𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫.

𝟔.𝟑 𝐚 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐬

"Slughorn's going to have a Christmas party, Harry" said Y/n to Harry in the middle of Herbology. "I knew you'd love to know!"

Harry groaned.

"There's no way you'll be able to wriggle out of this one because he actually asked me to check your free evenings, so he could be sure to have it on a night you can come."

Meanwhile, Ron, who was attempting to burst the pod in the bowl by putting both hands on it, standing up, and squashing it as hard as he could, said angrily, "And this is another party just for Slughorn's favorites, is it?"

"Just for the Slug Club, yes," said Hermione.

The pod flew out from under Ron's fingers and hit the green house glass, rebounding onto the back of Professor Sprout's head and knocking off her old, patched hat.

"Look, I didn't make up the name 'Slug Club' —" started Hermione.

"'Slug Club,'"repeated Ron with a sneer. "It's pathetic. Well, I hope you enjoy your party. Why don't you try hooking up with McLaggen, then Slughorn can make you King and Queen Slug —"

"Stop it!" said Y/n as another one of Ron's pod almost flew out of his hands.

"We're allowed to bring guests," said Hermione, who for some reason had turned a bright, boiling scarlet, "and I was going to ask you to come, but if you think it's that stupid then I won't bother!"

Harry suddenly wished the pod had flown a little farther, so that he need not have been sitting here with the pair of them. Unnoticed by either, he seized the bowl that contained the pod and began to try and open it by the noisiest and most energetic means he could think of; unfortunately, he could still hear every word of their conversation.

Y/n had shuffled away annoyed, but at least she didn't have to listen to the conversation.

"You were going to ask me?" asked Ron, in a completely different voice.

"Yes," said Hermione angrily. "But obviously if you'd rather I hooked up with McLaggen..."

There was a pause while Harry continued to pound the resilient pod with a trowel.

"'No, I wouldn't,'" said Ron, in a very quiet voice.

Harry missed the pod, hit the bowl, and shattered it. "Reparo," he said hastily, poking the pieces with his wand, and the bowl sprang back together again. The crash, however, appeared to have awoken Ron and Hermione to Harry's presence.

Hermione looked flustered and immediately started fussing about for her copy of Flesh-Eating Trees of the World to find out the correct way to juice Snargaluff pods; Ron, on the other hand, looked sheepish but also rather pleased with himself.

"Where's Y/n?" asked Hermione who hadn't seemed to notice her best friend's absence. Harry pointed to the h/c haired girl who was bursting open a pod successfully.

Hermione followed his finger. She motioned Y/n to join them again, and Y/n shuffled her away over again.

"Hand the pod over, Harry," said Hermione hurriedly. "It says we're supposed to puncture them with something sharp..."

Harry passed her the pod in the bowl; he and Ron both snapped their goggles back over their eyes and dived, once more, for the stump.

It was not as though he was really surprised, thought Harry, as he wrestled with a thorny vine intent upon throttling him; he had had an inkling that this might happen sooner or later. But he was not sure how he felt about it...

He and Cho were now too embarrassed to look at each other, let alone talk to each other; what if Ron and Hermione started going out together, then split up? Could their friendship survive it? Harry remembered the few weeks when they had not been talking to each other in the third year; he had not enjoyed trying to bridge the distance between them.