Chapter 1207: The Ballroom Invitation
Chapter 1207: The Ballroom Invitation
At this moment, Harry was on his way back to the Gryffindor common room, his steps light and his mood seemingly pleasant.
Just a few minutes ago, Harry had emerged from Professor Slughorn's office. Since his last visit to the Potions master after consuming Felix Felicis, his relationship with the professor had become much closer.
Of course, this was also because Professor Slughorn had an interest in "collecting" the Savior of the Wizarding World.
Both parties had their own agendas, but their interactions were pleasant enough.
To prevent Professor Slughorn from suspecting his impure motives, Harry had taken the initiative to reveal his true purpose for seeking out the professor: to obtain Felix Felicis and other performance-enhancing potions, as well as to learn more about his parents from Slughorn.
This approach undoubtedly put the professor at ease and made him more willing to offer Harry assistance.
After all, if he were to sell Felix Felicis, Professor Slughorn could make a substantial amount of Galleons. In fact, he had already done so, and the two had reached a preliminary agreement on the transaction. For now, the Order of the Phoenix didn't need to worry about running out of the potion, and their lives would be further safeguarded with its help.
To be honest, Harry had never been as serious about anything as he was now. Even during the Triwizard Tournament, he hadn't prepared as diligently as he was doing now.
It was all for the sake of defeating Voldemort, and every effort was worth it.
"So, Harry?"
As soon as Harry returned to the Gryffindor common room, Hermione put down her quill and approached him to inquire about his latest progress.
"It's going well," Harry replied, scanning the bustling common room but not spotting Ron, which he found a bit surprising.
"Ron's over there with Lavender," Hermione said, pointing to the sofa by the fireplace. "Let's chat over there."
Harry followed Hermione to a quiet corner of the room and shared the details of his meeting with Professor Slughorn earlier that day.
"Professor Slughorn has agreed to sell a portion of the Felix Felicis. However, since Dumbledore already took a batch from him, he'll need to brew a new batch. We'll have to pay a deposit for the ingredients. And of course, there's the complex potion as well. I think it's wise to stock up on potions just in case."
"That will require a large sum of Galleons, and it will take at least half a year to brew the Felix Felicis!" Hermione frowned as she reminded him.
"I know," Harry acknowledged. "We have some reserves left from Sirius and the others, but that stuff is barely enough for consumption." He was well aware of the potion's wonders; it could be a lifesaver in critical moments.
While the amount of Felix Felicis one could use was strictly limited, after learning Albert's method of consuming the potion, there was no need to worry about dosage anymore. Moreover, the Order of the Phoenix's reserves were clearly insufficient.
Harry didn't mind using part of the inheritance left by his parents in Gringotts to purchase more Felix Felicis, but Sirius had once told him that Dumbledore was not lacking in funds.
"I managed to find out quite a bit about my mother from Professor Slughorn. It's evident that he had a soft spot for her. I think this is the best approach to gain his trust," Harry said, aware of what he needed to do to earn the professor's confidence. Although he didn't like the idea of deliberately currying favor with someone, he knew he had no choice if he wanted to achieve certain goals.
After all, figuring out the exact number of Horcruxes was more important than anything else, and it was a task Dumbledore had entrusted to him. Harry was determined to see it through and not let the headmaster down.
"By the way, I plan to give Professor Slughorn a box of candied pineapple for Christmas. You know, he likes receiving gifts," Harry said, glancing at Hermione to see that she was listening intently. He lowered his voice and continued, "After that, I intend to learn more about my parents from him, and then pay him a visit with a bottle of wine on his birthday. With the help of Felix Felicis, I think the chances of success should be fairly high."
"Does Albert have any suggestions?"
Hermione agreed that Harry's plan made sense, but she knew that plans often didn't survive first contact with reality. Harry clearly didn't have much time for trial and error, so it would be best if he could succeed on the first try.
"Albert agrees with my plan," Harry replied. "As for suggestions, he thinks that if the plan fails completely, we should forcibly bring Professor Slughorn on board." Harry looked around to ensure no one was eavesdropping before continuing in a hushed tone, "I would tell Slughorn that Voldemort is already close to death and that they need that portion of his memory. Albert believes that with the right use of Felix Felicis, we will definitely succeed."
Harry couldn't help but feel a bit helpless when he mentioned Albert's suggestion.
"That's certainly a straightforward approach," Hermione said, a bit surprised. She questioned the feasibility of Albert's suggestion, as she knew that if simply laying their cards on the table had been an option, Dumbledore would have convinced Professor Slughorn to hand over that memory by now, rather than sending Harry to try and obtain it himself.
However, Hermione often found herself trusting Albert's judgment more than her own, as the man had rarely made any mistakes. This was also why many others were willing to put their faith in him.
"By the way, Harry, have you found a dance partner yet?" Hermione suddenly changed the subject.
"No," Harry replied. "You know, I'm not really that interested in the Christmas ball."
Noticing Hermione's attempt to divert the conversation, Harry played along. As he lifted his gaze, he spotted several girls approaching them—the same girls who had been trying to get him to invite them to the ball.
Harry started to get up, intending to make a quick escape, but Hermione kept him there.
"What about you?" Harry asked, giving her a reproachful look as he knew he couldn't evade the topic any longer.
"I haven't found one either," Hermione admitted with a shrug. "You know, I originally planned to go with Ron, but now that he's with Lavender, inviting him might create misunderstandings and make things awkward between them."
"I think we can go together," Harry suggested, raising his voice slightly. "That way, we can avoid the hassle of finding dance partners."
However, this didn't deter the enthusiastic girls.
"It seems like those girls have been pestering you quite a bit lately," Hermione said with a smile as she watched Harry politely turn them down. "I told you to find a dance partner in advance."
"All right, Hermione," Harry conceded. "Maybe we can pretend to go together since you're not looking for a partner either."
"We'll see," Hermione hesitated, still feeling that going as a pair would be a waste of their dance partner slots, and...
"What are you worried about?" Harry asked, puzzled, after making sure the girls had left.
"Nothing," Hermione shook her head.
"Alright, Hermione, stop beating around the bush and just spit it out. That riddle-loving Albert is already giving me a headache." Harry urged.
"We have to consider Ron, the idiot," Hermione reminded him helplessly. Though she didn't mind going with Harry, as she hadn't found a partner herself, Hermione had to take other matters into account.
Harry fell silent for a moment, having also noticed Ron's affection for Hermione, but it was clear that Hermione only saw Ron as a close friend, much like their own relationship.
"You're right, Ron really is an idiot!" Harry sighed softly, "So, are you going to invite him to Professor Slughorn's Christmas Ball?"
"Let's forget about it. I don't want to be pestered by Lavender," Hermione shrugged, "If I had to choose, I'd rather invite Luna."
"You're quite considerate towards Luna, I thought you disliked her," Harry said, looking at Hermione in surprise, as he knew they had little in common.
"I don't dislike her," Hermione denied outright, "We just don't usually have much to talk about, but recently we've found some common ground."
"I understand, Hermione."
Harry knew that Hermione didn't really like Luna, as their personalities clashed. He even suspected that Hermione would be willing to help Luna if it concerned Albert.
"You can bring Ron, and I'll invite Luna for you," Harry proposed.
"Then... okay," Hermione hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement, "I'll talk to Luna about it, but you'll have to handle Ron yourself."
"That's easy!" Harry was confident, "I'll go find Ron right now."
"You want to invite me to Professor Slughorn's Christmas Ball?"
Ron looked as if he couldn't believe his ears, furrowing his brow as he said, "But Harry, no guy would invite another guy as a dance partner. If this gets out in Hogwarts..."
"I know." Harry interrupted impatiently, "I'm just asking if you want to attend Professor Slughorn's Christmas Ball."
"Of course I do." Ron shrugged, "Who wouldn't want to go to a Christmas feast? But I think it would be inappropriate for me to be your partner; we'd become the laughing stock of the whole school."
"Hermione hasn't invited a partner either," Harry explained to Ron how he could attend the ball without becoming a joke, "She originally planned to invite Luna, and Hermione will invite you. As for me, I'll invite Luna on her behalf."
"Hermione wants to invite Luna? That's surprising. I thought Hermione didn't like Luna?" Ron was astonished by Harry's words.
"Maybe it's because of Albert; Hermione seems to be taking extra care of Luna lately." Harry thought that Hermione liked Albert but was unwilling to admit it.
Of course, even if she did admit it, it wouldn't matter since Albert was already married, which was even more disheartening than his previous crush on Cho Chang.
"She's going to invite Loony Lovegood?" Ron mumbled.
"Loony? I think she's quite nice and witty," Harry said.
"You don't like her, do you?" Ron asked with wide eyes.
"Drop those silly thoughts," Harry interrupted, "Anyway, remember to keep this a secret."
After instructing Ron, Harry returned to the dormitory to work on his homework. Though he disliked these tasks, Harry knew he had to allocate some time to complete them.
However, the news of Harry inviting the eccentric Luna Lovegood to Professor Slughorn's Christmas Ball somehow leaked out, and before long, the entire school seemed to know about it.
Many girls who had hoped to attend the ball with Harry were nearly driven to tears by this news, unable to understand why the famous Harry Potter would choose such an odd girl as his partner, causing them to doubt their own charms.
As for Ron's invitation to Hermione, there was a new twist to the tale, as someone apparently leaked the information to Lavender, and it was said that she and Ron had a big fight, though it was unclear if they had broken up.
"So, have you two broken up?"
Harry suspected that Ron had deliberately let the information slip to Lavender, as this would be a good opportunity for him to break up with her if he wanted to.
"Not yet, but I hope to part ways with Lavender," Ron mumbled, looking a bit glum and seemingly unwilling to discuss the matter further.
"I thought you liked Lavender," Harry said, raising an eyebrow as he walked with Ron to the spot where they were supposed to meet Hermione.
"What about you?"
After a moment of silence, Ron tried to change the subject.
"Me? Are you talking about a girlfriend?" Harry asked in return.
"I remember you used to like Cho Chang from Ravenclaw," Ron said tentatively.
"Yes, but not anymore. Besides, Cho already has someone she likes, so I gave up decisively. After all, I have my own matters to attend to," Harry candidly spoke about his previous crush on Cho Chang, as it was now an insignificant matter to him.
"What about now?"
"Now, I don't have time for romance. Defeating Voldemort is my top priority at the moment," Harry shrugged, "Though it's difficult, I have no other choice. After all, Voldemort has already identified me as his arch-nemesis, and he will surely seek to eliminate me personally."
At the mention of Voldemort, Ron reacted with unusual concern, looking worried.
"Hermione... she..."
"Hermione plans to help me, and we're both prioritizing the elimination of the mysterious figure," Harry said calmly.
"Harry, over here..."
As they approached the marble staircase, they spotted Hermione and Luna waiting nearby.
"Thank you for inviting me to the Christmas Ball, Harry," Luna said cheerfully, wearing a robe adorned with silver sequins.
"No, I should be the one thanking you and Mr. Lovegood for your support. Has Hermione mentioned something else to you?" Harry asked, glancing at Hermione.
"Hermione told me, and I've already written to my father about it," Luna nodded to indicate that she understood.
"Albert believes that a tumultuous era is approaching, and openly supporting me now is unwise," Harry said to Luna, "The Death Eaters will inevitably target Mr. Lovegood, so I think it's necessary for him to protect himself and ensure your safety."
"You've changed a lot, Harry!" Luna scrutinized him.
"I know, but sometimes, we need to make changes. Being too naive will only lead to suffering in the future. That's something I learned from Albert," Harry shrugged, acknowledging that he had indeed changed.
(End of Chapter)
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