Harriet Potter

I was going to go straight to the appointment in my school gown, since my job was to show my face to Slughorn before he complained to me about my excused excuses from his dinner, and get out of public as soon as possible.But Hermione insisted that I dress up properly, and she dug out an old robe I didn't wear very often, changed it to a dark green color, and used some kind of spell to make the faded fabric look new and flat, looking very nice. Like the one I wore to my fourth grade prom.

"I wanted to change it into a dress dress, but I'm not very good at housekeeping spells, and considering..." She glanced at my short hair that was sticking in all directions, and sighed, "Go and change it, Then we have to do your hair."

"That's unnecessary!" I protested. "I don't have a first date tonight, so why don't you focus on looking after yourself?"

"It will take another half an hour for the hair smoother to take full effect." Hermione pointed to the towel wrapped around her finger, and gave me a blushing stern stare, "Wait until you don't look like you're going to leave training Flying off to the party on a broomstick, I have to come and braid my hair."

"Seriously? Then you can only go on dates with half your hair."

"you dare."

Too much speed smoothing agent made me feel like I had put a lid on my scalp, and then thanks to Hermione's pickiness, after several times of tearing it down and doing it again, we didn't finish her difficult hairstyle until almost eight o'clock.After I reassured her that she looked perfect, she finally decided to let go of a small spot on the skirt of her burgundy dress and walked downstairs with me in high heels of the same color.

There were an unusually large number of boys—and girls—loitering in the hall, and they all looked over as Hermione and I came down the steps.Ron pushed past them and came to us.He stared straight at Hermione until the latter coughed: "Manners, Ron. Your lady is here."

Ron was wearing a dark blue gown, his hair was combed a little too neatly, and he smelled of cologne.He reached out to me, still staring at Hermione, "You... you're so beautiful."

"Thank you." Hermione said with airs, but the smile still leaked from the corner of her mouth. "You look great too."

I put my hand in Ron's and stabbed him in the ribs as I stepped up to him. "Promise a quick fix, okay?"

Ron grunted, and I caught a glimpse of McLaggen's gigantic figure a head taller approaching recklessly, winking at Hermione, and dragging him away before Ron noticed.Ron held his head high, ignoring the resentful eyes around him.

Whether by nature or by magic, Slughorn's office was much larger than the average teacher's room.The ceiling and walls were hung with emerald, crimson, and gold hangings, making it look like a large tent.The room was brightly illuminated by a golden lantern hanging in the center of the ceiling, and there were real elves flickering in the lamp, and each elf was a bright spot of light.The room was crowded and stuffy, and there was a loud mandolin-accompanied singing coming from a far corner, and the blue mist of pipes hung over the heads of several old wizards who were talking.A few house-elves wandered through the jungle of the calf, carrying silver platters big enough to hide their bodies, looking like roaming little tables.

"Harry, my boy!" Slughorn yelled as Ron and I squeezed through the door. "Come in, come in, there's so many people you want to meet!"

Slughorn wears a tasseled velvet hat that matches his smoking shirt.He grabbed my arm and led me into the crowd without any explanation, while I firmly held Ron, who was obviously resisting, and dragged him along.

I was introduced to the best-selling author Elder Walpole, who was about my size and whose eyes lit up when he saw me like he was looking at the keys of a Gringotts vault.Walpole's friend Johnny seemed to be a real vampire, and Ron squeezed me back nervously as he slid past the group of girls next to him.Walpole was telling me about Slughorn's appointment for a Harry Potter interview, and I took the opportunity to slip into the crowd, and Ron, clearly more than I could ask for, walked faster than I could.

"You brought a dress?" I looked at his dark blue robe, the high-quality fabric was completely different from the clothes he usually wears.

"George and Fred gave it to me last year, my mother sent it to me, and resized it for me. After chatting with Hermione last night, I ran to the owl shack to post a letter." Ron said Looking around while walking, "I specially chose the fastest owl, and it arrived this afternoon. I thought it was too late—hey, Hermione!"

We squeezed between the two Weird Sisters singing groups and Hermione nearly fell on top of us and grabbed Ron by the shoulders.

"Great, you're here!" Looking disheveled, she lifted her left foot out of breath, "Damn it. The heel seems to be broken."

I let go of Ron so he could hold Hermione, "What's wrong with you?"

"Oh, I just escaped—I mean, I just left McLaggen. Under the mistletoe."

Ron's eyes were about to burst into flames, but Hermione was still grabbing him and fixing his heels, so he stood still.

"Who told you to come with him." He said angrily.

"Who made him the one who pissed you off the most? Of course I also considered Smith—"

"what?"

Hermione snorted happily, put on her high heels and straightened up. "oh."

McLaggen's tall figure was moving this way, and just as Ron was about to step forward, Hermione kissed him quickly on the cheek, and his seizure suddenly turned into a vague syllable stuck in his throat.

"Come on, you two." I pushed them towards the door, "I'll deal with him."

"Are you sure, Harry?" Hermione frowned. "He just—"

"I've dealt with dragons and parried mermaids at the bottom of a black lake all by myself with only one wand, okay?" I held up a hand. There is so much time left for the two of you."

Ron still wasn't entirely relieved, but they looked eager when they left.I turned and stopped McLaggen, who was about to run after them.

"The two of them—"

"Have a date," I said firmly, snatching two mugs from the nearest elf tray and grinning as wide as I could. "So, want a glass of mead?"

Sure enough, McLaggen promptly forgot about leaving his girlfriend behind, and began to rattle me off about his hundred saves.I echoed a monosyllable or two when he stopped breathing, and no one really cared if I listened anyway.When he said No. 70 or [-], I was about to fall asleep while walking, when suddenly there was a commotion.The biggest advantage of walking by McLaggen's side is that there is no hindrance. I cheered up and went to watch the excitement, only to find that Malfoy was walking towards this side with Filch grabbing his ear.

"Professor Slughorn," Filch said wheezingly, the flesh on his jaw twitching, and the goldfish's eyes flashed with that crazy light that catches students mischievous, "I found this boy hiding upstairs. In the corridor, did you send him an invitation?"

Malfoy broke away from Filch's hand angrily, "Okay, I wasn't invited. I want to break in, are you happy?"

"No, I'm not happy!" said Filch, which did not match the smug look on his face. "You're in trouble! Didn't the headmaster say you're not allowed to walk around at night without permission? Hmm?"

"It doesn't matter, Argus, it doesn't matter." Slughorn waved his hand and said, "Christmas, it's not a sin to want to go to the party. Let's forget it this time, it's not an example. Draco, you can stay."

Filch's indignation and disappointment were of course to be expected, but what puzzled me was that Malfoy was almost as unhappy.Snape looked at Malfoy with angry and - is this possible? --feel a little scared?

This was the first time I'd seen Malfoy up close since that time on the train, and he looked sickly, with gray skin and dark circles under his eyes.He was busy licking Slughorn's ass, but he was listless and absent-minded, and he was very different from the high-spirited look on the train.Whatever he was planning was not going very well.

"I have something to tell you, Draco," Snape said suddenly.

"Gee, Severus," said Slughorn, belching, "Christmas, don't be so harsh—"

"I'm his headmaster, and it's up to me to decide whether to be strict or not." Snape said briefly, "Come with me, Draco."

I tried to follow by going to the bathroom, but McLaggen insisted on escorting me down the hallway, apparently thinking of the mistletoe.Getting rid of him was like trying to get rid of a whole stalk of the devil's net, and I finally had to sneak him the toenail-growing hex from Prince's Book to get him out, by which time Snape and Malfoy were long gone.I wondered where Snape would take Malfoy as I donned the Invisibility Cloak, regretting not having taken the Marauder's Map with me when I left the house.

"Er, Harriet?"

I hurried out from under the cloak, and Alvin followed behind me at some point. He was wearing a black dress with stars, and his blond hair shone in the light.

"Why are you here?" I asked, quickly rearranging my cloak. "To the party?"

"Lyon received the invitation, and he asked Slughorn if he could bring a few friends, and he agreed." Alvin smiled nervously, "I just saw that you seemed to be arguing with McLaggen, a bit... Worried. Hope it didn't bother you."

"I'm planning to get rid of him completely." I said along the topic, patting the pocket where the invisibility cloak was kept. "Bought from the Weasleys' Wizards & Tricks shop, I feel like I need to disappear for a while lately."

"Yeah, I've heard some news too." Alvin hesitated for a moment, "No offense intended, it's okay if you don't want to answer. Are you and Ron Weasley...?"

"No," I replied, "he has a girlfriend. Those are rumors."

"That's... good." Alvin licked his lips and took a step closer to me, and I belatedly realized that there was a bunch of mistletoe on top of my head.

"You don't really want to do that." I said dryly, "You...you don't really know me. I know I'm famous and do a lot of stuff, but I'm not what I seem. You Don't know the real me."

"I didn't grow up hearing your name like the others, Harriet. I'm a Muggle-born." Alvin said in a low voice, "I've heard your name and deeds for years, and I admire you , but never really paid attention to it.”

"You got into a fight with Slytherin after you beat them last year. I was sitting in the front row and I saw you charge at Malfoy and knock him to the ground. I thought, such a petite girl, Attacking with such ferocity and fearlessness, like a lion trapped inside a kitten. I've seen you play many times before, Harriet, but that time I felt as if I was Seeing you for the first time. I'm amazed that I never realized how beautiful you are before."

"I joined as soon as I heard about the DA. I watched you teach us all kinds of spells, how to defend ourselves from far stronger opponents, and realized how many battles you've been through "You're taking the vilification of the wizarding world, you're always carrying the wounds of that Umbridge woman on your hand, and you're still trying to protect us and fight for us."

"I like you, Harriet. Maybe I don't know you as well as Ron Weasley or anyone else who fought alongside you, but I do know enough about you to fall in love with you."

He looked at me so intently, like I was the only one in the world.

"Now, can I kiss you?"

The author has something to say: So, other boys love the heroine to surprise everyone at the ball, but my boy loves the heroine to fight hand-to-hand in the arena.

This chapter was only posted a third before... what was I thinking...