A/N: 30 chapters, guys! I made it to 30! I'll go ahead and save the long note for after, but there are thanks ahead!


Chapter 30: Not as Think as You Drunk I am

Whatever this drink was, Ginny loved it. It had just the right amount of zing to cut the sweetness, and just enough of a kick to remove any potential social anxiety from her mind. She found herself chatting with people she'd never met, complimenting them on their chocolate-frog-card dress (a particularly ambitious outfit) or their creative use of charms to get the smallest possible piece of material to cover the largest (well, that was subjective) area. She had to keep reminding herself that it was okay for her to have physical contact with other people – because it was happening a lot. She certainly had to remove a few hands that got too friendly, but so far hadn't broken any bones, so that was a step in the right direction.

Ginny liked being tipsy. Drunk? Tipsy. Whatever it was, she liked it. It made her hate people less, which was probably a good thing. And she'd had a very enlightened discussion on the use of hallucinogenic potions with a couple of body-painted post-grads who she was pretty sure were both tripping. Alcohol had allowed her to endure the slow pace and constant distractions of the conversation without wanting to punch somebody. Heh. Punch. She should have more of that.

She was drunk, yes, but not drunk drunk. It was like she was drunk on the spirit of the party. She'd surrendered to the drowsiness of time and drink and allowed herself the mental disinhibition. And when she let the combined effects take hold of her for her own entertainment, she went from 'nachos sound like a nutritious snack' to 'naughts and crosses is hilarious – actually, everything is hilarious.' Not that she minded. She was enjoying letting herself relax and pretend to be more drunk than she was. It let her feel less guilty about her actions.

As she wandered through the party with her once again full cup, she realized that this was going to be a pretty common occurrence what with the whole business of snogging Blaise. She'd get to – have to? – go to quite a few more parties. And she didn't mind so much. So maybe she'd never been a partier before, but why was that? Feeling awkward about strangers and embarrassing herself? Well, she now had the wonders of kinda-drunkenness, so that shouldn't be a problem. She could totally do this like all the time. Maybe. Even if it was kind of loud and crowded.

She frowned slightly as she noticed the ringing in her ears from the constant noise of the party, and diverted her path to the much quieter basement. As it had been at Halloween, most corners seemed full of half- (and sometimes ¾ or 4/5) naked revelers going at it with each other. Figuring she'd try not to interrupt anything, Ginny set her eyes on a dim lounge area on the far side of the main room and wandered toward it. Was she stumbling? Probably not really. Like, maybe. A little. The idea of drunkenness was going to her head. Okay, maybe she should sit down.

The empty couch was a godsend. Before she knew it she was face down on the sofa, promising she wouldn't have her eyes shut for very long.

She awoke to a foot nudging her calf.

"You're sure you passed your OWLs, Weaslette? Cause I think this is the stupidest thing I've ever seen you do."

Ginny – eyes still closed – merely groaned and turned her head to the back of the sofa. She couldn't tell where the voice was coming from. Somewhere in front of the couch, maybe? Toward her feet? Or above her? It was definitely not in her mind, so that was a consolation at least.

"…And here I thought it was common sense not to fall asleep in public." The voice was familiar, but the tone seemed way off. Despite the obvious annoyance it was almost… patient? The quietly spoken words were not for her benefit, but in the little pocket of quiet she heard them clearly. She was too distracted by the message, however, to try to suss out the speaker – though she had a good idea, it just wasn't computing in her head.

to fall asleep at a party…

"Oh!" Eyes still closed, Ginny reached a hand back, trying to reach her feet up, as she flailed around for a hand hold. "You – you take off y'r shoes, right?"* The slur was more from tiredness than drunkenness (though, who was she kidding, she was more drunk than she wanted to think, even if she wasn't as drunk as she was acting). She managed to grab one shoe and toss it to the ground beside her, but ended up flailing around for her other leg with no success and giving up. "Good 'nuff."

The Totally Mysterious (aka the Why Is He Talking Like This) Guy let out a heavy – somehow sarcastic – sigh. "This is pathetic."

Ah, yes, now it was making more sense.

"Malfoy!" Her voice was unusually happy to be announcing his name, but the joyful acknowledgment was quickly followed by, "Fuck off, Malfoy." Of course, this was all spoken into the cushions of the sofa.

There was silence for a moment, and if she were a little more sober she might have heard the internal struggle he was having. Instead, she chose to completely forget about telling him to fuck off just seconds before, too curious about what his costume turned out to be, and turned her head to open her eyes.

She blinked for a few seconds, adjusting to the angle and the light, figuring out exactly how she was splayed across the couch, before really looking at him. His face was frozen in a look of reluctant bemusement, one delicate eyebrow raised in an expression that clearly conveyed the internal wrestle of 'entertained' and 'patronizingly scornful.' Just as with Halloween, he'd taken the 'less effort is more' approach and gone the very popular toga route, though his was more of a sarong made of some kind of metallic black material (maybe curtains?), wrapped in a complex style around the base of his torso. Like some kinda Scandinavian topless berserker Viking. Ginny's internal observations were lacking in cohesion at the moment.

Part of that may have been attributed to surprise. She really should've expected it, she reasoned: he was a quidditch player, a narcissist, of course he took care of his body. Of course it would look way too perfect to be real. Of course he would be smirking at the way her mouth was gaping in-

"In awe of my magnificence, Weaslette?"

It was that same odd tone he'd been using since their unorthodox truce – teasing, rather than pointed. It was still disconcerting. The surprise dissipated and she screwed up her face in confusion, but couldn't help but respond to the (oddly friendly) tone. The result was a childish garble of scrunched nose and narrowed eyes and smile. "You're so weird." Her words came out as almost affectionate. "Weirdo." She snorted to herself, and rolled over a little so she was properly facing him, but didn't bother sitting up. This new dynamic was interesting. She was curious.

Drunkenness made her more forgiving, but not so forgiving that she didn't try to kick him when his eyes spent a little too much time looking at her costume. "Watch yourself, misterr," she warned, one eye closing as she wagged her finger at him, "I don't take shit from anywun…"

He pursed his lips. He had a nice jaw line. Kinda thin lips, but a strong jaw, she had to give him that. Especially when his mouth was closed. And then he went and ruined it. "You… er… you have something," he gestured vaguely over his shoulder, and Ginny rolled back onto her stomach, trying to peer at her own shoulder. He let out a huff that Ginny was pretty sure was laughter as he shook his head. After a second watching her struggle, he sighed and glanced around before summoning a compact mirror from a nearby handbag.

Ginny snorted again. "Oooh, Malfoy uses a pu-urse," she teased in a singsong voice.

The mockery only made him roll his eyes. "Check your back, Weasel."

The smile on Ginny's face faded into a look of concentration ("…gah…ulz…") before she frowned, her eyes clearing.

"Seriously?" Her voice was a lot quieter, a little shriller, and a whole lot more upset. She'd been sobered up by the large 'SLAG' written across her back in the flour she'd used as an attempt to preserve her modesty. "What the fuck…" she muttered, her jaw tightening. She remembered just how many hands she'd had to swat away. "How long has this… what the actual fuck." She felt angry tears pricking her eyes – something she entirely attributed to her alcohol consumption, and a whim she refused to humour – and blinked them away. On a night when she'd already dredged up all the guilt and shame she'd come to associate with the whole Stephen incident, and shoved it in a corner to be forgotten, now she had to deal with this? She felt a leaden weight in her stomach as she tossed the mirror on the ground, and looked straight ahead at the arm of the sofa.

She didn't like this feeling. The uneasy hollowness that had filled her gut, and the still dizzy spinning that was going on in her head. She reached back with one hand, but felt the tug that reminded her of the end of her range of motion if she wanted to keep the apron firmly attached. She tried again, from the bottom, but only managed to get the slightest amount of flour on her fingers. This was a horrible idea. Why had she done this? It had all been a huge mistake. She never should've agreed to come.

But now she had, and had been literally labeled a slag, and she – couldn't – quite – get-

Frustrated, Ginny crossed her arms beneath her chin and ducked her face into the cushions.


*See Urban Dictionary for "shoes rule."

A/N: I know, I know, it's almost a cliffhanger. No worries, chapter 31 is written already, and I will make an effort to post it as soon as I've completed another chapter to have in the reserves.

In the meantime, I promised thank-yous to reviewers, faves, and follows, and here they are:

Previous thanks were in chapters 8, 13, and 20. Now for a cumulative list since then:

Reviews (post Chapter 20): Thanks to AshleyDiLorentis (I try!), Nutmeg44 (back to beta, yay!), KellyD.R, brianaangel (woo! Thanks for all of the reviews, I really appreciate it! Also: he may have known then, but he feels like absolute shite now), rcr (completely), velvetteddy (oh, it will be. Just you wait), kit7714 (more is on the way!), Rosissi (will do!), barneypants (yay! I'll check your profile to see if you ever end up writing something!), Homerunhitter (you are on my list of stories to read!), and She Who Must Not Be Tamed (I am!).

Favorites: Thanks to Adalina-C-Black, Akiko Uzumaki, AngelicNightmare, AshleyDiLorentis, Chey1374, Esrath, GreyWolf2907, Idrille, LoganoTeller, Longxlive, Miranda Betzalel, 98, Nakiji, Ploxx, RavenTrinityLionheart, Rjudkins19, Rosissi, barneypants, brianaangel, crazycatlady 149, electric strike, fisherlinda53, hermionelover778, iceflower333, kaykay25, kit7714, little bird 35, mrs. elektra akasha malfoy, parisgibson, perilwriter, .accidents, rcr, sarahlan, skmd, , and velvetteddy.

Follows: Thanks to Adalina-C-Black, Adultswim231, Akiko Uzumaki, Albert Scoot, Aleique, AshleyDiLorentis, BB's girls, Baby Got Black, CMalwaysHP, CamoPrincess0913, Chella218, ClauF, Esrath, 22, Frenzy322, GreekPrincess143, GreyWolf2907, Idrille, InfinityElf, Katereena, KellyD.R, LoganoTeller, Longxlive, LoonyBookWorm2013, , Makendyl27, Miranda Betzalel, MissAllieMae, Misstrangiee, 98, MyraLyokoBlack, Nakiji, Ploxx, PrincessKairi818, RavenTrinityLionheart, Rjudkins19, Rosissi, She Who Must Not Be Tamed, Thatwasacinch, Toruh, XfreakishpixieX, anotherloveroffanfiction, barneypants, blackprongsscarletlily, brianaangel, cherryfalls, christine957, coucou-8719784, crazycatlady 149, doublelife1994, electric strike, facetofacewiththeskies, fisherlinda53, genievieve7, hermionelover778, iceflower333, islandgirlkimmer, jbodaneze, jjenners, kaykay25, kit7714, little bird 35, mickey kity, moonsdream10, necova3, nilshki, oldaccount99, perilwriter, rcr, sas1030, sbernardod, scatteredlight, smokingwinds, strawberriesforever, the only daughter of Pluto, , velvetteddy, wee kori L, and zen8.

WOW. That's a lot of follows. And over 25,000 views! And I thank each and every one of you!

I have a few more chapters in reserve, but on a more somber note:

There is some serious upheaval happening in my life right now, so I haven't really been in the mood to write. On Tuesday I got a huge bombshell that basically equates to my school closing in two weeks. As you might expect, I'm pretty shaken up and have a lot of planning to do. I'm really not in the right headspace. Hopefully I'll be finding a new place to go and getting all that squared up, saying goodbye to all my friends and teachers, and all of that, and will be more in the writing headspace sometime later this week or next. I'll try to post regularly, but I only have about three chapters in reserve, and may not get more written for a while.

-Turner