Halloween had arrived, and the Great Hall had been freshly decorated. As usual, the enormous pumpkins Hagrid had grown had been carved into lanterns, each big enough for three people to sit inside.
Live bats and other such things were everywhere. Professor Snape was responsible for them all, making it look as though the bat king was decorating the Great Hall with his own kin.
There were also rumors that Dumbledore had booked a Skeleton Dance Troupe to entertain everyone.
Zhang Xiao couldn't understand why these wizards celebrated a religious holiday. Even if they were following the festivals of Ancient Rome, they shouldn't have been celebrating according to Muggle customs.
Instead, they should have been sitting around a bonfire, roasting apples and bread.
It was Hermione who explained the real reason to him. "Because Hogwarts has been admitting more and more young Muggle-born wizards in recent years. The holidays they celebrate have gradually influenced the school.
"That's how it gradually became a holiday with its own distinctly wizarding flavor."
The young witch had drawn whiskers on her face and wore two little furry ears on her head. They even twitched, just like real ones. A cat's tail had also been attached to the back of her robes, swishing this way and that.
She wore furry cat-paw gloves on her hands.
A catgirl!
Zhang Xiao fought back the urge to squeeze her cat ears. Seeing that most of the young witches at school had dressed up as various nonhuman girls, he joined Malfoy, Harry, and Ron in a heartfelt exclamation.
Magic was wonderful!
Because of some inexplicable changes, the Three Little Ones hadn't attended Nearly Headless Nick's five-hundredth deathday party after promising him they would, as they had in the original story.
"Zhang, what's with that weird outfit?" Malfoy had dressed