"Hailey~" Groaned Sophie, trying to bury her head in her pillow.

"What is it Sophie?" Hailey said chipperly, noisily carving a pumpkin, whistling a jaunty little tune.

"Isn't it a little early for this?" She whined pitifully.

Hailey put her hand to her chin in contemplation. "Hmm, not really. Halloween is tomorrow. If anything, I should have started preparing sooner-" Before a pillow hit her in the face.

"Its four AM Hailey!" Sophie said irritably. "not everyone is a living embodiment of hatred you know!"

"Oops Sorry," Hailey said, knocking herself on the head cutely, giggling. "I'm just so excited, I couldn't hold off any longer."

"What's the fuss?" Sophie moaned. "It's not as if we can trick or treat or anything, there is gonna be a feast, but that's about it."

"But It's Halloween Tomorrow!" Hailey crowed merrily, "How can I not fuss?"

"I seem to be managing." Grumbled Sophie.

Just then the door burst open, and chen rolled in, landing on her feet. "Hailey! Holy shit!"

"What!" Hailey exclaimed, excitement on her face.

"Guess what!" Chen said, Flopping back first on to Haileys empty bed, like an excited kitten.

'What the-" Sophie mumbled, blinking in confusion.

"What what?!" Haileys said, her eyes sparkling.

"Today's the thirtieth of October." Chen said, rolling onto her feet.

"Yup yup!" Hailey said, taking a step toward chen.

"That means that tomorrow is the thirty-first." Chen said, as if she was imparting sacred wisdom, walking slowly towards Hailey.

"Oh gods, is this actually happening?" Sophie said, wondering if she was just having a very surreal dream.

"Yes and we all know what happens on the Thirty-first." Hailey said in a low whisper, locking hands with Chen, looking into each others eyes with serious expressions.

Sophie covered her head with her remaining Pillow.

"HALLOWEEN!" Chen and Hailey shouted jubilantly, throwing their hands in the air.

"This can't be real." Sophie grumbled.

"Have you got my Pumpkin?" Chen said, her tails quivering with excitement.

"Right here!" Hailey said, Pulling another Pumpkin from god knows where.

Sophie decided to cut her losses and go sleep in Haileys trunk. Gathering her bedsheets, she sluggishly opened the trunk, and shut it behind her, silencing the over enthusiastic Pumpkin carving. climbing groggily down the ladder, she was slightly put off to find that the couch was already occupied by Lily, who had escaped there earlier.

Not that that would dissuade her for long. Simply dropping her own covers, and slipping under Lily's.

"Huh…?" said Lily groggily, always a light sleeper.

"Don't mind me, just budge over a bit." Sophie said, cozying up to the Lily with a complete disregard for personal space.

"Wha…" Lily said, but Sophie had fallen asleep immediately. And poor confused Lily was just left awkwardly spooning the smaller girl.

It took awhile for her to get back to sleep.

Haileys bizzare chipperness persisted throughout the day, smiling and giggling like a girl in love, to the point that the other people in her year were severely creeped out, even Malfoy was made uncomfortable by her strange high.

Lily and Sophie were also not sure what to think, and it only got worse when the evening came around, and it was time for Ran's classes...

Everyone in class couldn't help but stare.

Ran, the normally composed, impassive fox woman… was humming.

It was a surprisingly jaunty tune, as she prepared the lesson, swaying with the beat, and to top it off, her tails were wagging.

One particularly brave student called out. "Miss Ran, can I ask a question?"

Ran turned to face him. "My my, already? We haven't even started yet."

She then gave a dainty giggle.

"Has… Has something good happened?" The student asked, slightly dumbfounded "You seem… cheerful today."

"Do I?" Ran said. "Apologies, I find myself lacking composure today. I get rather excited this time of year so I'm afraid you will have to put up with it… Tomorrow is Halloween after all.

The students all looked at each other confused, but none more than Lily and Sophie.

Hailey and Chen merely giggled.

"What's up with all of you!"

Evening classes for the majority of students were over, now there was only the late night ones for Chen, Hailey and Hermione, all of whom, including Ran, looked up at Sophie's outburst.

"Is there a problem Sophie?" Ran said, with a warm smile that looked totally out of place.

"Seriously, you've all been so… so… Peppy!" Sophie said, "what is the big deal with Halloween?"

"Can't we enjoy the holiday spirit?" Ran said, before turning back to adress Hermione, "Hermione, could you come with me for a moment? I need to discuss some new classes I intend to add to your curriculum."

Sophie watched Ran and Hermione go. "Man talk about dodging the question."

"Hardly." said Ran, still standing were she had been a moment ago, making Sophie double take.

"Wha- How? Sophie said, looking between The Ran in front of her, and and the Ran still talking to Hermione.

"I am an exceptionally good illusionist, how else do you think I teach so many classes, if not by being in several places at once?." Ran said. "Now to your question. You have been made aware of our nature, correct?"

"Yeah." said Sophie, "You're all youkai, right?"

"Precisely. And are you aware of the origin of Halloween?"

"Umm, not in so many words." Sophie admitted.

"Does not surprise me, few people do." Ran said. "Halloween comes from the much older celebration, All Hallows' Eve. On the evening of the thirty-first of October, was thought to be the night were the gates of hell were opened, and demons, spirits, and witches freely roamed the earth. While this is not entirely true, as there are no 'gates of Hell' to be opened, at least on this mortal plain, All Hallows' Eve is a night of power, magnitudes greater than the full moon or Friday the thirteenth, and we Youkai feel it acutely."

"Its like nip for us!" Chen added gleefully. "We all get higher than kites on the days leading up to Halloween, and on the day itself…" She shuddered happily.

"Wow… wait, does that mean tomorrow you are going to be worse?" Sophie said.

"'Fraid so." Hailey answered, not looking particularly sorry. "If it helps, I'm probably not going to be going back to our room tonight."

Sophie and Lily both lay in their beds, staring at the roof.

"Tomorrow is going to be weird isn't it?" Sophie said.

Lily nodded mutely.

True to her word, there was no sign of Hailey in their room when they woke up, nor did she appear for breakfast.

"I wonder where she is…" Sophie said as she walked down the hall. She was talking mostly to herself, although Lily was ghosting her in lieu of the missing Potter.

As they approached a bend in the hall, they became aware of a distant thundering of many footsteps getting louder at a very rapid pace.

A mob of students poured around the corner, some were screaming, others fell over, only to desperately scramble to their feet. They surged past Sophie and Lily, the two grabbing on to each other so as not to be bowled over.

That was nothing compared to what was behind it. With an unearthly cackle two floating figures hurtled around the bend. They were clad in dresses made of rags, with what little skin visible being unnaturally pale, and where the head should be was a pair of Grizzly Jack-o-lanturns, so filled with green fire that it spilled out from where the neck should be.

"Run! Run! Run until your feet bleed and your lungs burst! EHehehehehh!" the leading one cackled in its unnaturally distorted voice, conjuring two balls of green fire and lobbing them down the corridor after the retreating students.

Ignoring the two girls still standing in the middle of the corridor, they flew after the crowd.

A gryffindor prefect rounded the corner. "Which way did they go?"

Sophie pointed down the corridor.

The prefect nodded in thanks, before running past them.

The Prefect in turn was followed by the weasley twins, who also pass them.

The two were left in silence.

"Do you think that was…" Lily said, still holding on to Sophie.

"Its Hailey." Sophie deadpanned. "I recognise the damn pumpkin."

And Thus were Lily and Sophie acquainted with how youkai celebrate Halloween.

"Ha~ that was satisfying." Hailey said, with a blissed out expression.

"I can't believe you actually got away with that." Sophie said.

It was the Halloween feast in the great hall, and after leading the entire school on a wild goose chase all day, the 'mysterious pumpkin-clad figures', had simply vanished with no-one being any the wiser to their identity.

Almost everyone, as Dumbledore gave Hailey a knowing glance, and Snape stared at her with mild annoyance.

"Good Job Potter." Fred said, passing the table.

"Absolutely brilliant." George added, just behind him.

Ok a lot of people, but no one could pin anything on her, so it didn't matter.

"Where is Ran?" Lily asked, looking at her empty seat on the table, as she stroked Chen, who had taken residence on her lap in cat Form.

"Her and Yukari throw a private Halloween party, which me and Hailey aren't allowed to attend yet." Chen purred, causing Lily to jump. "Hey, did I say stop petting?"

Lily resumes stroking.

"I always wonder what they get up to…" Hailey said dreamily, "Ohhh just thinking about it gets me excited again. Hey Chen, can you think of any more mischief we can get up to before bed?"

"You mean you guys aren't done?" Sophie asked incredulously.

"I mean, this is all we had planned, so unless some new opportunity arises…" The cat began.

It was that moment that Professor Quirrel staggered into the room.

Running up to the teachers table. He stuttered out a message before passing out. "T-t-troll… in the dungeon… just thought you'd like to know."

"That'll do." Chen said.

Before anyone could react to Quirrels proclamation, Hailey launched herself into the air. "Dibs!" She then flew out of the room at high speed, the freshly transformed Chen at her heels.

There was an even longer silence after the two vanished.

If anyone still did not know who the Jack o lantern girls were, they now had a slightly better idea.

"God, this thing reeks!" Hailey said, Smashing the trolls face into the floor repeatedly.

"Hey I'm a cat, how do you think I feel?" Chen said, bending the trolls arm backwards until something broke, the troll bellowing in agony.

Despite their complaints, they both wore mad grins as they brutalised the poor beast. Its body was covered in bruises and claw marks, and its thick blood pooled on the floor below them.

"Still, we might not have found it if it didn't smell so bad, dungeon my foot." Chen said, before her ears perked and she started looking around. "Hey, you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Hailey said, pausing in her wanton cruelty.

"I think I hear footsteps." Chen said. "The teachers are probs coming to find the troll."

"Better run then," Hailey said hopping to her feet, "after all, Ran won't take me to Europa park if I get caught making trouble." she starts walking in the opposite direction.

"Isn't a bit late for that? You didn't really make our intentions subtle." Chen said, falling in beside her.

"Oh who cares? Run away~𝅘𝅥𝅮" Hailey giggled before breaking into a light run, laughing, with Chen at her heels.

They ran past Dumbledore and they rounded the corner. "Hey Professor." Haile said cheerfully, running back to the dungeon.

Dumbledore watched their retreating backs.

"Ah ha, we found-good grief what happened to it?!" Mcgonagall's voice carried from around the corner.

"I think I might be sick." said a prefect.

"Good heavens." Dumbledore muttered to himself. "If this is the kind of thing she gets up to, I shudder to think what next Halloween will be like."

Bonus:

Snape limped back to the dungeon, cursing the damnable dog. "Why on earth did that have to be the first defense?" He muttered irritably.

Oh well, at least it was effective, whoever it was, it had stopped that person dead in his tracks, and Now he had a sneaking suspicion who it was…

From around the corner however, a nondescript brunette watched.

"Well, what have we here?" Sophie spoke under her breath.