HG

The next week turned into much of the same except that Hermione made it her personal mission to determinedly avoid Ginny Weasley. Hermione had woken up early on Sunday morning lying halfway off her sofa, dressed in her clothes from the night before, with a pounding head and dry throat when her redheaded best friend burst unexpectedly into her room shouting unintelligible things. Hermione grimaced and grabbed her wand before muttering accio water and glugging the entire glass. It felt like she'd been beaten over the head by a troll last night.

Ginny stood in the middle of the living room flailing her arms about but Hermione didn't have one knut of an idea as to what she was talking about.

"Ginny! Please shout more quietly!" She tried to raise her voice but winced, not even able to take the sound of her own cracked voice.

"I'm sorry," Ginny replied tamely. "Gods, how much did you drink?" She reached into her bag and pulled out a vial.

"Definitely not as much as you! I don't understand how you're okay." Hermione wailed, raising a hand to her brows to try and alleviate her headache.

"Well, If you're going to drink during school term 'Mione, you need to learn a few things. Good thing you have me to teach you." The redhead grinned and handed Hermione a bluish, watery vial of unknown substance. Hermione eyed it suspiciously, not recognising the concoction.

"What is it?" She frowned.

"Just trust me, 'Mione. It's hardly going to be poison, is it?"

DM

Draco strode into the abandoned fifth floor classroom to find a stressed looking Granger rummaging through some papers and haphazardly shoving half the pile nto her bag.

"What is this Granger? Why did you call me up here?"

"This used to be an old Arithmancy classroom. We found it when we tried to hide from Filch back in first year."

Draco looked at her, unimpressed. "That doesn't explain why I'm here." He watched as Granger grew increasingly frustrated.

"Granger! If you don't stop digging and start telling me why you called me up here, I'm leaving!" She gave a huff and slumped into the chair next to her, abandoning the muddled contents of her bag.

"Sorry, I have 15 minutes to get to my next class and I can't find the notes I made for you! I was sure I put them in here." Draco raised an eyebrow, looking annoyed.

"You called me over here so you could give me your new research notes that you're due to give me on Saturday when we meet up to finally discuss our project?"

Draco watched as Granger hesitated and bit her lip. It was funny watching her squirm but he wasn't impressed. He knew exactly why Granger called him up here. Weaslette hadn't exactly been quiet, despite the desperate hushed shut-downs from Granger every time the redhead tried to speak on the subject.

"Well about that Malfoy… I don't think I'll be able to meet you on Saturday." She said guiltily.

"And pray tell, why not? I seem to recall that you've been the one badgering me to finally meet up for this." Internally, he basked in having the upper hand on the Golden Girl.

"I know, I'm sorry. But something's come up and now I'm stuck with an ensuing engagement." Raising yet another disparaging eyebrow that he knew she didn't like, Draco scoffed in annoyance.

"And what could possibly be more important than meeting to determine whether we pass or fail this project?" Draco didn't know why he wanted to keep goading her into talking about this. Granger was clearly not enjoying this conversation and obviously didn't fancy telling Malfoy that she couldn't make the meeting she set up because of a party.

"I know it isn't fair, but I made a promise and now I'm stuck with it." Taking a breath, she met Malfoy's condescending eyes before confessing. "I have to cancel our meeting because Ginny's throwing me a birthday party and she's pressed my hands and is holding me hostage." She all but rushed out. "So… sorry but we'll have to reschedule." She waited a beat. He looked almost bored and unsurprised, clearly musing.

"I know."

"... You know?"

"Yes, I know. Loony invited me earlier today."

Before she could comment on that revelation, Malfoy stood up and made his way to the door. "But whatever Granger. If we fail this project, it's on your head."

HG

Hermione woke up the morning of her birthday determined to act like nothing was different. The past week, a lot of people had been coming up to her, wanting to strike a conversation only to ultimately ask for an invitation to her party. Hermione went from wanting to show her best friend that she was trying, to suddenly hosting the first major party of the year.

The only thing was, she wasn't planning it - Ginny Weasley was, and there were three things that everyone knew about Ginny.

One, she casts a mean Bat-Bogey Hex (Zacharias Smith's nostrils still hadn't fully recovered and he now avoided the youngest Weasley every time he sees her.

Two, she loves a good party - much to her elder brothers' dismay (And Harry's too, it seemed). More than once have they caught the youngest Weasley stumbling into the Gryffindor common room after one of the Ravenclaw parties.

Three, more than just attending a good party, she loves to host a good party. And she was making it her mission to host the event of the year. It was going to be a party of epic proportions and an event that size needed a lot of coordination. She needed so much help from the other houses that, unbeknownst to Hermione, she had been quite liberal with the invitations. The more people, the merrier the party, right?

Being close to Luna meant getting invited to a lot of the Ravenclaw parties. Ravenclaw held so many parties that it was commonly known that Ginny could often be found stumbling around the corridors at midnight, trying to get back to her house from one of their four secret spaces. It made sense that a house of brainiacs would create a place for them to imbibe and break school rules. They were just so good at it that they never got caught.

And, as Hermione would find out later that evening, it was one of these rooms, an old, spacious classroom that was used for charms practicals, located on the third floor, in the East Wing corridor, that Ginny had secured for the party in exchange for a dozen invitations for the Ravenclaws.

It was prime space for two reasons: firstly, the secret room was just past the armour gallery, before the charms corridor and none of the teachers had an office on this floor.

Secondly, there was at least one secret passageway on this floor that only a select few people knew about and this was the most important because it led to the dungeons and therefore the kitchens.

Susan Bones and her friends had scored another dozen invitations in exchange for sneaking food and drinks up from the kitchens on the day of the event and help Ginny set up. Everything was ready, all Hermione had to do was show up.

It was quarter to seven by the time the last of the food and drinks were transported from the kitchen and placed on two long oak tables, which were pushed up on each side of the room. Another table at the back of the classroom held two huge glass punch bowls that held two of Ginny's special concoctions she called 'Sex on the Quidditch Pitch.' There were also several boxes of Knotgrass mead and Nettle wine. Ginny was waiting on Fred and George to drop by with a couple of crates of the good stuff. Although it was stated on the invites that alcohol would be provided, she also made it explicit that anyone who didn't bring any drinks would not be be allowed in. She was a gracious host but she wasn't made of money and if everyone brought in at least one drink, she could continue to fill the punch bowls up for everyone and keep the party going.

DM

"Where are you taking us, Pansy? Can't we just go to the Three Broomsticks again?" Blaise called down the corridor. "I want a go at that barmaid," he added in a mutter just to Draco.

"No. Just, come on." Pansy called back, adding in a sing-song voice, "you'll see when we get there." She was wearing a hot pink dress that was short, even by Pansy's standards, and tall, thin heels that clomped irritably on the stone floor. He was sure she had been wearing something similar that night over summer. The hazy memory of it made him shudder and he tried to push the thought from his mind. But why was she all dressed up in party clothes? He couldn't recall any of the Slytherins talking about a party that weekend.

Then, realisation hit him like a Hungarian Horntail. "You're not taking us to Granger's party, are you?" He said, stopping dead and feeling like a prize idiot. Since that night that he had helped an embarrassingly drunk Granger back into her room, the two had been making efforts to avoid each other, even more than usual. I should have just left her out in that storm, he thought to himself, someone would have found her… eventually.

He just wanted to have a fun night, where he could drink a little too much, maybe flirt with a couple of girls, let off some steam. But now, he bet Granger would corner him about Alchemy, again. Earlier in the day, Draco had finally given her notes some consideration. It had been a crisp, Autumnal Saturday morning at Hogwarts, so he'd taken the parchment out to the grassy bank nearest the Great Lake, where he sat under a tree whose leaves were just turning orange, occasionally stopping to watch the goings on in the vast, black water. After a few hours of scribbling over her work and muttering to himself at the mediocrity of her methodology, he'd decided to call it a day and headed inside to the Slytherin common room to find Blaise. While he walked towards the castle, he began to imagine Granger's face when she saw his level of critique on her work so far. He had his argument ready: if they were going to achieve something spectacular, mediocrity was their biggest enemy. If they were really going to attempt this, they had to push and challenge each other on every tiny detail until it was perfect, or they would end up embarrassing themselves in front of the whole class. Draco Malfoy did not do embarrassed.

Even he had to admit though, this was going to be a more challenging assignment than he had first anticipated. There was a lot of trial and error ahead of them. And, unfortunately, the possibility of a lot of late nights trying different approaches, again and again. Failure was not an option.

"We're going to crash her party." Pansy's voice, laced with mischief, pulled him back to reality, and she shot him a smile with a hint of glee in her eyes. She was clearly blissfully unaware that Draco and Blaise both actually had invites from Lovegood. "Everyone's going!" She whined, pulling on Draco's arm. Just on time to make her point, Harper King, a sixth year, appeared from the direction of the Slytherin common room, carrying a pack of honey mead.

"Off to the Gryffindor party too?" Harper, a tall, dark haired boy who Draco knew well from years of playing quidditch together, nodded to the trio.. He came from a long-line of pureblood witches and wizards and was well respected in Slytherin circles, so it surprised Draco to hear he was going to a party being thrown for a muggleborn. "You do know it's a party for Hermione Granger, right?"

"I know, but I doubt she'll turn up. I'm pretty sure she's like, in a long term relationship with the library." Harper responded, earning a laugh from the group. "That spicy little redhead from Gyriffindor invited me and, well, who could say no to her?"

"Seeeeeeee," Pansy whined at Draco. "I told you everyone is going."

Harper was right, Granger probably wouldn't even show up. She was definitely scarred from her drunken escapades just the weekend before. "Fine." Draco relented. It wasn't often he was able to say no to a party. Even if this one was being hosted by a bunch of Gryffindors.

"Yay!" Pansy squealed, making both Draco and Blaise wince slightly. "Now… does anyone actually know where it's being hosted…? I'm, sort of guessing," she admitted.

Luckily for the group, Harper had an invitation in-hand - a red piece of parchment that detailed the directions in gold disappearing ink, which he handed over to Pansy, letting the excitable Slytherin lead the way.

Armed with their destination, the group continued its way down the corridor, following the directions to the classroom that would play host to the party - the unused classroom that Ginny had talked Hermione into hiding with the fidelius charm earlier that morning.

While they walked there, Harper and Draco got into a deep conversation about the Quidditch team that year, knowing that this was Draco's last opportunity to win the cup. They paused to briefly hide in a broom cupboard, as two two fifth-year Ravenclaw prefects carried out a patrol. The Head Boy could hardly be caught by his subordinates and lose house points for attending an inter-house, alcohol-fuelled party that just so happened to be in honour of his mortal enemy. His pride nor his position as Head Boy could take that.

Finally, the four Slytherins made it to the classroom entrance, only to find Lynette Sawley guarding the door. Lynette, a particularly green-fingered Hufflepuff, had once been pranked at a Hallowe'en feast, when Pansy cast a pumpkin head charm on her in front of the entire school. No one had found it funnier than Peeves, who made up a particularly catchy song about the incident that's been sung at every Hallowe'en celebration since. Draco prayed, with little hope, that Lynette had forgotten about the incident. Or at least found it in her soft Hufflepuff heart to forgive Pansy.

"Invitations?" She barked as soon as she saw the group of Slytherins approaching. "You shan't be going in without one." Lynette added, directing a particularly nasty look at Pansy. An image of Lynette running around screaming with a pumpkin for a head shot into Draco's mind and he tried, quite unsuccessfully, to disguise his laugh as a cough. This earned him a glare from the Hufflepuff as well. Forgiveness and forgetfulness are off the table then, he thought, with a sigh.

Pansy handed Harper back his invitation, which he smugly held out for Lynette. She promptly snatched the piece of parchment from him and perused it closely.

"Fine. You can go in. And the rest of you?" She waited for half a second before continuing, clearly enjoying her opportunity to give the Slytherins a hard time. "No invite, no entrance."

Just at that moment, Luna Lovegood appeared from the direction of the school kitchens, carrying a ginormous red and gold cake that had been shaped like a book. The words 'Happy birthday Hermione' were written in gold on the front. The decorative work was immaculate. These house elves have far too much free time, Draco thought.

"Oh hello Blaise. And friends." Luna said, smiling warmly at the Slytherins. "It's okay Lynette, I invited Blaise and Draco to join us this evening." At this, Blaise shot Luna a loaded grin, which didn't go unnoticed by Draco. Pansy's face, on the other hand, warped into a look of mixed horror and shock, which wasn't dissimilar from the look now on Lynette's face. "You'd be welcome too, Pansy. If you like." Luna added.

"We… we agreed everyone who comes in has to bring some alcohol with them. They haven't brought any, so I still can't let them in ." Lynette said, pushing her bottom lip out stubbornly. "Sorry Luna, but rules are rules."

Draco could feel Pansy's anger explode next to him. "Right. Harper, give us one each of your meads. This is absolutely ridiculous," Pansy demanded, snatching a bottle from Harper's crate. "Happy?" She snapped, as she pushed past the Hufflepuff, not waiting for a response.

Harper shrugged at Lynette, and proffered the box to Draco and Blaise, who gratefully took a bottle each. Draco nodded at Harper; he didn't forget Slytherin loyalty, even the smallest of gestures.

Realising there were no other excuses to make, Lynette, who was now quite pink in the face, stepped aside and revealed the entrance to let the four Slytherins, plus Luna, into the party. "Any trouble," she hissed at Blaise and Draco as they walked past, "and you're out. Immediately."

"Did she ask for trouble?" Blaise whispered to his friend, "now that, we can certainly provide."