'Maura! What are you doing?' Jane shot a look of horror across the Ravenclaw table. 'Stop eating!'

Maura swallowed her mouthful of bacon and egg pie in surprise. 'What for? The toasted muesli tasted extremely sugary this morning, so I only ate half a bowl. I'm very hungry!'

'Good!' Jane exclaimed. 'You need to stay hungry, so you can eat more tonight!'

Maura exhaled a patient breath. 'I think you'll find that while fasting may increase your appetite, it will diminish your capacity for food intake. You're better to eat something small now, and take regular water throughout the afternoon.'

'The Halloween Feast only comes once a year, Maur! You have no idea how wonderful it is. Starving yourself all day is tradition! Do you see anyone else eating?'

Maura looked around, just to appease Jane. 'Professor Korsak is eating,' she pointed to the High Table. 'And look, so's Frankie.'

'Oh, yeah, big surprises there,' Jane rolled her eyes. 'You're seriously going to keep eating that?'

'It's very good pie, Jane,' Maura cut away another bite sized piece. 'Are you going to take my advice about eating a snack, or are you going to be stubborn?'

Jane folded her arms, narrowed her eyes, and gave Maura a silent, contemplative stare for several seconds. 'Stubborn,' she finally decided, and pushed the pie down the table.

'I thought as much,' Maura was unperturbed, and continued with her meal. 'Is it true that there will be a troupe of dancing skeletons at the Feast tonight?'

'I hear that rumour every year, but they've never turned up,' Jane shrugged. 'How thrilling can a bunch of skeletons be though, really?'

'Well, that's a very subjective question,' Maura chewed thoughtfully. 'I know of some students in America who would have thoroughly enjoyed skeletal entertainment.'

'What about you? Do dancing skeletons float your boat?'

Maura peered at her in confusion. 'Float my boat? I don't have a boat here.'

Jane just laughed. 'You've never heard any of those kinds of expressions? Tickles your pickle, ripens your cheese, peels your banana, greases your pan, bakes your cake, milks your cow, tunes your lute… Nothing?'

The blank stare she received was confirmation enough. 'I meant,' Jane continued, 'Do dancing skeletons make you happy?'

'Oh!' Maura thought for a second. 'No, I don't think that kind of entertainment provides me with any additional dopamine.'

Jane just gave a sigh. 'One day I'm going to be able to understand what the heck you're talking about.'

'I also heard that there are giant pumpkins filled with candy at the Feast,' Maura attempted to steer the conversation away from her choice of vocabulary. 'Is that a rumour, too?'

'Nope,' Jane looked up excitedly. 'That one's completely true! And there are giant cauldrons full of lollipops with this fizzy stuff inside. When you see them, you won't think it's possible to eat all the sweets. But every year, they're empty before midnight.'

'Speaking of saccharine edibles,' Maura attempted a smooth segue. 'Are you going to tell me where you've been getting all these strawberries for Bass from yet?'

'Maybe,' Jane answered slyly. 'But it involves some sneaking that you probably wouldn't approve of.'

Maura put her fork down with a look of sudden consternation. 'You haven't been stealing them, have you?'

'What?' Jane was offended. 'Of course not!'

'Okay,' Maura was momentarily placated. 'But if you're paying for them, then please let me compensate you! I'm more than happy to take responsibil-'

'I get 'em for free,' Jane shook her head. 'Don't worry about it!'

'But where, Jane? I can't think of a single place or person you might be visiting to-'

'Oh for Merlin's sake!' Jane's empty stomach was eating up her patience. 'I've been visiting the kitchens,' she spoke out the corner of her mouth, after looking around to see who might be listening.

'Oh,' Maura frowned. 'Of course. Why didn't I think of that before? It seems the most logical place to source sustenance.'

'Just don't tell everybody, okay? There's a whole freaking tribe of house elves down there who are already way overworked. If everybody goes down there ordering room service, they'll start punishing themselves for getting behind their regular chores.'

'They're incredibly obedient creatures,' Maura nodded. 'We have one at home, Damascus, who-'

'Really?' Jane's eyebrows shot up her face in amusement. 'You have a house elf called Damascus? All the elves I've met are called like, Blinky and Winky and Pinky and shit. Are you sure it's not really Damascus Matthew Gregory the third of Lancashire?'

'No,' Maura replied disdainfully, and Jane swallowed the laughter threatening to bubble over. 'He's named for the Syrian capital, which is where we found him during a holiday. He was wandering through streets full of Muggles, wearing a hijab, sick, and sobbing uncontrollably. My mother performed a concealment charm on him, and we took him in, intending to care for him until he was well enough to find new employment. But after he had regained his health, he begged us to let him stay. He's incredibly hardworking, and gets upset if somebody tries to clear the dinner dishes, or light a fire, since he considers those things to be elf work.'

'Dang. I bet Ma would love an elf. Pop doesn't have a clue what cleaning means.'

'Why don't you visit the House-Elf Placement Agency?'

'Too expensive,' Jane shrugged. 'And it's not like we need one. It's probably way easier to keep the house clean now that me and Frankie are gone for most of the year, anyway... Aw shoot, look, Frankie's got his paws on some crème brulee,' she craned her neck to get a better look at the Hufflepuff table, and then stood up. 'I'm going to go tell him to stop stuffing his face.'

Jane sat cross legged in front of the Gryffindor fire with a deck of cards stacked up next to her. Maura was doing Arithmancy revision with a group of Ravenclaws, and Jane didn't know what to do with herself for the rest of the afternoon. She had taken several cards from the top of the deck and placed them face up on the carpet, and was jabbing at them with her wand in bored and hungry frustration.

'Whatcha doing, Rizzoli?' Ruddy came over to mould himself into one of the unoccupied squashy armchairs. 'I'm not sure you're aware, but it's not polite to play with yourself in public.'

'Pearson,' Jane countered, choosing to ignore his innuendo. 'I'm trying to teach myself switching spells. My little brother always beats me at exploding snap, and I figure if I can learn to switch cards fast enough, I've got a decent shot at kicking his pudgy ass.'

'You're not due to start switching spells until next year,' he pointed out. 'They're pretty tough if you don't have a tutor.'

Jane shrugged. 'I can ask Maura. She's had the basics down for a while.'

'Ah, of course!' he nodded knowingly. 'Isles the Intelligent. Caster of complicated magic! Sorceress of advanced spells!'

'Have you ever actually spoken to her?' Jane asked indignantly.

'I have not,' he confirmed. 'But there's an idea! Why doesn't she ever come to eat at the Gryffindor table? And why don't you ever invite her to the common room?'

'Because she's a Ravenclaw…' Jane frowned at Ruddy as though he had lost his brain.

He scoffed and quickly dismissed her reasoning. 'Flying for Gryffindor comes with its privileges. Plus half the Gryffindor prefects are on the team; nobody's going to snitch on you if she hangs out in here every now and again.'

'Nice Quidditch pun,' Jane grinned.

'Oh, damn,' Ruddy suddenly realised. 'It was, too. I should write that one down. Lack of food's messing with my brain. On a scale of 1 to I-would-willingly-eat-kale-right-now, how hungry are you?'

Jane smiled to herself, knowing kale was among Maura's favourite vegetables. 'A solid 8.5,' she answered.

'That's pretty bloody close to eating kale, Rizzoli,' he looked at her with concern. 'Do you want a chocolate frog? I've got a few in my dorm.'

'I'm good,' she shook her head.

'Alright, well,' he stood up. 'I think I'm going to go and send a romantic Halloween card to Selene. Ask her if she wants to be my zombie bride.'

'When she tells you to fuck off, come back and give me a game of exploding snap,' Jane called as he left. 'Hey,' she caught the attention of a nearby first year. 'Have you ever played Pick Up 52?'

When Jane emerged from the common room to wait for Maura, she was pleasantly surprised to see her friend already standing there. 'You're keen!' she remarked. 'I'm way early for dinner.'

'Yes, well, our Arithmancy revision was cut short, due to an appalling lack of concentration. Honestly, the way Runa was complaining of hunger, you'd think she was going into ketoacidosis. Anyway,' she ignored the quizzical wrinkling of Jane's forehead, 'I thought I'd come to meet you early, since I know you're anxious to… Are you wearing sweatpants?'

'Is it that obvious?' Jane's face fell. 'My skirt's started cutting into my hipbones, and I wanted a stretchy waistband for feasting.'

'Jane, I refuse to accompany you anywhere dressed like that. Gladrags do alterations; we can go there this weekend. But sweatpants are not a suitable alternative in the interim!'

'Maur,' Jane whined. 'It cuts in now and I haven't eaten anything all day. I'll burst a button if I go to the Halloween feast in it!'

'Bring me your skirt then,' Maura said decidedly. 'We've got a little time, I can perform a temporary expansion charm that should last for the evening, at least. You really need to visit Gladrags though, Jane.'

'Seriously?' Jane was torn between being impressed and being impatient. 'You want to fix it now? Like, right now? I'm starving!'

'Yes, right now,' Maura stood with both feet planted firmly on the ground. 'Run and get it! I'm not going to dine with anyone who is wearing a blouse tucked into casual sportswear.'

'Ugh,' Jane groaned, but grabbed Maura's wrist and gave an impetuous tug towards the Fat Lady. 'Just come in, it'll be quicker.'

'Jane, I'm really not sure that-'

'Amicus bonus,' Jane spoke to the portrait. 'Maur, come on, it's just for ten minutes. Nobody's gonna nark on you!'

Against her better judgement, Maura followed her friend through the newly revealed circular hole in the wall and into the Gryffindor common room. Her immediate impression was that it was a lot noisier than Ravenclaw Tower had ever been, especially at the moment. The final classes of the day had ended, and there was an excited hubbub as Gryffindors relieved themselves of backpacks and textbooks, and found their friends in preparation for the Halloween feast. Jane instinctively reached out to take Maura's hand to lead her through the densely packed room, lest she get lost in the sea of maroon. Maura's heart bounced at the gesture, and as they wove their way through the crowd, she got a decent look at where Jane spent her evenings and her downtime when they weren't spending it together. There was a large fireplace dominating one wall, and its wonderful heat, combined with all the bodies in the room, gave her the urge to shed a few layers. She caught glimpses of comfortable old furniture as people moved about the place, and then a bulletin board that somebody had tried to tack a jack-o-lantern onto. The walls were decorated with enormous tapestries, mostly coloured scarlet, one showing a lion, and the rest honouring famous witches and wizards of Gryffindor. She recognised Godric immediately, wielding a sword next to the Tower's windows.

'Ruddy!' Jane stopped to call out suddenly, and Maura became abruptly aware that she was standing stationary holding hands with Jane. A tall boy who looked to be in his final year turned around to see who wanted him. 'I took your advice!' Jane almost had to yell over the crowd to be heard.

He frowned for a second, before scanning the area around Jane and spotting a blue striped tie on a blonde girl. He broke into a grin. 'I'm going to share my wisdom with you more often, Rizzoli!'

'You're going to have to actually put it on,' Maura said exasperatedly as Jane offered her the offending pleated skirt. They were stood in the bathroom, which was very steamy on account of half the female Gryffindor population deciding they needed to shower before the Halloween festivities began. There were a group of girls crowded around the basins drawing little pumpkins on each other's cheeks, who kept shooting Jane and Maura strange looks.

Jane grumbled and stalked off to the nearest available toilet cubicle to swap her track pants for her required uniform. Maura stood awkwardly and fiddled with her tie, which all of a sudden seemed to be three times bluer than usual.

An older girl Maura recognised to be Jane's Quidditch captain entered the bathroom then with a tube of mascara and an eye pencil in hand. She almost did a double take when she saw Maura, and the Ravenclaw visibly recoiled, expecting a prefect to be called and house points docked immediately. But Rowan greeted her as though this was a regular occurrence.

'Hey Maura,' she acknowledged casually, bee-lining for an empty space at the mirror. 'I haven't seen Jane around, if that's who you're looking for.'

'Oh, she's just in there,' Maura motioned to the cubicle. 'I'm going to let her waistband out a little so that she can indulge herself tonight with more ease.'

'I'm not fat!' Jane called out, having heard the explanation. 'My skirt's just started digging into my hipbones!'

'My baby Beater's getting hips!' Rowan gave a grin, leaning into the mirror to apply her eyeliner. 'Nobody in their right mind would think you're fat Jane, for God's sake!'

'What are you doing in there?' Maura frowned. 'You haven't eaten all day; surely it's a little looser than usual?'

'She didn't eat lunch?' Rowan glanced sideways at Maura, who shook her head. 'Jane! What did I tell you? The Gryffindor Quidditch team don't skip meals. You're supposed to listen to your Captain! Drop and give me twenty for disobedience!'

Jane emerged from her cubicle looking very disgruntled. 'It's tradition! Ruddy hasn't eaten all day either!'

'And he'll get a kick up the ass, too. This is why I gave everybody a protein bar, a chocolate frog, and a bag of barley sugars after practice on Tuesday. The second I even suspect you've gone anorexic on me, I will march you down to the Hospital Wing faster than you can say "quidditch".'

Jane rolled her eyes. 'I'm not anorexic! After tonight, I might end up in hospital, but it sure as heck won't be for lack of eating. You seriously want me to do push ups right now?'

'Seriously right now,' Rowan confirmed. She had several tangerine streaks running through her dark hair for Halloween, and had started drawing a spider web in the corner of one eye. Jane was quite impressed with her approach to captaining, not that it was working in her favour right now. Rowan was tough, but fair, and you could tell she really cared about her team's wellbeing. She reminded Jane of Gwenog Jones.

Maura watched as Jane gave an impatient sigh, but nevertheless dropped to the floor without further delay. She completed twenty full push ups with apparent ease, even on an empty stomach. She was wearing her grey knit Gryffindor sweater, but in her mind's eye, Maura could picture defined arm and shoulder muscles moving flawlessly beneath all that material. She tried also to keep her gaze fixed on the back of Jane's head: her friend seemed to have outgrown her skirt lengthwise as well, and it was a little shorter than it ought to be for this kind of activity.

'Nice form,' Rowan said approvingly as Jane got back on her feet. 'You've been practicing.'

Jane gave an almost bashful smile before turning to Maura. 'Please can we do this now? If my robe pockets aren't stuffed with sweets in the next half hour, I will probably get a consecutive month of detention for single-handedly starting a riot.'

'Patience is a virtue,' Maura reminded her, retrieving her wand and giving a tug on Jane's waistband. 'This is tight!' she exclaimed.

'What, you think I've been lying to you all evening?'

'No, I just didn't think you'd be putting up with something this uncomfortable. Lift your sweater out of the way; I need to draw some parameters to perform an isolated engorgio charm.'

Jane did so, bunching her blouse and sweater high up her midriff, and looking a little as though she was getting ready to do a Britney Spears impersonation. Maura knelt down so that Jane's hips were at eye level, and had to constantly fight the urge to not glance up and stare at her friend's abs.

Rowan finished her makeup, and turned to farewell the dynamic duo. She almost snorted seeing Maura's face in such close proximity to Jane's crotch. She caught Jane's eye, gave a wink, and disappeared out the door with a sassy swish of her robes. She needed to find her sister; they were way overdue for a gossip session.

'This is stunning!' Maura breathed, standing stock-still in the entrance to the Great Hall.

As Jane had promised, there were giant pumpkins full of sweets, and giant cauldrons full of lollipops. Students were grabbing enormous fistfuls and stuffing them in their pockets as they passed by to find a seat. Orange and black streamers were hung everywhere, and the usual floating candles on the ceiling had been replaced with floating Halloween pumpkins and bats that swooped down almost to eye level. The room was lit up with dancing orange flames, and the chatter was infinitely more buoyant than usual. There was no food on the table yet, but already the mouth-watering aroma of an impending feast was filling the air, seeming to come up through the foundations.

'Bet you wish you hadn't eaten lunch now,' Jane crossed her arms and surveyed the Hall with enormous satisfaction.

'Jane, there are no benefits to overindulgence. Though I do admit, the community aspect of a mass fast has some social benefits, and perhaps some health ones, too. I'll consider taking part next year. This really is some wonderful décor.'

'This is just the beginning,' Jane gave a wide smile, and then glanced down in mild alarm as her belly gave a giant rumble. 'Save me a seat, okay? I'll bring some pumpkin pie over once they get the formal stuff out of the way.' She wandered off to take an obligatory seat at the Gryffindor table, which these days was quite a rare occurrence. She had grown very comfortable eating with the Ravenclaws, and usually only ate at her assigned table on a Saturday morning, for pre-practice breakfast with her Quidditch team.

'Jane!' Abby looked up in pleased surprise as her dorm mate took a seat next to her. 'I don't remember the last time we ate a meal together.'

'I don't remember the last time I was this hungry,' Jane settled down onto the bench, pressing on her stomach in an effort to suppress its angry grumbling. 'Probably last Halloween. Hey, nice spider.'

'Thanks!' Abby tilted her cheek a little so Jane could get a better look at the tarantula that had been drawn across her face. 'Marisa did it; her Mum's a makeup artist.'

'What did I do?' Marisa looked up from her conversation across the table.

Abby pointed to her cheek. 'My spider.'

'Oh! Yeah, it didn't come out too bad, huh?'

'Hey, Roly Poly Rizzoli,' a horribly familiar voice threw itself into Jane's ear. 'What are you doing eating with us? Why don't you just buy a Ravenclaw uniform and sit with them permanently?'

'Since the Ravenclaws don't have you there, Joey, that's a bloody good idea,' Jane spat back.

'But then on second thoughts,' he continued, 'it might be a bit embarrassing for you if people started to think you were intelligent.'

'Joey, shut your fucking mouth. It'd be no more embarrassing than it is now, having to be in Gryffindor with your cowardly ass. I saw how much you screamed when the Giant Squid pulled you out o-'

'Arrghh!' Joey jumped up all of a sudden, clutching his groin and looking around in a mix of terror and anger as he did a little dance from foot to foot. 'Ow! OW! Fuck you, Rizzoli!' He stepped over the bench, and ran awkwardly from the Great Hall to the tune of raucous laughter, his hands still stamped over his crotch.

'What just happened?' Jane asked bemusedly after having a long chuckle.

'Furnunculus hex,' Abby whispered, discreetly showing Jane her wand under the table. 'He'll have a patch of boils all over his crotch, and probably pus all through his underwear.'

'That's brilliant!' Jane beamed, pleased as punch. 'You could get detention for that if anyone finds out though; you didn't have to.'

'He's always awful to you,' Abby shrugged. 'And anyway, he thinks you did it! Happy Halloween!'

'Happy Halloween,' Jane inclined her head in thanks.

'Apparently you've got some good wrist action, Rizzoli,' Darren smirked next to Joey's vacated space. 'Wanna show me sometime?'

Jane, Abby, and Marisa all shot him a look of revulsion. 'How are you still single?' Jane sneered in disgust.

The Hall filled rapidly, and before long Professor Cavanaugh stood up from the High Table, instigating a hush that even the bats cooperated with. Cavanaugh was looking slightly more frazzled than he had at the beginning of the year; Healer Pike's mysterious death still hadn't been solved, despite quite a rigorous investigation. The ex-Auror in Sean couldn't abide an unsolved murder, and the case had been keeping him up at night. Any joviality that had been in his manner at the Start of Term Feast had well and truly dissipated, and his Halloween address was perhaps a little rougher than it ought to have been.

'Welcome, staff and students, to our traditional feast on All Hallows' Eve,' he began. 'I have been informed by the kitchens that a great deal of food was left untouched at today's earlier meals, so I assume the age old tradition of Halloween fasting remains intact. I cannot and will not make haste with these formalities so you may eat faster, however. Today marks the thirty second anniversary of the end of the First Wizarding War, and the end of some of the darkest days our history knows of. On the evening of October 31st, 1981, Lord Voldemort entered a home in Godric's Hollow, belonging to James and Lily Potter. Both were students here, both were courageous members of the Order of the Phoenix, both were murdered in Voldemort's quest for power. The Dark Lord also attempted to murder James and Lily's infant son, Harry, but due to the protection that came from Lily's pure sacrifice, the killing curse rebounded, and Voldemort was temporarily defeated. This brought us fourteen years of peacetime, until Voldemort regained strength and rose once more in 1995. With the help of the allies, Harry Potter defeated him for good on May 2nd, 1998, and we owe a great deal of gratitude to all those witches and wizards who fought in these wars for our freedom. I ask you now to bow your heads while Professor Neville Longbottom, friend of Harry Potter, reads you the names of those who paid the ultimate price to ensure peace and safety for every person and creature in this room.'

Maura was allowed a quick glance around the table as every person lowered their eyes to the ground. She hadn't expected this, and followed suit with a suddenly heavy heart. They had not had a tribute of this variety in America, but she was so pleased that Hogwarts upheld the honour of those who had fought and died. After all, if Voldemort had managed to conquer Britain, what would have stopped him from invading America?

Professor Longbottom cleared his throat. 'It is my great honour to present to you the names of those who gave their lives to ensure the continuation of mine and yours. I met Harry Potter the day I arrived at Hogwarts. We were both Sorted into Gryffindor House, and I have many warm memories of our school days together. I fought in the Second Wizarding War alongside Harry and the Order of the Phoenix as part of Dumbledore's Army; a group of student renegades Harry trained up in secret when we were all still teenagers. I do believe that training saved my life. I ask that you allow this list of names to sit with you for a while tonight. The fallen all belong to somebody who to this day remembers what their laughter was like, how they walked, how they talked, how they smiled, and how their arms felt around their shoulders. The fallen are brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, children, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends to people you know, and perhaps to you directly.'

Professor Longbottom took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. 'Gideon Prewett. Fabian Prewett. Edgar Bones. Marlene McKinnon. Benjy Fenwick. James Potter the first. Lily Potter the first. Caradoc Dearborn. Dorcas Meadowes. Regulus Black. Broderick Bode. Sirius Black. Amelia Bones. Emmeline Vance. Florean Fortescue. Jasper Montgomery. Albus Dumbledore. Charity Burbage. Alastor Moody. Rufus Scrimgeour. Mykew Gregorovitch. Bathilda Bagshot. Jacob Erland. Jennifer Winston. Joe Laurie. Joshua Flexson. Ted Tonks. Dirk Cresswell. Keith Pearson. Georgia Pearson. Gellert Grindelwald. Fred Weasley. Remus Lupin. Nymphadora Tonks. Colin Creevey. Severus Snape. Equal honour is also to those centaurs, goblins, house elves, hippogriffs, thestrals, and giants who fought and fell for our cause. Lest we forget.'

Neville returned to his seat, and Cavanaugh resumed his place at the podium. 'Thank you Professor Longbottom,' he spoke solemnly. 'While I sense that our short remembrance has sobered your moods, I think it important this evening to appreciate your ability to smile and eat well and remain carefree. There was a time not too long ago when laughter was regarded as a luxury. It is imperative that we are respectful of the dead, and never forget why they died, but it is important also to honour their sacrifice by appreciating every hour of our freedom. And from wizardkind's triumphs over evil comes an important message: love one another, for it can truly overpower the greatest darkness.

'As for the notices: Healer Martin has requested to see every diabetic student after the feast, and tomorrow morning, with no exceptions. As usual, the pumpkin carving competition will be held here at eight o'clock this evening. Our resident Gryffindor ghost, Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, has asked me to mention that as of today, he has been deceased for five hundred and twenty one years. He reports that he has finally grown tired of celebrating his deathday in the usual manner, and instead will be recounting the tale of his demise in the Northern Courtyard at 9pm to anyone who wishes to hear it. There will be a bonfire and marshmallows, and you are encouraged to bring your own blankets. First years be aware that on Halloween, there is a school-wide curfew of midnight. Bear in mind, however, that your classes tomorrow are scheduled as normal, and truancy due to oversleeping will not be tolerated. And finally, I'm sure none of you need reminding, but the first Quidditch game of the season will take place this coming Saturday at 9am: Gryffindor versus Slytherin. I encourage all of you to get behind a team and support our school's most popular sport. To encourage Quidditch spirit, this year we are introducing a competition for spectators. Fifty house points will be awarded to the three best costumes, judged by Professor Sutton on the day, so start getting creative. Thank you for your patience, and Happy Halloween. Let the feast begin!'

With his words came the instantaneous appearance of food, and the sound of spirits soaring was almost audible. Jane drank in the scene, appreciating, as Professor Cavanaugh had requested, several moments of unadulterated joy. She caught Ruddy clinking goblets with his little brother, looking unusually sombre, as she reached for a flagon of pumpkin juice.

'To the fallen,' she heard him say, and they each took a drink. 'Happy Halloween, Kip.'

Jane eyeballed the spread in front of her, and rapidly made a mental list of the order in which to eat the available dishes. There was pumpkin soup, pumpkin pie, pasta that had been dyed black tangled around cubes of butternut squash, three different kinds of salad, orange and black blancmange, roast chicken sitting on a bed of roasted vegetables, roast lamb brushed with rosemary, roast pork with crackling, garlic bread, open steak sandwiches, cottage pie, boats of rich gravy, pumpkin pasties, spring rolls that looked like severed fingers, orange cheesecake dotted with bat-shaped sweets, candied apples, pink udon noodles craftily shaped into a brain… and that was just in her vicinity.

Jane started loading her plate up, intending to duck across the aisle to join Maura at the next table, but the sudden appearance of her favourite Ravenclaw negated her necessity to move.

'Jane, may I sit here instead?' Maura asked a little nervously, with a bowl of spicy kale chips in hand. 'Anna and Frost have started to feed each other, and I'm not sure it would be wise to squeeze an extra person onto our bench.'

Jane gave a snort, and immediately started to shuffle over. 'Yeah, of course! You don't have to ask. Joey buggered off earlier anyway, so we've got an empty spot. Hey, Darren, chuck us that plate. And the goblet… Yes, and the cutlery, you think she's going to eat with her hands?'

'Thank you,' Maura smiled, accepting the items from Darren and making herself comfortable on the bench.

'You good?' Jane asked, turning to Maura. 'Oh, you don't have a soup bowl. Here, take mine; I'm not wasting my gut space on liquid vegetables.'

Jane already had her mouth stuffed full of garlic bread, and was cutting up her steak sandwich before she thought to do any kind of introductions. 'Mmmm! Sorry,' she swallowed forcefully. 'Intros. Maur, this is Abby, Marisa, uh… Kate, is it? And, what's your name?' she asked a lone first year sitting beside Marisa.

'Brodie,' he looked up, surprised to be addressed by Jane. 'We played cards this afternoon.'

'Oh, right, you're my Pick Up 52 kid,' she suddenly realised. 'Abby, Marisa, Kate, and Brodie, this is Maura. Maura's interests include consistently looking like she's about to do a photo shoot, and being smarter than all you combined.' She shot an exaggerated grin at her friend.

Marisa looked amused. 'Jane's interests,' she spoke to Maura, 'include consistent sarcasm, eating, and sleep-talking.'

'I do not!' Jane protested. 'I don't,' she emphasised, turning to Maura.

'I've definitely observed the sarcasm and the eating,' Maura nodded. 'And Jane, you can neither confirm nor deny the presence of your own sleep-talking. Somniloquy is a sleep disorder characterised by the person being unaware of their talking during sleep.'

'Disorder?' was all Jane took in.

'Yes, but likely not anything to worry about,' Maura blew on a spoonful of soup. 'Research has shown the condition is common among children, and may have a genetic component. It could also be the result of stress, depression, or sleep deprivation during the waking hours.'

Jane pouted and stabbed at a piece of steak. 'I'm not a child. And I don't sleep-talk!'

'I can't… Oh Merlin,' Jane hiccupped, and let out a heavy breath. 'I can't eat any more. But I've only had two mouthfuls of blancmange.'

'I really think you ought to have stopped two mouthfuls of blancmange, a bowl of icecream, two slices of orange cheesecake, and one slice of pumpkin pie ago,' Maura regarded Jane with a look of alarm. 'Frankly, I'm not sure whether to be disgusted or impressed that your stomach hasn't ruptured.'

'Don't speak too soon,' Jane groaned, then stared forlornly at her uneaten dessert. 'Hey!' she looked hopefully at Maura. 'Do you know a stomach expansion charm?'

'Jane! How can you even think about eating more food? The best I can do is a vanishing spell if you start to throw up.'

'I'm so full! It hurts to move.'

'Perhaps we should visit Healer Martin to see if she can induce vomiting?'

'Ugh, Maur, no way! Are you crazy? This happens every year, don't worry. Do you want to go and listen to Nearly Headless Nick later?'

'I'm torn,' she replied, biting her lip. 'I would quite like to hear his tale, though I know I won't get to bed at a reasonable hour. But, if you quite badly want to attend, I'll make an exception to my usual sleeping pattern.'

'Great!' Jane smiled. 'Because I'm keen as an every flavour bean. It's going to be bloody cold out there, though, even with the bonfire. Have you got many blankets you can bring down?'

'I've got my eiderdown, and I can conjure us some handheld flames.'

Jane nodded. 'I'll swipe a stack of blankets from Gryffindor Tower. What if I can't fit any marshmallows in tonight?'

Maura pursed her lips. 'I have just one word for you, Jane: self-control.'

'That's two words.'

'It's hyphenated,' Maura stood up. 'Coming to watch the pumpkin carving?'

'Come on, come on, we have to get a good spot!' Jane half-ran, half-waddled down the corridor that would take them to the Northern Courtyard. She was draped in her quilt with the Gryffindor lion on it, and carried a stack of blankets for herself and Maura to cocoon themselves in against the cold. She had managed to digest some of her massive meal in the past hour, and was feeling quite optimistic that she would be able to fit in some marshmallows.

Maura followed along behind with her blue eiderdown folded neatly in her arms, already feeling a bit sleepy. What constituted a "good spot" for the telling of a ghost's story escaped her, but it seemed to be important to Jane, so she decided not to belabour the point.

They came out into the cloisters, and instead of taking the long way round to the courtyard entrance, Jane simply jumped through a space in the colonnade. When Maura found her again, she had started to set up camp under one of the trees; a space she had evidently judged to be a prime location. They were close enough to the bonfire to receive some warmth, but not close enough to risk their belongings catching alight. Groups of students had arranged themselves in roughly formed concentric circles around the fire, and there were enormous bags of marshmallows spaced around the courtyard for students to summon at will. Nearly Headless Nick floated back and forth through the fire, looking somewhat forlorn, and preparing to share his mournful tale.

'I almost remember what heat felt like,' he said sadly to Maura, catching her staring.

'Hurry up and get comfy!' Jane patted the spot next to her impatiently. 'I'm freezing my balls off!'

Maura looked down at her in astonishment. 'Jane… that makes absolutely no sense. I presume by "balls" you mean testes, and as far as I'm aware, you belong to the female sex.'

'Did my ultra-femininity give it away?' Jane flicked her hair off her shoulder and batted her eyelashes.

This was certainly not a question Maura wanted to answer directly, and as was her custom in these situations, she settled for deflection. 'The terms "sex" and "gender" are not synonymous! By using "femin-'

'Fine, fine, fine,' Jane quickly acquiesced. 'Will you sit down, please? I'm freezing my tits off!'

Maura rolled her eyes affectionately, and sank down next to Jane on the Gryffindor quilt. Jane handed her one end of a blanket she'd found in Gryffindor Tower, and then shuffled a little closer so it would fit across both of their knees. Maura unfolded her eiderdown and gave one end to Jane to wrap around her back and shoulders, before conjuring flames that they could hold in their palms.

'This is actually kinda nice,' Jane settled back against the tree trunk, turning the flames over in her hands. 'I wonder how Nick actually died, and why his head's not all the way off.'

'He was struck forty five times in the neck with a blunt axe, and the executioner didn't see fit to completely sever his head once it became clear he was dead,' Maura yawned.

'Sheesh, Maur, spoiler alert!'

Before Maura could reply, Sir Nicholas rose up out of the fire and began to glide idly amongst the collection of students. He was pearly white, and semi-transparent, and when he cast himself against the inky sky, Maura could see stars through him.

'My dear friends,' he began, his voice laced with sorrow. 'Thank you for coming. As our esteemed Headmaster so kindly informed you this evening, I have in fact been dead for five hundred and twenty one years. Let me cast you back to the evening of October 30th, 1492, when I was still in possession of a body like yours…'

Maura gave a violent yawn, and felt a sudden wave of fatigue crash over her. She fought to keep her eyelids open, but they felt as though they were attached to lead. She quashed the flames in her hand and eventually surrendered to the languor, reassuring herself that she would still be able to appreciate Nick's tale with her eyes closed.

'…I had been knighted, and was a courtier at King Henry the seventh's Royal Court. At this same court was a lady-in-waiting, Lady Grieve, though surprisingly we did not meet through our mutual ties to the King…'

For Maura, Nick's sentences had started to roll into one another, and her ears were intermittently choosing to exclusively listen to the warm crackling of the bonfire, rather than Nick's words. The wonderful pocket of heat she and Jane had managed to seal off from the October air was happily pushing her towards the edge of consciousness. Her toes and fingertips were warm, her belly was full from the feast, and she couldn't conjure the energy to resist this contented feeling for much longer.

'...So the idea came to me to take a leisurely stroll through the park that evening, to clear my head. And who should I happen across, but Lady Grieve, who had been granted several hours to herself by the Queen, whom she attended to most days of the month. Lady Grieve was a very attractive woman, and I confess my heart beat all the faster just for being in her presence. I as good as told her so, and she thanked me, but voiced shortly thereafter that she was unhappy with one of her features…'

Jane felt some added weight against her left shoulder, and was surprised to find Maura's head slumped at an angle that decidedly indicated sleep. Her positioning had dislodged some of the blankets, and cold air was starting to leak into their cocoon. Jane was torn between wanting to shift position for several seconds to fix their blanket situation, and not wanting to wake Maura up. She realised that she found the partial sleeping weight of her friend incredibly cosy, and just as Nick was describing his own heart rate in response to Lady Grieve, Jane became aware of her own blood pumping with more vigour than was usual.

'…"It's my teeth, Sir Nicholas," she cried, and it was such a woeful sound I would have given my family's fortune to make it stop. "They're crooked," she told me. "And I do believe you could fix them! They cause me such embarrassment, and the Queen, too! Think of how King Henry will reward you when he discovers you are the reason his wife's spirits have soared!" And so you see, I couldn't say no, not to her, with her big eyes and pink lips, and golden ringlets that fell nigh to her waist. I performed the magic right there in that park, but I was so desperate to please her that I lost my concentration, and the spell backfired…'

Jane could feel goosebumps rising across her legs, and she didn't have much choice but to move and cover the gap Maura had made. Of course, the moment she shifted position, Maura stirred and started to sit up again with a mumbled apology.

'Maur, it's fine,' Jane said quickly, keeping her voice low, and hoping she sounded more exasperated than desperate. 'You're just going to fall back to sleep, and you keep letting cold air in. Nick's not even halfway through his story yet. Just get comfy so I can tuck these blankets in properly.'

Her heart leapt when Maura did not protest, and instead shuffled closer to rest more purposefully against Jane's side.

'You're so warm,' Maura murmured with a small smile, and soon after Jane reconfigured their cocoon, her breathing grew deep and even once more.

Jane only half-listened to the rest of Nearly Headless Nick's story, as he told of how instead of straightening Lady Grieve's teeth, he had caused her to grow a tusk, and had subsequently been sentenced to death the following day for his mistake. Jane caught herself subconsciously stilling her own breathing, so that she could better feel Maura's ribcage moving against her. She wanted Nick's story to continue into the wee hours so that they could stay like this for longer, and with this realisation came that tumultuous cascade of contradicting feelings. On the one hand, she was thrilled to be feeling this. Her dorm mates, and her classmates, and her professors, and her mother had all been talking about feelings like this for years, and until now, she'd had no point of reference. If she was being honest, she'd been a little afraid she'd never feel that for anybody. On the other hand, because she was recognising these feelings as more-than-friendly, she was terrified that they were being spurred on by her new best friend, who happened to be very female, and very feminine. What would Abby and Marisa say, if they knew? What would Frost and Frankie say? What would her parents say? Worse still, what would Maura say? She supposed it didn't really matter, since she was never going to tell any of them. Resolving to enjoy the moment, she relaxed back against the tree they sat under, closed her eyes, and let the wonderful scent of Maura's perfume fill her nostrils. She would come up with a plan later to try and get rid of these feelings. Tomorrow, or maybe the weekend. Next week if she got busy. Just not tonight. Definitely not tonight.