𝒜𝒻𝓉𝑒𝓇𝓂𝒶𝓉𝒽 | 𝒟.𝑀.

71 | ﴾ Halloween ﴿

The shivery freeze of Halloween night whorled through the air across the British countryside, rustling the last few straggling brown leaves that clung hopelessly to their junction on branches despite having already lost the battle.

Within the black and barren woods where toadstools grew and hags hid below the exposed roots of massive, ancient trees, it was a seemingly ordinary diabolical evening.

Owls hooted and rotated their necks in all directions satanically, blinking their uncomfortably golden eyes down at the ground from high perches. Large toads croaked in protest of the changing wintry atmosphere. Ghouls shimmered in and out of visibility with haunting wails and outstretched claws. At the top of a wooded hill, a Werewolf hung it's slender and hideous head back, yowling at the spherical, full red moon in the sky.

The veil between all five Realms had thinned considerably, the boundaries of physicality at their weakest. Beyond in the distance, rainbow fireworks were erupting above a grassland expanse of terrain that was intricately shielded from the eyes of muggles.

The turn of the millenia Wizarding World Cup was going off with a bang. The deafening symphony of excited fans could be heard from miles away in the encompassing remote and uninhabited territories. The arena glowed in the darkness in a bioluminescent display, brightening the sky above with dramatic light pollution. At it's oval base, a city of erected tents spread out centrifugally to emphasize the extent of significance that the festival held.

As the country was only just recovering from a hideous wizarding war, the celebration was epic in proportion. The gargantuan stadium filled to the brink with thousands of magicals thundered obnoxiously. On one of the higher, central first class levels, a slew of finely dressed, wealthy Slytherins had gathered in a private box to watch the unusual World Cup render itself in high definition on Halloween night. 

Draco was elated to have his precious wife back. He'd seen her moments before in her dressing room, blessed with the first view of her stunning, feathered ballerina dress and golden wings. 

In a complete daze he strode back up through the few tiers dividing the V.I.P. launch tunnels from the audience levels within the stadium, quickly to where his private box was above, darned in a ridiculously stylish tuxedo that cost more than the average individual's entire wardrobe. His waistcoat below boasted a pure gold chain, the bowtie around his neck crisp and stately.

He could still taste her lips on his, feel the way her tender, affectionate words had absorbed into his heart as he provided her in return with utterances of encouragement immediately before her performance. 

Draco was sensationally proud of the small girl that was so infamously deadly yet popular and enchanting. The best part of the entire scenario was that the whole world knew that she belonged to him, and he found himself strutting between people in the narrow catwalks with vaunt and arrogance in his step at just the thought.

He sat next to his friends to watch the game, sipping on brandy and laughing for the first time in weeks.

He'd gone out of his way to do the unthinkable, providing not only one, but four Gryffindors with tickets to join them, purely on the basis that he considered himself to be a proper aristocrat; they had saved his life and marriage multiple times, and it was long overdue that he pay them back. 

As they had not appeared mere minutes before Madeleine would open, he was relieved that the tense social gathering had been avoided, save for Finnigan showing up on his own and blending in perfectly fine with Draco's friends.

Because the Cup was being held on a holiday it was an especially exciting event for the attendees; most of the spectators in the stadium had dressed up for Halloween. Everything was themed for Halloween; the colour palette in the decor, the food being sold, even the fireworks were going off with animated, classic spooky beasts dancing and teasing the audience.