CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Abraxas was one of the first in the castle to welcome the Samhain morning. He had not missed the barrage of visions the Sabbath had the habit of bringing along with it, due to the Veil thinning, and frankly, the Malfoy heir wished that he had not flushed all of his Vision Stoppers, as he had quietly nicknamed his potions, down the drain. He knew that it was very likely that his sister was up in Ravenclaw Tower, wide awake as well, although he doubted whether this was a good or bad thing.

Ever since Loreley had divulged Hera Evans-Peverell's true nature to him, Abraxas had paid better and closer attention to the visions centred around the Traveller's previous life, which was somehow also the future or at least a future that happened because of the Moirai's error. With each vision, the Malfoy heir wondered how the Traveller had not killed them all on sight – he knew that he would not have been so lenient to his enemies, no matter how old they were! Especially Riddle … Abraxas still got a nasty feeling in his stomach after seeing the monstrous, red-eyed creature the charismatic wizard had become. How had Hera been able to stomach the sight of him?

And yet, Abraxas could not help but notice that, even back then, there had been some eerie similarities between Voldemort and Hera, and between Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald. The Malfoy heir at first did not want to countenance the thought, but in all of these cases, it seemed that the Moirai had never meant for any of them to face each other on the battlefield. Which meant, the Weavers never meant for them to be enemies. Abraxas quietly wondered if perhaps that was why the snake-faced Riddle sucked so badly at killing one teenaged witch.

Fate was literally against him, as well as Death himself.

Speaking of Dumbledore and Grindelwald, Abraxas wondered what he should think of the vision of Ariana's funeral because it still baffled him.

-Flashback-

Ominous thunderclouds loomed over Godric's Hollow. Abraxas Watched a small party of people leave the tiny church to follow a coffin into the graveyard where a hole had already been prepared. Abraxas recognised Albus, Aberforth, Bathilda Bagshot and a couple of people who had known the Dumbledores and simply wanted to pay their respects to the strange girl who had died so suddenly.

Abraxas barely paid any attention to what the Muggle priest was saying, simply keeping his eyes on the two brothers. They were both solemn, their heads bowed and they were notably trying to avoid looking at each other at all costs.

Ariana's coffin was lowered into the ground as the priest, Bathilda and some of the other guests sung a hymn; almost poignantly enough, it was at this point that it had decided to rain. Abraxas had to hand it to the weather gods; they nailed the timing on the downpour.

Both Dumbledore brothers were the last to leave; in fact they were still standing there as the grave was being filled with earth, getting soaked to the bone.

"This is all your fault," Aberforth was the first to speak in an eternity. "If you weren't so fucking infatuated with that Bavarian rat and had been a better brother, she would still be alive!"

"Would she?" Albus answered in a cold tone that sent shivers up Abraxas' spine. "She wasn't living! Her mind and spirit died after the attack; it just took this long for her body to catch up."

"What did you say?" Aberforth snarled, hands curling into fists and rounding on his older brother.

"What, are you going to deny it?" Albus sneered. "She was stuck in the house, never allowed to leave for fear of what could happen and had to be watched twenty four hours a day, seven days a week while being trapped in her own mind. That is not living!"

Aberforth's eyes started to glow. "It was your Curse-"

"Was it? Because I don't seem to remember you giving me a straight answer on that question when I asked it the first time. For all we know, it was

your Curse that hit Ari!" Albus shouted, not in the least intimidated. "Is that what it is, brother? Your guilt eating at you?"

That had been the last straw for Aberforth. He lunged at Albus and Abraxas Watched as the two Dumbledores rolled around on the ground, punching and kicking each other like common Muggle boys. This behaviour continued until strangers had to literally prise the boys off each other. It was, frankly, embarrassing.

Aberforth stormed off in one direction, and Albus in the other.

Abraxas was surprised to See that the moment no one was near Ariana's grave, out of nowhere came the one person he had not expected to See. Gellert Grindelwald knelt down by the hole and conjured a small bouquet of lilies at the head of the grave, smiling sadly.

"Es tut mir Leid, Ariana," the Dark Lord stated quietly.

It was then the Bavarian saw something out of the corner of his eye. Something silver and shiny. He frowned and went to investigate: it was a silver pocket watch. Abraxas knew it belonged to Albus because he had Seen Grindelwald gifting it to him in a previous vision. The moment Grindelwald recognised it, pain contorted the young man's face, which was soon replaced by anger and then … something else Abraxas could not read.

Grindelwald stuffed it into his inner coat pocket and then turned one last time to the grave and bowed to it as though he were bowing to the grave of a deceased queen, before disappearing as quickly as he came.

-Flashback ends-

Abraxas far preferred the visions about Even Peverell I, her familiar, her antics, her family life and her time at Hogwarts. The entire time Abraxas had wanted to laugh because he recognised so many similarities between Evren, Hera and even Artemis Potter that it was spooky at how alike they were in personality and propensity for trouble. It also didn't help that Gregory, Edmund and Thomas were far more likely to help Evren plot her little schemes rather than to stop their sister from causing a school-wide duelling contest.

Yes, school-wide duelling contest: students versus the faculty. Somehow, Evren had come out of there without a caning or worse. The Malfoy heir had to admit it had been rather spectacular to See and he was pleased to report that Slytherin House, to which Evren belonged, had come out the victors with the Hufflepuffs in close second.

Apparently, the Badgers of the 16th century had a serious mean streak when it came to duelling!

Abraxas hoped to Merlin and Morgana that when Hera played Evren's violin that day that nothing untoward would occur, but it seemed that it was going well up until now. Hopefully that would continue.

But then again, Hera Elizabeth Evans-Peverell just a magnet for some of the biggest twists in Fate Abraxas had ever Witnessed. Chance would be a fine thing for a normal Samhain!

With a sigh, the Malfoy heir went to take a shower and decided to get a head start before Mulciber, Rosier and Nott fought over the shower – again.

#########################

Unlike on most Sundays, Samhain saw many of the girls aged fifteen and older from all the Houses waking up very early in order to not only prepare for the festivities, but also to perform one of the oldest rites in the book. Samhain was the sacred day of the dead, that was obvious, but it was also a sacred day for the Fates. As such, rites and games played and done amongst girls – also boys, but admittedly a lot less – centred around their future paths. One such popular rite and game was the game known as the Strings of Fate.

There were at most nine strings, each that would be tied to a tree branch with something attached to the other end of it but the object was deliberately hidden in the depths of a lake or a stream. Each one represented a different path, with possibly different people that a person could meet, for example. Once a string had been chosen, the rest would be cut, signifying the loss of the other paths. Every year Professor Chattox would prepare the game-slash-rite for anyone who wanted to participate.

It was this game-slash-rite that the Slytherin girls especially were preparing to play with the slightly grumpy Lady Regnant, who was in desperate need of coffee, but begrudgingly got out of bed, put on the black gown Walburga had handed her, put on her winter cloak, lifted the hood up and followed the rest of her dorm mates out into the common room, where they were met by Bletchley, War, Pucey and all the other girls willing to do the rite.

The group left in almost complete silence. Very fittingly, the air was chilly outside with mist rolling in waves over the grounds of Hogwarts, the sun only just peeking out over the horizon. Harry even caught sight of genius loci, the tree spirits, still snoozing in their trees and one or two of Tosti's Reapers coming out of the Forest after visiting the Thestrals.

Walburga led the way over towards the little hollow Harry remembered she and Altair had met at when he requested the opportunity to apologise and explain his actions. It was then the sixth years and fifth years splintered away from the group, going a little way down the lake to other trees. Harry saw nine thin strings of equal length running down into the murky waters of the Black Lake. Naturally, she had read about the rite but didn't know how much stock she would place into it. But then again, Ron had not put stock in reading tea leaves when he had been scarily good and accurate in predicting the future using it.

"Do you remember what to do?" Walburga asked.

"Pick a fate and cut the rest," Harry responded quietly.

The Black heiress nodded. "Good. All right, ladies, let's begin."

Ophelia immediately gravitated towards the seventh string. Ygraine went for the second. Druella's legs carried her towards the ninth. Walburga went straight for string number four. As for Harry, she had no idea what had possessed her, but she had gone for string number three.

Once the girls had chosen their strings, they cast Severing Charms on the other four 'fates', casting the paths down into the dark depths below. As soon as these paths had been cast away, the girls started reeling their strings in. Harry tried not to feel nervous as she slowly saw the glint of shiny objects reach the surface.

Ophelia had gotten a ring with a silver scarab beetle. Ygraine got a green shield with three spears behind it, two of them crossed and one running vertically. Druella had gotten three rings: two with constellations etched into them and the other was in the shape of a flower. Harry recognised it instantly; a narcissus. Walburga got a Triquetra amulet with four hearts finely interlinked with no start or finish. Harry herself was taken aback by the objects at the other end of her string.

The two rings, yes two rings, were made out of a stunning metal, engraved with Celtic-style dragons, wolves, snakes, sparrows, and stags. They were too big for her dainty little fingers but thanks to the girls' pureblood training, Harry knew exactly what they were. Those rings were courting rings – for men!

"Two of them?!" Harry couldn't contain her surprise. "What, is one of my husbands going to die or something?"

The girls, however, were spluttering with laughter.

"Erm … Harry? I hate to break it to you, but that is not what it means," Druella attempted to keep a straight face. "It means that there will likely be two men in your life, and I daresay your heart, at the same time."

Harry blanched. "You what now?!"

"Oh come on," Ophelia rolled her eyes. "We all have been seeing the way the three of you have been looking at each other."

Harry paled further. "I have no idea-"

"Harry, stop denying it – it is an open secret at this point," Ygraine cut across gently. "Look, if you are worried that people are judging you for it, they're not. We are not like the Muggles. Don't you remember your lessons on courting?"

"Vaguely," Harry admitted.

"Do you remember the term 'Sacrum Vinculum'?" the Veela-heritage girl pressed.

The term triggered the memory to return. "I do! It is a special kind of courting-slash-marriage condition that is deemed to be blessed by Lady Magick Herself, especially in the case of three families that are in danger of going extinct entirely. The idea is the three eldest children born from the union become heirs to each of the Houses." Harry gulped. "Oh bloody hell!"

No, no, no, no, no, this cannot be happening.

Oh come on, it's not like you actually hate it, her Slytherin voice sneered. Or are you still in denial?

"Harry, tell us honestly," Druella stated seriously, "do you like Altair Nott? I mean, really like? Not the normal kind of 'like'?"

Harry knew she had been caught in the trap at this point. If she denied it, not only would she be flat-out lying, but she half betted her Patronuses would conjure themselves and hound her from one end of the Black Lake to the other for daring to tell such an outrageous fib just to save her own pride. The issue, was the Traveller had found herself tongue-tied and could only nod in the affirmative.

"Finally, she's admitted to it!" Ophelia breathed a sigh of relief.

"What about Riddle?" Walburga continued.

"I … I …" Harry started fumbling with her hands. "I … am not so sure. I don't hate him but I am not yet as sure as I am with Altair."

The girls didn't seem to entirely buy it, but at the same time they could see the conflict on Harry's countenance.

"I advise you to do some research into Sacrum Vinculum," Walburga advised gently. "You are not a freak of nature or a polygamist. The bond is as acceptable as a so-called 'normal' marriage. No one would judge you for it, or them for that matter."

"There are a few same-sex marriages too," Ophelia informed Harry so flippantly that the Lady Regnant was nonplussed at how easily the topic came out of her mouth. "The Undersecretary to the Minister, the first female one in a while, has a wife you know. They have two blood-adopted children."

"Whoa," Harry answered breathlessly.

"Let me guess, you suspected we may have the same backwards laws as the Muggles?" Druella gauged from judging Harry's shock.

"Sorry," Harry confirmed, hanging her head in shame.

"Hey, no need for that," Ygraine chastised, nudging Harry gently, causing the girl to look up again. "I am not surprised, considering you have had better things to worry about than marriage and courting customs."

Harry smiled weakly. "Thanks." She frowned momentarily. "Errr, girls, I forgot what we were supposed to do with the objects."

Walburga laughed as the group set off back to the castle to prepare for breakfast. "You hide them away from any prying eyes. I am putting mine into my jewellery box. It is such a mess that no one will be able to find it too easily in between all my trinkets."

"I am disguising mine as a bookmark," Ophelia added.

"I think I will turn mine into a wall decoration for now. No one comes into our dorm much anyway," Ygraine stated, shrugging. "I will just put a decorative charm on it to make it look like a fancy shield."

"I will think of something later," Druella stated nonchalantly.

Harry frowned thoughtfully. "Maybe I can make a little compartment in my trunk for the rings?" she wondered out loud.

"Oooo, romantic and mysterious," Ophelia teased.

"Well, that was a waste of part of my valuable Samhain morning that I could have spent sleeping," War commented as she caught up with them, grinning wryly.

"Got a bad Quidditch prediction?" Druella quipped with a smirk.

War deflated. "I wish! It would have been less embarrassing?"

"Oh? Did it tell you how many cats you're going to own in your spinster abode?" Harry joked.

"Screw you!" War spluttered, whacking Harry around her head while the Traveller dodged, laughing.

"That is not a no," Walburga pointed out, biting her lip in an effort to try and maintain a straight countenance. She was failing miserably.

"You girls are a nightmare," War commented, shaking her head.

"And yet you would not have us any other way!" Harry pointed out smugly, doing a small teasing dance.

"True," War was forced to admit, looking quite sulky.

When the troupe of Slytherin girls came back they found the younger years playing other fate-based games with the older years. Harry recognised Three Dice Cast, Answers in Oil, Rune Rainfall and Ogma's Wisdom. The first, second and third years were currently taking the mickey out of the sixth and seventh years who got predictions about their love life. Oizys Avery was laughing at her brother's beetroot face when Orion enthusiastically translated Malum's Runic Rainfall.

Heir Black's eyes shone brightly. "Oooo, you will apparently find the ideal woman under a bough of holly but beware – a shadow has wrapped itself around her. Ooooo, I wonder what that could be!"

"Yippee," Malum Avery muttered, clearly too tired for this nonsense already.

Mulciber, who was desperately trying to escape his turn in Three Dice Cast, turned his attention to the extensive group. "So, girls – got any good predictions this year or did you get yet more possible marriage candidates?"

"Not exactly, no," Druella answered smoothly. The other three were attempting not to look at Harry.

"Unfortunately," War muttered, not looking in his direction.

"I don't even want to know what mine is supposed to mean," Bletchley added, shaking her head.

"I should have stayed in bed," Pucey agreed.

"So, we're not getting a clue? Even though this is our last Samhain altogether?" Flint piped up. "Come on, girls! Just a hint. The Weavers won't know."

"Yes, they will!" the girls argued in perfect unison before disappearing through the door to their dorms.

"Why are they such spoil-sports each and every year?" Dolohov sulked once they were out of earshot.

"Because Strings of Fate requires the answer to remain hidden," Tom responded easily as he watched Arcturus Rosier hand the Rune stones to Nott. "The objects are hidden in water because water is one of the elements traditionally used in Fate magic and divination. They are thus not meant to be seen by prying eyes. Because we did not participate, we are thus prying eyes."

"I know all that. It's still annoying," Dolohov huffed. "Because I am willing to bet the girls got some interesting results this year."

"How do you know?" Malfoy asked testily.

"Don't know," the Russian admitted. "Just a funny feeling." He growled. "I really fucking hate Samhain."

Tom frowned at this but was quickly distracted by the clattering of the Rune stones onto the willow wood board and Rosier arranging the Rune stones in the correct order, frowning as he did so. Tom watched as the Rosier heir's face morphed from confusion to disbelief to abject amusement.

"Arc, what is it?" Nott asked impatiently, nudging his friend. "Am I going to die an embarrassing death this year or something?"

"Well, it would certainly fit the story of your life," Dolohov commented snarkily.

Tom felt his jaw clench slightly, which took him by surprise. Why was he reacting like that?! What was going on?

Rosier was attempting to main a straight face. "No, you're not going to die. Nope, nope, it's … something else entirely." Whatever it was, it broke whatever resolve the boy had and he started splitting his sides laughing.

Orion frowned at Rosier's reaction and came to see why Rosier had reacted the way he did. As the Black Heir translated the Runes – in a matter of seconds – he too broke into peals of laughter, clutching his sides as he soon began heaving for breath.

"Oh for Mordred's rusty sword, they're both dying now!" Parkinson commented, shaking his head.

It was then Oizys Avery who decided to read the Runes. She gaped unabashedly at the stones and then at Nott, who was getting more and more confused by the minute. "Erm … Nott? You're not going to believe this but-"

Before she could even finish, Oizys found her mouth being covered by the hands of Orion and Rosier, who had suddenly managed to quickly compose themselves in order to stop her from translating the Runes out loud.

"Sssssssh!" they chorused.

It was at that moment that the girls came back. This time, the fifth, sixth and seventh years were all dressed in Sabbath dresses. One would have thought a coven of vampires had entered the room because every dress had a Gothic style with colour schemes that all involved black. The splashes of colour consisted of purple, green, silver and red.

Abraxas Malfoy almost found himself falling off his seat when he saw Harry because of how startlingly alike she looked to Evren Peverell in the dress the girls had bought her – for a moment, he thought Evren's ghost had come to join Hogwarts for Samhain! The only thing that showed him that it was actually Hera Peverell, was the fact the dress had stunning Celtic dragon designs woven into the fabric and that the cut was more Edwardian-modern. The witches' familiars were all wearing garlands of marigolds and roses.

"Morgana and all the fairies of Avalon, you girls look stunning!" Orion gushed.

"You think they look stunning at every Sabbath," Dolohov grumbled, earning him a scowl from possibly every female in the room. Eileen Prince had even plucked up the courage to send a small Stinging Hex at him.

"Why are you such a misery guts?" one of the fourth years commented.

Dolohov didn't really have an answer to that.

"We'll see you at breakfast, boys," Walburga informed her fiancé, Nott and Rosier as the group of witches and familiars left, still giggling at Dolohov's put-out face.

As soon as the girls were out of the common room, and thus out of earshot from the boys, they started laughing.

"Oh dear," was all Harry could comment. "Poor old Dolohov will never catch a break."

"It is true though, he is a bit of a misery guts," Druella grinned.

"I pity his poor future wife," Ygraine chuckled.

War joined Ygraine's left side at this point. "Speaking of which, I heard a rumour going around that the Dolohovs might be getting tired of waiting around for your parents to make a decision on your marriage, Rowle. Mother isn't certain yet, but they say that the Dolohovs are also considering a Fawley match and a match with a European pureblood family."

"Following Brutus Malfoy's example? Interesting," Ophelia grinned. "Well, I hope the rumours are true. I have one less suitor to scare then!"

"Oh boy," Harry sighed. "Are you going to try to challenge Lucretia Black's title for Most Feared Bachelorette in Wizarding Britain?"

"I might do. I am a bit more underhanded than Lucretia, though, that has to be said," Ophelia smirked. "I am more of a covert operator."

"Ophelia really is very good at getting rid of undesirable matches," Ygraine was forced to admit. "I had a suitor from House Goyle a few years ago and frankly, the moment I saw his misshapen face and heard his jittery stutter, I knew that he simply would not do. So I wrote to Ophelia and well … the next day Mother and Father received a letter from Mr. Goyle withdrawing their interest in a match with House White. No explanation as to why but apparently, someone had sent owl after owl with Howlers that sung the most gaudy awful ballads imaginable! To this day, no one knows for sure who did it but," the White heiress regarded the smug Rowle heiress, "it did have Ophelia's hallmark all over it."

"I remember that!" War laughed. "It was a source of great amusement in my house for about a week, which is saying something because my father doesn't really have much of a sense of humour."

"Oh, that explains your crappy humour!" Harry quipped.

War mock-scowled. "Watch it, Evans."

The group split up in the Great Hall. Harry for a moment stood still to take everything in. If she thought the castle looked amazing for the whole week while all the decorations were still being put up, Hogwarts looked one step beyond gorgeous now, if that was even possible. Spooky-looking medieval banners of the four Houses hung around the Hall and the carved pumpkins that had been done by the children were already levitating in the air. Bowls, cornucopias and baskets full of apples, gourds, corn, turnips and pumpkins decorated the tables. There were statues of giant dogs around the Hall, standing there like guards keeping an eye on a king or queen's Court. What made it all even better, was that everyone was dressed up. Most of the eleven and twelve-year-olds from Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor were all dressed in white in styles that made Harry think they had stepped right out of old Victorian photographs. The familiars of the students, who were for once permitted to join their witches and wizards for breakfast, were only adding to the aesthetic, especially the owls, cats, toads and bats amongst the group.

"Harry, Druella – girls, get over here! You will not believe what happened this morning," Artemis called as soon as she saw them, waving madly. Her familiar, a Merlin hawk, was attempting not to roll its eyes at her antics.

"What is it, Potter? Did you finally get the hint to ask Lestrange for an official courting?" Druella teased.

Artemis was as red as the hair on the Weasley twins' head in two seconds flat. "No! Well, maybe, but that is not the point here!" she stated loudly as her friends laughed. Minerva shaking her head and Loreley not even attempting to conceal her amusement. "No, that's not what I meant. I can't believe you haven't heard anything, being Slytherins and all. There was a dragon sighted yesterday evening!"

Harry, who had been in the midst of drinking her pumpkin juice, began choking on her drink, Artemis immediately patting her back and Athenaïs fanning her with her Glamoured wings.

"Harry, please don't do the ultimate joke and die on Samhain," Septimus commented with a grin.

"I'm OK," Harry croaked as she recovered her breath.

"A dragon? You must be joking," Druella scoffed, peeling an apple she took out of one of the nearby bowls. "There hasn't been a dragon living close to Hogwarts since 1895. Who told you this?"

"Errrr, my eyes?" Artemis answered. "I couldn't sleep last night and I saw the thing making rounds around the castle before disappearing."

How the hell did she see me through the shadows? Harry scolded internally.

She felt the Link open up.

It could be the Peverell blood in her veins, Thanatos pointed out. The Potters are Igny's descendants after all.

Bugger.

Language, Harry.

"I think someone was playing an early Samhain prank on you," Walburga informed as she poured a bowl of milk for Seraphina. "As payback for the mayhem you and the Weasleys have been causing year in year out!"

"I wouldn't have believed it either, but Loreley claims she saw it as well at the exact same time," Minerva responded, finishing the last piece of toast.

"It could just be a giant Illusion Charm, though," Ophelia frowned.

"One that could blanket the entire castle? Especially with the new wards?" Ygraine shook her head. "No, I don't think this was an illusion at all."

"Well, the teachers don't seem to be panicking about that. But it does seem Chattox is having one of her nervous bouts again," Ignatius pointed out and most heads swivelled towards the teachers' table. Dumbledore, dressed in the most neon pumpkin orange robes Harry had ever seen, was assisting Professor Vesper and Professor Merrythought, both dressed in awesome Gothic Victorian dresses and hats from the late 1800s, in trying to calm Professor Chattox, who seemed set to have a panic attack at any moment.

"She's like this every year," Octavius commented, shaking his head. "No idea why-"

"-it's not like-"

"-we have had fairy invaders-"

"-trying to snatch the first years-"

"-from their beds," Septimus and Octavius finished the sentence in perfect unison once more.

"Oh please, don't say that too loudly or she'll hear you," Minerva groaned.

Billy Prewett distracted the group from the Divination Professor's possible meltdown. He had by now managed to get Harry's camera and was taking photos of the oddball group and their familiars, much to the chagrin of Ygraine, who had been caught mid-eating in one of the photos. The arrival of Orion, Altair, Tom, Arcturus and Heron was welcomed with the youngest Prewett taking a few photos of them and their familiars before they sat down. Mulciber, Dolohov, Avery and Abraxas had opted to sit with some of the other Slytherins for breakfast, just in case Artemis and the Weasleys had something untoward planned.

Harry could not hold back a coo when she saw Frey the ball python and her cute little marigold crown. "Morgana, she looks too adorable!"

Athenaïs gave a mystic cry in agreement, which made Frey preen a lot.

Tom grinned. "Avery spent all of last night making garlands for people's familiars because his sister asked him to."

Orion, who had been carrying his still sleeping familiar in his arms, plonked Somnus down onto the table with a huff. "I go through the effort of making a garland for this lazy little plonker every year and he doesn't ever thank me for it."

"I don't see why you go through the trouble," Artemis grinned as Somnus fell back onto the table, narrowly missing the croissants, in his sleep, sending the garland flying off his head and onto Sigyn, who had been trying to steal some milk from Seraphina's bowl.

"A guy can hope!" Orion protested. "Maybe this is the year Somnus will finally wake up long enough to notice I made him a garland and thank me for it – but no."

"Maybe I can wake him up again?" Arcturus conjured some owl treats and began to shake them close to Somnus' snoozing form like a rattle.

"I wouldn't bother, Rosier. That thing sleeps like the dead," Heron laughed as he poured himself some coffee.

Arcturus persevered for a bit though. However, the only reaction Somnus gave his efforts was to roll almost into the chocolate pastries face first and continue to sleep with his face on the table.

"Bloody hell," Septimus and Octavius spluttered with laughter.

"This is just embarrassing," Minerva agreed, trying to hide her amusement behind her hand.

Orion pinched the bridge of his nose. Altair patted his shoulder in a half-hearted attempt to console him while also trying not to laugh.

Athenaïs took a great deal of pity on Orion, though, and frowned at Somnus and his disrespectful behaviour. How much could one owl sleep?! The young Gargouille leapt up from her seat in between Harry and Artemis and padded over to the sleeping owl with Frey attempting to grab her tail to pull her back. Clearly, the ball python knew exactly what her draconic friend was planning on doing.

Frey, unfortunately, was too late.

HAAAYYUOOOUAOOO!

The ethereal howl not only woke Somnus up, it sent the owl flying backwards across the table and onto the bench next to Orion with the owl immediately getting up onto its talons and flapping around madly, as though looking for where the fire was supposed to be. The owl darted from one end of the Gryffindor table to the other in record speed until it realised that there was no attacker or a fire.

Somnus eventually calmed down enough to sit on Orion's head, much to the chagrin on his wizard and the abject amusement of everyone else.

"Well, that was one heck of an effective alarm clock," Ignatius joked as Billy snapped a few photos of Somnus and Orion, the owl actually posing for the lens.

Unfortunately, the howl was loud enough to have echoed around the Hall.

"Everything all right over there?" Headmaster Dippet called.

"Yes, sir! Our familiars were trying to wake Black's owl," Tessa replied rather loudly. "It worked a bit too well!"

"Ah, OK, then." The Headmaster went back to his breakfast, contented that the prank war that was inevitably going to happen had not commenced yet. The rest of his staff followed his example. Dumbledore frowned in the direction of the Gryffindor table for a moment longer before following suit.

Frey the ball python was hissing profusely at Athenaïs, who gave her friend a sassy look as she continued to scold her. Tom was attempting to keep a straight face the entire time; Harry pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head.

*What do you think you were doing? Is your brain made out of stone too? If that funny wizard with the poor fashion sense finds you he will try to have you removed from the castle and no amount of dragon stealth will help you then! You absolute dingbat; that owl can fly in its sleep somehow. You did not need to do that! Are you listening to me? Do not give me that look! Badly done, Atty, very badly done!*

Athenaïs looked bored throughout.

"Oh dear," Altair commented, shaking his head in amusement.

"My sentiments exactly," Arcturus, Minerva, Walburga and Druella chorused at the exact same time.

It was almost at this exact moment that the breakfast delivery service arrived with newspapers, magazines and sweets from home. Somnus watched them in awe, like he couldn't believe how many of his brethren were actually energetic and awake enough to carry stuff. Athenaïs, Frey, Sigyn and Seraphina shook their heads at him.

"Raven ahoy, Evans!" Ignatius commented, quickly spotting the corvid amongst the parliament of owls.

Sure enough, Tosti's raven was amongst the group of birds heading straight for the Gryffindor table. It cawed to her happily as it landed, dropping what looked like a jewellery box in front of Harry, landing on top of it and holding out its leg for her to untie the letter.

"Oh Merlin!" the Weasleys chorused.

"No way," Tessa breathed out, her hand over her mouth. "Please tell me that is not a courting gift?"

Harry spluttered at that thought. It was a good thing Melinoë had warned her that her ancestors would be in touch or Harry would have likely started to panic. She broke the seal on the letter and unfurled it, not noticing that Altair and Tom had tensed up opposite her. Athenaïs did notice, and was trying not to laugh at them.

Dear Niece,

How very dare you not tell us that you are part of Hogwarts' welcoming choir for Samhain! For shame! You should have informed us much sooner-

Forgive Anthony's tone, Hera, he is very put-out at present. So much so this letter almost became a Howler. Cadmus speaking now; now, you are the Lady Regnant of our great House and Samhain is very sacred to our family, for various – and slightly obvious – reasons. We cannot allow you to be part of the welcoming choir and simply wear whatever trinket is lent to you by your friends, no matter how illustrious their own jewellery may be. So, we had Tosti try to hunt down something a little bit more appropriate for a woman of your standing and a woman of our ancient line from amongst the family jewellery from our own family pieces.

We hope you will wear them tonight, otherwise Anthony will be unbearable. (Ivar here, hello).

With loving and slightly disgruntled greetings,

Your uncles Anthony, Cadmus and Ivar.

Harry chuckled, shaking her head, reading the letter twice. Poor Hypnos having to write this down!

"And? What does your suitor have to say?" Tom asked coolly.

Harry looked up into his slightly darkened burgundy eyes and with a cheeky smirk, handed him the letter. Surprised, Tom took it – Altair and Heron immediately reading over his shoulder, despite Arcturus and Loreley trying to keep them from doing so. The Lady Regnant watched in amusement as the anger in Tom's face was replaced by confusion and then by amusement.

Altair sat back, looking sheepish. "Oh, your uncles and family friends have sent you some family heirlooms."

"Idiots," Artemis commented as Tom handed Harry the letter back, the boy looking slightly embarrassed too.

Harry undid the latch on the ridiculously opulent silver box – bloody Antioch and his obsession with flaunting power – and looked inside to see, nestled in purple velvet were two pieces of jewellery: one an amulet and the other, to her horror, a crown-circlet-like head piece. Harry was captivated the most with the amulet. It was simple in its design: beautiful onyx beads attached to a base of golden metal, engraved with runes, with a giant ruby fixed in the middle.

Artemis and Druella peeked over her shoulder; Athenaïs and Frey peeked in from the left and right of the box. Loreley was smirking knowingly.

"OK, now I am really jealous I will never be a Lady Regnant," Artemis shook her head.

"No, you'll be a Lady Consort, which is just as good," Tessa smirked, especially when she saw that Heron Lestrange was flushing bright red in the face.

"Wally is not going to let you wear anything else tonight, I hope you know that," Druella added.

"I know," Harry sighed as she closed the box. "But I am more afraid of what my uncles will do if I don't wear them. They may be portraits but I would be a fool indeed to underestimate their resolve."

"For crying out loud! Black, your owl is asleep again!" Billy, who had been going around taking photos the entire time, exclaimed.

Athenaïs lit up.

"No, Atty!" Harry scolded lightly. "Not again!"

The Gargouille sulked for the rest of breakfast.

########################

Ambrose and Bradley had been restless for the first time in what felt like an eternity. They had been eating – their appetite had returned quite quickly when given some decent sustenance instead of the disgusting hospital food – and they were already quite popular with the rest of the residents. They even managed to get the new resident, a man who only called himself Hourglass, to calm down enough to eat when he needed to. But for around fifteen hours now, Philip and Emma were once again dealing with the two strange men talking about shadows telling them 'they are coming', 'they are danger' and 'cut in the Veil'.

Philip had been very tempted not too long ago to try and advocate for the two men to be released since they were regaining their health at rather rapid speed but he had momentarily forgotten – to his own chagrin – the kind of mental trauma they had suffered as a result of being turned into a cursed portrait. Now, he and Emma were taking it in turns to keep a very close eye on both these enigmatic Hit Wizards, apparently, to make sure they didn't take a complete turn for the worst.

Admittedly, Ambrose and Bradley had one of their worst episodes a couple of days ago when they had awoken to see two vases full of flowers beside their beds, one on each bedside cabinet. At first, both of the men had smiled at them happily until they asked Emma, who was bringing them their breakfast and coffee, who had left the flowers.

"They left no name," she had answered. "In fact, they left as soon as the flowers were delivered. It was odd to say the least. We were asked to inform you that they were left with kind regards, though."

It was this term 'kind regards' that had triggered Ambrose and Bradley. Both men had sprung out of bed as though they had been zapped by a powerful Tempest Jinx and flat-out refused to get back into bed unless the flowers were removed from their sight.

Philip had tried to reason with them. "Calm down, it's OK-"

"No, it isn't!" Ambrose had hissed. "Get. Rid. Off. Them!"

"Ambrose, they are just flowers," Emma tried again as well.

"No, they are not!" Bradley had snarled. "They are from him! Get. Them. Out. Of. Here. NOW!"

"Him? Who is 'him'?" Philip frowned.

"Who do you think?" Bradley had sneered as though he was talking to an imbecile. "Him! Mr. Freaky Eyes!"

The coin dropped then; Grindelwald. Philip and Emma exchanged a look for a moment before they both had turned to look at the flowers. Why would Grindelwald be sending flowers to the very people he imprisoned? Was it to send some kind of message?

"They are coming," Ambrose continued, at least not shouting this time, sinking down into a visitors' seat behind him. "They are coming. Not good. The Veil will be cut."

Philip frowned. "Who is coming? What do you mean by 'the Veil will be cut'."

"They may already be here," Bradley responded, either ignoring the question or was too caught up in his own head to hear his doctor, sinking to the floor. "Danger. They are in danger. He won't give up."

"Ambrose, Bradley, you are not making any sense," Emma told them gently. "What do you mean?"

It was then that, to her and Philip's shock, the men started to sing:

# Samhain's eve, Samhain's eve, let the ritual begin,
At the Witching Hour, the Veil doth thins,
The Threshold Between Life and Death at its zenith,
Our departed loved ones, we let in,
But beware – for others could slip in,
To take you and others away with a nasty grin,
So dear ones, avoid the knife lest thy blood,
Bring more with it than just a cut.
#

Philip and Emma had frozen to the spot when they heard it. The chant was an old warning from parents to children to stay away from sharp objects on Samhain just in case some nasty critters from the Otherworld found their way into their world – because there was always that one idiotic Muggle who accidentally let fairies into their world at Samhain – and decided to track their next target by the scent of their blood.

To hear two grown men sing it unironically with a look of abject fear and horror, was disconcerting to say the least.

Philip pulled Emma gently to one side as both Ambrose and Bradley continued to sing. "Get Dr. Wilkins. We may need to send the flowers to the Aurors."

"Yes, sir," Emma nodded in the affirmative. "And – what do we do with those two in the meantime?"

"We get them to eat and then … we put them under a Sleeping Charm," Philip decided. "They need rest and clearly this episode isn't normal. We will evaluate their minds again when they've calmed down."

Emma frowned in concern. "Do you really think Grindelwald sent them those flowers?"

"Honestly, I have no idea what to think anymore," Philip responded candidly. "We have two men who were freed from a cursed portrait with lingering remnants of Dark magic in their minds and a man whose mind had been fried by only-Merlin-knows-what and no one at the Ministry, or anyone else, seems to know who this man is. Nothing about our work is normal anymore, so I think it is a possibility that it's the case."

Emma paled at this. "Oh."

"Let's just hope it is the trauma talking, though," Philip continued. "I dread to think what that man has planned for Samhain, and which poor soul is going to be his target."

The young intern could only agree as she set off to try and see if she could find Dr. Wilkins. As she left the Janus Thickney Ward, Emma could not help but think that she was not being paid enough for this kind of dangerous nonsense but quickly quelched the thought. After all, today she had one of the shortest shifts of the year and was getting paid double for working on a Sabbath!

Her last thought on the matter had been, Grindelwald could send as many flowers as he pleased at that point. In about five hours, it would not be my problem anymore!

On Samhain itself, Philip and Emma could not help but feel incredibly apprehensive and prayed that they would get through the day without anything untoward happening.

##########################

It was safe to say that for the rest of day – from nine o'clock to around five-thirty in the evening – that Hogwarts was seeing mayhem and chaos ensue from all corners. It seemed that when Harry was warned that everyone was permitted to prank anyone they wanted, it wasn't a joke. The issue was that it meant she was a target as well.

To try and avoid anyone who got any funny ideas, Harry and Athenaïs had spent as much time in the archives as they could manage. The young Traveller soon lost herself in the manuscripts, learning new spells, new ideas for the Revision Club and also about the creatures her ancestors believed in, real or imagined. She specially liked the small passage on a scribe telling how Cynocephali living in India taught him some herbal magic that was not practised in the West.

Eventually, after three hours, Athenaïs was getting bored and Harry was getting hungry so they decided to go and see if it was safe to go to the kitchens and get a quick snack from the elves, who were no doubt busy preparing the Dumb Supper for that evening. Unfortunately, it meant she and her familiar were now open targets. The Mistress of Death had tried to sense as many life forms as she could and knew there were at least ten potential pranksters in the dungeons.

The issue was, when Harry was hungry, she didn't really pay much attention to what was happening around her.

Suddenly, as she rounded the corner towards the kitchens, Harry felt a sharp stinging sensation hit her nose. She yelped in surprise, clutching her nose and Athenaïs growling furiously at also being hit with something. The Traveller looked up in time to see Malum Avery, Felix Mulciber and Caius Dolohov flee for the safety of the Slytherin dungeons. Harry removed her hand from her nose and conjured a mirror, dreading what they had done. To her horror and fury, her nose was lighting up like a disco ball, flashing all colours of the rainbow in rapid succession. As for her Gargouille, they had turned her neon pink!

HAAAYYUOOOUAOOO! It was safe to say, Athenaïs was not pleased.

Harry tried a Finite Incantatem and Cleansing Charms on both her nose and Athenaïs. Nothing – it hadn't worked. The idiots had used a fortified spells!

Bristling with annoyance, and fuelled by hunger-induced anger, Harry chased after Avery, Mulciber and Dolohov. Food could now officially wait. The three clotpoles had waited in anticipation for Harry to blow or chase after them before hollering down the corridor and fleeing into the common room to hide behind the sofas that Malfoy and Heron were sitting on. Arcturus and Altair had been playing Exploding Snap with Tom reading close by. Orion, Walburga and Druella were discussing who would likely be attending the Dumb Supper. Ophelia had gone to warm up her vocal cords for the evening and Ygraine had gone to take a nap.

The group was more than a little surprised to see three of Riddle's Knights come charging in and diving for cover.

Tom frowned. "Avery, Mulciber, Dolohov! What is the meaning-"

The blue-silver fireball that came whizzing past their ears was more than an apt answer. Heron had managed to catch the orb of flames before it could do any serious damage, his eyes wide. Everyone in the common room tensed as the furious Lady Regnant of House Peverell came prowling in, her eyes bathed in silver with a bright pink dragon next to her. One hand was on her nose while the other had another fireball at the ready. Avery, Mulciber and Dolohov continued to cower behind the sofa.

"Come here, you slippery so-and-sos!" Harry snarled, her voice slightly muffled due to hiding her nose.

"Ah. I see Evans has been targeted, finally," Malfoy stated with a hint of glee.

"Shove off, Malfoy," the Traveller answered with a vitriol that Abraxas noted she had only reserved for his graceful excuse of a grandson.

"Harry," Altair grinned, "why are you hiding that pretty nose of yours?"

"Ask them!" Harry snapped, nodding towards the sofa, refusing to move her hand or extinguish the fireball. Avery, Mulciber and Dolohov snickered from behind their hiding place.

"Why are there colours coming from your nose?" Orion asked, looking genuinely concerned.

Harry let her fireball fade and removed her other hand from her nose, revealing the new disco ball state her nose was in. Heron and Malfoy had to bite their lip while Arcturus and Druella couldn't help falling into hysterics. Orion blinked in astonishment, not expecting that, while Walburga looked affronted. Altair was soon splitting his sides too.

Harry, still furious, turned to Tom, who was also desperately trying to maintain a straight face, and marched to him. "Fix it!"

Tom smirked. "Oh I don't know. It looks rather fetching on you."

Harry's silver eyes brightened. "Tom! This is not funny. Just fix it!"

The Heir of Slytherin gave her a mock-surprised look. "You don't know how to fix this yourself?"

"If I did I would have already done it!" Harry snapped.

Tom seemed to consider for a moment before he donned a look of faux-disappointment. "Are you quite certain you wish for me to fix it?"

"Tom Marvolo Riddle!" Harry roared, silver lightning crackling in her hair and small tremors running around the entirety of Slytherin House. Athenaïs' eyes also started glowing bright green.

"What's the magic word?" Tom asked nonchalantly after about thirty seconds of considering whether or not he wanted to live.

"Abra-fucking-cadabra," the Lady Regnant snarled.

The Heir of Slytherin blinked a couple of times. "Close enough," he decided.

Tom rolled his eyes, waved his wand at Harry's nose nonchalantly and waited for her reaction. The charm Tom had used to fix Harry's nose was admittedly rather painful. Unfortunately it was the only one that could definitely undo the charm on her nose. Tom was rather impressed and thankful that Harry only winced, sniffed her nose twice and pinched the bridge of it.

Tom also undid the spell on Athenaïs, which fortunately didn't have any side-affects. The Gargouille nuzzled his leg affectionately in thanks; Tom patted her head fondly.

"You know, Muggles created that word from the Killing Curse," Heron informed with a smile. "They witnessed it being used once, but they misheard it. The meaning they came up for the word was harmless enough so we let them keep it."

"Another thing your beloved Muggles got wrong!" Mulciber jeered from behind the sofa. "So sorry, Evans."

"Right, that's it!" Harry roared, conjuring five furious Thestrals from a non-verbal, wandless Protego diabolica, looking suddenly like a Disney villain. "I am going to make you three beg for mercy to the point that they can hear you from one end of the Otherworld to the other!"

Avery, Mulciber and Dolohov were reduced to cowering in a corner once more.

"Come on, Harry," Altair consoled her gently with a grin. "Let's not skewer them over a harmless prank. Your nose is back to its normal state. Just get them back for it in a less homicidal way."

Harry's ire cooled very quickly and she dispelled her herd of Thestrals. "You just had to pick the moment where I am hungry to do this, didn't you?" she hissed, scaring herself with how much she sounded like Old Snakeface.

All she got as an answer was profuse whimpering. Harry scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Come on, Atty. Let's see if we can get something to eat this time."

"Wait up. I'll come with you," Altair got to his feet.

"I'll come with you too!" Orion volunteered, following suit. "I really want to try the soul cakes the elves have been making. They refused to do them for two years because the Weasleys always slipped something into them. They managed to slip some kind of potion into a batch of soul cakes that enlarged body parts. You should have seen it-"

Orion did not stop talking and everyone could still hear him after the Slytherin common room closed again. As soon as the coast was clear, Malum, Felix and Caius hopped onto the sofa next to Heron and Malfoy, looking extremely pleased with themselves.

"That went well!" Felix stated gleefully.

"You are awfully cocky for three idiots who almost got incinerated and almost got trampled by fiery Thestrals," Druella mocked snarkily.

"We pranked Harry Evans-Peverell and we have lived to tell about it," Malum answered with a grin. "That is a win for us, I think!"

"Harry will get her vengeance," Heron warned. "You may have just picked a fight you cannot win."

"Considering the fact she managed to get to you guys in your dorms without being detected, it means that she can get to you anywhere at any time," Rosier added, shaking his head. "You three are Harry fodder."

The three of them paled in an instant. It seemed that Malum, Felix and Caius had momentarily forgotten that Harry had managed to get to them – and not leave any evidence that it was her other than suspicions. They had gotten their revenge on her for the pranks they suspected she pulled – but they had managed to catch her while she was hangry.

Harry was going to be out for blood.

As for the Lady Regnant, she was soon out – not just for baby Death Eater blood – but for the blood of Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs and three Gryffindors called Artemis Potter and Septimus and Octavius Weasley. She had managed to get a quick lunch without too much hassle, but as she, Athenaïs, Orion and Altair were going to take a walk, three Hufflepuffs had enchanted scarecrows with pumpkin heads from Mr. Ogden's house to chase them. The group had been forced to seek refuge with the nonplussed but amused groundskeeper. They ended up staying longer than intended for a cup of tea and some cake with the lonely man.

On the way back, the group were caught up with a bunch of other students being chased down by enchanted suits of armour that the Ravenclaws had enchanted to activate if someone said a specific word. Harry had no idea which one it was but all she knew was that the person in question was not going to be able to speak for the rest of the week once she discovered who it was! They had been forced to barricade themselves in a classroom on the fourth floor until Peeves found them and pelted rubbers at them, cackling.

Harry led the group down the fourth-floor corridor. Unfortunately, Harry, Orion, Altair, Athenaïs and the other students ran straight into a trap set by only the most diabolical of minds, and it was only then the Traveller remembered that the fourth-floor was unspoken Gryffindor territory as it was mandatory for the Lions to use while travelling between the West Tower and their Tower. As the extensive group made their way down it, they suddenly found themselves in the midst of an avalanche of mashed parsnips and mushy peas.

That was essentially the last straw for the Traveller – if Hogwarts wanted a pranking war, she'd give them one! The daughter of Prongs cast a non-verbal Cleaning Charm, getting rid of the mess in an instant, her green eyes glowing with a determination that almost made Orion and Altair gulp.

"OK, boys. Let's go," she said in a dangerously calm tone.

"Errr, Harry? Where are we going?" Orion asked nervously.

"The greenhouses," was her curt answer.

"Oh, Merlin," Altair muttered.

Harry and her slightly unwilling accomplices made their way down to the greenhouses, having to dodge pranks from Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin House as well as a few set up by McCullagh and then Griffith, who had apparently boobytrapped the greenhouses to the point Harry thought he may have watched Home Alone, and then promptly remembered that the movie wouldn't be out for another fifty years.

The Traveller roped in the help of the Chinese Chompers, the Cobra Lilies – who were very excited at the prospect of bullying children – and the Fanged Geraniums. Taking a risk, Harry led the way back into the castle via a secret passageway she knew about – Orion and Altair now completely concerned that their friend was an evil genius – and decided to put one of each kind near the Houses of the greatest offenders: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. The Chompers went to Ravenclaw, the Fanged Geraniums to Hufflepuff and the Cobra Lilies got the honour of being guards to Gryffindor Tower. Each of them had the strict instruction to let no one in or out of their Houses and would get extra compost and watering on Harry's next visit. The Cobra Lilies were also bribed with an extra song.

Orion and Altair had both gulped at how keen the plants seemed to be to their 'job'. Unfortunately, Harry was only just getting started.

One of her favourite pranks that Fred and George had ever played, was the portable swamp prank on Umbridge's office. She had spent a long time trying to figure out how they did it and when she did, Harry had decided to make one or two modifications to the spell. What the slightly evil Lady Regnant did was focus on the positions of the classrooms and Houses she wanted to target and incanted the spell in her mind.

By the time the daughter of Prongs was finished, there was a swamp in the middle of Hufflepuff House with a sleepy crocodile making its home in it – causing many to try and flee, only to find that there were Fanged Geraniums outside of their House, biting at them and thus forcing them to retreat. The crocodile glared at the children for ruining its peace, but that was it. Edward Diggory, Ossian Gilbert and several others tried to get rid of the crocodile and the swamp but with no success.

Ravenclaw Tower was besieged by rainforest that had grown out of nowhere, trees coiling around their beloved bookcases and parrots flying around the room, laughing at them. Those who tried to go out for help found they couldn't because the corridor leading to their exit was being guarded by enthusiastic and barbarous Chinese Chompers, which had forced Loreley Malfoy and two other Ravenclaws who had managed to conjure Patronuses to send for help. The only issue was they were going to have to wait for assistance to arrive because the teachers were also hurrying to Gryffindor Tower.

The Lions had been gifted with a lovely savannah that had taken over their common room and were currently hiding in their dorms from a pride of curious lions, scratching at the doors. Minerva, who had finally been able to conjure her cat Patronus, had sent straight for help and Dumbledore had naturally immediately answered the call, forcing Vesper and Redferne to come with him. The issue was they couldn't get to the Tower because they were being hindered by a field of Cobra Lilies that were hissing menacingly at them, flaring their lily-petal-hoods at them in warning.

It was safe to say that Aneurin Griffith was flooded with Patronus calls for his assistance.

Slytherin House was not spared. The Snakes had been taken completely by surprise by the fact that one minute their common room was completely normal, and the next there was a tundra encasing their pristine surroundings, with mosses, heaths and lichen ruining the splendid décor on the statues. What made many a-person scream to the extent of a soprano vocalist, was the fact that there were two wolves and two artic foxes running around, looking very confused. Immediately, the shark Patronus of Mulciber, the dinosaur Patronus of Malfoy and the orca Patronus belonging to Arcturus had been sent to Professor Slughorn, who immediately came to see the commotion and was utterly flabbergasted at not only seeing a small, snow covered mountain in the middle of the room but also two wolves and two artic foxes rolling around on the snowy floor.

Unfortunately for the faculty, Harry had not spared them either. Dumbledore's classroom, office and personal living quarters was home to a coral biome, much to the man's own amusement. McCullagh's classroom had been conquered by a taiga biome with ill-tempered squirrels and lynxes prowling around. Merrythought was on one hand impressed but utterly apoplectic to find out someone had turned her classroom into a freshwater biome with manatees swimming around leisurely, frogs, raccoons and mosquitoes.

All the while this mayhem had ensued, and the teachers were on the hunt for the culprit, Harry, Orion, Altair – both of whom had gotten over their initial apprehension – and Athenaïs had moved onto the next trick. This time, they had gone to Gargoyle Corridor.

For her next prank, Harry decided to do something perhaps a little bit more tame. She raised her hands in the air and her eyes bled silver. "Piertotum Locomotor!"

Athenaïs was delighted to see her silent, stone friends begin to move, slowly but steadily, all of them spreading their wings and raising their heads. Orion and Altair watched in glee as the thirty odd statues stepped down from their pedestals, looking to the Lady Regnant for orders. The two boys began howling with laughter as Harry put them into Hawaiian hoola outfits, sprangly dresses from the 1920s and a few of them getting a cane and top hat with the order to sing and dance as loud as they could for any students and staff member they could find and to follow them until they "found a new audience".

"You're insane," Altair told her through breathless laughter. "Absolutely brilliant, but you're insane."

The Lady Regnant grinned. "It's what you love about me."

Harry wasn't even aware of what she had said, but the boys and Athenaïs did. Orion gaped unabashedly and Altair flushed for a moment before he answered. "True."

Athenaïs and Orion began swooning cartoonishly.

Meanwhile, the gargoyles had come across Tom and his Knights on the hunt for the Lady Regnant they suspected were behind turning the castle into a paradise for different conjured wildlife. It was fair to say that none of these Dark wizards knew what to do as they saw these giant statues coming towards them, dressed outlandishly and singing,

# You can dance, you can jive,
Having the time of your life,
Oooooo, see that girl, watch that scene,
Diggin' the Dancing Queen

Friday night and the lights are low,
Looking out for a place to go,
Where they play the right music,
Getting in the swing,
You come to look for a king
#

The boys were horrified to notice that no matter how fast they tried to run, the gargoyles kept up with their face and didn't stutter over the beat of the song – that was until they spotted a group of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaws who had not managed to get trapped into their Houses and immediately went serenade them instead, the thirteen and fourteen-year-olds all shrieking in fear.

"Bloody Peverell," Mulciber commented, taking a moment to gather his breath.

"Excuse you, you were partially responsible for this!" Heron scoffed. "If you, Caius and Malum hadn't been such idiots and a bit more cunning, you would have been able to prank Harry without incurring her divine wrath."

Mulciber wisely kept his mouth shut at that.

"You have to admit that it's actually kind of funny – I mean did you see Slughorn fall flat on his butt because he misjudged the snow? And I heard Dumbledore has been doing battle with Cobra Lilies of all things! Plus, the whole thing is so difficult to get rid of, it's genius," Malum gushed.

Tom and his Knights finally managed to track down the Lady Regnant, Heir Black, Heir Nott and the Gargouille hiding in the music room after almost an hour of searching the castle. It seemed that Orion and Nott had managed to calm Harry down enough to get her to take a break from her schemes and to play some music. Nott was at the piano, playing a jazzy number. Harry was re-tuning a violin, Orion was making sure he wasn't touching any of the instruments just in case he made more flowers appear with them, and Athenaïs was sitting behind some drums, hitting them gently with her tail and the drum stick in her mouth, trying to keep to Nott's rhythm. Tom couldn't keep the smile off his face, no matter how hard the dark voice in his subconscious tried to get him to fight it.

Finally, Harry had managed to re-tune the instrument to a standard she could approve of and began playing along with the beat Nott and Athenaïs established. Orion began moving along to the music, tapping one leg with his hand to the beat. To Tom and his Knight's surprise, it was Orion who began to sing.

# Folks, here's a story about Minnie the Moocher,
She was a red hot hoochie-coocher,
She was the roughest, toughest, frail,
But Minnie had a heart as big as a whale,

Hi de hi de hi de hi,
Ho de ho de ho de ho,
Hee de hee de hee de hee,
Hi de hi de hi de ho,

She messed around with a bloke named Smokey,
She loved him though he was cokey,
He took her down to Chinatown and showed her,
How to kick the gong around,

Hi de hi de hi de hi,
Whoaaaaa,
Hee de hee de hee de hee,
Hi de hi de hi de ho #

Tom really wanted to hex and curse Dolohov for clearing his throat as Altair, Harry and Athenaïs echoed the chorus; fortunately Abraxas and Malum gave the Russian a good whack around the head for interrupting their performance. Harry gave a cold look to Avery, Mulciber and Dolohov but it didn't last for too long.

"Interesting choice of song there, Black," Heron grinned. "Haven't heard that one in a while."

"I didn't know you even knew Minnie the Moocher," Orion responded, looking a little bit embarrassed at having been caught singing.

"You never asked," Heron pointed out with a slight teasing grin. As if Tom couldn't be taken more by surprise, the Lestrange heir stepped into the room and took a seat on the stall next to Orion. Altair, Harry and Athenaïs without needing to be told, began playing again and then, it was Heron who started to sing.

# She had a dream about the king of Sweden,
He gave her things, that she was needin',
He gave her a home built of gold and steel,
A diamond car, with platinum wheels #

As Heron and Orion kept perfect pace with the third high speed chorus, Tom could not help but start laughing in disbelief.

"What the heck has happened to this place?" Dolohov groaned quietly. "Black can sing, Heron isn't too bad at it – what is going on here? It's like Hogwarts has changed."

"Did it?" Avery frowned. "I don't think it has. Not too much anyway. Besides, we never really asked Heron if he liked to sing or not, did we?"

"I still think we've all gone barking mad," the Russian stated.

"Weren't we all barking mad anyway?" Mulciber chuckled.

"Yes," Abraxas stated firmly. "Yes, we were."

Heron and Orion moved onto another swinging song when Walburga, Druella, Ophelia, Ygraine, Artemis and Minerva arrived, clearly on the trail of Harry Evans-Peverell as well.

"Harry!" Ophelia's exclamation startled the Lady Regnant into accidentally making a very tone-deaf note on the violin, which made Harry scowl at her. The Rowle heiress ignored her. "Have you seen the time?"

Harry frowned. She cast a quick Tempus. 4.00pm.

Her eyes bugged out. "Shit! We have to prepare for the Dumb Supper!"

"Yes," Ophelia sighed. "We need to take a bath, get dressed, do you hair and make sure that we get to the ante-chamber on time for a quick rehearsal before six sharp."

Harry was up on her feet in an instant, cursing her ability to lose herself in music. The pureblood heiresses shook their heads despondently at their slightly scatter-brained friend before escorting her to the Slytherin dungeons, leaving an amused Artemis and Minerva with the boys.

Walburga was giving Harry an update at Orion-speed as they walked. "Professor Griffith managed to deal with your army of plants and the Hufflepuffs have their common room back, as do we – thanks for that by the way! Did you have to give us the bloody tundra, you evil hag? Anyway, the Eagles and the Lions are apparently still stuck with their biomes but the animals have been removed so they can at least come out of their Towers now. As for the teachers, Dumbledore has only just managed to clear his classroom and office and McCullagh is utterly at a loss at what you have done to her classroom – Dumbledore has only cleared half of the biome out. Merrythought's classroom has not been cleared at all yet. By the way, there are singing and dancing gargoyles following everyone. What in Merlin's name have you been doing?"

"Revenge," was all Harry retorted with.

"Merlin, girl, you went on a rampage, didn't you?" Druella chuckled. "On one hand I wish you had been here a year or two earlier so we could have seen you properly pitted against everyone but then on the other hand, I think it is a good thing Hogwarts will have seen the last of your mayhem! The staff may have been liable to getting a heart attack."

Harry smirked smugly.

"I am liable to get a heart attack from her every day," Walburga grumbled, earning herself a nudge from her friend.

"Well, I think Harry livens the place up a bit," Ygraine grinned. "I mean, I heard Merrythought is covered in mosquito bites!"

Harry winced a bit at that. Whoopsie. She may have gone a bit too overboard!

"But so far everyone is pointing fingers at the Weasleys, Artemis – which is why she is trying to hide – Billy Prewett and a bunch of the known pranksters," Ophelia told her. "No one even suspects you yet, somehow!"

Harry couldn't resist cackling evilly at this.

"You need help," Druella commented, shaking her head.

The pureblood heiresses from all the year groups put way too much time and effort into preparing for the Samhain festivities. Harry was forced to bring the dress box Loreley had apparently bought for her, as well as Evren's violin, her jewellery, shampoo, one brush and towel and follow her friends up to the Prefect's bathroom, feeling like she was about to go camping instead of bathing. Sometimes, Harry really hated being a girl.

The other girls from the choir had the same thought. It was a good thing that the Prefect's bathroom was practically a swimming pool because otherwise there would likely have been some kind of fight for the right to bathe first. The mermaid in the stained glass window watched them all in amusement as she ran her shell brush through her long locks, giving Harry momentary flashbacks to her dreadful fourth year.

She was more than content to listening to the girls practise the chant for tonight, preferring to bathe and wash her slightly-less-unruly-hair in peace and quiet.

Samhain was known for giving Harry some unpleasant surprises. The surprise that she faced when finally she got out of the bath to dress – she couldn't decide if it was pleasant or not. Harry had stepped into the dressing room and decided to open the dress box, to see what abomination Loreley had bought for her. To her delight and horror, the Malfoy Seeress had bought the armour dress that she had seen last week.

"Damn it, Lorri," Harry half-chuckled in a whisper. "Bloody Seers."

Walburga had taken up the mantle of dressing Harry, as the Lady Regnant had half expected. Heiress Black did not trust anyone else but herself to deal with Harry's hair when necessary. When Wally saw the dress, she blinked in complete shock.

"Remind me to hug Loreley Malfoy the next time I see her," she stated when she finally found her voice again.

Harry rolled her eyes but didn't disagree and instead endured being dressed like a doll by her friend, her wet hair still wrapped in a towel and out of the way. The whole process of getting into the gown, drying her curls, styling the curls and fixing Harry's amulet and circlet on her head took a shocking half an hour, much to the Lady Regnant's relief.

The rest of the girls from the choir were done at around the same time as she was. Everyone wore long evening gowns of various different styles and colours, transfixing Harry with how vibrant they looked. Ophelia herself was a definite knock-out, dressed in an indigo gown with silver details in a Grecian style and her curls fixed in place with a Grecian headband. It was like seeing Medea or Circe in the flesh.

"Wow, Ophelia," Harry grinned. "You look amazing."

Ophelia, who was momentarily distracted with packing her Sabbath dress into her bag, grinned. "Thanks, Harry." She straightened and took her friend in herself, eyes widening. "Wow! Now that's a dress if I ever saw one. It's got a warrior queen look to it – did Loreley really buy you this?"

"Yeah," Harry responded meekly. "She saw me looking at it."

"You'll knock them dead, Evans," one of the Gryffindor girls grinned.

"Let's hope not! Otherwise our Dumb Supper guests will have a nasty surprise if they see their living relatives suddenly dead," Harry chuckled.

The girls donned their cloaks, covering their dresses as best as they could; apparently for people to see the dresses of the singers of a Dumb Supper chant before the chant was as much bad luck as seeing a bride's dress before her wedding. The boys of the choir were wearing cloaks too, but apparently they did that just to show solidarity with the girls so they didn't have to feel weird about it.

Unusually sweet, Harry had thought.

Professor McCullagh arrived soon after the choir, looking excited but slightly jumpy. The Head of Ravenclaw had opted for a purple satin gown, embroidered with gold with a sleeves and train made of an opaque teal material that had gold overlay. Somehow, Harry guessed Rowena Ravenclaw herself would have approved of the gown.

"All right, everyone! Are you ready?" she asked giddily.

"Yes, ma'am," the group chorused.

"I know we haven't had much time to prepare, and I apologise for it since it wasn't ideal. But I am sure our ancestors will be pulled to see us by the passion you put into this as well as how good the songs sound," the Charms professor rubbed her hands together. "So, don't fret – there is a privacy charm on the chamber so we can hear the people in the Hall but they can't hear us. With that being said, let's practise once more from the top!"

By the mid-section of the song the group could hear the Great Hall beginning to fill, the cacophony of voices drifting into the ante-chamber. Harry felt her heart begin to hammer in her chest – it had been a while since she performed for such a large group of people and she couldn't help but feel slightly nervous.

She felt someone take her left hand and give it a gentle squeeze. "Harry, breathe. You'll be fine," Ophelia reassured in a whisper. "We've got this!"

"Yeah," Harry responded with a shot laugh. "Yeah, we do."

The chatter of the students echoed around them; Professor McCullagh carefully stuck her head out of the ante-chamber entrance into the Great Hall, clearly checking if the Hall was full and to see if she could subtly get a signal from the Headmaster. She soon withdrew her head back again with a grin.

"It's time!" she announced.

"Samhain!" Headmaster Dippet's voice resonated off all corners. "It is the sacred time to honour and remember our ancestors and the loved ones we lost. It is the time where we can see each other and dine with each other one last time – which is why you likely do not want to hear this boring old man speak any further, so with that, give a hand to the Samhain Welcomers!"

Harry and Ophelia exchanged one more look and smile before following the group out, keeping their cloaks on and hoods up, the Great Hall applauding and whooping, in the case of the Gryffindors. Fortunately for the Traveller, she already had some idea of what to expect. The Headmaster had prepared a series of Runes and sigils that were only ever used at Samhain because they were used to call the dead forth to the Runes' and sigils' location. The choir filed onto the benches that had prepared for them; the musicians took their place on chairs. Harry, since she had a solo, got to stand on a small podium close to the choir.

With a nod from McCullagh, the kids undid their cloaks and tossed them aside. Harry heard a few of the Slytherin and Ravenclaw girls gasp and begin whispering excitedly, no doubt gossiping about the dresses they saw. Harry ignored them as the Runes and sigils began to glow and McCullagh met her eyes and gave her a nod.

They were all good to go.

Harry lifted up Evren's violin and began playing the gentle, mystic notes of the beginning of In Noctem, with the other musicians following her example. She then took a deep breath and stopped playing herself while the others continued.

# Carry my soul,
Into the night,
May the stars light my way,
I glory in the sight,
As darkness takes the day,

Ferte in noctem animam meam,
Illustre stellae via meam,
Aspectu illo glorior,
Dum capit nox diem
#

It was just as Harry sung the words 'nox diem', that the music changed ever so slightly to an upbeat but still haunting melody, the Traveller began playing her ancestor's violin once more and the choir joined in.

# Double, double, toil and trouble,
Fire burn and cauldron bubble,
Double, double, toil and trouble,
Something wicked this way comes!

Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg and owlet's wing,

Double, double, toil and trouble,
Fire burn and cauldron bubble,
Double, double, toil and trouble,
Fire burn and cauldron bubble! #

As soon as the choir had hit the last note on the second 'cauldron bubble', Harry's voice came back into the mix as the ethereal, spooky music hit a crescendo with the choir only backing her up in the two parts.

# Cantate vitae canticum,
Sine dolore actae,
Dicite eis quos amabam
(Sing a song)

Me numquam obliturum
(A song of life)

Made without regret#

The choir's transition to their verse after Harry's was so smooth, the Traveller wanted to do a little dance; fortunately she restrained herself.

# Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg and owlet's wing!

Double, double, toil and trouble,
Fire burn and cauldron bubble,
Double, double, toil and trouble,
Fire burn and cauldron bubble!

Something wicked this way comes!

Double, double, trouble and trouble,
Fire burn and cauldron bubble!

Something wicked this way comes! #

And as the music calmed just after the awesome sounding last high note from the choir, Harry sang in an eerie, quiet tone:

# Tell the ones, the ones I loved
I never will forget
Never will forget#

It was only until the final violin note was played by one of the sitting musicians that the Great Hall erupted into cheering and applause. Harry released the breath she didn't even realise she had been holding back and was soon distracted by her nerves with a hug from Ophelia, who was barely containing her own excitement.

"It worked, it worked, it worked!" Ophelia sang. "Look!"

Harry looked out into the Great Hall. To her own surprise and delight, there were a vast group of different spirits looking around at their surroundings and trying to find their family members. The Runes and sigils on the ground were still glowing as more spirits answered the call from Hogwarts. She saw the Weasley twins greet a funny looking ghost, Minerva was chatting to an elderly woman and the Prewett siblings were animatedly conversing with a middle-aged woman in Edwardian dress and hat.

Over at the Slytherin table, Walburga looked like she wanted to be swallowed up by the ground because of two Black ancestresses giving her a lecture. Abraxas Malfoy was getting an earful from one of his ancestors too, much to Loreley's amusement and the amusement of the ghost of a young boy, who was likely the cousin Loreley had watched die. Both the Avery siblings were chatting happily to who Harry guessed were their grandparents. Druella and Arcturus had a visit from a young man and woman in Regency dress. Artemis was being besieged left right and centre with Potter spirits. Ophelia was occupied talking to the spirit of her favourite aunt. Altair had a visit from both his maternal and paternal grandparents.

Mulciber, Dolohov, Tom, Heron and Ygraine were amongst the few Harry could see who had not been visited by a spirit. This made her frown a little – why not? Was the song not strong enough to call everyone's loved ones?

"Erm … Evans! Look behind you!" she heard Octavius Rookwood shout as she was about to join the Slytherin table.

In that moment, Harry felt the hairs on the back of her head stand up on end; she was being watched. Carefully, she turned around and the sight that her eyes fell on made her heart almost stop in shock.

There, standing as she had remembered them, were Luna, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville, Fred and George, all grinning and quietly laughing at her. Harry's hands went straight for her mouth and she closed her eyes to stop the tears that were suddenly threatening to fall.

"OH MY GODS!" she shrieked.

"Hey, Harry!" the group chorused.

"Dang, little sister!" Fred added with a Cheshire cat like grin. "You look like a queen!"

"I'll say," Ron chuckled. "Do you want us to bow, Your Majesty?"

"I'm dreaming. I have to be fucking dreaming," Harry chanted to herself, shaking her head.

"You're not dreaming," Luna responded whimsically and promptly stuck her hand through Harry's head and giggled as she withdrew it. "Hehehehe, ooo that tickled!"

"How the hell … how can you … why are you here?!" Harry felt like the world was going completely mad.

"We are not alive, but still in your heart," Luna sang. Hermione and Ginny pinched the bridge of their noses.

"Well, we've been stuck in this really weird Limbo like area, it was weird as-"

"-Ronald, don't you dare swear!" Hermione and Ginny chorused.

"-fudge pie," Ron rolled his eyes. "I mean, we're not alive but we're not entirely … dead? I can't explain, it's too strange. We have no idea how long we've been there but then just minutes ago we heard you singing, and them."

Ron pointed to a few members of the choir.

"Ronald, pointing is rude!" Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose. "Do I really have to be stuck for all eternity with you?"

"You wanted to date him the last time I checked," Harry quipped.

"Shush," Hermione answered curtly, but could not keep the grin off her face. "It is so good to see that you're not dead, you bloody imbecile!"

Harry shuffled her feet. "Yeah well about that-"

"You know what I mean!" Hermione scolded, putting her hands on her hips. "What you did was one of the most brave, foolish things I have ever seen you do and I have known you for way too long-"

"Hermione, this is one of the possibly last times we ever get to see Harry and you're just going to shout at her?" Neville tried to diffuse the situation. Neville then turned and smiled at her brightly. "It is good to see that you're OK. We were really worried about you."

"I always knew she would be OK," Luna disagreed with a smile. "The Fates always find a way to correct their mistakes."

"So you keep saying," Ginny sighed.

"Erm, Harry – I don't want to freak you out, but you're being stared at by a bunch of people and they're looking like you're about to crumble into dust," Ron frowned looking towards the Slytherin and Gryffindor tables.

"It's a very long story," Harry admitted. "But would you like to meet my new friends?"

Luna lit up in an instant, as did Neville. Fred and George simultaneously nodded their heads. Ginny didn't look too ecstatic, neither did Ron. Hermione was neutral on the matter.

"Please?" Harry begged.

It was only then that the group seemed to take in the whole of their surroundings. "Whoa!" they chorused, looking around at the Great Hall in awe, causing Harry to facepalm.

"Wow, timing, guys," she commented dryly.

"Your friends … they haven't hurt you, have they?" Ginny was the first to recover, looking at Harry in concern.

The Traveller frowned. "No, they haven't. Why would you think-"

"You're friends with him and his … gang," Ginny responded easily. "I can see it, don't ask me how I know. Don't get it myself. I can also see that you have made friends with a doppelgänger that looks like you! What the hell?!"

Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna and the twins immediately turned to look straight at Artemis, who had been watching the group with rapt attention along with several others. Before the Potter heiress could properly process what was happening, Harry's old friends had floated over and were staring unblinkingly at her, Ginny's spirit flying after them in irritation. Artemis leant a little bit backwards.

The Potter heiress chuckled awkwardly, her ghostly visitors watching amusement. "Erm … hi?"

"Wow, you two look alike!" Ron commented. "Merlin's saggy trousers, this is weird."

"My name is Artemis Potter. Pleased to meet you. What's your name?" Artemis tried not to freak out. Harry pinched the bridge of her nose and went to rescue her Gryffindor counterpart.

"Oh, I am Ron. Nice to meet you," Ron grinned.

"I am Hermione," Hermione smiled.

"My name is Luna," Luna dipped a little curtsey.

"Ginny. I am this idiot's younger sister," the red-headed girl pointed to a now sulky Ron.

"And we are the idiot's older brothers," Fred and George chorused. "We are Gred and Forge!"

Harry snorted. "No, you're Fred and George! Do not confuse her already, please."

"I am Neville. Nice to meet you," Neville was by far the most careful and polite of the introductions.

It suddenly clicked in Artemis' head who these people were.

"Oh Morgana! You're Harry's old friends!" Artemis' hands flew to her mouth in shock.

"At your service," Fred stated as he and George flourished a bow to her, causing Artemis to blush.

"Wait, you have been telling them about us?" Ron turned to Harry, looking both awed and pleased.

"Of course, she loves talking about you guys," Artemis grinned.

Luna caught sight of a group of Slytherin girls who were looking like they wanted to introduce themselves but seemed to be either too nervous to or too scared. She could already tell that they were some of Harry's closest friends – they didn't have any Nargles or Wackspurts – and floated over to them. But she decided it was best to play ignorant.

"Hello," she sang. "I am Luna. Do you know Harry?"

The girls immediately smiled.

"We do," the girl with almost silver hair replied. "She is our dorm mate and friend. My name is Ygraine White. I am so pleased to finally meet you."

"Dorm mate?" Ron floated over in disbelief, looking at the Slytherin banner above their heads. "Harry's a Snake?!"

"I always knew she belonged into Slytherin House," Luna informed him coolly. "The House of Lions – nope. Not ever." She looked to the heavy-lidded girl next to Ygraine. "And who are you?"

"Druella Rosier. I am honoured to finally meet you," the girl answered with a disbelieving smile.

Luna beamed at her and then turned to the girl with dark curly hair and dark eyes, who was still looking at her with a sad expression. "And you?"

"Walburga Black," the girl responded when she finally managed to speak.

"No way-"

WHACK!

Luna stopped Ron in his tracks with a rare slap around the head, glaring at him menacingly to keep his damn mouth shut before she used her ghostly powers to glue it shut!

By now, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and the twins were floating after them, also introducing themselves to Ygraine, Druella and Walburga, Harry trailing after them. Luna with Ron close behind had stopped in front of the boy who looked like a blue-eyed Sirius, who was watching them in awe and delight.

"Hello," Luna grinned. "I take it you know Harry as well?"

The boy nodded. "Orion Black, Heir to the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, at your service," he bowed his head to her. "You must be Luna."

"I am," Luna giggled. "How lovely. You seem to know who I am already."

"Harry's told us a lot about all of you, and I saw sketches of you," Orion replied with a small smile. "She loves you dearly."

Ron put his hands in his pockets at that, not knowing what to do with that information. Luna beamed, though. "So you are her friend?" Ron asked as civilly as he could manage.

"Absolutely. She's like a sister to me," Orion informed easily. "I was the first to meet her actually. Druella Rosier was the second."

"Really?" Ron's interest had peaked.

Both spirits listened with rapt attention as Orion explained how he and Druella had met Harry, and when the Black Heir pointed out Altair Nott as the third who had become acquainted with her, they turned to look directly at the boy, who had been watching them almost unblinkingly.

While Ron stayed to converse with Orion, Luna decided to float over to greet Altair Nott, trying not to grin when she saw the golden light around him – the same golden light that had been around Harry. "Hello!"

"Hello, Luna," the boy answered in a quiet tone.

"Altair Nott, right?" she grinned.

"Yes, ma'am," Luna giggled as he bowed his head respectfully to her.

"I would ask if Harry is your friend, but I can see from your face the answer already," the half-Sighted girl sang.

Altair blanched. Arcturus and Heron chuckled from next to him.

"So even Luna can see it," Heron shook his head. "I am Heron Lestrange. Harry's a good friend of mine too."

"Nice to meet you," Luna smiled brightly. Oh yes, Harry's mission was going smoothly.

"Arcturus Rosier. I am Druella's twin brother and Altair Nott's childhood friend," the other boy piped up. "Harry wasn't a friend of mine until recently. Mainly because of my own stupidity I will admit."

"Oh that doesn't matter. It took a while for Harry to like me too," Luna responded candidly. "I am not easy to like, apparently. But there is nothing I can do about that, I'm afraid."

"I am sure that's not true," Heron frowned. "You seem decent enough to me."

"People don't like things they don't understand, you know," Luna answered, floating cross-legged on the table. "Well, I could see things others couldn't. People didn't know how to handle that very well."

"That sounds familiar," Arcturus commented, looking straight at Loreley.

Luna followed his gaze and her eyes widened as her eyes met Loreley Malfoy's – they were like her mother's! And there was a silver light around her; she was Chosen by the Weavers! Loreley smiled brightly at the young girl.

"Hello," Loreley gave the girl a small wave from her seat between her brother and Dolohov. "I am Loreley Malfoy. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Nice to meet you too," the spirit's voice was no more than a whisper; unlike with the others, the girl did not dare approach.

Harry watched in utter complete awe and disbelief as Luna started making friends with Altair, Arcturus, Heron, Loreley and even got Dolohov, Mulciber and Tom to make introductions to her as well. Malum Avery even got up from his seat next to his sister on the other end of the table to meet Luna! Hermione was talking with Artemis and Minerva, who had come over to introduce herself. Ron was still talking with Orion, Ginny was gossiping with Walburga, Druella, Ygraine and Ophelia (who had joined by this point) and Neville was both horrified and surprised when Heron introduced himself to him and struck up a Herbology conversation!

As for Fred and George, they had managed to find the 1940s Weasley twins and the Prewetts and were having a very fun conversation with them, and their ghostly visitors.

Harry could categorically say this was one of the best and oddest Samhains she had ever had.

"Harry, get your butt over here this instance and explain why you opted to go for a Cursebreaking job and not a bookshop assistant like a normal person!" Hermione's voice rang in her ears.

"Well, it seemed like fun and I am pretty good at it," Harry answered easily.

"You're a maniac," Hermione candidly informed her friend.

"True, but you knew that already," the Traveller quipped.

"That does not mean you have to be extra suicidal – RONALD, THAT IS MY SOUL CAKE!"

Ron had sneakily tried to take one of Hermione's soul cakes without her noticing and had failed miserably. What ensued was a spirit chase between them around the Great Hall with Harry, Ginny, Neville, Luna and the twins splitting their sides and other spirits tutting and shaking their heads.

"Geruff me, woman! OI!" Ron protested as he got ectoplasm flung at his face by his irate girlfriend. "Right, that's it!"

Harry watched as Ron used whatever spirit powers he had to zap Hermione back for the ectoplasm that had been hurled at him.

"Are they always like this?" Orion asked in fascination.

"Yep!" Harry, Ginny, Neville and Luna chorused.

Soon, the Slytherins were all thinking the same thing. Oh boy. This was going to be a long night.

"Hey, Harry!" George called from the Gryffindor table. "Sing something! Maybe that will calm those idiots down."

Harry smiled to herself and then looked to Luna, who seemed to be thinking the exact same thing. "One more song, for old times' sake?" she asked.

"Of course," Luna answered easily and conjured a Glass Harp. "Do you know which one you want to sing?"

The Traveller considered for a moment, but both her Slytherin and Gryffindor voices were unanimous that she should sing a song she had been writing with Luna – one that Harry had never dared to sing in public before, or think about.

"The one we were writing before I … left," Harry replied eventually.

"Ah, yes! That one is still so good. It is a pity you never sung it for them before," Luna rubbed her hands together. "Whenever you're ready, my friend."

Harry closed her eyes and pictured herself with her friends in a happier, easier time.

# Sitting alone by the window,
Staring out at the rolling green and the mountains,
You came by and asked if you could sit,
Had no idea just what you did, did you, my friend?

Oh, oh,
We got off to a rocky start, my friend,
But now I cannot imagine never not meeting you,
I struggled with you, that is true,
But that didn't mean I loved you any less,

Oh, oh,
Good times and bad times,
We went through it all,
Held each other through each fall,
There in our castle next to the lake,
There are days that,

I want to go back to our castle next to the lake,
But even if it's in ruins,
I know that one day,
We will meet again,
In this life or the next.

Oh, oh,
I watched you grow, my friend,
For years you shook like a leaf,
And now look at you,
You're stronger than anyone thought you would be,
I was just as blind, I'll admit,
Never, never, never again,

Oh, oh,
Good times and bad times,
We went through it all,
Held each other through each fall,
There in our castle next to the lake,
There are days that,

I want to go back to our castle next to the lake,
But even if it's in ruins,
I know that one day,
We will meet again,
In this life or the next.

Oh, oh,
My friend, you always had your eyes wide open,
But mine were still closed for too long,
I was wrong,
Quickly you won me over,
But what did you see in me?
What could you see that was hidden away?
Will you stay long enough to explain?

Oh, oh,
Good times and bad times,
We went through it all,
Held each other through each fall,
There in our castle next to the lake,
There are days that,

I want to go back to our castle next to the lake,
But even if it's in ruins,
I know that one day,
We will meet again,
In this life or the next.

Yeah, I know that one day,
if we never make it back to our castle next to the lake,
We will meet again,
In this life or the next

#

Harry laughed with relief once she had finished and looked to see Ron and Hermione floating close to her, both looking like they had been crying ectoplasm. It wasn't just them either; Neville was ugly crying, Ginny was grinning while fighting her tears and Luna was also dabbing her eyes. Fred and George were the only ones who had recovered and were whooping. The living were also blowing their noses into handkerchiefs and the other dead guests were applauding the extra performance.

"Yeah, that's our Harry!" they chorused.

Harry flushed with embarrassment.

"Why did you never sing that before?" Hermione whispered.

"I wasn't ready to," Harry answered honestly. "Plus, it felt … self-piteous and I didn't know how you would react to it."

"Mate, it was stunning. Self-piteous? Shut up," Ron scoffed. "Plus, we can leave again knowing that a) you're OK, b) you're being looked after all right and c) this may not be the last time you see us. Otherwise Hermione might have insisted we stay to haunt you."

"Awww, ickle Ronnie kins has a soft side," Fred swooned dramatically as he and George floated over.

"Shut up!"

The evening passed with the ghosts and spirits behaving themselves for the rest of the evening. The living and the dead ate, drank and laughed together until it was time for the dead to leave again at around nine o'clock. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Neville, Fred and George went by each and every one of Harry's new friends to say goodbye.

But it was what Luna said that hit them the hardest: "I am not worried about her, just so you know. I trust her with all of you. Thank you for being there for her."

Harry hated to admit to herself, but the last of her grief flowed out of her eyes as she waved farewell to her beloved family, who waved back at her enthusiastically as the sigil took them back to the afterlife.

"We love you little sis!" Fred and George shouted. "In this life or the next."

But much to the surprise of her friends, Harry also started laughing through her tears. She could now finally move on fully.

You're welcome, she heard Thanatos state smugly through the Link.

Tosti? How … how were they here?

Very simple. They are from your time line and in your heart; they are your ghosts. But your exact time line is gone, thus so are they. But they will be born again – just not as the people you knew. These are the ghosts of the people you knew.

Harry nodded. Thank you. I needed this.

I know. Blessed Samhain, Harry.

Harry smiled and for once felt like she could answer honestly. Blessed Samhain, Tosti.

##############################

The three hooded figures snuck in through the gates of the Tower of London, the full moon shining an eerie spotlight on them. The atmosphere in the Tower was hostile and unwelcoming. This was no surprise; Samhain was a time that was also confusing for the ones who had crossed over, and it was safe to assume that the Tower ghosts were much displeased with the current state of the world. The Yeomen were sleeping soundly; it was a good thing that their Sleeping Spell on the inhabitants of the Tower was holding – meddlesome Muggle guards could not be permitted to interfere with the rite. They carried someone between them, a young woman who was under a Sedation Charm and who was bound. The three strangers were carrying her towards the place of execution that had been used to behead traitors, heretics and queens, which also happened to be the site where the sacred Blood Rite between the Tower Ravens and the Monarch of England had been performed back in 1066.

"You think the pesky Tower Ghosts will decide to try and stop us?" one of the group with a sinisterly silky voice asked.

"Even if they try, there is not much a bunch of silly Muggle ghosts can do," another with a rough, gruff tone responded.

"Now, now, Caspar, underestimating ghosts on Samhain is one of the most stupid things one can do," the third was an annoyingly squeaky voice stated. "In fact, underestimating ghosts is just dangerous."

"Let's just get this over with," the man named Caspar growled. "I would not like to be in the Tracker's way for too long."

Caspar and his two compatriots stepped onto the green, placing the woman down on the ground and drew a dagger from his inner jacket pocket. It was at this precise moment that Big Ben in the distance struck twelve.

"O Tenebrae, accipite hanc animam offerimus. Dimitte eum, qui potest venari aliquem; vivus vel mortuus!" the three men chanted in unison before Caspar plunged the dagger into the abdomen of the victim.

It was at this precise moment that a ripple effect ran straight through the land of the living but also the lands of the dead and the Otherworld, causing a cold, blistering wind to arise. Thanatos and Melinoë, who had been going about their divine business and pleased that their present to Harry had been well-received, stopped in their tracks and paled even further than they actually already were.

"NO!" they roared in fury as they felt the presence of something they had hoped would never find its way to the Land of the Living without their express permission.

From a deep cut and a nasty mist bank emerged a hooded figure with a skeletal face and on top of a horse that was darker than the night and had bright glowing orange eyes. The horse was pulling an intimidating cage behind it. The wizards watched as the soul of the woman they sacrificed was sucked into the cage. The man-that-wasn't-entirely-human regarded the three wizards who had the temerity to summon it with cold, iron eyes. That was when the three men saw the Tracker had a scythe strapped to his back.

The Tracker's true name was Ankou. He had once been a prince from Cornish and Breton folklore with the propensity for hunting and taking risks. He was out on a hunt one day when the prince encountered Death himself, who challenged him to a hunting match. The prize was the victory could decide the fate of the loser. Ankou lost, and Death had turned him into the ultimate Tracker of Souls, alive or dead. All he would need to try and find you, was your name. Your true name.

"Mighty Tracker," Caspar bowed his head. "Thank you for answering our call. We need your help to find two souls who have long managed to evade Death."

Ankou did not answer; his raspy breath was the only thing they heard.

"Their names are Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel," another of his compatriots spoke up, trying to maintain their tone. "They have information we need, and their souls have lived for long enough, one can say. It is a win-win situation!"

The Tracker growled. None of them had any idea of whether this was because he agreed or because he was still annoyed at being summoned.

"Is that a yes?" the squeaky voiced wizard asked nervously.

They got the answer in the form of the horse rearing up and bolting into a high-speed canter, almost gallop, pulling its hideous cart behind it; the Tracker was out of sight in about five seconds flat, leaving a trail of mist and shadows behind him.

The sleeper agents of Grindelwald sighed in relief.

"Well, that went better than expected," Caspar commented. "Let us get rid of this woman's body and the evidence of our presence."

But as the three men worked, they were unaware of the several pairs of ghostly eyes that had been keeping a firm eye on them and what they had been doing.

"Those scoundrels! I should give them a piece of my mind right now!" rasped the White Lady of the White Tower. Long forgotten by time and history, her apparel had the propensity to shift from one form or another. Her hair flowed in a non-existent wind and her white gown flowed down eventually into mist.

"Calm yourself, my Lady. You will turn into a fog otherwise and we will have to make you corporeal again," one of her friends joked. The ghost, looking like she was in her late teens, had eyes that were a stunning hazel colour. Her hair was almost a dark copper colour and her pallor was actually rosy in comparison to the others. Despite having a playful smile on her face, she carried herself much more seriously than she looked. There was no denying that in her life, she had been a great beauty. She was one of the most famous, or infamous, Queen Consorts of England: Queen Catherine Howard. "Besides, there is nothing much we can do at present. This is the Tracker we are talking about. Plus, we have not got permission to interfere."

"You do now!"

The Tower Ghosts turned around to see the one deity some of them hoped they never would have to deal with: standing behind them on the roof, smiling coldly, was Melinoë, dressed like a man instead of a lady.

One of the Tower Ghosts stepped forth with a smile on her face. She was in her late twenties, early thirties. Her beauty would not have been considered conventional for her time period, especially with her dark oaken locks and her eyes so dark and deep that they could hook someone's soul. She wore a red petticoat under a loose dark grey gown of damask trimmed in fur with a mantle made of ermine. Even in death, she walked with the grace and style of royalty. The ghost smiled brightly. "My, my, Melinoë! You have not changed a jot since I last lay eyes on you."

Melinoë curtseyed to her. "Queen Anne. Forgive me for not visiting sooner, my friend."

Queen Anne Boleyn's eyes shone with mischief. "And if I so choose not to forgive such impudence?" she teased. "But considering the gravity on your face, I should think your turmoil is atonement enough."

The Goddess of Ghosts rolled her eyes. "How very gracious of you!"

"My dear Anne, there is a time and place for teasing but now is not it," the small, young and lithe spirit next to Henry VIII's second queen chided. Her face was youthful, almost angelic, which was not surprising considering she was no more than fifteen years old. Her dark eyes sparkled with intelligence and her honey-brown, almost reddish, hair fell in waves. She was dressed in a pearl white petticoat under a loose gown of black velvet, which contrasted quite well with her hair.

"Dear Jane, always so serious," Anne Boleyn lamented with a sigh. "In these four hundred years I do wish you would, how does one say it these days … 'lighten up'?"

"The Tracker is no joking matter, Anne. I cannot see levity in dire situations such as these," Lady Jane Grey, the Nine-Days Queen, turned her attention back to the goddess before her. "Pray tell, Melinoë, how may we be of assistance in this matter?"

Melinoë smirked, her eyes suddenly glowing an eerie blue colour. "I thought you would never ask."

##############################

So Harry has survived Samhain, received a good surprise for once and Grindelwald has pulled out all the stops to try and find the Flamels! Will the Tracker succeed? Or will Harry and her immortal friends be able to stop him? Stay tuned to find out!

Disclaimer: I do not own 'Minnie the Moocher', 'Dancing Queen', 'In Noctem' or the Double Trouble. The only songs I wrote myself are the chant of Ambrose and Bradley and the song Harry sings to say finally a full goodbye to her friends and to her past.

I know this was long! I am sorry but this needed to be done in order to fully close the chapter on Harry's past – she needed full closure. And of course trouble has begun! Samhain almost ended without anything happening but of course, the Moirai are a tricky bunch! By the way I may not update until after the weekend because I am going away on a weekend outing with friends.

Thank you so much to all of you who managed to get through this chapter and I hope you will stay tuned!

Orion: I got to talk to Ron! He was really fun!

Indeed!

Orion: I am so proud of Harry. I know she can kick Tracker butt!

Well, we will have to see. See you next time everyone!

Kingmaker'sUmbreon