Chapter Text
Hermione was busy trying to cram more books into her trunk than it could take. Packing had always been a seemingly easy task for her, but she was too flustered and worried to think about such things right now. She had finally managed to close the trunk; it was fuller than her when she spent thanksgiving with the Weasleys. Feeling accomplished she was about to head downstairs for a drink of water and a snack when the trunk popped open and all her things were laying askew on her bed and around it. She growled indignantly and began to gather her books, cursing out loud enough for the entire lot in the kitchen to hear.
Ginny walked into the room and was greeted by the sight of a very irritated Hermione bent over her trunk trying to find her wand. “Are you just going to stand there and gawk at my arse or are you going to bother helping me pack?” she asked Ginny. “Don’t worry, I'm not interested in you, I have a girlfriend remember.” She stated flatly. “And just so you know we are in love and you are not going to succeed in wooing me by flashing your arse in front of my face.” She was going to continue talking when Hermione interrupted her “yes, yes. We all know you and Luna love each other; you’ve been talking about her all month. Now if you would please shut up about it and help me find my bras, I would appreciate it.”
Finally after an hour of grunting and wheezing, both of them manager to pack Hermione’s trunk properly and put it away before going downstairs for dinner. Mrs. Weasley was an amazing cook. There was no doubt about that. There was roast chicken, soup, kidney pies and whatnot on the table; all Hermione’s favorites, but she couldn’t get herself to eat. She was about to excuse herself and go read in her room when Ron grabbed her hand and forced her to sit and Harry made sure that she hadn’t gotten up until she had eaten a satisfactory amount of food. Once she had eaten just enough to scrape past the both of them, Hermione got up and excused herself. Grabbing a bottle of firewhiskey on the way to the room her and Ginny shared and opened the bottle. Minutes after her tenth (possibly) glass Harry, Ginny and Ron burst into the room and were greeted with the sight of a very drunk Hermione passed out on the floor.
Harry and Ron carried her to her bed and tucked her in while Ginny put the bottle of firewhiskey away. Hermione would refill it the next morning and return it to where she found it. But for now she needed to sleep.
Ginny, Ron and Harry decided to sit and chat in Ron’s room instead and let Hermione sleep. Ron said, “did I see how drunk she was? Its not normal for her to drink that much”, “or at all, as a matter of fact” Ginny interjected. Harry stated “we need to do something about it before she ends up in the infirmary. She’s stressed out and school hasn’t even started yet. I think we all should go out to lunch tomorrow”. Ginny and Ron approved and they decided to go to Diagon alley for lunch the next day.
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Hermione woke up with a horrible hangover the next morning. The sunlight stung even through closed curtains but she managed to make her way to the kitchen, bleary eyed and half asleep. A cheerful voice belonging to a certain blonde greeted, “good morning Hermione” to which she could only reply with a grunt before downing the vial of pepperup potion that Ron handed her.
Once the potion took effect and the pounding in her head reduced, Hermione reached for the juice while greeting Luna, “good morning to u too Luna. When did u get here?” To which Luna replied with a grin “we’re all going to Diagon alley for lunch today”. Just then Ginny walked into the room and was met with a questioning glare from Hermione, “when were you going to tell me that we’re all going out for lunch?” to which Ginny replied, “I would have told you last night but u were drunk off your arse. Not my fault. Now go get dressed, we’re leaving in a half hour.”
Hermione scrambled back to the room to take a shower and get dressed. She met Ron, Harry, Ginny and Luna near the fireplace dressed in a simple green jumper and black slacks. One by one they all disappeared into the green flames.
After a relaxing lunch at a restaurant near Flourish and Botts, everyone decided to head home. “Oh, I forgot my wallet back at the restaurant. You head back; I’ll meet you at home” said Hermione as everyone was heading back. On her way to the fireplace everyone else used to get home Hermione spotted a head of silvery blonde hair. Instantaneously recognizing Malfoy she decided to wait and listen since Harry seemed very suspicious about the incident in Borgin and Burkes. She wasn’t surprised to hear the quiet voice of one Pansy Parkinson but she was surprised to hear the soft, gentle lilt it had and realized that Pansy; the ice princess was comforting a crying Draco.
Hermione couldn’t believe her ears when she heard Draco crying or Pansy being this loving to anyone. She tried to hear what they were talking about but all she caught was incoherent mumbling between sniffs and Pansy’s “it’s going to be alright, love”. She was going to move closer when she heard Draco say “I need a drink” and move to get up. Hermione bolted out of the booth she was hiding in, not realizing that Pansy saw her.