The older one got, the more elaborate (or less, in many cases) costumes became for Halloween. Having a themed party was always exciting; it also set people up for potential doubles. George didn’t like the idea of a twin. He always enjoyed being one-of-a-kind.

Super-hero had been something he’d mulled over for a bit. Was he just supposed to show up as himself? That seemed like an every day occurrence... he was pretty super, and was it so wrong that George considered himself a(n often unsung) hero?

Of course when he’d explained his reasoning to Waker, he’d been laughed at. The muggle one in the relationship had been gracious enough to explain it a little better (with pictures). What he saw were a bunch of guys with masks and underwear outside of skintight spandex with ridiculous capes and symbols and gadgets. The histories behind them weren’t important either; why they were the way they were wasn’t important for a Halloween party. Not for George.

Whereas Waker did her homework, George just needed a basic outline. A foundation for his awesomeness.

He strode in with a smirk on his face; Waker was tucked under his arm as best he could manage, body paint covering a splatter of skin here and there. The cool October air would normally have chilled him, if not for the warming charm he’d generously applied before leaving their flat. Glancing at his girlfriend out of the corner of his eye, he gave her as good of a wink as he could manage (and hoped she could see it). “You look beautiful.” His free hand rubbed her belly, visible now that she was partway through her fourth month. “And you, sir, are handsome as ever.”

Once inside, George raised a hand as he spotted Grace. “HEY!” He quickly picked her up, oblivious to the close quarters of her to him (he always got this close to most people at Hogwarts, why would that change outside of it?), spun her around, hoping to get some of the paint on her, before setting her down. “Hot mama.” Winking at her, he looked around and noticed- “Ruby!” Arms spread out wide before he gave her a big hug. She was Emmylou’s friend, so George was cool with her.

He retreated a bit, looking at the cauldron in excitement. George only looked at Waker with some pretense of asking for permission before picking up a ladle full and gulping away. A sputter or two later, and he made a face at Grace. “Wha’s in that?” The aftertaste, however, caused an eyebrow to raise and a smirk to slip onto his lips. George started to offer it to Waker before he remembered. The pumpkin flavor on his tongue tingled as he offered it to the next person.

Chris smiled and nodded when Fauna correctly identified his costume. Apparently, he didn't do a bad job at dressing himself for the party. Despite his rather lack of any form of research, he at least was able to capture the sense of a costume correctly, especially a rather muggle costume. "Yes, indeed Fauna," he responded after her rather confident guess.

He glanced at the cauldron that Grace claimed to have a rather special concoction for them to drink. "It sounds rather dangerous," he added with a sly grin.

Suddenly, he was embraced in a warm hug by Theta. "Hey Theta," he greeted her, hugging her back. A little bit after that hug, Addie arrived at the party as well. She seemed to have a rather large supply of dark blue drinks in a bag. The party seemed to have its own variety in drinks to consume and enjoy.

At George's entrance into the house with Waker, he seemed to be rather close with Grace and Ruby. Almost immediately, George tried Grace's potent drink, and Chris couldn't help but to laugh at his reaction to the concoction. "It sounds rather pleasant," he commented.

Costume

Invisible Woman. That sounded easy.

Not.

Lou didn’t have the money to spend on an Invisibility Cloak, and they were even harder to get ahold of since Harry Potter’s Deathly Hallows Adventure ten years ago. Of course the Wizarding World’s hero, who had singlehandedly stopped the biggest villain of all time, would crush Emmylou’s childhood dreams of owning an Invisibility Cloak. Of course. Her runner-up costume, Doctor Doom, was sounding really good right now. She would show those heroes....

Speaking of.

Lou tapped the door knocker briefly before inviting herself in-- it was more of announcement that she was about to trod through the door than a please come let me in. She floated through an entryway until she was right there, in the heart of the party.

Grace and Fauna! It was probably a night overflowing with hugs for the party hosts, and (unbeknownst to Lou) she was the second Carter in quick succession to invade personal space, but Lou didn’t care: she tackled the pair of them, one with each arm, so that they were in a giant, superhero-y tangle. Part of her shoulder was hazily transparent. A big kiss to Grace’s cheek and a gentle tug of Fauna’s hair followed. “Look at you two. How’s the crime fighting?” She asked with a sort of sideways grin. Maybe they would use their powers to put that Auror Pratt in line. “What kind of rent do you pay on this place?” It had a Hogwarts Jr. vibe to Lou, who was used to her childhood bedroom and/or Edmund’s flat and/or sleeping off hangovers on a spare bit of Quinn’s mattress-- which she hadn’t done in a while. A series of hugs, hellos, Happy Halloween’s, and nudges were bestowed upon Theta, Christopher, Dax, Dion, Adelia, Charlie, and Eha.

As soon as she stepped away, she bumped straight into a similarly featured cousin of the same (sur)name, who was only a smidgen taller than she. Randomly patchy Disillusionment Charms didn’t give her the ability to walk through people. “Ugh, George, move.”

Someone looked like he could use a little bit of insta-modesty in the form of Disillusionment Charms. Nolan just looked boring. “I think you got lost on your way to the Playwitch party.”

At least he looked mightily patriotic.

Lou always seemed to be bumping into this pair on Halloween.

It had been an awkward several weeks since Lou and George had had their row at his flat, and she was still a little bitter over the lack of orange juice and the TMI. The awkwardness between Lou and Quinn might have been worse; she was used to bickering (albeit lovingly) with George. But she wasn’t going to let their bumpy couple of months ruin a party. Joking around with George seemed the safest route. Besides, they had talked once or twice after George’s confession.

“Do you think if I pay Nolan 10 sickles, she’ll help me walk through walls?” Maybe that wasn’t on the Invisible Woman menu, but.

Ladling herself a drink as she silently agreed with Dant, she turned toward Ruby-- Ruby?!-- whom she hadn’t seen since the other girl had gone to America. She didn’t even know she was back. If it hadn’t been for people saying her name, Lou might not have recognized her in a quick glance. Costumes and all. “A blonde Flickwick,” she exclaimed lightly, smiling. “I have seen everything.”

Mindful of her drink, Lou hugged the Hufflepuff alum. Pulling back, her smile changed a little, and her face asked the question: where the hell have you been? Her eyes darted to the bloke costumed in primary colors beside Ruby, and back again. If she’d skipped town for Spiderman, surely everyone would forgive her.

---

I’m posting Waker soon.
I wanted to have Lou talk about her, so it made sense to post Lou first.

“Thanks.” Waker flashed a quick smile, a show of teeth that might have also given a hint of her nervousness. When she wasn’t working, she was running errands, doing chores-- being an adult in one’s own home was hard even for Waker, who had been anticipating it half her life-- or having quiet nights at home, reading, researching, working on extra projects for her superiors. Most Some of the people she was going to see tonight she had not seen in months (and if there was a slightly conscious avoidance...).

Her eyes flittered down to the hand on her belly, and back up at the door. She looked sideways at George, offering another very small smile (his use of gendered nouns aside). His costume was... very George. Waker had spent quite a bit of time staring when he’d first appeared in the living room (half) painted and not very clothed. She had helped with his back, and was now more used to the Union Jack-themed superhero George. “You look... loyal to the crown.”

As they stepped inside, it was at once overwhelming and somehow comforting to see faces she hadn’t seen in a while. It was almost like being back in Hogwarts...

She greeted everyone in turn, some with more invisible awkwardness charging between them than others. Most people seemed more lightly-clad than Waker, who wore Lois Lane’s signature trench coat over a Supergirl costume. She had read until she’d found a loophole, had combined the costumes (hopefully) without being too illogical or confusing. Lois Lane was a good fit for Waker Nolan, but Waker couldn’t show up to a superhero-themed party without the superhero part of her costume. Not that the fictional reporter wasn’t a superhero in her own right. The extra layer of clothing was, admittedly, comforting.

“Do you think if I pay Nolan 10 sickles, she’ll help me walk through walls?”

"I can hear you."

Waker looked from Emily to George and back again, before settling, once more, on George. Her brows were furrowed slightly, brown gaze disenchanted. She was always highly suspicious when the pair of them were in the same room. Emily Carter was certainly not like George's brother, and if she bemoaned a missing bottle of orange juice one more time...

Very aware of her own costume, and figure, and everyone else's less covered costumes, Waker placed her arms at her sides and straightened her shoulders. Her interactions with Fauna were sometimes awkward (she recalled a particular moment in the girl’s lavatory), and her recent history with Grace had been somewhat awkward, too.  Waker’s eyes caught Albus Dumbledore and lingered on him for a moment; George, in her peripheral, was being overly friendly with his greetings. “Everything looks wonderful,” she said to Grace, offering a smile that felt un-awkward, at least. She greeted the rest of the colorful mix of party hosts, mentally counting how many of their costumes she recognized or could decipher. Many of the superheroes she knew immediately; a few she was pleased to recognize from her weekend of comic book research.

---

If anyone wants me to edit this to address characters more specifically, PM me! I left it open.