Chapter 76

Hu Yetao stood with hands-on-hips, surveying himself in the full-length mirror, teeth sinking into his bottom lip as he frowned uncertainly. He wasn't the biggest fan of Hallowe'en, not only because it was the anniversary of the murder of his parents, but also because he didn't enjoy dressing in costume. He was never confident in his costume choice and this year wasn't any different.

He was tempted to just forget it and go as himself, but unfortunately for someone like him, that would look as though he had the most inflated of egos. Oscar would never let him live it down.

Hu Yetao stared at the gold wings bobbing about behind him and the gold sparkles in his black hair and couldn't help but think that he looked really… Gay

At the time, dressing as a Snitch sounded like a good idea; simple, with the only elaborate part being the golden wings. When all was said and done though, he just looked like a shimmery gold fairy.

Hu Yetao sighed as he continued to frown at his reflection. Maybe he should just start again, throw a white sheet over himself and go as a Muggle ghost.

The door to the loo opened and his mate finally emerged after nearly an hour of mysterious costume preparation.

Hu Yetao was instantly distracted from his costume troubles when he spotted Oscar and, unable to help himself, he started to laugh.

Oscar smirked loftily as he struts across their room under Hu Yetao's amused gaze; faux black tail hanging lifelessly behind him.

"You can't go as a Nundu," Hu Yetao managed between peals of laughter.

"I am not a Nundu Taotao, I am a simple cat," was Oscar's sniffy response.

This caused Hu Yetao to laugh even more, and Oscar's haughty expression finally broke as he smiled at his entertained mate.

Hu Yetao walked over, gaze running up and down Oscar's body, taking in the whole costume. He was dressed in a simple black t-shirt and had placed a fuzzy pair of black cat ears on his head, which was attached to a fuzzy black band, and the piece of resistance was the rather naff black elastic belt around his waist with the blonde tail hanging off the back. Oddly, it looked as though his mate had acquired his entire costume from a Muggle pound shop. Everything except for the…

"Are those leather?" Hu Yetao exclaimed, eyes widening as he reached out to finger the smooth material of Oscar's black trousers.

Oscar frowned down at them. "I believe they are some sort of pretend leather. I borrowed them from Keyu."

"They're… uh, nice," Hu Yetao said, swallowing, and wondering if Keyu would be willing to part with them. He tore his gaze away from the fitted trousers and reached up to flick the little silver tag attached to his mate's green collar, grinning. "Where are your whiskers?"

Oscar snorted. "I draw the line at make-up." He paused and then seemed to take in his mate's sparkly attire for the first time. "As for you…"

Hu Yetao groaned and turned away. "Don't say it."

Oscar smirked. "What?"

"The horrible comment on the tip of your tongue Oscar."

"Which one?"

Hu Yetao rolled his eyes and then promptly grimaced as he caught sight of his reflection again. "All of them."

Oscar smiled and slid his arms around Hu Yetao's waist, resting his chin on Hu Yetao's shoulder as he surveyed his mate's reflection in the mirror. "I'm rather partial to the comment about you looking like a raging gay though."

Hu Yetao half-laughed, half-groaned, as he hung his head dejectedly. "That's it, I'm changing."

"No time," Oscar rejected immediately as he turned Hu Yetao around and took ahold of his hand. "We're already running late for the Feast."

Hu Yetao reluctantly allowed himself to be tugged along to the door after his mate. "Only because you took forever getting ready - doing who knows what in there. All you had to do was put on ears and a belt."

"And this," Oscar reminded, indicating the collar.

Hu Yétao leaned in and read the inscription on the silver tag: 'If found, return to HY.'

Hu Yetao laughed and shook his head as he followed Oscar out into the corridor, eventually joining the throng of students still streaming towards the Great Hall. Happily, it seemed that everyone else was running late too, and Hu Yetao wouldn't be quite so conspicuous in his costume when he entered the Hall amongst the hordes of other brightly dressed students.

Hu Yetao waved at Zhang Xinyao and Jing-Long over with the Gryffindors before he and Oscar took their seats at the Slytherin table. They always had breakfast with Gryffindor and dinner at the Slytherin table with Oscar's housemates; it was the only fair way to share their time between the two houses.

Hu Yetao was greatly regretting that decision now as he approached a table full of Slytherins who were all openly smirking at his costume.

"What a lovely costume Yetao," Chenchen was the first to simper as Hu Yetao sat down across from her.

Hu Yetao realized with horror that Chenchen was dressed as a lavender-colored fairy - complete with sparkly lavender wings which closely resembled his golden pair.

"Yes very fetching," Zhou Keyu commented in a choked voice.

"Yes all right," Hu Yetao snapped in exasperation. "I know I look ridiculous. Go on then, get it out of your system."

"Bearing in mind that raging gay has already been used," Oscar interjected obligingly as he reached for a buttered roll.

There was a smattering of snickers around the table and Hu Yetao dropped his forehead onto the table with a groan.

"Oi! You're getting glitter all over the food Yetao," Horan complained beside him, swiftly moving his plate away from Hu Yetao's head.

Thankfully, the Headmistress stood then and made the usual Hallowe'en Feast opening speech; thanking the professors who had helped decorate the large Hall, telling everyone to enjoy themselves, and asking them all to please be responsible.

Mrs. Amber was well aware that the eight years were planning a late-night trip to the Hog's Head for further revelries once the Feast was over, so Hu Yetao suspected those remarks were directed towards them.

He and Oscar had declined to join their classmates in Hogsmeade though because it would be all too easy to target Hu Yetao out in public like that on such a busy night. A crowded pub would be an ideal location for the men to snatch Hu Yetao unnoticed or slip something into his drink. It simply wasn't worth the risk.

Hu Yetao was disappointed because it was his last Hallowe'en at Hogwarts, and he might've pushed the issue if not for his vow to avoid heaping unnecessary stress onto his Alpha.

Once Mrs. Amber was finished speaking, they all tucked into their food, and Hu Yetao silently hoped the Slytherins had been diverted from openly criticizing his appearance.

"How about Pixie?" Chenchen suggested thoughtfully, twirling her spoon as she smirked at Hu Yetao.

Oscar snorted while everyone else laughed heartily. Hu Yetao sighed and prayed for the floor to swallow him up as he tried his best to ignore them and eat his meal.

Oscar leaned in and kissed the side of his neck. "Just ignore them Taotao, I think you look adorable," he murmured.

"That's not really what I was going for," Hu Yetao muttered but flashed him a quick smile to let his mate know that he wasn't bothered by the good-natured ribbing.

Hu Yetao found that he'd started to enjoy the sharp snarky banter at the Slytherin table. There was something rather refreshing about it. As much as he dearly loved his own house, he did find them somewhat too polite at times. He supposed the Sorting Hat had it right when it said Hu Yetao could go either way. He felt on the fence between the two houses; not completely Slytherin, but not wholly Gryffindor at times either.

"What are you supposed to be Zhou Keyu?" Oscar asked, attempting to take some of the heat off of his mate.