RP: Party Politics

[shh_slughorn]

Date: 17th March 2005
Characters: Slughorn, house elves, guests
Location: At home
Status: Public (entry by invitation)
Summary: It's time to party... and network.
Completion: incomplete

Comments

[shh_hermione]

After closing up the shop at six, there had only been an hour in which to go home, shower, and get dressed for Slughorn's party. Hermione was relieved that Roger was going with her as they could duck out early and go for dinner after the party. It rarely failed to amuse her how often she seemed to be going to parties when she wasn't very social and disliked crowds.

Fortunately, she'd stumbled upon a lovely secondhand shop in London when book buying that sold 'party attire' type dresses and skirts for a lower price than the shop in Exeter. She'd bought a few things that looked as if they'd only been worn once and only spent forty pounds for all the items. It had been a steal, quite honestly, and she knew she'd go back if she continued having to be social in situations where one might frown upon seeing the same dresses repeatedly. She decided to ignore the voice in her head that smugly told her she liked wearing pretty dresses because that was absolutely ridiculous.

For Slughorn's party, she'd selected a simple dress that seemed

[shh_roger]

Roger squeezed Hermione's hand as they stood at the door, waiting for Slughorn to answer. He lifted a hand to straighten his collar. He'd worn a crisp white button up and trousers, deciding not to wear a tie, but going with a sportcoat because they'd walked over and it was a bit chilly

[shh_slughorn]

Horace heard a knock on the door, and went to answer it; later the house-elves could usher in new guests, but until there was a reasonable crowd he'd do the job for himself.

"Ah," he said, beaming as he saw the first arrivals. "Miss Granger and mister... Davies, is it? Welcome to you both."

"It's good of you to arrive so early. Could I ask you both to step into my study for a moment?" Horace led them across to the room, and its imposing array of leather-bound volumes, and said "This is a little awkward... To be blunt, miss Granger, I have house-elves here, and they're terrified of you. Might I request that you refrain from giving them clothing; they seem to think that if you do they're duty-bound to leave and never return, and it's a little cold for that sort of thing right now."

[shh_hermione]

"Good evening, Professor," Hermione said with a friendly smile. "Yes, this is Roger Davies, my b-uh, my date for the evening. Roger, this is Professor Slughorn. He taught Potions my sixth year

[shh_blaise]

Blaise stood outside Slughorn’s house, Terry’s hand held tightly in his. He really wasn’t sure this was a good idea. The only time he had bumped into someone in the last week had proven to be a rather uncomfortable experience. The discovery that Luc’s death had made the British Muggle papers was unnerving and did not bode well. He wondered how far the news had spread. If anyone else had seen the picture

[shh_terry]

Terry laughed, tilting his head a bit as Blaise kissed it.

He sighed, knowing how hard this was for his lover. "Blaise, if you really don't want to do this, we don't have to," he said quietly, linking their hands together. "But you have to get out sometime, and I know you're interested to see who else is here, and what sort of contacts you can make."

He leaned up and brushed a kiss across Blaise's lips. "So, let's give it an hour, okay?"

And before Blaise could say anything, Terry knocked.

[shh_slughorn]

"Ah," said Horace, opening the door, "Mister Zabini and I believe mister... um.. Boot, of Ravenclaw? Welcome to you both. I'm just chatting to Miss Granger and her escort in my study. Would you like to join us there, or begin with some refreshments?"

[shh_blaise]

“Okay, an hour,” Blaise agreed, placing his hand on the small of Terry’s back and stepping up behind him. “Then we’ll see who’s arrived and revaluated the benefits of being here.”

A moment later the door was opened. “Professor,” Blaise greeted, inclining his head briefly. “I’m sorry I didn’t reply to you letter. I was out of town on business and only recently got the news. I hope our presence is still acceptable.”

[shh_irma]

"I don't see why I had to come."

Irma was fairly certain that her son would never stop acting like a pouting six-year-old. He had been whining about it from the minute he arrived in Stoatshead Hill, and hadn't stopped, even as they were now standing outside Horace's door. "Andrew Pince. Stop it," she muttered. "I asked you. You accepted. Deal with it."

"But it will probably just be filled with old professors - who still think I am eleven and about to start Hogwarts, Mother."

"As long as you behave like this, why yes, I expect they will." Irma put one hand up to knock. "Now, Andy, will you behave?"

He let out a suffering sigh. "Yes, Mother."

"Good." Irma knocked at the door.

[shh_slughorn]

Horace heard more arrivals, and left the study to answer the door.

"Madame Pince! Dear lady, so good to see you again!" he said, lifting her hand to his lips. "And this must be your son... I don't think we've met before, have we? Am I right to think I've seen your name in one of the Salem Institute monographs?"

[shh_irma]

"Oh, Professor, you haven't changed a bit," Irma smiled. "Andy did attend Hogwarts - but he…"

"I never excelled particularly at Potions, is what my mother means to say," Andy intervened. "I enjoyed the theory aspect of it - but I was never much for the practical."

Besides, he hadn't the sort of personality, or connections for that matter, that Professor Slughorn would easily remember.

"I want to thank you for inviting us," Irma said. It was best to break Andrew off before he said something to offend Horace. "So lovely with a party."

[shh_slughorn]

"It would be a boring world if everyone excelled at potions," said Horace with a smile. "And a rather dangerous one, considering some of the.. um.. enthusiasts I've encountered over the years."

"It was good of you to arrive so promptly," he said to Irma, leading them into the hall. "Now, you know everyone here so far, I'd imagine..."

[shh_irma]

"Hermione, how lovely to see you again," Irma said. "And Mr. Zabini. How fares the library?"

[shh_hermione]

Slughorn led them to the lounge and then hurried off to check on his house elf. She saw Blaise and Terry standing closely together, so she let them have privacy. When Blaise wanted to speak with her, he'd venture over, she knew. She smiled and waved at him before she turned to Roger.

"Well, this size party is definitely more my style," she murmured, noticing Madam Pince with a rather attractive younger man. She smiled at her former librarian and then looked back at Roger. "I suppose Professor Slughorn thought I must carry around a bag filled with spare clothes to randomly free house elves."

Before Roger could reply, she heard Madam Pince greet her. She turned and smiled. "Good evening, Madam Pince. You look lovely. Do you know Roger Davies?"

[shh_irma]

Irma preened a bit - after being told that she needed to redo herself, it was nice to be complimented for being herself. "Thank you, dear."

She turned to Mr. Davies. "If we have met, it must have been a very long time ago - we might as well make a fresh start out of it. Irma Pince at your service. And this is my son, Andrew Pince. Andy, the young lady is Hermione Granger. I've told you about her."

Andy nodded and grinned. "The girl who wanted to take a look at my library. It's a pleasure to meet you. And you, too, Mr. Davies."

[shh_roger]

They entered the lounge and Roger looked around, nodding a head to Blaise and smiling.

"I'd say this is more my speed as well," he said softly, then chuckled. "Yeah, that was definitely ..." Silly. Ridiculous. "Er. Strange," he decided.

He looked up as they were greeted by the old librarian at Hogwarts, who'd brought a younger bloke whom she introduced as her son, Andrew. At her words, he grinned. "Well, I'd say we met, Madam Pince," he said with a wry smile, "in a sort of general, 'keep your voice down', sort of fashion. In which case, starting over is good. It's nice to meet you."

He nodded and smiled at Andrew, offering a hand. "Hello. Good to meet you, as well."

[shh_remus]

Remus had to admit, he was somewhat apprehensive about attending one of Slughorn's 'parties'. It put that nervous feeling back into the pit of his stomach; the same feeling he had when he had interviewed for the position at the new school. Still, nervousness or not, Remus found himself standing on the front stoop of Slughorn's.

Unsure whether he should knock... or just go inside.

As always in these situations, Remus found himself erring on the side of caution. Running a hasty hand through his hair, Remus raised his hand and knocked.

[shh_slughorn]

Cominjg back from the kitchen, Horace heard a quiet tap on the door, and opened it to see Remus Lupin. "My dear chap," he said, "so good to see you again after so many years. Everyone's through here, do please come through." He led Remus to the lounge and said "And here we are. I think you probably know most people. Now, has everyone found something that they like?" He helped himself to a sausage roll and a glass of wine, smiled, and said "Thank you all so much for coming. Now do please tuck in!"

[shh_remus]

"It's good to see you as well," Remus said with a warm smile, feeling his nervousness dissipate. He followed behind Slughorn, glancing about the place -- and finding it to be quite nice indeed. "I hope all has been well?"

He stepped into the lounge behind Horace, smiling as he saw who all was in attendance. A comforting group of people, and as far as he could tell were people he knew. Perhaps the party wouldn't be so bad afterall.

[shh_slughorn]

"Reasonably well," said Horace, "although I'm afraid my retirement will have to wait another few years. My new consultancy will be a change of pace, and I hope a good one... and I understand that you're going back into teaching. I'm afraid that I can't see doing that again, but I wish you every success."