Golden Trio Era. Fourth Year. Hogwarts.

I went over it again and again in my mind, those three words repeating themselves.

Hermione. Parents. Divorce.

Of course, we had all known that things had been rocky between the Grangers for a while now. I'd lost count of the number of times I'd seen Hermione crying over something that had been said or done, or throwing herself into her schoolwork in an attempt to not think about what was happening at home or what it may all lead to.

None of us had thought it would come to this, but now the seemingly perfect marriage was over, and Mr and Mrs Granger were no more.

I wanted to go and see Hermione, to make sure she was okay, to comfort her. But Ginny had told us that she was upstairs in the girls' dormitory, wanting to be alone. Ginny tried to talk her into coming downstairs but was unsuccessful. Harry, Ginny and I waited in the Common Room, trying to do homework to pass the time, but we were unable to focus.

Hermione eventually emerged, her face and eyes red and blotchy from tears. She stopped near the portrait hole.

"I'm going to the kitchens; does anyone want to come with me?"

Harry spoke first, "But Hermione, its past curfew. There will be prefects patrolling the corridors."

"I know what time it is Harry, but I need something to eat." She turned towards the portrait hole.

"Wait, Hermione." I said, jogging to catch up with her. "I'll come with you."

Harry and Ginny exchanged looks before Harry ran up to the boys' dorm to retrieve the Marauders Map and the invisibility cloak. The four of us were just able to fit under the cloak and we made it to the kitchens without being caught.

The house-elves were excited to see us and brought us all kinds of food. We took as much as we could carry and hurried as fast as we could back to Gryffindor Tower, narrowly avoiding Filch and Mrs Norris.

"I know what we need," Hermione said, after we had laid all the food out on the table.

She disappeared upstairs, reappearing moments later with two bottles.

"What's that?" Ginny asked.

"Firewhisky," Hermione said, popping the top off of each bottle and taking a large gulp. She coughed and wiped her mouth before offering the bottle. "Have some, it's actually quite good."

We all exchanged glances, Ginny took the bottle and placed it on the table, and she put her hand on Hermione's shoulder in a comforting manner. "Hermione, are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well… You're acting different. Sneaking out after curfew, drinking. It's just not like you to break the rules without any hesitation or fear of the consequences."

Hermione took another swig of Firewhisky. "Maybe I'm tired of being predictable," she said. "Just let me have this, please."

The slight desperation in her eyes told the story. She wanted to forget about what was happening at home, just for tonight at least. And she wanted to do it with her friends by her side.

And maybe soon she would accept what had happened and that she couldn't change it.