Chapter 58: Slughorn's Party
August 31, 2003
When Buffy entered the kitchen, it was to find Fleur sitting at the kitchen table, in full flow about plans for her wedding to Bill, while Mrs. Weasley kept watch over a pile of self-peeling sprouts, looking bad tempered.
"…Bill and I 'ave almost decided on only two bridesmaids, Ginny and Gabrielle will look very sweet togezzer. I am theenking of dressing zem in pale gold—pink would of course be 'orrible with Ginny's 'air—"
"What's wrong with Ginny's hair?" Buffy asked. "I happen to know Dawn like's it just the way it is."
"Ah, Buffy!" said Mrs. Weasley loudly. "Good, I wanted to explain about the security arrangements for the journey to Hogwarts tomorrow. Once Dawn portals there will be Aurors waiting at the station."
Buffy sighed. "They go from calling my family insane to treating us like we're fragile all because of what happened when Voldemort returned."
"I know, dear," Mrs. Weasley said. "Now are you, Willow, Harry and Dawn packed?"
"We're good to go," Buffy said.
September 1, 2003
They stepped out of the portal into King's Cross Station to find two grim-faced, bearded Aurors waiting.
Harry motioned for Buffy, Willow, Ginny, Dawn, Ron and Hermione to follow him up the platform, looking for an empty compartment.
"We can't, Harry," said Hermione, looking apologetic. "Ron and I've got to go to the prefects' carriage first and then patrol the corridors for a bit."
"Oh yeah, I forgot," said Harry.
"You'd better get straight on the train, all of you, you've only got a few minutes to go," said Mrs. Weasley, consulting her watch. "Well, have a lovely term, Ron, Ginny…"
"Arthur," Buffy said. "While they are loading. Willow and I would like to inform you on something that Willow saw."
"Of course," said Mr. Weasley.
"When we were in Diagon Alley," Buffy began, but Mr. Weasley forestalled her with a grimace.
"Am I about to discover where you disappeared to with Dawn and Harry, Willow?" Mr. Weasley asked.
"I figured our absence would be noticed," Willow said. "It's in part why when Harry asked if I would tell Buffy I told him yes.
"Very well, then, let's hear the worst."
"Well, we followed Draco Malfoy," Willow explained. "When he entered Knockturn Alley I left Dawn and Harry at the entrance with explicit orders if I did not return in ten minutes to get Buffy. I then followed him to Borgin and Burkes."
"Did Harry and Dawn have any particular reason for having you follow him?"
"Harry explained that it looked odd when Draco Malfoy passed by Fred and George's shop that he kept looking over his shoulder. Also, his mother was nowhere to be seen," said Willow.
"Alright," said Mr. Weasley. "Did you find out why?"
"Inside," said Willow, "he started bullying the shop owner, Borgin, to help him fix something. And he said he wanted Borgin to keep something else for him. He made it sound like it was the same kind of thing that needed fixing. Like they were a pair."
"Hmm," Mr. Weasley said. "Not much to go on. I will admit it is suspicious since when Lucius Malfoy was arrested, we raided his house. We took away everything that might have been dangerous."
"Which leads me to believe," Buffy said. "That whatever Draco Malfoy wants fixed was not at his parents' home."
"That is possible," said Mr. Weasley. "But without knowing for sure what it is or where it is. There isn't much I can do. I will owl you know if I find out something."
There was a whistle behind them; nearly everyone had boarded the train and the doors were closing.
"You'd better hurry," said Mr. Weasley, as Mrs. Weasley cried, "Buffy, Willow, quickly!"
Buffy and Willow hurried forward and they loaded their trunks onto the train.
"Now, dear, we expect you two, Harry and Dawn for Christmas," said Mrs. Weasley through the window.
"I think we would like that," Buffy said as the train was gathering speed.
Buffy and Willow turned to see where Harry, Dawn and Ginny had gotten to. They found them a little way along the corridor in a compartment with Neville and Luna. Buffy and Willow stowed their trunks and Joyce's cage and sat down.
"Hi, Professor, Willow!" said Neville and Luna.
"Hello Neville, Luna," Buffy and Willow returned.
"And it's Professor for myself now," Willow said. "I am taking over the guidance counselor position from Buffy this year."
"Congratulations," Neville said.
"So, Luna, Quibbler still going strong?" asked Harry.
"Oh yes, circulation's well up," said Luna happily.
"Oi, come back here, Trevor!" Neville dove under the seat to retrieve his toad as it made one of its frequent bids for freedom.
"Are we still doing D.A. meetings this year, Professor?" asked Luna.
"I will have to think about it, Luna," Buffy said. "But since Umbridge isn't there. You hopefully have a professor now that will teach you defensive magic."
"I liked the D.A.! I learned loads with you!" Neville said.
"I enjoyed the meetings too," said Luna serenely. "It was like having friends."
The weather beyond the train windows was as patchy as it had been all summer; they passed through stretches of the chilling mist, then out into weak, clear sunlight. It was during one of the clear spells, when the sun was visible almost directly overhead, that Ron and Hermione entered the compartment at last.
"Wish the lunch trolley would hurry up, I'm starving," said Ron longingly, slumping into the seat beside Harry and rubbing his stomach. "Hi, Neville. Hi, Luna. Guess what?" he added, turning to Harry. "Malfoy's not doing prefect duty. He's just sitting in his compartment with the other Slytherins, we saw him when we passed."
"Interesting," Buffy said. "I hope Albus removed that privilege after he abused it at Umbridge's request."
Suddenly the compartment door slid open again and a breathless third-year girl stepped inside.
"I'm supposed to deliver these to Neville Longbottom, Professor Potter, Willow Potter, Dawn Potter, Ginny Weasley and Harry Potter," she said. She was holding out several scrolls of parchment tied with violet ribbon. They took the scrolls and the girl stumbled back out of the compartment.
"What is it?" Ron demanded, as Harry unrolled his.
"An invitation," said Buffy.
Elizabeth,
I would be delighted if you would join me for a bite of lunch in compartment C.
Sincerely,
Professor H. E. F. Slughorn
"Who is Professor Slughorn?" asked Neville, looking perplexedly at his own invitation.
"New teacher," said Harry. "Well, I suppose we'll have to go, won't we?"
"But what does he want me for?" asked Neville nervously.
"No idea," said Dawn as she looked at her siblings and sister-in-law. As she stood, she reached for Ginny's hand as her girlfriend stood up.
The six of them made their way down the train. When they reached compartment C, they saw at once that they were not Slughorn's only invitees, although judging by the enthusiasm of Slughorn's welcome, Buffy, Dawn, Willow and Harry was the most warmly anticipated.
"Good to see you all, good to see you! And you two must be Ms. Weasley and Mr. Longbottom!"
Ginny and Neville nodded.
"Now, does everyone know everyone?" Slughorn asked. He introduced everyone in the compartment to the new arrivals; Blaise Zabini, Cormac McLaggen and Marcus Belby.
"Well now, this is most pleasant," said Slughorn cozily. "A chance to get to know you all a little better. Here, take a napkin. I've packed my own lunch; the trolley, as I remember it, is heavy on licorice wands, and a poor old man's digestive system isn't quite up to such things… Pheasant, Belby?"
Belby started and accepted what looked like half a cold pheasant.
"I was just telling young Marcus here that I had the pleasure of teaching his Uncle Damocles," Slughorn said, now passing around a basket of rolls. "Outstanding wizard, outstanding, and his Order of Merlin most well-deserved. Do you see much of your uncle, Marcus?"
Unfortunately, Belby had just taken a large mouthful of pheasant; in his haste to answer Slughorn he swallowed too fast, turned purple, and began to choke.
"Anapneo," said Slughorn calmly, pointing his wand at Belby, whose airway seemed to clear at once.
"Not… not much of him, no," gasped Belby, his eyes streaming.
"Well, of course, I daresay he's busy," said Slughorn, looking questioningly at Belby. "I doubt he invented the Wolfsbane Potion without considerable hard work!"
"I suppose…" said Belby, who seemed afraid to take another bite of pheasant until he was sure that Slughorn had finished with him. "Er… he and my dad don't get on very well, you see, so I don't really know much about…"
His voice tailed away as Slughorn gave him a cold smile and turned to McLaggen instead.
"Now, you, Cormac," said Slughorn, "I happen to know you see a lot of your Uncle Tiberius, because he has a rather splendid picture of the two of you hunting nogtails in, I think, Norfolk?"
"Oh, yeah, that was fun, that was," said McLaggen. "We went with Bertie Higgs and Rufus Scrimgeour—this was before he became Minister, obviously—"
"Ah, you know Bertie and Rufus too?" beamed Slughorn, now offering around a small tray of pies; somehow, Belby was missed out. "Now tell me…"
Buffy, Dawn, Harry, Willow and Ginny looked at each other knowing that like themselves they had been invited because they were connected to somebody well-known or influential. Ginny knew that she had to have been invited because she was Dawn's girlfriend.
"And now," said Slughorn, shifting massively in his seat with the air of a compere introducing his star act. "Elizabeth Potter and her wife Willow. Her brother and sister, Harry and Dawn! Where to begin? I feel I barely scratched the surface when we met over the summer!" He contemplated the Potter family for a moment as though he was a particularly large and succulent piece of pheasant, then said, "We have two Slayers, a Wiccan witch and 'The Chosen One,' as they're calling you, Harry! Dawn, word is you are not only a Slayer, but you also have Wiccan powers beyond the ordinary—"
Zabini gave a tiny little cough that was clearly supposed to indicate amused skepticism.
"Yeah, Zabini, because you're so talented… at posing…" said Ginny angrily in defense of her girlfriend.
"Oh dear!" chuckled Slughorn comfortably, looking around at Ginny, who was glaring at Zabini. "You want to be careful, Blaise! After all her girlfriend is a confirmed Slayer. I wouldn't cross her unless you want to tangle with Dawn!"
"He's right," Dawn said at Zabini's contemptuous look. "But you don't want to tangle with Ginny either. She was recently called as a Slayer herself."
"Anyway," said Slughorn. "Such rumors this summer. Of course, one doesn't know what to believe, the Prophet has been known to print inaccuracies, make mistakes—but there seems little doubt, given the number of witnesses, that there was quite a disturbance at the Ministry and that you two were there in the thick of it all, Elizabeth, Dawn!"
"Buffy," Buffy corrected. "I go by my adopted name. And yes, we were there."
"The rest of the stories—so sensational, of course, one doesn't know quite what to believe—this fabled prophecy, for instance—"
"There is a prophecy," Buffy said. "It is a carefully guarded secret what it actually says. For if Voldemort found out… That's why I don't put stock in why the Daily Prophet wants to call Harry this Chosen One since they don't know what the prophecy even said. For all they knew it could be a prophecy that said we would all die in this summer's apocalypse."
"So, the rumors are true then? That the First Evil tried to end the world this summer?" Slughorn asked.
"Yes, it's true," Buffy said. "Part of that story explains how Ginny became a Slayer."
The afternoon wore on with more anecdotes about illustrious wizards Slughorn had taught, all of whom had been delighted to join what he called the "Slug Club" at Hogwarts. Finally, the train emerged from yet another long misty stretch into a red sunset, and Slughorn looked around, blinking in the twilight.
"Good gracious, it's getting dark already! I didn't notice that they'd lit the lamps! You'd better go and change into your robes. McLaggen, you must drop by and borrow that book on nogtails. Harry, Dawn, Blaise—any time you're passing. Same goes for you, miss," he twinkled at Ginny.
"Ginny," Dawn said angrily that Slughorn had forgotten her girlfriend's name.
As he pushed past the Potters into the darkening corridor, Zabini shot Dawn a filthy look. Dawn smirked as she opened a portal straight in Zabini's way. "That goes to a hell dimension," she said. "You are more than welcome to go through. Or you can apologize!"
Zabini glared at Dawn and muttered an apology as she closed the portal and he headed down the train.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
As Buffy was exiting the train, she noticed her brother was missing. "Dawn," she said as she came up next to her sister and Ginny, both of whom turned to look at her. "Where's Harry?"
"No idea," Dawn said. "We got separated by the crowd."
Buffy spun and hurried back on the train. Using her Slayer senses, she tried to sense for anything out of the ordinary. When she felt the train lurch, she realized she was running out of time. The floor began to vibrate as the engine roared into life. She found her brother in the compartment she knew Malfoy had been in, his invisibility cloak lying next to him.
"Harry," she shouted as she pulled out her new wand. There was a flash of green light and Harry's body unfroze. Buffy helped Harry to his feet as she noticed his bruised face. "We have to get off, quickly." She said as she saw the train windows had become obscured with steam. They had begun to move out of the station. She grabbed Harry and swung him into her arms. The only way they were getting off the train was with the speed of a Slayer. She ran down the corridor to the train door and leapt onto the platform, which seemed to be sliding underneath them as the train gathered momentum.
"Malfoy?" Buffy asked as she sat Harry down on his feet. She noticed that Tonks, Dawn and Ginny were approaching.
"Yes," Harry replied.
"Evening, Tonks," Buffy said. "I take it you were assigned here?"
"Yes," Tonks replied.
"Dawn, would you open a portal and take Harry to the hospital wing," Buffy said as Dawn did instructed and both her siblings and Ginny disappeared into the portal.
Tonks waved her wand and a Patronus headed off to the castle. "To let them know that Dawn and Ginny took Harry to the hospital wing and that you are with me. So that they won't worry."
"Good thinking," Buffy said. "Are you alone?"
"No, Proudfoot, Savage, and Dawlish are here too," Tonks said. "We should get you to the castle."
They trudged up the dark, deserted lane, following the freshly made carriage tracks. When they reached the gates, they found them chained shut.
"I would assume Alohomora won't work," Buffy said as Tonks shook her head. "Is all this added security for my family?"
"Not so much for your protection but for the safety of the students since He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back, Buffy."
A moment later the gates opened and they saw Severus Snape.
"Well, well, well," sneered Snape, taking out his wand and tapping the padlock once, so that the chains snaked backward and the gates creaked open. "There is no need to wait, Nymphadora, Buffy is quite—ah—safe in my hands."
"I meant Hagrid to get the message," said Tonks, frowning.
"Hagrid was late for the start-of-term feast, just like Buffy, her sister, her brother and Ms. Weasley, so I took it instead. And incidentally," said Snape, standing back to allow Buffy to pass him, "I was interested to see your new Patronus."
He shut the gates in Tonks' face with a loud clang and tapped the chains with his wand again, so that they slithered, clinking, back into place.
"I think you were better off with the old one," said Snape, the malice in his voice unmistakable. "The new one looks weak."
Buffy saw, fleetingly, a look of shock and anger on Tonks's face. She spun on Snape and with the strength of a Slayer hit him right across the jaw. Not enough to break his jaw but enough to leave a nasty bruise. She turned to Tonks. "You okay?"
"Yes," Tonks said and she smiled for the first time in months.
As Snape and Buffy walked toward the front doors, Snape rubbed his jaw. "Was that necessary," he asked.
"For what you said back there, yes," Buffy replied. "You know she feels terrible about Sirius almost dying, blames herself."
"I think I will take Fifty points from Gryffindor for lateness," said Snape.
"And I will just give it right back to them," Buffy said, she turned so he could see the scythe that was in its holster on her back. "Don't play this game with me, Severus. After this summer I am not in the mood for any bull. Do you know what I went through back in July? Fought a non-corporeal entity bent on destroying our world. So, leave the bull at the door."
Buffy strode through the doors leaving Snape staring after her. She entered the Great Hall to find that Dawn and Harry were already seated at the Gryffindor table with Willow, Ginny, Ron and Hermione.
"What happened?" Hermione asked Buffy as she sat down.
"I said later, Hermione," said Harry curtly.
"So, what did Professor Slughorn want?" Hermione asked.
"A party," Buffy said. "A little get to know people. And to confirm rumors."
Dumbledore got to his feet at the staff table. The talk and laughter echoing around the Hall died away almost instantly. "The very best of evenings to you!" he said, smiling broadly, his arms opened wide as though to embrace the whole room.
"What happened to his hand?" gasped Hermione.
She was not the only one who had noticed. Dumbledore's right hand was as blackened and dead-looking as it had been on the night, he had come to Grimmauld Place. Whispers swept the room; Dumbledore, interpreting them correctly, merely smiled and shook his purple-and-gold sleeve over his injury.
"Nothing to worry about," he said airily. "Now… to our new students, welcome, to our old students, welcome back! Another year full of magical education awaits you…"
"His hand was like that when we saw him over the summer," Harry whispered.
"It looks as if it's died," said Hermione, with a nauseated expression. "There are some injuries you can't cure… old curses… and there are poisons without antidotes…"
"…and Mr. Filch, our caretaker, has asked me to say that there is a blanket ban on any joke items bought at the shop called Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Those wishing to play for their House Quidditch teams should give their names to their Heads of House as usual. We are also looking for new Quidditch commentators, who should do likewise. We are pleased to welcome two new members of staff this year. Professor Slughorn" —Slughorn stood up— "is a former colleague of mine who has agreed to resume his old post of Potions master."
"Potions?"
The word echoed all over the Hall as people wondered whether they had heard right.
"Potions?" said Ron and Hermione together, turning to stare at the Potter family.
"Professor Snape, meanwhile," said Dumbledore, raising his voice so that it carried over all the muttering, "will be taking over the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."
Snape, who was sitting on Dumbledore's right, did not stand up at the mention of his name; he merely raised a hand in lazy acknowledgment of the applause from the Slytherin table.
"Well, there's one good thing," Harry said savagely. "Snape'll be gone by the end of the year."
"What do you mean?" asked Ron.
"That job's jinxed. No one's lasted more than a year… Quirrell actually died doing it… Personally, I'm going to keep my fingers crossed for another death…"
"Harry James Potter!" Buffy scolded her brother. "I don't like him anymore than you do. But you shouldn't wish death on anyone."
Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Our other new addition to the staff is Professor Willow Potter," —Willow stood up— "who will be taking over the guidance counselor position from her wife, Professor Buffy Potter, who will continue to teach Defense Against the Forces of Darkness. On a side note if any of our female students starting around the middle of July suddenly felt stronger, faster, having better reflexes. It is recommended that you speak to Professor Buffy Potter. Now, as everybody in this Hall knows, Lord Voldemort and his followers are once more at large and gaining in strength."
"I cannot emphasize strongly enough how dangerous the present situation is, and how much care each of us at Hogwarts must take to ensure that we remain safe. The castle's magical fortifications have been strengthened over the summer, we are protected in new and more powerful ways, but we must still guard scrupulously against carelessness on the part of any student or member of staff. I urge you, therefore, to abide by any security restrictions that your teachers might impose upon you, however irksome you might find them—in particular, the rule that you are not to be out of bed after hours. I implore you, should you notice anything strange or suspicious within or outside the castle, to report it to a member of staff immediately. I trust you to conduct yourselves, always, with the utmost regard for your own and others' safety."
Dumbledore's blue eyes swept over the students before he smiled once more.
"But now, your beds await, as warm and comfortable as you could possibly wish, and I know that your top priority is to be well-rested for your lessons tomorrow. Let us therefore say good night. Pip pip!"
