The first Parvati heard of Slughorn's Christmas party was with Lavender, sitting at the Gryffindor dinner table in late November, alongside Ginny, Dean, Seamus, and Demelza.
Ginny was complaining vociferously over Slughorn's treatment of her friend Demelza, who according to Ginny was a damn sight better than her at Potions but was routinely overlooked.
"He's such an ass," she finished with finality.
"Take me to Slughorn's party instead of Dean, then. He'll notice me, for sure!" Demelza said, elbowing Ginny playfully in the ribs. "Ginny Weasley's girlfriend!"
"Can you imagine," Ginny said, snorting. "His eyes would fall out of his head!"
"Oh, but you mustn't think I'm prejudiced," Demelza returned in a perfect imitation of Slughorn's bluster.
"Ass," they repeated in unison.
Dean and Seamus, across from the pair, looked slightly agog.
Lavender, however, was undistracted by their antics.
"Christmas party?" she said. "What kind of Christmas party?"
"Oh, it's supposed to be really posh," Ginny said dismissively. "Apparently he's inviting all the alumni of the Slug Club, so we can mingle." She mocked each emphasized word.
"For Club members only, then?" pushed Lavender, looking crestfallen.
"That's what it sounded like. Slughorn's invites only, and their dates. It's elitist bullshit."
"I'm looking forward to seeing you in dress robes, Gin," Dean began earnestly, but Parvati was done eating and ready to debrief the news with Lavender. They arose at the same time and left the hall, bidding goodbye to their friends.
"I am going to that party," Parvati announced the moment they were out of earshot.
"No fair!" Lavender pouted. "I want to go! And you know I can't even mention it to Ron, he's so sensitive about the stupid Slug Club and how he's never invited. He'd be sullen for hours."
"No complaining about your hot boyfriend!" Parvati said, lightly enough so Lavender would assume she was kidding. "Help me brainstorm members of the Slug Club instead!"
"Cormac McLaggen-" began Lavender, assenting immediately.
"- a little overbearing, but there are worse options."
"That's it for Gryffindor, I think, unless you want to ask Harry."
"Never again."
"Ravenclaw only has that girl, Melinda Bobbin, and that seventh year who's dating Katie Bell's Hufflepuff friend Leanne," continued Lavender, ticking each member off on her fingers while displaying her impressive aptitude for gossip.
"And some fourth-year boy," corrected Parvati, "Padma told me. I think his name is Iain. I don't know anything about him."
"That's a little young," said Lavender thoughtfully. "You don't want to be seen as desperate."
"Hufflepuff – that Quidditch player, I think his name is Cadwallader? Simon, maybe?" Parvati stayed businesslike.
"Now there's an idea. He's really cute!"
"That might be everyone from Hufflepuff. I'll ask Ernie, I'm sure he'll know."
"And for Slytherin," finished Lavender, "the only person I know of is Blaise Zabini. There may be others."
"Oh, he's cute," breathed Parvati. "But is he…you know…prejudiced?"
"Probably." Lavender wrinkled her nose. "You might need to do some vetting. I've never really heard him speak."
"I'll have to," Parvati said grimly. "If Zabini and Cawallader are my only viable options."
Plans formulated in Parvati's head the rest of the night, half-formed, fluttering about while she tried to complete her homework.
She was still bitter about the Yule Ball. It wasn't all the time. She didn't even think about it that often anymore. But when it crept into her mind, she was still very much perturbed.
She'd forgiven Harry, though she knew Padma could not say the same about Ron. Fourteen-year-old boys could not be expected to dance, carry on conversation, or otherwise behave properly at formal events; she knew that now. Besides, many of her friends that year hadn't been asked at all and were thus unable to attend. She was lucky, as Lavender reminded her whenever she brought this up.
That said, she didn't plan to let that disappointment happen again. A pang of bitter nostalgia still struck her when she thought about poring over dresses in catalogs with Padma, of dressing in Ravenclaw tower with Padma and her friends, only to end the night watching everyone else dance, mingle, and drink without her, as Ron and Harry completely ignored them. She would not fail to fully enjoy the most important social event of the year this time around.
Seventeen-year-old Parvati would have asked a boy to the Yule Ball without question, while fifteen-year-old Parvati had been shy and encumbered by the old-fashioned notion she had to wait to be invited. Unfortunately, according to Ginny that empowered approach was not an option for the Slug Club Christmas party. Parvati thought asking a boy to a party she herself was not invited to was extremely tacky; that was out of the question.
The next morning, she began reconnaissance.
She began by cornering Ernie after Defense Against the Dark Arts, falling into step alongside him.
Parvati had never particularly enjoyed Ernie's company, though she'd spent little time with him. His voice had often seemed to cut through the hubbub of Dumbledore's Army meetings where he sat with the Hufflepuffs, expounding on some subject or other; he was second only to Hermione in racing to answer questions in the classes they shared.
Nevertheless, she was confident he would have an encyclopedic knowledge of Hufflepuff Slug Club members, so it was to him she devoted her initial energies.
"Hi Ernie," she said, and he started.
"Oh, hi, Parvati."
"Listen," she said, electing for directness, "Who in Hufflepuff is in the Slug Club?"
"The Slug Club? I'm not sure Slughorn thinks to bother with us Puffs," Ernie said, rather contemptuously for someone Parvati had always known to speak of teachers with jovial respect. She'd never found him to carry much of a chip of his shoulder, but then, she figured, most Hufflepuffs did.
"I heard your Chaser, Simon Cadwallader, goes to the dinners," Parvati pressed.
"Indeed," Ernie said grimly. "He's a seventh year, but we're not on particularly friendly terms, you understand…I gave him a couple of detentions last year during OWL and NEWT season and I'm not sure he's forgiven me. Between you and me, I think his disgruntlement comes from not making prefect at all, but I'm sure Professor Sprout has her reasons. Bit of an empty head if you ask me."
"Why did Slughorn start inviting him, then?"
"A few weeks into the year he received an offer to travel to the ICW convention – that's International Confederation of Wizards, you know – as an assistant next summer. I don't know how he managed it; I expect he knows someone. He's tapped for the Department of International Magical Cooperation when he graduates."
"That sounds prestigious!"
Ernie shrugged in an apparent attempt at dismissiveness. "I should think so. Why are you asking, anyway?"
"The Slug Club just seems so mysterious," Parvati said, electing not to share her plan with Ernie. She wasn't sure he'd quiteunderstand. "I've never even met Slughorn, some people in Gryffindor can't stop talking about him though."
"I find the whole enterprise rather arbitrary," Ernie said. "It's not as if he's looking at our OWL results, is it? Or at our actual achievements?"
"It does seem random," said Parvati, eyeing Ernie as he considered expostulating further on the subject. If she wanted to avoid a recitation of his OWL results and prefect status, it was time to find an exit strategy. "Anyway, thanks for the information on Cadwallader. He sounds a real git."
"Far be it from me to speak ill of a fellow Hufflepuff, but I wouldn't say he's the most...worthy representative of our House."
With these ominous words, Parvati returned to Gryffindor Tower to debrief with Lavender.
"He's a seventh year," she said to Lavender. "And Ernie hates him," she continued cheerfully.
"Probably because he's in the Slug Club and Ernie isn't," Lavender said wisely. "Are you going to talk to Cadwallader, then?"
"If I can! I'm not sure the best way to approach him."
"I know one of the Beaters on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team," said Lavender. "I'll find out when they have practice. Then you can wait inside the entrance hall for when they come in, and pretend you're just coming out of the Great Hall."
Impressed with this quick formulation, Parvati thanked her. Lavender continued, "And what about Zabini? Are you going to talk to him?"
"It doesn't hurt to keep my options open, does it?" said Parvati. "I'll talk to him in Ancient Runes tomorrow."
And she tried. She arrived early and waited for him to come in. He arrived with a dark-haired Slytherin girl she didn't know. As he began unpacking his supplies, she sidled over to his desk and stood in front of him.
"Hi, Blaise!" she said cheerfully.
He, like Ernie, looked startled, which Parvati found discomfiting. Was she not friendly, popular, and outgoing? Surely she wasn't so insular as to render surprise in those she visited?
Blaise said nothing, merely nodding his head in greeting.
"I found the homework for today really challenging," Parvati said. "Didn't you?"
Blaise eyed her levelly. He didn't answer for a long moment, then said, "Not particularly. It was mostly review."
This was, in fact, true, but Parvati had been hoping for some idle chitchat before diving into important questions such as Do you believe in maintaining pure bloodlines? and Would you ever call a Muggle-born a Mudblood?
Before she could respond, Professor Babbling called the class to order and she returned to her seat next to Hermione. As the only Gryffindors continuing to NEWT in the subject, they sat together out of habit, though Parvati had never especially enjoyed Hermione's company, and had recently begun to endure lengthy diatribes from Lavender on Hermione's many faults.
Undeterred, after Runes Parvati waved at Blaise as he began to stride toward the door. "See you later!" she called. He didn't look back.
She related the small interaction to Padma later that night after dinner. She hadn't even finished before Padma cut her off.
"Zabini is an asshole," she said. "Seriously, you're better off with McLaggen or Cadwallader."
"Have you ever spoken with him?"
"Sure," Padma said. "I had Herbology with the Slytherins last year. He called Justin Finch-Fletchley – well, you know."
"Really?" said Parvati, disappointed. "He doesn't hang out with the Death Eaters, though!"
"He hangs out with Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, Parv. Aren't all their dads in Azkaban?"
"Every time you try to give a Slytherin a chance…Why are all the men in this school so creepy?"
"You know who's not creepy, though, and is so much cuter than last year…You'll laugh at me, but Harry Potter's not going out with anyone, right?"
Parvati snorted. "Seriously, Padma, half the Gryffindor girls are obsessed with Harry. It's revolting. If you wanted to get to know him, you should have joined Dumbledore's Army last year when I asked you."
"Well, I can't help it there's a shortage of attractive boys in Ravenclaw!"
"What about Marcus Belby?"
"Belby? Merlin, don't make me laugh…"
When Parvati left Padma to return to Gryffindor tower after thoroughly dissecting the sixth and seventh year boys in Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, Parvati was in a cheerful mood, despite resigning herself to crossing Zabini off her mental list.
Her mood further improved when Lavender told her Hufflepuff Quidditch practice was scheduled the evening after next.
"Here's the problem, though," Parvati said to Lavender. "I'm actually not sure I'll recognize him." She would have felt embarrassed and shallow admitting it to anyone but her best friend.
"You'll figure it out," Lavender said. "I think there are only two boys on the Hufflepuff team, and one of them is a second year."
Thus reassured, Parvati went to bed.
She knew her method of obtaining an invitation to the Christmas party was shallow. But as Ernie had griped, Slughorn's methods for identifying members of his club were superficial at best and overtly problematic at worst. In her estimation, she had as much right to swanky food and an evening of elegant revelry as Melinda fucking Bobbin.
As it happened, Simon Cadwallader proved almost as poorly suited to her endeavor as Zabini. She blamed faulty intelligence.
She identified him easily enough as he entered the castle, laughing with another girl Parvati did not recognize.
"Oh, Simon – hi!" she said, calling out to him as she left the Great Hall. "I'm Parvati," she said, mustering as much confidence as she could.
He looked at her blankly. "Hi?"
"My friend Hannah told me you were going to the ICW convention next year," she said, determining mentioning Ernie might not be the best course of action, if the two were on poor terms. "I'm really interested in going into international affairs – I'd love to talk to you about it! And I just saw you coming in and thought, what a coincidence!" It was convenient, she thought, that the only fact she knew about him was also one sure to appeal to his ego.
"Er…sure," he said, brightening visibly, though confusion lingered in his eyes. "Are you free during break tomorrow?"
"If you like!" Parvati said. "I'm free now though, I could walk with you back to the Hufflepuff common room?"
As she said the words, the girl beside Cadwallader reached for his hand, clutching it tightly as she eyed Parvati coldly. In response, Cadwallader placed a soothing hand on her back.
Too late, Parvati realized her mistake, but gamely she fell into step on Cadwallader's other side.
"Um…how did you manage to be selected?" she asked, figuring if Cadwallader was not a viable date, she might as well try to confirm Ernie's theory of Cadwallader benefitting from nepotism for him.
"Funny you should ask," Cadwallader said, draping his arm lazily about his girlfriend's waist. "It's a bit of a long story…"
His tale was indeed so long it lasted the entirety of the walk to the common room, beginning with Cadwallader's earliest inclinations as a third year he wanted to study international magical cooperation, and ending with a call from the head of the department himself asking Cadwallader if he wanted to come along as an assistant and translator, and glossing over a family friend who invited him to job shadow at the Ministry in the summer after his fifth year as a kind of junior internship. Parvati caught this small detail with satisfaction to share later with interested parties.
"Wow, that's really interesting!" Parvati said as they stood in front of the entrance. "Er, thank you, that really helps crystallize things for me, you're sweet to take the time!"
"Of course! What other questions did you have?" asked Simon, now deeply in the spirit of things.
"That was all for right now!"
"Nonsense! You must have been curious about more if you took all this trouble to track me down."
In desperation, Parvati checked her watch and was relieved to see she had scarcely ten minutes before curfew, a tall order given the distance to Gryffindor tower.
"You're right," she said wildly. "I just didn't want to bother you with my other ones, but I have to sprint to make it to my common room before curfew! I'll have to catch up with you another time."
Before he could say anything else, she took off at a brisk walk down the end of the corridor, slowing only when she was sure she was free.
After Cadwallader, Parvati lost her taste for seducing unknown, egotistical Slug Club members. Her only remaining prospect was McLaggen, anyway, whom she'd always viewed from afar rather distastefully without being able to pinpoint a specific reason why.
"I'd just rather not go at all than go with someone who'd just talk about himself all night," she told Lavender, who nodded solemnly.
"I completely understand," Lavender said, tactfully neglecting to mention it had been Parvati's intention from the beginning to undertake exactly that plan. Parvati appreciated her friend.
Still, despite her casual demeanor, she held out hope as the party drew nearer that Harry might ask her. She found Harry's company perfectly pleasant, but would never consider dating him. However, he had asked her to a Christmas soiree out of convenience and desperation once before, and so far as she knew – and what she knew came from Lavender, who had gleaned it from Ron – he was mildly annoyed at the prospect of finding a date for the party.
Was it so hard to imagine, then, that he might turn to her once again?
This chapter was inspired by the line in Half-Blood Prince where Parvati gloomily tells Harry she'd love to go Slughorn's party, but couldn't get an invite. Thanks for reading and leaving your thoughts!