TotalCowGirl: Thanks! :)
Sarah: That's Ezra for you! Can you blame the kid for being so heart-wrenchingly attractive? And haha, that would be great, but Ella is in her muggle house right now! And okay, hints. Well, you already know Hanna is gonna be a house elf, and you're gonna find out what Emily is this chapter! As for Spencer and Aria... I'll let that be a surprise ;) I wanna hear your guesses, though! And ooh, I didn't include that, but how great would that be?! Oh Vanderjesus...
EmmersonTiriel: Thank you so much! I try hard to write it like you would see it on the show, and I want it to seem alive for all of you! I'm really happy you're enjoying this story! And oh, Caleb will find out. I wouldn't put that part in if he didn't end up finding out ;) you'll have to keep reading!
Ava B: Spencer is INDEED the biggest Ezria shipper of them all. You just don't know what you're gonna get with that girl! Definition of unpredictable.
Titanium Wolf: Well aren't you clever ;) indeed, you WILL see that beetle in a few chapters! I'm looking forward to it, and hopefully you'll like the way she fits into the story. And YEAH it's gonna be more than 50 chapters! It's edging on to SIXTY! And please, the pleasure is all mine! It was so much fun to write.
elggup: Thank you! And well, I think Harry has been through enough in his lifetime, and McGonagall knows it. She wants to be able to handle this herself, and she cares about Harry a lot, so I doubt she wants him being in any danger.
Sgdp1261: Haha, I thought they were pretty great, too, which is why I included them! They would make a pretty good couple, but I'm perfectly fine with Ezria and Spoby the way they are :) and yeah, I had a teacher that was just as cute as Ezra (well, ALMOST, because no one is as cute as Ezra)... let's just say I didn't do as well as I COULD have in that class :/ thank you so much for your reviews, you're awesome!
PrettyWitchyVamp: Thank you! Haha, it would be QUITE entertaining to watch Aria rip the heads off of all those fangirls. And Spencer in Azkaban would be a sight to see... whether it's a sight you're GOING to see, that's for me to know and for you to find out ;)
WideOpenSpacesGirl045: Thank you! Spencer probably had on her "Hastings face", wouldn't you agree? And I'm relatively excited (mainly just because summer gets boring at this point), but seriously, let the stress begin :/ and madness, MADNESS I tell you! You're gonna like it I'm sure ;D
Silver-Infinite: Unfortunately, no, Alison is not a part of this :/ hope that's not a deal breaker for you!
UngluckLiebhaber: Don't worry about it, I understand! And haha, isn't it depressing? The 90s were a fun time... floppy disks, back-to-back cartoons on Saturdays, N*SYNC, and Full House. Those were the days. I'm really happy that you're liking this story, and hope to see more of you in the reviews!
Goldenheart11: Haha, Spencer is pretty no-bullshit, it's entertaining, and of course Ezra is his cute little bumbling self so he doesn't know how to handle her ;P and it is a QUALITY NAME! My goal is for the entire planet to get on saying that name, it's classic. Also it's a Heather Hogan-ism, so anything in her name deserves praise.

Alright, guys, now for the chapter. It's KIND OF a filler chapter, but it's got some cute stuff in here that hopefully you'll enjoy. The next chapter, though... THAT'S gonna be where the excitement really starts. We're not at the Halloween ball quite yet, but there are some pre-ball events that really get the ball rolling (hehe, no pun intended). So enjoy this chapter, hopefully, and don't forget to review!


At lunchtime that same day, students entered the hall with eyes bigger than saucers as they surveyed their surroundings. The Great Hall was decorated entirely in Halloween attire; pumpkins adorned each of the house tables, some even in different colors and sizes. Some were orange, some were purple; some were large, some were small. The grey brick walls surrounding the students were decorated with orange and black streamers, and fake spiders hung from pieces of string of different lengths from the ceiling.

"Looks like they decked out the place," Toby said as he craned his neck to look up toward the ceiling. Emily laughed as she walked beside him, taking in the beautiful sight of the hall.

"How much money do you think Professor Longbottom used to bribe McGonagall into letting him dye those pumpkins?" she asked quizzically as her eyes fixated on Longbottom on the far end of the Gryffindor table, using an antique camera to capture photographs of every single plant in sight, while McGonagall just shook her head in the background.

Toby chuckled heartily at the sight of this. "Oh, I think we're in galleon territory for that one," he joked. "So, are you excited for tonight?"

"So excited," Emily beamed. "Paige and I are going as matching dementors!"

"That sounds both hot and frightening at the same time," Toby joked again, causing Emily to throw back her head in laughter. It felt good to laugh again; ever since the awkward encounter at the Quidditch field, Emily could feel Paige distancing herself from her. She noticed it in the locker rooms before the game they had the next day, and she noticed it after the game, when they narrowly won when Lily caught the Snitch, and Paige hadn't even run up to hug her like she usually did. They still sat next to each other at meals, and they still talked, but Emily could tell that Paige was hurting. If she'd just let her explain, they wouldn't have this problem, but it wasn't like that mattered now. Tonight was the Halloween ball, and they were going to have an amazing time.

"What about you and Spencer?" Emily asked as they walked further into the hall, squinting their eyes as they adjusted to the dim, candle-lit atmosphere. "What are you going as?"

"You know, it's weird," Toby said uncomfortably. "We... haven't even talked about it."

"Are you serious?" Emily said, shocked, as she turned to Toby with a confused, yet also slightly horrified, expression. Sure, Spencer was uptight and bossy half the time, but Toby had a way of shedding light on her romantic side. She figured they'd at least have something planned.

"Yeah," he said as his face contorted to one of confusion as well, to match Emily's. "She's been weird with me lately. It's almost like she doesn't wanna be with me anymore..."

"Toby, that's not true," Emily assured him as she placed her books at her own house table and slid back her chair. "She's Spencer! She's probably just overwhelmed with school work. Do you know how many N.E.W.T.-level classes she's taking?"

"She was never like this in the past," Toby muttered sadly.

Before Emily could respond, she heard the repulsive sound of two people cuddling up across the table from her, and she automatically knew who it was; cuddling was never repulsive unless it came from two specific people.

"Hey, Cavanaugh!" Noel said tauntingly. "This is the Gryffindor table. Get your lonesome scary ass out of here!"

Toby grimaced at Noel, as well as his sister, who reluctantly sat back chewing on a hang nail, decidedly doing nothing, before saluting Emily and walking back to the Slytherin table. Emily's face hardened as she turned to Noel. "You don't need to be so mean to him, you know."

"Sure I do," Noel said with a shrug as Jenna snuggled further into his welcoming arms. "If I didn't, I wouldn't. I only kill when I need food... or when I'm bored."

Jenna guffawed at this joke like it was the funniest one she'd heard in ages as she kissed Noel full on the mouth.

Emily just scoffed. "Alright, fine," she said coldly. "Then Jenna, I suggest you join him."

Jenna froze, mid-kiss, as she turned to Emily; sweet Emily Fields, who hardly stood up to anyone, ever, that was now speaking up. "Excuse me?"

"This is the Gryffindor table," Emily simpered as she nodded her head, as though she were speaking to a five-year-old. "So I suggest you get your lonesome, blind, scary ass out of here."

"Hey watch it!" Noel started to say, but Jenna had already got up from the table and stormed away, scowling the whole way. Noel shook his head as he went after her, shooting Emily a threatening glare as he did so, and Emily just smiled victoriously as she sat back in her chair. Toby had always been such a good friend to her; when he and Emily were first years, she saw right through his shy, introverted act, and had tried opening up to him. It had worked, and the two became fast friends. She was the one who had given him the courage to ask out Spencer, the girl from her group of friends that he had been crushing on for years, and he was the one who had given her the courage to come out. They made a good team, and Emily didn't want to see him hurting anymore than he wanted to see her hurting.

For the rest of her meal, she took her focus off of Noel and started thinking about the Halloween ball tonight; since she was so deep in her own thoughts, she didn't notice when Noel didn't return to the table. And she didn't notice when he didn't stay standing to go after Jenna, but instead to go after another brunette. One of shorter stature and regularly functioning eyes.

Mona.


"You have our costumes ready?" Hanna asked cheerfully as she held Caleb's hand entering the Great Hall. She didn't even notice the decorations; she was too intently focused on the person beside her.

Caleb smiled his famously witty-looking smile. "Sure do. You are gonna look so good."

"No, I think you're mixing me up with yourself," Hanna said knowingly. "But it's not like that matters; at some point the party is gonna blow, so we need a plan B."

"Plan B?"

"Duh," Hanna said bluntly as she halted, pivoting her feet to turn to Caleb. "I figured since we're gonna be house elves, we might as well have a little fun with the costumes."

"How so?" Caleb asked, intrigued.

Hanna grinned as she stood on her toes to whisper in his ear, "We sneak into the kitchen."

"Are you insane?" Caleb whispered hastily back, but he couldn't hide the gigantic grin that spread straight across his face.

"Yeah, why not?" Hanna asked. "I mean, I go there every day to get to my common room."

"Yeah, but what would we even do in there?"

"We cook," Hanna deadpanned. "That's what a kitchen is used for! And that's what couples do. They cook together."

"They do?"

"Sure they do!" Hanna said casually. "I read it in one of Lucas's muggle magazines."

"Lucas, eh?" Caleb said curiously. "Well, I don't know how I feel about him giving my girlfriend such ideas."

Hanna's stomach did a small somersault when he said this. Did he know? Was he just dropping hints?

No, he can't, she thought to herself. He's just joking, right?

Pushing these thoughts to the side, Hanna took a step toward Caleb, giving him the best puppy-dog look she could. "Please?" Although she pronounced it with a "w" instead of an "l", making it sound like, "Pwease?"

Caleb just looked at her weirdly, but she could pinpoint the light in his eyes as he pondered this. "Something tells me this is a terrible idea. No one is going to believe that we're actually house elves, after all. I mean, maybe if we were Aria's height - "

"That's not important!" Hanna said, giggling again. "All of the house elves are gonna be at the dance! We'll have the kitchen to ourselves, where we're going to cook our asses off."

"Really, now?" Caleb said charmingly. "No house elves to bother us? Well then, count me in. I mean, I do love a good cooking session."

"Good," Hanna said shortly. "Because we are going to make an unforgettable Dong Po."

Caleb couldn't help it; he immediately snorted at the name, ignoring Hanna's offended expression. "Say it again."

"What? No!"

"Please?"

"Absolutely no - "

"Do you want me to join you or not?"

Finally, Hanna sighed as she wrapped her arms around Caleb's shoulders to whisper sexily in his ear, "Dong. Po." Then with one final kiss on his cheek, she walked over to the Hufflepuff table for lunch. Caleb felt like he was walking on air after he left; he couldn't be happier that they were on good terms now. But he knew he had to be careful; their relationship could be at stake if this person behind the fangs was out for blood. But it was worth if it meant protecting her.

He was about to walk toward the Ravenclaw table when he stopped dead in his tracks; something that he saw across the hall sent a chill up his spine, and the sight of this person normally didn't even evoke that kind of reaction.

Lucas was standing there, staring at Caleb. Just standing there, shooting daggers straight through Caleb with nothing but his eyes. Caleb tried to turn away, but he found that he couldn't. He locked his gaze with Lucas's, entranced by his dark eyes. It seemed like he was trying to send him a message, but he couldn't figure it out.

By the time Lucas rolled out of the hall and looked away from Caleb, Caleb could fully infer that whatever message Lucas was trying to send, it was nothing good.


Side Note: Tomily :D I've always loved this friendship. It's part of the reason I wasn't the biggest spoby fan at first, because it just made me so sad for poor Emily, who was basically the third wheel! But it's all good now. References, anyone? BIG HALEB REFERENCE HERE. Guess which scene ;)

And another announcement: as I have mentioned before, I have started school officially, so updates will be a tad bit slower. I'm gonna try to keep updating daily, but they're gonna be later in the day than usual. Can you guys handle that? Fabulous. See you next chapter!