Potter | 𝘚𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬

Chapter 24

"So are Slughorn's parties any fun?" Clint asked as him and Jenna were making their way over his office.

     "Dunno, I've never been to one," Jenna shrugged. "But if it's anything like his dinner meetings, then you will want to kill yourself." Clint laughed.

     "Nah, I doubt it," he said earnestly, smiling.

     "How so?"

     "Because it won't be as bad when I'm gonna have you there with me," he said softly and Jenna smiled, but she said nothing in return.

     When they finally reached Slughorn's office, it was already packed up with guests, waiters were passing around snacks on trays, and music was playing.

     "Ah! Miss Potter! Come in! Come in!" Slughorn beamed down at Jenna and Clint with a glass of fire-whiskey in his hands. "Please, help yourself with anything. There are drinks over there, if you needed any," and with a wink, he went over to two new guests who had just arrived.

     Not long after, Lily came in with the Ravenclaw boy, Nick. And at that moment, Jenna didn't know if she should've felt bad for the guy, or feel excited that he was going to be jinxed by James the next day.

     "Hey, Jenna!" Lily waved at her, walking towards Jenna with her date for the night. "Guys, this is Nick."

     "Oh, are you two-" Clint started, but was cut off by Lily, who shook her head.

     "This party isn't as dull as I thought it would be," said Lily, looking around.

     "Yeah, that's cause you've been here for less than three minutes," Jenna scoffed. "Give it five more minutes and you'd want to jump off the Astronomy Tower."

     "Ah, Miss Evans! You're here too! Welcome!" Slughorn came forward to greet Lily as well, just as kindly and brightly. "Well, now that we have both our Gryffindor girls here, what do you say to a picture, eh?"

     Lily and Jenna nodded and so stood there with Slughorn as the photographer snapped a shot, and then were again free to go.

     When they turned to see where Slughorn had gone, they saw that Sirius had just come inside, hand in hand with Gwenog Jones, who was wearing a red velvet dress and had her brown hair in a low bun.

     She was smiling so broadly, failing in hiding her happiness for the luck she had to have Sirius Black as her date. But he wasn't pulling his usual charms on her. He barley even looked at her as his eyes roamed the room.

     In fact, his eyes wandered around, trying to find someone he didn't know he was that anxious to see, until just then.

     But when he spotted her, his brows knitted together in a frown as he watched Clint raise his hand for Jenna to take.

     "Wanna dance?" Clint asked and Jenna shrugged, taking his hand and following him to the dance floor.

      "I need a drink," Sirius said grimly, mostly to himself, and so without even waiting for Gwenog, he went towards the table where drinks and food were being served.

     "Don't you wanna dance?" Gwenog asked him, running her hand up and down his arm, but Sirius didn't seem to notice.

     "No," he said simply, his eyes glued on the dance floor as he sipped on his drink.

     Just then, Clint grabbed onto Jenna's waist with one hand and with the other, he held onto her hand.

     Jenna wasn't enjoying the dance that night like she usually would whenever she moved to the rhythm of a music alone at home.

     That was partly because she found her mimd wondering tonight as she kept throwing quick glances at Gwenog Jones with fury in her eyes.

     "You know," Clint started, but from his tone, Jenna somehow knew that she wasn't going to like what he was going to say next. "I always wanted to ask you out. But you know... your brother had hexed Conor Ferrel and Sam Jordan over the years when they asked you. So I thought I shouldn't, if I liked my pants where they were and not on fire."

     "Yes, well," Jenna grinned. "That's James Potter for you."

     "But... didn't you get angry at him?" he asked. "I mean, I know I would be irritated if I were you."

     Jenna didn't answer. She didn't mind James hexing her admirers. In fact, she was thankful that he would save her the trouble of hexing those boys herself.

     "I'm glad you asked me tonight," Clint continued. "Your brother won't kill me now, would he?"

     "Oh," Jenna started awkwardly. "Err - Clint... I - I thought you knew."

     "Knew what?"

     "Well... I asked you... as a friend."

     "Oh," Clint pursed his lips together, looking at their feet awkwardly as they kept dancing. "I wish you had said so."

     "You're right. I should have," Jenna sighed. "It's just that... I was so furious at the time and you were the first guy that I saw and you were in my team and we were friends. So..."

     "Why were you furious?" he asked, and Jenna was grateful that he hadn't pushed the matter of them being here as friends any further. "Did you ask someone but they couldn't come with you?"

     Jenna shook her head, but a voice inside her head rudely called out, Liar!

     They kept dancing to a few more songs, but as someone tapped Clint on the shoulder, they came to a stop, turning to see who it was.

     "You wouldn't mind if I borrowed your lovely date for some while, would you?"