Disclaimer - still not mine. Just doing this for fun.
A/N - Here's the other half of Halloween night. Thanks to everyone who's sticking with this story. As always, the follows and favorites are much appreciated! In regard to the reviews, thanks to Kermit 304 (I don't have a pic of the actual costumes; they were just in my head); Peytonkmc (thanks! Draco innuendoes would make my day, too. lol); anidot90 (Bien sur!); BigTimeGleekBTR (thank you - here you go!); phoenixqueen15 (Thanks hon - hope you enjoy this installment); and Draco lover 91 (good to hear!)
Sooner or later I'll get back to my other stories. I promise.
Chaos. Madness. Screams and smoke.
The din was coming from all directions as a throng of bodies moved in frenzy. Unidentified glowing green objects went by at high speed. As the smoke drifted past, Lucius found himself back on the battlefield for a moment. He instinctively moved an equally terrified Narcissa behind him, and raised his wand...
Only to have it snatched from his small hand by Draco, who had been expecting just such a reaction. The Malfoy heir smirked knowingly down at his father. "Look again, but calmly this time."
The crazed masses were still there, but upon closer inspection Lucius realized the mob was his current size, on average. He remained apprehensive about the glowing and the mist, and Hermione stepped in to explain.
"The glowing items are fluorescent necklaces, bracelets, etc., plus some flashlights. They don't do anything but light up, and the green color means nothing. Parents give them to children as a precaution so that they can be seen in the dark. The smoke isn't from fire; it's actually gases emitting from pieces of dry ice. Muggles use it to cause a foggy effect. They think it's spooky."
Harry rolled his eyes. "We live in England. How much more fog does anyone need?" Lucius privately agreed with this statement. He no longer held animosity for Potter, but they hadn't formed any new association, either. It had seemed prudent to simply ignore his existence for the time being.
However, no one had informed Harry of the current ambiguousness of Potter/Malfoy relations, so he had no problem addressing the mini-Malfoys. He made sure to speak quietly, as he remembered that he was not the only veteran in the bunch. He easily identified with Lucius and Narcissa's feelings, regardless of wartime affinity.
"Think of this like Hogwarts on an especially rowdy Hogsmeade visit, and you'll be fine. They're Muggles, yes, but I promise you: children are children, no matter what. It's the same behaviors. Stay together; we'll be right behind you. Remember to say 'trick or treat' and be polite, and you'll have fun. Scorpius and my boys are old hands at this, so copy them. We'll go to the end of the street, and start with that house. OK?"
The Malfoys nodded in assent, and everyone said goodbye to Richard and Jean for the time being, as they were staying home to pass out goodies.
The group began walking to the neighborhood starting point. They dodged a skeleton; several superheroes, whatever those were; a ghost (that's what Hermione said it was, but what was with the sheet?), and two witches with green faces and warts. Narcissa took umbrage at how witches were portrayed in Muggle society. Draco shrugged and told her to lighten up, then grinned as he heard his father whispering to her to just think of the candy.
At the first stop, the lady of the house oohed and aahed over everyone's costumes, making a great fuss over Cissy, who couldn't help preening a bit. Frankly, she thought that the attention might be even sweeter than the chocolate she received. Hermione was glad to see this, as it brought her mother-in-law out of her shell somewhat. She was noticeably more eager to continue after the praise.
The next several houses were much of the same, and at Scorpius' invitation, a gang of Muggle children joined the strangers. The elder Malfoys' skittishness was overcome once they saw how well Scorpius and the Potter children interacted with the locals, and soon they'd formed a merry band, with Lucius at the head. The only sticky point was when one of the little Muggle boys seemed to develop a bit of a crush on Cissy. Lucius had to be reminded that six and seven year-olds aren't married, and he needed to back off a bit. He sulked until Cissy planted a peck on his cheek, and reminded him that she was going home with him, after all.
Halfway down the street they encountered a house with the porch light off, though the owner was clearly at home. Several trick-or-treaters were downcast or put out at this. Lucius looked like Christmas had come early. Hermione instantly felt wary, and sidled up next to her father-in-law.
"Lucy?"
He rolled his eyes. He really had to convince her to call him something else. "Fiend?"
"It unnerves me that you look so pleased. Remember, no magical retaliation."
"Not a problem, my dear. No one will know magic was involved." He covertly removed a small container from his waistcoat, turned away from potentially prying eyes, and enlarged it.
"Do I even want to know what you've got there?"
His smirk rivaled any she'd ever seen on Draco. "Everyone will know once I open this. That contraption there; that's a car, is it not?"
Hermione debated lying, but figured Lucius had likely done enough research to know what he was looking at. "Um, yes."
"And Muggles spend a fair amount of time in them?"
"Lucius..." Her warning fell on deaf ears.
He snuck over to the offending Muggle's car and broke in with a whispered 'Alohamora.' Next, he opened the car door and removed the top from the container. Instantly, a rank, fishy stench filled the air. He extracted something , pushed it down between the seats in the back, and shut the door.
Hermione was covering her nose with her hand as the rest of the group caught up to them. "Dear GOD, Lucius! What was that?"
"Spoiled prawn." He surreptitiously cast a Scourgify on his hands.
The elder Malfoy glowed with pride as the Fiend was scandalized. His amusement rose exponentially when the other magical adults thought his use of rotten seafood was a brilliant idea. Potter in particular took to the concept. He explained that his Muggle uncle, Vernon, used to gyp kids on Halloween and gloat about it. There weren't many Muggles that night who failed to participate in the holiday, but when they did happen upon one, Ginny or Draco kept Hermione distracted as Harry assisted Lucius. By the next morning, several individuals were in for a nasty surprise in their cars and mailboxes, among other things.
As the new team finished planting a stinking shellfish corpse into the flowers hanging next to a victim's door, Lucius turned to Harry. "You're quite sneaky, Potter."
"Aw, Lucius. You aren't so bad yourself." Harry couldn't help smiling as his semi-compliment obviously unsettled the Pureblood.
"Never thought I'd be having this conversation with you."
"Likewise. I did want to say, though, that I think it's great that you and Narcissa finally came 'round. Seems like everyone is a lot happier."
Lucius paused and seemed hesitant. "Were they truly unhappy without us?"
"Well, Draco was. I think 'Mione was unhappy because Draco was missing something. Anyway, it's all sorted now, right?"
Lucius sent Harry a genuine smile, which discomfited the younger man as much as Malfoy had been earlier. "It has."
Potter snapped his fingers as he remembered something. "By the way - nice move with the chicken recently."
"Thank you. I thought it apt."
That being more than enough bonding for virtually any man, they ambled in amiable silence back to their wives.
With the first side of the street finished, the children pounded pell-mell (Cissy holding up her skirt) to the next house. As they arrived, an older boy pushed the petite blonde, knocking her back into Scorpius. Within seconds, the bully yelped and sprinted in the other direction.
Draco glanced over at his bride, who wore a smug smile. "Was that your doing, Granger?"
She arched a brow. He sighed.
"Granger-Malfoy, then. Honestly, woman."
"Sometimes I think you'll never learn. And yes. It was a mild Stinging Jinx. You're well aware of how I can't abide bullies. They all deserve to be punished."
"Like when you hit me in Third Year?"
"Actually, I was thinking of when I married you."
He pulled her close, "Eternal torment, to be sure." She loved it when he purred like that.
"Break it up, you two; there are children present." Ginny gave them a wry look.
Harry shook his head. "Leave them alone, Gin. For once it's appropriate."
"How so?"
"This is the night to see terrifying things." He chuckled as his comment earned him three disgusted looks.
"Best not follow us home then, Potter. As soon as Scorp's in bed, what's coming next would scar you for life."
Harry gagged slightly as he caught the intense look passing between Draco and Hermione. "I don't doubt it. Please, though - in the name of all that's holy, don't start now."
Malfoy snickered and stepped back, refocusing on his parents. They had been out for almost an hour, and he needed to remind them about the Polyjuice. He discreetly caught Narcissa's eye and made a swigging motion. She nodded and beckoned to Lucius, and they stepped behind a bush for a moment.
When they returned, Hermione advised them of the rest of the route, and turned them loose again. As originally stated, the trip was over by the second hour. A happy, sweaty group of children headed back to the Granger residence, with the Muggle kids saying a fond farewell (Lucius made certain to keep that one boy away from his 'Cissa). Belatedly, Hermione realized she had neglected to inform her in-laws of the last part of the tradition; the candy needed to be inspected for signs of tampering.
Lucius took this about as well as expected - he snatched both of the pillowcases and attempted to hold them hostage in a corner.
"Father! Did you just bare your teeth?"
"You're not getting my candy. You can stuff your 'candy tax!'" He hunched further away, feeling affronted when he saw his own grandson laughing at him.
"You hafta let them look through the candy. They need to make sure no one did anything bad to it."
Malfoy Sr. looked at Hermione pleadingly. "Can't you just cast a Revelio?"
"That will show spells, not poisons or foreign objects."
"Foreign objects? Like what?"
"There have been stories of razor blades or needles being put into treats."
She won. He handed over the loot, but insisted on watching carefully to make sure nothing 'disappeared.' He stared hard at his son when making this condition. Draco shrugged. "There's always Scorp's."
Lucius nodded, watching Hermione examine everything. "Muggles really put bad things in candy? They'll hurt children?"
The Fiend looked at him with sadness. "Evil isn't restricted to the Wizarding world, Lucius."
"No, I suppose not." He picked up a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup that had passed muster, and slid it toward the Muggleborn.
"What's this?"
"Nothing. I just thought, well..." He made a show of turning back to the candy to be checked, and cleared his throat. The moment wasn't lost on Richard, who nudged Jean.
"What say we invite them over when they aren't fun-sized?"
Jean smiled. "I'll set it up with Hermione."
Once the candy was sorted, it was time to leave. The interaction was still a bit stilted, but much warmer. Lucius and Narcissa made sure to thank their hosts, and the families began Flooing home. Eventually, Draco, Hermione and Scorpius were left with the Grangers.
"Mum, Dad, thank you for giving them a chance. I think everyone really enjoyed themselves tonight."
"Sweetheart, I won't lie. Your father and I had a real sense of foreboding about meeting Draco's parents, and we're glad we were wrong."
Draco looked at the floor, then back up at his in-laws. "You needn't have worried, you know. I'd have hexed them both within an inch of their lives if they'd put so much as a toe out of line."
Jean teared up as she hugged her son-in-law. "Draco! They're your parents."
"You and Richard have been there for the past eight years. Did you really think I would forget that?"
"No, son. But it's nice to hear." Richard clapped him on the back. Draco gave them both a shy smile that made Hermione's heart flip. She leaned into him as they stepped into their own living room, Draco carrying their drowsy son.
"You are so getting a treat later."
"Does it involve candy?"
"It could." The look in her eyes made him tug at his collar.
"BITSY! T-Time to bathe Master Scorpius!" The elf collected their sleepy son, and Hermione giggled as her husband chased her to bed.
A/N II - I meant to have Cissy harass her menfolk more, but she got distracted by the attention her costume was receiving. C'est la vie.