The Hogwarts Hocus Halloween Hextravaganza, Before Midnight.

[pumpkinpatchsir.livejournal.com]

((Okay, the party will be divided into two parts, one taking place before midnight, and one after the Halloween spell is starting to work. This is the first part, obviously. The other will be posted immediately afterwards but takes place roughly five hours later or so, in game time. Remember, this post is for partying only, and no people-turning-into-their-costumes crack!))

ASK NOT FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS, IT TOLLS FOR THEE

Jack watched the words that were magically carved above the door to the Great Hall, in plain view of everyone entering it, and he smiled secretively. Everything was set. Tonight was going to be interesting. Who would have known magic could prove to be so useful? He made a mental note to investigate this even more for next year. Now that Sally was here, he'd be able to discuss it with her at great length. She always had such lovely ideas.

Since Jack was not exactly a beginner in the scaring people business he had carefully checked out the atmosphere of Hogwarts and gotten a distinct impression of what was considered frightening here. Outside the Great Hall the lights were out and shadows lurked in the corners. At irregular intervals (but always when one was least expecting it) the mad cackle of a deranged evil clown echoed through the Entrance Hall. Small cats black as midnight stroke around the walls, not speaking to anyone but constantly smiling evilly at anyone passing them, showing gleaming, pointed teeth. Also, because Jack never had it in him to resist the absolute classics, bats were hanging upside-down near the ceiling.

Inside the Great Hall, it was less dark and spooky, but still obviously Halloween. Cool white mist was trickling along the floor. Jack-o’-lanterns hovered in the air around an area cleared for dancing. Along one wall stood a large table with various Halloween treats: pumpkin pie, candy corn, toffee apples, hot cider, mini-cakes and a large bowl of punch.

The Halloween party could begin.

Comments

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

Stephen saw no need for elaborate costuming. He simply put on one of the suits of clothing he had brought with him to Hogwarts from the 19th century.

In effect, he was dressed as himself.

He had arranged to meet Jack Aubrey at the party, since they lived in different Houses. When he arrived, he looked around for his friend, and did not see him; perhaps Jack had bestirred himself to achieve some greater height of costuming? Anything was possible. Jack had once told him that as a young midshipman, he'd played the role of Ophelia in a shipboard play ...

In the meantime, Stephen would have a look around. He wondered idly whether anyone here did not know he was originally from the 19th century, and might actually think he had gone to some trouble.

[slothbefouler.livejournal.com]

Jack had no idea people were supposed to wear costumes for Halloween. He had attired himself splendidly in his full dress uniform (http://www.militaryheritage.com/images/rn_capt1.jpg), which he had never had occasion to wear at Hogwarts. On his way to the party, he amused himself by thinking of how Killick would carry on if he spilled so much as a drop of wine on the spotless fabric.

Upon entering the hall, he saw that it was, in fact, a fancy dress ball, and felt a bit abashed. Why hadn't Stephen told him? Oh well - maybe people who didn't know him would think his uniform was a costume.

"Hello, Stephen!" he called happily, catching sight of his particular friend. "How goes it with you this evening, brother?"

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

Stephen could be absent-minded at times, to say the least, when it came to things that did not matter to him very much, such as clothing. Had Killick been at Hogwarts, he would certainly have reminded Stephen to tell Jack costumes would be expected, and he would likely have prevailed upon Stephen to wear some kind of costume himself. No Killick meant that Hogwarts was lucky Stephen was wearing anything at all.

So Stephen assumed that Jack had been as sensible, or as lazy, as he himself had been, and thought nothing of the uniform. "It goes, it goes," he said, smiling. "I vow I have not seen such a spectacle before, even at this school." A wave indicated the decor of the Hall. "Either this holiday has taken on a significance unknown to me, or I do not keep my students busy enough, they having the time for this extent of pageantry."

[slothbefouler.livejournal.com]

"I confess I do not understand it myself," said Jack, surveying the jack-o-lanterns, bats, and other spooky decor. "I thought this was a religious holiday, myself. Though admittedly I do not know much about your Papist festivities." He glanced at the food laid out on the table, most of which was unfamiliar to him, and pointed to an odd-looking sort of pie (pumpkin pie, in fact). "Pray, what is that - do you know?" The brown substance did not look entirely edible.

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

Stephen had not spent the past months trapped in a magic loo, and had become somewhat more familiar with wizarding cuisine than his friend could have been. "It is a pie made of a gourd called pumpkin. For reasons quite unknown to me, wizards have a great love of this gourd, and drink even its juice, something I confess I am not sure how they milk from it, its flesh being fibrous. You may eat it safely enough, brother."

[slothbefouler.livejournal.com]

Jack trusted Stephen's knowledge of the properties of plants and vegetables and things, so he took up a piece of pie and a fork, and tasted the pie tentatively. "It is very good," he said, surprised, and rapidly devoured the rest of the piece, scraping the plate when he was done. "Now, what have you been up to since we last spoke, my dear? Have you been playing your cello at all?"

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

"I have had a good deal of time to play the 'cello recently," Stephen said, not without a certain grimness.

[slothbefouler.livejournal.com]

"Is that so?" Jack inquired, raising his eyebrows as he helped himself to another slice of pie.

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

Stephen was sure Jack took his meaning quite well. While Jack was no cloak-and-dagger man, least of all while ashore, he was not wholly unobservant, and this might well be the first time Jack had seen Stephen out of the company of his mistress since the captain emerged from the magic loo. It occurred to him now that Jack's memory had at times seemed riddled with lacunae, since that emergence; it could very well be that Jack did not remember Diana's death, and considered Stephen to have been playing Diana false this entire time; perhaps this was the meaning of the raised eyebrows.

"It is, too. Alas, I cannot claim my playing improves for the increase in practice."

[slothbefouler.livejournal.com]

In Jack's timeline, Stephen had only recently married Diana, but not being very attached to the notion of monogamy himself, he felt no particular disapproval of Stephen taking up with a mistress. It was only natural - Diana was far away, and Sarah was a beautiful young woman; any man would do the same (or at least, Jack would). His raised eyebrows indicated his suspicion that something had gone amiss between Stephen and Sarah, though he knew better than to ask directly. No doubt Stephen would tell him in good time.

"Well, then, perhaps it is for want of someone to practice with," Jack replied. "I am sorely out of practice myself. I would like to try that Bach partita we played that one time - do you remember? It was very fine."

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

For Stephen's purposes, he had just told Jack, and he likely would not say much further on the subject, if anything.

"I remember it well, that Bach partita," he said, and he did remember it. It warmed his heart to think of it. "Shall we try it again some evening soon, then? I imagine Aloysius can manage toasted cheese, or something approximating it."

[slothbefouler.livejournal.com]

"I would be glad of it, with or without toasted cheese," said Jack, pouring himself another glass of punch. (It was vilely sweet, but contained alcohol, and was no worse than the vinegary bilge occasionally served up as claret in the gunrooms of his various ships.) "I must tell you, Stephen, that though I have found good company here, I sorely miss the discourse of people from my own time." He was going to add that he missed the ocean, and Sophie and his children as well, but that probably went without saying.

[usethepoker.livejournal.com]

Susan, in her rather elaborate Berber costume, made her way over to Stephen. "I thought the point of a costume was to dress as something unusual," she said, smiling dryly under the veil. "Disguise your ordinary nature." So far as disguises went, her costume was near to perfect--she hightly doubted anybody could recognize the few inches of her face that remained visible.

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

Recognising the voice, Stephen turned with an approving grin. "Oh, well done, my dear; as ever, you are most sensible. As for myself, my ordinary nature being of little interest to anyone, I had no real impetus to disguise it." A self-deprecating shrug, a wry twist of the mouth. "What I had been accustomed to wear when I first came here likely seemed a costume to others anyhow. I may as well make use of it."

[usethepoker.livejournal.com]

"I wasn't about to let...personal concerns...keep me from the party," she said, adjusting the veil. "Though I must say, I don't know how anyone wearing this could ever accomplish any work. Decorative, but not at all functional."

She scanned the room, seeing many faces she didn't at all recognize--new people, she presumed. "I suppose you have a point," she said. "If you feel like you're wearing a costume every day, you may as well have one night of normalcy."

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

"What you wear is meant to serve a given purpose for the people whose native attire it is," Stephen said. "It has its function, if not for work; and it has a function now, as you wear it. Perhaps the function it serves now is the nobler one." He did not think there to be much danger in eating or drinking the refreshments provided, but out of habit, summoned Aloysius anyhow. "I have never cared much for the formalities of attire. The person beneath remains unchanged. This is my house-elf Aloysius, the second of that name, and he is as trustworthy as any. Would you like something, some tea perhaps? I should offer you wine, did I not think you would rather keep your wits about you tonight. Your veil is long enough that you may lift it only enough to admit a cup, and yet remain concealed."

[usethepoker.livejournal.com]

"I suppose you're right," she said. "After all, this really isn't any more outlandish than the things I've seen some people wearing. Though the thought of being one of those people for whom this is 'native attire' is a bit unpleasant--I certainly wouldn't want to wear this every day." She indicated the veil, the coins jangling slightly. "Though I will admit, the workmanship is beautiful--I've never had the patience or inclination for sewing, but whoever did this was an artist."

She inclined her head slightly at Aloysius, though she knew house-elves generally didn't understand such formalities. "Tea would be wonderful, thank you. Tempting as alcohol is, you're probably right." Thus far she'd seen no sign of Teatime, for which she was slightly relieved--unlike her, who could hide her most distinctive feature, he'd have a damned hard time disguising that glass eye of his.

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

The elf vanished at once, and reappeared with a tea tray. Stephen too would stick to the weaker drink tonight, if only in solidarity with his friend. Aloysius poured for them both.

"Artistry it is," he agreed, admiring the veil. He would not ask where she had acquired the costume. Hogwarts had a way of supplying these things. "Do you recall your charms and wards? I can show you again, fairly quickly, the charm that is used to ward conversations for silence, if you do not, in case you may need it at some time in the evening. I prefer not to use it when I can avoid it, since such a conversation can be conspicuous in its very silence, mind. You do have your wand with you, do you not?"

One should never be unarmed. There was no room even under that robe to conceal a fireplace poker, not and keep it from clanging to the ground.

[usethepoker.livejournal.com]

"I think most of them have come back to me, though I should probably double-check--I wouldn't want to charm my own nose off," she said, accepting the tea gratefully. Bending slightly, she freed her wand from her boot.

"I've got a bread-knife in the other one," she said. "Poker wouldn't fit, but I didn't want to go out wholly unarmed."

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

Balancing teacup and saucer in one hand, Stephen took his own wand from his coat with the other, and briefly demonstrated the warding charm, twice, to make sure that Susan could follow it. "And once you have done with it, you dispel it thusly," he said, showing her. "It is nowhere near as useful as stopping time, granted." Did she remember doing that, showing him that she could do that?

[usethepoker.livejournal.com]

She laughed dryly. "Stopping time is only useful for creatures who exist within time," she said. "Though admittedly it's difficult for anyone to notice, if you do it right. I'm afraid I've forgotten many spells, though," she added, somewhat frustrated. It came to something when your own mind let you down.

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

"Sure it is no great matter. You will pick them up again more quickly than you learnt them the first time, I should expect," Stephen said. "The wards for doors and such I should teach you as well, if you do not recall them."

[usethepoker.livejournal.com]

"That...would be a very good idea," she said. She thought she could recall one or two, but it would probably be wisest to have as many as possible. "On that vein, I'm wondering what would be the best approach to this entire...situation. A very large part of me wants to owl him and have done with it--I'm going to run across him sooner or later, and I'd rather do it on my own terms." She couldn't recall how free with information she'd been with Stephen, but he knew at least some of it, and surely there could be no harm in telling him that much.

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

Stephen thought for a moment. "You could do so, yes, if you wished to reveal to him what you did remember. Perhaps it might be wiser not to let on what you do recall, so that he cannot tell what you do not."

[usethepoker.livejournal.com]

She considered this. "You mean, let him believe I recall nothing of my previous association with him?" Gods, that could get...sticky. "That might do more harm than good, if he thought my lack of memory might make me vulnerable...he'd likely double his efforts."

Beneath the veil she bit her lip thoughtfully. She knew that once she had had a contract with Teatime--a bodyguard contract, effectively pre-empting any attempts he might make on her life. She had no idea if she'd told Stephen about it, but for now she felt it best to err on the side of caution and not mention it.