Hidden Slytherin

Chapter 29 All Hallows Eve

A quite pop told her that Pidge was back and she opened her eyes.

He stood before her with a thick tome in his arms that she took gratefully. "Thanks Pidge."

"Pidge is happy to help Mistress." With that he popped away and Jane quickly flipped the book open, looking for something that would point her in the right direction.

The books title was 'Rituals For The Days Of Celebration,' and seemed to consist of overviews of the holidays and anything to do with each of them. Jane didn't recognise the names but quickly found what she was looking for.

'Samhain,' she read, 'is the celebration of the harvest and a day to acknowledge and speak to our ancestors. It is most recognized of the ancient eight sacred days. Samhain, meaning "Summers-End" marks the darker half of the year, a time ruled by death and rebirth. Samhain falls on this day as it is the time when the veils between plains of existence, or worlds, becomes thinnest thereby allowing our ancestors to reach out to us or vice versa. It is important to recognize this day as spirits that are not properly acknowledged can become stuck between and parish or become polterghosts. Even Muggles have formed their own rituals around this day, referring to it as All Hallows Eve. Though they seem to take this a different way, as they dress up in "ghoulish" costume to avoid being caught by their ancestors or possibly possessed. Not all details are clear. However, some report instances that indicate they too may be able to see beyond the veil on Samhain.

At this time the veil becomes thinnest at Samhain Eve, time and space become more fluid. The veil is what separates us from the After World (also known as Purgatory or the realm of Death or Deadlands) which is the plain most ghosts exist on. Another is Fairy, commonly misunderstood as the name of a race, it actually refers to the Fae's homeland; a plain connected to this one so that they may move between both. There is also the realm often referred to as Hell, although it is unclear on it's actual cultural complexity. Some experts argue that Dementors are from this realm. The land between death and life is referred to as Liminal and this is what our ancestors use to visit us on Samhain night.

There are some that can see this plain more often, these can be both Muggles, Wizards or Witches but the skill is most common among the Fae, as they travel between most frequently. However, neither Werewolves or Vampire seem to show an increased ability in these instances.'

The next paragraph moved on to rituals used on Samhain. Jane put the book down and rubbed her eyes. So she may just be one of those rare witches that can see between veils more easily. Jane resisted throwing the book across the room, barely. It made it sound like some great gift but she had no idea how to control it and the idea that it would just keep happening for the rest of her life made her want to scream. It was like getting an annual pass to a multicolored tryptic on high speed for hours. And those would be the good days.

It did make her wonder why she hadn't heard anything about it in class or from her friends. Why didn't anyone warn them they could get a one way ticket to crazy town once a year? Jane shoved the whole thing into her satchel before heading to the great hall.

She took the winding passages and tried to focus on which hallways were really there. Some of the strange ghostly hallways would even let you go down them, which she might have investigated if not for the strange shadow creatures that seemed to float by sometimes. Jan didn't think they were ghosts. It was more an instinct then anything but there was also the rattling sucking breath. It reminded her of someone suffocating. What was worse was the way they would occasionally watch students go by, their hooded heads slowly following a passerbyers progress.

Jane walked faster, careful not to touch the walls. She made it to the hall and spotted her friends closer to the end where the professors table. They were laughing quietly and even from the doorway she could see the smiles on their faces.

"You alright Jane?"

She turned, not having heard Racheal come up behind her. She smiled but even she could feel it was forced. "Yeah Racheal. Just feel a bit off is all. How are you doing? Enjoying Halloween?"

"Yeah," Racheal smiled, "I'm excited for the feast, and the decorations are incredible."

"Well go on then," she bumped her shoulder into the smaller blonds. "Go get a spot with your Ravens and happy Halloween Racheal." She smiled and watched the laughing girl run off.

Jane made her way to the Slytherin table, sliding in beside Roman. He gave he a look.

"Where were you," he questioned quietly.

"Just wanted to look up something."

Just then there was a silencing in the hall as a hush fell. Everyone looked up to the front where the Professors table sat on the raised dais. The Headmistress stood and waited for complete silence.

"Good evening everyone and happy Halloween. I hope you all enjoy the feast. Let this be a night to celebrate. Enjoy yourselves, you've earned it." She raised her arms and with a flick of her hands food filled the tables. Sweets and candies filled the table all themed after Halloween.

Everyone started to dig in and Jane took a little bit of everything, slowly tasting it to see what she liked. As everyone tucked in she finally got the chance to ask a question that had bothered her since reading the celebration book in her room.

"Hey guys, I read somewhere that Wizards and witches don't celebrate Halloween but Samhain. So, why haven't I heard anything about it in class?" Her friends seemed to freeze. Jane got the feeling she had just said the wrong thing again. "What did I say?"

"The old ways aren't celebrated anymore," Draven said quietly. "They are considered dark rituals and have been outlawed by the Ministry. One of the moves Dumbledore felt was necessary to protect the light."

Roman bumped her shoulder, getting her attention. "Apparently some of Voldemort's original followers had wanted to protect the old ways, but as he went more insane and more people joined the whole thing became a cluster fuck of bigotry and the homicidally insane."

Neryssa piped up in a whisper, "basically Ministry and Headmaster wanted to make it easier for muggles that were just learning about witchcraft but when He started ranting about it along with stuff about killing all muggles the whole idea just got tainted. It's all against the law for a while now, and people get really jumpy if you talk about it."

"Okay," Jane whispered before going back to her food. She understood how it happened but it still sucked. She felt the weight of her bag and the book felt like it weighed more on her then it did before. She still wanted to read it, even the stuff about the rituals but she thought it might be better to keep it out of sight for now. The feast progressed and the main course was replaced with desert, pumpkin cakes and glistening candy apples, even a drink called butter beer. Jane had wondered if it was anything like root beer and had tried a sip before politely putting it to the side.

When the food had vanished Jane walked beside Roman towards the common room, trying to ignore anything moving in the shadows. She had years of experience that told her as long as she didn't acknowledge them, they would leave her the fuck alone, for the most part.

Jane stumbled as her arms was tugged backwards. She turned to see Draven tip his head towards an abandoned classroom. She raised her brow before he dragged her in. He shut the door behind then and cast a silencing charm.

"What the hell Draven?"

"I just wanted to let you know that not everyone stopped celebrating the old ways. It's not talked about, especially in public but that doesn't mean they don't do the rituals. That doesn't mean they are Death Eaters, just some people that think you can celebrate the old ways without loosing yourself." Draven was red in the face and looked a bit nervous, like Jane might condemn him right here.

"Thanks Draven. I got a bit freaked when panicked at me asking. So, do you?"

He shrugged, looking towards the door.

"It is okay, how about we head to the common room before it gets too late."

"Thanks Jane," he gave a rueful smile before really looking at her again. "Just be careful. The old ways should be respected, not meddled with lightly."

"I'll do my research and be careful."

As they slipped from the room and made their way back to the Slytherin commons, Jane wondered if she hadn't just jinxed herself.