "Surely we can stay for a few…"

"But it's our fault that Nick has been moping about the castle…" Alex argued.

"No, it's your fault. I just went along. I've read about these Deathday parties and they're not so much fun," Aurelius warned her.

"A promise is a promise, come on," she sighed, and reluctantly he followed.

"I don't see why I should have to keep your promise," he grumbled. "Where are we going again?"

"Up to Professor Ravenclaw's classroom," Alex said. "We're supposed to be there early to help surprise them. In fact, I passed Mr. Pyther in the hall just after sundown so I know they're waiting on us."

"Mr. Pyther? What is he doing here?"

"Coming to see Nick, of course. He's the Guardian of the Dead in this region, you know," Alex said casually.

"Guardian of the Dead? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard of," Aurelius sighed. "Why would the dead need guarding? And why would anyone pick the biggest coward in Europe to do it?"

"Please, Rel, do try to be civil tonight. There aren't that many students that are privileged to go to this. Oh, and if anyone asks, we weren't doing anything fun. Can't have people claiming favoritism or anything, can we? We're merely doing our duty helping out a school patron," Alex recited.

"For some reason, I don't think I'll have any trouble convincing anyone I had no fun," Aurelius said dourly as they headed up the tower stairs. Much to his surprise, Rose and Mandria were not the only breathing guests at the party. In fact, the moment he stepped in there was an enthusiastic squeal and he found himself being hugged tightly by a lovely red-haired woman.

"Look at you, will you now! Where did the babes go, my goodness, look at him!" Carol Lupin declared proudly, helping Aurelius as he tried to straighten his crumpled robes. "And you were such a perfect angel when you were small! Not a bit of trouble ever from this one," she added, smiling over to her husband who was standing near Ravenclaw's desk.

"Times change, or so I hear," Remus chuckled. Aurelius' eyes darted immediately to the window, and Remus smiled thinly at the gesture. "We wouldn't have accepted Dumbledore's invitation to be here unless I was feeling well, Aurelius." Aurelius' cheeks grew slightly pink.

"And you, Alexandria, such a lady you've become! And so much of her mother in her, except for the eyes! They were just that dark even as a babe, too, I remember. And such a chatterer you were!" Carol went on, hugging the girl who hugged her politely back.

"Well, some things don't change," Aurelius said ruefully. Alex stuck her tongue out at him.

"The other two are still as precocious. I teach them art on Tuesday nights," Pyther said, sketching on a pad of paper from where he stood on the other side of the room.

"I keep waiting to see who the first Snape Gryffindor is going to be," Remus chuckled.

"Well you can keep on waiting, because I'm sure there won't be any," Aurelius scowled.

"And just what's wrong with being a Gryffindor?" Rose asked.

"Funny, I was wondering the exact same thing," said someone at the door. Everyone looked up at once.

"Harry!"

"Hello all," Harry Potter smiled at them. "Happy Halloween."

"Where's Ginny?" Remus asked.

"Well, Ginny is getting settled with the kids, I imagine, but Hermione and the editor are on the way. She felt it important that we all be here. See, we've been to one of these before," Harry explained. "Is there going to be real food as well?"

"Dumbledore promised to see to that," Remus said, nodding to the banquet table closest to them, filled with empty covered containers. "But I notice that you didn't get your question answered."

"Snapes aren't Gryffindors," Alex said simply. "No offense intended." Rose simply nodded at that. Remus looked outwardly amused for some reason while Harry was pretending not to be.

"None taken then," Harry said. "Come on, let's see what's on the menu."

Ghosts began to fill the room as they poked about the quickly filling tables, and it wasn't long before Ron and Hermione came in as well, greeting Harry and Remus warmly. Aurelius eyed his Charms professor thoughtfully. She looked so different outside of her Hogwarts robes, and it was an obvious statement that she fully intended to be only herself tonight.

"Is this everyone then?" Hermione asked, glancing at her watch.

"Dumbledore will be along as soon as he can break away. He said to start without him," Remus said.

"Should I tell Noah and Myrtle to bring up the guest now?" Pyther suggested, putting down his paper.

"Send away! We're quite ready," Icarus agreed cheerfully, uncovering the ghost's banquet table on the far side of the room causing the other ghosts to murmur appreciatively. "This is our night, after all!"

"Whoever thought we'd be spending Halloween with ghosts, vampires and werewolves? This is definitely one I'll never forget!" Alex said excitedly to Mandria and Rose.

"Werewolf?" Mandria asked nervously.

"Alex, shut up and eat," Aurelius advised. "No wait, I think they're coming."

"Professor, I was told you wished to speak…" Nick started as his head and arms appeared from the center of the floor. The guests stepped back as his head turned from side to side like an owl's, gaping at all the people standing there until Noah and Myrtle pulled him up fully into the room. "My goodness!"

"Happy Deathday Nick!" they all shouted cheerfully, and broke into talking all at once as Nick seemed to tear up.

"You're not angry with me then?" Nick asked.

"Who could ever stay angry at you?" Harry grinned.

"We were never angry at you, Nick," Alex protested, nudging Aurelius.

"Sure, you did frighten us out of our lives and all that and thought I was capable of murder. Honest mistake, could happen to anyone," Aurelius said expressionlessly. Alex gave him a dirty look.

"Actually it's sort of funny now, really," Mandria jumped in. "You should have seen the look on Rel's face!" Everyone laughed at that and Janus put a plate in his hand, ignoring the rotten peas that Peeves began shooting at everyone. Remus looked up at Peeves thoughtfully, and then glanced over at Hermione.

"You think I should…?"

"Nah, let him have his fun," Hermione said with a grin. "After all, Halloween is only once a year." Pyther tapped a painting of three fiddlers who began to play, and everyone began to mingle.

"Are you all right, Rel?" Alex said after a moment as he hovered near the wall.

"I just have something on my mind is all," Aurelius said, and then spotted Janus who was sitting in a corner by himself. "Go on, have fun, don't worry about me," he insisted. As Alex shrugged and joined her friends, Aurelius slipped over to sit next to Janus.

"Not into parties, are we?" Janus said.

"Not this sort," Aurelius said. Janus nodded with a smile.

"Well the point sometimes is to be there for support, not necessarily to have fun. Rather like weddings and funerals," he added mischievously. "All the same in a lot of ways."

"I know exactly what you mean," Aurelius nodded.

"Of course you do! You're a Slytherin," Janus grinned. "You remind me of me when I was an apprentice, although for the record, in those days learning magic was a lot rougher. A wizard or witch didn't have more than two or three students before the school started, and your life was wrapped around their finger for the entire duration until they either released you or you found a way to prove that you no longer required their assistance."

"Prove it? In what way?" Aurelius asked curiously.

"Well, dueling for one thing," Janus said, chuckling to himself. "Lost a lot of fellow apprentices that way. No one dueled Salazar Slytherin and won. No one in his or her right mind challenged him without consequence, for that matter," he said thoughtfully.

"Does that include Godric Gryffindor?" Aurelius asked.

"And how are you doing with your schooling? Has the Baron been keeping you up?" Janus said, calmly averting the question as if it hadn't been spoken.

"No, although I'm thinking about having a chat with him, or maybe you can for me," Aurelius asked.

"Oh?"

"What's the best way to scare the living daylights out of someone who needs a serious attitude adjustment?" Aurelius asked. Janus glanced around a moment before leaning over to him.

"Does this have anything to do with that incident in the courtyard today with the frogs?" Janus asked in a low voice.

"Oh you heard about that, did you?"

"I don't miss much, although sometimes I lose things in translation," Janus admitted. "Oh, I totally agree with you. If anyone needs an attitude adjustment it's Donovan, and the best way to do that, I think, is to exploit his weakness to never turn down a challenge," he murmured.

"Like what?" Aurelius asked. Janus leaned over even closer.

"By challenging him to spend the night in the Dark Forest, of course," Janus said.

"What? We're forbidden to go in there. He won't go along with that," Aurelius snorted.

"Of course he would, he's a Gryffindor, isn't he? A night out there in the real world might do him some good," Janus said, relaxing a bit and casually waving to passing ghosts.

"Well," Aurelius said after a moment, musing over the possibilities, "Teachers do go in there all the time, so perhaps it's not that dangerous… but even if he does come out unscathed, Gryffindor will probably lose a ton of points for him going in there."

"Now you're talking like a Slytherin," Janus said with amusement. "Tonight would be the perfect night too, you know. Halloween and all that."

"But it's raining…"

"It was raining frogs earlier, I hear," Janus mused. Making up his mind at last, Aurelius nodded to Janus and slipped back over to Alex and her friends, planning when to make his escape.

Smiling enigmatically, Janus hovered over to where Icarus was standing near the ghost's buffet table, eyeing his friend suspiciously.

"You have that look again," Icarus commented quietly.

"What look?" Janus grunted, picking at one of the boiled rotten eggs.

"The look you always get when you've just done something you shouldn't have and you're proud of it," Icarus accused knowingly.

"Just a little Halloween fun, nothing to be concerned about," Janus said, his grin widening. Icarus squinted at him, but decided not to reply.


It was as Severus was walking to the Great Hall that he heard a rather disturbing noise that was growing louder with every step. Cautiously he stalked around the corner only to witness Argus Filch at the top of a ladder, hanging up a candle sconce and crooning out of key. He stood there thoughtfully for a moment eyeing the overly joyous caretaker suspiciously, standing there so quietly that Argus stopped short in surprise when he finally noticed him, dropping his screwdriver. Severus quickly sidestepped it as it fell to the ground, receiving a flustered apology from the keeper.

"Was just hangin' up these lights before the festivities. Gets dark in these back corridors at night. Can't have too much light, can we?" Filch said before breaking into a grotesquely chipper smile.

"Yes," Severus said vaguely, nodding to him before continuing on his way. Argus continued his work, gazing with a smile at the screwdriver in his hand before turning his attention back to the sconce.

The Great Hall was already bustling by the time Severus got to his seat, the jack-o-lantern pumpkins floating above reminding everyone the date while centerpieces of candy apple pyramids sat on all the tables. Jennifer was already there, smiling warmly at him as he approached.

"There you are. I was beginning to think you had chosen to stay in your office and mark tests all night," Jennifer teased.

"I should have, it may have saved my ears," Severus said, setting down. "Have you noticed anything curious with Filch lately? I just caught him in the hall languishing like a drunken owl."

"He's referring to Argus' singing," Pomona laughed. "It's true in all my years I can't remember seeing him quite this chipper. Think he's in love?"

"Now there's a frightening notion," Severus snorted.

"Yes, I remember when many said the same about you," Pomona said, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Jennifer, maybe you should talk to him and find out what this is all about?"

"All right, I will, since you now have me curious too," Jennifer admitted. "I've always been able to read him like an open book."

"Yes, one with blank pages, I'd assume."

"Oh really, Severus," Jennifer chuckled at him. "Don't you ever have a kind word for anyone?"

"Well, I have some for you, but it should probably wait until after dinner," Severus decided, causing Jennifer to fluster a bit.

"Honestly, you two. Fighting one moment, acting like newlyweds the next!" Pomona chuckled.

"Oh, we hardly ever fight, really!" Jennifer protested.

"Not outside of the classroom, perhaps," Minerva said as she and Dumbledore walked past Jennifer's chair. "Good evening, everyone."

"A very good evening," Dumbledore smiled warmly. "Strange weather we've been having lately," he added mischievously.

"Yes, rain a la Donovan, I believe," Severus added.

"Now, Severus, we don't know that for sure," Minerva said. "And I'm sorry, but I just can't go and demand a student have their wand checked for their last spells cast just because you have a suspicion."

"It's a very strong suspicion," Severus muttered.

"No real harm was done, and I promised you that I would see to the matter," Dumbledore assured him. "Which reminds me, perhaps we should begin soon. I promised Icarus that Minerva and I would stop by the Deathday Party before they finished."

"It's a pity that Aurelius will be missing his first Halloween dinner," Jennifer sighed.

"Perhaps he won't miss it as much as you think," Dumbledore said as he stood up to address the students. "Please remember to go straight to your rooms after victuals for your House activities. That's all, happy Halloween. Oh yes, one other thing. You are what you eat," he added. With the last line, the plates began to fill up, each with its own unique food, but all garnished with candy.

Dumbledore sat down to a lopsided chocolate soufflé, while Minerva found herself looking bemusedly into a bowl of chestnut soup. Severus squinted at his lemon meringue pie, and Jennifer couldn't help but chuckle at her meal of warm pita bread and porridge with a side of popcorn. Danny got a Muggle candy bar and a Snitch in the Mud, and Pomona got a plate of candied rose petals coated with sugar. But such a roar of laughter came from the Gryffindor table that Jennifer hadn't a chance to figure out what the rest of the staff was eating. Stewart and Conner were looking very forlornly at their plates, which were piled above their heads with fried frog legs.

"I've always thought passive discipline is the best teacher," Dumbledore commented cheerfully as he sunk his fork into his soufflé. "Did anyone happen to merit some raspberries?"

But before Professor Scribe had had a chance to offer him some of hers, the loud boom of the doors bursting open causing the staff to leap to their feet as a tall, strange man with chiseled features appeared just beyond it with a distant, haunted look on his face, murmuring in a foreign tongue. Jennifer reacted first after having immediately recognized him, leaping up and stepping over the table to get to his side while the students began talking in surprise.

It was the Fomorian Magus.