Halloween Eve Incident

In the last few days of October, Hogwarts appeared as peaceful as ever, but every young wizard was nursing a restless excitement deep inside.

During History of Magic Class, the first-year students began frequently asking Professor Binns about the history of monsters and ghosts, completely throwing off Professor Binns's lesson plan—though nobody knew whether he even had one.

The ghost professor flew into a rage and roared at Seamus Finnigan, whose hand was raised high: "Stop asking about those stupid monsters! I won't answer any more questions. Put your hand down, Sean Panic. Five points from Hufflepuff!"

Seamus looked aggrieved. "Professor, my name isn't Sean Panic, and I'm not in Huffle—"

Harry and Ron hurriedly grabbed him and clapped a hand over his mouth.

But aside from History of Magic and Potions Class—where no one dared question Snape—the other professors were quite happy to let the young wizards, who had been studying for two months, relax a little.

Professor McGonagall, usually so stern, transfigured the desks into a pile of dancing skeletons.

Professor Flitwick enthusiastically recounted a wondrous Halloween from his youth, when he had spent the holiday with a Vampire and a Werewolf.

Amid all that restless anticipation, October drew to a close. By the day before Halloween, Hogwarts had already been swept up in a festive atmosphere.

Even though the weather had become quite dreadful.

No one knew when it had begun, but the mountains around the school had started to gather snow and ice. The sky remained gray all day, and the frost on the ground grew thicker every morning.

It forced Hagrid to put on his Moleskin Coat, rabbit-fur gloves, and hat, wrapping himself up until he looked like some kind of furry monster as he tirelessly swept the frost from the grounds.

October 31 was no different.

Vaughn passed through the courtyard with his books in his arms and greeted Hagrid. When he reached the Great Hall, he discovered that the braziers and torches that had once stood there had all been replaced with Jack-o'-lanterns.

Many decorative streamers hung from the ceiling. Every young wizard eagerly discussed the changed decorations and what entertainment this year's Halloween might bring.

Fred and George said that Last Year, Dumbledore had invited a ghost band to perform. Their droning tunes had put half the Great Hall to sleep.

Percy said that, as a Prefect, he had received no notice from the school, so there would most likely be no entertainment this year. Speaking of Percy, ever since Vaughn had been sorted into Slytherin, he had avoided meeting him for quite a while.

It was only after discovering that his younger brother got along well with people from several houses that Percy found Vaughn one day. "Dear brother, I've been too busy lately. No one from Slytherin has been bullying you, have they?"

Vaughn could only give a dry laugh...

Harry secretly said to his friends, "There definitely won't be any entertainment. Dumbledore is still hiding his little secret—how could he possibly let outsiders into the school?"

Hermione looked at him in a new light. "I thought you'd complain that it wasn't lively enough."

"My life is lively enough every day now."

Harry said weakly.

The closer the Quidditch season came, the crazier Wood became. If everyone had not threatened him with death, he would probably have wanted to organize Quidditch practice even on Halloween.

But there was still no escaping this afternoon's training!

"Ron, can you come with me this afternoon... uh..."

Harry decided to drag his best friend along to share the joy.

But when he turned around, he realized Ron had not said a word the entire time. He sat there blankly, tears streaming down his face, looking like a man about to die who wanted one last look at the world.

"Ron, wh-what's wrong?"

Ron clasped Harry's hand emotionally. "Harry, take good care of yourself from now on. When you grow up, make lots of money. If you have anything tasty, good to drink, or fun to play with, remember to save me a share..."

Then a Muffling Charm from across the long table turned him into a mute.

When Harry looked over, Vaughn was casually putting away his Wand while reading and eating meat stew.

Harry looked around. Everyone nearby continued their conversations as though they had seen nothing—

Wasn't it perfectly normal for Ron to be bullied by his brother?

Harry silently turned away, pretending not to see Ron's wide-eyed struggle as he flailed his arms and legs.

That evening, when Harry returned to the Great Hall exhausted to death after an afternoon of Quidditch that had blown his hair into a Mohawk, the entire hall had been completely transformed.

The professors had thoroughly remade the Jack-o'-lanterns with spells, making them shine in a dazzling array of colors.

Countless bats fluttered between the magnificent walls and streamers, flying beneath the stars and moonlight hanging from the ceiling. The long tables below were piled full of delicious food.

Harry walked to his usual seat, but only Hermione was there.

"Hermione, have you seen Ron?"

Hermione nodded and said with some distaste, "He was here earlier, stuffing himself with roast meat and getting grease all over his mouth. Vaughn only just called him away."

Harry did not ask further. For the past few days, he had kept hearing Ron say that he had agreed to the devil's terms and regretted it terribly.

Maybe the brothers had gone off to "bond" again!

Feeling unbearably hungry, Harry quickly forgot about Ron in the face of all that food.

But he had barely begun eating and was gnawing on a potato when the Great Hall doors were suddenly shoved open.

Professor Quirrell came charging in, his face filled with terror. He passed through the student tables, which had fallen abruptly silent, and ran panting to the teachers' table. Facing Dumbledore, who was staring at him, he wailed:

"Troll! Troll! In the underground classrooms..."

With that, he collapsed headfirst onto the floor and fainted.

No one noticed the way Dumbledore stared at Professor Quirrell. All the students panicked. The older students, who knew the destructive power of a Troll, went pale and began talking frantically. The younger students, who did not know the situation, screamed and shouted.

And there were troublemakers taking the opportunity to stir things up.

The entire Great Hall erupted into chaos.

Only when Dumbledore came back to himself did he arrange for the four Heads of House to restrain their own students while casting Sonorus. "Quiet, ladies and gentlemen. Regrettably, the Halloween Eve banquet must be suspended for the time being. All Prefects, lead your students back to the Common Room."

"Professors, come with me to the Basement."

Though Dumbledore had already hurried away, order was finally restored somewhat. Following his instructions, the Heads of the four houses gave their Prefects directions before hurrying to the Basement as well.

Like the other young wizards, Harry and Hermione followed behind Percy in a daze, listening to classmates from wizarding families discuss the Troll with either fear or excitement.

Only when they climbed the stairs did Harry suddenly remember something. In terror, he grabbed Hermione's sleeve.

"Ron and Vaughn!"

Hermione's face turned pale as well. "They... don't know about the Troll... I'll go find Percy!"

Harry quickly stopped her. "Percy's too rigid. He'll only think to find the professors, but they're all in the Basement right now. I think Vaughn and Ron probably won't have gone far. Let's try looking for them upstairs first."