"Are you going to go to the Halloween party the Marauders are throwing?" Marlene asked Savannah one morning as they walked to Charms. Marlene was carrying her books, while Savannah had hers in a messenger bag that had an Undetectable Extension and Weightless Charm on it.

Savannah shrugged. "I don't have a costume."

"That's okay, there's a Hogsmeade trip this Saturday. That's when Lily and Alice are planning on getting theirs," Marlene responded with a smile as they climbed the stairs.

"You already have yours?" Savannah questioned, looking at Marlene as she stuffed her hands in the pockets of her robes.

"Yep. I'm going as a biker chick," Marlene replied as they arrived at the Charms classroom.

"Like from the 50's?"

"Exactly! Cool, right?"

"Yeah," Savannah replied as some Hufflepuff- they had this class with the Hufflepuffs- guy opened the door for them.

Marlene thanked the boy as she followed Savannah to their typical spot in the back.

"So, what do you say? Do you want to find an awesome costume with them this weekend?"

Savannah shrugged as she answered, "Sure."

There used to be an annual All Hallow's Eve Ball, but a few years before Savannah and the rest of them came to school people started ditching it in favor of the Halloween costume parties their houses threw. It was cancelled in their third year due to the fact that no one came anymore and the professors didn't want to put in the work they did if no one was going to attend. The All Hallow's Eve ball was formal, with everyone being required to wear their best dress robes. Now, there was a Halloween feast that everyone attended before going to the house costume parties.

Marlene grinned at her before Flitwick started the lesson.

Don't get too close, Savannah heard her parents' voices echoing in her mind before she tuned them out and leaned back in her chair, putting her feet on the table as she started eating a Sugar Quill.
——
"Rise and shine!" Lily said in a singsong voice on Saturday morning.

Savannah groaned and buried her head in the pillow, not yet wanting to leave the warmth of her bed.

"C'mon!" Lily whined slightly, giving Savannah one last chance to get up peacefully.

Savannah groaned in response again and shrunk down under her covers. Mornings are not my thing, she grumbled in her head.

Lily smirked slightly before moving to the end of Savannah's bed and yanking the covers off of Savannah, who shrieked in protest and curled into a ball.

Lily tossed her a shirt and pair of jeans that she dug out of Savannah's trunk as she told her, "We're going to look for our costumes today, remember?"

Savannah stayed where she was for a moment, willing herself to leave her comfortable bed. She rolled over, expecting to see the top of her four poster, but instead she felt herself fall off of her bed. She groaned when she felt her back collide with the hard wood floors, closing her eyes until the pain faded. Of course this is how her morning began.

Marlene, Lily, and Alice all began laughing hysterically as they came over and looked at Savannah.

"You had the opportunity to get up yourself!" Lily told her after she calmed down.

Savannah simply groaned in response, finally opening her eyes and sitting up. Marlene snickered at Savannah's bedhead, which was quite... messy. Lily tossed her the clothes she had gotten out for her, both articles of clothing landing on Savannah's head.

Savannah tugged them off of her head and went to the bathroom, tugging off her shirt off along the way.

Savannah pulled on the shirt and jeans, using a spell to return her hair to its natural, half wavy state. The shirt, she noticed, was her favorite AC/DC T-shirt that was especially soft due to all the washes. Her jeans were her favorites, ripped all over. She slipped on her black Vans and grabbed her jean jacket- which was hanging on a hook on the back of the door.

She quickly charmed the jacket to be warmer, as she didn't feel like waddling around in a huge coat all day. Halloween was next Sunday, which meant that they had to find costumes today.

"Ready?" Alice asked the others, looking between the other three girls.

"Actually, I'm not going. I have a date today," Marlene informed the others, making them raise their eyebrows.

"With who?" Lily immediately questioned, her face screwed up in slight confusion.

Marlene smirked slightly. "I'll tell you if I think something could come out of it."

Lily seemed to know that Marlene wasn't going to tell them, so she let it slide. "Alright. Have fun!"
——
The girls started out their day with Honeydukes, which Savannah was thankful for. She was running out of Sugar Quills!

After that, they went to the bookshop. There, Lily purchased a new book and a couple of new quills. Alice got a new journal. Savannah got another one of her favorite muggle books, Pride and Prejudice. She had read it before, but she hadn't yet bought it. She needed another muggle book to add to her collection anyway. She loved Pride and Prejudice, especially the character Mr. Darcy.

After they left the bookshop, they went to The Three Broomsticks and got some lunch with a butterbeer to drink.

"I wonder who Marlene's mystery boy is," Alice said as they waited for their food.

"I dunno. Maybe it's Sirius?" Lily suggested, taking a sip of her butterbeer after she did.

Savannah couldn't explain why her chest suddenly burned at Lily's comment. I just took a sip of butterbeer. I probably just drank it too fast.

"She got over him the summer after third year, remember?" Alice reminded Lily as their food came.

"What about that seventh year Hufflepuff? The one she sits with in Divination?" Lily suggested again after she thanked the waitress.

"Maybe. Or what about that Ravenclaw that always stares at her in the Great Hall?" Alice responded.

"I dunno. Any ideas, Savannah? You have Charms with her," Lily asked before she took a bite of the chicken she got.

Savannah shook her head. "I don't think so."
——
After their lunch, the girls finally went to a small clothing shop that had Halloween costumes.

"What should I be?" Lily asked as they browsed through all of the choices.

Savannah smirked when she seen the perfect costume for Lily. She grabbed it and held it out for Lily to see. "How about Poison Ivy?"

Lily blushed slightly, as she was a muggleborn so she knew who Poison Ivy was; a badass, confident villain.

Savannah sensed her hesitation. "C'mon, you'd be perfect! You've got the hair and eyes!"

"I don't know..." Lily trailed off, unsure.

"C'mon, Lils! At least try it on!" Alice told her as she was holding out her own costume that she was ready to try on.

"Okay," Lily finally gave in, reaching to get the costume from Savannah.

"What costume do you have, Alice?" Lily asked once she noticed it draped over Alice's arm.

"Snow White!"

"That's perfect for you, Als! You look like her and you're as kind as she is!" Lily exclaimed with a smile.

"Yeah, I agree," Savannah added as she kept browsing.

"What about you, Sava? Who are you gonna dress up as?" Alice inquired, frowning slightly when she realized that Savannah hadn't picked out a costume yet.

"I dunno. I'm waiting for something to really grab my attention," Savannah said absentmindedly as she looked through the remaining costumes in her size.

"You need someone badass and..." Lily trailed off, looking for the right word.

"Sexy?" Came Sirius Black's voice as he appeared behind Lily, making her jump.

"What are you going to be, Lilypad?" James Potter asked as he showed up beside Sirius.

"This is for our party, I assume?" Remus Lupin asked politely from beside James.

"Yep!" Alice responded.

"Perfect! Want to be my date, Lilypad?" James asked again, putting an arm around Lily's shoulders.

Lily bit her lip. "I... I... sure," she responded as she looked at her feet and fidgeted slightly out of embarrassment.

"Oh come on- wait what?!" James started out of habit before realizing what she said.

Lily looked up at him nervously.

"Merlin..." James trailed off in disbelief.

Sirius waltzed over to Savannah and threw an arm around her shoulders. "Want to be my date, 'Vannah?"

Don't let anyone in, her parents' voices echoed in her head again.

"No, Black," she snapped, her emotional walls building themselves up higher.

"C'mon, 'Vannah. The most badass girl and the most badass boy at Hogwarts; we'd make a power couple!" Sirius begged, not wanting to let his wounded pride show.

"No, Black," Savannah repeated, still looking through costumes but not really seeing them.

"You know you like me. Why else would you come to both of the quidditch matches we've had so far?"

"My brother. I watch James more than I watch you during the matches anyway," Savannah deadpanned.

Sirius put a heart to his chest, feigning (or not) heartbreak. "You wound me, 'Vannah."

Savannah merely shrugged.

"I'll get you to say yes one of these days, 'Vannah," Sirius sighed as he let his arm, which was still around Savannah's shoulders, drop.

Savannah snatched a costume, wanting to get away from Sirius. "Aha! I found a costume, c'mon Lils, Als!" She exclaimed as she hurriedly walked away from Sirius, startled at the fact she let Sirius' arm stay around her shoulders far longer than she would have at the beginning of the year.

Lily walked away from James, face still red from slight embarrassment. James, on the other hand, looked like all his Christmases and birthdays came at once.

Alice followed after waving goodbye at the boys.

The girls hurried into dressing rooms, eager to get their costumes and get back to Hogwarts.

"See, James, what did I tell you? You stopped asking Lily out fifty times a day and you finally got her to say yes!" Remus told James as they made the trek back to the castle.

"You were right, Moony. Thanks for the help," James agreed as he clapped Remus on the back, "You helped me get the girl."

"Yes, but now it's your turn to keep the girl, Prongs," Sirius pointed out.

"Just be more mature, okay? Lily seemed to like your jokes and innocent pranks, but not the big, embarrassing ones," Dalton told him from his spot walking with Peter.

"You're right, Paws," Peter agreed.

Back in the shop, the girls settled on their costumes. They bought them and rushed out, hurriedly walking back to the castle since it was getting colder the darker it became.

The girls stowed their costumes in their trunks when they got back to their dorms. Savannah pulled Lily down on her bed.

"Okay, so why did you say yes to James?" She immediately questioned, looking at Lily intently.

"Well... he stopped asking me out so much, which helped. He stopped bullying Severus so much, not that I care anymore. He stopped with his embarrassing pranks, too. He just... matured?" Lily responded, the last sentence coming out like a question.

Savannah smiled. "He really likes you, Lils. I overheard Remus giving him some advice. He took it, which must mean that he really cares about you."

Lily felt herself blush as she looked down at her freshly painted mint green nails. "You really think so?"

"I do."

Lily smiled. "Thanks, Sava. I'm tired; I'm going to bed," she said with a yawn.

Savannah smiled back. "Okay. See you in the morning," she replied as she transfigured her clothes into pajamas and crawled under the covers.

Sirius Black called me sexy, was her last thought before she fell asleep.