"Why must you always wear glasses?" Cuffe asked Gwendolyn as they walked to Slughorn's office for the Christmas party.

"Because I can't see, obviously. And I thought you were bright." She muttered, still slightly annoyed that she was being forced to attend the party.

"There's magic to fix that!"

"You don't like my glasses, Barnabus? I can call you Barnabus, right? Since you're my date tonight, we ought to be on a first name basis."

"Sweet Merlin, Gwendolyn, you know how to make a man pull all his hair out!" She grinned in satisfaction.

"So I've been told. I choose to believe it's one of my better qualities."

"You aren't my date," he said blatantly, but Gwendolyn wasn't finished making him miserable. Cuffe had many buttons and Gwen enjoyed pushing them all.

"I'm quite sure I am your date," she said sweetly. "We're dressed rather nicely in dress robes that complement each other quite well. We're attending together. You asked- well, more like forced- me to come."

"Rita Skeeter never gave me this many problems," he muttered and she laughed.

"Why are we going to this anyway?"

"Sluggie was always good to me in school," Cuffe said with a slight shrug. "He's a bit of a nag, but he has good intentions and lots of connections."

"Then why did I have to come?"

"Why do you ask so many questions, sweet Merlin!" Cuffe exclaimed, sounding absolutely exasperated.

"Oh, forget it!" she muttered. She heard the sound of laughter and music growing louder as they approached the office. The smell of food made her stomach growl and she was ready to eat something.

"Remember to be nice to everyone," he said as they approached the door, sounding very much like a parent.

"When have I ever disappointed you?" she said with a sticky false sweetness.

"Plenty of times."

"Well!" she huffed, making a very offended face at him.

He rolled his eyes, looking irritated. He sighed and went to open the door for her. "After you."

The room was rather large for an office and Gwen didn't see a bookshelf or desk anywhere. It was decorated in green and gold and the red lights left their tint on the room. It was absolutely packed with people and Gwen quickly eyed the food table. A young boy approached her with a tray, atop of which were tiny glasses with sparkling red liquid. She and Cuffe each took one and Gwen downed it rather quickly. "Cherries and adolescence," she mused aloud and Mr. Cuffe grinned.

"Barnabus! Miss O'Shea!" she heard the booming voice call. "I'm delighted to see you here!" In his hand was a glass of mead and Gwen wondered if he was a little drunk. She shook his hand amiably while Cuffe spoke with him. Her mind was on the table covered in food and treats only a few feet away from her…

Finally, Slughorn sauntered off after telling them to enjoy themselves. Gwen was about to grab her dinner when she noticed Harry standing with a blonde haired girl not too far away. "Do you know anyone here?" she asked Cuffe casually.

"A few people."

"You wouldn't mind if we parted ways, would you?" she said, trying to sound sad. He rolled his eyes.

"Get out of my face." Not hesitating a moment longer, she hurried over to Harry.

"Gwen!" he exclaimed when he saw her, beaming. She immediately recognized the girl next to him as Luna Lovegood, one of the girls who had been at the Department of Mysteries.

"It's lovely to see you, Harry," Gwen said smiling. "Hello, Luna."

"Hello," she said wistfully, smiling as though she was worlds away.

"How are you? Why are you here?" Harry asked, still grinning.

"Professor Slughorn invited me and Mr. Cuffe," she explained. "It's a lovely party. Where's Ron and Hermione?"

"Ron's not here… he wasn't invited. Hermione's somewhere hiding from her date." Gwen was about to ask, but Harry shrugged and they sighed in unison.

"Well, I'll leave you to have fun now," she said. "You wouldn't want an old hag like me hanging round with you at a party."

"You'll be at the Burrow for Christmas, won't you?" She nodded with a smile and walked away. Sometimes, she worried about Harry discovering that Dumbledore had ordered her to be close with him. He would believe their relationship was fake. But it wasn't. She cared for Harry genuinely and would treat him how she did now even if Dumbledore hadn't said anything.

She started eating something from the table, when Professor Slughorn grabbed her and told her they were going to go meet Harry Potter. Startled by his drunkenness, she didn't even bother to say that she already knew Harry Potter and had just seen him. They found Harry speaking with Professor Trelawney and Slughorn interrupted their conversation.

"Ah, Sybill, we all think our subject's most important!" he said, nearly shouting. "But I don't think I've ever known such a natural at Potions! Instinctive, you know — like his mother! I've only ever taught a few with this kind of ability, I can tell you that, Sybill — why even Severus —" Suddenly, he released Gwendolyn from his arm and grabbed a very annoyed Severus Snape, seemingly out of thin air. Gwen had to bite her lip to stop herself from bursting into laughter. "Stop skulking and come and join us, Severus!" hiccupped Slughorn happily. "I was just talking about Harry's exceptional potion-making! Some credit must go to you, of course, you taught him for five years!"

"Funny, I never had the impression that I managed to teach Potter anything at all." He said, looking at Harry, who seemed rather uncomfortable.

"Well, then, it's natural ability!" shouted Slughorn. "You should have seen what he gave me, first lesson, Draught of Living Death — never had a student produce finer on a first attempt, I don't think even you, Severus —"

"Really?" Severus barely spoke above a whisper now, staring directly at Harry. Gwen was quite sure Severus did not appreciate his skills being undermined.

"Remind me what other subjects you're taking, Harry?" Gwen said suddenly, trying to ease the tension.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology..."

"All the subjects required, in short, for an Auror," said Snape.

"Yeah, well, that's what I'd like to do," said Harry defiantly. Gwen sighed at how the two of them could not seem to stop fighting."

"And a great one you'll make too!" boomed Slughorn, who was too drunk to notice.

"I don't think you should be an Auror, Harry," said Luna and everybody looked at her. "The Aurors are part of the Rotfang Conspiracy, I thought everyone knew that. They're planning to bring down the Ministry of Magic from within using a combination of Dark Magic and gum disease."

Harry began to laugh uncontrollably, when Slughorn turned back to Gwendolyn. "Oh, forgive me, Miss O'Shea, for being so rude!" Slughorn said, taking another gulp of his mead. "This is Professor Severus Snape." She and Snape both looked at each other, then back at Slughorn, rather confused.

"I, er, already know him, Professor Slughorn, remember? He was my teacher."

"It's useless," Snape muttered and Slughorn had already waltzed away to some other people. He gestured for them to walk to the other side of the room. "You look like a Slytherin." She looked down at her green dress and back at him.

"I was trying to look like Christmas, but I'll take any compliments I can from you," she teased.

"I never said it was a compliment," he said coolly. She grabbed a peppermint candy from a nearby table and he raised an eyebrow.

"They're my favorite," she said with a shrug. He didn't seem to care.

"Why are you here?"

"Mr. Cuffe," she said. "Why are you here?"

"Dumbledore," he muttered and she laughed.

"Well, neither of us are where we'd like to be," she said with a sigh. "Slughorn's rather fond of skilled people, isn't he?"

"That's only because he hasn't a skill himself." She smiled and looked around the room at the Hogwarts students talking and laughing and eating. "Since neither of us are where we'd like to be," he said slowly and softly, in her ear.

"Why don't we go somewhere we'd rather be?" she finished smoothly, desire in her eyes. He smirked.

"Precisely." She smiled slyly at him.

"I'm ready when you are, Professor," she said softly and he was about to reply, when the office door slammed and in came Argus Filch, pulling a blonde haired boy into the office by his ear.

"Professor Slughorn," wheezed Filch and Gwen wrinkled her nose at the sight of him. "I discovered this boy lurking in an upstairs corridor. He claims to have been invited to your party and to have been delayed in setting out. Did you issue him with an invitation?"

The boy pulled himself of the grasp. "All right, I wasn't invited!" he shouted. "I was trying to gate crash, happy?"

"No, I'm not!" said Filch, looking rather cheerful. "You're in trouble, you are! Didn't the headmaster say that nighttime prowling's out, unless you've got permission, didn't he, eh?"

"That's all right, Argus, that's all right," said Slughorn, seeming a bit sobered by the event. "It's Christmas, and it's not a crime to want to come to a party. Just this once, we'll forget any punishment; you may stay, Draco." Draco. The name seemed familiar. She glanced at Severus who was staring at Draco with anger and something else Gwen could not place. The boy started thanking Slughorn and Slughorn was waving it off. The boy reminded Gwen of someone she had once met. The light hair and eyes and a very persuasive manner of speaking. Lucius Malfoy. Draco Malfoy. Lucius's son. She faintly remembered Harry speaking ill of him.

Suddenly, Severus left her side and approached the boy. "I'd like a word with you, Draco," he said.

"Now, Severus, it's Christmas, don't be too hard —"

"I am his Head of House, and I shall decide how hard, or otherwise, to be," said Snape curtly. "Follow me, Draco." And the two left the office.

Since her plans to ditch the party and have a good shag had been delayed or perhaps cancelled, Gwen ate a little more and stood around. Slughorn made her pose for pictures with him, to her chagrin. She didn't know any of these people. Of course she wasn't going to speak with the students and the other adults didn't seem very interested in her.

Harry approached her later, after disappearing for a while.

"Why were you talking to Snape?" he asked abruptly. She was rather taken aback.

"Am I not allowed to?" she asked.

"I don't trust him," Harry said, looking around.

"Harry, Dumbledore-"

"I know, I know, but I don't. I think he's planning something with Malfoy." His voice was hushed and his eyes were wide.

"Harry, stop it!"

"I heard them! He has to be on their side, Gwen, I just know it!" He was starting to get rather loud and Gwen shushed him suddenly.

"This isn't the time or the place," she whispered solemnly. "We can talk about this over the holidays. Not now. But don't worry about Snape, Harry. You have to trust Dumbledore's judgement."

"I still don't know why you were talking to him," Harry muttered.

"It was nothing, dear," she assured him. He seemed unsatisfied with her answer, but relented and rejoined Luna.

Gwen became rather bored. She wasn't in the mood to eat anymore or get drunk. Cuffe was nowhere to be found, and Slughorn was too drunk to function, so Gwen left the party without saying anything to anyone. On her way out, she bumped into Severus, who had been on his way back to fetch her. Happy to finally get her distraction, Gwen followed him down to his room.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Four days later, on Christmas Eve, Gwen visited her father, as per yearly routine. At the end of the dull and rather mundane visit, while she was putting on her cloak, he said, "I'm moving to Australia."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"War's getting too rough up here," he said simply, his Irish lilt painting every word.

"I see." She played with the ring on her finger. "You'll send me your address?"

"S'pose so."

She nodded and muttered a very lackluster Happy Christmas, then hurried on home.