Halloween '74
31 October 1974
“The Slytherin Halloween party is no fun, believe me.” Said Lily, and she turned a page in the book she was reading.
“It’s all the older kids sitting around and chatting about things that they think are interesting.” Mary added.
Lily looked up, “Why don’t you come up to ours?”
Violette lifted her face from her fist, tilted her head.
“Gryffindor is having a party, too?”
The girls chuckled, “Of course. It’ll be way more fun than sitting round and listening to Dolohov drone on about his latest Dostoyevsky read.”
Violette grinned, “How do you know that?”
Mary sat back, lowering her voice as they were in the library, “I’ve heard plenty of horror stories, trust me.”
“I think I’d better not…”
Lily and Mary glanced at each other, remembering what had happened the other day in D.A.D.A.
“Gosh,” Mary shook her head, apologetically, “I’m so sorry about that.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it.”
The hour came to a close, and the girls gathered their books and things to go off for their next classes. Mary pulled back her dark brown coils into a loose bun, and swung her book bag over her shoulder.
“Well, seriously Violette,” Lily nodded, “... if you get bored down there, feel free to come up to Gryffindor Tower. We’ll let you in. You’d be an honorary Gryffindor for the night.”
* * *
Dinner was the Halloween Feast. The Great Hall was decorated for the holiday, with jack o'lanterns floating beneath the ceiling instead of candles. The sweet smell of caramel corn swarmed the room, painting a smile on each person’s face, especially the first year students. The tables were piled high with sweets and chocolate fountains, and fruit to dip into it.
At the Gryffindor table, the boys went wild. Peter shoved pads of chocolate and pieces of popcorn onto wooden skewers, and ran them through the chocolate fountain on their end of the table. James made sure to slip most of the candy and sweets into an enchanted bag for them to keep in the dorm room. The Slytherin table was far more relaxed, aside from Mulciber, whose lips were stained red from cherry-red suckers.
After dinner, the older kids had started to decorate the Slytherin common room for the party. Violette sat on her bed while her roommates got ready and did their hair and makeup.
“What are you going as, Violette?” Asked Priscilla, running a hairbrush through golden blonde hair.
Violette shrugged, “I’ll be a cat.” And she held up an old pair of black cat ears.
“Why don’t you be a witch with us?” Said Melanie, “I can get you a hat if you’d like.”
“That’s okay.” Violette replied, running a brush through her hair, lazily, “Next year.”
The girls had been talking to Violette a lot more now that things were finally in motion. Melanie, Jane, and Eleanor were nice enough, trying to include their new peer, poorly, but it was the best that they could do. Violette was hardly in the common room, and only returned to the dorm room to sleep. Priscilla seemed to be the ringleader of their quartet, and was rather closed off toward Violette. She was a very pretty girl, as were the rest of the girls, but it was clear that she held herself to a higher degree than her friends. Violette would upset the balance. With her around, Priscilla wasn’t the most beautiful, or wealthy, or prestigious and popular. Violette saw that it was something Priscilla wasn’t used to.
“Come on, girls.” Said Priscilla, putting on her witch hat, “Let’s get out there before we miss all the fun.”
The three girls followed Priscilla’s lead, and Eleanor turned to Violette.
“Are you coming?” She asked, “Should we hold a drink for you?”
“I’ll be right out. You don’t have to do that, thank you.” Violette grinned, and the girls left the room. She could hear the muffled start of music playing from the common room. It sounded like some sort of haunting jazz.
With a long huff of an exhale, Violette stood in the mirror. Her costume was rather boring, in her eyes. A black dress, tights, black boots, and cat eats. That day had felt dull already, and she had no desire to go out and sit in a dim room surrounded by her housemates. She had been thinking a lot about France. She tried not to do it a lot, it only made her sad. Halloween was lots of fun in Paris, and most of her tender memories included her father. She tried not to think about him too much, either.
Reluctantly, she stepped out and made her way down the dark hallway. In the common room, the party was just as she had expected it to be. It wasn’t the type that you picture when you think about a big Halloween party. Everyone was dressed rather neatly, still in costume, but in an orderly way. Juliette would have described the crowd as “overly classy”. It looked like a mix of Slytherin’s and Ravenclaw’s at the party, scholarly types standing around, swaying to a The Zombie’s record. As Violette weaved through the room, between chatter and conversation, people turned and stared, tapping their friends on the shoulder, “There she is”.
“There she is.”
Violette smiled, chuckling lightly, “Evan! I was looking for you guys” She examined his costume, and the other boys’. Evan was a knight, not in armor, but rather, a gray suit with a dagger in his belt and a knight’s helmet tucked under his arm. Barty had gone the scary route, painting his face with a skull design, and the others followed in suit in costumes like vampires and monsters.
“Do you want something to drink? Sev’s made something to spice up the punch. The older kids’ve got scotch and whiskey. I asked Louis for some but he said ‘don’t even think about it’. Slimy git.”
“That’s alright.” Violette shrugged, glancing around at the windows that looked out into the black lake. The common room had been decorated with dim lights and candles which gave the room a spooky ambience, and the music echoed about the stone-built dungeon.
“Maybe your brother’ll give you some!” Said Mulciber, already walking funny.
Violette scoffed, “It looks to me like Severus’s spiked punch is all you need, Mulciber.”
Barty’s eyes lit up, and he patted Evan’s shoulder, “Poker table’s open! Come on, before the seats are filled again!”
Evan beamed, urging Barty, “Go! Hurry! Save our spots!” He turned to Violette, “We’ll be over at the poker table!”
As quickly as she was in good company, she was alone again. Scanning the room again, she felt like a scarecrow in a cornfield. Everyone else were crows, picking and squawking.
When will they stop? She wondered. Don’t they tire of staring and whispering. Does nobody see me as approachable?
She drifted about the party like a broken sail in the wind. Coming up on the lounge chairs, there seemed to have been somewhat of a chess competition going on. In the first chair was Regulus, Sirius’s little brother. He was a master at chess, unbeatable. She approached the little oak table.
“Hello, Violette.” He said casually, not taking his eyes off of the board.
“Hi Regulus.” She glanced at his opponent, a seventh year, “John.”
“Are you enjoying yourself?” Asked Regulus.
“I am. How long have you two been at it?”
“Twenty minutes, now.” He said, straight faced.
He’s nothing like his brother, Violette thought. He’s far more reserved.
He never looked up from his game, but Violette saw a flicker in his eyes, glancing at her then quickly back down. He’d hoped that she wouldn’t notice. He let the silence linger for a few more moments.
“I’ll leave you two to it, then.” Violette sighed, then she walked off. Evan and Barty had gotten their seats at the poker table, and Mulciber and Avery were surely off somewhere causing trouble, sneaking smoke bombs under the first years’ doors. She floated through the party again, alone. She paused near the couches, having another look around, and thinking that she might give in and find her roommates to stick around with, then she heard her name.
“Violette!” Theo called out, and she turned to see her brother standing up by the fireplace with a big grin, “Viens par ici!”
Come over here!
By the fireplace, her brother put his arm around her shoulders. Violette could smell whiskey on his breath.
“My darling sister. Un petit chat!”
His friends grinned, and Violette figured that they would smile at anything Theo said. People seemed to gravitate toward him. He puts himself out there, she thought, he started building his reputation the second we got on that train.
“Now, as I was saying–” Theo went on, talking about some Halloween legend he had read about in the Hogwarts library. He must have felt like a rich kid in a candy store when he first set foot in that place.
The group on the couches started conversing on the topic, and Theo went to pour himself another glass of whiskey. The space filled with a smoky haze, a smell that Violette found very familiar. Very familiar, actually, one that had been away from her nose for a long time by that point. She scanned the group, seeing cigars in their hands and smoke pouring from their mouths. Her gaze drifted over the fine oak table that sat between the couches, and in the center of it, a box of cigars. Her chest hollowed. She glanced at the lid, and on it was a wax stamp, crimson red. The Laurent family crest. The cigar’s were her father’s.
She crossed the room to the drink cart, where Theo had gotten caught up chatting with a seventh year girl, pouring her a glass of scotch.
“Ce sont les cigares de mon père?”
Are those father’s cigars?
Theo turned around, taking a sip from a cold glass, “Hm?”
Violette raised her brow in question. Theo rolled his eyes, “Oui, et alors ? Il me les a laissés.”
Yes, so what? He left them to me.
“They’re mine. I’ll do whatever I like with them.”
Her stomach twisted. She scoffed, “Are you serious?”
Theo rolled his eyes, again, standing with a hand on his hip and shaking his head at the floor.
“What’s the big deal, Violette? They’re cigars, they should be smoked.”
The longer Violette stood there, the angrier she got. Until then, she expelled every thought about her father. Seeing Theo deal out their father’s belongings like playing cards sparked a flame within her. Theo softened up, slightly, letting out a long sigh. He pulled the top off of the glass bottle of whiskey and poured it into a glass.
“Here.” He said, handing it to her, “Lighten up.”
He looks just like him, she thought.
His lip curled into a somber grin. “Ma soeur chérie.”
My darling sister.
He left Violette by the drink cart, leaving a brisk coldness behind. Frustration popped and cracked like flames in a fireplace, and the thought of her father burned into her mind, indisposable. Suddenly, the music was louder, and the small group of students felt like hundreds of people. Discomfort crawled over her like fire ants, biting and burrowing, and her throat felt thick, as if filled with smoke. She whirled around and made for the exit, finding herself running into Regulus again.
“Violette?”
She stopped, swallowing, “Regulus. Had enough chess for the night?”
He chuckled, “Oh, never. Would you like to play?”
Fronting a smile, she shook her head, “I’m no good. It would be boring for you, I think.”
“I can teach you if you’d like. You’d pick it up in no time.”
“Not tonight.”
“I’m sorry for being so rude earlier, my mother would kill me if she had seen me, then. I was so focused, you know?”
“Don’t worry about it, Regulus,” She said, longing for a quick escape as everything only got louder and louder, “I understand.”
“I heard about what happened to you earlier, in Defense Against the Dark Arts. My brother’s ruthless, and those lousy friends of his. If you want, I can–”
“Can you hold this for me? I’ll be right back.” She handed him her drink, and brushed past him.
The hallways seemed extra quiet compared to the common room, and Violette took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. Her heartbeat softened as she walked along the halls, lit by iron mounted candles on the walls. The corridors were completely empty, and she wandered and wandered until she came upon the door to the Astronomy Tower. Looking up at it, she shrugged, letting herself in and climbing to the top.
The balcony was cold, and she crossed her arms to keep warm. She stepped up to the iron bars and peered over, and she shuddered at the height. The moon shone bright, full and magnificent. She could feel her blood flowing, and a tickle at the back of her neck, and breathed deep, shutting her eyes. The howl of a wolf interrupted her brief moment of peace.
Violette dropped the cat ears on the ground, and stood there in silence. She thought about the prank. She thought about France. She thought about her father.
* * *
Gryffindor Tower buzzed on Halloween night. Over antique tables were cups of beer and pumpkin juice. The soft, red couches were occupied by party goers who were spectating the twister match, which Peter was mastering. Sirius and James floated around the party, setting off ghost bombs that levitated about the room and disappeared out of the ceiling.
“Are you two gonna stand here all night?” James said.
Lily crossed her arms, “What do you care, Potter?”
“Yeah?” Mary added.
“Are you the house greeters, or something?” He questioned, “I don’t think I’ve seen you move an inch from this spot for the past two hours.”
“For your information, we’re waiting for someone.”
“Someone who’s not coming.” Marlene rolled her eyes.
“You don’t have to wait with us, Mar.”
“Who are you waiting for?” James asked, then a moment passed, and he let out a boyish chuckle, “Oh my days… don’t tell me you’re waitin’ on Violette Laurent. Why would she come anywhere near Gryffindor Tower?”
“We invited her.” Lily told him.
Sirius scoffed, shaking his head, “And, did she say she would come?”
“Well,” Lily huffed, “Maybe she would have if you hadn’t embarrassed her the other day in class.”
Sirius shrugged, “It wasn’t my fault she and that geezer Rosier were having a laugh.”
“You could’ve stopped it.” She scolded him, “You of all people should know that you shouldn’t mess with her!”
“Why?” Potter laughed, “Because she’s a–” He mocked a French accent, “Laurent?”
“Because you all know what she’s been through! Ugh, you’re all so quick to judge somebody that you won’t even take the time to get to know, first! Come on Mary, I’m sick of this party, aren’t you?”
Lily stormed off, and Mary followed behind her, but not without adding:
“She really is quite nice.”
Marlene followed them to the dorm room, leaving James and Sirius to themselves at the door. Sirius felt his guilt bloom within him like a venomous flower. James took a sip of beer, “Ah, girls, am I right? It was only some harmless fun, they’ll get over it.”
Sirius forced a chuckle, “Yeah.”
“Where’d you stash the last of the ghost bombs?”
“I tucked them into the broom closet under the bar keep portrait. He should be asleep by now. I’ll go grab it. Wait here.”
As the stairs of the moving staircase shifted, the silence around him taunted him. His mind flooded with the thought of the prank. It was strange. He had never felt bad about a prank in all of his four years at Hogwarts. It was the best part of the day when the boys got to mess around. He never got any of that at home. None of that recklessness, and the ability to get away with it with a laugh. This time felt different.
When he got to the door of the broom closet, he heard faint footsteps. Peaking around the corner, he strained his breath to stay quiet. Just as he glanced across the hall, he saw someone slip into the doors of the Astronomy Tower. He felt a push in his core, something telling him to follow. Almost mindlessly, as if he were in a daze, he did.
The crisp, now November breeze, danced around Violette. Tears rolled down her cheeks, which had gone pink from the cold. She wanted to go home. After her father died, her mother thought that she ought to see a therapist for a bit, considering the things she had seen and experienced. He told Violette that grief came in waves. Violette hated that.
There was a creek in the floorboards behind her, and she froze for a moment. She turned, quickly finding who it was. Facing back toward the moon, she wiped her tears, tried to make it seem like she hadn’t been crying.
“Did you follow me up here?”
He scoffed, “No.”
“Then what are you doing?”
His lips parted as he searched for the words, “Might I ask you the same question?”
Violette exhaled, sighing and shaking her head.
“I needed a little break, that’s all.” She told him, “Not that it’s any of your business.”
He thought he ought to apologize, but something withheld it. His guilt grew when he looked at her, but still, he couldn’t tell her he was sorry about what had happened.
“The Slytherin party wasn’t as lavish and posh as you’re used to?”
“Is that why you’ve come up here?” She crossed her arms, “To insult me?”
“Do you think you’re the only person who comes up here at night?”
Violette said nothing as Sirius came to stand next to her. His presence alone irked her. She wondered if he had seen that she was crying. How long had he been standing there? The quiet lingered, words lost on both of them. Violette didn’t care to bicker, then. Her days had been long, and he was a key contributor to her irritation.
“Your brother is far more pleasant than you are.” She said, breaking the silence.
Sirius huffed out a breathy chuckle, “Isn’t he?”
He pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and lit one up, inhaling and exhaling slowly. It was quiet again. The wind blew, and the moon shone pale light down on the pair. The smell of the cigarette smoke poisoned the air, inescapable and warm. It was a bittersweet scent.
“So is your friend, Remus.” She said, and her voice was cold and smooth. A werewolf howled again, echoing through the forest. “I wish he had come up here instead of you. Then my peace might not have been so terribly disturbed.”
She whirled around and left the tower, Sirius stayed a bit longer. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the cat ears on the ground. He picked them up and scoffed, staring down at them, then looked up at the Forbidden Forest and the Black Lake.