Desperate Measures

Chapter 13 - An Invitation

The Quibbler, Special Flyer, Monday, November 25, 1996

Current Count of Suitors: 813

Excerpt from An Introduction to Veela, Chapter 5 - Community Organization – Villages & The City

Harry laughed as Lavender squealed in excitement at her winning of the weekly bet.

"How did you think of such a thing?" Harry inquired curiously once the girl had stowed away her newly won bag of knuts.

"What else would he get you after belts than buttons?" Lavender questioned innocently.

Harry shook his head in amazement. "I didn't even know such things existed. I've heard of cufflinks but I've never heard of temporary buttons and certainly not shirts with only buttonholes."

"It allows for greater accessorizing," Parvati said earnestly.

"Right," Harry said with raised eyebrows and again shook his head. He appreciated the four cufflink and button sets that he had received – and the accompanying buttonhole-only shirts of black and white that accompanied them – but it still seemed like an odd concept to him.

"My father has several sets of buttons," Hermione volunteered. "He uses them when he takes mum out to a fancy dinner once a month. I think he must have a dozen sets or so."

"Really?" Harry said then chuckled. His chuckle grew into a full-out laugh as he remembered the letter and thought that Hermione's father had nothing on Draco. Draco had admitted that buttons were his favorite accessory and that he currently owned over 200 sets, though he no longer wore many of the ones he had purchased as a child. He wondered what Draco would say to find out he had something in common with a muggle.

"What's so funny?" Hermione asked curiously.

Harry shook his head. "Just something," he said in amusement.

Hermione nodded and went back to her breakfast without comment.

Harry looked at her curiously. Her nagging and questioning had drastically reduced in the last several weeks and he was curious as to why. He didn't think it was due solely to the nagging of Lavender and Neville. "Hey, Hermione?"

"Yes?" Hermione said as she looked up from pouring another glass of pumpkin juice.

"Why aren't you nagging me anymore?" Harry asked.

Hermione raised an eyebrow and asked dryly, "You want me to nag you, Harry?"

Harry shook his head vigorously and said, "No, but I'm trying to figure out why you've stopped nagging me or at least not as much as you used to."

"Well," Hermione said, clucking her tongue, "You want the nice explanation or the ugly truth?"

Harry's lips twitched, as did Hermione's, and Harry said, "Why don't you tell me the nice version first."

Hermione smiled and said, "I had a nice talk with Neville. Did you know that one of his cousins earned the hand of a Veela girl?"

Harry was startled at that and glanced at Neville, who nodded at the implied question. "I didn't know. That explains a lot." It did, too, like how Neville seemed to understand him better than anyone else at school and why the other boy hadn't been afraid when confronted with an angry half-Veela. Only a truly enraged Veela would attack someone with whom they weren't actually angry.

"It does," Hermione said with a nod.

"And the ugly truth?" Harry questioned as he looked suspiciously at his friend's innocent expression.