It was the Monday before Halloween - the favorite time of year for evil, as they could be seen in public, pretending to be in costumes so no-one would be shocked by their unearthly appearances. It wasn't a good time for the forces of good, as evil could be right under their noses without them knowing, pretending to just be adult trick-or-treaters.
It also seemed like evil went on a killing spree each year on Halloween, attempting to murder as many innocents as they could before the good witches showed up to stop them. As the number of good witches was growing with the population, there was an increasing number of good witches to stop evil succeeding in their plans. Fewer innocents, be they magical or non-magical, were being killed each year because of the increasing witch population. The evil population wasn't increasing as rapidly.
Some good witches were happy for their children to dress up for Halloween - evil beings were only in adult form so it was fairly easy to tell which unearthly looking creatures were really costumed children. The Potters, being witches and having to constantly fight real evil, didn't like their adopted sons dressing up for Halloween.
Both Chris and Ezra were rescued from demonic attacks before coming to live with the Potters. Vin and JD just missed being attacked by the warlocks who killed their mother and the other witches fighting against them. Had it not been for Ezra and Nathan orbing in to rescue the two children first, the warlocks would have surely killed them as well. All the boys, except for Chris, wanted to join the Halloween festivities, not caring that most of the costumes looked vaguely like some of the real evil beings that their adoptive parents regularly fought. The boys just wanted to join in the festivities just like their non-magical friends.
For the youngest son, JD, it was the hardest - he'd never been trick or treating, but his real mother, Michelle Dunne, had helped him dress for a children's Halloween party the previous year. Then she'd said he could do it again the next year - except she'd died before the next Halloween could come. It was hard for him to understand why he couldn't celebrate Halloween like his new non-magical friends did - and like he'd done the previous year.
As the Potter family all sat at the breakfast table that morning, JD picked at his breakfast with his spoon, sulking because he'd been told he couldn't go to the Friday night Halloween party with all of his new friends.
"JD, You still sulkin' 'bout the party?" asked Vin, from beside his biological half-brother.
"It ain't fair - everyone else is going."
"There is no such word as 'ain't'," said Ezra, annoyed that the child wasn't speaking proper English like he should. "Besides, 'everyone else' isn't going. The rest of this family isn't going to be in attendance."
Terrence Potter threw Ezra a glare. "He meant that all of his similar aged friends are going."
"I could go as a cowboy - I don't wanna be a demon anyway," offered JD, as he continued to move his Cheerios around the cereal bowl. Perhaps they'd let him go if he went as something non-evil.
"There could be real evil at that party, Dear," explained Gloria. "It's the time of year when evil can freely mix with innocents without being noticed. You could be in danger if you go there without anyone to protect you."
"I can look after myself," argued JD angrily, not really understanding why all his friends could go but he couldn't.
"If you looked after yourself, you would reveal that you're a witch to everyone non-magical there."
"Why don't we have our own Halloween party here - just fer us?" suggested Vin. Besides, Vin wanting his younger brother to be happy, he wanted to dress up and have a party too - he hadn't been invited to any parties.
The boys' adopted father Terrence looked questioningly at Gloria, seeking her approval to hold their own party. "It sounds like a good idea to me," he said, attempting to persuade Gloria. "Anything to make JD happy again."
Gloria smiled then looked at JD. "Okay, we'll do it - but only if you all dress as non-evil characters."
"All?" asked Chris, not wanting to dress up at all.
"You can invite Sarah - then you can both dress up for it," answered Terrence, quickly rectifying the situation.
"Okay." If that was what it took to avoid JD sulking all week, then Chris would do it - even though it did mean dressing up like a kid. At eighteen years old, Chris was close to being an adult and wanted to keep his distance from doing anything that he considered too childish for him. Of course, that didn't include sneaking cookies from the kitchen's cookie jar - they were always ones his mother had baked and they were the best cookies Chris had ever tasted.
"You were excluding adults from your 'all' weren't you, Mother?" asked Josiah, pretty certain that Gloria only meant for the under twenties to dress up for their Halloween party. Now twenty-eight, Josiah already had his own apartment on the other side of town, and was working for the local police department after graduating police academy three years ago. He often joined the family for breakfast, ready to fight against any unwanted evil intruders. Since his sixteenth birthday, he'd been helping his father fight evil and protect innocents whenever he could.
"No, I wasn't excluding adults - I think it would be good for us to all to get into the swing of Halloween for a change." Gloria already had some ideas for her costume - a female figure from history would be just perfect.
"Is Mr. Jackson going to participate as well?" asked Ezra with a smile - it would be amusing to see their Whitelighter in costume for the party.
"We don't have time to ask him right now - it's almost time for school, so you boys had best get a move on."
'Of course, we wouldn't want to tarnish our unscathed records for punctuality, would we?' thought Ezra sarcastically, thinking about how many times the boys had been late for school because of early morning attacks from evil.
A stern look from his adoptive mother told Ezra that Gloria knew exactly what he was thinking - even though she wasn't telepathic like him or Terrence. "Answering back in your head is just as bad as answering back out loud, Ezra P. Standish. If you want to go to our Halloween party you'll be on your best behavior for all of this week, understand?"
"Sorry, Gloria." Ezra knew he had better start behaving himself, including calling his adoptive mother by her first name rather than "Mrs. Potter", which she hated, but Ezra used because of his being raised to address adults formally. Ezra refused to ever address her in such a way that indicated she was his mother - he still held onto the belief that his real mother would return for him one day, so thought it would be disrespectful to Maude to accept anyone else in her place. "I promise I'll behave like a gentleman all week." The thought of not being allowed to attend the party was awful. Even if it was only a family party, Ezra still wanted to go - especially as it involved dressing up. The boy had always loved dressing up and pretending, although most of it had been when he was trying to find out information from demons or warlocks without them being able to recognize him as a good witch.
"And another thing before you leave the table, Ezra. No dressing up with your glamour power - you can either ask me to make you a costume, or hire you one."
Grumbling was heard coming from the boy as Ezra stood up and walked out of the room. His costume wouldn't be as good - he'd been thinking of using his glamour power to turn himself into a character out of one of his comics. If he used his magic to copy a super-hero, he should look exactly the same as them as well as possess their powers. A hand-made costume wouldn't look authentic or give him a hero's powers. Despite having his own powers, Ezra would love to have different ones sometimes.
"Son," called Terrence after the retreating boy. When Ezra turned back, Terrence explained to him the real reason why he shouldn't use his glamour power. "You know that it brings out your half-demon side when you use any of your demonic powers - such as glamour. Nathan can only heal you if your demon half is suppressed inside; so if you were attacked while using your glamour unnecessarily, then Nathan wouldn't be able to completely heal you."
Mr. Potter was right as usual, Ezra realized. He had a lot of respect for the wise half-Whitelighter witch that was his adoptive father. Terrence had a lot of knowledge of all things magical as well as having a big heart - Ezra idolized the man as a result and hoped he could grow up to be just like him. As Ezra hadn't had a real father since he was very young, he had been delighted when Mr. Potter became his father, and as a result, always called him "Father" when addressing him. "Father, it would make my costume far more authentic if I created it that way - what are the chances of someone evil attacking me at the party?"
"Never ask that question, Son," was the only thing Terrence said in reply.
Standish grumbled some more as he started walking upstairs to get ready for school. He WOULD use his glamour for the party - he could protect himself against anyone who attacked.
"Sir, me and JD want to dress as cowboys," informed Vin. "Maybe Chris could be an Indian."
Chris failed to suppress his grin. They wanted him as an Indian so they could overpower and tie him up, of that he was sure. "How about I be a cowboy too and Josiah can be the Indian?"
"Yeah!" agreed both younger boys, liking Chris's idea even better than their own.
"I don't mind," said Josiah, who was happy to help entertain the two youngest brothers in any way he could. "I'll enjoy making my own costume at my place after work." Josiah had started learning to sew when he'd been at the strict boarding school, but hadn't gotten very far before he'd been rescued by Terrence. As he enjoyed making things himself, he'd then asked his new mother to further his education in that aspect and she'd happily agreed.
"I'll get some material and start making your cowboy costumes tonight," declared Gloria. "I'll need you all available in the evenings so I can get them finished by Friday." She then decided to rent costumes for herself and Terrence as there wouldn't be enough time to make those as well.
"What about Ezra?" asked JD, worried that Ezra wasn't going to join in. Ezra hadn't said what he wanted to be so 'cowboy costumes' didn't apply to him.
"I already have enough to do - we'll have to hire him an outfit."
Ezra was sitting on the stairs in the hallway when he heard Gloria's words - he was the middle child, so it wasn't surprising that he wouldn't get the same treatment as the others. Maybe he should find a family without so many other children - then he'd be treated far better.
"Son," addressed Terrence, as he walked into the hallway and saw the sad-looking boy sitting on the stairs. "We do love you; it's just that Gloria doesn't have time to make costumes for everyone in addition to saving innocents. You know that evil gets very active this time of year."
"It's predictable how it's always me who suffers - I AM the middle child after all."
"We try hard to provide for you all, but sometimes it's difficult. Maybe we could make an allowance for you and use a spell to make you a costume."
"Really?" Ezra perked up at the idea of being changed into a character by good magic. Then he could have real hero's powers.
"We'll discuss it tonight, you have to get ready for school now," said Terrence, as the clock on the wall chimed eight.
"Thank you, Father." The boy hurried upstairs to finish getting ready for school.
Terrence sighed - if they weren't fair to all their sons there could be serious consequences. Walking into the kitchen, Terrence approached Gloria. "We need a private talk, Gloria."
"Can't it wait?" asked the woman. "I need to make the boys' lunches."
"No, it's very important. I'll make it quick - it's about our middle son."
To be continued...