"So I haven't missed Hogwarts in the slightest," Jasmine said as they walked down the hallway towards the small ballroom that would be serving host to the Slug Club's October 31st dinner. She looked about her and let out a scoff. "I really mean no offense and it comes off as elitist of me, I know, but this place is just so dreary and sad."
"What do you mean?" Neville asked.
"I feel like if I open the wrong door I'll find the dungeons."
Luna smiled. "The Slytherin dorms are nearby here but down a level."
"Heh," Jasmine said with a snicker.
Harry though shook his head. "She's not joking. The Slytherins are down in the dungeons."
"…seriously?" Jasmine asked, staring at her boyfriend. "Actual dungeons."
"Converted dungeons," Neville said. "No racks or chains or anything like that…"
"We think," Luna admitted. "I don't think any of us have ever been down there."
Jasmine just stared at the three. "Okay, I was ready to go on this whole thing about how sad your school was because they were trying to force a medieval castle to act as a school and it made things rather dreary and depressing but we're going to table that for a moment. You don't see how horrible it is that you force a fourth of the students who go to Hogwarts to live in a friggin' dungeon?" The three Gryffindors all stopped and looked at her, Neville awkwardly scratching his cheeks while Luna shifted from foot to foot, causing Jasmine to roll his eyes in annoyance. "Okay, why is it okay for the Slytherins to live in a dungeon."
"Converted-" Neville began only for Jasmine to hold her hand up.
"I'm going to throw you into a converted outhouse for a week. Think you'll enjoy that?" He meekly shook his head no and Jasmine nodded. "Good."
"…but it must be nice, right?" Harry wagered. "I mean… I lived in the Chamber for a few months and that probably wasn't better than the Slytherin dorms."
"You did that by choice; no one forced you to live down there."
Luna raised her hand. "Can I switch to normal Luna and make a reference to break the tension?"
"…no."
"Okay," she said softly, downcast eyes staring at her feet.
"Where do you live?" Jasmine asked.
"A tower," Harry said, grimacing as he realized how that must sound.
"And the Ravenclaws?" she pressed.
"Tower," Neville stated.
Jasmine rolled her eyes. "Of course… 4 towers in this castle but only three of them used by Houses. The little Ekans have to stay in the dungeons."
Leon cleared his throat. "Uh… not a student here so not really my fight but the Hufflepuffs don't get a tower."
"Alright, where do they live?"
"I… don't know." The Leafeon turned to Harry who only shrugged, followed by Luna and Neville. None of them had actually thought about the Hufflepuffs and where their dorms might be. They knew they were near the kitchens but didn't actually know much about them. "But that's… something?"
"Something, right." Jasmine scoffed at that. "Ever wonder why so many Slytherins are asses?"
"Not really," Harry said. "All the old families go into Slytherin." He paused and sighed. "Yes, I know the Potters and the Longbottoms and even the Lovegoods are all old families. Not what I meant. Just that… I don't know, Slowking says that all the sneaky people go into-" He stopped, realizing he was digging himself into a hole even more and that he didn't even believe what he was saying. He was friendly with a lot of the Slytherins. Daphne and Tracey and Blaise and Theo… they were good eggs. Perhaps a small amount in a large batch when you got down to it but they weren't evil in any way. "Fair point. I've never thought about it."
"This is why I hate how your school is set up," jasmine complained. "They set you up to hate each other. I get having rivalries and being competitive… that's normal. Sports teams and regional pride and all that… they don't have to be bad things but…" She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Damn it you're making me act like a grown up here."
"You are a grown up," Luna pointed out helpfully. "And… that sounded like a set up for a joke but I'm trying to be mature myself so I won't say anything else." She bobbed her head firmly and kept her lips firmly shut.
"At Olivine Pointe we are divided up by age. That's it. If groups form and all that its because we chose for them to form up. Like you Gryffindors did with the Pride. But we didn't have some singing Pokemon tell us that this house is good and this house is bad and that is how the world works so suck it up Sally and deal with it. And we certainly didn't look at one group and tell them, "Hey, you get to live in a haunted dungeon so not only does most of the school get told you're evil but you get to live in a damp underground cell. Enjoy the next 7 years!" She looked skyward before nodding. "Right, somehow this went from me bitching about how outdated Hogwarts was to a long lecture about interpersonal interactions. Let's get going." She waved for them to follow and after a moment the three teens hurried to catch up with Jasmine.
Because of the delay they arrived fashionably late to the gathering. Luckily the way Slughorn had things structured that didn't matter to much. People were milling about, all dressed in different styles of formal wear, chatting in little groups all about the room. Some moved passed Slughorn, out of the room, while Harry could tell others had just arrived. This wasn't a formal dinner where people had to show up at the stroke of 7 and be seated while waiters brought them the next dish. It was all far more casual… but an elegant casual.
"Ah, welcome!" Slughorn said as he hurried over to them with a grin, quickly shaking Harry's hand. "Mr. Potter, welcome to our dinner. I think you'll enjoy it very much. Miss Lovegood, Mr. Longbottom, good to see you again. How are the roses your grandmother was working on, Mr. Longbottom? Did the fertilizer I suggest work out for you?" He took Neville's hand and gave it a hardy shake.
"Yes sir, it did," Neville said with a polite smile. "My gran though is rather annoyed… she hates it when someone else knows plants better than her."
Slughorn laughed at that; it was a short, rapid sound, reminding him of someone blowing quickly across the lip of a bottle. "Oh, believe me, I know. And I have told her more than once that I am not to blame… I merely direct her to those that have the answers. She doesn't mind when I send people needing her guidance to Longbottom Manor, now does she?"
"No," Neville said with an even bigger smile. "In fact she rather enjoys it."
"I'll make sure not to tell her you said that," Slughorn said with a wink before addressing Luna. "And you Miss Lovegood seem determined to top yourself each time you come. I thought your last dress was utterly stunning but this one… it makes that one look like a damp rag."
"I do true," Luna said with a polite smile, letting her full control and maturity shine through.
"I was recently approached by a former student of mine, a Mr. Abrams. He is doing a semester abroad in Unova and is working with a Veela there. He asked if I knew anyone that might give him some pointers on how to interact with her so not to cause any offense. It seems that she's had bad experiences with some of her co-workers and he'd rather not end up on her bad side. Nothing romantic," Slughorn dropped his voice to a whisper, "he's going to propose to his boyfriend soon," he raised his voice back up, "so he merely wishes to be culturally poilite."
"Give me his contact information before I leave and I'll be glad to help," Luna said politely.
Harry pressed his lips together. Remus and Sirius had told him about this but it was something else entirely to see it in person: Slughorn trading favors for favors. It bugged him to no end that the man was doing it but even as he thought that he felt shame in instantly judging the man in such a negative way… after all, Neville didn't seem to mind. He wasn't desperate, begging for Slughorn's help. He didn't come to him cringing and wondering what the cost would be for providing aid. It was a casual thing, a simple asking for help. And yes he was asking Luna for something… but it seemed to be an honest, genuine call for advice. Nothing sinister. Nothing vile. Slughorn wasn't forcing her into anything… and what he was asking her for Harry would very much ask Luna for himself, if it was someone he knew.
It was a bitter little pill to realize that he might be the bigot in the room.
"Miss Kenway," Slughorn said with a smile, offering his hand. "A pleasure to see you here. I heard your gym is managing quite well."
"It is," Jasmine said, her brash and fiery tone gone and in its wake was a calm, collected, refined persona that made her seem like a different person. It honestly made Harry's eyes widened a touch. He was used to his girlfriend being loud, being emotional, filled with joy or sadness or rage or delight… but this Jasmine was almost like Luna, locking away all of that and leaving only poise and grace. "It is good to establish my family's gym once more."
"Are you going to continue to call it the Ironside Gym? Or will you hyphenate and make it Ironside-Kenway?"
"Right now I think I'll leave it as Ironside. The Kenways haven't been in the gym leader business in ages and I think it should stay that way. My mother doesn't call the Blackthorn Gym Blackthorn-Kenway, after all."
"Yes, I would imagine that it would be rather hard to carve out your own spot in the world, considering your family. Elite 4, headmaster, gym leader…"
"We want to be the very best… like no one ever was."
Slughorn chuckled once more at that. "Too true. Well, I hope you enjoy your time here, Miss Kenway. Would it be forward of me to send invitations to you, so that Mr. Potter didn't feel the need to always make you his plus one? In case he was unable to attend."
"It is but I'll allow it."
That made the professor laugh even harder, jabbing his finger at her before clapping his hands. "Oh… oh how utterly delightful. And… Leon, correct? Is it okay to be so informal?"
The Leafeon shrugged. "It would be confusing if you called us both "Mr. Potter"." He reached up with his paw only to stop himself from yanking on the bow tie.
"I suppose you are right. Please, enjoy yourself." Slughorn turned to Harry and he wait for the smiles and the laughter and the words of praise. "Mr. Potter, might I have a moment?"
Harry glanced at his friends before giving them a nod, letting them know he'd be able to hand himself. Luna and Neville guided Jasmine away but Harry knew that with her Speaking ability and her enhanced senses she'd be able to hear everything Slughorn and him said. Leon went with her, looking calm and in control but Harry knew that he was in hunting mode, making sure that nothing and no one would attack without warning.
The professor waited until they were gone before locking eyes with Harry, his smile dropping a bit. "If you need to leave I completely understand." Harry's brow furrowed at that. "I understand that tonight is a… difficult one for you. It is for me too. Lily is one of my…" he stopped and shut his eyes and Harry saw actual true grief flash over the man's features. "Was. Arceus… even after all this time it's hard to remember to say was… I'm sorry, Mr. Potter." He took a breath, calming himself, before continuing. "Lily was one of my best students. We worked together closely when she was in school and after she graduated. She couldn't work on projects while she was pregnant with you so she'd send me notes and we'd hoped to meet again and collaborate on some new potions once you were a bit older… but then the war… the damn stupid war."
Slughorn shook his head in disgust, clearly struggling to gain control of his emotions. It was so utterly striking to see the Potions master like that… Harry honestly couldn't remember the last person-
'No, that's not true,' he thought while Slughorn worked to calm himself. 'Sirius was like that. Remus. McGonagall. Snape. Plenty of people have expressed outrage over the war and what happened to my parents.' Another bitter pill. Another sign of his bigotry. That once again it was because the man was older and a Slytherin and someone in power that he thought they would side with Voldemort.
"I did complete a few of our projects," Slughorn said, finally speaking. "Only recently… it hurt too much to try them without her around and it felt like a betrayal of her. She had been so excited… the Ice Vein potion for surviving volcanic areas alone caused her to call me in the middle of the night with excited ideas. I know Flitwick thought that she was a Pokeball prodigy… and I admit she was… but I just know her true love was potions." Harry sensed this was an old argument that he'd just stumbled into. "I have completed them though and they will be patented soon. I've set up a trust for any payments received in your name, Mr. Potter, and I'll get you the account numbers once the first bit of money comes in."
"Account?" Harry said rather dumbly.
"Your mother would come back from the grave and beat me senseless if I didn't do right by you, Mr. Potter." He smiled fondly at that and Harry let out an amused huff at that. "But that isn't what I pulled you aside for. If this all becomes too much and you need to leave I won't be offended. Everyone gets through tonight differently… the ones that knew your parents, that is. I know Severus has locked himself in his room to… well, he'll claim he is meditated but I know for a fact he is drinking heavily and listening to Pokeway showtunes. I like to surround myself with others, to take my mind off things if only for a little while. But if you need a different way to grieve I understand."
"I… thank you, sir," Harry found himself saying.
"If there is anything you need from me-?"
The asking of a favor. The anger he thought he would feel at that, that he'd predicted would come when he'd finally agreed to come to the Slug Club meeting, didn't show itself, much to his surprise. It was there but muted. So rather than explode with rage he found himself in a more… cunning mood. A more probing, curious, devious mood.
A Marauder mindset. One he hadn't entered into for what felt like ages.
"There is a girl. Ginger. She-"
"Terrible, yes. You did well saving her but terrible all the same what happened to her."
"She needs help," Harry said. "I've thought about her a lot… how she was forced to flee Avalon, the stigma of what happened to her… and-"
"I'll ask around," Slughorn promised before clapping his hands. "Now, there are others I need to great and I am sure you don't want to spend the entire dinner huddled up with me so go enjoy yourself, Mr. Potter."
They broke apart, Slughorn going back to the door, and Harry actually took the time to look around the room. He had to admit that Slughorn had done well to make the small ballroom look cheerful without falling into the standard shlock that so many tripped into when it came to celebrating Halloween. No paper Zubats or carved pumpkins. No streamers or balloons. Honestly here wasn't even a speck of orange and what black existed was just naturally there in the coloring of the room. Instead Slughorn had gone with dark blue table cloths on all the tables, vases with cut flowers and glowing fairy lights in the bottom so that the water within shimmered, and soft instrumental music playing from hidden speakers. A long table was set up to one side with little decorative paper plates, roughly the size of one's hand, and all manner of finger foods were set out for eating.
"Hello Harry."
"Susan," Harry said with a smile, greeting the Hufflepuff. "I wasn't aware you were attending."
"My guardian is on the Elite 4," Susan said with a chuckle. "There was simply no way Prof. Slughorn was going to hold one of these parties and not invite me." She glanced over to her right. "Hannah is distracted at the moment so I thought you and I could talk… been a while."
"A very long while," Harry admitted.
Susan nodded and made her way towards the food table, Harry figuring it wouldn't hurt to get something to eat. There were different kinds of wraps sliced into bite-size pieces, small triangle sandwiches, meatballs with toothpicks in them… the fancy plastic kind that looked like swords rather than the plain wooden ones, all manner of vegetables and fruits, and cubed cheeses and meats that one could stab with short plastic skewers. On a separate table there was a bowl of punch but also several bottles of non-alcoholic wine people could sample.
"He brings out dessert later in the evening," Susan told him. "Usually a cake and some other dishes. Sometimes ice cream."
"He mentioned that he is a fan of ice cream a while back."
Susan chuckles as she grabbed a sandwich. "I sometimes wonder if he has stock in some frozen dessert company, with how he is always pushing the stuff." Harry selected one of the wraps and a sandwich for himself, figuring that he could always go back for more. "First time at a party like this?"
"Sirius' idea of a party is a loud club with a ton of music. And Remus' party… well, you remember the Solstice party."
"That was a fun one," Susan said with a smile. "A bit different from this though."
"A bit," Harry added; for one thing there weren't any tables to sit at. And the food was far lighter. Sirius and Remus had been going all out to make a statement, to show that despite the rumors concerning the Lord of Sevii being a horn dog that hated all things cultured (which was true, honestly) he could throw a classy and dignified party. This though? The Slug Club was classy but was far more concerned with getting people to mingle. No tables to sit at and the chairs that were available were pressed against a wall so that if one wanted to sit down they couldn't turn their back to others, forced to stare out at everything. Food designed solely for one to wander about while eating it. Music that filled the quiet but didn't drown out conversation. Decorations that would draw the eye but would instantly be forgotten the moment one saw someone they remembered or had never met before but were interested in conversing with.
"It'll be nice to be at a party where I'm not worried about my aunt killing me," Susan said. "Or that Patil isn't risking her life sneaking into some garage."
"We don't know if Padma is doing that or not," Harry pointed out. "She did keep that infiltrator suit."
"I'm sure Neville was happy about that," Susan said, the two of them deciding to move away from the food area so they weren't seen as Mandibuzzes hanging around an Pokemon waiting to die. "Harry… you know that if I knew-"
He held up his hand, knowing just want she was going to say. "I know. Your aunt had no idea what was going to happen in Tor Town. So I never blamed you."
"I was worried you did," Susan said softly, looking down at her plate. "You stopped talking to me after March…"
"I stopped talking to everyone," Harry pointed out, face scrunched up in annoyance as he remembered how he'd been after Ginger's near death. "I was a piece of shit, okay? Rude to everyone. Honestly I'm shocked Ron and Hermione and the rest didn't give up on me."
"Luna held auditions to replace you but it didn't work out."
~6 months earlier~
"Next!" Luna declared, tapping the papers she was looking at on the table she sat at before adjusting the glasses she was wearing (just the frames, no glass) before looking up at the next candidate. "Mr… MacPaggin?"
"McLaggen," Cormac said tersely. Luna shot him a look and he hunched down, grimacing. "Sorry."
"Quite alright. Now, why do you wish to replace Harry as the Harry Potter of my group?"
"Because I should be the one everyone in Gryffindor looks up to!" he declared. "I'm older and smarter and better looking-"
Luna began to laugh before suddenly going silent. "Wait, you're serious?" Cormac nodded and she chuckled again. "Right… right. Heh. Now then…" Luna stood up and pulled the pins out of her hair, causing the bun she'd put her locks in to cascade down, "…there are… ways… to help you get the job-"
"LUNA!" Hermione said, storming into the room and shaking her head. "We talked about this! We aren't replacing Harry and you CAN'T use the dorm for a 'Casting Couch'!"
"Neville doesn't mind," Luna said with a pout.
"Yes I do!" Neville called out from the closet Luna had locked him in.
~MC~MC~MC~
"…is it sad I believe that happened?" Susan chuckled at that and Harry felt good that he'd lightened the mood. "Though I have to admit it's probably good I cut everyone off. I… I wasn't in a good place and I would have taken it out on you guys when that isn't what any of you deserved."
"And you're in a good place now?" Susan asked, not realizing just how loaded that question was. When Harry didn't answer she sighed. "Point."
"I'm trying."
"I hope so. And if you need to talk…"
"I know," Harry said, a bit more glumly as he thought of how he'd abandoned so many people.
The conversation turned to other things… classes, their summer break, what it felt like to be so close to being down with Hogwarts… before Susan went to go chat with a Ravenclaw 7th year that Harry wasn't familiar with. He did make sure to promise to talk with her again, perhaps gather up all the people that had made up Potter's Eleven the year before and spend some time together that DIDN'T involve trying to catch criminals. After that he wandered around a bit, saying some hellos and honestly trying to be a bit more personable with everyone. He got some startled stares, some warm smiles, and a handshake or two, but no real conversations until Daphne pinned him down as he'd went to refill his plate.
"Well well well… Harry Potter actually out in public and now staring at everyone like he expects a knife in his back," Daphne teased with a small smirk. "I feel like I just found a mythical Pokemon in my bathtub."
"As opposed to the regular Pokemon that you normally find in there?" Harry quipped.
"Careful Potter, you'll ruin your persona of being a grumpy loner if you keep cracking jokes like that." Daphne looked over the food before selecting one of the short skewers and stabbing a piece of cheese with it, bringing it up to her dark red lips and freeing with her teeth.
"Do you stand in front of the mirror and practice eating like that?" Harry asked.
"No comment," Daphne stated playfully. "Seriously though, Potter, it's good to see you out and about."
"Yeah," Harry said, rubbing the back of his head. "Everyone has made it clear that I basically had become a hermit."
"Basically? You lived in a cave from what I hear. Which I suppose is better than being homeless but still isn't must in a step towards civility."
'The Unown are about as fussy as Ludwig,' Harry thought to himself as Jasmine walked over. "Having fun?"
"Managing," Jasmine said. "I could do with some of the boys actually looking at my eyes instead of-" she gave her chest a little wiggle.
"But the girls are fine?" Daphne asked playfully.
Jasmine rolled her eyes at that. "I'm not my mother." Daphne blinked at that, a bit surprised by the comment. "Just because my parents don't mind what gender they are with so long as they are both in the same room doesn't mean I'm a sex fiend. Straight and monogamous."
"I wasn't aware you and Potter…" Daphne began.
Harry, despite his attempts to be more open with people, decided right there his and Jasmine's decision not to have sex until he reached maturity was off the table. "So what was with you and SLughorn earlier? I've never seen you act like that before."
"What?" Jasmine said, a bit confused before she replayed what she'd said in her head and let out an amused scoff. "Ah. Right. That. My gym leader was showing."
"You're what?"
Daphne though was the one to answer that. "The gym leader persona. The one every gym leader has when dealing with officials or members of the public that aren't challenging her. It's like the actor doing a press tour… you are polite, gracious, thankful for their time even if all you want to do instead of dealing with yet another glad-hander is eat ice cream in an empty bathtub while watching Youtube videos…" She waved her hand about. "Every gym leader has one and so do their families."
"Watch," Jasmine said before turning to Daphne and instantly changed. She held her head up, her posture was straighter, eyes half lidded, and a faint smile seemed to be permanently painted onto her face. "Hello Miss. Greengrass."
"Miss Kenway," Daphne said, the 'ice queen' that Harry remembered from his first few years at Hogwarts, before Regulus Black's attack on La Fey's Landing had made her see he was someone she could actually show a bit of her actual self to. "How are you this evening?"
"Well," Jasmine said, tilting her head up slightly. "And you?"
"Well as well." And then they both tittered before turning as one to stare at Harry.
'Come play with us, Harry,' he heard in his head, 'forever… and ever… and ever…' He shuddered. "Please don't ever do that in front of me again."
"I think we found what you can do to him during sex to keep him from climaxing," Daphne told Jasmine, much to Harry's own horror.
Jasmine though shook her head. "No… that is me acting like my mom and I REALLY don't want to think of my parents when we finally do… that." Jasmine let out a little gag. "Please… tell me what you two were talking about before I ambled over to get that thought out of my head."
"Me moving away from living like a hermit," Harry said. "Actually venturing out into the world again…" Under his breath he added, "…even though I hate most of it."
"I'm glad," Jasmine said with a soft smile. "It wasn't healthy before hand, how you handled things."
He shot her a dry look.
"What?" Daphne said, looking between the two of them.
"Jasmine trying to claim to be the bastion of mental health."
"But I am!" she said with a fake sweet smile.
~Several Months Ago…~
"Saul is dying!" Jasmine screamed at the giant scoreboard screen that sat high above her gym. But instead of there being challengers to face her that day she was all by herself, wearing her best 'I'm lazy and don't feel like doing anything and pajama bottoms and a sports bra count as being not naked, right?' clothes. She'd dragged a couch down to the center of the arena and was eating her way through a giant bag of pre-popped popcorn while ignoring her phone that was full of messages asking if she was okay and wanted to talk. "Visit him! VISIT HIM!"
"We should have been pirates," the fat dying man in the movie said. "We would have been great pirates."
"…I take it back, he's an idiot. FUCK SAUL!"
~MC~MC~MC~
"I plead the fifth and think I'll go mingle some more." Jasmine gave him a kiss on the cheek and headed off.
"So you two are still together," Daphne said.
Harry groaned, sensing what she was getting t. "What, exactly, is the rumor mill claiming?"
"Everything and anything. She's a lesbian who is going to marry her cousin Fleur."
"Considering she's dating Ron's brother that is a lie."
"She… what?"
Harry blinked. "You hadn't heard that?"
"No… is that just gossip or-"
"No, fact. They met at work."
"Weasley told you this?!" Daphne exclaimed, shocked.
"Nah," Harry said, waving off her annoyance. "Ron doesn't know. Fleur told me… all the champions are in a group chat and Iris set up a message board for all of us to use privately. She's not actually hiding it but Bill is worried how his parents will react."
"Foreign Veela dating the boy that should have been the heir to the gym?" Daphne asked. "That will make heads roll."
"Almost as much as Lily Potter's heir dating the Butcher of Botanical Bay's daughter?"
Daphne scoffed at that. "That doesn't even come close to you and the scandals your dating life creates."
"Because everyone is talking about me." Daphne though merely stared him down and Harry groaned. "Everyone is talking about me."
"You didn't expect that?" Daphne said, rolling her eyes. "First year you were the mysterious son of our region's savior, heir to one of the most powerful gym families, and insanely rich. Every girl was told to try and get into your good graces. Then you become one of the youngest magnuses ever and catch a legendary? Had the tournament not happened you would have been fighting off girls asking to go out with you during your fifth year."
"…huh," Harry said, startled by that reveal.
"Feeling a bit of regret there, Potter?" Daphne teased with a smirk.
He merely shook his head, watching Jasmine chat with a Hufflepuff 5th year. "You mean am I disappointed that instead of meeting someone that cares for me just because I'm me I could have had a lot of meaningless flings with girls that were only going after me because of my wealth… or because their fathers told them too?"
"…good answer, Harry," Daphne told him.
"So… rumors about me?"
"All sorts," Daphne admitted. "It's kind of a fun game everyone likes to play… coming up with reasons why you are doing certain things. What are your motives, the secrets you are hiding… it is either that or read one of those 10 Ten Cutest Pokemon articles. Newflash they are all cute."
"Even Garbador?"
"Especially Garbador."
"I don't know how to feel about all this."
"Garbadors have a natural charm and despite the claims some make it doesn't stink at all nor is it full of garbage. In fact-"
Harry held up a hand; this wasn't the kind of conversation he'd been expecting to have that evening. "No, I meant the rumors about me. I'm not sure I enjoy everyone focusing their attention on what I do. Or, should I say, what they think I might be doing."
"With or without a Garbador?" Daphne said and Harry prayed that she was teasing. "Deal with it, Harry. That's how society works. The lowers gossip about the higher. It gives their life meaning, makes them feel better about their lives. They like to try and imagine what you are doing because it gives them a feeling of being part of something grander. And they like the stories of scandal and sin because it makes you look like you are on their level or even lower. That's the game. And you Harry? You're the top of the top. Everyone looks up towards you."
"I doubt everyone."
"Everyone," Daphne said.
"So you mean that everyone… from the Elite 4 to all the Gym Leaders to people I've never even heard of-"
"Maybe not the Elite 4… at the moment," Daphne admitted. "After all, you are still a student. But when you graduate? Yeah, everyone."
Harry looked around the room at the different little huddled groups of people, nibbling on their food, sipping their non-alcoholic champagne, talking… and he couldn't help but wonder-
"They aren't talking about you right now, you narcissist," Daphne scolded.
"You're the one that put the thought in my head!" he complained. "That everyone is talking about me. Every house… god, what are they thinking?"
"Probably the same things."
"Even the Slytherins?"
The Ice Queen of Slytherin rolled her eyes. "Potter, we're not like Draco. Just like you aren't like that ass Cormac."
"Yeah, I know," Harry said softly. "Or, at the very least, I'm realizing you aren't."
The two lapsed into silence.
"What does Draco say about me?"
"Nar. Cis. Sist." Harry chuckled at that, not denying it in the slightest; honestly it felt like the entire world circled around him so why shouldn't he assume he was the focus of everyone else's world? "But no, Draco actually for once has shut up about you."
"Really? That sounds… not like him up."
"He seems to have something else on his mind." Daphne sipped on her drink. "It's been… odd."
"How so?"
"Half the time he's brooding on the corner, looking out on all of us but otherwise not even reacting. And then he just… switches."
"Switches?"
"Gets almost manic. Crazed. Most don't see it because honestly most people don't pay attention to him anymore, not since someone-" she shot him a look, "-pecker smacked him about." Harry didn't confirm or deny anything she said. "But he's acting odd. Two days ago I caught him wandering around knocking on the walls, scratching at the mortar with a knife. Just… oddest thing."
Before Harry could comment on that Prof. Slughorn walked up to the two of them and smiled. "Miss Greengrass, might I borrow Mr. Potter?"
"Go right ahead. I really should check in with a few other people. Harry." He nodded and Daphne swayed across the room to go greet someone else.
"All taken care of."
"Pardon?"
"Your friend, Ginger. She moved to the Lentil region. Not a lot of cities there but the school on Florio is a nice one. Not as acclaimed as Hogwarts but that will be taken care of."
Harry just stared at the man. "…what?"
"Mr. Grayson over there?" he gestured at a tall Slytherin. "His father handles relocations for the Avalon government when issues arise that are ruled the fault of said government. He was able to send a text to his father so I could find out where Ginger went. Miss Lewis?" nodded to a Hufflepuff girl Luna was chatting with. "Her uncle is a researcher in Florio. She's going to have him contact me tomorrow morning and we'll discuss Ginger getting an internship with him next summer. That well help set her up well. I will also put in a word with a few shrinks I know… the point is that we're going to make right what happened to her." He patted Harry on the shoulder, smiled… and walked away.
No demands that he do something now for Slughorn. No needling for praise.
Just… did good and walked away.
"You okay, mate?" Neville asked, walking up to him.
"No," Harry whispered. "I think my world just got flipped upside down."
