Chapter 9

Harry, feeling quite weak after being too active, retired to his bed for an afternoon nap. Malfoy helped Molly in the kitchen for a while longer then decided to go to his own room and finish his book.

He noticed Hermione in the study on the way past and he stopped. She was writing a letter to someone.

"Have you decided yet?" he asked, standing directly over her and trying to read her note. She flipped it over and stood up.

"No"

"No as in you wont go with me or no as in you haven't decide?"

Hermione moved over to Sirius' family tree, avoiding Malfoy's piercing gaze. She took a ragged breath and forced herself to turn around.

"No…I haven't…I haven't decided. You happy?" she tried to sound snappy to scare him away but her voice wavered. Why was she feeling such a deep attraction to him?

"Very" Malfoy smiled and brushed his hair from his face. "Very happy."

"Good. Now piss off." He left and she sat back down to her letter to her mother.

She sat for several minutes, trying to figure out how to finish her letter when thoughts of Malfoy came flooding back into her mind.

She imagined what it would be like to kiss him. She'd only ever been kissed twice. Once by Krum at the Yule ball and the second time by Ron who kissed her in the common room the previous year. Neither of them have much experience. It wasn't long before her imagination ran wild and she pictured herself being saved from Voldemort by Draco.

Finally she finished her letter saying that she would come and visit them for the night. She folded the parchment, gave it to Hedwig who was waiting at the window and left the room.

Harry woke a few hours later to Mrs Weasley knocking on the door.

"Dinners ready"

Harry sat up, feeling a bit groggy like you usually do after daytime sleep. Finally he got up and went downstairs.

About fifteen people where seated around the feast-covered table. Harry took a seat between Malfoy and Hermione. He could feel a certain amount of hostility between them.

The feast started and Harry loaded his plate with chicken and Greek salad. Remembering what the healer said, he ate slowly, trying not to force the delicious food into his gut.

Sirius bought out a big bottle of Rum and poured it out for each of the adults. Harry noticed it was straight rum and the adults were already becoming slightly wild.

Ron was watching his mother carefully and when she finished her second glass of rum he pounced.

"Mum can I go to Blaise's party?"

Her eyes narrowed in his direction.

"Blaise who?"

"Just some guy from school"

Harry could have slapped himself in the forehead. He knew Ron hated Blaise but he would have gotten further if he'd said that Blaise was his mate.

Molly's eyes narrowed even more.

"Blaise who?" she repeated.

"Zabini"

"Absolutely not!"

"But Harry's going!"

This time Molly rounded on Sirius.

"Your letting him go to a death eaters house? For a party?"

"He's a teenager, Molly. And you know very well that Zabini is on our side. Snape and Dumbledore clarified it"

Molly sighed.

"Fine. Will there be alcohol there?"

"It's B.Y.O" Draco informed her.

"He's not going. None of them are! It's not safe to be going out to a wild party like that. What if you-know-who showed up?"

"Harry is entitled to a social life, Molly. If we don't let him out because Voldemort might show up means we're the weak ones. It means we're scared of what he could do!" Lupin was having his input now and Molly was becoming exasperated.

"Well I still don't think they should go to a teenage party. You know what they're like."

"Mrs Weasley, we ARE teenagers. It's only one party!" Harry could feel another headache coming on and he was becoming short tempered.

"Fine! Go! But your not drinking Ron!" Molly got up and went to the kitchen, claiming her pie was burning.

"I want you to be responsible with your drinking, Harry" Sirius said seriously. "I will buy you some but do not drink anyone else's alcohol. You don't know what they're drinking."

"And no drugs!" Arthur added, "That could be the worst possible thing to do…"

When Harry woke the next morning he found that Ron had already left and Hedwig was missing. Hermione or someone must have borrowed her.

Harry eased out of bed, bid his parents good morning and went to breakfast.

When he reached the front hall he found Molly, Arthur, Ginny and Hermione, bags packed, saying goodbye to everyone.

"Where you going?" Harry asked Hermione when she turned to hug him.

"I'm going to visit my parents. I'll be back tomorrow night in time for the party. Ginny and her folks are going to meet Dean's parents then go to a teen pregnancy specialist so they're staying in London."

"-There's left overs in the fridge. Make sure you eat. Look after yourselves. If anything happens you know where to find us…"

"We'll be fine, Molly" Lupin assured her. The mother shot a dirty glance at Sirius then led her family and Hermione out the door.

Lupin checked his watch.

"Looks like it's just the men tonight. Tonks in on duty."

Harry went into the kitchen where he found Draco trying to make toast.

Harry poured himself a bowl of corn flakes and went to sit at the table in the dining room. Draco joined him a minute later nursing his own bowl of cereal; his toast lay burnt and forgotten on the kitchen bench.

When breakfast was over Malfoy suggested the TV and Ron and Harry, not having anything better to do, followed him out of the dining room.

"Looks like you got new neighbours at number eleven, Sirius" Sirius and Lupin were in the hall and Lupin was staring out the front window. "They have kids, two little ones and a girl, looks like she's about fifteen"

Harry, Malfoy and Ron, who were paying no interest while passing through, changed direction and ran for the window.

Ron shoved Lupin out of the way and the three of them peered out. A petite looking girl was playing in the snow with two little boys. She had a snub nose and dirty blonde hair that was cut into a bob.

"She looks a bit…you know…immature," Ron stated. Suddenly their front door opened and another girl came out. The three boys craned their necks, thankful that their house was invisible.

The new girl looked a little older that the other one. She had black hair tied back in a stylish braid. She was wearing excessive amounts of jewellery and looked like she belonged on a Hawaiian beach, not on the shitty side of freezing London.

"Lets go out and talk to them!" Ron suggested.

"What do we say? We don't want to look eager…" Draco pointed out the obvious

"What about a game of football." Harry turned to Lupin who was laughing at them with Sirius.
"Stop laughing. Can you conjure us a football?" Lupin obligingly took out his wand and made them a crappy black and white ball that had paint peeling off it.

"Makes it look like you play with it all the time," he said, handing the ball to Harry. The three boys ran to the street and began kicking it to each other. Lupin and Sirius, who was holding Jill, sat watching from the front steps, invisible to the girls but in plain sight of the boys.

The girls watched them with mild interest.

"I want the raven-haired one" Ron informed them.

"No way! I got her" Draco pulled out of the game and ran over to the girls.

Ron and Harry watched enviously, their ball forgotten in the snow.

Draco cracked a joke and the girls laughed. Malfoy beckoned them over.

"Harry, Weasley, this is Meg" he gestured to the blonde "and Tara. They're half sisters"

"You guys got girlfriends?" Tara asked. She looked Ron up and down with a 'your joking!' sneer on her face.

"He does. I'm free" Malfoy informed her instantly, pointing at Harry. He'd completely forgotten about Ron.

"Me too! Meg has herself a fella over the other side of town" Tara and Malfoy eyed each other with eager eyes. Both girls had a handful of freckles across their noses. They weren't beautiful but they a schoolgirl cuteness about them.

They talked for about ten minutes before the girls' father came out and called them inside. At the same time a big black dog came bounding up the street. It sat at Harry's feet, wagging its tail.

"Yours?" Meg asked, patting it on the head.

"Yeah" Harry threw the dog a dirty look "his name is Snuffles"

"Listen, there's a party tomorrow night over on the rich side of town. You guys should come!" Tara handed Malfoy a piece of paper with the address on it.

"We'll be there," Malfoy said instantly, watching the girls run back inside.

"What about Blaise's party?" Ron hissed as they followed Sirius back to Grimmauld place.

"God your thick, Weasley!" Malfoy sneered, "They were talking about Blaise's party!"

"Oh"

Sirius transformed back into a human in the hallway and brushed snow from his hair.

"You were lingering. You can't do that on this street" he informed them, collecting Jill from Lupin and walking upstairs.

The rest of the day was spent lazing about playing wizard chess. On dusk Fred and George came in, covered in snow and shivering.

"It's really coming down out there" Fred informed them. He was holding a six-pack of rum, which he dumped on the table.

"Is that what you wanted?" he asked Sirius, pulling off his jacket.

"Yeah, it's fine." Sirius pushed the cans toward Harry. "These are for you and Draco to share. It won't get you drunk but it should give you a spin. Don't mix it with anything!"

Harry studied the can and found that it was mild rum mixed with coke. He didn't mind, after his last experience he was pretty much ready to give the stuff up.

"Who'll Harry's guards be?" Ron asked, looking enviously at the black cans.

"Me, Kingsley and Tonks" Lupin informed them.

"We're coming too" George said "we scored invites off some chick outside the liquor store."

Lupin shrugged "the more the merrier"

"Now Ron, what's this we hear about you and Lavender?" Fred steepled his fingers together and grinned. Ron's face and ears went beet red.

"Yeah, Ron" Harry played along "did you end up asking her to the ball?"

"She said yes" Ron blushed even more.

"Good on ya, little bro!" George slapped him on the back "bout time you got yourself a lady!"

"Is Mad-eye and Dung coming in tonight?" Ron asked, changing the subject

"No" Sirius said, "It's just us seven tonight"

"What's for dinner?" Fred raised an eyebrow at Sirius and Lupin who glanced at each other.

"I guess we'll get takeaway…Chinese or Italian?"

They finally agreed on Chinese and Lupin was elected to go into town and get it.

It was late when Harry decided to go to bed. His stomach was full of rice and chicken and he was feeling quite content. Ron was in the bathroom scrubbing his face because George had slipped a nosebleed nougat into his fried rice.

The next day was just as lazy as the day before until the late afternoon when the boys were getting ready for the party. Ron and Malfoy had just had a snuffle in the hallway because Ron thought Malfoy had stolen his new necklace. It turned out Crookshanks had taken it because Ron had stood on his tail.

Harry was standing in his new jeans searching for his shirt when Hermione came in, fully dressed for the party. She sat on Harry's bed and smoothed her denim skirt over her thighs.

"Bit cold, isn't it?" Harry asked, glancing at her before pulling a black shirt over his head.

"Malfoy told me that Blaise keeps his house at summer temperature so the guests don't have to worry about jumpers. He also said Blaise is a bit of a perv."

"That's interesting" Harry was now searching for his shoes.

"Harry…" Hermione seemed a bit uneasy but Harry couldn't stop to help; they were late already.

"Yeah?" his voice was muffled in the bottom of the cupboard.

"Do your really like Claire?"

"Course I do"

"But doesn't she seem, well you know, a bit trashy?"

"What are you getting at?" Harry found his shoes and was now sitting on the floor glaring at Hermione who proceeded to smooth her chocolate brown shirt.

"Harry, I think she's a death eater. She has this thing on her shoulder and no one is aloud to see it. Didn't you ever wonder why she never wears singlets but she still comes off as a slut?"

"Leave her alone, Hermione" Harry warned. She was just jealous that Claire was more out going than her.

"Please be careful" Hermione got up and left the room.

When they finally assembled in the front hall, alcohol hidden from Mrs Weasleys prying eyes, Hermione had straightened her hair and it now fell down her back like a shimmering waterfall. Malfoy was watching her with an odd glint in his eyes.

"Lets get out of here" Lupin said. He was dressed in jeans and a shirt with a long overcoat making him look slightly fatherly.

Hermione, Ron, George and Tonks got in the pink car while Lupin, Harry, Malfoy, Fred and Kingsley piled into Kingsley's car which was no longer black but a shocking midnight blue.

Malfoy told Kingsley the address and they set off at a leisurely pace with Tonks behind them.

They were three quarters of the way there when five black cars surrounded them and forced them off the road.

Kingsley wound down the window as the leader of the group tapped on his door.

"Hey Kings me man!" the guy at the window was an African man with an Afro. "You up for a race? East side is toeing on our territory."

"Tomorrow night, Razza" Kingsley promised him "I gotta be somewhere tonight"

"I'll respect that. You an' Tonks off for that party?"

"Yeah. Tomorrow?"

"Right here"

Kingsley hit knuckles with his mate and got his car back on the road.

"Bloody east side" Kingsley muttered, noticing the enemy's car drive past. "Don't know what they're getting themselves into"

Lupin smiled and shook his head.

It took them another fifteen minutes of winding through hills where the houses became bigger and bigger. Finally they reached a huge estate with rolling green lawns and a huge black Manor situated on the top of the hill.

The black Iron Gate, topped with gargoyles, was wide open and several groups of people were walking up the gravelled drive that wound up to the front of the house.

"Good fucking god!" Fred leaned through the two front seats to get a better look at the house.

"Put the lights on!"

Kingsley hit a switch and a blue neon light blazed out from beneath the car. Harry look out the back window and saw Tonks turn her own, pink, lights on.

They parked out the front of the house and several guys with their pants hanging around their ass cracks came over.

"Hot ride, dude" one of them slurred, reaching out to tap the bonnet.

"No body touches my car" Kingsley pushed him back. "Especially no sticky fingered kids!"

The guy and his friends backed of, cursing at Kingsley who took no notice and locked his car.

Tonks exited her car, looking the same as she had when they went shopping. The only difference was her hair was now shoulder length and in neat little dreadlocks.

"Come round the back. It's the only way to get in," Malfoy instructed, laughing at a few girls who were banging on the front door.

They were halfway round when Mr Zabini, an older version of Blaise, met them.

"Ah yes, Blaise told me that Harry would have guards. Would you like you join my wife and I in the suite? The party is pretty wild"

Lupin, Tonks and Kingsley followed the man to an extended part of the house and through a side door.

Malfoy continued to lead them around the back and through the kitchen door. The music was almost deafening but no one seemed to notice.

Blaise was sitting on a stool at the kitchen bench with two other boys and a red headed girl who was smoking a cigarette.

"Oh hey guys!" Blaise jumped up to greet them. "Chuck your bags in here. Did you bring your own drinks? No-one seems to be into sharing tonight" he opened a cupboard and let them drop their bags in there on top of everyone else's bags.

Harry extracted two cans of rum and handed one to Malfoy. Hermione's parents had also given her rum, which she shared with an envious Ron.

"Let me show you around" Blaise led them out of the Kitchen, down a hall and into a huge living room fitted with a strobe light and the source of loud music. Around twenty people were situated around the room; most were dancing but some were lazing on the sofas that had been pushed back against the wall.

"Chicks bathroom down the hall" Blaise yelled above the noise "guys bathroom is upstairs. Make yourselves at home! Everyone else has!"

"Are all these people your friends, Blaise?" Harry asked, watching more people enter the room.

"Nah. Most are just mates who bought their girlfriends who bought their other friends who bought their boyfriends and so on…see ya later!" Blaise yelled over his shoulder as he was dragged away by a blonde with big boobs.

"Now what?" Fred asked. "Who wants to dance?"

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