Disclaimer: I own nothing, and only borrowed the characters for a little while.

Hermione Granger looked at herself sternly in the mirror.

"You are going to go out and enjoy yourself," she ordered severely. "You're going to put aside all of the organising and stress and research for the night and enjoy yourself."

Her gaze dropped to the small bottle in her hand as her determination faltered slightly. Nodding firmly, she threw her head back and sculled the bottle in one go.

Eyeing herself in the mirror once again, she spoke ruefully, but with the beginning of excitement building within her.

Anything goes.

Seven hours later she was rip-roaring drunk.

Stumbling toward her hotel room, she had unexpected company: Ronald Weasley – a man she hadn't seen in over two years (and who was only in town because it was frankly the biggest party in the world).

She struggled to keep upright, Ron equally pissed.

It didn't look like she was getting lucky tonight, but her pep talk earlier had worked: she'd had a really good time tonight.

Struggling with the charm on her door, she finally got it right and stumbled through, Ron right behind her.

Later she would look back and be unable to decide who had made the first move. All she knew was that when she woke up the next morning with a redhead in her bed and vague recollections of a sexual experience rushed and merely satisfactory, she regretted it instantly.

As she looked at the man in the bed, all she could think was: thank God I took the contraceptive potion.

Slipping from the bed, she hastily dressed before reaching for a quill and parchment. She placed it on the bed as she left.

This never happened.

Next chapter: another encounter.