"Oh come on now Blaise. We all know Gryffindors like to bite. Bet she is a lioness through and through." Wayne snickered as Hestia leaned into him and started to nibble on his neck.

"I don't know. She is so demure and saintly she might not make any noise at all." Pansy supplied, her lips lifted into her trademark sneer as she continued to study her black talons.

Hermione's blush was unrelenting and grew even darker as she squirmed under their scrutiny. Was Blaise hazing her? This had to be a test to show how she would take such an outrageous and vulgar question... Why couldn't this kind of banter come easily to her? Like it did for Ginny who had grown up around so many brothers.

"Well... You could always take me somewhere and find out, Zabini." She challenged him using a jibe she had overheard in a similar exchange once. She felt a twinge of pride at sounding much more confident than she felt, but it was hard to hold on to when the sweat that broke out across her palms was a testament to the jittery mess she had become on the inside. So was the violent tug that twisted her stomach into a hard knot, making it hard to take a full breath.

Malfoy leaned back against the couch. An entertained grin rested on his face as his eyes followed around with the conversation, moving along each person when they spoke. He missed nothing... Not Blaise's snort of approval. Nor Sue's huff of jealousy. He didn't miss Hermione brushing the palms of her hands against the tops of her thighs as she tried to wipe the perspiration from them discreetly.

Sue pushed herself up against Blaise and whispered loudly enough for everyone to hear. "Don't even think about it. Tonight you are mine."

"I would never think to abandon you in your time of need... Even if a Gryffindor Kitten is offering herself up to me." Blaise responded, an insincere look of hurt displayed across his features. He slyly offered a wink in Hermione's direction before giving Sue his full attention. He whispered softly in her ear, by the way her shoulders started to loosen it was apparent he was offering her reassurance.

Out of nowhere, Theodore Nott strolled up into the group. He gave a nod in Blaise and Malfoy's direction before he stepped up to Pansy and cleared his throat. "You look bored out of your mind, Pans. Want to dance with me?"

"Thank Salazar you came to save me, Theo! I thought my brain would turn to mush having to listen to these losers prattle on and on." She placed her hand on Nott's offered arm and quickly stood up. They headed over to the dance floor where a more upbeat song now played. Hermione watched as he placed his hands on Pansy's hips and they started gyrating to the music.

A soft moan behind her pulled Hermione's gaze back to the remaining gathering. She peeked over and saw that Wayne and Hestia had decided to progress from teasing one another to a rather messy makeout session. Blaise was still distracted with whispering into Sue's ear, his fingers now running a slow line up and down her arm. Hermione sighed softly, watching couples go at it wasn't really her idea of fun. If she wanted to do that she could have stayed back and waited for the nightly slobberfest between Ron and Lavender.

She wondered if this was the culmination of her big night out... Three shots and a healthy helping of espionage to sedate her sudden voyeuristic appetites? All wrapped up in forty minutes max? How anticlimactic! Maybe she could find somebody she actually knew around here, considering everyone was now preoccupied. Everyone… but Malfoy, she discerned. Quickly she sought him out and found him as relaxed as ever while he openly watched her think. How embarrassing! And dangerous! Alastor Moody's shouts of "Constant Vigilance" echoed in her brain.

There was no other word than awkward to try and describe the situation she found herself in. Malfoy showed no signs of registering how uncomfortable she was. He continued to sit back and watch. His head was tilted slightly in Blaise and Sue's direction so he could easily eavesdrop on their hushed conversation while his fingers played with a frayed blue string on the armrest of the couch. She watched as he pinched and tugged on the offensive blight.

For the second time that night she found herself contemplating what would cause the look he had given her earlier. There was so much to be found in that one searing moment. Pain, anger, fear, passion, happiness, amusement, loneliness, suspicion... That single lingering look told her they had all battled around in his brain. It wasn't only hatred and malice that roosted there.

For a moment it had felt as if he was more confused than she was. She inwardly berated herself, why shouldn't he be addled? His home life had been turned head over heels with his father being sent off to Azkaban and their family must be suffering from some level of social ostracization because of it. Much less how Voldermort must have reacted to the failure…

"I... I uhhh... should probably go..." Hermione stammered out clumsily as her gaze shifted to stare at Malfoy's left shoulder. She didn't want to continue with the loaded looks with him. Too much sympathy would be her downfall if she allowed herself to feel sorry for the jerk.

Sue's attention was drawn to her fumbled attempt at an exit. Her dark brown eyes narrowed into a malicious glare. "I would have to agree. I mean, it has been fun and all... But it's time for the bumbling little Gryffindor bookworm to go on back to bed."

Hermione's jaw fell open, unsure where the challenge had come from... A few jokes among what were supposed to be "friends", at least for the night, was enough to put the witch on the offensive? Was she really that insecure? She was baffled by the fact that it was the Ravenclaw to come for her. At the beginning of the night she had thought that it was the Slytherins she needed to keep an eye on. Never could she have imagined this conclusion. Suddenly, as if granted the power of prophecy, she saw exactly where this was headed with no way to stop it.

"Oh yes... The wannabe Golden Girl should have known better than to come here in the first place. You must have been sitting around and waiting for an opportunity just like tonight... Quite clever to use the masquerade theme to your advantage. I can see why you were almost placed into Ravenclaw." Sue's lips turned up so she could smile cruelly at her.

Oh Gods! Sue knew and she was going to make sure that Hermione would never forget tonight as the dumbest choice she had ever made. And she had done some ridiculously stupid things in her short life... She looked around wide-eyed, floundering for any kind of help. Blaise and Malfoy seemed transfixed on the girl's brutal outburst. Even Wayne and Hestia had stopped their amorous activities to watch the onslaught of anger directed at her.

"I..." Hermione tried to interrupt the tirade, hoping she could stem the flow of vindictive anger and get out of there before the humiliating reveal. But of course, she wouldn't be that lucky... She watched as Sue's eyes narrowed even further, preparing to deliver the death blow. She quickly got to her feet even though her legs felt like they would give out underneath her.

"What? Doesn't Miss Know-It-All have any retorts? I think that might be the very first time ever... Granger."

Why?! Her heartbeat pounded in her ears as she tried to remember how to breathe. She took a shaky step forward, willing her legs to work and to get her to safety. Anywhere else was preferable at that moment. She turned towards the door and took a deep shuddering breath. The last of her will power went into not hexing the bitch or bursting into tears. Better to just get out now before the others joined her.

"Holy shit!" She heard Blaise hiss. The words finally caused her to react. They somehow reached into the primal parts of her intellect and triggered her fight or flight response.

And she ran…

-\/-\/-\/-\/-\/-\/-\/-\/-\/-\/-

Gasping hard, she stopped running and leaned against the cold stone wall. What had just happened?! How had everything shifted so rapidly from being a fun little romp in a different life into this disastrous mess? Tears sprang to her eyes and she bit her bottom lip to stop the sob that threatened to erupt from within. There was no way she was going to be able to rub this night in Harry and Ron's faces now! Oh no, now it was going to be about saving face and trying to cover up the complete and utter humiliation she felt. As she stood there she felt the anxiety inside of her swell to the breaking point at the thought.

She could feel her teeth as they sank into the soft skin of her lip but she didn't stop. It was the only way to contain the hysteria fighting for control. She couldn't go back to her dorm like this. Someone would go and get Ginny to try and calm her down. Hermione could not imagine trying to explain all of this to her while her thoughts swirled like a tornado, devouring everything good she had felt earlier.

The feeling of pride over how nice she looked... Gone.

The memory of being one of "them"... Gone.

How brave she had felt when she had opened the door... Gone.

All of it yanked from her hands just as quickly as it had been given.

It was almost as if a dementor was near, the overwhelming despair was so strong she ran her eyes up and down the corridor just to make sure. She couldn't help the sick longing that filled her. If it was a dementor she would have had something to attack!

Hermione felt her hands trembling at her side as she tried to reign in her out of control emotions, but the more she tried the more the anxiety attack threatened to completely consume her.

She pushed herself back into a standing position as she struggled for air. She needed to find somewhere safe as soon as possible before the sobs wouldn't stop and the uncontrollable shaking started. She had always had a problem with anxiety. One she attempted to keep under lock and key. None of her friends knew how bad the attacks were, much less that they had increased in frequency since she was hit with that blasted curse. She couldn't go back to Gryffindor Tower. Curfew had just passed so the library was out…

Where the fuck was she supposed to go?!