𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐄

Chapter 2

Harry didn't have nearly as much trouble in his classes as he'd had in the first one of the year. The days seemed to fly by, as if the year couldn't wait to end, and before Harry knew it, he was anxiously looking forward to Halloween and the first Hogsmeade weekend of the term. The seventh years were planning a party.

Harry had been surprised to learn that the Slytherins had brought up the idea of an inter-House celebratory party after one of the Prefects meetings. It seemed strange that they'd want to mingle with Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, and Gryffindors, but the Head Boy – Malfoy, of all people – had contended that it was their last year together, so the idea was more than reasonable. The other Houses had readily agreed once they figured out that it wasn't a trick of some sort, and Hermione and Malfoy threw themselves into getting permission and planning the party. Hermione suggested the Room of Requirement, and took over designing a suitable setting and theme, so Malfoy agreed to handle costume charms and refreshments.

Normally Harry would have been concerned about the sort of costume charm Malfoy would pick out for him, but Malfoy hadn't been half as big a git as he had been in the past, and only argued with Harry, Ron, and Hermione when provoked. Ron did most of the provoking, as it turned out.

All things considered, Harry was pleasantly surprised on Halloween afternoon – a Saturday, so there weren't any classes to worry about – when the party tokens arrived. An owl with a box of envelopes was delivered to each House Prefect so that the Prefects could hand them out to the seventh years. Harry had spent the morning and most of the afternoon in Hogsmeade with Ron and Hermione, but they'd returned in time to prepare. That was Hermione's idea, really. She wanted to have enough time to tame her bushy hair – costume or no, it would have been a dead giveaway.

"Whew!" Ron exclaimed as he came out of the bathroom, already dressed in the charmed costume. His costume was half lion, half dragon – a play on the nickname Liondragon for the Chinese Fireball – with a realistic looking lion's head and bushy mane. The silky golden fur on the lion's back gradually became darker and rougher as it trailed down his back and morphed into equally as realistic looking scales, clawed feet and a pointed tail. "I half expected I'd be a weasel! But this is fantastic! And look!" Ron tugged on a red tuft of mane in the brown mass. A puff of fire spat out the lion's mouth and steam curled from its black nostrils. Harry grinned.

Harry soon found out that Malfoy's costume choices for people he didn't like were ironic rather than flat-out insulting. He'd made Ron a fiery liondragon that actually spouted fireballs on command, Hermione a fierce Amazon woman – Hermione still huffed that the only time Malfoy did any research on Muggle cultures was to make a jibe about them – and Harry a haggard-looking Merlin complete with braided and beaded hair and gleaming white staff. He wore a sword on his hip, but the more he tried to tug it out of its sheath, the more securely glued-in it became. Harry was just thankful that his hair had grown out but remained inky black, rather than turning white. His scar was also thoughtfully concealed by a thick black beaded braid that swept across his forehead and tucked behind his ear.

The party was already in full swing by the time the three of them arrived. People were dancing and chatting amiably, the costumes concealing identities securely until the unmasking.

"Let's dance!" Hermione said, grabbing Ron's arm. "Do you mind, Harry?"

"Of course not," Harry said. They hurried into the throng – Hermione with far more enthusiasm than Ron. Harry wandered off, spotting a gray Hippogriff by the song request table. The gray was so pale it almost seemed white. Harry bowed as he approached, and Hippogriff turned to him, and ever so slightly bowed back.

"Merlin, are you?" asked the Hippogriff – a bloke. He scribbled a song on a slip of paper and dropped it in the suggestion box. Green letters drifted out of the box. "Wandless" by Vox will play in ten minutes. Thank you.