Disclaimer – I wish, but only in my wildest dreams does it actually belong to me

For Author's Note/Review Reply, see bottom of chapter.

Chapter 17: Hallowe'en

Previously: Lily looked down at her fingernails modestly. 'Well, actually, I had a kitchen garden back at home.'

'Really?'

'Really really.'

'Oh. So… how do you grow pumpkins then?'

'Well, putting the seeds in soil is generally considered a good start…'

'Lilylilylilylilylilylilylily!'

Sarah was bouncing on Lily's bed, at 10.30 on the sunny Saturday morning of October 31st. Lily, bouncing with Sarah, but lying down, started yelling back.

'Sarahsarahsarahsaraharah! I'm up!'

Sarah stopped bouncing on Lily's bed but remained, cross-legged, on it, looking suspiciously at her.

'Are you? Are you really?'

Lily struggled out from under the duvet and stood by her bed.

'Yes, I'm up. Ooh, dizzy.'

She grabbed her bed-post and leaned against it as the blood rushed from her head. Caroline yelled at her from inside her drawn curtains,

'Sarah had to wake you up or you'd've slept Hallowe'en away!'

'So are you up and dressed, clever clogs?' asked Lily sceptically, and, without waiting for a reply, strode over to Caroline's bed and opened the curtains. Caroline was lying under the duvet, plaiting her hair.

'Up. Now,' commanded Lily. Sarah was impressed. Asleep to bossy in 4.9 seconds – it wasn't quite a new record for Lily, but it nearly was. Caroline rolled out of bed, landed with a thump on the floor, and sat up.

'Hooray pumpkins!' she said with a smile. Lily rolled her eyes and wandered away from her.

'Speaking of pumpkins, how are mine?' she asked no-one in particular.

Suzie stuck her head around the bathroom door.

'Lovely. The one on the right's come up a real treat. I think now would be the time to charm them.'

'Well get out of the bathroom and let me, then!'

'Impatience is not a virtue, Lily.'

'I need the loo!'

Suzie rolled her eyes and pulled her head back into the bathroom. Lily snatched up her wand, towel and clothes, and waited outside the bathroom door. In her urgency, she started doing a jig.

'Hu-rry… up… Su-zie…' she moaned as she danced. Suzie came out, fully clothed, drying her hair with her wand.

'If you want the bathroom first, you'll just have to get up earlier, Lily,' she said sweetly.

Lily growled and dashed into the bathroom. The door locked behind her, and the other girls heard the sound of clothes hitting the bathroom floor, and rapid footsteps to the toilet. Sarah and Suzie glanced at each other, before quickly looking away again, lips pressed firmly together in an attempt not to laugh, until Caroline, with a wicked grin on her face, hissed,

'Pssssssss…'

Suzie had to chew the ends of both her braids to stop herself collapsing with laughter, and Sarah bit her hand as her face grew redder and redder. Caroline smirked, and began rifling through her trunk for her underwear.

A quarter of an hour later, Lily came out of the bathroom, dressed, clean, and drying her hair. She shot a look at Suzie and Sarah, who were still giggling weakly. She rolled her eyes and walked downstairs with Caroline to breakfast.

'What gets me is that when Sarah told me to get up, and she was still her pyjamas,' Lily grumbled.

Caroline rolled her eyes at a portrait, who chuckled sympathetically back. They carried on down the stairs in companionable silence until they reached the Great Hall.

'Mmm. Food,' said Caroline with a grin. 'And there's my Sirry!' She waved at Sirius.

Lily turned to look at her sharply. 'Sirry?'

Caroline shrugged. 'Pet names are hard for things like Sirius.'

'What does he call you, then?'

'Sweetie-pie.'

Lily suppressed a snort. Typical Sirius, obsessed with food. 'Let's go and sit down, shall we?'

'Fine.'

So Lily found herself, once again, sitting next to James Potter, in full view of everyone, having a pleasant conversation with him and asking him to pass the butter.

'So, what are you going to do today?' Lily asked James as she buttered her toast.

'Well, my Lily Flower, being the shy, retiring type that I am, I rather thought I'd give Hogsmeade a miss, stay in the Common room and finish off the half-term homework.'

Lily raised her eyebrows. 'Oh yes?'

'Yes… but then I decided not to, and go off to Hogsmeade, buy vast amounts of confectionary, drink far too much Butterbeer, buy enough Zonko's products to scare the pants off the first years, and take a look at the Shrieking Shack.'

Lily smiled warmly. 'Oh… I see. Sounds like fun. I hadn't made any particular plans.'

They sat in companionable silence for a while until James suddenly said, 'What's the bet that Padfoot and Hawling and Wormtail and Gibson will be going together?'

'Ooh, high, but I won't put any money on it.'

'No?'

'I don't gamble.'

'We'll be all alone,' he pouted.

'What about Lupin?' asked Lily, her forehead crinkled up in confusion.

'Davies.'

'How about all four of us go together?'

'In one big glump of people?'

'Quite.'

'Just as well there won't be more than six of us then.'

'I see it's still just you and me and the safety regulations against the world then, James.'

He laughed. It was going to be a good day.

I would like to point out now, for the record, that this is NOT the whole day. There will be more on Hallowe'en, possibly ad nauseam, but I wanted to post this, so I ended it there. Good. It's up. Writer's block will evaporate.

Safety regulations? See The Journey Back. And read and review. Also see Maybe, Maybe not, another offshoot, and The Adventures of Hermione, Ginny and Lily, not from the Jelly is Good universe, but funny all the same.

Subject: Annoying friends with music on headphones on too loud.

Larka :)