A Miserable Halloween

Meanwhile, Lily had long since met up with Mary, Marlene, Alice, and Dorcas. Carrying pumpkin bags, they made their way through the crowds, asking for candy wherever they went. Lily had also packed plenty of candy she had brought herself in her bag, intending to share it with the students around her.

"Trick or treat!"

As soon as the bright cry rang out, James hurried over toward the sound. Lily looked at his eager face and decided to let him off for Halloween. She grabbed a generous handful of candy from her bag and stuffed it into his hands.

"Hehe! Thanks, Lily!"

Lily watched speechlessly as James ran off clutching his candy. "Come on, let's go ask the professors for candy."

The group went first to the Transfiguration office, where Lily knocked gently on the door. Professor McGonagall answered warmly from inside, and Lily immediately pushed the door open, peeking in as she called out brightly, "Trick or treat!"

When Professor McGonagall saw who it was, a smile immediately lit her eyes. Behind Lily, a string of Gryffindor girls in gold-and-red house robes poked their heads out one after another, their eyes full of anticipation. Looking at the lively, spirited children, Professor McGonagall smiled even more fondly. She opened a drawer and gave each of them a generous handful of candy.

"Brilliant! Next one!" Lily tossed the red hair on her shoulders and energetically led everyone off to the Charms office.

Professor Flitwick had always been fond of lively, clever students, so he naturally gave each girl a generous helping of candy and watched them leave with a beaming smile.

Having collected candy at two offices in a row, Lily hefted her little pumpkin bag, still full of enthusiasm. "It's not full yet. Let's keep going!"

Their next stop was the Potions office. They all lined up and called out together, "Trick or treat!"

Professor Slughorn recognized Lily at the head of the group at once. His eyes crinkled into narrow slits as he smiled and beckoned her over kindly. "Oh, Lily, dear child, come here."

Thanks to Lily, all the girls received a generous handful of rich, sweet chocolate. Before leaving, Lily took a packet of premium candied pineapple made by Pindaodao from her bag and gently placed it on the desk.

"Happy Halloween, Professor! I hope you have a lovely holiday!"

With that, she gently closed the door and skipped after her roommates.

Inside, Slughorn looked at the splendid-looking packet of candied fruit. "Such a thoughtful child, and a Potions genius one in ten thousand."

After going around asking for candy, their little bags were already stuffed full with a dazzling assortment of sweets, chocolates, and candied fruit. The others planned to call it a day, but Lily still hadn't had enough.

"Why don't we stop? We have so much candy that we could never finish it." Looking at her heavy bag, Marlene was the first to back out.

The others all nodded in agreement.

But Lily wasn't daunted in the least, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "It's all right. You go back and rest. I'll go to Headmaster Dumbledore's office for candy on my own!"

With that, she carried her round little pumpkin bag down the empty castle corridor, heading step by step toward the Headmaster's Office. The corridor lights flickered, making her red hair look even more dazzling.

Carrying her heavy little pumpkin bag, Lily stood before the two ugly gargoyles outside the Headmaster's Office, considering what candy Dumbledore might have liked at this time, apart from those in the original story.

"Sherbet Lemon?"

The gargoyles didn't budge.

"Fizzing Whizzbees?"

There was still no reaction.

Lily quickly reviewed what she knew, ruling out the passwords familiar from the original story and trying to guess what candy Dumbledore favored at this time. "Acid Pops?"

The next second, the heavy gargoyles slid sharply aside, revealing the spiral staircase leading to the Headmaster's Office.

Lily's face lit up. She ran up the stairs and pushed the door open. "Happy Halloween, Headmaster!"

Dumbledore was briefly taken aback, evidently not expecting a first-year student to come all the way to the Headmaster's Office for candy. But his office was stocked year-round with all sorts of sweets, so he had no trouble at all.

"Oh, happy Halloween, my dear." His gaze fell on Lily's bulging pumpkin bag, which could barely hold any more. "It seems you've had quite a haul tonight."

Lily walked up with a smile and held out her palm without hesitation. "Trick or treat."

Dumbledore's smile deepened. He picked up a handful of Sherbet Lemons and gently placed them in her palm.

Lily withdrew her hand in satisfaction, then gently set a gift box of candy she had packed earlier on his desk. "This is my gift in return, Headmaster. Bye-bye!"

Dumbledore quietly watched her lively figure skip away, his eyes full of affection and attention. Young people who were so spirited and bright, so lively and open, always drew special notice.

Full of joy and with a bag full of candy, Lily turned and started down the stairs. Who would have expected her to slip and tumble down them? Damn it, is this how you're going to play me?

James Potter, who had heard from Lily's roommates that she had come to Headmaster Dumbledore's office for candy and had wanted to try his luck too: ???!!!!!!

"Lily!"

He couldn't think about anything else. He instinctively hurried forward and, reacting almost as quickly as he would when chasing the Golden Snitch, grabbed the back of Lily's wizard robes. The collar tightened sharply around her neck, nearly lifting her off her feet, choking her as though someone were strangling her.

After finally stopping her fall, Lily's face was red from lack of air. She tugged desperately at her collar. "Potter! Let go! You're strangling me!"

James hurriedly let go of Lily's robes. Lily, who was about to fall from a great height because the staircase was rotating and nearly died at eleven: ?

He could only take a gamble, betting that the spiral staircase would return to its place as he let Lily go. Clearly, he had bet wrong. Both of them plunged straight down.

Lily screamed in terror, and James fell even faster than she did. She looked up in a panic and saw a mixture of utter terror and a trace of incomprehensible exhilaration after the thrill on his face.

At a time like this, what on earth was he excited about?

At that critical moment, Lily had no time to pull her wand from her sleeve. She could only try Wandless Magic, silently repeating the Levitation Charm over and over: Wingardium Leviosa! Wingardium Leviosa!

Please, work just this once, or we really are done for. It would be one thing if she died, but although James Potter was an arrogant bully who liked to deliberately pick on others, he didn't deserve to die, and he had meant to save her. Before everything went black, her final thought was to protect Potter's head so he wouldn't end up brain-damaged from the fall.