Chapter 21:Christmas Gatherings

"Not trying to match your summer ball?" Hermione asked as she looked at the small crowd dancing to the singing of the 8-man group that Harry had hired. "And who are the band?"

"They call themselves the Weird Sisters." Harry responded to the second part of her question. "I wrote to Celestina for advice and she recommended them as an up-and-coming band on the verge of greatness. I think she may be related to one of them, but I didn't ask. They're quite good."

Hermione paused to listen to the song that was being sung.

"I walk the line I walk it straight

But the morning so many miles away"

"They seem okay." She admitted with a slight smile, watching as a laughing Luna was swung round by a tall redhead with a single earring in the middle of the repurposed dining room. "I must admit, I'm looking forwards to tomorrow."

"The presents?" Harry asked and Hermione shook her head, blushing slightly.

"No… I brought a tiger plushie…"

Harry stared at her before breaking down into laughter and Hermione swatted him.

"It's not that funny!"

"Shame on you, Lord Potter." A voice said cheerfully and Harry straightened up, managing to bring his laughter under control as he looked quizzically at the speaker. "Hogging the beautiful young lady all to yourself? Charlie Weasley, at your service, Miss Granger. Ginny's told me all about you in her letters."

"How's Norbert?" Hermione asked and Charlie's smile broadened.

"She's doing fine. Hagrid's taking my shift so that I can be here… I'm still not sure which of us is doing the other a favor. May I have the pleasure of the next dance, Miss Granger?"

"Of course." Hermione said, putting her hand on the proffered arm, then she smiled impishly. "And maybe you could tell me a few stories about Ginny when she was younger? I made the mistake of introducing her to my parents and now she's got all the embarrassing stories about me, so…"

"What else is a big brother for but to embarrass his little sister?" Charlie replied with a matching grin as he escorted her onto the dance floor. Harry watched them go, then became aware of a presence to one side.

"For a small gathering, it seems to be going very well indeed." Augusta Longbottom remarked as she put her pizza-filled plate down on a convenient side-table. "I daresay that the Malfoy Christmas Ball will be far less enjoyable, but politics dictate that I have to be there…"

"I received an invitation as well." Harry noted. "I think that he's up to something… but I have no idea what."

Augusta nodded thoughtfully as she absently lifted a slice of pizza from her plate and bit into it. Swallowing the mouthful of food, she gave Harry a measuring glance.

"My grandson has improved greatly since he met you, Lord Potter."

"All I did was give him some support." Harry demurred. "Neville did all the improving by himself."

Augusta gave him a long, measuring look, then her gazed moved to the person walking towards them, a bowl piled high with food in his hand.

"Uncle Fil." Harry said in greeting. "Enjoying yourself?"

"Oh my, yes." Filius laughed. "And this, I haven't had proper Grachtnachthan in years! How did you get it?"

"I wrote to Axefist and asked him to send food that you'd appreciate." Harry replied as Filius used his dagger to stab another morsel of whatever it was and eat it. "From your reaction, the outlay was more than worth it."

"The Hogwarts Elves can't quite manage to get the balance of herbs right and as for letting it mature in a dark cave… I think they have a problem with letting food stay in the same place for over a month, let alone a full year." Filius agreed. "Buying straight from Gringotts… why didn't I think of that?"

"It probably costs a bit more than normal if you do that." Harry cautioned and Filius nodded.

"Undoubtedly. It would be too much for me to have it as a regular thing, but as an occasional treat… oh my, yes. Incoming!"

Harry turned back only to find himself being pulled towards the dance-floor.

"What the… Ginny?"

Ginny nodded as she towed him into the middle of the room.

"This is your party." She half-scolded. "You should be part of it."

"Hermione's really rubbed off on you, hasn't she?" Harry laughed as he began dancing and Ginny blushed almost as brightly as her hair. "By the way, I have a gift for you and Luna. Ask Hermione to take you to the room in question, it'll take less than an hour, but you'll need to practice later."

Ginny nodded, intrigued as to what her idol had in store for her.

.

"It's very rare that I get invited to these sorts of events." Filius noted and Augusta nodded, glowing with pride as she watched Neville dancing with Anna Gedes.

"You generally don't miss much." She admitted. "It's mainly posing, posturing and I'm more pureblooded than you are couched in very polite terms, so polite that you barely feel them trying to stab you in the back. Why I got an invitation to the Malfoy Ball, I don't know."

"Albus has received one as well." Filius noted. "It took him by surprise… and not much does that any more."

Augusta frowned. "Normally, I'd think he was trying to pull a fast one, but the Wizengamot is closed for the week and the Ministry has drawn down for the holidays… by tradition, no business gets done for the three weeks including Christmas and New Year… so why would he invite both Albus and myself?"

"I don't know." Filius admitted slowly. "I don't know…"

.

"Lord Potter." Arthur Weasley gave a nod of respect as he approached the younger Lord.

"It's just Harry, Mr Weasley." Harry replied before taking a sip from the ice-cold beverage he was holding. "Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Oh, very much so." Arthur said, a hint of laughter in his reply. "I have been to the Pottery before, but you've really changed it from how it was. It's so much lighter and I heard a rumor at work that the windows can absorb spellfire."

"They can." Harry confirmed. "It helps with the defensive wards, incoming spells are absorbed and their magic used to strengthen the wards further."

"Incredible." Arthur breathed.

"Hey, dad!" Ron bustled up, holding a plate on which a large burger stood. "Have you tried these? I think mum's taking notes. Oh, hi, Harry! You heard that I'm a Chaser now? I'll do my best to give you a challenge when our teams meet."

"I look forwards to it." Harry smiled and Ron moved off, heading for Duncan Inglebee and his father, who was clad in the colors of the team he played for. Glancing across the hall, he saw Molly Weasley take a small piece of food and carefully taste it.

"I'll have the recipes copied for her tonight and Grace'll drop them off tomorrow." He laughed as Arthur followed his gaze.

"Thank you, Harry." He said, then he paused. "I heard a rumor that you have a… a pet… Basilisk?"

.

.

"What. A. Party." Harry sighed after the last-but-one guest had vanished through the Floo.

"I quite enjoyed it." Filius smiled as he stepped into the room, levitating a box charmed to keep its contents in stasis. "Thanks for letting me take the leftovers."

"I'm not certain how much Goblin food would agree with me," Harry shrugged, "But it seemed such a waste to simply throw it away."

Filius opened his mouth to reply, then paused as Kelor floated past him, a pile of stasis boxes in his grasp. Looking back at Harry, he closed his mouth and lifted one eyebrow in query.

"Family magical golem." Harry replied. "I have two."

"They are unaffected by my gaze." An odd voice said from the main door and Filius paled as he saw SssSthss gliding into the room. "Do not worry, the device that keeps my gaze from killing works."

"Excellent." Harry grinned. "I assume you've tested it?"

"Kelex brought me two cows so that I could test it. I can paralyze, petrify or kill if needed. The cows were delicious, but I need to sleep them off."

"Harry…" Filius half-whispered, indicating SssSthss as covertly as he could. "The Chamber…?"

"That's where she slept until I got her out of Hogwarts." Harry confirmed. "Recently, I found out that she makes a great mattress."

Filius' look changed from nervous to bemused.

"I trained too hard and fell asleep while talking to her. When I woke up, I was in her coils and it was very comfy." Harry explained.

Filius shook his head. "Is there anything normal about you?"

"Sorry, Uncle Fil, there isn't." Harry shrugged as SssSthss hissed with laughter. Filius shook his head and then vanished through the door leading to Harry's trunk in the Ravenclaw tower.

"Jor-El." Harry said slowly and the AI's image materialized.

"Yes, Lord Potter?"

"Can you create some stealthy recon drones for long-range deployment?" Harry asked thoughtfully.

"I can, Lord Potter."

"And is the relay to Hogwarts secure?"

"It has been emplaced and concealed from view, sir."

"Then place another in my Diagon flat so that you can keep an eye on the alley. Also, we need to locate Malfoy Mansion and the Ministry of Magic building. I know it's close to Diagon, but I don't quite know where it is. I want them all under observation before I head back to Hogwarts."

"As you command, Lord Potter."

Jor-El faded away and Harry folded his arms, stroking his chin in thought.

"Just what are you planning, Malfoy. Why do you want us in your mansion? Where don't you want us to be?"

.

.

"Look! It's a tiger!" Perdita half-screamed as she pointed to Hermione's bed with the hand which wasn't engaged in dragging her father into her cousin's room.

"Oh my, yes. Such a fierce one." He scoffed, causing Perdita to slowly turn to look at the bed from which a tiger had snarled at her, sending her almost flying down the stairs as she sought adult help. On the bed, looking at her with the blankness that only a stuffed toy could achieve, was a tiger plushie.

"But… but…" Perdita stuttered and from her chair in the corner of the room, Hermione spoke up.

"Perdita, have you been at the whiskey or something?"

"I've only had one glass today and besides, whiskey doesn't make you… see… things…?" Perdita trailed off, then looked guiltily up at her father who was glaring at her.

"So you are the reason the bottle lasts a week instead of a fortnight." He growled and Perdita blanched. As she was dragged off by her father, Perdita heard Hermione start laughing.

.

Ginny carefully checked that her door was locked and the curtains closed, then she removed her clothes. Once they were laid out on her bed, she closed her eyes in concentration. A moment later, Ginny was gone and in her place was a half-grown bear cub, one which had a golden collar-like patch of fur on its chest. A long moment passed, then the cub flowed upwards, reforming back into a human girl.

"Yes!" Ginny exulted quietly, then once again, she transformed into her ursine form.

.

Luna leapt fearlessly off the top of the tower-like Rookery and in mid-air, her form rippled, turning into a large white bird with black wingtips. For several long moments, she glided magnificently, then she tried to land, only to misjudge and crash into the Dirigible Plum tree. Falling to the ground, she landed back in her human form and looked up at the darkening sky.

"Ow. Landing is harder than it looks…"

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"So, are you an Animagus now like Professor McGonogall?" Joan giggled as she leaned against the side of Hermione's door. Hermione put her book down, then briefly transformed into her tiger form before reverting.

"Perdita knows she should knock." Hermione explained with a grin and Joan smiled.

"Just be careful with that, dear. We don't want to have to visit a zoo just to say hello."

"Yes, mum." Hermione smiled.