Chocolate ♕ Ginny Weasley

eighteen

Chapter Eighteen;

Patricia had no idea what to make of Professor Slughorn – or his exclusive parties.

She was only sure of a few things about him. 

One; he'd taken Ginny on the train journey to Hogwarts because of the Bat-Bogey Hex she'd performed on Zacharias Smith, resulting in Patricia joining Daisy for the rest of the journey (who had been uncharacteristically subdued, and Patricia was pretty sure she knew why). 

Two; he was their Potions Professor, after Snape took Defence Against the Dark Arts. 

Three; he liked her, and her outstanding skill at Potions. 

Four; he liked anyone who was famous, successful, or had close relations to other people who were famous or successful. 

And five; he liked to talk about past students who were famous and successful.

And he invited those people to his exclusive parties, which had been dubbed as the 'Slug Club.'

If she was being honest, Patricia only really liked two things about these parties: Ginny, and the food. Well, three things: she'd forgotten to include Hermione. While Slughorn would drone on about ex-students, or requested stories from the others, Patricia would exchange glances with the other two and roll their eyes. Patricia and Ginny would also try and protect Hermione from Cormac McLaggen – he hadn't been afraid of them at first, but now he backed off whenever he saw a flash of brunette and red hair together.

Time with Ginny, honestly, was the one reason Patricia accepted the invitations. She'd much rather spend all her time studying. Pressure was piling on top of her until she felt like she was drowning in it. It was there, pressing down on her, a niggling voice constantly in her head no matter where she went. Exams. Good marks. Must pass. Must study. Patricia had developed horrible bags under her eyes within the past weeks, and there had been times when she was so tense and the nerves were so heavy in her stomach that she almost threw up whatever she put in it. Slughorn's parties had seemed like a waste of time – but Ginny was there, and that made everything worthwhile. Ginny was the tower of strength Patricia was leaning on to help her get through the year.

Slughorn's parties so far had been something Patricia hadn't cared about, until he'd announced his Christmas party. She had to admit that it sounded pretty enjoyable and felt guilt-free about attending. As soon as Slughorn handed out the invitations she and Ginny were planning everything; Patricia ordered new dress robes, and they discussed if they wanted to bring guests.

The party was the buzz of the castle, and it was hard to go anywhere without hearing someone speaking about it, and the rumours of who was going to attend.

"Are you invited to Slughorn's?" Patricia asked Daisy, four days before the party.

Daisy shook her head sadly. "No invite," she said, dispirited. "I wish I had one, though – from the stories, it sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun."

Patricia smiled kindly. "You could be my guest, you know. The invite didn't specify a gender, just a guest." Merlin knew how much Daisy needed something to enjoy in her life right then.

Daisy brightened considerably and accepted the invite at once.

The days until the party passed in a blur, until Daisy and Patricia made their way to meet Ginny. Daisy was in robes of dark green, while Patricia had rich ocean blue.

She thought she'd looked pretty – until she saw Ginny.

Ginny was stunning, in robes of midnight black, with silver decorations. Her red hair was styled in a knot on the back of her head. She was so elegant, so sophisticated... And Patricia wanted to ask her to dance, there and then, where they'd kiss halfway through the dance.