Harry Potter and the Norse Gods

{23} The Christmas Party

HARRY

December, and Slughorn's Christmas party, rolled around quickly. Aside from Katie being cursed and ending up at St Mungo's, nothing much happened. In fact, if it weren't for the heightened security and general sense of terror that lingered in every corner of the castle, I could almost forget that we were in the middle of a war (or maybe this was only the beginning).

I took a deep breath in and then out. The only thing I should have to worry about tonight was how Slughorn was going to act around me. And how Luna was going to act. She was my friend, but she was still weird.

I felt a little bad for only having asked her to avoid all the fangirls like Romilda Vane, but she didn't seem to mind. Luna was the kind of person that just brushed everything off and didn't care what other people thought. I was a little envious of that, to be honest.

But once again, that wasn't an issue for tonight. The Order and the Ministry were keeping the school safe from physical threats, and any and all of my mental issues could wait until morning.

I smoothed my robes and began my descent down the stairs. There was a crowd of girls gathered in the hall waiting for their dates, many of whom watched me resentfully as I made my way towards Luna. To my relief, her reddish earrings, Butterbeer-cork necklace, and Spectrespecs were nowhere to be seen, and her outfit - spangled silver robes - wasn't nearly as outrageous as it could have been.

"Hi," I said, greeting her with a timid smile, "Shall we get going, then?"

"Oh, yes," she replied happily, "Where is the party?"

"Slughorn's office," I answered, relieved that the topic of conversation - for now - was also tame and normal.

But, in my search for something to say as silence settled onto us, the only thing I could think of was:

"Did you hear there's supposed to be a vampire coming?" I blurted out.

"Rufus Scrimgeour?" Luna asked.

"I - what?" I spluttered, "You mean the Minister for Magic?"

"Yes, he's a vampire," she stated very matter-of-factly, "Father wrote a very long article about it when Scrimgeour first took office, but he was forced not to publish by somebody from the Ministry. Obviously, they didn't want the truth to get out!"

I elected not to reply. I was almost 100% sure that Scrimegoeour wasn't a vampire, but I also knew better than to challenge Luna on her father's views. Besides, we were quickly approaching Slughorn's office; the sounds of laughter and music were already filling the air around us.

I held the door open and let Luna enter first - and, of course, about a dozen other people, none of whom so much as acknowledged my existence - before following her into the grand space. It was bigger than any professor's office I had ever seen, although I wasn't sure if it had been built that way or if Slughorn had used some kind of magical trickery to make it appear that way. I had seen what he had done when Dumbledore and I went to pick him up. Despite his blubbery appearance, he was a talented wizard, albeit rather annoying to talk to (at least if you're me).

"Harry, m'boy," Slughorn boomed, striding towards me, "There are so many people I'd like you to meet!"

Unfortunately, Slughorn reached me before I found an opportunity to slip away, or an excuse to do so, and he gripped my arm fiercely, leading me forcefully through the crowd. I grabbed Luna's hand before I got out of reach, determined not to be left alone with Slughorn.

"Harry, I'd like you to meet Eldred Worple, an old student of mine, author of Blood Brothers: My Life Amongst the Vampires - and of course, his friend Sanguini."