Black Rose (Draco Malfoy)

The Christmas Party

  Chapter 47: The Christmas Party

The weeks passed by rather uneventfully. I was trying to be social, but it was hard. I did spend more time with Hermione, though, because she and Ron were still fighting and Harry was usually with him. I saw Ginny occasionally when she was not with Dean, and I even hung out with Seamus a few times. The best part of the week was still always my private lesson with Snape. We did not share any new information with each other, but I felt comfortable and relaxed around him, which I did not get anywhere else. If this kept up, I thought I could survive the year.

Slughorn's party caused me vague interest as the day approached. I liked Slughorn, but he was still not my favorite teacher, perhaps, unfairly, because of how he treated Harry. I was happy, however, when Luna told me that Harry had invited her to the party. I thought that was nice on Harry's part. Luna did not have many friends, and boys especially seemed to avoid her. This would be a good experience for her; she was very excited. I decided to be kind to Harry for one night in return.

The attire for the party was semi-formal, so I picked out a simple green dress. I thought green was a good color for Christmas, as I already wore enough read. I debated wearing my necklace but then reasoned that the Slytherin side went well with my dress.

As I walked into the common room, I saw Seamus, Ginny, and Dean waiting for me. I gave a smile and nod to Ginny and Dean before walking up to Seamus. "Hey," said.

"Hi," Seamus said brightly. "You look nice."

I smiled slightly. "Thanks. Ready to go?"

"Yes," Seamus said.

The four of us walked out of the room and headed for Slughorn's office. It did not take long to get there. I was surprised by the changes in the office since the last Slug Club meeting. The ceiling and walls had been draped with emerald, crimson, and gold hangings. The room was crowded and stuffy and bathed in the red light cast by an ornate golden lamp dangling from the center of the ceiling in which real fairies were fluttering. Loud singing accompanied by what sounded like mandolins issued from a distant corner; a haze of pipe smoke hung over several elderly warlocks deep in conversation, and a number of house elves were negotiating their way squeakily through the forest of knees, obscured by the heavy silver platters of food they were bearing.

"Ginny, Crystal," Slughorn said as he pushed his way through the crowd of people. He beamed at us. "Welcome. Come in and mingle. There are many people here you should meet. And try the food!"

"We will. Thank you, professor," Ginny said with a kind smile.

Seamus and I got separated from Ginny and Dean as we stepped further into the room. I was never one who enjoyed parties much, so I decided to let Seamus take the lead and decide what we would do. I gave him an encouraging smile so he would get the idea.

We walked around and talked to various people while sampling the treats. I was not having that bad of a time. I noticed Snape standing by himself and decided to go talk to him. I noticed Seamus reluctantly following me.

Before I could get there, however, Slughorn had reached out his arm and pulled Snape over to his little group, which consisted of Harry, Luna, and Professor Trelawney. Frowning, I continued walking forward with Seamus to join them, though I feared the topic of conversation.

"I was just talking about Harry's exceptional potion-making!" Slughorn said. "Some credit must go to you, of course, you taught him for five years!"

I stopped by Luna and glanced at Snape, who did not seem amused at all. "Funny, I never had the impression that I managed to teach Potter anything at all," he said, and I smirked.