Harry Potter and the Year After

Chapter Twenty-Five: Sack

Chapter 25: Sack

A few days later, Harry was true to his word and had another party. This time, just with a few of the old members of the DA. George and Angelina were impossible to reach. However, the Patils were back from visiting relatives in India and they came along with Dean, Seamus, Ginny, Luna and Neville. Ron and Hermione set up a sort of bar in the corner of the parlor while Harry tried to clean a bit. Really, it seemed like no matter how much a person cleaned Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place though, it'd never be clean.

They started out by sitting around and talking and sipping drinks. Meanwhile, Luna conjured butterflies and fireflies to fly around the room. It didn't take long for the boys to break off from the girls and head down to the kitchen—Seamus and Ron were hungry.

"So, how was India?" Hermione asked Parvati. They were sitting together on a smaller sofa off to the side of the room while Luna danced to the music amongst her flying bugs. Ginny and Padma talked a few feet away.

"It was nice. Same thing every year," Parvati shrugged. She was watching Luna dance. It was hard not to—she was trying to catch her butterflies as she moved. They didn't want to be caught. "Hey, is Harry with Ginny again?"

"No, I think they've decided to be friends," Hermione said with a question in her voice.

"Really?" Parvati said, her jewelry jingling a little as her gaze found Hermione again. "That's interesting. I always thought they'd get back together."

"They may still."

"Mm. You know," Parvati said, leaning toward Hermione, "I always had a thing for Harry."

"Really?" Hermione tried to sound more interested in this than she was.

"Why do you think I went to the Yule Ball with him in fourth year?"

"I thought he put you off when he was totally rude to you the whole time though?"

"Well," Parvati shrugged and her jewelry jangled again. "He was only fourteen then. A lot has changed."

"Well, that's true."

"Speaking of, congratulations by the way on getting engaged. I always knew Ron had a thing for you. The way he always looked at you."

"Thank you..."

***

"So I think we ought to do another drinking game, just us blokes," Seamus said.

"I'm not playing that 'Never Have I Ever' again," Harry said immediately.

"Alright, fine, not that one," Seamus said, "No, what we should play is Beer Pong."

"That's just a regular muggle game," Dean said.

"So what? What's wrong with a muggle game?"

"How about let's play Sack," said Dean.

Seamus immediately conjured paper bag and pointed his wand into each, muttering under his breath.

"Sorry, what's 'Sack'?" Ron asked, watching Seamus.

"You pick a strip of paper from the bag. You have to do what's written on the paper or take the consequence," Dean explained. "If you don't follow the dare exactly, huge ugly boils will sprout all over your face and body until you do the consequence or the dare."

"Oh, you know I saw a bottle of Horasinthe somewhere in one of these cabinets," Seamus said, grinning wickedly. He paced down the kitchen and opened a few of the cabinets as he spoke. "The consequence will be that you have to do a shot if you don't do your Sack." Seamus found the bottle of Horasinthe and wiggled it.