I could apologize for the crazy long absence, but I'm sure you've heard it all before. Hopefully this chapter will make up for it.

There will be drinking in this chapter…it may be out of character for this bunch, but they are 17 and 18 year old teenagers, so it can't be too OOC... :)

The first several weeks of school flew by and before Hermione knew it, it was October. Her real birthday was just a week away and it had been incredibly weird not celebrating it on September 19th like she'd been doing since she was born. The newness that was Hermione Olivia Zabini had finally died out and now things were the way they had always been.

Well, almost.

Draco had stayed true to his word and he and Hermione were actually friends now, and Hermione felt like she actually fit in with Blaise and his friends. Theo had treated her like she belonged from the beginning and Draco's new girlfriend, Tracy Davis, had quickly warmed up to her. Tracy's best friend, Daphne Greengrass, had also taken quite a liking to Hermione. The only one who still treated Hermione like a 'filthy Mudblood' was Pansy Parkinson, but Hermione suspected that that was because she had put Pansy in her place during the first prefect's meeting on the train. Pansy would always talk as much smack as she could, but it never lasted long because there was always someone around to shut her up. Hermione had been spot on when she had said that Draco's friendship would make it easier for the other Slytherins to accept her. She didn't particularly care if the other Slytherins accepted her, but she wanted to make things as easy on Blaise as possible, and so far, things were working out as she had hoped. While she wasn't especially fond of watching Draco shove his tongue down Tracy's throat, she had finally accepted they were only ever going to be friends. When Draco had agreed to be her friend, Hermione had been naive enough to think that she might actually have a chance with him, but since they had become friends, he'd never given her so much as an inkling that he was interested in her as anything else. After spending far too much time crying over that fact, Hermione had finally accepted it and decided that it was time to get over her foolish childhood crush and move on with her life.

Hermione was sitting in the prefect's lounge waiting for the others when Blaise, Draco and Ginny walked in. Blaise and Ginny had begun shamelessly flirting about a week after school had started, but neither one of them seemed to have the nerve to take the next step and ask the other out, but Hermione expected that it was only a matter of time.

Draco came over and plopped down on the couch next to her, "Buona sera, dolce ragazza." (Good evening, sweet girl.)

Hermione smiled; she loved it when he spoke to her in Italian, "What does that mean?"

Draco smirked, "It means, 'good evening, little lion.'"

Blaise smirked at Draco, but kept his secret.

"Oh; well, good evening, slimy snake." Hermione elbowed him, but kept smiling.

Ginny took a seat next to Hermione, "So, I was thinking about your party this weekend. How are you going to sneak other houses in without being caught by Filch?"

Blaise and Draco grinned, "Peeves is going to keep him busy until everyone gets there."

Hermione raised her eyebrow, "Peeves? How did you convince him to do that?"

Draco smiled, "We promised to let him wreak havoc on the school for a week without any interference from the heads or prefects; we told him he was on his own with Filch, but he didn't seem too bothered by that."

Hermione smirked, "Hmm...clever."

"Am I still invited?" Ginny asked hopefully.

Hermione chuckled, "I don't think you'd ever forgive me if I rescinded the invitation."

"Quite right you are." Ginny replied.

"I have no idea what I'm going to wear, though." Hermione said.

Ginny scoffed, "Are you kidding me? You're going to wear that dress you got before school started."

Hermione's eyes widened, "The little blue one? Oh, no way; that dress is way too inappropriate for-"

"Your 18th birthday party thrown by a bunch of Slytherins?" Ginny quipped.

Draco remembered that dress all too well, but he feigned indifference, "Believe me, that dress is nothing compared to what some of the other girls wear to these parties. It'll be fine. Can we talk about something other than clothes now, please?"

Just then, the other prefects walked into the room, effectively ending the topic of what to wear.

The night of the party had finally arrived and Ginny was in her common room telling Harry and Ron that she and Hermione were having a 'girl's night' in Hermione's dorm so that they wouldn't wonder where the girls were all night, while Hermione was in her room getting ready. She had put her hair up into a messy bun and was applying her makeup when Ginny came bounding into her room with her dress in hand and a huge grin on her face.

"I'm so excited! I never thought that I'd have the chance to go to a Slytherin party!"

Hermione smiled, "I can't believe that I'm going either."

"We will have a great time, Hermione!"

Hermione gave her eyes a smoky look and she put on some blush pink lipstick with a shiny clear top coat. She disappeared into her closet and when she came out, she was ready to go. Her dress still fit perfectly and she had finished off the look with a pair of blue velvet platform stilettos.

Ginny gasped when she saw her, "Oh wow, Hermione; you look incredible."

Hermione blushed, "Thanks, Gin. You look amazing too."

Ginny had done her makeup similar to Hermione's, she'd given her hair soft curls, and she was wearing a pair of black stilettos. Ginny pointed her wand at her shoes and said a spell.

"What did you do?" Hermione asked.

"A spell to keep me from falling on my face in these shoes."

Hermione smiled, "Can you do that for me too? I'm such a klutz when it comes to...well, anything."

Ginny laughed and did the same spell for Hermione. They checked themselves in the mirror one last time and then headed off towards the dungeons.

True to his word, Peeves had kept Filch busy and Hermione and Ginny were able to get to the Dungeons without being spotted. When they walked into the Slytherin common room, their mouths dropped in awe. The room had been expanded and decorated to look like a Muggle night club with a dance floor, a bar, and a few couches, tables and chairs. The only light in the room was coming from the strobe lights that had been set up all over the room.

"Wow, the Slytherins sure know how to throw a party, don't they?" Ginny observed.

"Yes, they do." Hermione agreed.

Not many people had shown up yet, but they saw Blaise, Draco and Theo standing over by the bar. Ginny waved at Blaise and they all looked over.

"Be still my beating heart," Theo said, "those two are going to put us in early graves."

Blaise's eyes were glued to Ginny as she and Hermione made their way over to them, and Draco was lost to the world as he was looking at the vision in blue before him. Theo brushed passed the two gawking teenagers and took the girls' hands and twirled them around.

"You girls are absolutely stunning."

Ginny beamed at him and Hermione blushed, "This place looks amazing, you guys. Do you do it this way every year?"

"It's not usually this decked out, but seeing as how it's our last party, we thought we'd go out in style." Theo grinned.

"Well, it looks great." Hermione said and Ginny nodded in agreement.

Theo took their hands again and led them over to the bar where there was a big black box, "This is the best part; ask for a drink."

"Umm, a Pornstar Martini." Hermione said.

The black box vibrated and then the door slid open to reveal a pretty orange concoction with a slice of Passion Fruit floating on top. Theo took it out and handed it to Hermione.

She took a sip and smiled, "That's ingenious."

Theo looked at Ginny, "Little Red..."

"Ooh, how about a Mojito?"

The box vibrated, the door slid open and Theo handed the drink to Ginny.

She took a sip, "Yum."

"Where on Earth did you find something like this?" Hermione asked as she took another sip of her drink.

"It's quite popular among the wealthy wizarding families for their parties." Theo explained, "You can thank Draco for it; it's damned expensive."

"I can see why." Ginny gushed, "It's bloody brilliant!"

Hermione looked over and saw Blaise looking at Ginny in awe. She grinned and made her way over to him and Draco.

"Are you ever going to make a move, Blaise?"

Blaise looked at her sideways, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Hermione and Draco both rolled their eyes, "She's got a mad crush on you, you know." Hermione said.

Blaise lifted an eyebrow, "Really?"

Hermione smirked, "Yes, really. She's been waiting for you to make a move practically since school started. I assure you...she won't turn you down."

Hermione noticed the wheels turning in Blaise's mind and she gave him a gentle shove in Ginny's direction, leaving her alone with Draco.

"Tell me something," Draco asked, "how the hell do you walk in those things?"

He pointed to her shoes and she smiled, "Very carefully; actually, Ginny put a spell on them so that I won't trip. I would fall on my face at least ten times otherwise."

"Not very graceful, then?"

Hermione laughed, "Who cares about comfort and grace as long as I look good?"

Draco took in her appearance again, "Well, you most definitely look good."

Hermione blushed, "Thanks; you don't look too shabby yourself."

Hermione downed her drink and Draco smirked, "A little liquid courage?"

Hermione smiled, "Yeah, just a little. Where's Tracy?"

"Still getting ready, I imagine."

At that moment, Tracy, Daphne and Pansy came down the stairs dressed to the hilt. Pansy scowled when she saw Hermione and went in another direction, but Tracy and Daphne squealed when they saw Hermione and ran over to her.

"Oh, my God Hermione; you look stunning!" Tracy gushed.

Draco took that as his cue to leave; he gave Tracy a quick peck on the lips and disappeared into the crowd that had slowly started to form.

One hour and three drinks later, the party was in full swing and Hermione was having a great time. It appeared that Blaise had finally come to his senses and he and Ginny were currently occupying one of the couches, Draco was dancing with Tracy, Theo was fighting with Daphne in a dark corner, and Pansy was making out with some poor guy from Ravenclaw.

Hermione was sipping her screwdriver when she felt a presence behind her. She turned around to see an attractive boy with bright green eyes, "Hi." She breathed.

The boy smiled, "Hi; I didn't mean to startle you."

"Oh, it's fine."

The boy stuck out his hand, "I'm Nick."

Hermione shook his hand, "I'm Hermione."

"I know who you are; I think everyone knows who you are."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Yeah, I wish they didn't. I miss being invisible."

Nick chuckled, "I don't think you could be invisible if you tried."

Hermione blushed, "You're from America, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am; California."

"It's probably a lot different here, I bet."

Nick took a moment to admire Hermione's form, "In a very good way, yes."

"Hermione!"

Hermione turned around and saw Ginny waving her over, "Well, it was nice to meet you, Nick. I'll see you around, I'm sure."

Nick cocked his head to the side as he watched her walk away, "Yes, you will."

Ginny was watching Nick as he was watching Hermione, "Who's that guy?"

"Nick; one of the exchange students from America." Hermione said.

Ginny shivered, "I don't like him; he gives me the creeps."

Hermione laughed, "You don't even know him, Gin."

Ginny scowled, "I know enough to know that I don't like him."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Whatever you say, Gin."

Ginny glared at Nick for good measure and then grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her to the bar, "We have to do some shots!"

Hermione cringed, "I don't know, Gin."

Ginny rolled her eyes, "This is your birthday party, Hermione!"

"This party is for Blaise technically." Hermione quipped.

Theo came up behind them and put an arm around each of them, "What are we doing, ladies?"

"I'm trying to get Hermione to do some shots with me, but she's stalling." Ginny whined.

Hermione ignored Ginny and turned to Theo, "Won't Daphne get jealous if she sees you hanging on girls that aren't her?"

Theo shrugged, but didn't move his arms, "I don't expect she'll care; we broke up last week."

Hermione frowned, "Oh, I'm sorry."

Ginny snickered, "She got tired of you flirting with all the girls, didn't she?"

Theo smirked and leaned in and whispered something in Ginny's ear and she blushed a shade to rival her hair and he grinned at her, "Red is an excellent color for you, Love."

Since school had started, Hermione and Ginny had gotten to know Theo better and despite being a shameless flirt, he really was a sweet guy, so they no longer had the urge to throttle them when they saw him; in fact, he had kind of grown on them.

Ginny cleared her throat and halfheartedly glared at him, "I won't hex you for that little comment if you convince Hermione to do some shots with me."

Theo winked at her and went over to the little black box and came back with two yellow concoctions and handed them to the girls.

"What's this?" Hermione asked,

"Lemon Drop." Theo said, "My sister loves them. You lick the sugar off the rim, drink it, then eat the lemon; kind of like a Tequila shot."

Ginny grinned, "Come on, it smells good!"

Hermione sighed, "Fine, let's do this."

The girls did as Theo instructed and Hermione smiled, "That's really good!"

Five Lemon Drops later, Hermione was grinning like a fool, "These are really good!"

Ginny had gone off to dance with Blaise and Hermione had started hanging onto Theo because she was feeling a bit tipsy, but he didn't seem to mind in the least. Hermione very carefully walked over to the black box and came back with two shots of Tequila and handed one to Theo and held the salt shaker up with a questioning look.

Theo demonstrated with his shot and Hermione went to follow suit, but she dropped the salt shaker and Theo chuckled, "I think maybe you've had enough, Love."

Hermione nodded and handed her shot to Theo, "Here, have this one too."

Theo took it from her and then smirked, "Have you ever done a body shot?"

Hermione quirked an eyebrow, "No, but I bet you're dying to show me."

Theo grinned as he boldly placed the shot glass between her cleavage, "Shot goes here," then he leaned in and slowly licked the sensitive spot under her jaw, causing Hermione to shiver, then he poured some salt on that spot and grabbed the lime and gently brushed it against her lips, "Open." Hermione complied and he placed the lime in her mouth and then smiled, "Now comes the fun part." He waggled his eyebrows at her and then leaned in, licked the salt off her neck, pulled the shot glass out of her cleavage with his teeth and tipped it back with his head letting the liquid slide down his throat, then he dropped the glass into his hand and leaned in for the lime. He licked some of the juice off her lower lip before taking a hold of the lime with his teeth and letting his lips linger on hers for just a moment before pulling the lime out of her mouth and sucking it dry.

Hermione's eyes were glued to Theo's mouth, "Wow," she breathed.

Theo dropped the lime into his empty shot glass and placed it on the bar and grinned at her, "That's a body shot."

Hermione didn't know if it was the alcohol, or her hormones screaming at her after the body shot, but either way, she grabbed Theo's shirt and pulled him down for a real kiss. He against her lips and gripped her hips as he pulled her flush against his body and deepened the kiss. Their snogging session left them completely oblivious to what was going on around them and they failed to notice that they had a small audience. Across the room, Ginny, Blaise, Draco and Tracy were watching them.

Ginny and Tracy were cheering for the couple, and Blaise was carefully watching Draco's reaction. Draco was careful to keep his face blank, especially in front of Tracy, but his eyes darkened a shade and he grabbed Tracy's hand and led her upstairs to his dorm without a word.

Ginny watched him disappear and she rolled her eyes, "Did he really expect her to wait around for him? Does he even know that she thinks he's not the least bit interested in her? I really don't understand guys."

Blaise smirked, "Yes, and girls are so easy to understand."

Ginny playfully smacked his arm and took his hand, "This place is getting a bit crowded. Maybe we should go to your common room so we can talk?"

Blaise saw the twinkle in Ginny's eyes and he grinned, "That's the best idea I've heard all night."

Having no qualms about leaving his own party, Blaise led Ginny through the crowded room and out the door.

Just a fun little chapter to give Hermione a chance to let her hair down for a while. :)

Let me know what you think!