DISCLAIMER: We do not own Harry Potter, the characters or anything related to it. However, we do own our imagination as well as our OC.

Halloween

The 31st of October at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry wasn't all that different from any other day in the calendar. Students still had classes to attend and homework to do, teachers still had piles of exams to correct. Only the pumpkins floating high in the air and smiling at the students maliciously were any indication that that night was somehow more special than any other. When the first stars appeared on the firmament everyone gathered in the main stairway, waiting impatiently for the upcoming dinner. The Halloween Feast was the most adventurous meal of all because you never knew what you would find on your plate. Or whether it was edible.

Finally the door leading to the Great Hall opened and the crowd that had been gathering in front of it poured in. Within seconds every seat was full and everyone fell silent as Professor Dumbledore stood up to say his usual few words, as he had done at every Halloween feast for as long as anyone could remember. Although over the years he had learnt that the feast was an occasion for everyone to eat until they felt sick and not to listen to his over-long speeches, the headmaster's playful character hadn't felt offended at all. Actually, the thought of that particular meal, that one time when the stomachs were taking over savoir vivre, always brought smile to his lined face. The scene must have looked exactly the same thousand of years ago when the first students in the school were celebrating the night of the dead.

***

"Butterbeer?" said Sirius in a half-excited, half bored way. As if he hadn't already known. Their party had to be perfect. Even if throughout the years the preparations had become a routine, everything still needed to be teed up. Every detail was important; the tradition was not to be forgotten. Every year they would make a list of things they couldn't have forgotten: beginning with the most obvious ones as Halloween decorations up to what kind of chocolate exactly did that fourth-year who had had Potions with them last year like the best. The party was for everyone, wasn't it? Therefore every single person should have fun.

"Check," James replied in the same manner. He crossed out one of the most important items, in his opinion at least, with an exaggerated and overly theatrical gesture.

It was in their second year that they decided to never be bored again after the Halloween feast and organised their own party. Not a far-fetched one, though, as they were only twelve and had to settle for only a few bottles of Butterbeer, beside every kind of sweet you could possibly think of, displayed on every flat surface available in the Common Room. Adding to it tonnes of food, door-to-door delivered from the schools' Kitchens, and the party turned out to be a great success.

One could ask where the Butterbeer came from. The four boys just made use of what they had learnt from the older generations. There was an unspoken tradition in the school, older than anyone's living memory, that the pranksters passed on the locations of secret passageways, as well as other useful information about the castle. You could find them everywhere if you knew how to look. And the boys did. They were smart and curious; the window of opportunities was open to them.

And so, three years later, being already "experienced" and knowledgeable about every brick in the walls of the castle, the Marauders were able to go and get anything they wanted.

"Firewhiskey?" No party could have gone well without that sensational drink and the boys knew it perfectly well.

"Check," James looked at his friend as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and added in an almost hurt voice. "Do you really have so little faith in me? I would've understood you blaming Remus here for not supplying us with much needed booze." He pointed accusingly at the boy and then added in a theatrical whisper. "But he's the responsible one."

"I heard that, you know," Remus pretended to be angry. But how can one be angry with James Potter for longer than five seconds? "Very well then," he said in an indifferent tone a while later. "I guess I will keep those four bottles I was about to give you after all. And I bought them especially for this occasion when I was on holiday."

James, Sirius and Peter stopped in mid-step and gaped at the golden-haired boy for a good minute. Remus, for his part, had great difficulties in suppressing a chuckle that was building up in his chest, but he did well. If they only knew what a hilarious picture they made with their eyes wide open and jaws dropped! At this point Remus couldn't stand it any longer and burst out into such contagious laughter that the others soon followed him. Still they had to wonder how many other surprises the golden-haired boy held for them. That was what Halloween did to people.

The four were already approaching the Portrait Hole, hurrying to make everything ready for the party, when Sirius abruptly stopped and hushed them with a wave of his hand. A second later they heard voices coming from behind the corner, high-pitched and hyped, discussing something vigorously. They sounded like very excited second-years.

"You can't be a vampire because I'm one myself," grumbled one of the supposed-to-be-twelve-year-olds. They were obviously talking about what they were going to wear to Marauder's Halloween party. "I spent the whole afternoon making my fangs look vampirish! Yours are plastic." A surge of laughter almost escaped James' throat but, fortunately, he managed to cover his mouth with his hand on time. Surely, that conversation was going to be hilarious!

"Oh, Nathaniel, you just can't be the only one." The other boy was really desperate. He had probably spent a lot of time preparing his costume and now his hopes of having fun were being tarnished just because someone else wanted to be in the limelight. "Let me be a vampire too!" he pleaded, sounding hopeless.

"You don't even look like a real vampire!" Nathaniel pointed out. "Sirius Black won't ever let you to his party if you're not dressed properly." No Marauder would ever do such a thing, but they had to admit, the bossy one was good when it came to witty responses. Almost as good as them.

"But I would make a good one, I'm sure! I have fangs and a cloak." The unnamed boy wasn't going to give up that easily. "I even have a domesticated bat in my dorm. Can I be a vampire?"

"All right," sighed Nathaniel eventually. "If you really have to." He gave the other boy a while to cherish his victory and then added in an authoritative tone. "But you would have to be my servant. That means finding some beautiful maidens of Gryffindor for me, so I can drink their blood." At that point he broke into evil laughter.

"But Nathaniel." The Marauders just couldn't wait to hear what the boy would say to that one. And, as expected, his answer made it even harder to stay calm and remain unnoticed. A burst of wild and uncontrolled laughter would definitely give them away, wouldn't it? "How will I make them come with me?"

"For that, my little friend, I have a few tricks," said Nathaniel.

"But how will I know they are virgins?"

Sirius had to see who they were, the creative two. He just had to. Their facial expressions would surely be a comical sight when they realised that someone might have overheard their talk. Even funnier, if that someone turned out to be the Marauders themselves. And Sirius wasn't disappointed. Not in the slightest.

The two little boys, both dressed in long black cloaks, drew themselves up at once, trying to put the most serious expression possible on their faces. The Marauders walked past them, apparently not paying any attention to the strangely dressed second-years, and disappeared behind the Portrait. The boys sighed with relief. So good that the four hadn't heard their conversation.

While, in the Gryffindor Common Room James, Sirius, Remus and Peter were laughing for so long that in the end they couldn't breathe any more and slumped, still gasping, onto the couch before the fireplace.

Promptly at ten the party started. Gryffindors filled the Common Room within minutes, making it look smaller than it really was. Usually only few people could be seen lingering there in the evenings and now… it seemed that even the Great Hall would have been too small to fit all of the students that had gathered there.

The people were everywhere: sitting on the couch by the fireplace, cramming near the tables with all kinds of food on them or simply squeezing through the crowd, trying to find a place where they could stand untroubled for at least a while. Three friends were gossiping cheerfully in the corner, glancing up every time a handsome boy was passing by. The two vampires were chasing a little blonde shepherdess and her cat, dressed as a sheep. Chatter and laughter filled up the air, making it impossible to hear your own thoughts. And to think the party was just getting started.

Of course the most popular place in the whole room, at least among the older students, was the right corner. Surrounded by teenagers, there stood a little table with lots and lots of bottles on it. It wasn't hard to guess what was inside them, as everyone who stood there seemed to get more relaxed with every minute. They were laughing loud, telling each other stupid jokes, and toasting every once in a while, soft clanking of glass like music to their ears.

Remus stood nearby leaning against the wall and watching the surrounding closely. It wasn't that he wasn't having good time, being in a party like that one and surrounded by people he knew and liked, but he just felt responsible. He was a Prefect after all.

"Always on guard, aren't you?" The voice of Lily Evans was almost inaudible, subdued by music that had suddenly struck up from nowhere. Remus turned to face the girl. She seemed cautious too, her eyes scanning the room for any sign of danger. Just like him she preferred to sacrifice her own fun for the sake of other's safety. She didn't have any company at the moment; her friends, Isabelle and Angelica were hardly visible in the crowd, probably caught up in talking with James or Sirius.

"I've just had to send a first-year back to his dorm. He was drinking his second glass of Butterbeer. Can you imagine that?" Remus answered in a bit irritated tone. "Even Sirius wasn't drinking in his first year," he added after a while.

She looked at him wide-eyed and then burst out into hysterical laughter. "Who would have thought?" she managed between giggles. Now Remus had to laugh too. In the other side of the room a group of five-years moved one of the tables to make some space to dance.

No one needed an invitation to hit the dance floor. A second later it was already full. And no matter how old you were or who you were friends with, the moment the music had started to flow it was all forgotten. The only thing that seemed to matter was to jump as high as possible, throwing your arms up in the air, laughing freely, swirling and swinging along the tune. It was a quick one, so the whole room was dancing. As soon as it changed to something slower, only a few people were left, couples mostly, hugging and swaying.

A quiet voice interrupted the girl's thoughts.

"Lily?" It was James Potter. Uneasy, he cleared his throat and continued. "Would you like to dance with me?"

The red-head looked at him completely taken aback. The biggest prankster ever, the most annoying boy in the world was asking her so politely to dance with him? Calling her by her first name? Now, that was strange.

She looked him in the eyes, something she tried to avoid at any cost, and saw that there was not a trace of mocking in them. They were light-brown and so patient. So sincere. For the first time in five years Lily wasn't looking at James Potter as her personal curse, but as a boy. A boy who wasn't nearly as self-assured as he appeared to be. A boy who offered to help her when she needed it.

"Yes," she said before she realised what she had just done. James' eyes widened with surprise. Had she just agreed to dance with him or had he had too many drinks that night, and in consequence he was seeing, or rather hearing, things that were too beautiful to be true? Yet, Lily was looking at him calmly, instead of trying to hex him, as she often did. So what else could he do? He grabbed her hand, only half-consciously, and led her towards the dancing couples.

"Izzy," Angela murmured, as she nudged her friend in the ribs.

Isabelle turned, infuriated, although she would never show it. Sirius had just asked her to dance. "What is it?

"Look." Angela was pointing her finger at a swaying couple. James and Lily.

The girl blinked a couple of times. Of all sights, she would have never expected to see that particular one. Even the Giant Squid balancing on one of its tentacles would have seemed normal compared to what she had before her eyes. Because the terms "Lily" and "James" just didn't go together. And there they were, dancing in each other's arms. "Has hell frozen over?" she only managed but didn't get any reply. It seemed that neither Angela nor Sirius were able to speak. They just gaped at the couple completely taken-aback.

A half-eaten doughnut in one hand and a bottle of Butterbeer in the other, Peter approached the place where Remus was standing. They stood there, silent for a while. Finally the chubby boy spoke. "They make a nice picture, don't you think?"

"Yes," the golden-haired boy replied, smiling slightly. It would have been great if James and Lily finally were on good terms. It would surely save everyone's nerves. Every once in a while James was throwing him unsure, yet expressing perfect happiness, glances. And then Remus would always hold his thumbs up in a little reassuring gesture and nod his head. Yes Prongs, so far everything's going fine.

It wasn't even a minute later that a loud slap could be heard. Every head in the room turned to look at the dance floor, as it was where the noise had come from. Lily Evans left the room quicker than it would take one to say Reparo. Dead silence filled the room, although the music was still flowing.

Without hesitating Angela ran after Lily. Isabelle, for her part, wasn't sure what to do. Finally the loyalty toward her friend won over her affection for Sirius and she rushed out of the room, shooting Sirius an apologetic look. The sound of slamming door to the girls' Dormitories rang in everyone's ears for a long time.

"Lily?" The girls called to the closed door of their bathroom. Lily locked herself there as soon as she had left the unfortunate party and wouldn't come out. Nothing helped. No amount of pleading or threatening would make her go out.

"I don't want to talk about it," came the muffled reply. Lily wasn't the shut-myself-from-the-world-whenever-I-get-hurt type of girl yet she was definitely not a person to cry her heart out before her friends and tell them what was going on. She wasn't a person to cry, in the first place. And she certainly wasn't a person who had ever trusted James Potter. Yet she was there, shaken by whatever he could have possibly said and definitely more touched that she would like to admit.

"Oh, come on!" Angela was trying to encourage her. She was leaning against the door frame and rolling her eyes, yet deep down she was really worried. She had no idea what made Lily talk to James in the first place and even though Lily's slap was to be predicted the whole situation must have hurt the redhead more than ever before.

"What did he do?" asked Isabelle in a soft voice. She knew Lily well enough; when the time was right the emerald-eyed girl would spill. But not before. Even though telling her all those reassuring words seemed to be nonsense, as Lily neither needed nor wanted any of those, she was trying to find something right to say. But before she had any chance to open her mouth the bathroom door cracked and slowly opened.

Lily looked at her friends with sadness and pure disappointment written on her face. She let out a sigh and said silently. "Nothing. Potter was just being himself."

They knew better than to ask questions since it was completely obvious they would get no answer. Sedative smiles were shared and the girls hugged Lily reassuringly. Sometimes it is better to stay silent, let only your gestures reveal your feelings because sometimes there are no words to describe what is going on inside of you. And sometimes there are absolutely no words to express your support.

After a while Lily tried to kick her friends out of the Dormitory, since the Halloween get-together was an annual thing and she definitely did not want them to feel like they had lost an opportunity of having good fun during one. They just laughed at her, explaining, as to a small child, that friends were more important than any parties in the world.

Back in the Common Room the cheerfulness reappeared as soon as Lily left the room, and the party that once seemed to be falling apart was actually gaining on force. Students didn't let one quarrel destroy their Halloween fun; they knew better than that. Of course the alcohol flowing in their circulatory system helped immensely to unwind the party and practically everyone in the room was dancing and laughing, many of them singing loudly to the tune that was currently playing.

The only people that didn't seem to enjoy the party at all were its actual organisers and creators. The ones that had never been seen sitting and doing completely nothing during any social event. And now, all four were squeezed on the couch by the fireplace, unreadable expressions on their faces. They hadn't talked much since Lily left the room and Sirius was already getting impatient.

"What the hell happened?" he asked finally. James did not reply at first. He was staring blankly at the bottle of Firewhiskey he was holding in his hand for so long that Sirius wasn't even sure if he had heard the question at all. He hoped that they wouldn't be very insistent. It was already hard to hide his feelings under a façade of indifference and their trying to cheer him up would just make things worse. When he finally spoke his voice was perfectly emotionless.

"Snape."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello everyone, I hope you had wonderful Christmas and an all-night party for the New Year's Eve. We're very sorry for the delay, but you know how it is… right? And the school has started again. Well, I hope you liked this chapter, although it only features a singular event. Reviews are much appreciated, though:)

Danielle, we can never thank you enough, can we?