Word count: 602
"Almost ready," Lily says, beaming at her son as she places the tealight candle inside the pumpkin.
Harry, far too young to appreciate the joys of a good jack-o-lantern, just looks on, drooling and unimpressed. Lily promises herself she'll do something big for him as soon as he/s old enough to enjoy Halloween. In the meantime, at least Harry seems content, even if he can't really indulge in any of the festivities.
"How do I look?" James asks, appearing in the doorway, dressed in a suit that appears to be made from kelp.
"Like you're ready to drown anyone who enters your waters," Lily answers fondly.
Her own costume is simple enough. It's little more than a black dress, a tail, and a headband with cat ears. Simple, but it works. Besides, it isn't like they're having some huge party, just a small gathering of their closest friends.
"They're here!" James announces when there's a knock at the door.
A moment later, Sirius bursts through, dressed, fittingly, as a clown. Remus follows behind, dressed in a tweed suit and newsboy's cap. Lily doesn't know what he's going for exactly, but assumes it must be something historical. Bringing up the rear, Peter enters, dressed as a mouse.
"You'd think the two of you planned it," James says with a laugh, plucking a bar of chocolate from the sweets bowl and peeling away the wrapper. "Cat and mouse. Incredible."
"Harry!" Sirius claps his hands together. "I'm going to get you!"
Lily can't help but smile. All around her, her friends and family laugh and enjoy themselves. Maybe she should feel selfish for this, knowing there's a war going on, and here she is enjoying herself. But she doesn't. This is the happiest she's been among all the chaos and pain that the war has brought. Why shouldn't she, for just one night, enjoy herself? The war will still be brewing tomrorrw, and she will play her part once again.
"Did you make these?" Remus asks, holding up a miniature pumpkin pie.
"I did!" Lily says proudly.
"They're quite good."
"How come Harry doesn't have a costume?" Sirius demands, clearly offended as he lifts his godson up, displaying the clear lack of costume on Harry's body.
"He does. He's dressed as a baby," James says cheekily, earning a glare from his best friend.
Lily can't help but laugh as the two go back and forth with their banter and bickering. She really is lucky. With everything that's going wrong in the world, here she is, surrounded by people who love her.
"Come on!" Peter urges, holding up a camera. "Everyone together! We need one for the scrapbook."
"Ooh, taken up scrapbooking, have you, Wormy?" Sirius teases. "When did you become a seventy year old grandma?"
"Watch it," Peter groans, but the corners of his lips twitch like he's resisting the urge to smile.
Lily makes her way to the center of the room, leaning against James. Sirius joins them, carefully cradling Harry in his arms. Peter and Remus find spots on either end of them. There's a flash as the camera snaps their picture.
"Next year, we'll get Harry a proper costume," Lily says.
"And take him trick-or-treating?" Sirius asks, eyes wide and pleading, like he's the one who's missing out on all the sweets this year.
"We'll see."
She wonders if it will always be like this, if Halloween will always bring with it that strange sort of magic that brings them all together. She hopes so. All she wants is for things to stay as perfect as they are in that moment.
