Chapter 1: Halloween Plans

The bundled up woman traversed through the saturnine road, shivering despite the layers of wool cloaks she wore. Heavy snow thickly filled the air, and in the looming darkness, it appeared black and sinister. Shadows of gnarled empty branches leaped out at her from time to time, but she hurried on, not allowing fear to settle into her frozen mind. 
 
She was pretty enough, what little could be seen of her face, for a red scarf was wrapped around her cheeks and chin to ward of the chill. Her eyes stayed fixed on some point in the distance, as though she refused to look around at the lurking black corners and swallowed darkness. For what seemed like the umpteenth time, she wished she had taken the Knight Bus, but with all the frozen roads, she didn't want to step aboard the crazy vehicle, known for its lack of awareness to the passengers' safety. Better to push through the snow under her own conditions than end up skidding on ice and crashing. 
 
Still, she grimly gripped her wand in her right pocket with mittened hands. If the need arose, she wanted to be ready. Too many times she had heard of the lonely traveler and its gruesome fate. 
 
This passing thought caused her to guiltily pause and finger the wand, wondering if she should just set her reservations aside and get on the accursed bus. For the first time, she truly took in her surroundings. Every which way were bare, icy trees laden down with large amounts of snow. Just trees that eventually vanished in the various distances, fading to the blackness. 
 
Her heart rate sped up with anxiety. She could not deny the fact that she was utterly alone and exposed. 
 
Ridiculous, she chided herself. Shaking her head, she started forward again, but the grip on her wand tightened. 
 
It is a wonder that even when one is freezing, one can still experience a hot feverish sensation. The woman could feel her cheeks flush greatly and suddenly, she felt hot and sweaty under her woolen cloak and robes. She scolded herself again, knowing the expanse of her imagination. Could she not simply get to the building without all these awful fears and hallucinations?
 
Apparently not. A twig snapped behind her, extremely loud, almost as if it had shattered rather than been stepped on. She whipped her head around, the hood of her cloak flying off as she did so, revealing a pale, terrified face and a sheet of long blonde hair. Nothing. There was nothing. Besides, the whole thing was absurd, so cliché. 
 
An involuntary shudder passed over her. She reacted by producing her thin wand, which was instantly covered by the falling snow. Now shaking uncontrollably, her breath came in sharp, suppressed movements in hopes of remaining silent. A dreadful cold seeped through her attire onto her skin and down to her bones. 
 
After a minute, she let herself relax. Nothing there. She closed her eyes in relief. As she did so, she decided it would be better to board the Knight Bus rather than have to go through these spasms of terror every few steps. 
 
The woman turned back towards her destination - and froze at what met her sight, a scream dying in her throat. 
 
A grotesque creature stood, hunched over, a little ways in front of her, its desiccated skin stretched tightly over bones that jaggedly stuck out. It was gaunt, emaciated, its ribs clearly puncturing out of its chest, and an ashy grey hue recalled thoughts of the dead. The eyes seemed to sink deeply into their sockets, like that of a skull, and blood dripped from its pointed teeth. In a strange way, it reminded her of Inferi, albeit with small curved nails and a snarling expression. 
 
It stepped forward menacingly on humanoid feet, licking its ashy tattered lips. In desperation, the woman raised her wand, but her mind was wiped blank by fear. 
 
There was only one thing left to do. She turned on her heel and began to crash through the deep snow. In vain, she cried out for help, the sound muffled by the scarf covering her mouth. The creature's breath seared her neck, smelling of decay and rotting flesh. Another second and she tripped on her cloak. She scraped at the icy ground, trying to get up, trying to crawl away, but a shadow fell over her. A dark, cold, terrifying shadow...
 
---
 
Lily moodily pushed her sausage around her plate, her red hair hiding her sullen expression. The rest of the students took no notice of her sour disposition, too focused as they were on the Halloween trip to Hogsmeade. Their babbling chatter and excited tones grated against Lily’s mind as she continued to roll her food on the golden plate before her. It wasn’t fair. It was not fair.
 
Somebody rustled beside her, and the next second, Lily found herself facing Scorpius, who was smiling rather broadly.
 
“Hey there, sourpuss. Aren’t you excited for Halloween?� he teased, poking her in the side.
 
Lily rolled her eyes and tried to glare back at the blonde boy, but his grin was infectious. Determined to not break her bad mood, she turned away from her friend and focused on stabbing her eggs. Unfortunately, Scorpius only chuckled at this display.
 
“What did those eggs ever do to you?� he inquired lightly, a hint of humor in his voice.
 
She ignored his attempt at conversation, fully intent as she was at not having a good day.
 
“Sulking isn’t going to do you any good, Lily. Hogsmeade is open to third years and up, and it always has been. One moody girl isn’t going to change that,� Scorpius pointed out, as though he had read her mind.
 
“Oh, shut up,� Lily viciously responded, ramming her fork into her plate. The force caused the fork to bend and the plate to crack, but Lily only tossed her fork down and picked up the knife.
 
Scorpius raised a sleek, blonde eyebrow. “Having murderous thoughts, Bloody Mary?�
 
“Go away.�
 
“Are you sure? Because I didn’t come over here just to revel in your glorious mood.� He said it with a hint of mischievousness.
 
Lily struggled to keep her interest from showing, something she found herself doing a lot lately whenever Scorpius came up with his plans. “Whatever.�
 
She could feel Scorpius’ grin widen, and she knew then that he had detected the small amount of interest that hadn’t been able to escape her tone. With a small sigh, Lily shifted her eyes to Scorpius.
 
“Don’t act like this is killing you, Lily. I know very well that you can’t wait to hear what we are going to do this Halloween night. Hogsmeade can’t compare to what I have planned.�
 
“How can you be so smug?� Lily asked, but a smile finally found its way onto her face.
 
“I stole your brother’s map.�
 
Her smile contracted slightly. “How?"

"Easy. Your brother is careless with his possessions. I pickpocketed it during break, seeing as it was already sticking out of his bag..."

"James is going to notice immediately, you know.�
 
“Relax,� Scorpius said, and he whipped out the old folded parchment. Lily fervishly glanced around the Great Hall as she made to push the parchment back into Scorpius’ cloak.
 
“Not here!� she whispered vehemently. “I’m dead if James catches me with that.�
 
He only laughed. “What’s the fun if there isn’t a chance of danger?�
 
This time, Lily actually managed to glare at him. “What’s the fun if your plans are spoiled simply because you were impatient?�
 
“Fair point,� Scorpius conceded, and he put the parchment back inside his cloak. “Care to meet me in the Common Room?�
 
“For the last time, Scorpius, I am not going into your Common Room. All those Slytherins give me the creeps.�
 
“I give you the creeps?�
 
“No,� Lily huffed. “I just don’t think it’s a good idea.�
 
“James won’t be able to interrupt us,� Scorpius said tauntingly.
 
“NO! Look-�
 
“Oh, fine. Meet me at the girls’ bathroom during the break, okay?�
 
Lily giggled. She knew he meant the out-of-order bathroom haunted by Moaning Myrtle, but it still sounded ridiculous coming from his mouth. “Okay.�
 
Scorpius wiggled his eyebrows up and down, and then he hopped up from the bench. “See you later.�
 
She shook her head in amusement and glanced back at her plate. After staring at the mutilated eggs and sausage, she shrugged and ate them. Today was looking up.
 
---
 
Lily caught herself doodling on the parchment before her as Professor Binns droned on and on about some Uric the Oddball or whatever it was. She suppressed a sigh and glanced at the wristwatch her father had given her for her birthday. Five more minutes until break. It might as well have been eternity at the rate Binns was going. Although she knew that watching the time would not help it pass quickly, she couldn’t help but focus her attention on the ticking clock. She loved her watch- not only was it Muggle-made, but it was encrusted with the most beautiful rubies. Whenever she was bored, she always found herself following the progress of the second-hand ticking past the Roman numerals and wondering how non-magical means could create something so pristine and detailed. It gave her faith that magic wasn’t always the solution to a problem, and that some things really did require logic, not a wand and some spells.
 
The class finally ended, and Lily made a beeline for the bathroom. Luckily, Moaning Myrtle was elsewhere. Lily wasn’t in the mood to try and be nice to her.
 
Scorpius poked his head around a corner, grinning evilly. “Need some privacy, Lily?�
 
“Oh, stop it!�
 
He strode over to her confidently, each step full of conceit. “How are you, Lil? Having a good Halloween?�
 
“Will you stop procrastinating? Just tell me what you have planned!�
 
With a playful seriousness, Scorpius gazed into her eyes. “First I need to know how your day has gone.�
 
Rolling her eyes and giggling, Lily gave him a good-natured slap to the arm. “Does it matter?�
 
“Yes.� His eyes glinted malevolently.
 
“I had Binns. How do you think my day has gone?�
 
“Then I say you are in a definite need of some fun… and perhaps danger.� He teasingly waved the Marauders’ Map in front of Lily’s curious face.
 
She snatched the parchment out of his hand. “What exactly are we going to do?�
 
As an answer, Scorpius whipped out an old and faded book that had a picture of a monster on it. Lily’s fingers brushed the cover hesitantly. Monsters were usually in the Forbidden Forest, and tonight was a full moon…
 
“Scorpius, what are we going to do?�
 
The excitement heightened in his expression. “What better way to spend a Halloween than to go hunting?�
 
“Hunting?�
 
“Yeah!�
 
Lily glanced back at the book. “Hunting what, Scorpius?�
 
“Nothing that dangerous,� he laughed.
 
“Scorpius, you sound like Hagrid. Monsters are dangerous. And have you forgotten that tonight is the full moon?�
 
Smirking, he opened the book up. “This is what we are hunting.�
 
Leaning in closer, Lily could barely make out the print: Amphisbaena. A depiction showed a serpent-like creature with two heads, one of which was at the end of the creature’s tail. “That’s not dangerous?�
 
“No.� He innocently smiled at her. “Not any more dangerous than any other serpent.�
 
“The basilisk comes to mind,� Lily retorted.
 
“Come now. I promise you won’t get hurt.�
 
“How can you promise that?�
 
“Because I’ll be there. And because killing one of these is said to give one great power.� He struck a dramatic pose.
 
“Really, Scorpius? Are you even sure there is one near Hogwarts?�
 
“No. That’s why we go hunting!�
 
“And attract every werewolf within five miles.�
 
“You worry too much. You know that werewolves aren’t really a problem anymore. Not since your dad and his friends started that campaign. And we won’t go that far into the forest. I know where there is a trail that we can follow a little ways.�
 
“Couldn’t we just sneak into Hogsmeade like James did his second year? I mean, you can go into Hogsmeade, being a fourth year and all." Lily nervously shifted, her grip tightening on the map.
 
"But you aren't allowed, and I am not going to do something you can't do."

"You would give up Hogsmeade for me?" Lily felt touched.

Scorpius didn't answer, but he didn't need to.

"Still, Scorpius, hunting a dangerous magical creature and in the Forbidden Forest at night..."

“Are you scared?� Scorpius purposefully lifted one eyebrow at her, knowing full well how Lily would react.
 
“No, just trying to be reasonable.�
 
“I though Gryffindors were brave,� Scorpius stated with an edge of disappointment.
 
“We are,� Lily responded defensively.
 
“Prove it.�
 
Lily gritted her teeth. He always knew exactly how to manipulate her. “Fine, but we are taking the cloak. I know where James hides it, and I can probably get it before James visits his room.�
 
Scorpius instantly grinned. “Deal. Meet me at Hagrid’s garden at 6.�
 
Without another word, Lily brushed past him determinedly out the door. Despite her nerves, she could still feel the thrill beating inside her. Even if they didn’t find the serpent, she knew she would have a good time with Scorpius.
 

Chapter 2: Hell Breaks Loose

Underneath the cloak was uncomfortably warm as Lily traipsed her way across the castle grounds towards Hagrid’s hut. Already, the sky was dark, and the full moon was shining brightly, calling back all those nerves and fears she had. Lily gripped her wand tightly, wondering if it was worth the trouble to prove how brave she was. But that wasn’t the real reason she was out here. No. The real reason was simple: she didn’t want to spend her Halloween trapped in the castle while everyone else got to enjoy the fresh air and cheer of Hogsmeade. Unfortunately, as she neared the hut, the forest seemed to darken and emote a sinister air. She fervently began to hope that Scorpius would change his mind and decide to sneak over to the village.

No such luck. Scorpius’ eyes were wide open in anticipation as he crouched in the pumpkin patch. Lily had to hand it to him- he was certainly brave.

“Scorpius, I’m here,� Lily whispered as she pulled off the cloak, her hand still clutching her wand for dear life. The cloak fluttered to the ground of the pumpkin patch.

Scorpius glanced her way and his grin widened. “Good. Now the fun can begin!�

He stood up and walked over to her, his eyes now on the map. His wand was nowhere in sight, something that caused Lily to panic.

“Where’s your wand?� she cried.

“Well- the creature we’re hunting can sense magical instruments. We’re going to have to leave behind the cloak and our wands if we want to catch the it,� Scorpius answered nonchalantly.

“Are you crazy? Go into the Forbidden Forest without our wands? How stupid do you think I am?�

Scorpius scowled at her. “Oh, come on. When we find it and kill it, we won’t need our wands!�

“Don’t you mean if we find it? What has gotten into you? Why can’t we just sneak into Hogsmeade?�

“Where is your sense of adventure, Lily?�

“You have lost it! There is no way that I am going into that forest without the protection of my wand. That is final!� Lily shot him a glare and turned on her heel. “I’m leaving. Good bye.�

“Fine! I can hunt it by myself.�

Lily shook her head and began trekking back, hoping against hope that Scorpius would follow her. After a few steps, though, a dead weight settled in her stomach. She whipped her head around and saw, to her eternal trepidation, that Scorpius had disappeared. How can he be so foolhardy, she thought.

With a groan, she started her way towards the forest, wrestling with the screaming voices inside her head warning of danger. I can’t let him be alone in there. I’m his friend.

After a couple seconds, Lily began to panic. She couldn’t see Scorpius, and the forest was getting darker with each step. Tentatively, she called out, “Scorpius? Where are you?�

Nothing answered, and she took note of the fact that everything was eerily silent. Shouldn’t a forest be alive with sounds? Not even the wind was howling. A shudder ran through Lily. “Scorpius?�

She shuffled forward, but stopped suddenly. She could swear that something was watching her. Breath hitched in her throat, Lily backed up against a tree. “Scorpius?� Her voice trembled with the name.

Every which way she looked was swallowed in blackness, but Lily didn’t dare light her wand for fear of attracting attention. Though she hated to admit it, she was starting to wish that her older brother was here- he had always been more courageous than her, and that much more intuitive. She, on the other hand, felt herself beginning to reel.

Hrrrrrr.

Lily jumped right out of her bones. “Help me!�she cried, though she couldn’t bring herself to scream it. “Scorpius?�

Her eyes closed in anguish. Get a grip, Lily! she chided herself. But every vein in her body was chilled, and she could feel panic stealing its way through her heart.

Taking as deep a breath as she could, Lily allowed her eyes to take a peek at her surroundings. Nothing. Just gnarled trees and eternal darkness. With shaky resolve, she slowly began walking again, her fingers clasped tightly together around- Lily stopped. Her wand! Where was her wand?

She turned sharply around and fell to her knees, her hands desperately searching the ground. But there were too many leaves and thorns and plants. What had happened to her wand?

Hrrrr. HRRRR.

Her head snapped up immediately, causing her long hair to become tangled in front of her eyes. She quickly brushed her hair away, and she caught sight of something tall looming in the shadows. Her heart went wild, and the rush of adrenalin left her faint. Short, staccato breaths followed, causing her body to tremble uncontrollably. She couldn’t move; she couldn’t scream.

The something lunged forward on bent hind legs and human-like feet sporting long curved yellowed nails. Tattered skin drooped from its skeletal limbs all disjointed and jagged. The creature paused and lifted its evil nose as though it were pondering if Lily was the meal it desired. Its sunken eyes seemed to bleed ice as it growled into the night, and as the wind began to pick up, the creature glared directly at Lily.

Terrified tears slipped down her cheeks and her mind went haywire: I’m going to die! Die! What am I going to do? What is that thing? I’M GOING TO DIE!

Its talons swiped the frigid air in front of her face, and she finally found her voice. With a bloodcurdling scream, Lily fell backwards into the dirt, scrambling for anything that would help her. Nothing met her fingertips but the autumn leaves surrounding her.

There was only one thing left to do. She quickly clambered up from the ground and sprinted as fast as she could from the beast. Screams continued to issue from her mouth, but her voice began to die out from the effort. The beast swiftly followed her, rather agile for a crippled creature. It howled with a blood thirst greater than any monster Lily had heard about it. The sound alone caused her hearing to deafen, and the vibrations threatened to burst her veins.

As she ran, Lily noticed that her legs were carrying her deeper into the forest, dashing her hopes of reaching an adult or even Hagrid’s hut. At the same time, the beast hadn’t managed to catch her, but Lily’s only real focus was to keep running.

Somehow, she managed to scream one last thing before her voice completely failed: “SCORPIUS!�

Her feet were growing weary, her heart was near exploding, and now she had lost any chance of recovering her wand. As she dashed past another tree, she wondered if she was fast enough to climb her way out trouble. Giving herself no second thoughts, she deftly threw herself up the very next tree.

The creature didn’t even hesitate. Its talons gripped the trunk of the tree in hot pursuit. Lily could feel its putrid breath on her ankles, and she wildly kicked out at it. Her foot connected, startling the beast and seriously dislocating her ankle, causing her to slip. She looked down at the monster and saw she had managed to put a gash in its forehead, but instead of blood, the gash was filled with shattered ice. Horrified, Lily almost lost her grip. What kind of fiend is this?

It growled at her through its ashy lips, and at the same time, Lily heard a crack. With a start, she realized that one of the branches she was clutching was very brittle and couldn’t hold her weight.

It happened so fast that all Lily could remember of it was a blur. She purposefully broke the branch and swung it at the beast, smashing its face. With an earsplitting roar, it crashed to the forest floor. Unfortunately, so did Lily. A couple of years of flying had given her some excellent reflexes, however, and she was able to land with minimal damage.

The monster continued to howl, but at the moment, it was incapacitated. Flushed with success, Lily rushed off back the way she had come, blood pounding in her ears. The only thought in her head was that she had to get as far away as possible from the beast.

Surprisingly, she found herself at the edge of the forest much sooner than she expected. Thanking Merlin that she hadn’t managed to get lost, she hurried over to Hagrid’s hut. Her hands grasped at the handle of the door as a chilling growl sounded behind her. Without hesitation, Lily forced her way inside, slamming the door shut behind her.

“Are you okay, Lil?�

Her jaw dropped as she spotted Scorpius lounging on the other side of the room. “You- you- you’re not- what are you- what are you doing here?�

He peevishly looked at his fingers. “Well, when you left, I didn’t want to- what I mean to say is that I-�

A howl cut him off, causing Lily to spasm and Scorpius to instantly sit up. “What was that?�

“That is the thing- the thing that is going to- to kill me,� Lily sputtered. In exhaustion, she slumped to the floor. Scorpius knit his eyebrows in confusion, and he ran to the window.

“Merlin’s beard, Lily! What is that?� He crouched down next to her, and for the first time in her life, Lily saw fear flash across his features.

“I- I thought you had- and I followed- and my wand- my wand- it attacked- it attacked- and I-� Lily felt the sting of tears and her voice choked.

“Lily! Calm down!� It almost sounded like he was telling himself to relax, but Lily took no notice of it.

“I- I can’t!� Her head fell into her lap, and her body began to shake violently.

A menacing growl sounded right behind the door. Lily instinctively grabbed Scorpius’ arm and hung on rather tightly.

“Do you- do you have your- your wand?� Lily asked tentatively.

Scorpius’ eyes widened. “I left it in the pumpkin patch-�

Lily groaned. “James’ cloak! I forgot all about it, and it’s in the- in the-�

“Pumpkin patch,� Scorpius finished for her. He stared off into the fireplace that was burning merrily, unaware of the two children in danger.

“And the- the map?�

“Lotta good it will do us,� Scorpius grumbled. “It’s in my pocket.�

“What are we going to do, Scorpius? How- how are we going to get past that- that monster without- without-� Lily bit her lip.

“I don’t know! Do you have any idea what it is?�

She shook her head. “I don’t- I don’t think it’s alive. Have you- have you seen it?�

A clawing noise interrupted them, and Lily could hear the creature’s heavy breathing. In a small voice, she said, “I think I w-wounded it…�

“You think?� Scorpius asked, the effort of trying not to panic beginning to show in his eyes.

“Well,� Lily started, flustered, “I k-kicked it hard in the- in the head, but it d-didn’t bleed, Scorpius. All I saw was- was shattered ice.�

Her comment lit his face up. He scrambled up off the floor and gazed out the window again.

“What? What is it?� Lily cried, bewildered at her friend’s actions.

“I think it’s a Wendigo,� Scorpius answered in a mixture of awe and fear. “My dad told me about them. They’re Dark creatures that feed on the hearts of their prey. The creepy thing is that they started out human, but became consumed by their lust for other human flesh, causing them to turn into Dark beings with hearts of ice.�

Her own heart leapt into her throat. “I don’t th-think I needed to kn-know that.�

He grimaced at the story himself, but he gave Lily a small smile. “Oh, Lily. Don’t worry. I won’t let it hurt you, I promise.�

“Your dad told you how to kill them?� Lily asked, relief flooding her.

“No, but from what you said and the info from Dad, I think I know how.�

Incredulous, Lily inquired, “How?�

His eyes lit with that wild excitement he was so well known for. “Fire!�

“Fire?�

“Yeah, fire!�

Lily gaped at him. “Erm…�

Scorpius rushed to the fireplace. “It’s perfect! We have a fire right here. All we have to do is attack the beast with it, and I am positive the heat will cause the creature to melt and die.�

“But-�

He held up a hand to silence her. “Lily, what other choice do we have? Come on, I know you can do this.�

The sincerity in his voice relaxed Lily far more than she remembered ever having felt before, and the Gryffindor determination kicked in. “Okay. What’s your plan?�

“We each take a log from the fire and thrust it at the monster’s heart.� He sounded rather sure of himself, causing Lily to smile.

Somewhere, bells began to peal, and Lily glanced at her watch. “Merlin! It’s already 7 o’clock.�

Scorpius carefully selected one of the burning logs. “Come on, Lily. We don’t want to wait for the animal to get inside, do we?�

She barely heard him. Her eyes were busy marveling, once more, at her watch. Logic, not magic, could prevail…

“Lily?�

Shaking herself out of the reverie, Lily knelt next to the fire and picked up a flaming log. She and Scorpius glanced at each other, the grimness of the situation still very real.

“Ready?� Scorpius asked. Lily nodded in response, and the two crept over to the door, bracing themselves for what lay on the other side.

Scorpius threw open the door, and the two children found themselves facing the snarling beast, its sunken eyes glowing black with rage. At the sight of the fire, the monster screeched and reared back.

“Lily, now!� Scorpius shouted, and he thrust the fire straight at the creature’s chest. Lily threw her own log with as much force as she could muster. Her aim was true, and the monster shrieked. Its drooping skin caught fire, and the howling beast scampered off towards the Forbidden Forest.

“Let’s not wait for it to change its mind,� Lily hurriedly suggested, grabbing Scorpius by the hand. They made a short stop at the pumpkin patch to gather the cloak and wand, and then took off for the safety of the castle.

---

The next morning, Lily moodily pushed her sausage around her plate. Despite having managed to escape death last night, she didn’t know how she was going to explain to her parents or her teachers what had happened to her wand. She almost wished she had joined death last night…

Scorpius slid in next to her. “Hey, moody. Why so glum? Was last night’s adventure not exciting enough for you?�

Lily sighed. “I think I’d rather face the Wendigo than my own mother right now. How am I supposed to tell her that I lost my wand in the forest?�

“You know, we never did get the chance to find that serpent and gain enormous power from it. If you’d rather face that than your mother…�

Despite the nerves within her, Lily laughed. “No, thank you, Scorpius. Next time, we sneak into Hogsmeade.�

He smiled at her and nodded. “Next time, we’ll sneak into Hogsmeade.�