A HAUNTED House?!!

[Norton Gillespie]

Norton had known that the halloween feast would happen, but in his mind, the wizarding people didn't really need to dress up, so rather than dressing up, Norton had carved a pumpkin, he'd gone down to where the elves were, that were just the friendliest of people, and with their help had carved a pumpkin. It was only as he approached the hall that Norton realise he had completely misjudged the event and was now stood as the kid with a jack-o-lantern, it was made even more obvious when he noted all the ones made by the elves floating, which made him laugh slightly, but also be in awe of it. Norton was wondering around, waving at the older boy he'd met in the arts room who was dressed as a viking, he looked at the candy, the bobbing for apples and then he noticed it, a tent that was supposedly a haunted house, now that he had to see! He had to! The boy held tightly on to the jack-o-lantern as he wandered close, eventually stepping inside. Now, Norton wasn't that easily scared, but this was a magic haunted house, there had to be real ghosts and other weird real creatures. But he was determined to have fun, and perhaps use this jack-o-lantern in his hands as a weapon if anything ended up jumping out at him. He was only steps into it, and already he felt his heart beating quickly, magic really didn't do things in halves.
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[Minerva Khulik]

Minerva felt ridiculous for coming along to the feast, it was totally not her and certainly not something she would have done at home. This business of trying to fit in was killing her but her parents letters were full of do your best, try harder and she knew it had nothing to do with her academic work! They had never had cause to worry about that, it was all about making friends and she was awful at it but this was her trying harder, doing her best. Her mother in all her wisdom had sent her on a costume for the event and looking quite ludicrous Minerva had shown up as a rain cloud for the feast.

She looked about for anyone she knew but with everyone dressed in costumes she didn't recognise anyone. It took a while but then she saw another first year Hufflepuff .. Horton or no... Norton! She knew it was him because unlike everyone else, he only carried a really fantastically carved pumpkin but otherwise looked very much like himself. Why hadn't she thought of that?!

Moving over to attempt to speak to him which was not an easy feat in and of itself to her, Minerva watched as he entered the haunted house and for a moment stood outside it not entirely sure she wanted to enter. What was the harm, she wondered .... it wasn't a real haunted house, nothing terrible could actually happen ... right? She entered looking a lot braver than she felt.
"Norton" she whispered and put her hand which was painted grey to resemble a rain cloud too on his shoulder.

 

[Norton Gillespie]

The fear and ill-ease that was mounting within Norton because of this haunted house was not rectified when a grey hand touched his shoulder and a whisper said his name. Norton practically scream at the top of his lungs, had he been just a few octives higher and louder the windows in the great hall might've smashed, he jumped away exceedingly startled and raised the pumpkin above his head just ready to throw it at whatever had just tried to scare him. Norton was not often scared, it took a lot to scare him but he didn't know if the ghosts in the wizarding world were all lovely or if they had some like the ones that tended to be depicted in the horror films that Norton watched through his hands. However, it was as he looked at the thing responsible for the grey hand and the person whose voice it had been he realised it wasn't some ghost or evil spirit there to steal his soul, rather it was a girl from his house and year. Minerva, that was it! "Oh. My. Goodness," he breathed out with a hint of chuckle, lowering the raised pumpkin and readjusting so he could clutch at his chest. His breath was coming in fast, "Minerva," he added breathlessly, "My god," he couldn't seem to get more out as he tried to control his own breathing, "You scared me!" but as he said this, he smiled at her, and shook his head. Norton took in her costume and smiled, the fact she was a raincloud then made sense as to why her hand had been grey, "That's an amazing costume," he added, still a little breathless, noting that the costume had rain somehow. Truly better than what he was, which was nothing, just a boy with a jack-o-lantern. His fears about the haunted house he was still stood in had mostly vanished after that big a scare.
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