taking control

Chapter 11: Of Parties and Confrontations

A/N: Hello all. Here is the much awaited chapter 11. My thanks go out to RubysQuill for all her help. This chapter went through a major reworking thanks to her efforts, and I think it is much better for it. She is chalk-full of great ideas, and I'm really excited to be working with her. I also want to thank all of you for reading, especially those of you who have been kind enough to leave me reviews. I greatly appreciate it.

I have an announcement to make. I've started up a Yahoo Group after receiving a couple requests. The site can be found at . (sorry it wouldn't let me add it as a link). If I ever have any announcements or update notices to post, that is where they will appear. You can also use the site to discuss Taking Control or HP canon. I welcome all readers to come join if you are at all interested.

Without further ado, I give you...

Chapter 11: Of Parties and Confrontations

As Harry rushed back to the castle to make sure everything was ready for the party, his mind drifted back to what had happened at the end of the match. He had nearly lost Ginny and if he was honest with himself he couldn't imagine his life without her in it anymore. Each time he thought of what could have happened his stomach bottomed out and he'd catch his hands starting to shake. The more he thought about it the more bothered he became and the faster he walked. He was brought to a sudden stop when it occurred to him that he wasn't even sure who or what had knocked her off the broom. He had been so consumed with making sure she was safe and unhurt that until that moment he haven't given any thought to what had caused her to fall.

Harry stopped abruptly and turned on his heel to stalk back out to the pitch, robes billowing behind him in a very Snape-like manner. As he walked he began listing the hexes and curses he could use on the Slytherin that had come so close to hurting Ginny. He stopped again when he remembered that Ginny wasn't hurt, that she was fine and more importantly that she would want to be a part of making them pay for their transgressions. Besides, he knew that whatever she came up with would be ten times worse than whatever he would do. She really did have a bit of a wicked streak in her.

Eventually, Harry continued on to the kitchens, where Bobbin, the head house elf, assured him that everything was fine. Dobby would be bringing up the food in a few minutes. Bobbin asked for his forbearance since it would take Dobby several trips to bring up all the food. Before Harry could ask, Bobbin explained that because of the 'clothes' issue the other elves were still reluctant to help in the tower. Luckily Harry was able to quickly convince some of the other elves that there would be no clothes left around to put them in danger and some of them agreed to help Dobby.

When Harry finally returned to the tower it was virtually empty, as most Gryffindors were too busy celebrating on the pitch to hurry back inside. After the struggle he'd had in the last half hour or so, he was glad to have some time to get a hold of himself. After taking a few deep breaths, Harry was able to set things up without interruption. He only took out two of the kegs of butterbeer out of his trunk to start, figuring he'd pull the third one out only if it was needed. As soon as he got the two kegs in position, a loud crack announced the arrival of Dobby and the other house elves, who quickly threw together several tables full of food, ranging from sandwiches to crisps to various desserts. They had once again outdone themselves.

Hearing the sound of a crowd of students out in the hall approaching the portrait, Harry surveyed the tables set up in front of him. The house elves had done a good job and had included plates to eat the food on. As he glanced over at his kegs, he realized that he hadn't given any thought to what everybody would drink out of. There wasn't really any room to place a bunch of goblets anywhere, so Harry put his muggle upbringing to good use by conjuring a couple stacks of plastic cups. He was confident that the conjured items would last throughout the night, as he was now consistently conjuring items that would last for over a week when he wanted them to.