Slughorn's party was in full swing, and Harry was already wishing it were over. He managed to find his way back to Luna and hoped he would be able to avoid his potions professor the rest of the evening. Unfortunately, he soon heard Slughorn's voice again.
"Harry, there is one more person you simply must meet."
He grimaced and turned around to see his professor alongside a shorter man with light-brown hair, maybe in his early 40s.
Professor Slughorn continued "This is another one of my former students who has gone on to do great things, Cyrus Greengrass."
The other man sighed. "Why does everyone call me that?" he muttered.
"Cyrus here was an excellent student of mine, and he's turned into quite the businessman and politician," said Slughorn, bowling over the interruption.
Hoping this would only be a short interaction, Harry offered his hand "It's very nice to meet you, Cyrus."
"The honor is all my mine," said Cyrus, shaking Harry's hand. "And please, call me Mr. Greengrass."
Before Harry could register or respond to what Mr. Greengrass had just said, he continued. "I hate to pull you away from your date, but I was hoping to have a private conversation about politics with you."
Instead of coming to Harry's aid, Luna simply smiled. "Don't mind me, I have a good feeling about this."
The pair of them walked to a quieter section of the room, Harry feeling uncomfortable the entire time. His recent experiences with politics had not inspired much confidence in the system, but he figured he could grin and bear his way through a brief conversation.
Appearing to sense Harry's discomfort, Mr. Greengrass gave a brief smile. "I know about your experiences with the Wizengamot, and I want you to know I'm not aligned with Lucius Malfoy or his dark faction."
"Oh! So are you on Dumbledore's side?"
Mr. Greengrass's smile faltered a bit. "Well…not exactly. I'm on a third side. A neutral side, if you will."
Harry didn't understand how there could be a middle ground in this situation but decided to give him a chance to explain. "So what does your side stand for?"
"Glad you asked," Mr. Greengrass grinned, before starting his sales pitch. "We obviously stand against the dark faction and their desire to exterminate the mud- I mean muggleborns, but we wish to maintain the traditional structure of wizarding society that the light side wants to do away with."
That's stupid, Harry thought. It sounds a lot like a class system.
"I know what you're thinking. 'That's stupid, it's just a class system', well it's not. It's not! Why does everyone think we're talking about a class system?!"
Noticing Harry's reaction to his miniature tirade, Mr. Greengrass quickly composed himself. "Sorry about that. Anyways, there's much more nuance to it than that. Unfortunately, I don't have the time to speak further on it tonight, but you should find my daughter Daphne. She's a Slytherin in your year."
"Daphne?" Harry knew he wasn't friends with anyone in Slytherin, but he had never even heard of her. "I'm afraid I have not been acquainted with her."
"She takes some very advanced and specialized courses so there wouldn't be much overlap with most other students. Not that you aren't a good student in your own right of course!"
Before Harry could decide if he was offended, Mr. Greengrass reached into his pocket and pulled out a photo. "This is my daughter, I'm sure she would be delighted to speak further with you on this if you would like."
Harry highly doubted that he would ever want to continue this conversation but took the photo. "Yes, that sounds…" he trailed off as he looked at the photo. On the picture was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She had stunning blue eyes and beautiful blonde hair. Additionally, she was in a rather risqué position, showing off her generous chest and long legs while winking at the camera. If Harry had been thinking clearly, he might have wondered why a father would have this kind of picture of his daughter, but Harry's blood was not flowing to his brain at that moment.
"Well," pressed Mr. Greengrass. "Should I tell my daughter to be expecting you?"
All Harry could do was nod while Mr. Greengrass smiled and walked away.
The next morning, Ron and Hermione were already in the common room when Harry came down.
"There you are," said Ron. "Ready to get breakfast?"
"Not today, I have to go find Daphne Greengrass," responded Harry.
"Who the bloody hell is Daphne Greengrass?"
"She's a Slytherin in our year. And don't call her a slimy snake, she's not like the others."
"When have I ever called someone a slimy snake?" Ron quietly asked Hermione.
"Forget it, he's rolling," muttered Hermione.
"Anyway," continued Harry. "You should know her Hermione, she's in a bunch of advanced classes."
"I still don't think she's real," said Ron quietly.
Hermione started "Well she is real." Harry gave a look of triumph before Hermione continued. "Honestly though, she was in my Charms practical exam last year, but I don't know anything else about her. I've certainly never talked to her."
"Well, here's what she looks like." Harry handed over the picture and the other two blushed as they looked at it. "I have to go now, she's apparently really shy so I'm meeting her in the Forbidden Forest where no one will be around."
"Doesn't look that shy to me," mumbled Ron, but Harry had already rushed off.
-
"Well that was weird," said Ron, "but good for Harry. That Greengrass is a real looker. Can't believe I haven't noticed her."
Hermione looked at him with a concerned expression. "Ron, I don't know who that was in the picture, but it wasn't Daphne Greengrass."
"It wasn't? So someone's trying to catfish Harry?"
She was about to ask how the hell Ron was familiar with a muggle expression that hadn't even been coined yet, but given the strangeness that already happened Hermione simply nodded.