Hermione's Plan
Fall Term Part 3 - On to Halloween
By Chem Prof
Chapter 26, Fall Term Part 3, On To Halloween
December 22 yet again
When they had finished swimming Hermione went over to the sunning area and stretched out on a lounge chair. She could tell that Harry was still skeptical about whether they could actually get a suntan but she also knew he wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to join her as she was laying out wearing just a tiny string bikini bottom. As he settled into the lounge chair next to her she explained that even though it wouldn’t be nearly as effective as being outdoors in the summer, she tanned relatively rapidly and she wanted to have a bit more color in her skin with her wedding dress.
After a time spent with her eyes closed, just thinking about what they had been reading, Hermione got a mischievous look on her face. Turning toward Harry she teased, “So, did that incident with Ginny change your mind about who you’d like to be on a topless beach with?”
Harry grinned at her, but denied her the satisfaction of being flustered by her question. “Nope. She looked pretty good, but I like the way you look better. You and Fleur.”
Hermione pretended to pout. “Fleur?”
“Yep. You’re number one and she’s number two.” This, of course, earned him major brownie points with Hermione, as she still was convinced that the French witch had an absolutely perfect figure, and she beamed at him. “You’re so sweet.”
But Harry turned the tables on her with a tease of his own. “On the other hand, Ginny does have a very fine-looking arse.”
Hermione huffed and folded her arms across her chest indignantly. She had to bite her lip, though, so that she could maintain her hurt expression. But she didn’t fool Harry a bit. He got off his lounger and knelt next to her pretending to apologize and offered, “But it’s not nearly as nice as yours.”
With a quick move Hermione reached out and grabbed Harry around the neck and pulled him down on top of her (which he didn’t resist in the least), then kissed him soundly. When she was finished she pushed him back a little, poked him in the chest and announced, “And don’t you forget it.” Then she ruined the effect by giggling.
Somehow Harry managed to roll them over on the lounge chair so that he was on the bottom, then pulled her to himself. He reached down and gave her bottom an appreciative little squeeze, then wrapped her up in his arms while she snuggled up and made herself comfortable.
“I suppose you did get a pretty good look at it during the Halloween Party, now that I think of it,” she recalled.
“We got a pretty good look at quite a few girls that night,” Harry admitted. “I can’t believe how revealing some of those costumes were.”
“Yes, one in particular was quite the eye-opener,” Hermione recalled with a smile. “That party was definitely the highlight of the term. Let’s stay here as long as the sun is out and then we’ll finish going through the journal after supper.”
-oooOOOooo-
From the Journal of Hermione Granger, October 13, 1997
Bill and Fleur stopped by Hogwarts today to fill us in on their progress. They destroyed the Horcrux in Hufflepuff’s cup without any trouble. While they were abroad they checked out a few more leads but came up empty. Bill is convinced now that the last Horcrux (aside from the one in Nagini) is somewhere in Britain. He cautions that it may take some time to find it, though, since they have to keep their movements secret. The goblins they’re working with scout out a site thoroughly before they approach it, to determine if there are any alarm or other protective wards on it.
After they finished I pulled Fleur aside for some ‘girl talk’ and the guys got the message and left the Head Suite. Harry took Bill to visit with Ron and once they were gone I told Fleur that Ginny really needed to talk with her. I used the PDA pendant to summon Ginny, then I let her and Fleur know they could use my bedroom (that I haven’t actually slept in even once) for as long as they needed it. Then I went and told Harry and Ron that Ginny wasn’t feeling well and wouldn’t make it to quidditch practice today. Fleur was in there with her for more than an hour. When they came out they were hugging and I could see that both of them had been crying, but Ginny managed a smile and thanked me.
At dinner that evening Bill and Fleur joined the Gryffindor table. Bill sat on one side of Fleur and Ginny on the other, with Harry and Hermione directly across, so most of the Gryffindor male population was spared too much embarrassment from being dazzled by the part-Veela. Fleur was her usual buoyant and animated self and near the end of the meal declared that she was enjoying being there so much that she didn’t want to leave. At this point she turned to Bill and ‘suggested’ that they stay at the castle for a while and spend some time with Ginny and Ron before going back to work at Gringotts.
Bill got the message loud and clear – this ‘suggestion’ was not open for discussion. He went up to the staff table and asked McGonagall if there was anything she needed help with for the next week or so, and she said she would be delighted to have their assistance. The headmistress quickly instructed the house elves to set them up in the guest quarters. When Bill reported back, Fleur bubbled excitedly about how happy she was that they could spend more time there, and how much she had been looking forward to seeing Ginny, Ron, and Harry play quidditch. Hermione just sat back and smiled, marveling to herself at what the clever French witch had just accomplished. She had managed to arrange to stay at Hogwarts to help Ginny’s recovery process without anyone having any idea of the real reason.
-ooOoo-
From the Journal of Hermione Granger, October 16, 1997
Fleur ‘took care of’ the last of the boys who took advantage of Ginny today. My goodness, one should not get on the bad side of a Veela or a member of her family! She wasted no time in finding out from Ginny exactly what she had done and with whom (fortunately, nothing further than what Harry and I witnessed) and proceeded to obliviate those incidents from their minds. It took no effort at all for her to lure each of them into an unused classroom (just a look and a flip of her hair) where she calmly and methodically adjusted their memories and left them in a daze, wondering what had happened.
This will go no further than the three of us who already know (four, if you count Padma). We’re not sure how McGonagall would take to learning that someone obliviated her students, but there’s no need to find out. Personally, I feel that she would have some compassion for Ginny, and might even agree with our solution. I think she has a very kind heart under her stern exterior.
-ooOoo-
From the Journal of Hermione Granger, October 18, 1997
We had quite an eventful day today. Viktor was finally released from the infirmary, and Gryffindor played their first quidditch match of the season. I thought Viktor would enjoy watching the game, so I took him along to join me in the Gryffindor stands. To say that this caused some excitement would be a vast understatement. First of all because this was Viktor Krum, international quidditch star! Second was because this was Viktor Krum with Hermione Granger! Little did I know how much trouble that would cause.
Hermione came into the Hospital Wing to see Viktor waiting for her with a big smile on his face. She had tried to come visit him every day for the three weeks he had been here, and knew how much he had been looking forward to finally getting out. Harry, Ron, and Ginny had already left for the pregame meeting so it was just her and Viktor walking down the corridors to the Entrance Hall and then out onto the grounds as they made their way out to the quidditch pitch.
She ignored the strange looks they were getting; as the fiancée of the Boy Who Lived she had become accustomed to the extra attention. And, she reasoned, a good deal of the attention was directed toward the man she was escorting. Viktor, who was somewhat ungainly on his feet normally, was even less coordinated after being in bed for three weeks, and stumbled as they descended the front steps. Hermione automatically reached around him and pulled him to herself to steady him, then kept a firmer grasp on his elbow the rest of the way to the stadium. She didn’t notice that this action caused the whispers of the onlookers to increase significantly.
“Thank you,” Viktor said with a look of surprise. She noted his eyes pass admiringly over her torso, and realized that she had displayed an upper body strength that would be unexpected from a woman of her size. She smiled at him and tossed her hair back in a saucy gesture that hinted that there were things about her that he didn’t know. Unfortunately, once again these actions were misinterpreted by the crowd of students who continued to scrutinize their every move.
The pecking order in the Gryffindor quidditch stands was that the older students got the more favorable higher seats, and as even the Minister of Magic himself would probably not outrank Hermione Granger and Viktor Krum in this stadium, the pair eventually found themselves sitting in the topmost row as the other spectators gradually found their seats. Hermione’s attention was directed toward the locker rooms as she prepared to jump to her feet and cheer when Harry and the rest of the Gryffindor team made their entrance when she was diverted by a tugging on her hand. Looking down, she realized for the first time that she had never let go of Viktor’s arm, and had actually entwined their arms and hands during the climb to their seats. Now Viktor was putting her left hand palm down on his right hand while he examined her engagement ring.
“It is very beautiful. Congratulations. He is a lucky man,” he said softly, leaning close to her ear so that she could hear him over the noise of the crowd. Hermione blushed and beamed happily at him while he smiled back.
“Thank you,” she replied. “We’ll want you to come to the wedding of course,” she continued in a low voice. “We’re planning it for right after Christmas, but we’re trying to keep it private.”
Viktor gave her a knowing grin. “I never really stood a chance, did I?” Hermione’s blush deepened as she lowered her head and shook it demurely.
“No, not really,” she admitted. “Even back then I know you could tell that Harry was the most important person in my life. It took us a while to figure out exactly what that meant – well, I guess it took him longer than me – but we couldn’t possibly be happier about how it turned out.”
Neither of them realized it, but the noise in the stadium was slowly dropping as more and more of the students twisted and turned to get a better look at the Head Girl and the quidditch star sitting close together, holding hands, talking in low voices, and smiling at each other at the top of the Gryffindor stands.
“Hermione!” a female voice hissed. “What are you doing?” Startled, Hermione looked up to see Lavender and Parvati standing in front of her. The two girls split and sat down beside them, Lavender next to Hermione and Parvati next to Viktor. Viktor smiled politely at Parvati, and she smiled back at him before looking away shyly as it struck her just whom she was flirting with.
“What?” Hermione responded to Lavender in confusion. Instead of answering, Lavender just swept her arm out at the stands below them, where more than a hundred heads quickly turned away from their observation of what appeared to be a major celebrity scandal in the making.
“Looking pretty cozy up here,” Seamus called out as he and Neville joined them. “Hope we’re not breaking anything up.” Hermione put her head in her hands briefly and groaned as the two Gryffindors took seats directly in front of her and Viktor. Not another Potter-Granger-Krum love triangle story. How did she manage to get herself into these situations? Then she decided that Seamus had the right of it by joking about the situation. Treating the whole incident lightly would be the best way to dispel any potential rumors. Laughing out loud, she stood and gave Seamus and Neville quick hugs, then introduced her four housemates to Viktor. As soon as that was concluded she was saved from having to do anything further when the two teams streaked into the sky and the crowd erupted in applause.
Hermione waved excitedly at Harry as he zoomed by and he waved back, fortunately unaware of how close he had been to having his heart broken, at least in the minds of the Hogwarts gossip network. Now that that mini-drama had concluded almost before it had begun, Hermione relaxed and enjoyed the match.
Not since her third year, when she had last attended quidditch matches with Ron, had Hermione sat with someone who could provide such expert commentary on the match as Viktor did. Naturally, his analysis was considerably less biased than Ron’s had been, particularly given that this was a Gryffindor-Slytherin match. He was impressed with Harry’s seeker skills, although he explained that Harry’s tactics could use improvement. He could not help but admire his flying, however. He also commented quite favorably on Ginny’s performance, deciding that she might have a possible future as a professional. Indeed, Ginny was virtually unstoppable. While it was true that her new Nimbus 2010 outclassed any other broomstick on the pitch, she flew it so naturally it was as though she was born to fly. After she scored the first ten goals of the match she let up and concentrated on getting her teammates more involved. But there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that she could score whenever she wanted. On the other hand, Ron’s keeping ability was simply not tested enough by the inexperienced Slytherin chasers to make a fair evaluation.
After a while Viktor commented that Harry seemed to be concentrating more on distracting and blocking the opposing seeker from catching the snitch, rather than going for it himself. He speculated that he was trying to prolong the match in order to give his teammates more playing time. His guess was proven correct when the score reached 300 to 30 and Harry signaled Ron to call a time-out. After a quick consultation, Colin Creevey rotated in at chaser and Dennis Creevey took over as seeker, and Hermione was surprised when Harry zoomed over and hovered his broom right behind her and Viktor as the game resumed. She was even more shocked when he leaned over her back and gave her a quick kiss on the top of her head, then started rubbing her shoulders and at the same time getting into a technical discussion with Viktor about some points of strategy. She focused on the nice feelings he was sending through her and tried not to dwell on the fact that in order to do what he was doing, he must only be holding onto his Firebolt with his knees.
Eventually, after Ron had rotated in the rest of the reserve chasers and beaters, the Slytherin seeker finally caught the snitch, ending the game but giving Gryffindor an overwhelming 500 to 200 victory. By the time Ginny had left the game she had scored 30 of her team’s 50 goals, while Ron had let in only five for the entire match. To Hermione’s relief, Harry, once he noticed how nervous he had been making her, had got off his broom and climbed into the stands to sit next to her. She and Viktor moved apart to make a space for him, and the others in the row obligingly shifted down. With this action, and the friendly way Viktor and Harry interacted, the three of them (entirely unwittingly in Harry’s case) quashed the last traces of gossip about their relationship.
That evening, while the traditional quidditch victory celebration was in full swing, Harry, Hermione, and Viktor retired to a corner of the Gryffindor common room to discuss what Viktor’s future role in the war might be. He could certainly not return to his intelligence gathering efforts on the continent now that he was a marked man. Deciding that it would be best for him to remain at Hogwarts, they sought out McGonagall to see if she had any thoughts on the matter. Once she learned that Viktor didn’t need a paying position, being fairly wealthy from his quidditch career and endorsements, she came up with what everyone agreed was a perfect solution.
Viktor would help out with Defense Against the Dark Arts classes and the PDA, bringing with him his knowledge of the dark spells that were regularly taught at Durmstrang but not at Hogwarts. In addition, he would move into the Slytherin dorms and serve as a sort of surrogate big brother to the younger students of Slytherin House, providing them with a light side role model. There was plenty of room, given that there were only three male Slytherin students in the sixth and seventh years combined. The three of them could easily be accommodated in the sixth year boys dorm, leaving the seventh year dorm available for him. Given his background and the fact that he had spent most of his time with Slytherin students during the year of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, he would be well received there.
-ooOoo-
From the Journal of Hermione Granger, October 19, 1997
Viktor came to his first PDA meeting this evening. He was really impressed at what we’re doing and the scale we’re doing it on. We have nearly 200 students in five groups, and meet five nights a week, Sunday through Thursday. We’ve been emphasizing mastering a few simple principles – Evasion, Shielding, Disarming, and finally Stunning.
“In Evasion, the goal is to get away from an attacker, by running, hiding, dodging, or whatever. If possible, disapparation and using a portkey are also encouraged. Dodging is the one we drill at the most,” Hermione explained as she and Viktor watched a row of younger students cast spells at another row, who all tried to dodge out of the way. “We start with tickling jinxes, then move on to stinging hexes when the evading students get better at it,” she continued. They stopped to watch as a fourth year stopped firing wildly at his partner, and took time to aim. This made it much more difficult for the third year girl to dodge, and he eventually hit her causing her to squirm and giggle. “As you can see, this drill helps develop accuracy also,” Hermione added.
“In Shielding, the goal is to put up a shield as quickly as possible, and hold it for as long as possible,” she announced as they moved on to another group of students. “The better students get at it, the trickier we make it, including having four opponents take turns casting at them, so they don’t know which direction the hex is coming from. To test the strength of the shield, the student tries to maintain it as all four opponents fire at it and we time how long it takes before the shield fails.”
“And how long will your shield last?” Viktor asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Long enough,” Hermione returned with an impertinent smirk. “Care to try me?”
Word quickly spread throughout the training rooms as students moved out of the way of the pair and gathered at a respectful distance. Suddenly two shield barriers flared into existence on either side of where they were standing, courtesy of Professor Flitwick, and the students quickly scrambled behind them, crowding for the best view. The more alert upper years began conjuring benches of gradually increasing height for use as make-shift bleachers.
Meanwhile Hermione had removed her robes to reveal her dragonhide armor, which she always wore to PDA practices, so that Viktor would realize that she was protected even if her shield broke and therefore wouldn’t hold back. For his part, Viktor’s eyes widened at the sight, but he was brought up short when he saw Hermione smirking at him again.
“Are you going to just stand there and gape or are you actually going to try a hex.”
Embarrassed to be caught looking, Viktor rapidly raised his wand and sent a stunning spell rocketing toward her, but she was expecting it and effortlessly turned it away as a bright golden shield formed before her. Surprised at how easily she had handled it, Viktor shook his head and tried again. Stunner after stunner splashed against her bright shield and dissipated, no matter how much power he put into them. Unbeknownst to him, Hermione was drawing small, undetectable amounts of magical power from the life energies of everyone in the hall, in fact from everyone in the school.
Viktor gradually switched to more powerful spells, with the same frustrating results. Finally he put all of his power into one final attempt. “Reducto!” Hermione had not been expecting him to use such a dangerous curse, and could feel her shield waver as the blasting curse impacted. Instead of feeding more power into it and drain her reserves, she decided to let it go, and her shield shattered in a shower of silver and gold sparks as the explosive wave threw her back. By rolling with the spell she still had plenty of power to put up another shield in case Viktor launched another spell, although she guessed that he had used the last bit of his power and doubted that he had anything left. While flying through the air she braced herself for the impact with the safety barrier behind her but it never came, as she found herself slowing and eventually coming to a halt in a nice comfortable cushioning spell. Of course she knew exactly who had cast it.
For his part, Viktor had no intention of casting another spell, even if he had the strength to do it. It didn’t matter in any case, since he suddenly found himself immobilized in a powerful petrification jinx. The strange thing was that he hadn’t heard the spell being cast or even seen any wand movement.
“Is there some reason why you’re trying to hex my fiancée?” came a voice from his side. Unable to even turn his head, Viktor nevertheless recognized the voice, and could only wait until Harry Potter moved into his view. Once there, he found himself caught by those glowing green eyes, and suddenly observed first hand why every Hogwarts student went to great lengths to avoid getting on the wrong side of this year’s Head Boy.
Fortunately for Viktor’s peace of mind, Harry’s attention was diverted by Hermione’s arms coming around his neck as she leaned over to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Thank you dear,” she said sweetly. “But I think I had things pretty much under control.”
Harry turned and made a show of looking her up and down before he cleared his throat and pronounced, “Oh, all right then.” He then turned back grinned at Viktor to let him know he was only having him on and wordlessly cancelled the petrification spell. Then he took Hermione’s hand as she moved up along beside him and greeted Viktor, while the students, talking excitedly about what they had just witnessed, resumed their drills. As they moved on to the next training area Harry seamlessly picked up the description of the PDA training where Hermione had left off.
“Now, disarming is trickier, since a powerful disarming hex will knock the recipient off his feet,” Harry commented. “So we practice this in a well-padded room. This has the added benefit of having the students learn how to fall without injuring themselves.” They stopped a bit while Ginny and Luna demonstrated, with Luna casting an Expeliarmus that knocked down Ginny, who rolled expertly as she hit the mat, then bounced to her feet. She shot a quick smile over at Harry as he sent her a thumbs-up before continuing.
The final practice area was again heavily shielded. Here students were firing stunning spells at target dummies. Viktor was shocked to see that some of the dummies were moving, some appeared to have shields, and some actually fired back! This time Hermione took up the explanation again. “For Stunning, we use the practice targets Professor Flitwick and I developed over the summer, since it’s not safe for someone to be repeatedly stunned. Once a student has mastered these 4 basic areas, we move them on to blasting hexes, again using target dummies. Then we get them involved in groups for simulated combat situations. So far, 10 students have moved into this phase, joining the 30 from this summer.” She turned to Viktor who still stood there, amazed at what he saw, with a gleam in her eye. “So, any questions?”
-o-
After spending several minutes absorbing everything that was going on at the practice, Viktor had one question – ‘What can I do to help?’ I told him what we needed most was simulations of realistic combat situations and he jumped at the opportunity. I think he has some bad memories of the fight where he was captured that he wants to exorcise.
-ooOoo-
From the Journal of Hermione Granger, October 24, 1997
Lavender asked me to introduce her to Fleur today so she could ask if she would show her that support spell. She’s finally got up her nerve to approach her. I was taken aback, since I’m not used to Lavender being intimidated by a good looking woman – she’s usually the intimidating one. I didn’t think Fleur would teach it to her, but she put her off rather nicely. She said that Veela magic was easy for Veela to cast, but difficult for other women, and that I was one of the few who could manage them. My reputation of being able to do spells that no one else can get came in pretty handy for that excuse.
Lavender then asked her if she would at least cast it on her for Halloween. It seems that she has a costume in mind that is too bare for a bra, but she will need some support to be able to wear it. Fleur agreed, but said that to be fair she should offer it to any other girl who needs it. Then the conversation moved to discussing which girls needed it the most. Lavender, of course, knows exactly how every witch in the castle stacks up.
“Well, I guess Susan for certain,” Lavender admitted grudgingly, not wanting to give her rival any sort of advantage. “In Gryffindor, only Hermione besides me might need it, and she already knows it. Parvati and Ginny certainly don’t.” Hermione winced a bit at that blunt assessment, but it was accurate. “Hannah is probably about the same size as Hermione, so it depends on what she is wearing.” She went on to accurately assess the attributes of all the seventh year girls, and a few of the sixth years. Except for two.
“What about Daphne and Tracey?” Hermione inquired, already knowing the answer. Lavender scowled. She really didn’t want to do any favors for Daphne. Ron was already much too distracted by her.
“Certainly not Tracey, she’d never wear anything needing it,” Lavender decided. “Daphne … maybe.”
“Eet seems to me zat she may already know eet,” Fleur mused. “Either zat or she ees naturally very firm.” Lavender was not happy with that analysis, but Hermione decided that from what she had seen that Fleur might be right.
Then Fleur agreed to do the spell for Lavender on Halloween, and to offer it to Susan and Hannah and others if they needed it, and the blonde Gryffindor left satisfied.
-ooOoo-
From the Journal of Hermione Granger, October 26, 1997
People are starting to get pretty excited about the Halloween Party, and what they’re going to wear. There are going to be three different parties – one for 1st through 3rd years, one for 4th and 5th years, and one for 6th and 7th years. As the staff with the least seniority, Mum and Dad and Remus and Tonks got roped into being chaperones. Bill and Fleur volunteered to help out too. Mum and Dad are going to take the 6th and 7th years.
Mum came up with the idea to go as characters from the Wizard of Oz and talked the rest of them into it. She will be Dorothy, of course, and Dad wanted to be the Tin Man. Fleur will be the beautiful Good Witch of the North (naturally), and Tonks will morph into the Wicked Witch of the West. She claims it will be easy – she’ll just model herself after her Aunt Bellatrix. Remus and Bill both wanted to be the Lion, being loyal Gryffindors, but Remus won out so Bill will be the Scarecrow. Mum and Dad have been teaching about muggle culture for the past week in their Muggle Studies classes in preparation, so at least the seventh years will know who they all are.
Harry and I will wear our Mayan tunics, loincloths, and leather boots, although I’m not anticipating that too many students will get a chance to see the loincloths. (Some might get a glimpse of mine, though, since my tunic is rather short – thank you very much Mr. Potter.) I was a bit nervous about that until I found out what some of the other seventh year girls are planning. It looks like it may have been a mistake for McGonagall to assign a pair of nudists to be chaperones for a costume party! The girls have been asking about certain costumes, and Mum is approving nearly anything. As the word gets around, they’re getting more and more daring. I’m anxiously waiting to see what they end up with on Friday night.
On the other hand, Mum and Dad are making it clear that they won’t put up with any indecent behavior. And they’ve recruited a whole corps of house elves to back them up. The students will not be permitted to wander away from the party seeking more private locations. The house elves will be able to find them easily and break up anything improper.
Here’s what I know so far about costumes.
Ron is – surprise, surprise – going as a Chudley Cannons quidditch player. I didn’t have the heart to tell him how badly those bright orange robes clashed with his hair. Dean and Colin talked Neville and Seamus into the four of them going as muggle comic book superheroes. Colin is going to be Spiderman and Dean will be Batman. Somehow they persuaded Neville to go as Superman. As soon as Seamus learned that the Incredible Hulk was green, he promptly decided that’s who he would be. He’ll need to use some engorgement charms to be more realistic. On the other hand, I don’t think Neville will need any more muscles to look good in his Superman costume.
I heard that Justin is going to dress up in top hat and tails like a muggle magician. I think that’s really clever. He’s mastered creating a rabbit in Transfiguration class, so he should literally be able to pull a rabbit out of his hat. He also tipped off Ernie and the other Hufflepuff boys about toga costumes. I think they’re going to be Roman gods. They’re trying to talk some girls into wearing togas with them to be Roman goddesses, and I think Hannah, at least, is considering it. Susan, though, wants to project a warrior image (she thinks this will impress Ron more) so she was thinking of just wearing her dragonskin armor (without a bra, of course). But when Justin found out about the Gryffindor comic book superheroes he suggested that she go as Wonder Woman. As soon as Susan saw a picture of what her outfit looked like, she agreed. That short, tight bottom shows more leg than anything even I’ve ever worn in training. And of course that low cut strapless top will be absolutely eye-popping on Susan.
Getting back to goddesses, Lavender is going as Aphrodite. Her costume seems to consist of a few wisps of cloth. The strips over her breasts aren’t nearly wide enough to cover her. They might possibly cover a girl as small as Parvati, but if I wore them I’d leak out on both sides. On Lavender I think there’s more breast uncovered than covered. I can see why she needs Fleur’s support spell! Speaking of Parvati, she’s putting together a costume that looks like a harem girl’s outfit, and says she’ll be a genie. Lots of see through fabric. Padma is going as the Hindu goddess Durga. Her costume is quite revealing for a girl as conservative as Padma. It has a bare midriff that goes from right below her bust all the way past her navel. Of course the most impressive aspect is the 8 arms. She’s actually going to transfigure herself 6 additional arms! Amazing!
Fleur is helping Ginny with her costume, and neither of them is telling anyone what it is. Based on the giggling and blushing, I think it’s probably pretty revealing as well.
-ooOoo-
From the Journal of Hermione Granger, October 31, 1997
We’re all set for the party tonight. Lately, though, we’ve been getting nervous about what else might happen. Even aside from the fact that Halloween was the night Harry’s parents were killed and he got his famous scar, it has also been quite a notorious night since we’ve been at Hogwarts. First year was the troll incident, of course, and second year it was the night the Chamber was first opened. Third year Sirius attacked the Fat Lady trying to get into Gryffindor tower on Halloween night, and then fourth year it was the night Harry’s name came out of the Goblet of Fire. It’s only been the past two years that nothing significant has happened. We’re hoping that trend continues.
The Halloween party for the 6th and 7th year students was held in their new lounges, which had been magically combined and expanded for the occasion. There was a dance floor at one end, food and drinks at the other end, and lots of tables of different sizes in the middle, seating between two and eight people. The idea was that the students could gather together in whatever groupings they wished. At first they tended to stay with others from their own houses, and also clustered somewhat by gender, nervously checking out the members of the opposite sex. Hermione took the opportunity during this initial ice-breaking period to look at the costumes on the other girls.
Ginny was the first girl she noticed, since they had come to the party together and the petite redhead was just ahead of her as they removed their cloaks. Hermione’s eyes widened and she smiled as she took in her friend’s costume. Fleur had evidently been completely successful in persuading her to come out of the shell she had withdrawn into following the disastrous dating episode. She was wearing one of Fleur’s bikinis that Hermione had helped pick out the previous summer. The top had been magically downsized to fit Ginny, but still covered her more than it did Fleur. The real eye-opener was the bottom. Actually, to most eyes the bikini bottom was covered by a long pareo tied to ride low on her hips, but Hermione soon became aware that the cover-up was in fact of variable transparency. Apparently Ginny was able to control how see-through it was for different people, since whenever Ron looked her way it was completely opaque. Even in that mode, however, Ginny was showing a great deal of bare skin.
Hermione was also amused to see that the four Gryffindor ‘superheroes’ seemed to have formed a protective guard for the popular girl, with her consent. With this security, she was able to relax and let her old personality re-emerge, laughing and flirting lightly with all of them. But when any male that they deemed to have questionable intentions approached, they were immediately on guard. The clear message was ‘look, but don’t touch’.
When Harry returned after hanging up their cloaks, along with two drinks, Hermione gratefully took one and directed his attention towards their housemates. “Take a look at what Ginny’s wearing.”
“Hey,” Harry realized, “that’s one of Fleur’s bikinis she has on.” Hermione nodded and waited. “But if I remember correctly, that one was a … wow!” Hermione grinned. Evidently Harry was on the ‘favored’ list, since the pareo had turned semi-transparent when he looked at it and revealed the outlines of the thong bikini bottom. “Merlin, she really has a nice …” Harry stopped himself just in time and shot an embarrassed look at Hermione.
Hermione just giggled. “A very nice-looking bum, yes.”
“Hmm, I guess I never really noticed before,” claimed Harry, attempting an innocent look. Hermione laughed at his antics and swatted his arm good-naturedly before she turned to look at some of the other costumes. Lavender’s costume was currently drawing the most attention, as the strips of material barely covered the essentials, but many of the other girls were drawing appreciative looks as well. Hannah’s and Megan’s (Megan Jones, another seventh year Hufflepuff ) togas were both of the one shoulder variety, and the uncovered part on the opposite side dipped perilously close to revealing too much. Once more, magic did the trick, and the cloth remained exactly where they wanted it to for the entire party, even though the jiggling motion beneath should have vibrated it off within minutes. Susan was easily as impressive a Wonder Woman as Hermione had ever seen, even given the tendency of comic book artists to overemphasize their heroines’ bustlines.
Daphne Greengrass had gone for a completely black look. She had spelled her hair black, and was wearing a costume that reminded Hermione of the television character Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, who hosted late night movies. Basically, it was much like Lavender’s costume, with lots of filmy material and plenty of cleavage, only all black. Beside her Tracey Davis was also dressed in black, but she was as close to the opposite of Daphne as she could be. The clever girl had managed to duplicate perfectly the attire and mannerisms of the Hogwarts headmistress, Minerva McGonagall.
Both Parvati and Padma were also receiving many compliments on their outfits, which the Gryffindor twin took in stride but which somewhat flustered her Ravenclaw sibling. Hermione decided she needed some encouragement and dragged Harry over to the group of Ravenclaws they were with. Padma flushed briefly when she found herself staring too long at Harry’s bare legs, but Parvati wasn’t shy at all. “So, is there more to that costume that we can’t see?” she teased him, eliciting a horrified gasp from her sister. Hermione noted that the males in the group, who were all dressed up as famous wizards of the past, perked up at this question, except their eyes were on her legs, of which considerably more was showing than of Harry’s.
Harry merely grinned at Parvati, and at Padma too, who despite her shyness was also clearly interested in the answer. “Let’s just say that the costume is completely authentic.” He then raised his foot onto a chair and pretended to adjust his leather boot, which caused his tunic to ride up on his leg just enough for the bottom of his loincloth to be visible from where the twins were sitting. While the Patil girls tried to get over their shock, Hermione turned to the boys at the table, all of whom had eager looks on their faces, and shook her head with a sly smile, indicating that they had already seen as much of her as they were going to.
Hermione had just dragged Harry out onto the dance floor when the noise in the room dropped considerably as the students noticed another costumed figure enter. Or rather, what appeared to be an uncostumed figure. Luna Lovegood had been keeping her outfit a secret, but that secret was now fully on display. She had come as a dryad – a wood nymph. And, as everyone now was aware, if they hadn’t been already, nymphs in mythology were totally nude. Well, not totally nude, Hermione amended – they had wings. At least this variety did. Hermione didn’t remember which kind of nymph had wings but she had no doubt that Luna would know.
Luna’s gossamer wings were an extraordinary achievement of magic. They looked and moved just like the real thing, twitching slightly with her movements. Hermione shot a glance at her mother, but was surprised to see her nodding in satisfaction. Surely she had not approved a student attending the party in the nude? As Luna moved nearer, Hermione realized that things were not quite what they appeared. While Luna looked to be nude from a distance, there was in fact some sort of coating on her. The best way Hermione could think of to describe it was that if it were a muggle woman attempting a similar costume, it would have been a body stocking. Or perhaps flesh colored body paint, she was not exactly certain. If this costume was some sort of garment, it blended in seamlessly with her skin. For the most part, whatever it was appeared to be transparent, except in certain areas. While her breasts were perfectly visible, for example, certain details were lacking. Similarly with her pubic region – no one would be able to ascertain if Luna was completely blonde.
Hermione finally concluded that it was either a fabric of variable transparency – a more advanced version of Ginny’s pareo – or an obfuscation charm that only concealed a few square inches in three specific areas. Something like the way the telly electronically blurred out those same body parts on people who either accidentally or intentionally were incompletely covered. In either case, it was extremely impressive magic.
“Harry?” Hermione had an impish idea to determine which method Luna was using. “Would you mind going over and dancing with Luna?”
“Uhhhhh …” She felt Harry tense up. “I’m perfectly happy to be dancing with you,” he stammered. “Wh … Why would I want to dance with Luna?”
“Because if you danced with her you would be touching her and then you could find out for me if she’s actually nude with a charm hiding her private bits or if she’s wearing an invisible body stocking,” Hermione explained, her eyes sparkling with mirth.
Harry recovered his wits enough to counter. “Perhaps, but I really should dance with Ginny too, to try to determine what exactly hers covers as well, don’t you think?”
Hermione gave a mock scowl that turned into a grin. “I suppose. But perhaps it would be better to have Ron dance with Luna,” she said slyly.
Harry turned them so he could see where Luna was going. “Too late. I think Luna’s already made that decision.” They both watched as the blonde Ravenclaw unhesitatingly marched right up to Ron (actually, floated might have been a better description) and asked him to dance with her.
Even when Ron and Luna were out on the dance floor, and had moved within a few feet of them, Hermione still couldn’t tell how Luna was achieving the effect. The bright red color on Ron’s face was no clue, as that probably would have been the result in either case. After he had finished dancing with her, Ron quickly moved away, and adamantly refused to tell Hermione anything. But she did notice that he kept looking in Luna’s direction for the rest of the night.
Ron’s hasty exit might have proven awkward for Luna, but for Justin Finch-Fletchly. While she was still looking hopefully at the retreating red-haired Gryffindor, he smoothly approached and asked her for the next dance. That led to another surprise, as the pair of them danced superbly together. Justin, as the son of an upper class British family, would have been expected to be a fine dancer, but Luna was just as good. As they swirled their way across the dance floor, with Justin in his top hat and tails, Hermione was reminded of old movies of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers – with the slight difference that this Ginger Rogers had wings and was essentially nude.
Just as the students were mostly getting over the novelty of Luna’s costume and turning their attention elsewhere, the door opened again and Viktor Krum strode in. His costume initially generated little attention, for he was dressed as a quidditch player also, and carrying a Firebolt racing broom. But as the students noticed the details a rumble of chuckles emerged which gradually grew to laughter and applause. For his quidditch robes were not those of the Bulgarian national team, but the familiar red and gold of Gryffindor. And his normally well-groomed black hair was now quite messy. Across the back of the uniform was displayed the name ‘Potter’, and to top it off, he even had a fake lightening bolt shaped scar on his forehead. Hermione laughed out loud and clapped her hands while beside her Harry groaned. It was brilliant. Viktor Krum had come to the Halloween party dressed as Harry Potter!
By the time Viktor had made his way across the room to where they were, Harry had regained his good humor and congratulated his Bulgarian friend on his cleverness. After they had talked and joked together for a while Viktor surprised the crowd again by seeking out Luna and asking her for a dance. Once again, Hermione’s eyes sought out Ron to gauge his reaction. As she had expected, he was glaring at Viktor, just as he had glared at Justin while he was dancing with Luna. And just as years before he had glared at Viktor and herself when they were together. But as Hermione allowed herself to hope that this meant that her friend was truly interested in Luna, she realized that while she had always taken this reaction as evidence that Ron had romantic feelings for her, he had finally informed her that such was not the case. And in the light of this information, she now realized that this reaction was identical to the way he reacted to the sight of Ginny with any of her boyfriends.
It struck her at that point that Ron was not as transparent as she had always thought. It was not at all clear whether his annoyance signaled the jealousy of a potential romantic interest or the disapproval of an overprotective friend/brother. She then decided that she had better stay out of this one. Luna would have to figure it out on her own.
Eventually Harry did dance with Ginny, and Parvati, and Padma, and a few of the other girls in the PDA. Between Viktor and Justin, Luna was kept occupied so he never got around to dancing with her. Hermione made certain that she danced with Justin because he danced so superbly, and also made it through one dance each with Ron and Neville without getting her toes stepped on. She also enjoyed dancing with Viktor, and agreed to a dance with each of her Ravenclaw admirers. But mostly she and Harry moved from table to table conversing with their friends.
For his part Ron managed one dance with each of the girls who were interested in him, but he was clearly uncomfortable every time. More specifically, he turned bright red and never took his eyes off of their chests. In his defense, though, every one of them was wearing a costume that was designed to draw attention to that particular area of their anatomy. When he wasn’t dancing he was eating and glaring at whoever was dancing with any of them, and at whoever was paying attention to Ginny. It didn’t look like that much fun to Hermione, but well, that was just the way Ron was.
She had just about concluded that this was going to turn out to be a nice, peaceful Halloween when a house elf appeared before her with a summons from the headmistress. Quickly Harry and Hermione took their leaves, while she paused to tell her mother not to worry, and made their way to McGonagall’s office. There she sat waiting for them with a concerned look on her face.
“I’ve just received a message from Mr. Croaker,” she informed them. “Your presence is requested at the Department of Mysteries.”
-xox-XOX-XOX-xox-
Hope you enjoyed the Halloween costumes. Next chapter will have the wedding you’ve all been looking forward to.