The year after her brother James graduates, Teddy Potter returns to Hogwarts for her final year. With the Marauders gone, it should be a quiet, peaceful year despite the mounting tensions in the world outside of school.
The problem, naturally, lies...
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Teddy had almost completely forgotten about Slughorn's dinner party until Otto Bagman comes up to her the afternoon before it's due to take place to discuss it.
She had been busy trying to sort out the mess of notes she had taken in History of Magic class at lunch when Otto had marched right up to her and sat down right at the Gryffindor table. The yellow of his Hufflepuff robes make him stick out like a sore thumb amongst the sea of red and gold, and students all up and down the table begin sending him curious looks. Students from other tables begin shooting looks too, because everyone in this damn school is so nosey-!
Otto doesn't seem to mind the attention though, brushing his honey-coloured hair out of his eyes as he smiles at Teddy. "Hey, Potter, how are you?"
"I'm- er, I'm fine." Teddy says slowly, stuffing the last of her notes back in her bag. She shoots a sharp look at Annette Blackthorne, who is leaning in very close in the hopes of overhearing some gossip, before turning back to him. "Something I can help you with?"
Otto chuckles, as though her directness is very endearing. "Actually, I just wanted to talk about Slughorn's dinner party." He smiles even wider as he watches her brow furrow, then says, "Ah, you forgot, didn't you?"
"Yeah, I did." She confesses, zipping her bag shut and tossing it back down on the ground. "I forgot about it completely, actually."
"Understandable." Otto cradles his chin in the palm of one of his hands and begins picking at a plate of chips with the other. "You're not usually a member of the Slug Club, right?"
It's nearly impossible to hide her grimace at that ridiculous name, but Otto doesn't seem to notice at all. "Nope, I'm not." She says, "I've never been to any of his... functions, before."
"I thought so!" Otto says effusively, before sitting up straight. The move accentuates his broad shoulders and wide chest, toned from years of intense Quidditch training — that's why he and his brother are in the so-called Slug Club, after all. Rumour has it that both of them are in talks with the Wimbourne Wasps, and that they hope to be recruited after school. "Well, you might not know then that people usually go to Ol' Sluggie's events in pairs."
"Pairs?" Teddy echoes, her brow beginning to furrow. Now that he's mentioning it, she does remember James and the way he used to hold out hope that one day Lily would invite him to one of the silly little parties Slughorn would throw. She never would, and Sirius would respond by throwing a big dramatic party in the Gryffindor common room to get James' mind off the whole thing.
"Yes! So, I was thinking," At this point, he finally seems to realise that everyone around them is listening in, and bends in closer as he lowers his voice, "Well, I was thinking we could go together. If you wanted, of course. Unless you were thinking of inviting someone else?"
"Er-" Teddy hadn't been thinking of inviting anyone else, because she had completely forgotten that the dinner was even taking place. In truth though, perhaps going with Otto was a good idea. After all, he had been to countless of these dinners before, whereas Teddy had no idea what she would be walking into. It would be nice to have someone so that she wouldn't be entirely on her own. Besides, there was no denying that Otto was very handsome, with his tanned skin and golden hair and ocean-blue eyes.
