It wasn’t the most inventive costume ever, but she had waited too long to do anything too creative. And it was a classic: a pumpkin. Of course, she could have gone with a round, bulbous shape for authenticity, like that one person she could see across the room, who seemed to be an eyeball. But that wasn’t very flattering, and she still wanted to look pretty while she was in costume. Her dress was the characteristic bright orange, made of a slinky material, and the skirt was floofed out and rounded under, like a pumpkin. There weren’t any straps, which made her a little nervous, but it was tight enough at the top that she didn’t have much to worry about. A green band and little leaves decorated the top, all the way around, and she wore a matching green headband, with a trailing curlicue of a leaf hanging over her forehead.

Her hair was twisted into a bun on the very top of her head, which was supposed to resemble a stem, and she had asked an older girl to apply a green colour charm to her hair. She was relatively confident that it would go back to her normal colour after the party. The upper part of her face was covered by a green mask, and she had (rather daringly) applied some green lipstick. Orange tights and orange flats completed the ensemble, and she had been fairly pleased when she had looked in the mirror earlier. Now, though, in the midst of the other party-goers, she was a bit worried it was too plain. Some of these girls were really dressed up prettily. And she was just a pumpkin. Too late now, and she was being pushed along through the sea of students and into the Great Hall.