One quiet night after detention, Alexander, Fred, and George met up.
"About time, mate," Fred whispered with a grin.
"You've been impossible to catch lately," George added. "Busy genius schedule?"
Alexander chuckled.
"Something like that. Between classes, runes, and detention, I've barely had time to breathe. October is only a week away, so we need a plan."
The twins immediately leaned closer, eyes shining with excitement.
"Well," Fred said, rubbing his hands together, "we were thinking…"
"Round two," George finished dramatically.
"The Whispering Pumpkins," both twins said together.
Alexander smiled. The memory of last year's prank spread across the castle came rushing back.
Pumpkins whispering creepy messages from every corner had caused chaos.
"It worked perfectly last year," Fred said proudly.
"But we're upgrading it," George added.
Alexander raised an eyebrow. "How?"
Fred grinned. "No spiders this time."
George spread his arms wide. "Instead—bats."
"Hundreds of them," Fred continued.
"Flying through the halls," George finished.
Alexander immediately understood. "Illusion spells."
The twins nodded eagerly.
"Exactly!"
"Even we're not that evil," Fred said quickly.
"Just illusions," George added. "Swarming through corridors, classrooms, and the Great Hall."
Alexander considered it for a moment before nodding.
"That could work. The castle is big enough for layered illusions. If we anchor the enchantments to the pumpkins again, the illusions will trigger when students walk by."
Fred slapped George's shoulder. "See! This is why we wait for Alex."
George grinned. "The brains behind the madness."
Alexander continued calmly, "Also… some friends of mine are sending new candy products. Experimental ones."
The twins froze.
Slowly, their eyes widened.
"New…"
"Candy?"
Alexander nodded.
"It'll be a surprise."
Fred looked like he might explode from excitement.
George clutched his chest dramatically. "You can't just say that and expect us to remain calm."
Alexander smirked.
"Too late."
After the twins recovered, Fred leaned forward again.
"What about the ghosts?"
George nodded eagerly. "They loved it last year."
Alexander thought for a moment.
"Yes… We should involve them again."
Just then, a faint cackle echoed somewhere down the corridor.
Almost on cue.
The unmistakable presence of Peeves.
The twins grinned.
Alexander shook his head slightly. "Leave the negotiations to you two."
Fred puffed out his chest. "Experts."
George nodded confidently. "Professional chaos coordinators."
They spent the next hour planning.
Pumpkin placement.
Illusion routes for the bats.
Candy distribution points.
Ghost timing.
Peeves distractions.
Secret enchantments hidden in the decorations.
By the time they finished, the plan had grown far larger than Alexander originally expected.
"Perfect," George said finally.
Fred stretched his arms. "This Halloween will be legendary."
They all nodded in agreement before quietly separating into different corridors.
After they separated, Alexander didn't go to sleep.
Instead, he was in the Room of Requirement with the diary, resuming training.
He practiced spells repeatedly, refining control and speed. After nearly an hour, he sat down at the desk in the room and began writing letters.
Each was carefully worded.
Each requests very specific items.
Special candies.
Magical components.
Enchanted containers.
Once he finished, he sealed each envelope neatly. Only then did he return to practicing spells before ending the night studying ancient runes.
The next morning, Alexander sent the letters out with the school owls.
Meanwhile, the twins immediately began working.
Over the next few days, packages began arriving steadily at the castle. Some were small boxes, others were large crates.
None of them was delivered to the twins.
Instead, they were quietly rerouted straight to Peeves, who gleefully transported them through the castle halls, cackling loudly as he carried boxes through walls and ceilings.
All of them were dropped into an old, unused classroom that the twins had cleaned and claimed as their temporary headquarters.
Alexander even managed to get Fred, George, and Lee released from detention under the excuse of helping with Halloween decorations.
The professor's approval made things much easier.
As the week passed, the room slowly filled with supplies.
Pumpkins.
Candy boxes.
Illusion anchors.
Decoration enchantments.
Alexander occasionally took breaks from studying to help the twins prepare the magical components, spell layering onto pumpkins, and enchanting several illusion triggers.
Since Alexander would be busy closer to Halloween, Lee volunteered to help the twins handle one of the most important tasks: coordinating the "Evil Ghost."
Lee was surprisingly enthusiastic about it.
Ever since the three of them had started playing magical hide-and-seek around the castle, Alexander had realized something.
Lee truly thrived around the twins.
Their chaotic creativity matched perfectly.
Watching them argue about prank timing while laughing made Alexander smile more than once.
Despite everything happening, Alexander still maintained his routine.
Spell practice.
Rune study.
Potion practice with Cho sometimes.
And preparation for the surprises arriving every day.
October was approaching quickly.
And if everything went according to plan…
This year's celebration at Hogwarts would be better than last year's.