The corridors of the castle were unusually quiet that night after the final examinations of the year. The professors and Filch who had been patrolling the passageways that night couldn't quite figure out why there was not more celebrating going on; they could not report hearing so much as a whisper let alone a celebration going on anywhere in the castle. The Head Boy and Girl, who also had to grudgingly patrol the corridors that night, knew perfectly well however why such an unnatural silence had taken over the stony domain. Quite fortunately, though, they were only charged with patrolling until 10 P.M.; plenty of time to enjoy the end-of-exams party going on in the Ravenclaw common room.

--

"Bloody Head Boy duties." Draco Malfoy said to himself while walking around aimlessly, not caring enough to pay any attention to his surroundings. He looked down at his wristwatch for the umpteenth time, it read 9:38 P.M.. "Fan-fucking-tastic, an entire two minutes have gone by since I've last checked the time. Ugh, I don't even know why I bother, it's not like anyone will notice if I leave my post early." Draco stopped suddenly in mid-step. Bringing is raised foot back onto the floor, he smiled to himself. Without giving his actions anymore thought, he abruptly changed his course for the west end of the castle towards the spiral staircase that led to the Ravenclaw common room.

--

Hermione paced the bottom corridors near the kitchens with her wand light scanning the area alertly. For all the attention she seemed to be paying to her Head Girl duties, she was actually quite distracted from actively patrolling tonight. Her mind kept wandering towards the silent party she knew was going on, celebrating the end of another year of exams. How she longed to join her friends in the large, airy Ravenclaw common room! She checked her watch: ten more minutes until her post is done. "I suppose ten minutes isn't going to hurt anyone." Hermione said aloud to no one in particular. And, in very un-Hermione-like fashion, she put out her wand light and quickly traveled west.

--

A small first-year boy who had evidently been delegated the task of allowing any student entrance into the Ravenclaw party that night sat nodding off near the elegant door with the eagle knocker. Draco smirked to himself as he saw this, what an incredibly intelligent way to use the younger students! Just as he was about call out the young Ravenclaw to answer the riddle for him, he heard quick footsteps behind him. Fearing that he was caught for abandoning his post early, he turned around with a slightly heavy stomach. He was surprised, therefore, to see that it was not McGonagall or Snape rushing forward to reprimand him, but an equally guilty Hermione Granger, the Head Girl.

"It seems as though I'm not the only one who's decided to shirk their duties tonight." Draco said to the approaching girl.

"Well, seeing as how every student is obviously in that room right now," Hermione replied, indicating the door behind him, "it seemed a bit redundant to watch the corridors for wandering students. Besides, I only left my post ten minutes early. You must have left much earlier than I did to get here since your post was on the other side of the castle." She added defensively.

"Tsk, tsk, Granger. You seem to have lost some of your edge. How is Little-Miss-Perfect-Granger going to let this obviously illegal gathering continue?"

"Oh, shove it, Malfoy." Hermione said irritatingly, pushing past him to get to the doorway.

"You mean you're not going to report this?" Draco did, after all, have to make sure. He wasn't about to caught at any party he knew was going to get busted.

"Of course not! Honestly, you act like I don't ever have any fun for myself." And with that, she turned around and, not even bothering to use the first-year placed by the door for that purpose, she knocked on door and proceeded to answer the ridiculously confusing riddle. Draco smirked to himself, as he couldn't quite help himself thinking that the way her hips swung from side to side when she was agitated was quite appealing. Quickly getting control of his senses, he took advantage of the open door to join the festivities. This could turn out to be a very interesting night, he thought to himself as he walked through the threshold and into the instant uproar of drunken teenagers.

--

Wincing at the sudden onslaught of noise after the still quiet in the corridor, Hermione looked around to find someone she recognized. After a few scans around the perimeter, she found the brilliant red hair of the youngest Weasley. Half-relieved and half-disappointed that this red hair didn't belong to Ron, she plastered on a huge smile and walked over to greet her friend.

"Hermione, you're here! I wasn't expecting you for at least another 15 minutes." Ginny had to scream to be heard over the rest of the din. "Have you seen anyone else yet?"

"Hey, Gin! Patrolling ending sooner than I thought it would. And no, I only just walked in; you're the first person I've seen." Hermione replied to all of her questions in one turn.

"Oh, well, Harry's just gone to get us some drinks. He'll be back any second." Hermione understood this to mean she should wait until he got back. She wanted to ask whether Ron was with him or not, but decided not to in case it seemed like she was still after him. It's true; she and Ron had been quite taken with each other at the beginning of the year. But just a bit after Valentine's Day, Hermione couldn't help but notice the amount of time she and Ron spent fighting compared to enjoying each other's company. While not entirely tactful, Ron was still completely endearing to her and she didn't want to end their relationship. And she couldn't help but notice that his increased talent on the quidditch field made him much more popular among the female population of the school. This knowledge only made her more possessive, more jealous, and lead to more fights. After a month of strained conversations and sleepless nights trying to mull it all over, Hermione finally decided it was time to let the relationship go. So she had a talk with Ron and they both decided that they were much better suited as friends. While Hermione did not entirely want this, she still had feelings for him; she knew it was the right thing to do. That was about three weeks ago, and she was still thoroughly depressed about it, although anyone would be hard pressed to get her to admit it; she was a very good actress.

"You know, muggles certainly did have a stroke of genius when they decided to, what did you called it, Harry? Furry-ent?" Hermione could hear the unmistakable voice of the devil himself, Ronald Weasley, followed closely by a chuckle from her best friend, Harry.

"Ferment, Ron. It's called fermenting. But I do prefer brewing it in a cauldron to waiting for it to do it naturally; it's much quicker." Harry and Ron had just walked into view of Ginny and Hermione, sitting in comfortable armchairs, each carrying two drinks. "Hermione! When did you get here?"

"Hi, Harry! I've only just got here, I was waiting with Ginny for you to come back." Hermione glanced a bit awkwardly at Ron. Why is he carrying two drinks as well? It can't be for me, he didn't know I was here. Well, it's stupid to think he would get me a drink anyway. "Hi, Ron." Hermione added, as it was now obvious she had been staring at Ron so choosing not to acknowledge him would have been worse than simply greeting him.

"Er, hi, Hermione." Ron replied, seeming a bit uncomfortable. Hermione glanced around at Harry and Ginny, who were now seating together on the other side of her, and noticed they too wore peculiar expressions. It suddenly dawned on Hermione that Ginny had not mentioned Ron was with Harry when she first got there. Was Ron merely passing through on his way to mingle with other girls? That would certainly explain the additional drink in his hand. And only 3 weeks after we've broken up! Hermione thought, suddenly overcome with images of Ron and Lavender Brown, Ron and Parvati Patil, Ron and Katie Davies, Ron and Rachel Harper all crossed her mind. The awkward silence that had since ensued had finally caught up with Hermione's racing thoughts and she suddenly decided she needed to have a drink. "I think I'll just go grab something to drink." She announced and quickly side-stepped Ron, carefully avoiding eye-contact, to make her way to where the beverages were being served.

At the side of the room, there was an entire wall lined with cauldrons of what Hermione knew to be beer. Harry had told her about how many of the seventh years had come together to learn how to brew their own beer. She looked down into the nearest pool of the amber liquid to inspect it. Not really being an experienced drinker, however, she wasn't sure what to be looking for. She was just trying to get the courage to fill herself a cup when a completely unexpected person came to greet her: Pansy Parkinson.

"It's called beer, Granger. You drink it, you don't stare at it."

"Thank-you, Parkinson, for enlightening me with what must be the full extent of your knowledge."

"Now, now, Granger, you don't have to take that tone with me. We don't have to be enemies anymore." Hermione knew she was referring to The Fall. Ever since Voldemort was defeated, the four houses of Hogwarts, including Slytherin, have been able to enjoy some degree of unity. It actually wasn't 

unheard of for the Slytherins to start socializing outside of their own small groups and branching out into the houses. After all, there were only so many girls to bed in one house. To Hermione's surprise though, most of the other girls did not seem put-off by this revelation; teenage hormones know no limits apparently.

"It's not so much that we have to, as I just prefer it that way." Hermione said matter-of-factly putting her hands of her hips.

"I can see somebody here is in a bad mood." Pansy replied with a smirk. Hermione could see she was enjoying tormenting her in her already weakened state. Well, it would be a cold day in hell before Hermione Granger ever decided to confide her problems in Pansy Parkinson. She looked out towards the party and her eyes couldn't help but be drawn towards the shock of red in the dead center. Through her now watery vision, Hermione could make out the figures of Ron and Isabel Walker of Hufflepuff in a firm embrace, their untouched cups to the side and entirely forgotten. For Merlin's sake, pull it together. Hermione mentally reprimanded herself for letting her emotions get the best of her. When she had managed to compose herself, she turned back around to face the Slytherin in question. To her surprise, she was already waiting for her attention and had held out a cup to her. "Just drink this, Hun, everything will feel better after. Trust me." To hell with it, Hermione thought fiercely. With a grim yet defiant expression, she took the cup from Pansy and took a large gulp. The bitter liquid was a bit drier than she had been expecting and after hastily swallowing it she gave an involuntary cough and shudder. "Drink up." Pansy said with a smile and led her towards a corner of the room where there were a number of tables set up.

--

"No way, we get redemption!" Padma and Parvati screamed at Draco and Blaise. His team had just won their third game of beer pong in a row and they were only getting started.

"No you don't. Blaise and I both got the shot in on the last cup so you don't get redemption." Draco countered. The twins pouted across the table but grudgingly chugged the cups of beer being handed to them as the rules of beer pong dictated they must. Blaise laughed at the identical looks of disgust on their faces as he took back the cups.

"You can come back later for a rematch if you'd like." Blaise told them. He lightly touched Parvati's hand as she was turning to leave. "Or you can come back later to play a different game." He added with a wink and a smirk. Parvati blushed at the dark boy and gave a coy remark in response. Blaise, entire unfazed, continued to give that playful smirk and said that he expected to see her later that night.

"There really are no losers in beer pong if you get to shag your opponents." Blaise said wistfully to Draco, staring at Parvati's retreating backside.

"Well if that's the case then we're winning twice since we haven't lost a match yet." Draco, ever the competitor, responded. Then, looking around the area he said, "So who are our next victims?" Just then, Draco spotted the unlikeliest couple walking towards the beer pong tables: Hermione Granger and Pansy Parkinson? The alcohol must be taking a much faster effect than he'd anticipated because there was no way this image was true. Yet as he continued to stare at the pair of them, now taking seats in some nearby chairs, he couldn't help but notice that they retained their identities of Granger and Parkinson. "Now there's something you don't see every day." Draco said to Blaise, pointing out the two girls. Blaise just laughed.

"Pansy's always trying to get gossip from everyone. It's common knowledge that Granger and Weasley broke it off a few weeks back, Pansy's just trying to get her tanked so she'll spill all the details." Draco continued to look on at their interaction. From the way Pansy was practically force-feeding Granger beer, Blaise's claim could retain some points of fact. Granger had already been coerced into finishing her first cup shortly after sitting down and Pansy, rather than drinking it herself, immediately handed her full cup to her. Pansy caught sight of him staring towards them and immediately beamed at them.

"Draco! Blaise! Take a break from pong and come play a card game." Pansy called, beckoning them forward with her hands. Blaise looked at Draco and gave him a shrug. Draco remembered the way Granger's hips looked when they first entered the common room earlier and Blaise's tip that she and Weasley had split. Smirking to himself, he shrugged back and they went over to where they were sat around a small coffee table. A few Ravenclaws nearby had heard Pansy calling and walked over also to see if they could join in the card game, Pansy heartily agreed and started setting up the cards.

"Alright, ladies and gentleman, the name of the game is Ring of Fire. If you don't know how to play, you'll learn as you go."

--

"Wait, I forgot what a six means." Stephanie Neal, one of the Ravenclaws, said as she pulled a six of clubs from the circle of cards around the upturned cup with at least half of the deck haphazardly piled on top.

"Six is for dicks!" Hermione exclaimed, throwing up her hand out of habit.

"Relax, Granger, nobody's going to award you house points here." Pansy laughed along with the others. Hermione, surprisingly, was able to laugh at herself too. Pansy's right, this stuff does make me feel better! Ever since her third cup was emptied, Hermione had felt a light, warm, giddy feeling coming from her stomach and ending in her slightly fuzzy brain. "Anyways, it's your turn, so pick a card." Hermione looked around at the circle of cards. She knew if she broke the circle she would have to drink the rest of her beer and if she toppled the cards on top of the cup she would also have to drink the rest of her beer. After carefully picking out a card that would not break the circle, a nine of hearts, she carefully placed it on top of the other cards. Thankfully, the cards did not fall. She sighed in relief before saying, "Nine is… bust a rhyme!"

"Very good, Princess." Blaise said jokingly. "So pick a word to rhyme to so we can continue the game." Hermione glared at him but she could tell that it was all in good fun. Suddenly it seemed like everyone there was her friend and nobody would make fun of her.

"Okay… my word is… beer." Then the rest of the students continued in a circle saying rhyming words.

"Hear."

"Dear."

"Shear."

"Keer?"

"Pansy, Keer is not a word." Draco said, urging Pansy's cup towards her lips. Pansy laughed and took a hearty swig. "Alright, Blaise, go."

"Ace." Blaise announced before successfully placing the card on top.

"Waterfall!" The others chorused.

"That means I'm gonna need more beer." Malfoy said, making to get up to refill his cup. "Anyone else need a refill?" Two of the Ravenclaws raised their hands. Draco frowned at the challenge of having to carry back all three cups in his slightly inebriated state.

"I'll go too, mine's nearly empty." Hermione volunteered before draining the remainder of the cup. "There, now it's all gone!" She said happily. She paused for a moment, taking in everyone's shocked expressions. "Let's go!" Hermione took one of the cups from the Ravenclaws and Malfoy took the other and they continued to walk in the direction of the cauldrons. Why am I hanging out with Malfoy right now? Asked a quiet voice in Hermione's head. I'll tell you why, he's bloody hot! Hermione gave a fairly loud hiccup at this thought that came quite unbidden and most likely driven by the alcohol into her mind. She gave a sideways glance at Malfoy and smirked to herself; there was no use denying it to herself while she was in this state: Malfoy was absolutely ravishing.

--

Draco looked over at Granger as she chugged her beer during the waterfall. He couldn't help but notice the way her cleavage strained the top few buttons on her shirt as she pulled her head back to empty her fifth cup of beer in an hour. He really didn't believe he was given the opportunity to see Hermione Granger get absolutely shit-faced. Her faced was flushed, her disheveled hair fell in waves down her shoulders and her skirt, he noticed, was slowly riding up of its own accord. Like himself, Granger hadn't had time to change into muggle attire for the party but now that he saw the state of her school uniform he couldn't say he minded.

"Alright, Draco, your turn." Stephanie called from beside Granger. He couldn't help but feel a little annoyed that she would talk to him when he was obviously shooting glances at Granger but decided to ignore it. He grabbed a card at random from the circle.

"I got a – "

"You broke the circle!" Granger called, pointing at the offending break in the circle where no cards linked it together. "You have to finish your beer!"

"Trust you to catch every rule breaking." Draco said in good humor.

"Oh, don't be so bitter and just drink." Hermione said, sticking her tongue out at him. Draco laughed and stared down into his cup.

"It's only half full, anyways, no big deal." He quickly emptied the contents of his cup. "So anyways, as I was saying, I got an eight. Pick a date?" The other players nodded in response. "Alright, I pick Granger."

"If you make me drink, Malfoy…" Granger said.

"Then you'll drink." Draco replied with a smirk. He went to place the card on top of the ever-growing card pile. He and Granger both held their breath. As he let go of the card, it rested easily on the rest and the pile was undisturbed. Draco let go of his breath and glanced up to look at Granger who was also letting go of her breath – right at the cards. As soon as the breath was out of her lips, the wind hit the cards and they fell all over table. Everyone immediately started "Ohh"-ing and telling them to finish their drinks.

"But we both don't have any." Granger said, pouting slightly. She didn't relish the idea of downing another cup.

"Here you go and here you go." Blaise said as he gave his full cup to Draco and Pansy's full cup to Hermione.

"Thanks, mate." Draco replied meekly, still in shock that Granger had managed to topple the cards. "Cheers, klutz." He said to Granger, raising his cup. Granger raised hers, grimacing, and they both tossed their heads back and drank heartily. When they were done, both shuddering from the bitter taste, Draco looked at her and said, "You definitely owe me one." She just smiled and shrugged.

--

"And now he's over there," Hermione made a wild movement towards the other end of the room, "practically shagging that disgusting Isabel girl through his clothes." After the card game ended with the falling of the cards, Draco and Blaise returned to the beer pong tables to have a match against two of the Ravenclaws they had been playing with. The other Ravenclaw left to watch, leaving Pansy, whom Hermione decided looked too composed to have drunken as much as she should have in the game, and a completely inebriated Hermione. Pansy had set about questioning Hermione immediately, asking what was the matter. At first, Hermione played the naïve card, claiming she had no idea what Pansy was talking about and she was perfectly fine. Pansy, apparently not easily detoured, pressed the matter however. "It's Ron, isn't it?" She had said, placing a hand on Hermione's. Hermione suddenly felt the need to confide in someone all that she had been feeling over the past few weeks. After giving a very detailed account of the break up, and yet another beer offered by Pansy, that lead Hermione and Pansy to this point: talking as much shit about Ron and everyone associated with him.

"Isabel is such a slut." Pansy said nodding her head though smiling vigorously.

"I know!" Hermione exclaimed in agreement, happy to find someone who was willing to abuse those she most loathed with her. "It's not like she's hard to get or anything; what exactly is he trying to prove?"

"And you are so much prettier than her." Pansy continued, fueling the fire, "You shouldn't even be jealous if that's what he stoops to. He never cheated on you, did he?"

"No, of course not." Hermione said quickly but then let her mouth fall open. "I don't know." She answered again. "You don't think he ever cheated on me, do you, Pans?"

"Well, I didn't hear anything about it, but you know men, Hermione, you just can't put it past them. I have an idea, let's just forget about the stupid redhead and go play some pong. Are you any good?"

"Pong? I've never played." Hermione replied, a confused expression on her face.

"Well, I can tell you we're going to be drinking a lot then." Pansy laughed. "Let's go over to those tables so I can show you how to play." Hermione went to stand up to follow her and abruptly stumbled over her own feet, which now seemed much too awkward to walk with, and fell over into another chair. Pansy looked over and laughed. "Alright, maybe beer pong isn't the best idea right now."

"But I want to play!" Hermione whined like a small child. Pansy laughed again.

"If you say so; but don't hate me when I say 'I don't you so.'" Pansy went over to help Hermione up and led her over to the tables where Draco and Blaise were still enjoying a winning streak.

"Harry!" Hermione squealed as she saw her best friend walk by with a drink in hand. It was 

obvious that Harry had been a little affected by the drink; but Hermione's level of drunkenness far surpassed his. "Harry, you'll never guess what I'm about to go do! Oh, but you should come with us!" Harry looked curiously from Hermione to Pansy who was laughing at Hermione's drunken banter.

"Er, alright then. Ginny's just gone off with Luna so I suppose I could go do… whatever it is you're doing." Harry replied, still looking between the two girls trying to figure out the situation.

"We're playing beer pong." Hermione replied happily and laced her cup-free arm through his. After taking about three steps, Hermione felt the need to let everyone know what she thought about them so she added, "You're my bestestest friend, Harry. I love you." Hermione beamed up at Harry who looked down at her with a bemused expression. "And Pansy is my new best friend! You love you guys!" Harry then looked over at Pansy with a questioning look but Pansy just shrugged and continued to lead them to the tables.

--

Draco glanced at the set up at the table: there were two cups left on the opposite side of the table and one cup left in front of him. Obviously, the alcohol was starting to hinder his depth perception and aiming abilities. It was currently his team's turn to throw the pong balls so he turned to Blaise to discuss strategy.

"Make it in, damn it!" Draco believed this to be a very sound strategy indeed. "This is the closest we've been to losing and if I lose to McCormick I'm not going to be able to look at myself in the mirror again."

"Oh, please, Malfoy, nothing could ever stop you from looking into every reflective surface you walk by." Blaise joked while taking careful aim at the cups on the opposite end of the table. He arced the ball upwards while letting go and Draco saw, to his tremendous satisfaction, that it splashed into one of the cups. "There you are, Malfoy. And in case you forgot, the strategy is to 'make it in, damn it' as you put it." Draco chose not to respond to his chattering friend and instead focused all of his attention on the task at hand. Just as he was about to throw the ball, however, he gave a start as a certain sight crossed through is peripheral vision: Granger and Potter walking arm-in-arm? He turned to look at this new revelation, bringing Blaise's and McCormick's attention to the couple too.

"Why is she beaming up at him like that?" Draco asked Blaise in an inquisitive tone.

"Well, she's drunk." Blaise said simply. "I'd say you better go grab her before Potter gets the best rebound here tonight."

"Do you think Ginny knows about this?" McCormick asked from the other end of the table.

"You lot are so daft, you know that?" Pansy had come intruding into the conversation in a matter-of-fact fashion as was her usual habit. "Those two have been best mates since first year. Not 

even I care about what I'm seeing. But then again, I don't have the urge to shag Granger senseless, so I can't be bothered to care about who she's with right now." Pansy gave Malfoy a suggestive smirk and raised one of her eyebrows.

"What?" Draco inquired innocently. "It's not like I can't have my pick of any girl here." He finished cockily. It was easy to be cocky when you had sex god characteristics though.

"Well, you're wasting your time with this one." Pansy continued, ignoring Malfoy's indirect denial that he did not, in fact, want to drill himself into the Head Girl. "She's still completely hung up over that Weasley fellow. Terrible, isn't it? I mean, Weasley?" Pansy shook her head sadly before suddenly perking up again. "So I guess it's not going to be any girl here. You'll have to exclude Granger from that pick." Draco shot Pansy a devious look; was she trying to challenge him?

"I'm fairly certain when I said any girl, I meant just that, Parkinson." Draco said coolly, only slightly slurring his words.

"Perhaps you'd like to put your money where your mouth is?" Pansy suggested, enjoyment written plainly across her features. "You have until the end of this party to bed Hermione Granger." Draco stared at her for a short while considering the wager.

"So how much money will you be giving me, Parkinson?" Draco replied, reaching out to shake her hand and seal the deal.

"I knew you wouldn't let me down." Pansy replied and accepted the handshake. "Let's put it down to 20 galleons then? I'm not one to play low, but you should already know that."

"Actually, from my experience, you like to play extremely low." Of course Draco had shagged Pansy, who hadn't? In his defense however, he was only about the third to have a go at her and he didn't even know about the first two. And yes, he did get screened for any STDs after acquiring that knowledge.

"Oi! Now that you two have finished your little tea time, why don't you try throwing the bloody ball so we can continue the game?" McCormick called over to them. Draco, having forgotten that he was playing beer pong, quickly turned his attention back to the match. After taking aim, he held his breath and threw the ball. He watched it soar and land with a splash into the final cup of the game.

"I never lose." Draco called out proudly, though he was looking pointedly at Pansy.