/𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒\ [𝒔. 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌]

𝟒.𝟜.𝟣

"I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life." ~ F Scott Fitzgerald

~october 1974~ (tw: homophobic slurs)

Warm light danced through the glass ceiling of the school's greenhouse as brightly colored leaves dusted the ground surrounding the castle. Lily, Mary, and Severus all stood in the greenhouse with large pumpkins sitting on the table in front of them, the guts spilling over onto the floor. "Lily, you didn't tell me it would be this messy," Severus said, wrinkling his nose as he reached into the pumpkin to pull out another handful of guts.

"What, did you think they grew empty?" Lily asked, laughing and wiping her hands on her already messy jeans.

"I did," Mary murmured. "That's how my dad gets them."

Lily shook her head and peered into Mary's half-emptied pumpkin. "Hate to break it to you, but that's all magic."

"There's got to be a spell for this," Severus muttered, staring down at his pumpkin in disgust.

"No, no," Lily said cajolingly, "-it's not about that. I used to do this every fall with my parents and my sister, it's a muggle thing- wizards just do it all by magic. You have to actually carve the face into it to get the real effect. It looks all messy and scary and it's just- it gets you in the Halloween spirit!"

Mary smiled softly at her friend's enthusiasm and went back to picking the guts from her pumpkin. Severus didn't look as satisfied. "Muggles can't do anything right," he grumbled.

Mary raised her eyebrows in surprise, but Lily merely shoved Severus playfully, her good mood unable to be dimmed. "Oh, stop complaining and clean out your pumpkin. We can carve them in a minute."

There was a scuffle from outside the greenhouse and then the door opened and James, Sirius, and Peter stepped in, all decked out in Gryffindor sweaters and scarves. "Committing pumpkin genocide?" Sirius asked, stepping closer to peer over Severus's shoulder.

Severus shook him away and Lily scowled at him. "We're carving pumpkins."

"Why?" James asked, looking genuinely confused.

Lily let out an irritated sigh. "You wouldn't get it."

"Why? Cause I'm not as smart as Snivellus here?" James chuckled.

"That's exactly why," Lily snapped.

James shrugged and reached back to mess up the back of his hair. "I mean, if you consider this greasy stuck up prat as smart, your standards are a bit low."

"Yeah, you've got your priorities all wrong, Evans," Sirius said smoothly. "And I think Snivellus is doing his pumpkin wrong, see?" He picked up a little handful of pumpkin guts and tossed them at Severus, then wiped his hand on the cloak Severus had left sitting on the table. "You're not supposed to wear them, mate."