Halloween

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The 31st of October finally came. As the autumn leaves rustled outside and the moon shone brightly in the night sky, the castle was adorned with eerie decorations, creating a spooky and atmospheric ambiance throughout the corridors and common rooms.

The students, dressed in an array of costumes ranging from classic witches and wizards to fantastical creatures, buzzed with excitement as they prepared for the night's festivities. The Great Hall, with its enchanted ceiling mirroring the starry sky, was transformed into a grand Halloween feast, with tables laden with an abundance of delicious seasonal treats.

The Divination classroom hosted a special session where Professor Trelawney demonstrated her skills in predicting the future using various divination methods, including tea leaves and crystal balls. The Dueling Club organized a thrilling display of magical duels, showcasing the students' spellcasting abilities as they battled against each other in friendly competitions.

As all of those things were happening at Hogwarts, two students were away from it all. Jace and Katherine were deep inside the enormous library, sitting in two very comfy-looking chairs with a book in their respective hands.

Occasionally, they would steal glances at each other thinking that they weren't caught. Despite the allure of the Halloween celebrations happening around them, Jace and Katherine found comfort in the serenity of the library, indulging in their thirst for knowledge and the quiet companionship of each other's presence.

Jace sighed and closed the book he was engrossed in, realizing the time. "Say, won't we be late if we keep going with this?" he said, looking at Katherine with a slight frown.

Katherine, who was sitting across from him looked at him in puzzlement. She was so engrossed in her book that it took her a couple of seconds to acknowledge what he had said. She pouted and threw him an annoyed glance. "Wasn't it you who told me to come here today?" she retorted, crossing her arms. "I vividly remember you also saying something about not caring about the feast. And why did you use 'we'? I didn't know that I was going."

Jace scratched his head sheepishly. "Yeah, I didn't plan on attending," he admitted. "But I mistakenly mentioned it to Tom, and he made me promise him that I would go. He said something along the lines of 'Jace you are studying too much! You shouldn't forget to have fun while we are still young'." He looked at Katherine with pleading eyes. "Please come with me? I don't want to be a third wheel. Tom is all lovey-dovey with Hermione lately, and since Sky found that Longbottom, they are hardly separated from each other."

She let out a sigh and nodded. "Fine, I'll come with you," she said, giving him a small smile. "But you owe me for this, Jace. Don't forget."

Jace grinned in relief and jumped up from his chair. "Thank you, thank you!" he exclaimed, getting up and grabbing Katherine's hand while pulling her towards the exit. "We better hurry if we don't want to be late."

A faint blush crept up Katherine's cheeks as was caught by Jace's hand, but she remained silent.

As they walked through one of the castle's many winding corridors, they began discussing their respectable theories about the books they were reading. Little did they know that something would interrupt their stroll.

Just as they rounded a sharp corner, they encountered a terrifying sigh. In the middle of the corridor stood a gruesome creature that seemed almost human, yet was clearly far from alive. Its sickly pallor, rotten flesh, and patches of missing skin sent a chill down their spines, and its vacuous eyes and eerie groans added to the unnerving atmosphere. The stench that accompanied the creature was nauseating and nearly suffocating.

In an instant, Jace and Katherine found themselves paralyzed with fear. Their minds raced as they tried to figure out how to protect themselves against such a ghastly apparition. However, just as they noticed the creature, it noticed them as well and started slowly and clumsily heading toward them. But just as panic was about to set in, Katherine sprang into action. Swiftly pulling her wand from her holster, she whispered an unfamiliar incantation and shot forth a vivid purple beam of magic. The spell connected with the horrible being, causing it to crumple into a heap of dust, dispersed by the intense force of Katherine's spell.

Watching in wonder, Jace marveled at Katherine's willingness and resourcefulness under pressure as he watched her vanquish the nightmarish creature with her mysterious spell. Even though he also broke from his stupor, he hadn't even managed to transform his ring back into its staff form. With the nightmarish creature gone, the musty scent disappeared along with it.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Jace turned to Katherine. She didn't seem very bothered by the experience. It almost seemed as if she had encountered similar situations before. Had their defense against the dark arts professor not made them practice with weak magical creatures, he would have been freaking out right now. He vividly remembered when Professor Diggory or George as he called him in private, made everyone fight a Lemures and have them able to subdue him. Lemures, also called Larvae, were wicked and fearsome specters of the dead but also pretty weak. It was the first time Jace came in contact with a dark creature, making him very scared. However, the professor was near them and guided them and taught them spells that could be used to effectively subdue the creature.

Reflecting on this, Jace felt grateful for the training they had received and for Katherine's expertise in handling the situation. He realized that his performance was severely lacking. "That was amazing, Kath. I didn't know you were that proficient with your wand. Sorry for being so useless," he said, a mix of awe and embarrassment coloring his cheeks.

Katherine smiled modestly, tucking a strand of her dark hair behind her ear. "Thanks, Jace. I've been practicing quite a bit lately," she replied, clearly not disclosing everything. Jace didn't mind. He knew that everyone had secrets, even he himself had some. He suspected that it might have something to do with her family.

Jace nodded, accepting Katherine's response without prying further, despite the curiosity gnawing at him. He decided to focus on his own shortcomings instead.

'I need to step up my game,' he thought to himself. He realized that he had been too complacent, relying solely on his academic knowledge without putting in enough effort to develop his practical skills.

"Say, do we have to inform a teacher about what happened here?" Jace asked as he glanced at the pile of ash that stood in the place of the creature.

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