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Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 144: Let's Dance
"Mister Potter," Lord Parkinson came to their table after dinner, as Lady Aurora had told him.
"Lord Parkinson," Harry greeted him back.
This time he had to put in extra effort to avoid showing any contempt for the man in front of him.
Lord Parkinson was a short man with a broad frame and a pudgy nose. He had short grey hair, showing his age, and dark eyes. He could not be called handsome by any stretch of the word.
His daughter Pansy was very lucky to have inherited most of her looks from her mother, except for the nose.
"I finally have a chance to meet you, the one who saved my precious daughter. I cannot thank you enough, Mister Potter," he said with a wide smile.
By the way he was glancing at Harry, it was obvious that Lord Parkinson was talented at the mind arts because Harry could not feel an ounce of anger from the man. His words felt completely genuine, and he would have believed them if he didn't know better.
'No wonder he is so successful at politics… the man is a natural liar,' Harry had to admit that much.
"As the Lord of House Parkinson, I want to formally thank you, Mister Potter. And if there is anything that I can do for you, all you have to do is ask."
Harry could feel the eyes of everyone in the ballroom staring at him, some with curiosity, while others with envy and rage.
"I will need to think about it and consult with my parents," Harry knew what everyone was expecting him to ask, and he couldn't straight up say that he had no intention to request any marriage proposal.
That would be a great insult to the Parkinsons and a wasted opportunity.
If everyone thought that he was going to take the great privilege of forming ties with the current most powerful conservative wizard family, they would become more desperate to make a move against him, like those boys from before.
"Yes, that would be a good idea. Talk with them. I'm saddened they couldn't attend today. Looking forward to speaking with James," Lord Parkinson did not lose the smile for a second as he spoke.
Of course, he didn't mean a single word he said. If his parents had attended the party, he may have not been able to resist doing something. And he would never even consider marrying his daughter to him. It was all for show.
Lord Parkinson turned to look at Pansy.
"My dear, come here and dance with your father," he said as he extended his hand.
Pansy smiled and took his hand before being led to the center of the ballroom.
"It is customary for the daughter to have her first dance with her father," Daphne whispered to his ear.
She must have guessed that Harry was a bit clueless about the many customs pureblood families had as his own family didn't follow many traditions.
"Right, this reminds me of something," said Harry. He then got closer to Daphne.
"Do you mind dancing with me for a bit?"
"Seriously?" She was expecting to be asked that a lot tonight, but not by him.
"Let's just say that I don't really have that much practice in that field. I could use some help."
"Something the great Harry Potter doesn't know how to do? I thought that was impossible…" Daphne pretended to be shocked.
"There are a lot of things I don't know… so, do you mind?" He asked.
"I'll do what I can!" She got nervous and said the last part loud enough to be heard by the entire table.
"What are you going to do?" Tracey glanced at her with suspicion.
"Nothing!" She was about to grab Harry's hand when she seemed to recall something.
"Harry, you have to offer me your hand," she whispered.
He did as told and guided her to the center. There were already many couples dancing.
"You know the basics at least? One hand on my shoulder and another one on my waist," Daphne instructed him.
"Yes, I know this much." He still remembered the classes Professor McGonagall gave him during his fourth year.
The last time he had a chance to use that knowledge was… the day of his wedding.
'It's been so long… a lifetime ago.'
"Harry?... Harry." Daphne had to shake him off.
Harry's mind came back to the present.
"Sorry, let's continue." He placed his hands in the correct spots, and they started to move.
"Your face was… never mind." Daphne wasn't sure what he was thinking about, but her instincts told her that it was better to let it go.
The two of them danced for a while.
Harry gave a glance at the podium where the instruments were.
All of them were moving by themselves; there was no musician playing.
"Hey, you're not that bad. I thought you didn't know how to dance," Daphne commented.
"I guess I remember things better than I thought," Harry said.
"Remember? It can't be that long since you were taught. My mother started my classes around four years ago," Daphne didn't understand how he could think he was going to forget that quickly.
"Say… do you think I can speak with your father alone tonight? I have a small request for him," Harry changed the topic. He'd rather not have her asking questions about his past.
Daphne noticed this and frowned.
"I suppose… we can go to his table after this song is over… you know… Harry…" She seemed to be having trouble speaking about something.
"Yes? You know you can tell me anything, Daphne."
She sighed.
"You know… you have made a lot of enemies today… there are a lot of boys aiming to marry Pansy… when she asked you to sit at her right. You know what that meant, right?"
Harry nodded.
"I do know, yes. She was letting them know that I was going first."
Daphne looked a bit surprised.
"You knew… and you are okay with it? I mean… she likes you… Pansy. If you also… you can request it from Lord Parkinson, they owe you a great debt, so… you know… you can…"
Harry had never seen this girl stammer her words so badly.
"Would you calm down?" He got his face closer to speak in her ear as he didn't want anyone to hear this.
"I have no intention to get engaged to Parkinson. I just want others to think that way."
"What? Why would you want that?" Daphne exclaimed.
"I have my reasons… I can't tell you right now." Daphne still didn't know anything about Lord Parkinson having become a pretender Dark Lord.
'I should inform the Greengrass family as soon as I can… that way they can be more careful around that man.'
"But I can assure you that no one is getting engaged… not that Lord Parkinson would approve. He hates my family. I will tell you more, but not now and not here."
"Is that so?... I hope you know what you are doing." Daphne had to look down to hide her smile.
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