The Potter Twins and the Half-Blood Prince {6}

11. Antique

"Lord I beg and plead, pull me to the light so I can see, stop my questioning so that I can fall asleep. Questions weigh on me, is it to be is it not to be? Is there a plan for me? Or is God just an antique?"  - Antique, The Ghost Club

Ron, Harry, and Hermione have Herbology first thing the next morning; we're edging to tell Ron, Hermione, and Riley about our lesson with Dumbledore all breakfast, but the fear of being overheard is too dire. Riley and I decide to walk them over to the greenhouse, filling them in as we walk across the vegetable patch. The weekend's brutal wing has died out at last, and a strange mist has taken its place. 

"Wow, scary thought, the boy You-Know-Who," says Ron quietly, as we crowd around the greenhouse door. "But I still don't get why Dumbledore's showing you all this. I mean, it's really interesting and everything, but what's the point?"

"Dunno," I say, shrugging. "He says it's all important in keeping us alive." I drop my voice as Professor Sprout gives a pointed look at us, and begin backing away. "Have a good lesson, we can talk later."

Riley and I begin to walk back towards the castle, chatting casually Slughorn's most recent gatherings and his frustration at Harry constantly missing them. 

"He's going to have a Christmas party, there's no way Harry can wiggle out of that," I muse. "But you probably know that already, Tessa's probably invited you."

His silence is very telling. I look up to see him swallowing hard, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. 

"You're kidding?"

"It's probably just slipped her mind," he says dismissively. "She's been sick."

I nod silently, but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. 

*~*

When the others return from Herbology, Harry tells us that Ron and Hermione had an awkward, albeit tense argument regarding Slughorn's party. Much like the Yule Ball, it seems that his party will cause a myriad of issues.  Hermione was initially going to ask Ron (claiming so our entire group could have a night out, but I believe she had romantic intentions), but when Ron made a snide comment about asking McLaggen, everything fell apart. 

I'm not exactly surprised, however; I've had an inkling that this would happen sooner or later, but, as Harry and I have discussed, I'm not sure how I feel about it. Harry and Cho, for instance, are too embarrassed to even look at each other, let alone talk; what if Ron and Hermione start going out, and then split up? Could their friendship survive? I remember the few weeks in our third year when they weren't talking to each other; I didn't enjoy trying to bridge the distance between them. But, on the other hand, what if they don't spill up? What if they become like Bill and Fleur, and it becomes so excruciatingly embarrassing to be in their presence that Harry and I are shut out for good? I suppose we'll just have to wait to see what happens under the influence of Butterbeer in Slughorn's dimly lit room on the night of the party. In the meantime, we have more pressing issues. 

Katie is still in St. Mungos Hospital with no prospect of leaving, which means that our promising Quidditch team is one Chaser short. Harry's been putting off replacing her in the hope that she'll miraculously return, but our opening match against Slytherin is looming ever closer, and he's had to finally accept that she won't be back in time to play. 

Neither of could stand another full-House tryout. So Harry asks Dean Thomas to fill in; an act which angers everyone else because of our friendship with him. There is much muttering in the common room about the fact that Harry has now chosen two of his classmates and his sister for the team. We've endured worse mutterings throughout our school career, however, and he doesn't appear to be too bothered. But the pressure of the upcoming match is enough to stress him out. If Gryffindor wins, Harry solidifies his place as a great captain; if we lose....well, we've still endured worse mutterings.