Disclaimer: I'm just trespassing on JKR's playground...
Since I am not going to any Halloween parties, nor am I dressing up, I thought I'd write about people going to Halloween parties and dressing up. :)

Candy Corn Cocktails

Hermione Granger never drank. It wasn't that she saw anything wrong with drinking, but she'd never been able to tolerate the taste of alcohol. Until last night…

Sirius had hosted his annual Halloween Party, and he had hired a bartender who certainly knew what he was doing. There had been a most delicious drink. It was supposed to look like candy corn. A frozen, alcoholic beverage with layers of mango, raspberry-orange, and piña colada. Hermione had consumed way too many of them.

Hermione groaned and rolled over in her bed. She caught sight of herself in the mirror and yelped. She still had on her makeup from last night. Sirius had insisted everyone dress up like muggle movie characters, so in the spirit of Halloween, she'd dressed up as the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz.Her face was still green and she had a large, artificial wart on her nose.

Remus Lupin hardly ever drank. Drinking, for him, make his already heightened senses absolutely unbearable. Still, he had never missed one of Sirius's Halloween Parties, and Remus didn't plan on starting now.

He had dressed up as a knight, but he had ended up removing all his armor before Sirius was even thoroughly sloshed—which is to say, very early in the evening.

He had enjoyed one glass of fruit punch served over a bit of dry ice to make it smoke, and then he had helped Harry manage his godfather. Around midnight, Remus smelled the effect of too much alcohol in someone's body chemistry. He turned around to see a completely pissed Hermione Granger staggering towards him.

Remus and Hermione had worked on research together for the Order throughout the war, and after six years she finally called him Remus. She was no longer a teenager—let alone a student—and she knew what she wanted. Remus knew what she wanted, too. Him. She had pursued him only slightly less zealously than Tonks, and Remus had tried the same tactics. His heart wasn't in it though, when he repeatedly rejected her. Heck, she was the one person who could probably handle being in a relationship with him. She was certainly the first woman he'd been attracted to in a very long time…

"Remussss," Hermione had called, reaching for him. She tripped on the oversized black robe she was wearing and toppled into his arms. She giggled, "I didn't even mhmm-mean to do that!"

Remus had rolled his eyes in response and looked at her rather tenderly. "My sweet, I believe it is time for you to be brought home." He had allowed himself to slide an arm around her waist as he lead her over to Harry and Sirius. "Hermione needs to be brought home."

Harry'd looked at the older man helplessly. Sirius was hanging off of his arm, sobbing. "Um… I'd love to help but…"

Remus nodded, "It's okay; I'll take care of it." He brought the unsteady Hermione outside, then whispered, "I'm going to apparate you with me so you don't splinch yourself, okay? That means that you have to hold onto me."

Hermione immediately wound herself around her love as tightly as she could.

Remus had apparated them to Hermione's flat safely and somewhat sadly detatched himself from her. "Hermione, it is time for bed."

"No!" Hermione pouted, "I wanna stay up and talk to you."

Hermione swung her legs out of bed and stood, nearly toppling back into bed as a wave of dizziness washed over her. She took a deep breath and walked into the bathroom, where she scrubbed off her makeup and removed her costume. Once she looked relatively normal again, she ran herself a warm bath. This would be just what she needed.

Remus smiled, thinking about the night before.

He and Hermione had stayed up watching a movie on her telly while some of the alcohol worked through her system. He had forced her to drink lots of water to reduce the effects she'd be feeling in the morning. When he could no longer smell the alcohol as strongly, he had said goodnight and escorted her to her bedroom.

There, she had fallen into bed, and he had tucked her in.

Then, she had pleaded, "Stay? I am lonely."

Remus stretched and yawned, blinking at the bright sunlight streaming through the window. He had stayed with Hermione; he couldn't refuse anything she asked for—even if she didn't know the power she had over him. He noticed that Hermione was no longer in bed, the sheets were thrown back. Remus stood, fumbling for his shoes.

Hermione stayed in her bath for about half an hour before she showered off, dried herself, and brushed her teeth and hair. After washing her face again, Hermione braided her hair and slid on her fuzzy, light blue robe and slippers. There was a knock on the door.

"Yes?" She puzzled for a moment over who was in the house besides her before remembering her desperate pleas with Remus the night before. She blushed at the thought.

"I'm going to start breakfast, you can join me whenever you're ready," Remus murmured gently from the other side of the door.

"Okay," Hermione squeaked. She waited for him to go downstairs before returning to her room, where she got dressed for the day.

Remus smiled as he entered the kitchen. Taking a moment to orient himself to the unfamiliar room, Remus pulled out a box of pancake mix, some apples, and a bag of M&Ms. He chuckled to himself as he began to cook.

In no time at all, he heard Hermione descending the stairs. He passed her a cup of tea as she entered the kitchen, and he placed a plate of M&M pancakes in front of her. "I didn't expect to find chocolate in the home of Hermione Granger," he teased. "Do your parents know you're eating candy?"

Hermione pretended to glare at him. "It's Halloween, for Merlin's sake, Remus! Even my parents eat chocolate on Halloween!" She stabbed her pancakes angrily with her fork, but her anger was forgotten as she ate. It had been ages since she'd had pancakes—she was usually too tired in the morning to bother cooking.

Remus smiled and placed a plate of sliced apples between them as he sat down with his own breakfast. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Hermione admitted. "I slept very well."

"I'm glad," he watched her for a moment. He was glad to see that all traces of the horrendous green make-up she'd slathered herself with the day before were gone. "Hermione, I'm tired of fighting with you about whether or not we should be in a relationship." What he meant was, I'm tired of fighting with myself not to kiss you whenever I see you.

Hermione nodded, "Give in then."

"I don't love you," Remus admitted, watching her face become a mask.

"I know," Hermione finally whispered with a shrug, "but I love you, Remus, so I'm not going anywhere."

Remus knew she was telling the truth, and he leaned over the table to give her a gentle kiss. "I'm glad you're not going anywhere, because if you left, I'd never get to fall in love with you."

Hermione blinked. "What?"

"Did the alcohol leave you deaf?" He teased, "I said, I'm glad you're not going anywhere, because if you left, I'd never get to fall in love with you. Hermione, I love you, but I'm not in love with you. Yet. We both know that's going to change in the very near future."

Hermione blushed and nodded. She finished off her pancakes. "I certainly hope so."

Remus finished eating, and he cleared his dishes and then hers. He reached for his jacket, "I have to go to work, but I'll be back tonight, and I expect dinner waiting for me." He kissed her once more, then left.

Hermione grinned and sat at the table, staring after him for a long while. It didn't even occur to her that she was a mediocre cook at best…