Casualty of Love: Turning Tables

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The next morning, the air was thick with the gossip of Ron Weasley and Lavender Brown coupling up after the Quidditch game, which I had missed entirely. This would explain Hermione's sour look every time I saw her since that night. She always look so sad and angry. 

Emmy had been avoiding me completely, only taking notice of my presence by sending me icy glares and honestly, I welcomed them more than her causing a scene which was the alternative. I figured I would give her time to cool off...like, over Christmas break, and then I would apologize and explain myself. 

So, on the day of Slughorn's party, Hermione and I spent the majority of the day getting ready in our dormitory. All the while, Hermione was telling me about the Ron/Lavender chronicles and how she couldn't care less, though it was becoming more and more obvious that she did, indeed, care. She had ended up inviting McLaggen to the party and she told me about how she said it in front of him this morning, just as he was wrapped up in Lavender's arms. It was all a very interesting and complicated mess that I was glad I was not apart of.  

Towards eight o'clock, I was completely ready and waiting for Elijah in the entrance hall. There were tons of girls hoarded there; girls that weren't even invited to the party. I assumed they were all there to watch everyone else get picked up. To see who was taking who and the sort. 

Eventually Elijah turned up. I had to admit that he cleaned up rather nicely. He looked utterly beautiful in his simple black cloak, complete with black vest and tie underneath. It matched beautifully with my dress which was black with pink pattern on it. I saw the girls that were sitting nearby look on enviously as I took Elijah's arm. Apparently other girls found him attractive? 

"Where's the party, anyway?" Elijah asked me as we strolled down the corridor.  

"Slughorn's office. I heard that there is going to be a vampire there." 

"...At a Christmas party? That doesn't seem very safe." 

"If it was a safety hazard, Dumbledore wouldn't have let him in the castle," I said surely. 

"He let you in, didn't he? I'm sure you could cause a traffic jam dressed like that," he said with a hint of a smirk playing on his mouth. 

"Oh, hush. You're gonna make me blush!" I said exaggeratedly, pushing his shoulder softly with my hand.  

Soon, we were getting closer to Slughorn's office and I could hear music and, eventually, loud talking and laughter coming from the room. We stood outside the entrance for a second and I took a deep breath, and then we walked in together.  

I had been surprised to hear that the party would be held in Slughorn's office, automatically thinking it would be too small so I was even more surprised to see that his office was actually huge. It was quite crowded all the same and with so many bodies in one place, it would also stuffy. I noticed that the entire room was draped in hangings, all Christmas colors. It really made me anxious for Christmas break.  

I looked up to see why the room looked a bit red tinged and noticed that there were actual fairies flying around a golden lamp hanging from the center of the ceiling. House elves were running around with platters of food and goblets of mead, which Elijah and I both took a glass of immediately. Elijah looked a little too pleased about this particular party favor. 

"Wow... I'll admit, he knows how to throw a party," I stated, taking in all the festivities.  

"Allie! I'm glad you could make it!" Slughorn said, coming up to me in his tasseled velvet hat along with a matching smoking jacket. "And you brought a Slytherin! How unusual. Come, come, I'd like you to meet someone!" He ushered Elijah and I along to meet, who I assumed was, the vampire.