[MP] fingers like snakes and spiders in your hair [Barbie/Nell/Síthmaith]

It had been an amazing day so far, and it was about to get even better! Free sweets! First of all, the afternoon classes had been cancelled which meant that he and Barbie had gone for lunch in Hogsmeade. And it had been a date-lunch! Now they were wandering to meet the others outside Honeyduke’s to go guising as a group. Nell had tried to convince Owain that she had other people to go with, but he was convinced the more, the merrier. He was holding onto Barbie’s hand with his left, and clutched in his right was a giant Circe Famous Wizard card. It was only distinguishable as Circe because it had her name on it. Otherwise it was a painted piece of cardboard with a peach coloured blob in the middle as a face.

Barbie and him were dressed in matching costumes - a fact he was thrilled with! They had decided on sweet-themed so she was an ice mouse (a very cute mouse he had told her earlier), and he was a chocolate frog, hence the attempted card. Owain had enlisted his older sister Nia to help with the costume - which she had only agreed to do after demanding all the details about the date (girls were so weird) - and he was wearing brown trousers & a brown top and had a headband with cut out frog eyes stuck onto it. He planned on ribbet-ing every so often for good measure too.

He was rather full from lunch but figured there was always room for sweets - especially on Halloween! Barbie and him had prepared a short jig to perform to the Hogsmeade residents that they visited. Well, those that opened their doors anyway. He imagined there would be a few unwilling to have the entirety of Hogwarts at their door. That would certainly be a lot of candy to buy and give out! Although, either Nell or Nia had told him about a town in America where the Ministry paid for the candy because so many people went guising in the area! The Americans called it trick-or-treating though. Owain thought trick-or-treating sounded better, but then again America didn’t get to experience the delights of Calan Gaeaf and fire dancing. It was important to properly welcome winter after all.

Hogsmeade looked incredible today. The street was covered in swooping cobwebs and flickering turnips carved into ghoulish faces. There was the sound of distant cackling in the air, as if the hag spirits who normally stayed away were closing in, ready to trap unsuspecting children. And, despite it only being afternoon, a darkness seemed to linger over the village as if the light was being blocked out. The main sources of light came from the bonfires in the squares. The huge towers of flame leaping upwards and smoke billowing into the air. There was people crowded around them, preparing for the Samhuinn celebrations later on. According to his older cousins, the party afterwards was amazing. But they would never tell Owain why... he could only assume that it involved more fire and alcohol.

Spotting Nell through the crush of people, Owain tightened his grip on Barbie’s hand to speed up towards his best friend. “There’s Nell!” He said excitedly, before calling out her name repeatedly. He waved the Circe cardboard card above his head until he’d got her attention, and moved closer to the wall of the building. Out of the crush of people entering and exiting the popular sweet shop. “Hey Nell!” He greeted, bouncing on the balls of his feet. He was excited for guising but also directing his gaze rapidly between Nell’s face and his and Barbie’s joined hands - trying to show that the date had gone well, really well!

“I love your costume!” His enthusiasm completely genuine, he smiled between his two favourite people. This would be great! “Is anyone else joining us?” So focused on his best friend and possibly more than a friend, he didn’t notice anyone else around them.

@Barbara Gibson  @Nell Jenkins  @Síthmaith Ó Síoda

When the Halloween surprise had been revealed on Friday afternoon, Síthmaith had had her own little surprise for Nell; she had never properly celebrated Halloween before. Nell, who had gone trick-or-treating every year in primary school with her friends, was perplexed at the thought. She’d had to explain what exactly the purpose of dressing up was, and how it had evolved from the traditional (and altogether more terrifying) costumes, to the more modern interpretation of the present day. Nell had owled home to ask her father for photographs; examples of what was expected. He’d come through, and Nell had shown Síthmaith childhood photographs of Nell in various costumes; a mummy, a pirate, and (ironically) a witch – green skinned and warty, with a big pointy hat and a broom.

Síth had said she would work on her costume alone, so Nell did the same. She had initially been reluctant to dress up at all, but for the sake of her dorm mate, she figured she could give it a go. The next problem was figuring out exactly what she wanted to be. She was stumped for a crucial two days – two days in which she probably could have acquired a better costume. It came down to what was easily accessible from Hogwarts and wouldn’t cost the earth. Oh, and she didn’t really want to explain who she was to everyone constantly, so she wouldn’t be dressing as a muggle pop culture icon of any kind.

Nell and Síthmaith ate lunch in the Great Hall, then headed down to the dungeons to get ready. Nell had asked around and found someone who had temporary hair-dye potion… in black. She wasn’t a natural with makeup, but had asked Síth to start her off with a request for ‘dark eyes, pale skin, red lips’ and no further instructions. While the other girl had been changing, Nell had taken to herself with fake blood and given herself a vampire bite on her neck, and strategically poured some dribbling from the corner of her mouth. Fake fangs in place, the most challenging part of the costume had come last: convincing herself into a dress. Outside of the skirt required for her uniform, Nell didn’t wear dresses. She supposed that, at least, this was black. She had some old stockings that she tore ladders into, and her trusty boots. All in all, as she looked in the mirror, she was happy with the end result.

Both girls had squealed with delight at seeing one another in full costume (Nell marginally less excitable, but trying her best for Síthmaith’s benefit). Nell thought her companion looked more cute than scary, but as they walked to Hogsmeade hand-in-hand, Nell figured the split between scary-sexy-cute was relatively even. The village looked amazing; there were giant cobwebs looming between buildings and the streets were lit by bobbing, carved pumpkins and turnips. There were blazing bonfires and spooky music and the rest of Hogwarts all dressed up in costume. It was certainly a world away from the trick-or-treating of her childhood.

Nell tugged at Síthmaith’s hand gently and directed them to one of the stands next to Honeydukes giving out toffee apples. She took one from the witch with a smile and a “Thank you,” before turning back to face her housemate. “Have you had one of these before?” she asked with a slow smile. “Watch your teeth,” she warned, remembering having lost a baby tooth to one once— then realised she would have to remove her fangs if she wanted to eat hers. Her face fell; she supposed she could save it for later – they didn’t really start to go off until you bit in and exposed the flesh to oxygen.

Nell! Nell!

The blonde—black-haired witch turned to see Owain – and Barbie in tow – bounding towards them. A slow smirk spread across her lips, fangs peeking out, as she spotted Owain holding Barbie’s hand. “Thanks,” she smiled, in what she thought was a friendly expression, though her teeth and dark makeup may have made a different impression, “you guys look cute. Matching?” 

She stared hard at Owain and felt Síthmaith shift beside her. “Yeah,” she replied, glancing down at her own hand, held in that of her fellow Slytherin. “This is Síthmaith,” she glanced at Barbie, “Barbara.” She leant to whisper in Síth's ear, "They've been on a date." She grinned and glanced around their immediate vicinity before meeting Barbie and then Owain's eyes. “I asked Donna and a few others but they didn’t say.” She shrugged. She knew how Donna felt about Slytherins. “If we bump into them we can just join up.” 

Síthmaith had eagerly anticipated the evening of Hallowe’en; not only that the event would be held in Hogsmeade, but the fifth year would be allowed to attend as well. The mere thought of visiting the Wizarding village on a special night such as that brought her joy beyond measure; she would finally get to experience the thrill of Hallowe’en, properly, for the first time in years. It was, truth be told, the first time she would properly celebrate the event after her parents’ deaths; in the end, how could she even think of even enjoying without restraint anything in between the walls of the place which had brought tragedy upon her life? Nonetheless, Síthmaith had decided not to dwell on that aspect of the castle as much as before; her parents would not have wished for her to feel such sadness, and the Slytherin had learned that it was for her own safety to always put on an act. For example, when her dormitory mate had invited her guising in Hogsmeade, with her friends, Síthmaith couldn’t refuse, despite knowing she would be associating herself with the wrong crowd. Still, it was for the best to maintain appearances, for she had worked particularly hard in silencing her native cheekiness around the vast majority of individuals, perhaps with the exception of two or three people.

The girl had, however, a massive culture shock, if she could even think of it in such a manner; it seemed that muggles would celebrate Hallowe’en differently and, truth be told, she had been rather confused the entire time Nell had explained to her all the muggle traditions. The Irish had found it all rather interesting, she had to admit; it was much to her own fortune that her inherent curiosity took over at times such as these, and Síthmaith found a certain stimulating sensation in understanding parts of the world that were utterly and completely unknown to her. She had consequently imposed many questions on Nell, her genuine torment and inquisitiveness surfacing; fortunately, that was a side of hers she needn’t repress. Her desire to know everything, the answers to all possible questions, was an aspect of her facade which forever remained true to herself. Still, Síthmaith had found herself unable to wholly bury her rotten, spoiled self; upon understanding that some enjoyed wearing costumes which were, well, terrifying, with the mere purpose of scaring others, the Irish had not managed to suppress her cheekiness; however, she had revealed her vivid cynicism to someone who’d perfectly understand her, the one person whom meant the world to her, her godfather. In her last letter to Gaius, Síthmaith hadn’t abstained herself from revealing to her guardian the recent events, and, as such, exposing the thought she’d had when Nell had explained muggle traditions — I suppose the most terrifying, considering the group, would be me dressing up like dearest Aunt Bella. Naturally, her godfather had not only appreciated, but also enjoyed her idea, despite both agreeing that it would be highly inappropriate.

Regardless, Síthmaith had been grateful to Nell for satisfying her never-ending curiosity and, as such, decided to surprise her dormitory mate by figuring out her own costume — something, obviously, appropriate for the occasion and the company. She’d parted with Nell after doing her make-up, and Síthmaith had found herself a bit at a loss regarding her own outfit; while she’d informed her house elves at home that she would fancy a black cat attire for Hallowe’en, it seemed that they had gone completely overboard with it all; she’d wondered if her godfather wasn’t giving them enough orders, for they had been over the top with her own request. The outfit, as per her request, was technically simple; a black leather outfit, simple, with a tail enchanted to move according to Síthmaith’s mood, and with a pair of black boots with high heels, around six centimetres tall, but the heels were thick enough for the girl not to be uncomfortable in them. Her dark wavy tresses were let loose and the Slytherin had used a headband with cat ears attached, which, similar to the tail, were charmed to move around according to her mood. Her make-up had been a bit less eccentric, the Slytherin girl opting for a winged eyeliner, thus creating the illusion of cat eyes, and a deep red lipstick, as to add a little bit of colour to her otherwise very dark outfit. Overall, she supposed the costume was alright; perhaps a bit too tight, for it revealed curves Síthmaith herself hadn’t been aware she possessed.

When she’d reunited with Nell, the Irish had gotten suddenly terribly excited, squeeing with joy — it was going to happen, guising in Hogsmeade for Hallowe’en. She had decided that regardless of the circle, Síthmaith would enjoy herself and, as always, be an especially pleasant companion herself. Nonetheless, her state of nervousness had made itself known, for butterflies in her stomach could soon be felt; if she hadn’t known better, the girl would’ve said the butterflies were also teenagers such as herself, for the anxiety and shyness suddenly overwhelmed her. She’d taken Nell’s hand, entwining their fingers, feeling warmth and security coming from that mere gesture. Ultimately, she felt grateful to her friend for inviting her and offering her the chance of experiencing something completely new; if anything, she had something thrilling to finally share with her godfather. An adventure.

Hogsmeade was simply mesmerising; Síthmaith felt hypnotised by the decorations, by the people. She suddenly remembered the parties she would attend with her parents as a child, and a sentiment of nostalgia came upon her. It wasn’t bitter, nor sad, but she felt as if everything was finally getting better for her. Gaius being released was a blessing to her, for her life had suddenly changed for the best. The blazing bonfires and sinister music were a treat on their own, but when they reached Honeydukes and Nell had offered her a toffee apple, Síthmaith couldn’t but widen her eyes with childish curiosity. “No.” She said, a wide smile surfacing, as she took a bite, and moaned with delight at the delicious taste. Sticking to her costume, the Slytherin licked her lips, but found slight embarrassment in the gesture, her cheeks slightly flushing.

A somewhat familiar voice could be heard; the famous Owain, Nell’s friend. Síthmaith knew little to almost nothing about the Gryffindor boy, despite being year mates. She’d been aware he existed, for they’d had a fair amount of classes together throughout the years, but the Slytherin couldn’t recall the two of them ever exchanging words. In the end, due to her status, Gryffindors came off as her natural enemies; the house of Harry Potter was nothing but a curse on its own, and their red represented nothing but Síthmaith’s fury towards the aftermath of the War. Still, she’d never shown resentment, and she would not start doing so tonight. She took another bite out of the toffee apple, her eyebrow arching and the cat ears slightly moving with interest as Nell inquired whether their companions for the evening were matching; why would they be matching? Was that a muggle fashion? Síthmaith found herself particularly curious, and thus slightly tightening her grip on Nell’s hand.

Nell had made the introductions, and as she swallowed, Síthmaith politely smiled in the direction of the two, and nodded once, revealing nothing but a royal elegance and warmth. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She suddenly realised that, between Nell and Owain’s accents, her Irish one was particularly noticeable; a sentiment of pride came upon her, for she had enjoyed the obviously superior refinement. Nell soon leaned in, and informed Síthmaith of the reason why exactly the two were matching — they were an item, and had been on a date beforehand. A coy smile appeared on her face, and her cat’s tail moved, to flip her curls over her shoulder. “Is this a double date then?” She couldn’t but reveal her slight, playful cheekiness in such a situation; it had been impossible for her not to. “How purr-fect.” Síthmaith giggled, and then took another bite from her toffee apple, slowly munching on it, as she curiously eyed the couple in front of her.

[[ ooc;; permission from @Gavin to mention Gaius <33 ]]

Winter was on its way: it was only late afternoon but already the daylight was waning a little, the sky tinting beautifully with the first vestiges of sunset. Barbara hadn’t brought a warm jacket, and was starting to feel chilly in just her cardigan. She stepped closer to Owain as they walked, looking absently for anybody she recognised behind their costumes (someone from ballet, some Ravenclaws in her year, a gaggle of first years) until he sped up, spotting Nell.

Nell was dressed so impressively— holey stockings and harsh makeup and fake blood. Barbie, conscious that her own costume seemed so juvenile in comparison, tucked her hair behind her ear as they approached. She had shoes with little heels, an inch high, back in her dorm. Now that she wasn’t only with Owain she wished she’d worn them. Nell and her friend weren’t particularly tall, but they were taller— and older— than she was. And they both had clunkier, taller shoes than Barbie did.

“You look very nice,” she told the other girls. She’d just been introduced, and knew it was bad form to have immediately missed what Nell’s friend was named, but it was better to ask than to guess wrong later, right? Right? She coughed with embarrassment— "What was your name again, sorry?"

In Owain’s hand, her own was getting uncomfortably sweaty; she adjusted her grip and glanced upwards at him in apology, then glanced back at Síthmaith as she asked if this was a double date. “Oh, I mean,” she said, “if… that’s what’s going on, then I guess.”

Barbara didn’t live under a rock— her sister had explained it when she was about ten, that some boys liked boys and some girls liked girls— but she always forgot it was like, a thing. She hoped none of them thought she was being judgmental, but she couldn’t keep herself from sending Owain an alarmed, questioning glance. She didn’t know Nell or her friend well— but neither girl seemed the type, did they? They had long hair. Well, Nell’s was sort of short— but it was dyed, she thought.

“Do you have a dance, or something?” she asked them, to offset her silence, in case it could be interpreted as rude. She cast a glance up at Síthmaith’s costume again— so grown-up, the entire ensemble. The sort of thing Barbara couldn't pull off in a million years, when she was short and blonde and babyfaced. She gestured at the ears, “Did you Charm those yourself? They’re very good.”

Síthmaith. How many owls had he received off his mother in the last month about the Slytherin girl? At least one every few days. Aileen was terrified that now that Síthmaith’s Death Eater Godfather had been released, she was going to do something to Nell. And she wasn’t taking any chances. Owain was sure he hadn’t been the only one she had owl-ed. His mum had certainly offered to kick up a fuss to get Nell moved houses before. But, his fellow fifth year had never done anything to Nell so far at Hogwarts, so he wasn’t entirely sure that she would start now. And Nell liked her so she couldn’t be all bad…

Nevertheless, Owain would not be mentioning Síthmaith if his mum decided to ask him what they got up to for Halloween. He would certainly have plenty to talk about without bringing up the Slytherin. “Hey Síthmaith,” he said, hoping that Barbie would pick up her name without the girl having to repeat it. Why were her and Nell holding hands? Was it a girl thing? Part of him wanted to drag Nell away from the scary Slytherin, the other part that just went by other’s cues just shrugged as she seemed happy enough. Although, a double date? Were Nell and Síthmaith dating?! He was sure he would have known if they were. Owain certainly would be offended if Nell hadn’t told him. They told each other everything!

He shot a glare at Nell before replying. Hopefully the look summed up that he was mad about not being kept in the loop, not that she was possibly dating the child of a Death Eater. Barbie also seemed similarly confused, but then why would she know if he didn’t? Unless it was some sort of girly gossip throughout the castle. “Surely that’s up to you?” He asked pointedly, eyes on Síthmaith. If it was a double date then she better not do anything to hurt Nell. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if Nell got hurt but with Nia’s help, he was sure he could come up with something vicious as punishment. Nell was the best, she didn’t deserve to get led on by a rich pureblood.

Nodding along with Barbie’s question, he added at the end. “Yeah, do you have your skit organised? We’ve got a dance!” Owain was pretty excited by their silly, little dance. It involved a lot of lifts and spinning and they had worked hard so that they didn’t break into giggles while doing it. Although he would just have to chuck his famous witch card on the ground while performing it. Oh well, it wasn’t meant to last past the afternoon anyway. He knew Donna would not be happy about spending the afternoon with Síthmaith so he doubted she would show. Being polite meant that he refrained from saying that out loud. “Yeah, they can catch us up if they want.” He agreed with Nell, a look between them to say how unlikely that was.

Eager to actually get going and earn some candy, Owain bounced a little, looking down a street with houses on it. “Shall we go?” He asked enthusiastically, “Gotta start before the good sweets run out!” He may have eaten at The Three Broomsticks but that was lunch food. It was now time for guising food. Still holding Barbie’s hand, he started to lollop along the crowded street before realising something. He stopped and looked back at the Slytherins. “Are you going to be okay in your shoes?” He asked, “like, they look uncomfy? Can you keep up?” Owain was just wearing normal shoes and Barbie had shoes that matched her costume but had been able to skip and run along with him just fine. He didn’t want to be held up later when the girls started complaining about sore feet. They had lots of places to be after all!

Nell smiled warmly at Barbie; plastic fangs bared. “Thanks,” she gestured at the petite blonde’s costume, “if I’d had more time I would have done something more imaginative like yours. Took me ages to think of something so this was it.” She shrugged, “Do real vampires even look like this? I just went off what they show in the movies.”

The fifth year grinned mischievously at Síthmaith declaring this a ‘double date’. That was not what it was but she was fine to play along for a bit of Hallowe’en fun – it counted as a trick, right? She could tell Owain later, he’d see the funny side surely. Nell couldn’t help hide her eyeroll at her housemate’s terrible pun, however. “Sure,” she replied enigmatically; let Barbie and Owain think what they wanted about the unlikely pairing – and Nell knew it wasn’t just their gender that would raise questions.

“Uh, no,” Nell smirked. “I guess we’ll just make something up on the spot.” Honestly, she had never experienced people actually wanting trick-or-treaters to do anything. Usually children were shoved a handful of sweets to get rid of them as soon as possible without having to endure any further torture – Nell knew that would be her approach, anyway. Maybe witches and wizards were different and they actually enjoyed that sort of thing. “A dance? Cool.” She didn’t miss the look of understanding that crossed over Owain’s face at Nell’s brushing off of Donna coming with – at least he wasn’t stupid enough to say anything further on it.

She winked at Owain as Barbie complimented Síthmaith on her charmed cat ears. Nell was glad that he’d finally plucked up the courage to do something about his longstanding crush, even if it meant she now had to be a firsthand witness to whatever was going to unfold – she had tried hinting to Owain that perhaps it would be better for he and Barbie to spend the whole evening together, but in typical Owain fashion he didn’t really do subtlety. “Yeah, let’s go,” Nell nodded, then laughed. “Yeah, we’ll be fine. No dancing for us that’s all.” Her own shoes were relatively flat, just chunky. Sith, however, was wearing heels. Maybe the Irish girl would bow out early – Nell wondered if she’d want to go with her or stay with Owain and Barbie. She had no desire to be a third wheel, anyway.

They began heading down the nearest cobbled street, Nell still holding hands with her housemate – part friendly gesture, part trick, part genuine support for Síthmaith’s heels on the cobblestones. “Why don’t you two get the first one?”

Barbie could feel her face turning pink with Nell’s praise; “Oh ,” she said, “Thank you.” She was grateful when the conversation turned back to the other girls’ costumes— recalling suddenly that Nell was Muggleborn, she rushed quickly to be helpful. “I’ve never met a vampire,” she said, “But you got the pale right, I reckon.” She didn’t really think a vampire would wear anything like what Nell was— it was dark and modest enough, sure, but very modern— but she wasn’t going to be rude.

She knew little about Síthmaith— they were in different houses and years— but the little she thought she’d heard hadn’t made her and Nell seem a likely pair. Nell’s smile at the words had seemed less like what Barbara imagined her own face to have looked all day, though— less sappy and pleased, and more knowing— and “sure” wasn’t a definite yes. (Wasn’t it? She couldn’t say. But then she could analyse it for the rest of the night and get nowhere.)

As the older students talked around her she busied herself with swishing the skirt of her dress back and forth, staring down at it with some embarrassment. Owain knew the girls far better than she did, and Barbara almost wished that Donna Russell would show up just so they could get back to swapping introductions and pleasantries, something she could do so much more easily than this. Luckily Nell seemed to catch on, belatedly, to her detachment; she suggested pointedly to Owain that the two head off first, and that the Slytherins could tag behind. (Barbie cast a look downward at Síthmaith’s shoes, and understood quickly.) “Alright,” she said, in a small voice; “See you ‘round, then.” She squeezed Owain’s hand in her own, as if to signal him that she was by all means going to take this out.

She hadn’t meant to make anybody feel bad, at all— as she and Owain headed to the first house Barbie tried to determine whether she was right to feel so guilty. (She’d had all afternoon for her date, and it was selfish to be so glad that it would get to sort-of continue, if Nell and Síthmaith stayed tagging behind. But, at the same time, she was still very glad.)

Barbara took it upon herself to knock sharply on the door, since she had a free hand and Owain had an enormous cardboard Chocolate Frog card, and peered curiously over her shoulder to see whether the others were catching up. “Sorry if I scared ‘em off,” she said, less because she was and more because she wanted Owain to reassure her that she hadn’t.

With little thought to why Nell and Sith were going to catch them up, Owain merrily pulled Barbie towards the first house. Let the girls take their time, he was on a mission. He was getting candy! He only looked back in curiosity when Barbie did. Why would Barbie scare them off? She was the least scary thing ever! Especially dressed as a ice mouse on Halloween! “Nah,” he said easily, as he waited for the door to open, “you didn’t. I suppose it’d have been weird anyway if we had a dance and they didn’t. We can just look better.” He added conspiratorially. Hopefully they would get more sweets with a dance routine rather than just showing up at people’s doors. He certainly had never gotten anything for just standing there.

“Happy Halloween!” He exclaimed, jerking away from where he’d been muttering in Barbie’s ear before the door opened. The woman behind the door looked slightly perturbed to see more Hogwarts students but, honestly, what did she expect. Regardless, Owain wasn’t put off by her lack of enthusiasm at their appearance. He could see the bag of sweets sitting just out of reach behind her feet. In a short while, the contents would be theirs.

Quickly dropping the giant Chocolate Frog card on the doorstep, he turned to Barbie and grabbed her hands in his. “You ready?” He asked quietly. He was sure that she was. When was she not ready to dance, but it didn’t hurt to be sure. With her confirmation, he gave her a secret grin, the kind shared between two people who had known each other since childhood and gave her hands a sharp squeeze before releasing one. Now that they were only holding one hand each, still facing each other, they could begin their routine.

It started off pretty simply. Their hands raised between them so they could step towards and away from each other while turning in a tight circle. Their free hands were posturing away from their bodies, making the most of wrist movements to make it seem more extravagant. Owain counted to eight in his head, or, until they had done two full circles before pulling Barbie into a twirl that left them facing their audience front on.

He loved dancing with Barbie. She was his favourite partner, and it was always a source of contention that they were rarely paired up for practices and performances. Apparently Barbie was too short for him, and was normally consigned to roles without a male partner. Owain personally believed that Barbie was amazing in those roles, but she would be amazing in any other role too. And, really, just look at them together. They were clearly superior to any couple the teachers could make.

With a quick glance to his side to smile down at Barbie, he let his feet move to the rhythm, alternating between kicks, pas de basque and jettes in the arrangement they had spent days, if not weeks perfecting. Meeting in their courtyard to giggle their way through the silly routine had been the best part of his days. It had almost been better than this. Who cared about candy when it meant the end to those secret practice sessions?

They’d worked very hard, choreographing and practicing their dance, but there was only so much they could do to make up for vast height difference. It was a little awkward, if you asked Barbara— unless you were Owain, since she’d told him she thought it was cute. Which it was, but also, quite awkward.

(He’d squeezed her hand, and she couldn’t help but wonder what was going through his head. She’d done it back and she’d thought, oh I can’t believe I’m holding his hand. He’d probably thought something less sappy, he was a boy— but it was nice to think about, that he might be as giddy with tonight as she was.)

Even if it was awkward, she was enjoying herself, enjoying the dance, enjoying the way they skipped around each other, the little moments that they held hands or brushed up against each other. Her feet were starting to get a bit pinched in her shoes, as she skipped, and she’d been worried all day that she’d get mud on her white socks, or that she’d muss her hair and look ugly and nobody would tell her so, but even with the dance— the most surefire way to get mud on her socks or muss her hair— she was too distracted and giddy to be worried.

The woman at the door seemed amused by their dance, and as they stood frozen in their finishing pose, she cracked a smile; Barbie grinned with relief and curtsied before she half spun trying to swing her candy bag off her shoulder. She hesitated for a moment, as though to let Owain get candy first, before she decided that ladies went first and took a step forward to open her bag.

“Thank you!” she remembered to say, just before the woman’s door closed; Barbie reached for Owain’s hand, squeezed it. Halloween was far from her favourite holiday, and although there was some novelty in being here with him, as a student, Hogsmeade was still the same town she’d spent her entire life in; by rights this shouldn’t have been as good a night as it was looking. And, even as they knocked on the next door and she gave him a wide grin in anticipation, even as happy as she was to be there with Owain in the moment, she was beside herself with excitement at the idea of telling her friends that she’d had a good date, that she was so excited— and so scared!!— for whatever came next.

Okay, he cared a bit about candy.

At the end of their little dance, he had nearly forgotten about ladies first before remembering at the last second and letting Barbie fill her bag first. Owain had opened doors and everything since they had left Hogwarts together, he couldn’t mess up now! After Barbie had her share, Owain took his own portion. Yes! They had sugar quills! And fizzing whizzbees! They would certainly have a feast by the end of the day - and this had only been their first stop!

With Barbie holding his hand though, Owain felt like he didn’t need fizzing whizzbees in order to float. And he couldn’t help his wide grin and the twirl he dragged Barbie into as they made their way away from the woman’s door. “That was great!” He exclaimed excitedly, still trying to spin his date. The number of guisers out and about was sort of making it quite difficult however. He couldn’t even see vampire-Nell and cat-Sith anymore. Owain hoped that Nell didn’t think they’d been abandoned. They were meant to be going around together after all.

But with Barbie smiling at him it was hard to be too concerned. He could apologise to Nell later, around the same time when he asked her what in Merlin’s name was going on with Sith. And to be careful before his mum sent yet another letter.

As they performed their dance at the next house for more chocolate and sweets, Owain found himself unable to stop smiling. This was shaping up to being the best Halloween ever and it wasn’t even over yet. He could only hope, fingers crossed, throw sand over his shoulder, turn around three times fast, that it was going to continue as amazing as it had started. The day. And what came next.

[OUT]