A/N: This is the third book in the Parallel Worlds Series. If you haven't read Parallel Worlds I suggest jumping back and reading that first. There is also PW: Summer Nights full of summer-time drama. As I've said before, though the story follows canon pretty closely some characters and stories are slightly different. Enjoy!

Chapter 1

The compartment door was flung open by a flushed third year girl who then stepped inside.

"I'm supposed to deliver these to Neville Longbottom, Allegra Boone and Harry P-Potter," she stuttered as her eyes scanned over the now famous group in the compartment and then met Harry's eyes. She immediately turned a deep scarlet colour and held out three scrolls of parchment tied with violet ribbon. With a confused glance at Harry, Allegra warily took the scroll addressed to her and the girl stumbled backwards and out the compartment, looking unnecessarily star struck.

"What is it?" Ron asked, peering over Allegra's shoulder before she'd even opened it.

"An invitation," Harry said.

Allegra,

I would be delighted if you would join me for a bite of lunch in compartment C1.

Sincerely, Professor H.E.F Slughorn

"Who's Professor Slughorn?" Neville asked, perplexed.

"New teacher," Harry answered simply. "Well, I suppose we'll have to go, won't we?"

"But what does he want me for?" Neville asked nervously, as if he was expecting punishment already.

"No idea," Harry said, in a tone Allegra thought sounded suspiciously similar to his lying voice. "Listen, let's go under the invisibility cloak, then we might get a good look at Malfoy on the way, see what he's up to." Harry suggested and Neville agreed.

"I won't," Allegra said, declining with her hand, "I don't need it. I can talk to him. You might learn something you want, anyway."

Harry's idea came to nothing; the corridors were packed with people on the lookout for the lunch trolley, and thus it was impossible to navigate through with the cloak on. Harry put it away with a regretful expression. Allegra began to regret it, too, as the staring became unbearable. With the exception of Cho Chang, who darted into her compartment when she saw Harry leading the way but still managed to sneer at Allegra as she passed. Apparently inviting people to your parties meant for nothing these days.

"Rude bit-" Harry leaned back and tugged Allegra forwards before she had a chance to insult Cho properly.

When the three of them finally reached compartment C1, they saw immediately that they were not Slughorn's only invitees, although judging by the look on Slughorn's face and his enthusiastic welcome, their small group had been the most anticipated.

"Harry, m'boy!" Slughorn jumped up at the sight of Harry and his fat velvet covered belly seemed to fill the whole compartment. "Good to see you, good to see you! And you must be Mr Longbottom!" Neville nodded timidly. "And that leaves one, you must be Miss Boone!" He exclaimed a little frighteningly, and Allegra took a step back out into the hallway. He gestured for them to enter and he sat back down. Harry and Neville took the two free seats, which were nearest the door. That left Allegra standing in the doorway, looking awkward. "Ah, Allegra, what to do with you -"

"She can share my seat," a familiar voice suggested with some amusement. Allegra looked up to find Blaise smirking at her from his window seat.

"Oh good, thank you, that's fine presuming that the two of you are comfortable with that arrangement?" Allegra nodded quickly and tried to shove herself into the tiny gap between the wall and Blaise, but ended up half sitting on him.

Also in the compartment were two seventh year boys Allegra recognised but only knew by name, and squished against the wall opposite Allegra, looking more bewildered than the rest of them, was Ginny.

"Now, do you know everyone?" Slughorn asked, glancing from Harry to Neville to Allegra. "Blaise Zambini is in your year, of course -" Blaise nodded curtly. "This is Cormac McLaggen, perhaps you've come across each other? No?" Cormac was a Gryffindor, tall and built with thick Irish-looking hair, and raised a hand in greeting. Allegra had spoken with him a few times about quidditch and such, but found him painfully obnoxious. "And this is Marcus Belby, I don't know whether -?"

Belby, who looked very small and nervous next to Cormac, with light sand coloured hair, strained a smile. "- and this young lady tells me she knows you!" Slughorn finished happily. Ginny grimaced at Harry and Neville from behind Slughorn's back, before looking at Allegra, pushing herself as far into the corner and away from Slughorn and mouthing help me with a desperate expression. Allegra smiled sympathetically, feeling pretty happy to be sat next to (or on) one of her best friends.

Blaise sniggered in Allegra's ear.

"Well, now this is most pleasant," Slughorn said cosily. Judging from the surrounding expressions, he was the only one who thought so. "A chance to get to know you all a little better. Here, take a napkin. I've packed my own lunch, the trolley, as I remember it, is heavy on liquorish wands, and a poor old man's digestive system isn't quite up to such things ... pheasant, Belby?"

Belby started and then accepted what looked like a cold pheasant sandwich. "I was just telling young Marcus here that I had the pleasure of teaching his Uncle Damocles," Slughorn told the group, passing around a basket of rolls. "Outstanding wizard, outstanding, and his Order of Merlin most well deserved. Do you see your Uncle much, Marcus?"

Unfortunately, Marcus had just taken a large mouthful of his sandwich and in such haste to answer Slughorn's question, swallowed too soon, turned purple and began to choke.

"Anapneo," Slughorn said calmly, pointing his wand at Marcus, whose airways cleared at once.

"Not ... not much of him, no." Belby gasped, his eyes streaming and his face flushed red.

"Well, of course, I daresay he's busy, I doubt he invented the Wolfsbane Potion without considerable hard work!"

"I suppose ..." Marcus said, placing his sandwich on his lap. "Er ... he and my dad don't get on very well, you see, so I don't really know much about ..." his voice tailed away as Slughorn gave him a cold smile and turned to Cormac instead.

"Now you, Cormac," Slughorn began, beaming, "I happen to know you see a lot of your Uncle Tiberius, because he has a rather splendid picture of the two of you hunting Nogtails in, I think, Norfolk?"

"Oh yeah, that was good fun, that was," Cormac nodded with a mouthful of food. "We went with Bertie Higgs and Rufus Scrimgeour - this was before he became Minister - obviously -"

"Ah, you know Bertie and Rufus, too?" Slughorn offered around a small plate of pies, and Allegra politely rejected the offer, observing that Belby was now left out. Allegra listened to him drivel on, and McLaggen answered his questions half-heartedly. He then started on Blaise, who answered his questions minimally.

Blaise had a famously beautiful witch for a mother and each of her seven marriages had ended in divorce or the husband dead, both outcomes leaving her with mounds of gold. Not to mention her many boyfriends and admirers who were always only too happy to spoil her with beautiful, expensive things.

Slughorn then asked Neville about his parents, and he staggered his way through. Allegra expected him to talk to Harry next, since he was sitting next to him, but instead he turned to her.

"Now, Allegra!" He exclaimed so suddenly Blaise felt her jolt. "Where to start with you, aye? What a year you've had. It's a great mystery what happened to you in the late spring - early summer months of this year, terribly covered up by the Ministry, which only makes it all the more intriguing! I would love to hear about your experiences -"

"Another time, Professor," Allegra smiled, glancing around the room. Slughorn followed her eyes and then grinned.

"Ah, of course! What about your father, he's done terribly well for himself, where is he at the moment?"

"At home, I think they've got a match in France in a few weeks -"

"Delightful!"

Slughorn did eventually move on to talking to and about Harry, before explaining that he had seen Ginny performing one of her Bat-Bogey hexes on the way past her carriage.

The afternoon really dragged on; Slughorn could talk for England and kept mentioning something called the 'Slug Club'. Eventually it started getting dark and he let his guests go. Allegra walked ahead with Blaise and Ginny, Neville and Harry followed along behind. She was planning to drop in to see Draco before going back to the compartment to change.

"That was like beating my head against a wall for three hours," Allegra breathed. Blaise nodded in agreement and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"How long do you reckon we've got till we get to Hogsmeade?" Blaise asked, glancing out the dark windows.

"Half an hour or so, I'd guess." Allegra shrugged and ignored all the people that were still looking at her from within their compartments.

"Are you coming to see Draco?"

"That's what I was planning."

Blaise opened his compartment door wide when they arrived and Allegra stepped inside and moved to the window to stand near Draco. Blaise tried to slide the compartment door closed but it stopped suddenly about three inches from closing. Blaise attempted to close it several more times, slamming it hard.

"What's wrong with this thing?" Blaise said irritably before the door flew open, throwing Blaise into Goyle's lap. Allegra couldn't help but laugh as Blaise snarled at Goyle, who then closed the door with unbelievable force himself.

"Urgh," Pansy was looking up and down at Allegra with a disgusted expression.

"Stop it, Pansy." Draco growled menacingly, moving over towards her so Allegra could sit down.

"How are you?"

"Alright," Draco shrugged. "You?"

"Bored."

"What did Slughorn want?"

"Just trying to suck up to well-connected people," Blaise said, "not that he actually managed to find any, but at least Ali was there."

"Who else did he invite?"

"McLaggen, a Gryffindor -"

"Oh yeah, his uncle's big in the Ministry," Draco said.

"- someone called Belby, from Ravenclaw -"

"Not him! He's a prat!" Pansy said, and for the first time ever Allegra found herself agreeing with her.

"Slughorn worked that out fairly quickly." Allegra said.

"- and Longbottom, Potter and Ginny Weasley."

"Longbottom?" Draco repeated disbelievingly. "Harry's obvious, I can understand the interest in The Chosen One, but why Ginny?"

"A lot of boys like her," Pansy said, eyeing Draco out the corner of her eye for his reaction. "Even you think she's good looking, don't you, Blaise, and we all know how hard you are to please."

"A lot of boys like Allegra, but I don't think the way she looks is why he invited her, either." Draco said. Blaise nodded. This didn't seem to be the answer Pansy wanted.

"I need to go and change," Allegra blurted out, deciding she really wasn't up for a Slytherin conversation.

"Alright, I'll talk to you later tonight," Draco said without questioning her.

"See you tonight," Blaise winked as he opened the door for her and she left.

Allegra eventually found the compartment (she'd lost it for about five minutes, only to find she'd walked past it three times) and Ron, Luna and Neville were inside, dressed in their school robes and chatting.

"Hey," Allegra smiled sliding the door open. "Ron, can you pass me my bag?"

"Sure," he stood up and passed it to her.

"Where's Hermione?"

"She and Gin have gone to get changed."

"What about Harry?"

"Getting changed too," Neville said quickly, laughing nervously as Ron agreed.

"Okay," Allegra said, shooting them an odd expression before leaving for the bathroom.