Chapter 43: A Little Help
On Halloween evening, Hogwarts Castle looked as though it had been rebuilt overnight for mischief.
Hundreds of living bats fluttered through the corridors, clinging upside down to candelabras and suits of armour. Every so often a wing would flick, sending a soft rustle across the stone like whispered laughter. Grinning pumpkin lanterns lined the walls, their enchanted flames dancing inside hollow faces and throwing grotesque, comical shadows that skittered across tapestries and stairwells.
The air was thick with the sweet scent of roasted pumpkin pasties and that restless holiday magic that made even ordinary footsteps feel louder. Younger students clustered in excited knots, talking over one another about the feast, wagering on what strange desserts the Headmaster might conjure this year, and daring each other to walk beneath the largest swarm of bats without flinching.
Regulus moved among them without hurry.
For once, he had no intention of vanishing into the library or disappearing into some quiet corner to practise. He let the noise wash over him, absorbing the atmosphere with the calm attention of someone cataloguing details for later.
As he passed along a third floor corridor where enchanted tapestries shifted their patterns with every blink, a bright, crisp voice called out.
"Hey, Black, over here"
Regulus turned.
Eleanor Bones stood near the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room, frowning at a messy pile of pumpkins and ribbons as if the whole corner had personally offended her. The moment she spotted him, her eyes lit up and she waved him over with unmistakable determination.
Regulus had not come alone.
Avery Cuthbert walked close beside him, spine straight and chin lifted, as though his very posture were an announcement to the world. Alex Rosier hovered a step behind, quiet and careful, well aware that staying near Regulus meant fewer sharp elbows and fewer unwanted lessons in Slytherin politics.
Hermes Mulciber trailed at the back, expression shadowed. His gaze kept drifting to Regulus's shoulders, not with loyalty so much as scrutiny, as if he were waiting to catch a flaw that would prove the boy in front was not invincible after all.
When Eleanor called, Regulus stopped.
Avery reacted first. He caught Alex by the sleeve before Alex could drift forward, then shot a look at Hermes. Without needing words, the three of them shifted aside and pretended to become deeply interested in a nearby tapestry of two knights locked in an endless duel, blades clashing in a loop with exaggerated flourishes.
Regulus approached Eleanor alone.
Another Hufflepuff girl stood beside her, shorter, with brown hair cut close to her jaw. When she saw Regulus coming, her shoulders hunched on instinct. Curiosity flickered in her eyes, along with a faint nervousness that she tried, and failed, to hide.
Regulus Black's name had spread through the younger years lately. Pure blood. A leader in Slytherin. The boy who crushed older students in a duel and still walked away looking bored. The one professors seemed to notice even when he said nothing at all.
It gave him an aura people could not quite ignore.
But with Eleanor beside her, the girl forced herself to stand a little straighter, though her fingers kept twisting the hem of her robes.
"Miss Bones," Regulus said when he reached them, giving a polite nod.
Then his gaze shifted to the girl beside her, and he nodded again, just as naturally.
"And this is"
Eleanor beamed, clearly pleased.
"This is Susan Payne, my friend. Susan, this is Regulus Black. I told you about him, the Slytherin who is oddly insightful in Herbology."
Susan swallowed, then managed, "Hello, Mr Black," in a small voice.
"Hello, Miss Payne," Regulus replied, tone steady and courteous.
He truly did not care about blood status. Being a Black meant he had never needed to scrape for superiority, and it also meant he had no interest in proving himself by belittling strangers.
His calm manner seemed to surprise Susan more than his reputation did.
Regulus glanced at the scattered pumpkins and the bits of decoration on the floor.
"Run into trouble"
Eleanor huffed.
"We wanted something special here. Just lining up pumpkin lanterns feels a bit boring."
She pointed to a recessed alcove beside the entrance to the common room.
"Professor Sprout said we could be creative, as long as it is not too scary. Since Hufflepuff's symbol is the Honey Badger, I thought we could combine that with Halloween, but we cannot exactly hang a real stuffed animal here."
She scratched the back of her head, looking both stubborn and annoyed by the limits of reality.
Susan nodded quickly.
"We tried Transfiguration," she whispered, "but it either looked wrong, or it would not last long before it changed back."
Regulus studied the alcove, then the pumpkins of different sizes. He went still for a moment, thinking.
"Combining Honey Badger traits with Halloween," he said. "We can do something with that."
He crouched and picked up a pumpkin that had already been hollowed out and carved.
Eleanor and Susan leaned closer, eyes fixed on his hands.
"Honey Badgers are known for being brave," Regulus said, turning the pumpkin slightly. "Some would say reckless. They do not fear much at all."
He drew his wand and tapped the pumpkin lantern lightly.
Magic flowed over it like water catching moonlight.
The pumpkin's shape began to shift. Two short protrusions formed at the top, like small, stubborn ears. The carved grin on the front altered, the lines growing rougher and more forceful. The mouth curve changed into something fiercer, a look that seemed to say, try it and see.
Then Regulus tapped again.
The eyes sharpened. Two tiny points of pale light formed within them, like a creature's gaze catching in the dark.
A third tap, softer than the first two.
The flame inside changed. What had been warm orange now turned to a cooler, silvery white, bright and clean. Its flicker grew less gentle, more vigorous, and beneath the lantern's base faint shadow marks condensed into scratchlike strokes, as if something had clawed its way into place.
A decoration that fused House identity with Halloween fun settled into its final form.
It looked strange in the best way. Cool, interesting, and undeniably Hufflepuff, but with that sharp Honey Badger edge that made it feel more alive than a simple carved pumpkin ever could.
"Wow," Eleanor breathed, eyes wide. "That is amazing. That is exactly it. It fits perfectly."
Susan stared too, forgetting her earlier nerves.
"You even changed the flame colour," she said, voice full of awe.
"I am glad it helps," Regulus replied, as calmly as if he had merely straightened a ribbon.
Then he moved down the pile, wand tapping in a steady rhythm.
One by one, the other prepared pumpkins changed. Some ended up with sharper mouths. Some looked more amused than fierce. Some had eyes that glinted like they were judging you. Each carried the same Honey Badger traits, each with the same silvery white flame, but none were identical.
Soon, five or six Honey Badger pumpkin lanterns sat in front of the alcove, their pale flames flickering with a cold brightness that made the corner look both mysterious and oddly lively.
"What interesting things are you working on"
The voice was gentle and warm.
Professor Sprout approached, looking as if she had just come from the greenhouses. In her hands was a small pot of softly glowing mushrooms, their caps pulsing with faint light.
Eleanor practically bounced.
"Professor, look. Regulus helped us make Honey Badger pumpkin lanterns."
Professor Sprout examined them with clear interest, leaning in to study the stability of the shapes and the flame.
Then she looked at Regulus, who stood a little aside, composed as ever.
Approval softened her face.
"Very creative, Mr Black. Stable Transfiguration, clear intent, and you balanced the holiday spirit with House identity. Five points for ingenuity."
"Thank you, Professor," Regulus said, bowing slightly. "It was only a small favour."
They exchanged a few brief words about how long the altered flames would hold their colour and whether the enchantment would resist accidental bumps from passing students. Then Regulus took his leave.
When he had gone, Susan let out a slow breath.
"He seems different from the rumours," she murmured to Eleanor. "His magic is so strong. That Transfiguration feels like something older students would struggle with. And he was polite. Not like some Slytherins."
Eleanor smiled at the row of lanterns, looking pleased in a quieter way.
"Of course he is different. I told you. The things in his head are not like most people."
She lowered her voice.
"And his magic level. Some of what I have heard might be even more dramatic than what he shows."
On the other side of the castle, Regulus returned to the Slytherin common room with his dorm mates.
Halloween decorations were going up there as well, but the style could not have been more different.
Older students controlled the work, shaping everything with crisp, deliberate magic. Silver and green silk ribbons slithered along the walls like living snakes. Conjured bats gleamed with a metallic sheen, cold as coins. Pumpkin lanterns had been carved into serpent heads and strange beasts, and inside them burned eerie green flames that looked less like fire and more like bottled malice.
The room felt magnificent, and unfriendly in a refined way.
Younger students hovered around the edges, passing materials, running errands, or simply watching with admiring eyes as the upper years performed complex enchantments without breaking conversation.
Regulus watched for a while in silence.
He understood it easily.
Hufflepuff's style was warmth and inclusion, with practical creativity that made people feel welcome.
Slytherin's was precision and exclusivity, a display full of symbolism, control, and quiet competition.
Two styles. Neither better nor worse.
Just different cultures, reflected honestly in decoration and flame.