Halloween
Now that Regulus was a part of their friend group, the days seemed to just fly by. Before Barty knew it, it was the weekend before Halloween, and Evan was beyond excited. It was 9pm, and he had found some sort of black and orange translucent wrapping paper. Evan was tearing it into strips so that he could make a chain, wishing to hang it off his bed. He was sitting on the floor, bits of wrapping paper littering the floorboards.
“Evan, and I mean this with the best intentions, but don’t you think this is a bit much?” Barty asked, scrunching up the leftover bits of paper - they made a very nice sound.
“No! Never! Halloween is the best!” Evan claimed, finishing his chain with a flourish and clambering onto his bed to fasten it to the headboard. He stood back to admire his handiwork, running a hand through his white-blonde curls. Barty always thought Evan’s hair was the coolest. It contrasted so nicely with his dark skin and green eyes. Looking at the alternating black-and-orange chain, Evan grinned, pride shining in his eyes. Barty shook his head fondly.
“Fuckin’ weirdo.” He tossed the scrunched-up ball of leftover paper at Evan’s head. Evan gasped, mock-offended, and proceeded to catch Barty in a headlock to knuckle his hair.
“All right, all right! I’m sorry! Get off me!” Barty laughed, half-heartedly pushing Evan away.
At that moment, the door opened and both boys turned to see who it was. Regulus entered, carrying an awkwardly shaped object underneath his cloak so no one could see what was underneath. He was grinning - it was now after curfew, and if he had been caught going down to the kitchens he would be in trouble.
“I almost got caught but I hid in a broom cupboard just in time, and I ran the rest of the way here,” Regulus explained, breathless. Evan grinned, happy for his friend’s success.
“Awesome! I thought we could just carve it in the bathtub so we could wash away all the pumpkin bits easily,” Evan said, looking at Regulus to gauge his reaction, but Barty spoke before Regulus had a chance to.
“No, man, come on!” The whole dorm is going to smell like pumpkin!” Barty wailed dramatically, flopping onto Evan’s bed. Regulus rolled his eyes with a smile, shifting the vegetable to one side to waggle his fingers at Barty as he passed.
“Drama queen. Yeah, I don't feel like scraping pumpkin guts off the floor tonight. Bathtub it is!” Regulus affirmed, and Evan took the pumpkin off him, carrying it to the bathroom. Barty groaned, burying his face in a pillow. "I ain't no drama queen." Regulus snorted again, shaking his head.
“Oh! What did you guys get on that Charms essay we wrote last week?” Regulus asked, rolling his sleeves up to join Evan kneeling in front of the bathtub. Barty felt apprehensive about this conversation. He didn’t do well, and he didn’t want his friends to know.
“I got Exceeds Expectations. But I know I could’ve easily gotten an Outstanding,” Evan replied, stabbing the pumpkin with his scissors. Regulus hummed.
“I did get an Outstanding, but I put more effort than you did, so.” Regulus nudged Evan playfully, and Evan kicked him in return. Barty felt like shit; he got a Poor on his essay. He rolled over and got off the bed, wanting to change the conversation.
“Hey Ev, d’you mind if I copy your Transfiguration homework?” Barty asked, already rummaging around Evan’s book bag for the parchment. He found the homework, Evan’s writing all neat and precise. Barty turned to face Evan, but he could only see half of his face due to the doorframe. Regulus had taken control of the scissors and was pretending not to listen to their conversation. Evan was looking at Barty with a slight frown, gaze hard. “Yeah, ok, Bee,” he said, voice soft in contrast to his eyes. Barty swallowed, muttering a quick ‘thanks’ and making his way over to his bed to copy the homework. Evan had said he could copy, but Barty couldn’t shake the feeling that he had disappointed Evan.
***
“He is most certainly hiding something, isn’t he?”
They were in the Great Hall, enjoying the beautiful Halloween feast, Jack-’O-Lanterns floating above their heads. It was very loud, and the three boys could easily have a conversation without being overheard. Evan nodded in agreement.
“Oh, for sure! My guess is that he has a secret girlfriend that he hasn’t told us about,” Evan said slyly, to which Regulus frowned and turned around to listen in.
“Who’s got a secret girlfriend?” He asked, genuinely confused.
“You!” Evan and Barty yelled, attracting the attention of some passing fourth-years. Barty chuckled. “C’mon, if you have a girlfriend you have to tell us!” He exclaimed, shaking Evan’s shoulder in excitement.
“Oh, no, I don’t have a girlfriend,” Regulus declared.
“Then where do you keep disappearing off to?” Barty taunted, grinning.
“Nowhere,” Regulus replied crisply, not meeting their eyes. Evan sensed his tone immediately, and dropped the act.
“Oh, sorry mate. We were just making fun,” he said with a shrug. “Ooh, look, dessert!” And, indeed, plates of millionaire shortbread were showing up on the table. The three boys piled their plates as much as they could, talking about their favourite desserts, the previous trouble forgotten.
Once he was full and feeling slightly sick, Regulus announced that he was going to the dungeons, with Barty and Evan right behind him, groaning about how stuffed they were. They entered their dorm, kicking off shoes and dumping robes onto the floor. Regulus went off to get changed and brush his teeth, closing the bathroom door behind him. Barty sat on Evan’s bed, trying to loosen his tie, but he accidentally made it tighter, and he pulled it in annoyance.
“Stupid things! Why do we have to wear ties anyway?” He groaned, pulling at his collar as if that was going to help.
“Barty, calm down. I’ll help you, here.” Evan stood in front of Barty, in between his legs, picking at the knot Barty had created. Barty looked up at him, silent. “There, dummy. The more you pull it, the worse it gets.” Evan stepped back, throwing the tie onto the mattress behind Barty.
“Thanks, Ev. ‘Preciate it,” Barty said, making his way to his own bed to get changed.
“Oi - don’t forget the bloody thing.” Evan tossed Barty’s tie from where it lay on Evan’s bed at him. The tie hit Barty square in the face.
“You bitch!” Barty yelled, throwing it back but missing him. Evan laughed, and Barty tackled him onto the bed, trying to suffocate him with a pillow.
Regulus exited the bathroom, tossed his uniform into his trunk. “Barty, if you kill him here we will have to carry the body all the way up those stairs. Now, I don’t know about you, but I do not fancy our chances of getting outside unnoticed,” Regulus said, deadpan. Barty laughed, getting off Evan who made noises of indigence.
“You guys are just weak. I could carry Barty all the way out of this castle by myself,” he claimed, flexing to show off his muscles.
“Fuck off, you could. You ain’t got nothing there!” Barty laughed, earning a book thrown at him. Regulus grinned, drawing the curtains around his bed.
“Night, guys.”
“Night, Regulus,” Barty answered.
“...No goodnight for me?”
“No. You’re an asshole.”
Evan sniggered. “Goodnight, Regulus. Goodnight, Bee.”
Barty sighed, unable to get a smile off his lips. “...Goodnight, Ev.”