When Harry met Wednesday

Chapter 20: Halloween is Never Simple

Warning: Avert your eyes! There's a sex scene hidden a little more than halfway through this chapter. No, I don't know how you'll read the rest of the chapter while looking away, but I'm sure you'll figure something out.

Author's Note: This one is nearly twice the size of a normal chapter. I could have broken it up, but I think it works better all together.

As always, thank you to everyone for reading my story, and special thanks for those who review. Whether you love it, hate it, or couldn't care less, let me know what you think.

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Chapter 20
Halloween is Never Simple

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"Where is Harry? I could have sworn he was right behind me." Neville wondered out loud when Luna and Wednesday sat across from him, and Harry was nowhere to be seen.

"He said he had something that he needed to work on." Wednesday answered.

"Did he have a good explanation?" Luna asked as she held out Thing, who grabbed a pot of jam for her.

"Explanation?" Katie looked up from the essay she was muddling through. "Did my captain land himself in some hot water?"

"He won't let me know why he went to Gringotts yesterday, but I'm starting to think he used his outing to get me a gift of some kind." Although her face showed no emotion, it seemed she was smugly pleased. "Halloween is coming soon, so I think he'll give it to me then. I'll have to find a way to get him something for the occasion as well."

Neville winced. "Uh, I don't know about the way Harry is now, but Halloween isn't a day he really celebrated before. His parents were murdered on Halloween."

Katie dropped her fork, and looked at Neville with her mouth agape. "How did that never occur to me? Merlin, it's no wonder he never... Okay yeah, I feel really bad now."

"I didn't know that Voldemort killed Harry's parents on Halloween. Now I really have to get him something good; I had no idea it was such an important day to him." Wednesday held a slender finger to her lips as she tried to think of a suitable gift.

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"Your new pet is a wonder Wednesday. These webs make the whole room so much less pleasant." Professor Frump admired how the strong webs made drawing the blackout curtains of her classroom extremely difficult. "What did you say it's name was again?"

"I named her Lavinia. With any luck, some day she'll live up to her name." Wednesday affectionately scratched the acromantula behind its eyes. "What do you think would make a good gift, Grandmama? It will be our first Halloween together, and I want to do something special for Harry."

"How about a séance?" Professor Frump suggested. "It might be nice to hear from his godfather, and then we could thank him for leaving Harry such a broken down home filled with vermin."

Wednesday thought for a moment, as she ran her hand across one of the crystal balls. "Do you think you could reach his parents as well? They died on Halloween, so that should help right?"

The old crone cackled. "Why not? A cozy little family reunion for your boyfriend. You'll need to find four more people though, I'm going to need a full circle of seven."

"Hmm. I think I can manage that without any trouble." The faintest hint of a smile flickered across Wednesday's face.

Pointing a wizened finger at her granddaughter, Professor Frump clarified. "They have to be willing. It won't work if you force them to come."