AN: This chapter was easier to write. Maybe it's because it was funnier than others. Maybe it was because a few days ago I downloaded a few self-care apps because my anxiety was... a mess. Please don't question the chapter title.
Also, just a heads up: tomorrow anxiety is going to be worse and Friday I'm leaving on a vacay that I really really don't want to go on but have no choice whatsoever so I won't be able to post until Monday or Tuesday. I know that isn't very long, but I've had a tendency to post within a few days so... yeah.
Disclaimer: I'm not J.K. Rowling. I make no money. Deal with it.
The ball ended around ten. Dinner was served the same way it was at the ball in fourth year, and afterward, she and Draco got drunk together. After it was over, a party was held in the common room with an open bar. She and Draco hung around at the bar, drinking shot after shot until they were slurring their words and stumbling around. When things began to finally wind down around two in the morning, the other joined them.
"How much did you guys drink?" Blaise asked with a grin.
"Ohhh… just this much?" she replied, holding her thumb and index finger about an inch apart, then giggled, leaning against Draco and resting her head on his shoulder.
"I definitely believe you," Pansy told her sarcastically, then pulled her away and in the direction of the dormitory with the help of Daphne. "Let's get you to bed, honey."
"One more drink?"
"Absolutely not."
Hermione stumbled along and Daphne put one of her arms over her shoulder, helping her walk.
"Daph, remind me to never let Hermione drink without supervision ever again."
"She had Draco."
"Draco was providing the alcohol. He does not count as supervision and never will."
"Well, they're both going to regret this in the morning."
"Oh, definitely. After we get this troublemaker in bed, let's make sure that the bar's gone."
― || ― || ― || ― || ― || ― || ― || ― || ― || ―
Hermione groaned as she woke up. Her head was pounding. She opened her eyes for a moment and then shut them forcefully. Everything was too bright.
"Ugh," she groaned.
"Oh, good, you're awake. I honestly thought that you'd never wake up."
Pansy.
"Go fuck yourself," she muttered without any anger. Pansy was talking very loudly. "And go away."
"Go away when I have the chance to torment you? How could you suggest such a thing?"
Hermione dug her face into her pillow.
"I don't want to deal with you. Go. Away."
"Well now I know that hungover Hermione isn't any fun." Pansy flicked her on the forehead and Hermione yelped. The door shut, smothering the sound of her giggles.
Hermione pulled the blankets over her head, blocking out any and all light. Upon a second thought, she grabbed her wand from her bedside table and summoned a vial of sage-green liquid, a hangover cure she had come across in her fifth year. Relieved to have it, she pulled the cork stopper as downed the potion.
It took effect quickly, the headache going away almost immediately and things didn't seem so bright.
She stumbled out of bed and to the bathroom, washing her face to wake herself up a little, trying to recall the events of the previous night.
The ball, many drinks with Draco, the vial of moonshine, and… ah. She had agreed to go on a date with him. Well, she doubted she'd regret it. She was glad Pansy didn't mention her and Draco's apparent acquaintance at the ball when she was still hungover.
She showered and dressed in an emerald green top, black leggings, thigh-high leather boots and a leather jacket, pulling her hair up into a high ponytail. She added a touch of lip gloss and clear mascara because she actually felt like trying that day, and headed out of the dormitory and doesn't the stairs to the common room, where she found Pansy, Daphne, Blaise, and Theo lounging on a sectional.
"Morning, Hermione," Blaise greeted with a look in his eye and a grin on his face that she absolutely didn't trust.
"Good morning…" she replied cautiously, making him smile wider.
At that moment, Draco stumbled from the boys' staircase over to them. His hair was mussed as if he'd just rolled out of bed.
"Good morning, Draco!" she chirped at him. He made to reply instinctively then stopped and stared at her with wide eyes.
"How are you not…"
"A hungover mess? It's called a hangover potion. You should look into it."
He pouted, and she absentmindedly noted how cute that expression looked on his face. "Can I have one?"
"Hmmm… sorry, I'm saving them."
The four Slytherins sitting beside her seemed very amused by the exchange.
"Ugh," Draco told her. "Rude."
He collapsed onto the couch and clutched his head.
"Well," she told them brightly, "I'm off to breakfast. Does anyone want to join me?"
French toast, strawberries, and hot chocolate seemed to be a very revitalizing breakfast option. Pansy and Blaise appeared to agree with her as they accompanied her to the Great Hall.
― || ― || ― || ― || ― || ― || ― || ― || ― || ―
Hermione knew exactly what it was about when Draco pulled her aside on her way back from the Great Hall after lunch. They were in a small alcove, and he cast a few glamor and silencing charms to disguise them so no one would see them. Especially one of their friends.
"So, er, Hermione, about that date…"
"Don't tell me you're backing out, Draco."
His eyes widened and he stumbled over his words. "Oh, no, no, I just wanted to get out the details, you know, because I doubt either of us are the spontaneous date type and I don't want to completely surprise you but I don't want to go on a date that either of us aren't comfortable with and ―"
"Draco. Draco! You're going to talk yourself dizzy! Relax. I didn't actually think you were going to back out."
He paused, taking a deep breath, and looked a little relieved. "So, um, what do you want to do for the date?"
"I don't really care," she told him, shrugging. "No Madam Puddifoot's, and nothing overly formal. Other than that, I don't really give a damn."
"Oh, thank Merlin you don't want to go to Madam Puddifoot's ―"
"It's a positively sickening place. I don't have to go there if I want tea and red velvet cake. I have much better options."
He snickered.
"We could always just go to Hogsmeade as usual, but without the rest of our cadre."
"That sounds decent."
"Great!" she said with positivity she didn't feel as she canceled all the charms. "It's a date."
"We already decided that, Hermione."
She winked at him. "Are you going to join us for a snowball fight? I'm sorry to say that Theo and Daphne have already claimed me for their team, so you're stuck on the other one with Pansy and Blaise."
"Sure, what the hell. There's no way anything could go wrong."
She spun and looked him dead in the eye with a very grim expression on her face. "Draco, just about everything could go wrong."
Then she burst out laughing. He merely raised an eyebrow and chased after her as she sauntered off in the direction of the snow-covered grounds.
The snowball fight turned out to be an interesting experience. She and Theo clicked intellectually and managed to be on the same page with a different spin on ideas. He was more battlefield-minded, and she had the creativity to make it out. Daphne had the utter and complete determination to make it count, and she knew Pansy and Blaise very well, and could mess them up and predict their moves easily. Theo, too, knew Draco well. The three of them worked in a neat tandem, using magic and plain hard work to build forts and shoot snowballs. At one rather interesting point, Theo used a cannon to shoot high-speed snowballs through a hole in their tall fort while Daphne made snowballs and covered Hermione, who was building an entire castle full of snowball guns and cannons. Pansy, Blaise, and Draco were bickering for most of that over a strategy that they ended up never coming up with.
Needless to say, Hermione, Daphne, and Theo won the fight, and they had victorious smiles on their faces as they headed back inside and to the kitchens for delicious hot chocolate topped with marshmallows, whipped cream, milk chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, caramel, chocolate syrup, and cinnamon powdered sugar.
All in all, it was a very good way to spend a day (minus the hangover part of the morning).