Harry Potter and the Ancient Order

Chpt 13. Halloween

Halloween morning arrived with an immense amount of excitement throughout Hogwarts. Over the coming twenty-four hours, there was the Quidditch Cup Finals, featuring Gryffindor against Ravenclaw. Harry secretly wished that he didn't have to face Cho for the Cup, but since her injury in Herbology had resulted in a shuffling of the schedule there was little he could do. After the match, there was going to be a splendid Halloween Feast, the Hall decorated in the colors of the Cup winners. Gryffindor had the lead over Slytherin by an even 50 points, meaning that Harry only really needed an early capture of the snitch to cement their victory. The Cheers Movie had thus far been a wild success, as students from every house had plans on attending. Harry wondered if the Gryffindor Common Room was going to be big enough, but Hermione came through with a minor miracle and planned to magically enlarge the Common Room once Professor McGonagall retired for the night.

Fred and George amazed everyone with their efficiency in putting the party together, working hand-in-hand with Xander. They spent a good portion of the previous week rearranging the Common Room to suit the needs of attendance and viewing. They slipped out late at night into Hogsmeade with Xander (who was old enough in Britain to purchase alcohol) and lugged back an amazing six barrels of ale, just as much butterbeer for the underaged, and a generous assortment of party favors from Zonko's to supple-ment their grand unveiling of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Xander had used a portion of his detention with Hagrid to build a quite marvelous wall-length bar, cleverly disguised as a worktable for those who needed to work on their O.W.L. studies. Professor McGonagall commended Xander for his thoughtfulness and excused him from his last day of detention, enabling him to watch the Quidditch Cup match.

Harry woke very early that morning wishing he could have gotten more sleep, but anxious to start his day. He looked jealously over at Ron's unmoving frame, wishing he could be snoring as well. Ron had thus far shown the amazing ability to sleep through his nerves, no matter how much he claimed he wasn't worried. Harry walked over to the window and threw open the shutters, letting the nice crisp breeze to cool his face and finish waking him up. Owing to the slight chill in the wind, he began to unpack one of his Weasley Sweaters to wear underneath his Quidditch robes, knowing that flying fifty feet in the air was going to be a chilly experience and he needed full use of his hands today.

Harry just finished washing up for the morning when Xander appeared in the doorway of the dormitory.

"Got a minute?" he asked.

"Sure," Harry answered, "but can we talk on the way to breakfast? I need something to drink," he finished, massaging the outside of his parched throat.

"There's a small problem I could use your advice on," Xander started to explain as they walked into to Common Room on their way to breakfast.

Harry thought he had a hunch what this problem might be, having speculated on this one thought for over a month now. "How to show the movie when Muggle electron-ics don't work here?" he guessed.

"No, not that," Xander said, waving away the question. "I asked Dumbledore to charm what I need so it works without electricity. Told him I wanted to watch the Muggle News," he added with a sly grin. "No, what we need is someone to tend bar tonight."

Something small but solid bumped into Harry's stomach just then, emitting a loud but high-pitched squeak. When Harry got his wind back and was able to think properly again, he grinned at the tiny figure attempting to stand up.

"Dobby is sorry, sir! Dobby is coming to wish Harry Potter good luck today! I is not wanting to injure you, Harry Potter!"

"Its ok, Dobby," Harry said, unable to stop grinning. "I should've been watching where I was going."

"Harry Potter is too good to Dobby! Harry Potter thinks only of others and not of himself, sir!" Dobby shrieked, twisting his new tie. Harry couldn't help but giggle when he noticed it, even though he had prior knowledge of Dobby's strange taste in clothing. The tie was much too large for Dobby's chest, as it covered all of it. It was an outlandish orange, with a jack-o-lantern splattered across it. The jack-o-lantern kept making what it apparently thought was scary faces, and a candle flame flickered inside it.

Harry noticed that Xander had stepped back a little so as not to intrude on the conversation, but was watching very intently. Seeing the thought gears moving in Xander's head, Harry was suddenly inspired with an idea.

"Dobby," Harry said, "what are you doing tonight after the Feast?"

"Oh, Dobby is cleaning up afterwards, sir. Tomorrow is Dobby's day off, Harry Potter, but I is not knowing what to do." Dobby lowered his head slightly and began to shake it back and forth slowly. "Dobby is wanting to knit himself a new cloak and hat for the winter, sir, but the other house elves do not like it when I is making my own clothes."

Xander looked sadly at Dobby as he stood there shaking his head. He picked up on Harry's idea, asking Dobby, "How would you like to earn a new hat tonight, Dobby?" He took off his baseball cap and placed it backwards on Dobby's head. This delighted Dobby immensely, who now turned to praising Xander.

"Dobby has always known that Harry Potter was so great," he wailed, wiping his eyes with a handkerchief (homemade, Harry noticed, as it had the name "Dobby" neatly sewn into the corner), "but Dobby is always amazed that Harry Potter makes friends with people so noble, so kind of heart..." He trailed off into blissful snuffles, beaming at Xander. Xander placed a hand on Dobby's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze.

"Dobby," Harry started, "Could you do us a favor tonight?"

"Anything, Harry Potter, sir, anything! I is most happy to do anything for you and your friends!"

"Would you and some other house elves tend bar for us tonight?" Harry asked tentatively. "We're throwing a party tonight, and-"

"Say no more, Harry Potter! Dobby is most honored you have asked me to help!" Dobby gave Harry a very tight hug around the midsection, nearly knocking the wind out of him again. "Dobby will do anything for Harry Potter! I is owing my freedom to you, sir!"

Harry thanked Dobby several times before he would let go, and Dobby excused himself to return to his duties. Xander watched the whole incident with intent eyes, making Harry wish that he hadn't witnessed the event.

"Well, that problem's solved," Xander told Harry, unable to stop smiling. "He seems quite taken to you."

"Well, he got a bad deal," Harry said, still staring after Dobby's retreating back. "He used to be the Malfoys' servant before I freed him."

"Oh, really?" Xander asked, raising an eyebrow. "He served the Malfoys?"

"Yeah, he-" Harry began before he was cut off.

"Harry!" Angelina stood in the doorway to the Great Hall, her hands on her hips. "Where's Ron? You two were supposed to be here five minutes ago!"

"I'm coming," Ron said sleepily, still stuffing his arms into his sweater. "Needed a bit of a lie-in," he said yawning loudly. "What's for breakfast?"

"I'm gonna go finish for the party," Xander said quietly. "If you need help carrying the Quidditch Cup, just call," he added with a smile and a clap on the back.

Breakfast carried on rather quickly for Harry. He still couldn't force himself to eat much, and he couldn't shake off the chills and sniffles he felt coming on. Hermione, who joined them at the table bundled up tightly in a Gryffindor scarf, was forcing liquids into him, saying he wouldn't be much use if he had to spend the match in the hospital wing for pneumonia. Several students from Hufflepuff came to wish the Gryffindor team well, then turned to wish the Ravenclaws luck as well. Ravenclaw needed to win by well over two hundred points to win the Cup, leaving Slytherin a small margin for victory.

"The longer this match lasts, Harry, the more it favors Ravenclaw," Angelina repeated for what felt like the twentieth time that morning. "As soon as you see the snitch, go for it. I doubt we'll fall behind by more than a hundred, but if you can capture it early, they won't have time to score ten goals."

"I might be slow, but I'm not stupid," said Harry irritably. "I know where the points stand." He had only heard half of what Angelina was saying since he was busy gazing at Cho's back. The Ravenclaw team were hunched over a large roll of parchment and a model of a Quidditch field, Davies putting them through their instructions one last time before they all left for the pitch.

"We should go, too," Angelina said, checking her watch. "Let's do this."

The team stood up to a nice round of applause from the Gryffindor table. Fred and George were conspicuously serious this morning, not one Canary cream finding its way into an éclair. Xander came back downstairs to wish Alicia good luck, causing her to break out in a goofy grin that didn't disappear until they reached the locker room. Harry and Ron dressed in silence, too nervous to talk. Harry realized that most of the pressure felt by his best friend was put on himself, wanting to match his brothers' accomplish-ments by winning a Quidditch Cup (Charlie had won one, and Fred and George were members of the defending team from two years ago), so he left Ron to his thoughts.

Harry was blindly aware of the stands filling, knowing that the time was drawing near. He turned to speak to Ron, but he was busily examining his broomstick, refusing to allow any excuse for a poor performance. Harry wasn't sure if Ron was aware of anything that was going on in the room, but Ron was the first to stand and walk out the door.

Lee Jordan's voice echoed excitedly throughout the stadium. "Here come the defending champions, Weasley, Spinnet, Bell, Weasley, Weasley, Potter, and captain Angelina Johnson! The Ravenclaw team looks hungry this afternoon and have been playing outstanding offense of late, but the Gryffindors have the experience edge."

The Slytherin end boo-ed both teams, not wanting to show loyalty to either. Dean Thomas had apparently put his grudge aside for the match, as Harry saw many spectacu-larly drawn banners surround the stands, and smiled when he saw one of himself holding a Quidditch cup in either hand. He even noticed one of the three Weasley brothers (Ron in the middle), with the caption "Blood is thicker than Water" written above their heads.

The match began quickly, both teams wanting to stay active in order to shake off the cold wind. No sooner had Ron positioned himself in front of the goals than did Ravenclaw swarm around him.

"Spectacular save by Ron Weasley!" Lee shouted excitedly. "Ravenclaw apparently trying to build an early lead by crossing up the keeper. Bell with the quaffle now, passing to Johnson, back to Bell, over to Spinnet, Johnson, Spinnet, Bell again-"

He was having trouble keeping up as the three chasers were putting on a passing clinic, making sure Ravenclaw couldn't get the quaffle. Their chasers were bumping Gryffindor as much as possible, but the passes were so quick and precise that no amount of contact would throw them off.

Harry was having problems of his own with Cho. She always found her way in Harry's flight path, and he had to continually swerve to avoid hitting her. You're lucky it's you, Harry thought to himself, anyone else and they'd be knocked off their broom. He noticed that Cho was slowly drawing him down to the Ravenclaw end, possibly hoping to get him to fly into their keeper and cause a penalty shot. He barely thought before he acted.

"There goes Potter! There he goes!" Lee's voice shouted, forgetting about the match. "What a dive! Surely he- no, he hasn't seen the snitch, nice diversionary tactic by Potter to shake Chang."

Harry flew straight up after his dive, coasting seventy-five feet above the ground and saw Cho halfway down the pitch rubbing her arm where she was hit by a bludger she hadn't seen. He saw a Ravenclaw chaser goal-sitting five feet above Ron's head and pointed him out to George, who immediately planted a bludger on her forehead.

"Oof," Lee said, "Nice bludger from one of the twins, freeing up the Gryffindor keeper. She'll think twice before interfering with Ron again. Potter and Chang both still searching for the snitch which has been conspicuously absent so far..."

Harry tuned him out and searched everywhere. Not wanting to be too far away when he finally saw it, he circled the middle of the pitch trying to keep warm. His hands were growing steadily colder and he felt them start to seize up as he gripped his broom. Cho was having the same problem as he saw her constantly blowing on her hands in an effort to keep her fingers functional.

Ravenclaw began to use some very questionable tactics in an effort to gain possession of the quaffle. Angelina's strategy worked early on, but they were finding it hard to keep the pace up in the biting cold. Elbows were traded on several occasions, but since they weren't too serious, Madame Hooch let them pass in an effort to keep the match flowing. Ron was being bombarded by shots and managed quite a few beautiful saves, but there was just no way he could stop them all. Soon, the score was tied at forty apiece.

Gold, Harry thought to himself. A bludger sent his way forced him to turn his head and he spotted the snitch out of the corner of his eye. Not caring how close Cho was flying to him now, he flattened himself on the handle of his broom and shot off towards the Slytherin stands. It was fluttering in front of Malfoy, who was trying to snag it himself so that neither seeker would find it. Both hands were grasping air, and it would have been funny watching Malfoy swat at his head if he hadn't been attempting to cheat so blatantly. Harry saw Hermione sneak up behind Malfoy and smack the back of his head with a rolled-up program. Malfoy's head snapped forward sharply hitting the snitch, sending it shooting off towards the ground.

"Ha Ha!" Lee was having trouble trying to stop laughing. "Nice defense by a fan, stopping the cheat from interfering. I think it ticked off the snitch, though, now it won't hold still."

Cho caught up to Harry now, and flew into him in an effort to push him out of the way. Harry leaned into Cho in order to keep on course and was surprised to find her head resting on his shoulder. She was breathing very hard and her hands kept falling off her broomstick.

"You okay?" Harry asked her quietly, keeping one eye on the snitch. Her cheeks were extremely cold, yet her forehead was hot to the touch. They were still trying to push each other off course and swerved drunkenly after the zigzagging snitch.

"Can't-feel-hands," Cho sputtered, her teeth chattering so badly it made it very difficult to talk. Her eyes were glassy and unfocused. Storing the location of the snitch in his head, Harry chanced a glance at Cho. She had, unfortunately, chosen that exact moment to bump Harry again and knocked him off his broom.

Reaching out blindly, not knowing exactly what he was grasping for, Harry felt something buzz between his fingers. The cold wind caused his hand to seize up as he fell, and he barely saw that a wing of the snitch was stuck between his fingers. Thankfully, they were only flying ten feet above the ground, so he survived the fall. The frozen grass did nothing to cushion his fall, and before he could digest what had happened he began choking for breath.

Cho landed next to Harry in seconds. Her hands still stuck in a half balled-up fist, she managed to raise Harry's arms over his head, which only increased the pain he felt in his chest. She wrapped one arm around both of Harry's, and began to awkwardly beat on Harry's back. Because of the condition of her hands, it ended up being more punching then patting. Harry rolled over on his stomach in pain, Cho's aid only increasing it, and sucked in air for what felt like an eternity. As he curled up into a ball, he let the snitch go, not caring about the match anymore and only praying he would someday breath properly again.

"What a capture!" Lee Jordan was shouting once Harry was aware of his surroundings. "Madame Hooch rules that since Potter had possession of the snitch for over ten seconds, it qualifies as a capture. Gryffindor wins, 190-40! They repeat as Quidditch Cup champions!"

With much pain, Harry managed to sit up and survey the scene. When he did, the Gryffindors, who had abandoned the stands and surrounded him in concern, broke into tremendous celebration. Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown were jumping up and down hugging each other. Neville was running in circles and waving his arms maniacally. Several of the first years fell down in the celebration and were accidentally trod upon by some of the older students. Harry couldn't stop smiling.

Cho had knelt down behind Harry's head and forced him to lay in her lap. "Oh, Harry," she moaned, "I didn't mean it! I swear! I'd never-"

"S'okay," Harry managed to breath. He was still breathing erratically, each inhale bringing a new jet of pain to his chest. "I know. S'okay."

"Bloody hell, Harry, that had to hurt," Ron shouted over the noise, having just made his way through the riot. Hermione let go of Ron's hand only when she saw Harry glance at her, but the smile on her face didn't fade. "Can you stand? They're waiting for us." Ron pointed over to the stage that had been conjured, where Dumbledore was standing with the Quidditch Cup.

"Need... help," Harry groaned as he tried to stand. Ron and Hermione each grabbed an arm and supported Harry as he stood. Once the world stopped its annoying habit of spinning, Harry looked up and focused on Cho's face.

"I'm really sorry," she repeated again. "I swear I never meant to-"

"Snowprublim," Harry said stupidly. Taking the time to speak properly still hurt terribly. "Albeeookaye." He managed a smile at Cho, whose expression lightened immensely.

"Congratulations," she said, returning the smile before retreating toward the locker rooms.

Harry's friends more or less drug Harry up onto the makeshift stage as Angelina accepted the Cup from a beaming Dumbledore. He ignored Madame Pomfrey's orders to sit and let her examine him as the cup was passed between the other players, each holding it up in triumph. When Katie tried to pass it to Harry (who was still unable to raise his arms) he grabbed Ron's hand and placed it on the handle. Ron let Hermione hold Harry up and raised the cup over his head, fighting back tears and absolutely glowing. Watching the expression of absolute nirvana on Ron, Harry felt that the pain he was in was worth seeing it. Finally allowing Madam Pomfrey to examine him, he left Ron and Hermione to their joy.

"You bruised your sternum, Potter," Madame Pomfrey said. "Hold your breath for a moment." Much less painful then breathing, Harry obeyed. He felt her wand poke him in the chest and a second later he could breath again. "There. Now come with me. No, sit, Potter. You need a potion to heal the bruise," and she forced him onto a stretcher that carried him up into the school.

The Halloween feast only added to Gryffindor's celebration. Angelina had ordered the team to change into clean dress robes, as they were now representatives for Hogwarts and must look their best. When Harry was finally released from the hospital wing and walked into the Great Hall, the Gryffindor table exploded into cheers once more. Hermione, who along with Ron had visited Harry before the Feast, cheered the loudest.

"I told you that if you needed help with the Cup to call me," Xander grinned at Harry.

"Wiseass," Harry said, but accepted Xander's congratulations with a smile.

Throughout the feast, students from other houses made a special trip to congratulate the team. Even Roger Davies came over, but looked as though he was chewing on flobberworms as he said "Nice game". Cho even chose to sit with Harry for a while. She had apologized profusely in the hospital wing while her hands were treated for frostbite, and no matter how many times Harry told her to drop it she still insisted that she never meant to knock him off his broom. The Slytherins would just as soon drop dead before come over and sulked at their table.

Once the feast was over, the students quickly exited the Hall, and headed up to Gryffindor Tower. Before they left the Feast, Professor McGonagall had given them permission to celebrate later than usual, owing to the fact that it was a Saturday. Hermione was the first to enter the portrait hole in order to perform her charm. She ordered everyone to wait until she was done and opened the portrait to admit people. She placed a stamp on the hand of everyone who was fifth year and up (which took quite a while since most of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw were in attendance) before they entered. When Harry finally got his hand stamped, his jaw dropped.

The Common Room was now the size of the Great Hall, if not bigger. Xander had erected a large bed sheet to hang from the ceiling, easily spanning twelve feet across. Harry noticed that the television had some sort of cube attached to the front of it and now looked like a very old-fashioned camera. Dobby had come through with help, as five other house elves skittered about serving drinks. He smiled when he saw Dobby, who was wearing a white apron and the hat Xander had given him (backwards, the same way Xander always wore his). Soon, everyone had some form of drink in their possession and Xander called for silence.

"Everyone," he shouted, "raise your glass for the first cheers of the night. To the Palone twins!"

"Cheers!" a few hundred voices echoed. Harry had a shotglass full of whiskey and slammed it. Harry wondered suddenly if he had swallowed a fireball. Flames shot through his mouth. Fire burned his throat, seared his stomach, and boiled inside his nose. He couldn't breath, couldn't see. He was going to die, he knew it. Right here in front of everyone-

Someone, Harry thought it was Xander, was slapping him roughly on his back. After several minutes, he was able to breath again. Harry wiped the tears from his eyes to face a laughing Ron.

"Before the movie, raise them again. To the Gryffindor Quidditch team for one bad-ass victory!"

"Cheers!" Harry sipped cautiously. This time, it wasn't so awful. It was almost pleasurable. Nodding in approval, he drained his shotglass. His blood began to tingle.

"And one more. To Ravenclaw's Quidditch team for playing a great game!"

Many Ravenclaws smiled in appreciation, and Cho smiled at her shoes when the Common Room "Cheers!"'ed again.

Harry made his way over to the television where Xander was standing. "What iz all that?" he asked. Harry was beginning the find it difficult to properly pronounce the letter "s", as his tongue felt swollen.

"Invention of mine," Xander answered, draining the last of his ale and setting the glass down on the bar. Dobby filled it promptly. "There's a magnifying glass inside the box that enlarges the picture. This," Xander began sliding the box back and forth "is to focus. Multiplies the size of the picture, but you give up quality. By the time the movie's over," Xander looked around at everyone drinking, "I doubt anyone will care."

The movie began, and Harry thought it wise to switch to ale rather than down a shot every time. He sipped carefully after the first death, and laughed when the whole room shouted "CHEERS!" each time someone died. He thought it slightly disturbing that Xander would laugh rauciously at the more violent deaths, but found himself joining in by the end of the movie. Dobby was kept very busy throughout, but seemed incredibly delighted at the work. The other house elves bustled about efficiently, keeping the room very clean and devoid of empty glasses.

There was a tense moment after the movie ended, and Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle entered the room. Everyone quieted down and just stared.

"Well, well," Malfoy drawled. "Serving alcohol. Wouldn't McGonagall be displeased if she found out."

"I don't remember anyone inviting you," Ron snapped, and joined Harry and Xander at the bar in an attempt to keep him away.

"No, let him stay," Xander said. "I said all would be welcome. Come on," Xander said, waving Malfoy over, "have a drink with us."

Malfoy walked over, looking confident that he had nearly all of Gryffindor in serious trouble. "And why would I get myself into trouble? Or even share a drink with a Muggle? I think I'll just go find McGonagall and tell-" He cut himself off, noticing Dobby behind the bar. "Dobby?" he said in disbelief. "Why are you here?"

"Dobby is doing Harry Potter a favor," Dobby said weakly, looking down under Malfoy's interrogating stare.

"Oh, I so can't wait to tell McGonagall now," Malfoy said, a wicked grin spreading across his face.

"Sir will tell no one," Dobby said, finding the nerve to speak, "or Dobby will tell everyone about the time sir was caught with a copy of "Under Her Robes" in his bedroom." He said this last part loudly, and the Common Room broke out into many cruel catcalls. Malfoy's face burned red.

"We're going," he muttered, more to Crabbe and Goyle then to anyone else.

After they left, the room broke into very loud laughter, Ron in the lead. He was doubled over Hermione, clutching his ribs tightly and searching for air to breath. "I don't believe it! His daddy caught him petting his Slytherin! Dobby, you rock!" he shouted, and Dobby beamed.

Harry heard the sound system fire up, and a very catchy tune started to play. Everyone cheered when they saw Xander standing on top of the bar, a microphone in his hand, and began to rap.

Two trailer park girls go 'round the outside

Round the outside, 'round the outside

Harry quickly observed that he was quite good, and many broke out in very informal and very "friendly" dancing. Even Hermione began swaying her hips.

Guess who's back?

Back again

Xander's back!

Tell a friend

Guess who's back, guess who's back, guess who's back

Harry couldn't help but get into the music. Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was witnessing Malfoy get embarrassed in front of the whole school, maybe it was the events of the entire day that made him do it. He grabbed another drink (he didn't really intend on a full glass of whiskey, but drank it anyway) as Cho led him over to dance. Xander continued on his song, drawing everyone's cares away.

Little hellions!

Kids feelin' rebellious

And embarrassed

That their parents still listen to Elvis (shh)

They start feelin' like prisoners, helpless

'Till someone comes along on a mission and yells, "BITCH!"

A visionary

Vision is scary

Start a revolution

Pollutin' the airwaves

A rebel

So let me just revel and bask

In the fact that I got everyone kissin' my ass

And it's a disaster

Such a catastrophe

For you to see so damn much

Of my ass you ask for me?

Well, I'm back (Batman noise)

Fix your bent antenna

Tune it in then I'm gonna enter

Into the front of your skin like a splinter

The center of attention

Back for the winter

I'm interesting, the best thing since wrestling

Infesting in your kid's ears and nesting

Testing! Attention please

Feel the tension

Soon as someone mentions me

Here's my ten cents

My two cents is free

A nuisance, who sent, you sent for me?

Now this looks like a job for me

So everybody just follow me

'Cause we need a little controversy

'Cause it feels so empty without me!

I said this looks like a job for me

So everybody just follow me

'Cause we need a little controversy

'Cause it feels so empty without me!

Xander had the whole room going for his whole song. Harry had never really heard music like this before, and probably would have hated it had it been different circumstances. The atmosphere was just addicting. He couldn't help but have fun, even though he didn't know how to dance and was making a fool of himself. The song ended and everyone cheered, wanting more. Xander let the sound system play the songs it was programmed to and joined Alicia, whose admiring eyes never left him. They found Harry, Ron, Hermione and Cho at the bar and ordered round after round of shots, toasting a different person for different reasons.

"To friendship!" and they all did a shot.

"To Quidditch!" and drank another one.

"To Dobby!" "To good health!" "To movies!" "To the moon!"

"To Harry!" Ron shouted, and the whole room drank to Harry.

"Thank you," said Harry, deeply moved. Harry was smiling, and couldn't stop smiling. He loved Hermione like a sister, and he loved Ron like a brother, and told them so, until he broke down and cried on Ron's shoulder. Wait! There was someone else he loved- that was Xander. He stumbled over the smooth floor to shake Xander's hand. Harry even made a speech. Fast friends... firm friends, like his father and his father's friends. Harry found a chair to sit in by a table, and tried to sit in it, only upon closer inspection, there were four chairs. Picking one that wasn't moving so much, he sat, and missed, and would have fallen if Cho hadn't caught him. Harry slammed another shot, watching Cho and his friends with tears of affection running down his face.

"I tell you all," said Ron, also feeling compelled to give a speech to the small group, "I love you like my own family. And I must say, I think we've all had a bit too much to drink!"

"Naw," said Hermione, unable to stop giggling.

"We can keep going!" cried Xander, slamming his glass down very hard on the table.

"Damnrigh'," said Harry, striking the table next to Xander's glass-or he would have if the table hadn't suddenly and unaccountably leapt out of the way.

And then Harry was laying on the floor, thinking this was an interesting place to be, much safer than up there in four chairs, with tables jumping around... glancing around, he saw a bleary-eyed and red-faced Cho kneeling next to him. He reached out and grabbed her hand, caressing it lovingly.

"Yurrr bootiful," he slurred, and Cho smiled broadly, caressing his cheek. He heard many "Awww!"'s somewhere in the background. Harry giggled and couldn't stop giggling.

Harry laid his head on the floor, resting his cheek on the cool puddle that was his spilled drink. Shutting his eyes, he slipped into another world- a world of five house elves who all poked his scar excitedly and each drew one of their own on their foreheads.