Prompt: Halloween

Any time period/pairing/era

Word count: 500-5000

Note: The following story is a submission to the facebook group Platform 9 3/4. All stories on this profile are works submitted by multiple authors through means of the group. Contestants will remain anonymous until voting is completed. Only the author and moderators of the challenge are aware of identities.

Disclaimer: the author of this story did not create these characters and will in no way claim ownership therein. All things Harry Potter related belong to JK Rolling.


Story title: Trick or Terror

Rating: PG-13 (content) or Teen (vocab)

Genre: Horror

Fanfic Name: -Undisclosed at this time-

Pairings, if any: None

OCs, if any: Glen Rowe (M), Beatrice Gardner (F), Pierson Blythe (M twin), Melvina Blythe (F twin), and Aisling Cullum(F)

Summary: Something haunts the third floor. It's been taking students, especially on Hollow's Eve, and five snakey first years aim to take it down for glory!


Trick or Treat


The small group of first years are seated at their tables, having been sorted into their houses the previous month, and were awaiting the speech from headmistress McGonagall. The prefects warned them that this speech was coming and that it must be considered the most important one given in the month. Glen Rowe, Beatrice Gardner, Pierson Blythe, Melvina Blythe, and Aisling Cullum sat at the table nearest the door to the great hall with the rest of the Slytherin house students blocking their view to the professors.

"You know, with all the students and teacher pre-occupied, we could sneak onto the third floor?" Glen Rowe sneered mischievously at his friends.

"But that's exactly what this speech is about! No going on the third floor around Hollow's Eve! It is even more dangerous for us witches and wizards than for muggles!" Aisling Cullum, the badger in snakeskin, moped perpetually about rule breaking.

"This is why we never have fun! You care too much about rules…" the Twins, Pierson and Melvina Blythe said in unison, crossing their arms to pout.

"But if we figure out and kill the beastie on the third floor we'll be immortalized!" Beatrice said with proper Slytherin pride, "Even the famous Potter and his pals broke rules and fought monsters, why can we win the immortalization of Slytherin house with thus to out-do those stupid old Gryffindors."

"They beat Voldermort and his army!" The whole group shouted at her before getting shushed.

"There isn't a way to win that contest unless you wanna start your own war" Glen shrugged as he spoke.

"We could at least beat out the coolest event IN the school. That was the Wizarding World." Beatrice grumped out her words before placing her chin in her hands.

"So we're going?" The twins were grinning profusely.

"Duh!" The small group responded before being shushed again, right as the Headmistress was getting to the point.

"…and no students are allowed on the third floor as recent accidents of an unknown nature, has caused the harm, unfortunate disappearance, or relocation into unsafe areas for any who tread the halls. Furthermore, the most cases of these events have been reported on, or during the week of Hollow's Eve. Please students, staff, and professors, do not go looking for thrills on this floor…" After a short pause Headmistress McGonagall moved on to thank the student for the patience and summon the days feast to the table.

"You think, being the safest place in the wizarding world, Hogwarts could keep a safer campus…seriously, this places is kind of a death trap." Pierson stated as he looked around at the food on the table.

The looks of agreement and confirming murmurs from the Slytherin's who heard the comment punctuated the point of the dangers on campus for everyone.

After finishing their food, grabbing common clothes from their dormitories, and returning to the bottom of the moving stairs, the group began to rush up the ever-shifting stairs to the third floor. Moving quickly the five unlocked, opened, and rushed into the first third floor door they could find. Looking around the dusty darks halls they jumped as they nearby magiced torches sprang to life.

"Maybe this is a bad idea" Aisling held her lumos it wand close to her and shivered.

"Chicken!" the group responded as they went rushing down the corridor to their left laughing, leaving Ailing in the dark, alone.

"Guys?" Aisling took a few steps forward to follow her friends before she heard the tapping of shoes walking down the hall followed by a terrifying scraping noise, "GUYS!"

Looking down the hall where Aisling should have been scampering behind, The twins heard an echo of a yell and called the group to halt. Noticing that the lights were slowly going out behind them, with no sign of a lumos tipped wand or torches in the distance, they figured she had simply turned around and went back.

Beatrice called the group over to her current location, which was staring at in ashy figure outlined on the stonework. With a quick comment of reassurance the group carried on, noticing only then that Glen, who was leading the group, was also gone. With shrugged shoulders and the assumption he had gone ahead, the trio moved onward.

"Hey look at this room!" Beatrice pointed out what looked to be a sort of disused study hall.

The walls were lined with mostly emptied bookshelves and a handful of desks in the center. Moving further into the room Beatrice lifted her ward to aid in her looking around the room, noticing that it did little to aid her sight.

"This is boring there is noting scary here! Lets go back." Beatrice said to the now shaking and pale twins that were pointing behind her. The room had taken on an appearance of ink, black swirls churning, leaving no hint of the furniture that had once been moderately easy to see. "Guys, lets goAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Beatrice seemed to have had hands appear from within the inky substance and pull her in, giving her only a moment to scream before disappearing completely. The room quickly regained its former appearance as the inky substance violently slammed into a blank portion of the wall, leaving an outline that looked hauntingly like their friend Beatrice.

"Brother we need to leave now and report this!" Melvina shook as she croaked out the words to her equally shaken brother.

"We can leave her!" Pierson quickly ran over the ashy impression, withdrew a small jar from his bag, and muttered a quick spell that sent the remnants into the jar, filling it only slightly.

"Come on! LET'S GO!" the twins finished together as they began their run down the hallways. They noticed that, as they ran, none of the torches reacted, and the room kept getting darker around them. With a sudden stop and a shriek of fright the twins disappeared into the black ink, seeing before them a bloodied ghostly figure with a broom dragging behind him, for only a second before their vision and consciousness turned black.

Left scattered throughout the early parts of the hall Headmistress McGonagall finds five wands, no longer lit, and a small jar of ash on its side, cracked and broken. With a sigh she returns down the hall, through the stairs, and eventually finding her way to her office. Opening a small door behind her desk she places the items within and waits.

Several hours pass before the screams are heard in the small, inky, globe that sits on her desk. With a small crack and a gasp from McGonagall, the newly formed bloodied ghost with broom in hand cackles and looks as the headmistress mischeviously.

"Mr. Weasley, When I gave you this job I didn't expect you to perpetuate rumor and scare children!" McGonagall shook her head and huffed at the ghostly image of Fred Weasley before her, no longer bloodied or carrying a broom.

"But you did tell me to have fun and keep the kiddos off the third floor!" Fred grinned at the disappointed Headmistress, "I've done that and yeah its Hollow's Eve, 'course I gotta make it scary!"

"Yes, alright." McGonagall gave out a chuckle, "Now shoo, before they see you!"

"Never ignoring the Headmistress' word again!" Aisling replied, being newly rescued from a darkened room on the third floor.

"Yeah us either!" the twins said in unison.

"I wonder how she beat that ting back? Or what it was? We totally coulda taken it if we weren't caught unawares!" Beatrice replied trying to regain some pride.

"Headmistress saved us from that thing so leave it be!" Glen said shaking his head, "Lets get a quick snack and go to bed."

They did just that while all the other students wondered what happened right along with them.

END


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