raised by dementor

chapter 40

The escape had weighed on Harry's mind every day in the two weeks building up to the party, Lucy had been selected as part of the search teams and it seemed she would be busy until Sirius and Bella were found. However as the banners, fountains and a thousand other decorations were raised into the air Harry's mind became a lot more occupied and the day the party came he felt much better
"Welcome, Welcome to our manor, welcome to the summer Malfoy Party," Lucius greeted the guests as their host with Narcissa draped in black dress, her neck weighed down with a black stone. On their right was Draco in his dress robes and Harry next to him, it seems as he was their guest he was being treated as one of the hosts which felt strange, however seeing as most of the party were on their third drink already it wasn't likely to stay a memory for long.
"Now before we get the party started for real I have a few announcements, first remember get drunk but too drunk, if you can remember your wife you're not drunk enough, if you can't remember your name you're too drunk," the man announced jokingly and a slight chuckle went up from the crowd. Harry noticed Pansy's parents lost in some kind of scowl, their marriage proposals had gone unanswered once more and the only reason Lucius invited them was because they had sway in politics. They were part of his whip in the Wizengamot, they voted together from what Harry could tell; despite Lucius hating the pair of them it all went smoothly.
"Now I would also like to propose a toast to Harry Potter, a good friend of my family and recent winner of an order of Merlin third class award," Lucius followed up and Harry fought off a wave of embarrassment. It was odd being toasted by the congregation raised their glasses without consulting him.
"Now I'm not going to take up much more of your time, you have drinking to do," Lucius smiled and after a slight chuckle the party went back to the tables. The fountain this time was being used as a champagne refill station and it was no surprise Dobby had been assigned to guard it from any unfortunate underage child walking along. Harry did not even try, he was a bit too young for alcohol and he needed his senses to stop the party ending with souls being torn out, Draco had been shooed away already so they wandered outside. After a few moments Hermione and Cho joined them, they were both wearing dresses this time; Cho had bought a new light blue one while Hermione opted for lilac, Harry suspected Cho had helped her with the makeup but both looked good. However Cho turned back to see Dobby still pointing her outside,
"Yes because we're so obviously young alcoholics," Cho commented when she and Hermione reached Harry and Draco, she had been walking too near to the fountain apparently and Dobby had shooed her away.
"Well you do have a tendency to lash out on poor innocent people, imagine how bad you'll be when you get drunk," Draco commented before being punched in the arm.
"See!" He commented, he received a cold glare in response.
"Where's Luna?" Hermione asked with a frown, she knew Draco had got Lucius to invite her and her dad; so where were they? Draco checked his drink and looked at it for a few long moments. Cho laughed. Harry already knew, his senses had given it away but he wasn't going to spoil the surprise.
"Here I am," Luna announced popping up behind Draco who was checking his butterbeer very intently, he jumped and his drink ended up on the floor.
"Hi Luna," Harry smiled as Crabbe and Goyle walked towards them, they had also been shooed away from the champagne fountain but unlike Cho it had been no accidental wandering.
"No luck boys?" Draco asked,
"Did you ask them to get us drinks?" Cho asked with a concerned frown
"No I asked them to get me a drink," Draco corrected with a smile, Harry snickered at that but fell silent when he met Cho's glare.
"Nah, your elf's pretty sneaky Draco," Crabbe commented,
"Very sneaky," Goyle confirmed looking around just in case Dobby was about to appear.
"Oh hi Luna didn't see you there," Crabbe greeted seeing her for the first time,
"Yeah hi," Goyle echoed his friends words as they approached.
"Don't worry I'm sure Pansy's swimming in it," Draco chortled referencing her rebellious nature, something that may have been wiser to say when she was walking up behind him.
"She's behind me isn't she?" Draco sighed turning round, instantly he was met by a stinging slap
"Owww," he announced as Pansy glared at him
"Ok I'm sorry," he sighed
"Hi Pansy," Harry smiled, he did not see much of her any more, she hung around with different people at Hogwarts and aside from the occasional conversation they did not meet up that often; a shame she still was a good friend of his and had been since he first met the Malfoy's.
"Hey Harry, Cho, Hermione, Crabbe, Goyle, Luna, Draco... God's that a lot of names," she replied taking a deep breath.
"Don't worry this time next year Draco may be dead," Cho smiled glaring at Draco
"Another death threat, see how bad are you going to be if you get drunk," he asked with mock fear
"One of us might castrate you," Luna suggested and Draco took a few steps away from her,
"Never know," Cho smiled nodding slightly causing Draco to take a step away from her
"I'm scared," was all he said.
"Are they still making you wear that thing?" Harry asked Pansy, she was wearing the same dress she had worn last year but just slightly bigger and more revealing. Her parents had gone from flaunting to desperation, padding around her chest and most of the skirt cut off made Harry wonder her parents had got the idea from one of those films Sirius often spoke off and there wasn't a hope in hell the party was ending like that.
"Yes, "Pansy shuddered.
"Still trying to marry you off to some handsome stud?" Draco questions toying with his buttons
"No they're trying to marry me off to you and it's still not happening," she countered and everyone chuckled even Draco
"Look your parents just have good taste, I just don't think you're the girl for me," he responded
"And you're not the one for me, we've both known this for years," Pansy commented
"Look at you, getting over such a detrimental loss so quick," Draco continued with a smile.
"Draco I'm going to hit you," Pansy warned
"And me," Cho confirmed
"And me," Hermione nodded
"And everyone else," Luna volunteered Harry, Crabbe, Goyle and herself.
"So Harry what's happened with the breakout?" Pansy asked suddenly; she obviously wanted to make sure he was ok as did the rest of them but she had been the only one who brought it up. Perhaps she was being braver than the others but Harry did not want to detail his inner feelings to anyone about the escape.
"Stressful," he decided on eventually "It's been terrible every night there's about nine cell searches and the prisoners are being given cavity searches every day now." It was all true but gave nothing away about Harry's true feelings.
"What's a cavity search?" Draco wondered not being too sure of the concept, Hermione leaned forward and whispered the answer
"They do what?" Draco leapt back thinking of Lucy's skeletal hands, he was looking at his and shuddering.
"Oh yeah," Harry confirmed taunting Draco, it was actually done by aurors who had eyes but anything to turn the tables on, Pansy frowned obviously that was not the answer she wanted but she decided to leave it. Harry obviously did not want to talk about it so she decided to leave the matter.
"So what else has been going on?" Harry wondered aloud,
"Oh my mum got a promotion, she's now out of that woman's control; Umbridge I think it is," Cho began
"I know her," Harry muttered ; his opinion of the woman had changed slightly; on one hand she was still a greed irritable woman only helping him to get Fudge's approval but then again she was helping him so that merited him to at least be nice to her.
"You need to be careful, Daddy says that the ministry people are actually puppets," Luna warned,
"The woozles do not control the government Luna," Hermione got her point before Luna could make it, however much to Harry's amusement Luna did not make that point.
"I know, woozles control the honey market no according to Daddy he found an ancient book that says the government is controlled by these things called Daleks," Luna confirmed and Hermione went a shade of bright red as Harry and Cho stifled a laugh. They knew the reference but unlike Hermione they did not need to tell Luna they weren't real.
"What's Dalek?" Pansy asked, Draco looked confused as well along with Crabbe and Goyle.
"They're pepper pot shaped machines that control the government," Lune explained as Hermione tired to formulate a response; it was not working well for her seeing as there was no logical response.
"Oh and the media's run by a giant beetle," Luna interjected and Harry saw Hermione looked deflated for a moment.
"Ok well this isn't mental at all, anyway I'm going to get us some more drinks," Draco announced brightly slightly confused by the situation, quickly he wandered back towards the manor. Pansy's parents were nowhere to be seen and most of the people were too drunk to engage in conversation
"No Master Draco your mother said no champagne," Dobby warned suddenly popping into existence,
"I'm just here for some more butterbeer," Draco told the elf who nodded and vanished, obviously in a disbelieving tone
"Hey Master Malfoy," one of the guests slurred, Draco turned to see a middle-aged man slouched on a chair, he held out a bottle of butterbeer which he had picked up from the tables, it had been put out as a tokenistic gift.
"Thanks," Draco smiled taking the bottle, the man did not move to look at him but he caught the glint of spectacles, he did not recognise the man but he accepted the drink. It was unopened and he was among friends so it wasn't 'going to be anything dodgy.
"Ahh finally," Cho commented the moment he returned, after he filled their glasses at Hermione moved to take a sip
"Wait, wait, wait!" Draco ordered and she gave him a confused stare, but she didn't drink any, nor did anyone else as they waited for Draco to explain why.
"We need to toast first," he announced and Pansy just shook her head before thinking of one
"Ok fine, a toast to me not marrying Draco Malfoy," she announced thrusting her glass forward,
"I'll drink to that," Cho confirmed and slowly one by one they toasted each other, but as Hermione's and Cho's glasses chinked Harry noticed a single drop of buterbeer fall to the floor, he didn't know why he followed its path but suddenly he noticed it hit the floor. Smoke came next, a flicker of white gas that vanished quickly, but not quickly enough.
"Drop them!" Harry ordered as Cho's glass approached her lips, Hermione was inches away from the drink and Draco actually had the glass in his mouth ready to take a drink. Harry quickly pushed the glasses away with a bolt of energy and they shattered a few metres away,
"What the hell was tha..." Pansy demanded before turning to see smoke rising, it was white like snow but it crept through the air.
"Did anyone drink it?" Harry demanded and thankfully he was met by universal no's,
"What is that stuff?" Draco demanded
"Some kind of poison obviously, quite deadly stuff," Cho commented looking at the smoke intently, it was fading now and in a moment there was nothing left to even suggest there had ever a poison present.
"Where the hell did you get that?" Hermione demanded looking at Draco
"Some guy gave it to me," Draco explained
"And you took it?" Hermione was stunned
"Well it was sealed and it was on a table that we put butterbeer on," Draco defended,
"Stop now!" Harry commanded, "It's not Draco's fault, he didn't know it was poisoned and now that I think about we're forgetting something; Like the simple fact that there happens to be an assassin inside the manor,"