Open Haunting the Halls

[Aine Thompson]

recovering from severe writers block with rapidfire event posting let's go

Aine both looked and felt ridiculous. It wasn't so bad, though. The hair and makeup, even though it was just pure white, was almost a form of protection. She didn't think she was immediately recognizable, which was nice. She could just float her way through the event (if only she could actually phase through crowds), find snacks, people watch a little and then retreat to the bathrooms to wash away all the paint. At least the hair was just a colour changing charm an older girl had helped her with. Only once she'd arrived at the food table did she realize that if she had a drink or something to eat it would ruin the illusion on her face, and she slunk away almost sadly, trying to ignore the growl of her stomach. It wasn't as though she needed to be gorging any more, anyway.

 

[Marnie Frogg]

Marnie would be the first to admit she might have made a tactical error in her costume this year. She always had such big plans for costumes while she was packing, and then she just put them off and put them off until it was the night before Halloween and she was hurriedly sticking marshmallows to a cardboard box. The result wasn't too bad, she had to say, but she hadn't exactly worked out the logistics of it. Like how she was supposed to eat anything with her arms stuck out ungainly at her sides and the constant smell of chocolate and marshmallows following her around. It would have been even worse if she'd managed to figure out how to charm the box so it smelt like ginger like she wanted to.

Haunted by the sweet smells, she'd made her way over to the snack table anyway, nearly colliding with someone who was walking the other direction and hastily sidestepping. "Oh sorry, I've got a one track mind right now all I can smell is lollies I'm so hungry," Marnie said with a laugh, popping open the flaps that hid her face so she could see better and letting out a little gasp when she spotted Aine. "Ohh wow is that you Aine you look amazing I mean it's so simple but it's so clean and it's really effective you look super spooky I bet if you could do a little invisibility on your charm you could fit right in with the ghosts you know I heard they throw parties for Halloween and stuff too we could sneak you into one of those I've always wondered what it was like do you think they like our costumes or are they like offensive oh I hope not," Marnie said, fawning over Aine's neat looking ghost costume.

 

[Aine Thompson]

Aine was just kind of looking around a little aimlessly - Valerius was with Aika, Rosie was taking photographs, she didn't really feel like dancing...and then a gingerbread house collided with her. She blinked a few times, mostly worried she'd now smudged makeup on the house and ruined her face. Which made no sense, it hit her arm, not her face, but when did making sense ever factor into Aine's way of thinking? She tilted her head at the house, realizing pretty quickly that it was Marnie - the third year was pretty distinctive, especially when she talked. "Hi Marnie," she said, gently. "Did you make that? It's a cool idea," she admitted. A gingerbread house wasn't what you'd think of for Halloween, but she hadn't even really considered celebrating Halloween at all until she'd come to Hogwarts. She was just impressed by the creativity of thinking. "I wish I could do invisibility. Nobody would ever see me again." Aine gave almost a wry smile at that. It certainly would make her life easier. "Imagine all the stuff you could sneak from the kitchens," she added, quickly, as though covering herself before there were any questions. "I don't think they'd get offended...at least I hope not. Uh, surely we'd know by now if they had a problem with them, right?" Great, now she was going to dwell on that.

 

[Marnie Frogg]

Marnie couldn’t help preen when Aine complimented her costume, especially considering how slap-dash it felt next to hers. It may have been a last minute idea, and kind of inconvenient, but Marnie was still proud of it. “Yes, thanks! It was kind of last minute like I had some other ideas but I ran out of time and then like you always have cardboard around and I had all these lollies from Honeyduke’s and yeah I definitely ate more than maybe I should have while making it but I got it done I was gonna try to charm it to make it smell like real gingerbread too but I couldn’t figure it out and the paper I was practicing on just smells like cumin now which is interesting but not really what I was going for but really the only real downside is the costume makes me sooo hungry like I know there’s lollies RIGHT there but I can’t eat them ya’ know,” she said, motioning to her front where she’d stuck some jaffas to chocolate buttons to form the outline of a window. Yeah she’d eaten the other half she hadn’t used (with some help from her roommates) but it was still a shame she couldn’t eat these too.

“Oh wow I couldn’t handle being invisible I feel like I’d forget where I was I mean I dunno if that works but I already forget half my stuff anyway imagine if it was invisible on my body too yikes but it would be pretty funny to just see a floating bag of chips go past or something haha everyone would just think someone was levitating it or maybe that it was haunted ohh I should be a haunted bag of chips next year, would that be too hard to pull off?” Marnie moved to tap her chin thoughtfully, clunking into the side of her costume with a flustered laugh instead. “But no I bet you’re right I’ve not met many of the ghosts but they seem nice. Mostly. I hear the Slytherin ghost is kind of a creep but the others are cool I think there’s this lady that haunts downstairs sometimes who’ll teach you to dance if you ask her nicely!"

 

[Aine Thompson]

Aine gave a soft smile, letting Marnie talk. It wasn't so bad - sure, she was loud, but it was nice to be around someone a bit more talkative. Often she felt like she had to push herself, or that she talked too much herself and tended to ramble, so she couldn't find it in her heart to be annoyed in the slightest. It was actually something of a relief, really. "I think it's like, cinnamon and cloves? I remember this gingerbread ginger beer I had...cumin's probably close enough?" Though she liked cooking a little bit, she didn't really know that much about it. Her dad seemed to prefer shortbread to gingerbread. "Do you, uh, need me to get you some food, or something?" she offered, a little lamely. Aine could hear the berating in her head already. "I guess you could always eat them when you're done. Though it depends how they're stuck on...maybe glue isn't the best for you. Unless it's like, wizard glue." Sometimes she was reminded she didn't know that much about the wizarding world. Wilful ignorance, probably.

"It would be a fun kind of prank to play, but I guess it would be pretty freaky." Now she was thinking about it, looking down to see nothing would be weird. Or looking in the mirror to see nothing. Strike being a vampire off the list of goals, she supposed. "Like if you got stuck..." she shuddered. Although then she wouldn't have to worry about anyone looking at her, not being able to be seen again, that would be miserable. "Oh, really? Maybe I should look for her. I...don't know how to dance and I feel like maybe I should learn," she admitted, glad the face paint hid the slight flush of embarrassment at the admission. Perhaps it was just part of getting older, but dancing with someone didn't seem so bad. Preferably a handsome stranger straight out of a novel. "'Cause it comes up at so many events, and all. I can only do like, the Macarena and the Nutbush. And they're so out of date, probably even for wizards."

 

[Marnie Frogg]

Marnie hummed in consideration, glad that Aine apparently knew something about spices. “You’re probably right I dunno if anyone would have been able to tell but I would have known you know though cumin’s not terrible but I also don’t like it all that much it kind of smells like even ginger to me if that makes any sense it’s like sharper I guess?” Marnie started, immediately distracted when Aine offered getting her food. “Oh! Would you that would be awesome though you might have to like throw it into my mouth I can’t really bend my arms that much in this I kinda put the arm holes in weird places I guess I was more worried about where to put the windows and stuff I wasn’t really thinking about actually wearing it my mum says that’s always my problem I get stuck thinking about how things look now how they work which is why I keep mark scarves for people that are waaay too long unless they’re really tall. Or have a really big neck,” she said. “I am pretty hungry though,” she finished, eying the snack table sheepishly.

“I don’t think I’d be able to hide if I’m invisible even if I got stuck I know I’m not super stealthy I’m just not very good and keeping quiet so why bother right I like talking,” Marnie said happily. “We should look for her together I’d love to learn how to ghost dance, I don’t talk to the ghosts that often I’m always worried I’ll ask them invasive questions not like how they died or anything I think you’re not supposed to ask how they died full stop but stuff like what it feels like to stick your head through a wall and stuff cause that seems interesting. Ghost dancing is probably way cooler though I can only kind of shuffle in this OH or maybe I can do the robot,” Marnie said, excitedly trying to move her arms in stiff awkward movements. She couldn’t see very well, but she hoped it looked like it was supposed to.

 

[Aine Thompson]

Aine nodded, as though that was the most sensible course of action, before hesitating slightly. "This isn't going to like, make you choke or anything is it?" The last thing she wanted to do was actually kill someone. Sure, sometimes she had the urge to punch someone - usually Cameron - but it wasn't something she actually wanted to do. "We don't need to test out the whole ghost theory." Aine winced, having spoken without thinking properly again. "Sorry, that was kind of...dire. Uh, what can I get you?" She was hungry just looking at the table, but she was going to be strong. The last thing she needed was to gorge on cake. At least she could smile in some relief at Marnie's comment about asking the ghosts the wrong questions. "I'd probably ask them the wrong thing too. Or just ask them overly complicated things." She gave a wry smile. "You should've seen my last Herbology essay." She only hoped Professor Carter hadn't actually been laughing at her devolving in to general questions. He probably was. Everyone probably was, she thought, swallowing down bitterness and self-absorbed anxieties. "I feel like I'd probably get tangled up trying to tango, but I'm sure it wouldn't be so bad to learn. If anyone in my year saw me though I'd probably just die and become a ghost for real. Sorry. Morbid again. I warn you, my aim is not great."