October was growing more autumnal by the day, with the sky painted grey and the grounds covered in leaves in every imaginable shade of umber, orange, and yellow. The giant pumpkins in Hagrid's garden were almost ready to be picked, and the students had started to don their knitwear. It was a typical autumn term at Hogwarts, in almost every way, except for one thing: the thief was still at large.

With more items going missing daily, and still no luck finding the culprit, Corey Hayden the Head Boy was arranging more and more prefects' meetings, which Artemis was finding more and more tedious.

"Honestly, this is pointless," she whispered to Charlie, as Corey announced - yet again - that he still had no leads. "If they've run out of the good sandwiches by the time we get to lunch, I'm going to be livid."

Charlie made a low, sympathetic humming noise, and Artemis crossed her arms over her chest as she looked out of the window at the rain falling steadily on the surface of the Black Lake outside. On the shore, a single white swan was grooming itself and ruffling its feathers. It was miserable weather outside, but Artemis still would have gladly traded places with that one wet swan, if only to avoid having to listen to Corey droning on.

"I've been re-reading all my detective novels," Corey was now saying, "and I think we really should consider the possibility that the thief is one of the people who reported an item stolen."

"Why would a thief report a theft that they committed?"

"In order to shift the blame from themselves. In The Detective Files of-"

"You're using tips from detective novels to help you find out whose been nicking a few girls' jewellery from around the school?" said Victor Ketsueki, an arrogant smirk playing on his lips. "What's your next theory? A Niffler did it?"

There were a few muffled snorts of laughter from around the room as Victor rolled his eyes and Corey bristled. Artemis pursed her lips. Though she found Corey insufferable, she disliked Victor just as much. She also hated these meetings, but at least she had the good sense to sit through them in surly silence and not try and draw attention to herself. Besides, it wasn't just 'a few girls' jewellery' that had been lost. These were things that had meant something to their original owners, and still did, such as Murphy's Golden Snitch pin badge and Talbott's mother's old necklace.

She narrowed her eyes at both Corey and Victor before returning her attention to the view from the window. The rain outside was falling more heavily now, and even the swan had disappeared from view, presumably having grown as bored of his own situation as Artemis had of hers.

"Well, if you all wouldn't mind speaking again to the people in your houses who claim to have had things stolen from them, that would be appreciated," Corey said. "You're all free to go."

At last, Artemis thought. She slung her yellow rucksack over her shoulder and followed Charlie and Badeea across the classroom. She got to the door at the same time as Victor Ketsueki, who stepped in front of her as if he hadn't noticed her there.

"Excuse me." Her mouth dropped open. "I was just-"

"Well done. You remembered the words I taught you," said Victor. He gave her an insincere smile before turning his collar up and walking away down the corridor in the opposite direction to the rest of the prefects.

Artemis frowned as she watched him leave. Why was he not going to lunch in the Great Hall like everyone else? What was he up to?

"He's probably meeting a girl," said Badeea, as Artemis caught up with her and Charlie. "They all seem to like him these days."

"Why?"

"I expect it's because of the poems. You should see him in the Common Room, he's always scribbling away. Tulip and I asked him what he was writing the other night, he told us it was a haiku."

"Bless you."

"It's a kind of Japanese poem," Badeea laughed, not unkindly. "Short but sweet, you know?"

"She knows about one of those things," muttered Charlie, and he left for the Gryffindor table.

He was already halfway across the Great Hall before Artemis understood the joke, and so she tutted to herself as she took her own seat at the Hufflepuff table with her dorm-mates.

"How was the meeting?" asked Penny. "Are you any closer to finding out who the thief is?"

"No."

"Well, did you tell Corey about mine and Talbott's Animagus theory?"

Artemis shook her head. As much as she agreed with Penny and Talbott that their theory made sense, what with the fact that ingredients needed to make the Animagus potion had been stolen from Professor Snape's storeroom, she didn't see how her sharing the idea with Corey would help find the thief, or if he'd even listen to her in the first place.

"Corey's got it into his head that one of the people who've had something stolen might be the thief," she told the others. "He read about it in some detective story."

"For Godric's sake." Tonks rolled her eyes. "He does realise that stories aren't real, right?"

"I'm more interested in why someone would steal all these things in the first place," said Chiara, her pale eyes furrowing. "I understand the potion ingredients to make an Animagus potion, but the rest... There doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason to it. Jae told me in Divination that half of it wouldn't even be that valuable. Perhaps we are looking at some sort of sudden onset kleptomania. It might be spell or trauma induced."

"In which case, we'd need to look into anyone acting strangely or out of character."

"Like Victor Ketsueki," said Artemis, her teeth grazing her bottom lip. "Everyone who knows him says he's been acting differently since we've been back at Hogwarts."

"Well, yes." Penny's blonde hair fell over her shoulders as she shook her head. "But that is because he's been turned into a vampire."

"Has he, though? Or is that just a big lie? Because as far as I've seen, he's not vampire-like, he's just rude and full of himself. And, I just saw him skulking off somewhere by himself at lunchtime. Why would he not go for lunch unless he was up to something?"

"Because vampires don't eat like regular people. And he is a vampire, not a kleptomaniac."

"Can he not be both?" Artemis asked, and Penny sighed deeply. "No, but think about it. If he is a vampire, like you say he is, then he would be able to steal things easily, wouldn't he? He can go anywhere he likes, as long as someone invites him in. Loads of girls like him these days, they might do it, or he could just fly into all the dormitories as a bat."

"If someone had invited him in, then they'd know he was there to steal things," Penny reasoned. "And him already changing into a bat would mean that he wouldn't need to become an Animagus."

Artemis frowned. Penny had a point. Still, there was something not right about Victor, she was sure of it. Penny clearly could see that she had out-argued Artemis, because she gave her a wide smile and returned to her lunch. Artemis sighed before picking out some sandwiches for herself. Her stomach had begun to rumble almost as loudly as the thunder outside.

***

After lunch, Artemis had a double Care of Magical Creatures lesson. Having finished her sandwiches and bade farewell to the other girls, she made her way through the wet and windy grounds to the outdoor classroom, where she found all the rest of her classmates standing under the wooden shelters as they waited for Professor Kettleburn to arrive.

All except one, that was.

"Where's Merula?" Artemis asked. Her question was met with a chorus of non-committal noises and Charlie Weasley's shrugging shoulders. "Ismelda, you're Merula's friend. Do you not have any idea where she is?"

"No," muttered Ismelda. "I dunno where she is, and I'm not her friend, either."

"But I thought-"

"You thought wrong, didn't you?" Ismelda sighed, a dark look in her eyes. "Merula and I hardly even speak these days. She went all of last month without saying a word to me. I'm not exaggerating."

"She isn't," said Barnaby, nodding his head enthusiastically. "Merula didn't speak to anyone last month at all. She didn't even tell me I was stupid. I thought that maybe I was getting cleverer, but she is talking again now and she's called me stupid three times in the last week. So I don't think I am getting cleverer, after all. Look, a Bowtruckle!"

Barnaby walked off to look at a nearby tree with a spring in his step, apparently nonplussed by Merula's behaviour. Artemis frowned.

"Wait," she said, turning back to Ismelda. "So, Merula didn't talk for a whole month?"

"Yes, Hexley. I'm surprised that you didn't notice."

"Do you know why?"

"No. All I know is that she's now talking again," Ismelda scowled. "Talking too much, if you ask me. Keeps reciting lines of poetry or something in Latin at dawn and dusk every day. It's irritating."

As Professor Kettleburn trudged through the mud to meet them and the lesson began, Artemis found herself struggling to concentrate. As the class went on with no sign of Merula, something kept niggling at the back of her brain.

"Earth to Artemis," said Charlie, waving his hand in front of her face. She blinked, realising that she had not been paying attention. Charlie frowned. "You alright, mate?"

"Yeah, I just... Don't you think it's weird?"

"Er, what?"

"Merula," Artemis said. "I mean, she stops talking for a month, and then she's speaking odd Latin words, and now she's not here."

"I guess," Charlie shrugged, and used the sleeve of his robes to push rainwater off his face as yet another roll of thunder echoed in the distance. "Maybe she just doesn't like the idea of being out in this rain."

"And the Latin?"

"I dunno. A spell, maybe? I don't know what kind of spell you'd need to do every morning and evening though."

Artemis' eyes widened. She actually did know of a spell that had to be recited every morning and evening without fail; she had recited it herself for a while shortly before her fourteenth birthday, the night she had become an Animagus. Thinking about it, she had also spent a month not talking as part of the ritual, having held a mandrake leaf under her tongue for an entire lunar cycle.

There was another great rumble of thunder, and Artemis bit her lip, hard. The final stage of the Animagus ritual had to take place during a storm. If her suspicions were correct - and she was certain that they were - Merula would be attempting to complete the spell as soon as the storm reached the grounds.

The second Professor Kettleburn dismissed the class, Artemis set off at a run. She had to find Merula, and quickly. The Animagus spell was complicated, she knew that from her own experience, and if it went wrong, the effects could be catastrophic. Artemis had only been able to do it with the combined help of Rowan, Penny, and Talbott, and as far as she knew, Merula was doing it alone.

Once she was sure she was out of sight of her peers, she transformed into a cat and ran through the wet grass across the grounds. When she had completed the final part of the Animagus spell, she had done so on the Quidditch pitch, a good open space that was out of sight from the castle or Hagrid's hut. It seemed a sensible place to look for Merula, and surely enough, when she got there, she could see her standing in the centre of the pitch.

"Merula!" Artemis called out, girl-formed once more, and Merula turned around to scowl at her.

"What do you want, Hexley?"

"Are you trying to become an Animagus?"

Merula's scathing look became one of surprise, then one of mistrust.

"How..." she crossed her arms over her chest and glowered at Artemis. In one of her hands was a small potion vial that might have been made of crystal. "What's it to you?"

"You know how dangerous that is, right?"

"Only if you don't know what you're doing."

"Do you know what you're doing, though?" asked Artemis, and Merula rolled her eyes. "I mean it, Merula. You're messing around with really difficult and-"

"Sod off, Hexley. Stop interfering in things you don't understand."

"Actually, Merula, I do understand."

Merula scoffed. "Yeah, right."

"Yeah," said Artemis, and she sighed deeply before transforming into a cat and back again. Merula's jaw dropped open. "Right."

"Okay, so you're a hypocrite," Merula told her, quickly regaining her composure. "You don't care about me. You just want to be the only person at Hogwarts who can change into an animal."

"I'm not..." Artemis shook her head, stopping before she let Talbott's secret slip. "I just wanted to make sure that you have help."

"I don't need help."

"I needed help."

"Well, I'm not you," snapped Merula. "Just go away, Hexley."

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to help you whether you want me to or not."

The two girls glared at each other stubbornly for a few moments, until a roll of thunder - louder and closer than any of the ones preceding it - made Merula give in.

"Ugh, fine. Just don't get in my way," she said. "And don't say anything. You'll only annoy me."

In response, Artemis pressed her forefinger to her lips. Above them, ominous dark clouds had gathered, and the rain was falling so heavily that Artemis wasn't sure that Merula would hear her even if she were to say something. There was a flash of lightning, and the potion in Merula's hand turned red. Merula looked from the potion to the sky, and then at Artemis, who nodded grimly.

"Bottoms up," Merula shouted over the sound of the thunder. She pulled the stopper off the potion vial and brought it to her lips, drinking until the liquid was drained. She pointed her wand to the centre of her torso.

"Wait," said Artemis, already breaking her silence. "You have to point at your heart."

Merula frowned, but moved her wand upwards and to her left, before reciting the incantation: "Amato Animo Animato Animagus!" She paused, and seemed to battle with herself before turning to Artemis and asking, "Now what?"

"Now you transform," Artemis told her. "You should have an idea of the animal you'll become, like you can see it behind your eyes. Imagine yourself transforming, and then do it."

As Merula closed her eyes, Artemis crossed her fingers, already wondering what - if any - animal Merula would turn into. If she were to guess, she would have said that Merula might be a wildcat, or a crow, or a skunk; something untamed and savage. More than anything, she hoped that Merula had managed to complete the entire ritual correctly, and would not end up permanently misfigured.

Artemis closed her eyes as well, barely able to watch, and when she opened them, Merula was gone. She looked down at the ground where Merula's feet had been to see something small, spherical, and completely covered in thick brown fur.

"A Puffskein!" Relieved and amused, Artemis laughed out loud. Puffskein-Merula looked up at her, and she laughed harder as she realised that even in Puffskein form, Merula had retained her orange fringe, violet eyes, and grumpy expression. "Sorry, I just... You're a Puffskein!"

Puffskein-Merula made a high-pitched angry chirrup that only served to make Artemis double over with laughter. When she managed to stop and get her breath back, Artemis could see that Merula looked even grumpier than ever.

"Honestly, Merula, I'm just relieved that you managed to do it without hurting yourself," said Artemis, biting her lip to stop herself from giggling again. "Right. Turn back so we can go back to the castle and out of the rain."

Merula chirruped again, remaining in her Puffskein form.

"Oh, come on. It's cold and I'm soaked through," Artemis rolled her eyes, and Puffskein-Merula screwed her own shut. She still did not change back. Artemis' eyes widened in horror. "You can change back, right?"

Puffskein-Merula screwed up her Puffskein face again and again, clearly trying her hardest to transform back into a human, to no avail. There was no doubt about it: Merula was stuck as a Puffskein.

"Merula, I think we need to get you some help. Look, I'm really, really sorry about this, but..."

Grimacing, Artemis bent down and picked up Puffskein-Merula, tucking her under her cloak and ignoring her loud and indignant chirrups as she carried her back to the castle.

***

Artemis' first thought had been to take Merula to Professor McGonagall; as the Transfiguration teacher and an Animagus herself, she was bound to know how to return Merula to her human form. However, even as a Puffskein, Merula was able to make her opinions on this matter clear. After Artemis had gained a set of Puffskein-sized tooth marks on her lower arm, she decided that maybe Merula was right, and it would be better to try and solve the problem without any help from the school staff.

Unfortunately, neither the general counter spell nor the detransfiguration spell McGonagall had taught Artemis in her second year served to help Merula at all. She tried taking Merula to the library to see if she could find anything in the books Rowan had used to research the Animagus spell in their third year, but was thrown out by Madam Pince the librarian after Merula attempted to do her own research, using her mouth and hairy body to turn the pages of the large, leather-bound tomes.

"I will not tolerate pets being allowed to handle books, Miss Hexley!" Madam Pince said, glaring at Puffskein-Merula. "Look at this. There are toothmarks on the page!"

"You should see my arm," muttered Artemis, but she did as Madam Pince told her. She scooped Merula up and carried her out of the library and down to the Hufflepuff Common Room. "Chiara did her work experience in the spell damage ward at St Mungo's," she whispered. "She might know what to do."

Merula exhaled loudly, but did not try to bite. Artemis took that as a sign that she was happy with this plan. She found Chiara revising Herbology with Penny and Tonks in the corner of the Common Room, and plonked Merula down on the table in front of them.

"You know how you thought that the thief was hoping to become an Animagus?" she asked Penny, who nodded. "Well, we were right. The thing is, now Merula is stuck like this."

"Wait, Merula was the thief?" Penny asked, her blue eyes wide.

"She was. Now she's just a Puffskein," said Artemis, and Merula let out a series of grumbling chirps that made the others start to giggle. Merula narrowed her round eyes at them, and Artemis rolled her own. "I don't know what you're so annoyed about, Merula. It's not our fault that you look ridiculous. Chiara, any ideas on how to get her back the way she was?"

Before Chiara could respond, the girls were interrupted by the arrival of Bea Haywood, who rushed over to the girls with one of her friends, both of them barely able to conceal their excitement.

"Is that your Puffskein, Artemis? Can we play with it?"

Artemis shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"

Bea and her friend went to pick up Puffskein-Merula, who puffed up her fur, bared her teeth, and growled at them. The two younger girls squealed with delight.

"Oh, my goodness!" said Bea's friend, both her hands placed to her cheeks. "It's so cute!"

"You know, they have a point," whispered Tonks, as Bea carried a squirming and chirruping Merula away. "Do we have to put her back the way she was?"

"Ethically, yes," said Chiara, though she looked tempted.

"Shame. Guess I'll just have to find something else to use for Beater practice."

"Do you know how to change her back?" Artemis asked Chiara, who shook her head.

"No, human-animal transfiguration is far too complicated for me to reverse. You should probably take her Professor McGonagall or Madam Pomfrey."

"I did try that, but she wasn't too keen on the idea."

"I'm not surprised," Penny huffed. "Really, she could get into an awful lot of trouble for this. Not just the spell, but the stealing, too. I wonder why she's been doing it."

"We'll never know if we don't get her back in a shape where she can tell us," sighed Artemis. "I guess I'll just have to persuade her that McGonagall is the best option. In case she won't listen, can I borrow a pair of Herbology gloves from one of you? I didn't realise such tiny teeth would hurt so much."

Eventually, Artemis was able to prise Merula away from the third year girls, and between the threat of being stuck as a child's pet forever and the promise that Artemis would take the blame for her transformation, Merula was far more amenable to being taken to Professor McGonagall. The Transfiguration teacher was not best pleased with the situation, nor with Artemis' explanation that Merula's state was the result of a duel gone wrong. After a lecture about school rules and 'knowing better by now', Merula was sent to the Hospital Wing and Artemis back to the common room, both Hufflepuff and Slytherin having lost twenty house points each.

***

Merula was still in the Hospital Wing a week later, much to her disgust. Artemis had been curious to know how her detransfiguration was going, but so far, Merula had declined visitors.

"She's finally stopped chirping," Chiara told her friends over dinner after having spent the evening volunteering in the Hospital Wing. "But her eyes are still round and her forehead is a bit hairy. Madam Pomfrey is hopeful that she will be out in time for the Halloween feast on Wednesday, though."

"Well, that is good," said Penny. "I'd hate to think of anyone missing their last Halloween feast."

She aimed her last sentence at Artemis, who pursed her lips tightly. So far, she had managed to miss the majority of every single annual Halloween feast during her time at Hogwarts. It wasn't her fault - each year something had happened to prevent her attending - but in Penny's eyes, missing an event like Halloween was close to sacrilege. Still, being her last year, Artemis was fully intending to not miss the feast this time.

"I'm guessing that no one has been able to ask Merula about the stolen stuff if she's only just stopped chirping?" Tonks asked, and Chiara shook her head. Penny frowned.

"Artemis, you did tell Corey about Merula being the thief, didn't you?" she said, sighing heavily when Artemis shook her head. "Well, you really had ought to tell someone. You know, that necklace was given to Talbott by his mum before she died. It has a feather on it from her Animagus form."

"I know, it's just... Well, why would Merula steal that?" Artemis wrinkled her nose. "I know she took Snape's potions ingredients and broke into the greenhouse, but we haven't got any proof that she took anything else. I'd rather speak to her about it myself before I get Corey involved. He'll only stick his nose in where it's not wanted and take over."

"I suppose so. It could be that there are two thieves, after all. Talbott did say that Tulip was telling Badeea that she saw someone trying to poke around the Whomping Willow the other day."

"What? But that's mad!"

"I'm just telling you what Talbott said Tulip said," Penny said. "Apparently it looked like they were leaving something under the roots, or picking something up from under the roots. You never know, it might have been the thief hiding their loot."

Artemis couldn't imagine that anyone, thief or not, would risk hiding anything under the vicious tree, but she nodded anyway. It was something else to bring up with Merula once she was free from the Hospital Wing. Until then, she had plenty of other more exciting things to think about, like Quidditch practice and Halloween.

But by the day of the feast, Artemis had stopped feeling excited at all. She woke up on Wednesday morning feeling strangely apathetic, with a small niggling doubt that grew as the day went on, despite her being unsure what she was doubtful of. It was only as she walked into the Great Hall and saw Penny, Tonks, and Chiara sitting at the pumpkin-decked Hufflepuff table beneath the bat-ridden ceiling that she realised exactly what was bothering her: something - or rather, someone - was missing.

Suddenly, Artemis didn't fancy going to the Halloween feast at all. Thankfully, her friends hadn't seen her yet, so she slipped away before they could beckon her over to sit with her, and left to sit in the quad, looking at the stars and listening to the sounds of the other students in the Great Hall from outside its walls.

A set of footsteps broke her peace and quiet, and she looked up to see that someone else was walking away from the feast. She squinted to see who it was in the darkness, and though she couldn't make out their facial features, she recognised the leather jacket they wore over their robes.

"Victor?"

"What are you doing out here?" asked Victor Ketsueki, stuffing his hands into his pockets and he walked towards her. "Don't you have a feast to go to?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Artemis told him, and he laughed sharply.

"Yeah, I don't really see the point. Like, pumpkins and skeletons are cool when you're eleven, but we are adults now," he said, shaking his head so that his hair fell away from his face. "There are better things I can do with my spare time." He cocked an eyebrow at Artemis and leaned towards her as he added, "Talking to you isn't one of them. Sorry, Hexley."

He skulked away, leaving Artemis to glower at the back of his head.

"Where are you going?" she called after him, and he laughed again.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

Artemis, thoroughly annoyed now, crossed her arms and scowled. What did everybody see in Victor Ketsueki? He wasn't mysterious, he was just arrogant. Were all vampires like that? And what was he up to, sneaking around when everyone else was at the Halloween feast? A suspicion re-entered Artemis' mind; perhaps Victor really was the thief. She didn't care what Penny said about it not making sense, it made sense to her. No doubt he was off to steal things right now.

Artemis' mind was made up. She was going to follow him and catch him in the act. She went back inside the castle, where she could hear footsteps echoing down the corridor, and she followed the noise, her lit wand in her hand. She must have been gaining on him, because the footsteps were getting louder. Speeding up, she turned the corner and-

"OW!"

Artemis stepped backwards, rubbing her forehead where she had crashed into the person who had been walking around the corner. Apparently, the footsteps had been getting louder because their owner had been walking towards her.

"Sorry," she said, looking up at the person she had crashed into. The other person glared back at her with narrowed violet eyes.

"Watch where you're going, Hexley," said Merula, rubbing her nose. "You nearly broke my face."

"Like I said, I'm sorry. I thought you were someone else."

"Who?"

"Victor Ketsueki. I was trying to follow him."

"Don't tell me you're one of those girls now," Merula said, rolling her eyes. "And I thought I couldn't possibly have any less respect for you..."

"It's not like that," Artemis shook her head. "I think he might be the person who's been stealing all the stuff from the dormitories."

"Ketsueki? Nah."

"Why not? He's been acting strangely ever since he came back from the summer," said Artemis, but Merula looked unconvinced. "I think it's more likely to be him than you."

"Me?" Merula looked almost offended. "Why would I be nicking stuff from people's dormitories?"

"I dunno. You nicked stuff from Snape's store."

"Only the stuff for the Animagus potion."

"Penny thought that maybe whoever was making the potion was trying to to become an Animagus so they could steal things more easily."

"That's because Haywood is a moron."

"She isn't," Artemis' nostrils flared. "Okay, then. Why were you trying to become an Animagus? There must have been some reason."

Merula pursed her lips before answering. "I just wanted to see if I could."

"You what?"

"It's one of the most complicated spells there is. I wanted to prove that I was powerful enough to do it."

"Well, that worked out just great, didn't it?"

"Shut up, Hexley. I almost got it completely right."

"Almost," Artemis raised her eyebrows at Merula before peering up and down the corridor. "I wonder where he's gone. Maybe to the Whomping Willow."

"What?" asked Merula, her eyebrows knitting together.

"Apparently someone has been hanging around the Whomping Willow. They think it's the thief."

"Why would they think that?"

"Because they were hiding things under the roots. Like maybe stolen stuff," Artemis shrugged. "But don't you see? That's why it makes sense for it to be Victor Ketsueki. Most people would be scared of getting whomped, but if he's a vampire, he's hardly going to care about a tree, is he?"

"I guess not," Merula said, looking deep in thought. "I thought he'd made up the whole vampire thing, but maybe you're right for once, Hexley. It might be him."

"I'm sure it is. Do you want to help me find him?"

"He could be anywhere now, and it's the Halloween feast," replied Merula, hesitantly. "Shouldn't you be there, too?"

"Oh," Artemis averted her eyes. "I dunno. I'm not sure I want to go, really."

"Why not?"

"Nothing. It's stupid."

"Either it's stupid enough that you don't need to worry about it and you should just go, or it's not stupid and... Well, maybe you might want to... I dunno... talk about it?"

Artemis tilted her head. "With you?"

"Maybe. I guess. Yeah."

Merula huffed, but her face was sincere and not mocking. Artemis sighed.

"Fine," she said. "It's just that every year I've missed the feast, and the one year I've been able to enjoy it, I can't because Rowan's not here to enjoy it with me. I went to go and I suddenly felt really guilty, like I should have gone before and been there with her, and now it's too late for that and..."

"You'd rather not go at all than go without her," Merula finished Artemis' sentence for her. Artemis nodded, and Merula frowned. "Why not? I mean, if Khanna liked the Halloween feast so much, she'd hardly want you to sit out here and mope about instead of going, would she? And anyway, it's not like you'll have another chance to go. It's our last one. You say you regret not going before because it's too late, you know that next year you'll regret not going this year either, and it'll really be too late."

"I suppose."

"Ugh, I hate that you're making me do this," muttered Merula. "Hexley, if you don't go, then I won't go."

"Do you not want to go?" Artemis asked her.

"Obviously I want to go. I love the Halloween feast. It's the best night of the year, I can't believe you've been missing out all this time."

"But-"

"But you stayed with me in the rain to make sure I didn't get horrifically misfigured, and you took the blame for me turning into a Puffskein, so... I owe you one. If you're not going, I'm not going."

Merula's face was stubborn, but Artemis was sure that she could see a faint glimmer of triumph in her violet eyes. Artemis sighed.

"Well then, it looks like I don't have much choice but to go, do I?" she said, and together,  the two girls walked back through the darkened castle towards the Great Hall, where the Halloween Feast was just about to begin.