"Trick or Treat!"





Ten-year-old Teddy Lupin blinked. At the door stood a girl with a crazy grin on her face, and she had toilet paper wrapped all around herself. She held an outstretched bag that looked suspiciously like a carved baby pumpkin.





"Treat or treat," the girl repeated, shaking her pumpkin-bag into Teddy's blank face. Teddy took a step back, startled.





“Don’t you have treats?� The girl huffed. “How can you not have treats? It’s Halloween!�She eyed Teddy’s sweatshirt and green pants in distaste. "Where's your costume?"





"Costume?"





"Where are you from, Mars?� the girl exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. “It's Halloween, silly! Don't you know what Trick or Treat is?"





"I – no– I don't know," Teddy replied, deciding that he did not like this girl at all. He was pretty sure that no one would like an obnoxious girl who looked like a toddler caught up in toilet paper.





"Unbelievable," the girl muttered, rolling her eyes. Teddy took a step back to close the door, but the girls did not seem to have any intention of going.





“Are you alone at home?�





Teddy frowned at her.





“Who are you? My name is Teddy, by the way,� he added as an afterthought, wanting to show the girl that at least he knew his manners. But the girl wasn’t impressed.





“Nancy,� she replied sourly. “If you’re not joining the fun, you should have treats for everyone else. It’s rude, you know.�





For his part, Teddy thought it was quite interesting for this girl to find anything rude, but he chose not to comment on it. Instead, he voiced his curiousity.





“Is that for Halloween? You... dress up and collect sweets?�





Nancy blinked rapidly at him and seemed to contemplate whether Teddy was being serious or playing dumb with her.





“Yes. It’s Halloween. You go for Trick or Treat on Halloween. Honestly, where are you from?�





“I – ah, we just moved here from the north,� Teddy replied carefully. “There’s no Trick or Treat there.�





Nancy frowned. “You’re lying. My cousin lives in the north and she always goes out for Trick or Treat.�





Her eyes narrowed even further and she opened her mouth to continue, but Teddy had already decided that he had been sufficiently questioned by this strange girl.





“Well, I lived in a part where there was no Treat or Trick, all right?� he responded irritably. “I’ll have treats next year if that’s what you do here.�





“Fine,� Nancy replied with a shrug. Then she grinned. “It’s Trick or Treat. Not Treat or Trick.� And without waiting for a response, she stepped down from the porch and walked away.





Annoyed, yet puzzled at the same time, Teddy watched Nancy join a group of other kids, all looking completely crazy in silly costumes. One of the kids wore a red cloak, and Teddy briefly wondered what a Wizarding kid was doing with the Muggles. With a strange feeling that he was missing something obvious, mixed with an inexplicable sense of being left out, he closed the door.





"Granny," he called, walking through the kitchen, scratching his head. "Granny, what's Trick or--"





He stopped when he spotted his grandmother kneeling by the hearth, speaking to an unseen person through the Floo Network. Huffing, Teddy changed direction and climbed up the steps to his room.





What in Merlin's name was Trick or Treat?





He slowly sat down on his bed, facing the window that overlooked the street. This was their first Halloween in the new house in central London. Teddy and his granny usually spent Halloweens with the Potters and the Weasleys, whom Teddy was going to visit in just a few hours, but he had never spent a Halloween with Muggles before. He hadn't even known... He felt silly to admit it, but he hadn't even imagined that Muggles would know about Halloween.





And they were even dressing up and.. trick or treating.





He caught sight of the red-cloaked boy from the window. He was still huddled in the group of kids with the toiled-papered girl, and Teddy could now see that they were counting what looked like sweets. They seemed like they were having fun.





With another huff, he turned and stared at his reflection in the mirror right across the bed. His hair was its natural brown today, and Teddy had been happy not to find it green when he had woken up that morning. It was usual for him to find his hair colour or the shape of his ears changed overnight. He could never really control how to metemor--mophros-- oh, change his appearance. Everyone kept telling him that he would gain control as he grew up, but Teddy wished now, starting at his reflection, that he could change his hair to purple.





His grandmother wouldn’t like it; ever since they had moved in to this Muggle neighbourhood, she had grown a lot more careful about Teddy’s appearance. Teddy knew that she was right; how would he explain to the Muggles why his ears were considerably larger than they had been the day before? But right now he was safely at home and he certainly wasn’t going to join the Muggle kids down the street.





He screwed his eyes shut and concentrated.





Purple. Purple hair... purple hair...purple... purple...





He opened his eyes, and sighed in defeat when he saw the dull brown mop still flocked at the top of his head.





"Bad hair day?"





Teddy jumped out of his skin as he whipped around at the sound.





A ghost! The pearl-white ghost of a young woman was standing at the foot of his bed.





The woman chuckled.





"Close your mouth, Teddy. You do know that ghosts exist, don't you, my dear?"





Closing his gaping mouth, Teddy swallowed, staring in shock. His heart had suddenly started racing, beating wildly across his ribcage. He gulped again, barely resisting the urge to scream.





The ghost woman’s smile faded slowly, and she slowly took a step back. “Bugger. I’m sorry, Teddy. Please – don’t be afraid.�





“M-Mum?�





The timid, disbelieving whisper could barely be heard in Teddy’s stuffed bedroom, but the ghost smiled from ear to ear, a bright, flashing smile, and she nodded, tucking a pearly strand of hair behind her ear.





"Hullo, Teddy."





“How – how – are you real – are you really – Mum?�





The ghost of Nymphadora Lupin nodded again. “I’m a real ghost, Teddy, and yes. I am your mum.�





Happiness seemed to radiate from her hyaline form, and Teddy immediately believed her.





He tried to say something, maybe shout out in excitement and wonder, but he found that all he could do was to try and stop the burning at the corners of his eyes. He stared and stared at the ghost of his mother, failing at words. He had never heard her voice before. And he loved her, loved her instantly at the warmth and the mirth in her voice.





"You've grown up to be a handsome young man," the ghost of his mum commented, pride unmistakable in her voice. She was literally glowing, illuminating the entire room with an eerie light.





"I still can't change my nose," Teddy said stupidly through a constricted throat.





His mum laughed. "Yeah, not that much grown up, maybe."





"How - how are you here? I mean, how did you come here?"





A pale eyebrow rose up. "It's Halloween, my dear. The dead can sometimes come back on All Hallows Eve. Didn't you know?"





"I - yeah." Frankly, Teddy hadn't fully believed it until now. He looked around. "Is D-Dad also here?"





The ghost smiled sadly. "Not tonight, sweetheart. He wanted me to tell you that blue hair suits you best, though. It’s his favourite colour."





She winked, and Teddy finally grinned at her. He was feeling a bit dazed; maybe it had to do with the brightness radiating from his mother, which made him want to squint his eyes. In reality, all the love that he had had for his mother was being released, pouring towards the pearly ghost as though his mum had opened a floodgate and all the love in Teddy's heart was flowing wildly through her.





"I love you," Teddy muttered, without even realising that he was speaking. He blushed when he heard what he had said. He had never particularly liked saying those words, even when he felt it strongly for his granny.





The ghost of Nyphadora Lupin beamed. "And I, you."





"I think...� Teddy said hesitantly, glancing unsurely through his bed. “I think maybe I fell asleep and I’m dreaming.� He turned and looked questioningly at his mother’s ghost, and frowned when he saw her rolling her eyes.





“I was hoping that you’d grown up to be more like me; I was ready to bet on it against Remus,� she muttered. Then she smiled affectionately at her son, who was standing at the foot of his bed, and glided towards him.





“This is real, Teddy. For once, I could come to you, to talk to you. For once. And I can’t discuss the nature of this visit with you,� she added quickly when she saw Teddy open his mouth to ask the question she knew would be coming. Teddy simply looked at her for a long moment, and nodded solemnly.





“Okay.� He slowly sat back down on his bed. “Will you leave soon?�





"No," came the pleasant reply. "Until sunrise, my son, we can chat all we want."





Finally, Teddy beamed. "Great."





"Now, tell me," his mum said, smiling. "What would you like to talk about?"





"I want to hear everything," Teddy replied instantly. "Everything you can tell me. About yourself. About Dad."





Before his mum could say anything, though, they heard the muffled ring of the doorbell. Exchanging glances, they listened to Andromeda answer it and talk to a Muggle boy. They could not make out the words.





However, Teddy had an idea as to what it was about. He turned to his mother.





"Mum?"





"Yes, dear?"





"I have a question."





She nodded, her expression turning solemn as she expected the first of her son’s string of questions. Teddy’s frown was puzzled.





"What exactly is Trick or Treat?�