Hey everyone! I really struggled with this chapter a bit so if you have any critiques, let me know! Thanks to all of you who have read/followed/favorited this story as well! :)

The sky was streaked with pink and gold by the time Hermione flopped down on her bed the next day. She dropped the bag of newly-purchased textbooks to the side with a loud thump, causing Ashlyn to look over from her desk. "How have you just gotten back?" she exclaimed. "I was finished at three!"

Hermione glanced at the digital clock on her desk – 8:17 PM – and grinned sheepishly. "I got distracted in the bookstore," she admitted, thinking of the extra Potions books she decided to pick up along with her required texts.

Ashlyn rolled her eyes. "Did they have any good shirts or hoodies?" she asked, turning back to the screen of her laptop.

"I didn't get the chance," Hermione replied idly as she went to grab paper and a pen. Ashlyn shrugged and went back to her laptop.

Hermione hoped Ron and Harry wouldn't fault her too badly for only sending one letter in the past month. She had received one from Harry and two from Ron, though neither dated their letters, so she wasn't sure how quickly hers would arrive at all. Life in the States wasn't exactly boring, but it wasn't as though she had a lot to say while staying with her parents – especially since only Harry would understand many of her Muggle references.

Dear Ron and Harry, she began,

I'm so sorry I haven't written earlier, I have been dreadfully busy with moving in my mum and dad. It's mainly been unpacking and them setting up the business, but we went to a fireworks display one night (Weasleys' Wildfire Whiz-bangs put them to shame, don't worry) and Dad has been delighted with his new grill. Ron – it's an outdoor stove you usually use to cook different meats. American burgers aren't really nutritious, per se, but they're absolutely delicious!

I moved into Old Haven yesterday, and today I had orientation and class scheduling. It's beautiful here… though it's still strange not to be back at Hogwarts. I'm taking seventeen credits this semester with Advanced Numerical Theory, Patterns in Wand Movements, Elemental Transfiguration, Potions Laboratory I, and Calculus I/II. It's not as many as I would normally take, but I guess most first-year students opt for fifteen credits only. I'm hoping the break will be good for me.

My roommate and I get along well so far. Her wardrobe is probably double the size of Parvati's, but she's sweet enough and has some books I'm itching to borrow. I've been talking to a few girls on my floor; tell Ginny I met her twin! I miss her and everyone at the Burrow so much. Please send everyone my love!

I know you both are busy with training, but I hope to hear back from you soon.

Love always,

Hermione

She was sealing the letter with her wand when there was a knock on the open door. Hermione and Ashlyn both looked up to see Brianne and Tarin standing outside. "Hey guys, we heard there's a party at Delta Sig tonight," Brianne informed them. "Apparently freshmen girls are more than welcome to go. Do you wanna join?"

Ashlyn jumped up from her seat. "Of course I'm down!" she exclaimed as she began to rifle through her closet. "Any idea what to wear?"

"We haven't decided either," Tarin replied. "We weren't going to head over until ten or so."

"What about you, Hermione?" Brianne interjected. "Don't you want to know what it's like to go to a frat party?"

"Absolutely not!" she replied, shaking her head vehemently. "There's no way I'm going to go and get absolutely… boggled out of my mind to the point where I'm throwing up and don't remember my own name!" As to emphasize her point, she pulled out the aforementioned Potions text from earlier. "Besides, I need to start reading for class, Professor Hawthorn wants us to have the first two chapters read for class on Tuesday…"

"Bullshit!" exclaimed Brianne, sitting down on her bed and trying to pull the book away. "You don't have to get drunk. You don't even have to drink. We can just get you a water bottle and tell everyone that Magik is in it. You can meet some cute upperclassmen boys and I'm sure there will be tons of other girls there too." With a final tug, Brianne successfully pried the book from Hermione's hand and tossed it to Ashlyn.

"I'll even help you get ready," her roommate offered.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at Brianne and sighed in defeat. "There's no way you're getting me to drink absolutely anything that has alcohol in it."

"Deal," the redhead replied, grinning triumphantly.

Two hours later, however, Hermione found herself in the Delta Sigma fraternity living room, a cup full of Benjamin Buchanan's Bubbling Brew in hand. Brianne had forced her way through the throngs of people to return with red cups for their small group. Through an open archway, Hermione could see several guys in stitched shirts raising a brother above a keg full of the brew as onlookers cheered. A haze of bubbles filled the room; the magical beer caused drinkers to emit a stream of bubbles every time they opened their mouths. A group of awkward looking guys chatted nervously under a row of crooked composites.

Ashlyn pressed her lips to Hermione's ear. "They're on our floor," she said loudly. Hermione stuck a finger in her ear to get rid of the bubbles that had blocked her hearing. "They're probably going to pledge here."

"How are you sure?" Hermione asked into Ashlyn's ear.

She gestured towards a pair of guys that had joined the freshmen. "Because brothers really only invite freshmen guys if they want them in the house." A few moments later, Hermione saw one of the fraternity brothers go to another small group of awkward guys. She couldn't overhear the conversation, but she saw the brother shake his head and the group left a few seconds later.

"Any of you down for some pong?" Hermione heard.

She focused back to her friends and saw that the first brother had joined them. His hair and skin were reminiscent of Ashlyn's, dark and tan. He towered almost a head over Hermione, who had been forced into a pair of Ashlyn's four-inch heels. The brother smiled at them. "I'm Pat," he smiled at them, offering his hand to each of them. "My brother Gavin needs a partner too, if any of you are interested."

"I'm down for some pong," Brianne replied. "Hermione, join me!"

"Wha – I – Brianne!" She spluttered in return. "I haven't played before! And I told you I didn't wa—"

"You haven't played pong before?!" Pat replied incredulously. "C'mon, I'll show you a good old American game right here." Before she could retort, Brianne grabbed her arm and pulled her away from Ashlyn and Tarin.

"We'll be back!" she called back, giggling.

"I told you I really don't plan on drinking that much," she told her friend seriously as the trio headed into a dining room where several pong tables had been set up.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Pat chimed in. "It's not a lot of alcohol, and I can drink whatever cups you don't want to finish." He smiled reassuringly at her.

"Alright," Hermione conceded, allowing herself to smile in spite of herself.

"So, I'm sorry for already doing this so early," Pat started to say as he and his brother arranged the partially full brew-cups on the table, "but I really kind of missed the pronunciation of your name. Herminnie?"

She laughed at him. "Her-my-oh-nee," she said slowly and loudly into his ear.

"Got it," he laughed. "So, Her-myyyyyyyyy-oh-nee, do you mind if I take the first shot to teach you the game?"

"Not at all," she replied. He smiled and pulled a mahogany wand from his shorts pocket. Gavin had done the same on the other side of the table. Each brother had a pearlescent white ping-pong ball in his hand.

"Alright, so to figure out who goes first, one player from each team steps up," he explained. "You gotta look the other person in the eye and shoot at the same time. Whoever gets a ball in first, their team gets to go first." He and Gavin balanced their balls on the tips of their wand, then, with a flick of their wrist, sent them flying towards the other side of the table. Gavin's missed, bouncing off the table to hover at the same height, but Pat's managed to land in one of the cups.

"Alright, Hermione," Pat said, handing her the ball Brianne rolled back. "You're up!"

Overall, Hermione thought herself to be an okay first time pong player, getting four of their opponents' cups out. She noticed Pat occasionally glance at her as she would lean over slightly to make a shot; hopefully, he would attribute her pink cheeks to the alcohol. True to his word, Pat drank every cup she couldn't – five of the seven Brianne and Gavin managed to score before Hermione and Pat overtook them.

"Nice job!" Pat grinned as he high-fived Hermione. "I have some Magik in my room if you'd be interested in coming up to celebrate our crushing victory over my goon of a brother…"

Hermione hesitated, biting her lip. She was aware of her intoxication as she teetered in the detested heels that were no longer causing her foot pain. She glanced over at the other side of the table for Brianne; both she and Gavin had disappeared among the crowd. With a slight squirm in her heart, she wasn't so sure how Ron…

"Hermione," someone hiccupped in her ear. She and Pat turned to see Tarin and Brianne holding a bleary-eyed, swaying, giggling Ashlyn between them. "Can you help us get her back? She's pretty bad right now."

"I'm sorry," she told Pat, turning to her friend, "but I guess I'm heading out now."

He smiled good-naturedly and gave her a one-armed hug. "Hey, don't worry about it. Just make sure she gets back okay. See you around, I hope?"

"Sure," she called as she relieved Tarin of the brunette and half-dragged her roommate out of the house.

Hermione was amazed at her roommate's ability to keep her heels intact and on her feet as she swayed and stumbled back to Abraham between her two friends. "I – hic – am – hic –" she managed to slur before she burst into tears and fell to the sidewalk, pulling Brianne down with her. "What if they saw me?!" she wailed as her head lolled to the side.

"No, Ash, honey, you were fine," Tarin said consolingly as she pulled Ashlyn back to her feet. She turned to the other two and added, "There might've been a few sorority girls early on in the night and Ash was saying how they pay attention to how sloppy you get at parties. Come on, sweetie, let's get you some water and in bed."

"No," Ashlyn whined. "I want some apple juice."

"I can get you apple juice," Hermione said consolingly as possible. "Let's just get you up the stairs and into our room, okay?"

They stopped once to let Ashlyn throw up in a bush (Brianne holding her hair back while she retched) before they attempted the stairs to the third floor. Tarin grabbed a bucket from her room ("Just in case we had this emergency," Brianne admitted) while Hermione helped her roommate change into comfortable clothes. Brianne came back as she and Tarin were holding Ashlyn back from falling into the bucket she was retching into.

"I grabbed her the juice she wanted and some crackers," Brianne said, rummaging through some of Ashlyn's drawers. "I'm not sure where she'd – Accio!" She summoned a bottle of Advil and set them aside with the snacks. "She'll want these in the morning, trust me."

Ashlyn had finished vomiting at this point and had curled up on her side, moaning as she nodded off. "I think she's out," Tarin announced, getting up from the bed slowly. She looked at her roommate. "I think we should probably pass out, too."

"Get some sleep, 'Mione," Brianne said as she made for the door with Tarin, only slightly unsteady on her feet. "She'll probably have a rough time waking up, but we can all go get breakfast in the morning."

"That'd be lovely," Hermione yawned, kicking her heels into a corner as she pulled back her bedding.

Not bothering to remove her clothing, Hermione snuggled cheerfully beneath her warm covers. Her head was a little spinny, but despite that and her roommate's inebriation, she felt inexplicably happy. Maybe, she thought as she drifted off, occasional indulgence isn't so bad after all...

So... what do you guys think of Pat? He'll have a decent role in this, perhaps more than some of Hermione's original third-floor Abraham girlfriends... ;)

Notes:

1. Magik is a type of hard alcohol in the Wizarding world, I haven't decided on its' attributes (i.e, how the bubbling brew is equivalent to beer and has the magical bubbles).

2. I imagined the rules of pong to be the same as Muggle beer pong, though instead of simply using your hands, it would be a little more similar to ping pong. Plus, to those of you who have played... how awesome would it be if balls just hovered in the air instead of falling, so they wouldn't get in your drinks?!

I'm a little frustrated because I really would have loved to start this fic about five chapters ahead of where I did, but there's no way I could without it being a total mess. I plan on focusing a lot more on Hermione's academic and social life once classes start, her PTSD, and her relationships with her friends back home. I'm sorry if this is a little dragging and for all the OCs I'm making up! I promise to throw in some actual characters in the near-ish future. :)