Hey, sorry I haven't updated in a while, I've been super busy! Thanks for the reviews. Enjoy.
Chapter 12
Soundtrack: I'm Shaking, Jack White
Leia frowned.
She was not looking forward to this.
She wore an a-line collared Kenzo brocade dress. It was fantastic, metallic gold with bright green dots lined with purple thread that all shined brightly. She held a Kotur croc-embossed metal box clutch tightly. The shoes were fabulous Miu Miu glitter-soled suede peep-toe pumps in a rich Merlot color.
As amazing of an outfit that it was, it was not at all what she had asked for.
Her brother, being the terrible person he is, instead of getting her 'something nice but not crazy expensive, J-Crew is the priciest you should go' outfit like she asked for, sent her a ridiculous outfit costing her parents thousands of dollars all over a party that she didn't want to attend. Leia was not pleased.
When the clothes came, Luke left his sister a note saying, 'I took the whole J-Crew thing as sarcasm and went all out. Enjoy your night because the clothes are non-refundable.'
That piece of shit.
She really did not want this night to be that big of a deal, but she didn't really have a choice at this point. She put many curses on the items, hoping that it would ensure they would not get stolen or damaged, but she was still nervous.
Mostly about Draco.
He had gotten angrier and angrier as the days drew closer to Slughorn's ball, and she was sure this outfit would not make him feel any better. She had even had sex with him right in the middle of the Slytherin common room last night, for some reason that she couldn't really remember. Probably just to shut him up. She still seriously regretted that. She knew anyone could waltz in and find them snuggling would be one thing, but it would be another so see them fucking on a Slytherin couch.
She wore the panther necklace hoping that Draco would notice, and see it as a sign of loyalty.
Harry had told Leia to meet him in the Great Hall a little after the party had already started. 'The later we are, the less time we're there.' was his logic. And Leia couldn't argue with that. Luckily, it seemed like no one was in the Slythern common room when she made her way to meet Harry. She was scared she's run into Draco, but she made it there without a hitch.
When she found Harry, he was the only one waiting just outside the Great Hall. He looked at her and smiled.
"You look good." He said, surprising her.
"Thanks."
"Yeah, your clothes look really expensive so people with think you're a rich snob and be less likely to talk to either of us."
And there is the famous Potter charm!
"Let's get this over with."
"My thoughts exactly."
They walked to Slughorn's office in silence. The party was in full swing, and was crowded. It looked like a Christmas-themed circus tent and many of Slughorn's former Slug Club members were the clowns. Leia smelled rich tobacco. Slughorn greeted both Leia and Harry, but mostly Harry, heartily. He then beckoned Harry over to meet some author and Harry dragged Leia over there by the arm desperately. He really didn't want to go into this alone.
It seemed that Slughorn wanted to set up Harry with a book deal, because a former Slug Club member of his wanted to write Harry's biography.
"You could call it, 'The Awkward Mis-Adventures of Some Kid Who Keeps on Accidentally Saving the World.'" Leia said creating an awkward silence.
"I'd read it." Harry said while having trouble hiding his smirk. "If it weren't about me, I mean."
"Yeah, I'd hate to read a book about you. How dreadfully boring."
Leia said, craving to breathe the some of the smoke she smelled.
At that moment the two adults dissolved from the two teenager's attention because Harry found Hermione.
She had an unhappy expression on her face.
"I just escaped McClaggin from the missile-toe." she said grimly.
"Ew." Leia said absent- mindedly, forgetting that she hadn't spoken to Hermione since the night in the library.
"We should move- I see him coming."
"At least he's tall enough that he can't really sneak up on you." Harry said walking with Hermione over to get mead.
"Sneak attacks do not work well for large people of any kind." Leia said like she was giving a sad statistic about miscarriages. Harry snorted and Hermione almost laughed but was too distracted by constantly ducking her head out of view.
Professor Triloni was there, looking buzzed and speaking about some fire or something when Hermione bolted spontaneously from the conversation. McLaggin replaced her presence.
"Wasn't Granger just here?"
"No, I thought she was with you." Harry said like a parent who had just lost their child.
"I could have sworn I saw her."
"I don't even know anyone named Granger." Leia said, deciding she was bored enough to play with McClaggin's head.
"Come to think of it, I don't recall a 'Granger' either." Harry added.
"Is that the given name or sir name? Or is it one name?" Leia asked, feeling like a detective.
"Hermione Granger. Stop playing stupid, you're both good friends with her. Where did she go?" McClaggin was losing patience.
"Herman E. Granger sounds like a fake name to me. I'm pretty sure that's a made up person." Leia said in the same voice as 'I'm sorry for you loss' would sound.
"Hermione Granger. Where is she?" He asked again.
"Herm Ione Granger... are you sure that's a woman?" Harry asked, hiding his smile well.
"Maybe a non-binary person, perhaps?" Leia snuck in.
"Shove off." McClaggin said angrily before storming off. Leia and Harry burst into laughter the moment he was out of earshot.
"That altercation would have been worth documenting in a book." Harry said matter-of-factly while laughing.
Interrupting the laughter was Slughorn, but this time he was standing next to Severus Snape the ultimate kill-joy.
"Ah, Harry, so this is where you've run off to with your date!" Slughorn said with too much enthusiasm in his voice. It's worth noting that Leia and Harry really hadn't run off to anywhere, they were just next to where the mead was. For some reason Slughorn's comment made it sound like they were behind a woodshed or something.
"Miss Allen, you came with Mr. Potter?" Snape asked Leia with a judgmental eyebrow raised.
"Well with all of the gentlemen who asked me to this party, I felt like there was really no better option than the chosen one." Leia replied smartly.
"Who else asked you?" Harry said not getting her sarcasm.
"Dumbledore." She replied dead-pan. He nodded and smiled a little, getting the joke.
"Well, Severus, I've been just gushing over Harry's supreme talents in potions! I'm sure he must have been your best student!" Slughorn butted in, not enjoying the lack of attention he was getting.
"Potter? In the five years I taught him he never showed a glimmer of brilliance in potion making. If anything his work was just reaching average. Are you sure he isn't cheating of one of his friends? Miss Granger or even Miss Allen, perhaps?"
Leia had to cover her face slightly to hide her laugh. Snape's bluntness never ceased to make her chuckle.
"There have been many assignments where Mr. Potter has exceeded both Miss Granger and Miss Allen. While they are both talented witches, do not misunderstand; Harry has been ahead of all the other students in his class. He shows skills of making an excellent Auror."
Snape sneered at the word 'Auror.'
Harry looked at his date nervously, mentally pleading with her to kill the conversation. So, Leia popped in.
"You know, Severus," she said purposely putting this comment off to a bad start by using his first name, "I share the same hesitance that you do about Harry's future as an Auror. See I fear he might have already peaked."
"Peaked?" Harry repeated, curious to where this was going.
"Yeah, he's climbed that metaphorical mountain, by literally killing giant snakes, defeating scary adults, winning the tri-wizard cup, and breaking into the department of mysteries. That's a lot for one lifetime. I'm sure he's at the top now and it's really all downhill from here. Who knows, but I'd guess in five years Harry Potter will be nothing but a bum on the street."
"I can see that." Harry said enjoying the looks on their teacher's faces, "It's hard to follow up from being the best potions student in your sixth year NEWTs level class. And then taking Leia Allen to Slughorn's famous Christmas Party, you can't beat that."
To bring the joke home, he put his arm around Leia's waist. Note: this was the first time he had touched her all night. Leia leaned into his touch on impulse.
"Exactly my point-" Leia started before she heard the angry sounds of an all too familiar voice cursing. The rest of the party froze as the angry teenage boy's harsh tone echoed a little through the room.
Shit shit shit shit shit shit.
"I found this trying to gate crash the party." Flitch said like he had just caught a large fish.
"Get off of me you filthy squib!" Draco said loudly before shoving Flitch's grasp off of him.
Leia felt a pang in her stomach but chose to ignore it. She and Draco made eye contact for half a second, before Draco's eyes went to Harry's hand that still hadn't moved from Leia's waist.
"Well, if you really want to be included in the party, I give you permission to stay, Mr. Malfoy." Slughorn said graciously.
"Actually, I'd like to have a word with Mr. Malfoy myself..." Snape said while grabbing onto Draco's collar. Slughorn nodded and Snape took Draco away. Leia felt light-headed.
Harry dropped his hand and spoke away from her.
"I'm going to the loo."
She knew what he really meant was, 'I'm going to spy on Snape and Malfoy now, enjoy the rest of the party on your own! Deuces!' Leia nodded, not that he had noticed because he was too busy totally abounding her.
Mother-Fucker.
Leia felt like it was almost her cue to leave and walk back to the Slytherin common room, but instead she followed the smell of an old pipe. She found an old wizard standing in the corner alone with a long pipe and multi-colored smoke circling above him. He wordlessly knew what Leia had come her for and offered her his pipe.
She moved next to him, standing against the wall and took a deep breath of the toxic chemicals that were now forever lined in her lungs. After a long moment she handed the pipe back to the man.
"I like the hits of cinnamon. It's light but still as rich as something heavier. It's good." She said to the man.
"It's the hints of Latakia." He said in a smooth voice.
"Tastes English."
The man took a puff before replying and passing it back to Leia.
"That's what I thought, but it is Virginian."
"Huh." Leia said before inhaling again.
"You wouldn't happen to be Harry Potter's American Slytherin date, would you?" He asked smiling slightly.
"You caught me."
"You and he have been the talk of the evening."
"Well now I just feel famous."
"You wouldn't happen to be his girlfriend, would you?"
This man was a lot more gossipy than she had expected.
"Ah, no. Harry and I are just friends. He's not the most charming man you'd expect him to be."
"Really?"
"Really." She said catching the man of the hour out of her peripheral vision. "But if anyone asks you, we're not dating, but we totally shagged."
The man laughed dryly, and nodded as she left.
"Who was that?" Harry asked, seeing her leave some old man.
"I donno, I told him we shagged though. How was stalking Draco?" Leia said causally.
Harry opened his mouth, blushing slightly before being interrupted by McLaggin.
"She left already." He said frustrated.
"Who?" Harry and Leia said together.
"Hermione Granger." McClaggin said through his teeth.
"The imaginary person?" Leia asked really to piss him off even more.
"Herman E. or Herm Ione Granger left ages ago, from what I heard." Harry said just before McClaggin walked off with a chip on his shoulder.
"I wonder what his problem is..." Leia said before chuckling a little.
"I'm ready to leave now." Harry said flatly.
"Yeah, sure." Leia was not quite prepared to see Draco again, but she might as well get it over with.
Harry offered to walk her back to her common room, but Leia turned him down. She didn't want this to feel like a date, or have Draco catch them together again.
She walked along the corridor towards the donjons slowly. She let her heels click loudly against the stone and echo through the hall. She was alone; everyone else was at the party or in a common room. She sighed. It has been a while since she had gotten alone time. She was either in a classroom, with Theo and Astoria, or with Draco. She took her time to enjoy her solitude.
She was almost there when she felt a hot hand grab her shoulder roughly from behind. She yelped when the hand pushed her against a stone wall. She hadn't even heard footsteps. The arms pinned her against the wall. She then felt hot breath against her ear.
A familiar voice growled in her ear.
"I know about you and Draco."
