Party Invitees

For the next week and a half, Sirius and Remus helped James catch up with his assignments. Really, only Remus did any good, since Sirius was still behind after almost two months of detentions, but at least James had a partner to work with as he tackled essay after essay. Peter ended up disappearing during most of their study sessions, and James guessed that he wanted to avoid Remus' sharp glares whenever Sirius inevitably ended up distracting the others from their homework. Soon enough, James had whipped his schedule back into order, and he switched Quidditch practices back to the afternoons. The team all but cheered at the news.

Classes were growing harder by the day, but James felt little pressure after regaining so much extra time. In fact, when compared to Pollux's class, Potions no longer seemed half so bad. Professor Slughorn did nothing to directly antagonize James during the period as Pollux would do, although Slughorn's amiable nature towards Snape continued to irk him. With Christmas break nearing, James knew that Slughorn would soon invite his favorite students to the Slug Club's annual Christmas party, so the occasion was enough to make James disregard his usual dislike of the Potions professor as he sought a way to get Lily to invite him.

"Why do you even want to go?" Sirius whispered to James while they sat in Potions class, occupying his friend lest he could sidle up to Lily. "You remember how it was our first year when we snuck in. All of Slughorn's old flunkies will show up, and it'll be a dreadful bore. I even heard that my grandfather has an invitation. He and Slughorn were on friendly terms in the day."

"All the more reason to go, isn't it?" James replied, checking his cauldron to see if it was still simmering. "If I show up, it'll give Pollux a little shock. Besides, I might be able to slip Belching Powder in his drink while he isn't looking. Imagine the scene that'll cause!"

"I suppose," Sirius admitted as James eyed Lily's desk. "But you'd better hope that Evans is in a willing mood. I can't imagine her saying yes."

"Thanks, mate," James told him dryly, and he stood up with the pretense of grabbing more dandelion root from one of the shelves.

Walking up to Lily's desk, he paused in front of the potion ingredients for a moment before turning around. Running his hand through his hair, he cleared his throat for attention.

"Evans, I've been thinking . . ."

"You have?" Lily interrupted without looking up from her potion. Fighting a laugh, James smirked and scratched the back of his head.

"Well, yes. I heard that the Slug Club's holding a party, and I thought you might need a date."

"It's very kind of you to volunteer," Lily responded, finally looking up with a raised eyebrow, "but I already have a friend in mind."

"They could invite me, then," James suggested.

"Are you really that determined to show up and make a scene?" Lily sighed, rolling her eyes. "You know good and well that a guest can't invite someone themselves. Why don't you ask Severus? I think he'll be more likely to let you in."

"Don't you think he'll have invited someone else by now?" James asked. "There might be a friendly ghoul in the Slytherin common room who had the weekend free. Or maybe he'll take the snakeskin that he's been holding onto for the last few weeks."

Lily's fiery red hair looked like it might start sparking if the conversation went any longer, and James took his leave with a wave. "Tell me if you change your mind!" he requested before retreating to Sirius' side.

Once James had taken his seat, Sirius leaned over, a grin playing at the corner of his mouth. "Dare I ask?"

"You'd better not," James recommended before stirring his potion glumly.

Through the next week, James had to listen to excited gossip about the upcoming party, which seemed to be the only topic of conversation the castle was interested in discussing. Most of the Gryffindor girls were eager to debate what sort of dress Lily should wear, interjecting with occasional laments that they would have to stay behind.

On the day of the Slug Club's get-together, James found himself hanging around the entrance to the dungeons, hoping to get a glimpse of the partygoers. Most of the passersby were strangers, but a few of the older guests wore plum robes that suggested they had recently finished with a Wizengamot meeting. It seemed as though James was not the only one who had decided to watch the festivities, because Hillary ran up from behind with her hair freshly brushed, almost like she expected to attend the party herself.

"Potter, are you going downstairs?"

"'Fraid not," James answered, and although Hillary had seemed happy to see him, she grew even more cheerful at this news.

"Guess we can watch them together," she said, gesturing to the others. Then, turning to him suddenly, she added, "I waited in the common room after your last game. Why didn't you say hello?"

"Oh, I didn't end up making it after all," he told her. "Detention and all that."

"Hmm," she grunted before hiding a laugh behind her hand. "You seem to land in trouble a lot."

"Tell me about it," James grumbled, thinking of Pollux, but Hillary laughed again.

"Shame the rest of the castle can't have a party. But we could get away by ourselves if you wanted."

"Actually, I was thinking of sneaking in," James admitted, to which her face fell.

"Don't you dare," another voice spoke, and James turned to see Remus. "I hid away your Invisibility Cloak for tonight. I knew you might try to get in."

"What are you doing here?"

"Doing my rounds," he answered, tapping the badge on his chest. "I'm a prefect now, don't forget, so I could report you for disrupting the event."

"Are you going down to the dungeons?" James asked, perking up. "Why don't I come with you? That way you can keep me out of trouble."

Seeming to realize he was caught, Remus wavered in place while Hillary pouted, "But what about—"

"Let's get on then, Remus," James prodded, pulling his friend by the arm. "Wouldn't want to delay you!"

Once James had led him away from Hillary, they trailed after the stream of partygoers to the dungeons. Caught up in the movement of the crowd, they ended up traveling exactly where James wanted to be. Surrounding the open double doors of Slughorn's party were garlands of holly and apple-red berries, and a single bough of mistletoe hung in the center. Inside, guests milled about and greeted each other, but by the sight of the empty dance floor, the party had not yet grown to full swing.

"What a getup, eh?" James commented to Remus, who gave him a half-hearted scowl.

A few moments later, the two of them spotted Pollux stalking towards the party, accompanied by another, slimmer wizard with two patches of graying hair on the sides of his head. Like some of the other guests, the wizard was dressed in the plum shade associated with the Wizengamot, but he had strapped on a dark cape to partly cover the embroidered silver "W" on his chest. At first, James assumed the worst of the Ministry official by nature of his chosen companion, but he soon realized that Pollux was wearing a scowl as he listened to his companion's babbling.

"Almost didn't make it in time, actually. Ever since promoting Crouch to the Head of the Wizengamot, he's been keeping us in session for hours on end. Had a few suggestions to make myself, of course, but I wish he didn't drag it out so . . ."

Inhaling suddenly, Remus gaped at the pair of adults until James grabbed his attention by nudging him in the side. After lifting his eyebrows to indicate a question, James received an answer.

"That's Harold Minchum!" Remus hissed, and James whirled his head around to look at Pollux's companion.

Based on Sirius' description of Minchum, he had thought that the Minister for Magic would be more intimidating, but he looked like someone James would find rocking on a deckchair in Godric's Hollow. He was a bit shorter than Pollux, and much more the grandfatherly type. In the midst of the Minister's rambling, Pollux turned his head to the side, and his beady eyes flashed when he spotted James and Remus standing against the wall. When he had walked within a few steps of them, he stopped and grunted at James, seeming to focus his frustration on him.

"Shouldn't you be heading somewhere else to make yourself useful?"

"We're enjoying the festivities," James responded, forcing on a toothy smile.

"You're not being escorted to detention, then?" Pollux asked, giving Remus' badge a quick look.

James shook his head. "Where are you heading?"

Seeming not to notice the red flash in Pollux's eyes, Minchum glanced down at the two students. "Pupils of yours, Black?"

"One of the more disruptive, I'm afraid."

Almost at once, James could see the change in the Minister's expression; his thin lips hardened, as did his eyes, and the very air of the dungeons seemed to grow a few degrees colder in his disapproval. "I hope you stay out of trouble," he advised, though James did not read any suggestion in his tone. In another moment, he had swept into the next room with a swish of his cape, leaving Pollux standing by himself.

"You're lucky to have mates like Mr. Lupin here, Potter," he sneered. "If it wasn't for his convenient timing, you'd still be wiping up that mess in the courtyard."

With that, he too disappeared, and James turned to Remus. "What did he mean?"

"I might have turned up at McGonagall's office around the same time he did when Peeves trashed the courtyard," he admitted. "Pollux wanted you straight back to work, but I said that you had already completed the requirements of your detention. Technically, you were free, since the mess wasn't your fault. Even though I know it probably was," he added with a wink.

"You're the best, mate," James thanked him.

"McGonagall probably would have said so anyway, but Pollux hasn't looked at me the same," Remus said, and he shrugged. "I don't mind, really. He was bound to dislike me for getting on with you and Sirius, and you had fallen so far behind your assignments, so I had to step in. It was getting especially dangerous for you with O.W.L.s this year."

"I owe you loads," James announced before spotting a house-elf waddling near the doorway with a tray of drinks balanced in his arms. Bending down, James tapped on the elf's shoulder. "Hullo there. Is Hokart serving in there with you?" When the elf nodded, he requested, "Give her a message for me, will you? Do you see that professor over there?" James pointed at Pollux's back, and the elf nodded. "Tell the other house-elves not to give him any of the dishes. Also, see if you can spill a few drinks on his shoes."

"But sir, that is not possible!" the house-elf cried, her ears jumping. "Professor Slughorn ordered that the guests be treated with the upmost—"

"He's not really a guest!" James interrupted, waving a hand. "He shouldn't be in Hogwarts at all! I don't think that he even likes parties." When she only stared at him, he sighed and shook his head. "Just get the message to Hokart, okay? We're friends."

"Yes, sir," the house-elf finally agreed, but her ears drooped as she turned around and padded further into the party.

Brushing himself off as he stood, James smirked at Remus, who sighed to hide his smile. A second later, Remus' mouth dropped.

"Alice!"

James spun around in time to see Alice blush, twirling a knee-length dress with pastel flowers. There was a matching yellow carnation pinned to her chest. She looked good—and a tad more confident than usual—but James was more preoccupied with Lily, whose dark green dress shimmered like a merperson's tail whenever she moved. On instinct, James' hands dropped to his sides and rubbed down his robes.

"Does it look all right, Remus?" Alice asked, smiling sheepishly. "I thought it might be a bit much—"

"No, you look great," Remus assured her. "You too, Lily."

"Yeah, you really do," James stammered out, upset that Remus had beaten him to it. Looking down, he saw that Lily had painted her toenails green.

"You haven't been invited by someone else, have you?" Lily asked Remus, not looking at James.

"Er, no. I'm on patrol just now."

"Sorry you won't make it," she said with real sympathy. "You could have said yes, you know."

"Dances aren't really my thing," Remus said, seeming to find the back of his neck very itchy all at once.

Gaping, James whipped his head between the two of them. "What? You . . . she . . ."

"That's right, I invited him," Lily said. "He said no, so I took Alice instead."

"It's my first time," Alice chimed in, beaming.

"She . . . and you . . . I don't . . ."

"I said I was busy," Remus cut in, throwing James a pleading glance.

"And you are, aren't you?" Lily helped. "Too bad you've got patrol. They might have made Wilkes do it if you came."

Without another glance at James, she strode into Slughorn's party, Alice stumbling after her even though her dress was much shorter than her everyday robes. As soon as they left, Remus cleared something stuck in his throat.

"I'm sorry, James, I didn't know how to tell you. I said no."

"Did you want to go?" James questioned, unable to stop himself.

"Not really," Remus assured, but his eyes danced on the floor. "I've heard Sirius complain. It's probably a bore."

"Well . . . all right, then," James said, and the two stood uncomfortably for a moment before James backed away. "You'd better keep patrolling."

Remus nodded in answer, and James trekked back towards Gryffindor Tower. No one was milling about in the late evening, but he dodged a few late partygoers on the way back.

Upon entering his dormitory, he found Sirius lying with his back on his four-poster, his head hanging over the side. Once he spotted James, he jolted upright a little too quickly and barely caught himself before falling off the edge.

"I was about to go find you. Where have you been?"

"Er, nowhere," James answered quickly. "Where's Peter?"

"I haven't seen him all day," Sirius told him. "Actually, I'm starting to wonder about him. It was normal to miss him when we were still in detention, but now that Pollux let us go, he's still nowhere to be found. It's like Remus when he was hiding from us during our second year."

"Are you sure he isn't studying somewhere?" James inquired. "I don't think he'd hide something from us."

"Who's hiding something?" a voice piped up, and James turned to find Peter standing in the doorway, his arms full of books.

"You, Pete," Sirius said, drumming his fingers on his face. "Where were you just now?"

"I—what?" he stammered. A strand of mousy brown hair fell over his eyes, making him look even more disheveled. "I wasn't anywhere importa—"

"If it's not important, you can tell us, right?" Sirius interrupted, and Peter's face grew bright red. Gulping, he stared down at his fidgeting feet for a moment and then held out his books to James.

"I've been reading in the hidden passage we found last year," he explained quietly. "You know, the one behind the mirror. It's quiet enough that I can practice Transfiguration without any distractions."

Taking the top two books from Peter's hands, James read the titles aloud and frowned at their covers. "Transfiguration Explained? A Guide to Self-Transfiguration? But Peter, these are half of the books we used to reference Animagi last year."

"I thought that learning more about Animagi would help me in Transfiguration," Peter admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "Our O.W.L.s are coming soon, you know."

With Peter's eyes still on the floor, James shared a quick glance with Sirius. Most of the time, they had to implore Peter to do any work in order to become an Animagus, and James knew how much he struggled with Transfiguration. Doing research on his own was unheard of.

"That's great of you, Peter," James told him, returning his books to his arms. "I mean it."

Lifting his face up, Peter stared at him for a moment before breaking into a smile. "Really?"

"Sure," James encouraged. "If you keep practicing like this, your Transfiguration O.W.L. should be a cinch! And now that Sirius and I are free, we can join you in the passage. Right, Sirius?"

"I suppose," his friend agreed. "Anyway, the Animagus Potion is almost ready, isn't it?"

"That's right!" James said, clapping Peter on the back. Unfortunately, the contact threw Peter off balance, and all his books came plummeting out of his hands and to the floor, him following soon after. A moment later, Sirius ended up falling off his four-poster after all, too overcome with laughter to watch his balance.