Sorry for lack of updates! I'm now blaming it on the Doctor, Downtown Abbey, and NaNoWriMo. Oh. And class. Again, sorry. I hope to have more updated soon.
Disclaimer: still not Jo.
The next few days after the Hogsmeade trip, I avoided James. I honestly didn't know why, but for some reason, I felt embarrassed that I kissed him. I never did that, ever, and the fact that I did it with the person that I swore I would always hate, well, let's just say I've been keeping my head down since then.
Slughorn's Halloween party was coming up in a few days and I still wasn't sure what I was going to be. Marlene, Alice, Mary, and Emmeline helped me.
"What about a sexy vampire?" Marlene suggested, wagging her eyebrows suggestively.
"Ugh, no!" Mary cried. "She needs to be sweet!"
"But that's how she always is," Marlene said with a disgusted look. "She has to be something else, something edgy."
Alice sighed. "Marlene's right, Mary. She needs to be portrayed differently."
"But will Slughorn allow something, uh, sexy?" Emmeline asked.
We all looked at one another, unsure. Would he allow that? The answer was yes. I'd seen a few students the past few years at his Halloween party dressed a little skimpy, but the question was, could I do it?
"Got it!" Marlene said, slapping her leg.
We all looked at her expectantly.
"Dress like a phoenix!" she said excitedly.
We all exchanged a confused glance.
"But Marlene, phoenix's are, well, birds," Alice said. "How can you be sexy dressed as a bird?"
Marlene laughed and looked at me. "Dress in a short red dress, wear strappy heels, put your hair up with curls falling down, and put on a feather mask. And wings, if you want."
I looked at her, amazed, and then grinned. "It's brilliant!"
Marlene beamed and then turned to Alice. "Now for our costumes!"
"I want to dress as a bird, too, but with the idea similar to Lily's," she explained.
"What kind of bird?" Marlene asked.
Alice shrugged then her eyes widened. "Why don't we all do that!"
"Do what?" I asked.
"Be some sort of bird!" Alice said excitedly.
"Okay, but what kind of bird could you be?" I asked her.
"Well, I don't know any other magical bird," Alice admitted. She got up and went to her trunk, rummaging around until she pulled out a very old, very battered book. She held it up, grinning. "We can always look in here, though!"
Alice hopped onto her bed and opened the book, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
"Well, there's a basilisk," Alice read.
"Yeah, but that isn't a bird, Alice," Mary said with a roll of her eyes.
Alice stuck her tongue out and flipped the page, frowning. "The only birds in here are the Augurey and the Fwooper."
"What's the Augurey?" Marlene asked.
"'The Augurey is a native of Britain and Ireland, though sometimes found elsewhere in northern Europe. A thin and mournful-looking bird, somewhat like a small and underfed vulture in appearance, the Augurey is greenish black. It is intensely shy, nests in bramble and thorn, eats large insects and fairies, flies only in heavy rain, and otherwise remains hidden in its tear-shaped nest.'" Alice looked up and said, "It doesn't sound half bad, you know."
"But it's mournful!" Marlene said, looking at Alice as if she had gone mental.
Alice shrugged. "So? It's a magical bird."
"And it's green," Marlene pointed out. "You've gone completely mental if you think you're wearing green!"
"Oh, honestly, Marlene, enough with that nonsense," Alice sighed in exasperation. "It's just a color."
Marlene rolled her eyes. "Fine. Wear green. I don't care. Just…help me find something."
Alice looked disgruntled, but continued to flip through the book until she came to the Fwooper page.
"Okay, the Fwooper is an African bird and are usually orange, pink, lime green, or yellow." She looked up at Marlene expectantly and said, "Does it sound like a good idea?"
Marlene bit her lower lip.
"Oh, go on," I said. "It's a magical bird and, by the sound of it, it likes colors, much like yourself. Dress up as one, Mar."
"Oh, alright, fine," she sighed.
Alice closed the book and tossed it aside. "Now for the actual costume bit."
"Well, Marlene, you can wear an orange dress," Emmeline said quietly, "and Alice, you can wear a green dress with black stripes or something."
"Brilliant," Marlene said dryly. I chuckled. "But where are we going to find these dresses?"
Mary and Emmeline exchanged smiles and then Mary held up that days' Daily Prophet. "Look at the Madam Malkin's ad."
"Mary, you are one brilliant soul!" I cried and she got up and handed me the paper. I scanned the page and then said, "Well, we'll probably have to either ask McGonagall for permission or send in the dress ideas. What do you think?"
"Why don't we ask McGonagall first and then, when she says no, we can send in the ideas," Marlene said.
"Always the optimist," Alice muttered. "Come on, it's time for Transfiguration."
We would see how the Halloween costumes would go, I thought as we headed to Transfiguration, Alice and Marlene chattering excitedly about it beside me. It was in a week and a half and we still weren't entirely sure where to get the rest of the costumes. Unless, of course, Madam Malkin had masks and heels in her store, otherwise, we were Muggle shopping.
But I had to admit…I was really looking forward to Halloween.
Oh. And sorry for it being short...I have no excuse...
-TheTragedyIs13-