DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter or Pride and Prejudice. Only my cell phone and laptop.
Wow! You guys are the best! Thanks for reviewing and I'm really happy that you're enjoying the story. This chapter turned out to be much longer than I expected. Much much longer! I hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 9: Halloween Week
Hogwarts sat perfectly situated for the upcoming Holiday. The castle was decorated beautifully. Chill drafts drifted throughout the darkened halls accompanied by a light fog. Bats flew about the corridors and spider webs dangled from the ceilings and covered the walls. And the suits of armor stationed about the castle rattled chains when students would walk by.
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"So the game plan for the week is to have a prank for everyday leading up to the dance on Friday?" Peter asked his other co-conspirators known by everyone as the Marauders.
"Yes, that's the idea. Today will be pumpkin Monday." Remus said proudly. "I put the pumpkins in place myself."
"So when will they start to explode? It won't be as fun unless we can watch." Sirius cheerfully inquired.
"Well, I placed the pumpkins on hay bales to make them appear like the other decorations in the castle. The idea is to have them explode at a certain time when lots of students are present. So naturally I placed some near the Great Hall and in the dungeon and other high trafficked areas of the school."
"Very well thought out, Moony." James said and patted his friend on the back. "And to make things a bit more interesting, I charmed the pumpkins to splatter over a large area so everyone is sure to enjoy the fun."
Sirius added, "And I charmed the insides to be hard to wash off once the pumpkin has exploded and added an aging effect so the insides are sure to be rotten once the pumpkin exploding begins."
"Excellent!" Peter said while jumping up and down like a small excited child.
Remus checked the time and hurriedly said, "The first pumpkins start exploding in a few moments, come on, to the Great Hall!"
"You're going to breakfast without Jenny?" Sirius asked surprised.
"Oh, dang! That's right.." Remus stated. He was obviously torn and started to pout. "I worked so hard and nearly got caught by Filch and Ms. Norris a few times. I want to see!"
"Just go without her. Tell her you've got some stuff to talk over with us this morning." Peter suggested.
"That will have to work. I don't want her to know about the pranks. I doubt she'd get mad, but then she'd want to know about the others and I don't want to ruin anything."
"Okay, that's settled. Let's go!" James yelled and ran down the boy's stairs.
"Jenny!" Remus said in surprise when he entered the common room. "You beat us this morning?"
Jenny laughed at the way Remus said 'you beat us this morning'. "I woke up early and I suppose I got lucky!"
"Well, hey, dear, we Marauders need to speak about some private matters, so I'll meet you in class, okay?" Remus kissed Jenny on the cheek and dashed out of the common room before she had a chance to respond, which left Jenny confused but unquestioning.
Jenny decided to go back upstairs and wait for Gina and Lily, but to her surprise she found Taylor and Brooke in the room.
"Hey girls! I feel like I haven't seen you in forever!"
"I know. I've been with Jay a lot." Brooke said while brushing her hair.
"Jay? But what happened to, I can't remember his name." Jenny asked without much care. She was only making conversation.
"Oh! That was so long ago. No I've been with Jay about a month now. He's the best ever. He's tall, dark, and handsome. He really is. Black hair, brown eyes, and brown skin. I think he's the one. He's a ravenclaw, so he's really smart."
Taylor snorted with laughter. "Please. You can't tell that he's the one from just one month. I can't even tell that with Stephen and it's been several months."
Taylor and Brooke didn't see eye to eye on a lot of things, which created tension among the girls a lot of times. Lily, Gina, and Jenny tended to side with Taylor on most things, even though Brooke looked to Gina to be on her side since they were childhood friends.
Brooke was ready to fight, "Just because you can't tell, doesn't mean that I can't. So why don't you shut your fat mouth and go be with your boyfriend and I'll go be with mine."
Jenny looked from girl to girl and compared them in her mind briefly to not think about the tension that was so thick that she could cut it like a loaf of bread. "They're complete opposites. Taylor wears little makeup, Brooke wears enough for the entire sixth year Gryffindor girls combined, Taylor dresses appropriately, Brooke doesn't. The only thing in common is their hair color. Both of them have dark brown hair."
Jenny snapped back to reality when Brooke made swift movements rolling her sleeves up to her shoulders and pulled her skirt above her knees and then stormed from the girl's dormitory to find Jay.
"Uggghhhhh! I can't stand her." Taylor yelled in fury. "Why does that stupid girl have to be in our year? She just causes unnecessary drama."
Jenny silently agreed and nodded her head, although she knew that Taylor brought on the drama that just ensued. Trying to change the subject, she asked about Lily and Gina's whereabouts.
"I was just talking to them a minute ago, but I don't think they left. They're probably in the bathroom."
"How are things with you and Stephen, good I hope?"
"Yeah, we're just taking things slow. We have our usual problems, but they're nothing big."
"That's good. Where have you been lately? It seems as if you are never in the room anymore."
"I've been staying the night with Stephen for about the past month, it'd be weird to not fall asleep next to him."
"Awww! That's so romantic. Remus and I have never fell asleep next to each other."
"Speaking of Remus, how are things with you guys?"
"We're as fine as ever it seems. He asked me to the dance last night, but that's about it. We spend a lot of time together. But, I miss hanging out with you girls."
"I know what you mean. Hey, how is Shawn doing? I heard about what happened. What was the problem?"
"He seems to be okay. I don't really talk to him as much as Gina and Lily do. They told me the cause was a bad sleeping potion. The ingredients were too strong or mixed inappropriately or something and it put him in a mild coma. He's okay other than that. He got out of the hospital yesterday or the day before yesterday. I can't remember."
"I'm glad to hear it. He's always been friendly to me. Have you ever noticed that he seems different? I mean, Gina and Lily are his best friends. Don't you think it's funny that he's not got any good guy friends?"
"I've never thought about it. But I think I know what you're getting at."
"Don't say anything to Gina or Lily. I don't want to make them mad."
"Don't worry, Taylor. I won't."
A few minutes later and Gina and Lily entered the room.
"Oh hey Jenny! What a surprise!" Gina cried out in amazement, "What are you doing here?"
"Well, I live here, but if you mean why aren't I with Remus? He said he needed to discuss some things with the Marauders."
"Do you want to walk to breakfast with us?" Lily asked in a friendly tone with a smile.
Jenny was pleased at the invitation and happily accepted. Taylor denied the invitation and remained in the room a bit longer so she could meet Stephen later.
&&&&&
"The castle is so beautiful! The house elves have really outdone themselves." Jenny observed while admiring the decorations.
A passing group of Hufflepuff girls were giggling over the prospect of having a date for the Halloween dance.
Gina stopped and gasped dramatically and in the process grabbed Lily and Jenny's arms and scared them.
"What in the world is the matter?" Lily stared at her best friend as if she had grown an extra head.
"Yeah, seriously!" Jenny added.
Gina continued the dramatic poses and said while flailing her arms,"Lily, we need dates for the dance!"
Lily stared blankly at her and doubled over with laughter. "Was all of that really necessary?"
"I have a date, if that makes you feel better." Jenny said boasting the fact.
"Oh, hush! I was just kidding, but it is truth, Lily, that we do need dates."
"I suppose your right. We have a week though. That's plenty of time. We also need costumes."
The girls were about to walk down the stone steps to the Great Hall when a high pitched scream frightened them.
"MY ROBES! COVERED IN PUMPKIN…STUFF! MY HAIR! I'M GOING TO MURDER WHOEVER DID THIS!"
It was all the Marauders could do to not laugh at the seriously distraught girl. It was sweet to see their prank perfectly executing itself.
"I have no doubt in my mind that that was Brooke." Gina said before she could see what exactly had happened to her.
"Oh my gosh! What is that horrid smell?" Lily yelled with disgust evident in her voice.
As the three girls made their way down the stairs, they found the cause of the smell and why it was their fellow Gryffindor roommate yelled and screamed. Brooke was still oblivious to the perpetrators behind the prank.
"I think I know what it was the Remus had to talk to the Marauders about this morning." Jenny stated matter-of-factly.
"I think it's brilliant." Gina said in awe.
"I think it's brilliant as long as it doesn't happen to us!" Lily exclaimed while laughing so hard that tears were starting to form.
Gina and Jenny joined in the laughter and agreed. As the trio headed into the Great Hall, they shot approving glances toward the four Marauders, who were still lurking about the mayhem and taking in all the enjoyment to be had from the scene. The girls took their usual spot at the Gryffindor house table and were soon joined by the mischievous ones themselves.
"Let me be the first to tell you that that was the highlight of my year!" Lily said while glancing at each of the Marauders with an approving smile.
"We don't know what you're talking about." James said rather innocently and grinned. He then picked up his pumpkin juice and took a big gulp as if Lily had asked nothing but how the weather was.
Sirius continuing to play innocent said, "We would never…"
Remus emphasized, "ever…"
"Do that!" Peter finished.
After a brief pause: "For the sake of this conversation, say we did pull off that magnificent display of magical talent. I thought you didn't like it when we pulled pranks, Lily?" Sirius asked confused but with a hopeful look.
"Well, you could say that I've had a slight change of heart." Lily replied very cheerfully and then added, "I guess I can make exceptions where that female we have no choice but to room with is the butt of the joke!"
The table laughed and James said after the laughter had died down that he found it amusing how much Lily disliked her. He was happy that Lily wasn't mad about the prank.
"Some of it's the way she tries to control Gina, trying to hang on to a childhood bond that used to be there, and the fact that she is so jealous of our friendship, but it's also the way she carries herself…" Lily was saying but was interrupted by Professor Dumbledore silencing the Great Hall.
"Students, students. If I could please have your attention for a moment. The breakfast will still be there momentarily. I think you will all enjoy what I intend to tell you."
The students all whispered excitedly as to what Dumbledore could tell them.
"It is good news for those able to attend the dance, however, something for the rest of you to look forward to one day. In honor of the festive week ending with the dance, classes today have been canceled for you all to go to Hogsmeade and find your costumes. However, if you are not old enough to attend the dance, please go to class as scheduled. That is all." After finishing his speech Dumbledore was not surprised to hear the Great Hall erupt with cheers and sad cries from the younger students.
"Dumbledore is the most awesome headmaster ever!" James yelled excitedly. He whispered low but quickly to the other Marauders about something and all the girls could hear was "costumes, pranks and something that sounded like firewhiskey."
Lily, Gina, and Jenny pretended to not hear what they were saying because they technically couldn't hear all of it.
The whispering stopped. "Would you ladies like to walk with us there?" James offered politely.
Jenny answered immediately but Gina and Lily decided to poke fun at them.
"I don't know James." Lily started, "Gina, can we really afford to be seen with this lot?"
Gina was startled to hear Lily use James's name, as were the others standing by even though everyone knew they were trying to be friends. "Well Lily, it's certainly risky. This might lessen our chances of getting dates for the dance."
It was becoming hard for the two girls to not laugh. Lily continued, "I see what you mean. That is a good point."
The Marauders looked hurt, astonished, and offended all at once, or at least for James and Sirius.
"I think it's a chance we should take. I think we'll be okay." Gina said while giggling.
"Please don't sound too excited." Sirius said sarcastically.
James agreed. "Yeah, I mean, we don't want to bring you any harm socially."
"Of course we'll go with you!" Lily finally said to the immense delight of James, and Sirius too.
"We were kidding all along." Gina said.
"We knew." James, Peter, and Sirius said in unison.
"Sure you did." Lily said and smiled.
"I'm tired of sitting here, let's go!" Peter requested to the surprise of everyone. He usually didn't speak out.
&&&&&
The group headed out of the castle and walked down the path the led toward Hogsmeade, experiencing a cool breezy day. The leaves on the trees were turning to autumn colors and were beginning to fall to the ground. Lily noticed on her way out that Severus Snape was sitting under a tree writing in a book. She decided to walk over to say hello; she made an excuse that it was someone other than Snape to the Marauders because she knew that it would cause drama that she would love to avoid if at all possible.
"Hey Severus." Lily greeted scaring the greasy haired boy.
"Lily. What? You're talking to me?"
"Yeah. I miss talking to you."
"I miss talking to you more than you could even imagine."
Lily ignored the way the Snape said that and said, "I can't stay long, I'm on my way to Hogsmeade with the Marauders and Jenny and Gina."
"Does Potter know you're talking to me?"
" No, he doesn't. I know how you both love to see each other, but for the sake of a brief hello, I decided I wouldn't tell him."
Lily noticed that this upset him.
"Look, Severus, we've had this discussion before. I'm not in love with James Potter. We're just trying to be friends right now. We had a big discussion the other night and I told him that picking on you would be like me picking on Sirius Black."
This seemed to make him relax a little bit. "I see."
Lily decided to shift the subject away from James Potter, "Why are you working on homework on our day off? Aren't you going to go get a costume for the dance?"
"It's not homework! I'm just tweaking some things in my potions book. Just some things that I noticed work better."
"Oh, yeah, you were telling me about that. If you ever want my input, you know where to find me!"
Severus laughed, "I know, Lily. I know. I am heading in to Hogsmeade later, I'm just waiting for some people to get here."
"Ahh. Okay. What costume are you going to get?"
"I'm not certain, what about you?"
It was Lily's turn to laugh. "I haven't honestly given it much thought. Be wary of Marauder pranks this week...I think they're planning something every day."
"Thanks for the warning, but I can take care of myself."
"It was just a friendly warning. I'm sorry to offend you. It was kindly meant."
"I'm sorry Lily. I'm just a little stressed at the moment."
"It's okay. If you want to talk later, just send me an owl or come find me or something of that sort."
"I may just do that. Thanks a lot Lily."
"It's no problem at all. That's what friends are for. I'm sorry to cut our chat short, but I have people waiting for me. I'll see you later Severus!"
And with that, Lily ran back toward the others looking over her shoulder to wave goodbye again.
Snape sighed to himself and thought, "If only she could and would return those feelings for me that I have for her. I'd do anything for her."
&&&&&
"I want to be a princess!" Sirius bellowed while skipping along.
Everyone roared with laughter. "Mate, I'm worried by that comment." James uttered in concern.
"What? Why? Don't you think I'd be a pretty princess?" Sirius said pretending to be hurt.
"I think you would be a beautiful princess, the best looking in all of England." Lily joked.
"Thanks, Lily. I'm glad someone agrees. Then, that means, you could be my prince and we could have our costumes picked out!"
"Lily's long red hair, and curvy chest, would make her an excellent prince, Sirius." Jenny added to the conversation.
"Remus, what do you think?" Peter questioned.
"I find it strange. I keep thinking I may need to re-arrange our sleeping quarters." Remus responded with an over dramatic air, which caused more laughter.
The walking group had assembled itself in pairs. Remus and Jenny were leading. James and Lily were in the middle, and Gina and Sirius were trailing in the back. Peter was out to the side near James.
"Oi, Moony! What are you going to be?" Sirius called out to Remus.
"Do tell, Moony. I'm anxious to hear. Are you and Jenny going to go as something in pairs?"
"We don't know yet." Jenny answered before Remus could answer.
"I was thinking something about being a detective."
"Huh?" Sirius, Gina, James, and Peter all said in unison.
"You know, like Sherlock Holmes?" Lily added to help.
"Exactly, Lily." Remus said with a smile.
"But what is it?" Gina asked with encouragement from James and Sirius.
"It's someone who solves mysteries."
"Oh!"
&&&&&
The group finally made it into the costume shop and was browsing around, it wasn't very crowded.
Sirius eyed a princess costume intently but was dragged away by Gina but not without much protesting by the handsome marauder. James noticed and commented that Remus may be right about changing the sleeping arrangements.
Remus came upon a werewolf costume but passed it quickly and this didn't go unnoticed by the other Marauders. They were sending sympathetic thoughts his way.
Jenny found a Greek goddess costume and fell in love with it. "GINA, LILY!"
"Look what I found!"Jenny exclaimed shaking it with glee.
"It's beautiful!" Gina said, jealous she hadn't found anything she liked.
"That's going to be gorgeous on you! I'm jealous!" Lily added.
The costume was an antique white. It was flowy and silky and draped over one shoulder and went to the ground on one side with the other side slightly higher.. It wasn't very form fitting but loose. It came with gold embellishments and the proper jewelry to accessorize.
Gina gasped and got the attention of the girls. A Zeus costume was nearby.
Remus was all she said and then pointed. "REMUS!"
The marauders came running this time.
"No. Absolutely not. I'm not going to wear that. It's essentially a skirt."
"But it would be so cute to see you and Jenny go together in these outfits!" Lily said trying the sad puppy face.
"It's got lightning bolt throwers it says and thunder effects." Gina added trying to help
Remus finally agreed to the delight of the girls. "I'm only doing this because it's got the lightning bolts!"
"I want to go for a walk, but we'll meet you guys later!" Jenny said and grabbed Remus and the costumes and left.
Peter decided on a skunk costume, for whatever reason. It blew the minds of the others, but he was impressed that it had a stench operating mechanism. He was quite excited.
This now left James, Lily, Sirius, and Gina to find their costumes.
Lily and Gina went off looking and saw their friend Nick Tucker, seventh year Gryffindor and head boy. Nick was a handsome guy, highly intelligent, brown hair and blue eyed. He was very fond of potions. He was grabbing a vampire costume.
A few more minutes of looking and Gina screamed loudly enough for people at Hogwarts to hear, which brought James, Sirius, and Lily running.
"I've found it! My costume! It's this nineteenth century dress, like the ones described in our book, Lily!"
"It's so pretty! It's perfect, Gina." Lily exclaimed with a big smile. "Too bad you don't have a Mr. Darcy to go with it."
"It's got the way to fix your hair, the gloves, all of the under fittings! Everything but the Mr. Darcy."
"This is why you screamed?" Sirius asked obviously confused.
"Yeah, I don't get it." James agreed.
"Ooooo Lily look! Another dress! We could go as twins! Well not exact twins because one dress has navy over things and this one hunter green. You would look fabulous in the green one."
"And you in the navy!"
"So you want to?"
"Yeah!!"
"We're just going to go over here and keep looking." James said while glancing at Sirius.
"Ooooo James, look, look. It's amazing!" Sirius said in his girlish voice clearly making fun of Gina and Lily, and with that walked away to continue looking.
"Now if we only had our Mr. Darcy's." Lily said.
"I feel like Jane Bennet and you're like Lizzy Bennet, except with red hair. So therefore I would need my Mr. Bingley and you Mr. Darcy."
"It's a shame we can't make them come out of the book to escort us to the dance." Lily said.
"I know." Gina sadly muttered.
&&&&&
"Prongs, who are you taking to the dance?…as if I don't already know." Sirius said questioningly not hiding a huge grin.
"I would like to ask Lily. Do you think she'd say yes?" James asked with hope in his eyes.
"I'd like to think she would. That's who I thought you were going to ask. My only advice is to ask her before anyone else does."
"Yeah, that's a good idea. Who are you taking, Padfoot?"
"Well, I haven't asked anyone yet, but I think I'd like to take Gina."
James grinned and said, "Just as I suspected. You know, I find it odd that Lily is nice all of a sudden. I don't mind, it's just different."
"It's nice though, most definitely. Oh James…do you see those costumes?"
"I think I know what you're thinking. But breeches? Sirius…would you really want to wear that?"
"I mean, if we get to take the girls we want, we'd be dressed correctly to accompany them, and we could carry canes and wear big top hats!"
"I see what you mean, and most importantly they would be thrilled, I think. I have an idea!" James exclaimed with his eyes lighting up.
"Do tell, my good man."
"Let's get these costumes, but not tell Lily and Gina."
"Okay, I was going to do that anyway…but please continue, I see that you're not through."
"We need to do this tonight so that we can ask them before anyone else does. Send them an owl telling them to go to the dance with us but not tell them who we are and tell them to meet us at separate locations and then we can join up somewhere."
"That's a really good idea, but they're both smart girls. They probably won't accept an unknown person to go to the dance with; they'll think it could be a trick."
"Hmm, I didn't think about that. Well we could still sign the letters as us and just tell them to meet us."
"I bet they'll think it sweet to get asked by owl."
"They're girls. Of course they will."
&&&&&
"I wonder what James and Sirius's costumes are." Lily said while sitting on her bed arranging pictures in an album.
"I don't know. They didn't want us to know obviously. I wonder who they're taking to the dance?" Gina said trying to sound uninterested.
"Well, I'd be willing to bet that Sirius is going to ask you." Lily responded and then said, "Hey, what's that tapping noise?"
Gina got off her bed and let two owls into the room, one flying to her and one to Lily.
"This is exciting!" Lily exclaimed, "I wonder what it could be!"
The girls opened their letters and both said, "Aww!" Both letters said essentially the same thing, but with different names.
Miss Lily Evans/ Miss Gina Parks
I would be most honored if you would attend the upcoming dance with me. Nothing could bring me greater pleasure than having you at my side. I hope that you will give this consideration and will meet me in the Gryffindor Common Room this Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Mr. James Potter/ Mr. Sirius Black
Lily and Gina loved that they were asked in this way. They found it very sweet and could in no way refuse an offer like this. They grabbed some parchment and a quill and responded that they would love to meet them.
"I can't believe I'm consenting to go with James Potter. Wow." Lily said astonished with herself. "I have come a long way."
"You have, Lil. You definitely have. I'm very proud of you…and totally excited for this dance!" Gina said jumping up and down. "We're going to be the prettiest girls there with the most handsome guys!"
"No doubt, my dear, no doubt!"
&&&&&
When James and Sirius received their responses from their respective girl, they tried to hide their excitement, but couldn't fool Remus. Peter felt depressed that he didn't have a date, but had his eye on a fifth year Hufflepuff girl.
"Tomorrow we execute the Headless Horseman prank?" James asked for confirmation.
"Yes. The idea is that the image is going to chase unsuspecting people and scare them. Completely harmless." Sirius said obviously quite proud of his handiwork.
&&&&&
A little bit later another owl came to Lily. It was from Snape requesting to talk to her outside of the portrait.
As Lily was about to go out of the portrait Shawn was sitting by the fire.
"Hey, Lily."
"Hey, Shawn."
"How are you?"
"I'm fantastic. How are you?"
"I'm doing okay. Hey can I ask you something?"
"Sure, I can't stay long though, I've got to meet someone."
"Okay, if you're not going to the dance with anyone, will you go with me?"
"Oh Shawn, I'm flattered that you asked me, but I'm afraid that you're about an hour late. I just accepted to go with James Potter. I'm really sorry."
"It's fine, James, huh? You're friends now?"
"Yeah, strange, huh? I'm glad though. It keeps me calmer."
"Is Gina going with anyone?"
"Yeah, she just accepted to go with Sirius Black."
"Wow, I've missed out on a lot of stuff. I'm so out of the loop! Sniff." Shawn said jokingly.
"It's understandable though. You've had a tough time lately. Things will get better."
"I know. I'm not mad about the dance though Lily. I just wanted to go with someone I was comfortable with, which is basically you and Gina."
"Aww, thanks. Well, I'm sorry, but I have to go. I'll see you later though."
"Okay. See ya."
Lily exited the Gryffindor Common Room and saw Severus Snape approaching her.
"Hey Lily!"
"Hi Severus. What's going on?"
"I was wondering if you would go to the Halloween dance with me?"
Lily's face turned a ghostly white and then went to rosy cheeks from blushing. "Oh, Severus. I'm really sorry, but someone else has already asked me and I accepted. If you had only asked me earlier."
She didn't want to tell him who she was going with because she knew it would upset him. But the dreaded question couldn't be avoided.
"It's okay, Lily. I understand. You're a very pretty witch. Any guy would love to go with you. Who's the lucky guy?"
Lily blushed, "Thanks, you're too kind. You're just saying that."
"No, really, you are."
Lily tried to say her next few words quickly so that they would not hurt him as much, or so she hoped: "Thanks. Umm, I'm going with James Potter."
&&&&&
Oooooh. Poor Snape. I feel bad for him. Lol. I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter! Please review! And the next chapter will be up soon. I'll start working on it later. It will be the Halloween dance.