A Few Good Ships

Chapter Four:

A Few Good Plans in Action

"Professor Trelawney!"

"Yes, my dear?" the divination Professor said, turning around to face her two favorite students.

"Did you know that day before we leave for Christmas Holidays is astronomically perfect a party?" Parvati said, grinning widely.

"Is it? Well, we must do something about this, don't you think?" Professor Trelawney smiled more, and sat down to divine the appropriate decorations.

*

Harry sat alone in the library fingering through a book he was examining for ideas to use against Voldemort. Things had been somewhat quiet still over the summer, the only major incidents being the disappearance of Death Eaters. Suspected Death Eaters, that is. On the orders of the Minister of Magic, the Daily Prophet was not allowed to accuse anyone of practicing Dark Arts or being a supporter of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Not that many who knew of Cedric Diggory's death was in any way fooled.

"Harry!" cried Padma Patil, sitting down across from Harry.

"Padma?" Harry was rather consternated. What did she want?

"Yes, it's me silly! I don't look that much like Parvati with my school robes on do I?" This was a rather silly question, as she had the same long braid and flair for glittery jewellery.

"Well..." Harry was at a lost for what to say.

"Never mind," Padma said, waving her hand. "It doesn't matter. I'm sure you've heard that Professor Trelawney's throwing a big party the day before we leave, don't you?"

This was news to Harry. "No..."

"Don't you pay attention in Divination?" Padma asked. Harry flushed. "Never mind. It's obvious you don't. You really should though, you don't know what you're missing." At this point Harry was making the observation that Padma talked just as much as her twin. "Anyways, I don't suppose you know who you're going with do you?"

"Not really...I just kinda found out, you know."

"Excellent, you can go with me! Should I wear green to match your eyes?" Padma asked earnestly.

Harry was completely run over. "Why not?" he asked weakly.

"Wonderful! Listen, I have some work to do, but I'll catch up with you later, OK?" and with that Padma got up and purposely walked away.

Harry sighed and put his head down none too gently on the table. He knew what Parvati and Lavender were up to now. Matchmaking. He didn't think he liked it.

*

Ginny sighed as she sat down in the classroom she and Draco used. She was early, and planned to use that time to collect her thoughts in quiet rather than the mayhem of the Great Hall.

Draco Malfoy, that infamous Slytherin, slammed the door to the room, also being early. He stopped short when he saw Ginny with her infamous Weasley hair.

"What are you doing here?" he sneered, clearly in a bad mood.

"Relaxing?" Ginny managed to keep from squeaking.

"Can't you do that somewhere else?"

"Y...yes," Ginny said, starting to gather her things and stand up.

"Sit down!" Ginny sat. Draco walked over and sat down, pulling out Ginny's parchment, two quills, theory book and ink. "Let's get this over with."

Warily, Ginny opened the theory book and started reading what it said.

*

Rumors about the upcoming Winter Party circulated the school with surprising speed. Those of fashionable inclination fretted over how to get new dress robes, they really couldn't wear the same ones they had worn to the Yule Ball the year before. Those who regularly subscribed to fashion mags and catalogs soon found themselves with a boom business in renting them out.

"Why are they having it before we leave?" Ron moaned.

"You mean like last year?" Harry asked, filling his dinner plate.

"Yeah...that way if we don't want to go we can go home!"

"But why would you want to be home instead of a party?" Seamus wanted to know, sitting down on the other side of Ron from Harry.

"So I don't have to go in those awful dress robes again!"

"Aren't they too small?" Harry said.

"Yeah...and there's still bits of lace on them. But any new ones I get would be just as bad."

"So, Harry, are you going?" Dean asked from across the table.

"Yeah," Harry sighed. "Padma cornered me the day it was announced and told me I was going with her." Harry made a face at his peas.

"Man, some boys get all the luck, ya know?" Dean said. "There's Sea and Lavender, they're still going, and you get Padma?"

"It'd be nice to something more than a trophy on some girl's wall. I dated Harry Potter...joy for me."

"Well hey, look at it this way. Lots of pretty girls throwing themselves at you and doing anything you want. There's got to be some benefits to that, right?" Seamus said, always on the bright side of things.

"Yeah, if Harry weren't so quiet," Ron said.

"What some of us wouldn't do to be you, Harry," Dean said melodramatically.

"You know, that gives me an idea..." Harry said.

*

"Why do you want me to make you another Polyjuice Potion?" Hermione asked suspiciously when Harry and Ron tracked her down in a corner of the library.

"So he can stay in the Tower during the party, and so I can go," Ron said.

"Can't Harry just stay in the Tower anyway, and you go anyway?" Hermione asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Padma's dragging me to the party, and Ron won't be able to get a new set of dress robes. So if we switch for the night, Padma won't know the difference, she'll be happy, Ron will get to go, and I can stay in a nice quiet Tower," Harry explained.

"You know, there are a lot of boys at this school who would love to get a date with Padma Patil," Hermione reminded Harry, trying to get out of having to find Boomslang skin again.

"That's the whole thing! I don't especially like Padma, but hey, she's not bad," Ron started.

"Nose on center?"

"Well, yeah," Ron blushed. "And it won't be hurting Padma any, she doesn't know Harry well enough to notice if I stand in for a night."

"And what if someone asks you?" Hermione inquired.

"Uh...well..."

"That's what I thought."

"I can't afford new dress robes, and I outgrew my old ones."

"Are you really going to say that?"

"I guess so..."