Chapter 107

Granted, Oliver didn't know about Harry's memory advantage so he didn't know that Harry would spot the snitch so long as it was not hiding, and if it was hiding it wouldn't matter anyways because the other player wouldn't find it either. In the end, Oliver had only agreed after Harry had shown him consecutively that he could still find the Snitch quickly while helping the Chasers and Beaters through their practice matches.

As the days moved along October 1st soon changed into October 31st, Halloween Day and the day Harry Potter lost both of his parents exactly 11 years ago.

XoX

The school had gone all out to decorate the Great Hall. Orange and black streamers hovered above the permanently charmed ceiling, swaying in an undetectable breeze. Large pumpkins with jack-o-lantern carvings were on display around the room and on the five tables. Bats flew through the hair, ducking and weaving around banners. pumpkins, and the people sitting at the tables laughing and chatting merrily away. The entire place held an air of festivity.

And that was to say nothing about the food. Ham, Turkey, Chicken, Yams, bread rolls, mash potatoes, and all kinds of condiments sat on golden plates arrayed around the pumpkin decorations; all of it charmed orange and black to keep with the Halloween theme.

Yet Susan Bones was not smiling. She and her best friend, Hannah Abbott, had been looking around the large room for Harry Potter, but couldn't find the raven-haired boy anywhere. She could see Neville sitting alone at the Hufflepuff table, the seats around him unoccupied as most people knew by now that when one of them was sitting there they were reserved for the rest of their friends, but Harry Potter, who always walked into the Great Hall with Neville during meals, was not present.

"Come on, Sue," Hannah said, grabbing her friends arm and pulling her along the to the table. "Maybe Neville knows where he is."

Susan nodded noncommittally as she let her friend drag her to the Hufflepuff table. Her eyes strayed to the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables, and noted that Harry wasn't sitting at those tables either. Wanting to be thorough but not really expecting to see him, she looked at the Slytherin table as well.

As she thought, he was not there either, though she did see Blaise and Tracey sitting next to Daphne Greengrass. The two Slytherin students had yet to sit with them during meals, but Susan figured it was because they didn't want their blond friend to feel left out. Susan admired their loyalty.

Soon enough, she and Hannah were sitting next to Neville. Hannah had chosen to sit on the boy's left while she sat on Hannah's left.

"Hullo, Neville," Hannah greeted in her usual friendly manner. Neville, who had been playing with his food looked up at her, his eyes unfocused. He blinked for a few seconds before seeming to realize who had spoken to him and smiled.

"Hullo, Hannah," he greeted, his tone only slightly distant.

"Is something wrong?" asked Susan, some of the worry she felt leaking into her voice. Did Neville know the reason Harry was not there? It would make sense if he did. Neville was in Harry's house, after all.

"Not really," Neville said after a moment. "Just thinking?"

"About what?" asked Hannah.

"Stuff."

It was a very vague answer. Not at all like Neville.

They wanted to ask him about it, but before they could, Lisa and Terry both arrived on the scene. They sat down on the opposite side of the two Hufflepuffs and one Gryffindor. After exchanging more greetings with each other, Terry began piling food onto his plate, while Lisa looked around with a small frown.

"Hey, Neville," she started, her pink lips turning downwards. "Where's Harry?"

"He's not coming."

"What?" Susan blinked at the strange statement. "What do you mean he's not coming? You mean he's not coming to feast?"

"Yes."

The single word answer shocked Susan, and her other friends from the looks of it. Harry didn't want to celebrate Halloween with them? Why?

Almost immediately, her mind began working on trying to discern the reason. He could be sick, but no, Harry seemed pretty healthy, and wizards almost never get sick unless it was a magical sickness, and they would know if he had gotten one of those sicknesses, there would be symptoms.

Perhaps something was depressing him. He hadn't seemed particularly sad the last time they had spoken, but then, it was very hard for her to figure out what Harry was feeling. He could be on the verge of tears and she doubted anyone would ever know.

There were dozens of possible reasons why Harry might not be up for celebrating Halloween, and not one of them seemed like the right reason. Each one seemed just as unlikely as the last. Without having any information, Susan couldn't even begin to guess why Harry didn't want to join them.

"Wait," Terry started, a frown on his face. "Why isn't Harry coming to the feast?"

Susan was startled to see the blank look that crossed Neville's face. It was the first time he had ever looked at someone like they'd just said something stupid.

"What day is today?" he asked, his tone almost sounding conversational but carrying a hint of something Susan couldn't identify.

Terry couldn't identify it either, because a strange look crossed his face. "Halloween?" he asked, sounding almost unsure of himself as he answered.

"Yes, Halloween," Neville said with a nod. "And do you know why we celebrate Halloween?"

"Well, it's all Hallows Eve, right?" Lisa said, frowning as she, too, wondered where this was going. Susan couldn't blame her. She wondered the same thing. "It's the festival of the dead, where we celebrate those who have passed on and the ancient traditions and rituals many wizards of old used to perform that have been lost to the ages."

"Yes, there is that," Neville agreed. "But there is another event that happened on this day much more recently that we celebrate."

Eyes widened in realization as they realized where this was going.

"It's the day You-Know-Who was defeated!" Hannah exclaimed excitedly.

"Yes, the day You-Know-Who was defeated," Neville said, his nod still in place. Susan frowned when she saw the look on his face. It was not the kind of happy look she would have expected from someone celebrating such an important day. She found out the reason a moment later. "The day Harry Potter defeated You-Know-Who, the day he became the Boy-Who-Lived. Did any of you stop to think about why he gained that title?"

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