And Also Halloween, Every Single Day (Riley)

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

October 31, 2025

After what had felt like ages of waiting, the crowds attending Zombie Island for Halloween night had begun to thin out. It was late, and the people who were sticking around were mostly teenagers or older, excited for the zombie effects that really made it "Zombie Island" once the clock struck midnight. Penelope was just glad that she had only spilled a drink on one customer while working at Witch's Brew—and that he had been understanding about it and not made a scene to make it even more embarrassing for her. So that was positive.

She had made it through the hardest part, and Penelope felt like giving herself a pat on the back for it. It had been difficult—enough for her to swear off working with any sort of food or drink in the future, if she could help it—but she had managed to do it. That was worth something, wasn't it?

With so few customers, Penelope had temporarily stepped away from the drink stand to take a break. She'd spent the past few weeks running into people she knew or at least recognized, so it shouldn't have been very surprising for her to see someone else she knew, but it was different that time. Short of seeing one of her older siblings in the dark, maybe, she couldn't have been more surprised. The cat ears that she'd fastened to the top of her head along with her bun bounced a little as she grinned and waved. "Riley!" she called after him eagerly. "What are you doing here?"

@riley

[Deleted]

Riley wasn’t really sure what to expect of this Zombi Island, but he agreed to go with Kinsey, since he knew she liked things like this; fairies and carnivals and events. And while she had gone off to get them a festive treat, he wandered around a bit, taking in the sites and attractions so he could suggest something for them to do next. He spotted a few people that he knew here, several of them were still students, but he knew quite a few recent graduates as well. This would be the first, big, public outing they had not only since they got married, but since Riley had made his decision to abandon his family and dishonor them in a very public forum. They had spent the summer lying low and trying to keep to themselves besides going to work, so it was a little weird being out like this.

Someone called his name and he turned his head to see who it was, but he knew the voice before he even saw the face. Penny. His new little sister - which was kind of cool since he was pretty sure that Lydia would never speak to him again. He didn’t blame her, but he did wish she saw his side and could get out of that toxic household like he did. “Hey Pen!” Riley greeted her happily, turning his course to meet her where she was so she didn’t have to catch up to him. “Oh, well Kinsey wanted to come check it out. It’s cool. What about you, are you enjoying yourself?” he asked.

penelope raisa bainbridge

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

October 31, 2025

Riley greeted her and turned so that she wouldn't have to go so far to catch up to him, explaining that he was there because Kinsey had wanted to check it out. It seemed like something that Kinsey would have been more into than Riley himself, but it made sense that Riley had decided to come, too. Penelope was glad that he had.

It was weird to think of Riley as her brother-in-law and to think of Kinsey as married, especially, but she understood why both of them had wanted to keep a low profile. If she weren't in school, she would have done the same; Priscilla Rosier was still out there, somewhere, as were countless others with whom her family and the rest of the Fudge family undoubtedly associated.

He asked if she was enjoying herself, though, and Penelope nodded. "Yeah," she told him. It wasn't bad, not compared to so many other things. "I've been working at Witch's Brew, selling drinks here, but the activities are really fun."

@riley

[Deleted]

She explained that she was there working at the witches brew, selling drinks. Riley nodded, it made sense that some of the students would be working here like they did with most other carnivals. They were a good source of extra cash for students who wanted to put in the hours rather than spending the time with their friends. Though he knew there was plenty of time to do both. “Oh that’s cool. We’ll have to stop by and get something.” he nodded. “We just got here so we haven’t explored much, Kins just went to get us something sweet.” he wasn’t sure what, but he knew her sweet tooth called to her right away.

It was actually a little odd that he had let her go on her own. Besides going to work, Riley couldn’t think of a time that they hadn't been together since they got married. He didn’t like leaving her side, especially in a public place like this, but he also knew that there were so many people around them who knew them both, not to mention the teachers and Ministry staff, that wouldn’t let anything happen to a young girl on her own. “How’ve you been, how’s term going?” he asked. It was weird being one of those adults now. Someone who wasn't at Hogwarts but was still very used to being there. He missed the castle. But he didn’t miss being at school.

penelope raisa bainbridge

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

October 31, 2025

When she mentioned that she had been spending her time working at the drink stand, Riley answered that he and Kinsey would have to stop by and get something. They had only just gotten there, he added, and Kinsey had gone off to look for something sweet.

Kinsey probably went to Hag's Trick or Treats, Penelope assumed. That was the place to go for any sweets there on Zombie Island, and the queue for them could get long. Hopefully it wasn't too bad—because she wouldn't have minded seeing Kinsey, either—but she knew that Riley might be waiting a while. As for the drinks, she smiled a bit. "I don't think I'm allowed to give a family discount," she informed him. That would have been enough of a problem with just the triplets. She would make sure not to fill anything too full, though; she could do that much for them.

"How’ve you been, how’s term going?"

She was well, and it was going well, Penelope thought. She liked not having to watch her back for Priscilla, for one thing. Being in her final year of school also wasn't quite as terrible as she had imagined it to be. She wasn't failing anything—Potions included—but was no closer to figuring out what she wanted to do once she left Hogwarts. (Well, assuming that serving people drinks left and right was off the table…)

Penelope shrugged. "I'm alright," she told him. She did miss having him and Kinsey at Hogwarts, truly. "I've been keeping up with my diary"—the "dream diary" of sorts that he had sort of suggested to her when she had had her appointment with the Healer at St. Mungo's, Steinwort—"nearly every day now." Those same sensations, whatever they indicated, still happened, and Penelope didn't know if she needed to be worried about them or not. She couldn't always tell where that feeling was coming from, but she knew that she had sensed it with strangers, too.

Riley hadn't asked to have her blurt out everything that was on her mind, however, and Penelope knew that. Instead, she paused. "And you're okay? With work and everything?" She just wanted to make sure. She hadn't heard anything from or about Priscilla, which did make her nervous, but she imagined that Riley's demeanor would have been much different if he had had anything of that sort to report to her.

@riley

[Deleted]

Riley smirked when she said that she wasn’t sure she was allowed to give a family discount. “That’s alright.” he admitted. He hadn't been expecting a discount. He was just sure Kinsey would like to stop by and say hello to her sister, and of course he would oblige her that. Penelope then shrugged saying that she was alright and she was keeping up with her diary like the healer at St. Mungos had told her to. She also added that she was writing in it nearly everyday now and that caused a raised eyebrow from him. He wasn't aware that this was happening so frequently for her. “Is it getting any easier to control or manage?” he asked, but he also didn’t want to go on about it now. Maybe he’d mention this to Steinwort at work the next day.

She asked if he was doing alright and asked about work and everything. Though Riley was sure she meant ‘everything’ in a very broad sense. “Everything has been just fine.” he insisted, trying a bit to reassure her. “Pretty normal, actually.” he felt a little badly admitting that now knowing what Penny was dealing with so frequently. It was easier for him now, being able to keep Kinsey close by since she now lived with him. But it was still hard not being able to check in with everyone he cared for as regularly. “Hopefully that’s a good sign.” he admitted with a smile.

penelope raisa bainbridge

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

October 31, 2025

Riley didn't seem to mind that she couldn't really give him any perks for being there, even though Penelope sort of wished that she could have. What he seemed more surprised by was the fact that she was writing in her journal almost every day, and the look on his face was a little startling to her at first. Obviously, she didn't want to feel the same sensation; she wanted things to go back to how they normally were, but it still happened—around Peyton, around other students in her year, younger students whose name she didn't even know. People to whom she had no connection triggered it.

"Is it getting any easier to control or manage?" Riley checked with her.

Penelope shook her head a little bit. "I can't control it," she told him, nor did she know how she was supposed to control something if it didn't seem to have a clear cause. It had become a part of her life over the past number of months, though. "I guess I'm getting used to it?" she shrugged. "It's not painful," which would have been worse, "so it's alright. I haven't been to the Hospital Wing or anything."

Although Riley might not have had whatever was going on with her happening to him, he said that everything had been fine on his end, too. "Pretty normal, actually." That was relieving to hear, only because it possibly meant that Penelope didn't have to worry about Kinsey as much, around whom she had also felt… whatever it was. "Hopefully that’s a good sign."

"Yeah," Penelope smiled, feeling more upbeat again; she had to agree with him on that. "That's great, and I'm really happy everything's sort of normal, and of course it's Halloween," which was pretty enjoyable, "and there's loads of stuff to do around here… I mean, I should probably, erm, go back to making drinks," she acknowledged. "But let Kinsey know that I'm here, won't you?"

@riley

[Deleted]

She admitted that she couldn’t control it at all, however it hadn’t caused her enough pain or anything to end up in the hospital wing recently. He nodded. That was good at least. She admitted that she was getting used to it and that it was alright, she guessed. Well, that was better than nothing, he figured. “Be sure to let someone know if it does get worse.” he cautioned, but he was sure that she knew that and that she knew to reach out if she needed help. It was something the healers at St. Mungos made clear to their patients. Things like that could change in the blink of an eye and sometimes time was critical.

Penelope seemed happy that things felt like normal at least and she was obviously thrilled that it was Halloween. Riley nodded, this was quite the ordeal. But Hogwarts loved going all out for the Holidays. She mentioned she should probably get back to her both and Riley understood that she probably had to get back to work. She asked him to let Kinsey know that she was here and he agreed, saying, “Of course, I’ll bring her by. I’m sure she’d love to say Hi.” before giving her a wave and watching her go back off into the crowds before he turned to find his wife.

penelope raisa bainbridge

The End