Chapter 141: Welcome to the Party
Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 141: Welcome to the Party
"Be very careful, do you hear me?" James told him.
On the 28th, Harry was currently waiting for the portkey to activate in a small clearing, twenty miles north of their house.
The reason was for extra precautions, in case the portkey could somehow store information about its jumping point.
Harry was currently wearing the black and silver robes that Daphne had gifted him. The robes already came with several hidden pockets, but he had added a few more to store all his things. He was ready for battle.
"Harry, if at any point you get a bad feeling, I want you to get away from there immediately, okay?" Lily said.
"Yes, I promise. I'll be back in a few hours." Harry glanced at his mechanical watch again... it was time. The invitation in his hand activated, and he felt a strong pulling sensation.
The next moment, he found himself in a dimly lit room.
The walls were made of stone blocks, and the few pieces of furniture appeared to be ancient.
It looked like a dining room, but it was completely empty, and all the furniture had been moved to the sides, leaving a big void in the middle. 'A trap already?' He considered.
Under his robes, Harry activated his holster, and his wand immediately appeared in his hand. He was about to perform a scan of the area when he heard a voice.
"Mr. Potter, I presume?"
Harry's eyes quickly moved to the source of the unknown voice and found an old man wearing a black suit.
"Yes?" Harry asked, not sure who this man was.
"Welcome to the Parkinson Villa, Mr. Potter," the old man greeted him with a polite bow. "I am Julian, one of the family servants. Please follow me to the main party area. The other guests will be arriving over the course of the next hour."
It was then that Harry realized why this room was empty. 'This must be the landing area for the portkeys. They must have set them at different times to avoid accidents.'
He felt a bit silly for not reaching that conclusion earlier. But he was very inexperienced with these kinds of elegant parties.
Harry walked to the entrance of the room while the old servant waited for him.
"Follow me, sir," the butler said before turning around and walking at a steady pace.
Harry looked over the many objects displayed across the halls as they walked.
The walls were filled with luxurious items hanging from them. Intricate paintings, and artifacts made of silver or gold with a variety of precious stones embedded in them.
'Were the Parkinsons always this rich?' He wondered.
Or perhaps Lord Parkinson was the type who would place his most expensive possessions right on the path he knew his guests would take, as a show of status and power.
It was hard to tell since he had never, in his two lives, met this man.
The one thing he knew for sure was that one day, he was going to kill him.
After all, he would never forgive those who tried to harm his family or friends.
But he couldn't just walk up to him and do it... the world was not at war like it used to be. So he was unable to employ the same methods as he would have during that time.
If he acted in such a way, he would bring endless trouble to his parents and sisters, and he wanted to avoid that.
Neither did he wish to bring harm upon the rest of Lord Parkinson's family. Unless he learned otherwise, they could be completely unaware of Parkinson's machinations and his acting as the Fake Voldemort.
"Here we are, Mr. Potter." The old butler opened the door and showed him inside a much bigger room than the one he was in before.
Not only was it bigger, but it was also much better illuminated, with countless candles attached to four massive chandeliers.
The circular room was filled with round tables, but there was also a big empty space in the middle. 'This is a ballroom...' Harry frowned as a terrible feeling invaded him.
He was a person of many talents and skills acquired over the years... however, dancing was not one of them.
"Potter, over here!"
He turned to his left and saw Pansy sitting at a table with Daphne and Tracey next to her.
He skimmed over the rest of the room and only found a few other groups of adults sitting down at the tables while a couple of girls wearing black dresses walked around with trays of drinks.
'It seems like many of the guests have yet to arrive as that servant said.'
He could not identify Lord Parkinson among the dozen or so Lords currently in the room since he had never seen him before, but he did spot Lord Greengrass and made a mental note to speak with him when he got the chance.
While walking towards Pansy's table, he made sure to get a good look at the layout of the room.
The double doors he used to enter were also the only exit, and that led into a maze of corridors. 'That's no good... I don't even know where the exit is since I came through a portkey that took me inside the house.'
The good news was the several glass doors at the end of the ballroom, which appeared to lead to a massive balcony.
Among other things, his Nimbus 2001 was currently shrunken and hidden inside his pockets, making this balcony his best escape route if things go south. 'Just need to make sure it's not locked...'
"Good evening, ladies." Harry offered them a formal greeting as was expected of him. He had recently been learning how to behave properly in formal situations, but he still had much to learn.
Pansy had a bright smile on her face. "Welcome, Potter. Please, take a seat." She pointed at the seat to her right.
He gave the other two girls a passing glance. Tracey was not paying much attention, while Daphne stared at him with a weary smile.
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