Running With Wolves

Chapter 26: Slughorn's Party

Chapter 26: Slughorn's Party

Sirius stood at the window, slowly buttoning up his shirt. Snowflakes fluttered past the glass, swirling in the wind and obscuring the usual view of the grounds. It was past sunset, but the moon was glowing high in the sky, near full, just peeking through a gap in the clouds. It reflected off the snow, giving the landscape below a soft silver light. In less than twenty-four hours Sirius would be at James' house with Mr. and Mrs. Potter, playing quidditch in the yard with James, and eating food cooked by the Potters' house elf Tootsie.

He'd never spent Christmas with the Potters' before. Since he turned eleven, Sirius had always spent Christmas at Hogwarts, anything to get away from his family. After second year Remus, James and Peter had joined him. Sirius always knew James' parents wanted their son home for Christmas, but for some reason it had never occurred to him that spending Christmas at the Potters' would be a possibility for him too. All he had to do was get through one torturous night with Daphne and Slughorn and then he would be free.

The bathroom door opened as Sirius was putting on his dress robes. Remus emerged, already dressed for the Christmas party. His robes were shabby, but he'd grown into them over the last few years, though a few extra inches of ankle peaked from underneath the hem. For several seconds, Sirius couldn't bring himself to break Remus' gaze. Remus' hair was still damp from his shower. It hung in soft curls on his forehead. He brushed it to the side with his thumb breaking Sirius' line of sight with his arm for just long enough so that Sirius could force himself look away.

"Sirius—" Remus began, but Sirius was already out the door, guilt burning in his stomach, his heart hammering. He wiped his palms on his robes.

Daphne was waiting in the common room. Her hair was pulled back tightly into a fluffy ponytail on top of her head. Her dress was blood red. It was too gaudy for Sirius' liking, covered in scarlet glitter and decorated with sparkling silver gems. She was easily the most conspicuous object in the room.

"You look beautiful," he said. He tried to look at her face when he said it, but his eyes kept traveling back up to her ponytail. He resisted the compulsion to flick it just to see if it would bounce back.

"Er, should we..." Sirius gestured vaguely at the portrait hole. Was he supposed to take her hand? Or hold out his arm for her to take? He had never been to a party with a girl he was supposed to care about. He'd taken Narcissa to a few parties, but he couldn't remember much of those now, and he hadn't liked her anyway. All the etiquette skills he had learned from years living with his mother seemed to have escaped him memory. Sirius settled for leaving his hands at his sides so Daphne could make the decision herself. She slipper her arm through his, linking their elbows and leading them through the corridors hung with Christmas decorations. It occurred to Sirius that he would miss the Christmas feast this year, but the disappointment didn't last when he remembered Mrs. Potter smiling pulling him into a hug when Sirius stepped out from behind James' dresser, and told him he would always be welcome in the Potter's house, or Mr. Potter telling him how much his quidditch skills had improved over the summer.

Daphne tugged Sirius down the next corridor by the sleeve. Slughorn's party wasn't easy to miss. Music echoed down the corridor. Golden light spilled through the open door. Sirius stepped aside to let Daphne in first. The room was crowded with people, many of whom were wearing robes so intricate and eye-grabbing, they made Daphne's look tame. One woman glided by in a large boa and a dress made entirely of feathers. When Sirius got a closer look, he realized her dress was actually made of live birds. They squawked at him angrily, ruffling their feathers. The woman settled her birds and glared at Sirius through her spectacles then waved her hand dismissively and stalked away wither her chin in the air. A wizard wandered by wearing dress robes that lit up, flashing different colors in time to the music. One little old witch had on a violently purple pair of robes with a train so long it was still trailing past Sirius even after she had vanished back into the crowd. He watched several people trip over it as they attempted to get past her.