A/N: I saw that a few people put this story on their story alert list! That makes me really happy! I'm glad you guys like it, and thanks to Fool4Sasuke for reviewing! All the rest of you guys should review too! Also, the flashbacks are going to be written in first person from Hermione's POV. Here's chapter 2!

And oh yeah, I don't own any of these characters. J.K. is the woman!

Talk is Cheap

Chapter 2

Hermione sat on her bed, staring straight ahead, her eyes boring through Ron's; she wasn't really looking at him at all. She couldn't think straight. Her thoughts flew back about eight hours….

This party isn't bad. I'm glad Harry and Ron convinced me to come down and have a good time. I wish everyone weren't drunk though. They won't remember any of this tomorrow. I would never get that inebriated.

Oh God, here comes Ron. He's hammered! Good Lord, I hope he doesn't try to get with me… I think… or maybe I do. No, can't think about that now. I smiled as he came over.

"HERMIONE! You need to have a shot." Ron had a shot glass in one hand, a lime and a saltshaker in the other.

"No, Ron. I'm not drinking tonight. We have class tomorrow!" That wasn't really my reason… the truth was that I never really been drunk before, and I had most definitely never had a tequila shot. I held up my hand in protest.

"Come ON, 'Mione! You only live once!" Ron gave me that look; the one he knows can get me every time. I tried to resist.

"Ronald, I am not drinking tequila. I've heard what can happen with that stuff. I'll end up plastered on every guy in this room." At those words, Ron stiffened.

"No freaking w-ay, Hermione. The only guy you should be plastered on is… nev-never mind," he stuttered and blushed. He shook his head as if trying to erase the words he had just said. "Hermione, come on. Tequila shots are fun. Here, this is how you do it." Ron pulled a small bottle of Jose Cuervo out of his back pocket. At this, I had to laugh. Ron poured the tequila into the glass, shook a bit of salt on his left hand, and held the lime at the ready. He licked the salt, shot the tequila, and sucked on the lime really quick. As his lips closed around the lime, I felt a strange feeling, like I wished his lips were closing over mine instead of the fruit. I quickly shook it off.

"See, nothin' to it!" Ron poured the tequila into the glass and held it out to me. I sighed, and rolled my eyes, deciding I might as well have some fun while I had the opportunity.

"Alright, set me up," I conceded, holding my right hand out. Ron grinned and poured the salt on my hand and handed me the lime. I took a deep breath and licked the salt, shot the tequila, and sucked on the lime. That wasn't bad at all, I thought. I grinned. I liked the feeling the tequila gave me. "Give me another!" I cried, holding the shot glass out. Ron laughed loudly. That's where it began.

One hour and 15 shots later, I didn't even remember the first shot, let alone the ones in the middle. I sauntered around the room, being extra friendly to most people, even people I didn't really care for. I knew it; I was a happy, giddy, giggly drunk. Oh well, this is so much fun! I suddenly got the urge to dance. I ran up to Harry where he was standing talking to Seamus.

"HARRY!!!!" I screamed, running up to him and jumping on him with my legs around his waist and arms around his neck, like I hadn't seen him in years.

"Hermione, good to see ya," he said, laughing and patting my back gently. Over his shoulder, I saw Ron standing there, looking at me with a strange look in his eyes. I involuntarily removed myself from Harry. As I looked up at him, I saw he wasn't quite as drunk as Ron or me. Harry smiled at me, his green eyes twinkling. "I see you've found the joys of tequila," he teased.

"Tequila? Ish that what I've been drinking? Man, that shtuff ish amazing," I slurred, almost falling backwards. But two strong hands wrapped around my waist and saved me from falling on my arse. I turned around and looked into Ron's caramel eyes. I almost melted, but I controlled myself. We stood there for a second, looking into each other's eyes. Ron leaned down slowly, keeping his eyes locked on mine. My breath caught in my throat. He's going to kiss me. He's going there, oh yes, he is.

But when his lips got close to mine, he broke out into a toothy grin and put me in a headlock. As he shoved my head under his arm, I was completely confused. What the hell just happened? But my drunk self played along, and we ended up on the floor in a full out wrestling match. Harry and Seamus laughed and looked at each other knowingly.

As Ron and I were fighting, someone turned on some loud dance music. I screamed and jumped up and started dancing. This was what I had wanted to do all night.

"Yeah!" Harry yelled and grabbed me by the waist. I wrapped my arms around his neck and we danced to some Beyonce song. All of a sudden, I felt another body behind me—Ron. I took my hands off of Harry's neck and wrapped them backwards around Ron's. I felt like the queen of the world; I was in between two of the hottest guys at Hogwarts, both of which happen to be my best friends.

That's when it happened. Something came over me and I had the urge to call attention to myself. I broke away from Harry and Ron, leaving them awkwardly dancing with each other. They looked at each other and stopped dancing and turned to watch me.

"Hermione? Where are you—Oh my god, Ron. What in the bloody hell is she doing?" Harry grabbed Ron and ran over to the table that I was climbing on. Beyonce's voice rang through the common room as Harry tried to get me to come down. But I wouldn't listen. I started dancing, shaking my hips vigorously. I vaguely heard the song "Hips Don't Lie" start to play on the stereo. Everyone crowded around, watching me. I liked this attention and didn't want it to end. So, I started taking my clothes off. I took my shirt off, threw it into the crowed, pulled my skirt off and kicked it onto Ron's face. He slowly brought it down and dropped it to the floor, his mouth hanging open. Harry, being only a little drunk, was trying to stop me.


"Hermione, dammit, get down!" He tried to grab my ankle but I merely kicked my shoes off in his direction. He shook his head; he knew he couldn't stop me now. I wouldn't have let him if he had physically grabbed me. I reached for the hook on my bra and ripped it off. All the guys in the crowd cheered, the girls simply scowled and started whispering. Ron just stood there, dumbfounded. He couldn't tear his eyes away from me.


The tequila still hadn't worn off. I didn't know what I was doing. As a finishing flourish, I sexily took my panties off and left them lying at my feet as I danced. Harry shook his head, a little disappointed. He turned away and made his way through the crowd.

When the song ended, I looked around and realized what I had done. Wow, what an idiot! However, it didn't bother me too much, considering I still had way too much tequila in my bloodstream. Ron helped me gather my clothes and I put them back on. When he asked me what got into me, I just laughed. "I wanted to dance! So I did! And that feeling was amazing! I felt so free!" Ron snorted.

"You looked pretty free, that's for sure."

I shoved him playfully. He winked at me and walked over to the fireplace to talk to Harry, who was laughing in a group of people, probably about what I had just done. I shrugged and straightened my shirt. Still drunk, I decided to go out of the common room and see what other fun I could find….

Hermione shook her head disbelievingly. "I cannot BELIEVE I did that!" she shrieked, hiding her face in her hands. Ron bit his lip and looked down at his lap.

"I'm sorry I didn't try to stop you, Hermione, I really am," he said quietly, pulling her hands from her face. There were huge tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Ron, it's my fault, and my fault alone. You were drunk too… you can't blame yourself for my stupid mistake. I just can't believe I did that. In front of EVERYONE!" she held onto Ron's hand tightly and leaned into him, sobbing. He rubbed her back gently.

"Shhh, 'Mione. It's okay. It'll pass; it'll be old news in a few days after Pansy Parkinson does something ridiculous." This made Hermione smile slightly. "See?" he said, putting his hand on her cheek. She looked up at him, remembering the feeling she had the night before, when Ron's lips were so close to hers. He remembered too, and leaned down close to her. As his lips brushed hers gently, she gasped.

"Dear God," she said, pulling back. Ron's shoulders crumpled. He had made his move too soon. However, as he looked into her eyes, he realized that her gasp had been a product of something much more serious. Her brown eyes filled with tears and her body shook violently.

"Giving the whole of Gryffindor House a striptease was not the only thing that happened last night," she whispered, bringing her fingers to her lips, touching them gently, as if remembering something else….

TBC

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