The Spiteful Sorting Hat

Nicholas Flamel

Blaise looked alarmed at the prospect, "But... how are we supposed to decorate the tree without magic?"

"Do you have a ladder?"

"What's a lad-air?"

Harry gave Blaise his most disgruntled glare until Blaise started laughing, "Only joking. Of course I know what a ladder is. I think we might even have one somewhere around here..."

Torsh had Harry's robes adjusted in a matter of seconds. In fact, the task was complete before Harry and Blaise had located the elusive ladder. But as it turned out, they had so much fun adding their own decorations to the tree that they wound up helping Torsh anyway.

Quite a few more people arrived for the party that evening than Blaise had predicted. The proposed fifty guests appeared to have tripled, a turnout that irritated Mrs. Zabini.

"I don't think I invited half of these people," she said testily. "No doubt some have brought friends interested in meeting Harry Potter."

It was the first mention she'd made of Harry's fame in the magical world, and Harry was a little embarrassed. He felt bad about indirectly causing Mrs. Zabini any trouble. But that was nothing compared to the awkwardness he experienced when introduced to the party-goers. Harry was reminded strongly of his visit to Diagon Alley with Hagrid, where he'd met a group of enthusiastic witches and wizards in the Leaky Cauldron. He hadn't known any of them, but they had certainly heard of him.

Similarly, Harry was ushered around by Mrs. Zabini, shaking hands with countless wizards. Mrs. Zabini explained the position of a few of these esteemed individuals. There were ministry officials, healers from St. Mungo's and several foreign wizards of dubious significance. Harry found it completely impossible to keep up with everyone's names, let alone remember their job titles.

It wasn't until Mrs. Zabini introduced him to Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic, that Harry realized exactly how important Mrs. Zabini's connections really were.

"Ah yes, Mr. Potter!" Fudge said with a wide grin. He took Harry's hand and squeezed it affably. Harry thought he'd had too much of the eggnog already. "Can't tell you what an honor it is to meet you. How are you enjoying your first year at Hogwarts?"

"Oh, it's brilliant," Harry said truthfully. He found that it was easier to talk to these strangers when they asked him about school, "Hardly anything has tried to kill me so far, so that's good."

Fudge laughed absently, causing Harry to think that he wasn't really listening to him. Instead, the minister was smiling warmly at Mrs. Zabini.

"Lovely party, Edana. Even better than the last!"

"Thank you, Minister. It's very kind of you to make it again this year," Mrs. Zabini replied, her expression considerably cooler toward the Prime Minister.

"Now, now! You really must call me Cornelius! I won't have these formalities between old friends."

Mrs. Zabini flashed a dazzling smile, "And are we old friends, Minister?"

Harry felt someone tug at his elbow and turned to see Blaise. Together, they slipped away from the pair of adults, weaving their way through the crowd and slipping into the hallway unnoticed.

"Nothing worse than watching your mum flirt!" Blaise declared once they were free. "I swear, if Fudge becomes my next stepdad, I'm moving to France."

Harry laughed, then asked, "Any sign of him yet?"

"Flamel? Not yet. I wonder if mum really invited him, or if she was just messing with me?"

"I meant Malfoy."