"I'm ready now."

I turned around and gasped in delight. In the middle of our deserted dormitory stood Jillian, who was showing off her new amber dress robes. She twirled in front of the mirror, admiring the way the hem of her dress moved with her. It was the evening of the Yule dinner, which was to start briefly.

Tom and I had spent the last few months developing our plan to steal the Felix Felicis. It was rather simple: wait for an opportunity to sneak out of the party and slip into Slughorn's office, where he most likely stored the potion. Then duplicate the vial and switch it with the original. Yet I had felt increasingly nervous as December got nearer. The dinner had been organized to take place right before the most of the students traveled home for Christmas, which meant that we should have plenty of time to use the potion and search the castle undisturbed.

But I hadn't been the only one growing more and more jittery as the year reached its end. Lucretia, who used to be surrounded by people constantly, was now often seen hunching in a solitary corner of the common room, or slipping into her dormitory long before it was bedtime. Every time she was alone, she seemed to be immersed deep in her thoughts, always restlessly bouncing her leg or fiddling with her hair. And every time I went to talk to her, she revealed nothing, merely shooing me away once she grew weary of my inquiry. My suspicion was that her relationship had become harder to hide as time went on, but when I had tried to ask about Pete, she had become even more enraged and dismissive

"You look fantastic!" I exclaimed enthusiastically to Jillian. We had spent the last two hours getting ready for the evening, even though most of the time had been used to fool around in our dress robes instead of actually preparing for the event.

"Oh thank you!" she replied with a bright smile. "But I envy the way that deep red shade of your dress matches your hair!"

"You don't need to, we'll be the best looking fifth-years in that room for sure", I boasted while Jillian nodded dramatically. "Shall we go then?"

Hand in hand we emerged from the girls dormitory to the nearly empty common room. Usually it was crowded by this hour but many, if not most, of the Slytherin house had been invited to the dinner and had already left.

"There's Malfoy!" spotted Jillian and hopped down the stairs to kiss him on the cheek. I smiled at them warmly while looking around.

"Where's Tom?" I asked.

"He'll be ready soon, said he can't find his Prefect badge", replied Malfoy ignorantly, for his attention had been completely stolen by Jillian.

"Always you men make us wait", I grinned while taking a seat near the fireplace. I was glad to have my distance with the two because almost instantly Jillian and Malfoy started kissing so intensely one would think their faces had been magically glued together.

"Merlin's beard with you two", I muttered under my breath as I rested my forehead against my palm.

"Do you think they'll have time to attend the party at all?" asked an amused voice next to me. "I mean, they seem kind of preoccupied."

In my efforts in trying to avoid seeing the events before me, I hadn't noticed Tom's sudden appearance. It was in my intentions to tell him that we should just leave them here but as I saw him the only sound escaping from my throat was an indiscernible groan.

He stood near me proudly with his Prefects badge glinting on his chest. The sight of him had taken my breath away for a second, for he looked nothing like he usually did. His dress robes made him appear elegant and very handsome. How he was able to purchase them, I never knew, but the way he carried himself with them made him look like a member of a noble family, one of the sons of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. This wasn't a poor boy from a muggle orphanage, but a person who my mother wouldn't hesitate to invite to our home or introduce to us.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm down my racing heart and stood up with surprisingly steady legs. The scarce light from the fireplace accentuated his features in a way which made him look almost irresistible.

"Shall we?" he asked softly and offered me a hand while exploring me with glimmering eyes. Even in the dimming gleam of the remaining embers I was certain he could see the redness of my burning cheeks.

By the time we reached the correct room the party had almost begun. Slughorn paced in front of the door in a rather distressed manner but his expression was filled with relief as he spotted us.

"There you are!" he exclaimed. "The Prefects are supposed to be seated first, what in the heavens took you so long?"

"Sorry professor, it's a long story", I apologized. He didn't respond, but merely guided us straight inside to the already crowded room. It was one of the biggest classrooms in the school, but for tonight it had been decorated lavishly with numerous golden silk curtains and brightly shining candles that were calmly hovering around the room. In the middle there was a large circular dining table which was surrounded by the rest of the guests.

"I thought this event was supposed to be for a select few?" wondered Jillian as she glanced at the waiting crowd. There were a quite the number of people, most of them who I had never even met.

"Wanna bet how many of these poor people are here only because Slughorn knew their parents from school?" giggled Jillian.

"Isn't that the reason you're in the club as well?" I jeered.

"I'm in it for my superior Quidditch skills! Besides, it's still better than being a collectible like you", she smirked and gave a little laugh as I nudged her arm, making her sway.

Slughorn waddled inside after us with his arms opened as if he intended to embrace the entire room.

"Welcome, welcome all of you! I apologize for the long wait but finally we are all here and ready to began", he declared but cast a meaningful glance in our direction. "Take a seat!"

Slughorn seated himself to the most comfortable-looking chair at the other end of the table and made the prefects sit opposite of him. That included only me, Tom and a prefect girl from Hufflepuff called Susie Copper and her date. As the rest of the people awkwardly settled on their seats, the empty plates on the table were suddenly filled by themselves. Heaps of delicious dishes and desserts appeared in front of us, accompanied by enlightened gasps. They were almost loud enough to hide the sound of the door opening and closing, as well as the sound of footsteps hurrying toward the table.

"What did I miss?" asked the breathless voice of my sister who was shoving her way to sit next to me. After her came a curly-haired Ravenclaw boy who looked like he had just ran a marathon. I was about to question her late arrival but was interrupted by Slughorn.

"Oh, miss Black. You made it", he said wearily. "Who have you brought with you?"

"Pete Barrows, sir", replied the boy.

"Well, I'm glad you and Mr. Barrows had time join us, seems like you had a busy schedule tonight?"

"Oh yeah, we were... Busy", grinned Lucretia while Pete's face flushed visibly red despite his attempts to cover it. A few knowing giggles echoed around the table.

"Oh dear", sighed Slughorn. "Let's begin then."

"What on earth are you doing?" I whispered to her as Slughorn was giving his opening speech. "Now there is no way your relationship will remain a secret!"

"Yeah, I'm aware", she replied dismissively.

At one point I made the mistake of looking over to my left where I was greeted with a sight of my sister and her secret boyfriend Pete partaking in something that looked like they were trying to consume each others faces.

"Merlin's beard Lucretia, calm down!" I gagged but if she heard me, she didn't react. I turned to Tom who was engaged in conversation with Malfoy across the table. "Mind changing seats with me? I can't take this anymore."

He looked past my shoulder and raised his eyebrows, smiling mischievously. He raised his hand to gently stroke my cheek with his long, graceful fingers.

"What's the matter, are you jealous?" he whispered silently.

"N-no! Of course not.." I stuttered, hoping he couldn't feel the heat of my face. Tom opened his mouth to say something more, but was interrupted by the sound of moving chairs. The dinner had come to an end and it was time for the actual party. The table disappeared and in its stead appeared an empty clearing surrounded by numerous smaller tables and chairs. The instruments at the corner began playing a rhythmic tune while people all around the room were swaying along with it. The walls echoed with the enthusiastic laughter of my sister who was being dragged to the dance floor, quickly joined by more students.

I felt a hand take mine and drag me across the room. Tom led me towards the middle of the room that had now become a unofficial dance floor. My heart was beating in my chest as I expected him to have us join the dancing couples all around us, but he merely passed them all calmly and paused in a quieter corner where a table of refreshments had appeared.

"I think we should wait at least a couple of hours until we go", he murmured discreetly. "That way it won't be as suspicious if our disappearance is noticed."

"Yeah", I replied, with a more hostile tone than I had intended. All this planning to stay at the party, and he couldn't even grant me one dance?

"We should also talk to as many people as possible, so that everyone has a clear memory of us being in here", he continued, without acknowledging my tone.

"Sure, let's get on with it, then", I huffed and stomped away toward a group of a few fifth year Slytherins.

After a few hours the party had indeed grown noisier and more restless, and many people had become quite intoxicated. Tom and I hadn't spoken after I'd left him in that corner and even though I was annoyed with him, I still kept a close eye on him as he glided through the crowd. Every once in a while I caught glimpses of him immersed in a conversation with a random guest, and wondered how he could simultaneously be so effortlessly charismatic yet hide such devious plans.

As the evening went on, I found myself in the middle of a conversation with Jillian and a few guys from the Slytherin Quidditch team, when Lucretia wobbled over with a goblet of Firewhisky. Since she had already turned seventeen and therefore was of age, she was finally able to fully enjoy the refreshments served in these events.

"Hi", she greeted joyously, her tone of voice telling me that this was not her first goblet. "How is it going?"

"Quite nicely, actually", I replied with an amused tone. "I see you're having a good time as well."

"Oh yeah, Pete and I have been dancing all night", she giggled and glared at my companions curiously. "So what are you guys up to?"

"Just hanging out", I replied.

"Uh-huh", she said and took a big gulp out of her goblet and handed it in my direction. "Don't you want to try this?"

"Lucretia, I am underage in case you don't remember."

"So? You know no one here cares! We can go get you your own goblet."

She was right, it wasn't rare for even the younger students to have their share of the more intoxicating refreshments at these events. Not officially, of course, but no one was supervising who was drinking what. I had decided to stay clear from the stuff for now, mainly because I was a prefect and wanted to stay sharp this evening.

"Thanks, but I'm fine."

"I could have one!" exclaimed Jillian.

"Great! Let's go then", said Lucretia and grabbed her by the arm. Jillian gave me an apologetic glance and disappeared into the crowd, leaving me alone with the guys.

"So", I started, "are you going to win the House Cup for us again this year?"

"Oh, definitely", said Fredrick Rooks, the Slytherin keeper, confidently. "I'm sure of that."

"Yeah, and the rest of the team would also be as sure of it if you could do your job as a keeper and stop drooling after that Ravenclaw beater!" huffed Everett Bulstrode, one of the chasers. "I mean, every time we play against them you let in twice the amount of goals!"

"I don't understand what you're talking about", grinned Frederick.

I laughed as Everett nudged Fredrick playfully. "So you're looking to fraternize with the enemy" I said to the keeper. "Wouldn't it be wiser to choose someone a little closer to home?"

"Oh yeah?" said Fredrick and turned to me, holding eye contact. Then he reached his hand to swipe my hair behind my ear. "Who do you have in mind?"

But I didn't have time to reply, because Tom had appeared beside me and was blankly glaring at the two Quidditch players.

"Evening", he said coolly.

"Riddle", replied Fredrick and took a small step away from me.

"Tom! Fredrick and Everett were just telling me that they're gonna win the House Cup again this year! Isn't that great?" I exclaimed merrily.

"Very", he stated with the same cool tone. An awkward silence landed, while the players kept glancing around the room.

"Uh, it was good to see you, but we must go now", said Fredrick.

"Mmh", grunted Tom.

"Yeah, uh, have nice night", said Everett while they were already backing away.

"What was that?" I asked, glaring at Tom. "What's up with you? You look a little more sour than usual."

"I can't believe that out of all the people you choose to talk to Quidditch players."

"I'm trying to talk to as many people as possible, so that everyone has clear memories of me being in here tonight, remember?" I hissed. "You know, so that no one can ever connect me to the disappearance of that vial!"

"No one's going to notice that", he replied.

"Besides, what's wrong with Quidditch players? Jillian is one."

"Yes, but Jillian is also smart. Those two seem like idiots."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Uh-huh. You are able to conclude that they are idiots by the two sentences you exchanged?"

"It's time to go", he replied elusively. I remained silent but kept glancing at him while he led me out into the corridor, feeling amused and thrilled for some reason. What was all that about? I couldn't put my finger on it first but as we were hurrying down the stairs towards the entrance hall, it hit me. He had shown signs of jealousy.

The thought thrilled me even more and for a moment I forgot everything else except the fact that I wasn't irrelevant to him after all. Only when Tom turned around and asked me what I was doing, I realized that I had halted halfway down the last stairs leading to the entrance hall. With a joyful grin on my face I hopped the stairs down and followed him through the door to the dungeons.

Slughorn's office, where the vial was stored, was next to the potions classroom. They were connected with a small storage room for ingredients, that was accessible from both the classroom and the office. We had decided that it was easier to try to access the storage first through the classroom. Tom opened its unlocked door and slipped into the dim room, illuminated only by the moonlights pale glow. I followed him quickly and closed the door behind me.

The door of the storage was the first proper obstacle in our way. Because it was locked with charms more complex than a simple alohomora, it took a while to undo. Eventually the door opened before us with a creak that echoed through the room, inappropriately loud in the dark silence. We sneaked in without saying a word and entered the storage room. After the door closed again, we were standing in pitch black, surrounded by the intoxicating scents of different ingredients and herbs blended together.

Tom lit up his wand, and the sudden brightness nearly blinded me at first. Once my eyes got used to it, I was able to locate the door to Slughorn's office at the other end of the small storage. We crept to it, and tried the same spells that we had unlocked the previous door.

It didn't budge.

"No..." I whispered disappointedly. Tom furrowed his brows and tried again. Nothing happened.

"What now?" I huffed, but he merely shrugged.

"Maybe we should-"

But he didn't have time to finish his sentence, for he was interrupted by the sound of someone entering Slughorn's office. Through the door we heard the stumbling steps of someone who couldn't have been anyone else but Slughorn himself, mumbling incoherently and rattling the cabinets until he seemed to find what he was looking for. I decided to take a look through the keyhole, and saw the potions master with his back turned to us, going through what seemed to be a cabinet full of bottles and glasses. He picked up a bottle and poured its contents into a goblet he already had with him and headed back out of the door of his office, leaving the bottles scattered all over the table.

"Slughorn left the door open!" I whispered excitedly to Tom as the last sounds of the professors steps had faded. "Let's go!"

We sneaked back through the classroom and out into the corridor, where we discreetly slipped inside Slughorn's office, closing the door behind us. Besides the mess by the bottle cabinets, it was a neat and cozy room, lit only by the light of a few candles. Behind his desk was a large ornate fireplace, and on its right side was yet another door that must've lead to his dormitory. The door to the storage we had been previously hiding in was directly on our left side.

Tom examined the mess of bottles and shook his head in an amused manner. "The refreshments must be running low upstairs."

"We have Slughorn and Lucretia to thank for that", I muttered, making him snort.

"We should we start?" I asked, eyeing the numerous cupboards and cabinets in the room. Even though it was unlikely that Slughorn would return for a while, I constantly felt like we could get discovered at any minute. Additionally, breaking into his own office felt significantly more personal than any other plan Tom and I had ever carried out.

Tom looked puzzled for a while, glancing around the room and assessing the likely location of the vial. Suddenly, his eyes lit up and he pulled out his wand from his pocket.

"Accio, felix felicis!" he exclaimed, lifting his wand. One of the cupboards of the desk swung open and a tiny vial flew out, straight into Tom's hand. He stared at the bottle greedily, with almost an animalistic look in his eyes, before slipping it into his left pocket.

"Seriously, accio?" I huffed incredulously. "Slughorn should consider improving his security measures."

"I agree, but right now I'm extremely glad he hasn't", replied Tom. "Come on, let's duplicate it."

"Geminio!"

A perfect copy of the vial appeared on Tom's other hand. He quickly took it back to the cupboard where the original vial had been and closed it carefully.

"Alright, let's get back upstairs", he said and headed towards the entrance, hand firmly in his left pocket.

When we returned to the party, many of the guests had already left. Those who remained were mostly older students, huddled up in their own little groups. The sight reassured me, it seemed unlikely that anyone would have been searching for either of us while we were gone.

"Elara! There you are!"

Jillian was hurrying towards me, with a worried expression. For a brief moment I feared she might have noticed our absence, but my worry was soon proven to be in vain. Sort of.

"Have you seen your sister? She had a fight with that guy she was with, and ran out after him while crying", told Jillian.

"No, I haven't... Do you know where she went?" I inquired but she merely shook her head.

"I better go find her, you guys stay here", I said to Tom and Jillian, then headed back out to the corridor. I didn't have to search my sister for long, for she had appeared by the window close to the entrance, and was staring at the frosted school grounds. She was sniffling and slightly swaying from side to side, so I decided to approach her.

"Is everything alright?" I asked when I reached her. "Where is Pete?"

She flinched and turned, her face stained with tears. "We h-had a fight.. Because he asked if he could come meet my parents during the holidays..", she sobbed, heavily slurring her words. "After all, we've been together for over a year now.."

"Oh no", I sighed and wrapped my arms around her.

"I explained to him what our parents are like, but he didn't understand... Said he cannot be with a person who will always make him feel like he's not enough!"

She leaned onto my shoulder and started crying relentlessly, while I comforted her by gently petting her head.

"The whole school knows about you two now", I said after she had calmed down a little. "Soon mum, dad and everyone else will too. What happened? I thought you wanted to keep it a secret."

Lucretia looked up at me, while new tears were forming in her dark eyes. "That Ignatius guy I'm supposed to marry... He sent me this letter. I genuinely like Pete, but I also thought if Ignatius heard that I had someone else, he wouldn't want to marry me anymore. I mean, look at this!" she cried, handing me a piece of parchment from the pocket of her robes. The letter was crumbled and stained by tears, but I was still able to read the words on it:

Dear Lucretia,

It is my greatest pleasure to inform you that your mother and father have granted me permission to marry you. As you are currently in your seventh and final year at Hogwarts, I will perform an official proposal right after your graduation. After that, we will be wed during the summer on August 1st. I am delighted to have the opportunity to provide you with a comfortable life, while you, in return, will make the most wonderful homemaker and mother. I will be visiting you during your Christmas holidays in your lovely home. Wishing you a happy autumn,

Ignatius

"That thing arrived right after school began this year", said Lucretia with a loathing tone while I remained speechless after reading the letter. "There is no way I'm going home for Christmas."

She let go of me and stood in front of the window with her arms on her hips. The position would have appeared a lot more assertive if she would've been able to stand still.

"Most wonderful homemaker and mother... Yeah, right! Has anyone ever thought of asking me what I want out of my life? Because it's certainly not marrying a guy twice my age right after graduation!"

She gave a sardonic laugh and turned her teary gaze to the floor. "And now the only person who could've saved me from this probably doesn't want anything to do with me anymore!"

"Go talk to him! He has to understand that you are not our parents!" I reassured her, trying to sound convincing. It seemed to work, however, for Lucretia calmed down a bit and wiped her eyes.

"He is going to go home for the holidays, but I'll talk to h-him in the morning...", she sniffed loudly and wiped her nose with her sleeve in a manner that would make our mother gasp in horror.

"That's a very good idea", I assured her, unsure what to do next. "Maybe we should go to sleep now?"

"Oh yes.. That's a wonderful idea...", she mumbled and started wobbling across the corridor to our right. Gently guiding her to the opposite direction, the actual direction of the common room, I couldn't help but feel slightly worried about her staying at the school during the holidays. It would be harder to execute the plan with Tom, and it was risky enough to begin with. But the vial had already been stolen, it would be foolish to give up now.