Disclaimer: If these ideas were all mine, I would be paying someone else to make the kids Halloween costumes.
All Hallow's Eve
"Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger!" Professor McGonagall swept up to the pair of Sixth Year Prefects just outside the entrance to the Great Hall. "Kindly deliver these to the appropriate members of your house upon reaching the Gryffindor table. I trust that you and your classmates will know to keep the contents of these letters to themselves during the feast?"
"Of course, Professor," answered Hermione as Ron took the small stack of letters from their Head of House.
"Thank you. Enjoy yourselves," replied Professor McGonagall as she turned to enter the Great Hall.
"Leave it to McGonagall to make us deliver detention notices on Halloween. Can't we have even one night off from Prefect duties?" grumbled Ron. "You want to have the honors?" he asked Hermione, handing the letters to her. "So, who's going to be spending the rest of the evening helping Filch polish every suit of armor in the ruddy castle?"
Hermione began to shuffle through the letters to determine the recipients of the notices. "Honestly, Ron. I know you don't like passing out detention notices, but it's hardly fair to make me be the one to deliver the bad news every time," Hermione sighed, crossing the hall towards the Gryffindor table where Harry already sat with Ginny. "That's odd," she said, stopping to check the names on the letters more carefully.
"I'll say," said Ron, who kept walking, not realizing Hermione had stopped. "I'm surprised Harry came at all. After refusing to go to Hogsmeade with us last weekend, I was pretty sure he was going to try to skive off the feast tonight as well. Lately it seems as though it'd take a hippogriff to drag him anywhere but classes and Quidditch practices. He only stayed in the Common Room for a bit during the celebration for our first victory of the year. Hey, where'd you go?" Ron stopped and turned, realizing there was no longer a head of bushy hair at his side.
"No, Ron, not Harry, the letters," Hermione said as she walked quickly to catch up with him. Dropping her voice, she whispered, "These letters are for us."
"But I didn't get detention this week!" Ron said, reaching for the letters himself. "There must be some mistake. I've done all my homework and I've only fallen asleep once in History of Magic," Ron mumbled as he rifled through the stack. "Wait, there's one for each of us. You, me, Harry, Neville, and Ginny. Hermione, these can't be detention notices. Why would Ginny serve detention with 6th years?"
"Exactly, Ron. And why would Professor Flitwick be talking to Luna Lovegood during the Halloween Feast? It's not likely he's just wishing her a Happy Halloween," Hermione said under her breath, nodding her head toward the Ravenclaw table. Ron followed her gaze to see the tiny professor hand Luna a note that looked very similar to the ones he held in his hand. "There's one for each of us. Each of us that followed Harry to the Department of Mysteries."
The two of them quickly resumed crossing the Great Hall to join their classmates for the feast. Ron took his usual place next to Harry, while Hermione sat across from them, next to Ginny, just as the tables were magically filled with any number of treats. As luck would have it, Neville happened to be on Harry's other side, so Hermione and Ron were able to give the three of them a look that told they had important news.
The Hall was filled once again with floating jack-o-lanterns amidst the candelabras and the ceiling was appropriately dark and gloomy, with an eerie trace of moonlight filtering through the stands of dark clouds. The students indulged themselves in any number of sugary and otherwise unhealthy treats while Hermione prattled on about the benefits of the Floridae Charm she had just discovered in the later chapters of their Charms textbook. Ginny congratulated Sir Nicholas on another Death Day as he floated by. Neville chuckled quietly to himself as he listened to Seamus flirt with Lavender and Parvati.
Harry ate quietly, without speaking to anyone. Ron and Hermione were so glad to see him taking his meals in the Great Hall with everyone there that they didn't dare chance him leaving by saying anything. Lately, Harry had taken to trying to either arrive early or late, so as to avoid the questioning stares and whispers. Often, he stayed late in the library or on the Quidditch pitch under the pretense of doing his homework or practicing, sometimes missing meals altogether. Hermione had nagged Harry about the importance of regular meals until Ron told her that Harry often used the Marauder's Map and his Invisibility Cloak to sneak down to the kitchens for a snack.
No one asked about Ron and Hermione's news, however, until the feast was well underway. Ron was already on his second helping of trifle when Ginny put down her goblet and leaned in. "All right you two. What do you have for us? I know you've got something to tell." Pulling himself away from Seamus and Dean, Neville leaned in as well.
Hermione scanned the table with her eyes to be certain no one was paying any particular attention to them. Lavender and Parvati had gone back up to the Gryffindor Common Room, and Seamus and Dean were now working to gain the attentions of one of Ginny's 5th year classmates, so it seemed the coast was clear. Hermione rolled her eyes and turned back to her friends. "Professor McGonagall asked us to give you these letters during the feast. There's one for each of us."
"What for?" asked Harry, as Ron began passing out the letters.
"Dunno," Ron replied quietly. "I thought we were going to be stuck dealing out detentions again 'til Hermione noticed they were for us. Funny thing though, Luna's got one, too."
"Luna?" Neville asked. "Why would McGonagall have you deliver a detention notice for Luna?"
"Because they're not detention notices," answered Harry. "They've sent one to each of us, you say?" Hermione nodded. "Well, it's obvious then."
"It's about that night, isn't it?" suggested Ginny. "The night we all tried to save Sirius."
Ron glanced at Harry quickly when Ginny mentioned Sirius. Harry blanched and sat back from the table, but he didn't rise, much to Ron's relief. Since that fateful night, Harry had taken to leaving the room whenever Sirius's name was mentioned. Hermione and Ron had both tried to convince Harry that his godfather's death was not his fault, but to no avail. Strange things always happen on Halloween, Ron thought to himself. Harry's eating in a full Great Hall and now Ginny's just managed to mention Sirius without Harry running out of the room.
"Do you reckon they all say the same thing?" Neville asked, noticing the tension that had settled upon the mention of Sirius Black.
Ron answered, "Let's see, why don't we?"
Together they broke the seals on the parchment and unfolded the letter. Inside they read.
Your presence is requested this evening, 31st of October,
in the Sanctuary of Hogwarts Chapel, at a quarter past nine o'clock.
Please retire to your Common Room following the feast.
Your Head of House will be there to collect you at the aforementioned time.
Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
"Hogwarts Chapel? Where is the chapel?" asked Ron turning to Hermione when he finished reading his letter.
"I don't know," she replied. "It isn't mentioned at all Hogwarts, a History."
"I know," Ron replied. "I mean I haven't read it or anything, who needs to when I can just ask you, but you've told us so much about that ruddy book I may as well have read it myself."
"Well, I never—" Hermione huffed.
"Please, do you have to bicker about everything?" said Harry, throwing his letter on the table. The others stopped and looked at him as he folded his arms across his chest and glared up at the Headmaster sitting at the Teacher's table.
"Uhm, sorry, but what's this red bird doing at the bottom of my letter?" Neville asked, pointing to the small crimson bird on the bottom of the piece of parchment.
"It's a phoenix, Neville," said Hermione in a hushed voice. "Never mind that now, we'll tell you all about it once we get up to the Common Room."
The group tried to finish their dinner without appearing too anxious to leave. Luckily, no one would find them suspect for leaving together as they were all of the same year, excepting Ginny, but she was seen often with them since joining the Quidditch team. Trying to look nonchalant, they rose from the table to leave. Harry noticed Professor Dumbledore watching them as they made their way toward the Entrance Hall. He returned the Headmaster's glance with an icy stare of his own.
A/N This story is meant to be a Halloween fic, in an HP sort of way. We all know how important Halloween is at Hogwarts. I'm going to try to get all four parts up by Halloween. Please let me know what you think.