Celebrations Are Naturally for Getting Close

The entire venue had been converted from an office. Beyond the area where Slughorn and his guests were chatting, the center of the room had been decorated as a dance floor. The Weird Sisters band performed at the front, with many young witches and wizards gathered nearby.

Perhaps it was the band's mischievous sense of humor, but they were playing Setina Vorbeck's "A Pot Full of Hot Love," a popular love song in the wizarding world. It was heavy on jazz and rather poorly suited to the sort of taste Slughorn wanted to display.

The dining area was set on the side of the venue farthest from the stage. It was relatively quiet, with hardly anyone there.

Loren and Hermione found a corner table with a broad view and sat down.

Perhaps because the venue was too far from the Kitchen, they had not used the usual method of ordering food by tapping plates. Here, they could either wave over a House-elf waiter or fetch food themselves from the long tables at the front.

The long tables were laid out with all kinds of food. Most of it was delicately plated, bite-sized dishes such as pan-seared Foie Gras, baked snails, and Marseille Bouillabaisse. Most eye-catching of all was the lobster table: a whole row of red-shelled giants lay across beds of ice, their backs split open to reveal glistening white flesh...

There was no bread or biscuits meant to fill anyone up. Even the desserts came in tiny portions, the sort Loren could fit five or six of in one bite.

The ingredients and craftsmanship were extravagantly luxurious, perfectly matching the style of a Potions master.

If Professor Slughorn did not have at least some desire to show off, Loren would not believe it.

"Is there anything you want to