Slipping Through

*


"It's the end of the year!"

"She should really be more careful with her tops."

"She's going to lose them all someday. People will stop returning them."

"If she just kept her shirt on, this wouldn't be a problem."

"You can't stop her. She’s an exhibitionist."

"Obviously."

"Did you hear about the party?"

"What party?"

"In the Slytherin dungeon, end-of-year party. Apparently it's a tradition."

"Are you going?"

"Were you invited?"

"You have to be invited?"

"Of course, they wouldn't let just anyone come."

"Granger, Potter, there you are," a voice interrupted Harry and Hermione's conversation as they stood outside the Great Hall watching as Pansy Parkinson whirled her top over the heads of the watching students. They turned around and came face-to-face with Blaise Zabini. He wasn't sneering at them like most Slytherins usually did. In fact, he looked almost pleased to see them.

"Zabini," Harry said slowly, wondering what kind of trick he had up his sleeve. Hermione stood by Harry's side, giving Blaise a mistrustful look. Blaise gave a polite nod to Hermione, who looked taken aback.

"Granger, Potter," he said, nodding to them, increasing their confusion. "I am here to officially invite you to the Slytherin End-of-Year party." He reached into his cloak and withdrew two pieces of paper with the Slytherin crest on each. He held them out to Harry and Hermione who took them slowly; still unsure of what was going on.

"You're inviting us?" Harry asked, his expression confused.

"What would a party be without The Chosen One and his trusty side-kick?" Blaise drawled, giving Hermione a charming smile. Her expression was still suspicious as she looked at him.

"Hate to break it to you, but Ron's my side-kick," Harry corrected him. Blaise shrugged. "Is he invited?"

"Tomato, tomahto," Blaise said indifferently. "And I'm afraid the Weasel will be detained that night." He gave them an evil smirk and raised his eyebrow dangerously.

Harry and Hermione exchanged a nervous glance. On the one hand, they were being invited to possibly the best party of the year, on the other; it was given by Slytherins after all. They had a silent conversation for a few seconds while Blaise waited for their answer.

"What are you going to do to Ron?" Harry asked finally.

Blaise just shrugged "Don't you worry your pretty little head about that, Potter. Leave it up to the Slytherins. We'll make sure he's well taken care of."

Harry exchanged another glance with Hermione. "Well... alright, we'll come."

"Splendid," Blaise said with a smile. "It's down in the dungeons, you know how to get there, right?" Harry nodded slowly. "The night of the party, the password will appear on the invitation once you get near the door. Then it'll basically implode, so watch your fingers."

He smiled at both of them in a way that made them think he was up to something once more. Harry looked down at his invitation then back at Blaise.

"See you at the party," Blaise said cryptically before turning around and disappearing down the hall.

Harry turned to Hermione who looked just as puzzled as he felt. "Do you think this is a good idea?" he asked.

She bit her lip as she looked down at the invitation. The snake on the crest hissed lightly at them.

"I don't know, Harry," she said after a few seconds. "I guess we could go."

"There's really no reason not to," Harry said slowly. "I mean, the war is over. It could be fun."

"Well, alright," Hermione said. "We'll go. Do you think we should tell Ron?"

"What?" Harry asked as he pushed open the doors to the Great Hall and walked inside to lunch. "That he wasn't invited to the biggest party of the year? I don't think he'd appreciate that."

"Well, no, but do you think we should warn him?" she asked worriedly. "Whatever they're planning, it can't be good."

"I think he can fend for himself," Harry said as they sat down at the Gryffindor table. Hermione looked uneasy but said no more as they began to eat. Ron soon joined them from an oddly timed detention with Snape.

"That fucking Bastard," Ron cussed as he sat down in his seat, grabbing a plate and pulling it toward himself violently in his anger. "I'll be glad when I never have to see his ugly face ever again."

Harry and Hermione didn't say anything and Ron didn't seem to notice as he began to eat, grumbling to himself about Snape all the while. Instead, they just went about eating their meals, not saying a word about the party.

The rest of the day passed slowly. Ron was still in a fuming mood about Snape almost the entire time so it was nearly impossible to get him to talk about anything normal without going off on a tirade about Snape.

"If I didn't know any better," Harry said finally, tired of hearing about Snape. "I'd say you had a crush."

That shut Ron up almost immediately. He stopped short as they had been walking up to the castle from Herbology. He stopped so suddenly that Neville ran smack into him, sending Ron flying forward and Neville backward.

Ron landed on his stomach, grass stains all down his front. He didn't notice as he turned over to stare at Harry from his place on the ground. Harry just shrugged and kept on walking. Ron scrambled up, accidentally hitting Neville again and sending him flying as his flailing arm hit him. He tripped over the grass as he struggled to catch up with Harry.

"Harry," he said, sounding disgusted. "That is the foulest thing I've ever heard in my life!"

"Then stop talking about Snape!" Harry said. "I don't want to hear about him either!"

Ron was quiet after that remark, talking no more about Snape for the rest of the night. Hermione just grinned at them behind their backs as they walked up to the castle. They walked up to the Gryffindor common room, passing Blaise as they walked through the Entrance Hall. He smirked at them before disappearing down a door to the dungeons.

Hermione and Harry exchanged another nervous glance behind Ron's back but said nothing. They walked up to the common room where they plopped down in the good armchairs by the fire after pushing out a few first years. Hermione only protested slightly but her mind was too distracted to really think about it.

They sat in silence for awhile, watching the small fire that was lit in the grate, not for warmth but merely for comfort. Ron seemed to be having difficulties keeping in all his rantings and finally just threw up his arms in frustration and stalked away from them, muttering dark omens under his breath.

Harry and Hermione just let him go, a feeling of relief washing over them as the tension of not being able to tell him left. Still they didn't talk, each wondering about the party. Harry was lost in thoughts when a seemingly loud voice interrupted his thoughts.

"You two going to the party?"

Harry jerked back, having been staring at the fire. He looked up to see Seamus and Dean standing behind the empty chair that Ron had vacated. Dean's arms were around Seamus' waist and his head was resting on his shoulder as they waited for their response.

"You're invited too?" Hermione asked.

Seamus looked around as if to check if anyone was listening then replied quietly. "Yeah, but don't tell Lavender. Only Parvati was invited, she'll have a fit."

Hermione had to hold back her laughter, biting her lip. Seamus sent her a huge grin and a wink. Even though Hermione and Ron had decided that they would never get together, Hermione had never taken kindly to Lavender after she and Ron had dated.

"Are you going?" Harry asked quietly.

"Sure, why not?" Seamus replied. He tilted his head up to look at Dean. "Wouldn't miss an opportunity for free booze and a chance to make fun of Slytherins."

With that, Seamus gave Dean a peck on the cheek and smiled at Harry and Hermione. Together, they left, leaving Harry and Hermione once more to their thoughts.

Harry wondered if this wasn't some kind of trap. He'd never heard of this party before. Maybe they'd just made it up for some reason to get people down in the dungeon so they could do what they wished.

After the war had ended, inter-house relationship had been rocky but in the end it had all worked out, or mostly. The Slytherins and Gryffindors just naturally had an animosity toward one another. It was getting better and Harry supposed this party would be a step in the right direction, he just wasn't sure. And then the fact that Blaise had been so very odd when he had invited them, almost nicely. Of course, he had also told them that something would happen to Ron. Harry knew it couldn't be too horrible though. None of the pranks played since the end of the year had been very bad at all.

He knew he should just grit his teeth and go. What was the worst that could happen after all? Nothing could be worse than facing Voldemort, Harry thought. A party with the Slytherins couldn't be that bad.

Finally, the sun had long set behind the dark mountains surrounding the castle. Harry and Hermione said their goodnights and went their separate ways. When Harry reached the dormitory, he wondered if perhaps he ought to tell Ron, just warn him a bit. But something held him back and he let it go, slipping into bed.

As he stared at the darkened canopy of his bed, he hoped that nothing would go wrong the next night at the party. He just had something telling him something was going to happen. He didn't know what, but he knew something was coming.

His last thought before drifting off to sleep was that this, at the very least, would be the last time he had to see Draco Malfoy, then the darkness took him and he drifted off to sleep.

***

The next day went slowly; Harry and Hermione simply trying not too feel too guilty about Ron's obliviousness to what was going on. A part of Harry wanted to warn him to be on his guard that night but another part told him that whatever it was was for a good reason.

The morning moved as slow as molasses for Harry. Lunch was slow and boring and not much of significance occurred in the afternoon except Neville tripping down the stairs. It actually wasn't his fault this time. Ron had been gesturing wildly while telling a story and had accidentally sent Neville flying down the stairs.

After helping Neville to the hospital wing, the day finally came to a close school-wise. Hermione and Harry sat nervously in the common room, trying not to act suspicious as they sat with Ron. Hermione pretended to be studying while Harry played a game of wizards chess with Ron.

At nine o’clock that night, Harry excused himself, saying he wanted to go to bed early. Ron gave him an odd look but didn’t question his extremely early departure. Several minutes later, Hermione stood up as a breeze rustled her hair and told Ron that she too was retiring for the night.

Ron watched as she walked toward the girls’ stair and disappeared up them. He shook his head to himself, thinking they were both mental for going to bed so early.

Harry stood underneath the invisibility cloak, hoping Hermione wouldn’t be too long fixing herself up. He had merely changed from his black robes into casual muggle wear, a pair of form-fitted jeans and a tight black tee shirt. He stood by the bottom of the girls’ stair, waiting for her to come back down.

About ten minutes later, she reappeared, looking carefully down the stairs before creeping cautiously down. She had changed into a short skirt and tight pink shirt. Her hair was no longer frizzy, but tamed down into dark waves. She had put on a bit of make-up as well, some dark eyeliner, giving her a very smoky look.

Harry held up the cloak so that she could see him and she slipped under it quickly lest Ron should see. Together they walked out the portrait hole and didn’t remove the cloak until they were nearly at the Slytherin common room.

Harry shrunk the cloak and stuffed it in his back pocket. He pulled out his invitation on and watched as the snake on it hissed again, a tiny written word emitting from its mouth and onto the paper. Harry squinted to make it out then spoke it to the blank wall in front of them.

“Scintilatious,” he said and watched as the stone slid back, revealing the Slytherin common room.

Harry gave a yelp as the paper in his hand exploded, singeing his fingertips. Hermione let out a small laugh and together they walked forward.

Inside, they were greeted with enthusiastic cheers. Harry guessed that some of them had already been hitting the alcohol pretty hard. He and Hermione edged through the crowd, looking around carefully.

They saw Seamus and Dean over talking to some Ravenclaws. Harry led Hermione over to where there were snacks and drinks. He reached for a glass of punch but Hermione grabbed his arm.

“Wait,” she said, pulling out her wand. She muttered a few words and waved it over the bowl. The bowl gave off a slight red glow and Hermione gave a smug smile. “Don’t drink that, Harry, it’s been spiked with Veritaserum.”

He gave the punch bowl an uneasy look and steered clear of it. He turned around and once again came face-to-face with Blaise. This time he wasn’t alone though. Michael Corner, a Ravenclaw, stood by his side, his fingers laced between Blaise’s.

“Potter, Granger, you came,” Blaise said, sounding pleased. His smile was pleasant, but he tugged Michael closer to himself as though sending Harry a clear message.

“Yeah,” Harry said slowly. “Uh, probably can’t stay long, though, got lots to do tomorrow.”

“Mhmm,” Blaise said, not sounding as though he believed him. “Well, anyway, drink, enjoy, you’re almost free!”

Harry nodded in agreement as Blaise and Michael left. He turned back to Hermione, who had a skeptical look on her face.

“Maybe we shouldn’t have come,” Harry said looking around him. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. People were drinking Fire Whiskey, dancing around to some magical stereo, and seemed pretty happy.

“I think we should wait it out,” Hermione said thoughtfully. “I have feeling this is only just the beginning.”

They spent the next half hour chatting with people. Hermione was talking to Parvati when Harry’s attention began to wane. He stopped listening to them and allowed his gaze to travel around the room. He saw Blaise and Michael talking to Seamus and Dean. Blaise’s hand was not so subtly slipping down Michael’s back, Harry saw.

He tore his gaze away from them and it landed on Pansy, who was surrounded by a few guys Harry knew played on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. She was laughing freely, clearly a little drunk already.

Harry’s eyes continued around the room and it wasn’t until they had made the full circle that he realized something; Malfoy wasn’t there.

There was no sign of the blond in the room. Harry found that odd. Surely he loved to be the center of attention? Then why wasn’t he here where he could get all the attention he wanted? Harry puzzled over this for a moment as Hermione and Parvati continued to chat beside him.

His query was answered almost immediately, though. Somewhere above them, Harry heard a door slam open and shut as someone came out. There was an opening across the room and Harry could just see a tiny bit of stairs beyond. From there emerged Draco Malfoy.

Almost everyone turned as he walked into the room. He stood in the opening, smirking all around him, his pale skin gleaming in the light from the torches that lined the walls. He ran a hand through his short hair, creating the effect of making it stylishly messy. He walked into the room and slowly people went back to their activities.

Harry stared at Draco as he walked through the crowd, a kind of predatory look on his face as he scanned a few of the boys at the party appreciatively. Harry couldn’t help but notice how different he looked when he wasn’t wearing robes. He saw that he was skinny but not horribly so. He was clothed in a pair of light blue jeans and a white wife-beater shirt. Through the white material, Harry could see barely defined muscles.

Draco turned at that moment and caught sight of Harry, who quickly pulled his gaze away from him, trying to concentrate on the conversation between Hermione and Parvati. He couldn’t help but sneak a glance to his right, seeing that Draco was now walking straight toward him.

He didn’t know why but his heartbeat began increasing with every step Draco took toward him. He swallowed the lump that had arisen in his throat and told himself to calm down. This was Draco Malfoy, after all, his nemesis. Draco was nearly to him when a voice rose above the music which was turned down momentarily anyway.

Draco abandoned his course toward Harry and turned to where Pansy had climbed up on a table. Harry almost felt a sense of loss at Draco’s stolen attention. But he also turned to look at Pansy, who was standing on the wobbly table.

“So,” she said loudly, smirking at all the guests. “The time has come for the annual party game time of the evening.”

There was a mixture of groans and murmurs of interest around the group. Harry didn’t know if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

“Now, those too scared are free to leave now,” Pansy said, indicating the door. All the Hufflepuffs soon took their leave and Pansy turned back to the rest of the group. “Alright, now that they’re gone, we can get going! Now, this game is a traditional party game though I’ve decided to put a little twist in it,” she said with a devilish smirk.

Harry and Hermione looked at each other; each just imagining what Pansy could come up with, especially when she was drunk.

“We are going to play ‘I’ve never’,” she said. “But there’s something else. What we’re going to do is that there is a way to get ‘out’ in this game.”

The partiers looked around at each other at the word “out”. Draco even look mildly interested as Pansy continued to explain the game.

“The alcohol we are going to use for this is not Fire Whiskey,” Pansy said. She reached down and came up holding a large, dark green bottle. She shook it slightly, smirking evilly. “This alcohol can only be consumed up to a certain point. Once you have reached this point, you will emit a green glow for about a minute and will be unable to drink anymore. When you glow, you are automatically out. At the end, this will leave our two most innocent people. These people will be given a few choice instructions from the group so as to take away their innocence and that, my friends, is the fun of it all.” Her dark brown eyes sparkled maliciously at the thought of taking away someone’s innocence. The group seemed pretty content with her rules and they all settled into a circle.

Pansy passed out shot glasses and set the bottle of alcohol in the middle of the circle. She looked around expectantly and when no one volunteered, said, “I’ll go first, shall I?”

She picked up the bottle and poured a little of the liquid into her glass. She raised it up and thought for a moment. “I’ve never… stolen anything from Snape.” She toasted her glass to the ceiling and downed it.

Harry stared at his cup and picked it up hesitantly. Beside him, Hermione did as well, drinking the alcohol. Harry tilted the cup back, tasting the burning liquid on his tongue. Around the circle, only a few more people drank their cups. Hermione and Harry exchanged an amused glance and had to work hard not to laugh.

Harry set down his glass and it was magically refilled with the green alcohol. He looked over to where Draco sat just a few places down. His glass hadn’t been touched. He looked slightly amused as all the people drank their glasses.

Next was Blaise. He picked up his glass also, thinking hard. “I’ve never had sex in the prefects’ bathroom.”

This time, Harry’s hand remained in his lap as other’s around him reached for their glasses. Draco picked up his glass, throwing his head back as the liquid traveled down his throat. Harry’s eyes were drawn to the milky white skin as he watched Draco drink the alcohol. Blaise and Michael also drank, exchanging a glance as they did so.

Next was Michael. “I’ve never given anyone a blow job.”

Harry stared at his glass, resolutely deciding he wasn’t going to pick it up. He wasn’t going to come out to everyone in his very last week of school when he was nearly free. It wasn’t that he cared what people thought of his preferences, he just didn’t want to have to deal with all the questions.

Whether Harry wanted to or not, he felt his hand reaching out for his glass. Hermione’s eyes were wide as she watched him grasp the cup. She knew he wanted to keep it a secret. Harry tried to stop himself but some unknown force was pulling the cup to his lips. He couldn’t stop as he tilted the glass back, drinking its contents.

When he set it down, most of the circle was staring at him. Beside him, he heard Hermione sigh quietly. He looked down at his glass, carefully avoiding looking at anyone.

“You’ve given someone a blow job?” someone finally asked.

Harry looked up, seeing everyone in the circle staring at him. Seamus didn’t look all that much surprised and neither did Dean. But all the Slytherins and most of the Ravenclaws looked shocked. Draco was looking at Harry with an odd expression on his face. It was kind of a confused and suspicious look.

Harry quickly looked away from him, not wanting to think about it. Blaise was looking at him carefully but didn’t say anything.

Finally, the game moved on with Seamus picking up his glass. “I’ve never pretended to be in love with Snape to get out of a detention.”

Harry stared at Seamus but to his surprise, several other people downed their glasses, including Hermione. Harry turned to gape at her and she gave him an apologetic shrug.

“It was O.W.L’s week,” she said. “I needed to study.”

Harry let out a small laugh and his face broke into a smile. Hermione smiled along with him and they turned back to the circle.

They went around the circle until they reached Draco. Harry had had very little to drink, mostly because of his lack of inventiveness in bed, or partners.

Draco paused, contemplating his glass hard as he thought. Finally, he picked it up, raising it up

“I’ve never… had sex on a broomstick.” He raised an eyebrow and smirked before downing his glass.

A few other people drank and for the first time that evening, someone began to glow green. Terry Boot looked down at his body in alarm. Not surprising, given he’d had a lot to drink. He laughed feebly at the color for a second before someone came and pulled him out of the circle and over to an armchair. Pansy turned to the group after he was safely in the chair with only water to drink.

“And that is what happens. Now, let’s get on with the game.”

After a few light questions, it was Harry’s turn. He knew he had to think of a good one for this group. He hesitated, looking at his glass.

“Don’t you have one, Potter?” Blaise asked when Harry was silent for almost a minute.

Harry looked up at him and gave him a mysterious smile. He reached for his glass and lifted it up. “I’ve never had sex with someone in this circle.”

He threw back his head as he drank. He set it down as he watched a few other people drink as well.

When Blaise had finished his drink, he stared at Harry, along with several other people. “Who?” he demanded. Harry just smirked and said nothing, though his gaze wandered over to where Michael sat beside Blaise.

Blaise’s mouth dropped open in shock and he turned to Michael. Michael gave him an apologetic smile and shrugged. Draco’s expression was once again inscrutable. He looked over at Harry, who was secretly enjoying watching Blaise’s turmoil.

Hermione was next and she picked up her glass. “I’ve never cheated on a test.”

Harry stared in absolute incredulity. She smiled and drank her glass carefully.

Harry couldn’t stop himself as he too drank, but he couldn’t help staring at Hermione. “Hermione!” he exclaimed.

“Come on, Harry, everyone does it some time... besides, it it was in primary school,” she said. Harry just continued to stare.

“Well, Granger,” Draco said, speaking for nearly the first time all evening. “Didn’t know you had it in you.”

Hermione looked like she wasn’t sure if it was a compliment or not. She opted to remain silent about it as the game moved on.

Soon, there were only six people left, Harry, Hermione, Pansy, Blaise, Draco, and Michael. Everyone else was sitting on the sidelines, either too drunk to focus or slightly buzzed but still able to concentrate.

Draco picked up his glass and fixed his gaze on Blaise, smirking. “I’ve never slept with my best friend.”

“Bastard,” Blaise growled as he picked up his glass. As soon as he downed it, a green glow came up around him. He scooted backwards out of the circle but instead just moved around behind Michael, sliding his arms around his waist.

Pansy grabbed up her glass, thinking hard. It looked like it hurt. “I’ve never kidnapped my crush.”

She tilted the glass down her throat, a green glow coming almost immediately. She threw down the glass and got to her feet, swaying slightly. Someone who wasn’t inebriated came to her side and helped her over to the door in the stone wall. It slid open and she disappeared out of it. Harry and Hermione exchanged another glance and shrugged.

Michael now took up his glass. “I’ve never… snuck around after hours,” he said, shrugging. He drank his glass and immediately glowed green. All three others drank their glasses as well, but none glowed yet.

It was Harry’s turn. He ran his finger over the lip of his glass, thinking for a second. Then he grasped it and raised it up. “I’ve never fantasized about a friend.”

He brought the glass up to his lips and drank it, the scorching liquid running down his throat. He set it down, staring at its place on the carpet. He stared hard at the ground, but it didn’t stop him from seeing a hand reaching down to pick up their glass or the green glow that slowly filled the room.


~~**~~

A/N: Please review!