A/N: So guess what guys? I graduated from my university! Woo! And I've also been inspired to apply for a post-graduate degree in writing and I'm so excited and nervous so cross your fingers that I get accepted! Also happy HarryPotter20! I can't believe the first book came out 20 years ago… It's safe to say that they changed my life for the better. Anyway, I hope you enjoy chapter 14!
Chapter 14 - A Sluggy Party
Hermione looked around the table feeling uncomfortable. She had agreed to go to Slughorn's club with Lily and now they were in one of the unused classrooms in the dungeons, since Slughorn's office was far too small to fit all of them. There were nine other students sitting around the circular wooden table that had been set up in the middle of the stone room, which was laid out with different dessert items. She sat between Lily and a quiet boy with glasses named Adrian who she recognized as one of the Ravenclaw boys in her year.
She wasn't really bothered by the club and could see why Lily enjoyed it. Members from all the houses were there and most of the conversations were actually quiet friendly and nice. Although Slughorn did like asking about people's families, as if trying to see who had the most impressive lineage, which is what the conversation had turned into. Hermione was quietly eating her chocolate ice cream and looking around awkwardly as she took in each student's bragging as they tried to impress Slughorn the most, waiting for the inevitable moment that he'd get to her.
Michelle Pickett, who was sitting on the other side of Lily, saw Hermione's bemused expression and chuckled quietly to herself, causing Hermione to grin. She had been pleased to find out that Michelle had also been invited to the club. It was nice to have another familiar and friendly face she could lean on for support at the club when she did not know most of the students there. Beside Michelle sat the only other Hufflepuff in the club, a fifth year, Dirk Cresswell, who Hermione remembered to have worked at the Ministry during her time with Mr. Weasley.
The rest of the table seemed to be split by house as well, whether it was on purpose or a coincidence but everyone was grouped together, even if everyone in the club did seem to get along. Across from Hermione was Snape, Regulus, and a seventh year Slytherin who was introduced as Evan Rosier, who Hermione knew to be the Death Eater who blasted off parts of Mad-Eye Moody's nose and was later killed by him. Hermione had never seen him in her time, as he had died shortly after she was born, and she had expected to see someone who appeared "evil" but he seemed relatively normal looking, except for the shifty gleam in his eyes and sly smile that made her slightly uneasy.
On the other side of Adrian were two other Ravenclaws, A fourth year that Hermione had never seen before named Theresa Belcher and a small looking third year named Wendy Slinkhard. The name rang a bell with Hermione but she couldn't place it.
Slughorn was sitting between Wendy and Regulus across the table and was talking animatedly to Theresa while Wendy seemed to shrink in her chair as the two talked over the small girl.
"Now Theresa," said Slughorn eagerly to the brunette Ravenclaw. "What exactly does your uncle plan to accomplish with this invention?"
The girl smiled slightly and sat up straighter in her chair. "Uncle Humphrey believes it will be very accomplished overall. He says it will revolutionize the food industry."
Whether it was because they were talking about food, or maybe it was the fame and success that was being talked about, Slughorn had a hungry look in his eyes and he seemed to lean closer towards the Ravenclaw girl. Poor little Wendy Slinkhard seemed to get even smaller.
"Now this is intriguing. What is his major selling point?" asked Slughorn, his walrus mustache moving up and down with each word.
"Well people are always looking for new and creative ways to eat," explained Theresa. "Take cauldron cakes for example. If that works why not Cheese Cauldrons? Uncle Humphrey believes they will really take off because people can just eat them or make soup in them and then eat them, saving cleanup time. And they come in all different types of cheeses!"
Hermione, on the other hand, thought this was a ridiculous idea. She had never heard of Cheese Cauldrons in her time so she assumed that Theresa's uncle was not very successful.
"Fascinating!" exclaimed Slughorn, and Theresa looked pleased at this reaction.
"I can have him send you one if you'd like, Sir," said Theresa with a smile.
"That would be wonderful, thank you, Theresa!" said Slughorn, and he took a swig out of his goblet. "Now! Let's here from Miss Dawson!"
Hermione raised her eyebrow and waited for the question, having a good idea where this was going.
"Now no need to be shy my dear girl!" said Slughorn with a grin, misinterpreting Hermione's silence. He looked around the table at the ten of them. "If you guys hadn't known by now, Miss Hermione Dawson transferred here from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic at the start of term, but that's not just why she's here. I've invited her to our little club because she is not only very talented at potions but also a very skilled duelist!"
Hermione glanced towards the Slytherins sitting across from her and caught Snape and Rosier sneering at the comment while Regulus seemed uninterested.
Slughorn didn't wait for a response before continuing. "I must say, I have also heard from the other professors that you are quite talented in all of your subjects! Beauxbatons must give a spectacular education!"
Lily nudged Hermione and beamed at her with pride gleaming in her eyes. Moved by this subtle gesture, Hermione smiled back before returning her gaze to Slughorn.
"Oh, well I did learn a lot from my professors," said Hermione, still smiling and ignoring the looks from Snape and Rosier. "But I do feel like I've learned a lot here as well."
"And modest!" chuckled Slughorn. "Was it hard adjusting to a new school? It must have been quite a shock coming here after spending five years at another school with a completely different culture!"
"It was surprisingly easier than I thought," said Hermione truthfully.
Slughorn nodded as he took this in and stroked his mustache. "And your family is supportive of you coming here I take it?"
Hermione swallowed and tried to hide the sudden breath she had to take. And there it was. She had a feeling he would bring them up but she didn't realize how much she didn't want to talk about her family, especially to a room of strangers.
"They were very excited for me to attend Hogwarts. Once they were informed of its great status they were thrilled," said Hermione, again telling the truth but trying to stay vague.
Hermione went into the made-up story she had told her fellow Gryffindors, about how she had ended up at Beauxbatons and why she transferred to Hogwarts due to her family moving while trying to run their own dentistry office.
"Ah yes!" said Slughorn, looking impressed. "It is even more remarkable that you are muggle-born!"
Most people at the table did not seem to be surprised by this announcement but she got two pairs of eyes staring at her; a piercing glare from Rosier and a curious glance from Dirk Cresswell.
"And what exactly are 'dentists' in the muggle-world?" asked Slughorn with great curiosity. "Is it a dangerous profession?"
Hermione was taken aback by the question and had to stifle a laugh. "Oh, not quite. No, I wouldn't say it's dangerous. They tend to people's teeth to make sure they are clean and healthy."
A snort came from across the table and Rosier quickly tried to cover it up by coughing. Slughorn did not miss it though.
"Mister Rosier, I have asked you to leave before and I am not against doing it again," sighed Slughorn. Hermione was actually surprised that he stood up for her against a member of his own house.
Rosier slumped down in his chair and pursed his lips. "Yes , Sir," he mumbled before giving an annoyed look towards Snape.
"Especially so close to our Christmas party!" added in Slughorn, whose tone had turned very enthusiastic.
The mood in the room all of a sudden changed and the other students soon began to talk to one another excitedly while Hermione looked back at Slughorn for an explanation.
"Ah! Of course you don't know yet, Hermione, but every year I host a Christmas party for my best students and their dates," said Slughorn. "It's a wonderful chance for everyone to dress to impress, and also impress because some of my alumni like to come as well."
"Oh, it sounds fun, Sir," said Hermione with a smile, not sure if she believed her own words.
"Very fun indeed!" beamed Slughorn. "You will be getting an owl soon with the details."
The clock on the wall behind him chimed and he looked around. "Goodness… is that the time already? I guess we'll end our meeting here for today. I shall see you all soon!"
The room was soon filled with the sound of scrapping chairs as the eleven on them began to stand up and gather their things. Soon, Hermione was following Lily and Michelle out of the room and into the cool dungeons.
"You'll have a blast at the party, Hermione," said Michelle as they walked. Beside her Lily nodded in agreement. "It really is nice to have an excuse to dress up and just have fun."
"And," added Lily. "Like Slughorn said, he really does invite alumni, and some of them are really great connections to have."
The two girls took turns telling Hermione their favorite parts of the Christmas party as they continued to walk. The sound of feet quickly hitting the stone floor behind her made Hermione turn as she saw Dirk Cresswell running towards them.
"Hey, Michelle, wait up!" he called, waving his arm slightly.
The three girls stopped and waited for the fifth year Hufflepuff to reach them. When he got close he slowed his pace, his breath quick, but he grinned when he got to them.
"Sorry, Dirk," said Michelle with an apologetic smile. "I got so caught up telling Hermione about the party that I completely forgot to wait for you."
Dirk shrugged and grinned again. "It happens." He turned his attention to Hermione and he stuck his hand out and Hermione shook it. "It's nice to meet you Hermione, it's always good to know other muggle-born students that I can talk to about things happening outside of magic and Hogwarts."
Hermione raised her eyebrows, not entirely knowing what to say about that. "Oh, well it's nice to meet you too."
"Ah look, the three mudblood slug clubbers and a blood traitor," said a voice, and Hermione saw Rosier and Snape approaching, with Regulus trailing behind them.
Dirk's smile fell from his face. "That's a cruel thing to say, Evan."
Rosier ignored him. "It's just what that abhorrent club needed, more filth. As if I was looking for more reasons to not go anymore. Wouldn't you agree, lads?"
Snape muttered his agreement and Regulus gave a stiff nod of his head, looking as if he wanted to be anywhere other than there. Hermione caught Lily staring at Snape looking hurt, there was almost a pleading look in her eyes as he refused to look at her.
"No one is making you go," said Michelle, crossing her arms.
"And your common room is in the other direction," said Dirk, pointing down the dungeon corridor. There was a tired look on his face. "Don't you have literally anything better to do?"
At this, Regulus gave his full attention to them for the first time. He quietly considered the situation before speaking. "Guys, let's just go. It's late and I really don't need another detention for being out after curfew."
Snape sent him a nasty look, a look similarly to the one he saved for Sirius. Hermione had wondered how he could hate Sirius so much but hang out with his brother, and the answer to that seemed to be that Snape didn't seem to particularly like either of them. Rosier on the other hand looked at Regulus and gave a sharp nod.
"Good thinking, Regulus, plus I don't feel like taking another shower tonight but if we stay around this filth any longer I may have to."
The three boys turned on their heels and stalked down the corridor.
Dirk turned back to look at Hermione. "They're not usually that nasty," he said, moving his hand through his light brown hair. "But lately they've seemed more on edge. It's best to ignore them."
The four of the made their way out of the dungeons and continued to discuss the upcoming party, but Lily stayed relatively quiet, looking slightly somber. It was mostly Dirk and Michelle leading the conversation. When they reached the entrance hall, Michelle and Dirk waved goodbye as they headed towards the Hufflepuff common room and Hermione and Lily quietly made their way to Gryffindor tower.
When they entered the common room, Hermione noticed the boys sitting by the fireplace. James was sitting in an armchair while Remus and Sirius were on the couch, and Peter was sitting on the floor by Sirius, leaning backwards against the couch, as all the other armchairs by the fire were taken.
Lily sent the boys a weak smile and waved slightly.
"I'm actually going to go to bed early," said Lily to Hermione. She could see Lily's eyes had begun to get wet again and Lily quickly made her way across the common room and up the stairs to the dormitories.
"Is everything alright with Lily?" asked Remus as Hermione approached where they were sitting.
Hermione squeezed herself in between Remus and Sirius on the couch, causing both boys to try to squirm to the sides to make more room. Eventually Remus had to settle by putting his arm behind Hermione to make the most room.
With a shrug, Hermione shook her head. "Evan Rosier, that shifty looking Slytherin, called me, Lily, and Dirk Cresswell mudbloods and Snape agreed with him and I think that hurt Lily. She was probably expecting him to defend her."
"I could hex him," said James angrily.
"James, you've already had detention twice this week, you need to be more careful," warned Hermione. "It's honestly no big deal."
"We've always wanted to break our record, eh Prongs?" grinned Sirius. "Ow!"
Hermione had elbowed him in the ribs. Remus also groaned slightly.
"Not too much room on the couch to be doing that, Hermione," he said with a pained smirk as he used his other arm to rub his side as well.
"Sorry!"
"At least Rosier is graduating soon," said Peter. "Then we won't have to deal with him anymore."
They all agreed to that.
"So how was the Slug Club?" asked James.
"It actually wasn't awful," said Hermione. "You made it sound like a terrible time but it was a nice being there with Lily and Michelle Pickett. I also met Dirk Cresswell from Hufflepuff and he seems very nice. He even stood up to the Slytherins for us."
"Ah, yes Dirk is very outgoing," said Remus with a flat tone and Hermione raised her eyebrow at him. "What? He's nice, that's all I meant."
"Was my brother there?" asked Sirius. He had an accusational look in his eyes.
"Yes, he was sitting with Rosier and Snape but he didn't really seem like he wanted to be there. He seemed fine when he was talking to Slughorn but for the rest of the time he was quiet and seemed… well… bored," said Hermione. "I also got the feeling that he doesn't particularly like Snape or Rosier, and Snape does not seem to like him."
A look of shock actually spread across Sirius's face. "Interesting… not about the bored and quiet part… Regulus is usually quiet, he likes to gather information and observe what is going on around him rather than share. But it's pretty interesting if he doesn't like Rosier and Snape."
Hermione shrugged. "Well do you know what is interesting? Slughorn is throwing a Christmas party. It's formal attire so I'll have to figure something out…"
Sirius groaned. "The annual exclusive Slug Club Christmas party that only his favorites are allowed to attend."
James laughed from his armchair. "You'd probably be invited if you didn't keep turning down his invitations to the actual club, Padfoot."
Sirius grinned. "Same to you, Prongs. But you couldn't pay me enough Galleons to go."
"I've never even been invited," grumbled Peter.
"Don't worry, Peter," said Remus sympathetically. "Neither have I, and I doubt I ever will."
"Oh don't sell yourself short, Remus," said Hermione warmly. "Slughorn should have every reason to want you to go."
All of a sudden a wave of tiredness hit Hermione and she let out a large yawn. She knew it had been getting late but she hadn't realized how tired she was getting. With her eyes shut, she shook her head slightly as another yawn came. She blinked a few times and looked around at the boys staring at her, looking amused.
"Maybe it's time for you to go to bed, Hermione," said Remus with his crooked smile, looking at her fondly.
"Yes, maybe…" said Hermione as she yawned again. "I'll see you all tomorrow then."
As the boys said their goodbyes, Hermione made her way to the staircase to the girls' dormitories, ready to crawl into her warm bed.
.:~*~*~*~*~:.
One day during the second week of December, the school had woken up to see the grounds covered in layers of pure white snow. Glistening icicles were hangings outside the windows, reflecting the winter sun throughout the castle. Every fireplace throughout Hogwarts was lit, creating a cozy warmness throughout the school, except for the occasional cool draft in the dungeons.
Christmas was rapidly approaching and it was one of Hermione's favorite times of the year to be at Hogwarts. There was just something so comforting about being in the beautiful castle as it was being decorated for the holidays. The staircases had silver garlands wrapped around the banisters along with everlasting icicles that seemed to sparkle with ever step you took. Wherever she went, suits of armor were singing Christmas carols and even Peeves would join in, although it was usually to change the lyrics to something rude. The Great Hall was still in the process of being decorated by the prefects and staff but even then it was by far the most impressive room with its twelve Christmas trees and dry snow that was charmed to fall from the enchanted ceiling.
Lily and Mary had tried to bring the Christmas cheer to their dormitory and had wrapped all of the bed posts in fir and holly garlands. Poinsettias were placed on the windowsill and Lily had created some sort of potion that would change scents throughout the day, alternating between cinnamon apple, pine, peppermint, gingerbread, and cranberries. She kept the potion in the heating stove in the center of the dormitory and the room never failed to smell like Christmas. They told Hermione that it was a tradition that the two of them had every year to make it feel homier near the holidays. Lily and Mary had given Hermione the final task of hanging the wreath on their door, welcoming her into their tradition.
Hermione had to agree that she had never felt more at home in the dormitory. It was why she had decided to work on her transfigurations essays from the comforts of her own bed rather than her usual spot in the library. In her time it was rare that the dormitory was ever empty, but here it was a lot more likely by having only two roommates. Mary was with friends and Lily had to go with the other prefects to decorate the Great Hall so Hermione welcomed the solitude and comfort that the empty dormitory gave her.
She had a few hours to herself before Lily returned to the dormitory and smiled when she spotted Hermione. She looked slightly disheveled and had pieces of garland and holly in her auburn hair but she still seemed happy as she carried a brown package in her arms.
Hermione laid down her textbook and gave Lily a questioning smile. "What happened to you?"
Lily crossed the room and set down her package on her nightstand. She then flopped down on her bed and casually began picking Christmas decorations out of her hair, making a small pile in front of her on her scarlet sheets.
"Oh you know, just Peeves being Peeves," sighed Lily. She looked up at Hermione's puzzled expression and continued. "He decided to knock over one of the Christmas trees right after Remus and I had finished decorating it and we got pelted with the decorations."
"I'm glad you weren't hurt," said Hermione, thinking back to the previous Christmas when she was a prefect and Peeves wreaked havoc on her and Ron as they decorated the Great Hall.
"Yeah, I feel bad for Remus too because he's still there finishing up," said Lily, removing the last bit of holly from her hair.
"Why did you get out early?"
Lily beamed and sat up in her bed and grabbed the package on her nightstand. "Because this gem came and there wasn't much left to do so Flitwick said I could go!"
Hermione stared at the brown paper wrapped rectangular box in Lily's arms.
"What's that?" asked Hermione.
"I'll show you!"
Lily began to open the box, throwing bits of paper onto her bed in the process. A few second later, Lily held up beautiful emerald green dress robes that flowed through the air as she lifted it out of the box.
"Wow, Lily. It's gorgeous!" said Hermione as she stared at the dress robes.
Lily beamed as her. "Isn't it? It looks even better than in the magazine!"
She hugged the fabric to her chest and let out a little squeal.
"It matches your eyes," said Hermione. She looked at the dress robes and was reminded of Harry, quickly averted her glance. Luckily Lily didn't notice.
Lily grinned at her. "I'm glad you think that, that's what I was going for."
Carefully, as if it were a bomb, Lily put her dress robes back in the box and tucked it safely into her trunk and looked back at Hermione.
"I'm really glad you're here Hermione," said Lily warmly. "And I'm so glad you're coming, we're going to have so much fun."
Hermione was moved by this and smiled at Lily. "I think it will be fun."
Then Lily's smile began to fall and she wrapped her blanket around herself.
"Lily, what's wrong?" asked Hermione, worried at her change of attitude.
"I've always ever gone with Sev," said Lily, wrapping herself tighter with her blanket. "To the party I mean. I've never dated anyone close to Christmas time and he didn't ever have anyone to bring so we always just went as friends."
It was a strange thought to picture Lily and Snape all dressed up and attending a party together, even if it was just as friends. Hermione couldn't imagine that he would be much fun, but nothing seemed too out of the ordinary these days.
"Well it won't be the end of the world if you didn't bring a date," said Hermione.
Lily's eyes got wide and Hermione guessed she had said something wrong. "Oh no, Hermione you have to bring a date! I mean, you don't have to but it's expected of us to go with a guest. It says so right on the invitation he sent out two weeks ago."
"I thought that was optional…" said Hermione. "Would it be terrible to not have one?"
"I wouldn't say terrible…" said Lily slowly, "But you wouldn't want to stick out."
Sticking out was the last thing Hermione wanted to do.
"I don't want to pressure you but the party is this weekend, the day before we leave for Christmas holiday. If you're going to ask someone to go you should probably do it soon," said Lily. "Do you have your dress robes yet?"
Hermione did in fact have dress robes, but her main worry now was whether or not she had a date. Normally she wouldn't care if she went solo, she could handle herself and it wouldn't have been a big deal in 1996, but she had to at least try to blend in here. Unfortunately, that meant she would have to ask someone to the party and the first boy she could think of was Remus.
"Wait," said Hermione suddenly. "Who are you going with?"
"Oh," said Lily. "I actually just asked Remus to go with me."
Ah, thought Hermione. Figures.
"Really? You and Remus?" said Hermione raising her eyebrow. She hadn't had any ideas who Lily would have taken, part of her hoped it was James but never had she expected this to happen.
"Only as friends of course!" said Lily quickly when she saw Hermione's expression. "It isn't like that at all. It's just when the package came I was reminded that I didn't have a date and Remus was right there so I asked him to come with me. I made it very clear as friends."
"Well I'm sure you'll have a good time together," said Hermione, who was starting getting anxious. Who on Earth would she take now? Maybe she just wouldn't show up…
"Wait…" said Lily, sending Hermione a nervous look. "You didn't want to take Remus did you? Do you, do you like him?"
Lily started to grin as she came to that completely wrong conclusion and Hermione felt her face grow warm, which probably made Lily think she had been right.
"Trust me Lily, Remus is just a friend," said Hermione definitely.
Lily's face fell. "Oh, you two would be cute together. But I am glad that you don't have a thing for him because I'd feel terrible about asking him."
Hermione gave an uncomfortable laugh.
"But if you do fancy someone and want to ask them to the party I'd be more than willing to help," smiled Lily.
Lily then began to clean off the decorations she pulled from her hair and the paper scrappings from her bed. Hermione reopened her textbook and was trying her best to concentrate on the text but she was too distracted.
With a sigh, Hermione closed the book and stood up from her bed.
"I'll be right back," said Hermione as she headed for the door.
"Where are you going?" asked Lily, looking puzzled.
"To find a date," she called over her shoulder as she walked out of the room and into the staircase.
She could do this, she kept reminding herself. How hard could finding a date be?
Hermione followed the steps down until she entered the warm common room. The common room itself had been decorated for the upcoming holidays as well as the rest of the school. A small green and holly wreath hung on the mantel of the fireplace, which was covered in fake snow, and there were scarlet and gold stockings hanging on either side of it. Small candles were floating around the perimeter of the common room and twinkling, seeming almost reminiscent of muggle Christmas lights. But the loveliest decoration was the blue fir Christmas tree in the far corner of the room beside the armchairs next to the fireplace. Small fairies were flying around the tree and the tree itself was garnished with mistletoe, holly, and decorations that transformed themselves throughout the day.
James and Sirius were sitting beside the tree in two of the comfy scarlet armchairs by the fire. James was playing with a snitch, just like he had done at the lake, while Sirius was whistling a wizard Christmas carol as he read from a textbook. Hermione nearly did a double take as she processed what she was seeing. Sirius Black… was doing homework while away from her and Remus? It truly was a Christmas miracle.
Sirius's head lifted from his textbook as he noticed Hermione enter the room and flashed her a grin and James followed suit.
"Alright, Hermione?" asked Sirius as Hermione crossed the room stopping beside the armchair James was sitting in.
"Okay, I don't want to jinx anything but I'm actually impressed that you both are doing work without me or Remus prompting you to," said Hermione with a cheeky smile.
James rolled his eyes and smiled. "Well Remus is still decorating the Great Hall or something like that and you were nowhere to be found and it had to get done eventually. Peter actually just went off to find him."
Hermione smirked and crossed her arms. "Well if that's all it takes then perhaps Remus and I will have to make ourselves scarce more often."
Sirius grinned cheekily and raised his eyebrow. "Well if you need to excuse to have some… alone time…"
Taken-aback, Hermione grimaced at what he was implying, "don't be foul, Sirius. You know perfectly well that is not what I meant."
Why was everyone so curious if she liked Remus? Boys and girls could be just friends… And not to mention how inappropriate that would have been given her circumstances.
Sirius, who was still grinning, let out a short laugh, "Sure thing, Hermione. So what are you up to?"
Once Sirius asked that question, it dawned on Hermione what she was going to do about a date.
"Well you know how there's that Christmas party that Professor Slughorn is throwing?"
"Yeah, still sounds like a snooze fest," said Sirius, rolling his eyes.
Hermione pursed her lips and bit back a remark before turning to face James. "Well, I was wondering if you'd like to go with me, James."
A shocked look spread across James's face and he opened his mouth before quickly closing it again, looking at a loss for words.
Realizing what he must be thinking, Hermione quickly added, "as friends of course. Lily told me it's customary to bring a date and I can't be the only one to show up alone…"
James seemed to relax at that statement but still did not look too thrilled.
"Oh come on, you won't be the only one without a date," laughed Sirius. "Lily will be there."
Hermione raised an eyebrow at Sirius. "Well that's what I thought at first but Lily just informed me that, as a matter of fact, she does has a date."
Hermione watched James as he absorbed this information and it was almost as if she could see the exact moment where it registered what she had said as James jumped up in his seat.
"WHAT?" gasped James, looking dramatically alert in his armchair. "Who is it?"
"Not Snivellus, right?" asked Sirius with a dark look crossing his face.
"No no no of course not!" Hermione rushed to say. "Give Lily a little bit more credit than that…"
"Then who?" asked James.
"She also asked a friend," said Hermione carefully. If James had gotten the wrong idea with her asking him, she couldn't imagine what James would do if he thought Lily had feelings for Remus. "She asked Remus to go with her."
"REMUS?" gasped James.
"As friends!" repeated Hermione. "Just like how I'm asking you to go."
As James babbled incoherently to himself Sirius feigned a hurt look. "And why don't I get the invite?"
Hermione raised her eyebrow at him. "Would you have even wanted to go?"
"No…" responded Sirius. "But I'm still offended that you didn't ask me!"
"You said a few weeks ago that you couldn't be paid enough to go!"
"That may be true but what if I had been lying!"
Hermione rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Do you want to go with me, Sirius?"
"Hey!" said James.
Sirius grinned, "Nah, you still couldn't pay me enough to go to that party."
Hermione let out a frustrated groan and turned back to James. "Please, James?"
James turned his attention to the fire for a moment while he considered this. The longer he took the more nervous Hermione got.
"Just think about all the time you can spend with Lily if you go! The four of us can just hang out together," said Hermione, getting desperate. "Plus everyone will be dressed nice so it's a good excuse for you to dress well and impress Lily."
She had expected James to react positively to this but he didn't take his attention away from the fire. Even Sirius looked at him curiously. Finally he turned towards Hermione and smiled.
"Alright, I'll go with you, Hermione," he said, and laughed when Hermione let out a sign of relief. "But not because of Lily. I'm going to go with you because you're my friend."
Hermione's face broke into a large grin and she ran to the armchair James was sitting in and leaned over him, trapping him in a big hug.
"Too tight, can't breathe. Don't make me change my mind, Hermione!" gasped James and Hermione quickly stood up straight but was still grinning.
"Great! I will meet you at eight o'clock on Saturday night!" and then Hermione turned around and quickly made her way back to the dormitory.
"Girls are weird," said James.
"Tell me about it, mate," said Sirius.
.:~*~*~*~*~:.
It was nearly eight o'clock and James was standing in the middle of the common room, waiting for the girls to make an appearance. Remus stood beside him in dark brown dress robes that hung slightly too loose on him, but overall James had to admit that Remus managed to clean up well, it was rare that James saw any of his friends dressed up.
James himself was wearing a set of classic black dress robes but he felt like he looked kind of boring. He bet that most of the blokes there would be wearing similar robes, Remus being one of the few not in black.
He wasn't mad that Lily had asked Remus to go with her, he understood that. The two of them had gotten close over the past two years and he knew it was just as friends. He also wasn't mad that Remus had agreed to be her date. What was Moony supposed to do? Leave Lily hanging? No, James was glad that if Lily had to ask anyone she had chosen Moony. But he would be lying if he said he was a little let down about not going with Lily, even though he had agreed to just being friends with her. Friends was better than nothing.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw a group of girls from across the common room staring and him and Remus, giggling to one another. The two of them did seem to stand out in their dress robes, being the only two Gryffindor boys attending the party. James couldn't help but smirk and he ran his hands through his messy hair and the girls began to whisper more urgently and James saw Remus frown at their reaction.
His dad had sent him some of his Sleekeazy's Hair Potion after he wrote to his parents about attending the party but James didn't care for it, so he had given it to Hermione, who he remembered saying that she had used it in the past. He preferred his hair to stay as it was, even if it did drive his mother mad.
There was the creak of a wooden door opening and closing above them and soon James caught a glimpse of Hermione walking down the stairs. James had to admit that it took him a good second to realize it was her. Beside him, Remus stood wide eyed as he took in her appearance, his mouth was slightly agape.
She had used his father's potion after all because her normally bushy mess of a hair was smooth and shiny. She had pinned it up to the back of her head with small ringlets spilling down to frame her face. Her dress robes were long and flowed behind her in waves of scarlet as she descended the stairs. The girls in the corner even grew quiet as she entered the common room, not believing it was her.
There was an unusually shy and nervous grin on her face, which was very unlike Hermione, as she approached the boys, as if she was waiting for them to say something rude. How had people really treated her at Beauxbatons?
"So…" said Hermione cautiously. "What do you think?
She did a small turn so they could see all of her dress robes and grinned back at them.
"I can honestly say, Hermione, that you look absolutely breathtaking," said Remus, who seemed to be in some kind of trance.
Hermione beamed up at him. "Oh just wait until you see your date!"
Then Lily's figure appeared on the stairs and it was as if James's world stopped for a moment. To him, the common room was empty. The girls in the corner were gone and Remus and Hermione were nowhere to be seen. All that existed was the goddess that seemed to walk towards him in slow motion.
Lily's auburn hair fell in waves slightly past her shoulders with the front of her hair braided with small gold and silver gems to the side to keep her fringe from falling in her face.
Her dress robes were emerald green with a low neckline that was also made up of gold and silver gems to match the ones in her hair. The green fabric made her eyes vibrant and pop and her hair never looked so bright and red in contrast to her dress. The dress highlighted every amazing feature in Lily and James couldn't help but think that dress must have been made for her and her alone.
There were slight flickers of glitter on her face and she beamed down at him, or probably at the three of them but James would never admit that, and she seemed to glow.
For a second James was out of breath as he stared at Lily, and it felt like something was pulling at his stomach.
James took a step towards her but was brought back to reality when he felt someone elbow him. Startled as the world came back to him, he looked down at Hermione, who was stifling a laugh as she gave him a look that could only mean "play it cool".
"Sorry I'm late. Mary was putting the finishing touches on my hair," said Lily with a grin. "Shall we?"
James automatically made a move to walk beside Lily but Lily had grabbed a hold on Remus's arm and started towards the door, Remus sent him a quick apologetic look and James stopped in his tracks. Hermione came up beside him and took a hold of his arm, looking amused and James felt like an arse.
"She really does look beautiful, doesn't she?" said Hermione under her breath so only he could hear her as they began to follow the other two out of the common room. There was a glimmer of amusement in her eyes as if she could see right through him and knew what he was thinking. "You might need to control yourself a little bit better."
James's face flushed and in that moment he was never more grateful to be with Hermione. She wasn't going to make fun of him or be mad that he had completely forgotten that she was his date and not Lily. She really was a true friend and he had meant it when he said he was going for her. Which is why he felt so ashamed to have lost his cool like that.
The two of them caught up to Remus and Lily and the four of them chatted casually on their way to the dungeons. James didn't know where the party was happening, clearly it wouldn't be in Slughorn's broom cupboard of an office, so he instead just followed Lily and soon enough he could hear the faint sound of music growing louder as he got farther into the dungeons. Finally, when the music was as clear as day, Lily grinned and waved them into one of the unused rooms in the dungeons.
James had never been to this room before and was surprised at how big it was. The room was bigger than most of the rooms he had been to in the dungeons and he had a feeling that it might have been magically altered to be able to fit everything and everyone. The room itself didn't even resemble the grey stone dungeons at all. The walls and ceiling were dressed in green, red, gold, and silver drapes that gave the room the appearance of being in a large tent. Candles floated around the room casting an amber light over the crowd of people that were scatted around enjoying the party. There were a mix of students and also adults throughout the room and in the far corner a small group of instruments were enchanted to play music. House-elves with trays were wandering around the room offering beverages and food to the partygoers.
"House elves!" gasped Hermione under her breath. Her eyes were lit and enraged at the sight of the servants. "I can't believe they are being forced to work this! And at Christmas too!"
James stared at her blankly and was saved from responding when a cheerful, and dare he say it, tipsy, Slughorn approached them in a velvet smoking jacket, grinning from ear to ear. James made a move to escape but Hermione held him back sending him a stern look that oddly reminded him of McGonagall.
"Isn't it my favorite Gryffindors!" chortled Slughorn. He beamed at Lily and Hermione. "I'm very very glad you made girls."
"We're happy to be here, Sir," said Lily with a smile.
He turned and spotted James and his grin seemed to somehow get bigger which James did not think was possible. "James, m'boy!" boomed Slughorn. "It's great to see you here!"
Slughorn glanced over at Remus. "Ah, glad to see you too Mr. Lupin."
Remus gave a polite and amused nod. "You too, Sir."
"So! James!" beamed Slughorn. "Are you accompanying Lily this evening?"
James opened his mouth to answer when Lily called out, "actually he's with Hermione. I came with Remus." Her face was slightly flushed and James felt that weird pull in his stomach again.
For a moment it looked like Slughorn was disappointed at that answer before going back to grinning. "Well come of out the door, come come! Enjoy the party! Ah, will you excuse me? I must go and say hi to our other guests who are arriving!"
Slughorn stepped past them and that's when James noticed Snape from across the room. He was standing near Regulus and Rosier, who had both managed to procure dates, and was sulking. As if he knew James had spotted him, Snape's attention turned towards him and it gave James a great sense of satisfaction at Snape's surprise at seeing him there. He watched as Snape looked between him and then at Lily and Snape's face broke out in fury. So Snape had assumed they came together, and James had every intention of never correcting that assumption.
Lily seemed to notice this small altercation. "Let's go this way!" she said quickly and grabbed a hold of Remus's robes and quite literally began to drag him with her. She grabbed a glass of mead in the process and James had to hurry to keep up with her while managing to maneuver the crowded room with Hermione only a step behind him. They made their way over to a roaring fireplace that was periodically changing colors where there were no Slytherins in sight.
"Now," said Lily, taking a long sip of her glass and smiling. "Let's have fun!"
As the party continued James was surprised to actually find himself having a good time. The drinks and food were amazing and the music quickly turned into something worth dancing too. James only wished that Sirius and Peter were there as well. The only downside was having to endure Hermione ranting about the house elves being mistreated, but he managed to district her by getting her to dance.
"I'm going to get more mead!" beamed Lily, who was slightly pink in the face from dancing, and probably the mead. Even pink, James never had seen someone so beautiful. "Do any of you want anything?"
"Yeah mead sounds great," said James.
Lily grinned at him. "Coming right up!"
.:~*~*~*~*~:.
Lily had bounced out of sight and Hermione was left with the two boys. She did have to admit, that she was having a much better time than she had expected. And by the look on James's face, she assumed he was having a good time as well, which she was glad about after practically begging him to come with her. She was also glad that he and Lily were getting along so well, which had been one of the reasons she had asked James to come with her. Remus also seemed like he was having fun but there was also a distracted look in his eyes, but Hermione didn't want to bring it up in front of everyone.
Michelle and Dirk had also shown up, they went together as friends as well, and joined their group for a while. It was nice being surrounded by friends but there was a touch of tension in the air with Dirk and Michelle with them, given that James and Remus were not very close with them, particularly with Dirk, but Michelle seemed to pick up on this and excused the two of them to go elsewhere at the party after a while.
The atmosphere in the air was lively and it was nice to be able to let loose with three of her friends, or now just two since Lily had disappeared. After a moment of Lily being gone, James excused himself to use the toilet and Hermione found herself alone with Remus.
"Would you mind if we moved to the other side of the room?" said Remus loudly over the music that was playing beside them. They must have been thinking the same thing because he gestured towards the enchanted instruments a few feet away. "I feel like the longer we're here the louder they get."
She agreed and the two of them crossed the room to be closer to refreshment table by the door where they were able to hear each other easier.
Hermione looked around. "Do you see Lily? I assumed she'd be by the drinks. I hope she's able to find us over here."
"She'll find us," said Remus. He grabbed two goblets from the table and handed one to Hermione who gripped it and took a sip of the lovely honey mead.
Remus was quiet again, looking nervous for some reason with sparked Hermione's curiosity.
"Are you alright, Remus?" she asked with an eyebrow raised.
His head popped up slightly at the question as if she startled him.
"Hm? Oh yes, I'm fine. I guess I'm just kind of tired," he said with a weary smile to her.
"Are you not having a good time?"
"No I'm happy I'm here with you, Lily, and James. I've just never been one for big social gatherings," he said with a shrug, looking away from her.
"You know, when Lily told me we had to bring a date my immediate thought was to ask you to come with me," said Hermione, taking a sip of her drink and looking across the room at the crowd of people standing around talking or dancing to the music.
Remus raised his eyebrow and looked down at her, a hint of a smile on his face. "You wanted to go with me?"
Hermione turned to face him and nodded nonchalantly, but glad to have more of his attention. "You're my closest guy friend… actually you're one of my closest friends in general here. I would have asked you sooner but I didn't know this was the type of party we needed a date for. I was disappointed when Lily told me she had already asked you."
She took another sip of her drink as Remus seemed to quietly process this.
"Oh," was all Remus said in response. He cleared his throat and took a sip of his own drink before turning his gaze away from her and he suddenly seemed very interested in what the other guests were doing, lost in thought.
Hermione felt her face turn hot and she quickly looked away as well. She cursed herself for being so stupid – she was smarter than this. She had hoped that saying that might have cheered him up but it seemed to have the opposite effect. The last thing she wanted to do was make Remus feel more uncomfortable. Who just comes out and says deep emotional things like that? From all the experiences she had with Ron and Harry, she had learnt that boys didn't tend to make grand statements of friendship.
There was an awkward silence as Hermione scanned the room wondering where James and Lily had gone and desperately wishing for Lily to return. But as she watched the groups of people dancing, eating, and drinking she couldn't spot Lily nor her own date.
Beside her, Remus cleared his throat and Hermione looked back at him. He looked as awkward as she felt. "Well, I'm glad we're both still here together. Even if both of our dates have disappeared."
He sent her a crooked smile and pulled her into a side hug and Hermione immediately relaxed and leaned into his body. The smell of chocolate was faintly present and she smiled to herself.
"Although I definitely would not have minded if you had asked me first," said Remus and Hermione could hear the smirk in his voice. "And even though I have only known you for four months I consider you one of my close friends as well."
"Well good," said Hermione. She gave him a quick squeeze and then pulled away. "But we both do have our own dates… no matter where they ran off to…"
She looked around the room trying to spot Lily but couldn't see her anywhere, and it would be hard to miss the bright green dress robes.
"Do you think they're together?" asked Remus, smirking and raising an eyebrow towards her.
Hermione grinned at that thought. "That would be an interesting development."
"Honestly, I'd be surprised if they didn't end up together," said Remus with a grin. "I mean, it's bound to happen eventually."
"Who are?" asked Lily, who had just returned and was smiling at the two of them.
Remus's eyes went wide and he opened his mouth but no sound came out.
"Dirk and Michelle," said Hermione without missing a beat, and she could see the corner of Remus's mouth twitch in relief and amusement at the odd pairing.
Lily frowned. "Dirk and Michelle? I highly doubt it. I was actually just talking to Michelle and she mentioned that Dirk has a thing for someone else. And Michelle clearly just sees him as a friend."
"Oh," said Remus who was struggling to keep his mouth from twitching into a smile. "I guess we were wrong."
"So that's where you've been this whole time?" asked Hermione, quickly changing the subject. "I was looking for you in the crowd but it's hard to see through all the people."
Lily gave her and Remus a guilty smile. "Sorry, she caught me and I lost track of time. Also Slughorn kept trying to introduce me to people…"
Just then, James came walking back into the party. He looked around for a bit before spotting them and walking over.
"Where have you been?" asked Lily as James approached.
"Loo," said James with a smirk.
"The party seems to be ending," said Hermione, looking around the room as people starting making their exits. The instruments began playing softer and slower as if encouraging people to leave.
James looked down at his watch. "It is getting pretty late."
"Should we head out?" asked Remus.
Lily sighed. "I suppose so… We should probably get some rest before the Hogwarts Express tomorrow."
Hermione's smile fell from her face as it began to dawn on her that she was going to be spending Christmas holiday alone this year after everyone left tomorrow. She carefully avoiding letting them know this though as she was still coming up with an excuse to not take the train back with them, but she shook the thought from her head for the time being.
The four of them began to make the long trek back towards Gryffindor tower, still giddy from the party and the mead, all high in spirits.
"Is it bad that I haven't started packing?" said James as they approached the Fat Lady. And even Lily couldn't help but laugh.
A/N: Thanks for reading! I'm hopefully going to have more frequent updates, at least for the next few chapters. I've said it early but I don't write in order and I have a lot of the upcoming chapters already partly written and I'm super excited for them. There's a lot of stuff about to happen!
So let me know what you think! Likes and dislikes? What do you think is going to happen? What would you like to happen? I read all my reviews and have even been inspired by some so please tell me what you think! Reviews are super important to me as a writer. You can also message me on my tumblr if you'd like, it's also called AccioStories.
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