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braveclementine · 5 months

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Chapter 7

Warnings: None, Readers under 18 can read this book. It is solely fluff- nothing sexual

Copyright: I do not own any Wizarding World characters that J.K. Rowling wrote. I do however own Elizabeth Kane (main character) and Trang Nyguen (best friend). There should be no use of these two names without my permission. I also do not condone any copying of this.

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𝕾𝖊𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖒𝖇𝖊𝖗 𝖕𝖆𝖘𝖘𝖊𝖉 𝖆𝖓𝖉 October started to roll around. Dad had written me back congratulating me on making Hufflepuff Quidditch team and inquiring what trouble I'd been into. He'd also explained that his job was a simple one, perhaps boring, but he never told me the specifics of what he was doing.

Harry came to Hermione, Ron, and I as we were studying in the Gryffindor common room. While I was not a Gryffindor, I was seen in there so frequently that people tended to forget I wasn't one.

He was dripping with mud, having just come in from a rainy Quidditch practice. He had gone to the showers and had come back to tell us about Nearly Headless Nick inviting him, and us, to his Deathday party.

"A deathday party?" Hermione asked, interested. "I bet there aren't many living people who can say they've been to one of those- it'll be fascinating!"

"Right there with you Hermione." I said, grinning over my fun Muggle book As the Crow Flies. (Not because the book was necessarily a fun book to read or that it was fun, just that I considered books that weren't for school as 'fun' because they weren't serious).

"Why would anyone want to celebrate the day they died?" Ron asked grumpily, working on potions homework. "Sounds dead depressing to me." He glanced up at me, "How do you have time to read that? Aren't you swamped with homework? Even Hermione's not completely done with her homework."

I looked up from my book. Over Ron's shoulder I saw that Fred and George were trying to figure out what happened if you fed a firework to a salamander. Luckily, it was a magical fire-dwelling salamander from Care of Magical Creatures class. I looked upon them, amused, and then answered Ron, "I finished yesterday. And Hermione only has one assignment left anyways."

Harry opened his mouth to say something, but at that moment, the salamander whizzed through the air, emitting loud sparks and bangs, while it whirled wildly around the room. People jumped out of the way, laughing at its antics. It was funny, but I wasn't entirely sure if it was ethical.

However, once Percy started bellowing himself hoarse at Fred and George, I started to laugh. The salamander escaped into the fire and started exploding tangerine colored stars from its mouth, and then the fireworks died down, and the salamander curled up on the fire to sleep. I laughed so hard, tears came into my eyes, and Hermione and I collapsed into more fits of giggles.

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𝕺𝖓𝖈𝖊 𝕳𝖆𝖑𝖑𝖔𝖜𝖊𝖊𝖓 𝖘𝖙𝖆𝖗𝖙𝖊𝖉 to come around however, Harry was starting to regret his promise to go to the deathday party, constantly talking to Ron, Hermione, and I about possibly skipping it. Ron was all for that, but Hermione got very bossy about it saying a promise was a promise. I privately agreed with her. Besides, it was going to be a fascinating experience, even if something very bad was going to happen afterwards.

I told them I'd meet them at the Great Hall at seven. I had ducked into the Great Hall and had packed food into my bag so that we could eat after the party. It would be rude to eat in front of ghosts.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron were dressed in everyday wear and were surprised that I was wearing a thick cloak. "It'll be cold in the dungeons." was my defense.

We walked down into the dungeon which was lined with candles. I wondered who had set them out, considering ghosts couldn't move objects. Perhaps peeves, though I doubted he'd do anything nice. There were long, thin, jet-black tapers which burned bright blue. As we got closer to the dungeons, I covered my ears with a start at what sounded like nails on a chalkboard.

"Oh." I whimpered.

"Is that supposed to be music?" Ron whispered, wincing as well.

We turned the corner and I quickly dropped my hands as Nick was floating in front of the doorway. He was wearing velvet black robes and was looking very mournful.

How did he change clothes? Ghosts could change clothes? That was fascinating.

"My dear friends. Welcome, welcome. . . so pleased you could come. . ." He said in a very proper, simpering, mournful tone.

He bowed us inside and I felt a bit more comfortable, seeing all the ghosts that were here. I looked around interested, doing my best to ignore the horrible music. Some were dancing, others were talking and laughing. There was a chandelier overhead with midnight-blue flames, and more candles lined the walls and floor. The same tapers that had lined the hallway outside were put at regular intervals along the walls as well.

"Shall we have a look around?" Harry asked, awkwardly.

I was a bit disappointed, wanting to converse with the Fat Friar on the other side of the room who was talking to a knight with an arrow sticking out of his forehead. I wondered what his story was.

"Careful not to walk through anyone." Ron whispered nervously. We set off around the edge of the dance floor so that we weren't around any other spirits.

We walked past many groups of different ghosts and I was itching to stop and have a conversation with them.

"Oh, no." Hermione said, stopping so abruptly that I slammed into her. "Turn back, turn back, I don't want to talk to Moaning Myrtle-"

"What?" I asked, still slightly disconcerted by the sudden stop. "Why not?"

"Who?" Harry asked, as we started to go back the way we came.

"She haunts one of the toilets in the girls' bathroom on the first floor." Hermione said.

"She haunts a toilet?" Harry asked redundantly.

"Yes. It's been out-of-order all year because she keeps having tantrums and flooding the place. I never went in there anyway if I could avoid it; it's awful trying to have a pee with her wailing at you-" Hermione said, explaining everything.

"I like Myrtle." I said, frowning. "When she's not throwing a fit she's actually really fun to talk to. I used to go in there all the time just to talk to her. I like ghosts."

"Well you've always been a bit weird, haven't you?" Harry said jokingly, grinning at me.

I nudged him with my elbow.

"Look, food!" Ron said, pointing.

They approached the table but I hung back, knowing exactly what it was going to be- rotted food. I couldn't stand the smell, I thought I might just be sick. I quickly took the food I had in my bag and pulled it out so that I could smell it. My stomach calmed down a bit more.

I heard Hermione say, "I expect they've let it rot to give it a stronger flavor." and then I heard Ron say, "Can we move? I feel sick."

I walked forward with my own food, but then peeves got in between them and myself.

"Hello, Peeves." Harry said cautiously.

I glared at Peeves, annoyed, and walked around him to stand with the others. He was wearing an orange party hate, a revolving bow tie that flashed different colors, and a bright orange turncoat.

"Nibbles?" He said in a false sweet voice, offering us a bowl of peanuts covered in fungus. I nearly threw up.

"No thanks." Hermione said, wrinkling her nose.

"Heard you talking about poor Myrtle. Rude you was about poor Myrtle." Peeves said, his eyes twinkling mischievously. He took a deep breath and bellowed, "OY! MYRTLE!"

"Oh bloody hell." I said. Multiple ghosts looked around and glared up at Peeves.

Hermione whispered frantically, trying to cover her tracks saying, "Oh, no, Peeves, don't tell her what I said, she'll be really upset. I didn't mean it, I don't mind her- er, hello, Myrtle."

Myrtle had wandered over. She was a thin girl, with thick glasses and looked a bit like Harry if he had worn a wig and looked a bit more like a girl. Her hair was in pigtails that came down on either side of her head. She wore Hogwarts robes from when she had been in Ravenclaw.

"What?" She asked sulkily as she glared at all of us, her expression softening just a bit when she saw me.

"How are you Myrtle?" Hermione asked in a falsely bright voice. "It's nice to see you out of the toilet."

I wanted to slam my head into my hands, but thought it might be a dead give away. Myrtle sniffed.

Peeves leaned close and whispered in her ear. "Miss Granger was just talking about you-"

Myrtle eyed Hermione with suspicions. I quickly took charge of the conversation.

"I was telling them about how we used to talk when I came into the restroom last year. Your favorite things to do, what you wanted to be when you grew up, and your life before this life." I lied brightly.

Myrtle brightened up considerably and Peeves glared at me. "Oh yes, dreadful isn't it?"

"Of course." I said sympathetically.

"But Miss Granger was talking about you. . ." Peeves continued, wanting to create chaos tonight. "Don't you want to know what she said?"

I sighed. There was no hope, I guess I really couldn't change the future.

"Just saying- saying- how nice you look tonight." Hermione said, glaring at Peeves.

"You're making fun of me." Myrtle said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"No-honestly- didn't I just say how nice Myrtle's looking?" Hermione asked, nudging Ron and Harry in the ribs.

"I think you look lovely Myrtle." I said, trying again. "I love your pigtails."

Myrtle hesitated, not sure if she should be upset or not. Peeves whispered something in her ear and then Myrtle said, "Don't lie to me." Tears were starting to flood down her face and I too, glared at Peeves. "D'you think I don't know what people call me behind my back? Fat Myrtle! Ugly Myrtle! Miserable, moaning, moping Myrtle!"

"You've forgotten pimply." Peeves hissed at her.

Myrtle burst into sobs and floated away, fleeing. Peeves shot after her, pelting her with moldy peanuts and shouting, "Pimply! Pimply!"

I turned away, frustrated. What good was knowing what was going to happen, if I couldn't make any changes to it?

"Enjoying yourselves?" I turned to see that Nearly Headless Nick had floated over to see how we are doing.

"Oh yes." The other three lied.

"I think this is just fascinating." I said honestly.

"Not a bad turnout." Nearly Headless Nick said proudly. "The Wailing Widow came all the way up from Kent. . . It's nearly time for my speech, I'd better go and warn the orchestra-"

The orchestra stopped playing at that moment however, and the sound of a hunting horn echoed through the chamber. The other ghosts turned to see what was going on. I sighed in exasperation. Would this night ever end?

Nick's face turned bitter and he said, "Oh, here we go."

Ghosts riding ghost horses burst through the wall, the ghosts all holding their heads by their hip. The ghosts that were standing around started to clap. I quickly grabbed Harry's hands as he started to clap and shook my head.

I handed my food to Ron who started to eat it. I was going to have to leave and tell Professor Dumbledore and Snape what was about to happen. After all, if I didn't tell them, then they were going to wonder why I didn't tell them, and if I was covering up for someone. The horses galloped into the middle of the dance floor, rearing and neighing.

I wondered briefly if the horses knew they were dead and what they thought about it. The leading rider jumped down, putting his head back down on his head. I winced at the sight. "Nick! How are you? Head still hanging in there?" He roared as he approached.

He gave a hearty laugh and clapped Nick on the shoulder.

"Welcome, Patrick." Nick said stiffly, still trying to be courteous.

"Live 'uns!" Sir Patrick said, spotting Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I. He gave a huge fake jump of astonishment so that his head fell off again and the ghost crowd roared with laughter. They were starting to close in a circle. The spirits I had once wanted to talk to were making me feel like I was in some sci-fi murder film. Goosebumps broke out on my skin.

"Very amusing." Nick said icily.

"Don't mind Nick!" Sir Patrick's head said from the floor. "Still upset we won't let him join the Hunt! But I mean to say- look at the fellow-"

Harry quickly interjected saying, "I think Nick's very- frightening and- er-"

I sighed as the head shouted, "Ha! Bet he asked you to say that!"

"Perhaps." I interjected angrily. "But I think it's highly biased and prejudiced that you won't allow him to the join the Hunt when it's his greatest wish, and he practically fits the qualifications anyways."

Nick beamed at me, but St. Patrick said, "And how is he going to participate in headless games without a headless head?"

I didn't have an answer for that and Nick quickly said, "If I could have everyone's attention, it's time for my speech." He started to float up to the podium and I saw my chance.

"I'm going to the bathroom." I whispered to the others. I darted back across the dance floor and out of the room. Taking a deep breather, I walked swiftly up the corridor and watched as Mrs Norris trotted past me. I hesitated, not wanting to go down the same path she was about to face.

I let her go past and counted to twenty and then heard a voice in the wall and my blood spiked. ". . . rip. . . tear. . . kill."

"Time to go." I muttered and opened the door to the Great Hall and slipped inside. The feast was coming to a close as the others were eating dessert and starting to get full. I slipped along the back wall, making my way up to the teachers table.

No one paid me any attention, to busy eating and laughing and jesting to take notice. I tried to catch the eye of Professor Snape as I got closer to the table so that I wouldn't have to go up to the table. I'd never seen a student do that before and certainly didn't want to be the first.

Finally, as I reached the end of the student tables, Professor Snape looked over at me and I made a jerking motion with my head. I pointed to Professor Dumbledore. He stood slowly and bent to whisper something in Professor Dumbledore's ear. I dashed up the stairs and stood to the side where the students couldn't see me.

Professor Snape and Dumbledore approached me.

"What is it, Miss Kane?" Professor Dumbledore asked. "Did you see something interesting?"

The students started to file out and I spoke hurriedly. "I might be too late but I saw Filch's cat hanging by its tail from a torch bracket. In my vision, I mean. I don't know how or why, but I don't think she's dead. I'm not sure. It was supposed-"

I was interrupted by someone shouting from the hallway, "Enemies of the Heir, beware! You'll be next, Mudbloods!"

"Too late." I whispered.

The other teachers got up from the table to investigate what was going on, and Professor Dumbledore and Snape led the way out of the Great Hall and into the corridor, parting through students to get to the front. I followed closely behind Snape.

On the wall above the cat there was a sign written in paint that said, THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE

Filch was lunging at Harry saying, "You've killed her! I'll kill you! I'll-"

"Argus!" Dumbledore said loudly and calmly.

I found that I was clutching the end of Professor Snape's robes in anticipation, and I quickly let go, looking down, and blushing. Dumbledore swept past Filch and neatly detached Mrs. Norris from the bracket. I was trembling with anxiety.

"Come with me Argus. You too, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger, Miss Kane." Dumbledore said.

Lockhart stepped forward, eager as a puppy. "My office is nearest, Headmaster- just upstairs- please feel free-"

"Thank you, Gilderoy." Dumbledore said.

The crowd parted, letting us through, and I followed closely behind Snape, perhaps more accurately, hiding behind him. My fingers brushed the back of his cloak on accident, and he gave a start.

In Lockhart's office, Professor Dumbledore laid Mrs. Norris down on an empty table. Filch was sitting in the back of the room, slumped in a chair, his face in his hands, sobbing. I felt horrible for him, and if he hadn't been such a horrible person to the students, I might've tried to attempt to comfort him.

"It was definitely a curse that killed her- probably the Transmogrifian Torture- I've seen it used many times, so unlucky I wasn't there, I know the very countercurse that would have saved her. . ." He continued talking until I got so annoyed I snapped.

"She's not dead." I snapped at Lockhart.

He looked at me in surprise and both Professor McGonagall and Snape turned their attention to me. "Of course she is Miss Pot-"

"Oh shut up." I snapped moodily. If he called me Miss Potter one more time I was going to curse him into oblivion.

Professor McGonagall's face was one of surprise, probably because I had never been disrespectful to anyone ever. Snape on the other hand looked rather amused.

Dumbledore straightened up. "She's not dead, Argus. Miss Kane is correct." He said.

"Not dead?" Filch choked out, looking through his fingers at Mrs. Norris. I really did feel sorry for him. "But why's she all- stiff and frozen?"

"She has been Petrified," Dumbledore said.

"Ah, I thought so!" Lockhart said, looking around proudly. I rolled my eyes.

"But how, I cannot say. . ." Dumbledore said, looking at me with his pale blue piercing eyes. I shifted uncomfortably.

"Ask him!" Filch shrieked, pointing at Harry.

"He didn't do it." I said in a softer tone than I had used with Lockhart.

"No second year could have done this. It would take Dark Magic of the most advanced-" Dumbledore said firmly but was interrupted by Filch.

"He did it, he did it!" Filch spat, his pouchy face purpling. "You saw what he wrote on the wall! He found- in my office- he knows I'm a- He knows I'm a Squib!" He finished.

"I never touched Mrs. Norris!" Harry said loudly, seeming very uncomfortable. "And I don't even know what a Squib is."

I opened my mouth to give Harry the definition of what a Squib was but Filch interrupted me, spitting mad, "Rubbish! He saw my Kwikspell letter!"

"If I might speak, Headmaster." Snape said, stepping forward. "Potter and his friends may have simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. But we do have a set of suspicious circumstances here. Why was he in the upstairs corridor at all? Why wasn't he at the Halloween feast?"

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I all launched into different version of the deathday party. We were all talking over each other but I think they got the gist of it.

"But why not join the feast afterward? Why go up to that corridor?" Professor Snape said, his lip starting to curl.

"Because they were looking for me." I quickly interjected. I hated lying but I remembered how Hermione had lied last year about the troll. The three of them looked at me in shock and a bit of confusion. "I'd told them I was leaving to go to the bathroom. We were all going to go to the feast afterwards."

"But Hufflepuffs don't sit with Gryffindors." Snape continued stubbornly. "So why would you guys have gone to the feast together?"

"Since when have I ever listened to that rule?" I asked honestly. "You should know perfectly well I sit with the Gryffindors all of the time."

Ron coughed to stop a laugh.

"Still." Snape pressed on, though his usually pale cheeks had flushed just slightly. "Surely you knew the feast was going to end soon. Why not just meet there?"

"We were tired and wanted to let her know that we were going back up to the Gryffindor common room to go to bed." Harry said.

"Without any supper?" Snape asked. I glared at him.

"We weren't hungry. Elizabeth brought food down to the party with her." Ron said but then his stomach growled.

I sighed.

Snape's smile got wider and I wanted to nudge him in the ribs. Hard. "I suggest, Headmaster, that Potter is not being entirely truthful. It might be a good idea if he were deprived of certain privileges until he is ready to tell us the whole story. I personally feel he should be taken off the Gryffindor Quidditch team until he is ready to be honest."

I snorted with laughter.

"Really, Severus." Professor McGonagall sharply. "I see no reason to stop the boy playing Quidditch. This cat wasn't hit over the head with a broomstick. There is no evidence at all that Potter has done anything wrong."

Dumbledore was giving Harry a searching look at the moment. "Innocent until proven guilty, Severus." He said finally.

Severus looked furious. "Knock it off." I hissed at him over Filch shrieking, "My cat has been Petrified! I want to see some punishment!"

Snape gave me a long look. I glared at him reproachfully. He was a Legilimens for Merlin's sake! At least, I was fairly certain he was. Couldn't he just peek into Harry's mind and see that it wasn't him? Actually, why didn't he just peak in my head and try and figure out my visions? Then I wouldn't have to try and explain any of this.

"We will be able to cure her, Argus. Professor Sprout recently managed to procure some Mandrakes. As soon as they have reached their full size, I will have a potion made that will revive Mrs. Norris." Professor Dumbledore told him patiently.

"I'll make it." Lockhart butted in. "I must have done it a hundred times. I could whip up a Mandrake Restorative Draught in my sleep-"

"Excuse me." Snape said icily, whipping his head away from me. "But I believe I am the Potions master at this school."

There was a very awkward pause. Then, Dumbledore said, "You may go."

I turned to leave with the others but then Dumbledore said, "Miss Kane, please stay for a moment longer."

I turned back to him, knowing what he wanted. He spoke to Lockhart. "Could you please go back down to the corridor and make sure everyone is gone back to bed."

"Of course Professor." Lockhart said and made is way out of the room. Filch followed out, wiping tears away.

"Miss Kane, can you tell us exactly what happened?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

I sighed. "Harry had nothing to do with it. I don't know who opened the chamber or why or how. I don't see as much as people think I do. It takes concentration. I can't just ask questions and see what I want to see. My visions unfold like a story line. I don't really know much until it gets close enough and then I know just before everyone else. Funnily enough, the most important things are the things that are hardest to see."

Professor McGonagall didn't look confused, but she acted like it. "Visions? Like seeing into the future?"

I nodded. "I don't tell anyone about it for pretty much this exact reason. Even Harry and Ron don't know about it." I was pretty sure that she already knew.

"Will you try?" Professor Dumbledore asked calmly. "I wouldn't ask unless it was necessary."

I sighed and pulled out a chair and sat down with my back towards them. I rested my head on my arms and closed my eyes. Good lord, how I regretted telling Snape about my visions.

I focused, doing my best to ignore the three teachers behind me, waiting. It took me three minutes to even forget they existed and then I was able to focus. Hermione was asking Binns about the Chamber of secrets, boring. . . Hermione was convincing Harry and Ron to make a Polyjuice potion because they suspected Malfoy, fair. . . Oh, Gryffindor was going to win the game!

"Oh, Ouch." I muttered out loud seeing Harry have his arm broken from a bludger. . .then there was a hand lying on the ground, a bunch of grapes a couple of inches away. . . a camera in the other hand. . .

"That's not good." I said aloud.

"What?" Professor McGonagall said sharply.

I pulled my head up, wincing at the horrible headache I had. I closed my right eye, hoping to alleviate the pain.

"Oh it was about the Quidditch game." I said.

"Slytherin won?" Professor McGonagall asked sharply. Snape shot me a triumphant look.

"No. Gryffindor is going to win. Harry's going to break his arm. He'll be put in the hospital wing overnight because Lockhart's going to try and fix his arm. Colin Creevey is going to try and sneak up to the hospital wing and he's going to be petrified. Professor Dumbledore is going to find him, going down to get hot chocolate."

"So we just tell Colin not to leave the dormitory after the game." Professor McGonagall said, looking at Professor Dumbledore.

"No." I snapped unnecessarily. I hadn't meant to snap at her- I would never have been disrespectful on purpose. But I was dizzy, light-headed, and had a thundering headache. Not to mention I was both tired and hungry. My knees felt shaky. I hadn't tried so hard before. I needed sleep. "You can't intervene with the future. It screws everything up."

She stared at me in shock. "But-"

I sighed, frustrated, and pressed my hand against my throbbing head. "You don't understand. The things that I see are set in stone. You change something, you try to intervene, it doesn't do anything. I have been trying since September 1st to change the future. Trying to stop the barrier from closing, trying to stop Ron from cursing Malfoy, trying and trying and trying. It doesn't work and its never going to. If Colin isn't petrified that night, it'll be another night or even worse, he's going to die. You don't stop something from changing it, it happens anyway whether its a second later or minutes later or an hour later. And this is why-" I looked at Dumbledore. "- I don't tell people. They immediately assume that they can change the future. I think you are a brilliant teacher Professor McGonagall, I admire you greatly, but this isn't something that can be changed."

I took a deep breath and sat back down, putting my head in my hands. I needed sleep. Or aspirin.

They were whispering between themselves. I shouldn't have snapped at Professor McGonagall. I shouldn't have reprimanded Professor Dumbledore. I most definitely should've nudged Professor Snape in the ribs though. I regretted not doing that.

"Alright Miss Kane." Professor Dumbledore said after some time. "We'll trust you with this for now."

I nodded, trying to find the strength to get up. I nearly tripped over my own two feet and would've bashed my head into the door handle if Professor Snape hadn't grabbed my arm, steadying me. I muttered thanks, finding strength in my knees after a moment, and left the room. I found my way back to the common room where the entire Hufflepuff house was waiting for me.

"What happened?" Cedric asked.

If it had been anyone else asking, I wouldn't have answered. "Professor Dumbledore decided that Mrs. Norris has been petrified. He also cautions everyone to try and avoid that specific corridor if it can be avoided. That's about it."

"Does he think Harry did it?" A fourth-year asked.

"Um no?" I questioned. "He says the magic that is done is too high of a level for a second-year to have done it. Probably even higher than a sixth-year. It's also dark magic. He doesn't believe that it's Harry at all, or any of the students for that matter."

I hurried up the stairs so that I could get to bed. I collapsed on the bed. I would write dad tomorrow. I rolled over, sleep coming quickly filled with dreams of snakes that when I woke up, I didn't remember.

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carewyncromwell · 2 years

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“Tender lumplings everywhere -- Life's no fun without a good scare! That's our job, but we're not mean In our town of Halloween!”

~“This is Halloween (cover)” by Marilyn Manson

x~x~x~x

Happy Halloween, all! 🎃

I’m currently sick in bed, but I still managed to make this present for all of you...a rewrite of the recent Pumpkin Johnny TSLQ, complete with some much-needed love for my favorite ghost boi and Carewyn’s unofficial brother-in-law, Duncan Ashe! 👻

In my version of events, “Pumpkin Johnny” was a tale circulated at Hogwarts back when Hagrid himself was a boy, a good fifty years ago. It originally was a cautionary tale the Prefects would pass around to keep bullies in line and protect younger students. The idea was that you might tell the tale to warn a group of students against bullying, but if someone was foolish enough to not heed the warning, the Prefect in that person’s house would give them a mild scare on Halloween by dressing up as Pumpkin Johnny and hexing their head into a pumpkin, in retaliation for their cruelty toward other students. Eventually, though, it fell out of fashion, particularly after Hogwarts started experiencing far more dangerous threats like the opening of the Chamber of Secrets and Voldemort’s rise to power.

When Merula started bullying Ben, however, Hagrid couldn’t help but fall back on telling the old tale as a warning. Unfortunately Merula clearly didn’t get the hint, and Hagrid rather gloomily recounted the whole affair to Dumbledore at the Feast that evening. Who should overhear this, however, but Nearly Headless Nick? Ben’s house ghost was offended by Merula Snyde’s utter lack of respect not only for her fellow classmates (Ben) and teachers (Hagrid), but the dead as well, considering that she heard the story of a poor ghost boy who disappeared tragically after being bullied and thought to mock him. And worse still, he found out, thanks to Peeves snooping, that Merula had recruited Ismelda Murk to help her scare her fellow classmates dressed as Pumpkin Johnny. Soon Nick got the other ghosts of the castle enlisted in his effort to teach Merula Snyde and the students of Hogwarts a lesson.

Peeves was particularly adept at causing some chaos, of course. First he took one of Hagrid’s pumpkins, smashed it open, and used its innards to draw a grotesque Jack-O-Lantern face on the walls, scrawled over the message, “Pumpkin Johnny is everywhere -- be kind to others, or beware.” Instead of taking the message to heart, Merula saw it as a golden opportunity to scare Penny half to death and hex her head into a pumpkin. She then subsequently did the same to Barnaby, thoroughly intending to hit all of the students who’d been planning to attend Hagrid’s Pumpkin Party, with Ben being dead last.

So the other house ghosts started leaving messages inside of rotted pumpkins for Merula’s classmates to find -- Nick for Ben; the Friar for Penny and Tonks; the Gray Lady for Tulip; the Baron for Barnaby and Carewyn. The messages made them confront Merula, for they said things like, “Tell Merula Snyde Pumpkin Johnny is watching” and “Tell Merula Snyde Pumpkin Johnny wants an apology.” Merula tried very hard to play along, saying that clearly, she was a target now too, but she was growing anxious, even as she managed to get Carewyn pumpkined and had Ismelda pumpkin her as well to try to lead people off her trail.

Finally the ghosts of Hogwarts had had enough. Duncan Ashe pilfered the costume Ismelda and Merula had used to scare their classmates from its hiding spot in the Forbidden Forest, leaving nothing but a small broken pumpkin with a note inside that read “Pumpkin Johnny isn’t laughing.”

At this point, Ismelda and Merula were officially stuck. They knew someone had found their costume, so someone knew what they did and was now lording it over them, set to get both of them in super big trouble if they told anyone. And worse, they couldn’t even confront Carewyn and her friends for having stolen the costume (as Merula suspected they had) without exposing everything they’d done. And now...now Merula and Ismelda were seeing Pumpkin Johnny all over the place, when no one else seemingly was.

Ismelda, becoming more and more convinced that Pumpkin Johnny was real, finally broke down and went to Carewyn for help, confessing everything they had done and hadn’t done and begging her to help them pacify Pumpkin Johnny before he hurt her or Merula. And sure enough, Carewyn, Ismelda, and the others arrived to “save” Merula just in time, for she’d collided with Pumpkin Johnny by the Black Lake.

Merula tried valiantly to duel Pumpkin Johnny, but no blows seemed to affect him -- some spells collided with his pumpkin head or the fabric of his costume, but there seemed to be nothing substantial under them. And worse, there were so many more angry voices ringing out around her, seemingly from nothing, as Pumpkin Johnny swooped down on her -- “Pumpkin Johnny wants an apology” -- “Pumpkin Johnny wants an apology” --

"ALL RIGHT!” Merula burst out at last, her eyes flooding with tears of fear and remorse. “ALL RIGHT! I’M SORRY! I just -- I just wanted to scare Copper and Cromwell and their little buddies -- I didn’t want to hurt anyone! I’M SORRY!”

And that, as it turned out, was all it took. In an instant, the Pumpkin Johnny costume fell loose to the ground in a lifeless heap.

Merula admittedly reacted a lot more tough after Pumpkin Johnny had vanished, insisting that she was not crying and that she absolutely had had that stupid ghost on the run and this whole thing wouldn’t have happened in the first place if everyone hadn’t gotten so into the story of Pumpkin Johnny. But truly, it was clear the experience had shaken her and given her a bit of a reality check about how trying to scare and bully other people could come back to bite her. And it was for that reason, perhaps, that she agreed to go with Ismelda to talk to Professor Snape about the whole thing the next morning, and that Ben, Penny, Barnaby, Tulip, and Tonks ultimately decided that they both deserved to just enjoy the pumpkin party that night and deal with the consequences in the morning.

After everyone else had left, though, Carewyn turned her focus onto the discarded Pumpkin Johnny costume on the ground with a quirked eyebrow. When she approached, a familiar voice emanated from it:

“Did you learn your lesson?”

Carewyn cocked her eyebrows. “Ghosts can be amazingly vindictive.”

A loud, low cackle came out of the costume as the bluish-white translucent shape of Duncan Ashe swept out of the pumpkin, making a face.

“BLEH! Pumpkin Johnny’s come for you next!” he crowed.

Carewyn covered her mouth with both hands to suppress her giggling.

“Duncan,” she tried to scold him, “that was really quite mean, you know. You scared Merula within an inch of her life.”

“Hey, that little witch deserved it,” Duncan scoffed. “And it’s not just me that thought so.”

He indicated the other Hogwarts ghosts materializing around him -- Peeves, the Bloody Baron, Nearly Headless Nick, the Gray Lady, the Fat Friar...even Moaning Myrtle and the members of the Headless Hunt. They all took some time to explain everything to Carewyn: how Hagrid had told Dumbledore what had happened and how upset they’d been about Merula’s behavior.

“Pumpkin Johnny was a story so many older students used to play out, to teach their younger classmates to treat each other kindly,” explained the Fat Friar. “I must admit, though, I lament that we frightened the poor girl so badly.”

Peeves blew a raspberry. “Lament? Lament? The Friar’s no-fun! Peevesy still wants more mischief done!”

“Enough,” said the Baron very coldly, and Peeves immediately quieted and hid cowardly behind the Gray Lady. The Gray Lady irritably flicked the Poltergeist away with a flourish of her hand.

“Merula Snyde was very stubborn in her attempts to bully all of you,” said Nearly Headless Nick regretfully. “Truly, we’d expected her to give up long before we had to go quite this far...”

Duncan scoffed. “I’d say it’s pure justice, really. It was only when she feared for her own safety that she bothered to cop on and realize her actions have real consequences.”

Carewyn sighed. “...I guess that is supposed to be the message of the Pumpkin Johnny story, isn’t it? Your mistakes, and the way you treat other people, may come back to haunt you.”

“Wisely put,” said the Gray Lady with a very small smile.

Nearly Headless Nick gave Carewyn a bow. “Well, I suppose we’d best leave you to your party, then. Have a lovely evening, Miss Cromwell!”

And with this, all the ghosts disappeared one by one, back toward the castle. Duncan, however, lingered behind, his lips twisted up in a smirk.

“You’re really not that upset about all of us piling on Merula Snyde, are you?” he asked devilishly.

Carewyn gave a loud huff. “It was wrong of you to scare her, and it was really mean, as well...”

She paused. Then she smiled wryly.

“...But I admit...it’s really nice that you all wanted to do something to help Ben and Hagrid.”

Duncan smiled ever-so-slightly. “Hey, our hearts may no longer be beating, but that doesn’t mean we don’t feel.”

He glanced away a bit uncomfortably.

“...And well...after hearing she’d jinxed your head into a pumpkin too, just to try to lead you off her trail...I figured I really should go ahead and put a stop to it.”

Carewyn blinked in surprise. “Really?”

“Oh come on, I know you didn’t fall for that gombeen’s bad acting!” Duncan said defensively. “I frankly don’t even know why you went with her...”

Despite this, his translucent cheeks had darkened with an uncomfortable flush and he refused to look Carewyn in the face.

Carewyn cocked her eyebrows coolly. “I went with Merula because I wasn’t afraid if I got my head jinxed into a pumpkin or not. I knew whoever was doing it couldn’t be the same person warning people to ‘be nice or beware’ -- Penny and Barnaby are two of the nicest people in school. And if Merula had an accomplice, I wanted to figure out who it was.”

“So you just walked right into that chancer’s trap, just to try to learn more about what was going on,” surmised Duncan. “And you claim you’re nothing like Jacob...”

With another tired sigh, the ghost turned away, so as to hide the strange smile that had wound its way into the corners of his lips.

“Well, I’m off. Enjoy your little Pumpkin Party...bloody hell, is that name ridiculous...”

The slight muttered jibe made Carewyn cross her arms, smiling dryly.

“Happy Halloween, Duncan,” she called very coolly after him.

The ghost didn’t reply, instead simply disappearing back off toward Hogwarts castle, illuminated by the silvery moonlight.

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