13
Sarah POV
The day of Slughorn's Christmas Party dawned, and Hermione insisted that since we had the day off we should spend all day getting ready. It was a little joke between us; both of us were going with people that we weren't interested in, so we were going to look stunning for no apparent reason. I ended up in a dress my parents had bought me for a cocktail party with their other snobby friends. It was a deep red, almost scarlet in color, with a short bubbly skirt and a silk black bow around the waist. I hated it because it was strapless and made my white skin look even whiter, but Hermione insisted that it was a bombshell of a dress and I had to wear it. (Picture on profile) Hermione, on the other hand, went bolder than usual. She had picked out a dress from a catalog. It was strapless, and a teal blue, with an interestingly cut front that overlapped each other like petals. The rest of the skirt was straight. (Picture on profile)
Once she insisted that I couldn't back out and charm my normal robes to look more dressy, she tackled my long hair. I always wore my hair in braids for pretty much everything. But this time, Hermione forced herself on my poor hair, charming and waving her wand, locks of it going this way and that. I was convinced that she was making it look 'eclectic' which meant 'ugly', but I was impressed when she showed me it in a mirror. It was beautiful, locks of my hair making a crisscrossed pattern all down the rest of my hair, which was half up and falling around itself. (Picture on profile) As revenge, I did something Hermione normally never did- I put her hair in a messy, elegant bun. (Picture on profile)
I almost skipped over makeup entirely; I didn't use any actual products. While Hermione messed around with the Muggle method, I used transfiguration and tricky spells to do everything by magic. Then I transfigured the band from Mrs. Weasley into a gold and silver cuff bracelet; also transfiguring an old necklace to match. By that time, I knew that Harry and Cormac would be waiting for Hermione and I, so I dragged her away from a mirror and down the girls' staircase. We purposefully didn't look at Ron, even though we looked at him out of the corner of our eyes. He was sitting dumbstruck in an armchair, his quill pressed to his parchment and making a black splotch. Cormac was lounging in an armchair as well, but sat bolt upright when he saw Hermione. Harry hadn't seen us yet, he was standing by the fireplace, watching the flames.
"I'll see you in a bit. And remember, if you need me, come and find me and we'll disappear." I told Hermione before leaving her to greet McLaggen, her unfortunate and undeserving date. I walked right past Ron, who was now hunched over his paper, and tapped Harry on the shoulder. "Ready?" I asked him, and he did a double take.
"Wow, erm, yeah, I'm ready." Harry said, then flushed almost the same color as my dress.
"Then let's go," I said simply. He held the portrait hole for me (such a gentleman), and then lightly hooked arms with me as the first packs of girls started to appear in the hallways, giving me death glares. "You're certainly popular," I said after one group of girls broke down sobbing after we'd passed.
"I guess you're making them jealous. You look really great tonight. That's ingenious," he said, tapping the bracelet with his hand. I grinned- it felt really good to get dressed up after all the hard work and emotional struggle I'd been having since school started.
"Now, now, save that for Ginny." I said quietly, and Harry nearly choked on nothing at all. "Come on, Harry. To a girl who is your friend and is around you everyday, it's obvious."
"She's dating Dean though," Harry said, not at all masking his distaste. I considered telling him about the conversation I'd had with Ginny at the burrow during the summer, and how I'd noticed the change in her expression when she brought up Harry. But I decided to keep it a secret unless Harry really needed a boost of morale.
"That shouldn't stop you. Besides, Ginny and Dean have been on tenderhooks for weeks. It's only a matter of time." I said. The rest of the way there, we talked about the vampire that was supposed to be in attendance. As we got closer, we both started to dread going as we heard the loud music, laughter and talking. Once we squeezed our way inside the door, we got a good look at the room. It was packed with people, and a band was singing loudly in the corner. It was stuffy and noisy, the air filled with slight smoke from a group of warlocks smoking in a corner.
"Harry, m'boy!" Slughorn nearly shouted as soon as we were inside the door. He came over and immediately took Harry's arm and pulled him into the party. Harry latched onto my hand and pulled me with them. He led Harry over to a small bespectacled man who was standing next to the gaunt emaciated man who had to have been the vampire. As the other man shook Harry's hand with surprising vigor, the vampire looked at me and his expression changed from bored to slightly interested. Up close and personal, my mark was burning around him considering he was a dark creature.
"You look like my kind, emanate like my kind," he said abruptly, his voice deep and throaty, slightly accented.
"I beg your pardon?" I asked politely as possible, moving my left arm behind my back. Missing nothing, he grinned, flashing his fangs without realizing.
"You are not pure," he purred, getting a hungry look in his eyes. Before I could reply, Harry seized my arm again and pulled me through the crowd, away from the vampire, Slughorn and the other man.
"What was that for?" I panted, then grinned as Hermione came back into view. Harry had followed her through the party. She looked slightly harassed, having been hiding between two members of the Weird Sisters.
"I've just escaped, well, I just left Cormac. We were under the mistletoe." She elaborated, seeing my confusion.
"That's what you get for coming with him." Harry said with a hint of severity in his voice.
"I thought he'd annoy Ron the most. Here, let's go over here, we'll be able to see if he's coming better-" She grabbed Harry, who latched onto me again and pulled us along to a more deserted area of the party. We found ourselves next to Professor Trelawney, who was alone and smelled overpoweringly like cooking sherry.
"Hello, my dear," she said dreamily to me, forcing me to converse with her. Harry and Hermione started in a heated discussion in my absence, so I forced a smile on my face in response. "In class, I have noticed that you wane with the moon! I feel as if you have a future in Divination, my dear!" She said, her voice wavering with exultation.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Professor, but it's just an illness I'm trying to get over," I lied on the spot, and she tutted in sympathy.
"Why yes, I've been reading tea leaves for you, and a dark presence has been showing up every time! This illness, is it very serious?" She asked just as Harry turned around abruptly to join us, Hermione streaking away and hiding again. Harry looked at me curiously, obviously wondering what we were talking about. I was saved by Trelawney jumping Harry, demanding to know why he'd left the 'noble' art of Divination. As she blustered about how important her subject should be to Harry, I inhaled sharply, feeling my mark sting again; a Death Eater was here. I hoped that it was just Snape and not Malfoy. Both Trelawney and Harry turned to look at me, Harry with worry, Trelawney with renewed excitement when Slughorn's voice boomed over to us. He appeared at my shoulder, his eyes slightly bloodshot.
"Ah, Sybil, we all think our subject's the most important! But I don't think I've ever known such a natural at Potions!" He crowed, patting Harry heavily on the shoulder, beaming with pride. Harry ignored him and looked at me, still questioning, but I shook my head silently, letting him know I was alright. "Instinctive, you know, like his mother! I've ever only taught a few with this ability, Sybil, why- even Severus—" He reached over and broke my eye contact with Harry by scooping Snape out of nowhere and putting him right next to me. I quickly sidestepped to make room, moving my left arm as far away as possible. Trapped under Slughorn's arm, Snape merely pressed his left arm to his side and narrowed his eyes at Harry as Slughorn described how much of a genius he was at Potions. As they went on, I felt the only other Death Eater at Hogwarts get closer and closer to the party, and I felt my skin losing more and more color, even though I'd charmed my face to have a rosier complexion for the party.
"Feeling alright there, Wimkil?" Slughorn said with too much bravado to make me feel any better, stopping the conversation between Harry and Snape. I felt Malfoy enter the room and my face turned white.
"It's that mysterious illness! I've read it in her tea leaves, Horace- it's a sign!" Trelawney said with an air of drama, holding me arms length by the shoulders, ignoring Harry's alarmed look in my direction and Snape shifting. As Malfoy got closer to us, I felt my hands start to tremble, I quickly ducked out of Trelawney's hold and almost immediately dark spots grew in my vision. They started to grow, and Harry caught my elbow when I swayed slightly.
"Are you ok?" He asked quickly, worry filling what I could see of his face.
"Professor Slughorn," Filch's voice interrupted. Harry turned, still holding my elbow, and saw that Filch was holding Malfoy by the ear, looking triumphant. Harry's eyes flashed back down to me, but I kept staring at his collarbones, fighting the inclination I was feeling to faint. "I found this boy skulking around on the floor above, and he said that he was late setting out to your party. Is that true?" He asked, his jowls quivering in excitement at catching a student breaking the rules.
"Alright, I wasn't invited! I was trying to gate-crash, happy?" Malfoy said angrily. He pulled free out of Filch's grip and to my horror, he snaked his left arm behind his back, something I'd frequently done in Snape's class. I felt Harry's gaze boring into me, but I just closed my eyes, feeling worse.
"I'll take care of this, Horace." Snape interjected smoothly. "Follow me, Draco," He said curtly, and I felt my shoulders relax some as they walked away. This was it- Harry would surely accuse me now of knowing that Malfoy was a Death Eater, or he'd bring it up again and never let it go. There was a pause.
"I think you're date is ill, Harry m'boy." Slughorn said, and Harry jerked to life.
"Yes, I'm sorry to leave sir, thank you for the invite-" He wrapped an arm suddenly around my waist and walked me unsteadily away from the group, but closer to Malfoy and Snape. Once we left the party, cool air hit me in the face and I sagged momentarily, shocked by the temperature. Harry swore under his breath and sat me down on cool hard stone. "Sarah, I know you don't feel good, but stay here, alright? I'll be right back." Then his footsteps were hastening away before I could object. I knew that he was tracking down Snape and Malfoy to listen in on their conversation- they weren't that far away. I let the wall behind me support my weight, and let my head spin freely. It was disgusting, the effect those two had on me in one place. Harry, whose suspicions had been dying recently, would be all over this, using my reaction again as proof. What am I going to do? I thought miserably, hating her now more then ever. Gradually, I let my eyes drift open until they adjusted to the dimly lit hallway. With a tiny groan, I pushed myself up and immediately grabbed the wall for support as my head pounded and the black spots appeared again. I wasn't quite recovered yet from my lesson Wednesday with Snape, but I considered this reaction to the both of them an improvement considering the last time I had a seizure. With my free hand, even though it was my left, I pressed the heel of it to my forehead, closing my eyes.
"Sorry, Sarah, for leaving you, but I had to go." Harry and his voice came out of nowhere as he suddenly reappeared next to me from under the Invisibility Cloak, making me leap about a mile. Harry's arm shot out and caught me again, afraid that I'd faint. "Are you alright?" He asked quieter with a hint of worry when I didn't say anything. The sound of his voice roared in my ears. All I did was gasp softly when Bellatrix suddenly prodded at my mind, wondering if she should attack. Instantly I threw up protective shields I'd learned in Occlumency and braced for the worst. Bellatrix started to push on it, as if to amuse herself, and my knees buckled. Arms caught me around the waist and held me up against a chest as I started to tremble. "Sarah? Sarah!" A voice whispered fiercely, sounding frightened, hot breath tickling my ear. Summoning all my strength, I made the talons out of the wall again, piercing into Bellatrix and it made my head spin when she fought to disengage. Seconds later, she was gone. Fighting my shaking knees and a faint, I started to take my weight back.
"M'fine." I slurred, putting my arms on top of Harry's, trying to support myself more. That simple act sent my head spinning again, worse then ever. My arms slipped off and I fainted.