Chapter One Hundred and Forty - A Party and a Plot

Outside, a hard frost spread over the landscape, pressing itself against the windows in fractal arcs of ice, while inside the castle, all was warm and welcoming. Hagrid had prepared for their winter holiday by dragging the usual twelve tall pine trees into the Great Hall, and the passageways were festooned with garlands of holly, golden bells that shimmered and chimed when anyone passed by, and floating baubles of colored light, each containing a small fairy. A number of girls had developed the habit of congregating under bunches of mistletoe whenever Harry chanced to pass by. Apparently, word that Hermione Granger had broken up with Harry Potter spread fast.

"Now you understand what it's like to be as popular as me!" Blaise remarked cheerfully.

"Romilda Vane has asked me about Slughorn's party six times," Harry reflected darkly. "And she's not even in the Slug Club! Millie, please. You have to go with me. I need to get these girls off my back!"

He knew that Millie found the fangirls just as annoying as he did himself. He hoped, given the circumstances, that she would take pity on him. But Millie merely laughed and replied, "Are you mad? If I go with you, I'll be the enemy of every girl in the school! I don't need that kind of attention, thanks."

Harry begged, but Millie was stubborn. He couldn't really blame her. It wasn't as if he enjoyed the attention, either.

"What about you?" Harry asked, turning back to Blaise. He had completely given up on convincing Millie, and was seeking a distraction from his own difficulties in the better prospects of his friend. "When are you going to ask Nell?"

Blaise averted his gaze. "I don't think she's interested," he replied vaguely."

"This coming from the guy who was just bragging about his popularity!" mocked Harry. "There's only a few days until the party, you know. What are you waiting for? If you're still worried about what happened in second year, I'm sure Nell's already…"

"I already asked her," interrupted Blaise, "She said no."

Harry's mouth fell open. "She said no?"

"I believe her exact words were 'It sounds like a waste of a perfectly good evening.'"

Blaise put up a good front, but Harry knew the rejection weighed heavily on his mind. He was not used to people telling him no. Harry was equally surprised. He thought that Nell secretly liked Blaise, though she had confessed those feelings last year. Had her sentiments changed?

He had a chance to ask her about it later that afternoon. She found him sitting alone in the library, using a free period to catch up on Flitwick's essay on gouging spells.

"I overheard a group of girls plotting to slip you a love potion," she advised after a brief greeting, "If I were you, I'd find a date to Slughorn's party. So long as you're single, they'll think they have a chance with you."

"Thanks for the warning," Harry replied before adding, "You know, I might have asked you. Like when we went to the Yule Ball. But apparently you think it's a waste of time."

Nell stared at him, a look of confusion stamped on her face, until Harry was forced to say "You turned Blaise down?"

Nell's jaw dropped. Her gasp was loud enough to draw an angry glare from Madam Pince, the librarian.

"I thought he was just showing off! He kept going on and on about how he got one of Slughorn's 'exclusive' invites! I never thought he was serious!"

Harry shook his head in pitying silence, though he was secretly amused by the misunderstanding.

"Do you think I should have accepted him?" Nell continued fretfully, "But I suppose it doesn't matter now, does it? After the things I said, he's not going to ask a second time…"

"He might. I'll have a word with him."

"You most certainly will not," Nell replied with a stern glare. "I'm embarrassed enough as it is! You should be focused on finding yourself a date, Harry."

Harry sighed and leaned back in his chair, balancing himself on the two back legs. His arms stretched over his head before cradling his head in his hands as he gazed moodily at the ceiling. "Can't I just go by myself? I mean, things only just ended with Hermione. Don't I deserve some sort of, I don't know… A grace period?"

"Oh, I don't know about that. Hermione didn't seem to mind."

Harry fixed his gaze back on Nell, staring down his nose at her as he asked, "What do you mean?"

"I mean that Hermione hasn't had any trouble moving on. She's going with Theodore Nott."

"Theo?!" Harry exclaimed, his chair crashing back to all four legs as he sat bolt upright. The commotion elicited a strict "Shush!" from Madam Pince. Harry dropped his voice an octave lower, but lost none of his outrage as he demanded, "Hermione asked Theo to Slughorn's party?"

Nell nodded her head in solemn confirmation. Harry was incensed. It was bad enough that Hermione was already moving on from their broken relationship, but to choose Theo, the very Seeker who had just bested Harry in Quidditch… It was a low blow. He couldn't possibly go stag to the party now, not when he was sure of seeing Hermione there, showing off her latest conquest…

"There you are," said Luna Lovegood, drifting out of the bookshelves and addressing Nell in her airy voice, "Do you still have that book on Cheering Charms? Mandy swears they were on the OWL last year, and I was hoping to get some practice in… Hello, Harry Potter."

"Hi, Luna," said Harry, "Would you like to go to Slughorn's party with me Friday evening?"

Nell stared at him with a look of astonishment, but Luna, after a moment of stunned silence, broke into a huge grin.

"Oh, yes!" she said, practically bouncing with excitement, "I would love to go with you, Harry! No one has ever invited me to a party before! Thank you!"

"Great," Harry said with satisfaction, "Meet you around eight, then? In front of the Great Hall?"

It was only after Luna had bounded away, forgetting all about the text on Cheering Charms, that Nell leaned across the table toward Harry with a stern look.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked in a harsh whisper.

"I took your advice and invited someone to the party," Harry replied.

"Harry, Luna is my friend. If you've invited her just to make Hermione jealous or something…"

She had landed directly on the truth. Though Harry had acted opportunistically, he couldn't deny that in many ways, Luna was the option most calculated to annoy Hermione. They were polar opposites, both in appearance and personality, and Harry had long suspected that they didn't exactly see eye to eye. Luna was, therefore, the perfect candidate for his date.

He wasn't about to admit this to Nell, of course. After assuaging her concerns by asserting that he did, in fact, enjoy Luna's company for her own sake, he returned triumphant to the Slytherin common room. He found Blaise and Millie, newly returned from their afternoon classes, chatting comfortably near one of the submerged windows. He made his way eagerly toward them, only to be intercepted by a fourth-year girl he couldn't recall ever speaking to before.

"Care for some hot chocolate, Harry?" she asked sweetly, proffering him a warm mug with both hands.

"Er, no thanks," said Harry, sidling past her. Underneath the smell of chocolate, he caught a hint of that unidentifiable yet intoxicating aroma he had come to associate with amortentia. Remembering Nell's warning, he was quite sure the girl was trying to dose him with a love potion.

"These girls are going to be the death of me," he sighed, collapsing into an armchair next to his friends, "I hope word spreads that I got a date, soon. Maybe then they'll leave me alone..."

"You've got a date?" Blaise asked with a wondering stare, "Who?"

"Luna Lovegood."

He fully expected Blaise to criticize his choice, and he was not disappointed.

"Loony Lovegood?" he hissed, "Be serious, Harry! She's good for a laugh, but no self-respecting wizard would actually date her…"

"At least I have a date," Harry countered.

"Oh, please. I can have my pick of any girl in the school!"

"Except Nell, apparently."

Millie snickered. Blaise looked deeply offended. Nell might have discouraged him with her refusal, but Harry had insulted his ego.

"That was nothing!" he insisted. Nell might have discouraged him with her refusal, but Harry had insulted his ego. He couldn't resist rising to the challenge, and soon announced, "Willoughby will go to that party with me! You can bet on it!"

"Sure," Harry replied, suppressing a smile. This was exactly the reaction he had hoped for.

Blaise had an opportunity to initiate "Operation Seduce Willoughby" the following Tuesday, just three days before Slughorn's party was scheduled to take place. If Blaise was nervous about failing, thereby running the risk of going without a date at all, it certainly didn't show as he swaggered into the greenhouse for their Herbology lesson, taking a seat directly across from Nell.

"Morning," he said with an easy smile, his gaze meeting Nell's and holding it just a second longer than strictly necessary, "Lovely weather we're having, isn't it?"

"Er, I guess so?" Nell replied dubiously. Though they were warm inside the greenhouse, a winter storm had swept by overnight, draping the grounds in a thick layer of snow. Harry was busy shaking the sludge from his shoes while Millie had produced her wand to dry the hem of their robes.

"The weather?" Harry muttered from the side of his mouth as he took the open seat next to Blaise, "That's your strategy? I thought you were supposed to be good at this…"

Blaise affected not to hear Harry as he continued speaking directly to Nell, "I just love this time of year, don't you? Have you got any plans for the holiday?"

Nell stared at him as if his face had erupted into boils, which wasn't entirely outside the realm of possibility, given that they were tasked with extracting snargaluff pods in class that day. But Blaise was not covered in boils. In fact, he had taken considerably more time getting ready that morning. Flashing another brilliant smile as he volunteered to collect their protective dragonhide gloves from Professor Sprout, Harry thought he had never appeared more handsome.

"Ok, what's gotten into him?" Nell demanded the moment Blaise had left to join the line at the front of the class. "He's acting like he's just chugged a bottle of knotgrass mead!"

Before Harry could answer, Blaise had already returned with their gloves, making sure to pass the nicest pair to Nell, noting as he did so that they "matched her eyes." Harry found this terribly corny and was about to chastise Blaise once more, but then he noticed the way Blaise's fingers had grazed Nell's hand as he passed the gloves to her, and the resulting blush that spread over Nell's cheeks.

Blaise continued to flirt shamelessly with Nell all throughout class, and though at times Harry wanted to flee from the secondhand embarrassment, it seemed Blaise's tactics were working.

"I've got a free period after this," he announced, directing a very pointed look at Harry toward the end of class, "Why don't you and Millie go on ahead? Willoughby and I can finish cleaning up here."

His intentions could not be more clear. Harry hurried Millie away from their table as soon as they had finished harvesting their snargaluff pods,

"I think he's going to do it..." Harry said in a fervent whisper as they exited the greenhouse, "I think he's going to ask Nell out again!"

"Who cares?" Millie asked sardonically, "She already turned him down once."

"Yeah, but that was a misunderstanding," Harry replied, "Nell's actually got a bit of a crush on Blaise."

Millie, stunned, merely stared at Harry before she remarked, "And I thought she had good taste."

Blaise's efforts to make himself especially agreeable to Nell had their desired effect. By eight o'clock Friday night, Harry and Blaise each found their date waiting for them outside the Great Hall. And they were not alone. Several students lurked in the hall, presumably to gawk at the lucky girls selected to accompany Harry and Blaise to Slughorn's party.

Nell looked as though she had spared no effort to match Blaise in appearance. Her long brown hair had been curled in perfect ringlets and fell freely over her shoulders, from which hung a set of navy blue dress robes. Together, she and Blaise made a rather striking couple, and Harry spotted more than one envious stare from the onlookers as Blaise offered her his arm.

Luna, on the other hand, was dressed in a spangled set of silver robes that were attracting giggles from their audience. Harry paid them no mind. Luna had left off the sprectrespecs and the radish earrings she normally wore, and looked, in Harry's decided opinion, quite nice. He followed Blaise's example and offered Luna his arm in true gentlemanly fashion.

"Shall we get going?" he asked, for Blaise and Nell had quickly forgotten all about them, and were already making their way up the stairs toward Slughorn's office, engrossed in their own private conversation.

"Oh, yes!" said Luna happily, "I can't tell you how excited I am! Did you hear that there's supposed to be a vampire coming? I wonder if it will be Rufus Scrimgeour?"

"Yeah, I heard that... Wait, what?" Harry asked, "Scrimgeour? You mean the Minister of Magic? That Rufus Scrimgeour?"

"Yes, he's a vampire," said Luna in tone that invited no contradiction. "Father wrote a very long article about it when Scrimgeour first took over from Fudge, but he was forced not to publish it by someone from the Ministry. Obviously, it was a cover-up."

Harry could have pointed out that he had, in fact, seen several daylight photos of Scrimgeour published by the Daily Prophet, but he saw no reason to pick a fight with Luna. If his relationship with Hermione had taught him anything, it was that sometimes it was better to hold his tongue. He continued to listen passively as Luna prattled on about her father's magazine and the various conspiracy theories he had floated as they made their way toward Slughorn's office.

The sound of laughter, music, and loud conversation reached them long before they reached the party. Whether it had been built that way, or because he had used magic, Slughorn's office was far larger than the usual teacher's study. In fact, it seemed to comprise a suite of rooms, each lavishly decorated in drapes of emerald, crimson, and gold. It was crowded, slightly stuffy, and the whole bathed in a sort of rose-tinted light glowing through an ornate, golden lamp. It was here, standing directly under the lamp in the center of the room, that Harry spotted Slughorn himself.

"Harry, m'boy!" boomed the professor, catching his eye in the same instant, "Come in, come in! I have someone here I would like you to meet!"

Harry made his way through the crowd, his arm still linked with Luna's. Slughorn was wearing a tasseled velvet hat to match his crimson smoking jacket. His large form significantly dwarfed the slight, bespectacled man standing next to him.

"This is Eldred Worple," Slughorn said, introducing the man with a grand wave of his arm, "One of my former students, you know. Author of Blood Brothers: My Life Amongst the Vampires. And of course, his friend, Sanguini."

Harry shook hands with Worple and gave a nod to the tall, emaciated man standing behind him. Sanguini, who Harry assumed was the vampire, judging from his pale, hollow cheeks and the dark circles under his eyes, looked rather bored, but inclined his head toward Harry in a gesture of recognition.

"Harry Potter, I am simply delighted!" Worple was saying, peering up into Harry's face, "I was saying to Professor Slughorn just the other day, 'Where is the biography of Harry Potter for which we have all been waiting?'"

"Er… Were you?"

"Just as modest as Horace described!" Worple enthused, "But really, Harry. I would be delighted to write it myself, you know. People are caving to more about you, dear boy! Absolutely ravenous, they are! If you were prepared to give me a few interviews…"

"Oh, look there," Harry said, pointing in a direction at random, "I've just spotted a friend of mine. Lovely to meet you, but I really should say hi…"

The excuse was not entirely untrue, for as Harry quickly extricated himself from the awkward conversation with Worple, he soon spied Draco holding hands with Ginny near a table piled high with sweets. He made his way toward them, announcing his presence by stating, "Bit risky this, isn't it?"

Draco dropped Ginny's hand reflexively, but Ginny, observing who spoke, grabbed Draco's hand once more and stated, "It's only, Harry. What are you worried about?"

"So Ron didn't merit an invitation, did he?" Harry asked, glancing around the room as if he expected to see another shock of red hair floating through the crowd. "Still, won't there be gossip if you two are seen here together?"

"Oh, I don't think so," Ginny remarked coolly, "I think everyone's still busy talking about your breakup with Hermione."

Ginny's attitude seemed colder toward Harry than usual. He figured she had taken Hermione's side in the argument with Harry. He tried to keep his voice casual as he asked, "Speaking of which, you haven't seen Hermione tonight, have you?"

Ginny seemed to be waiting for this inquiry, for she nodded smugly toward the opposite corner of the room. Hermione was standing near a large fireplace with Theodore Nott. They were merely talking, but Harry couldn't help but watch them with jealous suspicion. Hermione, having broken off their relationship, had every right to date who she pleased, of course. But Harry had begun thinking of Theo as a friend. To have him step so quickly into Harry's place was unforgivable.

He didn't know how long he had been staring, but was recalled back to himself by the quiet voice of Luna at his side.

"Harry... Did you ask me to come with you because you wanted to make Hermione jealous?"

"I… You… I didn't…" Harry stammered incoherently. A sudden stab of guild left him tongue-tied. Though her arm had been linked with hers the entire time, Harry realized he hadn't spoke a word to Luna since they arrived at the party. He hadn't even thought to introduce her to anyone present.

Luna dropped his arm and delivered a look so eloquent of disappointment, Harry thought he would never recover. He wanted to apologize on the spot, but she didn't give him the chance. She darted away from him without another word, and the shifting, jostling crowd of partygoers swallowed her up, blocking her from Harry's view.

"Real nice, Harry," Ginny scoffed before turning away. Draco at least had the decency to give Harry a sympathetic smile before he was led away, but it didn't make Harry feel any better about himself. First Hermione, and now Luna. His track record with girls was shaping up to be about as abysmal as his quidditch performance.

Sighing, he began picking his way through the swarm of guests, intent on finding Luna. But her short, blonde figure was nowhere in sight. Instead, he noticed a familiar face standing aloof against the far wall where the crowd was thinnest.

"What are you doing here?" Harry demanded, pushing his way toward the tall, black-clad individual.

Snape returned his inquiry with an amused smirk. "I was invited. Professor Slughorn seems to have remembered that I was once his top student, though it seems my legacy is being eclipsed by yours... My old textbook is serving you well, I take it?"

"Well, it's keeping me afloat in potions, at least," Harry replied, leaning against the wall by Snape's side and shoving his hands in the pockets of his dress robes. His eyes continued to scan the many figures before him. "I don't suppose you saw Luna Lovegood pass by here?"

"Lovegood?" Snake repeated with some surprise, "Why... I thought you were dating Granger?"

"I am… I was… We're sort of…" Harry began lamely before heaving a deep sigh, "Why are girls so complicated?"

To Harry's astonishment, Snape actually laughed at this question before remarking, "Potter, I am the last person in the world you should be asking for relationship advice."

Harry directed a critical gaze at the professor from the corner of his eye. "You know, I have been thinking… Don't you think it's time you, y'know… Moved on?"

The smile, so unusual to see on Snape's usually somber face, immediately dropped from his expression.

"We are not having this conversation."

"Oh come on! Who else have you got to talk to?"

"Potter…"

"I mean, at first I thought it was charming. Your crush on my mum, I mean. But now? After all this time? Don't you think it's kind of sad? I don't think my mum would want her childhood friend pining after her forever..."

"Potter!"

"What? Did I say something wrong?"

Snape ran an irritable hand over his face, as if the gesture could smooth away the frown that was now firmly affixed to his mouth.

"Let's ignore for the moment the fact that this conversation is entirely inappropriate," he said, a dangerous edge creeping into his voice. "You must understand that whatever my feelings were, the memory of Lily Evans remains far too important for me to forget. She is the only woman I could ever love."

Instead of being touched by this sentiment, Harry fixed Snape with a determined air.

"Right," he said, "So it's men, then."

The expression on Snape's face was priceless. Harry did his best to memorize it. One day, the memory of this moment might help him produce a very powerful patronus. Or at the very least, help him banish a particularly frightful boggart.

While Snape sputtered out an incoherent protest, Harry continued to speak over him, saying, "What's the problem? You said you could never love another woman the way you loved my mum. That still leaves men as an option. I'd've suggested Remus, but he's still mourning Sirius. And anyway, both Blaise's mum and Tonks seem to have their sights on him, so that's out of the question… What about Sanguini? He seems like he'd be your type."

A sudden break in the crowd had placed the man in question before them. Sanguini was still standing next to Worple, looking dour and depressed.

"That man is a vampire," Snape seethed.

"So you object to that, but not the fact that he's a man? Guess I was right," Harry retorted. "That settles it. We'll just have to find someone else for you. Pity the other professors are too old…"

As fun as it was to torture Snape in this way, he knew he'd have to put an end to his teasing before long. Snape was looking very much like he was considering placing a hex on Harry to silence him once and for all. Fortunately, Slughorn arrived at that moment to interrupt their tête-à-tête.

"There you are, Harry!" he said jovially, "I was worried you'd already sneaked off again, you cheeky boy! I have someone else I'd like you to meet…"

Harry allowed himself to be whisked away, though the short interlude with Snape had by no means distracted him from his search for Luna. He continued to scan the guests as they moved through the crowd, shaking hands with numerous people he had neither heard of nor cared about. Eventually, his gaze found not Luna, but Hermione. She and Theo were standing under a conspicuous bunch of mistletoe. As she met Harry's eye, she turned away abruptly, cutting Theo off mid-sentence as she bestowed upon him a kiss.

Harry waited for the hot stab of jealousy to assault him, but it never came. He knew what Hermione was doing. She knew he was watching. She simply wanted to make him angry. A few moments ago, her plan might have succeeded, but Harry knew now that what she was doing to Theo was really no different from what he had planned for Luna. Their methods may have been different, but their motives were the same.

Harry excused himself from Slughorn on the pretext of needing to use the lavatory. At last, Harry broke free of the hot, stuffy office into the cool, fresh air of the hall.

Luna was there. She was sitting on the wide ledge of a recessed window, her spangled robes bunched up around the knees she had drawn to her chest. Her face was turned toward the window, gazing at the snowy night outside. Harry could see her pale face reflected in the glass. To his relief, it didn't look as though she had been crying.

Harry approached her cautiously, prepared to turn back around if Luna ordered him to leave. She made no objection, however, as he climbed into the space opposite her, resting his head against the carved stone of the window frame.

"Luna?" he said questioningly.

"Did you find Hermione?" she asked, her voice harsh, having lost the light, airy quality it usually carried.

Harry winced. "You were right about that. The truth is, I did ask you to the party because… Because I heard Hermione was bringing a date, and I didn't want to show up alone..."

Admitting the truth seemed to be the right move, for Luna turned her face toward him at last. She still seemed withdrawn and distant, but she watched him with patience, as if inviting him to continue.

"I'm sorry... Not that I'm sorry for inviting you! I mean, I'm sorry that I didn't invite you with the right intentions… I was trying to get back at Hermione, and I didn't think about your feelings... That's what got me here in the first place. I kept lashing out at her, and thinking only of myself. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm a selfish, childish, stupid..."

"I don't think you're stupid," interrupted Luna.

"... You don't?"

Luna shook her head. "No. Selfish, maybe. Childish, certainly. But not stupid." She sighed then, turning her back to the window and kicking her feet against the ledge on which they were perched. "And as far as apologies go, I suppose I've heard worse. I forgive you, Harry."

Harry gave her a grateful smile. It suddenly occurred to him that he didn't know much about Luna Lovegood, other than the fact that she was Nell's friend and that her father ran a fairly eccentric magazine.

A burst of laugher that sounded very much like Slughorn rang out from the open door across from them. It was soon smothered by another round of raucous music.

"Do you want to go back to the party?" Harry asked.

Luna's serene smile returned to her face as she replied, "Maybe in a moment."

The pair remained in the hall, chatting pleasantly with each other. It was obvious that Luna believed in some very strange things, even for the wizarding world, but in matters of friendship, she was surprisingly practical. Harry was busy teasing out her opinions on their previous Defense Against the Dark Arts Teachers when their conversation was interrupted by the sound of arguing further down the hall.

"... telling you it won't work!"

"It will if you'd stop interrupting me every time…"

It sounded like two boys, and their voices were growing louder. Harry, recognizing the rough tones, thought quickly and reached into the deep pockets of his dress robes. He was never caught without his invisibility cloak these days, and tonight was no exception.

"Get under here," he whispered to Luna, throwing the cloak over them both just as Crabbe and Goyle rounded the nearest corner. Fortunately, they were too engrossed in their argument to notice any flicker of disappearing feet.

"If you hadn't messed things up before, we wouldn't be having this conversation!" Goyle growled.

"I told you, that wasn't my fault!" Crabbe seethed, "You never told me what was in that stupid package! What if I'd been the one who touched it, eh? I could be dead, you know!"

Harry felt a surge of righteous anger. He had been right! Crabbe must have been acting on Goyle's orders when he placed that necklace on Katie Bell.

His hand reached for his wand, but he didn't bother to curse the pair just yet. He was hoping they would divulge more information on what they had planned, but the boys merely descended into personal barbs against one another until they continued down the hall, eventually disappearing from sight and sound.

"What was that all about?" Luna asked after Harry had thrown off the cloak, "They acted like they couldn't see us… Were we invisible just now, Harry?"

"Huh? Yeah…" Harry said, distractedly. He had proof now. He needed to tell Dumbledore, but he had no idea if the headmaster was still at Hogwarts, or if he had left on another of his mysterious journeys. But there was someone he could tell, and he intended to do so immediately.

"Come on," said Harry, taking Luna by the hand and leading her back toward the party. "I'll explain everything, but first we need to find Snape."