"Merlin above, we can finally have a peaceful Halloween…"
Cedric sat at the table looking slightly haggard, a bat—courtesy of Avada—perched on his head as usual. He shoveled roast beef and pumpkin pie into his mouth in huge bites, speaking loudly and indistinctly as he sighed in satisfaction.
"Thinking about it now… when was the last time we had a perfectly normal holiday like this?"
At this point, speaking softly was impossible anyway. The entire school's staff and students were gathered in the Great Hall, eating, drinking, and celebrating with abandon. The air was thick with cheerful noise. Even though Cedric and Avada were sitting less than half a meter apart, they still had to shout to hear each other.
"Swallow first before you talk—probably three years ago," Avada replied, finally forcing down a poorly chewed piece of meat that had lodged in his throat. He washed it down with water before adding, "Last year, Halloween marked the beginning of the basilisk attacks. And the year before that, there was a troll wandering around the dungeons…"
"And then the unsealed Chosen One took it down," someone added lazily.
"In the most recent case, though, Ken did most of the heavy lifting."
"No need to compare like that. Dealing with the basilisk still required everyone's effort in the end."
"Yeah, looking back, when Ken insisted the culprit was a basilisk, I didn't believe him at all. Who would've thought those school governors could be that deranged?"
"Still, they got what they deserved—off to keep the Dementors company. Speaking of which, if Sirius Black really did manage to escape, do you think they might still have hope? Just how reliable are Dementors, anyway?"
"You can't lump Black in with that lot. Azkaban's been around for so many years—he's the only one who's ever escaped."
The four long tables in the Great Hall were piled high with every imaginable dish, flanked by students eating with gusto. Everyone knew this was likely a rare, genuinely peaceful Halloween. And with the Saturday-morning Hogsmeade ban still in place, their stomachs hadn't already been stuffed with treats from Honeydukes or the Three Broomsticks—maybe even the Hog's Head. As a result, food disappeared from the tables noticeably faster than in previous years.
Up at the staff table, the professors looked equally relaxed and content. Professor Lupin seemed to be in particularly good spirits, holding what was probably a glass of wine while chatting animatedly with Professor Flitwick, gesturing enthusiastically through the air. Dumbledore carved his steak with elegant ease, chatting amiably with Professor McGonagall. Professor Binns appeared to have run into old acquaintances among the visiting ghosts, while Hagrid and Professor Sprout were deep in pleasant conversation nearby.
Snape, meanwhile, was the only one in full professor's robes drinking alone. Leaning back in his chair, he swirled the liquid in his glass, his eyes flicking toward Lupin again and again.
Once everyone had finished eating both the main courses and the desserts, Hogwarts' ghosts emerged en masse from walls and tables alike, forming elaborate formations as they glided through the air. On top of that, the Headless Hunt—invited by Dumbledore—joined Nearly Headless Nick in reenacting the scene of Nick's beheading, drawing round after round of applause. Nick himself looked rather proud of the performance; no one thought it was strange in the slightest.
"Phew… that was wonderful."
After Dumbledore announced the end of the feast, students from all four Houses began leaving in small groups, heading back to their respective common rooms. Hufflepuff and Slytherin had it easy, needing only to head downstairs, but Gryffindor and Ravenclaw had to climb their towers with painfully full stomachs.
Back in the Hufflepuff common room, Avada reclined in a cushioned chair, patting his belly contentedly.
"At last, a Halloween we can get through without worrying."
Even though he knew Sirius Black would break into the school before long and stir everything into chaos again, that didn't stop Avada from feeling thoroughly at ease right now. After all, in the previous two Halloween feasts, he'd been right on the front line every single time—subduing the troll himself, being the first to discover Filch had been petrified…
Especially the moment he realized Moaning Myrtle's memories had been altered—that had nearly given him a heart attack.
"Yeah, last year you were the first one to notice something was wrong. And the year before that, you left the feast early too…"
Others gradually caught on as well, chuckling as they looked at him.
"Maybe we should make it a rule—every Halloween, the moment the feast ends, we knock Ken unconscious."
"…I'll revoke your dining privileges!"
"Haha, that won't work—I just ate."
"Stop joking around! Dumbledore's calling everyone! Something big must've happened—move, quickly!"
…
Five minutes later, the Hufflepuffs arrived in the Great Hall without a single one missing. The Slytherins followed soon after, while Ravenclaw students came panting in a bit later—they'd had to climb the stairs twice. Gryffindor, meanwhile, had already assembled early.
"We've discovered some issues," Dumbledore announced, his expression grave as he looked over the confused students. "The professors and I need to conduct a full search of the castle."
At the same time, Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick raised their wands, sealing every door to the Great Hall. A series of heavy, rumbling booms echoed through the room.
"For your own safety, you'll need to stay here overnight."
"I ask the prefects to take turns standing watch at the entrances. The Head Boy and Head Girl will be responsible for overall management. If anything at all happens, report to me immediately."
At his words, Percy, Cedric, and the other prefects stepped forward at once.
"You may assign a ghost to relay messages—Sir Nicholas, Fat Friar, I'll leave that to you."
Dumbledore paused, preparing to leave with the other professors, then suddenly turned back as though remembering something.
"Oh, right. Since you'll be sleeping here, you'll need—"
With a light flick of his wand, the four long tables lifted themselves and floated to the sides of the hall, stacking neatly against the walls. Another casual wave, and hundreds of soft, purple sleeping bags appeared across the floor.
"Sleep well."
With that, Dumbledore and the professors departed. The heavy doors boomed shut behind them—and in an instant, the Great Hall filled with a storm of excited chatter.
(End of Chapter)