A Haunted Halloween Kiss

Prologue
October 31, 1492 – Northern England

          “Sir Nicholas de Mimsy Porpington, you are found guilty of the crime of sorcery,”  said the Magistrate. “You have used your evil powers to ensnare and bewitch the Lady Aisling. For your crimes you shall be beheaded. Have you any last requests?”
“I have not bewitched the fair Aisling. I love her deeply, and if I must die, I wish that I might do so with the taste of her lips on mine,” cried Sir Nicholas. A gasp rose up from the crowd at the audaciousness of his request.
“Indeed,” said a beautiful red headed woman dressed in gray.  “Lord Nicholas has not bewitched me, and I would honor his last request.”
“Never shall it be done,” said the magistrate. “Even still, you are under his spell. When he is dead, the spell shall be broken.”
“If you murder my love, I swear from this day forth, I shall never speak another word, in this life or the next, until I can grant his last wish. Wait for me my love, for I shall join you in death,” cried Lady Aisling.

          The first blow was dealt to Sir Nicholas, and while it killed him, it failed to remove his head from his body. The magistrate ordered the executioner to continue, but to no avail. Forty-four blows later, and Sir Nicholas’s head was still attached to his body. The magistrate declared it the most evil type of sorcery, and ordered that his body be buried in an unmarked grave, on unconsecrated ground. True to her word, Lady Aisling refused to speak again. She lived on in silence for six long years. On October 31, 1498, she threw herself from a cliff into the sea, and her body was never found. 

James and Lily

          The Great Hall was awash in the light of hundreds of jack o’ lanterns floating in the air. The long house tables groaned under the weight of the amazing feast. James Potter helped himself to another slice of roast beef, and speared a Yorkshire pudding with his fork. As he ate the succulent food, he watched his three best friends plan yet another prank. Normally, he’d be right in the middle of the fray, but not tonight. Tonight he had something special to do. A flash of red caught his eye, and he watched Lily enter the Great Hall. She crossed in front of the teacher’s tables and paused to speak for a moment with Professor McGonagall. When she finished her conversation, she slid into her place next to James at the long Gryffindor table.

          “What took you so long Lily?” asked James. “If you were much longer, those three gits would have eaten all the food.”
“We three gits would never deprive the beautiful Lily Evans of even a morsel of food,” said Sirius Black. “The house elves are always happy to bring more,” he finished with a laugh.
“Go on with whatever prank you’re planning,” said James, “And leave us alone.”
“What? You aren’t going to help us?” asked Remus Lupin reaching for a slice of apple pie.
“Not tonight,” said James, looking at Lily who was talking to Bill Weasley who was in his first year at Hogwarts.  “I’ve got something far more important planned for tonight.”  Remus gave him a knowing look, and then looked at Lily. James flushed, and Remus smiled and turned back to continue planning with Sirius and Peter Pettigrew.

          When the protracted meal was finished, most of the students remained in the Great Hall where the staff had arranged a typical Muggle Halloween party. James took Lily by the hand and led her to a secluded area of the castle. Floating above them, unnoticed by the young couple were Sir Nicholas, the Gryffindor ghost, and the Grey Lady, the ghost of Ravenclaw House. James sat Lily on a stone bench and knelt down beside her.
“Lily Evans, I love you more than life itself, and I cannot imagine living my life without you in it. Will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?” he asked proffering a diamond ring in his hand.
“Oh James,” whispered Lily. “I can think of nothing that would bring me greater joy and happiness.” A tear slipped down her cheek as James slipped the ring on her finger. In the distance, a clock struck midnight, signaling the end of Halloween. Above James and Lily, Sir Nicholas and the Grey Lady floated away, their faces wreathed in disappointment.

Harry and Ginny

          The Great Hall was filled with the sounds of laughter as the students enjoyed the Halloween feast. A hundred skeletons danced around the Great Hall.
“If you both follow this study chart I made,” said Hermione. “You shouldn’t have any problems taking your N.E.W.T.s this spring. Of course it means you actually have to study you know.”
“Shut up Hermione,” said Ron good-naturedly, his mouth full of food. “We have months before we have to take our N.E.W.T.s. Besides, I don’t think Harry’s even listening to you. He pointed his fork full of mashed potatoes at their friend who was staring dreamily across the table at a beautiful redheaded sixth year who also happened to be Ron’s sister.
“You haven’t got a chance of getting through to him when he’s like this. You should have seen the two of them this summer, mooning over each other all day every day. He never even wanted to play Quidditch!” Ron added, his voice tinged with shock.
“Well I think it’s rather nice,” said Hermione. “Very romantic – you might try it sometime.”
“Come on Hermione,” said Ron, his face turning as red as his hair. “You know I care about you. I’m just not the goo-goo eyes type.”
“True, but I love you anyhow,” said Hermione enjoying the site of his face turning an even brighter shade of red.

          After the feast, there was a mass exodus of students heading to their dormitories. Harry and Ginny were caught up in the wave of students heading towards Gryffindor tower. Grabbing Ginny by the hand, he pulled her to the edge of the crowd and slipped into a deserted classroom. Harry waited until the hallway was clear before leading Ginny back down the stairs to a small sitting room he had found during one of his unauthorized jaunts through the castle. Sir Nicholas and the Grey Lady floated in behind them and drifted up to the ceiling where they watched, unobserved. Harry knelt down next to the sofa where Ginny.  He reached into the pockets of his robes and pulled out a diamond ring.
“Ginny, I know you still have a year left of school, and this may be too soon, but I love you, and I want us to be married when you graduate from school.”
“Oh Harry, I-I don’t know what to say,” said Ginny.
“Say yes, just say yes.”
“Of course my answer is yes,” said Ginny. Harry slipped the ring on her finger and prepared to kiss her gently. As he kissed Ginny, Sir Nicholas slid into his body. The shock of the ghost entering his body caused him to pull away, and he saw the Grey Lady rise up from Ginny’s body.

          “My beloved Lady Aisling,” said Sir Nicholas. “At last you have granted me my request.”
“My love, I vowed I’d never speak again,” said Lady Aisling, but now that I’ve felt your lips upon mine, I wish to sing to the heavens.”
“Harry Potter, I thank you,” said Sir Nicholas. “We have waited so long for this to happen. We’ve been allowed to try every twenty years since Aisling’s death to fulfill my dying request for one last kiss. We’ve never found a couple that was in love enough to accept us into their bodies and break my true love’s silence. We were so close twenty years ago, when your father proposed to your mother, Harry, but the clock struck midnight before they kissed, and we were forced to wait another twenty years. Now we can be together for all eternity.”
”Thank you my dears,” said Lady Aisling. “Your love is strong and will withstand the trials that are to come. I see much happiness in your future.” Lady Aisling and Sir Nicholas joined hands and floated away, together at last.

          “Well,” said Harry as they watched the ghostly couple disappear. “What do you think of that?”
“I think we are going to have a wonderful life together. Aisling means vision,” said Ginny. “I believe that Lady Aisling has seen into our future.”
“And great trials,” added Harry. “Don’t forget that.”
“Our love can withstand anything Harry. You of all people should know what the power of love can do.” Harry thought back to his mother’s gift of love to him, and the love he felt for Ginny, and he knew she was right. They could survive anything together