Chapter 52: Halloween 2.0 – Hopefully without Incident

Some of those who read the newspaper watched the news or were informed of what transpired in front of the Buckingham Palace took Harry's speech to heart. They began to look for similarities between the different cultures, religions, or other groupings instead of pointing at the differences. The hardcore fanatics, on the other hand, were even more aggravated though luckily, they were in the minority. Even the pope hat to admit, however reluctantly, that God gave everyone free will and that they should respect the choices of others. That at least calmed the Christian fanatics, but it turned out that other groupings such as the IS were not impressed.

Harry, on the other hand, didn't really care about their opinion of him as long as they didn't hurt anyone though he had a feeling that it was only a matter of time until they did something…stupid. Ah well, he would deal with it when the time came.

At Hogwarts the time went by in peace though.

Hermione, Sam, and Draco were often found in some secluded corner of the library, studying things that were not on the curriculum after they were finished with their homework. Draco had to admit that both Sam and Hermione were highly intelligent and nothing like his father had made muggle-born out to be. Sure, they lacked the knowledge that was ingrained in every pureblood traditionalist, but that could be remedied, and he didn't know how many intelligent discussions he held with the two. They were far better than any of the Slytherins in his year that was for sure.

Neville and Luna were more content with tending to either Neville's plants that grew in a secluded area of the greenhouses which Sprout allowed skilled students to use for their own projects as long as they weren't dangerous, or to the creatures living in the forest. Luna was absolutely fascinated with the Thestrals, but unfortunately, Neville couldn't see them. However, Luna made up for it by describing them to him in every detail.

In the meantime, the twins and Loki pursued their creativity and either created new pranks – which were instantly tested on the more or less unsuspecting population of Hogwarts – or they created other things they thought useful and could earn them – mainly the twins – some money.

The professors most of the time condoned of it knowing that it was pointless trying to get them to stop as long as they ran any new product past them first to make sure that it didn't endanger anyone or disturbed their classes.

To them, it was clear that they won't be able to stop them from pranking others and left them be. This also gave others the incentive to live out their mischievous side and so it was hardly a surprise that Hufflepuff challenged Gryffindor for a prank war at one point. It was a surprise to the Gryffindors just how inventive the Puffs could be if they put their mind to it. In the end, it came to a draw but only because Loki had said that he would stay out of it to keep it fair, as long as he wasn't the target of a prank, then he would retaliate.

Meanwhile, Harry jumped between the groups of his friends and joined those who stroke his fancy at that day except when they all met together to either play games, talk or just spend some quality time together.

What surprised everyone though was the change in one Ronald Weasley. It seemed that the detentions he still had to serve, in combination with the little demonstration just what his recklessness could have cost the magical world, had been an eye-opener. So, while his temper and snappishness considerably lessened, he became more pleasant to have around. He also finally accepted, that he probably would never become friends with Harry and began to form a tentative friendship with Seamus and Dean. Another change was his working moral considering classwork and homework. Sure, he never would be an overachiever like Hermione or Sam, whom together with Draco competed for the top spot – Harry just found it too much of a hassle to do more than necessary to get at least an EE –, his grades now at least reflected his abilities better.

Seeing those changes and approving of them, Loki also finally took pity on the boy and taught him a semi-permanent silencing spell he could place around his bed so that he wouldn't have to sleep on one of the couches in the common room anymore when he threatened to wake the others with his snoring. Loki one day had had enough of teleporting him through half the castle and installed a little ward that, should he exceed a certain volume, would dump him in the common room. However, Loki made it clear that he should have thought about it himself and not rely on others for solving his problems.

So, September became October and quickly went towards November. However, before that could happen, one massive day stood in the path, one which everyone eagerly awaited and hoped that this time it went by without any incident.

Halloween.

The Day began as a typical day with classes and the only thing that didn't go as it usually would was the DADA class, where Lockhart tried to force Harry into replaying a scene from one of his books. This ended in the man being assaulted by Puck with dung and colour bombs that made him stink to high heaven and look like a rainbow. Harry wondered where his familiar had gotten the bombs from, but if he had to guess, he would say the twins were behind that.

The rest of the class, on the other hand, found it highly amusing how Lockhart was flailing around, trying to find the invisible assailant to no avail. Most of the students had learned that Lockhart was a complete narcissistic fraud after the first few lessons with him and no one took him seriously anymore, so it was a welcome distraction when he was the target of the pranks. It was only because Loki was too interested in seeing what Harry had planned for the man's birthday, that Lockhart was still in the castle and not running and fast. Another factor was the fact that Loki pretty much substituted for the non-existent DADA lessons during the history lessons, which he still split like he had done in the first year. Otherwise neither Loki nor Harry doubted, that Michael would have long fired the man and looked for someone more suitable but since the grades didn't suffer, he was more than content with showing the man, that he wasn't the great fighter he presented himself as.

Another thing is that Loki in preparation for the day used the history lessons to teach the students what really was behind the day called Halloween nowadays but is also known as Samhain. He told them about the demon called Samhain and how he was the reason for the celebrations as it takes place ever since he walked earth the first time. So is it that parents kept their children indoor and made them wear masks to hide them from the demon, while they carved pumpkins to worship him. However, the demon was exorcised centuries ago and was consequently trapped in hell because he could only be summoned once every 600 years.

However, all that was secondary to the great feast that would take place in the evening and that everyone was awaiting eagerly.

Michael and Loki had actually closed the great hall after breakfast to decorate it, and no one was supposed to see it before the feast. For lunch, they redirected everyone to a few large and unused classrooms, where the house-elves would prepare buffets for them so that they wouldn't have to go hungry.

Now it was shortly before seven in the evening, and the students were crowding the entrance hall waiting to be permitted to enter the great hall for the feast. At seven sharp, the doors finally opened and the first thing that greeted them was a wall of thick white fog that wafted out through the door, momentarily preventing them from seeing anything until it lowered so that it stayed at knee height. What those who were the closest to the door saw took their breath away.

The entire floor was covered with the knee-deep fog. In irregular intervals, one could see the light shining through the mist, which later turned out to be carved pumpkins that were illuminated by small floating, glowing orbs. However, they weren't regular pumpkins but enchanted ones that when someone came too close to them jumped up, growing a body made out of vines and ran around before settling somewhere again until the next person came close. When that happened the first time, quite a few screamed in shock and surprise but quickly recovered and marvelled over those pumpkins.

Then there were the tables. No longer stood there the four house tables but many round ones with a large candelabra in the middle of each in which black and blood red candles burned merrily. Each table was laden with food, which other than the previous year wasn't only sweets but also healthy food though decorated fittingly to the theme as well as the drinks. So was the pumpkin juice coloured in a blood red and could have been mistaken for it if not for the pumpkin taste while the water was stained in slightly luminescent emerald green.

Another noticeable change was that the head table where usually the teachers sat also vanished and now made room for a raised stage upon which a live band consisting of six skeletons played, two of which played the guitar, one the bass, one keyboard, one the drums, and one sang. They seemed to play a mixture of music from the magical world and the muggle world consisting of rock, medieval rock but also everything else that fitted the theme of Halloween. Between the stage and the tables was room for those who wished to dance to the music and the area was separated from the tables by sound dampening charms so that the music was still audible there but not so loud as to prevent conversation.

Over everything floated even more carved pumpkins to illuminate the hall. Between and over the decorations also stretched cobwebs and bats flew over them in swarms.

Everyone wandered into the great hall, looking around in astonishment. The students gaped at the decorations, talking animatedly while walking over to the tables and sitting down.

Though to the surprise of quite a few professors, the students didn't separate into their houses as they assumed but mingled with the each other. So, sat Slytherins between Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs and even Gryffindors. It seemed that slowly but surely the prejudice and rivalry between those two houses lessened.

The group of friends sat together at one table, joined by Loki whom they hadn't seen all day. They talked with each other all the while enjoying the feast that the house-elves prepared.

However, what none of them had anticipated was, that suddenly students all over the hall began to transform into varying creatures associated with Halloween. Therefore, it was no surprise that instead of normal students suddenly ghouls, vampires, zombies, ghosts or even skeletons occupied the tables. It was a simple illusion charm but effective nonetheless.

Harry found himself transformed into a zombie while Luna became a vampire. The twins suddenly found them in long white ragged clothes and Sam was quick to explain that they became ladies in white – vengeful ghosts – or at least male versions of it. That was before Sam suddenly turned into a skeleton, closely followed by Neville. Harry found that highly amusing though he wondered how it worked when he jokingly tried to punch him in the stomach only to find nothing but air. Hermione in the meantime gave a perfect impression of a living scarecrow.

Loki looked over to the table where not only the teachers but also the headmaster sat and looked at Michael. When Michael, who felt being observed, looked up and caught his brother's gaze, he nodded with a smile. Both of them had put a lot of work into this and now were proud of themselves that it was received that well.

The feast was in full swing, some of the students decided to dance, while others were content sitting at the table, snacking on sweets, and talking to their friends.

Harry had decided to be a gentleman and asked Luna for a dance even if he had to admit that he had no idea how to dance. Luna, who found that highly amusing, lead him to the dance floor. That had been about three songs ago, and while he was a bit insecure in the beginning, he quickly found it fun to learn how to dance from Luna.

They were soon followed by Neville, who had asked Hermione, and Sam, who had proposed a Hufflepuff, Susan Bones, who was the niece of Amelia Bones. The twins asked the chasers of their Quidditch team Angelina Johnson and Katie Bell.

At some point, Hermione switched with Luna so that now Harry was dancing with Hermione.

All in all, they had a lovely time, thinking that they were lucky, and the day would end without anything out of the ordinary happening, when suddenly a scream echoed through the hall, so loud that it was audible even over the music.

Instantly the teachers as well as Loki jumped up and ran in the direction where the scream came from. Everyone else though looked confused and a bit worried about what happened but dismissed it as someone having been surprised by the decoration or something like that. Harry when he grasped that this was serious, looked at his friend before also making his way towards the location of the one who screamed.

What greeted him, shocked him to the core. On the floor laid a fifth year Hufflepuff girl, coughing up blood and scratching at her throat as if she wanted to remove something.

Poppy, who was the first to arrive, quickly did a scan of the girl to assess what was wrong. A waiving of her wand later told her, that something was stuck in her throat and another quick wave removed the object and let it fall in a heap next to her head in a bowl Severus conjured. As it turned out the object was a bunch of needles. Poppy frowned but quickly went to work when another scream echoed through the hall.

Having the idea that it was a similar case and knowing that Poppy was still busy healing the girl, Harry turned around and jumping over everything in his way, sprinted to the other person who screamed. He found the exact same scene as with the Hufflepuff girl though this time it was a Slytherin boy from the third year. Harry knelt down next to the boy, held out his hands over the boy's throat and pushed magic into it cancelling the illusion in the wake. Feeling, that this boy's throat was also blocked by something he quickly went to work removing the object – this time it was razors – and healing the wounds it created.

During all this, three more shouts for help arose. It was this time Severus, Michael and Loki who spurred into action having at least basic healing knowledge. However, it became quickly evident that the incidences became more and more, not to mention occurred faster than they could heal those who suffered from whatever this was.

At some point, Loki looked up and tried to find the source of the rising injuries when his gaze fell on the food. He could hit himself, it was so obvious because he lectured about the ritual several times over the last week after all. The ritual to summon Samhain. After quickly doing the math he knew that yes this was the 600th year since the last possible attempt and it seemed that someone was performing it. The fact that two Ley-lines crossed beneath Hogwarts and the high ambient magic let the effects of the ritual then reverberate as far as Hogwarts. So, with a flick of his hand, he vanished all the food and drinks in the hall.

When Michael saw that he threw him a confused glance before returning to the healing of the girl that currently lay in front of him.

"Samhain," was all that Loki said so that neither he nor his brother had to stop what they were doing for looking at each other.

First, Michael didn't catch what Loki wanted to tell him, but soon it dawned upon him and gave a recognising sound.

However, even with the food vanished, the injuries didn't stop to pile up, and it was impossible for them to heal everyone in time if they had to run from patient to patient.

Seeing that it would take far too long for them to come to the injured ones, the other professors and even a few students of the higher year began to levitate those suffering to the closest one who was continually healing those who were brought to him. Others in the meantime levitated the tables away to make space.

With the injured students now laying in rows next to those who were continuously healing them, it became far easier for them to do their job. Once one was treated, friends took them away to sit them on a chair to make more room for the other injured students.

All the while, the prefects helped to keep everyone calm and out of the way, allowing only one friend to accompany each of the injured ones.

So, it was no wonder that they could heal everyone in record time. Though Madame Pomfrey made it clear that she wanted everyone who sustained an injury to show up in the hospital wing later to make sure that everything was healed perfectly and no other damage was done that hadn't been found in the bid to get them out of a potentially lethal state.

Once everyone was healed, Harry slumped down next to Loki who also looked a bit worn out though not as severely as Harry.

"Healing so many is really tiring," he moaned, he had healed at least ten people.

"You were brilliant, Harry, I'm proud of you," Loki complimented him, draping an arm over his shoulder, and hugging him close. "I didn't know that you became this good in healing."

"Well, after the incident with the unicorn I read up on healing and began practising," Harry replied with a shrug.

It was true that he had taken upon healing after the unicorn so that it wouldn't tire him so much anymore and to be able to heal his friends should something happen. However, the most he learned about it while he stayed in the cage where Lucifer taught him. That though he won't tell Loki because that would ruin his surprise/prank.

Just at that moment, the others reached him, and Hermione instantly began to fuss over them.

As if on cue, Sam's mobile rang. With a scowl, wondering who that was, he picked up only to be greeted by his brother.

"Hey Sammy, not to be rude or anything but could you please give me Loki for a moment? We have news for him that he might find…interesting," Dean told him without any preamble.

Sam frowned. "Dean, sure, wait a sec," he replied before holding out the phone towards Loki. "Here for you. It's Dean, he says he has information for you."

Loki rose an eyebrow but took the phone and held it against his ear. He listened to what Dean had to say for about a minute, his face darkening with each second. In the end, he looked plain murderous.

"Give me a minute then I'm there and teach them a lesson the will never forget," he snarled before he hung up. "They found the ones responsible for the ritual that had the audacity to reach to Hogwarts."

Michael's face also instantly darkened though he wasn't the only one. "Go and give them what they deserve. No one hurts someone under my protection and gets away with it!"

Loki just wanted to turn around after nodding towards his brother and leave when he was held back by someone. When he turned around, he saw Severus standing right next to him.

"I'm coming with you," he growled in a way that broke no argument.

For a long moment, Loki looked into his eyes before he nodded and grabbed his wrist. Not even a blink later they were both gone.

"Headmaster, I think we should send the students who weren't injured back to the common rooms to get rest while I check those who were injured over one last time to make sure nothing lingered," Madame Pomfrey addressed Michael.

"You're right, this was an exhausting evening, and I think everyone deserves a good night sleep," Michael said with a nod.

Harry sighed deeply and got up only to be grabbed by Sam and Neville when he began to sway.

"Yep, some sleep sounds really nice," he muttered with a yawn.

With the help of his friends, Harry made his way to the entrance door while Michael dismissed everyone with a few reassuring words to get the rest they needed. However, what neither of them knew was that the day was far from over.

A/N: 'til next chapter!