"The Reunion" by Quidditch, Anyone?
Old Friends... And A Few New, Too
"Disgusting," Parvati mutters to me. She sucks on another cigarette, her boney cheeks pressing up against her skeleton-like jaw. The total time she spend away from her beloved nicotine was about the same as it took me to blink. Can't blame her, though, so I let it slide.
"Can't believe every person here turned into such a... a..."
"Low-class, low-income thug?" I suggest. That's all she wants to here. Parvati herself is plastered in gold rings and dripping with snobbyness.
"Right," she breathes.
I grab another chocolate frog as my companion continues to people-watch.
"I don't see Ron," she ponders aloud. I drop the glass I'd been holding with a small 'chink'. Parvati looks down without much sympathy, unless that includes blowing a small cloud of smoke in my face. I bend down, flick of my wand, and the glass and alcohol disappear.
"Did you see him?" she continues.
I look up at her from the floor "I dunno." My hand has a difficult time grasping the side of the table to pull myself up. I stumble on my slightly uneven heel.
"Thought of all people, he would come. Seems like the type that would be all, you know... 'into it', or whatever. Popular, in a nerdy sort of way."
I tell her Ron wasn't a nerd. Or, at least, I tried to before realizing I had misplaced my voice somewhere on the floor. However, she gets some sort of message from the look on my face.
"Oh, right, sorry. So very sorry, I should have known you still had a thing for him," she drawls in her now signature toneless way.
My face gets hot and tense. "I-" my voice cracks a bit. "I do not. Ne-never did."
I know she's going to throw either an insult or a shallow chuckle my way. I'm so very not in the mood right now, so I drift off rather quickly.
Okay, start looking for someone to talk to rather than people who will assume these sort of things about you just because of your past. Hmm... old Hufflepuffs, no. Slytherins, definitely not... drink table, ah, that'll do the trick.
To my left I hear an uproar of laughter. My reflexes make me look, only to find Harry, Ron, Ginny, the twins, Alicia, and Angelina. Oh, and the slutty girl's there, too.
Urgh. This group should be renamed the black hole... their chatter and smiles are so contagious, so inviting, I'm somehow sucked into it all.
"God, were have you been this whole time, Hermy?" a not exactly sober George asks me.
"Don't call me Hermy," say through gritted teeth. The twins just laugh and fall back on one of their favorite past hobbies- Hermy Crushing. A twin of either side of my smashed into my shoulders and I can't breathe. They keep crushing me more and more until I pull down on their identical bowties and their heads collide.
"Hey! I just bought those for two Knuts apiece at the second-hand-second-hand store!" Fred jokes. Ha ha ha. Meanwhile George, convinced that I made him blind when he hit his head, starts absentmindedly mussing my hair like a mental patient.
"Cut it out!" Everyone else just laughs.
"So... you're, Heather, right?" asked the anorexic girl.
Oh, how dare you speak to me. You little witch. I mean, I'm the witch... you're just a... a... well, you're a slut, at least! God, I would love to say that. But instead I end up telling her "It's Hermione, actually."
"Oh, I'm so sorry." Riiight. "I'm terrible with names. But, of course," she smiles and puts on some cheap, sexy voice. "Ron told me all about how he used to know Harry Potter. So pathetic, isn't he, having to bask in the reflected light of his best friend."
I can see Ron turn bright red and look down at his shoes as she laughs. I'm all too familiar with the different shades he can turn; this one doesn't mean he's embarrassed in an 'awshucks' sort of way, but in a way that he'd sell his entire collection of Chudley Cannons quidditch cards to make the speaker shut up. He doesn't turn this shade often, and when he does the subject is dropped, no questions asked. I, of course, know all of this because I was his best friend and she's just an insensitive, awful little- excuse my foul language- bitch.
The conversation isn't that intriguing for a bit. I mainly sit there and tear my paper napkin into miniscule squares. For each piece I try to think of some way to humiliate Twiggy in front of Ron. Too bad the napkins are small.
"Well, when we went there, it was lovely," cried Twiggy from across the table. I roll my eyes and look up to catch what she's talking about this time.
"Yes, Ron and I... such a great time it was," she smirked. I suddenly have the urge to know every detail muttered about this subject.
"Now, had you planned the trip for a long time, or what? I hear finding a way to travel that far is hard to do, with the ministry's regulations and all," Harry put in.
Twiggy laughed. "No, no. Ronnie's so spontaneous, I don't think we had been dating a week before we left, actually."
A passing drink tray catches my eye and I grab a tiny glass of whatever's being served. All in one motion- lift, head back, gulp down, back up, tremor slightly. Don't think I even saw what went down before it was gone.
As I shake my head once more to get rid of that sudden thrill, I suddenly realize my new best friends for the night- vodka, whiskey, and rum.
Special thanks to everyone who has reviewed this mediocre story so far:
CurlsofGold- I tried to read and review your stories, but I only speak one language... except for the phrases "Wie heisst du?" and "Ich haben das Spaghetti".
jaffacake- I have no idea how you managed to read that book when you were 9. I can't get past the first paragraph. Really. I'm that bored.
Jessy- Just what I like; a review that's short, sweet, and right to the point. Thanks, hun!
Anakah- Thanks!!! I'm glad you consider it Bridget Jones-ey... Hermione's really more like Bridget than anyone.
Tanya Maxwell- Danke!
ImagirlRon- It's so nice to have all this positive feedback. P.S. Interesting Pen Name...
You're my new best friends. Well, close enough, right?