Before Grace knew it, Halloween had arrived, signaling the end of her first two months at Hogwarts. At home, the leaves on the trees would have all changed color by now, painting the sky in an array of vivid reds, oranges, and yellows. The Forbidden Forest hadn't changed, and the lines of trees remained as dark and ominous as ever.
Rowan had been talking about the Halloween Feast for more than two weeks. She'd heard rumors that there would be enchanted skeletons dancing, and bats flying around the castle. Her enthusiasm had rubbed off on Grace, but Ben had professed a profound fear of bats. Grace thought that he should be used to flying things- he didn't have a problem with the owls flying around every day and night- but she wasn't going to say so. From then on, bats stayed out of the conversation.
The feast wasn't the only thing Grace was looking forward to on Halloween. The week before the feast, Penny had gone around to all of the house tables, inviting the first-years to a party after the feast. Merula had sneered at the invitation, and Ismelda scowled. Grace hoped that they wouldn't show up. Ethan nodded and declared in his pompous way that he was sure the party would be the best one he'd ever gone to. Sam looked up and nodded briefly. Grace couldn't remember the last time she'd heard him speak. Liz had looked startled but accepted the invitation, while both Grace and Barnaby were eager. Rowan had been a little more reserved- she didn't like big groups of people- and Ben had stuttered out a surprised "thank you".
Grace walked into the Great Hall with Rowan walking next to her and Ben trailing a step behind. He squeaked as a bat dove at them when they entered the Great Hall. The bat flew upwards, and Ben relaxed.
Most of the candles hovering near the ceiling had disappeared. The hall was dimly lit by an assortment of jack-o-lanterns. Rather than showing the sky outside, the ceiling was a smoldering orange. Bats flew around the hall, occasionally diving downwards, then pulling up before they actually landed on anyone. Grace had to admit that the decorations created a rather unsettling atmosphere.
The three of them sat down at the Slytherin table, as they always did. Grace had tried suggesting that they sit at the Ravenclaw or Gryffindor tables once, but both Rowan and Ben had been emphatic in their refusals. There wasn't enough space at the Ravenclaw table, Rowan said, and Ben nodded. Grace had a feeling that that wasn't the only reason they didn't want to sit with their housemates, but she didn't bring it up again.
After the feast, the Slytherins, as well as Ben and Rowan, walked into the dungeons for Penny's party. Merula and Ismelda had decided to attend, which annoyed Grace. She told herself that she could just avoid them. With their entire year attending, it shouldn't be hard.
Penny had gotten permission to host the party in a ballroom that hadn't been used for countless years. Grace had expected a dark, dusty space like all the other abandoned parts of the castle, but she had underestimated Penny. The stones on the walls and ceiling were so clean that they sparkled, and the room was lit by a ghostly purple light that seeped out from cracks in the walls.
She looked down. The stone floor was gone, replaced by a surface that was the color of obsidian, with a bit of give beneath her feet.
"Do you like the decorations?" Penny asked, appearing next to Grace so suddenly that she jumped. "Our Prefect helped with them. Jane Court- she's over there."
Penny nodded at a girl with chin-length blonde hair and a stern expression.
"I love them," Grace said. "They're different from the decorations in the Great Hall, but just as spooky."
"Exactly!" Penny beamed. "Come on, let me show you what else we have!"
She took Grace's hand and pulled her towards the other side of the room. A variety of potted plants had been set up, including large orange flowers that were trembling slightly and making hissing noises like a snake.
"Aren't those Dracula vines?" Grace asked, pointing at a spiky black plant. They were the vines that Rowan had mentioned after her Herbology class, the ones that sucked the blood out of anything that came too close to them. "And that's Devil's Snare." She pointed to a different plant, which had dark, snakelike vines. "These plants have killed people."
"Yes, but only matured Dracula vines can drink human blood, so they're harmless. And it's too bright for the Devil's Snare, it hates light," Penny explained. "Professor Sprout donated all of these plants, she wouldn't have given us anything dangerous."
Penny pointed to a flower with silky dark blue petals. "You obviously know a lot about plants. Recognize this one?"
"The Loris flower," Grace said immediately. "It's petals have powerful healing properties, but the little hairs on the stem contain one of the most potent venoms in the world. Just touching the stem would kill you almost instantly." She looked at the flower nervously. "Are you sure this is okay to have here?"
"It's fine," Penny assured her. "Professor Sprout covered the stem with a protective potion."
Grace looked at the flower again. The stem should have been fuzzy, but instead it looked hard and slightly transparent.
"How do you know so much about plants?" Penny asked.
"Mum taught me about them. We have a garden back home. The Loris flower is her favorite plant."
"That seems like an odd choice," Penny commented.
"She thinks it's fascinating," Grace explained. "Life and death in the same flower. Intertwined."
Penny frowned and furrowed her brow. Before she could comment on this, her eyes fixed on something behind Grace's left shoulder and her face broke into a wide grin. "Scarlett!" she said.
Grace turned to see a girl with short red hair and green glasses standing behind her.
"Hey, Penny. I was talking to Tulip Karasu earlier, and-"
Seeing that she was no longer part of the conversation, Grace started to back away. As soon as she moved, Scarlett's brown eyes fixed on her and she stopped talking.
"Scarlett, this is Grace Prickle. Grace, this is Scarlett Sparks, she's a second-year Gryffindor," Penny said.
Scarlett waved. "Hey, Grace. So, do you like Quidditch?"
"Scarlett's a Beater," Penny explained. "We grew up in Wigtown together."
"Home of the legendary Wigtown Wanderers. Goooo Wanderers!" Scarlett jumped up and punched the air. Grace had no problem seeing how Scarlett would make a good Quidditch player. Her enthusiasm was infectious and she never seemed to stop moving.
"I'm planning on trying out for the Quidditch team next year," Grace said.
"Good luck! Next year, Gryffindor is going to be unbeatable. Skye Parkin's going to be on our team!" Scarlett bounced on the balls of her feet at the thought.
Soon Penny and Scarlett became wrapped up in a discussion of different Quidditch maneuvers, and Grace left to find Rowan and Ben.
She found them standing alone near the back wall, which was covered by a thick black curtain. "Have you looked at the plants over there?" she asked, gesturing in the direction she had come from. Rowan would be fascinated by a collection of dangerous plants, even if Ben wouldn't be interested. "There's Dracula vines, and venomous tentacula, and-"
Ben shivered. "Is there anything not dangerous? Like, how about some macaw flowers? I like those."
"I didn't see any macaw flowers. They don't fit with the theme," Grace said.
"Magical Halloween is so scary," Ben said mournfully. "You know, the Muggles give out candy for Halloween. Everyone puts on a mask, and it's dark, so no one calls me a scaredy-cat because no one knows it's me. I like Muggle Halloween."
"Well, has anyone called you a scaredy-cat today?" Grace asked.
Ben shook his head. "Then it's not so different from Muggle Halloween. Come look at the plants. I'll show you that there's nothing to be afraid of. And later, we'll find some sweets and share them in the Artefact Room. It'll be just like Muggle Halloween," Grace said. She hated the Artefact Room. The three of them had discovered it soon after Ben became friends with the two girls. It was small, filled with a variety of old objects and a suffocating layer of dust. Grace couldn't spend more than a minute in the cramped space without feeling like the walls were closing in on her.
But Ben loved the Artefact Room, and so did Rowan. She could put up with it for one night.
Ben immediately brightened. Grace turned away from him, towards the table with the plants, where Penny and Scarlett were still engaged in an animated discussion.
"Aureumine!" Grace spun around, recognizing the voice. Ben flinched and shielded his face with his hands as a deluge of thick gold goop flew out from behind the curtain and covered his robes.
Grace scowled at the wand protruding from the curtain. "Merula. I thought I told you to leave my friends alone."
Merula pushed the curtain aside and sauntered out. "Did you? I don't remember that. Besides, it was just a bit of fun."
"It wasn't fun for Ben!" Grace said, looking over at her friends. Ben was as pale as a ghost and trembling. He looked on the verge of tears. He'd been on edge the entire day, and Merula's surprise attack had been the final straw.
Merula sneered. "Perhaps it would have been if he wasn't such a coward. I'll never understand how someone like him ended up in Gryffindor."
Ben sniffed. Grace stepped in front of him, shielding him from Merula's view. "Don't listen to her, Ben."
"You're pathetic, Prickle, you know that? I bet you can't stand him any more than I can. You're just clinging to the only people willing to get close to you," Merula said.
Grace's hands twitched. Her palms grew hot.
"I bet that's why your brother disappeared," Merula continued. "He ran away from you. I know I would if he were related."
Grace's wand was pointed at Merula before she even realized she had pulled it out. "Aculeo!"
Merula hissed as the Stinging Hex found it's mark. She pulled out her own wand and aimed it at Grace. "Flipendo!"
The unfamiliar spell hit Grace like a punch in the stomach, knocking her off her feet.
Merula pocketed her wand. "Learn a few more spells, Prickle. Maybe next time you'll put up a fight."
As Merula turned and walked away, Grace became aware that the room had fallen silent. She realized that everyone was watching her and Merula.
She turned to look at her friends. Rowan's eyes flicked between her, Ben, and the crowd that had gathered nearby. Ben had stopped trembling and had regained some color. He was now staring at Grace in a wide-eyed expression of awe.
It was Rowan who spoke first. "Maybe we should go to the Artefact Room? Everyone is staring at us."
Grace realized she was still holding her wand and slipped it into the pocket of her robes. The sound of footsteps grew louder as they moved down the corridor into the ballroom. The first-years parted to let the owners of the footsteps, Professor Sprout and Jane Court, through.
"Miss Court informed me that there was a fight down here," Professor Sprout said. She looked at Grace.
Evelyn Hayes pointed at Grace. "It was her and Merula Snyde. She's the one who cast the first spell."
Grace opened her mouth to defend herself, but another voice started talking. "She was provoked, Professor," Penny said. "Merula was bullying her friend. Ben Copper."
Professor Sprout frowned. "I'll have to report this to the Headmistress."
"P-professor McGonagall?" Grace sputtered.
Professor Sprout turned to Ethan, who was standing near her. "Find Miss Snyde and escort her to the Headmistress's office. Jane will go with you."
Ethan looked at her as if she'd just told him to Transfigure the moon into cheese. "But she's a Hufflepuff!" he protested. "She can't go in our common room."
"She can wait outside," Professor Sprout said with a sigh.
Ethan cast a sullen look at first Grace, then Jane, before striding from the ballroom. Jane reluctantly followed him.
"Come on, Miss Prickle," Professor Sprout said.
"W-wait. Shouldn't Rowan and I come? We can tell Professor McGonagall what happened." Grace wasn't sure who was more surprised that Ben had spoken, her or Ben himself. As Professor Sprout looked at him, he dropped his gaze, as if speaking up had taken all of his courage.
"I'd prefer to have someone who wasn't involved in the incident," Professor Sprout said.
"I'll go," Penny volunteered.
The three of them left the ballroom. As they walked, Penny fell into step beside Grace.
"That was really brave, what you did. Merula's been horrible to everyone. It's time someone stood up to her," Penny said.
"I just did what anyone would do," Grace said, feeling slightly embarrassed by Penny's praise.
"You were being a good friend. I'll make sure Professor McGonagall knows that," Penny said.
Too soon, they reached the Headmistress's office. Professor Sprout led them up a narrow spiral staircase, which ended in Professor McGonagall's office. The large room was mostly empty, occupied by only a large desk and a smaller table with a chessboard.
It was another few minutes before Ethan and Jane appeared with a furious Merula in tow.
"I didn't do anything!" Merula insisted as soon as she was within earshot of the Headmistress. "Prickle attacked me out of nowhere!"
"Liar!" Grace spat. "You were bullying Ben."
"Let Miss Haywood explain the situation," Professor Sprout cut in before their argument could get any worse.
"The first time I noticed what was going on, Ben Copper was covered in some sort of slime and Grace and Merula were arguing. I can't say for sure if Merula was the one who slimed Ben, but she's done similar things to most of the first-years. Grace pulled out her wand first," Penny said, looking apologetically at Grace. "She hit Merula with the Stinging Hex. Then Merula hit her the Knockback Jinx."
"Thank you, Miss Haywood." Professor McGonagall nodded, her face unreadable. "Miss Snyde, you must be aware that bullying isn't tolerated at this school."
"It was just a bit of fun," Merula mumbled unconvincingly.
"That's not what it sounded like," Professor McGonagall said. She turned to Grace. "Miss Prickle, you must learn to keep control of your temper. This isn't the first time you've used magic against another student."
Grace remembered the two boys by the fountain. She wondered how Professor McGonagall had heard about the incident.
"You will both have detention until Christmas. Miss Snyde, you will work in the kitchens with the house elves. Miss Prickle, you will serve your detentions in the trophy room."
It could be worse. At least we aren't together, Grace thought.
"If either of you uses magic against another student again, your punishment will be more severe," Professor McGonagall warned.
Grace gulped. Does she mean... we'll be expelled?
Beside her, Merula paled. Neither girl said anything, and Professor McGonagall dismissed them.
"I'm sorry you were punished," Penny said as they walked back down the corridor.
"It's not your fault," Grace said. She wasn't happy about getting detention, but she knew that Penny wasn't to blame. It was Merula's fault.
"If you ever need help with anything, let me know. I know all the gossip around Hogwarts, and I'm good with Potions."
Good was an understatement. Penny sat at the table next to Grace, and nearly every class, Slughorn made them all gather around to look at Penny's potions. According to him, Penny brewed the best Potions he'd seen from a first-year since Lily Potter.
"I will," Grace promised. "Thanks, Penny."
Soon after, Penny left to return to the Hufflepuff common room. Grace had slowed to allow some distance to form between her and Merula. Now she walked in the direction of the Slytherin common room.
She spotted Merula talking to Barnaby and Ismelda in one corner of the common room. Merula was probably telling them a twisted version of what had happened at the party, one that painted Grace as the villain.
She forced herself to turn away from them and walk upstairs to her dormitory. Merula's behavior was getting worse, but she wasn't sure how to handle it, given that the Slytherins had promised to stick together, and now she was facing the threat of expulsion. She needed to write to her parents for advice.