The Consequences of Alcohol and Depression

Chapter 1: Dancing and Drinking

Hermione Granger sighed. "Ginny, I really don't feel like it."

"Oh, come on, Mione!" Ginny Weasley said, "You need to get back out there. I know it was painful when Jeremy broke up with you, but you need to get over it. Get some human interaction!"

Hermione knew she was right. She had dated Jeremy Marshall for two years until he broke up with her a month and a half prior. She was twenty-two years old, and she really needed to get a life.

"Alright, fine, Ginny," Hermione said, "I'll go."

"Great," Ginny said happily. "I'll go tell the girls that you're coming." With that, she Disapparated, presumably to go to the small Divinator Shop in Hogsmeade that Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil worked at. After Ginny had graduated from Hogwarts, she and Hermione had moved in together, in a small flat in Diagon Alley.

Hermione walked into the kitchen, pulling out the teakettle. She tapped it with her wand, and steam immediately began to shoot out of the spout. She poured herself a cup of Jasmine tea, staring out the window forlornly. After a few minutes, she heard a small pop.

"Hey, Mione," said her best friend, Harry Potter.

"Hi," she replied, nodding slightly.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked as he took a seat beside her at the table.

"Your fiancée is forcing me to go out tonight, that's what," she told him, scowling.

"Well, you really should be going out," he replied, placing a hand on her arm. "I mean, just because that jerk decided to break your heart, you shouldn't stop living!"

"I know," Hermione said sadly. "But he really hurt me. I don't want that to happen again."

"Hermione, not all men are like that, you know," he told her softly. "Don't worry, someone better is gonna come along for you. I know it."

"Thanks, Harry," she replied, giving him a small hug.

"Anytime, Mione," he said, "Anytime."

******

That evening, Hermione and Ginny searched through both of their closets to find an outfit that would suit Hermione. They finally decided on a tight, dark blue mini-dress and a pair of silver stiletto heels. Hermione didn't like the idea, but when Ginny decided on something, it was chosen.

"Let me do your hair and makeup," Ginny pleaded, a huge grin on her face. Ginny aspired to become a professional makeup artist, and she was quite good at it.

"Okay, just don't do anything too extreme," Hermione warned. Ginny quickly set to work, completely wrapped up in her art. She finished after a half an hour.

"Here, take a look," she said, handing Hermione a small mirror. She had applied a bit of soft silver eye shadow to Hermione's eyelids, and adorned her lashes with dark mascara. Ginny had highlighted her cheekbones with a rosy blush, and her lips were painted a pale pink. Of course, this had been topped off with plenty of glitter. Hermione wouldn't have done anything quite as extravagant if she'd done it herself, but it looked rather good. Ginny had used a straightening charm on her hair, leaving it sleek, smooth, and shiny.

"It looks great, Gin, thanks," Hermione said, raising herself up from her chair.

"Okay, give me fifteen minutes, and I'll be ready," the younger girl said, rummaging through her makeup case. Hermione sat and waited in the living room, reading the last few pages of the chapter in her book. "How do I look?" Ginny called as she strutted into the living room. Her shoulder length hair was set into very defined curls, and her green eye shadow perfectly matched the color of her sequined dress.

"Lookin' good, Gin," Hermione said with a smile.

"I think I might just need to drop by Harry's before I come home," she said, grinning. "Let's go." They Apparated to a small club just a bit away from their flat, called Lacewings (A/N- Shut up, I couldn't think of anything else!). They met Lavender, Parvati, and Parvati's twin, Padma in front of the club.

"Hey, you guys look great!" Parvati gushed, smiling. The three girls had obviously taken very much time on their appearances, and they looked very much like they were ready to go clubbing.

They entered the club with relative ease, as it was owned by Lavender's aunt. Once inside, Ginny and Parvati headed straight to the dance floor, while Lavender and Padma opted to get drinks and scope out guys. Hermione sat down at a table off to the side, not doing much.

After about a half hour, Lavender dragged Hermione to the bar to talk to a guy she had met.

"Hermione, this is Corey, Corey, Hermione," Lavender said before sidling off.

"Hi," Corey said. He had short black hair, which had far too many styling products in it.

"Hello," Hermione replied.

"What do you do?" he asked, giving her what appeared to be a 'charming' smile.

"I work at the Ministry," she told him shortly. He really didn't appear to be her type, and she didn't want to prolong the conversation.

"Really? What department?"

"Treatment and Guidance of Magical Creatures," she told him indifferently. She had gotten involved in that department to help better the conditions of house-elves.

"That must be quite interesting," Corey said, "Can I buy you a drink?"

"Oh, no thank you," she replied. Pretending to see someone across the room, she said, "Would you please excuse me?" Without even waiting for an answer, she began to walk across the room, shaking her head. From the looks Corey had been giving her, Hermione knew he wasn't interested in the Treatment and Guidance of Magical Creatures at all.

She found Ginny out on the dance floor, moving gracefully and purposefully to the loud beats of the music. Ginny had always been an excellent dancer, and she could put most professionals to shame.

"Come on, Mione!" Ginny shouted over the loud music. "Come dance with me!" Hermione obliged, laughing and giggling as she and Ginny moved to the music. She felt a little awkward in her shoes, as she didn't like wearing stilettos at all.

"I'm gonna go sit down!" she called after a few minutes. She waved quickly at Parvati, who was dancing with an attractive blonde across the floor. Hermione sat down in a chair, turning her head to look around. The sight she saw made her want to throw up.

Jeremy Marshall was standing across the room, heatedly snogging an unknown woman. Hermione could feel the tears coming to her eyes. She quickly walked back down to the dance floor, where she found Ginny.

"Gin, I'm not feeling good, I'm going home," she said, holding back the tears as best as she could. She really didn't want to talk to Ginny about it right now.

"Alright," Ginny said suspiciously. "I'll be there in a few hours." Hermione nodded and took off, speeding towards the exit. As soon as she was clear of the building, the tears started falling down her face. She leaned back against the wall of the club, slowly sinking down until she was sitting.

She brought her knees up to her chest, sobbing into her arms quietly. That hadn't been what she had wanted to see. It wasn't so much that she still loved him, because she wasn't certain that she ever did. It was more that Jeremy was clearly doing better than she was at getting over their relationship.

Hermione was so wrapped up in her own inner-monologue that she didn't hear her name being called until the person who had spoken was kneeling down beside her.

"Hermione?" She quickly looked up to come face-to-face with none other than Percy Weasley.

"Hi," she said miserably, wiping her eyes. She knew that her makeup was probably smeared and running down her face, but she didn't care.

"What's wrong?" Percy asked, placing a hand on her back. After Hogwarts, she and Percy had gotten relatively close, and she considered him on her list of close friends.

"I just saw Jeremy," she said, sighing.

"Oh, Mione," he said, not knowing what he should say.

"It gets worse," she said, "He was snogging some girl."

"Wow, Hermione, I'm sorry," Percy said, looking very concerned. Hermione wasn't one to cry, and seeing her like that was definitely disturbing.

"Ah," she said, shrugging. "It was just bad to see him like that. I mean, I haven't dated ever since we broke up, and there he was, snogging some girl in a club."

"Let me guess: Ginny decided you should go out with the girls?" he said, smiling. Ginny's answer to all of life's problems was to go dancing and drinking with the girls.

"Yeah," Hermione replied, chuckling slightly.

"Hey, I was just about to go get some dinner," Percy said, "Would you maybe like to join me? Have a drink?"

"That sounds great," she replied. Percy helped her to stand, a small laugh escaping him. "What?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Um, Mione, maybe you should look in a mirror," he said, stifling more laughter. Hermione quickly conjured a mirror, bursting out into laughter at the sight. Her makeup had begun to run down her face, silver streaks now adorning her cheeks.

******

'Ugh' was the first thing Hermione thought when she woke up the next morning. The sunlight was blaring through her window, and her pounding headache wasn't helping any.

It took her a few minutes to realize that the sunlight was coming in at the wrong angle. And when she looked down at the bedcovers, she was shocked to find that they were the wrong color. Her comforter was a bright yellow, and the one covering her was a deep, rich blue.

She rolled over, a slight groan escaping her as she recognized the person lying next to her. As soon as the sound left her mouth, their bright blue eyes snapped open. She was lying, naked, next to none other than Percy Weasley.