"Are you sure it's a good idea, Hannah?" Susan asked even as they stood at the door of Hermione's flat, about to knock. "A party with Hermione only. Maybe we should have invited Lavender as well."

Hannah shrugged. "Not after what she had done," she said. "Lavender just have to get over it."

"True," Susan admitted. "I still can't believe they have canceled the wedding, just a week before the date. And, they have been dating for five years."

"What's wrong with dating for five years," Hannah replied, a bit more snappishly than she wanted. She took a deep breath, trying to contain her annoyance. After all, the situation was not Susan's fault.

"Sorry," Susan said. "I shouldn't have mentioned it. But, he shouldn't have just rolled for his grandmother. It's getting annoying."

"Not his fault," Hannah replied meekly. "You know his grandmother. And, apparently, his uncle is having some health problems."

Susan nodded, and Hannah ignored her grumble, one that sounded suspiciously similar to the phrase, 'more like gambling debt'. She didn't have any other choice, not if she didn't want to confront her long-time boyfriend with some uncomfortable questions.

However, Hannah was not one for confrontations, so she changed the topic. "Too bad that Neville didn't stay at the party all night. He would have stopped Ron from making such a stupid mistake," Hannah said.

"Maybe," Susan replied. "However, I doubt it. You know Ron. He's not exactly the smartest when he's feeling confident."

"True," Hannah admitted before she knocked on the door. "Still, a nice girls' night is exactly what we need."

Before Susan could answer, the door opened, revealing Hermione. Hannah's eyes widened as she took a stock of Hermione's clothing. A surprisingly low-cut shirt, and a plied skirt that had been shorter than anything else she had seen on Hermione.

If she didn't know any better, she would have guessed that Hermione had borrowed Lavender's clothing.

Susan was the first to speak. "I thought we were staying in," she said.

"We are," Hermione said with a smile. "That's why I dressed comfortably. Now, come in," she said as she turned and walked. Hannah shared a glance with Susan before following her in.

Inside, there were some food and wine. They sat on the couch, chatting comfortably about everything … well, everything but weddings, boyfriends, and other stuff that might have reminded Hermione about the situation.

It managed to go for half an hour before the doorbell rang. "I thought that we were supposed to be just three of us," Susan commented.

"Yes, you're the only guests," she said even as she stood up. Hannah didn't miss her grin, the kind that Hermione wore whenever she was about to do something spectacular yet messy. "But we have a performer."

"A performer…" Hannah muttered, surprised as she shared a glance with Susan.

"Let me go and see," Susan said, and followed Hermione to the corridor, leaving Hannah alone. With nothing to do, Hannah looked around, only to notice a stack of photos on the bookcase. A stack that she hadn't noticed before, spilling out of an envelope.

Weird, as she always prided herself on being perceptive. She must have missed it while talking. She wasn't going to look … but then, when Susan and Hermione didn't return immediately, she couldn't help but feel curious.

But the moment she checked the photos, she was glad she had done. Because, those photos show off Ron's disastrous bachelor party, all of them showing Ron and Lavender while both of them were in various states of undressing. But, it wasn't what angered her.

No, the reason for her anger was Neville, which showed in the background, at a time when he was supposed to be gone to help his uncle with his 'health problems'. Instead, he was sitting in the background, with a skinny stripper on his lap.

Hannah could confidently say that she was skinny, as she had no clothing to obstruct the view!

Shocked, Hannah put the pictures like she had found them, and walked back to her seat woodenly. It was bad enough to see her almost-fiancee with a naked stripper on his lap, but the fact that he lied about not being there made it all the worse.

Hannah refilled her glass, and then drained it, her fingers trembling.

She was angry. Angrier than she ever remembered. Yet, even with that anger, she couldn't go and confront Neville. Even thinking about confronting him about it made her palms sweat and her heartbeat go out of control.

She just took a deep breath and schooled her face. She didn't want to ruin Hermione's party, especially since she was hurting from the same thing.

Just as she was starting to wonder whether she should pour another one, Susan walked, followed by Hermione. "You can't believe Hermione's excellent idea," Susan said, sarcasm thick in her tone. "She decided that since Ron had a fun bachelor party, she deserves to have one of her own."

Hannah gave an answer that surprised her. "Sounds good to me. It'll be fun."

Susan looked at her, shocked. "Maybe I wasn't clear. There's a male stripper," she said. "We should convince Hermione otherwise."

"No, I understood," Hannah said. "Since Neville gets one, what's the harm in us getting one as well?"

"What are you talking about," Susan asked. Hannah pointed at the envelope sitting on the corner table. Susan checked, only to gasp. "Where did you get them. Were they just lying around?"

"No, I was bored, and I snooped a bit," Hannah replied. It was a lie, which she almost never did, especially against Susan, but she didn't want her best friend annoying Hermione for her mistake, so she fibbed the truth a bit. After all, it was still true. She was the one who had gone and dug her private stuff. "It's only fair if I get to have some fun of my own, right?"

"R-right?" Susan said, hesitant. "I'm going to tell Hermione, then," Susan said and disappeared. When she returned with Hermione, she sat down. Hermione followed, but only after dimming the lights. Hannah sat in the middle, with Hermione on one side, and Susan on the other.

Then, the dancer walked in. Hannah felt her mouth dry the moment she saw the dancer, who had been dressed as a Quidditch player, but under his robe, he was just wearing the robe, and some kind of tight boxers underneath. Other than that, he also wore a half-mask to hide his identity.

The Slytherin colors were a surprise, though.

"We can stop it," Susan said.

"Come on. Don't be a spoilsport. You can just watch if you can't handle it," Hermione replied. Susan looked at her angrily, but said nothing when Hannah put a hand on her thigh. Hannah was more than happy to support Hermione after she had seen those photos.

The stripper ignored their discussion completely and started to dance … or at least, that was what Hannah wanted to call it. It was not a dance. It was an erotic show.

It wasn't the dancing skills. He wasn't horrible, but Hannah wouldn't go as far as to call him an excellent dancer. However, it didn't matter, not when his every move radiated an aura of seduction, one that made her insides tingle.

Maybe it was a bad idea.

Just as she was thinking Susan leaned toward her. "We can still go if you want," she whispered.

"And leave Hermione alone with him, when she's this angry. We can't do that to her," Hannah whispered back.

Susan frowned. "You're too nice for your own good," she said.

Hannah nodded, glad for the dimness of the room hiding her blush. She had just told Susan another lie, and she wasn't proud of it. Yet, she couldn't help it, not with her impotent anger gnawing. She knew that she couldn't confront Neville about her lies.

Maybe taking revenge would make that anger disappear. All she needed to do was to stand up, ask the stripper to dance with her, let his strong, domineering hands on her body, and tease him while he played with her tits. He would probably like that, as it was the thing that most men talked about whenever they thought she couldn't hear them.

But, like everything else in her dull life, it stayed as a theory, and she just watched as he slowly got rid of his robe, leaving only his underwear to contain his manhood. It was an impressive bulge.

"I think it's not fair for him to dance alone," Hermione commented as she stood up. The stripper was quick to wrap his hand around her waist and pull her tight against his body. His bulge pressed against her skirt as they started dancing.

Hannah watched the dance with bated breath, feeling weird. She didn't know what to do as Hermione pressed her body against the dancer, cupping his ass. "Look at this, all tight and muscles," Hermione said once the dancer turned his back, his tight boxer not hiding a lot. "What do you think, Hannah?"

Hannah just whimpered.

"Don't be a jerk, Hermione," Susan intervened.

Hermione just smirked as she gazed at Susan, her smile getting wider. "Come on, Susan. No need to get testy because you don't dare to dance with him," Hermione said.

Susan blushed. "It's absurd. I don't want to do that. And, if I wanted, I didn't need your invitation."

Hannah could see that Susan was tempted yet hesitant despite her words. Under better circumstances, she would have let two bicker, as they matched well. Unfortunately, the current circumstances meant Hermione was looking for an outlet. And, Hannah didn't want Susan to become one. "How about if we play a game?" Hannah offered.

"What kind of game?" Susan said.

"How about muggle poker?" Hermione commented. "Maybe with some extra rules. Only if Susan could handle it, of course."

Hannah was about to intervene, but Susan, still reeling from her earlier loss, was faster. "We can handle, of course, let's start," Susan said.

"Wait until you hear the extra rules," Hermione said and gleefully explained a lot of rules, which summed to a simple objective. Losing meant losing pieces of clothing. "Still think you can handle it?"

"Yes, but he has to go," Susan pointed.

"Sorry, but I can't leave the house until morning," the man spoke for the first time. It was a low, timbre tone, one that affected Hannah as much as his earlier dance. For a moment, Hannah was tempted to argue with Susan, asking him to stay.

But, like everything else in her life, she failed to defend her opinion.

"Then, you can go to Hermione's bedroom and take a nap," Susan offered.

Hermione looked at Hannah, asking for her opinion. Hannah smiled at Hermione's kindness, finding another kinship other than having cheating significant others. She still nodded, accepting Susan's decision.

"You better go and take a nap," Hermione said as she looked at the dancer, then smiled. "It'll help you recover. And, who knows, they might change their mind."

"I look forward to it," he growled, and Hannah trembled even more. And, his reckless confidence as he cupped Hermione's ass under her skirt while he walked away didn't help calm down either. Still, he walked away.

Hannah sighed. Sometimes, she wondered why she never fought for herself. Still, the alternative was fun as well.

A game, even with additional naughty rules sounded like an excellent way to distract herself from Neville's lies.