Halloween Ghost Stories

A/N: Albus/Scorpius slash, and Rose/Lysander pairing
Word Count: 2,390
oO0Oo
Meet me in the Shrieking Shack at midnight
R~
P.S. Wear a costume

Scorpius looked down at the note one last time before he slipped out of the Slytherin common room. Because he'd gotten the note earlier that day, he hadn't gotten a chance to come up with a good costume. Instead, he charmed a set of his school robes completely black and put a silver bat on the back. And, like the real Ballycastle Bats' robes, there were two things written around the mascot; his name was above and his position (Seeker) was written below.

The halls were eerily quiet as he slowly made his way out of the castle. Earlier that night had been the Halloween feast, so Scorpius assumed that everyone was in bed, full from all the holiday food.

That's actually when he'd found the ruddy note. Someone had slipped it in his robe pocket without his knowing and he couldn't figure out who could have done it. His boyfriend had been sitting with the Weasley clan and the rest of his friends had already gone when he found it.

By the time he reached the Whomping Willow, Scorpius wanted nothing more than to be back in his bed. Preferably with Albus sleeping beside him. Instead, he levitated a stick to poke the knot at the base of the tree like Albus had told him and walked through the passageway before the branches started to move again.

The tunnel was - like the hallways - very quiet and it was pitch-black. He cast a Lumos as he continued to walk and soon reached the trapdoor. The hinges squeaked loudly as he pushed it open then climbed through. The place was empty except for a few broken pieces of furniture and a jar with fire in it.

He'd recognize that portable flame anywhere. "Rose!" Scorpius called out, looking around for the Ravenclaw.

There was a loud thump from one of the rooms down a hallway. Scorpius thought that, maybe, she was busy doing something and hadn't heard him. Deciding to give her a fright for making him come down here so late at night, he quietly made his way to the door. There was another loud noise, a banging against the door, and Scorpius slowly turned the knob.

The door flew open, flinging him backwards and down to the ground. Scorpius looked up, intending to yell at Rose for pushing him to the floor but stopped when he saw who was standing there instead.

The man was wearing a white mask with two large holes for the eyes, and six smaller ones near the mouth area. There was blood dripping from an axe in his hand and all over his clothes. Scorpius screamed when the man lunged forward, the axe now raised above his head. He tried to get out of the way but before he could move, someone else was yelling a name.

"Albus!"

The man lowered the axe then pulled the mask off, revealing a broad smiled Albus. "Hey, Scorp," he said, offering his hand.

Scorpius stared at him in disbelief then glared at him. "What the bloody hell are you doing!?!" Behind Albus, he could see Rose standing in the doorway. Her clothes were all torn and her skin was a strange color; it looked like it was rotten. Her normally bushy red was now all matted and it looked like there was a chunk of something in it.

She hurried over to Scorpius, helping him to his feet even though he tried to push her away. "We're really sorry," she said, taking a step back. Off to the side, Scorpius could see one of the Scamanders - most likely Lysander (rumor was that he and Rose were a couple) - with pale skin and his clothes were covered in white dust. "I didn't think you would react that way."

"You didn't think I would be terrified of someone coming at me with an axe?" he asked her incredulously. "How would you have reacted? Offer him some tea?"

Rose blushed in shame then looked over her shoulder to her cousin. "Well?"

Albus gently pushed her aside so he was facing Scorpius. "Look, I'm sorry. Okay? I guess I didn't think it would scare you that much."

The blonde stared at him for a moment and knew there was no chance of staying mad when Albus obviously looked like he was remorseful. "You should have stopped talking about 'Didn't think.'" Albus smiled beautifully and quickly pulled him into a tight hug. Scorpius kissed his cheek gently as he hugged him back then looked over at Rose and - judging by the way they were cuddling - her boyfriend. "Is that the reason why you got me out of bed so late?"

"Actually," Rose said, smiling too, "We wanted to tell ghost stories."

"Rose and Albus said they would be fun," Lysander said, speaking up for the first time. Like his brother, he had a distant-looking smile but seemed to be more serious than his twin. "I've one about Heliopaths." Scorpius rolled his eyes, he was quite used to hearing about all those unbelievable tales from the twins (some of there were, in fact, amusing).

Scorpius wasn't sure he wanted to stay in the haunted building any longer than he would need too and told the others just that. It took some convincing, but, eventually all four teenagers were sitting in a circle, the jar of fire placed in the middle.

"Who's going first?" Rose asked, smiling at the others. When no one spoke up, she gave a little huff and pulled the fire close to her, casting eerie shadows on her face. "This story is called...The Hook.

"One evening, while the full moon hung high above their heads, a couple were parked at the town's 'lover's lane', snogging to romantic songs on the radio. It was going well until the music was interrupted by the radio host's anxious voice. 'This just in,' he said, the sound of papers rustling in the back ground. 'There's been a breakout at a local insane asylum. All patients have been found except one man known as The Hook Man. We urge all citizens to stay indoors and keep an eye out for a man with a hook for a right hand.'

"The girl and her boyfriend looked at each other. She wanted to go home, but he kept insisting that it was just a hoax and there was nothing to worry about. They argued for a few minutes about whether to stay or go home like the radio host suggested. Suddenly, the car jerked a little - almost as if someone had touched it."

Scorpius shivered lightly when Rose whispered the last bit and scooted a little closer to Albus, only to find the other boy almost next to him.

"The girl screamed and told her boyfriend she wanted to go home. Instead of listening to her whine, he finally agreed. The ride to her house was silent, both mad at the other because of the fight. The boy pulled into her driveway, and, before he could unbuckle his seat belt, his girlfriend was already out of the car. 'I'll call you tomorrow,' she said angrily then slammed the door shut. And then she screamed.

"The boyfriend fell out of his car in his haste to find out what frightened her so much. When he finally reached the other side, he stopped dead in his tracks. Hanging from the door handle was…a bloody hook!"

Rose said the last few words louder than the rest of her story, startling both Scorpius and Albus, who now had their arms wrapped around each other. Lysander just looked at her with a fond smile. "That was really scary, Rose," he said with a smile as she set the flame down on the ground again.

"Thanks," she said with a blush then looked at the other couple. "Who's next?"

Albus and Scorpius looked at one another and jumped slightly when Lysander spoke up again. "I'll go." He copied what Rose had done earlier, bringing the flame up so there were shadows on his face. "The sun was setting as Lucian walked through the forest. He had just found his wife with another man and was trying to calm down. But, the more he walked, the angrier he got. How could his wife do something like that to him?

"Soon, the only light was coming from the tip of his wand. By now, Lucian had gotten lost and couldn't figure out where he was. No locating spells worked and he couldn't Apparate. He ended up stumbling into a river and couldn't think of anyone to blame but his adulterous wife for his misfortunes.

"He cast a Tempus Charm a few hours later to find that it was almost three in the morning. There had been noises earlier so Lucian didn't want to risk sleeping. Just as a twig snapped behind him, Lucian stumbled and twisted his ankle. Now, he was as mad as he had ever been. He sat down and yelled at the forest.

"When his throat was sore, he finally stopped shouting and started to levitate rocks and anything else heavy at the tress at alarmingly fast speeds. Soon, it started to get lighter and hotter around Lucian. He assumed that the sun was rising, which only made him madder. But, instead of the sun, fire was making its way toward him.

"Lucian jumped to his feet, ignoring his twisted ankle and tried to run, but he wasn't fast enough. Quickly, the flames were surrounding him and that's what he realized he heard the sounds of galloping feet. Just before he was grabbed by thousands of arms, Lucian saw the face of a sneering Heliopath."

Lysander set the flame down in the middle then smiled proudly at others. Albus and Scorpius were holding each other tightly and Rose had her legs pulled up to her chest with her arms hugging them close. "Wow…" she whispered.

"Your turn?" Lysander asked, looking over at the pair of boys. Albus nodded slowly before taking a deep breath and grabbed the flame jar.

He, just like the other two, held the flame up to cast the ghostly shadows on his face. "Caroline was having a sleep over one Saturday night when someone suggested they play truth or dare. The game started off simple enough but soon changed to much more bold dares and shocking truths. Eventually, it came to Caroline. 'I dare you to go into the bathroom and say "Bloody Mary" in the mirror three times.'

"Caroline wasn't worried. After all, she didn't believe in those things. She bravely got up, ignoring the whispering girls behind her and entered the bathroom. As soon as the door was closed, the room was pitch dark. She turned on the little light that made the room even scarier.

"She looked at herself in the mirror and quickly said 'Bloody Mary.' Nothing happened. So, she said it again. This time, a shiver went down her spine, giving her the chills. She only had to say it one more time and then she could leave and have fun with her friends. Caroline took a deep breath and looked at herself in the mirror. 'Bloody Mary.'

"Again, nothing happened. She looked away so she could turn off the small light, and, when she looked back up at her reflection, there was a woman with long black hair, covered in blood reaching out for her. The last thing Caroline ever did was scream."

The four teenagers were quiet as Albus put the fire back in the middle. "That wasn't very scary," Scorpius said, staring at the flame for a moment then looked at the others. "What?"

"That always scared me when I was younger!" Albus complained with a huff. "I refused to go to the bathroom alone for weeks."

"It's true," Rose laughed then sobered up when she saw the glare her cousin gave her. "Well, it was."

Scorpius covered up his own laugh with a cough. "Really, Al. A woman coming out of a mirror isn't that scary. Watch." He summoned his favorite mirror (something his father taught him before he had turned 7) and quickly said "Bloody Mary" three times before Albus could stop him. "See? Nothing happened."

"Let's see if you can do better, then," Albus challenged with a huff, looking at Scorpius in the eye. "And if Bloody Mary gets you tonight, try to not wake me."

Scorpius rolled his eyes and went to grab for the flame. But, before he could grab it, there was a loud scratching noise from the door that led to the path to Hogsmeade. "What was that?" Rose whispered, moving closer to Lysander and grabbed his hand.

"I don't know," he replied and pulled her closer. "Maybe it was Nargle. Although…it's a bit early for them…"

Scorpius opened his mouth to remark that they didn't exist but nothing came out when he saw something in the window over Lysander's shoulder. It was a woman with long black hair and her hand was reaching through the window.

He quickly got up, holding Albus' hand tightly, and ran through the tunnel back to the castle. Rose and Lysander looked over to the window but didn't see anything. "What scared him?" Rose asked, looking around the room. She stopped when she saw the front door had somehow opened. And hanging from the handle was a hook. She let out a blood curdling scream and Lysander quickly pulled her down the tunnel after the other two.

While they were running back to their beds, a woman with long black hair slowly walked through the door, picking the hook up as she moved past the door. She looked around for a moment then burst out laughing. A boy, just a few inches taller than her, ran in with a big smile on his face. "That was hilarious," he laughed.

Lily nodded quickly while she chuckled, clutching her aching sides. "That'll teach them to not invite us. Huh, Hugo?"

Her cousin nodded as he calmed down and took the hook from her hand, placing it on his own. "Happy Halloween, Lil."

"Happy Halloween, Hugo," she said, pulling a chocolate frog from her robes and offered it to him.