The party was going to be held the day after Ron made the suggestion since Hermione was scheduled to leave for her trip the day after that. To get his friends up and moving again, Harry made a trip to Fred and George's shop to ask the twins for some of their special hangover potion. They gave him the last of their supply free of charge.
Ginny took care of the invitations. She sent half of them off with Ron and Hermione so that they could drop them by the owl post when they went through London to get food. Ginny sent the rest of the invites with Hedwig. Harry stayed at Grimmauld Place and locked up all the rooms that he didn't want any people going into during the party. Draco went to London.
At nine o'clock that night Ginny glanced at the clock. The party was due to start any minute and she couldn't find her boyfriend anywhere. Ron was waiting at the rendezvous site where he would meet some of the guests so that he could lead them all to Grimmauld Place. Hermione was sitting by the fireplace waiting to allow people in through the floo.
"Have you seen Harry?" Ginny asked her friend.
Hermione nodded.
"He was in his room last I saw." She said.
Ginny thanked her and made her way towards the stairs. Once she made it to Harry's bedroom door she knocked softly before pushing the door open. She was always impressed by Harry's room. After the decorating fiasco in the kitchen she hadn't thought any of the boys was capable of good decorating. Harry's room had white walls with pictures, Gryffindor and professional quidditch banners and posters scattered all over the room. Harry's old quidditch robes were stuck on the wall above Harry's headboard. His ceiling was painted red and matched the scarlet colors of his bed sheets and door. There was a large desk in one corner with quills and parchment arranged on its surface. Old school books and a few Quidditch magazines took up the shelf space under each of the bedside tables. The carpet was a creamy white and made the gold trim and base boards stand out brilliantly.
"Harry?" Ginny called softly.
As she stepped into the room Ginny saw Harry sitting on his bed holding the picture of Sirius and James. The raven haired boy didn't even notice as Ginny entered the room and still didn't look up when she slid onto the bed next to him and laid her head on his shoulder. For a moment the pair was silent and simply watched the scene play over and over in the picture. Harry sighed heavily after the fifth time.
"I miss them." He whispered.
Ginny nodded into his shoulder.
"I know." She said softly.
The pair fell silent again.
"I still haven't gone into his room." Harry admitted.
Ginny shifted so that she could see his face.
"You have plenty of time. Just do it when you think you're ready. I can come with you if you like." She offered.
Harry paused before shaking his head once.
"I think this might be something I need to do on my own." He said.
Ginny nodded.
"I understand."
Suddenly they heard a chime alerting everyone in the house that someone was trying to floo in. At the same time Harry heard the front door burst open and the sound of loud, excited voices filtered up the stairs. Harry sighed again and set the picture gently on his bedside table. Ginny stood and held out a hand to her boyfriend. Harry smiled and took it.
"Here we go." He said.
The pair made their way downstairs and was immediately ripped apart by friends trying to hug and greet them.
Seamus, Dean, Lee, Fred, and George started up some music and began dancing crazily in the living room. Anthony Goldstein and Terry Boot started a game of limbo using a rod, Zacharias Smith conjured up.
"EVERYBODY LIMBO!" Terry and Ron shouted together.
A line immediately formed behind Zacharias.
Within the hour the house was in complete chaos.
Harry found himself getting dragged onto the dance floor by two girls he wasn't sure he'd ever met before. He danced with them for a while but the innocent dance quickly turned more aggressive as the girls closed in on Harry. He barely managed to slip out of the middle of them while grabbing Lee Jordan and pulling him into his spot. It took a moment for Lee to realize what was happening but when he realized he was surrounded by two pretty girls;he smiled and began to dance just as wildly as them.
Harry elbowed his way off the dance floor and went to the kitchen where he'd hoped to catch his breath and get something cold to drink. Unfortunately for him the kitchen was as out of control as the living room. Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet were standing on top of the kitchen table, dancing back to back while holding their cups out in front of them. Guys surrounded the table below them looking up at the girls with wide eyes. Katie chugged the rest of her drink and tossed the cup over her shoulder before offering her hand to a blonde boy Harry had seen probably once in his life. Alicia finished off her drink and offered her hand to the blonde boy's friend and then when the four of them started dancing the other five guys hopped onto the table as well. Soon Katie and Alicia were lost within the group. Harry was about to leave the kitchen when he heard a cracking noise that was loud enough to be heard even over the music. The teens dancing on the table were completely oblivious to the fact that the center of the table was sinking under their weight. Harry watched the legs of the highly polished table buckle slowly before they finally snapped. The dancing group crashed to the ground. Drinks poured down on them but they didn't seem to notice.
"Is everyone alright!?" Harry shouted over the blaring music.
His question was answered when everyone hopped back up and began dancing on the remains of the table as if nothing had happened. Harry shook his head, wondering how everyone could have gone so wild when the party hadn't even been going for half an hour. Suddenly Harry collided with someone. He spun and sighed with relief.
"Ginny." He breathed.
Ginny looked up at him happily and grabbed onto his arms as a wave of people rushed into the kitchen for more drinks. Harry and Ginny were shoved into a corner with Ginny's back against the wall and Harry in front of her. He looked down and grinned at the same time she looked up.
"Some party." Harry said.
"Who's tardy?" Ginny asked.
"SOME PARTY!"
Ginny giggled and nodded.
"Fred and George added something to the firewhisky to make it even stronger."
"What?" Harry asked.
"SUPER STRONG FIREWHISKEY!" Ginny bellowed.
"So that's why everyone's lost it already." Harry said.
"Who's lost what already?" Ginny asked.
"I SAID THAT'S WHY EVERYONE'S ALREADY LOST IT!" Harry shouted.
Ginny shook her head and pointed to the full bowl of spiked punch.
"It's not lost, it's right there!" she cried.
"How much have you had?" Harry asked.
Ginny looked thoughtful.
"Probably more then I should." She said.
Harry turned as much as he could and saw that even more people were now dancing among the remains of the table. He shook his head.
"I need some air." Harry turned to leave but Ginny grabbed his arm.
"You have hair. Stay and have fun." She said with a playful smile. Ginny reached over and grabbed a full cup off the counter. She held it out to her boyfriend.
"Here." She said.
Harry gently pulled the cup out of Ginny's hand and set it on the shelf above her head.
"I'm going outside." He said.
Ginny stuck out her bottom lip but nodded.
"Fine but come back soon." She said.
Harry nodded and left his girlfriend. As he headed for the front door Harry could just see Ron, Fred, and Lee having a drinking contest. People were standing around them cheering them on while holding their own drinks. Before Harry could turn away Fred slammed his empty cup down on the table, quickly followed by Ron and then Lee. Fred punched the air triumphantly and simultaneously fell out of his seat.
Suddenly two people were pulling on Harry's arm. Angelina Johnson and Cho Chang were trying to pull him towards the dance floor.
"Come on Harry." Angelina said.
"Dance with us." Cho begged.
"No I really need to…" Harry began.
"Oh come on Harry, don't be like that." Cho said.
"You know you want to. It'll be fun." Angelina added.
Harry pulled his arm out of both girls grasp and pointed over their shoulders.
"Look Roger Davis is going to jump off the banister." He said.
When the girls turned Harry ran out the door. He slammed it shut behind of him and took a deep breath as the blaring music disappeared behind him. Harry let the night breeze wash over him for a moment before heading down the sidewalk. People passed Harry but as long as he kept his head down no one paid him any attention.
At the same time Harry was going out for a much needed stroll, Draco was entering his room at the Leaky Cauldron. He'd spent the entire day in both Muggle and wizarding London and had to admit he was rather exhausted. Draco had done some shopping, a lot of walking, and spent the last few hours of daylight reading in a shaded park.
Draco set his multiple bags of new books, robes, and potions ingredients in a line under the window. He shrunk them all and slipped them into his night bag before pulling out the book he'd just started and plopping onto the bed to read some more. Just as he found his place a soft tapping at the window interrupted him. Draco looked up at saw a jet black owl sitting on the window ledge with a small piece of parchment clutched in its beak.
The blonde studied the owl for a long moment before standing to open the window. As soon as the window was open the bird dropped the letter and flew away. Draco watched as it disappeared quickly into the night before looking back down at the letter. He picked it up and after a long moment and a silent battle with himself, unfolded it. A picture fell out but the instructions on the front said that it was timed and wouldn't open until enough time passed for Draco to have read the letter
Draco,
Everyone must live with the choices they make but unfortunately you will not be so lucky. Your choice will cost you not only your own life but that of others around you as well. If you think your new 'home' will be enough to protect you, you are very sadly mistaken. The Dark Lord knows where you are hiding and it is only a matter of time before he extracts revenge on you for destroying his plan.
Now take a look at the picture Young Dragon for it is but a small preview of what lies in store for you and your friends.
The letter burst into flames and fell to the ground in a small pile of ashes. With shaking hands Draco picked up the picture but almost dropped it again in shock.
The picture showed Snape, bloodied, beaten, and barely conscious. He was lying outside the entrance of St. Mungo's. Draco couldn't tear his eyes off the broken man as he struggled to drag himself through the hospital entrance. Suddenly a shiver went down Draco's spine and his eyes immediately shot to the window. He jumped when he saw his own reflection. His face was flushed, and his eyes were wide. Draco looked at his hands and saw they were shaking violently.
Snapping out of his state of shock Draco grabbed up his bag and rushed out of the room. There was no way he was staying alone tonight. Draco went to the front desk and then hurried to the apparation point. With a final shudder Draco apparated away.
Harry had just crossed his fifth or sixth street when he felt a chill shoot down his spine. He looked around knowing that it wasn't the cool night that had made him shiver. Only a few people were still out walking at the late hour and none of them seemed particularly interested in him. Harry knew he'd felt someone watching him.
Suddenly he heard the unmistakable sound of a twig snapping. Harry spun around wildly trying to see someone. The streets were deserted and all the windows were dark. Feeling extremely exposed, Harry twisted on his heel and apparated back home.
He arrived with a soft pop and was confused to hear a second pop right after him. Harry and Draco jumped when they saw each other and quickly hid their embarrassment at being caught acting so panicky.
"Why aren't you at the party?" Draco asked.
Harry looked up at the place where Grimmauld Place would soon appear and sighed.
"It got out of hand really quickly." He said. "What are you doing back so soon?"
"I've never really liked the Leaky Cauldron so I came back." Draco lied smoothly.
Harry nodded and glanced quickly over his shoulder, wondering if whoever was watching him had followed him.
"Something wrong?" Draco asked.
Harry snapped back to face the blonde.
"No, nothing." He said.
Harry and Draco focused on the address for Grimmauld Place and when the door appeared Harry let Draco go in first. They both ignored the chaotic party and rushed upstairs. Harry stopped at the second floor and Draco continued up to the third. Both boys entered their respective rooms and threw up silencing spells that kept the sounds from the party out.
The party went on until just before dawn broke. A few people were able to apparate or floo home but others had passed out around the house.
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